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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 5957001" data-attributes="member: 57383">Walking Egg Working DraftAlkada, Walking EggSmall AberrationHit Dice: 2d8+2 (11 hp)Initiative: -2Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)Armor Class: 12 (+1 size, +3 natural, -2 Dex), touch 9, flat-footed 12Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+1Attack: Tentacle +2 melee (1)Full Attack: 8 tentacles +2 melee (1) and bite -4 melee (3d4)Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. w/tentacles)Special Attacks: Death throes, improved grab, poisonSpecial Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to adhesion, immunity to fire, immunity to stunning, shortsighted, spell resistance 14Saves: Fort +1, Ref -2, Will +3Abilities: Str 10, Dex 7, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 13Skills: Climb +10, Listen +3Feats: Weapon Focus (tentacles)Environment: Temperate or warm land and undergroundOrganization: Solitary or pairChallenge Rating: 2Treasure: no coins, double goods (gems only), no itemsAlignment: Always neutralAdvancement: 3-4 HD (Small); 5-6 HD (Medium)Level Adjustment: — This creature looks like an upright, blue-green egg with a purple  base. A writhing nest of tentacles emerge from the pointed top of the  "egg", just above a pair of large, sad-looking eyes. Set in the center  of its tentacles is an oversized beak-like mouth. The creature walks on  two rubbery legs and had a pair of puny arms near its mid-body. Its arms  flap constantly, as if the bizarre lifeform were trying to fly. A walking egg is a type of creature called the alkada, a group that  includes the wingless wonder. Walking eggs have 8 or 12, wingless wonders have 10 tentacles. A  walking eggs's tentacles can stretch to 10 feet or more in length, or retract  into their body until they're less than a foot  long.Alkada often make a high-pitched  chittering, and redden when angry or excited. They are short-sighted,  curious and fearlessly stupid. An alkada is attracted by red or purple,  the brighter the more alluring, and are fascinated by sparkly  translucent objects, which they swallow and carry in their stomach.  These trophies may include valuable gems or crystals among the polished  pieces of glass and pretty pebbles, but the alkada must be cut open to  extract its shiny treasure.Most of an alkada's diet is vegetation, supplemented by whatever small  animals come within reach of their tentacles. An alkada's favorite food  is ripe fruit, but they will eat almost any living (or once living)  thing they can fit into their mouths.  They can live off carrion,  kitchen refuse and animal wastes provided they occasionally dine on  fresh plants. Alkada never attack each other, but will feed off a dead  alkada once it is rotting.Alkada are hermaphrodites. Whenever a solitary alkada meets another of  its species, they entwine tentacles and chitter passionately for several  minutes, exchanging fluids that fertilize pea-shaped eggs inside their  partner. They usually then separate to continue their solitary lives,  but may wander together as a mated pair. Alkada can carry up to a dozen  eggs, but only fertilize one each time they meet another alkada.  Pregnant alkada radiate an eldritch purple-white glow that sheds light  equal to a candle. Six to seven months after fertilization the alkada  excretes a fully-developed egg, rubbery and as large as a human head,  which splits open to reveal a juvenile alkada. A newly hatched alkada  can live independently; it often accompanies its parent for a while but  is expected to fend for itself.  A walking egg stands about 4 feet tall, including a nest of tentacles averaging 18 inches high. They weigh about 40 pounds. Alkada do not speak, their chittering carries no more meaning than an animal's cries. COMBAT An alkada wanders about  aimlessly,  feeling everything around itself with  its tentacles. If it  touches  something that feels tasty it may decide  to attack, chittering   excitedly as it tries to grab the prospective meal  and bite it. Alkada are erratic creatures who seem oblivious to their surroundings.   They may blunder into the midst of a battle or ignore a threatening   enemy, but will defend themselves once attacked. An opponent can attack an walking egg's tentacles with a sunder   attempt as if they were weapons. A walking egg's tentacles have 2   hit points each. If a walking egg is currently grappling a target   with the tentacle that is being attacked, it usually uses another limb   to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder   attempt.  A walking egg takes no damage from having a tentacle   severed or destroyed. A severed tentacle dies and can no longer be used   to attack, but the walking egg takes no other penalties.  Severed   tentacles regrow in 1d4+4 days.  Death Throes (Su): If a walking egg is killed, its dying mind   lashes out with invisible beams of telekinetic force as a free action.  All creatures within  120 ft. of the walking egg that have hurt the  walking egg within the  last hour are automatically hit by a beam for  4d4 points of force  damage. These unerring beams do not need line of  sight to hit their  target, but do require line of effect. Immunity To Adhesion (Ex): No known adhesive will stick to a walking egg's skin. This makes walking eggs immune to effects   such as tanglefoot bags, adhesive webs (both from monstrous spiders and   the web spell) and even sovereign glue. This immunity offers no protection against other sorts of grappling or entangling attack.Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a walking egg must  hit an  opponent of any size with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt  to  start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of   opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and   automatically deals bite damage. *A walking egg has a +4 racial   bonus on grapple checks.Poison (Ex): Eating alkada flesh exposes the eater to the following poison:  Alkada flesh: ingested, Fortitude DC 12, initial damage nauseated for 1d4  rounds then sickened for 1d6 minutes, secondary damage 1d8 Con plus  2d10 minutes sickened. The save DC is Constitution-based.  Shortsighted (Ex): Alkada have difficulty seeing anything  further than 10 ft. away and are virtually blind at long distances.  Instead of the normal -1 penalty per 10 feet of distance, an alkada has a  -4 penalty on Spot checks for the first 10 feet of distance, increased by -2 per additional 10 feet.Skills: An alkada has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks.Pregnant AlkadaAlkada that are carrying fertilized eggs gain the following special quality. Maternal Glow (Su): Pregnant alkada radiate an eldritch purple-white glow that sheds light equal to a candle.Walking Egg AdvancementMedium-sized walking eggs have 12 tentacles, allowing them to make 12  tentacle attacks with a full attack. A Medium-sized walking egg's bite  attack does 3d6 damage; each of its tentacles has a 15 ft. reach and  does 1 hit point of damage.In FaerûnIn recent years, it has been fashionable for powerful wizards to use polymorph any object  to transform their rivals into alkada. Such transformed walking eggs cannot speak or perform precise gestures so are unable to cast  spells with verbal or somatic components, so most are stuck in alkada  form until they can find someone to break the enchantment upon them.In the underdark of Faerûn, certain drow wizards have developed a secret wonderform   spell that enables them to transform into wingless wonders and retain their spellcasting abilities. They often use this spell to   hide their activities from the drow Matriarchs and the clerics of Lolth. See the <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?201788-Converting-Psionic-Creatures&p=5956996&viewfull=1#post5956996" target="_blank">wingless wonder</a> for details.Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine issue 40 (1980)</blockquote>

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