Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin

[Shade]

Do we want to work it up as a hazard, or simply move on?

 

[demiurge1138]

I say move on.

 

[Shade]

PECTINARIA
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 2-20
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: //1”
HIT DICE: 2-6
% IN LAIR: 0%
TREASURE TYPE: See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: Nil
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Nil
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: M (see below)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

This peculiar worm is sometimes called the “ice-cream-cone worm.” It constructs a portable, conical tube by cementing small pebbles together into one all-encompassing layer. The cone may be up to 5’ long and 2-2½' wide at the mouth. The worm lives head-down in the sand, with only the upper 1’ of the cone protruding from the surface. The Pectinaria sorts through the sand with golden, fan-shaped bristles, ingesting organic debris as it does so. There is a 5% chance that the Pectinaria will have cemented 1d6 precious or semiprecious stones into its cone. The golden bristles are also of value to magic-users and to some primitive tribes, although the value of these items varies widely. The Pectinaria is found only in shallow water, buried in loose sand.

Pectinariidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectinaria_(worm)

 

[Rappy]

Wow, this poor fellow doesn't have it much better. I'd say this one can be chalked down as a dressing as well, especially since it is little more than a treasure hoard.

 

[demiurge1138]

Agreed to dungeon dressing. It's treasure for areas with lots of creatures that have no treasure.

 

[Cleon]

Again, terebella = dungeon dressing.

So, shall we bother giving it a few stats. If the SRD can include the Shrieker, we can do out own submarine dungeon dressing.

The only significant ability mentioned is its entangling tentacles, but I'd give it a watered-down version of a Sabella's poisonous flesh as well, to give it some protection from predators.

Large Vermin
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (hp 19)
Speed: 0 ft.
Armor Class: 12 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+8
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (40 ft. tentacles?)
Special Attacks: Entangling tentacles, poisonous flesh
Special Qualities: Accelerated healing, tremorsense 60 ft., vermin traits
Saves: Fort +5, Ref+4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 15, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 2

I'm thinking its entangling tentacles would trap everything within 40 feet that fail a Reflex save, probably Strength-based so DC13.

It could also make a 40' range touch attack and then grapple, but I think it wouldn't get Improved Grab since it basically waits for food to drift to it on the currents, so its tentacles are not built for whipping around prey like our monstrous version of the Sabella.

If we do give it poisonous flesh, I'd suggest something like 1d3 minutes of sickened for primary effect, 1d3 Strength damage for secondary effect. Assuming any of the PCs actually bite it.

 

[demiurge1138]

Cleon... none of us want to stat these guys. Except, it appears, you. We've already moved on.

To another giant useless worm, mind you.

 

[Cleon]

Cleon... none of us want to stat these guys. Except, it appears, you. We've already moved on.

To another giant useless worm, mind you.

Sorry, hadn't realized no-one else wanted to address it. I would give Terebella a paragraph or two of description, just for the sake of completeness.

I think the Terebella is marginally more useful than the Pectinaria, at least it's got entangling tentacles so can serve as an obstacle to add to the difficulty of an encounter with a nastier beastie. (E.g. a band of monster X can have a few of these outside the entrance to their lair, and attack intruders as they are tangled up in them).

But if no-one fancies even that much we can just move on. The Pectinaria doesn't look worth converting to me, and it's the last of the Dragon 133 article's worms.

Anyone got a suggestion for what real-world beasties to do next?

 

[Shade]

We could pick from these...

Chimpanzee [Dungeon #56]
Dingo [Dragon #186]
Dog, Wild [Monstrous Manual]
Gopher [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Gorilla [Monstrous Manual]
Hart [Dragon #137]
Hippopotamus, Pygmy [Dungeon #56]
Horse, Riding [Monstrous Manual]
Horse, Wild [Monstrous Manual]
Morena [Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four]
Muskrat [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Octopus, Deep-Dwelling [Dragon #190]
Opossum [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Porcupine, Black [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Porcupine, Brown [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Ray, Electric [Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four]
Ray, Sawfish [Dragon #116]
Stag, Wild [Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two]
Woodchuck [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]

...or continue down the vermin path with some of the unsual spiders from Dragon #67 or the giant versions of micro-organisms in Dragon #111.

 

[Cleon]

We could pick from these...

Chimpanzee [Dungeon #56]
Dingo [Dragon #186]
Dog, Wild [Monstrous Manual]
Gopher [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Gorilla [Monstrous Manual]
Hart [Dragon #137]
Hippopotamus, Pygmy [Dungeon #56]
Horse, Riding [Monstrous Manual]
Horse, Wild [Monstrous Manual]
Morena [Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four]
Muskrat [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Octopus, Deep-Dwelling [Dragon #190]
Opossum [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Porcupine, Black [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Porcupine, Brown [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]
Ray, Electric [Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four]
Ray, Sawfish [Dragon #116]
Stag, Wild [Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two]
Woodchuck [Monstrous Compendium Volume Two]

...or continue down the vermin path with some of the unsual spiders from Dragon #67 or the giant versions of micro-organisms in Dragon #111.

Not very many of those vertebrates look terribly interesting to me, although I am tempted by converting the Chimpanzee.

I'm doing my own conversion of some of Dragon magazine's arachnids, but I'm going the fantasy magical beast route so there's no conflict with a "realistic" version stated as Monstrous Vermin.

So, I'll vote for tackling the arachnids or the micro-organisms, I don't mind which.

If we didn't already have good conversions of the Cambrian explosion fauna from Dragon #204 I'd have suggested doing them.