Wait a sec, the copy of the Faerunion yellow dragon you provided me has a blinding effect in its breath weapon and a sinkhole attack described in the tactics (though not mechanically). Did you think these were missing?
Sorry, it had been a long time since we last reviewed that Dragon update post so I'd forgotten the details.
I'm thinking it'd be better to have a special attack for the sinkhole ability rather than leave it flavour text.
I was going to say we should just modify whatever "sinkhole" ability we gave the Ant Lion, but upon reviewing the Creature Catalog conversion of that monster it doesn't have a special ability.
However, all is not lost. The 3.0 CC version was officially replaced by a 3.5 version in
Sandstorm which does have an appropriate special attack:
Pit (Ex): The pit of a giant ant lion fills four adjacent 5-foot squares and is 20 feet deep. It isn’t hard to recognize, requiring a DC 10 Spot or Survival check to notice. Charging or running characters are not entitled to a check. A creature that does not notice the pit can make a DC 17 Reflex save to avoid falling in.
A creature that falls into the pit begins to slide to the bottom at the rate of 10 feet per round. A DC 17 Climb check is necessary to arrest the slide, and struggling out of the pit requires a DC 22 Climb check.
Alternatively, the 3.5 D&D version of the Gholor Undead Beast from the revised
Bestiary of Krynn has a similar ability:
Funnel (Ex) A gholor uses its burrowing ability to create a funnel-like pit. The funnel is 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep with a 10-foot base that the gholor is partially buried in. Because the gholor reduces the surrounding earth to a soft silt, creatures within 5 feet of the edge of the funnel or in the funnel itself must succeed at a DC 20 Balance check for each square of movement in the funnel. Failure indicates the creature slides one square closer to the gholor. Failing the check by 5 or more causes the creature to slide all the way to the bottom. A creature at the bottom of a gholor’s funnel occupies the same space as the gholor and is treated as if squeezing through a space regardless of size (see squeezing in the Player’s Handbook). As a free action, the gholor can attempt a grapple check to constrict any character in its space, pressing it against the wall of the funnel. Escaping the gholor’s space requires a DC 20 Escape Artist check or a DC 20 Climb check, unless the gholor is grappling with the creature, in which case the character must first escape the grapple.
Of the two, the former seems a better model.
