Ideas for Swamp Encounters

[MerakSpielman]

A pool coated with algae... except it's green slime.

Tendriculi don't seem to be used that often.

Olive slime and the accompanying horde of zombies would be fun.

Or maybe a Crystal Ooze?

I always liked Rot Grubs, and in 3.x your players will never be expecting them.


Now that I think about it, the above could be put together into a swamp-abandoned temple rather well. Green slime everywhere. In the center of the slime area is an Olive Slime, with a mess of zombies lurking just beneath the surface. Several zombies could be infested with Rot Grubs. The basement/crypts of the temple would be flooded, and the crystal ooze could have set up a home.

 

[DaveStebbins]

When I ran a lower-level swamp adventure I did the shambling mound/swamp thing bit. He was a sort of NPC. They heard rumors about the horrible bog wump. After they entered the swamp he started shadowing the group out of sight. Occasionally they'd hear something, but there would be nothing to see when they investigated. It really freaked the players out and they were taking ALL kinds of precautions. As long as they weren't doing anything nasty in or to 'his' swamp, he was just curious. One time at night they heard all sorts of crashing and bird-like screeches not far off. By the time they got there to investigate, all they found were the remains of a horse-sized spider, recently pulped. The 'mound actually had the effect of lessening the random enounters they would have faced as long as he remained interested in them.

Later, they battled the evil cultists in the swamp temple and the high priest got away. They couldn't follow him, but eventually found him in the same condition as the spider. They never saw the thing, but were really glad they didn't have to face the bog wump, which remains a group story to this day.

-Dave

 

[NewJeffCT]

I lich leading a tribe of lizard men / lizard folk. The temple is some sort of holy ground to the lizard folk and they have their own shaman/adepts and some other swampy creatures under their control (scrags/water trolls, giant snakes, etc)

 

[alsih2o]

i think a swamp provides a lot of opportunities for non-monster encounters.

the odd lights and weird sounds can cause a bit of resource wasting with nothing but natural phenomenon. this kind of stuff may not be as effective against a party of that level but-

swamp lights- little bits of odd fungus that drift down off trees that spread a purple or green light.

gasses- odd pockets of gas that arise when areas are disturbed. nothing deadly, but the effects can cause a panicky player to burn spells. or the corruption of the site causes occasional seepage of anti-magic gasses.

something harmlessly haggy- the traditional cauldron in a swamp, but with some variant, 3 sets of footprints and blah blah. the site can be completely vacated, but will keep them on their toes.

leeches- they eat time if you deal with them, con if you don't. and that magical tomb over there has changed some of them, bring new diseases to the swamp....

play up the foriegnness of the environment. look up bog plants, venus flytraps and pitcher plants. nice, passive carnivorous plants, maybe developing mettalic lures or light magical auras as bait rather than sweet nectar

 

[Pants]

The PC's could run into a fairly mean group of Bog Giants (FF) which are led by one that has a bunch of Ranger levels along with the aformentioned Fiendish Dire Crocodile Mount.

A tribe of Lizardfolk could have built up a small village surrounding the Temple. Perhaps the Shaman of the tribe has turned the upper levels into his personal abode along with a troupe of Lizardfolk Adepts. However, the Shaman found something odd in the depths of the Temple that infused him with Fiendish energies, granting him the Half-Fiend Template, while his adepts have been turned into Fiendish Lizardfolk.

A small, completely insane sect of Druids who worship the swamplands could have made the swamp their home. They could be served by Blighted Treants (template from Unapproachable East), Tendriculous, Vine Horrors, and Shambling Mounds. Perhaps the Druids are looking for something that will turn the rest of the land into one giant swamp.

For a really tough encounter, a Wastrilith (CR 17 Demon from the FF) was long ago banished to the Prime by something and has made the Temple its home. It has enslaved some of the local creatures, including a Black-Dragon Headed Chimera, a host of Chuuls, a couple of Scrags, and it has also pulled some strings to bring a couple of Skulvyns to the Prime. Perhaps it has also enslaved a tribe of Lizardfolk and rules them through the local Adept.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Illness! Hit them with the fever, the runs, the things that will make them hate the swamp. Could be poison from plants too, damn ivy!

Swarms! The biting flys!

Other things, the barge or ship lost in a flood, torn away and lost form the river.

Meet the Hag! The hermit, the witch doctor.

 

[Shallown]

JOeG - NO I don't always run to challeneg the party I liek to run somethings that are interesting/cool but let the party show how far they have come and how tough they really are. I have MM 3.5 MMII, Monsters faerun, tome of horrors. I often customize finding some monsters/encounters to fit a place/environment that is perfect but they may not challenge the party so I advance them or add character levels. I try to avoid anything bizarre but I am willing to ignore rules becuase fairness and fun are more the goal than worrying about giving a monster a character class when they are suppose to advance by HD.

Painfull I plan to make being in the swamp really tough environementally. my players tend to ignore the environment unless it is thrown in their face. I had fun throwing them to the bottom of the ocaen even when they were prepared I made a mess with silt rising up when they hit bottom. It was fun remindingthem how different/alien other envrinments are. I plan to reptile them out pretty bad.

Merak _ I'll add oozes and such to my list of potential nasties. I plan for the temple to be slimey and half submerged in mud. Oozes may make that mud just a little bit scarier.

Dave - Good idea. My party can be driven to extremes with paranioa. I just have to be carefull not to sidetract them too badly.

NewJeff -Instead of lizardmen (which they would expect) How about some tough kobolds. I lika' the Kobolds.

Thanks Alisho I have to make notes on the margen of my paper work about environemntal things since I sometimes get going and forget where they are. I did the same thing for the underdark always remebering the dark and quiet etc. I have to remind them where they are and why no one usually goes there by choice. I'll have to do the same with the swamp, little flavor things that remind them of the world around.

Thanks all

 

[Nifft]

Ghouls -- very frightening when they use the environment + the fact that they don't have to breathe. Likewise Shadows.

From the MM2, the Leechwalker jumps out and screams "SWAMP!"

Druids are really scarry in swamps. Trackless Stride, Wild Shape, Call Lightning, Soften Earth & Stone -- they can make the swamp really deadly.

Make the temple half-submerged in water, so that they have to fight the ghouls & shadows underwater -- very few usable spells!

A Glabrezu is the perfect "power behind the throne" -- it's the right CR, and it exists to tempt mortals to evil with power. Put in a Succubus in Lizard-girl form, who appears to the party in human form warning them that there are rebel Lizardmen who want to overthrow the rightful King -- which is true, but the King is evil because of the Succubus & Glabrezu's manipulations.

Civil war is always cool, and if the party helps significantly, they've gained an allied kingdom.

(Why does the Glabrezu want to corrupt this kingdom? To re-instate human sacrifice, so that the blood will feed its Demon-Prince master, who used to rule this temple. So, if the party fights the rebels, their "reward" will be the honor of being a sacrifice. The Succubus in human-girl-form assures the party that humans are accepted as equals by the kingdom, and tries to divert them from seeing any human slaves or human sacrifices.)

-- N

 

[the Jester]

Play up the environment- everything's wet, it stinks, there are lots of bugs (Fort saves against disease), food spoils and rots, etc.

I ran a cool swamp adventure years ago for low-level characters where they fought grungs (poisonous frog-people)- it was a good time. What level are the pcs in your game?

 

[shilsen]

I give you...SWAMP THING!

I threw this together for another DM a little over a year ago, and never got to use it myself, so I can't say how balanced it is. Also, it's pre-3.5. But maybe you (or anyoen else) can get some use out of it.

ELEMENTAL, SWAMP
SIZE/TYPE: Large Elemental
HIT DICE: 16d8+112 (184 hp)
INITIATIVE: -1
SPEED: 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
AC: 20 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +12 natural)
ATTACKS: Slams +21/16/11
DAMAGE: Slam 2d8+15
FACE/REACH: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Destroy objects, duplicate self, spell-like abilities
SPECIAL QUALITIES: DR 10/+2, elemental qualities, fire vulnerability, regeneration 3, spell-like abilities, travel through the green
SAVES: Fort +17, Ref +4, Will +8
ABILITIES: Str 30, Dex 8, Con 25, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 17
SKILLS: Hide +15*, Knowledge (Nature) +9, Listen +11, Sense Motive +11, Spot +11, Swim +18, Wilderness Lore +11
FEATS: Blindfight, Cleave, Power Attack, Sunder
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Swamp
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
CHALLENGE RATING: 12
TREASURE: None
ALIGNMENT: Always Neutral or Neutral Good
ADVANCEMENT RANGE: 17-24 (Huge)

DESCRIPTION
Unlike most elementals, swamp elementals seem native to the Material Planes. Appearing as large, vaguely humanoid creatures composed of mud, vegetation, and other swamp detritus, they often act (knowingly or unknowingly) as the guardians of their boggy homes. Some scholars theorize swamp elementals are created by nature in response to a great need, such as an impending invasion or unnatural catastrophe, while others believe they are created accidentally, an “aberrant” elemental, but neither theory has been conclusively proven.

Despite their fearsome appearance, swamp elementals are largely peaceful and sedentary. If left alone, they will remain rooted to one spot for centuries, communing with nature and higher intelligences on the elemental planes. However, when the swamps are endangered they are roused from their slumber and attack with the elemental fury of a hurricane. Druids revere swamp elementals and often designate their domains as holy places, erecting rune-covered pillars to warn away travelers who might inadvertently draw the elemental’s wrath. In times of war, however, the druids may purposefully lead or drive an enemy into the elemental’s territory.

COMBAT
Swamp elementals possess great strength and can do terrible damage with their knotted, club-like fists. However, their true power lies in their ability to manipulate plant life (including their own mostly vegetable forms) and the environment.

Destroy Object (Ex): A swamp elemental that takes a full attack against an object or structure deals double damage.

Duplicates (Sp): As a standard action, a swamp elemental can animate vegetable matter within 180 ft to form a creature like itself. This effect occurs at 12th caster level. It takes one full round for this duplicate to form, after which it can move at a speed of 20 ft and attack. The duplicate is in all physical ways like the originating swamp elemental, but it lacks the latter's spell-like and supernatural abilities. A swamp elemental can control two such duplicates at a time. If the elemental itself is slain or incapacitated, the duplicate collapses into inert matter. A mortally wounded swamp elemental can pass its consciousness into a duplicate (which essentially becomes the original elemental in every way), but this takes three full rounds of concentration.

Elemental Qualities: Immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning. Elementals are not subject to critical hits or flanking.

Fire Vulnerability (Ex): Swamp elementals are partially susceptible to fire, taking 1 additional point of damage per die from fire-based attacks.

Regeneration (Ex): A swamp elemental in contact with vegetable matter regenerates damage. Fire and cold do normal damage to it. If a swamp elemental loses a limb or body part, it regrows in 3d6 minutes. It can reattach the severed member by holding it to the stump.

Spell-like Abilities: At will - Detect Animals or Plants (only plants), Speak with Plants; 3/day - Summon Swarm; 1/day - Diminish Plant, Plant Growth. These abilities are used as cast by a 5th lvl Sorceror (DC 13 + spell level). Although it is not a true plant, a swamp elemental may use the Plant Growth spell on itself. The result is to halve or double its HD and increase/decrease its size one increment, with changes to ability scores, hp, attacks, saves, as per the MM. This effect lasts only 1 minute.

Skills: *A swamp elemental receives a +12 racial bonus to hide checks within the bounds of any swampy area (included above).

Travel through the Green (Su): A swamp elemental can enter the vegetation below it as a full-round action and reappear anywhere else that there is vegetation. Within the bounds of its own swamp, this ability is usable at will and has no range limit. Outside its swamp, it is equivalent to a tree stride spell cast by a 9th lvl druid, with a range of 500 ft and usable through any vegetative surface.