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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BOZ" data-source="post: 50339" data-attributes="member: 1241">GOLDEN AMMONITEMedium-Size Magical Beast (aquatic)Hit Dice: 8d10+40 (84 hp)Initiative:  -1 (Dex)Speed: Swim 5 ft.AC:  17 (-1 Dex, +8 natural)Attacks:  10 tentacles +10 meleeDamage:  Tentacle 1d4+2Face/Reach:  5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ftSpecial Attacks:  Blinding, improved grab, constriction, drainingSpecial Qualities:  Immunities, blindsight, tremorsense, cold resistance 15, regeneration, SR 29Saves:  Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +1Abilities:  Str 14, Dex 8, Con 20, Int 4, Wis 8, Cha 6Skills:  Listen +4, Search +3, Swim +3Feats:  Alertness, Improved InitiativeClimate/Terrain:  Cold or temperate aquaticOrganization:  Solitary, or clutch (1-3)Challenge Rating:  9Treasure:  None (but the golden shell is priceless)Alignment:  Always neutralAdvancement:  9-12 HD (Medium-Size), 13-16 HD (Large)The legendary golden ammonites are sea-dwelling octopoids that live in great coiled shells like hermit crabs.  The body and tentacles of a golden ammonite are dark brown with spots of black.  The shell, however, is made of pure, solid gold; each shell is 6'-8' in diameter and weighs between 1,200 and 1,800 pounds.  So rare and beautiful are these shells that they can be sold for up to 150,000 gp each, if a buyer who can afford one can be found.   A golden ammonite has two great fist-sized multifaceted eyes on either side of its body that project just beyond the rim of its golden shell.  The eyes rotate independently and each can thus target a creature in any direction as long as the line of sight is not physically blocked.  Its eyes are not especially remarkable in power, as they are very nearsighted and work best when a lighted object is within 30 feet, though they can detect light and heat sources to 120 feet.   While most of its soft body is protected, the creature has 10 tentacles it can use to drag itself slowly across the ocean floor.  These tentacles can stretch out up to 12' away from the main body.     The golden ammonites do not speak or communicate by sound.  Sages guess that they might have a language based on touch, sound waves, tentacle sign language, or some other medium, but no proof of this exists. COMBATAny being approaching within 90 feet of this monster is made the focus of a *light ball* attack.  If attacked physically, these creatures are just as likely to fight with their tentacles as to crawl back into their shells and seal themselves up, in which state their soft parts cannot be harmed by attacks.  If beings come within grappling range, the golden ammonite can lash out with its tentacles at up to ten opponents.   Note that the natural armor on the soft parts of the creature (head and tentacles) is only +2.  Anyone attacking the creature has only a 50% chance of hitting these parts, all of the rest of the attacks hitting and damaging the shell.  Called shots can hit one of the eyes, and any amount of damage destroys an eye instantly.  The creature withdraws into its shell immediately if it loses an eye, staying put for hours while it regenerates all of its damage.  A single blow with an edged weapon that inflicts 8 or more points of damage, or on a critical hit, will sever a tentacle.   Blinding (Su): Each eye can independently launch a small globe of magical light that looks much like a fireball, one foot in diameter, at its chosen target each round, usually targeting the largest creature in a group first.  A victim must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 19) against the *light ball* or be struck in the face by the magically guided missile.  Any aquatic creature with eyes is instantly blinded and will flee this attack.  A surface dweller suffers a -4 penalty on all attacks, and is also blinded.  This light ball has the brilliance of a daylight spell, and can be removed by a dispel magic spell if it succeeds against the ability of an 8th-level sorceror.  If the victim is blinded for more than 10 minutes, however, his eyesight is permanently damaged and a wish, heal, or cure blindness spell is required to cure his condition.   Improved Grab (Ex):  To use this ability, the ammonite must hit an opponent of Medium-size or smaller with its at least one of its tentacles.  If it gets a hold, it constricts and drains blood.   Constrict (Ex):  A golden ammonite deals automatic tentacle rake damage each round with a successful grapple check against Medium-size or smaller creatures.  The tentacles will constrict until the foe is dead, or the golden ammonite has been slain or driven back into its shell.   Drain (Ex):  The suckers on each of an ammonite's tentacles are capable of drawing out the vital fluids in a victim's body.  The draining damage caused by each tentacle is equal to 20 minus the victim's Armor Class rating, not counting Dexterity or shield bonuses, as a measure of how many suckers can be fixed to the victim's skin.  Thus, an armored man with AC 15 receives 1d4+2 points of damage per round from the constriction and +5 more from the blood drain.   Immunities (Ex):  A golden ammonite's thought patterns are so alien that telepathy and ESP are useless in communicating with them, and produce only confused and frightening results.  Psionic attacks and spells that affect the mind are similarly rendered worthless.  They are effectively immune to all mind-influencing attacks, including Illusions and Enchantments.  While not immune to magic altogether, they are amazingly resistant to spells of all sorts.   Because of its soft, elastic body, this creature takes half-damage from all blunt weapons.  Many weapons cannot be used underwater anyway because of physical constraints.  Any weapons that strike the shell of the golden ammonite have half of their impact absorbed as well.  (Thus, a blunt weapon used on its shell causes only one-quarter damage.)   Tremorsense (Ex):  This creature's skin is fantastically pressure sensitive, so any sound of motion within 600 feet of it is instantly detected, ruling out all surprise even if an approaching being is magically silenced.  Blinding this creature with light spells is very easy, but as a tactic is useless, as the creature can "see" its environment far better with its skin's "sonar sense," which is obviously not hindered by such spells.   Regeneration (Ex):  The golden ammonite regenerates damage to its soft body at a rate of 1 hit point per minute.  The creature's eyes regenerate completely in 4d6 hours, and it can regrow severed tentacles completely in a few weeks.  Shell damage can be regrown in 7-12 months. SOCIETYThese large-shelled mollusks feed upon the debris and minerals on the sea floor.  Gold is extracted from the sludgy silt of the ocean floors that this monster consumes.  This metal is then deposited on the creature's shell, creating an eerily beautiful coiled wonder that gives this beast its name.  The golden ammonite's shell is valued at an average of 50,000 to 80,000 gold pieces, and the most impressive specimens can fetch even more.  The wealthiest of surface-dwelling buyers often pay exorbitant amounts for one of these shells, and some undersea races see them as priceless.  Each point of damage inflicted on a shell reduces its overall value by 1,000 gold pieces, to a minimum of 10,000 gold pieces, which would essentially be a smashed shell.   The golden ammonite has adapted to the crushing darkness of the bottoms of great marine trenches, where savage ghastly monsters are rumored to live.  Little is known of these dangerous regions, into which it is said even sahuagin fear to venture.  So far, this creature is found only in the deepest oceanic canyons, at depths below 1,000 feet, in the coldest and darkest regions of the sea.  It moves slowly about the ocean floor, grazing on whatever food it can find.  Golden ammonites collect no treasure or property, and they manufacture no known items.  The shells of these beings have never been found empty, and no young have ever been seen.  Their lifespans are probably very long, perhaps in the hundreds if not thousands of years.  The origin of the ammonite's golden shell is as obscure as the details of its day-to-day existence.  All that can be said is that it slowly makes its way through the undersea world and most natural predators seem to leave it alone.   If golden ammonites have anything resembling a society, it is yet to be discovered.  Now and then, an Eye of the Deep will be found with these creatures.  When this occurs, the beholder-kin apparently acts as an ally, for the golden ammonite does not attack it in any way.  Aside from consuming the carcasses of dead creatures and sea-floor debris, the effect that the golden ammonite has on its environment has yet to be unveiled.The golden ammonite first appeared in DRAGON Magazine #48.  (it was also featured in MC11, and MC Annual 4, from where this description was taken.)</blockquote>

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