Plant creature article for Dragon
- Thread starter BOZ
- Start date
BOZ
Creature Cataloguer
no success on that front, but i finished another part of it:
4. Underdark Plant Creatures
These fungi, molds, and other plant creatures are all found in subterranean realms, waiting to devour anything venturing into the depths. James Jacobs had joked to me that if the ascomoid and zygom were converted, all of "Zuggtmoy's children" would now be represented in 3E.
Carapace (CR 1/4)
This aggressive, symbiotic fungus infests vertebrate creatures, and hardening their skin to make a sort of exoskeletal shell. The creature eventually takes over its host's mind, by replacing spinal and brain tissue with its own fungal matter.
Originally found in Dragon #227/Monstrous Compendium Annual 4.
Kampfult (CR 1)
This gray-green tree-like creature consists of twisting, sinuous cords, forming a trunk-shape and 6 attacking tendrils. This sinewy mugger kills by constriction.
Originally found in Monster Manual II.
Ascomoid (CR 4)
This enormous, spherical puffball fungus attacks by rolling over its enemies. It can also release a deadly spore cloud.
Originally found in Monster Manual II.
Noran (CR 6)
This creature looks like a sickly, petrified treant with long prehensile, whiplike branches that can manipulate small objects and attack. The noran can also spit rocks from its mouth with deadly velocity.
Originally found in Dragon Mountain/Monstrous Compendium Annual 1.
Zygom
The mushroom caps of this fungoid growth contain a highly adhesive glue that spills out when broken. This substance contains spores that infest a living creature, allowing the fungus to take control.
Originally found in Monster Manual II.
Alternates:
Cushion Fungus: large round soft underground fungus releases spore cloud that puts creatures to sleep and absorbed by the fungus (Dragon #172)
Fireweed: underground heat-absorbing plant, immune to fire, converts heat into edible vegetable matter (Dragon #227)
Chromatic Mold: underground spore-producing fungus that fascinates victims, anyone who approaches breathes in a spore cloud and dies to become a new host (Monstrous Compendium Annual 4/Dragon #227)
Brown Mold: feeds on heat, killing creatures by draining the body heat out of them (Monster Manual, 1977).
Yellow Mold: emits a deadly spore cloud, can use suggestion 2/day and drains Intelligence (Monster Manual, 1977).
Serpent Vine: cross between a giant constrictor snake and a plant, lives in subterranean forests, constrict, spell-like abilities (Ruins of Undermountain II/Monstrous Compendium Annual 2)
4. Underdark Plant Creatures
These fungi, molds, and other plant creatures are all found in subterranean realms, waiting to devour anything venturing into the depths. James Jacobs had joked to me that if the ascomoid and zygom were converted, all of "Zuggtmoy's children" would now be represented in 3E.
Carapace (CR 1/4)
This aggressive, symbiotic fungus infests vertebrate creatures, and hardening their skin to make a sort of exoskeletal shell. The creature eventually takes over its host's mind, by replacing spinal and brain tissue with its own fungal matter.
Originally found in Dragon #227/Monstrous Compendium Annual 4.
Kampfult (CR 1)
This gray-green tree-like creature consists of twisting, sinuous cords, forming a trunk-shape and 6 attacking tendrils. This sinewy mugger kills by constriction.
Originally found in Monster Manual II.
Ascomoid (CR 4)
This enormous, spherical puffball fungus attacks by rolling over its enemies. It can also release a deadly spore cloud.
Originally found in Monster Manual II.
Noran (CR 6)
This creature looks like a sickly, petrified treant with long prehensile, whiplike branches that can manipulate small objects and attack. The noran can also spit rocks from its mouth with deadly velocity.
Originally found in Dragon Mountain/Monstrous Compendium Annual 1.
Zygom
The mushroom caps of this fungoid growth contain a highly adhesive glue that spills out when broken. This substance contains spores that infest a living creature, allowing the fungus to take control.
Originally found in Monster Manual II.
Alternates:
Cushion Fungus: large round soft underground fungus releases spore cloud that puts creatures to sleep and absorbed by the fungus (Dragon #172)
Fireweed: underground heat-absorbing plant, immune to fire, converts heat into edible vegetable matter (Dragon #227)
Chromatic Mold: underground spore-producing fungus that fascinates victims, anyone who approaches breathes in a spore cloud and dies to become a new host (Monstrous Compendium Annual 4/Dragon #227)
Brown Mold: feeds on heat, killing creatures by draining the body heat out of them (Monster Manual, 1977).
Yellow Mold: emits a deadly spore cloud, can use suggestion 2/day and drains Intelligence (Monster Manual, 1977).
Serpent Vine: cross between a giant constrictor snake and a plant, lives in subterranean forests, constrict, spell-like abilities (Ruins of Undermountain II/Monstrous Compendium Annual 2)
BOZ
Creature Cataloguer
and... the last part. if there is nothing further to say about the query or proposals contained therein, i will e-mail it to the editors on Monday.
5. Plant creatures
These plant creatures didn't really seem to me to fit into any of the above categories, but there are some really cool critters in here. The theme? They are all plants! Who needs more than that (see article in Dragon #292)? Some of this variety is malevolent, some benevolent.
Hellseed (CR 12)
This terror from the outer planes looks like a tree with humanoid shape, covered in pustules containing its spores. It casts spells as a druid, and exudes an aura that causes plants to twist and grow to become deadly, and transforms creatures of nature into evil parodies of themselves.
New creature.
Fungoid (CR 7)
This ogre-sized fungus creature has soft puffy white skin, and attacks with 2 slams to knock down foes. It is believed that the fungoid exists to avenge murders.
(OD&D/Mystara)
Vegepygmy/Thorny/Russet Mold
These "mold men" are semi-intelligent tribal, humanoid creatures. The thorny serves as a pet to the vegepygmy, as a dog made of wood and leaves, and its thorns imbed themselves into opponents. New vegepygmies are created by russet mold, which releases a deadly spore cloud, transforming creatures that die from exposure.
Originally found in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks/Monster Manual II.
Dusanu (CR 5)
This creature looks like an undead at first glance, but is actually a strange mold that animates and controls a skeleton. The rot fiend's fungus is released in a spore cloud, and changes a victim into a new dusanu.
Originally found in D&D Setting/Mystara.
Algoid (CR 4)
This humanoid-shaped colony of green algae has a mind blast like that of the mind flayer, and can animate trees like a treant.
Originally found in Fiend Folio.
Bohun Tree
The fruit of this massive, evil tree can put creatures to sleep or cause them to suffocate, and is poisonous if eaten. The tree itself can fire thorns like arrows, and its roots can hold creatures still to better hit them with the thorn-arrows.
Originally found in Dragon #89.
Alternates:
Campestri: tiny mushroom people like to sing and dance to music and can recreate any sound they have ever heard. Their spores slow victims. (Dungeon #41, MC Annual #1)
Faerie Phiz: fey-like face appearing on enchanted wood, spit extinguishes flame and irritates skin, casts spells as both wizard and druid, has sagelike knowledge (Dragon #191)
Aartuk: marauding alien star-shaped plant-men, can wrap their tongue around an opponent to draw them in for a bite attack, as well as spread their deadly disease. (Spelljammer MC)
Quickwood: "spy tree" is a sentient neutral creature can seize creatures with its roots, can possess oak trees, and bite with its mouth orifice, and spells cast at it are reflected back as fear effects. (Monster Manual II)
Zombie Plant: shrub can psionically attract victims to eat its berries, which cause Int drain and make them slaves of the plant. semi-intelligent, immobile, does not eat prey. (Dark Sun MC 1)
Clubthorn: relative of holly tree has roots that entangle, and clubs with wooden limbs (Dragon #167)
Helborn: evil plant has empathy and spell-like abilities, constricts, traps creatures in its mouth (Dragon #167)
Oblivax: memory moss is a black moss that steals memories from intelligent creatures, as well as prepared spells from spellcasters. eating the moss gives these stolen properties to a creature. (Monster Manual II)
Gakarak: ancient treant-kin with a hatred for humanoids (who abuse the trees of its forest); can control plants within 1000 feet and animate trees and bushes, can teleport from one plant to another, and a wide array of other abilities. (D&D/Mystara)
Rekeihs: mobile bulbous carnivorous plant, suction cup tentacle attack rips skin off, has resistance to cold (Dragon #94)
5. Plant creatures
These plant creatures didn't really seem to me to fit into any of the above categories, but there are some really cool critters in here. The theme? They are all plants! Who needs more than that (see article in Dragon #292)? Some of this variety is malevolent, some benevolent.
Hellseed (CR 12)
This terror from the outer planes looks like a tree with humanoid shape, covered in pustules containing its spores. It casts spells as a druid, and exudes an aura that causes plants to twist and grow to become deadly, and transforms creatures of nature into evil parodies of themselves.
New creature.
Fungoid (CR 7)
This ogre-sized fungus creature has soft puffy white skin, and attacks with 2 slams to knock down foes. It is believed that the fungoid exists to avenge murders.
(OD&D/Mystara)
Vegepygmy/Thorny/Russet Mold
These "mold men" are semi-intelligent tribal, humanoid creatures. The thorny serves as a pet to the vegepygmy, as a dog made of wood and leaves, and its thorns imbed themselves into opponents. New vegepygmies are created by russet mold, which releases a deadly spore cloud, transforming creatures that die from exposure.
Originally found in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks/Monster Manual II.
Dusanu (CR 5)
This creature looks like an undead at first glance, but is actually a strange mold that animates and controls a skeleton. The rot fiend's fungus is released in a spore cloud, and changes a victim into a new dusanu.
Originally found in D&D Setting/Mystara.
Algoid (CR 4)
This humanoid-shaped colony of green algae has a mind blast like that of the mind flayer, and can animate trees like a treant.
Originally found in Fiend Folio.
Bohun Tree
The fruit of this massive, evil tree can put creatures to sleep or cause them to suffocate, and is poisonous if eaten. The tree itself can fire thorns like arrows, and its roots can hold creatures still to better hit them with the thorn-arrows.
Originally found in Dragon #89.
Alternates:
Campestri: tiny mushroom people like to sing and dance to music and can recreate any sound they have ever heard. Their spores slow victims. (Dungeon #41, MC Annual #1)
Faerie Phiz: fey-like face appearing on enchanted wood, spit extinguishes flame and irritates skin, casts spells as both wizard and druid, has sagelike knowledge (Dragon #191)
Aartuk: marauding alien star-shaped plant-men, can wrap their tongue around an opponent to draw them in for a bite attack, as well as spread their deadly disease. (Spelljammer MC)
Quickwood: "spy tree" is a sentient neutral creature can seize creatures with its roots, can possess oak trees, and bite with its mouth orifice, and spells cast at it are reflected back as fear effects. (Monster Manual II)
Zombie Plant: shrub can psionically attract victims to eat its berries, which cause Int drain and make them slaves of the plant. semi-intelligent, immobile, does not eat prey. (Dark Sun MC 1)
Clubthorn: relative of holly tree has roots that entangle, and clubs with wooden limbs (Dragon #167)
Helborn: evil plant has empathy and spell-like abilities, constricts, traps creatures in its mouth (Dragon #167)
Oblivax: memory moss is a black moss that steals memories from intelligent creatures, as well as prepared spells from spellcasters. eating the moss gives these stolen properties to a creature. (Monster Manual II)
Gakarak: ancient treant-kin with a hatred for humanoids (who abuse the trees of its forest); can control plants within 1000 feet and animate trees and bushes, can teleport from one plant to another, and a wide array of other abilities. (D&D/Mystara)
Rekeihs: mobile bulbous carnivorous plant, suction cup tentacle attack rips skin off, has resistance to cold (Dragon #94)
These two sound quite similar. Maybe swap one of these out, for the sake of diversity? Of the two, I like the Carapace least - sounds more like a disease (e.g. Lycanthropy) than an actual plant. We never see its plant form, it doesn't behave like a plant, it doesn't look like a plant...BOZ said:
Edible to humans? I.e. underground explorers would simply take a long some tinder and some Fireweed instead of rations?
Sounds a little too similar to Brown Mold
Note that Brown and Yellow Mold (along with Green Slime and Phosphorescent Fungus) are already part of the SRD - no need to reprint those. (In the "Wilderness, Weather, and Environment" section. They were accidentally left out of the SRD originally, but were added back in later.)
BOZ said:
Ooh... got a new idea!
How many fantasy stories contain a guardian tree, planted as a ward to imprison a great evil? Now there's a cool plant stereotype that hasn't been covered yet!
Let's see... immobile, telepathic, LG, only mildly intelligent (they never seem to be great talkers, once you do get to talk to them...); Guards and Wards, Consecrate, Hallow, Glyph of Warding, Dimensional Lock, maybe Antimagic Field.
Too much overlap with Carapace/Zygom?BOZ said:
Now *those* are cool! Could we upgrade these from "alternate" status, pretty please? They're quite different from most of the other plant we have in there, and very flavorful. *Much* better than "yet another plant critter that tries to kill and eat you"...
Overall, I don't care much for the walking, talking plant varieties. If it doesn't look like a plant, doesn't behave like a plant, it might as well be an abberation, an outsider, or heck - even a monstrous humanoid.
BOZ
Creature Cataloguer
OK, here is the query as I've worked it out so far, after some thought on my part and modifying it based on your comments.
As to the burnflower and pilfer vine, since I wasn't having any alternates for proposal #1, I'm going to just leave them in there for now. Just because they seem silly from the sentence or two I wrote about them does not mean they can't be made more useful.
and if we really can't think of something, we can always ditch them later.
Mandragora will stay as written in the old MM2, but we can always add to it using mythological sources when/if we write that article.
The carapace and zygom are very similar in the fact that they are infesting fungi that take control over their host. So yes, one should go to alternate status. Though the carapace was notably popular on the polls, the zygom was a more classic critter, and I think that will help the article's acceptance. If you think I'm wrong by making that choice, let me know.
Brown mold and yellow mold have been removed - my bad. I forgot that they were in the DMG. Noticing that I had left them off the polls for *some* reason I said, "uhoh, better not forget them!"
Guardian tree - we have the quickwood for that already, don't we?
The dusanu does not overlap with the carapace and zygom, since they are in a separate proposal. besides, that is a particularly popular critter 'round these parts, and I would not want to remove it.
Conaill likes the Faerie Phiz but Shade likes the Bohun Tree... is there room for both in the same article?
Well, any additional comments before I send this one off?
As to the burnflower and pilfer vine, since I wasn't having any alternates for proposal #1, I'm going to just leave them in there for now. Just because they seem silly from the sentence or two I wrote about them does not mean they can't be made more useful.
and if we really can't think of something, we can always ditch them later.Mandragora will stay as written in the old MM2, but we can always add to it using mythological sources when/if we write that article.
The carapace and zygom are very similar in the fact that they are infesting fungi that take control over their host. So yes, one should go to alternate status. Though the carapace was notably popular on the polls, the zygom was a more classic critter, and I think that will help the article's acceptance. If you think I'm wrong by making that choice, let me know.
Brown mold and yellow mold have been removed - my bad.
I forgot that they were in the DMG. Noticing that I had left them off the polls for *some* reason I said, "uhoh, better not forget them!" Guardian tree - we have the quickwood for that already, don't we?
The dusanu does not overlap with the carapace and zygom, since they are in a separate proposal.
besides, that is a particularly popular critter 'round these parts, and I would not want to remove it.Conaill likes the Faerie Phiz but Shade likes the Bohun Tree... is there room for both in the same article?
Well, any additional comments before I send this one off?
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