Real world animal, meet D+D monster

[DMH]

Has anyone ever studied fresh water larvae? A halgamite of small or medium size would be very deadly to a PC leaning over water to get a drink.

Hellgrammites have been done in a Dragon issue (and maybe AEG's Dungeons) and the archerfish has a varient in Minions as an eel that shoots water to catch prey.

 

[edge3343]

I was pushed to thinking about this by this discovery on the Tampa Zoo webpage about sloths- "Only pass urine and stool once every 3-8 days and can loose up to 30% body weight at elimination."

Glad those things don't fly.

 

[Goblyn]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned this yet ... maybe it's too obvious, but I'll throw it out there anyway:

The Komodo Dragon

The largest lizard in the world, it can top 10 feet in length and weigh in at up to 200 pounds. Its inch-long curved and serrated teeth and powerful jaw muscles help complete the picture of a fierce predator that might consume a meal equaling a quarter of its own body weight. Dinner could be a feast of deer, goat, pig or dog, including meat, bones, hooves, hide and intestines. And this dragon also occasionally attacks humans.

It so happens that the creature's saliva is home to 52 different strains of bacteria, some of them known to be highly septic. If the beast doesn't manage to kill its prey on the spot, its bite will introduce germs potent enough to destroy its quarry with a massive infection within 72 hours. But Komodo observers have witnessed these creatures battling each other, and have noticed that they are never sickened by the bacteria-laden saliva of a fellow dragon.

et cetera, et cetera. I like it because it's real live dragon. With a breath weapon. Not a ranged one, but nevertheless.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Glad those things don't fly.

With the right template they can...now talk about a fly bye attack!

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Sometimes just the appearance of a creature is enough to make people go 'wah?'

For example, this angelic being -

Believe it or not that's a sea slug. Anybody want celestial slugs in their games?

The Auld Grump

 

[Space Coyote]

One of the real life creatures that I think is cool is the Archer Fish. The fish takes water into its mouth, then swims to the surface of the water and "spits" a stream of water at a bug that may be hanging on a branch over the water, to knock it into the water. Then the Archer fish gobbles it up There are also those lizards that keep their feet cool in the desert by alternating which foot they stand on. Also, I think that Trapdoor Spiders are pretty cool too.

Edit: oopsie. I just went back and noticed other people had already brought up the Archer Fish

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Some creatures that regenerate by nature will spawn multiple heads or limbs as a result (Planaria leaping to mind). Anybody for three armed, two headed trolls? Just let the limb heal instead of drop off.

Again with Slugs and Planaria, some creatures have vulnerabilities that put the ones in the monster manual to shame. Dehydration is a big one for a lot of creatures - my one encounter with a land planaria ended when the poor thing touched my sock and was instantly dehydrated, leaving nothing but a nasty stain. (No comments about my socks please! ) And everyone knows about slugs and salt.

The Auld Grump

 

[Zappo]

In a D&D world, some malicious fish (or other aquatic creature) could spray jets of water at adventurers walking on a narrow path above a river, or perhaps knock them off a bridge...

There's a fish in the adventure linked to in my sig which evolved in a poisonous Abyssal lake. It can spit water at creatures flying over the lake, and its body concentrates the poison making the spit very toxic. Oddly enough, I didn't know about this real life fish when I wrote that.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Sometimes just the appearance of a creature is enough to make people go 'wah?'

For example, this angelic being -

Believe it or not that's a sea slug. Anybody want celestial slugs in their games?

The Auld Grump

It's truly astounding at the beauty one finds in nature. I may have to change my avatar... LOL

 

[Nebulous]

Aw, what a cute little slug.