Special Conversion Thread: Plants

[Cleon]

Reading this I'm not 100% convinced it shouldn't be a hazard. It may make an attack roll with its "whip", but so does an arrow trap.

Still, I'm game to make it a full monster.

Modify the giant venus fly-trap's abiliy scores slightly?

Fly-Trap: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 6

Strength 21 looks about right.

Dexterity 12 seems too high for "The most passive of all known carnivorous plants". Maybe halve it to 6?

Constitution 14 should probably be way higher. If an average specimen has 100 hit points. It would need a Con of 34-37 to get that many hit points with 6 Hit Dice. That seems way too high, so maybe we should fiddle it. Here are a couple of cheats we could use:

We could give it bonus Hit Points equal to a Construct?
- 6 Plant Hit Dice, Con 24 and +30 bonus hp would give it 99 hit points.

We could give it a "half damage from weapons" SQ and around 50 hit points, so it effectively takes 100 hits to kill?
- 6 Plant Hit Dice and Con 18-19 would give it 51 hit points.

Of those two, I prefer the "half damage" approach, since it's simpler.

Intelligence 2 needs cutting to zero, since it's mindless.

Wisdom 11 might as well stay.

Charisma 6 seems rather high. I'd prefer Cha 3 like a Tendriculos.

Put that together and I propose:

Giant Pitcher Plant: Str 21, Dex 6, Con 18, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 3

 

[Shade]

I'm OK with the proposed ability score adjustments.

A solid "no" to half damage from weapons, but I'd go for damage reduction 10/slashing like a treant.

I don't think construct bonus hps make sense here either.

If we're really concerned about it having 100 hps (I'm not), we should just boost its HD.

 

[Cleon]

I'm OK with the proposed ability score adjustments.

A solid "no" to half damage from weapons, but I'd go for damage reduction 10/slashing like a treant.

I don't think construct bonus hps make sense here either.

If we're really concerned about it having 100 hps (I'm not), we should just boost its HD.

As you like.

I don't think they'd be as tough and woody as a treant, so I'd prefer DR 5/slashing.

What shall we do about trap/consume SA?

They've got a 20-foot reach "whip" with which they pull victims into their pitcher.

An Improved Grab melee attack followed by a modified Swallow Whole?

The Improved Grab is straightforward.

Modifying Swallow Whole to something closer to the giant pitcher plant's special attack will create something quite a difference to the "standard" Swallow Whole, so I think we'd better rename it. I like "Drowning Vase".

How about the following:

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a giant pitcher plant must hit with its tendril attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can attempt to trap the foe in its drowning vase the following round.

Drowning Vase (Ex): A giant pitcher plant can trap grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself inside its vase-shaped body by making a successful grapple check. The vase is half-filled with water, so trapped creatures that can not swim may drown. The trapped creature takes 1d4 points of acid damage per round from the pitcher plant's digestive juices.
​

A trapped creature can try to climb out by making two successive DC X Climb checks, but the inside of the vase is lined with sharp spines which inflicts 2d4 points of piercing damage for each Climb check that is attempted. A trapped creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to reduce the plant's hit points to zero, which causes the entire vase to fall apart and release its contents. If the plant takes 12 hit points of slashing or piercing damage the vase walls will be perforated, causing all the water inside to flow out; the swallowed creatures will then not risk drowning, but will continue to take acid damage.

A Large giant pitcher plant can trap 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents in its drowning vase.
​

 

[freyar]

The thing I never understood is that shouldn't it be possible to drown in the belly of some beast just as much as a pitcher plant?

Rather than the Climb check, couldn't we just use a grapple check like regular Swallow Whole? I'm also not sure you should have to kill the plant to cut your way out. Hmm. Couldn't we maybe just stick drowning into Swallow Whole? I feel like we've done something similar before.

 

[Shade]

Couldn't we maybe just stick drowning into Swallow Whole? I feel like we've done something similar before.

It looks like you did it with your quelzarn.

 

[Cleon]

The thing I never understood is that shouldn't it be possible to drown in the belly of some beast just as much as a pitcher plant?

Rather than the Climb check, couldn't we just use a grapple check like regular Swallow Whole? I'm also not sure you should have to kill the plant to cut your way out. Hmm. Couldn't we maybe just stick drowning into Swallow Whole? I feel like we've done something similar before.

I was basically trying to keep the mechanics as close to the original as I could, expecting to then modify them to taste.

Also you destroy the vase at zero hit points not -10 so you don't have to kill the plant to break its vase.

I was thinking about changing it to the vase breaking when the plant's reduced to under 50% of its full hit points.

 

[freyar]

Hmm, I thought we'd done that with some CC critters too. Well, I like that approach! Cleon, can I convince you to go with a more standard Swallow Whole?

 

[Cleon]

Hmm, I thought we'd done that with some CC critters too. Well, I like that approach! Cleon, can I convince you to go with a more standard Swallow Whole?

Well you can try, but I'm not making any promises.

 

[freyar]

Did I have any luck with that? I think most of the original mechanics fit well with swallow whole, and the common ability might be a little more familiar for a DM to adjudicate.

 

[Cleon]

Did I have any luck with that? I think most of the original mechanics fit well with swallow whole, and the common ability might be a little more familiar for a DM to adjudicate.

Well what "more standard Swallow Whole" are you proposing? You mentioned regular Swallow Whole + Drowning, but what description would you like?

An adaptation of a Tendriculos's Swallow Whole/Paralysis strikes me as a promising approach:

Swallow Whole/Paralysis (Ex): A tendriculos can try to swallow a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple check. Once inside the plant’s mass, the opponent must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 3d6 rounds by the tendriculos’s digestive juices, taking 2d6 points of acid damage per round. A new save is required each round inside the plant. The save DC is Constitution-based. A swallowed creature that avoids paralysis can climb out of the mass with a successful grapple check. This returns it to the plant’s maw, where another successful grapple check is needed to get free. A swallowed creature can also cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the tendriculos’s interior (AC 14). Once the creature exits, the plant’s regenerative capacity closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Huge tendriculos’s interior can hold 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, 128 Tiny, or 512 Diminutive or smaller opponents.

Swallow Whole/Drowning (Ex): A giant pitcher plant can try to swallow a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple check. The interior of the plant is a vase filled with digestive fluids, each round the opponent takes 1d4 points of acid damage and must succeed on a DC15 Swim check or sink under the fluid and risk drowning. A swallowed creature can climb out of the vase with a successful grapple check. This returns it to the plant’s maw, where another successful grapple check is needed to get free. The inside of the vase is lined with needle-sharp spines that do 2d4 piercing damage to the opponent for every grapple attempt they make to escape. A swallowed creature can also cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the giant pitcher plant's interior (same AC and DR as the plant's exterior). Once the creature exits, elastic action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Large giant pitcher plant's interior can hold 2 Medium, 8Small , 32 Tiny, 128 Diminutive or 512 Fine opponents.

Do you like that better?