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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Special Conversion Thread: Plants
- Thread starter Shade
- Start date
Cleon
Legend
I'd like to clean up a typo and a couple of bits of clumsy wording from the rough draft, but apart from that it looks done:
Giant Butterwort (CR 2)
A giant butterwort is a carnivorous plant that can be found growing in many environments, it favors waterlogged ground with acidic or alkaline soil. The plant is a rosette of long, flat leaves spread across a circle from 10 to 15 feet in diameter. A giant butterwort's leaves blend into their surroundings, requiring a DC 20 Spot check to notice.
The leaves are coated in a powerful adhesive, any creature that steps on the leaves will find itself stuck fast unless it can make a DC 20 Strength check to break free. If a giant butterwort plant feels the pressure of a creature between Tiny and Medium size standing upon it, the plant contracts its leaves into a tight ball around its prey; the victim is entitled to attempt a Strength check to escape the adhesive before becoming trapped. A trapped victim is constricted for 1d4 bludgeoning damage plus 2 points of acid damage per round. Trapped victims can be freed by using light slashing or piercing weapons to sever the leaves (AC 13, hp 20) or by killing the plant by severing its stem (AC 13, hp 40). Creatures trapped inside the plant's leaf-ball can not reach its stem.
Giant Butterwort (CR 2)
A giant butterwort is a carnivorous plant that can be found growing in many environments, it favors waterlogged ground with acidic or alkaline soil. The plant is a rosette of long, flat leaves spread across a circle from 10 to 15 feet in diameter. A giant butterwort's leaves blend into their surroundings, requiring a DC 20 Spot check to notice.
The leaves are coated in a powerful adhesive, any creature that steps on the leaves will find itself stuck fast unless it can make a DC 20 Strength check to break free. If a giant butterwort plant feels the pressure of a creature between Tiny and Medium size standing upon it, the plant contracts its leaves into a tight ball around its prey; the victim is entitled to attempt a Strength check to escape the adhesive before becoming trapped. A trapped victim is constricted for 1d4 bludgeoning damage plus 2 points of acid damage per round. Trapped victims can be freed by using light slashing or piercing weapons to sever the leaves (AC 13, hp 20) or by killing the plant by severing its stem (AC 13, hp 40). Creatures trapped inside the plant's leaf-ball can not reach its stem.
Shade
Monster Junkie
Updated.
Here's the pitcher plant...
PITCHER PLANT, Giant
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 2-8
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: See below
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: J, K (10%)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 grab
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Drowning; dissolving
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (5'-8' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/638
The most passive of all known carnivorous plants, the normally small-sized pitcher plant has sometimes evolved into a much larger and more aggressive creature, though it is still not as dangerous as others of its kind. The plant is shaped like a giant green vase made up of toughened base leaves tightly woven together with small vines. There is an opening at the top of the vase, and the plant is usually half to two-thirds full of rainwater.
A whiplike organ, about four inches thick, extends from the lip of the vase's mouth; this whip is 20 feet long and able to attack and coil about a creature (rolling to hit as a 6 HD monster), lift up to 80 lbs.,and drop the prey into the vase. The victim usually drowns in 3-6 rounds unless it can swim; even then, however, the plant releases acids into the water which do 1-4 points of damage per round to the victim until it is eventually killed and dissolved. The acids are not strong enough to harm metals except over very long periods of time, so a victims' money, armor, and weapons will often be found inside the vase. The plant detects nearby prey through a series of pressure-sensitive vines buried within a 10' radius around it. Only those creatures light enough to be lifted up will be attacked.
Rescuing victims trapped inside a pitcher plant can be difficult. If 12 hp of damage can be inflicted on the walls of the plant's vase, the acidic water will leak out, but the victim will still not be able to escape, since sharp spines grow along the inside walls of the plant and prevent all climbing attempts (unless the victim IS very determined, in which case 6-24 points of damage will be inflicted during the escape attempt, successful or not). If 48 hp of damage are inflicted on the walls of the plant, the vase will fall apart, and the victim may escape easily.
The plant has no hit dice as such, but will die if 100 hp of damage or more is inflicted on the vase.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #89 (1984).
Here's the pitcher plant...
PITCHER PLANT, Giant
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 2-8
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: See below
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: J, K (10%)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 grab
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Drowning; dissolving
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (5'-8' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/638
The most passive of all known carnivorous plants, the normally small-sized pitcher plant has sometimes evolved into a much larger and more aggressive creature, though it is still not as dangerous as others of its kind. The plant is shaped like a giant green vase made up of toughened base leaves tightly woven together with small vines. There is an opening at the top of the vase, and the plant is usually half to two-thirds full of rainwater.
A whiplike organ, about four inches thick, extends from the lip of the vase's mouth; this whip is 20 feet long and able to attack and coil about a creature (rolling to hit as a 6 HD monster), lift up to 80 lbs.,and drop the prey into the vase. The victim usually drowns in 3-6 rounds unless it can swim; even then, however, the plant releases acids into the water which do 1-4 points of damage per round to the victim until it is eventually killed and dissolved. The acids are not strong enough to harm metals except over very long periods of time, so a victims' money, armor, and weapons will often be found inside the vase. The plant detects nearby prey through a series of pressure-sensitive vines buried within a 10' radius around it. Only those creatures light enough to be lifted up will be attacked.
Rescuing victims trapped inside a pitcher plant can be difficult. If 12 hp of damage can be inflicted on the walls of the plant's vase, the acidic water will leak out, but the victim will still not be able to escape, since sharp spines grow along the inside walls of the plant and prevent all climbing attempts (unless the victim IS very determined, in which case 6-24 points of damage will be inflicted during the escape attempt, successful or not). If 48 hp of damage are inflicted on the walls of the plant, the vase will fall apart, and the victim may escape easily.
The plant has no hit dice as such, but will die if 100 hp of damage or more is inflicted on the vase.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #89 (1984).
GrayLinnorm
Explorer
For starters, the text says it attacks as a 6 HD monster, so shall we give it 6 hit dice?
And it should be a monster.
And we should handle drowning the same way we did for the giant venus-flytrap.
And it should be a monster.
And we should handle drowning the same way we did for the giant venus-flytrap.
Last edited:
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
My thoughts exactly.
Shade
Monster Junkie
Added to Homebrews.
Here's how we handled the venus fly-trap's grabbing n' drowning mechanic:
Jaws (Ex): Each of a giant venus fly-trap's jaws may make a single bite attack each round. It a jaw hits with its bite attack, the fly-trap 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 swallow the foe the following round. A jaw enganged in a grapple cannot make a bite attack, but the giant venus fly-trap is not considered grappled.
With each of its jaws, a giant venus fly-trap can try to swallow a single grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 1d6+5 points of crushing damage plus 5 points of acid damage per round from the plant's fluids. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 10 points of damage to the jaws (AC 12), destroying that set of jaws (and dealing 5 points of damage to the fly-trap) in the process.
An opponent not currently swallowed can attack a giant venus fly-trap's jaws with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons, but risks injuring the trapped victim (a 50% chance). A giant venus fly-trap's jaws have 10 hit points each. If a giant venus fly-trap is currently grappling a target with the jaw that is being attacked, it usually uses another jaw to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing one of a giant venus fly-trap's jaws deals 5 points of damage to the creature. The creature regrows severed or destroyed jaws in 1 week. A non-swallowed creature may also attempt to free the victim by grappling the fly-trap and succeeding on a second grapple check to open the jaws.
Here's another somewhat similar ability...
Consume (Ex): As a free action, a black willow can create or close a 5-foot-square opening in its body. It can dump an adjacent flat-footed or helpless Medium or smaller creature into such an opening and tilt its limbs as necessary to slide the creature down the black willow’s hollow interior. A conscious creature is entitled to a single DC 23 Reflex save to grab the sides and climb out. In that same round on the black willow’s action, digestive sap rises from the roots and begins to fill the interior. All creatures inside take 1d4 points of acid damage. As the sap continues to fill the chamber, the acid damage increases by 1d4 each round (2d4 points of acid damage in the second round, 3d4 points in the third, and so on) up to a maximum of 10d4 acid damage per round. The acid completely destroys any creature that reaches -10 hit points, preventing any form of raising or resurrection that requires part of the corpse.
A creature in the interior can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 20 points of damage to the black willow’s interior (AC 15). Once the creature exits, the hole closes; another opponent inside must cut its own way out. Once all creatures inside the willow have escaped or been destroyed, the acid drains back into the roots at the same rate it filled the trunk cavity. A Huge black willow's interior can hold 4 Medium, 16 Small, 64 Tiny, or 256 Diminutive or smaller creatures. The save DC is Strength-based.
Here's how we handled the venus fly-trap's grabbing n' drowning mechanic:
Jaws (Ex): Each of a giant venus fly-trap's jaws may make a single bite attack each round. It a jaw hits with its bite attack, the fly-trap 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 swallow the foe the following round. A jaw enganged in a grapple cannot make a bite attack, but the giant venus fly-trap is not considered grappled.
With each of its jaws, a giant venus fly-trap can try to swallow a single grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 1d6+5 points of crushing damage plus 5 points of acid damage per round from the plant's fluids. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 10 points of damage to the jaws (AC 12), destroying that set of jaws (and dealing 5 points of damage to the fly-trap) in the process.
An opponent not currently swallowed can attack a giant venus fly-trap's jaws with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons, but risks injuring the trapped victim (a 50% chance). A giant venus fly-trap's jaws have 10 hit points each. If a giant venus fly-trap is currently grappling a target with the jaw that is being attacked, it usually uses another jaw to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing one of a giant venus fly-trap's jaws deals 5 points of damage to the creature. The creature regrows severed or destroyed jaws in 1 week. A non-swallowed creature may also attempt to free the victim by grappling the fly-trap and succeeding on a second grapple check to open the jaws.
Here's another somewhat similar ability...
Consume (Ex): As a free action, a black willow can create or close a 5-foot-square opening in its body. It can dump an adjacent flat-footed or helpless Medium or smaller creature into such an opening and tilt its limbs as necessary to slide the creature down the black willow’s hollow interior. A conscious creature is entitled to a single DC 23 Reflex save to grab the sides and climb out. In that same round on the black willow’s action, digestive sap rises from the roots and begins to fill the interior. All creatures inside take 1d4 points of acid damage. As the sap continues to fill the chamber, the acid damage increases by 1d4 each round (2d4 points of acid damage in the second round, 3d4 points in the third, and so on) up to a maximum of 10d4 acid damage per round. The acid completely destroys any creature that reaches -10 hit points, preventing any form of raising or resurrection that requires part of the corpse.
A creature in the interior can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 20 points of damage to the black willow’s interior (AC 15). Once the creature exits, the hole closes; another opponent inside must cut its own way out. Once all creatures inside the willow have escaped or been destroyed, the acid drains back into the roots at the same rate it filled the trunk cavity. A Huge black willow's interior can hold 4 Medium, 16 Small, 64 Tiny, or 256 Diminutive or smaller creatures. The save DC is Strength-based.
