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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
Is that it then?
Shade
Monster Junkie
It appears so. Next!
Explodestool
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 10-100
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: 1 hit point
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 explosion
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2
SPECIAL ATTACKS : Deafening
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (1 inch high, 2 inch diameter)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: I/8
Explodestools appear to be normal, edible mushrooms, and are only discernible for what they are by a ranger or druid of 5th level or higher, or by a sage who has studied plants and fungi. They are 50% likely to be found with normal mushrooms, and they grow anywhere above or below ground where other fungi grow.
If a ripe explodestool is touched, it will explode like a firecracker, doing 1-2 hp damage to the disturber and 1 hp damage to all others within a 10' radius of it. All beings within 10' will be deafened for 1 turn if they fail a saving throw vs, paralyzation. The deafening causes a ringing sound in the victim's ears. This ringing has a chance of ruining a spell that the victim is trying to cast if the spell has a verbal component (because the ability to hear has a great effect on the quality of one's speech). The chance of failure is 50 % minus 1 % per level of the caster, plus 1 % per level of the spell. Thus, a 12th-level magic-user trying to cast a cloudkill spell has a 43 % chance (50% -12 % +5%) of having the spell ruined if he is deafened before the casting ends.
A bursting explodestool has a 90 % chance to set off any other explodestool within a 10' radius of it. This phenomenon can cause a chain reaction that can be devastating to a group. (A separate saving throw vs. deafness must be attempted for every explodestool that is set off within 10' of a potential victim.) Explodestools can be destroyed by fire or cold-based attacks without setting them off, but any attack involving physical contact with a ripe explodestool will cause it to burst – including a real blow from a weapon such as a frost brand or flame tongue sword. However, these weapons will kill an explodestool if they are held near it without touching it.
When an explodestool bursts, it scatters spores in a 50' radius if there is no wind, or up to 200' away in the direction of the wind current if one exists. These spores can be collected and stored in a dry container for up to a month without losing their potency. It takes four days for an explodestool to become fully grown from a spore and able to explode. Most explodestool colonies have immature specimens growing on the edge of the colony, so adventurers will usually have trouble identifying an explodestool colony untd they are in the middle of the group.
Some castle owners plant explodestools (often mixed with normal mushrooms, so the enemy won't know where it's safe to step) around the structure's outer walls as a warning and protection device.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #89 (1984).
Explodestool
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 10-100
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: 1 hit point
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 explosion
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2
SPECIAL ATTACKS : Deafening
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (1 inch high, 2 inch diameter)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: I/8
Explodestools appear to be normal, edible mushrooms, and are only discernible for what they are by a ranger or druid of 5th level or higher, or by a sage who has studied plants and fungi. They are 50% likely to be found with normal mushrooms, and they grow anywhere above or below ground where other fungi grow.
If a ripe explodestool is touched, it will explode like a firecracker, doing 1-2 hp damage to the disturber and 1 hp damage to all others within a 10' radius of it. All beings within 10' will be deafened for 1 turn if they fail a saving throw vs, paralyzation. The deafening causes a ringing sound in the victim's ears. This ringing has a chance of ruining a spell that the victim is trying to cast if the spell has a verbal component (because the ability to hear has a great effect on the quality of one's speech). The chance of failure is 50 % minus 1 % per level of the caster, plus 1 % per level of the spell. Thus, a 12th-level magic-user trying to cast a cloudkill spell has a 43 % chance (50% -12 % +5%) of having the spell ruined if he is deafened before the casting ends.
A bursting explodestool has a 90 % chance to set off any other explodestool within a 10' radius of it. This phenomenon can cause a chain reaction that can be devastating to a group. (A separate saving throw vs. deafness must be attempted for every explodestool that is set off within 10' of a potential victim.) Explodestools can be destroyed by fire or cold-based attacks without setting them off, but any attack involving physical contact with a ripe explodestool will cause it to burst – including a real blow from a weapon such as a frost brand or flame tongue sword. However, these weapons will kill an explodestool if they are held near it without touching it.
When an explodestool bursts, it scatters spores in a 50' radius if there is no wind, or up to 200' away in the direction of the wind current if one exists. These spores can be collected and stored in a dry container for up to a month without losing their potency. It takes four days for an explodestool to become fully grown from a spore and able to explode. Most explodestool colonies have immature specimens growing on the edge of the colony, so adventurers will usually have trouble identifying an explodestool colony untd they are in the middle of the group.
Some castle owners plant explodestools (often mixed with normal mushrooms, so the enemy won't know where it's safe to step) around the structure's outer walls as a warning and protection device.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #89 (1984).
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Ok, I'm thinking take a thunderstone and tack on some actual sonic damage, too. I'd say being stepped on by a critter of X lb or more or taking any weapon or sonic damage sets them off (and destroys them), while fire, acid, cold damage destroy them without setting them off (what about other types, like force?). Sound like a good framework?
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Okey-dokey, then, rough draft time:
Explodestools (CR X): Explodestools appear to be small mushrooms of an edible nature, which grow mixed with normal mushrooms of similar appearance. A DC X Spot check or DC X Knowledge (nature) check is sufficient to detect the presence of explodestools within a patch of mushrooms. If a character of over 50?? lb steps on an explodestool, the mushroom explodes, dealing XdX sonic damage to and deafening any creature within 10 ft for one hour. A DC X Fortitude save negates the deafening. (If the character steps on a 5 ft space containing an explodestool, the mushroom explodes if it succeeds at a melee touch against the character with an attack bonus of +0??) An explodestool will similarly explode if it is plucked or takes any weapon, force, or sonic damage, including sonic damage from the explosion of other explodestools. On the other hand, any fire, cold, or acid damage destroy explodestools without setting them off. Any 5 ft patch of mushrooms containing explodestools will contain 1d6? fungi of the exploding variety.
Explodestools (CR X): Explodestools appear to be small mushrooms of an edible nature, which grow mixed with normal mushrooms of similar appearance. A DC X Spot check or DC X Knowledge (nature) check is sufficient to detect the presence of explodestools within a patch of mushrooms. If a character of over 50?? lb steps on an explodestool, the mushroom explodes, dealing XdX sonic damage to and deafening any creature within 10 ft for one hour. A DC X Fortitude save negates the deafening. (If the character steps on a 5 ft space containing an explodestool, the mushroom explodes if it succeeds at a melee touch against the character with an attack bonus of +0??) An explodestool will similarly explode if it is plucked or takes any weapon, force, or sonic damage, including sonic damage from the explosion of other explodestools. On the other hand, any fire, cold, or acid damage destroy explodestools without setting them off. Any 5 ft patch of mushrooms containing explodestools will contain 1d6? fungi of the exploding variety.
Cleon
Legend
So we're back to scraping the bottom of the Dragon's Creature Catalog again, are we? 
That's a good start.
I'd say force damage should cause them to explode.
That's a good start.
I'd say force damage should cause them to explode.
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