This week we continue an exploration of the creature types in the Menagerie, highlighting a few of the more interesting examples from each as we go. So far we've looked at Aberrations & Chimeras, Angels, Demons & Devils, Animals, Beasts & Insects, Axiomites & Constructs, Fey & Proteans, and Dragons & Elementals. This week we'll take a look at some monsters that are more vegetable than animals, Plants & Fungi.
One important distinction to keep in mind when looking at Plants and Fungi is the difference between a creature and a hazard. All entries in the Menagerie are creatures, fully autonomous entities that can act on their own behalf and, despite the sedentary nature of flora in general, are often (though not always) fully ambulatory. And yet, there can be dangerous plants and fungi that lack the "awareness" to function as a creature, but would instead function more like a natural sort of trap. The biggest difference between these two categories is whether or not it can be possible to have any sort of meaningful interaction other than combat. Plants and fungi with animal intelligence can possibly be trained like animal companions, and even smarter ones can be recruited as a familiar or even reasoned with like people.
As we look at these creature types, and some examples from the Menagerie, it's important to be refreshed on some of the conventions that the book uses in order to maintain its level-agnostic format. Important statistics like attacks, skill, saves, or the DCs for special abilities do not list a number. Rather, they simply call out a difficulty level from the challenge table. For a DC, this is always whatever the number is directly. For an active roll, such as an attack or saving throw, this is the number on the table minus ten. Hit Points are given as a multiple of the monster's level, and damage is typically listed without a number of dice included. When listed this way, damage dice are assumed to be one die base, plus another die for every five levels the monster has. For example, one of the monster's we'll highlight later, the Green Knight, would deal 1d12+2 bludgeoning damage with its vine if level 1-4, 2d12+2 if level 5-9, 3d12+2 if level 10-14, and so on.
PLANTS
While most plants are stationary things that are easy to avoid or cultivate, plant creatures are surprisingly dangerous. Their size and mobility typically requires them to seek out sources of nutrition besides light and soil, and many of them are big enough to prey on humanoids and goblinoids. Plant creatures are most often solitary beings, unlike the collectivism of fungi, and few develop complex societies. Those that do have societies are typically secretive and secluded, and few other than experienced druids are ever allowed to observe or participate.
It seems logical to assume that plants are weak to the burning power of fire, but this is a dangerous assumption to make. Some are indeed weak to that element, but many have evolved resistance to this natural foe, and some even use its burning power in their reproductive cycle. Knowing which type of plant creature has been encountered is critically important, lest an unwary adventurer discover a foe impossible to overcome, and spreading.
Plant creatures always have natural regeneration, making them extremely difficult to kill without the right tools. Most plant regeneration is suppressed by acid or fire damage, though sometimes more obscure damage types are required. Many plants are able to subsist partially or entirely on the power of photosynthesis. Those that rely on meat can often go for extremely long durations between feeding, and tend to act as ambush or lure predators when they do.
This creature type is commonly associated with the natural world. As such, those at least trained in Nature can use that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify plants.
CARNIVOROUS MEADOW PLANT
Role: Void
[Colossal, Epic, Mindless, Plant]
Senses: none; Perception: [easy]
DEFENSE
Armor Class: [easy]
Hit Points: 45x[level]; Regeneration (acid, cold)
Fort: [hard], Ref: [easy], Will: [easy]
Immune: emotion, fear, mental
Weak: area, cold, fire, splash
Defensive Abilities: (0 Reactions)
{F} Fire-Activated Seeds
Trigger: The carnivorous meadow is dealt fire damage
Effect: The fire activates the grass’s seeds, which quickly grow into more grass. The carnivorous meadow recovers Hit Points equal to the damage it was dealt, after weakness.
Soporific Pollen: A breathing creature that starts its turn within hex 3 of a carnivorous meadow must attempt a [hard] Will save. This is a mental effect.
Success: No effect.
Success (+10): The target is bolstered.
Failure: The target increases its tired value by 1 and is drowsy. A drowsy creature falls asleep at the end of its turn if it is still tired.
Failure (-10): As failure, and the target does nothing on this turn except Stride into the space of the carnivorous meadow and lie down. This is a compulsion.
Swarm Traits: A carnivorous meadow is immune to any effect which targets a specific number of creatures.
OFFENSE
Speed: hex 0
Special Attacks:
{AAA} Absorb Sleepers: Any target restrained by the carnivorous meadow is swallowed, then any target grabbed by the meadow is restrained, then any target prone on the meadow is grabbed. All of these effects are automatic.
Swallow: A creature swallowed by a carnivorous meadow takes cannot breathe or hold its breath and takes d10 persistent acid damage which cannot be stopped while it remains swallowed. A swallowed creature is not woken up by this acid damage.
STATISTICS
Str: -, Agi: -, End: +7, Int: -, Wis: -, Cha: -
Languages: none
Hard Skills: none
Special Abilities:
Epic Hit Points: After calculating this monster's Hit Points from level, multiply this total by the number of party members.
Perfect Camouflage: A carnivorous meadow is indistinguishable from a regular meadow.
ECOLOGY
These plants look much like a typical grassy field, but harbor a deadly, carnivorous secret. Much deeper than it would appear, the extensive root system can hide and digest the bodies of many creatures at the same time, all without ever exhibiting any sights or smells that might cause passersby to worry. Indeed, the grasses constantly exude a relaxing cocktail of pleasant aromas to lull those that walk across it into wanting to lie down and take a nap. Once a creature does, the carnivorous meadow gently lowers the victim into its root system to slowly digest, usually without even waking up.
Almost blurring the line between creature and hazard, these plants are excellent ambush predators. Sometimes the most dangerous monsters are the ones that are seemingly innocuous, and these encounters often make for some lasting paranoia as well. The first time a party encounters a grassy field that tries to eat them, they will likely never take landscaping for granted again.
GREEN KNIGHT PLANT
Role: Balanced (Boss)
[Epic, Medium, Plant]
Senses: darkvision, Life Sight; Perception: [hard]
DEFENSE
Armor Class: [hard]
Hit Points: 20x[level]; Regeneration (fire, poison)
Fort: [med], Ref: [hard], Will: [hard]
Resist: acid, bludgeoning, electric, piercing
Defensive Abilities: (5 Reactions)
{R} Attack of Opportunity
{R} Retributive Strike
OFFENSE
Speed: hex 6
Melee Attacks:
{A} vine [hard] (d12+2 B; disarm, grab, reach 6, trip, versatile slashing)
Ranged Attacks:
{A} thorn [hard] (d8+2 P; hex 10 range increment; agile, propulsive, reload 0)
Special Attacks:
{F} Quick Grab
Trigger: The Green Knight deals damage with its vine
Effect: The Green Knight Grapples the triggering target.
{AA} Vine Frenzy: The Green Knight makes a vine Strike against each target it can reach. All attacks are at its current multiple attack penalty.
{AA} Thorn Barrage: The Green Knight makes a thorn attack against each target it can see. All attacks are at its current multiple attack penalty.
{AAA} Grown Reinforcements: The Green Knight causes reinforcements to quickly grow in the area. It can grow two swamp things, four tree shepherds, or one swamp thing and four tree shepherds. These reinforcements are added to the initiative order directly after the Green Knight.
Primal Powers: ([hard] DC)
At Will – sunbeam, tangling creepers, tree stride
3/day – horrid wilting, nature’s enmity, storm of vengeance
1/day – primal phenomenon
STATISTICS
Str: +2, Agi: +3, End: +2, Int: +1, Wis: +4, Cha: +2
Languages: Druidic (fluent)
Hard Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Nature
Special Abilities:
Cryptid: There is only one Green Knight.
Epic Clarity: This monster is immune to any effect with the compulsion or possession trait.
Epic Damage Reduction: This monster has resistance to all damage it is not immune to. If it already resists a damage type, the value of its resistance is doubled for that type. This resistance still does not apply to un-typed damage.
Epic Initiative: When this monster rolls initiative it is only used to determine the first time it acts. After it has taken its first turn in combat, its next turn is always inserted into the initiative order after two party members have acted consecutively. Party members that choose to delay their turns do not count toward triggering this monster's next turn.
Life Sight: The Green Knight can sense the presence of living beings as a precise sense within hex 100.
ECOLOGY
This anthropomorphic plant acts in many ways as an ambassador for, and guardian of, the natural world into which sentient species encroach. While it is sometimes venerated as a nature deity, this plant is not capable of granting spells so far as any magical researches have been able to determine. Many aspects of its life cycle remains a mystery. Did it begin to exist before the rise of anthropomorphic beings? If so, why does it have such an uncanny resemblance to the form? If not, is its existence a mimicry or a deliberate attempt to share the form?
As humanoid and goblinoid technology continues to advance, with the rise of alchemy and gunpowder and the first steps toward harnessing electricity, sightings of this powerful plant become more frequent, and also tend to be more commonly hostile. Some scholars believe that the original warning has not been heeded, and that if sentient beings continue to treat their world as nothing more than raw materials to be exploited, eventually nature itself will use its ambassador to force a hard reset on anthropomorphic life.
The Green Knight is one of the handful of cryptid monsters in the Menagerie, and as such has the unique rarity making it hard to recognize and easily defeat. Its ability to summon reinforcements in a pinch can make it a truly formidable foe. Highly intelligent, however, the Green Knight is not necessarily always hostile to a party. Indeed, a group with Druids, Rangers and other nature-friendly individuals might consider the Green Knight to be a powerful ally if they cross paths.
FUNGI
Fungi appear superficially to be very similar to plants. While they remain more closely alike than any similarities to animal-based creatures, there are nevertheless many fundamental differences at a biological level that set them into distinct categories. In fact, it is more correct to suggest that plants resemble fungi, as this creature type developed first, possibly even before any other creature type native to the material plane. Despite this advance appearance, no gods take credit for their origin or claim stewardship over intelligent creature variants, which many fungi take as a point of pride and proof of supremacy.
Fungi can be extremely hazardous to encounter for most humanoids and goblinoids. They reproduce through spores that are usually either outright poisonous, or have such mind-altering properties that exposure can be utterly debilitating. Creature fungi with awareness and intelligence are able to deliberately expose their victims to toxins in an efficient manner, and some fungi are able to use their spores to completely hijack the bodies of others, turning them into zombie-like thralls that also grow more fungus.
Fungi always have natural regeneration, making them extremely difficult to kill without the right tools. Most fungal regeneration can be suppressed with acid or fire damage, though sometimes more obscure damage types are required. Unlike their plant cousins, fungi cannot generate nutrients through photosynthesis, and instead survive on decaying vegetable or animal matter. Creature fungi are capable of seeking out and creating that decay with violence.
This creature type is commonly associated with the natural world. As such, those at least trained in Nature can use that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify fungi.
MYCROFT FUNGUS
Role: Balanced (+Defense)
[Fungus, Medium]
Senses: low-light vision; Perception: [med]
DEFENSE
Armor Class: [hard]
Hit Points: 15x[level]; Regeneration: (acid, fire)
Fort: [med], Ref: [hard], Will: [hard]
Resist: confusion, mental
Weak: acid, fire
Defensive Abilities: (1 Reaction)
{R} Attack of Opportunity
Armored: Mycroft use armor or magic for defense. The difference between [med] and [hard] AC is an item bonus or a spell bonus.
Hive Perspective: If any Mycroft is aware of a foe, all Mycroft are aware of that foe. If more than one Mycroft can see each other, they are all immune to the flanked condition.
OFFENSE
Speed: hex 5
Melee Attacks:
{A} fist [hard] (d4+1 B; agile, disarm, finesse, grab, non-lethal, shove, trip)
{A} weapon [hard] (varies with weapon)
Ranged Attacks:
{A} weapon [hard] (varies with weapon)
STATISTICS
Str: +1, Agi: +2, End: +1, Int: +1, Wis: +2, Cha: +1
Languages: Aklo (fluent)
Hard Skills: all skills
Special Abilities:
Hive Dependence: Mycroft are dependent on the hive mind. If a Mycroft is outside of the hive’s range for more than 24 hours, it increases its dizzy, feeble and faded values by 1 for each additional day it stays out of range. A Mycroft out of range cannot reduce its dizzy or faded values by any means.
Telepathy Bond: A Mycroft has instant telepathic communication with all other Mycroft in its hive.
ECOLOGY
These vaguely humanoid mushrooms share a hive mind and a collective society. A Mycroft settlement is much like that of humanoid or goblinoid societies, except the shared collective consciousness makes it much more harmonious. Mycroft societies are fairly welcoming to other sentient beings, provided they do not act hostile, although it can be unnerving for creatures that have never interacted with a hive mind before when people one has never met seem to immediately know everything about you. Indeed, having a whole settlement turn friendly or hostile all at the same time can be quite daunting, and Mycroft use this semi-omniscience to their advantage when policing strangers in their midst.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Mycroft is their ability to absorb others into their collective by colonizing their brains with spores. While this is very rarely done to unwilling creatures, it is a generally a requirement for those that wish to permanently live in a Mycroft settlement to voluntarily undergo the process. So far none that have done so have shown any regret for having gone through with it, but such might not even be possible. Most Mycroft augment the statistics presented here with class features and perks they gather over their lives, and these special talents influence how the Mycroft can best serve its community.
These unusual fungi are typically bastions of civilization in deep, dark underground regions. Not necessarily hostile to adventurers, their hive mind and strict conformity may be quite disconcerting to those that relish their individuality. With the few exceptions listed in their stat blocks, the fact that a Mycroft can gain and make use of class features and perks makes them closer to NPCs than typical for monsters in the Menagerie. For a subterranean campaign or adventure, a Mycroft settlement, despite its oddity, can make for a safe place to rest and resupply.
CREEPING DOOM FUNGUS
Role: Void (boss)
[Colossal, Epic, Fungus, Mindless]
Senses: Tremorsense; Perception: [med]
DEFENSE
Armor Class: [easy]
Hit Points: 50x[level]; Regeneration (acid, fire)
Fort: [hard], Ref: [easy], Will: [easy]
Weak: area, fire, splash
Defensive Abilities: (0 Reactions)
{F} Release Spores
Trigger: A creature enters the creeping doom’s space or the creeping doom takes any damage other than acid or fire damage
Effect: The creeping doom releases a cloud of spores in a hex 2 aura. Creatures in the aura, or in its space, are exposed to its Spores.
Swarm Traits: Creeping doom is immune to any effect that targets a specific number of creatures.
OFFENSE
Speed: hex 0
Special Attacks:
{AAA} Direct Thralls: The creeping doom mentally Directs all of its minions. It can give any number of its minions different commands.
STATISTICS
Str: -, Agi: -, End: +6, Int: -, Wis: -, Cha: -
Languages: none
Hard Skills: Stealth
Special Abilities:
Epic Regeneration: This monster's regeneration is only suppressed if it takes appropriate damage twice since its last turn. It takes one more instance of damage for every 5 party members.
Explosive Spread: Creeping doom can Direct its minion to release spores. When this happens, the minion’s head explodes and releases Spores in a hex 4 aura. The minion is slain by this effect.
Hive Mind: Creeping doom has the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of all of its minions, added together. It understands all languages that its thralls understand, with the best fluency that any of its thralls has.
Spores: [hard] inhaled, cursed poison
Onset: immediate; Frequency: 1/round (max 8)
Stage 1: sluggish +1, dizzy +1. Stage 2: sluggish +1, dizzy +2. Stage 3: Creature becomes a mindless minion of the creeping doom, permanently.
ECOLOGY
This fungus appears little more than a wide field of tiny puffball mushrooms until a creature comes too close. Once that happens, the fungus releases a cloud of spores which can completely hijack the creature’s senses. Once the creeping doom has a body under its control, it collectively gains its ability to think and plan, and the enspored creature becomes a mindless minion of the fungus. Once the creeping doom gains self-awareness in this way, it will do just about anything to hang onto its uplifted state, and will use any mindless minions it has to try to spread itself to as many hosts as possible as soon as possible. Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of the creeping doom is its ability to force a host body to explode in a cloud of spores, remotely spreading itself at the cost of one of its minions.
The Creeping Doom is an unusual case. To start with, it behaves very much like a simple hazard. Disturb the patch, and risk exposure to the spores. Its unique ability to gain awareness and malevolence as it begins to assimilate other creatures is where the true danger of this boss fungus lies. Depending on what stage of the adventure a group might be in, a patch of Creeping Doom might just be discovering its self-awareness or might already be the mastermind of an extensive plot to colonize vast tracts of land and creatures.
Plants and Fungi make for versatile creatures that often defy the typical expectations of more humanoid characters. As such, these creatures can be difficult to deal with, often requiring specialized tactics which are not always obvious. Next week we'll continue our tour of the Menagerie with two creature types that take the familiar and ratchet it up in scale: Giants & Swarms.
Commentaires