Peregrine
2011-03-19, 11:26 AM
I got Paizo's Misfit Monsters Redeemed (http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/p/pathfinderRPG/paizo/pathfinderChronicles/v5748btpy8gnj) for my birthday, and it got me thinking about flumphs. Just what is it about them that's so absurd? I think it must be the name; a flumph by any other name would be a jellyfish monster, and let's face it, jellyfish are actually kind of scary.
In fact (I said to my wife), a "cave jellyfish" would be a much more plausible and intimidating monster than most other "x creature in y environment" monsters, like, say, the cave moray eel (thank you Tome of Horrors). Imagine something that looks like a jellyfish, but sticks to the ceiling of a cave and dangles down a hard-to-see net of stinging tentacles. These tentacles catch you, sting you, and draw you in to its waiting maw...
Anyway, this was the result.
[hr]
Cnidariax
Large magical beast
Hit Dice: 12d10+36 (106 hp)
Speed: 5 ft. (1 square); climb 5 ft.
Initiative: +9
Armor Class: 18 (-1 size, +5 Dex, +4 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+17
Attack: Tentacle +18 melee touch (poison and ensnare)
Full Attack: Tentacle +18 melee touch (poison and ensnare)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./40 ft.
Special Attacks: acid, collapse, drag, ensnare, poison, tentacles
Special Qualities: adhesive, blindness, damage reduction 10/slashing, immune to electricity, resistance to fire 5 and cold 5, transparent, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +13, Will +7
Abilities Str 13, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 5
Skills: Climb +13, Hide +14, Listen +11
Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Environment: Underground
Organization: solitary or bloom (3-6)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 13-15 (Large); 16-25 (Huge); 26-30 (Gargantuan)
The cnidariax, or cave jellyfish, is thought to have been deliberately bred from unknown stock, possibly altering an animal with some manner of plant or ooze. It is unlikely that they have any relation to true jellyfish, which they only resemble in general form. It is much closer in complexity and intelligence to the higher vertebrates.
A cnidariax is a predatory creature, but being blind and slow-moving, it does not hunt or chase its food. It catches prey by adhering itself to the ceiling of a cave and allowing its tentacles to hang down. Any living creature that blunders into the tentacles is caught, ensnared, poisoned, and dragged up to the waiting cnidariax and its toothless, slavering maw, where it is digested... alive. Creatures that avoid walking into the trap are not safe either, as the cnidariax can detect movement and lash out with its tentacles. Should its prey continue to struggle, the cnidariax will sting it repeatedly until it is subdued.
The digestive acids of a cnidariax make short work of most meals. Any non-organic objects are discarded; however, the cnidariax does not merely allow them to accumulate on the cave floor beneath it, instead caching them in some out-of-sight location. It is thought that this behaviour may be an instinct that was bred into them, allowing their master to reap the spoils from the predations of his "pets".
The cnidariax is a very hardy creature, lending yet more weight to the theory of deliberate breeding. It is resistant to extremes of heat and cold, and can lie dormant for years on end, being awoken by its tremorsense or the sounds of life in its cavern. It lacks any sort of skeleton, and its flesh is soft to the touch, but extraordinarily resilient -- yielding and pliable, yet tough and hard to break or damage. Its organs are clearly visible inside, but they too are resistant to damage. It is often necessary to quite literally cut a cnidariax to pieces before it dies.
Acid (Ex): The acid of a cnidariax only affects organic materials, not stone or metal. It deals 1d8 points of damage per round to any creature being digested or caught in its collapse.
Adhesive (Ex): The body of a cnidariax secretes an adhesive that binds it strongly to stone surfaces. A cnidariax can traverse stone walls and even ceilings at its climb speed. It does not need to make a Climb check to avoid falling when struck for damage. A DC 23 Strength check can pull a cnidariax off of a stone surface, although the force must be applied to its body rather than to its tentacles, which would break away first. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus.
Blindness: A cnidariax has immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight.
Collapse (Ex): When slain, a cnidariax comes loose from any stone surface to which it was adhering, and falls on any creature that it had ensnared or that was standing beneath it. All such creatures are considered ensnared and continue to take acid damage for 2d4+2 rounds or until freed. If a creature underneath a collapsing cnidariax is too large to be ensnared by it, it still takes acid damage when the cnidariax collapses and again each round that it shares a space with the dead body (Reflex DC 17 for half damage each round; the save DC is Strength-based).
Drag (Ex): As a full-round action, a cnidariax may drag all ensnared creatures up to its body, where it begins to digest them. All dragged creatures take acid damage on the round they are dragged in and every round thereafter until they are freed. Note that being freed from a cnidariax may lead to falling damage. A cnidariax can raise and hold creatures weighing up to twice its heavy load (300 lb. for the specimen described here) at any one time.
Ensnare (Ex): The tentacles of a cnidariax wrap around any living creature that they strike. Any such creature that is at least one size category smaller than the cnidariax must make a DC 21 Reflex save. If this save succeeds, the creature is entangled but not caught, and may move out of the tentacles’ area on its turn, if it has enough movement to do so. (If it does not move out, it is automatically struck again the next round.) If the save fails, the creature is grappled and moved into a space directly beneath the cnidariax (provoking attacks of opportunity as normal). The cnidariax may use its drag ability to bring ensnared prey to its mouth on its next turn.
A cnidariax uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier on all grapple checks. In addition to escaping using a grapple or Escape Artist check, an ensnared creature may break itself free (or be freed by another creature) by making a DC 19 Strength check or dealing 6 points of damage to the tentacles. (The loss of a tentacle deals 3 points of damage to the cnidariax.) The Strength DC is Constitution-based.
Creatures too large to be ensnared are treated as automatically succeeding on their Reflex saves; that is, they are entangled but not grappled.
Poison (Ex): Any creature struck by the tentacles of a cnidariax is affected by a muscle-seizing toxin. A cnidariax can also inject one or more ensnared creatures with another dose of toxin as a move action. (Contact, Fortitude DC 19, initial and secondary damage 1d3 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.)
Tentacles (Ex): The tentacles of a cnidariax usually drape in a filmy, hard-to-see curtain stretching up to 40 ft. straight down. Any creature that walks into them is automatically struck; the cnidariax can also make a single tentacle attack per round to strike a creature that has not fallen into its trap. A struck creature is ensnared and poisoned.
The tentacles are extremely numerous and several work together to ensnare victims; however, they can be treated as a number of individual tentacles, one for each 10 hp that the cnidariax possesses normally (so 10 for the specimen described here). Each tentacle has 6 hit points and a break DC of 19. The break DC is Constitution-based. The loss of a tentacle deals half as much damage (3 hit points) to the cnidariax.
Transparent (Ex): A cnidariax is hard to see, even under ideal conditions, and it takes a DC 15 Spot check to notice one. Creatures who fail to notice a cnidariax and walk into its tentacles are automatically ensnared.
Tremorsense (Ex): A cnidariax has no sense of sight, but can automatically detect the location of any creature within 60 ft. that is in contact with the ground.
Skills: A cnidariax has a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, due to its transparent quality. It has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. It uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier for Climb checks.
In fact (I said to my wife), a "cave jellyfish" would be a much more plausible and intimidating monster than most other "x creature in y environment" monsters, like, say, the cave moray eel (thank you Tome of Horrors). Imagine something that looks like a jellyfish, but sticks to the ceiling of a cave and dangles down a hard-to-see net of stinging tentacles. These tentacles catch you, sting you, and draw you in to its waiting maw...
Anyway, this was the result.
[hr]
Cnidariax
Large magical beast
Hit Dice: 12d10+36 (106 hp)
Speed: 5 ft. (1 square); climb 5 ft.
Initiative: +9
Armor Class: 18 (-1 size, +5 Dex, +4 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+17
Attack: Tentacle +18 melee touch (poison and ensnare)
Full Attack: Tentacle +18 melee touch (poison and ensnare)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./40 ft.
Special Attacks: acid, collapse, drag, ensnare, poison, tentacles
Special Qualities: adhesive, blindness, damage reduction 10/slashing, immune to electricity, resistance to fire 5 and cold 5, transparent, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +13, Will +7
Abilities Str 13, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 5
Skills: Climb +13, Hide +14, Listen +11
Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Environment: Underground
Organization: solitary or bloom (3-6)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 13-15 (Large); 16-25 (Huge); 26-30 (Gargantuan)
The cnidariax, or cave jellyfish, is thought to have been deliberately bred from unknown stock, possibly altering an animal with some manner of plant or ooze. It is unlikely that they have any relation to true jellyfish, which they only resemble in general form. It is much closer in complexity and intelligence to the higher vertebrates.
A cnidariax is a predatory creature, but being blind and slow-moving, it does not hunt or chase its food. It catches prey by adhering itself to the ceiling of a cave and allowing its tentacles to hang down. Any living creature that blunders into the tentacles is caught, ensnared, poisoned, and dragged up to the waiting cnidariax and its toothless, slavering maw, where it is digested... alive. Creatures that avoid walking into the trap are not safe either, as the cnidariax can detect movement and lash out with its tentacles. Should its prey continue to struggle, the cnidariax will sting it repeatedly until it is subdued.
The digestive acids of a cnidariax make short work of most meals. Any non-organic objects are discarded; however, the cnidariax does not merely allow them to accumulate on the cave floor beneath it, instead caching them in some out-of-sight location. It is thought that this behaviour may be an instinct that was bred into them, allowing their master to reap the spoils from the predations of his "pets".
The cnidariax is a very hardy creature, lending yet more weight to the theory of deliberate breeding. It is resistant to extremes of heat and cold, and can lie dormant for years on end, being awoken by its tremorsense or the sounds of life in its cavern. It lacks any sort of skeleton, and its flesh is soft to the touch, but extraordinarily resilient -- yielding and pliable, yet tough and hard to break or damage. Its organs are clearly visible inside, but they too are resistant to damage. It is often necessary to quite literally cut a cnidariax to pieces before it dies.
Acid (Ex): The acid of a cnidariax only affects organic materials, not stone or metal. It deals 1d8 points of damage per round to any creature being digested or caught in its collapse.
Adhesive (Ex): The body of a cnidariax secretes an adhesive that binds it strongly to stone surfaces. A cnidariax can traverse stone walls and even ceilings at its climb speed. It does not need to make a Climb check to avoid falling when struck for damage. A DC 23 Strength check can pull a cnidariax off of a stone surface, although the force must be applied to its body rather than to its tentacles, which would break away first. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus.
Blindness: A cnidariax has immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight.
Collapse (Ex): When slain, a cnidariax comes loose from any stone surface to which it was adhering, and falls on any creature that it had ensnared or that was standing beneath it. All such creatures are considered ensnared and continue to take acid damage for 2d4+2 rounds or until freed. If a creature underneath a collapsing cnidariax is too large to be ensnared by it, it still takes acid damage when the cnidariax collapses and again each round that it shares a space with the dead body (Reflex DC 17 for half damage each round; the save DC is Strength-based).
Drag (Ex): As a full-round action, a cnidariax may drag all ensnared creatures up to its body, where it begins to digest them. All dragged creatures take acid damage on the round they are dragged in and every round thereafter until they are freed. Note that being freed from a cnidariax may lead to falling damage. A cnidariax can raise and hold creatures weighing up to twice its heavy load (300 lb. for the specimen described here) at any one time.
Ensnare (Ex): The tentacles of a cnidariax wrap around any living creature that they strike. Any such creature that is at least one size category smaller than the cnidariax must make a DC 21 Reflex save. If this save succeeds, the creature is entangled but not caught, and may move out of the tentacles’ area on its turn, if it has enough movement to do so. (If it does not move out, it is automatically struck again the next round.) If the save fails, the creature is grappled and moved into a space directly beneath the cnidariax (provoking attacks of opportunity as normal). The cnidariax may use its drag ability to bring ensnared prey to its mouth on its next turn.
A cnidariax uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier on all grapple checks. In addition to escaping using a grapple or Escape Artist check, an ensnared creature may break itself free (or be freed by another creature) by making a DC 19 Strength check or dealing 6 points of damage to the tentacles. (The loss of a tentacle deals 3 points of damage to the cnidariax.) The Strength DC is Constitution-based.
Creatures too large to be ensnared are treated as automatically succeeding on their Reflex saves; that is, they are entangled but not grappled.
Poison (Ex): Any creature struck by the tentacles of a cnidariax is affected by a muscle-seizing toxin. A cnidariax can also inject one or more ensnared creatures with another dose of toxin as a move action. (Contact, Fortitude DC 19, initial and secondary damage 1d3 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.)
Tentacles (Ex): The tentacles of a cnidariax usually drape in a filmy, hard-to-see curtain stretching up to 40 ft. straight down. Any creature that walks into them is automatically struck; the cnidariax can also make a single tentacle attack per round to strike a creature that has not fallen into its trap. A struck creature is ensnared and poisoned.
The tentacles are extremely numerous and several work together to ensnare victims; however, they can be treated as a number of individual tentacles, one for each 10 hp that the cnidariax possesses normally (so 10 for the specimen described here). Each tentacle has 6 hit points and a break DC of 19. The break DC is Constitution-based. The loss of a tentacle deals half as much damage (3 hit points) to the cnidariax.
Transparent (Ex): A cnidariax is hard to see, even under ideal conditions, and it takes a DC 15 Spot check to notice one. Creatures who fail to notice a cnidariax and walk into its tentacles are automatically ensnared.
Tremorsense (Ex): A cnidariax has no sense of sight, but can automatically detect the location of any creature within 60 ft. that is in contact with the ground.
Skills: A cnidariax has a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, due to its transparent quality. It has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. It uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier for Climb checks.