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View Full Version : The Prettiest Little Flower (3.5, spell and creature) (PEACH)



JoshuaZ
2012-06-02, 08:50 PM
Note: I don't have much experience creating creatures, so it is possible that I've messed something up. I'm particularly worried that I may have underestimated the CR. PEACHING very much appreciated.

Death Blossom
A Death Blossom is a monstrous plant infused with necromantic power. They reproduce by infecting living being with their seed which kill the beings and reanimate them as zombies which bury themselves in locations suitable for the growth of a new plant. They also sustain themselves by digesting corpses and are able to learn magic from the corpses of those they have consumed.

Create Death Blossom
Necromancy
Level: Druid 8 Sor/Wiz 9 Clr 9
Components:V,S, M
Casting time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Effect: Creates one Death Blossom
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving throw: None
Spell resistance: No

You cast this spell over a corpse of a sentient living being (intelligence at least 3) which is on the ground. Inside the corpse Death Blossom will begin to form and over seven days will slowly spread out until it has put roots in the ground and consumed the corpse to feed itself. If this spell is cast by a druid, the resulting Death Blossom will recognize its creator and not harm them unless they engage in hostile activity to it (this generally includes harming the plant, harming undead under its control, and removing corpses that the plant is digesting).

Material Components: The corpse of a sentient(int at least 3) living being of at least medium size, and small clump of ash from a burnt yew tree mixed with a mixture of silver and onyx dust (worth 100 gp).

Death Blossom
Huge Plant
Hit Dice: 6d8+18 (45 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 0 ft.
Armor Class: 11 (–2 size, –5 Dex, +8 natural), touch 3, flatfooted
11
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+11
Attack: Tendril +7 (1d6+4)
Full Attack: 4 Trendril +7 (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Spellcasting, Spore
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., immunity to
electricity, necromantic channeling, necromantic potency plant traits, undead animation, undead aspects, arcane intuition, resistance to cold 10 and fire 10,
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +3
Abilities: Str 20, Dex —, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 13, Cha 14
Skills: Listen +10, Spot +4,
Feats: Lightning Reflexes, Eschew Material Components, Improved Initiative, Silent Spell(B)
Environment: Temperate Forest, but usually
Organization: Solitary or with group of skeletons (2-5 medium or small skeletons, half humanoid, half small animal)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: 1/5 coins; 50% goods; 50% items, + Heart if intact (see below)
Alignment: usually neutral or neutral evil
Advancement: 7–16 HD (Huge); 17–18 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

A Death Blossom resembles a large bush with a central trunk, generally extending about 12 feet into the air. It has large flowers with a mix of yellow and black petals, as well as a set of large vines near the base which it uses to attack or to deliver touch spells. Some of the stalks of the flowers have what appear to be small cuts which ooze a redish sap-like substance.

A Death Blossom will generally attack using its necromantic abilities, while sending out its minions. If it spots an arcane spellcaster it is likely to focus its attacks on them.

Arcane Intuition (Su): Death blossoms have an innate connection to arcane magic. They automatically sense when an arcane spell is cast within 300 feet of them. Furthermore, whenever the spell is a necromancy spell, they automatically know if it is a spell they already know or not. If it is a spell they know, they gain a +2 Insight bonus to counterspell it.

Necromantic Channeling (Ex): If a living creature touches any of the death blossom's tendrils, such as during a grapple, then the creature's spell resistance, if any, is treated as 5 points lower for any spell cast by the death blossom. In addition, the creature takes a -2 penalty on any save. This also applies to spells which are delivered by touch attacks.

Necromantic Potency (Su): A death blossom reinforces undead creatures under its control. Undead creatures under control of a death blossom that are within 100 feet of it gain a +2 bonus to their saves and have +2 turn resistance. This stacks with any other turn resistance.

Spellcasting: A death blossom casts spells like a dread necromancer of its hit die.

Whenever it digests a corpse that knew an arcane necromancy spell that appears on the either the sorcerer/wizard list or the cleric list (either the being had the spell as a spell known, or had a prepared copy of the spell at death, or was a wizard with spell mastery of the spell), and the spell is of a level the death blossom can use, it gains the spell as an extra spell known. If a corpse had multiple such spells, the death blossom may only choose one to add.

Some druids will go out of the way to dig up corpses of spellcasters and bring them to their death blossoms, and some evil druids will hunt out spellcasters to give to their pet death blossoms. All spells cast by a death blossom are automatically silenced (but not stilled so they need to move their tendrils to cast).

Note: When advancing a death blossom, use the dread necromancer's advanced learning to simulate the death blossom having picked up a handful of interesting spells (thus one should only choose arcane spells). One can give a death blossom more spells than one would strictly get from the advanced learning class feature, but if so one may need to think carefully about how this might alter the CR.

Spore (Ex): Spores are the primary way that a death blossom reproduces. Once a day, a death blossom may spew forth a cloud of spores which affects all creatures within 60 feet of the death blossom. This effect requires two saves. The first save is a Reflex save to avoid coming into contact, breathing, or swallowing the spores. The second save is a Fortitude save if the Reflex save is failed. The DC is 16 for both and is constitution based.

If a target fails its Fortitude save, spores affect the target. For the next 24 hours, the target takes a -2 penalty to all saves from necromancy spells and the blossom's spells automatically penetrate any spell resistance the individual has. Living targets also take 1d2 points of Constitution damage every day. This effect can be removed by any effect that would remove a disease. When the target's Constitution score drops to zero, the target dies and a new death blossom forms from the corpse if the corpse was buried. If the corpse was not buried or destroyed, then 24 hours later, the corpse becomes a zombie (just like a normal zombie but with 3 Intelligence and +2 to saves), that travels to a remote location and buries itself. A new plant forms there using the zombie food. These zombies only last 3 sunrises and fall apart if they have not found a spot to be buried within that time. A destroyed zombie can be resurrected normally.

A death blossom less than 1 month old cannot use this ability. Corpses used for making new death blossoms must be of at least Medium size. Bodies of smaller size can be infected but no new death blossom results, although a zombie will form and attempt to bury itself in the same way.

Undead Animation (Sp): A death blossom may use animate undead as an at-will spell-like ability at caster level twice its hit die to targets within 100 feet of it. The plant generally uses this ability to make zombies, which walk over and bury themselves by the plant. The plant then slowly digests the zombies. It takes 1d3 days to digest a zombie. Otherwise, a death blossom can use the zombies for defense. Within 24 hours, a zombie corpse will be sufficiently digested such that it is no longer functioning. Zombies created in the middle of combat will be used immediately to help fight.

If a corpse can only be made as a skeleton, then the skeleton is kept in defense or for use in killing nearby prey.

Furthermore, a death blossom can give orders telepathically to any undead creatures under its control as long as they are within 300 feet.

Undead Aspect (Ex): A death blossom is infused with necromantic energy and so takes on some properties of undead. A death blossom is healed by negative energy like an undead creature (but it is still healed by positive energy). Also, a death blossom gains a +2 Profane bonus on all saves against effects that an undead creature would be immune to, such as effects that require a Fortitude save that would not affect objects. However, a Death Blossom is affected by Turning and Rebuking as an undead creature of its hit die +6.

Death blossoms can be turned or rebuked but not commanded or destroyed. Whenever a Death Blossom is turned, it loses 1 spell slot of its highest level remaining.

Death Blossoms and Deadwoods
The strange spellcasters known as "Deadwoods" who experiment with undeath and nature magic have a special affinity with Death Blossoms. A Death Blossom grown in the Heartwood of a Deadwood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9382290) gains an additional +2 turn resistance, +2 hit points, and 1 spell slot of every level other than it's highest. Additionally, if such a Blossom is created by a Deadwood in their own Heartwood, then the Blossom will act towards the creator just as a Blossom would when created by a druid even if the creator is not a Druid. Moreover, the Blossom will generally when asked by the creator willingly transfer control of undead it has created to the Deadwood as long as it is not in the process of digesting that creature or using it actively for defense. This takes a standard action for any single undead.


The Heart of the Death Blossom
The Heart of a fully grown Death Blossom (i.e. at least 1 month old) is about the size of a human head and is deep inside the plant. The Heart provides a continually influx of arcane power into the plant and is responsible for the Death Blossom's strong necromantic ability. The Heart can be used for a variety of magical effects. Removing the Heart kills the plant immediately, but generally in order to even get near enough to the Heart to directly damage it one must have killed the plant. The size of a Death Blossom's heart does not substantially increase once the plant has reach maturity, and so even larger Death Blossoms will have a Heart that is about the same size.

The Heart can be used for a number of necromantic purposes, and intact Heart is normally worth 1200 gp.

Some of the uses of the Heart follow:

A Heart can be used as a substitute for onyx in an animate dead or similar spell or ability (up to 1200 gp worth of onyx). However, if used in this fashion, the entire Heart is consumed even if the undead animated or created by the process require less than the full 1200 gp worth of onyx.

If the Heart is properly prepared and crushed and added to a potion for a necromancy spell when the potion is made, the effective caster level
of the potion is increased by 1 at no extra cost, and anyone using the potion gets a +2 bonus on the concentration check to use the potion when interrupted (such as by an attack of opportunity). A potion made this way is generally worth 50 gp more than a regular potion of that type. A single Death Blossom's Heart is usually large enough to supply enough for around 30 potions.

When used as an additional material component for a spell, spell-like ability, or supernatural ability or other effect which creates undead a Heart increases the effective caster level by 2 (possibly allowing one to create more powerful undead if the spell is Create Undead or a similar spell), and undead created this way are unusually resilient, getting an extra 2 hit points and a +1 bonus to turn resistance that stacks with any other sources of turn resistance.

A crushed and dried Heart placed inside a clay jar can be used for a Magic Jar spell. If so, the will save DC for the spell is increased by +1, and increases the effective caster level for purposes of both duration and penetrating spell resistance by 2. Using the Heart this way makes it an additional material component which crumbles to dust when the spell ends.

A Heart can be crushed and boiled with various herbs (costing 50 gp) which makes a drink which when consumed gives a spellcaster 2 additional level 1 spell slots useable only for necromancy spells. The mixture must be consumed before the next sunrise or it loses all potency. This is a permanent modification, but it can only be used once per a spellcasting class. Multiple Hearts can be used to give the benefit to different spellcasting classes.

A similar preparation can be made into a tea that if drank by a pregnant woman will drastically increase the chance that her offspring have necromantic talent. This could mean that they become a dread necromancer or a wizard specializing in necromancy, or a sorcerer with Spell Focus(necromancy) and many necromancy spells, or some similar result.

A Heart mixed with the crushed remains of a necrotic cyst and 5 gp of jade dust, and with a small amount of tree sap will produce a liquid which when dried becomes a fine powder. This powder (which produces about 10 doses) when ingested (such as being placed in a food or drink), will cause the one who ingested it to one hour later make a fortitude save (DC 20) or gain a necrotic cyst. One can easily find spices which will cover up the scent and taste, but even in those cases any being with unusually good senses of smell or taste (such as the Scent special ability) will notice that the food or drink has something off about it.

Debihuman
2012-06-03, 06:19 AM
Looks pretty good, could use some proofreading (stop switching between singular and plural in the same sentence).

Creature Corrections

Attack and Full Attack lines are incomplete. How much damage does a tendril do? It is missing that information.

Also, melee attacks are BAB + Strength Modifier + Size Modifier so melee attack should be 4 +5 -2 for +7 melee not +6.

All the feats currently listed should be standard feats as it can have 3 feats. It should have the Silent Spell feat as its bonus feat.

Special Abilities should always have game mechanics and be noted as Su/Sp/Ex and not be just fluff. If it is just fluff, it belongs in description. Also, these should be listed alphabetically. Most of your Special Abilities need a little work. Please note the change to arcane intuition to add insight bonus and that necromantic channeling should only affect living creatures. DC in Spore is 16 not 20 (10 + 1/2 creature's HD + Con modifier). Spore should be an Ex not Su ability. Although all creatures can be affected by the spores, not all creatures can become zombies. I made that a little clearer. For example, constructs cannot become zombies although they could be affected by the spores. Spellcasting should list typical spells known.

Arcane Intuition (Su): Death blossoms have an innate connection to arcane magic. They automatically sense when an arcane spell is cast within 300 feet of them. Furthermore, whenever the spell is a necromancy spell, they automatically know if it is a spell they already know or not. If it is a spell they know, they gain a +2 Insight bonus to counterspell it.

Necromantic Channeling (Ex): If a living creature touches any of the death blossom's tendrils, such as during a grapple, then the creature's spell resistance, if any, is treated as 5 points lower for any spell cast by the death blossom. In addition, the creature takes a -2 penalty on any save. This also applies to spells which are delivered by touch attacks.

Necromantic Potency (Su): A death blossom reinforces undead creatures under its control. Undead creatures under control of a death blossom that are within 100 feet of it gain a +2 bonus to their saves and have +2 turn resistance. This stacks with any other turn resistance.

Spellcasting: A death blossom casts spells like a dread necromancer of its hit die.

Whenever it digests a corpse that knew an arcane necromancy spell that appears on the either the sorcerer/wizard list or the cleric list (either the being had the spell as a spell known, or had a prepared copy of the spell at death, or was a wizard with spell mastery of the spell), and the spell is of a level the death blossom can use, it gains the spell as an extra spell known. If a corpse had multiple such spells, the death blossom may only choose one to add.

Some druids will go out of the way to dig up corpses of spellcasters and bring them to their death blossoms, and some evil druids will hunt out spellcasters to give to their pet death blossoms. All spells cast by a death blossom are automatically silenced (but not stilled so they need to move their tendrils to cast).

Note: When advancing a death blossom, use the dread necromancer's advanced learning to simulate the death blossom having picked up a handful of interesting spells (thus one should only choose arcane spells). One can give a death blossom more spells than one would strictly get from the advanced learning class feature, but if so one may need to think carefully about how this might alter the CR.

Spore (Ex): Spores are the primary way that a death blossom reproduces. Once a day, a death blossom may spew forth a cloud of spores which affects all creatures within 60 feet of the death blossom. This effect requires two saves. The first save is a Reflex save to avoid coming into contact, breathing, or swallowing the spores. The second save is a Fortitude save if the Reflex save is failed. The DC is 16 for both and is constitution based.

If a target fails its Fortitude save, spores affect the target. For the next 24 hours, the target takes a -2 penalty to all saves from necromancy spells and the blossom's spells automatically penetrate any spell resistance the individual has. Living targets also take 1d2 points of Constitution damage every day. When the target's Constitution score drops to zero, the target dies and a new death blossom forms from the corpse if the corpse was buried. If the corpse was not buried or destroyed, then 24 hours later, the corpse becomes a zombie (just like a normal zombie but with 3 Intelligence and +2 to saves), that travels to a remote location and buries itself. A new plant forms there using the zombie food. These zombies only last 3 sunrises and fall apart if they have not found a spot to be buried within that time. A remove disease or similar spell, removes this illness but the zombie must succeed on a caster level check equal to the death blossom's hit die or be destroyed in the process. A destroyed zombie can be resurrected normally.

A death blossom less than 1 month old cannot use this ability. Corpses used for making new death blossoms must be at least Medium size. Bodies of smaller size can be infected but no new death blossom results, although a zombie will form and attempt to bury itself in the same way.

Undead Animation (Sp): A death blossom may use animate undead as an at-will spell-like ability at caster level twice its hit die to targets within 100 feet of it. The plant generally uses this ability to make zombies, which walk over and bury themselves by the plant. The plant then slowly digests the zombies. It takes 1d3 days to digest a zombie. Otherwise, a death blossom can use the zombies for defense. Within 24 hours, a zombie corpse will be sufficiently digested such that it is no longer functioning. Zombies created in the middle of combat will be used immediately to help fight.

If a corpse can only be made as a skeleton, then the skeleton is kept in defense or for use in killing nearby prey.

Furthermore, a death blossom can give orders telepathically to any undead creatures under its control as long as they are within 300 feet.

Undead Aspect (Ex): A death blossom is infused with necromantic energy and so takes on some properties of undead. A death blossom is healed by negative energy like an undead creature (but it is still healed by positive energy). Also, a death blossom gains a +2 Profane bonus on all saves against effects that an undead creature would be immune to, such as effects that require a Fortitude save that would not affect objects. However, a Death Blossom is affected by Turning and Rebuking as an undead creature of its hit die +6.

Death blossoms can be turned or rebuked but not commanded or destroyed. Whenever a Death Blossom is turned, it loses 1 spell slot of its highest level remaining.

I hope this helps.

Debby

Analytica
2012-06-03, 06:49 AM
I really like this idea, and think innate DN spellcasting is highly elegant. : )

JoshuaZ
2012-06-03, 09:36 PM
Hooray for good editors who know the rules better than I do!

Debihuman,

I've done essentially what you suggested, but decided after some thought to simplify the Spore ability slightly (so nothing complicated with removing curses and caster level checks).

I think I have the tendril attacks now done correctly.

Is it necessary to have typical spells listed? The Dread Necromancer spell list is fixed except for one additional spell every 4 levels, so they just get one additional spell to choose from (should I maybe suggest possible options for that spell then?).

Also, is my CR estimate reasonable?


Analysis, glad you like it.

So, any thoughts about the various things one can do with a Heart? Are any of the options too strong?

JoshuaZ
2014-01-02, 05:29 PM
Bumping for possible further reviews. I adjust some formatting issues. Feedback on the CR would still be good. My players are likely to encounter a set of these soon so I'd like to have all the issues ironed out.

Debihuman
2014-01-03, 08:17 AM
It looks like Necromantic Potency is missing from the stat block. Also check your CR. I'm getting a 9 not a 6 which means it is overpowered for its HD.

Vorpal Tribble’s CR estimator

#1. Divide creature's average HP by 4.5 to 6.5.
4.5 for 5 HD or lower, 5 for 6-10 HD, 5.5 for 11-15 HD, 6 for 16-20 HD., 6.5 for 20-25 HD

9

#2. Add 1 for each five points above 10 its AC is, subtracting 1 for every 5 below.

0

#3. Add 1 for each special attack (+2 to +5 or more if it has a decent number of spells in its spell-like abilities).

7 (it has full spells so it gets +5)

#4. Add 1 for each quality unless you deem it worthy of more. Add 1 for each resistance and 10 points of DR it has, and 2 for each immunity. Subtract 1 for each vulnerability.


11 (some are kind of powerful)

#5. Add 1 for every two bonus feats it has.

0

#6. Divide total by 3. This should be its rough CR.

9 +7 +11= 27. 27/3=9

You should mention zombies as well as skeletons in the creature's stat block under Organization. Note: any zombies and skeletons it has under its control will ADD to the creature's CR since they count as full adversaries and aren't summoned creatures.

Debby



Debby

JoshuaZ
2014-01-04, 07:02 PM
Hmm, so how many HD should I add? If I add 4 hit die that should be ok, right?

Debihuman
2014-01-06, 02:56 AM
Yeah, adding 4 HD should do it. Don't forget to add another feat and to bump its skills accordingly. Also adding HD will change its attacks.

Also the modifier on Str 20 is +5 not +4. so you need to fix your attack lines too.

Debby