Super-Swarm: How Can You Use It?

[Regitnui]

While looking for items on the DMs Guild for my pirate campaign, I found an interesting download called the Buccaneer's Bestiary (http://www.dmsguild.com/product/176625/The-Buccaneers-Bestiary). While I'm not going to offer you a full review, here, I'd like to discuss an interesting special ability of one of the more original monsters in that book; the coelenite. The coelenite is a 'plant' monster, essentially a form of mobile, aggressive coral that will defend its home reef to the (opponents) death. It has an interesting trait, beyond it's other properties:


Single-Celled Organism. The coelenite doesn't make saving throws as normal. Instead, if a spell or (magical) effect targets an individual creature, the coelenite automatically succeeds on its saving throw, whereas it automatically fails saves against area effect spells. Spells which target multiple creatures are resolved as normal.

Now, this trait seems to have a lot more potential to me. Assuming that spells are meant to include other magical effect like dragons' breath weapons and the death knight's Hellfire Orb, this makes swarms (trait presented below) a lot more threatening, especially swarms of smaller-than-Tiny creatures that can't be modeled as well by the existing swarms. A cloud of mosquitoes could be an area effect or a hazard. Or, armed with this Single-Celled Organism trait, could be much more threatening to the players, say in a magically-reinforced plague scenario.

So, my fellow Playgrounders, beyond the balance implications of this trait (though of course you're welcome to elaborate on that too), what monsters and malevolences can you come up with using this trait? The Spawn of Kyuss? A swarm? A giant, aggressive algae bloom?

Again, I'll highly recommend the Buccaneer's Bestiary (http://www.dmsguild.com/product/176625/The-Buccaneers-Bestiary) to anyone running a nautical campaign.

Reproduced for reference:

Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a (individual creature size, usually Tiny) (individual creature). The swarm cann't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

[Temperjoke]

Are the parts a single hive-mind? Can they operate individually, or do they all have to be physically linked? For example, could a monster with this trait toss a piece of itself and still control that piece?

[Regitnui]

Are the parts a single hive-mind? Can they operate individually, or do they all have to be physically linked? For example, could a monster with this trait toss a piece of itself and still control that piece?

I can't say for any monster, but the coelenite is a single mass that can communicate with other coelenites and only other coelenites telepathically. I suppose that that could make them a hive mind, but judging by what's presented, they're "buds" of a main colony. Does your idea need it?

Splitting could be incorporated, but that's a separate trait. If i recall correctly, the oozes have an appropriate trait. *Searches book* Aha! Taken from the Black Pudding entry:


Split. When a pudding that is medium or larger is subjected to lightning or slashing damage, it splits into two new puddings if it has at least 10 hit points. Each new pudding has hit points equal to half the original pudding's, rounded down., New puddings are one size smaller than the original pudding.

[Temperjoke]

I can't say for any monster, but the coelenite is a single mass that can communicate with other coelenites and only other coelenites telepathically. I suppose that that could make them a hive mind, but judging by what's presented, they're "buds" of a main colony. Does your idea need it?

Splitting could be incorporated, but that's a separate trait. If i recall correctly, the oozes have an appropriate trait. *Searches book* Aha! Taken from the Black Pudding entry:

Well, I didn't have any specific creature(s) in mind, but it made me think of a giant monster that was actually comprised of billions of nano-sized monsters. Players would attack it as if it were a single creature, hacking off parts and pieces which could either merge back with the original or attack on their own.

[Regitnui]

Well, I didn't have any specific creature(s) in mind, but it made me think of a giant monster that was actually comprised of billions of nano-sized monsters. Players would attack it as if it were a single creature, hacking off parts and pieces which could either merge back with the original or attack on their own.

Great idea. Could be some sort of ooze...