Flail Snail

[Voltage89]

Hey everyone! I made a recent post about different creatures I could use in a mission my players will be going on as they are attempting to create a potion like thing I brewed up. The one creature I really like is the flail snail as its shell will serve as the bowl the potion will be brewed within. I know that sounds a little strange but it works for the idea I had for the potion. However, I am having trouble finding a good place to put the flail snail in my world as I assume they are very rare. Does anyone know the different areas I could put them in? I hate putting monsters in that have no place in the environment they are placed. Thanks!

[Goaty14]

Which tabletop game is this for?

[Voltage89]

Which tabletop game is this for?
5e D&D my bad

[rferries]

Flail snails!!!! I love those. :) I believe they're subterranean. There was a recent (Pathfinder?) expansion that detailed their culture too.

[aimlessPolymath]

The question seemed pretty system independent to me.

Usually, they live underground. (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/magical-beasts/flail-snail/) If you want a bit more information about them then that, then...

When making up creatures to describe how they live, there are two major questions to answer:
-What do they eat? How do they do it?
-What eats them? How do they survive it?
One of these two is usually the "interesting" one. For flail snails, I think it's the second one. What is their shell well-adapted to deal with? Mostly, spellcasting effects targetting the snail, which their shell helps protect them from. Their flails are good for dealing with slow, tough creatures, too.

What kinds of creatures satisfies some of the following?
a) Hunt snails (large fleshy creatures with shells)
b) Use targetted spell-like effects
c) Be relatively slow, such that flails could ward them off.

Going through the various "underground" creatures in the Monster manual (3.5e, because I have it open right now).
-Beholders have lots of targetted effects, and nobody knows what they eat normally. This is a likely candidate for creatures that interact with flail snails often!
-Carrion Crawlers might compete with them for food- the snail's shell is likely enough to protect them, though.
-Chokers basically ignore them.
-Cloakers basically ignore them.
-Darkmantles might mistakenly drop down on them, but would be dealt with by the flails.
-Delvers are a real threat- the corrosive slime they leave behind are really dangerous. They avoid delvers when possible, and likely didn't develop together.
-Destrachan can deal with them easily and safely- so since flail snails aren't adapted to them, they likely haven't interacted much. Different regions of the underground, probably.
-Ethereal filchers ignore them.
-The various fungi might be smashed into a fine pulp, then eaten, maybe. Violet fungi are toxic, though.
-Gibbering mouthers are annoying, but likely not a predator.
-Grick are impossible to deal with. Relatedly, DR 10/magic on a CR 3 is preeetty nasty. Would not live together.
-Mimics basically would not fight them.
-Mind flayers have no reason to hunt them, and they are startlingly well adapted to resist them.
-Minotaurs... would have a lot of trouble with it. Possible predator.
-The various oozes would have a field day with it. Unlikely to live together.
-Otyugh might compete with it for food.
-Phantom fungi could absolutely coexist with it.
-Phasm are weird. No idea.
-Purple Worms are probably around there somewhere.
-Ropers can murderize them.
-No competition with rust monsters.
Skimming past a bit, Umber Hulks are the other major creature that has an actual targetted spell-like ability-esque ability.

So realistically, Flail Snails are likely hunted by Beholders and Umber hulks, may coexist with a number of creatures, and compete with Otyugh and/or Carrion crawlers.

[brian 333]

Locations with dense, multi-tiered forest cover and regular rainfall, such as jungles, might serve. Especially around watery grottoes or deep ravines. The cenotes of Central America come to mind.