A "living portal" template??

[OttoVonBigby]

Background: I was wondering what exists at the heart of every planet in my setting, and I didn't want to go too scientific, but I also wanted to account for volcanoes and such. I was unenthused by the Epic Level Handbook's phaethon, but then I thought "maybe it's a fully-advanced (288 HD) primal fire elemental...which is also somehow a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire, because that would be cool." It would suit the cosmology of my setting if it were so.

Which led to the thought: suppose there was a template that gave this ability to any creature capable of swallowing, engulfing, or being entered by (as in it's gaseous or w/e) another creature? I feel like there's precedent for a creature that swallows you and then you get pooped out on another plane, but I can't think of what it might be.

The template could maybe be in two versions: one where the planar destination is always the same for that particular "living-portal" creature, and another where it's a random destination.

But what the heck level adjustment would such a template have?? And what happens if I'm swallowed by a Living-Portal (EP Fire) Primal Fire Elemental while I'm already on the Elemental Plane of Fire? (Maybe nothing, beyond the effect of being swallowed by a regular Primal Fire Elemental?)

(P.S.-- I don't like the name "living portal" because, if this entire concept works, I'm certain there are some undead creatures who should be eligible for it.)

Anyway, share your thoughts.

[Bohandas]

I feel like there's precedent for a creature that swallows you and then you get pooped out on another plane, but I can't think of what it might be.

Dalmosh of the Infinite Maws from Monster Manual 5

[RatElemental]

If you're still looking for names, there are a lot of good ones to pick from. Conduit, Nexus, Focal Point, etc.

[sengmeng]

Fiendwurm is I think the monster.

I actually had headcanon for my healer warforged that he is powered by a tiny portal to the positive energy plane. Great minds, huh?

[OttoVonBigby]

Perhaps what I'll do is reverse-engineer the CRs of Dalmosh *and* the fiendwurm, try to pin down what proportion of the CR of each seems to be due to the portal-in-the-belly, and then (assuming the numbers are not completely out of whack between the two) somehow equate that to an LA for the template. If all goes well, it should at least give me a ballpark for the LA, which is more than I have now. Sounds like a holiday project!

[Bohandas]

Also IIRC on the old WoTC forums RMGCLF/Fuzzy Necromancer had a monster that did this

[OttoVonBigby]

Alright, here's a WIP.

Portal-Bellied Creature
(this name is also terrible but I'll go with it for now)

Most creatures digest what they swallow, but a rare few creatures--whether through arcane experimentation or the bizarre blessing of unknown higher powers--can actually send things or creatures that they swallow to another realm entirely. These "mobile portals" resemble their more typical brethren on the outside, though they often have thinner frames and/or strangely undulating abdominal growths.

Creating a Portal-Bellied Creature
"Portal-bellied" is an inherited template that can be added to any creature capable of swallowing, engulfing, or being entered by other creatures. A portal-bellied creature has all the base creature's characteristics except as noted here.

Special Attacks:

• Portal Gizzard (Ex): Portal-bellied creatures contain a continually active portal inside their bodies. The portal exists as a supplemental gizzard-like organ; the creature has conscious control over whether something it swallows goes into its stomach, to serve as typical nourishment, or through the portal. The act of sending something through the portal provides no nourishment to the portal-bellied creature. If the base creature possesses the swallow whole ability, it deals the appropriate damage regardless of whether the subject is to be digested or transported.
  
  The portal ejects anything it swallows to a random destination on either a particular plane, or a random plane. A particular portal-bellied creature's portal does not change; it always leads either to a random plane or to a specified plane. Often, the portal goes to a plane that has some relationship to the portal-bellied creature, e.g. a portal-bellied fey creature sending swallowed creatures to the Plane of Faerie.
  
  Exiting the gizzard before being thrust into the portal requires making a successful Escape Artist check of a DC equal to 10 + the portal-bellied creature's ???, or dealing ??? points of damage to the gizzard. The DC is Strength-based.
  
  One-way portals do not permit creatures from the other plane to pass through and emerge into the creature's portal gizzard. Some portal-bellied creatures, however, possess a two-way portal. Such creatures can attempt, once per day, to summon one random creature from the other plane with a 30% chance of success. (This ability is the equivalent of a spell equal to the portal-bellied creature's ...???.) Valid summoned creatures have a number of hit dice equal to or fewer than the portal-bellied creature, and are of the same maximum size as those valid for the portal-bellied creature to swallow. The summoned creature appears within the gizzard, and can be expelled through the portal-bellied creature's mouth with a move action.
  
  In rare circumstances (subject to the DM's discretion), a creature from another plane might enter the portal-bellied creature against the latter's will.

Challenge Rating: +1 (one-way portal); +2 (two-way portal)

Alignment: Slightly stronger tendency toward evil than the base creature.

Level Adjustment: +2 (one-way portal); +4 (two-way portal)

[Catullus]

Alignment: Slightly stronger tendency toward evil than the base creature.

I would suggest "one step towards the plane in which the portal goes to" instead of toward evil... A monster with a portal to Celestia within it is probably going to be more good-aligned, not evil...

[sengmeng]

I would suggest "one step towards the plane in which the portal goes to" instead of toward evil... A monster with a portal to Celestia within it is probably going to be more good-aligned, not evil...

SECONDED

but I agree with your LA of +1 or +2.