[Creature] Look but don't touch!

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Toxdra



Small Fey
Hit Dice: 3d6+12 (22 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+3 dex, +4 natural, +1 size), touch 14, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-5
Attack: Claw +5 melee (1d2-2 plus touch me not)
Full Attack: 2 claws +5 melee (1d2-2 plus touch me not)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Bitterberry, neutralize poison, poison absorption, touch me not, warning colors
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/cold iron, immunity to poison, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +6
Abilities: Str 7, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 9, Wis 16, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +9, Intimidate +9, Listen +8, Knowledge (nature) +4, Spot +8
Feats: Dodge, Great Fortitude, Weapon Finesse(B)
Environment: Temperate or Warm Forest and Marsh
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +4

A toxdra is a beautiful yet unnerving creature with the lower half as a large, legless caterpillar and the top half of an adrogynous humanoid that nevertheless has a feminine quality. The top half's skin has the paleness of illness, and large scarlet and magenta veins of a poisonous shade stand out prominently. The eyes are large and bright red, with deep, wrinkled bags swinging below. Its hair is more like feathery fur, starting half-way down the head, and spread out backwards like a mane. It is a shocking shade of firey orange, with darker auburn diamond shapes going down in a line. The thin arms are long for its size, and tiny claws spring from its fingers.
The bottom half is a darker shade of maroon with scintilating highlights that flicker when it moves. Though at first appearing to be covered in scales, up close it can be seen to be much more like the petals of some waxy flower forming layer after layer with the same brilliant-colored veins coursing through them.

Those that are the most beautiful are often the most deadly. The poisonous butterfly, the bright-colored fruit, the shining serpent, all are creatures who flash their warnings to leave them be, that they are not good to eat. The toxdra is a friend to such creatures who possess this elegant menace. They are most often found living about the tangles of poison ivy thickets or fields of deadly toadstools which they love as a dryad does her tree. Though such creatures and growths are rarely tangled with, she protecting them with a display of her own, dancing as beautifully as it is frightening.

A toxdra speaks sylvan. They weigh around 40 lbs and stand some three and a half feet high.

Combat
A toxdra is a creature of bluff and intimidation, trying to frighten and unnerve instead of fight, her eyes alighting ominously. If unable to ward them off a toxdra rushes forward to fill their veins with poison.

Bitterberry (Su): Three times per day as a standard action a toxdra can cause up to 2d4 berries to grow from any plant she touches. Anyone who eats of these berries must succeed on a DC 15 fortitude save or take 1d10 points of Constitution damage. Damage from multiple berries eaten stack. The berries remain potent for 1 day before losing their properties. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Neutralize Poison (Su): A toxdra can use Neutralize Poison at will as the spell (DC 15 will negates) as a 3rd level caster except that she absorbs the poison as mentioned below. Save DC's are Charisma-based.

Poison Absorption (Ex): Any time a toxdra is exposed to poison it can store it within for a number of minutes equal to her Consitution modifier. At any time she may extrude the poison in a number of different ways. The save DC and affects of the poison are the same as the original poison.

Contact: A toxdra can spread this poison with a successful touch attack.
Ingested: A toxdra automatically spreads this poison whenever she is bitten.
Inhaled: A toxdra can spread this poison by using a full round action to breathe out the poison into the air. This poison fills a 10-foot cube and remains in place for a number of rounds equal to her Constitution modifier, though a moderate wind (11+ mph) or higher disperses it immediately.
Injury: A toxdra can spread this poison by making a successful claw attack.

Touch Me Not (Ex): A toxdra's skin is poisonous and anyone she touches, or anyone who touches her, must succeed on a DC 15 fortitude save or begin to break out with an oozing rash. This rash is horribly irritating and those that fail the save must cease all other activities in order to scratch, shift their clothing, and generally show signs of extreme discomfort.
The affected creature takes a -5 penalty on initiative checks, and a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, saves, and skill checks. If they try to cast a spell, they must make a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level) or lose the spell. They also take 1 point of non-lethal damage each round they are forced to scratch if they have a Natural Armor bonus of +2 or lower. Those with a claw attack take lethal damage.
Anyone who comes in direct physical contact with those affected must make also make a save or gain the rash 1d4 days later.
Those that make the save are unaffected by the toxdra's poison for 24 hours. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Warning Colors (Ex): An excited toxdra produces an instinctive wariness in living creatures as it flashes its colors and weaves agressively. It can make an intimidation check against any creature within 20 feet that views it. Those that are intimidated also become shaken if they approach within 10 feet. A toxdra gains a +10 bonus to its intimidate check when using this ability.

[martyboy74]

Can do they release poison into the air if they're burned?

[Kaelaroth]

Haro Mr. Tribble.

In my honest peachy-opinion, I would say this isn't quite a cool as some of your others. However, I would like to ask a few questions....

- Is fey a language?

- a legless caterpillar? How does it move?

- Can you introduce a "greater version"?

- What about poison spit? Or spell-like abilities, i.e. neutralise poision?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Haro Mr. Tribble.

In my honest peachy-opinion, I would say this isn't quite a cool as some of your others.

Why's that? I actually prefer it to most of my recent creation.

- Is fey a language?

Adjusted.

- a legless caterpillar? How does it move?

Like a snake or worm.

- Can you introduce a "greater version"?

Mmm, maybe.

- What about poison spit? Or spell-like abilities, i.e. neutralise poision?

Those are some good suggestions, I'll see about adding them in.

[Kaelaroth]

Ach well. That's better.

*inner pedantic well of eternal hatred calms slightly*


Hmm... I dunno about the movement thing... my characters would just scream "Yuan-Ti!!!!" and then run for the hills. Again.

Thanks for answering me... and I hope the greater version comes along soon.

[RTGoodman]

They also take 1 point of non-lethal damage each round they are forced to scratch if they have an Armor Class of 2 or lower.

Is that a typo? I think you might have meant 12, because I'm not sure you can even possibly have an AC of two (unless you're larger than medium, have no natural armor, and a penalty to Dex).

EDIT: Oh, or you could have meant Natural Armor bonus of 2 or less. That sort of makes more sense. That's how caltrops work, right? If you've got a high enough Natural Armor, they don't work?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Hmm... I dunno about the movement thing... my characters would just scream "Yuan-Ti!!!!" and then run for the hills. Again.

They shouldn't considering it has no resemblance to a snake except has a legless lower body.

EDIT: Oh, or you could have meant Natural Armor bonus of 2 or less. That sort of makes more sense. That's how caltrops work, right? If you've got a high enough Natural Armor, they don't work?

Yeah, meant natural armor. Adjusted.

[JackMage666]

Bitterberry (Su): Three times per day as a standard action a toxdra can cause up to 2d4 berries to grow from any plant she touches. Anyone who eats of these berries must succeed on a DC 15 fortitude save or take 1d10 points of Constitution damage. Damage from multiple berries eaten stack. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Personally, I think 1d10 Con damage is a bit much for a CR 3 opponent, and would personally reduce it if I used this creature in a game. Not too mention the fact it could just eat it's own berries, and become very harmful to a PC with a bite attack (or a PC animal companion), which I think would increase CR a step or two. I think it should be more like 1d4 or so, since a bit of Con damage can go a long way.

Also, then you won't have quite the same problem with the entrepenouring rogue who pays the Toxdra to cast Bitterberry for him. It'll still happen, I'm sure, but not to the same degree.

Touch Me Not (Ex): A toxdra's skin is poisonous and anyone she touches, or anyone who touches her, must succeed on a DC 15 fortitude save or begin to break out with an oozing rash. This rash is horribly irritating and those that fail the save must cease all other activities in order to scratch, shift their clothing, and generally show signs of extreme discomfort.
The affected creature takes a -5 penalty on initiative checks, and a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, saves, and skill checks. If they try to cast a spell, they must make a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level) or lose the spell. They also take 1 point of non-lethal damage each round they are forced to scratch if they have a Natural Armor bonus of +2 or lower. Those with a claw attack take lethal damage.
Anyone who comes in direct physical contact with those affected must make also make a save or gain the rash 1d4 days later.
Those that make the save are unaffected by the toxdra's poison for 24 hours. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Is this a disease? If so, does it have a set length, or do you have to successfully save against it twice (not sure about diseases, they never come up in my games, but I mean the normal time it would take to get rid of a disease). I think it would be handled better as a disease, personally.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Personally, I think 1d10 Con damage is a bit much for a CR 3 opponent, and would personally reduce it if I used this creature in a game.

How so? Someone has to eat the berries to be affected. This is not exactly something thats likely to be effective in combat.

Not too mention the fact it could just eat it's own berries, and become very harmful to a PC with a bite attack (or a PC animal companion), which I think would increase CR a step or two. I think it should be more like 1d4 or so, since a bit of Con damage can go a long way.

Yes, but see, first it has to cast. 1 round. Then it has to eat it. Another round. Now it has to be bitten.

Also, once they bite it is unlikely they'll even try to do it again. So it is a one-shot, circumstantially useful ability. I mean, c'mon, a CR 3 cockatrice can turn you to stone permanently by IT biting YOU.

Also, then you won't have quite the same problem with the entrepenouring rogue who pays the Toxdra to cast Bitterberry for him. It'll still happen, I'm sure, but not to the same degree.

Hey, if a rogue can somehow find something a Toxdra actually wants in payment for berries then he probably deserves them.

Is this a disease?

"A toxdra's skin is poisonous"

"Those that make the save are unaffected by the toxdra's poison for 24 hours."

[DracoDei]

Good concept as usual, but I have some questions...
How large is the exhaled cloud of poison?
Does "touch me not" stack with an absorbed poison released via contact or does it substitute for it?
How long do Bitter Berries stay potent on the plant? What about if picked and dried or otherwise preserved? Because I see them using this ability once per day to build up a supply and then munching on a handful (about 20-50 let us say) before combat. 1d10 Con with each touch activated with an action (almost certainly) equivalent to chugging a potion? Nasty...
Also, Bluff seems to me as something that you only need when you are FAKING being poisonous (which is a common tactic in nature too), rather than when you can back it up...

[JackMage666]

"A toxdra's skin is poisonous"

"Those that make the save are unaffected by the toxdra's poison for 24 hours."

Alright, understood, but it seems to act more like a disease than a poison - Especially since rashes tend to last.

So, how long does it last, then? Do the penalties reduce after some time, or is it the same until it's over?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Good concept as usual, but I have some questions...
How large is the exhaled cloud of poison?

10-foot cube. It's specified in my text file on my comp, not sure where it disappeared to.

Does "touch me not" stack with an absorbed poison released via contact or does it substitute for it?

They both can affect the creature, though each will likely have different saves.

How long do Bitter Berries stay potent on the plant?

1 day. Elaborated in the text.

Also, Bluff seems to me as something that you only need when you are FAKING being poisonous (which is a common tactic in nature too), rather than when you can back it up...

Well, though they can back it up they aren't combatants and like to try to make them think they are even nastier than they truly are.

So, how long does it last, then? Do the penalties reduce after some time, or is it the same until it's over?

Standard rules for poison, so likely 1d3 hours for the rashes to go away unless you neutralize the poison.