Shambling Mound

[oslecamo]

Shambling Mound


HD:d8

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feature
1	+0	+2	+0	+0	Shambling Body, Like a Mound, Str+1
2	+1	+3	+0	+0	Shambling Grab, Plant Predator, Con+1
3	+2	+3	+1	+1	Growth, Tick Vegetation, Str +1
4	+3	+4	+1	+1	Charge Up, Constrict, Con+1
5	+3	+4	+1	+1	Slimy Vines, Fertilizer, Str+1, Con +1
6	+4	+5	+2	+2	Rotting Suffocation, Green Energy, Str+1, Con+1

Skills: 2+int modifier per level, quadruple at first level. Class skills: Balance, Bluff,  Climb, Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Hide, Jump, Knowledge(Nature), Listen, Move Silently, Spot, Survival

Proficiencies: Its Natural Weapons only.

Features:
Shambling Body: The Shambling Mound loses all other racial bonuses, and gains plant traits. It is medium plant with a base speed of 20 feet, a swim speed of 20 feet and  two natural Slam attacks doing 1d8+Str mod.  It can attack with both Slam attacks as a standard action.

It also gains gains natural armor bonus equal to its Con bonus and becomes immune to electricity.


Like a Mound: The Shambling Mound can hide whitout having anything to hide behind and move silently at normal speed whitout penalty as long as in a place of heavy vegetation.

Ability Score Increase: The Shambling Mound gains a permanent +1 to
Str at levels 1, 3, 5, 6
Con at levels 2, 4, 5, 6

For a total of +4 Str and +4 Con at level 6.

Shambling Grab: At 2nd level, to use this ability, a shambler must hit with both slam attacks. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

If the Shambling Mound has 8 or more HD it ignores Freedom of Movement effects on the target.

If the Shambling Mound has 12 or more HD it also produces a Dimensional Anchor effect on the target.

Plant Predator: At 2nd level, the Shambling Mound gains a racial bonus to Hide, Listen and Move Silently checks equal to 1+1/2 HD. The Hide bonus increases by +8 when in a Swampy or forested area. In addition as a swift action it can extend the reach of its two Slam attacks to 10 feet per HD for their next attack until the end of its turn.

Growth:At 3rd level the Shambling Mound grows one size category. Its Natural Armor increases by 1 and doesn't take size penalties for hiding.

Tick Vegetation: At 3rd level the Shambling Mound gains fire resistance equal to 4+HD, and as an immediate action, the Shambling Mound may fully negate the damage dealt by any one bludgeoding or fire attack, or half the damage dealt from a cold, piercng or slashing attack.

Charge Up: At 4th level, any electricity attack used against a shambler temporarily grants it 1 point of Constitution. The shambler loses these points at the rate of 1 per minute, but cannot gain more such Con than its Shambling Mound level.

Constrict: At 4th level, a Shambling Mound deals 2d6+1,5 Str mod damage with each successful grapple check.

Slimy Vines: At 5th level when grappling a creature, the Shambling Mound may choose to disconnect part of its body to keep grabbing them as a free action, suffering 1d12+HD damage. The victim keeps counting as grappled by the Shambling Mound, including receiving Constrict damage, but the Shambling Mound itself can go do other stuff. The Slimy Vines have the same defenses as the Shambling Mound and HP equal to the damage dealt to the Shambling Mound when created. They wither by themselves after 1 minute of the victim dying, but the Shambling Mound can make them wither instantly earlier as an immediate action.

Fertilizer: At 5th level, when the Shambling Mound deals Constrict Damage, it heals half that damage. If the Slimy Vines are the ones constricting, they gain that much temp HP, and heal the Shambling Mound by that same amount when they wither.

Rotting Suffocation: At 6th level, if the shambling mound wins a grapple check, if the victim cannot break off in 2d4 turns, they are are rendered unconscious. Creatures that don't need to breathe are immune to this.

Green Energy: at 6th level the Charge Up ability of the Shambling Mound grants 1d4 temporary Con, and now it only loses it at a rate of 1 point per hour, plus the limit is now equal to its HD, and not only Shambling Mound levels.

(click to show/hide)

Last month been pretty busy, finally some free time to make more monsters yay!

This time the Shambling Mound, a pretty old D&D monster that has shown up in pretty much every edition.

Basic combat is basic-get nearby, hug, kill. What's more surprising about this pile of rotting vegetation is that electricity makes it tougher. In the original version, with no cap. If you think this is silly, the 2e shambling mound actually gained extra HD. And awarded extra exp for extra HD. Thus you could tie up one of those, keep zapping it, and then kill it for massive profit.

Thus I put a cap on the free Con you could acumulate, and then added some abilities based on its fluff. Negating bludgeoding and half from piercing, slashing and cold is an homage to the 2e version that had all of those by default, which I guess made them pretty tough. Plant Predator helps getting into range as the Shambling Mound is still a slow melee monster and thus prone to kiting.

So if you want to play a moving pile of hungry plants, the Shambling Mound's for you!

[Daedroth]

Skills: 2+int modifier per level, quadruple at first level. Class skills: Balance, Bluff,  Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge(any), Listen, Perform, Spot, Survival

A singing and erudite shambling mouth? Strange.

Rotting Suffocation: At 6th level when the Shambling Mound starts a grapple roll 2d4. If the victim cannot break off earlier, they're rendered uncoscious.

That makes no sense. I think that you want to say "If the victim cannot break of in 2d4 turns they are are rendered unconscious".

[Anomander]

I think it makes sense as worded. What I find a little problematic is that it happens whenever it starts a grapple.
Which means that even if he always wins the grapple checks the grappler has to let go of the Shambling Mound or he gets unconscious for wanting to keep on dominating it for too long. The ability implies that the suffocation is happening from the SM overpowering its victim, not to be used as a limited to how long a grappler can safely grapple it. If it happens while it has a victim pinned it would be suitable since pinning a victim is clearly a position of dominance while merely grappling is technically on equal grounds.

[oslecamo]

Removed Perform, reduced knowledges to nature, added Climb.

As for Rotting Suffocation, put in a new wording so that it only starts when the shambling mound wins an actual grapple check.

However, the ability is more meant to be "you're sharing your space with a pile of decomposing vegetation, it is pretty hard to breathe" than "Shambling Mound is using its kung-fu skills to choke-hold you", thus I don't think pinning fits.

[Anomander]

Oh, if it isn't a strangulation/body-breaking thing it could get triggered just for sharing its space, not just during grapples. And affect creatures that need to breath. Maybe some kind of accelerated suffocation trick.

[oslecamo]

Added clause about creatures that don't need to breathe being immune.

Balors are another example of a D&D creature that has an ability of "get too close to me and you'll suffer bad stuff" that only triggers on grapples, even if you're winning said grapples against the Balor.

[Anomander]

Sound.

After you said it wasn't a strangulation thing I agreed with the notion so no need to further try to convince me.
That's why I said it could even happen just for spending a round in the same space as one (instead of it having to be a grapple) but if you want to limit it to a grapple that's fine too.