The Gollicking is at again! We went followed in r/dndbehindthescreen‘s theme of plant month and made something really great.
Get some critters and come unique items based on them!
https://www.reddit.com/comments/8n6mjj
There’s a lot of good ones, so check them all out. But here are the ones I wrote:
Phoenix Bright
Inspiration Tumbleweed
Description
At first, it looks like an oversized tumbleweed blowing around in the desert, just a mass of dried sticks twisted into a ball. When prey gets close enough to reach, then it strikes. Like a match hitting tinder, the pile of twisted branches bursts into flames. The tight bundle expands, uncoiling into a flaming, bulbous figure. It snatches up the closest creature, using its twisted appendages to stuff the prey inside of its flaming cage-like body. Burning itself and the creature within it, it rushes to the next closest creature, stuffing it into its body as well.
It continues the hunt until the flames burn long enough to kill it. Then it collapses, its corpse still burning for up to 30 minutes.
But this is not the end, for the flames will turn the trapped prey to ash. The ash and sand create black glass on the desert surface. And within that black glass, the seeds of more phoenix brights will be nourished and grow. Then one day, they will sprout, breaking through the glass and rising from the ashes. They will grow from the sun’s rays as they blow around the desert until the day they find the right moment to strike.
Special Abilities
Moving in a straight line, a phoenix bright can move 60 ft as a move action. If they turn, they can only move 45 ft. Phoenix brights automatically deal fire damage to themselves and all creatures within 5 ft (including any grappled creatures). Every turn they move more than 30 ft, the fire burns hotter, resulting in double fire damage for the round.
Once within reach, the phoenix bright will grapple their prey, pulling them into their body. The flames, hardened sticks, and their rolling body give any creatures trying to escape disadvantage on all escape attempts. Creatures within their body take full fire damage.
Phoenix brights range from size medium to size large. They can hold one creature of their size within them, two creatures one size category smaller than them, or four creatures two size categories smaller than them. They lose 5 ft to their total movement speed for each creature trapped within them.
Encounter tips Since these plants only have one chance to reproduce, they stop at nothing to catch and kill their prey. Their tenacity is as dangerous as their flaming, cage-like body. They will chase prey even if it appears hopeless, only halting pursuit when easier prey is spotted. As an ambush predator, they can remain dormant for up to a year, blowing wherever the wind takes them, waiting for the right time to strike.
Weapons & Loot
Phoenixglass Dagger. A wicked sharp but brittle blade that breaks after stabbing something, leaving a chunk of it in the target. The broken blade becomes hot, and the stabbed creature must spend a full round to extract the blade or suffer a penalty. If the broken blade is in their chest or stomach, they take disadvantage on any ability check or save. If the glass is in their arm, they take disadvantage on all attacks. If the glass is in their leg, they reduce their speed by 10 ft.
When the handle of the broken dagger is placed in a fire with a small amount of sand for one hour, the remaining piece of the phoenixglass will melt the sand and form a new blade.
Created by u/RexiconJesse
Wyrmwood Tree
Inspiration Started with the wordplay, worked backward from there
Description
Wyrmwood trees (up to 30 feet long and 50 ft high) are found in swamps. They have several trunks connected to the same sprawling root system. The trunks twist around, making a long outline that has a shape similar to a dragon. It’s ranches stretch out from each trunk, their long, drooping leaves masking the tree’s draconic figure, making it difficult to spot before it can attack
The wyrmwood tree’s roots do not remain stationary, and the murky water covers their movement. When a creature gets within range, the wyrmwood tree will stretch one of its roots out to the creature, entangle them, and pull them underwater. In addition, this allows the wyrmwood tree to wander around swamps, though they usually move too slowly to notice.
If the trunks of the tree suffer enough damage, the wyrmwood will stop attacking. If creatures continue to attack it, it will use all of its available limbs to grapple them and either throw or crush them.
Birds perch in its shade and wade in the water as if nothing is wrong. They catch the fish that come to eat the rotting corpses being slowly digested by the tangling roots. The tree does not attack the birds because they attract other larger creatures it can feed on.
Special Abilities
The wyrmwood tree’s primary attack is to use its loose roots to ensnare prey and drown them. Since its entire root system can uproot itself, the wyrmwood tree can ensnare multiple creatures at once. It can also go for a more direct approach and try to crush creatures caught in its grasp. It will only do so when starving or extremely threatened.
Encounter tips The wyrmwood tree works best when coupled with another threat. Those familiar with the tree can chase intruders to areas of the swamp containing wyrmwood trees. After getting them close to the trees, rather than fighting, the pursuers can try to capsize the party’s boat, allowing the tree to do the hard work of killing the party. You can also spice up any normal fight with swamp monsters by having a nearby wyrmwood tree start tangling and drowning participants.
Weapons & Loot
If carefully crafted by an expert, they can create a whip (1d4 slashing damage, finesse, reach) from a slender root from the wyrmwood tree. The whip is twice as long as a normal whip, but it has the same reach. The wyrmwood whip keeps it’s burrowing abilities and has a slight psychic connection to the user. The user can snap the whip down when attacking and it will burrow underground. A psychic connection allows the user to direct it, allowing it to spring up out of the ground when it attacks. This allows it to ignore cover and shields, unless blocked by a large underground object. It can do all of the normal tricks with whips, such as disarming and tripping, but it cannot pull other items or creatures underground with it. When used on softer ground, such as sand or underwater, all actions with the whip gain advantage.
Created by u/RexiconJesse
Twitter & Instagram: @RexiconJesse
RexiconJesse - Jesse Galena 