Moonflower
Description
A fully grown moonflower easily stands 20 feet tall, its massive trunk frequently 4 feet or more in diameter. The roots extend away from the base and into the soil, making the plant seem well anchored, but the roots themselves possess an agility that belies the great size of the plant and allows the moonflower to uproot itself and move with surprising speed. The tendrils of the plant are independently prehensile and writhe around the large flytrap-like “head” that crowns the stem.
Moonflowers have never been known to communicate with other creatures, even with druids and others who regularly converse with plants. The plants do possess some manner of strange telepathy, though, and are in constant communication with their nearby brethren. Those who manage to intrude upon the creatures' alien thoughts face an assault of horrible visions of terrifying jungles filled with ancient, sentient, and malign plants.
Combat Stats
- Melee
- bite +15 (2d6+9 plus grab), 2 tentacles +13 (1d8+4)
- Space
- 15 ft.
- Reach
- 15 ft.
- DR
- 10/slashing
- Racial Modifiers
- +16 Stealth in thick vegetation
Ability Scores
Special Attacks
Light Pulse — As a standard action, a moonflower can release a pulse of bright light. All creatures within a 50-foot burst that can see the moonflower must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. Moonflowers are immune to this ability. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Pod Prison — This works like the swallow whole ability, except the moonflower can only use it once every 1d4 rounds, and the swallowed creature is immediately wrapped in a tight digestive cocoon and expelled into an adjacent square, where it takes damage every round (2d6 bludgeoning and 2d6 acid, AC 15, 25 hp). The cocooned target cannot use Escape Artist to get out of the cocoon. Other creatures can aid the target by attacking the cocoon with piercing or slashing weapons, but the creature within takes half the damage from any attack against the cocoon. Once the cocoon is destroyed, it deflates and decays. Each creature swallowed by a moonflower is encased in its own cocoon.
Special Qualities
Pod Spawn — Should a moonflower's pod prison kill and digest a Small or larger creature, the pod transforms into an adult moonflower with full hit points after 1d4 hours. The newly formed moonflower has its own consciousness, but some aspect of its trunk or blossoms resembles the creature that died within. The dead creature's equipment remains inside the new moonflower and can be retrieved by killing it.
Feats
Special Abilities
Universal Monster Rules
Special Abilities
Feats, Traits & Items
In melee, every time you miss because of concealment (see Combat), you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit.
An invisible attacker gets no advantages related to hitting you in melee. That is, you don't lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn't get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible. The invisible attacker's bonuses do still apply for ranged attacks, however.
You do not need to make Acrobatics skill checks to move at full speed while blinded.
You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a sunder combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks made to sunder an item. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense whenever an opponent tries to sunder your gear.
The creature's secondary attacks with natural weapons take only a –2 penalty.
You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +2 bonus on all melee damage rolls. This bonus to damage is increased by half (+50%) if you are making an attack with a two-handed weapon, a one handed weapon using two hands, or a primary natural weapon that adds 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier on damage rolls. This bonus to damage is halved (–50%) if you are making an attack with an off-hand weapon or secondary natural weapon. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by –1 and the bonus to damage increases by +2. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.
You get a +3 bonus on all checks involving the chosen skill. If you have 10 or more ranks in that skill, this bonus increases to +6.
Skills
Perception +9, Stealth +4 (+20 in thick vegetation)
- Type
- Plant
- Alignment
- N
- Size
- Huge
- Environment
- any land
- Organization
- solitary or cluster (2-8)
- Treasure
- standard
- Senses
- darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +9
- Languages
- telepathy (1 mile, other moonflowers only)
- Source
- Bestiary 2