PEACH - Deep Spinner (a monster)

[Jon_Dahl]

NOTE: The picture is just something I found from Google Images, I guess it's a fan art for Marvel. I have no idea what it is but the credits go to someone else but me!

https://i.imgur.com/8ETZMqq.png
 
Deep Spinner
Size/Type: Medium Aberration
Hit Dice: 7d8+28 (59 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares).
Armor Class: 22 (+2 Dex, +10 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+8
Attack: 2 slams +8 (1d4+3) or spittle +7 touch ranged (1d12 acid plus poison)
Full Attack: 4 slams +8 (1d4+3) or spittle +7 touch ranged (1d12 acid plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spittle
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/magic, darkvision 120 ft., light blindness.
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 4.
Skills: Listen +10, Move Silently +4, Spot -4
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack.
Environment: Underground.
Organization: Solitary, family (4-7).
Challenge Rating: 4 5
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Often neutral
Advancement: 8-13 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +5

An average deep spinner is 5 feet and 5 inches in diameter and weighs 190 pounds. A deep spinner is an herbivore that dwells very far underground. Its diet mainly consists of id moss which partly explains its unusual poison. Deep spinner families prefer large open caverns with plants, moss, fungus and water to sustain them. Their fighting style also favors large open spaces. They are aggressively territorial and attack anyone close to their caves.

Deep spinners do not speak but their grunts and hisses constitute a method of communication short of a language.

A deep spinner couple can have one or two offspring per year but they avoid having families that cannot be sustained by their environment. If food is scarce, then the strongest female and male offspring are sent to find their own cavern and start their own family. All families are autonomous. All families like to collect trinkets from their enemies and decorate their caverns.

A deep spinner reaches maturity by the age of 18 months and can live up to 150 years old.

Combat
A solitary deep spinner runs away if the situation looks grim but if it decides to engage in combat, it fights to the end. A family of deep spinners keep their distance and attack with spittle but if that fails they switch quickly to spring attacks combined with slam attacks. They like to spread out and attacks with spittle on all sides, but space is usually too limited for that.

Light Blindness (Ex)
Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds deep spinner for round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled while operating in bright light.

Poison (Ex)
Injury, Fortitude DC 18, initial damage 1d6 Int, secondary damage 1 Int*. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +1 racial bonus.
*Permanent drain instead of temporary damage.

Spittle (Ex)
A deep spinner can spit its spittle up to 30 feet as a standard action. This is a ranged touch attack with no range increment. The spittle attack can be used 10 times per day. Deep spinner’s spittle is both acidic and poisonous. Opponents that take damage from the acid are subject to its injury-delivered poison (see above).

Skills
The large size of deep spinner’s eyes enhances its darkvision’s range but its eyesight is otherwise poor. Thus a deep spinner has a -4 racial penalty to Spot.

[rferries]

Cool and flavourful but I think the CR is too high. Not a lot of damage output and the poison will take forever to incapacitate even a dumb barbarian. Compare the troll (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/troll.htm) (also CR 5 but much more durable and aggressive).

Given the art I'd add additional slams. A xorn (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/xorn.htm) is another reference point too, given the similar physiology.

[Jon_Dahl]

Cool and flavourful but I think the CR is too high. Not a lot of damage output and the poison will take forever to incapacitate even a dumb barbarian. Compare the troll (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/troll.htm) (also CR 5 but much more durable and aggressive).

Given the art I'd add additional slams. A xorn (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/xorn.htm) is another reference point too, given the similar physiology.

Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated :)

I agree with you and I will lower the CR to 4. However, under no circumstances, is this is a CR 3 or lower (you didn't say that but I'm just stating it regardless).

Slams are funny. Most creatures who have slams can attack with one or two limbs but some have one slam and some can get two. There seems to some confusion with the number of limbs vs. amount of attacks when you look at some monsters. I gave it a thought and I decided to leave it to just one slam attack, because some creatures have one slam and some have two slams and there is no clear cut rule. I'm going to leave it to one slam attack (but in attack and full attack modes) but I don't know. Really, I'm unsure...

[Jon_Dahl]

A change has been made.

Was:
Attack: Slam +8 (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Slam +8 melee (1d6+3

Is:
Attack: 2 slams +8 (1d4+3)
Full Attack: 4 slams +8 melee (1d4+3)

But I keep the CR at 4. Perhaps?

[rferries]

A change has been made.

Was:
Attack: Slam +8 (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Slam +8 melee (1d6+3

Is:
Attack: 2 slams +8 (1d4+3)
Full Attack: 4 slams +8 melee (1d4+3)

But I keep the CR at 4. Perhaps?

Getting 2 slams as an attack is unusual; but not unprecedented; much better overall. :)

[Jon_Dahl]

Getting 2 slams as an attack is unusual; but not unprecedented; much better overall. :)

Thank you! Here's the lore. I don't think a table is needed.

DEEP SPINNER LORE
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Dungeoneering) can learn more about deep spinners. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
DC / Result
17 / This is a deep spinner, an aggressive herbivore from the deepest levels of the Underdark. This result reveals all aberration traits.
22 / Deep spinner is (mildly) resistant to weapon damage unless the weapon or ammunition is magical. If you are not combat, you remember everything about their ecology.
27 / Deep spinner’s primary attack method and its only ranged attack is spittle, which is acidic and poisonous, although the mind-affecting poison does not work if the acid does not do any damage. The spittle can hit you at 30 feet at best.
32 / Deep spinner’s darkvision is powerful but they see everything a bit blurry. Hiding from them is easy but they can still hear you fairly easily.

[rferries]

Thank you! Here's the lore. I don't think a table is needed.

DEEP SPINNER LORE
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Dungeoneering) can learn more about deep spinners. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
DC / Result
17 / This is a deep spinner, an aggressive herbivore from the deepest levels of the Underdark. This result reveals all aberration traits.
22 / Deep spinner is (mildly) resistant to weapon damage unless the weapon or ammunition is magical. If you are not combat, you remember everything about their ecology.
27 / Deep spinner’s primary attack method and its only ranged attack is spittle, which is acidic and poisonous, although the mind-affecting poison does not work if the acid does not do any damage. The spittle can hit you at 30 feet at best.
32 / Deep spinner’s darkvision is powerful but they see everything a bit blurry. Hiding from them is easy but they can still hear you fairly easily.

Very nice!

[aimlessPolymath]

Spring Attack seems surprising given its reliance on slam attacks (though the ability to strike twice in one attack helps). Have you considered a Trample ability?


Also, I thought up some possible lore:
Knowledge(Local(Dark Elves):
DC 20: Because their continuous pounding of the ground tends to grind outcrops to dust and smooth the surface, a drow community planning an expansion will herd a family of deep spinners into caverns they intend to inhabit. The task of guarding the spinners from predators is seen as particularly tedious, and used as light punishment duty.

[rferries]

If it were up to me, everything apart from the statblock and physical appearance of each creature would be prefaced with a Knowledge DC. Reward people for investing in those skills haha :D

Or, a single check (DC 10 or 15 + monster CR) would reveal all details of statblock, combat tactics, special attacks, and special qualities.

[Jon_Dahl]

Spring Attack seems surprising given its reliance on slam attacks (though the ability to strike twice in one attack helps). Have you considered a Trample ability?


Also, I thought up some possible lore:
Knowledge(Local(Dark Elves):
DC 20: Because their continuous pounding of the ground tends to grind outcrops to dust and smooth the surface, a drow community planning an expansion will herd a family of deep spinners into caverns they intend to inhabit. The task of guarding the spinners from predators is seen as particularly tedious, and used as light punishment duty.

Thank you, it seems that great minds think alike. I considered trample but I wanted to keep its size at medium. Trampling small creatures would be a marginal ability at best. D&D should have more official cool tricks for medium-sized creatures.

Also thank you for the lore! Will use!

[Jon_Dahl]

If it were up to me, everything apart from the statblock and physical appearance of each creature would be prefaced with a Knowledge DC. Reward people for investing in those skills haha :D

Or, a single check (DC 10 or 15 + monster CR) would reveal all details of statblock, combat tactics, special attacks, and special qualities.

I don't disagree, but I usually try to go along the lines of the general D&D conventions and knowledge checks' overall crappiness with monster lore is one that has been particularly consistent.

[rferries]

I don't disagree, but I usually try to go along the lines of the general D&D conventions and knowledge checks' overall crappiness with monster lore is one that has been particularly consistent.

Ha, indeed!