Walking Endolith (3.5e Creature)
| Walking Endolith | |
|---|---|
| Size/Type: | Medium Plant (Earth) |
| Hit Dice: | 6d8+18 (45 hp) |
| Initiative: | −2 |
| Speed: | 20 ft. (4 squares) |
| Armor Class: | 17 (−2 Dex, +9 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 17 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +4/+13 |
| Attack: | Slam +9 melee (1d8+7) |
| Full Attack: | 2 slams +9 melee (1d8+7) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | Spell-like abilities |
| Special Qualities: | DR 10/slashing and critical, blindsight (60 ft.), resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic 10 |
| Saves: | Fort +8, Ref +0, Will +2 |
| Abilities: | Str 20, Dex 7, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 10, Cha 6 |
| Skills: | Hide +2*, Listen +5 |
| Feats: | Earth's Embrace(CW), Improved Grapple, Power Attack |
| Environment: | Any mountains, or underground |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 5 |
| Treasure: | None |
| Alignment: | Always neutral |
| Advancement: | 7-12 HD (Large) |
| Level Adjustment: | — |
As you approach the rubble, many of the stones in the pile start shifting in unison, clattering and rumbling against the rest of the heap but somehow sticking firmly together. The most green-yellowish material, a mix of lichen-covered boulders and miscellaneous mossy soil, rises up into something like an earth elemental: a wide, bulbous stone body with two fat arms and two stubby legs, linked into smaller segments filled in with dirt and caked in a thin, silky layer of fungus.
A walking endolith is a collection of symbiotic plants, fungi, and microorganisms, spontanteously animated when prolonged magical weather in an inhospitable area forces the native species of lichens and soil microbiota to undergo extreme changes for their survival. They can form on the energy-infused slopes of a cursed mountain, in the wake of a magical disaster that blasts a whole region down to bare rock, or inside a dungeon when the sunlight is sealed off and the air is pumped thick with irresponsible arcana.
While most of its mass is made from collected rock and coarse dirt, a walking endolith's body is actually the intricate network of magical lichen and mycelium that spreads through the compacted soil, using this material as a sort of animated armor. Those that live outdoors photosynthesize and take in water for their daily needs, but all of them need additional nutrients like phosphorus and potassium to live, and cavern-dwelling walking endoliths are particularly starved for chemical energy. If rich soil isn't available, they'll scrape what they need off of dead animals — and if those aren't available, they'll find things to kill.
A walking endolith is about 7 feet tall and weighs about 1,000 pounds.
Combat[edit]
With the rock absorbing most physical blows, and the resilient, adaptable lichen able to withstand many forms of energy, a walking endolith is very hard to even scratch. However, a precise slash between its rocky segments can tear the fungal filaments apart and detach entire limbs or bisect its body.
When agitated, a walking endolith typically picks the closest moving creature and presses itself down on it, grappling, pinning, and crushing the target until death. It tends to use its spell-like ability moreso to dig around for nutrients or collect new substrate than to fight.
Blindsight (Ex): A walking endolith is blind, but it uses sound, vibration, and chemical reception to ascertain all foes within 60 ft.
Damage Reduction (Ex): Slashing damage delivered in a critical hit bypasses a walking endolith's damage reduction.
Plant Traits: Unlike most plants, walking endoliths are subject to critical hits from slashing weapons (which also means they can be sneak attacked with them).
Skills: Walking endoliths have a +10 racial bonus on Hide checks in environments dominated by natural rock (like caves or mountainsides).
Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—soften earth and stone. Caster level 3rd.
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