A Mound of Trouble

[Ashiel]

So I haven't actually made a thread in a long time so I thought I'd share a fun thing my friends Aratrok, Raital, Shinta, and I were discussing on Skype.

I'd like to draw your attention to four things.
1. Shambling mounts are Intelligent.
2. They live in marshes.
3. Shocker lizards can be trained with Handle Animal.
4. Shocker lizards live in marshes.

Let that sink in for a bit.

[Shinta]

Continuing this thought line I would like to add a thing some of you might miss.

They lose one point per hour. They gain 1d4 constitution per hit. That means that one shocker lizard living on this mounds back is giving it an average of 1500 constitution per hour, then having it lose one.

[Ashiel]

I have to use this at some point. I just have to. This is going to get used in a game. I swear it. XD

[BadBird]

At INT 7, would they really reach that breakthrough with a creature that they would find so very, very temptingly tasty as a... raw delicacy?

[Ashiel]

BadBird wrote:

At INT 7, would they really reach that breakthrough with a creature that they would find so very, very temptingly tasty as a... raw delicacy?

As smart as humans but not as smart as smart humans. Seriously, 7 INT isn't that dumb. These things have more skill points than commoners and a higher potential with them.

All it would take would be for one to get close enough to spook a shocker lizard just one time. Just one time to discover that shocker lizards are little bundles of happiness.

[BadBird]

Ashiel wrote:

BadBird wrote:

At INT 7, would they really reach that breakthrough with a creature that they would find so very, very temptingly tasty as a... raw delicacy?

As smart as humans but not as smart as smart humans. Seriously, 7 INT isn't that dumb. These things have more skill points than commoners and a higher potential with them.

All it would take would be for one to get close enough to spook a shocker lizard just one time. Just one time to discover that shocker lizards are little bundles of happiness.

Oh, I'm not saying that they're too dumb to figure out the whole 'little bundle of happiness' factor. Far from it. I'm just not sure how easy it would be to get past "these little things taste like chicken and sex! I WANT MORE!".

[Ashiel]

Mostly because 7 Int doesn't equate to mentally handicapped. The normal range for a non-damaged human is 3-20. You're attributing a level of stupidity (one that makes them incapable of doing something) that they clearly just don't have (shambling mounds are as smart as humans - though not as smart as smart humans, capable of doing more than even most humans, and they comprehend two languages, which is one more than the average human).

[Blymurkla]

Hm. Shocker lizards live in »warm marshes« and shambling mounds in »temperate forest or marshes«. I'd read that as temperate forests and temperate marshes. So the two creatures are unlikely to meet.

But I agree with Ashiel. This is so wonderfully stupid I must use it.

[Wolin]

Hah, this is great. Unfortunately, I'd expect that since it comes from the same source it would cap at the maximum of 4. But still, it's such a great idea that it's worth using.

[TarkXT]

Ashiel wrote:

So I haven't actually made a thread in a long time so I thought I'd share a fun thing my friends Aratrok, Raital, Shinta, and I were discussing on Skype.

I'd like to draw your attention to four things.
1. Shambling mounts are Intelligent.
2. They live in marshes.
3. Shocker lizards can be trained with Handle Animal.
4. Shocker lizards live in marshes.

Let that sink in for a bit.

This is an old combo I thought of years ago but chose not to let out of the bottle because it's less of an interesting encounter as a way to get your players to hate you.

[Gilarius]

First time I played the original Ravenloft module, the DM didn't consider it dangerous enough.

He added a Shambling Mound to the initial encounter with the gates. Originally, it was merely an introduction without any actual danger. And then he made those gates electrified...

We lost 3 PCs to that mess, and the rest only survived by running away faster than the Mound felt like pursuing.

It is indeed a great way to get your players to hate and distrust a GM.

[hiiamtom]

Ashiel wrote:

So I haven't actually made a thread in a long time so I thought I'd share a fun thing my friends Aratrok, Raital, Shinta, and I were discussing on Skype.

I'd like to draw your attention to four things.
1. Shambling mounts are Intelligent.
2. They live in marshes.
3. Shocker lizards can be trained with Handle Animal.
4. Shocker lizards live in marshes.

Let that sink in for a bit.

Shambling mounds eat meat and are resistant to shock lizards.

What you really need is an encounter with shambling mounds who are farming shock lizards deep in the marsh and have your mash-up creations be peaceful shambling mounds forming a society and your party just swoops in and stomps it into the ground.

Then again, I like the party feeling a little guilty for killing stuff even in self defense. Not bandits or other evil creatures, but an intelligent plant that lives in the middle of nowhere? Sure.

[Ashiel]

TarkXT wrote:

Ashiel wrote:

So I haven't actually made a thread in a long time so I thought I'd share a fun thing my friends Aratrok, Raital, Shinta, and I were discussing on Skype.

I'd like to draw your attention to four things.
1. Shambling mounts are Intelligent.
2. They live in marshes.
3. Shocker lizards can be trained with Handle Animal.
4. Shocker lizards live in marshes.

Let that sink in for a bit.

This is an old combo I thought of years ago but chose not to let out of the bottle because it's less of an interesting encounter as a way to get your players to hate you.

If my players don't hate me yet, I doubt they ever will. Poison gas tombs with undead, resetting summon monster traps, a healthy grasp on the environment chapter... :P

Fun times. :D