FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1 or 50-200
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVE: //1"
HIT DICE: 7
% IN LAIR: 98%
TREASURE TYPE: Incidental
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1-3 tentacles
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralytic poison,
entrapment, swallow prey whole,
continuous damage
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (see below)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes:
Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/875 + 8/hp
The giant sea anemone is essentially a
larger and far more dangerous version of
its smaller relative. The larger of the
two
creatures lives in a variety of ocean
depths; At depths greater than 50?, however,
the giant sea anemone is encountered
singly. In tidal pools and secluded
shorelines, smaller varieties live in
colonies numbering from 50-200.
The giant sea anemone has a maximum
tentacle reach of 30'. The body of this
creature is roughly 8' in diameter; its
mouth is nearly 6' across and is centered
between the creature's tentacles. Most
creatures of this species have 100 tentacles,
with a rare few having more or less
than this amount.
A successful hit with a tentacle causes
thousands of small, hooklike needles to
spring forth from the appendage. The
needles as a whole (not each individually)
cause 1-3 hp damage on the initial strike.
In this manner, the giant sea anemone
attempts to restrain its victim, trapping
it
within the grasp of several tentacles.
On
the round following a successful tentacle
hit, the sea anemone begins secreting its
poison into the victim?s body. The poison
secreted causes a loss of 1 point/round
from the character?s strength and dexterity
scores; similarly, the victim?s movement
base is slowed by 1?/round. A character
reduced to 0 in either strength, dexterity,
or movement suffers the effects of paralyzation
and is unable to move without
outside assistance. A save vs. poison negates
the effect of this secretion, as does a
neutralize poison spell or power.
At the beginning of each round, a
trapped victim may attempt to break free
of the giant sea anemone's grasp. To do
so,
the character must roll successfully on
his
open doors ability. If the character is
held
by more than one tentacle, a successive
number of rolls equal to the number of
tentacles holding the character must be
made. Failure to make any of these rolls
means that the character has not broken
the grasp and is still within the giant
sea
anemone's grasp. The sea anemone can
grasp a character with no more than three
tentacles at a time. Once the giant sea
anemone has wrapped three tentacles
around the character (an action requiring
three successful ?to hit? rolls), the creature
attempts to swallow the victim whole. A
successful "to hit" roll by the creature
at
this point results in the victim being
swallowed.
A swallowed victim is ground up
by internal organs which do as many
points damage per round as the victim?s
armor class (so AC 0 victims take no
damage).
The giant sea anemone cannot be killed
by cutting off its tentacles; the central
body itself (where the hit points are)
must
be attacked. A severed tentacle grows
back at a rate of l?/day. The base of this
creature cannot regenerate if destroyed
(i.e., taken to 0 hp or less). Although
the
giant sea anemone has the ability to move,
most rarely do so, prefering instead to
remain in one spot for the duration of
their lives. The tidal anemone fastens
itself
to a rock, while its deep-water cousin
sits
freely on the ocean bottom or on a rocky
ledge. Any treasure left around the giant
sea anemone?s lair is simply incidental;
it is
the remaining accoutrements of previous
victims.
by Nick Kopsinis
| Ocean monsters | Monsters | Dragon #116 | Dragon magazine | 1st Edition AD&D |