FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: See below
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: C
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3-8 "bites" (only one "bite" per opponent)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-10 per "bite"
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Drowning; multiple attacks
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Concealment
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (covers 15' to 20' diameter area on ground)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
    Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/275 + 6/hp for body; add 36 + 2/hp per set of jaws

    Looking very much like a normal venus
fly-trap enlarged to twenty times regular
size, the giant fly-trap is usually concealed
in forest undergrowth so well that there is
only a 20% chance of seeing it before one
walks into it. The plant's 3-8 jaws are each
3-6 feet across and rest on or near the
ground.

    The giant fly-trap is activated by contact,
as a creatures against the "teeth"
sticking out from the jaws; the jaws immediately
strike out in the direction of the prey
with the odds "to hit" of a 2 HD monster,
doing 4-10 hp damage and gripping the
prey tightly. Prey up to 4' in height and 100
lbs. in weight can be enclosed in a 6' large
set of jaws, which will then fill with fluid
and drown small-sized victims in 2-8
rounds. The enclosed jaws then fill with a
mild acid that dissolves prey in 7-10 days.

    Once "swallowed" by the jaws, a victim
may only attack with claws, teeth, or hand-held
daggers from inside. Each set of jaws
will take 2 HD of damage before being
destroyed (roll separately for each set), after
which the prey inside can escape. Attacks
on a set of jaws inflicted from the outside
while it holds its prey will inflict half the damage
on the jaws themselves and the other
half on the victim inside. A lost set of jaws
will be regenerated by the main body of the
plant in two weeks, unless the 6 HD plant
body is also destroyed. One may try to force
the jaws of the plnat open, but a strength
roll for bending bars/lifting gates is required
and can only be attempted once by a
single character for a given set of jaws.

    If a set of jaws latches onto a figure larger
than they can "swallow," the jaws will
continue to cling to the victim, doing 1-4 hp
damage per round thereafter for 1-6 turns,
and the jaws will then automatically detach
themselves from the main body of the plant.
The victim, if still alive, can then be pried
out at leisure. If the main body of the plant
is slain, all held victims will be released in
2-5 rounds from the jaws still attached to
the plant.

    Treasure may surround a patch of giant
fly-traps, or the plants may have been
planted over a treasure hoard for protection.
Giant fly-traps take +1 hp of
damage done by fire attacks.
 

    by Roger Moore