…because snakes are cool, that’s why! Duh! Only sharks are cooler… hm…. snakeshark! Oh, yeah, that’s going in there…

Anyway, here’s a bit more of work-in-progress for Earth Delta, namely, snakevines! I like concepts that lend themselves to easy expansion, mostly because I’m intellectually lazy, and if I get one quasi-good idea (possibly even a para-good idea, and if you get that joke, damn, you’re an old-school gamer), I will not just run with it, I will do a god-damn marathon with it. So, when I got the idea of sort of snake/plant hybrids, it occurred to me I could do all sorts of snakes and fill a lot of different niches, so a quick look at my spreadsheet of monsters showed me I still needed brutes and artillery for level 15… and that’s what you’re getting.

Wait, you ask, level 15 of what? No, you’re not asking that, since this site isn’t exactly teeming with random casual browsers, but, just in case… this is for Earth Delta, Lizard’s version of post apocalyptic mutant adventuring designed for the Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition rules, a lot like WOTC’s own Gamma World, except, a)mine doesn’t have collectible cards, and, b)rather ironically, mine is more compatible with core 4e than theirs. Go figure.

Snakevines

Snakevines are hybrids of plant and serpent, usually resembling twisted, hydra-like collections of leafy snake heads springing from a bulbous trunk that scurries along on dozens of serpentine roots. There are many different species. They are usually found in ruined and overgrown cities, where they slither and lurk inside buildings or among other overgrowth, such as bloodzu.

Anaconda snakevines are massively thick creatures, their sinuous green bodies rippling with strength. They usually lie in wait among other vines and plants, so twisted around them as to be almost invisible, and then begin a sudden squeezing attack on all creatures in reach. They are fairly single-minded creatures; squeeze it until it stops moving, then eat it if it looks like nothing is around which will try to eat it first.

If the snakevine anaconda sees no more enemies and all the creatures it has grabbed are dead or helpless, it will begin to swallow its prey; this is best modeled by losing one healing surge per minute. When all of the surges are gone, the target is devoured and dead. The anaconda snakevine cannot swallow prey larger than Medium, so it will drop any such prey it has grabbed if they fall below zero hit points or become helpless.

There are many rumors, bordering on legends or myths, of truly massive anaconda snakevines that lurk in the densest jungles at the heart of the ruined cities of the equatorial and tropic regions. Some of these tales are simply of immense monsters, but others talk of intelligent, psionic, anaconda snakevines that rule regions of their cities as gods.

Spitting cobra snakevines, sometimes just called spitting vines or cobra vines, hunt by poisoning prey at a distance, keeping up the barrage of venom until the enemy collapses, and then moving in to feed. If the cobra snakevine sees no more enemies and has a helpless enemy within 20 squares, it will move to it and begin to swallow it; this is best modeled by the victim, if he is still alive, losing one healing surge per minute. When all of the surges are gone, the target is devoured and dead. The cobra snakevine cannot swallow prey larger than Small, so it will leave such corpses to scavengers.

They are not interested in Medium or creatures as food, but will attack if disturbed or if they feel the creatures are a threat or have invaded the snakevine’s home. If an enemy approaches too closely, the snakevine will usually do all it can to escape and will then focus its attacks on the interloper, in preference to all other targets. Only if the enemy seems very weak, or if there is nowhere safe to move to, will a cobra snakevine bite rather than shift after a leaking sap attack.

Cobra snakevines are mostly solid green, but their heads are usually patterned with unique geometric shapes in shades of green, grey, and brown. Carefully dried and preserved, such heads are valuable to rubblers and other communities who live near to the cities; in some societies, the patterns on the heads are used as symbols for fortune-telling. Someone using the gut & skin technique can gather the heads for sale; they have the same base value as components would, but cannot be used to make items.

Common Mutations

The following mutations are known to be found among all breeds of snakevine.

Snakemind: Sometimes, a snakevine develops an advanced consciousness, raising its Intelligence to 10 (if you prefer, roll 8+1d6) and granting it the languages of Common and either Branchwave or Scale (Ophidian dialect), as well as 1-2 trained skills. The twisting snake-heads are agile enough to wrap around the trigger of a gun, and they may well have an appropriate weapon to supplement their other abilities.

Woodscale: Some snakevines have exceptionally thick skin, a hard bark that offers additional protection but reduced mobility. These snakevines have +2 AC and -1 Reflex, but lose the AC bonus after being bloodied. (They do not regain the Reflex penalty)