Lesser Glantun
Terrain: Temperate deciduous or conifer forests "I sat quietly, watching the forest floor for signs of movement. After sitting long enough for both of my legs to begin to fall quite asleep, I heard a rustling in the debris a few feet to my left. After what seemed another eternity of waiting, I saw the creature pull itself from the rich, loamy topsoil and begin laboriously pulling itself along the forest floor, possibly heading for better hunting grounds. Long, dark brown tentacles wrapped around anything convenient, coiling and bunching as it dragged it's flat, leech-like body behind. I followed it from a discreet distance, not wishing to alarm the beast and observed as it settled into a new spot to await prey. Almost delicately, the creature reached out and began pulling leafy debris and soil over itself, hiding all except the tiny, pink tip of a tentacle which it waved above the dirt layer in a dance most enticing to many birds and small mammals. I settled in to continue waiting. It would most likely be awhile before prey happened along, before I would be able to watch this odd creature attack." The glantun is a one to two foot long, leech-like denizen of temperate forest areas. The creature's body is very flat, averaging only about 1 inch in thickness at it's middle and as thin as a few centimeters at it's edges. Hard, bony plates overlap along it's top, making it appear rock-like when hidden beneath a layer of leaves and soil. It's underbelly, however, it quite soft and pale white. Two dark, brown tentacles sprout from it's back, reaching out twice the length if it's body. Usually, the tentacles are coiled beneath the soil just in front of the creature's head, but are sometimes draped across very low hanging limbs. Hunting through deception, the glantun buries itself beneath a thin layer of leafy debris and coils it's tentacles before it. The very tips of both tentacles are soft, pink and thin, so they resemble common earthworms. The glantun then wiggles the tentacle tip enticingly to coax birds and small mammals close enough to strike. Once a creature touches the tentacle, the glantun strikes out with surprising speed to encircle the prey with it's appendages and grip it tightly. About two inches from the tip of each tentacle is a smooth stinger which injects a paralyzing venom into the victim. This venom will kill small creatures within a couple of minutes as it paralyzes the respiratory system. It then pulls the creature whole into it's maw. About the only way a traveler would find themselves at odds with the glantun is if they accidentally stepped on it. It would then act in self defense, whipping a tentacle up to inject the offending party with a dose of poison. The stinger does 1D3 points of puncturing damage as it injects venom into the victim. The other tentacle reaches out and snags dirt and leaves, which it then tosses into the air in a startle maneuver. At this point, the creature will simply try to escape. However, if it needs to, it can grab the offending party and constrict for 1D3 points of damage each round that they successfully remain wrapped around the victim. Escaping the tentacles only requires a successful strength check. The poison is a much more serious matter. As mentioned above, it shuts down the respiratory system, slowly causing the victim to suffocate. In a man sized creature, this usually takes about a day. After approximately 1D20 hours, the character must make a resist vs. toxins roll or fall unconscious and take 1 point of damage per round for 1D6 rounds as he struggles for air. Fortunately, the poison is not designed for large creatures, so most man sized or larger creatures will be able to wait out the toxin as it is flushed through the system. Though they do not have treasure, if one is skilled enough to remove the poison glands located at the base of each spine, an effective toxin can be extracted. By adding a few choice ingredients, a slow acting, deadly poison can be made. This creature was originally created for the Realmswalker system by William Graves. |