Lore: Child of Swamps and Storms
Sometimes referred to as a shambler, a shambling mound resides in dark swamps or rain forests, eating everything organic that crosses its path. Plants, animals, none can escape its hunger. Luckily, they are as slow as they are rare, keeping them from cleansing an ecosystem. Even so, there is an unsettling silence wherever these monsters reside.
As they’re made of various forms of rotting vegetation, shamblers can easily blend into their environments to hunt. Being too slow to chase, they absorb nutrients from everything around them as they wait for their prey to come to them. Should one stumble upon it, it will strike with surprising – and terrifying – vigor.
When lightning strikes at an ordinary swamp plant, or when fey magic goes to work, a shambler is born. At its heart is a root-stem; its plant body protects this stem while it simultaneously feeds on itself. Should lightning strike again, it would invigorate the stem, bolstering the shambling mound even further.
In a surprising bout of intelligence, the root-stem is capable of feigning death in the face of an overwhelming opponent. If not fully destroyed, the shambler can rise again and continue hunting. Because of this, truly ridding oneself of a shambler infestation is far more difficult than with most pests.
This lore is a prime example of how less can be more. Mainly in that this one has got blocks and blocks of text, yet it’s actual storytelling potential is extremely limited. Honestly, I don’t even think it’s worth a side quest. At best, you can write a random encounter in a jungle with it.
Not off to a great start. But there’s still plenty of time to turn it around.
Design: Wrath of the Plants
Man, giant plant monsters are so fucking cool! There’s not even a real reason for that, they’re just cool!
I love this design! It’s not just cool, it’s brimming with creativity and it effectively communicates the lore without so much as a word! This is a top tier design, no doubt about it!
The fact that it’s a weird mish-mash of all these different kinds of plants is perfect. You’ve got some weird mushrooms, vines, tree roots, the thing is a walking swamp. It’s like a Resident Evil monster in D&D!
Also, hilarious as it is, the inclusion of the one dude in the artwork really sells how horrifying this monster can be. If it gets you, it isn’t just gonna chomp your head off and be done with it. It’ll swallow you whole and crush you into fertilizer. That, to me, is so much worse than the alternative.
This is a rock solid design through and through. Easily the best aspect of the monster.
Which is really unfortunate to say at the halfway point.
Stats: Nature’s Devourer
You know, for a monster that’s essentially just a bunch of dead plants stacked on top of each other, this guy is surprisingly durable!
Killing a shambling mound is not a quick effort. While its AC isn’t exceptional, its HP is definitely nothing to sneeze at. More than that, it is resistant to cold and fire damage, as well as completely immune to lightning and the blind, deaf, and exhausted conditions. This is one tough cookie.
Oh yeah, it isn’t just immune to lightning. It completely absorbs it. Hit this guy with any lightning magic and all you’ll do is heal it.
Aside from that, the fight is relatively straight-forward. The shambler can either slam into you with its body or just straight-up try to eat you.
Simple as it is, it doesn’t make for an amazing fight. Nor does it make for a terrible one. There is more going on here than just ‘hit it until it dies.’ But the bulk of the strategizing is just ‘avoid lightning’ and ‘don’t get swallowed.’ It’s not as bad as it should be, but it could be more interesting.
How in the hell did they make a plant monster that doesn’t even do plant things?!
Placement
Honestly, this one is really disappointing. It’s design is one of the best we’ve seen in ages! But the lore and the stats just can’t keep up.
With all that in mind, the Shambling Mound is going to #134 on the Best of the Bestiary!
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- Shambling Mound <————————-
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