Thursday, May 13, 2021

Giant Flytrap & Snapping Flytrap

 Getting tired of throwing flesh-and-blood beasts and monsters at your party? Let's try a plant instead! These creatures are not out of place in any discerning gardener's arsenal, and could even occur naturally in your setting. Consider any greenhouse or forest in a humid climate a potential environment for a Flytrap. This well-rounded monster is not difficult to run, it's understandable from a real-world perspective (which just hands you verisimilitude, if you ask me) and is an easy and straight-forward introduction to many game mechanics. With weaknesses (fire), resistances (acid), and the Grab, Swallow Whole, and Rupture mechanics, Flytraps readily showcase what monsters in PF2e have to offer. A standalone Snapping Flytrap could serve as a boss monster as early as level 1! Plenty of plant food for thought.

Hook 1 (TJ) - Hunger for Adventure
Briff Rigglesby, a halfling horticulturist, has gone missing. Convinced of his own sorcerous prowess, he set to exploring an unmarked and unmapped swath of jungle by himself. He is now two weeks overdue for his check-in with the rest of the expedition. Initial scouting reports detail hearing his voice in their heads, beckoning them toward a glade of sun, serenity, and apparent safety in the hostile wilderness. When the ground began to quiver and close up around them, a scout lost his leg to the Giant Flytrap that would have been happy to take more. Fleeing the glade, Briff's voice came to them again, goading their expeditious return; a starving, urgent call.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - The Trapper's Dance
Trappers, the title for the most respected hunters of the N'guta tribe, are known for the rigorous tests of physical prowess that any upcoming candidates must pass in order to join the elite. One of those tests, meant to measure agility as well as courage and focus, involves snatching a trinket from a massive snapping flytrap's leafy jaws.

Hook 3 (Reece) - The Mouths of Dionaea
To outsiders, the town of Dionaea feels just a little bit... Off. Travelers are warned early and often to stay away from the town's wells. When questioned, the answers the townsfolk provide are anything but consistent. There is a rat problem, the water is rancid, they're cursed or even that they EAT unsuspecting people. With shifty gazes and dodgy answers, those that dig to deep into the town's underground tend to "disappear".

The truth is far darker. Townsfolk feed outsiders that overstay their welcome to a Giant Flytrap named "Gorgroth" and its many smaller mouths located in the humid cave system under the town. They believe the creature brings them power, in addition to the fact that it serves as a convenient means of disposing those the townsfolk dislike or disagree with.

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