SJCC: Harpooneer

Harpooneer
Borrowed from the harpooneer in James H. Schmitz's excellent book The Demon
Breed.

Climate/Terrain: Wildspace asteroids
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Animal (1)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1

Armor Class: 7
Movement: 0 (effective)
Hit Dice: 2+6
THAC0: 12
No. of Attacks: 1-10
Damage/Attack: 1d6
Special Attacks: Poison, surprise
Special Defenses: Reduced damage
Magic Resistance: Standard
Size: M (4-6' in diameter)
Morale: Fanatic (18)
XP Value: 650

The harpooneer is a deadly form of plant-life. It dwells on large rocks and
asteroids in wildspace. It has large purple leaves and pseudo-flower petals
that have a faint blue phosphorescent glow. This glow is used to attract
creatures looking to feed off glowmoss or similar plants. However, creatures
that get too close will find that the pseudo-flowers actually contain
bone-white spikes that shoot out with blinding speed to impale the
unfortunate victim.

Combat: The harpooneer relies on its spikes to catch prey. It will have 1-10
of these pseudo-flower spikes, depending on the size of the plant and
current availability. As many as 5 of these spikes may strike out at one
target. These spikes are launched with blinding speed. The harpooneer has
a -2 bonus to initiative and will surprise unwary creatures (those who do
not recognize the plant for what it is) 5 in 6!

The spikes contain a paralytic agent that progressively destroys the
victim's nervous system. If the victim fails a save vs. poison at -4, their
Dexterity will be cut in half each round (rounding down) until it Falls
below 1 at which point the victim is fully paralyzed. In addition, the
victim's Strength and Constitution will be reduced by 3 points each round
until Constitution reaches 0 and the victim is dead. [For quick resolution
for creatures without Attributes, subtract 1 Hit die per round until the
creature is dead. Modify this by size: Tiny=1 rounds, Small=0 rnd,
Medium=+1, Large=+2, Huge=+4, and Gargantuan=+6. Paralyzation takes effect
immediately unless the creature makes a second save.]

Each of the spikes is connected to the harpooneer by a tendril that is as
tough as steel. The plant reels in speared prey to its digestive cavity.
Each of the spike tendrils has a range of 30 feet. The harpooneer can detect
potential prey up to 100 feet away by detecting motion, heat, and changes in
light. Attacks against the harpooneer may be reduced in damage depending on
weapon type. Small piercing weapons (such as arrows and knives) do only 1
point of damage. Blunt and other piercing weapons do -2 points of damage per
die. Piercing weapons cannot be reduced below 1 point of damage, but blunt
weapons can be rendered ineffective by damage reduction.

Habitat/Society: The harpooneer is highly similar to a plant
found on certain tropical worlds. No one is sure which developed first, but
the harpooneer of wildspace is dreaded by ship crews. It can move about 2
feet every hour, but rarely does so except to seek a better location to
catch prey. It will then drill its roots into rocky surfaces, typically on
asteroids or boulder-size rocks. It tends to grow where it is shielded on
one or more sides. This enables it to surprise creatures. More than one
spacer has rounded a rock on an asteroid only to see too late the blur of a
spike tendril shooting towards them. Fortunately, harpooneers are only found
in warmer regions of wildspace (within a range of 60-90 degrees Fahrenheit).

Ecology: These plants eat smaller prey. However, they will strike out at
anything that comes within range. Larger creatures (over 150 pounds) that
cannot be reeled in are typically left for scavenging creatures to feed
upon. This makes the harpooneer doubly dangerous as scavvers and their ilk
have learned to lurk near these plants waiting for a potential meal. There
are no known creatures that prey upon the harpooneer.


John McCloud
jmccloud@????????.???.net