Puddleglum

Puddleglum (Medium Muryan Fey)

The Puddleglum was inspired by a character from the Narnia Chronicles by C.S Lewis and then infused with the dark side of Dr. Seuss.

CR:8

Hit Dice: 6d6+36 (60 hp)

Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Imp Init)

Speed: 30 ft, swim 30 ft

AC: 16 (+3 Dex, +3 natural), T13, FF13

Mobility: 20

Base Attack: +3

Attacks: Melee Touch +2, Ranged Touch +6

Damage: poison (Initial Dmg; 2d12 Hp, Secondary Dmg; 1d6 Con, Fort DC19)

Face/Reach: 5 ft by 5ft/5 ft

Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, Spit Poison

Special Qualities: Low-light vision, immunities, Acid and Fire resistance 5, DR5/Cold Iron, Endurance, Hold breath for 44 minutes

Saves: Fort +8 (2), Ref +8 (5), Will +6 (5),

Abilities: Str 8, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 14

Feats from racial hit dice: Dodge, Mobility, Improved Initiative,

Climate: Temperate and warm swamps, bogs and lakes

Organization: Solitary

Alignment: usually chaotic neutral

Advancement: 6-10 HD (Medium), 11-20 (Large), 21+ (Huge) they continue growing throughout their lives, by their 4th century of life a Puddleglum can be as tall as 12 feet, some of the ancients are as tall as 28 feet. They only gain additional racial hit dice through aging, after the initial 6 hit dice; additional racial hit dice come once a century.

Level Adjustment: +4

‘A Puddleglum is also sometimes referred to as a Marsh Wriggler. This is a tall beanpole of an elf, almost 7 feet tall, with droopy ears and greasy hair. He smells strongly of alcohol and rotten fish and he looks very old and sad. His bluish grey beard hangs all the way down to the ground, he deftly steps around it but he would trip and fall if he had to run. The pipe he is smoking looks like a Sherlock Holmes pipe gone to extremes, it has a narrow mouthpiece that widens at the bottom, which is down by his knees. There is good reason for the odd shape of his five-foot long pipe, the smoke that rolls out of the bowl looks more like fog and it is highly toxic. The green smoke falls to the ground and rolls by your feet slowly, while the smoke that lazily falls out of the Puddleglum’s nose cascades down his body and curls at his feet.’

Puddleglum’s do not reproduce sexually; they are only brought into existence by way of reincarnation. Chaotic Neutral Elves with a grumpy disposition whose souls are not ready to move on to the outer planes when they die come back as Puddleglums.

A newly spawned Puddleglum grows first as a plant under the water in a dark swamp. After a few (d6) months the plant grows to full height and then forms into a sort of cocoon. That takes a few (d6) months to grow to full size and after a little less than a year a new Puddleglum pops out like a pea from a pod. At this point they are fully matured, with the face of a very old elf, their previous life barely the memory of a half forgotten dream.

He looks like an elf, only very tall (around 7 feet) and his ears are far longer than an elf’s, they point out and hang down from their own weight, much like those of a dog’s. He has a turquoise skin color and navy blue hair; he wears drab clothing with very little color or imagination. He appears to be old; he has the fine lines of a 50 year old on his face. Most Puddleglums wear beards, some don’t. The beard of a Puddleglum can grow down to their feet in less than a month, once it is fully grown they must cut it weekly or else they will trip when they walk.

A Puddleglum always lives near or in water. They enjoy fishing and in fact live on a solid diet of fish and moonshine. They do not use fishing poles though; they consider it to be cheating. Using the trident or the harpoon they dive into the water and hunt for their meal everyday.

They are not only immune to poison, but quite enjoy it. They smoke a highly toxic plant that grows in the swamp. The smoke is very thick and heavy; it rolls to the ground like fog. If inhaled, the smoke functions as Burnt Othur Fumes (DMG P.297), the initial effect drains one point of constitution permanently, then deals 3d6 constitution damage as a secondary effect. DC18

They often associate with assassins to acquire new and delicious poisons, the deadlier the poison the better. A dose of poison for a Puddleglum is the equivalent of a one-ounce shot of high quality liquor for a human.

They also drink moonshine at something like 300 proof (technically that is impossible since it would be 150% but they use magic to super infuse the alcohol into a liquid form), this booze is highly toxic, a single shot requires a DC20 fortitude save, failing that makes you very drunk, if a second shot is taken they get a DC15 fortitude to survive, failing that they die of alcohol poisoning, if you pass you pass out. Creatures that are immune to poison can drink this freely, but that doesn’t mean they would want to, creatures such as dwarves that have a bonus to saves against poison do not die from this drink, but they will pass out with their second failed save, the hangover will last about a week. This drink is called Marsh Wriggle Wine.

Puddleglums are a Muryan race so they need to eat and sleep, although they have an odd diet, they only take nutrition from fish and poison, thus they smell fishy and can be dangerous for humans to be close to. They continue to grow taller as they age, but they do not grow older. They are ageless; they can die of course, just not from old age.

They are usually Chaotic Neutral. They are always fascinated by the concepts of Good and Evil, but never feel any inclination to go either way. They have no actual sense of morality, they only think of what’s best for themselves or their interests at any given time. In terms of ethics, the stricter of them tend towards True Neutrality. They are never Lawful, the very idea is repugnant to a Puddleglum, who values absolute freedom above all else.

In way of personality, most people who have met a Puddleglum did not enjoy the experience, they would describe him as a curmudgeon, a sour faced, grumpy old scrooge. A rare few however find the Puddleglum’s straight forward brutal honesty refreshing, most of them have one or two non Puddleglum friends who visit them from time to time, more often than not these are also people who deal in poisons. A Puddleglum with an unusually high charisma might remind you of Lewis Black.

A Puddleglum always assumes the worst, when friends come calling they always inquire first about the bad news, they don't say, “What’s up?” they say “What's wrong?”

The typical Puddleglum lives in a small (15ft by 20ft) wooden houseboat that floats through the swamp unfettered, he keeps a long pole by the front door so he can steer when he needs to. His bed is placed between two windows; at night when he sleeps he hangs his feet out one window and his long hair out the other. His little house has a front porch where he sits and smokes his pipe in the afternoon and well into the evening. In the mornings he dives off this porch into the water armed with only a trident, a knife and leather sack to catch some fish for his breakfast and lunch, then he gets drunk for dinner. Sometimes, if the waters take him out to a big lake, he will take a harpoon to catch larger fish.

COMBAT

They don’t like to fight; they like to fish, drink and smoke their pipe. The only weapons a Puddleglum is proficient with are the trident, the harpoon and the filet knife (Dagger), he uses these items when fishing. They are not proficient with any shields or armor.

When confronted with violence the Puddleglum prefers to run away, if he has the opportunity he will turn invisible. If he is forced into a fight he will first use his poison ability, if it seems to work he will continue using poison. Other Spell Like Abilities he may find useful in a tight spot are Produce Flame, Entangle, Daze and Charm Person. He only uses weapons in a fight as a last resort.

Spell-Like Abilities: CL6th, Constitution based.

At will – Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Invisibility, Know Direction, Mending, Animate Rope, Dancing Lights, Flare, Charm Person

3/day; Identify, Daze

1/day – Permanent Image, Dream, Produce Flame, Entangle

Spell Immunity (Ex): A Puddleglum is immune to any spell that allows spell resistance. Before Lv10 they have Spell Resistance equal to 10 + their character level.

Poison (Ex): At will as a standard action a Puddleglum can produce a mouthful of poisoned saliva. He can then spit up to 30ft (this is not a range increment), he can make a ranged touch attack against one target, if he succeeds the target is poisoned from the Puddleglum’s saliva. The DC for the poison is 10 + 1/2 the Puddleglum’s racial hit dice + his Constitution modifier. This poison functions as Sassone Leaf Residue (P. 297, DMG).

They can also spit into their hand and make a melee touch attack; one palm of spit is good for a single touch attack. A Puddleglum could also spit on a weapon to deliver the poison; the poison only stays long enough to make one attack.

Mechanically, it’s a standard action to produce a mouthful of saliva and it’s a swift action to spit, if he prepares a mouthful of poison and spits the next round it counts as a standard attack action and can be used as part of a full attack.

Immunities (Ex): Puddleglums are immune to the effects of illusion spells, and spells such as maze or woodmaze, and Immune to Poison. Before level 7 they only have a +8 resistance to all but poison.

Frog Man (Ex): A Puddleglum can hold its breath for minutes rather than rounds.

Skills: (6+Int) x 4 at first level and (6+Int) per Hit Die. Puddleglums receive a +8 racial bonus to swim checks and can always take 10.

Class Skills: Handle Animal, Bluff, Concentration, Escape Artist, Hide, Listen, Knowledge Arcana, Knowledge Nature, Survival, Spot, Swim (+8 Racial Bonus & Can Always Takes Ten), Use Rope

Abilities: Str –4, Dex +2, Con +12, Wis +4,

Level Progression for PC Puddleglums:

Favorite multiclass would be Rogue, Druid or Ranger (specializing in archery only).

They are not melee fighters; they are far too cowardly to swing a sword.