Terrain: Swamp
Hit Dice: 5
Intelligence: Low Average (5-8) Size: Medium
Alignment: Neutral
No Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 5
Thac0: 12
Treasure: (I need to check the DM Guide...I don't remember the exact code for
what I'm thinking of.)
Actions: 2
Attacks: 2 (tentacle strike x2)
Damage: 1D4 stinger, 1D6 constriction
Special Abilities:
Paralytic Poison
"I sat quietly by the water's edge, eating a lovely sandwich which
Mistress Sylene had made for me before I continued my travels. Beautiful woman,
she was . . .and she could work wonders with pastrami! At any rate, I was
enjoying my afternoon meal when suddenly there was a terrible commotion a few
yards away. It looked as if a fox had become entangled in vines by the waters
edge. I sat aside lunch and moved forward to free the poor creature when I saw
something that can only be described as a giant, armored leech rise from the
greenish water. I stood, startled by it's appearance. For a moment, a tiny
faceted eye settled upon me and I thought I could see a spark of intelligence
there. With a final jerk of it's tentacles, it pulled the now motionless fox
into the water and disappeared beneath the surface. The ripples in the water
quickly disappeared and it was as if nothing had ever disturbed the tranquility
of the swamp."
From the notes of Rubin Strenvik, Naturalist
The greater glantun is a 5 to 8 foot long, leech-like denizen of swamps and marshes. It's body is segmented and hard, with bony plates overlapping along it's top, making it appear much like a gigantic pill bug. It's underbelly, however, it quite soft and pale white. Two dark, greenish-brown tentacles sprout from it's back, reaching out twice the length if it's body. Most of the time, the tentacles are stretched along a strip of comparatively dry ground where they appear to be vines while the mass of the creature is hidden beneath water. A long, thin proboscis reaches out from the creature's head. It is through this apparatus that it breathes as it lies underwater.
Hunting through deception, the greater glantun sits in pools of murky water just deep enough to conceal it's body. The greater glantun is a much more intelligent being than it's cousin, the lesser glantun. This great swamp dweller is able to create minor illusions which it uses to lure it's prey close to the water's edge. It will lay both tentacles side by side along the water's edge. Leaving a space between the two tentacles, it creates an illusion of food between the them. Often, this takes the form of a flopping fish, injured bird or a rabbit paralyzed with fear. Once a creature positions itself between the tentacles to snatch the would be meal, 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 to medium creatures within a couple of minutes as it paralyzes the respiratory system. As added insurance that it's meal will die quickly, it then drags the creature beneath the water and holds it there. The victim dies quickly from either the poison or drowning.
The greater glantun is a devious and successful predator, but is not by any means malicious. Only if a traveler stumbles across a tentacle while traversing the swamp will the glantun attack. Obviously, it will assume that food has stumbled it's way and react accordingly. As the unwary traveler steps between the tentacles, the glantun whips both tentacles around the victim, using one to sting and the other to restrain. The stinger itself does 1D4 points of damage while the tentacle can constrict for 1D6. Escaping the tentacles requires a strength check with a -1 penalty. The thing to keep in mind is that it is a lazy creature. It will attempt to simply restrain the victim and let the poison do the work. As mentioned above, the poison shuts down the respiratory system, slowly causing the victim to suffocate. In a small creature, the effects are almost instantaneous while it takes a few more minutes for it to affect a medium or large sized creature. In a man sized creature, the poison renders him unconscious is approximately 2D4 rounds if he fails his resist vs. toxins roll. Once the victim is unconscious, he begins taking 4 points of damage per round for approximately 2D10 rounds. This poison is designed for larger creatures and can linger in the body for several days even if the victim lives. In that case, it will cause the victim to be tired, achy and generally sick but not incapacitated.
The glantun is essentially a lazy creature which does not often move from it's own patch of swamp. Thus, it is not uncommon to find the equipment and money of hapless adventurers who did not survive their encounter lying in the pool where the creature resides.
This creature was originally created for the Realmswalker system by William Graves.