Symbiont, Poison Gauntlet

Poison Gauntlet CR 1

A seething mass of vegetation and clustered brambles drags itself along on dozens of root-like legs.

XP 400
N Small plant (plant symbiont)
Init +1; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5

DEFENSE

HP 20; EAC 11; KAC 13
Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +1; DR 2/slashing; Immunities plant immunities

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft.
Melee claw +8 (1d6+3 S plus poison gauntlet toxin)

STATISTICS

Str +2; Dex +1; Con +4; Int –; Wis +0; Cha -3
Other Abilities bond, host abilities, mind link, symbiont healing

HOST ABILITIES

Poison Resistance (Ex)

The poison gauntlet symbiont grants the host a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves against poison.

Spiked Gauntlet (Ex)

When the poison gauntlet symbiont bonds to a host, it encases the hand, acting effectively as a gauntlet. On a successful attack, the poison gauntlet symbiont injects its poison as well as its regular damage. A poison gauntlet may deliver its poison through host attacks a number of times per day equal to 3 + its Constitution bonus.

CONSTRUCTION

Slot hand; Price 3,460 gp; Cost 1,730 gp

The poison gauntlet symbiont attaches to the host’s wrist via hundreds of small needle-sharp roots. Hundreds of vines emanate from a central, thick stem to encase the host’s hands. Large, wickedly pointed thorns sprout from the vines, each containing the natural poison the symbiont produces. These tend to break off easily, but the poison gauntlet symbiont regrows any lost thorns within 24 hours.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Kir-Sharaat)
Organization solitary

Symbionts are custom-grown plant creatures tailored to serve specific purposes, like living tools. There are myriad forms of symbionts on Kir-Sharaat that serve mundane purposes, like mobility enhancing exoskeletons to assist erahthi who possess difficulty walking or lifting heavy objects, communication symbionts that can relay messages, even clothing that sizes itself to fit its wearer and protects against parasites and pests. This section focuses on combat-oriented symbionts designed during the Century War.

Though the erahthi created symbionts first, their widespread use is now found beyond the boundaries of Kir- Sharaat and organizations across the Aethera System traffic in the secrets of their creation. Creatures of all species can create plant symbionts, and some have even begun to experiment with creating symbionts of other creature types, like aberrations and elementals. Symbionts are created in special laboratories and each have a monetary cost associated with them like magic items.

Erahthi have created a wide variety of living plant symbionts to take the place of typical equipment, and these symbionts are often sought after as curiosities or specialized weapons. A plant symbiont can be affected by spells that target plant creatures, though it is mindless, incapable of independent action, and has no ability scores other than Constitution (which is always equal to its item level). It is subject to poisons and diseases, though it does not need to breath and is always protected as well as a creature with active environmental protection from armor. If it is forced to make a saving throw, its save bonus is always equal to its item level. If it suffers a condition that would normally cause it to take a penalty to attacks, damage, save DCs, saving throws, or AC those penalties apply to any attack or effect created with it. Plant symbionts “eat” by absorbing part of the charges or fuel (or energy from some other form of ammunition) when fired. They do not sleep or breathe, cannot communicate in any way, retain all plant immunities (including saving throw bonuses), are immune to pain effects, and are mindless.

If damaged, a plant symbiont can regain Hit Points from effects that restore Hit Points to living creatures, such as a mystic cure spell, and it regains a number of Hit Points equal to its item level each day. You can use the Life Science or Medicine skill instead of Engineering to repair a living weapon.

In addition to the relatively helpless normal plant symbiont, there exist advanced plant symbionts which can transform into an independent form and back as a full-round action. While in independent form, an advanced plant symbiont acts a drone with an effective mechanic level of its item level -3, save that it is considered a plant rather than a construct for the purpose of determining effects and possesses no feats or mods save for initial mods gained from its drone chassis. An advanced plant symbionts’ chassis is determined when it is created and items of lower than 4th level cannot be made into advanced plant symbionts. The owner of the advanced plant symbiont may control the advanced plant symbionts as if they were the drone’s master.

A normal plant symbiont version of an item costs 10% more than normal. An advanced plant symbiont version of an item costs 50% more than normal.

When not attached to a host, a poison gauntlet symbiont stands roughly 2 to 2 1/2 feet high, looking like a thorny bush with bark-like striations of muscle fiber visible beneath its foliage. The symbiont skitters around on its extensive root system.

The erahthi created poison gauntlet symbionts in the early days of the Century War. Though not a front- line weapon (but sometimes carried instead of regular melee weapon such as a knife), it saw frequent of use in small, lightning quick strikes where a group of lightly equipped erahthi soldiers would rush a fortified position to incapacitate the enemy. Stealth operatives used the poison gauntlet symbiont to carry out abductions as the small size of the symbiont made it easy to conceal. This symbiont is still a favored weapon of kidnappers and scoundrels around the system.