Shrieker

Shrieker (CR 1)

Neutral - Small - Plant

Lore:	Know (Nature)
2		17
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

3

Perception:
13	+3
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Blind to Vision
• Blind to Sound
• Blind to Smell
• Blindsense 60 ft.

Movement Types:

• Immobile

Defense

AC

14

Man Def

13

Monster Health
28	14	2
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+5
Refl:	+0
Will:	+0

Strong Against:

• (Mindless) Immune (no effect): all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, fear, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms)
• (Plant 1) Immune (no effect): poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned, polymorph
• (Plant 2) Immune (no effect): Forced movement (including Drag, Reposition), Prone (quelled, prone, splayed)
• Immune (no damage): sonic (energy, common)

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Small
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+3

Man Off

+1

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Spore Puff +7 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (1d6/x2)
  as abrasion (physical, uncommon)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 2x Spore Puff +7 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (1d6/x2)
  as abrasion (physical, uncommon)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

9

STR

10

DEX

13

CON

—

INT

10

WIS

12

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 3
• All other skills: 0 (no ranks)

Languages:

Feats:

Special Abilities

Shriek (Su, Aura) Swift 1/Rnd

Any light sources or movement that occurs within ten feet of a shrieker will cause it to emit an incredibly loud shrieking howl of sound, affecting all creatures in a 30-foot radius around its space. The source of the sound is easy to find as the shrieker pulses and sways, and the escaping gas is tinged putrid yellow-green with spores. The shrieker will continue to emit this sound until everything is dead, the combat ends, or it is killed. To initiate or maintain the Shriek aura is a swift action that the Shrieker will use every round, once triggered. The Shriek inflicts 1d3 of sonic (energy, common) damage to everything in the aura when the Shrieker uses its swift action. Note that all Shriekers are immune to sonic damage (since they are deaf). Shriek requires line of effect (but not line of sight) for the sonic damage to be inflicted.

Shrieker

Shriekers are nasty fungi who have taken the whole 'live on decaying matter' to the logical extreme, by killing everything that moves anywhere close to them.

As plants they obviously have no mind at all, but intelligent monsters will often cultivate shriekers as 'living burglar alarms'. This strategy works well, as long as you are always careful to stay well away from their planter once it's established.

Combat Tactics

Shriekers are mindless, so they always behave the same way. Their long-ranged eldritch blindsense makes them very difficult to surprise, but they will only begin to make sound when creatures get closer to them. Note that it is possible to sneak up on a shrieker if you are skilled enough or powerful enough, but it isn't easy.

If a creature moves adjacent to a shrieker without stealth, it will attack that creature with the jets of spores being emitted as part of the Shriek aura. This attack uses a standard action as any normal attack does. Shrieker spores are not poisonous, they're just sharp and gritty and annoying, like being attacked by a sandblaster. A very, very, loud sandblaster

Out of Combat

Shriekers are often cultivated as a kind of organic alarm system by even higher CR creatures, alerting them to the presence of anything moving or carrying a light in their vicinity. Obviously, this can only be accomplished in areas underground, or otherwise completely sheltered from all natural light.

Such a setup has its drawbacks, of course. Every rat or other small animal that happens by will set them off, which can lead to quite a few sleepless nights for the overly-clever trapper who uses them.

Rewards

XP: 400

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 219 gp.

Weight: 10 lbs.     Volume: 0.4 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)