Razor Grass

Razor Grass Swarm (Swarm; CR 9)

Neutral - Fine - Plant


Lore:	Know (Nature)
16		35
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

12


Perception:
24	+14
Passive	Active

Ambush:

6+

on a d20

Senses:

Blind to Vision
Blind to Sound
Blind to Smell
Tremorsense 60 ft.

Movement Types:

Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

27

Man Def

26

Monster Health
356	178	14
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+11
Refl:	+6
Will:	+6

Strong Against:

(Swarm Role) Hardened (½ damage): slashing (physical, common), piercing (physical, common)
(Swarm Role) Immune (no effect): Critical Hits and Flanking
(Swarm Role) Immune (no effect): Any attack that targets Maneuver Defense
(Swarm Role) Immune (no effect): Any spell that targets a specific number of creatures, except mind-affecting spells (if this creature has an Int score).
(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)

Weak Against:

:* Due to Fine size, susceptible to high winds, such as those created by a gust of wind spell. Takes 1d3 squares of forced movement from such effects, as adjudicated by the DM.
(Swarm Role) Vulnerable (1.5x damage): area of effect spells (including Channel Divinity)

Offense


Size:	Fine
10 ft.		0 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+15

Man Off

+18

Action

0

Points

(Component Creatures: 0.5 ft. / 0 ft.)

Standard Attack (Melee):

1x Razor-Grass Slices (Swarm -- Auto-Hit) (2d8+8/19-20 x2)
as slashing (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

3x Razor-Grass Slices (Swarm -- Auto-Hit) (2d8+8/19-20 x2)
as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

8

STR

18

DEX

18

CON

—

INT

12

WIS

12

CHA

Skills:

Perception: 14
Stealth: 14 (+4 if in any grassy area, plus gets concealment in any natural setting with vegetation.)
All other skills: 9 (no ranks)

Languages: -

Feats:

Special Abilities

Underfoot (Ex) Swift Action

As a swift action, Razor Grass can make a Trip combat maneuver (roll 1d20 + 14) versus the Maneuver Defense of any one creature that is in the same square as the Razor Grass. Due to the Improved Trip feat, Razor Grass is not susceptible to being counter-tripped by the target creature, nor does the trip attempt provoke attacks of opportunity.

One With The Earth (Ex) Automatic after Trip

If you are tripped or otherwise suffer the Prone condition while fighting razor grass, when you fall it can now whip and saw away with its razor-sharp leaves at your entire body area, rather than just your feet and legs. If the Razor Grass is not a Swarm role, it gains an untyped +4 bonus to-hit foes that are prone in it's space. If the Razor Grass is a swarm occupying the same square as a Prone victim, it inflicts its swarm damage twice.

In the Bosom of the Mother (Ex) Automatic

In any area where there is adjacent vegetation (such as forest, meadow, prairie, lawn, etc), razor grass is able to initiate stealth, as though it has total concealment. Note that the razor grass does not actually have total concealment, unless it is currently stealthed, and the attacker has failed its perception check to see it. Being in an area of vegetation, by itself, does not grant the razor grass any miss chance.

Personal Space Issues (Ex; Swarm Role) Automatic After Damage

Any living creature that takes damage from a swarm also becomes Distracted. While sharing a space with the swarm, affected creatures cannot get rid of the Distracted condition. At the end of any of an affected creature's turn in which they are outside of the swarm's space, the Distraction condition automatically ends. However, it is re-applied if they take further damage from the swarm.

Sum of the Parts (Ex; Swarm Role) Always On

Swarms, troops, and hordes follow the squeezing rules based on their component creature size, NOT the size of the swarm, troop, or horde as a whole. This means these groups of creatures can easily move through doorways that are sized appropriately to their component creature sizes. They can even stop in such spaces without suffering squeezing penalties. In such cases, the swarm's shape is unaffected, except that its space excludes any blocked spaces. That is, its space doesn't deform into a non-square shape, it's just treated as not occupying any blocked spaces within its space. This means it cannot threaten through blocked spaces, since it isn't technically occupying them.

Multiple swarms, troops, and hordes can share the same squares without squeezing or movement penalties. They can move through, and even stop on top of (or within) the spaces of other swarms, troops, or hordes.

Swarms, troops, and hordes can also move over, through, and into spaces occupied by enemy creatures without provoking attacks of opportunity, even if they pass through or leave a threatened square. Furthermore, creatures inside the space of a swarm, troop, or horde are treated as flanked while they remain in that space (though this doesn't usually matter much, since swarms, troops, and hordes automatically hit with their attacks).

Finally, a maximum of two swarms, troops, or hordes can attack a single given creature in a round, even if more than two swarms, troops, or hordes are threatening that creature. There simply isn't enough surface area of the enemy creature for more attacks to be inflicted.

Razor Grass Swarm

This creature possesses the Swarm role, and therefore counts as 2 monsters for purposes of encounter size, XP award, and treasure.

This monster frequently has the Swarm role, but may be set to different roles if desired.

One of the worst vegetable menaces in the wide world is no less awful because it is also one of the smallest.

Razor Grass is exactly what it sounds like, common grass. Except that razor grass is magical, and dislikes being eaten or walked on, intensely, and is sharp enough and animated enough to make sure that if you try to eat it, it eats you back. Even worse is the fact that razor grass is often found in large patches, as a swarm. Such dense growths of razor grass are incredibly deadly, and can be found in a wide variety of locations, even including as cultivated lawns in cities!

The worst thing about razor grass is the fact that is nearly impossible to spot from a distance. Farmers have lost entire herds of cattle, their legs cut from beneath them and their bodies sliced into ground beef, without ever seeing a thing. And this in a nice field, with the grass no more than a foot high! Razor grass is incredibly fast moving for a plant, and in the right environment, telling the deadly grass from the harmless grass is nearly impossible.

If razor grass is found near a settlement, drastic measures are taken, including burning all the grazing meadows. Nobody wants to get a grass infection going.

Combat Tactics

Razor Grass is deceptively simple stuff. It is completely mindless, but considers anything that walks to be a mortal enemy...and source of food. It detects you by your footsteps and comes to kill you on pure instinct. The blades or patches of grass will mob the closest enemies and make Trip rolls. Once prone, the damage comes in fast and furious. Razor Grass is deadly hard to see and deadly hard to hurt.

Approach with caution....

Out of Combat

Few monsters cultivate razorgrass, its just a little too deadly and unpredictable for even the most debased sorts of monsters. Yet, surprisingly, it is the civilized races that get the most use out of the vicious little weeds. It is not unheard of for nature-aspected temples, city facilities, and the holds of the rich to utilize razorgrass as part of their defenses.

It takes an especially cold and debased mind to consider a razorgrass lawn filled with swarms of the horrible stuff, instead of some geese, but it certainly will make anyone pause when they find a 'Keep Off The Grass' sign. Such razorgrass-infested lawns are as dangerous as any moat filled with crocodiles, if not worse, but are far more aesthetic. When grown in such lawns and left alone, razorgrass tends to be remarkably docile stuff, and can usually be kept confined with some brick edging or low, decorative walls. If watered regularly and fed a few sheep or pigs once per season, a razorgrass lawn can be nearly maintenance-free while still staying lush and green.

Rewards

XP: 12,800 (Swarm role included.)

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 10,250 gp.

Weight: 180 lbs. Volume: 7.2 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)