Buy me a coffeeHallucigenia
The hallucigenia is a strange and very small worm creature that you wouldn’t like to crunch under your feet…
Originally Posted by LordArchaon of the Wizards Community forums.
Hallucigenia is an aquatic organism considered akin to velvet worms. Like some of those, it has a very flexible body and can actually use the spines on its back by bending all or part of its body.
It is said that the strong poison, which can be lethal for non aquatic creatures who get poisoned underwater, comes from some kind of microscopic spores that come from the exotic rifts in which the hallucigenia lives.
Hallucigenia is found in the Middle Cambrian, wormlike it had none of the features generally associated with heads: mouth, eyes, or other sensory organs.
Hallucigenia CR 1/2
Always N Fine vermin
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60ft.; Listen +0, Spot +4;
Languages none
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AC 21, touch 20, flat-footed 19;
(+8 size, +2 Dexterity, +1 natural)
hp 2 (1/2 HD)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0
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Speed 5 ft. (1 square), Climb 5ft..
Melee spikes +10 (poison)
Space 1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Base Atk +0; Grp -13
Atk Options poison
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Abilities Strength 3, Dexterity 14, Constitution 10, Intelligence -, Wisdom 10, Charisma 2
Feats Weapon Finesse (B)
Skills Hide +10, Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Spot +0, Climb +6
Advancement –
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Poison (Ex) Injury, Fortitude DC 15, initial damage Paralysis for 1d10 rounds, secondary damage Paralysis for 1d10 minutes. The poison does not derive from the body of the hallucigenia, but from other micro-organisms that live in symbiosis with the vermin‘s spikes, so the posion is very strong for such a small animal.
Skills
A hallucigenia has a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently, Climb and Spot checks. Additionally, it uses its Dexterity modifier for the Climb skill.
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Strategies and Tactics
Although being very colored and not capable of mimetic behavior, the hallucigenia can be mistaken for something else or simply not be seen among all the other colored plants of the rift by creatures not familiar with the environment and this can result in injury and poisoning.
Ecology
Hallucigenia is a pacific detritivorous animal that lives in symbiosis with the corals, sponges, and algae of the rift. Being poisonous, it prevents many animals to eat the barrier-forming organisms, making them able to grow peacefully.
Environment: The hallucigenia needs a tropical rift environment and specific combinations of algae, sponges and corals, that the small worm “cleans”, by eating dead parts or other detritus that periodically gets to fill the orifices of corals and sponges.