The Bloom

"They're like jellyfish!" Jones yelled, noting how the floating pods drifted and bobbed in the air, as if suspended in water. They started to crowd in around him....

The Bloom

Armour Class: 5

HD: 3+1 (14hp)

Move: 20' (when idle), 50' (when active)

Attack: 1 tendrils, plus 1 "Pressure" special attack (as a group/cluster; requires 3 or more Bloom)

Damage: 1d4+1, plus special: absorb emotion

No. App: 18 (3d12)

Save As: Magic-User 4th

Morale: n/a

Intelligence: 4

Alignment: Neutral

XP Value: 425

Special Abilities:

1. Absorb Emotion: On a successful hit, player makes a save vs. Poison. Failure causes a loss of 1 point of Wisdom permanently.
2. Pressure: When in groups of three or more, the Bloom attempt to cluster together on a single target. Make a separate attack roll representing all of the Bloom in a cluster; if successful, opponent is considered "under pressure": they cannot make ranged attacks and take all other actions at a -2. In addition, at the start of their next round and every round thereafter (until more than half a bloom grouping is eliminated), they must make a save vs. Paralysis or suffer a temporary loss of 1 point of Constitution. At 0 Constitution, they fall unconscious. Constitution lost in this way returns at a rate of 1 point every hour, or restores fully with a period of rest (approximately 8 hours of minimal or no activity).
3. Burst: If reduced to 0 hp while swollen, Bloom explodes; make an attack roll against all creatures (including other Blooms) within a 15' radius, deal 1d12 damage for any successful hits.

*Note: The Bloom are sensitive to cold temperatures:

         Vulnerability: The Bloom suffers double damage from cold-based attacks and cold-based attacks nullify the creature's Burst defense

The Bloom are plant-based creatures that feed on the emotions of animals. They appear as green, floating orbs approximately 3' in length and 2' wide,  with columns of crimson bumps arranged around their sac-like casing, and long tendrils dangling beneath them. Their bodies are full of a volatile, explosive gas, and they can expand in size when excited, growing outward by as much as three times their normal width.

The Bloom use their tendrils to latch onto their prey, siphoning emotions from the thalamus through a kind of transfusion process. The red semi-spheres on their body function like eyes, perceiving nearby heat patterns (within 20').

The Bloom are non-emotional plants possessing a rudimentary intelligence. They dislike cold temperatures (see above) and avoid fires, which they've evolved to understand are not safe heat sources.

They prefer to group together in tight clusters, and will do this as long as there are three or more of them in close proximity.

They reproduce when they burst, which they do naturally through over-expansion of their bodies if not triggered by being punctured. The blast propels tiny bloom seeds across great distances. Individually these seeds are relatively harmless, although if swallowed there is a 5% chance of the Bloom growing to a small size and bursting inside the stomach. This requires a death saving throw.