Monster Geographica - Marsh & Aquatic.pdf - The Secrets of the ...

Latch Toad
Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 7d10+14 (52 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares), swim 60 ft. (12
squares)
Armor Class: 15 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural),
touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+16
Attack: Tongue bite +11 melee (1d6+5 plus
goo)
Full Attack: 3 tongues bites +11 melee (1d6+5
plus goo)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (15 ft. with tongue
bites)
Special Attacks: Improved grab, goo
The latch toad is not a toad at all, but a huge,
amphibious, leaf-green frog. Instead of the one long
sticky tongue of its cousins, the latch toad has three
tongues, each prehensile, extendable out to 15 feet,
and equipped with its own jaw, esophagus, and set
of razor-sharp teeth. As if this weren’t enough, the
tongues drip thick saliva that easily gums up and
disables most mobile creatures.
A latch toad can cover a large territory,
moving amazingly fast by hopping great distances
with each bound. It eats pretty much any creature
it can get its tongues on, and can outrun nearly any
potential prey, placing the latch toad rather high up
on its local food chain.
Combat
The latch toad usually gets the first attack in,
as its tongues can stretch out to a sizable distance.
If fighting a solitary opponent, it will grab and hold
its prey in place, devouring it with its free tongues.
Otherwise, the latch toad bites and releases its foes,
relying on its gooey saliva to stop extra attackers. If
reduced to 10 or fewer hit points, the toad turns and
flees, rapidly hopping away to safety.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a
latch toad must hit a Medium or smaller opponent
with a tongue bite attack. It can then attempt to start
a grapple as a free action without provoking an
attack of opportunity.
Goo (Ex): If a latch toad hits a creature
with its tongue bite attack, the creature becomes
entangled with the toad’s sticky saliva, suffering
a -4 penalty to Dexterity and a -2 penalty on all
attack rolls. Additionally, an entangled target must
succeed on a DC 15 Reflex save or become stuck
to the ground. If the creature succeeds on its save,
it can still move at half speed. The save DC is
Constitution-based.
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Special Qualities: Amphibious,
darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 2, Wis
12, Cha 7
Skills: Hide -1, Jump +19, Listen +5, Spot +5,
Swim +15
Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative,
Lightning Reflexes
Environment: Warm marsh
Organization: Solitary, pair, or nest (3-12)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 8-14 HD (Large); 15-21 HD
(Huge)
Level Adjustment: —
An entangled character who attempts to cast
a spell must succeed on a Concentration check (DC
15 + the spell’s level) or lose the spell. A stuck
character can free himself by making a DC 19
Strength check as a standard action or by dealing
10 points of damage to the goo. The check DC is
Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus.
Multiple applications of the latch toad’s goo do not
incur any cumulative penalties, although affected
creatures must make separate Reflex saves to avoid
getting stuck. The goo dries and crumbles after 10
minutes. In open water, no Reflex save is required
(as there is no ground to stick to) and the goo fully
dissipates after only 5 minutes.
Amphibious (Ex): A latch toad can breathe
both on land and underwater.
Skills: A latch toad has a +4 racial bonus on
Jump checks. A latch toad has a +8 racial bonus on
any Swim check to perform some special action or
avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on
a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It
can use the run action while swimming, provided it
swims in a straight line.
Campaign
The latch toad has the flexibility of being able
to fight on land and underwater. The grab ability of
the toad may allow it to attack creatures on land
and then drag them into the water; this is especially
problematic for armored characters. If used as a
minion for an underwater villain, the toad can be
used to kidnap and deliver victims to his lair. If the
tongues are removed from a dead toad with a DC 18
Survival or Heal check, they can be used as weapons
equivalent to whips, but afflicting targets with goo
(as above) on a successful hit. Each tongue can be
used 1d3 times before drying up and becoming
useless.
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