Surprise. It’s not a Pokemon.

This carnivorous plant is like being attacked by a dump truck with tentacles in the middle of the forest. It’s one of my favorite all-time monsters. The entry shown here is from Matt Finch’s Monstrosities as printed by Frog God Games. You can find it here on DriveThruRPG.com.

The creature originally appeared in Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition. I fell in love with it instantly when I read it for the first time. Honestly, it’s so cool it should have come out in the original Fiend Folio. How did this not happen sooner?

It’s right up there with the Obliviax, Yellow Musk Creeper, Shambling Mound, Roper, and the bizarreness of the Otyugh. The other best comparison would be the plant version of a Mimic. I had to chuckle because the name reminds me of Pokémon.

“Tendriculos, I choose you!”

Seriously, I do. I have a few favored homebrew plant monsters, and the Topiary Guardian from good old 3rd Ed Monster Manual 3. Druids gone wrong and woodland witches are some of my favorite villains. Forest monsters are so  much fun.

Tendriculos are the kind of monsters I was referring to in the previous post. They’re frightening to behold, unrelenting  predators. They strike from out of nowhere, big maw, and tentacles. Mmm tentacles.

I will be converting Tendriculos as well as some of the other woodsy monsters I mentioned today over to Shadowdark RPG. I’m considering creating a woodland nightmare in the depths of the dark woods. I had a really nice run with one in another campaign and it’s so much fun.