The Tome Unrestricted series fleshes out monsters from the Tome of Beasts 3, giving GMs ways to modify existing monsters to surprise well-prepared players or introduce new monsters to a campaign.
This time, we’re looking at ways to change up the living soot (see Tome of Beasts 3) including alternate traits and actions, as well as new magic items, spells, and adventure hooks inspired by them.
Living soot resembles some sort of webbing, but is actually an elemental collision of forces from the Planes of Air, Earth, and Fire.
Alternate Traits and Actions
The following changes allow GMs to alter a living soot without modifying its challenge rating.
Ash Sight. The living soot can see through areas obscured by fire, smoke, and fog without penalty.
In exchange for this trait, the living soot loses its darkvision.
Ashy Spray (Recharge 4–6). The living soot sprays out poisonous ash in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that cone must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) poison damage and becoming poisoned on a failure, or half as much damage and not poisoned on a success. A poisoned creature can’t speak or cast spells requiring a verbal component. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Either the living soot loses its Engulfing Sootstorm in exchange for Ashy Spray, or it reduces the recharge for Engulfing Sootstorm to 5–6 or 6, and its Ashy Spray has the alternate recharge (6 or 5–6).
Choking Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5), and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) poison damage and becoming poisoned on a failure, or half as much damage and not poisoned on a success. While the target is poisoned, it can’t speak or cast spells requiring a verbal component. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
In exchange for the Choking Slam attack, the living soot loses its Slam attack. Its Multiattack is modified so it makes two Choking Slam attacks, or it makes one Choking Slam attack and one Constrict attack.
Clinging Soot. The living soot can grab hold of surfaces, allowing it to walk and crawl along them. The living soot gains a walking speed of 30 feet and a climbing speed of 20 feet. Additionally, it can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings without needing to make a check.
The living soot loses its flying speed to compensate for the Clinging Soot trait.
Water Hypersusceptibility. For every 5 feet the living soot moves in water, or for every gallon of water splashed on it, it takes 2 (1d4) cold damage. In addition, the soot takes 10 cold damage when it starts its turn at least partially submerged in water.
In exchange for this trait, the living soot loses its Brittle trait.
Smoldering Soot
This variant living soot contains embers that flare up when it becomes enraged. A smoldering soot deals fire damage for all actions and traits where a living soot deals poison damage. Additionally, its Constrict action is revised as follows:
Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and takes 4 (1d8) fire damage at the end of each of its turns, and the living soot can’t Constrict another target.
New Magic Items and Spells
The following magic items and spells are inspired by the living soot.
SOOT SUIT
Armor (Leather), Rare (Requires Attunement)
This leather armor constantly sloughs soot off its surface without diminishing in size. While you wear this armor, it filters out fire and poison, granting you resistance to fire damage and poison damage, and granting you advantage on saves against effects that inflict the poisoned condition.
If you speak a command word as an action, you gain the effect of gaseous cloud, which lasts for 10 minutes, until you remove the armor, or use an action to speak the command word again. For the duration, if you enter the space of another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 poison damage. This property of the armor can’t be used again until the next dawn.
AURA OF SOOT
3rd-Level Conjuration | Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (10-foot radius)
Components: S, M (remains from a destroyed living soot)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Poisonous soot surrounds you. When a creature first enters or ends its turn within the spell’s radius, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 poison damage and be unable to breathe until it starts its turn outside the radius.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd, and the radius increases by 10 for every 2 slot levels above 3rd.
EMBRITTLE
2nd-Level Transmutation | Druid, Ranger
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components V, S, M (living soot that has been dealt cold damage)
Duration: 1 hour
When you cast this spell, you target a creature within range. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target takes 4d6 cold damage and, for the duration, when it takes cold damage, its speeds are reduced by 10 feet and its AC is reduced by 2 until the end of the turn after it takes damage. On a success, the target takes 2d6 cold damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 2nd.
Adventure Hooks
- A living soot has perpetrated a series of killings in a town by pretending to be ordinary soot in its victims’ fireplaces. It slays its prey at night before moving on to the next house. The mayor is desperate for the killings to end and offers a considerable sum to investigators.
- Diviners portend “deadly shadows” infesting the remains of a forest destroyed by a recent fire! This prompts several settlements to hire adventurers to watch for these shadows and dispatch them if necessary.
Tome of Beasts 3 has over 400 new monsters! Here’s what people are saying:
“Lots of great new monsters to terrorize your players with.”
“. . . This one does not disappoint.”
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