[The kalamite appears first in the Fighting Fantasy book Daggers of Darkness. The telescoping limbs appear in the original, but Beyond the Pit isn’t specific about how far they telescope. So I had to use a value judgement. This art gives me Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark vibes.]
Kalamite
CR 8 N Plant
This creature appears to be a tall, thin humanoid made of wood. It has no neck, but a leering face, and its limbs bear multiple joints like a stalk of bamboo.
Kalamites are plant creatures that protect wetland environments. They seek to keep marshes from being drained for their rich soil, as wetlands are sources of water purification and hubs of biodiversity that affect all of the ecosystems around them. Kalamites can be found in both saltwater and freshwater marshes, and in all climates. They are similar to treants, but less goodly in nature and more likely to attack first and ask questions later. Sometimes the ranges of kalamites and treants even overlap, in places like swamps and mangrove forests; the two species are loosely cooperative, but rarely social. Kalamites tolerate evil humanoids, such as goblins and boggards, in their marshes as long as they make no effort to alter the environment on a large scale.
A kalamite’s primary weapons are its oversized claws. Their arms and legs are telescoping, which they use to gain height to survey their domains and to grab enemies from afar. Creatures so grabbed are squeezed to death, or possibly forced facedown into the water until they stop struggling. If enemies keep their distance beyond a kalamite’s long stride, the plant will scoop up wads of mud and throw them—they have an uncanny ability to aim for the eyes.
Kalamite CR 8
XP 4,800
N Large plant
Init +4; Senses low-light vision, Perception +10
Defense
AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +7 natural)
hp 102 (12d8+48)
Fort +12, Ref +7, Will +6
DR 10/slashing; Resist acid 10, fire 10
Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Melee 2 claws +14 (2d6+6/19-20 plus grab)
Ranged mud ball +12 (1d6+6 plus blindness)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (20 ft. with telescoping limbs)
Special Attacks constrict (2d6+9)
Statistics
Str 22, Dex 19, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 12
Base Atk +9; CMB +16 (+20 grapple); CMD 31
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Critical (claw), Power Attack, Stand Still, Stealthy
Skills Escape Artist +10, Perception +10, Stealth +19, Swim +10
Languages Common, Treant
SQ swamp stride, telescopic limbs
Ecology
Environment any marshes
Organization solitary, pair or bushel (3-8)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Mud Ball (Ex) As a standard action, a kalamite can throw a handful of mud. Treat this as a ranged attack with a thrown weapon with a range increment of 30 feet. A creature struck by the mud ball takes 1d6 damage, plus the kalamite’s Strength bonus, and must succeed a DC 20 Reflex save or be blinded for 1d4+1 rounds. The save DC is Dexterity based.
Swamp Stride (Ex) A kalamite can move through difficult terrain caused by natural features of marsh environments, such as mud, water or undergrowth, without penalty.
Telescoping Limbs (Ex) A kalamite can extend or contract any of its limbs, gaining up to 10 feet in length to any of them, or pulling them flush to its body. A kalamite can use its legs to gain height over obstacles; a kalamite ignores the effects of cover and treats improved cover as cover, as long as the obstacle is less than 15 feet high. A kalamite can scale obstacles of 15 feet or lower without making Climb checks, but it treats such obstacles as difficult terrain.
If a kalamite uses this ability with its arms, it gains an additional 10 feet of reach, but does not threaten squares 10 feet or closer to itself. A kalamite using this ability with its arms can extend one arm and keep the other arm at normal length, granting itself one attack with each range of reach.
