Bomblet (3.5e Monster)

* : Baby bomblet.

Dungeon crawls inevitably lead to hideous explosions.

Challenging the odds since the dawn of civilization, these bulbous insectoid creatures have caused more underground cave-ins than anyone would care to record. Bomblets are rotund larval creatures whose stubby little legs clumsily propel them through their subterranean habitat, where they eat various forms of carrion and fungi to feed their intense metabolism. It is however unknown what Bomblets pupate into, because their incredibly volatile internal chemistry will eventually cause them to explode. Exposure to fire and heat, sudden physical or electrical shocks, and in come cases even subtle things like sound vibrations or sudden changes in atmospheric pressure can make these aptly named creatures detonate with a powerful blast that scatters its acidic bodily fluids across the area. Despite their tendency to, well, explode, the species still manages to survive; bomblets only start to become volatile several weeks into the larval state, at which point they will have scattered throughout the underground by genetic impetus to preserve their numbers. Bomblets lead a more or less solitary existence where possible, as explosive chain reactions amongst groups of bomblets are quite common. At this point, the fact that bomblets lack sapience is a small mercy.

Bomblets are larvae with a thin, red and yellow colored chitin shell that seems to visibly bloat from the creature's girth, suggesting its volatility. They are roughly 18 inches long, and about 15 inches tall and wide. They instinctively restrict their movement speed to prevent shocks to themselves, and often bury themselves into holes when they are not foraging for food. A newly volatile bomblet weighs approximately 5 to 10 pounds.

Combat
Bomblets usually fight by spraying their acid at nearby hazards in the hope of chasing them away. Their usual procedure when coming under attack is to explode, causing the offending party to be launched into the air like an early dream of mankind.

A bomblet's acid spray attack has a range of 30 feet and standardly deals 1d4 points of acid damage per HD.

A bomblet of 1 HD is not yet volatile and will not explode when attacked or dying.

 : A bomblet detonates in a blast of concussive force and corrosive flame that deals 1d6/HD bludgeoning damage and 1d6/HD acid damage in a 5 ft./HD-radius burst (Reflex half), killing itself in the process. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Creatures caught in the explosion are effectively bullrushed at a modifier equal to half the amount of bludgeoning damage taken (rounded down), and are blasted back 5 feet plus an additional 5 feet for every 5 points its opposing check is lower than the check from the explosion. For every 5 feet the creature is thrown back, it takes an additional 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. If the explosion or the resulting movement causes another bomblet to explode, it will happen at the end of this movement.

 : Every time a bomblet takes any damage from a physical or magical source, it must make an immediate Fortitude save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or explode.

If a bomblet manages to get killed without exploding, it explodes.

 : A bomblet's acid is incredibly painful and keeps working for a long time when in contact with organic tissue. Any living creature that has taken acid damage from a bomblet's attacks or abilities is immediately sickened and must make a Fortitude save at the start of every turn or become nauseated from the pain for the remainder of the round. Creatures with ranks in Concentration may make a Concentration check to ignore the pain instead. The save (and Concentration) DC is Constitution-based.

The searing effect persists for up to 1 minute, though it can be removed by any kind of cure spell, a lesser restoration or better, or by washing out the afflicted areas in fresh water as a full-round action.