Monster Monday: Pit Mimic, The Living Hole

Today's Monster Monday is the pit mimic, an insidious trickster that disguises itself as the floor, only to open up and reveal a pit. It is a living pit trap, capable of moving itself under its prey so that they fall in, or grabbing people with its tentacles and dropping them into its extradimensional maw. Its gullet appears to be an ordinary pit, but any who fall in will find it bristling with pummeling pseudopods. Of course I've included variant pit mimics that are deeper, or filled with acid, or filled with spikes.

pit trap photo by Georg Waßmuth, via Wikimedia

There is a similar monster in Pathfinder Bestiary 6 called the slithering pit. As I was reading through the new Bestiary for an upcoming review, I remembered my pit mimic and went searching for it. As it turns out, although I statted it up in January of 2016, I neglected to post it either here or to my patreon. Well it's here now, and if I do say so myself (I do), it turned out better than the official slithering pit from the Bestiary. But be warned: this is a huge stat block. Creating this creature was a challenge because it breaks a lot of the base assumptions for a monster of this size and power. As such, it needed a lot of special rules to make sure that the monster functions intuitively within a rule system that was not built with it in mind.  Check it out below! I hope to see many adventurers in the future falling prey to these living, moving pits.

The following text in gold is available, along with any accompanying tables, as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

A stony tentacle lashes out of the slavering maw that seemed until a moment ago to be an ordinary pit trap.

Pit Mimic     CR 4

XP 1,200

N Large aberration (shapechanger)

Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 9, flat-footed 14 (-1 size, +5 natural); +4 AC vs. ranged attacks

hp 45 (6d8+18)

Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +6

Immune acid

Defensive Abilities close, two-dimensional

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft.

Melee tentacle +8 (grab)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft. (15 ft. with tentacles)

Special Attacks engulf (DC 16, pit), pit (4d6)

STATISTICS

Str 17, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 10

Base Atk +4; CMB +8 (+12 grapple); CMD 22 (can’t be bull rushed, dragged, grappled, repositioned, or tripped)

Feats Defensive Combat Training, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (tentacle)

Skills Disguise +9 (+29 when mimicking environment), Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9, Perception +10, Stealth +9; Racial Modifiers +20 Disguise when mimicking environment

Languages Common (cannot speak)

SQ mimic environment, pit spell transfiguration

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Close (Ex)

When threatened, a pit mimic can close its hard, trapdoor-like cover, appearing to be nothing more than a bare patch of floor.  When closed, the pit mimic gains DR 10/adamantine against all attacks made against it from outside.  It cannot attack with its tentacles or use its engulf ability while its trapdoor is closed, but it still does damage to creatures within its pit.  The trapdoor can be pried open from outside or from within with a successful combat maneuver check. 

Engulf (Ex)

A pit mimic can engulf creatures in its path as part of a standard action.  It cannot make other attacks during a round in which it engulfs.  It merely has to move through its opponents spaces, affecting as many as it can cover.  Targeted creatures can make attacks of opportunity against the pit mimic, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw against the engulf attack.  Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity can attempt a DC 16 Reflex save to avoid being engulfed - on a success, they are pushed back or aside (target’s choice) as the creature moves forward.  Engulfed opponents fall into the pit mimic’s pit.  The save DC is Strength-based. 

Mimic Environment (Ex)

Though not as versatile in their shapechanging abilities as true mimics, pit mimics are able to alter the appearance of their trapdoors and their pits to match their environment, such as a natural cave, forest floor, or flagstone passage.  The mimic’s body is hard and has a rough texture no matter what appearance it might present.  A pit mimic gains a +20 racial bonus on Disguise checks when imitating its surroundings in this manner.  Disguise is always a class skill for a mimic. 

   Any bonuses that apply to detecting traps or unusual stonework apply to checks made to see through the mimic’s disguise. 

Pit (Ex)

The bulk of a pit mimic’s body is a 40-foot-deep extra-dimensional space with a 10-foot-by-10-foot mouth.  Since it extends into another dimension, the pit does not displace the underlying material.  Creatures entering the pit take falling damage as normal.  Creatures in the pit do not count as grappled, and can attack the pit mimic normally. Creatures in the pit are subject to 4d6 points of automatic crushing damage at the start of the mimic’s turn as the walls of the pit sprout countless bludgeoning pseudopods. 

   Trapped creatures can attempt to escape by climbing out.  Because the walls of the pit constantly change shape to thwart escape, the Climb check is made against the pit mimic’s Combat Maneuver Defense.  A successful Climb check moves the climber 10 ft. up the wall of the pit. 

   When the mimic is slain, the extra-dimensional space fails and everything within it is spewed forth, including the mimic’s insides, which remain as a grotesque lump of amorphous flesh. 

   Extra-dimensional spaces like bags of holding or the rope trick spell do not function within the pit mimic’s pit.  If a bag of holding enters the pit mimic’s pit, a rift to the astral plane is torn open and both the magic item and the pit mimic are pulled through the rift and destroyed. 

   Creatures standing on the pit mimic’s trapdoor get a DC 16 Reflex save to avoid falling in if the mimic retracts its trapdoor.  The save DC is Constitution-based. 

Pit Spell Transfiguration (Ex)

A pit mimic reacts strangely if targeted by create pit or similar spells, as noted below:

   -create pit causes the mimic’s pit to gain 1d3x10 feet of depth for the duration of the spell.

   -spiked pit causes the mimic to gain the abilities of a spiked pit mimic for the duration of the spell.

   -acid pit causes the mimic to gain the abilities of an acid pit mimic for the duration of the spell.

   -hungry pit increases the crushing damage dealt to creatures trapped in the pit by 2d6.

Tentacle (Ex)

When the pit mimic makes a successful touch attack with its tentacle, it automatically grapples its target (as long as the target is Large or smaller).  If the pit mimic begins its round with an opponent grappled by its tentacle, it can attempt a new combat maneuver (as though attempting to pin the opponent).  If it succeeds, it drops the opponent into its pit.  If it succeeds by 5 or more, it is able to hoist the opponent up before dropping it, dealing an extra 1d6 points of falling damage.  The pit mimic does not gain the grappled condition while grappling its foe with its tentacle.

Two-Dimensional (Ex)

The pit mimic blends almost seamlessly into the floor, making it difficult to hit with ranged attacks.  The pit mimic always has a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks.  In addition, a pit mimic cannot be bull rushed, dragged, grappled, repositioned, or tripped by normal means. 

ECOLOGY

Environment any

Organization solitary

Treasure incidental

This insidious creature hides most of its body in a pocket dimension, allowing it to act as a living, moving pit trap.  It uses its natural shapeshifting ability to blend in to the surrounding environment, then waits for its prey.  Like true mimics, pit mimics delight in tricking sentient creatures into falling for their traps.  Some pit mimics will simply allow creatures to walk over them before opening their trapdoors and letting them fall in.  Others will stay open but perfectly still, appearing to be an ordinary pit until someone tries to jump across, at which point it will snatch them with its tentacle or shift to be where the creature is about to land.  A few pit mimics have been known to live on the walls of dungeons, disguising themselves as hallways and luring their prey to the end with the promise of an unopened door. 

   As with true mimics, pit mimics come in a variety of forms.  A few of the more common variants are given here:

Acid Pit Mimic (CR +1): An acid pit mimic’s pit is covered with tiny pores that ooze acid, and the bottom of the pit is filled with acid to a depth of 5 ft.  Creatures falling into the pit take falling damage as normal (the acid counts as a yielding surface), plus 2d6 points of acid damage per round spent in contact with the acid.  In addition, exposed items carried by a creature in the pit, or items thrown in to help it (like rope) may be harmed.  The acid seeping from the walls means that creatures taking crushing damage in the pit also take an additional 2d6 points of acid damage even if they have climbed out of the acid pool at the bottom. 

Spiked Pit Mimic (CR +1): A spiked pit mimic’s pit is lined with sharp spikes.  Creatures falling into the pit or trapped in the pit take an additional 2d6 points of piercing damage. 

Treasure Pit Mimic (CR +0): A treasure pit mimic can also use its Mimic Environment ability to give the appearance of glittering treasure at the bottom of its pit, usually in the form of precious gems, shining weapons, or a mound of gold coins.  Treasure pit mimics also gain magic aura as an at-will spell-like ability (CL 1), usable only on the floor of its pit. 

Deeper Pit Mimics (CR varies): To create deeper pit mimics, consult the chart below:

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