In a world where abnormal creatures are as common as a farmer's shovel, there is little surprise that the world's plants are also affected. Foliar creatures are plants that have, for one reason or another, developed into mobile, autonomous organisms. Often found in the company of the goddess Biollante's followers, foliar creatures are plants that have adopted a form similar to another living creature.

        Foliar creatures bare little resemblance to the creature they are modeled after, save for a general outline. They are never mistaken for animals, even from a distance. Covered in leaves where hair would be, and having tough bark where skin would be found, foliar creatures are moving, eating and sometimes thinking plants.

Creating a foliar creature

Foliar is an inherent template that can be applied to any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, outsider or vermin. Their type changes to "plant." Recalculate the monster's base saves, skills and hitpoints.
Hit dice: Changes to d8.
Speed: Same as base creature, but flight maneuverability drops one rank. Creatures with clumsy maneuverability before the template is applied cannot fly.
AC: Natural armor increases by +4 points.
Attacks: The creature retains all of the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn't already have one.
Damage: Foliar creatures have slam attacks. If the base creature doesn't have this attack form, consult the table below. Creatures with a natural slam attack retain their old damage value or use the values below whichever is better.

Size	Damage
Fine	1
Diminutive	1d2
Tiny	1d3
Small	1d4
Medium-size	1d6
Large	1d8
Huge	2d6
Gargantuan	2d8
Colossal	4d6

Special Attacks: A foliar creature retain all of the special attacks from the base creature, and has a 20% chance of having one extra special attack, chosen from the list below. The chance of having an extra special attack rises by 5% for every four hit dice the creature has. Each foliar creature can only have one of the following special attacks.

        Entangling vines (Su): The foliar creature can spit a small sphere of vines as a grenade like weapon with a range of 20ft. (no ranged increment) once per turn as a standard action. If the vine ball hits, the vines spring to life, entangling the creature struck like a tangle foot bag. The vines last for 1 minute, or until they take 10 points of slashing or fire damage.

        Poison (Ex): The foliar creature gains a poison attack. Chose one of the creature's natural attacks. This attack now injects poison, which deals 1d6 points of constitution damage (primary and secondary. DC for the fortitude save is 10+ ½ the foliar creature's HD + the foliar creature's Constitution modifier.)

        Sleeping powder (Su): Once every 1d4 rounds as a standard action, the foliar creature can release a burst of sleeping powder in a cloud that extends 10ft. from its body. This magical powder causes all living, non-plant creatures within its radius to fall asleep for 2d4 rounds, regardless of hit dice. A successful fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ the foliar creature's HD + foliar creature's Constitution modifier) negates this effect and renders the victim immune to that particular foliar creature's sleeping powder for 1 day.

        Spell-like ability: The foliar creature can use one of the following spells once per day as a spell like ability: contagion, control plants, entangle, pass without trace, plant growth, rusting grasp, snare, or spike growth. Caster level is equal to the foliar creature's hit dice.

        Thorns (Ex): The creature's body is covered with long, barbed thorns. Any creature striking the foliar creature with a natural weapon or a weapon with a reach of 5ft. or less, the attacker suffers 1d6 points of piercing damage from the thorns. In addition, if the creature possesses a poison attack or some form of toxic secretion, like a carrion crawler's paralytic tentacles, the thorns deliver the poison as well. The creature is also considered to have armor spikes for purposes of grappling and being grappled.

        Vine scythe (Ex): One of the foliar creature's limbs has transformed into a long, tendril-like vine, which ends in a jagged, bladed projection. When using this vine to attack, the creature has a natural reach of 15ft., and inflicts slam damage + its strength modifier with a successful hit. The vine scythe threatens a critical on an 18-20. If the creature has a poison attack, the vine scythe delivers the poison.

Special Qualities: The foliar creature retains all of its old special qualities, plus the following (note that vermin lose the vermin type, and therefore do not receive the vermin bonus on the DC of their poison saves, as well as the standard vermin traits):

        Create Spawn (Su): A foliar creature can inject the corpse of any creature that fits the criteria for becoming a foliar creature with a magical seed. Once this seed is nestled in its new flesh cocoon, it slowly begins to grow, spreading roots through the corpse and replacing the old tissues with plant materials. After five days, the corpse is transformed into a foliar creature. Though the new foliar creature retains all of the skills and abilities it possessed in life, it does not retain its old mind or memories. Such creatures have no particular loyalty to their creator, nor does their creator have any special control over them.

        The corpse is completely consumed by this process, and thus characters infested with these seeds can only be raised through a true resurrection or higher spell. If a dispel magic, remove disease or heal spell is cast on the corpse before the transformation is complete, then the seed is destroyed and the corpse can be raised normally.

        Plant traits (Ex): Foliar creatures are immune to all mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph and stunning. Not subject to critical hits. Low-light vision.

        Tremorsense (Ex): A foliar creature can automatically sense the location of anything within 60ft. that is in contact with the ground.

Saves: A foliar creature has good Fortitude saves.
Abilities: The foliar creature's ability scores are modified in the following way: Str +3, Dex -1, Con +2.
Skills: Folair creatures have skill points equal to (2+Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Dice, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die, if the foliar creture has an Intelligence score. However, if the base creature has no Intelligence, the foliar creature has no skills or feats.
        Foliar creatures receive a +10 racial bonus to hide checks when attempting to hide in a wooded or marshy setting.
Climate/Terrain: Any forest or marsh
Challenge Rating: As base creature +2
Treasure: Same as base creature
Alignment: Same as base creature moved one step towards true neutral. Thus, a foliar creature with a lawful evil base has either a lawful neutral or neutral evil alignment. The frequency of the alignment (i.e. always, usually, often) remains the same.
Advancement: Same as base creature.
Level Adjustment: As base creature +5

Sample foliar creature
This foliar creature uses a chuul as the base creature.
Foliar Chuul
Large Plant
Hit Dice: 11d8+55 (104 hp)
Initiative: +6 (+4 improved initiative, +2 Dex)
Speed: 30ft. Swim 20ft.
AC: 25 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +14 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/ +18
Attack: 2 Claws +14 melee; Slam +14 melee
Full Attack: 2 Claws +13 melee (2d6+6) or Slam +13 melee (1d8+9)
Face/Reach: 5ft. by 5ft. / 10ft.
Special Attacks: Constrict 3d6+6, improved grab, paralytic tentacles, thorns
Special Qualities: Amphibious, darkvison 60ft., immunity to poison, create spawn, tremorsense, plant traits
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +5
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 5
Skills: Hide +13*, Listen +11, Spot +11, Swim +13*
Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Climate/Terrain: Any forest or marsh
Organization: Solitary, pair or pack (2-5)
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: 1/10th coins; 50% goods; standard items
Alignment: Usually chaotic neutral or neutral evil
Advancement: 12-16 HD (Large); 17-33 HD (Huge)

A foliar chuul is generally mean-tempered and always hungry. It uses its massive pincer like branches and paralysis causing roots to disable prey, which it then impales on its body thorns. Because it spends so much time in swamp water, there are often colonies of algae growing on the creature's body. These creatures rarely work with Biollante priests, but the more even-tempered ones are known to hang around Biollante temples that keep them well fed.

Combat

Foliar chuul usually try to attack from ambush, but follow the basic tactics of normal chuul. Due to their camouflage in wooded areas, they often surprise their prey.

        Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the foliar chuul must hit with its claw attack against an opponent one size smaller than itself (grapple bonus +18). Starting the grapple does not provoke an attack of opportunity against the foliar chuul. If it gets a hold, it automatically deals squeeze damage to its opponent. Alternatively, it can conduct a grapple as normal, or simply hold its foe (-20 to grapple checks, but the foliar chuul is not considered grappled).

        Constrict (Ex): On a successful grapple check, a foliar chuul deals 3d6+6 points of damage.

        Paralytic Tentacles (Ex): The foliar chuul can transfer grabbed victims from its claws to its tentacles as a partial action. The tentacles grapple with the same strength (and bonus) as the claws but deal no damage. However, they exude a paralytic secretion. Those held in the tentacles must succeed a Fortitude save (DC 20) or be paralyzed for 6 rounds. While held in the tentacles, paralyzed or not, the creature automatically takes 1d8+2 points of damage each round from the creature's mandibles.

        Thorns (Ex): The foliar chuul's body is covered with long, barbed thorns. Any creature striking the foliar chuul with a natural weapon or a weapon with a reach of 5ft. or less, the attacker suffers 1d6 points of piercing damage from the thorns. In addition, the thorns carry the foliar chuul's paralytic secretions (see above). The foliar chuul is also considered to have armor spikes for purposes of grappling and being grappled.

        Create Spawn (Su): A foliar chuul can inject the corpse of any creature that fits the criteria for becoming a foliar creature with a magical seed. Once this seed is nestled in its new flesh cocoon, it slowly begins to grow, spreading roots through the corpse and replacing the old tissues with plant materials. After five days, the corpse is transformed into a foliar creature. Though the new foliar creature retains all of the skills and abilities it possessed in life, it does not retain its old mind or memories. Such creatures have no particular loyalty to their creator, nor does the foliar chuul have any special control over them.

        The corpse is completely consumed by this process, and thus characters infested with these seeds can only be raised through a true resurrection or higher spell. If a dispel magic, remove disease or heal spell is cast on the corpse before the transformation is complete, then the seed is destroyed and the corpse can be raised normally.

        Tremorsense (Ex): A foliar chuul can automatically sense the location of anything within 60ft. that is in contact with the ground.

Skills: Foliar chuul receive a +10 racial bonus to Hide checks while within a wooded or marshy setting. A foliar chuul has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.