Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Hunting Cactus

[@Rattus138]

very comforting to know AJ will have content to present us for decades to come

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

"... To go over all these monsters will take decades.... I will do it to. It will just take me a while" I hope I'm not the only one who was excited by this concept

[@joshuazane3210]

The idea of being hunted by a cactus is proper terrifying.

[@dillongage7628]

I love these Darksun lore videos! For me personally Darksun/Athas is an intriguing setting that I have very little experience with.

[@flibbernodgets7018]

Stuff like the rock cactus is very interesting to me. I like it when a setting is fleshed out to where you have things in it that were clearly worked out by the inhabitants through trial and error. Makes it feel more lived in.

[@Kid_illithid]

“Psychic hunting cactus”... lol I love this game. Reminds me of the Pokémon Cacturn

[@epiccthulu]

Or Togemon

[@Greenscyth22]

Since they're intelligent plants, I'd love to see one taking levels in Rogue. A creeping, shifty unnoticeable cactus that's able to use poison, lay down some devastating sneak attacks and literally hide in plain sight would be a tough monster to face.

[@opsecmedic]

My players are about to head in to a desert area and I was actually looking for more baddies, this is great. Also funny enough one of the players has the Verminshroud and as it gives advantage to wis perception checks that rely on smell I definitely will allow that character to be able to detect the scent of the rock cactus as a rat would. This video dropped in at the perfect time.

[@AKNeal81]

I'm definitely going to lookup this 5e Dark Sun material to use in my campaign's desert! 🏜 ☠

[@purplehaze2358]

As someone who lives in Arizona, I can safely say that this is literally the only way you can possibly make a cactus worse.

[@trajanfidelis]

Athas is a mix between Yuma and the outback lol

[@Taylor1989s]

Well this was a really cool cactus.

[@tatsusama3192]

Adventure journal entry: Day 378 "Was hunted by a cactus today. The party wouldn't believe me that the last three days we've been being followed. . . This is new"

[@donaldporr9682]

I love the Dark sun setting. Gladiators ftw.

[@Pynaegan]

"FEED ME SEYMOUR!!!"

[@That80sGuy1972]

I never really ran a Dark Sun game. I did create a plant similar to these plants but it was one of Abyssal Origin, a lesser version of the more overt siren blooming one (apparently a naked lady that fires life-draining roses when flicking her hair... inspired in all forms by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). I put it in place as a travelling trap for high-level adventurers. Great video AJ and I repeat (paraphrase maybe?) this. Athas: AD&D's Australia where all life on the planet is trying to kill you. I was a player for a few and always died before the first session ended save for my half-giant earth element priest with great psionic abilities, mostly because of my ability to heal via magic. It was only then that I learned the complex world of Athas and some players gave me novels relative to the gaming universe... I did like the Tribe of One a whole bunch. I cannot see any player in the Athas universe actually making it to the epic levels, nonetheless even a tale worthy of the novels. My theory is that AD&D: Dark Sun creators made an AD&D world as a Darwinian version of AD&D... only the best or luckiest get to advance.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Hello AJ, will always appreciate any and all Dark Sun videos. Thats great news you have decades of Monster Ecology videos to make. :) If your taking suggestion for Dark Sun videos and since your talking about deserts and cactus, the Salt Zombie seems like a proper request. If the adventuring party thought the cactus are thirsty wait till they meet the "Salt Zombie!" Thanks AJ & you have a wonderful day.

[@flannelshirtenthusiast4159]

This will be perfect for my spaghetti western homebrew world! Thanks AJ

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

Oh Darksun, you beautiful monster, and that's coming from someone who hasn't playid in that seting!

[@chriscalvin5083]

Good video AJ

[@SageofCancer]

Hugging Cactus. Modeled after the Saguaro, known to grow 36' tall. It'll hug a damn giant!

[@AmigoRoberto]

As you described them I was picturing a prickly pear (nopales) cactus or a cholla (pure evil and jumps) cactus. But right at the end I got real scared. A sagauro cactus can stand 20 ft tall and weigh over 2 tons when full. Imagine if that was sentient

[@hexadecimil]

Wow. 200 lbs (or 100k) per foot. Thats a wide cactus too 🌵

[@derrabbit7289]

More Athas!:)

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

Oh yes, muhahahaha

[@pitchforksdragon1252]

AJ: Talks about rock cactus for 3 1/2minutes... Also AJ: "That's not the cactus we're talking about today..." Well we're talking about it a little... Lol

[@AJPickett]

Little bit 😆

[@florenmage]

Why does this make me picture a crazy homeless guy who swears he was being chased through the sands for miles by a cactus. There's an NPC idea for you there. lol

[@1337karm]

I didn’t know I needed this, but I did. Stuff like this reminds me why I fell in love with dnd. Killing psychic cacti

[@rickeymariu1]

I ran darksun last year. I wish there were more vids about the setting.

[@manateemanatee-eb6kn]

I have a suggestion for a video. that also is a creature of Athas. The athasian and avangion. Two of my favorite monsters.

[@dillongage7628]

Yes please! I know almost nothing about Darksun. When I was a teenager I read a Darksun novel that had some kind of gladiator as the main character and they almost got eaten by jungle halflings. That's all I remember about Darksun beyond the basics of Sorcceror/Defiler kings and magic using the life force of living things.

[@dawall3732]

I like that hulked out Rhino monster in the image at the end of your video. Don't suppose we could get you to do a bit of lore on it?

[@mattnerdy7236]

Braxat It is difficult to tell whether the braxat are of mammalian or reptilian stock. Their backs are covered with thick, articulated shells, their heads have a squarish lizard-like shape giving them a reptilian appearance, and the crowns of their heads are defended by three to five horny protrusions. At the same time, they walk upright on two feet, can speak with a human-like voice, have a fully opposable thumb, and are warm-blooded. Braxat are hunters by nature, and their fighting tactics reflect this. They will often use psionic attacks in an attempt to disable their opponents and reduce the risk to themselves. After attacking psionically, the braxat wade into hand-to-hand combat, usually carrying a massive spiked club. They use their breath weapon only as a last resort, for it tends to render the prey unsuitable for consumption. Braxat suffer damage only when hit by steel weapons or those with a magical enchantment upon them. All other weapons glance off of them harmlessly, although they may be knocked prone or otherwise affected by them. Braxats are found throughout Athas, wandering the forlorn wastes in search of prey. They are usually solitary creatures, but may rarely be found in mated pairs (in this case, the young are usually safely hidden away in a remote cavern). Braxat are true terrors of the desert, usually attacking at night in search of fresh meat. Although they will eat caravan mounts on occasion (with the exception of kanks), they prefer intelligent races. Braxat shells make excellent shields and armor plates. Because of this, they are sometimes hunted by other creatures living near them. Because of the power of the braxat, however, would-be hunters often find the tables turned upon them and end up the targets of a deadly ambush. Braxat Huge monstrosity, neutral evil Armor Class 19 (natural armor) Hit Points 162 (12d12 + 84) Speed 40 ft Abilities Str 25 (+7), Dex 13 (+1), Con 24 (+7), Int 13 (+1), Wis 18 (+4), Cha 15 (+2) Saving Throws Int +5, Wis +8, Cha +6 Damage Resistances fire Damage Immunities acid; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagic attacks not made with steel weapons Condition Immunities charmed Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Braxat Challenge 12 (8,400 XP) Aggressive. As a bonus action, the braxat can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The braxat’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 16). The braxat can cast the following spells without requiring material components. At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible), hypnotic pattern, message, shield1/day: Bigby’s hand (the hand is invisible), mislead, power word stun Mental Defenses. The braxat is immune to any effect that would sense its emotions or read its thoughts, including divination spells. Even wish spells and spells or effects of similar power cannot affect the braxat’s mind or gain information about it. Actions Multiattack. The braxat makes two melee attacks. Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage. Acid Breath (Recharge 6). The braxat emits a 15-foot cone of acid. Each creature in the area must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) acid damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one.

[@captainkuddlez]

hmmm been actually working off and on on the desert city of my campaign, think this could help spruce things up, thank you mucho great one.

[@sambro6657]

I’m currently starting a dark sun campaign so all desert creatures welcome

[@halfmask3]

Thanks for another surprisingly timely video AJ! Happy holidays, hope you are able to take time for yourself. I'm running a renaissance-esque campaign with a desert theme right now, so a varieties of cactus are right at home in the setting. I've had fun homebrewing a few monsters/creatures for the setting. My favorite has been the "Water Owls" several breeds of owl that can sense water, and are clever enough to attempt to steal it from people. The Apex of this is naturally the Water Owl Bear, a silent predator that can sense water from a great distance and hunt it down to its source. I tweaked the normal owl bear a bit, giving it that water sense, but also giving it stealth abilities based on the owl half. I figure if the owl gets fly-by attack in 5e, then the owl bear can have it as well! My players love/hate the things.

[@jessechristensen6207]

Using all future darksun material for my Midgard campaign’s blasted wastelands.

[@jgr7487]

these cacti are so terrifying that the only thing I could ever do is making Rot Grubs their natural predators. if you grab a Bloodsucking Cactus that has holes in it, it might be harboring Rot Grubs, which will join the spines on their quest to kill you from the inside.

[@erikmartin4996]

Cool this can be adapted to many types of plants thanks

[@TheKing-qz9wd]

Now this will be a revelation. The only way I would hunt with cacti is to have prey fall on it and then collect the catch on the end of a long hook.

[@TheLycanSubscriber]

Hot damn, that's even better than I'd hoped it would be! I need to make use of this at some point, it's too good not to lol my druid is going to be doing some serious introspection after this...

[@zenith110]

I'm here to humbly prod about the deep crows again! I can't seem to find a lot on them and I'm hoping you can find more! They seem super neat...

[@travisterry2200]

Thank you for helping out the underrepresented plant monsters. Can we get a stat block?

[@ryanulrich2147]

Heading to work, listening to a new AJ Pickett video = 😊. Yay, to decades of new videos 📹!!!!!!!!

[@constantinebilios232]

This is very cool! I’d love to see more Dark Sun videos, the setting has so many unique and interesting monsters.

[@AJPickett]

Coming up!

[@ericgonzalez934]

Thanks dude

[@brewticonmohiswarman1584]

I got into DnD from AJ and Ac Inc..... years ago. And my brother got interested because of a Dark Sun Campaign. I'm happy to add any little Dark Sun element i can. Thank you.

[@notsureicare488]

My dude, youre a beast. Releasing videos during the holiday season. Thank you, and Happy New Years.

[@pitchforksdragon1252]

I love dark sun monsters

[@zacharyweaver276]

I love hearing about obscure monsters for dnd. Mostly cause you can throw them at your players and have them fit into the lore

[@rhysjonsmusic]

The rock cacti seems like the perfect addition to any fictional dessert setting

[@MasterAsra]

Delicious.

[@coreyshorter8526]

I can't say if they are actively blood thirsty but winter cactus I planned sure do seem to get their share of blood out of me anyway.

[@Lucanoptek]

Hell yeah always excited to hear about plant monsters !

[@Ratt611]

Always liked the dark sun setting.

[@Arius_Astronomy]

Ah, this brought me back to No Man's Sky. Damn whipping vines.

[@trajanfidelis]

As a person who lives in the Mojave desert i can attest to these guys existence. You ever hear of the "jumping" cholla?

[@MouseMask-p1z]

That wasn’t in Fallout New Vegas. Judging by the name, they sound pretty horrible. Care to explain them? I’m curious.

[@Insane-Howl-Cowl]

Will this tie into the Cactus Dragon?

[@epiccthulu]

Imagine coming across a body adhered to a cactus like a morbid scarecrow only for the cactus to animate and twitch itself way into your direction with the body snapping and popping while attached

[@Scortch-lo3xy]

horrifying

[@epiccthulu]

@@Scortch-lo3xy gardening for liches

[@raylordofkhalah28]

Merry late christmas and happy new years AJ! You are definitely my new most useful KZbinr!

[@Emil-Tiger02]

Yay!

[@flareinc7413]

Excellent stuff as always and will help building my homebrew :) Thanks.

[@dragonlord498]

a predatory cactus makes me think of the pokemon Cacturne

[@lorekeeper685]

Same

[@jaym6996]

Not native to Athas? So I guess they're killer cacti from outer space

[@dillongage7628]

The evil cousin of the cactaur

[@TheEvilProfessorMonoCulture]

The reason it runs, it can detect your malicious intent

[@ROTTERDXM]

This is fun, another plant monster. Keep em coming!

[@TheEvilProfessorMonoCulture]

I can just imagine the Warlock in my party getting into a psychic battle with a Cactus 🌵 and the rest of the party confused as why he's staring at a Cactus for 30 minutes into one of them explodes.

[@AJPickett]

Always allow for the outside chance that the Warlock and the cactus actually know each other personally, one owes the other 20 gold coins and they have had a few adventures together in the past. 😉

[@AngelusAnsell]

For the record, 10 pints of blood is precisely one whole human's worth, though losing only half that is enough to essentially guarantee death.

[@kevinferreira6608]

AJ, mate, ever heard of "Perdido Street Station"? I really would apreciate some kind of rpg lore (homebrew or anything) about the godlike spider-being the Weaver and the cactii people with they sawbows. [Edit: spelling]

[@davidkoudelka10]

Just so you know he did do a video on the spellweavers!

[@MySerpentine]

@@davidkoudelka10 That's something totally different

[@MySerpentine]

Try the February 2007 issue of Dragon Magazine.

[@johnleaver4272]

Was doing minecraft multiplayer one time with some friends. They came to check on me in the desert biome just to realize every square inch was covered in cactus leading to a cactus covered and colored house with a throne

[@johngleeman8347]

Fantastic monster. We have a ton of cacti in our garden. The order caryophyllales are so hale and hearty in arid environments. Any other clade of plants will wither and die in drought conditions, while they are happy as can be. My favorites are the tree-like cacti, saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and Mexican giant cardon (Pachycereus pringlei). A cunning cactus ambusher is a perfect fit for a lonesome desert trail. My only immediate idea for improving the already excellent abilities of this alien plant would be to open up the possibility for advanced specimens that possess innate druidic/ranger spellcasting. Being able to cast "awaken" on saguaros and cardons and make them into Saguaro Sentinels (Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand, p. 181) is the dream.

[@CidGaius]

I guess you could say you’re in a prickly situation with these around you!

[@Aquamentus11]

AJ, does paralysis cause respiratory muscle paralysis too? If not, might be a cool mechanic to add to an encounter to step up the difficulty.

[@dillongage7628]

That would be brutal. Lots of dead adventurers.

[@davisjohnson6984]

These are real. They live in Texas.

[@Sirfinchyyy]

Wait what???

[@trajanfidelis]

And Arizona

[@adammillard9782]

Hello AJ. I have been watching your videos for a year or two, and I listen to the new videos on my daily walk. I would like you to take a look at the Dragonstar campaign setting for 3rd Edition by Fantasy Flight Games. It is kinda like Spelljammer with more Sci-fi elements or Starfinder without Golarion. I haven't found much about the setting besides the 1d4chan page.

[@AJPickett]

Will do

[@MouseMask-p1z]

I know you’re busy AJ, but I’d love to see some more about Spelljammer, if possible. Meanwhile, I’m just about to get into DMing, and run a oneshot or two. It’ll probably be awhile before I chuck one of these at a party, but I look forward to doing it.

[@AJPickett]

Good luck!

[@OMentertainment]

Reminds me of the spitting plant from Fallout 1 & 2

[@hexadecimil]

Oh! Cowboy BeeBop reference.

[@dualityomk9854]

the psi cactus was on OutlawStar

[@hexadecimil]

Oh shoot! Your right! My two favorite ever. I guess I got them mixed

[@dualityomk9854]

@@hexadecimil try coyotee ragtime show

[@camerongunn7906]

I'd love for Games Workshop to bring Dark Sun campaign back for 5e.

[@moonringXD]

I wonder how a Saguaro Sentinel would view them or vice versa? Also excellent video as always aj!

[@namlese4577]

Calling plant nomadic tickles my funny bone

[@zaqzilla1]

'Intelligent & psychic plant species" you don't hear that every day.

[@MrKlotzi123]

Sounds like something the Aartuk came up with.

[@sambro6657]

So out of curiosity AJ how much do you pay the guy who organizes all of your books of Lore in your wizard tower I’m hoping a lot

[@gingermcgingin1733]

The books are animate so they organise themselves.

[@ShojoBakunyu]

I've lived in the US Southwest for most of my life and having gotten a dozen different types of cactus stuck in me I can honestly say that these would be my nightmare come to life. 🤣😂🤣 It's bad enough getting a hunk of Cholla stuck in your leg while walking around but to know that there's mobile cactus hunting people? 🙀🙀🙀

[@Ghastly_Grinner]

That would really explain who you see so many of them shot to shit lol

[@kelleylafitte6503]

They reproduce in *prickly* pears. #thereIfixedit

[@shemyazadrolfossendam8156]

Straight out of the mind of a kiwi I'm certain!

[@Arius_Astronomy]

Cactus Juice... ... Its the quenchiest.

[@AmigoRoberto]

Nothings quenchier

[@trajanfidelis]

It's a giant mushroom...MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY!

[@TheKing-qz9wd]

I'll take my coconut water instead. Coconuts cannot poke me.

[@moonringXD]

Hey aj is there a livestream this weekend? Also happy new year's!🍻🎉

[@AJPickett]

Monday NZ time

[@moonringXD]

@@AJPickett thank you! :)

[@MrKlotzi123]

Hmm. Those Cacti weren't there yesterday.

[@Battleguild]

Video on the Star Spawn?

[@jameswilliams2075]

He has one

[@brettonalwood4173]

Because the victim is paralyzed doesn't that mean that the feeding tube does automatic crits? If so this is way worse than the 1d6 damage is would imply. Edited for Grammer

[@sargonixofur1234]

Always rather thought DarkSun was a setting designed for the DM to enjoy more than the players. So many fun ways to kill the players. Athas is too much like a layer of the Abyss, and actually works as a place to escape from back to Sigil etc. Never a setting I enjoyed playing a campaign in, although some of my old group love it. Marmite.

[@malbogia8003]

399. Moving on up

[@ARationalRedneck]

Every video it becomes clearer why the people of these settings have such a glorified view of exterminators. Even going so far as calling them adventurers, paying them large sums, and lauding them as heroes. It's all just a ruse to trick the village idiot into wandering out into the desert and get killed by a murderous plant. If he's successful, great! If not; then that's one less idiot to worry about.

[@kennyburkamp4054]

Unless that guy a barbarian most people how fight monster are not idiots like in most cases you need tactics plus there a intelligence stat now unless you play as a wizard your intelligence stat is not really high most of the time but unless you are playing a stupid character your intelligence would be at 10 or something close

[@jchart01]

Awesome. I need to re-visit my Dark Sun monster books. Also checking to see if you have a playlist of more Dark Sun beasties. :^)

[@AJPickett]

I have not, mainly because monsters from other settings are found there as well and it would get all confusing.

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

@@AJPickettwell Dark Sun tends to put a unique spin on them like with the Athasian Gith.

[@docop8926]

:52 who where u sawin in half?

[@Ghastly_Grinner]

This will come in handy I've been trying to flesh out my settings middle east/deep desert but all I keep coming up with for the deep desert other than 21 city states is a knock off fremin people who live in rocky outcropping and horde water killer cactus will help with random encounters

[@idigamstudios7463]

This is just that cactus bastard from Outlaw Star.

[@utter-noncents]

Is there anything that both doesn't exist in reality and is a herbivore in dnd?

[@AJPickett]

Giant tree sloth.

[@utter-noncents]

@@AJPickett isn't that just an extinct animal irl?

[@AJPickett]

@@utter-noncents fine, a Dire Giant Ground Sloth.

[@utter-noncents]

@@AJPickett well now you're just making things up

[@AJPickett]

@@utter-noncents Buraq, Branta, Dracon, there are a lot, try the forgotten realms Wikipedia 🙂

[@samsamsamsamsamanilla5281]

Totally off topic: I'm imaging a monster/force that doesn't have a STAT BLOCK, but instigates conflict and randomly manipulates other Stat blocks. For kicks🥴 also throw in the "Your It" feature from Guantlet 2 and let chaos ensue🤪

[@mrl9418]

A propos cactus, how do you feel about the whole cyberpunk 2077 situation ? You're not doing livestreams so I thought I'd ask here.

[@AJPickett]

Never pre-pay for a game.

[@mrl9418]

@@AJPickett As, unbeknown to you, you might have been pre-paying for a Cactus 😀

[@sageofsorceryproductions2576]

We don’t know where they came from? That’s gotta be a Feywild plant. It makes sense it spread all over Athas, but that freakiness has Feywild written all over it!

[@HenriFaust]

It could also be Abyssal or from Carceri.

[@kodypalmer7079]

If you set up your video format as basic info moderate and in-depth so dms can just your vids like okay you rolled low you can watch up to 4 mins in.

[@AJPickett]

Interesting idea

[@dillongage7628]

So is nobody gonna ask what kind of Rhinoceros monstrosity he showed at the end of the video? Please tell me that's an actual species and not just fan art. It's like a Heliphant but somehow way cooler.

[@stronghumankind]

It's called a Braxat and they are terrifying. sites.google.com/site/darksun5emonstre/b/braxat

[@stronghumankind]

I hope AJ does a video on them!

[@robinmcgee9277]

Oooh these and rattler dragons from 3rd ed no man sands