Aster Snails

* Complexion
* Shell

### Physical Attack(s)

**Flail Tentacle** - +5 to hit, reach 10 ft, 1 target. *Hit:* 1d4 + 3 bludgeoning damage**Multiattack** - Make as many Flail Tentacle attacks as it has tentacles, all against the same target

**Violent Scream** - Does not do damage, but is very loud and annoying

### Magic Abilities

*Antimagic shell*, *Scintillating Shell* (see page)

## General Information

### Favored Terrain

Anywhere with water, preferring indoor structures with arcane energy

### Origin

Believed to have originally been bred in the High North

## Physical Appearance

### Avg Length or Height

*Standard* - 6 in - 2 ft 6 in*Mothers* - 1 ft 6 in average

### Avg Weight

45-80 lbs, depending on age and shell-to-body proportions

### Color(s)

*Standard* - Opalescent/Rainbow-y*Mothers* - Pearlescent/Mother-of-Pearl

### Distinct Features

Up to 5 barbed eye stalks that function as a defense mechanismSpikey, opalescent or pearlescent shell

Mirror-like slime trail that hardens when exposed to air

## Notable Appearances

### Brigade oneshots

Pest Control

**Aster Snails** or **Morning Star Snails** are a species of snail that was supposedly extinct for many centuries. They are a descendant of the Flail Snail, having been bred into a beast creature rather than an elemental. Though they are typically rather harmless, their habit of consuming arcane energy caused them to be considered a pest and they were exterminated almost completely. However, after the Pirene Spring was drained several eggs, which were being used as a power source, were exposed to air, causing them to hatch and begin breeding inside of Nadir's Zenith.

As of the beginning of 906, the surviving Aster Snail population has been hosted inside of Hydranland. Some seem to have escaped into the wilderness, being fished up in nearby port towns.

## History

Many, many years ago, whenever Nadir's Zenith was created, the Aster Snail was a fad pet for many mages. Their magic-resisting shell was assurance against accidentally frying the creature in a magical accident, their shells and slime trails could be used as components for a number of different spells, and their eggs were a near-infinite source of quintessence, only hatching when fully exposed to the air. Surviving documentation recalls that they are beast-based descendants of the infamous Flail Snail. These seemingly-harmless creatures were bred from massive creatures into small, cute creatures with round, spiky iridescent shells and five little spiky tentacles atop it’s head

However, when it was discovered that these snails have an intense attraction to magical items, and even enjoy consuming them, they soon became categorized as a pest. Over the years they were hunted down and exterminated completely, their shells being harvested for other magical uses.

All traces of them were thought to have been destroyed… except for the eggs within the Pirene Spring, hatching after the pool was drained and wreaking havoc on the Brigade's HQ.

## Description

Most Aster Snails are between 6 inches to 2.5 feet in size from their bodies to the tips of their shells. They have a spiky shell with an opalescent shimmer to it that protects their innards and reflects magical attacks. They can have up to five barbed eye-stalks used for perception as well as defense, regrowing the ones lost in combat over the course of several months. As they move across any surface they leave a slick trail of slime, that hardens into a mirror-like substance after being exposed to the air for some time.

### Snail Mothers

Unlike normal snails, only 1 in 1000 Aster Snails can lay eggs. This snail broodmother is the same size and has same powers as it’s bretheren, but has a shell with a mother-of-pearl texture on it rather than the standard opalescence. It typically remains sedentary, finding a spot with a powerful magical aura as well as a source of water to incubate its eggs in.

## Abilities

### Physical Abilities

#### Flail Tentacle

*Melee Weapon Attack.* +5 to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. *Hit:* 5 (1d4 + 3) bludgeoning damage

##### Multiattack

The Aster Snail makes as many Flail Tentacle attacks as it has flail tentacles, all against the same target.

#### Shell Defense

The Aster Snail withdraws into it's shell, gaining a +4 bonus to AC until it emerges. It can emerge from it's shell as a bonus action on it's turn.

### Magic Abilities

#### Anti-Magic Shell

The snail has advantage on saving throws against spells, and any creature making a spell attack against the snail has disadvantage on the attack roll. If the snail succeeds on its saving throw against a spell or a spell attack misses it, an additional effect might occur, as determined by rolling a d6:

 3-4
 5-6

##### Scintillating Shell (recharges after a Short or Long rest)

The snail's shell emits dazzling, colored light until the end of the snail's next turn. During this time, the shell sheds bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet, and creatures that can see the snail have disadvantage on attack rolls against it. In addition, any creature within the bright light and able to see the snail when this power is activated must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the light ends.

#### Magic Item Utility

It's unclear how they have the knowledge or faculties to do so, but it appears Aster Snails are able to easily utilize any magical items, weapons, or tools they come in contact with. While they typically choose to consume the items instead, they've displayed the ability to use them when necessary or useful to their lives. For example, they were able to teleport between the floors of Nadir's Zenith.

#### Consume Magic

The Aster Snail can feed on the minerals of the earth, preferring crystal growths and mineral deposits. However, they have a peculiar attraction to the quintessence given off by magical artifacts, such as enchanted weapons.

When it detects a magic weapon within reach, an Aster Snail will attempt to latch onto it with it’s tentacles. If the item is being protected by someone, the snail must beat their AC with a tentacle attack. On a success, it grasps onto the item and begins to crawl all over it, covering it with an opalescent residue as it begins to consume it’s magic.

Removing the snail from the item requires a DC 17 Strength check or for it’s hit points to be depleted entirely. If it’s not removed within 1d6 turns, it succeeds in consuming all the energy in the item and detaches itself, falling to the ground next to it and moving towards whatever magical presence it can sense next.

Aster Snails also seem to have a heavy preference for magic users, crawling all over them. They seem to feed off of their residual energy, though this doesn’t seem to deal any damage or even deplete their powers.

## Ecology

These snails tend to live in large colonies, referred to as "routs", "walks", or "escargatoires". For every 1000 snails or so, there is one Snail Mother, whom the others protect with their lives. They make their primary nests in bodies of water, preferably shallow enough for the low tide to allow their eggs to be exposed to air and hatched.

Observation from Brigade members and residents of Nadir's Zenith reveal that the snails display a significant level of affection or compassion for each other. Snails that lose all their eye-stalks in battle are effectively blind and defenseless until they grow them back over the course of several weeks, yet the rest of the escargatoire protects them and provides them with food until they are able to fend for themselves again. When a snail grows old and dies, the escargatoire seems to sing a sort of wailing song, moving their body through the masses and discarding of it into whatever large body of water they have nearest access to.

## Notable Oneshot/Campaign Appearances

Aster Snails made their debut appearance in Pest Control, where they threatened to expose Nadir's Zenith to the world thanks to the shimmering hue their trails were making that reflected light through the illusion that kept them hidden.

An Aster Snail was fished up during Hook, Line, & Sinker, ironically by Aster Dewlight.

## Gallery

Statblock with all info except for Consume MagicImage of a typical Aster Snail's complexionExample shell shape of an Aster Snail