Building Bhakashal - Plant Monsters!!!!

Art By Creaturesfromel at Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/creaturesfromel/art/Untitled-880387980

I decided that I needed to fill out the plant entries in my Bhakashal marshes encounter table. Several of these badboys are the creations of powerful warlocks, custom designed for their towers and domiciles, they have spread to the wilderness instead. 

Several are symbiotes that work with animals to capture prey.

All are unique, enjoy!!!

I love plant monsters. They are stuck in one place so they provide adventurers with an easy target, but they have fiendish attacks that are frequently hard to beat. Most of the deadly plants in Bhakashal were created by warlocks, usually to defend their towers or treasures, then they spread into the wild.

Spine Leaf Plants

MV:0, AC:5,HD:5,NA:none,SA:Needle Spray,SD:Needle damage to attacker, INT:low, Size:L (8’ tall, 20’ radius)

Spine leaf plants are green and bulbous, each leaf bulb is covered with dozens of 4 inch long spines, and each plant has hundreds of bulbous leaves. Spine leaf plants were created as a hybrid by the warlock Hram the Bakkanar of House Jin and spread beyond her tower to the marshes, where they multiplied significantly. Each plant has a special, unique sound that “activates” it and causes the spines to shoot out 10’ in all directions from the main mass of the plant. In the wild local animals will learn the activation sound and use the plant as a way to attack potential prey. So a lizard or a carnivorous ape might be able to duplicate the sound of the plant. A Spine leaf plant can be “activated” 3 x per day, then it needs 8 hours to regrow spines.

Each “burst” of spines does 3d4 damage to all within 10’ of the 20’ radius main trunk of the plant.

Also, anyone striking the plant with a weapon must roll a saving throw versus breath weapon or take damage from the spines equal to 2d4 for each strike.

Several powerful House Jin warlocks have spine leaf plants in their domiciles, they learn the activation sound and can use them to attack intruders in the range of the plant.

Snake Flowers

MV:0, AC:7,HD:3,NA:6,DA: 1-4x6,SA: miasma, acid,SD:acid spray, INT:low, Size:M (5’ tall)

A snake flower has a main flower of dark orange that is about a foot across, it is surrounded by thick “branches” that end in rounded heads with teeth. These heads are carnivorous and eat insects, small animals and such. Twice a day the plant can emit a miasma of gas that sinks to the ground, diffuses through a 50’ radius area, and any small sized living creature on the ground must save versus spell or be drawn to the plant.

The plant bites 6x per round against any target within 3 feet, each mouth does 1-4 +3 damage, the bite is 1-4, the +3 is from acid in the mouth. 

If any of the “branches” are cut for more than 3 hp damage they spray acid, saving throw versus breath weapon to avoid, otherwise 2-8 damage, then 1-6 next round, and 1-4 the next, unless washed off or removed by spell. Also, the weapon must save versus acid or be destroyed.

Bhakashal warlocks often use snake flowers in their domiciles to eliminate vermin and ground insects.

Gallows Tree

MV:0, AC:4,HD:10,NA:special, SA: entanglement, SD: weapon entanglement, INT:low-average, Size:L (30’ tall)

A gallows tree is the creation of a long dead Bhakashal warlock named Teervin the Mercurial. The gallows tree blossoms in the spring with iridescent leaves the size of dinner plates. The tree absorbs ambient moisture from the air. Additionally, once within 5’ of the tree, it has many ropy branches that entangle the victim as an entangle spell. Make your save versus paralysis and you break free in 5-STR bonus rounds, fail your save and you are entangled for 10-STR bonus rounds. Each round you are entangled the tree leeches moisture from your body, 2 hp per round.

If you attack a gallows tree with a melee weapon and miss, your weapon has been snatched by the tree and can only be removed by doing at least 8 hp damage to the tree near the weapon to hack it free. If you wish to free a victim trapped by the tree the same rule applies. Note that if you roll a miss when attempting to free a person or an object then the person or the object takes the damage instead.

Thornwood Vine

MV:3”, AC:6, HD:7, NA: special, SA: thorns, SD: special, INT:low, Size:L (30’ radius bush)

Thornwood vines are a crucial component in beastial spell casting, every beastial wears a thornwood vine wrapped around their sleeve and prick themselves upon a thorn to get a drop of blood for every casting of a spell. 

Thornwood vine clusters are composite creatures that are mobile, they move across the soil at a movement rate of 3”. They do not attack, but any successful attack against them causes the attacker to take 4-16 damage as the vines lash out and flay the attacker at the spot of contact. The only way to avoid this is to stay completely still and the vines will slide around the target. Beastials who use a speak with plants spell can direct thornwood vine clusters to envelop a target, usually they panic and start striking it…

Harvesting of thornwood vines without being torn apart is a secret confined to the beastial animal cults. 

Queen’s Crown

MV:0, AC:8, HD:6, NA: special, SA: sleep, SD: sleep, INT:average, Size:L (10’ tall)

The original Queen’s Crown was created by the warlock Yiga Majun of House Omander, over the years the plant spread to the marshes and is now more prolific, though still comparatively rare. The main trunk of the plant is 10’ tall and has 8’ long leaves that cluster close to the central stalk, the top of the stalk has a large, 5’ radius flower of dark purple (thus “Queen”) with “antenna” of dark black. The root system of the plant comes back up to the surface and forms a patch of green “grass” with purple edges, in a radius of 50’ - 100’ feet around the plant.

When creatures with body heat approach the plant the “grass” emits a fine mist that seeps into the skin through leather or fabric. If the target in question charges at full speed they will be able to run through the grass unharmed. If they linger (e.g. to attack) or move at regular speed they must save every round versus paralysis or fall asleep for 10-CON bonus rounds. Each round asleep the target loses 1 hp to the grass as it leeches out blood.

The real threat of the plant is that local animals sometimes learn of the sleep effect and have determined that a sleeping target may be removed by running in and grabbing them, if they make their save upon grabbing the target (no roll required to grab) then they can resist the sleep effect and remove the target, who will not wake until damaged or the time is up. If they are woken by damage treat as a surprise attack.

Carnivorous apes and giant boars are known to hang around Queen’s Crown plants to capture prey.