Ghoultree

Ghoultree

CR 13                                                                                              XP: 25,600

N Huge undead (augmented plant)

Init +5; Senses Low-light Vision, tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +18

AC 24, touch 9, flat-footed 23 (-2 size, +15 natural, +1 Dex)

HP 200 (16d12+96)

Fort +16, Ref +6, Will +7

DR 10/slashing and magic; Resist fire 10

Speed 20 ft.

Melee 6 slams +20 (2d6+10)

Space 15 ft.

Special Attacks Create GhoulTree Zombies, GhoulTree Zombies, Improved Grab

During Combat A ghoultree normally stands idle, lowering its zombies to the ground when living prey come within 100 feet of the tree. If a foe comes within 15 feet of the tree itself, it lashes out with its sharpened branches or attempts to grab the foe. A grabbed foe is subjected to additional damage as the Ghoultree pummels it with its other branches. Occasionally the tree works in concert with its zombies, grabbing a foe and holding it while its zombies pound it into goop. Slain creatures are dragged close to the tree, sliced open, and their innards devoured by the tree's roots.

Str 30, Dex 12, Con 23, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 6

Base Atk +12; CMB +24; CMD 35

Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (Slam), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Slam)

Skills Perception +18, Stealth +17

Environment temperate and warm forest, hill, marsh, and plains

Organization Grove (1 Ghoultree, plus 6-11 Ghoultree zombies)

Treasure Half-standard — Ghoultrees do not collect treasure but occasionally such items (the remnants of devoured prey) are found in the vicinity of the creature.

Citrine (x2) [60 gp each]

Fire opal [700 gp]

Tourmaline [100 gp]

Gloves of arrow snaring [4,000 gp]

Potion of bull's strength [300 gp]

Scroll of dispel magic (CL 5th) [375 gp]

905 gp

Create Zombie (Su) When a creature dies within 15 feet of a Ghoultree, it uses a sharpened tendril to slice open the creature's abdomen, thereby spilling the corpse's innards on the ground. The organs and fluids are absorbed by the tree's roots. Corpses of a size other than Medium or Large are simply left to rot. Medium or Larger corpses are filled with a greenish pollen fired from one of the tree's branches. The abdominal wound heals over the next 1d4 days, at which time the slain creature rises as a Ghoultree zombie connected by a tether-vine to the Ghoultree that created it. Ghoultree zombies possess none of their former abilities.

Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a Ghoultree must hit with its slam attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and deals slam damage each round the hold is maintained.

Tremorsense (Ex) Ghoultrees can automatically sense the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the same vegetation the tree is touching.

Ghoultree Zombie (Ex) Each ghoultree have several Ghoultree zombies connected to it. A Huge ghoultree may have no more than seven ghoultree zombies connected to it at one time. A Gargantuan Ghoultree can have a maximum of 11 zombies connected to it at any given time. See the Ghoultree zombie entry below for details on that monster.

This creature appears as a massive, tall tree with thick branches from which hang several humanoid corpses tightly secured by their necks with greenish-brown ropes. Its canopy is thick and busy, and its trunk is mottled brown.

Ghoultrees are sentient plants that sustain themselves on the internal organs and body fluids of living creatures. They use deception to lure potential prey into range at which time they unleash the Ghoultree zombies attached to their branches to kill or capture the prey. While mobile, a Ghoultree prefers to remain in one spot for an extended length of time (usually until its food supply in the area runs out). From this location, it simple waits for prey and then attacks when such beings come into view.

In Your Campaign

Many villages and towns have a great tree where their ancestors hung evil-doers. Over the decades and centuries of use, the amount of death the tree helped to cause affected it in a way none could have foreseen. The Ghoultree is born of death, which is why it is in this supplement of undead. Its "offspring," the Ghoultree zombies, are detailed below for similar reasons, even though they are not undead.

Ghoultree Zombie

CR 4                                                                                                 XP: 1,200

N Medium undead (augmented plant/human)

Init +6; Senses Darkvision 60 Ft., Low-light Vision, Tremorsense 60 Ft.; Perception +9

AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+5 natural, +2 Dex)

HP 29 (6d6+8); Fast Healing 5

Fort +65, Ref +4, Will +2

Speed 30 ft.

Melee 2 slams +8 (1d6+4)

Special Attacks Spore Cloud

During Combat Ghoultree zombies hang motionless from the Ghoultree, appearing lifeless. When a living creature comes within 100 feet of a Ghoultree, the zombies are lowered to the ground and they move to attack.

Ghoultree zombies prefer uneven odds that favor them, so ganging up on an individual is the norm in battle. Slain foes are dragged back to the Ghoultree to be devoured or transformed into a Ghoultree zombie to replace any that fell in battle.

Str 19, Dex 15, Con -, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 1

Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 20

Feats Alertness, Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Skills Perception +9, Sense Motive +2, Stealth +7

Environment Temperate and warm forest, hill, marsh, and plains

Organization Grove (6-11 plus 1 ghoultree)

Treasure none

Spore Cloud (Ex) As a free action, once every 1d4 rounds (but no more than three times per day), a Ghoultree zombie can breathe a cloud of poisonous, greenish spores in a 5-foot cube directly in front of it. a creature caught in the cloud must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or be slowed (as the slow spell) for 6 rounds. Once minute later, the creature must make another Fortitude save (same DC) or take 1d3 points of Strength damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Fast Healing (Ex) A Ghoultree zombie heals only if it is connected to its Ghoultree by its tether-vine.

Tether-Vine (Ex) A Ghoultree zombie is connected to the Ghoultree that created it by a long sinewy vine. This vine can be lengthened to allow the zombie to move up to 100 feet away from the tree. The vine is AC 19 (touch 12) and has 10 hit points. Harming the vine deals no damage to the Ghoultree zombie or the tree itself, but if severed, does prevent the zombie from using its fast healing ability.

Tremorsense (Ex) Ghoultree zombies can automatically sense the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the same vegetation the zombie is touching.

This creature is a humanoid with deathly gray-green skin dressed in tattered and torn clothes. Small plants, weeds, and fungi grow on the creature's body. A long, sinewy, greenish-brown noose connects the creature to the massive tree behind it.

Ghoul trees zombies were once living humanoids slain and devoured by a Ghoultree and reborn from the seedlings as a minion of said creature. They serve no purpose in life now other than killing to capturing living prey for the Ghoultree that created them. These monsters retain small memories of their former lives and these scenes sometimes manifest in the zombie's mind, causing it great anger which it vents on the nearest living creature.

Ghoultree zombies show no spark of life in their eyes but are not completely mindless. They are no undead even though their name suggests otherwise; therefore, they cannot be turned or rebuked.

Although not true undead, the Ghoultree and its zombies make for a great bluff. A villain could conceivably make his hideout in a cave where a Ghoultree would be the first line of defense. Alternately, he could simply set up an ambush for the party near to one. After pumping the local rumor mill full of false information (how the area is guarded by a vicious undead tree and its zombies, the PCs would come equipped to deal with such a threat. Of course, they would have prepared wrongly, and the villain gains that much more of an upper hand when he launches his counterstrike.