Bloodweed

This will be a short post.  I worked all week, all weekend, and had 6 additional hours of commuting time.

Bloodweed

The lighter color tips turn red when the plant is feeding.
Image by Kerstin Riemer from Pixabay

Armor Class	17 (special)
Hit Dice	2
Move	0' (see below)
Attacks	Special
Damage	1 hp/round
Number Appearing	1
Morale	n/a
Treasure Type	Special
Intelligence	Animal (2)
Alignment	Neutral
Monster Type	Normal Plant
Terrain	Oases
% in Lair	n/a
Special Attacks	Vine attachment/blood drain
Special Defenses	Hidden stem
Magic Resistance	Normal
Size	L

Last week I called this "Bloodvine." Both names are used.

Bloodweed climbs like ivy, and collects in deep (knee-high) thickets where possible. Anyone wading in the thicket is subject to attack. 

When a person or animal enters the thicket, the vine will seek to attach itself to the victim. This takes 1 round for a person wearing no armor, 2 rounds for a person wearing leather, 3 rounds for chain, and 4 for plate armor.  Shields have no effect.

The vine anesthetizes the victim's skin when it attaches, causing the victim to be unaware of what's happening. Each round after the vine attaches, it will do 1 hp of damage as it drains blood from the victim. The vines and leaves closest to the victim will start to turn red as they fill with blood, and the victim will notice that he is feeling weakened.  Finding the attachment site requires a successful Wisdom save.  Once the attachment site is located, the vine can be simply pulled out. Remaining in the thicket will start the attachment timer over again.

The vine can feed off of any number of victims as long as they're all in the thicket.

Attacking the main stem require a hit against AC 17.  The vine is considered to have 2 hit dice, but "killing it" is temporary: the weed will grow back within a month.  The only way to permanently kill it is with fire, acid, or an appropriate spell.  

Bloodfruit

Bloodweed doesn't collect any treasure, though sometimes the bodies of former victims will contain valuables. 

Having said that, there is a 25% chance that a feeding bloodweed will produce a bloodfruit. Eating a bloodfruit initially causes 1d4 hit points of damage. If the character survives the damage, they then heal 2d6 hit points at the rate of 1 point per round.  The healing effect can even boost the character's hit points above their normal maximum, but the "extra" hit points "wear off" at the rate of 1 hit point per turn.

That's all!

That's all for this week.  Maybe next week we'll finish the fort!

Do you like the bloodweed?  It's little bit of a monster and a little bit of a trap.