Umbral Vine
From Monsterbook
This vine is dark green and tangled, with shoots several inches thick. Several branches sprout from its body, displaying an array of gold flowers. From one of the flowers a shimmering, translucent tendril draws out of it.
UMBRAL VINE (CR 3)
- Always N Medium plant
- Init +1; Senses blindsight 60 ft., scent, tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +2, Spot +2
- Languages: none
- AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12
- (+1 Dex, +2 natural) 20% miss chance
- hp 26 (4 HD); DR 10/slashing
- Immune: plant immunities
- Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +1
- Weakness: blind
- Speed 5 ft.
- Melee 3 phase tendrils +4 (1d3, plus poison)
- Space 5 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
- Base Atk +3; Grp +4
- Abilities Str 11, Dex 13, Con 14, Int --, Wis 11, Cha 1
- SQ plant qualities
- Feats Alertness, Weapon Finesse
- Advancement 5-7 HD (Medium), 8-12 HD (Large), 13-16 HD (Huge)
Phase Shift (Su) An umbral vine partially fades in and out of the ethereal plane. Any attacks against it have a 20% miss chance, unless the attack is able to affect ethereal creatures.
Phase Tendrils (Su): The tendrils of an umbral vine have a poisonous stinger that is partially on the ethereal plane. The tendrils of the umbral vine are treated as incorporeal attacks on the prime material plane (ignoring armor and natural armor bonuses) and as normal attacks against any incorporeal or ethereal creatures (as if they had the ghost touch weapon ability).
Poison (Ex): Primary effect 1d6 Strength damage, secondary effect permanent paralysis. Fortitude save (DC 14), the save DC is Constitution-based.
The umbral vine is an unusual plant that grows on the prime material plane yet partially manifests portions of itself onto the ethereal plane. Its poisonous tendrils attack in a similar manner to the touch of a ghost or other incorporeal being.
Strategies and Tactics
The umbral vine is non-intelligent and simply attacks anything it notices either on the prime material or ethereal plane. It attacks multiple targets within reach, hopefully injecting poison and paralyzing its target so that it can later feed.
Adventure Hooks
A druid has grown a circle of umbral vines in a defensive ring around a small hamlet to protect it against a ghost. When the ghost catches the druid and kills her, the townsfolk become trapped by the druid's guardians.
In an act of malice, an arrogant noble hires an adventuring group (that annoyed her) to fetch for her the "golden blossoms from a most unusual vine" found in a nearby swamp.
Ecology and Society
The umbral vine is slow-moving with an equally slow metabolism. It only needs to feed once a month on something as small as a rat. For corporeal creatures it feeds on their bodily fluids,leaving behind dessicated husks. It can also feed on the ethereal essence of beings that are naturally incorporeal.
An umbral vine can grow in virtually any area, although they tend to wander more in damp, cool environments and remain stationary in warmer climates. A standard vine grows from a main trunk that is up to six inches thick and has a tough, rubbery outer layer. Numerous vines grow from the main stem and every plant always has three branches blooming with the golden flowers from which its poisonous tendrils manifest. The average plant is 5 feet tall, with vines that reach up to 12 feet, and weighs 100 pounds.
Umbral Vine Lore
Knowledge (Nature)
DC 14: This plant has many properties similar to a ghost
DC 15: This result reveals all plant traits
DC 19: It has poisonous barbs that inject paralytic poison
DC 24: Its tendrils not only pass right through armor, it can even attack creatures on the ethereal plane
