May Monster Madness #7
A month of practicing the principles laid out in the essays of Kobold Guide to Monsters from Kobold Press.
(Image source: Petalmane Baku by Rebecca Guay; image description: A rosebush with four mottled yellow-orange legs with clawed feet sticking out of it. No other animal or human anatomy is visible.)
Hungry Spirits. Born from the soil of ancient battlefields, bloodpetal spirits have an insatiable need for humanoid blood. It flows through their stems and leaves in place of water or sap, sustaining and strengthening them. When the ancient blood in the soil has been sucked up through their branching roots, they set out for fresher prey. Whole herds of bloodpetal spirits have been spotted on the move, looking for all the world like a moving field of wildflowers.
Am-bush Predators. Bloodpetal spirits are patient, willing to wait for days or weeks at a time for living prey to approach. During that time, the energy that would have gone toward walking or climbing is directed to creating lush and fragrant flowers. When a foolish humanoid or herbivorous animal approaches to examine the sight, the bloodpetal spirit strikes with its vicious claws. If the claws connect, the unfortunate creature gets dragged into the rosebush where the scraping thorns quickly extract a blood meal. The spirit repeats this process until its prey escapes or until it succumbs to its wounds, fertilizing the ground around the spirit for a time. But the spirit will inevitably feel the pang of hunger again, and once more venture forth for bloodier pastures.
Adventure Hooks
A valuable weapon lies somewhere on the Asharn Plateau but a horde of bloodpetal spirits make exploration difficult for the unprepared. Can the heroes retrieve the artifact without becoming fertilizer?
A gardener has gone missing on the grounds of Fergalt Manor, eaten by a vicious (and newly planted) rosebush. Who could have put it there? And what other dangerous botanicals might lurk in the hedges?
(Monster statblock in plaintext beneath cut)
