Asp Vine

Medium plant, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 55 (10d8 + 10)
Speed 10 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	1 (-5)	3 (-4)	1 (-5)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, frightened
Senses blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 6
Languages —
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• False Appearance. While the asp vine remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal cluster of vines.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The asp vine makes four vine attacks.
• Vine. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage and 5 (2d4) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 14). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and must succeed on a new saving throw each round it remains grappled or take another 5 (2d4) poison damage. The asp vine can grapple up to four targets at a time, though it can still make vine attacks against other targets even if it has four grappled opponents.

ABOUT

The asp vine appears as little more than a cluster of thick creepers or ground vines—until it attacks. Hidden under its bundles of heart-shaped leaves are thin, curving thorns that resemble snake fangs, giving the plant its name. When prey blunders into the asp vine, it lashes out, catching the creature in its coils and scoring it with its poisonous thorns. Once the creature is dead, the poison helps break down the body, providing sustenance to the vine, which draws nutrients from the remains through its roots.

Ambush Predator. Asp vines typically root themselves in a spot and wait for prey to come to them. If there is little in the way of food or if conditions become unsuitable—such as flooding—the vine will uproot itself and move to another area to await prey.

Incidental Treasure. Items belonging to victims of an asp vine often linger long after their owners have decomposed. This works to the asp vine’s advantage as new victims are often lured into the clutches of the plant by the prospect of easy treasure.

Native Weapons. Asp vine thorns remain poisonous even after the plant is dead.

Humanoids native to the Western Wastes often harvest asp vines, dry them, and weave the woody, twine-like vines into whips.

Treat these weapons as whips that deal an additional 2 (1d4) points of poison damage on a successful hit. The poison in the whips maintains its potency for 1 week, after which the weapon ceases to deliver poison damage.