Gallows Tree Zombie

Family: Zombies

Medium plant, unaligned

Armor Class 11 (natural armor)
Hit Points 52 (7d8 + 21)
Speed 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
19 (+4) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 4 (-3) 10 (+0) 1 (-5)

Damage Resistances fire
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned; frightened, prone, stunned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common, but cannot speak, telepathy 100 ft. with gallows tree
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Special Traits

  • Regeneration. The gallows tree zombie regenerates 5 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point.
  • Tether-Vine. A gallows tree zombie is connected to the gallows tree 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 12 and has 10 hit points. Harming the vine deals no damage to the gallows tree zombie or the gallows tree, but if severed, does prevent the zombie from regenerating any health at the start of its turn.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The gallows tree zombie makes two slam attacks.
  • Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
  • Spore Cloud (Recharge 6). A gallows tree zombie can breathe a cloud of poisonous, greenish spores at the space directly in front of it in a 5-foot cube. A creature caught in the cloud must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. Until this poison ends, the target is slowed (as the slow spell). The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

About

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.

Gallows tree zombies were once living humanoids slain and devoured by a gallows tree and reborn from the seedlings as a minion of said creature.

They serve no purpose in life now other than killing or capturing living prey for the gallows tree 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. Gallows tree zombies appear as humanoid creatures with deathly gray-green skin that feels coarse and rough to the touch. A long, sinewy cord of greenish-brown wraps around the zombie’s throat and connects it to the gallows tree. Gallows tree zombies show no spark of life in their eyes but are not completely mindless. They are not undead even though their name suggests otherwise; therefore, they cannot be turned or rebuked.

Gallows tree zombies hang motionless from the tree that created them, being lowered to the ground only when a living creature comes within 100 feet of the gallows tree they are connected to. They are formidable opponents and relentlessly pound their foes with their club-like fists while breathing a cloud of choking spores. The 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 gallows tree, devoured by the tree, and eventually transformed into a gallows tree zombie to replace any that fell in battle.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Horrors © 2018, Frog God Games, LLC; Authors: Kevin Baase, Erica Balsley, John “Pexx” Barnhouse, Christopher Bishop, Casey Christofferson, Jim Collura, Andrea Costantini, Jayson ‘Rocky' Gardner, Zach Glazar, Meghan Greene, Scott Greene, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Ian S. Johnston, Bill Kenower, Patrick Lawinger, Rhiannon Louve, Ian McGarty, Edwin Nagy, James Patterson, Nathan Paul, Patrick N. Pilgrim, Clark Peterson, Anthony Pryor, Greg Ragland, Robert Schwalb, G. Scott Swift, Greg A. Vaughan, and Bill Webb

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