Gruen

Small fey, neutral

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 63 (14d6+14)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
13 (+1) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 5 (-3) 10 (+0) 8 (-1)

Skills Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception
Languages Sylvan
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

ACTIONS

  • Ball Roll. The gruen rolls up tightly into a ball. For its movement it can roll safely down a hill or slope at double its speed. While rolling, the gruen cannot steer or otherwise control the direction it rolls. While in a ball, the gruen gains +2 AC and if it takes damage from slamming into an object placed in its path, it takes half damage. It remains a ball until its next turn.
  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4+2) piercing damage. A victim who has been bitten must succeed at a DC 11 Fortitude saving throw or become poisoned. Nausea and vomiting cause the victim to become incapacitated while poisoned. The victim may make a new saving throw at the end of each of their turns. On a success, the victim is no longer incapacitated and is poisoned for 1 hour.

REACTIONS

  • Spring Roll. The gruen is in ball form, takes half damage from falling until its next turn, and is not prone.

ABOUT

Scuttling forth upon maddening clicks of hundreds of chitinous legs emerges a bloated larval centipede whose entire upper body and head have undergone a horrid metamorphosis into the form of a repugnant, pale-fleshed mite crawling upon three pairs of stunted and stubby forearms.

Disturbingly disfigured amalgams of mites and centipedes, these barely intelligent creatures lurk in the lightless warrens of the burrows of their masters and nearest kin—the despicable and craven mites. The gruen’s humanoid features are misshapen and his hairless skin hangs in rubbery, wrinkled folds. While the creature’s face somewhat resembles that of a mite, from either side of its swollen lower lip curl bug-like pinchers. Its upper torso is even more deformed, partially fleshy and humanoid in appearance, with pale bluish skin. From the torso protrude six stunted arms, all of which bow slightly inward. These arms have equally proportioned dwarfish hands, though the hands serve more as feet and the creature cannot effectively use them to manipulate tools, wield weapons, or grapple. The posterior of the creature’s body morphs into the multi-segmented chitin-plated abdomen of a centipede. The lithe centipede legs are well-armored and twist into cruel clattering spikes about the same length as the creature’s stunted forearms. To those unfamiliar with gruens, the creatures’ aberrant body shapes and uncanny resemblance to mites seems to suggest foul sorcery and magical inbreeding. Nearly as often, humanoids mistake gruen for undead or even demonic avatars. Yet in truth, gruens are none of these things, but remain, perhaps unexpectedly so, products of Otherworld. Mites themselves describe gruens as the living embodiment of the souls of their ancestors, particularly those mites who were grievously erred during their lives and upon death, and made a conscious effort to serve their descendants and to sow their vengeance on the enemies of their people. Yet, despite such origins, gruens are not undead creatures; instead they emerge as the devolved souls that have reformed into a new and bizarre stage of life, morphed into their ghastly bodies through the chaos of Otherworld.

Gruens often maintain close relationships with mites, particularly large colonies of these creatures. While many mites venerate gruens, almost as often they enslave the creatures and force them into servitude. Particularly those mites who fear that a gruen might one day remember their former life, and turn violent and vengeful. Despite being more powerful than mites, gruen often accept, and even delight in the somewhat masochistic role of the servant. Certainly, mite spellcasters able to gain a minimal amount of skill quickly learn to summon these wretched creatures to their aid. Still, mites treat their slaves with great respect and often value their gruen slaves above the lives of their kin. Perhaps more unnerving are those dark and twisted tales of mites that uncover the former name and identity of a gruen. In nearly all these stories, the gruen turns out to be the reincarnation of a revered and powerful mite ancestor. These tales typically resolve with the mite taking the gruen for her lover, though in the end, the ghastly beast ends up consuming the mite, and turning its unfortunate lover into another gruen. Most of the time, mites allow gruens to inhabit in the outer tunnels surrounding their own lairs. In this symbiotic relationship, the gruens provide the mites with an added first line of defense, and in return the mites provide the gruens with offerings of food. More complex relationships sometimes evolve where a mite takes the role of master or driver. These individuals may learn to direct gruens, and like cattle, drive them, getting them to perform raids on neighboring humanoid settlements or even to participate in war. Truly accomplished drivers may even take gruen mounts or familiars. Such sightings have helped cultivate some of the more outlandish tales of mite/gruen relationships.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Forest Kingdom Campaign Compendium 5e © 2017, Legendary Games; Lead Designer Jason Nelson. Authors: Clinton J. Boomer, Benjamin Bruck, Matt Goodall, Tim Hitchcock, N. Jolly, Julian Neale, Jason Nelson, Thomas J. Phillips, Alistair J. Rigg, David N. Ross, Neil Spicer, Todd Stewart, Russ Taylor, Michael D. Welham, Linda Zayas-Palmer.

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