Leshy, Gourd

Family: Leshy

Small plant (leshy), neutral

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 13 (2d6+6)
Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	15 (+2)	16 (+3)	6 (-2)	11 (+0)	15 (+2)

Damage Resistances lightning, thunder
Skills Perception +2, Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Druidic, Sylvan
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Gourd Speech. Gourd leshies can communicate with grounds, asking them about events within the past day, gaining information about creatures that have passed, weather, and other circumstances, within a radius of 30 feet.
• Keepsake. Gourd leshys can pop off the top of their heads and store a single object such as a dagger or potion inside. While within the leshy’s head, the item is warded by nondetection. In addition, after 24 hours, the item within is cleaned and polished, and, if damaged, repaired as if by a mending spell.
• Pass Without Trace. In areas of natural vegetation, a leshy can’t be tracked except by magical means. The leshy leaves behind no tracks or other traces of its passage.
• Verdant Burst. When slain, a leshy explodes in a burst of fertile energies. All plant creatures within 30 feet of the slain leshy regain 6 (1d8+2) hit points, and gourds quickly infests the area. If the terrain can support the growth of gourds, the undergrowth is dense enough to make the region into difficult terrain for 24 hours, after which the plant life diminishes to a normal level; otherwise, the plant life has no significant effect on movement and withers and dies within an hour.

ACTIONS

• Seed. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 10 ft/30 ft., one target. Hit: 1 bludgeoning damage, and the target must make a DC 12 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is restrained by vines for 1 minute. A creature may use an action to make a new saving throw; on a success, the creature is no longer restrained.
• Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4 – 2) bludgeoning damage, and the target must make a DC 12 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is restrained by vines for 1 minute. A creature may use an action to make a new saving throw; on a success, the creature is no longer restrained.

ABOUT

Superstition and love of rituals run deep in gourd leshys.

They do their best to exactly reproduce what worked before with every trivial activity, and change seemingly random details when attempting tasks they previously failed.

Gourd leshys collect random odds and ends as good luck charms, ranging from polished stones to bird feathers to tarnished coins. Credulous to a fault, gourd leshys believe nearly anything they hear from those they trust. However, their admittedly hollow heads still hold memories, and a gourd leshy betrayed rarely forgets.

As gourd leshys aren’t particularly strong, they often fight dirty. One favorite trick is to wait for an enemy to come within striking distance while in gourd form so that they can assume their true form and make a sneak attack in the same round.

Growing a Gourd Leshy. Gourd leshys grow best in small vegetable patches or in sunny meadows. Carving eyes and a mouth into a growing gourd leshy’s “face” is an important part of the growth ritual, for neglecting to do this robs the gourd leshy of its ability to see or speak. The exact nature and appearance of a gourd leshy’s features can vary wildly between individuals. Creating it requires 500 gp of materials, a DC 11 Nature check, and casting entangle, mending, and plant growth.