Living Island

Gargantuan plant, unaligned

Armor Class 19 (natural armour)
Hit Points 396 (24d20+144)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	18 (+4)	22 (+6)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	7 (-2)

Saving Throws Str +11, Con +12, Wis +6, Cha +4
Skills Athletics +11, Perception +6, Stealth +10
Damage Resistances acid, lightning, radiant; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, paralysed, poisoned
Senses blindsight 120 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages –
Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)

Special Traits

• Blend. When the living island remains still, it blends into its terrain and appears to be an island (or small hill). To recognize the living island for what it is a creature must succeed on a DC 22 Wisdom (Survival) check.
• Defensive. When a creature hits the living island with a melee attack the island will attempt to force the blow back onto the creature. The creature must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or have its weapon come flying back at its face, with the creature taking the damage from the melee attack instead of the island Growth. Living islands produce enough fruit each day to feed 5 (2d4) Medium creatures. Some of this fruit contains seeds that cause new living islands to grow, usually inside the unfortunate creature. To determine which fruits contain these seeds, a creature must pass a DC 22 Wisdom (Survival) check. If the creature is aware of what a living island is, and is proficient in Wisdom (Survival), it gains advantage on this check. If the check is failed and the fruit is consumed by a living creature (or, subject to GM’s discretion, an undead creature wherein it could grow), a living island seed is ingested. The target creature must succeed on a special death saving throw every morning after ingestion, regardless of hit points. These special death saving throws are independent of other death saving throws and do not count towards the tallying of successes or failures when a creature with an ingested seed is reduced to 0 hit points. After three successes, the seed is passed and there are no further ongoing effects. On the first failure, the target gains one level of exhaustion. On the second failure the target gains one level of exhaustion and is poisoned. On the third failure the creature dies and a small miniature island grows from their corpse. Exhaustion levels gained and the poisoned condition inflicted by ingestion of living island seeds may not be cured until the seed is passed. The seeds and their effects can be identified with a DC 20 Wisdom (Medicine) check after ingestion. Once identified, the seeds can be removed with relative ease and a DC 18 Wisdom (Medicine) check, though this is not without risk. Failure results in the creature making an additional special death saving throw as if it were a new day, as the seeds hasten their growth when agitated.
• Extra Gargantuan. A living island can be a multitude of sizes, with the average isle being roughly circular with a diameter of 200 ft.
• Icebreaker. The living island easily plows through ice and snow, even breaking through the solid sheets of Orbis Aurea’s frozen oceans. It can break through solid ice with no difficulty and is not impeded by all but the most extreme forms of difficult terrain.
• Thorny Entanglement. During dangerous situations the foliage on the living island acts to protect itself. During combat, the entire island is considered difficult terrain. In addition, each creature on the living island must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw at the start of its turn or become restrained. A creature can use its action to make a DC 19 Strength check, freeing itself or another entangled creature within reach on a success. Creatures restrained by this ability take 13 (3d8) piercing damage at the start of the living island’s turn, and an attempt to free another restrained creature is also risky: Regardless of success or failure, the creature attempting to free another takes 13 (3d8) piercing damage on completion of the attempt.

Actions

• Multiattack. The living island makes four attacks with its roots.
• Roots. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 200 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

About

Living islands are rare flora found only on Orbis Aurea.

They migrate ceaselessly through the ice-locked oceans and arctic plains of their planet, but no one is sure why. Gentle in disposition, bearers of bounty and breakers of otherwise impassable ice, living islands are regarded with reverence and respect by native okanta and giant traditions. Humanoid communities have clustered around living islands since the ancient past, and they have borne gardens, homes, and shrines. Giant legends speak of cities built on the backs of living islands far vaster than any known today, buildings built of bark nestled amidst an overgrown jungle.

Biomass. The main body of a living island is a massive, gradually curved leaf-like growth. Detritus gathers in the bowl of the leaf and is supplemented by complex biological processes, together creating an organic landscape of fertile soil and hardened bark. The living island populates the landscape through gathering other plants and spending long periods of dormancy in areas of abundant flora and wildlife.

Below the leaf are its thick, prehensile roots. When still these roots retreat beneath the leaf, but when the living island takes actions these roots spread out to grip the terrain or propel it through the ocean.