Pomegranate Leshy

Family: Leshy

Huge plant (leshy), neutral

Armor Class 14
HP 153 (16d6+32)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	19 (+4)	14 (+2)	11 (+0)	16 (+3)	21 (+5)

Saving Throws Dex +7, Cha +8
Skills Acrobatics +7, Medicine +6, Perception +7, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks (while undead)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Common, Druidic, Sylvan
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Plant Speech. fruit plants
• Plant Form. Small pomegranate shrug or lone fruit
• Verdant Burst. When the Pomegranate Plant leshy dies, a burst of primal energy explodes from its body, restoring 22 (5d8) hit points to each plant creature in a 30-foot radius. This area immediately fills with pomegranate shrubs, becoming difficult terrain. If the terrain is not viable for pomegranates, they wither after 24 hours.
• Seasonal Death During winter months, the Pomegranate leshy’s creature type changes to Undead. Its Verdant Burst no longer heals plant creatures and instead deals 22 (5d8) necrotic damage to creatures within its area (DC 15 Constitution saving throw for half damage).

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The leshy makes two attacks as part of its action, using either its Jaws, or its Aril attack.
• Jaws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6+2) piercing damage. On a hit, the target is grappled (escape DC 15).
• Aril. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage.
• Grenade (Recharge 5-6). The Pomegranate leshy launches a clump of seeds to a point it can see up to 30 feet away, which explodes in a 10-foot radius. Creatures within this space must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, suffering 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.

ABOUT

Pomegranates feature heavily in a multitude of mythologies and cultures, regarded as the fruit of the dead by some and symbolizing ambition, prosperity, and fullness in others. Most famously, in the Greek Myth of Persephone the goddess consumed pomegranate seeds while in the Underworld. As a result, she was forced to spend several months per year in this realm, which is the cause of the winter months.

These small shrubs produce bright red fruit absolutely filled with seeds. An average pomegranate can hold over 1,000 seeds, each wrapped in a juice filled coating called an aril. These fruit are technically berries, and have been consumed raw or cooked in various dishes for millennia. The modern term “grenade” comes from the French term for a pomegranate.

Pomegranate Leshies excel as guardians of the dead, shepherding lost souls into the underworld. Most of the year they function as any other leshy, but during the winter months their connection to the underworld comes out in force. The leshy takes on undead traits, allowing it to more easily interact with the dead and aid them in their journey into death.