Restricting Vine

Large plant, unaligned

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
21 (+5) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 1 (-5) 4 (-3) 1 (-5)

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18)
Speed 5 ft.
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses tremorsense 10 ft., passive Perception 7
Languages
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Special Traits

  • Branching. While a restricting vine covers a large area, this is, like a tree, higher than medium-sized creatures. On the ground, a restricting vine takes less space so creatures may walk through the spaces “occupied” by a restricting vine and therefore subject to its constricting vines.

Actions

  • Constricting Vines. Any creature that steps into a space occupied by the restricting vine or within 5 feet of a space occupied by the restricting vine must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained and hauled 10 feet into the air. The victim also takes 8 (1d6 + 5) damage at the start of each of its turns while restrained. Victims may only be freed by severing the vine; each vine can take 15 hit points of damage before being severed.

Tactics

Restricting vines are nor intelligent enough to actively engage in combat. When likely prey brushes against their trailing vines, they constrict and hoist the victim up. The plant can lose any or all its vines without suffering lasting damage, though if the main body is seriously damaged, the plant releases any still-struggling prey and attempts to sink into its sheltering hollow.

Restricting vines use their tremorsense to maximize the effect of the vines by ensuring as many creatures are within its range as possible before dropping vines and forcing a saving throw. From that point forward, any creature that starts its turn within reach of the vines and is not restrained must make another Dexterity saving throw to avoid constricting vines.

Description

Innocuous threat. The restricting vine has a central body shaped like an oval seedpod, approximately three feet across. As a seed it is blown into hollows and tree boles, and as it grows it becomes firmly wedged into the narrow space, providing needed leverage and protection from predators. Vines are as thick as a human thumb and may grow up to 30 feet or more in length. When they constrict, the vines can lift up to 250 pounds to a height of 25 feet and holding it there indefinitely. Victims are left with the happy choice of being suffocated or cutting themselves loose and suffering a potentially bone-breaking fall.

Hanging reminders. Restricting vines tend to keep their victim’s corpses. After death, the body continues to hang in its green noose, slowly twisting in the breeze as fine feeding tendrils sprout from the vine and slowly cover the corpse. As the body decays, the tendrils absorb the bodily fluids, allowing the plant to grow more vines and begin the process anew. Plants that have grown for years accumulate a collection of dangling skeletons, giving rise to its grisly name.

The restricting vine is a common hazard to travelers braving the depth of the Scarred Lands’ forests. The plant typically takes root high in the boles of goliath trees and extends long, coiling vines down to the forest floor. The long green vines mix easily with other natural vines and undergrowth, until living prey attempts to push them aside; then the vines constrict, wrapping themselves around the victim and lifting her high into the air. Once airborne, the victim’s weight and the strength of the vines conspire to strangle or asphyxiate her.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Creature Collection 5e Copyright 2020 Onyx Path Publishing, Inc.