Sanguine Rose

Large plant, unaligned

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 76 (9d10 + 27)
Speed 10 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	14 (+2)	17 (+3)	1 (-5)	10 (+0)	3 (-4)

Damage Vulnerabilities fire, radiant
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, prone
Senses blindsense 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Deathly Blossom. When the rose dies, it explodes in a burst of necrotic energy. Each creature within 20 feet of the rose must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature killed by this damage rises as a sanguine rose within 7 days, unless its body is cremated or buried in consecrated ground.
• Seductive Scent. The rose constantly emits a potent and alluring magical perfume to put its prey off guard. A creature that starts its turn within 60 feet of the rose must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, attacks against the creature are made with advantage until the start of the creature’s next turn. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for 1 hour. Creatures that don’t breathe automatically succeed on the save.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The rose makes two vine attacks. It can replace one attack with Blood Drain.
• Vine. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 15 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13).
• Blood Drain. The rose laps up the blood of one creature it is grappling. The creature takes 7 (2d6) slashing damage, and the rose gains the same number of temporary hit points. The creature is also poisoned until it regains at least 1 hit point.
• Swallow. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target grappled by the rose. Hit: The target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the rose, and it takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning plus 3 (1d6) piercing damage at the start of each of the rose’s turns. A rose can have only one creature swallowed at a time. If the rose takes 10 damage or more on a single turn from the swallowed creature, or if the rose dies, the rose regurgitates the creature, which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of it.

ABOUT

Created by vampires and planted in their dour garden spaces, sanguine roses are slow-moving plants fertilized with the remains of victims who perished before the vampire could finish drinking their blood. The few remaining drops of blood in such fertilizer are enough to give this eerie flower its crimson hue-or so the stories go. Whatever the case, sanguine roses combine the sturdy physiology and classical beauty of a rose bush with the unnatural and evil powers of undeath, making them terribly potent guardians of vampiric estates.

Usually planted in gardens or along exterior walls amid mundane plants that serve as camouflage, sanguine roses attack any living creatures that draw near in order to soak the soil around them with fresh blood. Like true roses, sanguine roses emit a pleasant aroma, but the odor of these monstrous plants is far more potent than any mundane flower. They draw humanoids and animals toward them using this seductive scent, then explode into a frenzy of thorny attacks.

A sanguine rose can easily be identified by its unnaturally dusky leaves and vines, which make its bright red flowers and inch-long thorns stand out all the more. Regardless of their telltale features, countless animals and humanoids fall prey to sanguine roses since knowledge of these wretched plants is a well-kept secret among vampires and other cunning undead.

Several varieties of sanguine rose exist, including the much rarer grave lily, which supposedly feasts upon undead creatures rather than the living. Particularly ancient specimens of either variety have been known to gain a modest level of intelligence, and with it, foul primal magical powers such as cloudkill or blight.

Sanguine roses and their varieties can be created with the create undead spell as if they were wights.

Sanguine roses are particularly popular among evil druids and their ilk.