Sleeping Willow

Huge plant, neutral evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 114 (12d12 + 36)
Speed 10 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	5 (-3)	17 (+3)	6 (-2)	11 (+0)	10 (+0)

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +5 (+8 if not moving)
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing
Damage Immunities poison
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, prone, stunned, unconscious
Senses blindsight 90 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 14
Languages –
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Special Traits

• Skeleton Warrior’s Circlet. In the process of transforming into a skeleton warrior, the dying warrior’s soul is trapped in a golden circlet. Anyone possessing one of these circlets can exert control over the skeleton warrior whose soul the circlet contains. To establish control, the controller must be within 300 feet of the skeleton warrior, must wear the circlet, and must spend one full round doing nothing but concentrating on the skeleton warrior. If the controller is not interrupted during this time, resolve a Charisma (Intimidation) contest between the skeleton warrior and the creature with the circlet (note that the skeleton warrior adds its proficiency bonus to Intimidation skill checks). If the wearer of the circlet wins the contest, the skeleton warrior is charmed, views that character as an ally, and interprets any of the character’s suggestions in the most positive light. It is not dominated or controlled, but it doesn’t feel the urge to immediately kill the wearer of the circlet and recover its soul, either. It would like its soul back eventually, but it can wait until its new ally is slain by some other creature or dies naturally. If the skeleton warrior wins the contest, it is immune from attempts to use the circlet to charm it for 24 hours. While within 300 feet of the charmed skeleton warrior, a person wearing the circlet can exert the following types of influence over the skeleton warrior. He or she can:
  • Choose to see through the skeleton warrior’s eyes
  • Try to force the skeleton warrior to attack something by making a successful DC 15 Charisma check (failing the check means the skeleton warrior acts as it chooses)
  • Try to force the skeleton warrior to take some other action – search an area, move across a room, etc. – by making a successful DC 10 Charisma check (failing the check means the skeleton warrior acts as it chooses);
  • Try to place the skeleton warrior in “inert mode” by making a successful DC 15 Charisma check. If this check succeeds, the skeleton warrior stands motionless, effectively unconscious and paralyzed, until the wearer of the circlet wills it back into wakefulness. If this check fails, the skeletal warrior is no longer charmed. While forcing the skeleton warrior to do anything, the circlet wearer can’t move or take any other action. If the circlet wearer moves more than 300 feet away from the skeleton warrior or removes the circlet from his or her head while the skeleton warrior is active (not inert), the skeleton warrior is no longer charmed. If someone else becomes the circlet’s owner, the skeleton warrior knows instantly; if it was charmed, it’s not anymore, and if it was inert, it becomes active again. If a skeleton warrior ever gains control of the circlet containing its soul, it places the circlet on its head and “dies,” vanishing in a flash of light. The circlet falls to the ground and crumbles to dust.
• Crypt Fatigue. A creature infected with crypt fatigue gains one level of exhaustion immediately, and gains one more level every time it fails the DC 16 Constitution saving throw after taking damage from a skeleton warrior’s longbow. An infected creature must make another DC 16 Constitution saving throw at the end of every long rest; with a successful save, it recovers one level of exhaustion, but with a failed save, it gains one level of exhaustion. The disease is cured when the victim no longer has any levels of exhaustion.
• Health Drain. At the beginning of the sleeping willow’s turn, all creatures already grappled by it are constricted and take 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage and 5 (2d4) necrotic damage. The sleeping willow regains a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage inflicted. The sleeping willow’s number of Slam attacks in its Multiattack is reduced by one for each such grappled creature.
• Sleep Spores. The sleeping willow emits a cloud of sleep-inducing spores in a 30-foot-radius, 10-foot-high cylinder around it. Each creature in this area must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or fall asleep for 5 minutes or until the sleeper takes damage, or someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake.

Actions

• Multiattack. The sleeping willow makes up to four Slam attacks.
• Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage and 5 (2d4) necrotic damage inflicted. The sleeping willow regains a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage. If the target is Large or smaller, it is also grappled (escape DC 18).