Sunflower Leshy

Family: Leshy

Small plant, neutral

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 11 (2d6+4)
Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
7 (-2)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	5 (-3)	11 (+0)	15 (+2)

Skills Perception +2, Stealth +6
Damage Resistances lightning, thunder
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Druidic, Sylvan
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Pass Without Trace. In areas of natural vegetation, a leshy can’t be tracked except by magical means. The leshy leaves behind no tracks or other traces of its passage.
• Flower Speech. Sunflower leshys can communicate with flowers, asking them about events within the past day, gaining information about creatures that have passed, weather, and other circumstances, within a radius of 30 feet.
• Heliotrope. Sunflower leshys reflect the sun and other sources of bright light from their faces onto all who come too close. Creatures other than sunflower leshys that begin their turn within 20 feet of the leshy must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks until the beginning of its next turn. Creatures immune to being blinded automatically make their save, and creatures using blindsight are not affected.
• Verdant Burst. When slain, a leshy explodes in a burst of fertile energies. All plant creatures within 30 feet of the slain leshy regain 6 (1d8+2) Hit Points, and sunflowers quickly infest the area. If the terrain can support the growth of sunflowers, the undergrowth is dense enough to make the region into difficult terrain for 24 hours, after which the plant life diminishes to a normal level; otherwise, the plant life has no significant effect on movement and withers and dies within an hour.

ACTIONS

• Head Butt. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4 -2) bludgeoning damage.
• Seed Spray (Recharge 5-6). The leshy sprays seeds in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3 (1d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
• Change Shape. The sunflower leshy can take the shape of a Small sunflower plant or return to its normal form. In plant form it is not capable of any other actions but is aware of its surroundings. It is otherwise indistinguishable from ordinary plant life. Any items it carries fall to the ground when it becomes a plant.

ABOUT

A circle of petals radiates from a sunflower leshy’s head, ranging in color from soft butter yellow to bright orange to plum with white tips. Serrated green leaves sprout like a ruff beneath its head. A sunflower leshy stands 4 feet tall and weighs 75 pounds.

Gregarious. Among the most social of leshys, sunflower leshys serve as the ambassadors and diplomats of leshykind.

They enjoy socializing and interacting in groups of leshys or with other creatures. Solitary sunflower leshys are rare, as their need for companionship compels them to find others with whom to interact. Leshys who lack companionship for 1 week lose their petals and heliotrope aura as a result of being depressed. Being welcomed back into a group restores the aura in a day and petals after 1 week.

Sunflower leshys are peacemakers and shun martial activities and conflict unless forced into confrontation.

To avoid altercations with unfriendly creatures, they band together and trust that the presence of their heliotrope aura protects them. Other leshys look to them to serve as mediators and help resolve differences.

Growing a Sunflower Leshy. Sunflower leshys grow in open fields under bright sunlight. To grow a sunflower leshy, the maker plants a seed from an extant sunflower leshy and waters it daily. The maker must talk to the seedling daily to encourage the leshy’s growth. The conversation must be upbeat and positive; otherwise, the leshy emerges with withered petals and a permanent frown. Creating it requires 700 gp of materials, a DC 12 Nature check, and casting call woodland beings, daylight, and plant growth.

Growing a Leshy

The process of growing a leshy has some similarities to making a construct. Typically, the creator of a leshy must be a powerful druid, but anyone capable of making the required Knowledge checks and casting the required spells may attempt the process.

Growing a leshy body takes 2 weeks per Hit Die, during which the nascent form must be well fertilized, watered as needed, and kept safe from harm. During this period of growth, certain rare nutrients and fertilizer must be used to prime the leshy’s transformation from a normal plant into a sentient one—the cost of these components varies according to the leshy but is never less than 1,000 gp. The cultivator must make a successful Nature check; the required DC varies according to the leshy. If the check fails, the plant withers and dies and the cultivator must begin anew.

If, on the other hand, the skill check is successful, the cultivator must then step in and perform a 24-hour ritual within a day of the leshy’s cultivation. During this ritual, the cultivator must cast a number of spells (see each individual leshy for a list). At the ritual’s climax, there’s a flat 50% chance that the attempt to create a leshy succeeds—if this final check fails, no appropriate spirit is close enough to answer the call. The plant body rots and the creator must begin anew with fresh materials if he wishes to try again. At the GM’s discretion, this final chance for success might increase to 75% or even 100% for particularly magical areas where leshy spirits are much more common than normal. Discovering such a rare and magical site should be the focus of its own adventure. If the ritual is successful, the leshy awakens fully formed and able to serve as a minion. A freshly created leshy is under no particular compulsion to obey its creator, but most regard their makers as friends and allies.

Plant creatures are particularly adept at growing leshys, gaining advantage on their Nature checks to create them and reducing the time required to grow the leshy by 50% and the cost by 25%. A plant creature is always successful in luring a spirit into the body, and need not make the final percentile roll for success. At the GM’s option, leshys with more Hit Dice than normal can be created. Each additional Hit Die adds 2,000 gp to the cost of creating the leshy, increases the DC of the Nature check by 2, and requires an additional 2 weeks of growth.

Attempts to create leshys larger than Small always fail—the strange spiritual energies that animate these creatures are only capable of doing so to a body no larger than that of a human child.

Cantankerous flytrap leshys represent the harsh and seemingly cruel aspects of the natural cycle that are ultimately needed for the greater well-being of all creatures. When necessary to protect their homes, flytrap leshys start controlled fires, relying on their fire resistance to wade through the flames. Unlike most of their kind, flytrap leshys eat flesh and are not picky about the kind of meat that they consume. They particularly savor insects, and one of the few ways to placate a flytrap leshy is to offer it a rare or unusual insect to consume. A typical flytrap leshy is 2 feet tall and weighs 20 pounds.

Ready to Fight. Most leshys are peaceful creatures that focus their efforts on tending the natural region around them. While flytrap leshys do not leave their homes to pick fights, they relish the opportunity to attack intruders. These carnivorous plants tend to attack before asking questions.

While they rarely work together with other creatures, the aggressive creatures eagerly collaborate with others of their kind. They fight best in teams, and coordinate with each other so seamlessly that a group of flytrap leshys is nearly indistinguishable from a single creature—an illusion that the similarity between a flytrap leshy’s head and hands only compounds. While a typical flytrap leshy has one head and two hands, more powerful flytrap leshys exist with greater numbers of heads and hands.

Growing a Flytrap Leshy. A flytrap leshy is usually grown in swampy or marshy terrain. A flytrap leshy will only emerge if it is given a small pile of freshly killed insects to eat. Creating it requires 3,000 gp of materials, a DC 14 Nature check, and casting call woodland beings, plant growth, and thorn whip.