Taro Leshy

Family: Leshy

Small plant (leshy), neutral

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
HP 91 (14d6+42)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	15 (+2)	17 (+3)	10 (+0)	11 (+0)	13 (+1)

Saving Throws Str +6, Con +5
Skills Athletics +6, Nature +2, Perception +2, Stealth +4
Senses tremorsense 30 ft. (blind outside of this range), passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Druidic, Sylvan
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Plant Speech. root plants
• Plant Form. Small taro plant. Emerge can trigger while transformed.
• Verdant Burst. When the Taro leshy dies, a burst of primal energy explodes from its body, restoring 13 (3d8) hit points to each plant creature in a 30-foot radius. This area immediately fills with taro plants, becoming difficult terrain. If the terrain is not viable for taro, they wither after 24 hours.
• Ferocity. When the Taro leshy is reduced to 0 hit points for the first time, it instead is reduced to 1 hit point.
• Emerge. When an enemy steps onto a space the Taro leshy is burrowed beneath, as a reaction the taro leshy becomes unburrowed and occupies the space, preventing the enemy from entering. The Taro leshy may then make an attack with either its Leiomano or Fist against the triggering enemy.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The taro leshy attacks twice as an action, using either its Leiomano or Fist attacks.
• Leiomano. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) slashing damage.
• Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) bludgeoning damage.

ABOUT

Like rice, taro are typically grown in flooded paddies and harvested mostly by hand. A running stream of cool water keeps competing weeds away, while also preventing build up of oxygen around the taro.

This ability to thrive in flooded conditions has caused the taro plant to become an invasive species in some regions, which poses some risk as taro leaves and roots are toxic when consumed raw.

A root vegetable, taro is grown and eaten for its sweet, nutty taste. Taro is one of the oldest, cultivated plants in history, dating back approximately 25,000 years. With such a lengthy history, the importance of taro cannot be overstated, nor can the number of myths and legends associated with the plant throughout various cultures. In modern times, taro is still a dietary staple, serving as a reminder of our connection to the past.

Largely blind, the Taro leshy is quite comfortable underground. Holes in its petiole (where its leaves attach to its stem) allow it to breathe while buried or submerged in water, though burrowing too deep can create problems.

While the age of these leshies would make them great fonts of knowledge, they have a tendency to ignore the historical happenings around them.