Carnivorous Sod

Medium plant, unaligned

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	6 (-2)	12 (+1)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	3 (-4)

Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, poisoned
Senses blindsight 30 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• False Appearance. While the carnivorous sod remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal patch of grass.
• Spell Eater. If the carnivorous sod is in an area targeted by a spell that enhances plants in that area, such as the entangle, plant growth, and spike growth spells, the carnivorous sod absorbs the spell, ending it, and gains 10 temporary hp for each level of the spell it absorbed for 1 hour.
• Tripping Grass. If the carnivorous sod didn’t move on its previous turn and hits a target with its Grass Trip, it can make one attack with its bite as a bonus action.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.
• Grass Trip. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The target is forced prone.

ABOUT

What was a mere patch of green grass suddenly uproots itself and shows its true form: a flat, turtle-like creature with a wide maw filled with sharklike wooden teeth.

Grassland Ambushers. The carnivorous sod is a plant monster that disguises itself as a simple patch of grass until it is stepped on. It then uses its grass-like tendrils to trip a creature before biting with its vicious jaws. Carnivorous sods typically prey on small herbivores, such as deer and rabbits, that come to graze on their backs, but they have been known to attack just about anything that treads on them as long as the target is Medium or smaller. Sometimes dozens of carnivorous sods gather together to hunt, though this is due more to happenstance than planning on the part of the monsters.

Links to the Fey. Carnivorous sods begin their lives when a fey creature such as a pixie or sprite enchants or simply lays on a patch of grass; the grass soon animates as a plant creature called a stray sod. Stray sods are cultivated by fey to protect their dwellings and fey rings. Eventually, should a stray sod survive for more than a year and be fed a drop of blood, or have blood accidentally spilled on it, it transforms into a carnivorous sod. Once a carnivorous sod is born, it can reproduce naturally through budding, a process which can quickly infest an area with these dangerous creatures.

Keep Off the Turf. Grassland-dwelling humanoids like gnolls and nkosi sometimes use carnivorous sods to guard their dwellings and encampments, keeping the sods moving along specific paths with the use of fences and trenches. Druids also use carnivorous sods as guardians, casting spells like plant growth on them to make them into formidable foes for any trespasser. Most notably, a treant may keep a carnivorous sod as a beloved pet.