Large plant, neutral evil
Armor Class: 15
Hit Points: 9d10+36
Speed:
20 ft
Damage Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing
Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed
Senses: Blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 11
Languages: understands Common but can't speak
Challenge Rating: 6
( 2300 XP)
False Appearance: While the Garden Guardian remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a regular, albeit ominous, part of the bone garden.
Regeneration: The Garden Guardian regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the Garden Guardian takes fire damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the Garden Guardian's next turn.
Actions
Multiattack: The Garden Guardian makes two Vine Whip attacks.
Vine Whip: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is a Large or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 14). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Garden Guardian can't whip another target.
Engulf (Recharge 5-6): The Garden Guardian engulfs a Medium or smaller creature grappled by it. The engulfed target is blinded, restrained, and unable to breathe, and it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the start of each of the Garden Guardian’s turns or take 21 (6d6) bludgeoning damage. If the Garden Guardian moves, the engulfed target moves with it. The engulfed target can try to escape by succeeding on a DC 15 Strength check as an action. On a success, the target escapes and enters a space of its choice within 5 feet of the Garden Guardian.
Looming within the twisted expanse of the Bone Garden stands a formidable entity known as the Garden Guardian. At first glance, it appears as an innocuous part of the garden's macabre landscape, a grotesque amalgam of bone and vegetation. Its towering form is a bizarre fusion of plant and skeletal matter, with thick, woody vines interlaced with bleached bones and skulls. These vines writhe slowly, as if pulsing with a life of their own.
The Guardian's 'body' is a mass of gnarled roots and bone fragments that rise from the earth, forming a central trunk-like structure. Sprouting from this trunk are numerous long, whip-like tendrils, covered in thorns and barbs made from sharpened finger bones and vertebrae. These tendrils constantly shift and coil, creating an unsettling rustling sound as bone scrapes against bone.
Its 'head' is a horrific display of artistry, a sculpted mass of bones arranged to resemble a grotesque, oversized flower bud. Within this skeletal bloom, a core of glowing, faintly luminescent spores emits a ghostly light, casting eerie shadows across the garden. The spores drift lazily in the air, adding a surreal quality to this nightmarish sentinel.
Despite its plant-like nature, the Guardian exudes an aura of malevolent intelligence. It seems to watch intruders with a predatory interest, its tendrils tensing and unfurling like serpents anticipating their next meal. The Garden itself responds to its presence, with the surrounding plants and bones subtly orienting towards it, as if in silent reverence or fear.
When provoked, the Garden Guardian reveals its true terror. It lashes out with startling speed, its bone-laden tendrils capable of ensnaring and crushing the unwary. The air fills with the clatter of bones and the tearing sound of vines as it moves, a symphony of horror that echoes throughout the Bone Garden.
In this dread domain, the Garden Guardian stands as the ultimate protector of the macabre sanctity of the Bone Garden, a monstrous creation of bone and botany, as beautiful as it is terrifying.
