Spitetrunk
A Spitetrunk is a truly vicious enemy, and not just because of its impressive physical power. A Spitetrunk is a mastermind criminal and general, an expert at tactics and planning, which it perfects over years of growing and practicing its vile art. Visually, a Spitetrunk looks very much like any indigenous tree of the area where it was grown, with a few exceptions. A Spitetrunk has a large, red eye somewhere on itself, from which it can see. However, this eye is not a particularly lethal point, and a Spitetrunk can chance its location as a free action. No amount of damage can destroy the eye individually, the Spitetrunk must die, then the eye vanishes.
Young Spitetrunk
Size/Type: Large Plant
Hit Dice: 5d12+10 (40)
Initiative: +10 (+4 If none of its Drones have given it warning)
Speed: None
Armor Class: 20 (-1 size, +7 natural, +4 dexterity)
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+7
Attacks: Slam +9
Damage: Slam, 1d8+6
Face/Reach: 30ft by 30ft/25ft
Special Attacks: None
Saves: Fort: +7, Will: +10, Ref: +4
Skills: Survival: +9, Diplomacy: +6, Intimidate: +8, Gather Information: +9 (through drones)
Feats: Track, Skill Focus (Gather Information), Skill Focus (Intimidate)
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 5/fire, Telepathy With Drones, Implant
Abilities: Str: 18, Dex: 18, Con: 14, Wis: 12, Int: 18, Cha: 8
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Challenge Rating: 3
Implant: In order to use this ability, a Spitetrunk must take a full round action. This ability can only affect creatures that have been killed within the last hour, and who’s corpses are still mostly intact. The Spitetrunk implants a seed into the body, and brings it back to life as a Drone (see below) under the Spitetrunk’s control. A young Spitetrunk can have anywhere from three to five Drones.
Telepathy With Drones: A Spitetrunk has real time knowledge of exactly what its Drones are doing, and experiences everything that its Drones experience. It is immediately aware if one of its Drones dies or is injured. A Spitetrunk can give orders to its Drones as a free action, and chose in which order its servants act each round. If a Spitetrunk sees intruders coming for it through its Drones, it gets a plus six to initiative when it finally confronts the attackers. This connection can be blocked by an antimagic field, or similar effect, and the Spitetrunk receives the same reaction as if its Drone had died. For rules as to how a Drone reacts if its master is no longer present, see below.
Mature Spitetrunk:
As above, except as follows.
Size/Type: Giant Plant
Hit Dice: 10d12+10 (70)
Armor Class: 23 (+11 natural armor, -2 size)
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+10
Attacks: Slam +12
Damage: 1d12+7
Saves: Fort: +10, Will+13, Ref: +5
Skills: Survival: +14, Diplomacy: +11, Intimidate: +13, Gather Information: +14 (through drones)
Abilities: Str:20
Challenge Rating: 5
Implant: A mature Spitetrunk can control six to eight Drones.
Elderly Spitetrunk:
As above, except as follows.
Size/Type: Gargantuan Plant
Hit Dice: 14d12+10 (94)
Armor Class: 27 (-3 size, +16 natural armor)
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+14
Attacks: Slam +16
Damage: 2d12+9
Skills: Survival: +18, Diplomacy: +14, Intimidate: +16, Gather Information: +17 (through drones)
Saves: Fort: +12, Will: +15, Ref:+6
Challenge Rating: 7
Abilities: Str: 24
Implant: An Elderly Spitetrunk can control up to twenty Drones.
Spitetrunk Society:
Spitetrunks are inherently solitary creatures. They despise others of their kind, and if one finds another growing in a nearby area, it will immediately initiate a Drone war, with the intent to kill the invading plant. Spitetrunks theoretically have no maximum lifespan, however they are so ambitious and violent that they tend to be killed off fairly young. If a Spitetrunk is to survive, it typically either wipes out all surrounding society, or manipulates it in such a way that they end up serving the creature. Examples include bullying a tribe or orcs, installing a puppet government in a human settlement or even convincing other creatures that the Spitetrunk is a god. A Spitetrunk gains the ability to move, though not to walk, at about six years old, and is considered young at this point. Up until that point, the Spitetrunk has been sentient and awake, but trapped, and might even have been abused by a surrounding population. Until it can move, a Spitetrunk is essentially a normal tree, and is vulnerable to damage and destruction as any other. A Spitetrunk usually wastes no time in creating Drones and carving out a territory for itself, and almost all Spitetrunks die only a few weeks or months after gaining the ability to move. A few, however, manage to survive, and they grow into maturity at twenty years of age. By this point the Spitetrunk has found equilibrium with its environment, but is no doubt making plans to expand its power. If a Spitetrunk lives to be a hundred years old, it is considered Elderly, and has probably made a number of arrangements with other powerful creatures. Spitetrunks at this age are, by contrast with younger members of this race, very patient, and willing to wait for decades for a plan to come to fruition. Most Spitetrunks stops developing naturally at this point, but there are rumors of mutated examples of these monsters, that never stop growing in power and size.
A Spitetrunk’s favorite class is druid. There are rumors of rare Spitetrunk druids who have discovered a modified version of the “awaken” spell that allows them to uproot themselves and leave the spot where they were planted. Every two class levels that a Spitetrunk gains allows it to control one more Drone.
Drones
A Spitetrunk’s most infamous ability is its power to create Drones from freshly killed corpses with its implant ability. Drones look like they did in life, but as they age features of their new nature begin to arise. Within two months the seed begins to outgrow the body, and signs of plant life can be visible on the Drone. Nothing large, leaves and twigs mostly, which can be plucked or hidden fairly easily. A year or two later branches begin to break out of the body, which requires some decent cover up: baggy clothing, combined with a DC 20 disguise check, can effectively make a Drone appear hunchbacked or crippled. Finally, five or six years into the transformation, almost the entire body becomes covered with moss, branches and leaves. Very few Drones survive this long, and any who are still passing as normal humans tend to pretend that they are grievously ill. They no longer go out in public, but send their messages through other sources (typically younger Drones who blend in better with society.) However, there is an advantage for Drones who have advanced to this level. Drones of this level have matured enough to learn individually. They are still under the control of the Spitetrunk that created them, but they gain the capacity for individual memory. They are able to gain class levels at this point, but may never have more levels than half of their master’s hit dice. It is important to note that Drones of this level are still not individual creatures, they do not conspire against their masters. They simply have the ability to remember, to store data and use it later, they still lack the ability to chose when to use it.
If a Drone loses contact with its Spitetrunk, either through the tree’s death, or a barrier that blocks the psychic connection, the Drone loses any sense of meaning or purpose. It will still fight to defend itself, but if attackers retreat it will let them go. The Drone begins to wander, favoring locations with trees, as though it might find its former master among them. A Drone will do this until it dies of thirst or starvation, or until another force kills it. However, there is a 20% chance that a Drone that has been cut off this way will, in 1d4 days, plant itself in the ground. In this case, the seed in the Drone begins to grow into a Spitetrunk. This is the only means by which Spitetrunks reproduce. Since most Spitetrunks never see their parent, as reproduction usually calls for their death, this creature has no sense of family. A Spitetrunk does not see an isolated Drone as turning into its “child,” but as turning into a potential rival, and will try to uproot the tree as soon as possible. There are stories of groups of Drones who, when their master died, all managed to plant themselves in nearby soil. All the resulting Spitetrunks saw the surrounding territory as being theirs, and tore surrounding humanoid dwellings to pieces with their warfare.
A Spitetrunk Drone is a template that can be applied to any creature. Encounters with a Spitetrunk and its Drones should be calculated as individual creatures, for the purposes of awarding experience.
Spitetrunk Drone Template
Type changes to plant.
Hit Dice: Increases to d12
Abilities: Str:+4 Con:+2
Mindless: A Drone has no will of its own, and cannot be controlled by any means so long as it is connected to its Spitetrunk.
Fire Vulnerability: Drones take double damage from fire.
Electricity Immunity: Drones take no damage from electric attacks.
Skills: Same as base creature. A Spitetrunk can use its own skills through its drones.
Attack: Gains a slam attack
Damage: Slam: 1d8+str. Or base creature’s, whichever is higher.
Alignment: Changes to neutral evil
Challenge Rating: +2
A drone retains all of the class and race abilities it had in life, but can gain no more experience until it reaches stage three of its development. Clerics change their domains, and worship the concept of destruction and evil. They can chose from the domains of Evil, Destruction or Death.