Friday, April 20, 2018

Frightful Fridays! Gorebark

Hello and welcome back for another edition of Frightful Fridays! In a departure for me, I've created something that isn't a plant that likes to kill all humanoids. This week, you get the gorebark, an alien plant-like thing which likes to kill all plants (and then pretend to be a plant, so it can kill humanoids, but that's just a bonus as opposed to its main goal).

I hope you enjoy the gorebark, and I'll see you next week with another monster!



This misshapen, rubbery tree manifests a tortured face from which acrid pulp dribbles.
Gorebark      CR 11
XP 12,800
CE Large aberration
Init 1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +22
DEFENSE
AC 24, touch 8, flat-footed 24 (-1 Dex, +16 natural, 1 size)
hp 168 (16d8+96)
Fort +13, Ref +4, Will +13
DR 15/cold iron and slashing; Immune acid, plant traits; Resist electricity 20, fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 slams +20 (3d6+8/1920 plus grab)
Ranged spit +10 touch (4d6 acid)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks breath weapon (30-ft. cone, 8d6 acid and bludgeoning damage, Reflex DC 24 for half, usable every 1d4 rounds), expulsion of pulp, flora destroyer
STATISTICS
Str 27, Dex 8, Con 22, Int 11, Wis 16, Cha 15
Base Atk +12; CMB +21 (+23 bull rush, +25 grapple); CMD 30 (32 vs. bull rush, can't be tripped)
Feats Awesome Blow, Critical Focus, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (slam), Power Attack, Sickening Critical, Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Bluff +18, Disguise +18, Knowledge (nature) +19, Perception +22
Languages Aklo, Sylvan
SQ change shape (any plant, plant shape III), plant suit
ECOLOGY
Environment any forest
Organization solitary or stand (28)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Expulsion of Pulp (Ex) Once per day as a move action, a gorebark can vomit out its innards. It deals 12d6 points of acid damage to creatures it is currently grappling. Additionally, it increases its fire resistance to 20 for 1 minute. After the gorebark uses this ability, it cannot use its breath weapon for 2d4 rounds. It gains an additional use of this ability when it successfully uses its plant suit ability.
Flora Destroyer (Ex) A gorebark doubles its acid damage against plants for all its attacks that deal acid damage.
Plant Suit (Su) As a full-round action, a gorebark can take the form of a dead Medium, Large, or Huge plant creature. When it does this, it takes on the creature’s size and appearance and gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks made to impersonate the victim. The stolen form is preserved while the gorebark assumes it, but is destroyed if the gorebark takes more than 10 points of damage or if the gorebark decides to destroy the plant form as a standard action. The gorebark reverts to its normal size if its stolen form is destroyed.

While gorebarks are considered abominations among intelligent plant creatures and those who revere nature, they are regarded as ordinary on their strange and distant home worlds. Gorebarks have a similar role to treants in their fleshy forests. On rare occasions, gorebark spores or saplings make the journey across the stars and land in terrestrial forests. When they do, they first assume the form of a normal plant to get an understanding of their environment and the plants in it. As they learn, they gain confidence in their ability to pretend to be intelligent plant creatures. Gorebarks take perverse pleasure in fooling druids and intelligent plant creatures before betraying them. Their acidic composition is especially deadly to plants, and they absorb the slurry from destroyed plants to fuel their destructive capabilities. They try to leave the bark of their kills intact, so they can squeeze themselves into their victims and perpetuate their ruses. Eventually, their desire to destroy overcomes them and they devastate the plant life and use the shells of the trees and plant creatures they destroy to populate their own grotesque forest parodies. They mix their own spores with plant spores to spawn more of their species.

Gorebarks ally themselves with other aberrations and malevolent plant creatures, especially fungi and other "unnatural" plants.

A typical gorebark stands 10 feet tall and weighs 500 pounds. A usual specimen can live up to 300 years.