Medium plant, neutral
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
Speed 30 ft.
Proficiency Bonus +2
Proficiency Bonus +3 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 13 (+1) | 2 (-4) | 10 (+0) | 6 (-2) |
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +3
Damage Resistances lightning, piercing
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages –
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Plant Camouflage. The thorny has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks it makes in any terrain with ample obscuring plant life.
Regeneration. The thorny regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. If it takes cold, fire, or necrotic damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the thorny’s next turn. The thorny dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
Thorny Body. At the start of its turn, the thorny deals 2 (1d4) piercing damage to any creature grappling it.
ACTIONS
- Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) piercing damage.
5th Edition Advanced Mode
Limiting the power of a character and making the overall difficulty of the game harder, does not reduce the creativity, indeed it does quite the opposite.
The Game Master has the option to use any and all of the instances proposed in this guide, or just some of them according to their preference.
It is the lack of something that move and motivate characters, not the abundance of it
DESCRIPTION
A thorny is a plant-like creature that resembles a four-legged animal covered with spiky vines. It has a pair of glowing yellow eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Thornies are fungus creatures that grow from the corpses of humanoids infected by a mold called russet mold. They are loyal to the vegepygmies, a race of plant-folk that also originate from the russet mold. Thornies serve as watchdogs, mounts, or pets for the vegepygmies. Thornies can communicate with vegepygmies through a series of clicks and whistles, but they cannot speak any other language.
COMBAT
Thornies are fierce and territorial creatures that attack any intruders that threaten their vegepygmy masters or their habitat. They use their claws and teeth to rend their foes, and can also shoot a volley of needles from their bodies. Thornies are resistant to lightning and piercing damage, and can regenerate their wounds unless they are harmed by cold, fire, or necrotic energy. Thornies have an advantage on stealth checks in areas with abundant vegetation, making them excellent ambush predators. A thorny attacks first with its bite; if the bite hits, the creature tries to roll its body against its victim, causing additional damage with its spikes.
HABITAT / SOCIETY
Thornies live in jungles, forests, swamps, or other places where plants thrive. They are usually found in groups of vegepygmies, who treat them as valued companions and allies. Thornies are loyal to their vegepygmy tribe, and will fight to the death to protect them. Thornies do not have a culture or religion of their own, but they follow the customs and beliefs of their vegepygmy masters. Thornies can be trained if raised from buds.
ECOLOGY
Thornies are part of the strange life cycle of the russet mold, a dangerous fungus that infects living creatures and turns them into plant-like beings. When a humanoid dies from the russet mold infection, a vegepygmy sprouts from its corpse within 24 hours. Sometimes, the corpse also produces a thorny, which grows to full size in a matter of days. Thornies do not reproduce on their own, but depend on the russet mold to create more of their kind. Thornies are omnivorous, and will eat anything that is edible, including meat, plants, or fungi. They do not need to sleep, but they do enter a dormant state when there is no activity around them. Thornies also reproduce by laying egg-like seeds in the ground. A small tree sprouts from the seed, eventually producing buds which grow into small thornies.