Leatherleaf

Leatherleaf (CR 6)

Neutral - Medium - Plant

Lore:	Know (Nature)
11		27
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

10

Perception:
20	+10
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Blind to Vision
• Blind to Sound
• Blind to Smell
• Tremorsense 60 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 10 ft.

Defense

AC

22

Man Def

23

Monster Health
81	40	9
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+9
Refl:	+4
Will:	+4

Strong Against:

• DR 6/-
• (Mindless) Immune (no effect): all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, fear, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms)
• (Plant 1) Immune (no effect): poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned, polymorph
• (Plant 2) Immune (no effect): Forced movement (including Drag, Reposition), Prone (quelled, prone, splayed)

Weak Against:

• Vulnerable (1.5x damage): fire (energy, common); no Spell Resistance (SR) vs. Fire spells.

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+10

Man Off

+10

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Thorn Rake +10 (1d8+6/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Thorn Rake +10 (1d8+6/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage:

• 1x Digging Roots +10 (1d3)
  

Statistics

14

STR

12

DEX

22

CON

—

INT

10

WIS

16

CHA

Skills:

• Perception: 10
• All other skills: 5 (no ranks)

Languages:

Feats:

Special Abilities

Allergic Aura (Ex, Aura) Always On

Leatherleafs have sap and pollen that provokes an intense allergic reaction in anyone nearby. Up to once per round, any creature that begins their turn within ten feet of a Leatherleaf must make a Fort save, DC 18, or become Sickened until the end of the encounter, and suffer 1d8+6 of poison (physical, uncommon) damage. Those who succeed on the save take only half damage and are not Sickened. Note that leatherleafs are always immune to their own aura and the aura of all other leatherleafs.

Spell Resistance (Su) Always On

Leatherleafs have spell resistance, requiring any spells cast upon them to first make a Caster Check. If the check equals or exceeds the leatherleaf's Maneuver Defense (DC 22) it works as normal. However, caster checks less than this target DC cause the spell to completely fail to affect them. In such cases, the spell is expended, and has no effect on the leatherleaf, even if the spell would normally inflict an effect on a successful saving throw.

Hitchhiker (Su) Swift Action

Any leatherleaf may sense the presence of any hitchhiking seeds on creatures in a combat. All creatures in a combat involving leatherleafs (friend or foe) are automatically considered to be carrying such seeds, as the plants instinctively scatter their seeds far and wide around their home plot, and the seeds are small and notoriously clingy. Up to once per encounter, as a swift action, any leatherleaf may activate their Hitchhiker power to transfer their life force from their current body and grow a new body from a seed clinging to another creature in the current combat. This creature must be within range of the Leatherleaf's tremor-sense or any other sense for this ability to be used (since they are blind to normal vision). The leatherleaf is considered to use Lesser Teleport to move from its current space to either the nearest enemy creature (half the time) or the furthest enemy creature (half the time). The maximum range of this ability is determined by the range of their tremorsense, and does NOT require conventional line of sight to work! The body left in their original space molders to dust instantly, and they are placed adjacent to their chosen foe in any non-blocked, non-occupied space they choose. The maximum number of leatherleafs that will Hitchhike adjacent to any given foe is two, and they will usually sprout into existence on opposite sides of their foe, giving themselves a flank. When a leatherleaf uses Hitchhiker, it also steals a small amount of life force from its target, to help fuel its regrowth. Foes targeted by Hitchhiker suffer 1d6+4 points of radiant (energy, uncommon) damage, although they may make a Fort saving throw against a DC of 18 to reduce that damage by half. If a Leatherleaf wishes to Hitchhike to a foe that has no eligible spaces, it will instead do nothing with that swift action and may later use Hitchhiker to regrow next to another foe.

Leatherleaf

Leatherleaf refers to extremely hardy and very dangerous plants that infest the wilds. Leatherleafs thrive anywhere with good access to sunlight, water, and victims. In a pinch, they can do without water, as long as victims are available.

Leatherleafs are mobile plants, able to creep about at a surprising pace for a plant. Even worse, they are incredibly magical, able to regenerate themselves from a single seed in moments, and have a bad habit of scattering their tiny, sticky, seeds far and wide around their growing patch. When in their full-grown form, they are extremely hard to damage or destroy and quite deadly. Fortunately, leatherleaf is a fairly distinctive looking plant, with its stiff, leathery leaves, thick sturdy stems and branches, and copious assortment of poisonous thorns.

A leatherleaf infestation is best burned out from a distance; their intensely allergenic leaves and deadly raking stems are best avoided at all costs, although their ability to germinate from any nearby seed can make that very difficult.

Combat Tactics

Leatherleafs are aggressive mobile plants that treat all animals as their deadly enemies. Once a leatherleaf senses an animal moving with its tremorsense, it will uproot and begin moving toward that animal with slow, deadly intent. After taking a move action, leatherleafs will usually begin using their deadly Hitchhiker power to effectively teleport themselves adjacent to their targets. Half the time Leatherleafs will target the closest foe, and half the time the furthest that they can reach (roll a D6, 1-3, closest, 4-6, furthest). Since only two leatherleafs can Hitchhike next to any given enemy, they will typically wind up in pairs, half at the front of the party, and half at the rear.

Stopping an incoming leatherleaf hedge can be a nightmarish process: They are resistant to all damage, shrug off spells with scary ease, and spring up anew right in the midst of a party with deadly results, their radiant-energy re-growth and allergenic aura disrupting party formations.

About the only good thing about a leatherleaf is the fact that they are vulnerable to good old-fashioned fire.

Out of Combat

Leatherleaf is able to slowly but steadily destroy most structures if they are allowed to grow unchecked. They are too slow and vulnerable to fire to be of much use in siege operations, but abandoned structures in places where leatherleaf grows can be converted to picturesque ruins in a matter of hours.

Rewards

XP: 2,400

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 2,125 gp.

Weight: 60 lbs.     Volume: 2.4 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)