monster

Blight-Walkers

Blight-Walker

CR 15

Gargantuan plant, Chaotic Evil

Reveal Stat Block

Armor Class

Hit Points

310 (20d20 + 100)

Speed

40 ft.

str

dex

-2

con

int

-1

wis

cha

-3

Saving Throws STR +12, CON +10, WIS +7

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Damage Immunities necrotic, poison

Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, frightened, poisoned

Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 12

Languages understands Abyssal but can't speak

Aether-Corrupted Bark.Any creature that hits the Blight-Walker with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.

Siege Monster.The Blight-Walker deals double damage to objects and structures.

False Appearance.While the Blight-Walker remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a dead, blackened tree.

Actions

Multiattack.The Blight-Walker makes three slam attacks. It can replace one slam attack with a use of its Blighted Spores if available.

Slam.Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Blighted Spores (Recharge 5-6).The Blight-Walker releases a cloud of necrotic spores in a 30-foot radius. Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Creatures that fail the save are also poisoned for 1 minute.

Animate Corrupted Trees (1/Day).The Blight-Walker magically animates 1d4 trees it can see within 60 feet of it. These trees have the same statistics as an 'Awakened Tree', except they deal an extra 7 (2d6) necrotic damage on hits. They act as allies and obey the Blight-Walker's commands.

Blight-Walkers

Blight-Walkers are the horrific result of the Whispering Lich's experiments with necrotic Aether and the sentient forests of Wyn_Dor. Once noble treants, these massive entities have been hollowed out, their sap replaced by a pulsing, black ichor that smells of rot and ozone. Their bark is blackened and cracked, and their leaves have been replaced by jagged, obsidian-like shards that vibrate with a low, unsettling hum.

They serve as the heavy shock troops for the Void Gazers, used to crush fortifications and spread the "Sighing Sickness" through their toxic spores. A single Blight-Walker is a gargantuan engine of destruction, capable of leveling small villages and corrupting the very soil it treads upon.

Secret Motivation: The Blight-Walkers are not entirely mindless. They are in a state of constant, agonizing pain, and their every action is driven by a desperate, subconscious desire to find a "Pure Aether Node" to cleanse their corruption—though their very touch would instantly corrupt the node they seek.

Adventure Hook: A grove of ancient trees near a frontier settlement has begun to turn black overnight. The villagers report hearing a "groaning, metallic sound" coming from the woods. The party is hired to investigate the source and stop the Blight-Walker before it reaches the town's sacred mana-well.