Murmuring Briar Thicket
This living snare is not meant to kill intruders so much as embarrass, exhaust, and silence them. It listens for incantations, then lashes at the speaker with thorn-whips and choking pollen, turning the forest into a hostile choir that drowns out precise magic.
Murmuring Briar Thicket
Defenses
Detection
“A waist-high tangle of thorned roots and vine knots forms a loose ring around a patch of moss, with pale seedpods that twitch like listening ears. When magic is spoken nearby, the vines shiver and turn toward the caster.”
Standard Engagement
A living creature entering the hazard's space, or a creature within 30 feet casting a spell with verbal components.
On its initiative, if at least one creature is in the hazard's space, the briars lash at the nearest creature that has Cast a Spell since the hazard's last turn. If no such creature exists, the briars release a faint cloud of distracting pollen, forcing all creatures in the space to attempt a DC 18 Fortitude save or become sickened 1. On a failure, the creature is also clumsy 1 until the end of its next turn.
The thicket reknits itself after 10 minutes if at least half the root-node remains intact and no fire damage was applied during that time.
A caster in the hazard's area must attempt a DC 18 Will save whenever they Cast a Spell with verbal components. On a failure, the spell is lost and the caster takes 1d6 slashing damage plus 1d6 mental damage as thorn-vines slap their face and the seedpods burst with disorienting whispers. On a critical failure, the caster also takes a -1 circumstance penalty to spell attack rolls and DCs until the start of their next turn.
Creatures that move through the hazard's space treat the area as difficult terrain as grasping roots snag boots and hems.
The hazard cares most about spellcasters. If two or more creatures Cast a Spell in the same round within the hazard's area, increase the Will save DC by 2 for each creature after the first, to a maximum of DC 22 for that round.
A creature that succeeds at the Will save against Spell-Drinking Thorns by 10 or more can still finish the spell, but the casting is visibly strained and the creature takes no additional effect beyond the damage.
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