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Gravebloom Stag - AI-generated fantasy Monster

Gravebloom Stag

In the tale of The Heart Beneath the Briars, the Gravebloom Stag is the last sentinel of the Rootwell. The old stories say its antlers once carried blossoms that healed the sick. Since the well cracked, those flowers have turned pale and begun releasing a choking blight. Some villagers insist the creature still remembers being gentle.

Monsters
Large large beast · CR 5 , suitable as a challenging solo encounter for four 5th-level characters with the standing stones available as meaningful cover. · Unique

Gravebloom Stag

A blight-touched guardian of the Rootwell, a once-gentle stag whose flowering antlers spread a poisonous pulse through the sunken clearing.
AC15
HP110/110
CR5 , suitable as a challenging solo encounter for four 5th-level characters with the standing stones available as meaningful cover.
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 15 · HP 110 · CR 5 , suitable as a challenging solo encounter for four 5th-level characters with the standing stones available as meaningful cover.

Gravebloom Stag

Large large beast (blight-touched beast), neutral
Armor Class15 (natural armor)
Hit Points110 (13d10 + 39)
Speed
Speed 50 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsStrengthConstitution
SkillsPerceptionSurvival
Immunities
Poison
Weaknesses
The Gravebloom Stag cannot use Rootstride to ignore magical restraints or magically created difficult terrain.
Its flowers visibly open before it uses Blight Pulse, giving attentive characters time to seek shelter.
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.,
Passive Perception 14
Languages
Understands Sylvan but cannot speak
Challenge5 , suitable as a challenging solo encounter for four 5th-level characters with the standing stones available as meaningful cover.
Hit Dice13d10
Proficiency Bonus+3
Rootstride. The Gravebloom Stag ignores difficult terrain made by roots and plants.
Uneven Ground. The ground within 10 feet of the Gravebloom Stag is difficult terrain for its enemies as roots shift and coil. This does not stack with other difficult terrain.

Actions

Multiattack. The Gravebloom Stag makes two attacks: one with its Briar Antlers and one with its Rootbound Hooves.
Briar Antlers. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 () piercing damage. If the target is Large or smaller, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet.
Rootbound Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 () bludgeoning damage.
Blight Pulse (Recharge 5-6). The Gravebloom Stag exhales a 30-foot cone of pollen and pale green spores. Each creature in the area must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 18 () poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. A creature that fails is also poisoned until the end of its next turn. A creature behind one of the Rootwell's standing stones has total cover from this pulse and is unaffected. The Stag cannot use this action again until it recharges at the start of its turn on a roll of 5 or 6.
Rootwell Snare. The Stag drives its hooves into the ground at a point it can see within 60 feet. Exposed roots lash in a 15-foot-radius area centered on that point. Each creature on the ground in the area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 10 () bludgeoning damage and have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of the Stag's next turn. The area is difficult terrain until the end of the Stag's next turn.

Reactions

Wellward Rush. When a creature the Stag can see moves within 10 feet of the well, the Stag moves up to half its speed toward that creature. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Role
Brute and area-control guardian
Built for
5th-level party of four characters

Notes for the game master

Custom 5th-edition monster. The Blight Pulse, Rootwell Snare, and Wellward Rush are original features, not canonical creature traits.
The clearing's exposed roots are difficult terrain for creatures other than the Gravebloom Stag.
A standing stone blocks the Blight Pulse if a creature has total cover behind it. The stones do not block the Stag's other attacks.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    It begins near the cracked well and uses Blight Pulse when at least two foes are in the cone and not sheltered by a standing stone. Otherwise, it charges the nearest exposed intruder with its antlers.

  2. Mid-fight

    It shifts between targets to force movement over the exposed roots, using Rootwell Snare to hold characters in uneven ground and saving its pulse for a cluster that cannot get behind a standing stone.

  3. End of the fight

    Below half its hit points, it uses Rootwell Snare to pin pursuers, then focuses Briar Antlers on anyone trying to reach or defend the well. It uses Blight Pulse as soon as it recharges when several enemies are exposed.

  4. Retreat

    It does not flee while the well remains threatened. If reduced to 20 hit points or fewer and the well is no longer under immediate threat, it withdraws into the roots, leaving a trail of petals. It fights to the death if the well is being opened or defiled.

How it fights

Use Rootwell Snare to restrain movement rather than simply maximizing damage.
Telegraph Blight Pulse with opening flowers and a rising cloud of spores.
Use Wellward Rush to punish characters who approach the cracked well.
Do not have the Stag deliberately attack characters who are fully sheltered behind a standing stone unless they emerge.

Who it attacks first

Characters moving toward or tampering with the cracked well.
Characters who threaten the exposed roots or standing stones.
Clusters of characters outside shelter when Blight Pulse is available.

Works well with

Exposed roots make it harder for characters to leave the area of Rootwell Snare.
The standing stones reward players who watch the flowers and reposition before Blight Pulse.

How to beat it

The three standing stones provide total cover from Blight Pulse when a creature is fully behind one.
Ranged attacks and forced movement can keep characters out of reach of its antlers.
A successful DC 14 Wisdom (Nature) check identifies the flowers opening as a warning that Blight Pulse is imminent.
The Stag's poison damage is less effective against creatures with poison resistance or immunity.

Ways to avoid a fight

A character who approaches slowly and succeeds on a DC 16 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check can keep the Stag from attacking for 1 minute, provided no one approaches the well.
Characters can examine the standing stones and discover that their sheltered sides remain free of spores with a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Nature) check.
A character can attempt to calm the Stag by offering clean water from outside the clearing and succeeding on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check.

Ecology

A towering stag with bark-dark hide, a ribcage threaded in living roots, and antlers bearing clusters of ivory flowers. Its eyes glow like lanterns through a veil of green spores. The flowers open and tremble just before it releases its blight pulse.

Behavior

The Gravebloom Stag guards the well with mournful patience, watching intruders before striking. It uses the standing stones as landmarks, not cover, and tries to herd enemies away from their shelter. It attacks creatures that approach the well or harm its roots, but may let those who retreat leave unharmed.

How it lives

It feeds on mineral-rich water and the vitality of plants growing near the well. Its blossoms scatter spores that sicken animals and encourage the exposed roots to spread. The creature is not naturally malicious, but the blight has made its instincts fiercely territorial.

Lair

The Rootwell lies in a sunken clearing where roots split the soil and curl around a cracked stone well. Three standing stones rise from the earth. While the Gravebloom Stag is present, the well gives off a faint green haze, but the stones block its Blight Pulse for anyone sheltering fully behind them.

Habitat
The Rootwell, a sunken clearing around a cracked stone well. Exposed roots make the ground uneven and difficult terrain. Three standing stones are spaced around the clearing and provide total cover against the Stag's Blight Pulse to creatures fully behind them.

Signs that it is near

Ivory petals caught in the exposed roots, their edges stained green.
Hoofprints filled with pale, faintly glowing water.
A sweet floral smell that turns sharp and bitter near the cracked well.
Birdsong abruptly stopping whenever the antler flowers begin to tremble.

Tags

beast,
blight,
guardian,
rootwell,
custom monster

Lore

In the tale of The Heart Beneath the Briars, the Gravebloom Stag is the last sentinel of the Rootwell. The old stories say its antlers once carried blossoms that healed the sick. Since the well cracked, those flowers have turned pale and begun releasing a choking blight. Some villagers insist the creature still remembers being gentle.

What drives it

Protect the Rootwell from anyone who would disturb the heart beneath it, even if doing so spreads the blight.

After the fight

When the Gravebloom Stag dies, its flowers collapse into harmless petals and the roots around the cracked well slacken. The blight pulse ceases. For a few minutes, clear water wells up from below, carrying the faint scent of spring rain.

“The old stories say its antlers once carried blossoms that healed the sick.”
From its lore

Variants

In a less blighted version, replace Blight Pulse's poison damage with radiant damage and have the Stag allow respectful visitors to approach the well.
In a more dangerous version for a party of 7th level or higher, increase hit points to 150 and allow Blight Pulse to recharge on a 4-6.

Hooks

Plot hooks

The party must reach the Rootwell to discover what has cracked it and what lies beneath.
A village healer believes the ivory flowers from the Stag's antlers can cure a spreading sickness, but harvesting them may worsen the blight.
The Stag recognizes an old family token carried by one of the characters and pauses long enough to reveal that the well was once guarded by their ancestors.

How to use it

Use the clearing as a tactical arena: the cracked well is the Stag's anchor point, exposed roots create difficult terrain, and the three standing stones provide safe pockets from Blight Pulse.
For a tense but fair encounter, make the flowers on its antlers visibly open one round before the first pulse.
Characters can use the stones to break line of effect, but must navigate the uneven ground to change shelter.
For a lower-threat encounter, reduce its hit points to 85 and have it use Blight Pulse only after the party has seen the warning once.

Treasure

A cluster of shed ivory petals that retain a faint restorative quality, worth 50 gp to a collector or herbalist.
A cracked stone fragment from the well marked with a symbol that points toward the heart beneath the briars.

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