The Bullthorn Treant
In this week’s From the Workshop, I’ve cultivated the first of a few new plant monsters. This week’s creation is a new species of treant related to the Acacia tree, which tends to grow in savannahs and warm deserts.
The Bullthorn Treant gets its name from its thorns, which resemble the horns of a bull, and its vaguely minotaur-esque appearance.
This animated tree’s appearance is vaguely humanoid. Its “head” looks vaguely like that of a bull, with gnarled barren braches for horns. Two large bulbous thorns adorn the creature’s shoulders. Its entire body is covered in thorns.
Bullthorn Treant
XP 51,200
N Huge plant
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +22
DEFENSE
AC 30, touch 8, flat-footed 30 (+22 natural, –2 size)
hp 210 (20d8+120)
Fort +18, Ref +5, Will +11
Defensive Abilities plant traits, thorny defense; DR 15/slashing; Resist fire 15
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 slams +23 (3d6+10/19–20 plus grab)
Ranged rock +14 (3d6+10)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks impale 4d6+15, rock throwing (180 ft.), swarm symbiosis
STATISTICS
Str 30, Dex 10, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 13
Base Atk +15; CMB +27; CMD 36
Feats Alertness, Bleeding Critical, Critical Focus, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (slam), Improved Sunder, Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (nature) +12, Perception +22, Sense Motive +17, Stealth ‑6 (+10 in forests); Racial Modifiers +16 Stealth in forests
Languages Common, Sylvan, Treant
SQ double damage against objects, thorny strikes, treespeech
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Impale (Ex): A bullthorn treant deals 4d6+15 points of piercing damage to a grabbed opponent with a successful grapple check.
Thorny Defense (Ex): A creature that strikes a bullthorn treant with a melee weapon, an unarmed strike, or a natural weapon takes 2d6+10 points of piercing damage from the acacia’s thorns. Melee weapons with reach do not endanger a user in this way.
Thorny Strike (Ex): Due to its thorny exterior the bullthorn treant’s slam attack deals piercing and bludgeoning damage instead of just bludgeoning damage.
Swarm Symbiosis (Ex): Within the bullthorn treant’s body lives a colony of ants (8 ant swarms). The bullthorn treant is immune to the damage and effects of its own ant swarms. These swarms rush out of the acacia’s thorns when their host is threatened. They emerge at a rate of two swarms per round at the beginning of the acacia’s turn.
The bullthorn treant has some amount of control over its own swarms, having the ability to control them with a move action, though most treants just allow the swarms to attack on their own. The swarms attack all perceived threats and only return to the acacia when those threats are driven off or if the treant calls them back to it. While inside the treant the swarms cannot be harmed. A bullthorn treant can attract a new colony of ants over the course of a few days. This process takes 2d4 days and requires the treant to remain in the same area for the duration.
A bullthorn treant without its ant swarms is only CR 14.
ECOLOGY
Environment any warm desert
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
Bullthorn treants are extremely territorial and stubborn. They aren’t as slow and methodical as other treants and are rather quick to anger. Due to their territorial nature, they tend to live solitary lives; their only companions are the ant colony that lives inside them.