Barometz

This creature resembles a large horned goat covered in thick green moss. A vine trails from the beast’s udder to a nearby tree. The creature smells of fresh bread and floral grapes.

Large plant, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 95 (10d10 + 40)
Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	11 (+0)	18 (+4)	5 (-3)	16 (+3)	13 (+1)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages understands Sylvan but can’t speak
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Special Traits

• Fruit of the Land. When a barometz dies, its body sprouts a myriad of nourishing fruits and vegetables. If a creature spends 10 minutes consuming the produce, it gains the benefits of a heroes’ feast spell for 8 hours. If the feast isn’t consumed within 1 hour, it disintegrates into a mound of dirt and dried leaves.
• Parent Vine. The barometz is attached to a nearby tree by a thick vine that is between 50 and 100 feet long. The vine has AC 13, 20 hp, and resistance to all damage except for slashing damage. If this vine is severed, the barometz loses its Regeneration trait and suffers one level of exhaustion per hour until it dies.
• Regeneration. The barometz regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. This regeneration can only be halted if the barometz’s parent vine is severed, whereupon it loses this trait. The barometz dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
• Wildland Runner. Difficult terrain composed of forest underbrush, bushes, or vines doesn’t cost the barometz extra movement. In addition, the barometz can pass through magical and nonmagical plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them, including plants that are magically created or manipulated, such as those produced by the entangle and wall of thorns spells.

Actions

• Multiattack. The barometz makes two attacks: one with its gore and one with its hooves.
• Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
• Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage.

About

Born of Fruit. The barometz is a strange plant-like monster that arises spontaneously from a normal fruit tree, some say as the result of ancient druidic magic or fey meddling. A fruit tree bearing a barometz grows an unusually large fruit that soon drops from the tree and bursts open to reveal the goat-like creature. The barometz remains attached to its parent plant by a vine and spends its life clearing the area around the fruit tree of weeds and other noxious plants.

A Feast for Kings. The flesh of a barometz is considered a delicacy by almost all humanoids and giants, and few barometz survive for long once they are discovered by a band of trollkin hunters or foraging hill giants.

Elves and other woodland humanoids have attempted to breed barometz, without success. The creature does not reproduce naturally and the methods by which they appear are still unknown.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 2. © 2020 Open Design LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Celeste Conowitch, Darrin Drader, James Introcaso, Philip Larwood, Jeff Lee, Kelly Pawlik, Brian Suskind, Mike Welham.

Barometz

Barometz CR 15

XP 51,200 N Gargantuan plant Init +5; Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception +27

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 11, flat-footed 26 (+5 Dexterity, +20 natural, -4 size) hp 253 (22d8+154) Fort +20, Ref +12, Will +11 Immune electricity, plant traits

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft. Melee gore +23 (5d10+15/19-20) Space 20 ft., Reach 20 ft. Special Attacks powerful charge (gore, 10d10+15), trample (5d10+15, DC 31)

STATISTICS

Strength 30, Dexterity 21, Constitution 24, Intelligence 2, Wisdom 15, Charisma 9 Base Atk +16; CMB +30 (+34 bull rush or overrun); CMD 45 (47 vs. bull rush or overrun, 49 vs. trip) Feats Awesome Blow, Bleeding Critical, Critical Focus, Greater Bull Rush, Greater Overrun, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (gore), Improved Overrun, Iron Will, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (gore) Skills Perception +27

ECOLOGY

Environment any forests Organization solitary or serving druid masters Treasure none

Growing a Barometz

The process of growing a barometz has some similarities to making a construct, but doesn’t require the Craft Construct feat. The process requires five cultivators. Typically, these are powerful druids, though anyone capable of making the required Knowledge checks and casting the required spells may attempt the process.

Growing the body takes 1 year. One creator, typically the creature who becomes the creature’s master, cultivates an oak tree to be harvested for the horns. After harvest, the creator shapes the horns and strengthens them with an ironwood spell. Four cultivators plant four trees and weave a lattice from the branches. This frame supports the stone-and-ivy skin and provides the space in which the plant matter that will make up the barometz can grow. Each cultivator attempts a DC 25 Knowledge (nature) check when forming the body. If one or more of the checks fail, the plant withers and dies and the cultivators must begin anew.

If the skill checks are successful, the cultivators then perform a special ritual within a day of the cultivation. This ritual takes 24 hours to perform and must be led by the creature that is to become the master of the barometz. At the ritual’s climax, there’s a 50% chance that the attempt to create a barometz succeeds —if this final check fails, no appropriate spirit is close enough to answer the call. The plant body rots and the creators must begin anew with fresh materials. At the GM’s discretion, this final chance for success might increase to 75% or even 100% for particularly magical areas where the necessary spirits are more common.

Discovering such a rare and magical site should be the focus of its own adventure.

Barometz CL 15th; Price 80,500

Ritual Requirements Knowledge (nature) 15 ranks, plant growth, entangle, ironwood, summon nature’s ally VII; Skill Knowledge (nature) DC 25; Cost 40,200 gp