The Assassin Vine is a terrifying and highly adaptive carnivorous plant known for its aggressive hunting behavior and deadly capabilities. Its appearance is a sinister blend of thick, coiling vines, covered in mottled green and brown patterns that help it blend seamlessly into the environment.
Large, leathery leaves sprout from the vine’s central core, with thorn-like spikes dotting its tendrils. These vines can stretch up to 30 feet, often lying in wait for prey to wander too close. Its tendrils are strong, muscular, and covered in sharp barbs, allowing it to lash out with deadly speed.
Behaviorally, the Assassin Vine is a patient predator. It remains motionless for extended periods, often camouflaged in dense undergrowth or dark, shadowy groves. Once it senses movement—typically from creatures passing too close—it strikes, quickly extending its vines to ensnare, immobilize, and crush its prey.
Its modus operandi involves subduing victims with rapid, constricting strikes, using its barbed tendrils to puncture and hold them in place. The vine may release toxic spores or sap that weakens the target, making them more vulnerable to its lethal grasp. It will then feed on the immobilized victim over time, absorbing nutrients from the corpse.
The Assassin Vine’s motivation is purely survival. It feeds off the nutrients from its captured prey, relying on both plant and animal matter to thrive. The vine is driven by an instinctual need to grow stronger, expanding its reach to ensure it can continue to trap larger and more frequent meals. In its natural habitat—dark forests, jungles, and swamps—the Assassin Vine is a master of ambush, turning its environment into a deadly hunting ground where few creatures can escape its lethal tendrils.
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 11
Languages —
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Traits
False Appearance. While the Assassin Vine remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal mass of vines or plant life.
Camouflage. The Assassin Vine has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in forested or swampy environments.
Plant Regeneration. If the Assassin Vine is exposed to direct sunlight, it regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn.
Toxic Sap. Any creature that touches the Assassin Vine or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet takes 5 (1d10) poison damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. The Assassin Vine makes two Vine Lash attacks.
Vine Lash.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Assassin Vine can’t grapple another target with that vine.
Constrict.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature grappled by the vine. Hit: 15 (3d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. The poisoned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Tendril Flurry (Recharge 5-6). The Assassin Vine lashes out with multiple vines in a 10-foot radius. Each creature within range must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 18 (4d8) bludgeoning damage and be restrained until the end of the Assassin Vine’s next turn.
Lure (1/Day). The Assassin Vine releases a sweet-smelling fragrance in a 30-foot radius. All creatures in this area must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the vine for 1 minute. While charmed, a creature is compelled to move closer to the vine on each of its turns. This effect ends if the creature takes damage from the Assassin Vine or another source.
Reactions
Reel In. When a creature grappled by the Assassin Vine attempts to escape, it can use its reaction to pull the creature 10 feet closer and deal 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Tactics
The Assassin Vine uses its False Appearance to lie in wait, often camouflaged against trees or forest floors until prey comes within reach. Once it senses movement, it begins by activating Lure to draw creatures closer. It then uses Vine Lash to grapple and restrain targets, prioritizing weaker or isolated creatures.
Once a creature is grappled, the Assassin Vine follows up with Constrict, attempting to poison and incapacitate its prey. In a multi-enemy situation, the vine uses Tendril Flurry to ensnare additional creatures and limit their mobility. The Toxic Sap and Plant Regeneration traits help it withstand long fights, while Reel In allows it to maintain control over grappled enemies, preventing their escape.
Assassin Vine
This gnarled vine, as thick as a man’s arm and bearing hand-shaped leaves, convulses across the ground in an unnatural slither.
The assassin vine is a carnivorous plant that collects its own grisly fertilizer by grabbing and crushing animals and depositing the carcasses near its roots. These remarkable plants can see minute movements in the earth and air and detect changes in light and heat through their broad leaves, giving them exceptional awareness of the area around them. Possessing no intelligence or agenda, they lash out at whatever living things pass nearby, regardless of the target’s size, sentience, or potential deadliness.
A mature plant consists of a main vine, about 20 feet long; smaller vines up to 5 feet long branch off from the main vine about every 6 inches. These small vines bear clusters of leaves, and in late summer they produce bunches of small fruits that resemble wild blackberries. The fruit is tough and has a hearty and typically bitter flavor, although some say the berries change in taste depending on what victims composted a given plant’s roots. The most murderous assassin vines supposedly produce the sweetest berries.
An assassin vine can move about, but usually stays put unless it needs to seek prey in a new vicinity. The plants use simple tactics, lying still until prey comes within reach and then attacking. Once an assassin vine is engaged, it pursues prey (albeit slowly) in order to catch and compost the creature. The plants prove tenacious, as long as their quarry remains within sight. Once a creature moves beyond the plant’s ability to perceive it, the unthinking vine falls still and lies in wait for the next passerby.
Assassin vines lurk within dense forests and swamps, but some might encroach upon poorly tended fields and vineyards. The vine’s seeds might be spread far by birds swift enough to pluck them and escape. Tales often tell of assassin vines appearing in flower beds or infiltrating greenhouses, murderous surprises planted by rivals and enemies or arbitrary doom dropped by unsuspecting wing.
Base Atk +3; CMB +9 (+13 grapple); CMD 19 (can’t be tripped)
SQ camouflage
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Camouflage (Ex) Since an assassin vine looks like a normal plant when at rest, a DC 20 Perception check is required to notice it before it attacks for the first time. Anyone with ranks in Survival or Knowledge (nature) can use either of those skills instead of Perception to notice the plant.
Entangle (Su) An assassin vine can, as a free action, cause plants within 30 feet of it to animate and grasp at foes. This ability is otherwise similar to entangle (CL 4th, DC 13). The save DC is Wisdom-based.
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests
Organization solitary, pair, or patch (3-6)
Treasure incidental
Assassin Vine Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (nature) can learn more about assassin vines.
If encountering the subterranean version of this creature, characters can also use Knowledge (dungeoneering) to determine what they know about assassin vines. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.
Originally posted by Evandar_TAybara of the Wizards Community forums.
This creature is an assassin vine, a semimobile plant that collects its own grisly fertilizer. This result reveals all plant traits.
18
Though unable to move at any great speed, these plants have a large reach and are dangerous enemies. As well as being capable of dealing nasty blows with the trunk of their vine, the construction of these vines allow them to grab and strangle their victims with ease.
23
Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the assassin vine is its ability to animate all nearby plants. These plants entangle and trap victims within their range, allowing the assassin vine the luxury of finishing off one foe before having to deal with others. These creatures are also very resilient to extremes of temperature.
28
Though lacking visual organs, assassin vines can detect nearby foes by sound, Scent and vibration. As they look like normal plants when at rest, they can be difficult to spot before they attack. Subterranean versions of these creatures are known to exist, looking much like mineral deposits to the untrained eye.
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