A single thorn, sixteen inches in length, sharper than a mithral blade, and fired with the force of a ballista bolt—this is the calling card of the ironthorn snipeshrub. It’s a stationary and almost entirely reactive creature; one wrong move in the presence of this botanical bombardier means a fusillade of spines. Even getting into melee range is no guarantee of safety, as the snipeshrub’s spines have such force they knock aggressors back a substantial distance. The snipeshrub is unassuming in appearance, about the size of an ordinary garden shrub but with massive thorns as hard as steel. Closer observation reveals a large perceptive eye that can detect the presence of creatures at an impressive distance. Few ever make it close enough to the shrub to learn this fact before succumbing to a withering hail of deadly projectiles.
IRONTHORN SNIPESHRUB
Medium plant, unaligned
Armor Class 21 (natural armor)
Hit Points 161 (19d8 + 76)
Speed 5 ft., climb 5 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (+0) | 24 (+7) | 19 (+4) | 5 (-3) | 16 (+3) | 5 (-3) |
Saving Throws Con +9, Wis +8, Cha +2
Skills Perception +13
Damage Resistances fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities psychic
Condition Immunities deafened, exhaustion, stunned, unconscious
Senses truesight 500 ft., passive Perception 23
Languages understands Abyssal but can’t speak
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)
TRAITS
Lightning Reflexes. The snipeshrub can take four reactions each round.
Sharpshooter. The snipeshrub’s ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The snipeshrub takes two different actions from the options below.
Critical Eye. The snipeshrub targets one object or creature it can see. Until the start of its next turn, when the shrub scores a hit against the chosen target, it instead scores a critical hit.
Headshot (Recharge 6). The shrub fires a thorn directly at the head of a creature it is aware of within 500 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw or take 100 piercing damage. This effect passes effortlessly through nonmagical objects and cover, leaving a 6-inch-wide hole in the target.
Ready Shot. The snipeshrub readies four Thorn Snipe actions.
Thorn Snipe. Ranged Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, range 500 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (3d12 + 7) piercing damage and the target is pushed up to 30 feet away from the snipeshrub. If the target encounters a solid surface that would prevent this movement, it is impaled by the projectile upon the surface and is restrained. A creature can end the condition by taking an action to attempt a DC 17 Strength (Athletics) ability check, removing the thorn on a success.
Ref: TPKB1 p87
