Corpseroot

A New Monster (Or Maybe Hazard)

For Pathfinder 2e, Maybe AD&D Too

Look, I Make This Shit Up As I Go Along, OK?

Credit Where It Is Due: To be fair, I never make strong claims to “originality” for anything I do, but some things are less original than others. In this case, I am taking direct inspiration from a Clark Ashton Smith story, “The Mandrakes“. That’s my jumping-off point; transforming a concept written for a specific tale and its circumstances into something you can plorp into any D&D-esque game necessitates some small amount of creativity, and that’s good, because a small amount is pretty much all I’ve got.

Still, it’s more creativity than the most expensive and powerful “AI” has, and I can take some cold comfort in that thought. Anyway, the corpseroot.

If a person is murdered by someone they love — typically a spouse or intimate partner, but it could be anyone the victim had a very strong emotional bond with and whom they trusted absolutely — and buried in swampy soil, their rage any betrayal may pervert the growth around them causing the appearance of corpseroots. Corpseroots grow over 1-4 weeks underground, then produce a clump of leaves or vines breaking through the surface. These will appear as small plants typical of the region, often herbs or foodstuffs someone (very often, their murderer) will want to harvest. If one is pulled, the entire patch erupts. If no one comes to harvest them within a week after their full gestation, they will pull themselves free when a potential victim happens by.

When freed, they resemble the mandrake root, but where that bears only a crude resemblance to the human form, a corpseroot looks like a nigh-perfect (but smaller – typically 2 feet tall) statue of the person who spawned them, from feet to just below the shoulders. From the shoulders up, they bear the leaves and branches of whatever vegetation they resembled. Their hands end in sharp claws, however, and while small, they can inflict grievous wounds.

If a single target is hit with both claws in one round, they must save vs. poison or be filled with absolute hatred for the member of their party they like best; if they like their comrades equally (or dislike them all), roll randomly. They will then proceed to attack them in a berserk rage, using whatever weapons they have available. This rage lasts until the corpseroot which caused it is destroyed, their target is unconscious or dead, or they succeed at a new saving throw, which can be made every 1d4+1 rounds.

When first wounded, there is a 25% a corpseroot will scream. All within 10″ must save vs. paralysis or be deafened for 1 hour. In addition, the scream attracts wandering monsters like a shrieker.

Corpseroots can be turned as if they were ghouls. They are immune to all forms of charm, hold, and so forth, unless the spell explicitly affects either plants or undead. They take half damage from fire and electricity, but double damage from cold.

The remains of a corpseroot can be used as an ingredient in a philter of hatred, (the full details of manufacture are left to the DM, of course) which causes its imbiber to loathe the first person it sees after drinking. Their response to this depends on their abilities and circumstances, but they will act upon it as soon as there is some chance of success, taking considerable risks to inflict pain on the object of their antipathy. (There is but a 5% chance this potion can be distinguished from a philter of love before consumption!) Use of this item is almost always evil, and may result in an alignment shift.

Pathfinder Version

If a person is murdered by someone they love — typically a spouse or intimate partner, but it could be anyone the victim had a very strong emotional bond with and whom they trusted absolutely — and buried in swampy soil, their rage any betrayal may pervert the growth around them causing the appearance of corpseroots. Corpseroots grow over 1-4 weeks underground, then produce a clump of leaves or vines breaking through the surface. These will appear as small plants typical of the region, often herbs or foodstuffs someone (very often, their murderer) will want to harvest. If one is pulled, the entire patch erupts. If no one comes to harvest them within a week after their full gestation, they will pull themselves free when a potential victim happens by.

A typical encounter will have 3-5 corpseroots. The GM should adjust the number to meet the desired challenge.

When freed, they resemble the mandrake root, but where that bears only a crude resemblance to the human form, a corpseroot looks like a nigh-perfect (but smaller – typically 2 feet tall) statue of the person who spawned them, from feet to just below the shoulders. From the shoulders up, they bear the leaves and branches of whatever vegetation they resembled. Their hands end in sharp claws, however, and while small, they can inflict grievous wounds.

Recognizing a corpseroot from the visible plant portion, before it emerges, is a DC 23 (Trained) Nature or Religion check, or a DC 21 (Trained) Plant Lore or Undead Lore check.

If all the corpseroots in a grove are slain, a new batch will sprout in time as noted above. Ending the cycle requires finding the body of the slain person and interring it with proper rituals, as well as either bringing their killer to justice or, if they are already dead, spreading word of their foul deed to the local community. This can be as simple or complex a quest as the GM wishes!

Given the remains of a corpseroot and 6gp worth of other ingredients, a Craft (Alchemy) check with a DC of 19 allows the creation of an Elixir of Loathing, a 4th level potion. When consumed, it acts much like the Charm spell (DC 21), except that it makes the target Unfriendly to the first being they see to whom they were previously Friendly or Helpful towards, and Hostile towards them on a Critical Failure. The duration is identical to that of the Charm spell – though of course, the consequences of actions taken may last a long time. (Even more than most mind-affecting magic, use of this potion is likely to be seen as evil, whether using alignments or not.)

NE Rare Small Plant Undead
Perception +12; darkvision; scent (imprecise) 30 feet
Skills Acrobatics +10 , Athletics +10 , Deception +10 , Stealth +10
Str +3, Dex +5, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +4, Cha +1
Scream [[R]] (sonic);
Trigger The corpseroot takes for the first time in this encounter. Effect All non-corpseroots in a 30 foot burst must make a DC 21 basic Fortitude against 4d6 sonic damage. Those failing the save are also deafened for 1 minute.
AC 19; Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +12; +2 vs. any mind-affecting spells which do not explicitly target undead or plants
HP 40 ; Immunities bleed, death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious;Resistances Fire 5; Weaknesses Cold 5
Speed 30 feet
Melee [[A]] claws +12 (agile, finesse), Damage 1d6+5 slashing
Frenzied Slash [[AA]] The corpseroot makes two claw attacks against the same target, both at -2. This counts as two attacks, but do not apply the multiple attack penalty until this action concludes. If both attacks hit, the corpseroot can use its Inflict Hatred ability.

Inflict Hatred [[A]] (Mind-Affecting, Poison); Requirements Must follow a frenzied slash which hit twice Effect The creature makes a DC 21 Fortitude save.

Critical Success: No effect.
Success: The target is stunned 1.
Failure: The target is dominated until the end of their next turn. The corpseroot will only order them to attack the ally they care for the most, or a randomly chosen ally if this does not apply.
Critical Failure: As for failure, but lasts for 1 minute, or for 1 round after the corpseroot dies.