Assassin Vine (Familiar)

These gnarled vines are half as thick as a man’s arm and convulse across the ground in an unnatural slither. They are smaller and weaker than their larger cousins, the assassin vines, but move faster and are more cunning allowing them to hunt different prey.

Modified Assassin Vine CR 3
XP 800

N Medium plant

Init +0; Senses blindsight 30 ft., low-light vision; Perception +1

DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+6 natural)

hp 30 (4d8+12)

Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +2

Immune electricity, plant traits; Resist cold 10 and fire 10

OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.

Melee slam +5 (1d6+5 plus grab)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks constrict (1d6+5), entangle

STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 10, Con 16, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 9

Base Atk +3; CMB +5 (+9 grapple); CMD 20 (can’t be tripped)

SQ camouflage

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Camouflage (Ex): Since a modified 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): A modified 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.

Entice (Ex): When a modified assassin vine lands a killing blow, or spends a full round siphoning blood from a recently killed creature, it creates a single magical berry as per the spell Goodberry. The modified assassin vine can store up to 15 berries, at which point siphoning additional blood has no effect until at least 1 berry is removed. If the berries are not eaten within 24 hours of being removed from the modified assassin vine, they lose their magical properties.

ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests

Organization solitary, pair, or patch (3–6)

Treasure incidental

The modified assassin vine is a carnivorous plant that collects its own grisly fertilizer by grabbing and crushing animals and siphoning their blood into 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. Unlike normal assassin vines, modified assassin vines hunt intelligently, stalking or luring their prey into their crushing vines. A mature plant consists of a main vine, about 10 feet long; smaller vines up to 5 feet long branch off from the main vine about every 8 inches. These small vines bear clusters of leaves, and bunches of small fruits that resemble the wild sunberries of the Red Island archipelago, where the modified assassin vine first appeared. The fruit is soft and has a sweet flavor, although the berries change in taste depending on how many victims saturated a given plant’s roots. The most murderous of these plants supposedly produce the sweetest berries.

A modified assassin vine can move about, but usually stays put unless it needs to seek prey in a new vicinity. The plants use differing tactics depending on its prey, either lying still and enticing passers-by with it's fruit until prey comes within reach and then attacking, or quietly stalking prey until it is alone before striking. Once an modified assassin vine is engaged, it pursues prey relentlessly in order to catch and siphon blood from the creature. The plants prove tenacious, its victims need to run far and fast to avoid these dangerous predators. The plant may continue to hunt for hours after it loses sight of it's prey.

Modified assassin vines lurk within dense forests and oasis's of the Red Islands, 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.