Monster Week at the Near TPK - the Bloodvine

There just aren't enough plants in the 4e Monster Manual, so here's one to chill your PCs' blood... the bloodvine.

Also, there's still time to brainstorm on this week's "what the heck is that?" monster.

Bloodvine

Bloodvines are carnivorous plants that feed on the blood of their victims, storing it in their thick red leaves.

Level 2 Brute

Bloodvine Thrasher

XP 125

Medium natural animate (plant)

Initiative +3 Senses Perception +2; tremorsense 5
HP 47; Bloodied 23
AC 14; Fortitude 15, Reflex 14, Will 13
Speed 2

mThrash (standard; at-will)

+5 vs. AC; 1d10 + 3 damage.

MBloodsucking Grab (standard; at-will) * Healing

Requires combat advantage; +5 vs. AC; the target is grabbed and takes ongoing 5 damage (until escape). Also, the bloodvine thrasher regains 5 hit points.

Bloodlust

The bloodvine thrasher gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and a +1 bonus to damage rolls against bloodied enemies.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Stealth +8
Str 17 (+4) Dex 14 (+3) Wis 12 (+2)
Con 17 (+4) Int 3 (-3) Cha 10 (+1)

Bloodvine Tactics

Bloodvine thrashers lash out mindlessly, striking at random targets unless they have combat advantage, in which case they use bloodsucking grab.

Level 7 Lurker

Bloodvine Hunter

XP 300

Large natural animate (plant)

Initiative +10 Senses Perception +5; tremorsense 5
HP 67; Bloodied 33
AC 21; Fortitude 20, Reflex 19, Will 18
Speed 2

mThrash (standard; at-will)

+12 vs. AC; 2d6 + 5 damage.

MBloodsucking Grab (standard; at-will) * Healing

Requires combat advantage; +12 vs. AC; the target is grabbed and takes ongoing 5 damage (until escape). Also, the bloodvine hunter regains 5 hit points.

Reactive Stealth

If a bloodvine hunter has cover or concealment when it makes an initiative check at the start of an encounter, it can make a Stealth check to escape notice.

Blend With Foliage

When a bloodvine hunter makes a melee attack from hiding and misses, it is still considered to be hiding.

Bloodlust

The bloodvine hunter gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and a +2 bonus to damage rolls against bloodied enemies.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Stealth +11
Str 18 (+7) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 19 (+7) Int 5 (+0) Cha 10 (+3)

Bloodvine Hunter Tactics

A bloodvine hunter tries to stay concealed with blend with foliage for as long as possible or until its bloodsucking grab succeeds.

Bloodvine Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 15: Bloodvines are nearly mindless bloodsucking plants.
DC 20: Large specimens are smarter than the smaller ones, often lying in wait until just the right moment to attack.

Encounter Groups

Bloodvines are often planted in groves near the lairs of evil humanoids, who feed them enough to keep them alive but hungry, so they become living traps. They have also been known to share the same hunting grounds as shambling mounds and vine horrors.
Level 2 Encounter (XP 600)
* 2 bloodvine thrashers (level 2 brute)
* 1 kobold wyrmpriest (level 3 artillery)
* 1 kobold dragonshield (level 2 soldier)
* 1 kobold slinger (level 1 artillery)
Level 7 Encounter (XP 1,600)
* 1 bloodvine hunter (level 7 lurker)
* 1 vine horror (level 5 controller)
* 1 vine horror spellfiend (level 7 artillery)
* 2 shambling mounds (level 9 brute)

That's a high end 7th level encounter full of plants that grab PCs and eat them, so be careful with that one. I suspect you could turn a near TPK into the real deal with it.