Deep in Shadows. Black moss is indistinguishable from regular shadows. With no light source present, black moss is completely imperceptible, including darkvision and blind sight, with the exception of touch and echolocation. With a light source present, creatures without darkvision are still at a disadvantage to perceive dark moss.
Energy Drain. Area effect: Black moss drains all energy from its surrounding, including life, light, warmth, and sound. A cave in which black moss grows will be darker and colder than the surrounding caves. Sound doesn't carry as far in black moss caves as in the surrounding caves and there are no echoes. If there's only a few patches of black moss, these effects will be minute, but if a cave is covered in black moss, it will be pitch dark, freezing cold, and muffled. In such a cave a light source such as a flame will snuff out within seconds and even a magical light source becomes faint.
Negative Energy Aura. Creatures within 6 feet of a patch of black moss can’t regain hit points.
Glutton's punishment. The black moss' energy drain is very slow and gradual and it cannot survive taking in too much energy at a time. If a patch of black moss is fed more energy than it can consume (more than 5 points in energy damage per turn) it'll wither and die. This goes for all forms of damage, except for necrotic and psychic damage, to which it is immune.
Life Drain. Area effect: Any creature within 6 feet of a patch of black moss, must make a DC 12 Constitution roll or suffer 1 necrotic damage. This effect is constant and a creature must make this save every round as long as it is near black moss.
This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
Cold to the Touch. Contact effect: Any creature that touches a patch of black moss, must make a DC 12 Constitution roll or suffer 1 cold damage damage in addition to the necrotic damage from the Life Drain effect. This effect is constant and a creature must make this save every round as long as it is in contact with black moss.
Growing Threat. Whenever a patch of black moss succeeds in draining 5 points of energy from its surroundings (in two rounds or more, see Glutton's Punishment), it will double in size and become two separate patches of black moss. And if a creature is within 6 feet of both patches the life drain will double and eventually quadruple. This makes a cave covered in black moss such a deadly threat.
Description
Black moss grows on cavern walls, ceilings, and floors in the Underdark and lives on the energy it drains from its surroundings. It thrives off of almost all forms of energy, including light, sound, heat, and life and magic itself.
Most often black moss will be encountered in small patches, but if a cavern has (had) a large and steady energy source, such as a volcanic vent or bat colony, black moss could have spread to cover almost the whole surface area of the cave. Eventually, after it has drained all energy from the original source and the cave is a true dead zone, the moss will go dormant, waiting for another energy source to stumble into the cave.
A cavern in which black moss grows, will be colder, darker and more muffled than the surrounding caves. A cavern covered with black moss is deadly to all life which enters it and doesn't get out quickly.
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Posted Jun 11, 2018I really would like some feedback on this. So anyone who reads this or uses this monster in play, please tell me what you think. What should I improve? (I'm aware of some minor grammar mistakes I made. I'll change these in an update. I really want feedback on the abilities of this creature, its threat level, etc.