Cavities. The yggdrasti has 1d4 + 2 cavities in its trunk. Each cavity is big enough to hold one Medium creature, two Small creatures, or eight Tiny creatures. A creature inside a cavity has three-quarters cover against attacks and other effects that originate outside the cavity. The yggdrasti’s cavities aren’t connected to one another.
False Appearance. If the yggdrasti is motionless and rooted in the ground at the start of combat, it looks just like a dead tree and has advantage on its initiative roll. Moreover, if a creature hasn’t observed the rooted yggdrasti move or act, that creature must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) check to discern that the yggdrasti is animate.
Lightning Conduit. If the yggdrasti is subjected to lightning damage, it is unhurt, and the lightning damage is instead divided evenly among all creatures it is grappling. In addition, the yggdrasti regains one use of Lightning Discharge.
Unusual Nature. The yggdrasti doesn’t require air or sleep.
Multiattack. The yggdrasti makes two Root attacks and uses Lightning Discharge (if available).
Root. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 15). The yggdrasti has four roots, each of which can grapple one target.
Lightning Discharge (3/Day). The yggdrasti shoots lightning at one creature within 120 feet of itself. The target must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 31 (7d8) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Description
Thought to be cast-off splinters of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, yggdrasti look like gigantic, dead trees covered with barnacles. They fly through Wildspace and the Astral Sea with their topmost branches leading the way and their withered roots trailing behind them. Each one has its own gravity plane and air envelope.
Creatures sometimes try to hitch a ride on an yggdrasti to take advantage of its air envelope. A typical yggdrasti specimen has cavities inside its trunk in which Medium or smaller creatures can lurk.
Yggdrasti attack any settlements or spelljamming ships they come across without provocation. By using a speak with plants spell or similar magic, someone might be able to convince an yggdrasti to break off its attack, but the monster’s innate hatred of other living things is extremely difficult for it to suppress.
Yggdrasti sometimes make landfall and disguise themselves as ordinary trees, burying their roots in the ground to pull off the deception. They can uproot themselves at any time and use their roots to shamble awkwardly across the ground, but flying is their preferred mode of travel.
It's unaligned because it doesn't really have a allegiance to anybody. At least from what I can tell also I guess the barnacles are space barnacles? And maybe it just can't control the fact it's got cavities in its body.
Well sure, normally, no allegiance could mean Neutral or Unaligned; but "innate hatred of other living things" is generally reserved for Evil alignment. Hating all other life forms, doesn't really fit with being Unaligned!?
Do space barnacles have stats? If space barnacles have some officially published backstory, it might go a long way toward explaining the root rot and such. (Because elsewise, the description of these trees certainly sounds "Evil"...)
The description says creatures "sometimes try to hitch a ride" in the cavities; which would seem to be suicidal unless they are immune to Lightning damage, since the tree hates them?
Seems like this creature was written to be paired with another type of creature; but either way, the description given here, is somewhat self-contradictory... Hating all other life forms sure sounds evil!
Perhaps in their original write-up, they hated "all other" life forms except for some medium creature which once cared for them, but no longer exists? I'm not aware of any other Unaligned creature which is described as being universally hostile!?
The fact that this only has an Int of 3 means it's a viable target for the Awaken spell, which most DMs probably won't want.
Also why exactly is a tree shooting lightning of all things at me?
You just gave me the best idea
I was wondering the same thing. You'd think an innate hatred of all other living things would make it chaotic evil.
Bard: I am a bard I speak for the trees
tree: man shut the f up
No, because it can only do that 3 times a day. However, for those 3 times it could do the damage to the (up to) 4 creatures it is grappling... NM, just saw the "if it is subject to lightning damage..." bit.
It probably can. It shouldn’t be able to, and not many good dungeon masters would make it do so, but it can.
Something I can see happening is a spellcaster somehow working with one casting lightning bolt on one so it deals bonus damage and regains its good attack.
Sorry to respond to an old comment, but for future reference to anyone reading this Yggdrasti is NOT a viable target of the awaken spell as that spell specifically only targets plants or beasts of Huge size or smaller, Yggdrasti is a Gargantuan plant so no dice ;-)
Unaligned usually means "too stupid to have an alignment". I think what it means is that it lacks the brain to actually make an opinion and instead operates entirely off of instincts. Perhaps the hatred just describes how others see its actions? Like how people attach emotions onto animals that don't really think how humans do. There are no listed DCs beyond "unlikely", so it could be that convincing it to break off its attack is simply a more magical (and more nuanced) version of those videos of people scaring off bears.
Also; creatures do stupid (read: suicidal) stuff all the time. If the cavities are just there, maybe creatures just sneak into them while the tree isn't looking? We don't know how sensitive it's tree skin is! And who knows, maybe the tree will accept passengers for the same reason you can convince it to go away. The description does explicitly list a way to communicate with it, after all.
Also, the Tarrasque is unaligned, with an Int of 3 (same as the Yggdrasti), and I'm pretty sure the Tarrasque is universally hostile. I'm not sure if it's ever described that way, but I've never heard of someone talking down the Tarrasque from attacking.
Yeah, Reminds me of how Blackrazor, a soul-sucking sword that wants to annihilate all life in the multiverse that was considered evil in every edition until now, is Chaotic Neutral for some reason.
This monster reminds me of the special trees from the monument mythos.
or maybe the fact is that it is a moving tree
neutral evil more likely
ok you have the best explanation out of everyone here
bit of a mistake about dnd is that it's impossible to make a homebrew monster with 0 intelligence
the lightning part is cool
treeeeeeeeeeeeeeees
we are groot