False Appearance. While motionless, the weald looks identical to a forest.
Vegetative Method. The weald is a being made of an uncountable number of trees connected by a massive root system. If the weald drops to 0 hit points, it will be resurrected in 1d10 years, but not if its root system is also destroyed.
Multiattack. The weald makes three Vine attacks, one of which it can replace with a Yank attack.
Sinkhole. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d8+10) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature that is grappled by the weald, it is swallowed by the sinkhole. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the weald, and takes 42 (12d6) bludgeoning damage at the start of each of the weald's turns.
If the weald takes 45 or more damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the weald must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn, or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 ft. of the weald. If the weald dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it, and can escape from the weald's corpse using 15 ft. of movement, exiting Prone.
Vine. Melee Weapon Attack. +17 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d6+10) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled. The weald can target up to eight targets with its vines.
Weird Woods (Recharge 5-6). The weald casts both Fog Cloud (at 3rd level) and Fear (save DC 21).
Yank. One Large or smaller held object or a creature grappled by the weald is knocked prone, and dragged up to 60 ft. in a random direction. The target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 ft. it was dragged on a failure, or half as much on a success. If the target is dragged into another creature's space, that creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked Prone.
The weald can take 3 legendary cations, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature's turn. The weald regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Vine. The weald makes one Vine attack.
Weald Wraith (Costs 2 Actions). The weald summons the spirits of three people who have died within it. Each spirit has 1 hit point, and shares the weald's initiative. On its turn, the spirits can strike a target that the weald can see within 120 ft. of it. A target must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) necrotic damage on a failure, or half as much damage on a success.
Wraith Resurrection (Costs 3 Actions). The weald resurrects any wraiths that it summoned that were killed since its last turn.
Description
An area that has been suffused with ungodly amounts of natural magic, has been the subject of more Druid Grove spells than any living being can count, or has been the location of a massive massacre within its boughs has become a Weald. What has once been multiple organisms has fused to become one, and exudes an intense intelligence and a drive to protect both itself and the beings that live within it - outsiders will not be tolerated if they intend anything ill.
What Lurks In The Forest. A Weald can house any number of beings that are friendly to it - entire elven communities have been known to be under the protection of a Weald since the times before recorded history. Some Wealds act as the single bastion holding back malevolence from reaching the world, or acting as the barricade from the world into its own domain.
Sacred and Alive. The magic that animates a Weald is more often than not something that outsiders are loathe to desire - the sliver of consciousness that is derived from the power of any number of nature deities. Those that seek to desire it are the subject of the Weald's wrath on more than one occasion. There have been countless stories told of those that wish to gain the power of "the Forbidden Forest", only to find the wrath of a Weald's vines tearing it limb from limb.
Lair and Lair Actions
Wealds live in the depths of great forests, usually amidst the remains of an ancient city long since consumed by nature.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the weald takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- A fell wind blows through the branches of its trees. Each creature within 60 ft. of the weald must succeed on a DC 23 Charisma saving throw or become Frightened until the end of its next turn.
- Thorny vines snake across the ground from the weald, creating difficult terrain. The vines creep outward at 1d4 times 5 ft. per round. After 1d4 rounds, the vines die, returning the terrain to its normal state.
- Poisonous gas erupts from vents in the earth filling one-quarter of the weald's lair. Any creature caught in the gas at the end of their turn must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failure, or half as much on a success. The gas dissipates after 1 minute.
Regional Effects
The region containing a weald’s lair is subject to its immense natural magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Trees within a 5 mile radius of the weald's lair move and shift, making it incredibly difficult to chart a path through the forest.
- Awakened Trees become conscious within a 5 mile radius of the weald's lair, and are subservient to the weald.
- Mist swirls around the trees within 2 miles of the weald's lair, causing the area to become lightly obscured.
If the weald dies permanently, these effects fade over the course of 2d12 months.
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