False Appearance. While motionless, the cinderwick is indistinguishable from a dead, fire-blackened shrub.
Smolder Burst. When the cinderwick dies, it explodes in a burst of embers. Each creature within 5 feet must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking (2d4) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
Ember Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d4 + 2) slashing damage plus (1d4) fire damage.
Description
Cinderwicks are twig blights born in scorched ground — most commonly found where the old Fire Tree once burned in the Giantswood, though any patch of forest touched by lingering unnatural flame can spawn them given enough time. They root in ash beds and grow slowly, indistinguishable from dead brush until something warm-blooded wanders close.
Patient Hunters. Unlike the aggressive, territorial instincts of common twig blights, cinderwicks are content to wait for days without moving, letting prey walk past them again and again until the moment is right. A patch of "dead shrubs" near a well-used trail is reason enough for a cautious traveler to take the long way around.
Ash Sown, Ash Returned. When a cinderwick is destroyed, whatever ember-magic sustains it discharges violently outward — a small, sudden burst that can catch nearby creatures (or nearby foliage) alight. Locals in the Giantswood have learned to kill them from a distance when possible.
Blight Physiology. Like other blights, a cinderwick doesn't eat, sleep, or breathe in any conventional sense — it simply is, for as long as the ash bed beneath it stays warm.
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