| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 26 | +8 | +14 |
| DEX | 8 | −1 | −1 |
| CON | 24 | +7 | +13 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| WIS | 18 | +4 | +10 |
| CHA | 14 | +2 | +2 |
Symbiotic Network. The tree and Belzak maintain a shared reservoir of legendary momentum. Belzak can expend legendary action uses from the tree's pool to trigger his own legendary actions, and the tree can expend uses from Belzak's pool to trigger its own legendary actions.
Disgorge Spawn. Whenever any Belzak's Gulthias Tree's satellite trees within the grove suffers 10 or more damage from a single attack or effect, its trunk violently splinters open, deploying 1 Spawn of Gulthias into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of it.
Multiattack. The tree makes two attacks choosing between Bough Smash and Splinter Volley in any combination. It also uses Exsanguinating Taproot.
Bough Smash. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (4d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage.
Splinter Volley. Ranged Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, range 80/240 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d8 + 8) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or have its speed reduced by 10 feet until the start of its next turn as wooden shards pin its limbs.
Exsanguinating Taproot. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 20, one Huge or smaller target the tree can detect within 40 feet. Failure: 15 (2d6 + 8) necrotic damage, and the target is pulled up to 15 feet toward the trunk and gains the Grappled condition (escape DC 18) by one of eight primary roots. Until this grapple ends, the target has the Restrained condition and takes 18 (4d8) necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns. The target’s maximum hit points are reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage suffered, and either the tree or Belzak (the tree's choice) regains hit points equal to that amount.
The tree can take 3 legendary actions, 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 tree regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Canopy Snare (1 Action). A thorny limb sweeps toward a creature within 60 feet. Melee Spell Attack: +11 to hit, reach 60 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 7) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 30 feet toward the tree, and knocked Prone.
Gore Feed (1 Action). One creature currently grappled by Exsanguinating Taproot takes 4 (1d6) necrotic damage. The tree or Belzak regains hit points equal to the damage dealt.
Sanguine Fortification (2 Actions). Hardened red resin coats the trunk. The tree or Belzak gains 15 temporary hit points until the start of the tree's next turn.
Description
A towering monument to unnatural hunger, Belzak’s Gulthias Tree dominates the subterranean grove like a calcified, petrified heart. Its bruised, obsidian bark splits along jagged fissures that weep a thick, arterial resin, pooling in carved trenches chiseled into ancient stone flags. Rather than reaching peacefully toward an open sky, its massive, gnarled boughs twist and writhe against the cavern’s vaulted ceiling, interweaving with petrified briars that cage the mummified remains of long-dead interlopers.
The air around the trunk is heavy with the suffocating warmth of fresh compost, stagnant swamp water, and metallic, oxidized blood. Beneath the pulverized bone and black soil of the grove floor, the tree’s massive taproots pulse with a sickening, rhythmic beat—a slow, titanic cadence that mirrors the necrotic heartbeat of Belzak himself. These pale, vein-like roots burrow throughout the entire cavern network, feeding a ring of stunted satellite trees and tethering the monstrosity directly to the blighted soil of the Shadowfell. Far more than a plant, the tree exists as a monstrous, semi-sentient predator—an arboreal butcher block designed to drain the vitality of living intruders and fuel the undying majesty of its vampiric tender.
Lair and Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Gulthias Tree alternates between the following effects, never using the same one two rounds in a row:
Round 1 / Odds — Weeping Blood Mist. The tree's canopy vents an oily crimson vapor in a 120-foot-radius sphere centered on the trunk until count 20 on the next round. The radius of all illumination (both mundane torches and magical daylight effects) is halved. Bright light is suppressed to dim light, and dim light becomes complete darkness. The tree designates any number of targets inside the fog. Each chosen creature must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or roll a d6 on the delirium table: 1–2 (Terror): The creature gains the Frightened condition toward Belzak and the tree until the start of its next turn. 3–4 (Maddened): The creature is afflicted with delirium, behaving as if under the effects of the Confusion spell until the start of its next turn. 5–6 (Viscous Drag): Coagulated blood mist clings to the creature's limbs; its movement speed is halved and it cannot use reactions until the start of its next turn.
Round 2 / Evens — Rupture the Brood. 1d4 + 1 Spawn of Gulthias burst forth simultaneously from random lesser satellite trees throughout the grove and act immediately in the initiative order.
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