Gnarlwick (3.5e Creature)

Gnarlwick

Size/Type:	Medium Plant
Hit Dice:	9d8+36 (76 hp)
Initiative:	-1
Speed:	20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class:	21 (-1 Dex, +12 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple:	+6/+9
Attack:	Claw +9 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack:	2 claws +9 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Spells, turn everything to wood, wood shape
Special Qualities:	Plant traits, low-light vision, damage reduction 10/adamantine, fast healing 5, spell resistance 25
Saves:	Fort +12, Ref +2, Will +5
Abilities:	Str 16, Dex 8, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 15
Skills:	Bluff +5, Concentration +12, Hide +1 (+21 when impersonating a tree), Listen +12, Spot +12, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +5
Feats:	Alertness, Combat Casting, Great Fortitude
Environment:	Temperate forests and jungles
Organization:	Solitary
Challenge Rating:	9
Treasure:	Standard coins; standard good; double items
Alignment:	Always chaotic neutral
Advancement:	By character class
Level Adjustment:	+5

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These creatures of bark are spotted with numerous arborescent bulges and polypes, that over the time of its life have given it a barely discernible humanoid form, spotted with sharp branches and the odd leaf here and there. Like a being of cancerous wood, it sports a bloated head with a condescendingly stooped brow ridge, making you constantly wonder exactly how little the creature thinks of you.

Gnarlwicks are the result of experiments on nature done by evil druids, their rending divine magics having imparted these small, tree-like husks with an unpredictable, self-sufficient animus. They stand roughly 6 to 7 feet tall and weigh about 350 pounds.

Combat

Gnarlwicks are tricky custodians of old, remote forests and jungles, but have a strange method of preserving it. Sometimes they have no awareness of their tasks at all, and simply seek to pursue their personal fancies. Gnarlwicks can often be found in shoddily formed shrines or relatively elaborate living spaces they have constructed from warped wood, as they like to fashion their own homes. Gnarlwicks often look down on physical violence, and prefer to use their spells to defend themselves.

Turn Everything to Wood (Su): All solid objects that a gnarlwick touches turn to wood. When grasping an unattended object, it instantly turns into a slightly warped wooden version of itself. When attacked with a non-wooden melee weapon, it is affected as by transmute metal to wood, regardless of the weapon actually being metallic or not, unless the weapon succeeds on a DC 16 Fortitude save. This ability also applies to non-wooden constructs, who also start gradually turning to wood when attacking or being touched by the gnarlwick. For every round of such physical contact where the construct fails its save, it is dealt 1 point of Dexterity damage. If this damage accumulates until the construct has a Dexterity score of 0, it is completely turned to wood. Although turn everything to wood does not function on living beings, creatures that have been killed can be freely turned into wood. Mort flesh such as in corporeal undead and flesh golems can be affected in a similar fashion as constructs. The only solid substances that aren't subject to this ability are any form of mineral or stone, which remain unchanged.

Wood Shape (Su): Gnarlwicks can use a wood shape effect (as per the spell) at will with an effective caster level equal to their HD. A gnarlwick's wood shapes are not subject to the 30% failure chance for making objects including moving parts as long as they are no more intricate than a door hinge or a component of comparable complexity.

Spells: A gnarlwick casts spells as a 9th-level druid. Like a druid, he can also spontaneously convert to a summon nature's ally spell of any level he can cast.

Typical Druid Spells Prepared (6/5/5/3/2/1); save DC 12 + spell level: 0—create water, detect magic, detect poison, mending (×2), purify food and drink; 1st—entangle (×2), faerie fire, magic fang, pass without trace; 2nd—barkskin, lesser restoration, resist energy (×2), summon swarm; 3rd—greater magic fang, plant growth, speak with plants; 4th—flame strike, giant vermin; 5th— awaken;

Skills: Gnarlwicks get a +20 bonus to any Hide check made to conceal their true natures when they impersonate a tree and not move.

Gnarlwicks as Characters

Gnarlwick characters possess the following racial traits.

• +6 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +4 Charisma.
• Medium size.
• A gnarlwick’s base land speed is 20 feet.
• Low-Light Vision.
• Racial Hit Dice: A gnarlwick begins with eight levels of Plant, which provide 8d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +6, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +6, Ref +3, and Will +3.
• Racial Skills: A gnarlwick’s Plant levels give it skill points equal to 12 x (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Sense Motive, Spellcraft and Spot. A gnarlwick has a +20 bonus on Hide checks to remain unnoticed when it is standing still (as a tree).
• Racial Feats: A gnarlwick’s Plant levels give it three feats.
• +12 natural armor bonus.
• Fast healing 5.
• Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d6).
• Wood Shape (Su)
• Turn Everything to Wood (Su): The save DC is 14 + the character’s Cha modifier.
• Spells: A gnarlwick character casts spells as an 9th-level Druid. Like a druid, he can also spontaneously convert to a summon nature's ally spell of any level he can cast. If the character takes additional levels of druid, these levels stack with the gnarlwick’s base spellcasting ability for spells known, spells per day, and other effects dependent on caster level. A gnarlwick character likewise uses the sum of its racial spellcasting levels and class levels to determine the abilities of its animal companion.
• Special Qualities (see above): Plant traits, damage reduction 10/adamantine, spell resistance equal to 25 + class levels.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Druidic. Bonus Languages: Sylvan, Terran.
• Favored Class: Druid.
• Level adjustment +5.

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