Living Wall, Variant (5e Creature)
Living Wall, Labyrinth[edit]
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Huge undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +5 Spirit-infused Structure. Although the living wall is immobile, it does have an eerie powerful presence. It uses its Charisma instead of its Dexterity to determine its place in the initiative order. Absorption. Creatures pulled inside the living wall have total cover. A creature within 5 feet of the wall can use its action to try and pull a creature out of the wall. Doing so requires a successful DC 15 Strength check. The wall can hold only one Large creature or up to six Medium or smaller creatures inside it at a time. While a living wall has a creature absorbed, it can replace one of its claws attacks with one of the absorbed creature's weapon attacks or cast a cantrip prepared by the creature. False Appearance. While the living wall remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary wall, unless a creature uses a spell or effect similar to true seeing. Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the living wall to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the living wall drops to 1 hit point instead. ACTIONSMultiattack. The living wall makes four claws attacks. In place of one of its claws attacks, it can make a grab attack. Cacophonous Cry. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 60 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 2) psychic damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn as it is assaulted by images of being buried alive or entombed. While frightened, the creature’s speed is reduced to 0. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage. Grab. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is a Large or smaller creature. When the living wall starts its turn with a grappled creature, it can use its bonus action to absorb the creature. While absorbed, the creature is blinded and restrained, can't breathe, and has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the living wall. At the start of each of the living wall's turns, an absorbed creature takes 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. An absorbed creature can try to escape by taking an action to make a DC 15 Strength check. On a success, the creature escapes and enters a space of its choice within 5 feet of the wall. Creatures slain while being absorbed permanently become part of the living wall and can only be restored to life by a wish or similar magic. REACTIONSNecrotic Resurgence. If the living wall takes necrotic damage, it regains hit points equal to the damage dealt. |
A living wall is a horrifying construct-like undead, made of the bodies of humanoids, compressed into the shape of a wall. The faces of the individuals absorbed by the wall can be seen on its surface with a permanent expression of anguish, or it can be concealed by an illusion of a normal wall. Those who touch the wall may be pulled inside to join it. The wall retains many of the abilities of those it has absorbed. To make matters worse, The living wall absorbs any creatures, whether they be humanoids or monsters, who died within 100 yards of the wall into their form, both body and soul since their creation. Those who die fighting a living wall are absorbed into it and actually strengthen it, when a character is absorbed, his remaining hit points, are added to the wall’s base hit point total. Characters and monsters captured by the wall retain all the abilities they had in life; as part of the wall, they become chaotic evil and fight any creature that approaches it to the best of their abilities. If a wizard becomes melded with a living wall, his spellcasting abilities are retained and can immediately be used for attacks. The wizard retains any spells that were memorized at the time he was absorbed into the wall; these are renewed each day. If a warrior loses his life in combat with a living wall, his fighting abilities and his weapons come under control of the beast: the weapons are hidden within the wall until the wall attacks, then are pushed through the mass of graying flesh to the surface. A hand attaches itself to the weapon, and eyes jutting from the wall guide the attack of the weapon. If the wall absorbs characters with ranged weapons, the weapons become useless once arrows, quarrels, or other necessary projectiles are expended. Living walls encountered in the lairs of necromancers, liches, or vampires often serve as part of a torture chamber, or to cover the true openings to secret passageways or corridors. No one knows whether these monstrosities are limited in size or longevity. Walls as large as 15 feet high, 30 feet long, and 10 feet thick have been reported. Living walls do, however, seem to be limited to one section of wall. Thus, a cemetery or castle could not be surrounded by one large living wall. But this undeath sickness can spread like leprosy. As the living wall continues to consume, the wall sections spread beyond itself: a house with a living wall in its basement can slowly become a living house. The wall desires, above all else, to slay the creature who created it. If it does so, or the creature meets its end within 100 yards of the wall, the corpse of the hated creator is assimilated and the beings trapped in the wall are freed to return to the peace of death. The wall reverts to being a structure of stone, earth, or gravel, with the corpse of its creator entombed within. Any alignment of evil spellcasters occasionally create these monoliths. The exact method is unknown, but several years of preparation and spellcasting are required. A minimum of three corpses are necessary for the creation of a living wall. The seed for such a living wall is planted when one sapient creature willfully entombs another in a wall. The hapless victim may be bound and walled alive in a rock niche on a windswept mountain trail, a sill in a fetid catacomb, a corner in an asylum, a cave wall, a mausoleum facade, or any other stone or brick wall. Once entombed, the victim will suffocate, dehydrate, or starve in utter darkness and solitude. But even this agony is not sufficient to wake the land’s attention—the entombed creature, in his terror, must curse his slayer, screaming loudly enough for his voice to carry beyond his tomb of stone. Only then does the land hear his agony. When the victim dies, his life force is trapped within the wall. As he struggles to escape, his life energy becomes soiled by the soot of his screams and curses, which thickly coat the inside of his stone sarcophagus. In a matter of days, madness corrupts the trapped life force, changing it to chaotic evil. Unassuming Horror. The walled horror is an undead that appears to be a normal stretch of wall until it lashes out at passersby. Tragic Origins. A walled horror is created when a group of humanoids is bound together and entombed behind a wall in an area with a high concentration of necrotic energy. The humanoids experience profound terror before dying of thirst or suffocation, and their spirits remain trapped within the wall, becoming an undead that seeks to add others to its collection. Magical Treasures. While the spirits of the absorbed victims join with the stone and mortar of the wall, their bodies and belongings are left to rot in the cavity behind the wall. When the living wall is destroyed, it collapses into a pile of rubble, revealing the magical remains and belongings. Undead Nature. A living wall doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep. |
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