Blood Roses

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Blood Roses (CR 3)

Blood roses are most often found near trails or areas where drinking water is nearby, as only those bushes in trafficked areas can get enough sustenance to survive. Blood roses attract prey with alluring scents and once nearby, will drain the blood from their victims.

Blood roses look like white roses when they have not fed recently, but turn blood red for around a week after feeding, slowly fading back to white. Blood roses are often found in clusters, as their seeds do not propagate far, and clusters of blood roses are better able to attract prey, benefiting the whole cluster.

Some very successful clusters of blood roses have occurred because the seeds ended up in a location which naturally funnels prey to the roses. Blood roses growing on cliff ledges or narrow, well-lit passages are very dangerous to passers-by.

GENERAL

CR 3 Hit Dice 4

XP 800

N small plant

Init +2; Senses tremorsense 30', Perception +5

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +2 dex, +2 natural, +0 deflection)

hp 37

Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2

Aura: -

SR: -

Special Defenses: -

Immunities:

• all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms) (a plant with an Int score loses this trait)
• poison
• sleep
• polymorph, paralysis, stunning

Weaknesses: -

OFFENSE

Speed 0 ft. (Immobile)

Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.

Single Melee Thorn Lash +6 (1d8+3/19-20x2) + Sanguine Beauty

Full Melee 2x Thorn Lash +6 (1d8+3/19-20x2) + Sanguine Beauty

Ranged none, but see Alluring Scent

Special Attacks Innocuous, Alluring Scent, Entangling Thorns, Sanguine Beauty

Action Points 0

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int -, Wis 3, Cha 18

Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 17

Feats -

Skills - (see Innocuous)

Languages -

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Innocuous (Ex)

In order to notice that blood roses are not normal roses, you must make a Survival check against an Hard DC for the character looking at the plant. Those failing the check are unaware that the blood roses pose a threat until the blood roses attack.

Alluring Scent (Su)

As a move action, blood roses can release an alluring scent. All creatures within 30 feet must make a Will save, DC 13, or become allured. Affected creatures are pulled 15 feet closer to the blood roses. This is forced movement and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Entangling Thorns (Su)

Creatures who begin their turn inside or adjacent to a space filled with blood roses take 1d6 points of damage and must make a Reflex save, DC 13 or they are immobilized until the end of their turn. Creatures who make melee attacks, use magic items, or cast spells with somatic components (against any target) while immobilized in the entangling thorns also take 1d6 points of damage per attack or magic item use or spell casting attempt. Casting a spell under these conditions does force a concentration check. This is slashing damage, and while there is no to-hit roll, any applicable DR will work against it.

Sanguine Beauty (Su)

Any time the blood roses successfully attack a creature, they heal 2 points of damage.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 750 gp

COMBAT TACTICS

As mindless plants, blood roses don't have tactics, per se. However, they have evolved an efficient way of attracting and killing prey in order to survive. First, they will attract nearby prey. Once nearby, they rely on their entangling thorns to keep the prey nearby, and then they use their lashing thorns and sanguine beauty heal to kill the prey and satiate their hunger.

Intelligent monsters will sometimes use blood roses to deal with intruders, cultivating them in places where avoiding the blood roses is nearly impossible.