A collection of meat-colored brambles, thorns, and leaves the gorsehound stands as tall as a mastiff. While it is canine in shape the gorsehound’s roots resemble pigs’s hooves, it's skull that of a humanoid. Throughout its body bitter fruits grow, bursting with necrotic energy

Death Dealers. Grown from the corpse of someone sacrificed by the cult and fed to a deadwood tree, a gorsehound is watered with suffering and death. Upon blooming, it seeks to inflict exactly both on others. The skull of the victim comprises the head of the gorsehound, sallow light burning within empty sockets. A gorsehound always attacks the weakest, most-injured prey first.

Unkempt Growth. The gorsehound loathes the members of a waning cult as much as it does everything else. However, it is bound to the will of the cult's waning scion. Without this high priest to control it the gorseman will run rampant, tearing apart whatever it can get its hooves on.

Gorsehound

Medium Plant, unaligned

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3)

Speed 30ft

Str 12 Dex 15 Con 13 Int 3 Wis 12 Cha 8

Skills Perception +3
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from non-magical weapons that aren’t silvered.

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Senses darkvision 60ft, passive Perception 13

Languages Understands Sylvan, but cannot speak

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Underbrush.

The goresehound ignores natural difficult terrain, and magical effects with a natural origin can't reduce its speed or cause it to be restrained.

Actions

Hooves.

Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) slashing damage.

Cankerous Burgeon (Recharge 6)

Creatures within 5ft of the gorsehound must make a DC 11 Constitution save or take 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. If the target is missing any hit points, it instead takes 7 (1d12) necrotic damage. On a successful save the target takes no damage.