Demon-Skull Lantern

A transparent membrane envelopes this mushroom’s trunk and roots, which happen to embedded within a skull. Within this bubble, a strange gas produced by decomposition produces an eerie, red glow as well as providing the buoyancy needed to be lighter than air. The ‘horns’ which lend the skull a demonic feel are, in truth, sprouts linking the fungus within to the covering without. This cap isn’t perfectly airtight and leaves a faint trail of sulphuric stench wherever the lantern floats.

Seed of Evil. The origins of this grisly gourd are traced to a succubus who was as interested in gardening as she was in seducing the innocent; some would even say more so. However, this green thumb didn't temper the fiend to sew evil. Her thralls met a grisly fate as she used their willing bodies at planters to experiment with horrific crops. By far, the demon-skull lantern stands out as her greatest achievement. Germinated from a cutting of the fungal queen the succubus seeded the first of its species within the brain of an addled lover. The man took an agonizing week to die but a few days later his skull lifted from the ruined head, held aloft by infernal gas within the plant's membrane. Pleased with the results the fiend cultivated a field of the abominable gourds and let them loose on the wind.

Demon-Skull Lantern

Small plant, unaligned

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)

Hit Points 70(9d12+18)

Speed 5ft

Flight 15ft (hover)

Str 5 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 2 Wis 8 Cha 16

Condition Immunities prone

Senses darkvision 60ft, passive Perception 8

Languages -

Challenge 4 (1100 XP)

Innate Spellcasting.

The demon-skull lantern is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). It requires no material components to cast its spells

At will: Chaos bolt, gust, dancing lights

1/day: Mirror image, summon lesser demons

Actions

Sporeburst (Recharge 6)

Non-plant creatures within 10ft of the demon-skull lanterns must make a DC 12 Constitution save, taking 14 (4d6) poison damage on failure; no damage on a success. If a creature is slain by this sporeburst or a corpse is hit by the sporeburst a new demon-skull lantern erupts from its head in 1d4 days.

Comments

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