GAKARAK
A gakarak is a large, 18 to 22-foor tall bipedal plant creature. It can easily be mistaken for a treant, although it is much darker in color and usually shrouded in ancient, blackening mosses and lichens.
Gakaraks are some of the oldest living creatures and they dwell deep in the heart of ancient forests. In their dark forest homes the brood on their eons-old hatred of humanoids, all of whom they consider hateful tree-slayers. They resent incursions into their forests and will do their utmost to deter any from entering. Those foolish enough to penetrate deep into a gakarak's forest rarely return home.
A GAKARAK'S LAIR
While a gakarak considers an entire forest its home, it chooses or creates a dense grove of trees at the center of its forest to serve as its lair. This area of the forest is engorged with the gakarak anger and a thick canopy of leaves and vines shades the lair in Dim light, even during the brightest days.
LAIR
ACTIONS
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the gakarak takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the gakarak can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- The gakarak can teleport to any unoccupied location within its lair.
- The gakarak recharges its Animate Trees ability.
- All normal plants within 600-foot radius of the gakarak become thick and overgrown. A creature moving through the area must spend 4 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves.
REGIONAL
EFFECTS
The long-nutured anger of a gakarak pervades its forest with an atmosphere of impending doom, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Within 1 mile of the lair, plants serve as the gakarak's eyes and ears, whispering to the gakarak about the presence of intruders.
- Within 2 miles of the lair, the forest is eerily quite with only the sound of creaking trees and the wind rustling through plants and leaves. There a no signs of animal life and the ground is covered in a thick carpet of dead leaves.
- Within 3 miles of the lair, paths and animal trails are overgrown and quickly disappear.
If the gakarak dies, the plants lose their supernatural link to it and animals begin to return to the forest within 1d10 days.
| Gakarak | Challenge 12 |
| Huge elite plant, neutral | 16,800 elite XP |
Armor Class 18 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 287 (24d12 + 138; bloodied 144)
Speed 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 23 (+6) | 8 (-1) | 22 (+6) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws Dex +3, Con +10, Wis +6
Skills Nature +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, lightning, piercing, psychic
Condition Immunities unconscious
Senses darkvision 240 ft., passive perception 12
Languages common, druidic, elvish, sylvan
Challenge 12 (12,600 champion XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Elite Recovery (Elite Trait). At the end of each of its turns while bloodied, the gakarak ends one negative effect currently affecting it. It can do so as long as it has at least 1 hit point, even while
unconscious or
incapacitated .
False Appearance. While the gakarak remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal tree.
Forest Resilience (Elite Trait, 1/Rest). When the gakarak is first bloodied, all conditions and effects it is suffering end for it, its elite traits activate, and all of its abilities recharge. Additionally, on its initiative count +10, or in place of an Action on its turn, the gakarak can use an elite action.
Forest Stride. The gakarak ignores difficult terrain in its forest or, if outside its forest, composed of plants.
Regenerate. The gakarak gains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and it is in a forest. If the gakarak takes fire damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of its next turn.
Siege Monster. The gakarak deals double damage to objects and structures.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The gakarak makes two slam attacks. It can substitute two torn dart attacks for each slam attack.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) magical bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) magical piercing damage and the target must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet or grappled, the gakarak's choice.
Thorn Darts. Ranged Weapon Attack. +12 to hit, range 120 ft., one target.
Hit. 13 (2d6 + 6) magical piercing damage per dart.
Animate Trees (1/Day). The gakarak magically animates up to four trees it can see within 240 feet of it. These trees have the same statistics as a
treant, except they have Intelligence and Charisma scores of 1, they can't speak, and they have only the Slam action option. An animated tree acts as an ally of the gakarak. The tree remains animate for 1 day or until it dies; until the gakarak dies or is more than 480 feet from the tree; or until the gakarak takes a bonus action to turn it back into an inanimate tree. The tree then takes root if possible.
ELITE ACTIONS
Bark Stride. The gakarak gains 20 temporary hit points and moves up to half its speed. It looses any remaining temporary hit points at the end of this move.
Entangle. The gakarak choses a point it can see within 120 feet of it. Grasping vines sprout from the ground in a 15-foot radius centered on that point. The area becomes difficult terrain and each creature in the area musts make a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be retrained. While restrained in this way, the creature (or another creature within 5 feet of it) can use its action to make a DC 18 Strength check. On a success, the creature is no longer restrained.
Forest Fury (Recharge 5-6). The gakarak makes a Slam attack against each creature within its reach.
