Pants
First Post
Because I just love those little buggers, here's an expanded ecology on them, plus some new related critters. For ease of use, I've included a slightly modified 3.5 updated twig blight, that way anyone who doesn't have the MMII can still use these guys. 
TWIG BLIGHT
Small Plant
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 10 ft.
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-5
Attack: Claw +2 melee (1d3-1 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +2 melee (1d3-1 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning or slashing, low-light vision, plant traits, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 5, Wis 11, Cha 4
Skills: Climb +7, Hide +11, Listen +2, Move Silently +9, Spot +2, Survival +2
Feats: Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary, pack (2-5), or brood (10-20)
Challenge Rating: 1/3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 2-7 HD (Small)
From out of the bushes springs a small form, its body a tangle of twigs, branches, and small bits of wood. Two arms jut from its stunted, wooden body, each one ending in a three-fingered claw. A pair of red eyes glow from within its airy frame.
Twig blights are devious, tree-like creatures created by the Gulthias tree, which sprouted from a stake that was used to slay an ancient vampire.
Twig blights can root themselves into normal soil and draw nutrients as a normal plant would, however they have a strong taste for blood that often forces them to waylay living creatures. Twig blights that live underground must subsist entirely upon blood, since it gets no sunlight for its photosynthesis.
A twig blight that advances to 7 Hit Dice immediately finds a place to take root and slowly it begins the transformation into a twig horror. The transformation usually takes a year and the twig blight resembles a small shrub during this time. A DC 15 Knowledge (Nature) check is required to identify the twig blight as ‘not a normal shrub.’ A DC 20 check identifies it as a twig blight in the process of its transformation.
A twig blight stands about 3 ½ feet tall and weighs only 15 pounds.
Twig blights speak Sylvan.
COMBAT
Twig blights are very rarely encountered alone. They usually attack in swarms, attempting to overwhelm one creature at a time before moving onto the next. Twig blights usually stay away from any fire-wielding creatures. While they may not truly understand how vulnerable to fire they may be, they do have an instinctive fear of it.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 11, initial damage 1 Str, secondary none. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Skills: A twig blight gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig blight has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
TWIG SAPLING BROODSWARM
Tiny Plant (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 5d8+10 (32 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 10 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/–
Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus poison)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, poison
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning or slashing, half damage from slashing or piercing weapons, low-light vision, plant traits, swarm traits, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 5, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 4
Skills: Climb +5, Hide +22, Listen +2, Move Silently +11, Spot +2, Survival +4
Feats: Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Hide)
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: –
From beneath the thick foliage of the forest floor emerge hundreds of small, twig-like creatures, each one bearing small, wicked claws and glowing, red eyes.
Twig sapling broodswarms are twig blight young. Only twig horrors and twig lords can reproduce. Twig horrors reproduce by planting large seeds within the soil once every year during the autumn season. During the spring season the next year, a small sapling quickly begins growing from that seed. The sapling quickly reaches maturity within the space of a month by drawing forth all the nutrients in the soil around it, often causing other plants nearby to wither and die.
After reaching maturity, small nuts begin growing from the sapling’s branches. The nuts are highly toxic and if eaten, they act as a slightly more potent version of the twig blight’s venom (DC 12 Fort save, initial damage 1 Str, secondary damage nausea for 1 hour). After a week, the nuts fall off and crack open, each one releasing a tiny twig sapling. The saplings quickly gather together into a broodswarm and begin hunting in the vicinity of their parent tree for their first meal. Since the parent tree leeches the soil around it of all nutrients, the swarm’s first meal is usually a small animal of some sort. Some sages speculate that this is where the twig blight’s craving for blood comes from. After about a month, the twig sapling broodswarm begins to break up as the saplings grow into true twig blights.
After sprouting a broodswarm, the parent tree quickly withers and dies, leaving behind a small circle of dead plant matter and dusty soil. Druids actively hunt and destroy these parent trees, seeing them as nothing more than cancerous tumors.
COMBAT
Twig sapling broodswarms are straight forward combatants. They swarm over a foe and attempt to poison it into submission. Then they feed upon the fallen body, sating their desire for blood.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a twig sapling broodswarm in its space must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 14, initial damage 1d2 Str, secondary 1 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Skills: A twig sapling broodswarm gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig sapling broodswarm has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
TWIG HORROR
Medium Plant
Hit Dice: 7d8+21 (52 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 15 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex, +6 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+7
Attack: Claw +8 melee (1d6+2 plus poison) or thorn volley +8 ranged (1d6+2 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +8 melee (1d6+2 plus poison) or thorn volley +8 ranged (1d6+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison, spell-like abilities, sneak attack +2d6, thorn volley
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/slashing, low-light vision, plant traits, thorny defense, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +3
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Climb +10, Hide +17, Listen +6, Move Silently +17, Search +9, Spot +6, Survival +11 (+13 when following tracks)
Feats: Improved Initiative, Track, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 7-12 HD (Medium); 13-17 HD (Large)
A human-sized figure approaches you, its body a composite of twigs, branches, and other bits of wooden refuse. Long, barbed thorns cover its entire body, each one dripping some sort of vile-looking sap. Its two arms end in long, clawed hands. Red, menacing eyes glow from deep within its wooden body.
A twig horror is an advanced form of the twig blight. After a twig blight undergoes its yearlong transformation, a twig horror emerges from its wooden cocoon, ready to feast upon the blood of the living. Unlike the twig blights, twig horrors prefer to subsist entirely upon flesh and blood as it quickens their growth.
Twig horrors are more solitary than twig blights and usually see others of their kind as competition. Each twig horror claims a section of wilderness as its own and leaves distinctive markings upon trees or cavern walls to ward off any others of its kind. Other twig horrors only enter another’s claimed space when it wishes to challenge the other horror for its area. Such challenges are to the death (and take quite a long time since twig horrors have a difficult time damaging each other).
When a twig horror reaches 17 Hit Dice, it immediately finds a place to root and it begins a long hibernation process that takes many years. During this time, the twig horror resembles a gnarled tree covered in vicious thorns. The twig horror constantly leeches nutrients from the ground, turning the area around it into a desolate wasteland. After about 10 years pass, the tree breaks open, revealing the pinnacle of twig blight evolution: the twig lord.
Twig horrors stand about 5 feet tall and weigh about 60 pounds.
Twig horrors speak Sylvan.
COMBAT
Twig horrors are fairly canny opponents. They usually open up combat with their entangle spell-like ability followed with a thorn volley. Sometimes they use their summon nature’s ally III to summon aid before ambushing their prey and attempting to sneak attack and poison anyone surprised.
Although twig horrors are still vulnerable to fire, they would rather attempt to extinguish the flame as opposed to just outright fleeing from it.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 15, initial damage 1d4 Str, secondary 1d2 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A twig horror can make a sneak attack like a rogue, dealing an extra 2d6 points of damage whenever a foe is denied his or her Dexterity bonus, or when the horror is flanking. A twig horror flanks creatures as a 3rd-level rogue.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – faerie fire, speak with plants; 3/day – warp wood (DC 12); 1/day – entangle (DC 11), summon nature’s ally III. Caster level equals the twig horror’s Hit Dice (usually 7th). The save DC’s are Charisma-based.
Thorny Defense (Ex): Any creature striking a twig horror with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d6+2 points of piercing and slashing damage from the horror’s protruding thorns. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way. Creatures that take damage from a twig horror’s thorny defense are exposed to its poison.
Additionally, anyone grappling a twig horror automatically takes this damage each round the grapple is maintained.
Thorn Volley (Ex): Once per round as a standard action, a twig horror can launch a volley of thorns from its body as a ranged attack. The thorns have a range of 30 ft. and transmit the twig horror’s poison. The thorns grow slowly; the twig horror must wait 1 round after using the volley before it can be used again.
Skills: A twig horror gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig horror has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
TWIG LORD
Large Plant
Hit Dice: 17d8+102 (178 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 28 (-1 size, +5 Dex, +14 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+19
Attack: Claws +15 (2d6+4 plus poison) or thorn volley +16 (1d8+4/19-20 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +15 (2d6+4 plus poison) or thorn volley +16/+11/+6 (1d8+4/19-20 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Bud broodling, poison, spell-like abilities, sneak attack +5d6, thorn volley
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic and slashing, low-light vision, plant traits, spell resistance 25, thorny defense, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +10, Will +7
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 20, Con 22, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +32, Knowledge (nature) +25, Hide +25, Listen +22, Move Silently +29, Search +23, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +23, Spot +22, Survival +22 (+24 when following tracks, +2 when in aboveground natural environments), Tumble +25
Feats: Improved Critical (thorn volley), Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Shot On the Run
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary or brood (1 twig lord, 2-6 twig horrors, and 10-20 twig blights)
Challenge Rating: 14
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 18+ HD (Large)
A form, about the size of an ogre, approaches. Its body is a tangle of protruding thorns and entwined brambles. You can see movement from within its thorny form as hundreds of smaller versions of itself start to emerge from strange, pod-like sacs. A pair of dark, red eyes gazes hungrily at you, menace seeping from its wooden body.
Twig lords are the pinnacle of the twig blight evolutionary cycle, fortunately few twig blights live long enough to achieve this state. Twig lords act as mobile incubators, growing broodswarms and twig blights within their bodies and then unleashing them upon the world before moving to a new area. They relish in the chaos that their progeny cause and seem to gain sustenance from it. The more devastation it spreads, the more powerful it grows.
Twig lords usually move about with a pack of twig blights, broodswarms, and twig horrors in their wake. They take a perverse sort of pride in watching their progeny destroy the natural world.
Twig lords are few in number, their rampant destruction usually alerts local militias or druidic sects to their presence. Druids consider twig lords to be one of the gravest threats to the natural world and they hunt down and destroy them whenever possible.
A twig lord stands roughly 10 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds.
Twig lords speak Sylvan and some speak Common, however they rarely choose to communicate with other creatures.
COMBAT
In combat, twig lords prefer to send their minions in first to engage their foes in melee while they stand back and pepper them with spells and their thorn volleys. Twig lords are not averse to running away from more powerful foes and, since they are almost constantly being hunted, they have developed a very strange sense of passivity. Unless it knows that something is hunting it, the twig lord will almost never engage a foe in combat unless it is certain that it will such an engagement.
Bud Broodling (Ex): A twig horror’s airy body acts as an incubator for its lesser kin. As a standard action, the twig lord can release some of its progeny from its body. The twig lord can release 1 broodswarm or up to 3 twig blights at once. The twig blights appear in any adjacent square, while the broodswarm occupies the same square as the twig lord.
A twig lord can have up to 3 broodswarms and up to 15 twig blights incubating with its body at one time. If any are slain, the twig lord replaces them at a rapid rate. A broodswarm can be budded and replaced within a day, while a sapling can grow into a twig blight in just an hour.
If a twig lord dies, all of its remaining twig blights and broodswarms are instantly released.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 24, initial damage 1d6 Str, secondary 1d4 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Commanding Presence (Su): As a swift action, a twig lord can automatically command any broodswarm, twig blight, or twig horror within 60 ft. to do its bidding, as per a dominate monster spell (caster level 20th, this overrides the plant’s usual immunity to mind-affecting effects). Twig blights and broodswarms receive no saving throw against this effect; however a twig horror (being a more independent creature) can attempt a Will save (DC 21) to negate the command. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A twig lord can make a sneak attack like a rogue, dealing an extra 5d6 points of damage whenever a foe is denied his or her Dexterity bonus, or when the horror is flanking. A twig lord flanks creatures as a 9th-level rogue.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – blight (DC 17), command plants (DC 17), diminish plants, entangle (DC 14), faerie fire, speak with plants, tree shape, warp wood (DC 15), wood shape; 3/day – spike stones (DC 17), summon nature’s ally V, wall of thorns; 1/day – animate plants, transport via plants (self only). Caster level equals the twig horror’s Hit Dice (usually 17th, max 20). The save DC’s are Charisma-based.
Thorny Defense (Ex): Any creature striking a twig lord with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d8+4 points of piercing and slashing damage from the horror’s protruding thorns. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way. Creatures that take damage from a twig lord’s thorny defense are exposed to its poison.
Additionally, anyone grappling a twig lord automatically takes this damage each round the grapple is maintained.
Thorn Volley (Ex): As an attack action, a twig lord can launch a volley of thorns from its body as a ranged attack. The thorns have a range of 60 ft. and transmit the twig lord’s poison. The thorns grow back immediately after being launched, allowing the twig lord to make iterative attacks as a full attack option.
Skills: A twig lord gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig lord has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
I've also included a .doc file with all of them contained within.
Enjoy!
TWIG BLIGHT
Small Plant
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 10 ft.
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-5
Attack: Claw +2 melee (1d3-1 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +2 melee (1d3-1 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning or slashing, low-light vision, plant traits, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 5, Wis 11, Cha 4
Skills: Climb +7, Hide +11, Listen +2, Move Silently +9, Spot +2, Survival +2
Feats: Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary, pack (2-5), or brood (10-20)
Challenge Rating: 1/3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 2-7 HD (Small)
From out of the bushes springs a small form, its body a tangle of twigs, branches, and small bits of wood. Two arms jut from its stunted, wooden body, each one ending in a three-fingered claw. A pair of red eyes glow from within its airy frame.
Twig blights are devious, tree-like creatures created by the Gulthias tree, which sprouted from a stake that was used to slay an ancient vampire.
Twig blights can root themselves into normal soil and draw nutrients as a normal plant would, however they have a strong taste for blood that often forces them to waylay living creatures. Twig blights that live underground must subsist entirely upon blood, since it gets no sunlight for its photosynthesis.
A twig blight that advances to 7 Hit Dice immediately finds a place to take root and slowly it begins the transformation into a twig horror. The transformation usually takes a year and the twig blight resembles a small shrub during this time. A DC 15 Knowledge (Nature) check is required to identify the twig blight as ‘not a normal shrub.’ A DC 20 check identifies it as a twig blight in the process of its transformation.
A twig blight stands about 3 ½ feet tall and weighs only 15 pounds.
Twig blights speak Sylvan.
COMBAT
Twig blights are very rarely encountered alone. They usually attack in swarms, attempting to overwhelm one creature at a time before moving onto the next. Twig blights usually stay away from any fire-wielding creatures. While they may not truly understand how vulnerable to fire they may be, they do have an instinctive fear of it.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 11, initial damage 1 Str, secondary none. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Skills: A twig blight gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig blight has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
TWIG SAPLING BROODSWARM
Tiny Plant (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 5d8+10 (32 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 10 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/–
Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus poison)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, poison
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning or slashing, half damage from slashing or piercing weapons, low-light vision, plant traits, swarm traits, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 5, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 4
Skills: Climb +5, Hide +22, Listen +2, Move Silently +11, Spot +2, Survival +4
Feats: Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Hide)
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: –
From beneath the thick foliage of the forest floor emerge hundreds of small, twig-like creatures, each one bearing small, wicked claws and glowing, red eyes.
Twig sapling broodswarms are twig blight young. Only twig horrors and twig lords can reproduce. Twig horrors reproduce by planting large seeds within the soil once every year during the autumn season. During the spring season the next year, a small sapling quickly begins growing from that seed. The sapling quickly reaches maturity within the space of a month by drawing forth all the nutrients in the soil around it, often causing other plants nearby to wither and die.
After reaching maturity, small nuts begin growing from the sapling’s branches. The nuts are highly toxic and if eaten, they act as a slightly more potent version of the twig blight’s venom (DC 12 Fort save, initial damage 1 Str, secondary damage nausea for 1 hour). After a week, the nuts fall off and crack open, each one releasing a tiny twig sapling. The saplings quickly gather together into a broodswarm and begin hunting in the vicinity of their parent tree for their first meal. Since the parent tree leeches the soil around it of all nutrients, the swarm’s first meal is usually a small animal of some sort. Some sages speculate that this is where the twig blight’s craving for blood comes from. After about a month, the twig sapling broodswarm begins to break up as the saplings grow into true twig blights.
After sprouting a broodswarm, the parent tree quickly withers and dies, leaving behind a small circle of dead plant matter and dusty soil. Druids actively hunt and destroy these parent trees, seeing them as nothing more than cancerous tumors.
COMBAT
Twig sapling broodswarms are straight forward combatants. They swarm over a foe and attempt to poison it into submission. Then they feed upon the fallen body, sating their desire for blood.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a twig sapling broodswarm in its space must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 14, initial damage 1d2 Str, secondary 1 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Skills: A twig sapling broodswarm gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig sapling broodswarm has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
TWIG HORROR
Medium Plant
Hit Dice: 7d8+21 (52 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 15 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex, +6 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+7
Attack: Claw +8 melee (1d6+2 plus poison) or thorn volley +8 ranged (1d6+2 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +8 melee (1d6+2 plus poison) or thorn volley +8 ranged (1d6+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison, spell-like abilities, sneak attack +2d6, thorn volley
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/slashing, low-light vision, plant traits, thorny defense, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +3
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Climb +10, Hide +17, Listen +6, Move Silently +17, Search +9, Spot +6, Survival +11 (+13 when following tracks)
Feats: Improved Initiative, Track, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 7-12 HD (Medium); 13-17 HD (Large)
A human-sized figure approaches you, its body a composite of twigs, branches, and other bits of wooden refuse. Long, barbed thorns cover its entire body, each one dripping some sort of vile-looking sap. Its two arms end in long, clawed hands. Red, menacing eyes glow from deep within its wooden body.
A twig horror is an advanced form of the twig blight. After a twig blight undergoes its yearlong transformation, a twig horror emerges from its wooden cocoon, ready to feast upon the blood of the living. Unlike the twig blights, twig horrors prefer to subsist entirely upon flesh and blood as it quickens their growth.
Twig horrors are more solitary than twig blights and usually see others of their kind as competition. Each twig horror claims a section of wilderness as its own and leaves distinctive markings upon trees or cavern walls to ward off any others of its kind. Other twig horrors only enter another’s claimed space when it wishes to challenge the other horror for its area. Such challenges are to the death (and take quite a long time since twig horrors have a difficult time damaging each other).
When a twig horror reaches 17 Hit Dice, it immediately finds a place to root and it begins a long hibernation process that takes many years. During this time, the twig horror resembles a gnarled tree covered in vicious thorns. The twig horror constantly leeches nutrients from the ground, turning the area around it into a desolate wasteland. After about 10 years pass, the tree breaks open, revealing the pinnacle of twig blight evolution: the twig lord.
Twig horrors stand about 5 feet tall and weigh about 60 pounds.
Twig horrors speak Sylvan.
COMBAT
Twig horrors are fairly canny opponents. They usually open up combat with their entangle spell-like ability followed with a thorn volley. Sometimes they use their summon nature’s ally III to summon aid before ambushing their prey and attempting to sneak attack and poison anyone surprised.
Although twig horrors are still vulnerable to fire, they would rather attempt to extinguish the flame as opposed to just outright fleeing from it.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 15, initial damage 1d4 Str, secondary 1d2 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A twig horror can make a sneak attack like a rogue, dealing an extra 2d6 points of damage whenever a foe is denied his or her Dexterity bonus, or when the horror is flanking. A twig horror flanks creatures as a 3rd-level rogue.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – faerie fire, speak with plants; 3/day – warp wood (DC 12); 1/day – entangle (DC 11), summon nature’s ally III. Caster level equals the twig horror’s Hit Dice (usually 7th). The save DC’s are Charisma-based.
Thorny Defense (Ex): Any creature striking a twig horror with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d6+2 points of piercing and slashing damage from the horror’s protruding thorns. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way. Creatures that take damage from a twig horror’s thorny defense are exposed to its poison.
Additionally, anyone grappling a twig horror automatically takes this damage each round the grapple is maintained.
Thorn Volley (Ex): Once per round as a standard action, a twig horror can launch a volley of thorns from its body as a ranged attack. The thorns have a range of 30 ft. and transmit the twig horror’s poison. The thorns grow slowly; the twig horror must wait 1 round after using the volley before it can be used again.
Skills: A twig horror gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig horror has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
TWIG LORD
Large Plant
Hit Dice: 17d8+102 (178 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 28 (-1 size, +5 Dex, +14 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+19
Attack: Claws +15 (2d6+4 plus poison) or thorn volley +16 (1d8+4/19-20 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +15 (2d6+4 plus poison) or thorn volley +16/+11/+6 (1d8+4/19-20 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Bud broodling, poison, spell-like abilities, sneak attack +5d6, thorn volley
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic and slashing, low-light vision, plant traits, spell resistance 25, thorny defense, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +10, Will +7
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 20, Con 22, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +32, Knowledge (nature) +25, Hide +25, Listen +22, Move Silently +29, Search +23, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +23, Spot +22, Survival +22 (+24 when following tracks, +2 when in aboveground natural environments), Tumble +25
Feats: Improved Critical (thorn volley), Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Shot On the Run
Environment: Any temperate land and underground
Organization: Solitary or brood (1 twig lord, 2-6 twig horrors, and 10-20 twig blights)
Challenge Rating: 14
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 18+ HD (Large)
A form, about the size of an ogre, approaches. Its body is a tangle of protruding thorns and entwined brambles. You can see movement from within its thorny form as hundreds of smaller versions of itself start to emerge from strange, pod-like sacs. A pair of dark, red eyes gazes hungrily at you, menace seeping from its wooden body.
Twig lords are the pinnacle of the twig blight evolutionary cycle, fortunately few twig blights live long enough to achieve this state. Twig lords act as mobile incubators, growing broodswarms and twig blights within their bodies and then unleashing them upon the world before moving to a new area. They relish in the chaos that their progeny cause and seem to gain sustenance from it. The more devastation it spreads, the more powerful it grows.
Twig lords usually move about with a pack of twig blights, broodswarms, and twig horrors in their wake. They take a perverse sort of pride in watching their progeny destroy the natural world.
Twig lords are few in number, their rampant destruction usually alerts local militias or druidic sects to their presence. Druids consider twig lords to be one of the gravest threats to the natural world and they hunt down and destroy them whenever possible.
A twig lord stands roughly 10 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds.
Twig lords speak Sylvan and some speak Common, however they rarely choose to communicate with other creatures.
COMBAT
In combat, twig lords prefer to send their minions in first to engage their foes in melee while they stand back and pepper them with spells and their thorn volleys. Twig lords are not averse to running away from more powerful foes and, since they are almost constantly being hunted, they have developed a very strange sense of passivity. Unless it knows that something is hunting it, the twig lord will almost never engage a foe in combat unless it is certain that it will such an engagement.
Bud Broodling (Ex): A twig horror’s airy body acts as an incubator for its lesser kin. As a standard action, the twig lord can release some of its progeny from its body. The twig lord can release 1 broodswarm or up to 3 twig blights at once. The twig blights appear in any adjacent square, while the broodswarm occupies the same square as the twig lord.
A twig lord can have up to 3 broodswarms and up to 15 twig blights incubating with its body at one time. If any are slain, the twig lord replaces them at a rapid rate. A broodswarm can be budded and replaced within a day, while a sapling can grow into a twig blight in just an hour.
If a twig lord dies, all of its remaining twig blights and broodswarms are instantly released.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 24, initial damage 1d6 Str, secondary 1d4 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Commanding Presence (Su): As a swift action, a twig lord can automatically command any broodswarm, twig blight, or twig horror within 60 ft. to do its bidding, as per a dominate monster spell (caster level 20th, this overrides the plant’s usual immunity to mind-affecting effects). Twig blights and broodswarms receive no saving throw against this effect; however a twig horror (being a more independent creature) can attempt a Will save (DC 21) to negate the command. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A twig lord can make a sneak attack like a rogue, dealing an extra 5d6 points of damage whenever a foe is denied his or her Dexterity bonus, or when the horror is flanking. A twig lord flanks creatures as a 9th-level rogue.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – blight (DC 17), command plants (DC 17), diminish plants, entangle (DC 14), faerie fire, speak with plants, tree shape, warp wood (DC 15), wood shape; 3/day – spike stones (DC 17), summon nature’s ally V, wall of thorns; 1/day – animate plants, transport via plants (self only). Caster level equals the twig horror’s Hit Dice (usually 17th, max 20). The save DC’s are Charisma-based.
Thorny Defense (Ex): Any creature striking a twig lord with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d8+4 points of piercing and slashing damage from the horror’s protruding thorns. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way. Creatures that take damage from a twig lord’s thorny defense are exposed to its poison.
Additionally, anyone grappling a twig lord automatically takes this damage each round the grapple is maintained.
Thorn Volley (Ex): As an attack action, a twig lord can launch a volley of thorns from its body as a ranged attack. The thorns have a range of 60 ft. and transmit the twig lord’s poison. The thorns grow back immediately after being launched, allowing the twig lord to make iterative attacks as a full attack option.
Skills: A twig lord gains skills as a Fey. It also gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A twig lord has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
I've also included a .doc file with all of them contained within.
Enjoy!
