Guard Fern
- Armor Class
- 6 [13]
- Hit Dice
- 6
- Attacks
- Thorns, acid, or leaf lash (1d6 to 1d6+2)
- Special
- one attack option/round, thorn spray, acid spray, leaf lash, fire resistance, acid immunity, regrowth
- Move
- 0 (immobile)
- HDE/XP
- 7/600
Description
A Guard Fern is a huge, bushy plant. It is typically cultivated and placed to guard narrow features, such as a hallway or gap in a wall. Guard ferns are immune to acids, and have a fire-retardant structure that reduces all fire-based damage by half (a successful saving throw means it takes no damage).
The guard fern is immobile but can attack in all directions. It reacts to any vibration and heat sources.
It has three attack options that intensify as targets move closer; choose one attack option each round in White Box. At sixty to thirty feet, it can fire a spray of large, sharp thorns, dealing 1d6-1 points of damage on a hit. At five to thirty feet, it sprays a shower of acid, dealing 1d6+2 points of damage, with a saving throw reducing damage by half. It can perform both of these attacks three times in any direction before it must grow more thorns or replenish the acid, regaining one attack in each category each day. Finally, it can lash out with sharp leaves at a single creature within five feet, dealing 1d6 points of damage on a hit.
Even if chopped to bits, a guard fern will grow back in 1d6+4 weeks. Only burning one or digging up the roots will kill it for good.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.