Murnblossom
The Creeping Bloom — Carnivorous Fungal Horror
Type: Large Plant (Fungal Hybrid)
Alignment: True Neutral
Armor Class: 13 (natural)
Hit Points: 84 (8d10 + 32)
Speed: 5 ft. (root-walk, see Traits)
STR 17 (+3) DEX 6 (–2)
CON 18 (+4) INT 6 (–2)
WIS 14 (+2) CHA 8 (–1)
Senses: Tremorsense 60 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages: —
Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP)
Description
The Murnblossom is a fungal-floral predator rooted in the darker southern forests of Loria. It resembles a massive, gnarled flower, its petals thick and rubbery—colored in shades of blood, rust, and rot. One petal is often missing.
Its base is a swollen, barklike bulb anchored deep by woody fungal roots. From the center of the bloom extends a glistening, coiled tongue—barbed, acidic, and terrifyingly fast. This appendage strikes from a narrow throat, then slowly drags prey into the creature’s interior chamber, where decomposition begins.
Size Note: Most Murnblossoms stand 6–8 ft. tall, but some in the southern wilds—called Great Murns—reach the height of trees.
Traits and Abilities
Tonguesnap (Recharge 5–6):
Strikes out up to 20 ft. as a melee attack. +5 to hit, 1d10+3 piercing. Target must make a DC 14 STR save or be grappled and reeled in 5 ft. per turn.
Putrid Resin:
On a Tonguesnap hit, the target must make a DC 13 CON save or become Poisoned for 1 hour due to the necrotic, cloying slime on the tongue.
Root-Walk (1/week):
Slowly uproots and repositions (5 ft/day max). Imperceptible unless tracked over time. The process weakens the Murn temporarily and is used only when threatened.
Decomposition Chamber:
Grappled prey fully pulled inside takes 2d6 acid damage per long rest. The Murn cannot digest metal or stone and may regurgitate bones, armor, or coins.
Symbiotic Bloom:
Nearby plants thrive via a shared mycelial network. Many wild groves exist purely to feed their Murnblossom.
Behavior
- Temperament: Still, calculating, disturbingly calm
- Combat Role: Ambush predator. Waits silently for ideal moments
- Quirks: Emits an overripe fruit scent after feeding. May hum when undisturbed. Has been known to fake death
- Locomotion: Root-walking resembles stop-motion when time-lapsed. Most villagers do not believe it moves—until it’s too late.
Known Habitat
Murnblossoms favor mist-heavy woodlands, grave soil, or overgrown ruins throughout southern Loria. They are most common near nutrient-rich fungal beds.
Certain abandoned temples and blighted battlefields are now overgrown with vast fungal blooms—each harboring one silent, watching Murn.
Hooks and Usage
- Child Taken: A child went missing near a forest shrine. The other children say “a flower ate her.” She's still alive—being reeled in.
- Whispers in the Grove: A merchant’s livestock refuse to enter a certain clearing. At its center: one massive bloom, humming.
- Bounty for Petals: A royal alchemist seeks a fresh petal for vision-draughts. It must be plucked while the Murn is feeding.
- The One That Moved: A traveling priest swears the same flower followed him for miles. No one believes him. Yet.
Harvest & Relics
Note: Harvesting is dangerous. Murnblossoms retaliate and remember.
- Hooktongue Resin — Thick adhesive sap. Used for paralytics or slow-burning toxins.
- Rotmilk Core — Syrupy fluid from within the bloom. Causes fever dreams, visions, and Myrrhyn attunement in rare cases.
- Murnspore Petal — Smoking or brewing this petal induces prophetic trances or deep fungal communion.
Lore & Strange Beliefs
The Tongue That Waits
They say the first Murn grew from the body of a seer who saw too far into the Veil. Now, it sees for others.
The Blossom Path
Some say the scent of a blooming Murn leads to one's true calling. Others say it leads only to decay.
Druid Riddle-Rumors
Old stories tell of a Murn that learned to answer questions—if fed truths and meat. Its tongue would write answers in blood.
