The Lepiditia Ruins Part 2

The party have battled and defeated the Lupine Wraith, and now they venture further into the ruins to search for a lost elf. Exploring the druidic groves and once-grand butterfly houses of the city, they eventually come across a fallen temple where the elf they were seeking is trapped by a ferocious monster - a Vine-Wrapped Revenant! This terrifying creature is the result of the protective magic of the city interacting with a recently fallen elf that came to investigate the city, and the vines that make up its jungle home - imbuing them with the overwhelming desire to protect at all costs, even if that means trapping its target.

Sidenote: Yes, this is another large brutish monster. I have some fun encounters planned with hordes of smaller creatures or other types of creatures, but it just so happens we've been on a streak of these more solo/brute style creatures recently!

Edit (01/12/25): Now available on Heart Of Daggers!

The Revenant is an interesting foe as it has the option to swap back and forth between being defensive focused and attacking. After using it in my most recent session I'm considering whether the Protective Vines feature needs to be more powerful (either a fixed modifier or larger die) as that didn't actually affect a single roll in our game, but I present it here unmodified as I'm concerned that adjusting this might push it a little into overpowered territory. The Vengeful Strike worked as intended though - encouraging movement to prevent the players from getting caught in the swing. A nice synergy was Relentless and the stance swapping - it could swap stance as its first spotlight, then hit with an attack on the second spotlight (or vice-versa), giving maximum flexibility.

I think this creature has a lot of potential as a mini-boss if it had slightly enhanced stats - in retrospect I question whether it truly counts as a Tier 2 Solo, perhaps it is more of a Bruiser instead. It did have great story impact though - as it took damage, I could narrate how parts of the body inside showed through the vines, creating an emotional moment when they realized what the creature actually was. Sometimes the best monsters are not the most powerful, but those that have a particularly good story impact!

Another short one today as I'm still in the midst of house moving. More coming soon though!

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