Nightmare Lumber King

Status: Dead — destroyed in the earthen mound behind the Durst Windmill, Session 7

Known Information

A custom boss designed by the DM from scratch (with minor assistance from "Chastity PT," whoever that is). A creature of twisted bark and petrified sinew: knotted root fists threaded with sickly green luminance, a chest formed from bark, a carved wooden mask where a face would be, and eye sockets that glowed green when it woke up. Huge creature — it was touching the ceiling of the mound chamber when standing upright.

The creature was the thing that had been inside the mound — the growling and the glinting eyes observed by Brother Moro from the standing stones in Session 6. It appears to have been contained inside the mound by the hag coven, which explains why the mound opened when all three hags died.

Combat Abilities Observed

• Frightening Presence — aura requiring Wisdom saves on entry; failure results in the Frightened condition
• Root Snare — shoots roots from the ground (not from its body) to restrain and deal bludgeoning damage; targets multiple creatures
• Shockwave Stomp — area burst requiring Dex saves; knocks targets prone
• Return to the Earth (Legendary Action) — burrows 15 feet underground to heal using D8s; returns to a different position
• Waking Nightmare — psychic damage blast; on hit, next attack by target is at disadvantage
• Shadow Shades (reaction) — when taking unusually heavy fire damage, spawns three shadow shades that can attack independently

Defeat

Brother Moro landed a Stunning Strike at a moment that mattered. The creature was stunned, prone, and subsequently used as a platform. Celeste delivered the killing blow with two Eldritch Blasts — the force spread through the vine structure, caught the wood grain, and the construct collapsed burning.

Loot

• Lumber King's Bark Wraps (Brother Moro)
• Lumber King's Gift — chest plate (Merich)
• Nightmare Lumber King Sap — two vials (Sable)
• Wolf-Engraved Silver Ring — found in the debris nearby (Celeste)

First Observed

Session 6 — heard growling; eyes seen in the dark; party correctly decided not to enter Session 7 — entered; fought; killed