Growing Plant Creatures

The process of growing a plant companion is very similar to the process of growing a leshy. The creator begins by growing an array of especially verdant plants, and then performs rituals to have a spirit of nature inhabit it. Typically, the creator is a powerful druid, but anyone capable of making the required Knowledge checks and casting the required spells may attempt the process.

Cultivated minions closely resemble more familiar plant creatures— and share the same stat blocks—but are approximated copies woven from horticulture and magic.

An “assassin vine” cultivated by a druid using the Grow Plant Creature feat isn't a true assassin vine, and the seeds it produces would sprout into mundane ivy, grape vines, or similar vines originally used to construct it. At the GM's discretion, this may allow druids to grow plant minions with special abilities, such as a peach treant who produces fruit or a viper vine woven from stinging nettles whose touch causes burning welts. Such adjustments should always increase the cost to create a plant creature, and should adjust their challenge rating if they greatly expand the minion's combat abilities or utility.

Growing a plant creature takes 2 weeks per Hit Die, during which the creator must fertilize, water, and protect the growth. During this period, the creator must use certain rare nutrients and fertilizer to prime the transformation from a normal plant into a plant creature—the cost of these components varies according to the type, but is never less than 1,000 gp per Hit Die.

The cultivator must succeed at a Knowledge (nature) check at this time in order to properly form the plant body—the exact check as well as the required DC varies according to the creature. If the check fails, the plant withers and dies and the cultivator must begin anew.

If the skill check is successful, the cultivator must then perform a 24-hour awakening ritual. During this ritual, the cultivator must cast the spells detailed in each individual creature's entry. At the awakening ritual's climax, there is a flat 50% chance that the attempt to create the creature succeeds—if this final check fails, no appropriate spirit is close enough to answer the call. The plant body becomes dormant, and remains so for 3 months. After this time, another awakening ritual can be performed (requiring another 1,000 gp of materials); this new ritual also has a flat 50% chance of success. At the GM's discretion, the awakening ritual's chance for success might increase to 75% or even 100% in natural and unspoiled environments appropriate to the individual creature. Discovering such a rare and magical site should be the focus of its own adventure. If the awakening ritual is successful, the creature awakens fully formed. A freshly created plant creature is under no particular compulsion to obey its creator, but most regard their makers as friends and allies.

Plant creatures are particularly adept at growing other plant creatures of the same type. Sentient creatures of the plant type gain a +5 racial bonus on their Knowledge (nature) checks to cultivate other plant creatures, halve the time required to grow the creature, and reduce the materials cost by 25%. A plant creature improves the success chance of any awakening ritual it personally performs by 5% per Hit Die it possesses.

At the GM's discretion, it may be possible to create plant creatures with more Hit Dice than normal. Each additional Hit Die adds 2,250 gp to the cost of creating it (and thus 4,500 gp to the overall price), increases the DC of the Knowledge check by 2, and requires an additional 2 weeks of growth.