b'Carrion Vein \n'b'  Medium   plant ,  unaligned  \n'b'  Armor Class  14 (natural armor)  Hit Points  27 (6d8);  Wound Threshold  N/A  Speed  30 ft.\n'b' STATS STR: 16 (+3) DEX:  10 (+0)  CON:  11 (+0)  INT:  4 (-3)  WIS:  10 (+0)  CHA:  4 (-3)  \n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'  Damage Immunities  nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage  Condition Immunities   blinded ,  deafened ,  exhaustion ,  frightened , possessed  Senses  blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive  Perception  10  Languages  \xe2\x80\x93  Challenge  2 (450 XP) \n'b' SPECIAL TRAITS \n'b'\n'b'  False Appearance . While the carrion vein isn\xe2\x80\x99t manifested, it is indistinguishable from its host corpse. \n'b'\n'b' ACTIONS \n'b'\n'b'  Multiattack . The carrion vein makes two pseudopod attacks. \n'b'  Parasitic Feeding .  Melee Weapon Attack : +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.  Hit : 13 (2d12) necrotic damage. The carrion vein regains  hit points  equal to half the necrotic damage inflicted. \n'b'  Pseudopod .  Melee Weapon Attack : +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.  Hit : 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. \n'b'\n'b' ABOUT \n'b' Carrion veins are a type of mushroom mostly known in the Netherworld. It\xe2\x80\x99s also able to grow on the surface, and while these may be isolated cases, epidemics can break out if the threat isn\xe2\x80\x99t spotted and eradicated in time, giving way to truly wretched and striking spectacles.\xc2\xa0Carrion veins take root in corpses, and have the morbid peculiarity of acting as a parasite and reactivating dead muscles to animate the carcass it inhabits. When it takes hold of a body, the deceased\xe2\x80\x99s skin gradually becomes dotted with blisters reminiscent of puffballs, that end up bursting one after another, spreading spores.\xc2\xa0The corpse reanimated by the mother-vein moves to cover as much ground as possible.\xc2\xa0Over time, the host\xe2\x80\x99s ravaged body loses mobility, eventually becoming no more than a pile of withered, twitchy flesh. The vein absorbs the last remaining nutrients from the body and eventually dies. \n'b' The carrion vein will fight to defend itself, but may also become aggressive when searching for a nourishing substrate, or when reaching the end of its life cycle, trying to release its last spores in suitable hosts. In other words, if there aren\xe2\x80\x99t any corpses around for it to reproduce, it won\xe2\x80\x99t hesitate to create one\xe2\x80\xa6 \n'b' Invasion \n'b' For surface-dwellers, ignorance of the carrion vein is the most dangerous factor. Since many peoples traditionally bury their dead, an unkempt graveyard or communal grave is truly a breeding ground for carrion veins. An entire region may find itself invaded, as an army of animated dead sweeps over the countryside, growing as they march onward. At first, local populations might think they\xe2\x80\x99re dealing with a type of  zombie , and adopt ineffective measures in response to the scourge, until they realize their mistake and learn the true nature of the \xe2\x80\x9cundead\xe2\x80\x9d far too late. \n'b' Carrion vein spores can remain suspended in the air for several days, and be inhaled by unsuspecting creatures. They must then succeed on a DC 11  Constitution  saving throw or become a spore carrier. Depending on the health of the infected, the spores might take weeks or months to manifest themselves. \n'b' A person inflicted with a dormant contamination can be cured by the effects of the  lesser restoration  spell or with certain potions. These are quite easily prepared by herbalists from the Netherworld. \n'b' Triggering the Infestation \n'b' When a contaminated creature would die, it automatically regains 1  hp . This apparent boon is in reality the beginning of a sinister countdown. To save a patient at this stage, a  greater restoration  spell is required, or specific rare and difficult to brew botanical or alchemical potions. Without these, the only outcome is fatal and terrifying. \n'b' The infected\xe2\x80\x99s  Constitution ,  Intelligence ,  Wisdom , and  Charisma  decrease by 1 per day. When their  Intelligence  reaches 5, they lose their ability to speak. If they reach 0 in any ability score other than  Constitution , they fall into a coma. If they reach 0 in  Constitution  or a negative  Constitution  drops their  hp  to 0, they die instantly. If they die beforehand in some other way, their body appears to survive, still breathing in a comatose state. \n'b' Once the body is dead, the carrion vein takes complete control over it. The body doesn\xe2\x80\x99t rot and instead now gains 3  Constitution  per day. Uninformed spectators might erroneously believe the deceased is making a miraculous recovery. Once it reaches a  Constitution  score of 11, the body stands up and begins its new existence.'