b'The Gardener \n'b'  Medium   ravager  (sublime),  chaotic evil or chaotic neutral  \n'b'  Armor Class  19 (natural armor) \n'b' Hit Points  304 (32d8 + 160);  Wound Threshold  76 \n'b' Speed  40 ft. (50 ft. with  longstrider )\n'b' STATS STR: 16 (+3) DEX:  18 (+4)  CON:  20 (+5)  INT:  18 (+4)  WIS:  22 (+6)  CHA:  15 (+2)  \n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'  Saving Throws   Dex  +10,  Wis  +12,  Cha  +8\n'b'\n'b' Skills   Animal Handling  +12,  Arcana  +10,  Medicine  +12,  Nature * +16,  Perception  +12,  Survival  +1 \n'b' Tools  farmer\xe2\x80\x99s tools (expertise), herbalism kit (expertise), leatherworker\xe2\x80\x99s tools, woodcarver\xe2\x80\x99s tools \n'b' Condition Immunities   charmed ,  frightened ,  paralyzed ,  petrified ,  poisoned ,  stunned  \n'b' Senses  truesight 120 ft., passive  Perception  22 \n'b' Languages  Common, Druidic, Elvish, Phantasm, Primordial, Sylvan, Undercommon \n'b' Challenge  20 (25,000 XP) \n'b' SPECIAL TRAITS \n'b'\n'b'  Feral Instinct . The Gardener has advantage on  initiative  rolls. \n'b'  Swift . The Gardener can take two  reactions  per round. \n'b'  Legendary  Resistance  (3/Day) . If the Gardener fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. \n'b'  Spellcasting . The Gardener is a 20th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is  Wisdom  (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). The Gardener knows the following  druid  spells:\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'  Cantrips : druidcraft, poison spray,  resistance , shillelag. \n'b'  1st level (4 slots) :  entangle ,  faerie fire ,  fog cloud ,  healing word ,  longstrider . \n'b'  2nd level (3 slots) :  heat metal ,  hold person , lesser restoratio. \n'b'  3rd level (3 slots) :  dispel magic ,  meld into stone , plant kingdom**, wild regression*. \n'b'  4th level (3 slots) :  confusion ,  conjure woodland beings  or minor ravagers**,  dominate beast , prehensile appendage*. \n'b'  5th level (3 slots) :  greater restoration ,  insect plague , slumber*/**, tree strid. \n'b'  6th level (2 slot) :  conjure fey  or ravager**, hea. \n'b'  7th level (2 slot) :  fire storm , regenerat. \n'b'  8th level (1 slot) : antipathy/sympath. \n'b'  9th level (1 slot) :  foresight * (*) The Gardener casts these spells before combat. (**) These spells can be found in Grimoire. \n'b'\n'b' ACTIONS \n'b'\n'b'  Multiattack . The Gardener makes three staff attacks. \n'b'  Staff .  Melee Weapon Attack : +9 to hit (+12 to hit with  shillelagh ), reach 5 ft., one target.  Hit : 10 (2d6 +3) bludgeoning damage, 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage when wielded with both hands, or 16 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage with  shillelagh . \n'b'  Sublime Bines (1/Day) . An eruption of thorny, corrupted brambles occurs in a 120-foot radius around the Gardener. Each creature that is not a ravager and is caught in that area must make a DC 20  Dexterity  saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) necrotic damage plus 18 (4d8) poison damage plus 22 (4d10) piercing damage on a failure, or half as much damage on a success. The area affected by the Sublime Bines becomes transcended until the plants die. \n'b'\n'b' BONUS ACTIONS \n'b'\n'b'  Call Minions (1/Day) . The Gardener summons 1d6 sublime ravagers (CR 4 to 5); 2d6 sublime ravagers (CR 2 to 3); or 4d6 sublime ravagers (CR 1 or less). The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of the Gardener and following its commands. They remain for 1 hour or until the Gardener dismisses them as a bonus action. \n'b'\n'b' REACTIONS \n'b'\n'b'  Ironbark . When it takes damage from an  attack , the Gardener can reduce it by half. In addition, its Speed drops by 5 ft. on the next turn. \n'b'\n'b' LEGENDARY ACTIONS \n'b' The Gardener can take 3 legendary  actions , choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature\xe2\x80\x99s turn. The Gardener regains spent legendary  actions  at the start of its turn. \n'b'\n'b'  Cantrip . The Gardener casts a cantrip. \n'b'  Galvanize . The Gardener gains 20  temporary hit points . \n'b'  Healing Touch . The Gardener touches creature other than itself. The target magically regains 16 (2d8 + 7)  hp  and is rid of poison and disease. The target can make a DC 20  Charisma  saving throw to avoid this effect. Otherwise, the creature is exposed to sublimation (see Introduction). \n'b'  Roots (Costs 2 Actions) . The Gardener chooses a creature in a 60-foot radius that it can see. The creature must make a DC 20  Strength  saving throw or be wrapped in roots and  restrained  until the end of its next turn. \n'b'  Spellcasting (Costs 2 Actions) . The Gardener casts a 6th level or less spell from its list of prepared spells, using a spell slot as normal. \n'b'  Staff . The Gardener makes one staff  attack . \n'b'\n'b' LAIR \n'b' Under the influence of the Gardener, the places it inhabits look like oases of disturbing life, filled with giant, double-jawed reptiles, beasts that merge with roots or flowers, humanoid corpses turning into statues of gnarled branches\xe2\x80\xa6 The boundaries between life forms are erased to allow the existence of impossible creatures. \n'b' The Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s Lair remains after its departure. Therefore, one can visit the territory and discover that its master has left in  search  of a new domain, far from here. After a period of a few months to a few years, the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s primary influence wanes. The territory remains under the Sublime\xe2\x80\x99s sway; however, all effects specifically tied to the Gardener disappear. \n'b' Inside its lair, the Gardener can take a lair action on  initiative  count 20 (losing all  initiative  ties). \n'b'\n'b'  Life Burst . All creatures within 60 feet of the Gardener magically regain 20 (3d8 + 7)  hp . Each creature can make a DC 20  Charisma  saving throw to avoid this effect. Otherwise, the creature is exposed to sublimation (see Introduction). \n'b'  Mighty Blows . Until its next lair action, the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s staff attacks deal an extra 9 (2d8) damage. \n'b'  Regression . The Gardener chooses a creature that it can see. The creature must succeed on a DC 20  Intelligence  saving throw or suffer the effect of the  feeblemind  spell until the beginning of the next turn. \n'b'  Vital Resilience . Until its next lair action, the Gardener gains immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks, as well as to one type of damage of its choice with the exception of radiant damage. \n'b'\n'b' REGIONAL EFFECTS \n'b' The very nature of the places influenced by the Gardener leads to the appearance of mutations: for several miles water, food, and even air are suffused with the transformative energy of Canker in its sublime aspect. \n'b'\n'b'  Memory Tampering . While in the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s lair, creatures have great difficulty keeping their thoughts in order. The atmosphere is heady, exhilarating, almost delirious, imposing Disadvantage on  Intelligence  checks to remember something. The leader may also apply the Playing Memory Tampering option to reflect the adventurers\xe2\x80\x99  confusion  and loss of focus. \n'b'  Proliferating Nature . Vegetation is ubiquitous throughout much of the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s lair. Adventurers will often find themselves in  difficult terrain , with the powerful smells, natural cacophony, and cluttered topography imposing Disadvantage on  Wisdom  ( Perception ) checks. \n'b'  Vivification of Death . With the exception of hunting, the unnatural killing of a creature (combat, accident) results in the immediate transformation of the corpse into a plant resembling the deceased. Here, the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s enemies become topiaries in its garden. A creature transformed this way cannot be magically brought back to life. \n'b'\n'b' ABOUT \n'b' The Gardener his being somewhat resembles a wild, savage, and contemplative  druid . However, details of its appearance change as it wanders and creates strange gardens in the Netherworld and on the surface. \n'b' The earliest evidence of the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s existence dates back about a millennium, in territories beneath Lothrienne. As its nickname suggests, this powerful ravager is particularly interested in sites lush with greenery, preferably maelossas. It is fascinated by life, which it enthusiastically helps spread; but his contribution is corrupt, a proliferating, unbridled growth, the embodiment of Canker.  Nature  seems entirely unrestrained as it frantically grows and mounds, with heaps of plants growing on the putrefied bed of their rotting predecessors, again and again. The Gardener knows no limits in its  search  for ever more lush and inordinate fauna and flora. \n'b' Traces of the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s existence can be found all over the Netherworld. This character can be used as a campaign backdrop, the sort of being whose name keeps coming up but who is never seen. This powerful ravager has traveled extensively under Cyfandir, taking its time to observe and create sublime gardens before moving on. Each  creation  is unique and spreads sublimation all around. Followers of the Scarlet  Shroud  zanrolem are very interested in the Gardener\xe2\x80\x99s transformation from Cankerous prince to Sublime prince. Some interpret it as a path of salvation to the wonders of the world to come. \n'b' According to legend, the Gardener was once a  druid  determined to defend a Netherworld maelossa under Lothrienne, northeast of the Oldstones. Today, the place may be known as Hrynja-a name hinting at the notion of collapse. \n'b' Ravagers were besieging its domain, and all hope was lost. For the most part, enrooted fey and their allies had fled through Eana\xe2\x80\x99s roots before they were eaten, sliced, or rotted. At that point, death was the only salvation for the rearguard defenders. By then, the  druid  may have tried to die by fusing with Eana through the casting of a destructive spell called \xe2\x80\x9csupreme osmosis.\xe2\x80\x9d Unfortunately, Hrynja was so permeated with Canker\xe2\x80\x99s essence that the  druid  was instantly consumed, soon to be reborn under a new form: the Gardener. \n'b' For a time, the Gardener was a Cankerous prince in its own right. Sources differ on how long exactly, but I suspect it was a few decades at most. The erstwhile  druid  tended to ravager nests and destroyed underground oases. It never fully completed its conquests, and its enemies took advantage of its flawed strategies. Perhaps it was incompetent; perhaps its foes were brilliant. Or perhaps it was acting minimally in accordance with its nature.'