Bonetree

Greyhawk Creature

Bonetree
A bonetree illustrated by Ron Spencer, Dragon #280.
General information
Alignment:	Neutral
Type:	Plant
First appearance:	"Invaders of the Barrier Peaks", Dragon #280

A bonetree is a carnivorous plant creature which originated from the crashed spaceship in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.

Description

The bonetree is an invasive species not native to Oerth. It is a swamp-dwelling tree which has adapted to the Barrier Peaks valley where it was deposited by the maintenance automatons of the crashed module of a spaceship. from which it came. It has dozens of leafless branches which grow out of its lumpy trunk.

Not unlike a mangrove tree, it has roots which form stilts upon which sits a lumpy, misshapen trunk. The trunk is bare, pale brown and is unremarkable with the exception of hundreds of holes about four inches wide, from which its vines come. A bonetree commonly grows to about 25ft, but older, well-fed bonetrees can slowly reach up to 100ft or more and can be centuries old.

Abilities

Str 10, Dex 10, Con 20, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2

Though it is an unintelligent plant, a bonetree can sense its surroundings through blindsight.

Due to its natural habitat, and the terraformed valley in which it lives, the bonetree is permeated by that energy. Each time it is stuck (wounded), a flash of that energy is released resulting in a radioactive flash of light which can temporarily blind those nearby (within 60').

As prey approach a bonetree, its thin, bare branches begin to shudder with anticipation, which sounds not unlike a rattlesnake. A hundreds of stinging vines can whip out from the tree. The vines attack all nearby creatures (30') and coat them with a paralyzing toxin, and when its prey is motionless the vine "extrudes a nest of tiny filaments" which then dig into the flesh of creatures. The filaments secrete a horrible enzyme capable of dissolving bones, though this process leaves muscle and flesh untouched.

The bonetree can exude a foul secretion made of the dissolved bone and other enzymes which dries almost instantly into bonegrowth. Depending on how much bone it has dissolved and absorbed, it can coat itself, making a temporary exoskeleton, or exude the same from its stinging vines, making bone spurs on them. Both dissolve within hours.

History

The bonetree was brought to Oerth by spaceship modules which crashed in the Barrier Peaks. There were two modules, though only one was found by adventurers working for the Grand Duke of Geoff (in the events of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks).

The second module crashed nearby in a separate valley, and the automated systems immediately became active, to protect and preserve the alien species the spaceship carried in stasis. "Large machines were built to moderate the weather in the valley and encourage constant rainfall and cloying warmth; other machines were installed to replicate the presence of radioactive ores." Since it was not originally found, the animals and plants thrived there, making a small ecosystem. The bonetree is an exception to the other small, harmless insects and amphibians which live in the valley. Bonetrees stick out from the other strange plants in the area—pallid pale yellow plants which resemble palm trees but are covered with a tangled, fur-like layer.

Appearances

The only place the bonetree was published was in Invaders of the Barrier Peaks, by James Jacobs, which included statblocks as well as the lore of their history and ecology.

See also

See also:

• ragewing
• razortail
• treeleg strangler

References

Bibliography

• Jacobs, James. "Invaders of the Barrier Peaks". Dragon #280. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Bonetree	Monster	Flora,	Dragon magazine #280	91