Nettlecrown, the Bramble Sovereign

Traits

• Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Nettlecrown fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
• Magic Resistance. Nettlecrown has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Cold Iron Bane. Nettlecrown takes an extra 22 (4d10) damage when hit by an attack made with a cold iron weapon, and she cannot use Legendary Resistance on a saving throw caused by one.
• Rooted Wound. Any creature that takes piercing or slashing damage while within 60 feet of Nettlecrown sprouts blackthorn from the wound. At the start of that creature’s next turn it takes 9 (2d8) piercing damage unless it or an adjacent creature uses an action to tear the growth free.

Spellcasting

Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 26, +18 to hit with spell attacks).

• Level 1. Charm Person, Entangle
• Level 3. Plant Growth
• Level 4. Greater Invisibility, Hallucinatory Terrain
• Level 5. Dominate Person, Mislead, Seeming, Tree Stride
• Level 6. Wall of Thorns
• Level 7. Project Image
• Level 8. Dominate Monster

Actions

• Multiattack. Nettlecrown makes three Bramble Scepter attacks, or two Bramble Scepter attacks and uses Writ of the Thorn Court.
• Bramble Scepter. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 4d8 + 8 bludgeoning damage. A length of living blackthorn that lengthens as it swings. Wounds it opens continue to grow inward.
• Thorn Crown (Recharge 5-6). Hit: 10d10 piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Dexterity saving throw, taking half as much damage on a successful one. Blackthorn erupts from every surface within 60 feet. Each creature in the area takes 55 (10d10) piercing damage, or half as much on a successful save. The area becomes difficult terrain until Nettlecrown wills it away.
• Writ of the Thorn Court. Nettlecrown names one creature she can see within 120 feet as a subject of her court. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Charisma saving throw or be charmed for 1 hour. While charmed this way, the target treats every thorn, bramble, and hedge as a door held open for it, and every open road as a wall.

Bonus Actions

• Step the Hedge. Nettlecrown enters any hedge, bramble, or thicket within 10 feet and emerges from another within 1 mile that she has seen. She may bring one willing creature she is touching.

Reactions

• Tithe of Thorns. Nettlecrown transfers the wound. One creature of her choice within 60 feet other than the attacker takes the damage instead, and Nettlecrown takes none. The chosen creature must be one that has accepted food, shelter, or a gift within her domain.

Legendary Actions

• Bramble Stride. Nettlecrown moves up to her speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Every space she leaves becomes difficult terrain until the end of her next turn.
• Scepter.
• Court Adjourned. Nettlecrown dismisses one creature from her presence. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Charisma saving throw or be teleported to an unoccupied space of Nettlecrown’s choice within 1 mile, arriving prone in a bramble thicket and taking 27 (6d8) piercing damage.

Lair Actions

• The Hedge Closes. Blackthorn grows across every exit within 120 feet. Each creature attempting to leave the area must succeed on a DC 26 Strength check or be restrained until initiative count 20 on the next round.
• Court in Session. The thicket speaks in the voices of everyone it has swallowed. Each creature of Nettlecrown’s choice within 120 feet must succeed on a DC 26 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until initiative count 20 on the next round, believing it is a welcome guest.

Regional Effects

• The Thorn Road. Within 6 miles of Nettlecrown, paths rearrange themselves nightly. Travelers who do not leave an offering at a hedge gate find that every road returns them to where they started.
• Everything Takes Root. Within 6 miles, blood spilled on open ground sprouts blackthorn within an hour. Corpses left unburied are gone by morning, replaced by a thicket of the same rough dimensions.