Night twist

Night twists were deadly, carnivorous trees whose despair-inducing "song" drew victims to them and to death.

Description
Night twists looked more or less like normal (dead) trees, with black bark and no leaves, twisted into unnatural and unsettling shapes. Mature night twists were at least tall and, while ancient ones could be as much as  tall and. They gave the overall impression of gloomy twilight, nightmares, and sorrow.

Personality
Night twists cared not what suffering they caused, only that they ate.

Abilities
Night twists, as plants, lacked eyes, but were nonetheless reported to possess low-light vision; they did not speak but understood the Common, Elven, and Sylvan languages (though reports of truly ancient night twists claimed that they did speak). They were mildly resistant to most damage except that caused by edged weapons, and were vulnerable to fire. They were possessed of an unholy grace that helped protect them.

Night twists could, at will, unleash a blast of wind akin to a gust of wind spell. Night twists had several other spell-like abilities, being able to replicate blight, deeper darkness, entangle, fear, and phantasmal killer each thrice per day. Ancient night twists could replicate phantasmal killer five times per day, blight, circle of death, deeper darkness, entangle, fear, and insanity all thrice each day, and weird once each day.

Night twists, each evening, made a sorrowful "song" that induced melancholy and despair. This song went as far as at least and effected victims similarly to the crushing despair spell. Victims so afflicted were driven to seek out the night twist, the source of their despair, to the exclusion of any other activities. If physically restrained, they would slowly wither and die unless the curse was removed. The curse could be removed by limited wish or stronger magic, or by the song of freedom bards could sing. It also ended when the night twist attacked their prey.

The last ability inherent to night twists was that any who slew one was cursed, as if by a nightmare spell. This curse could only be removed by limited wish or stronger magic, and only if cast while the victim was in the throes of the nightmares. If such a victim died while under the curse and was interred, a night twist sapling grew over their grave.

Combat
Night twists attacked primarily with their spell-like abilities, but could also attacked with their branches. It preferred to open with phantasmal killer, and used entangle and deeper darkness to keep prey from escaping. If one felt threatened, it used fear and blasts of wind to drive attackers away.

Ecology
Night twists lived in temperate marshes, where they hid amongst normal plants with some success. Immature night twists seemed as normal, unintelligent plants until they reached maturity. They fed on the rotting corpses of creatures and travelers drawn by its deathly song, which was variously said to sound like a woman weeping or a cold wind blowing over a desolate graveyard; mostly likely, the song was interpreted as sounding like the most sorrowful thing each traveler could imagine.

In Faerûn, night twists were recorded living in the depths of Cormanthor, taking root near fallen temples, the tombs of elf kings, and the bones of slain dragons; they threatened travelers seeking Myth Drannor; and their songs could be heard as far west as the Silver Marches, particularly in the Far Forest near Masulk's Tomb and Taerymdoom.