Hangman tree

The hangman tree is a plant. It resembles a sparsely foliaged, deciduous oak with noose-like vines hanging from the branches, hence the name. Though a plant, it is highly intelligent, and is capable of speaking Common, has a mind and conciousness, and is resistant to magic. It can sense when prey is near, hibernate in the winter, and can attack with a will of its own.

Hangman trees, having few leaves and shallow root systems, need to catch prey. They release on will a hallucinatory perfume when victims are in the vicinity, which makes them mistake the hangman tree for a normal tree, or even a treant. Victims then come near, and the hangman tree drops its nooses around the necks of the victims, strangles them, and then lifts them up and drops them into an opening in their trunk which leads into their stomach.

Hangman trees are regarded as neutral in alignment.