Bodytaker plant

A bodytaker plant was a malicious plant creature that sought to dominate its surroundings by replacing all nearby life forms with its own podlings.

Description
The rough shape of a bodytaker plant was that of a large, central pod surrounded by a multitude of vines. Their roots reached deep into the ground, branching out into many nigh-invisible fibers.

Completely destroying a bodytaker plant was a difficult task, as it could regrow from a single stray fiber within a matter of months. Usually, poisoning or salting the soil was necessary to prevent a bodytaker from reappearing.

As fairly intelligent beings, bodytaker plants could communicate in Deep Speech as well as through telepathy.

Abilities
By depositing a creature into its central pod, a bodytaker plant could render it comatose and dissolve it within a few hours, creating a nigh-perfect replica known as a podling in its stead. These copies retained the memories of the original creature but were under the complete control of the bodytaker. Podlings were used to infiltrate and overthrow nearby power structures, and supplied the bodytaker plant with new victims that would also be turned into podlings. Often, podlings exhibited certain strange behaviors that indicated to others familiar with the original creature that something was amiss. A podling required no sleep and would dissolve into goo when it or its bodytaker plant master was killed.

Personality
Bodytaker plants were confident in their own status as superior organisms, viewing areas under their dominion as healthier and more efficient. As such, they sought to gain complete control of any area in which they sprouted, even on a societal scale. Anyone who objected to the superiority of bodytaker plants had no value beyond serving as fertilizer.

Combat
In combat, a bodytaker plant would use its vines to either pummel an opponent or grab them to deposit them within its digestion pod.

History
Scholars felt certain bodytaker plants originated either from the stars or from the dark depths of some world or other. Regardless of their origin, bodytaker plants were known to exist on the Demiplane of Dread, in domains such as Valachan and I'Cath.

In the late 15 century DR, the dragonborn sage Thava Norixus managed to get himself trapped inside a bodytaker plant within the fortress library of Candlekeep.

Appearances

 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * When the Lights Went Out in Candlekeep • The City of Dreams