The Gardener

Traits

Fey Rebirth

If the Gardener dies in the Eternal Garden, they revive with all their hit points 1d4 days later in a safe location within the garden.

Legendary Resistance (3/Day)

If the Gardener fails a saving throw, they can choose to succeed instead.

Unfettered Steps

The Gardener is unaffected by difficult terrain.

Actions

Multiattack

The Gardener makes two Vine attacks and can use Breath of Tranquility if available.

Vine

Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d12 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) psychic damage, and if the target is a Large or smaller creature, the vine wraps around the target, and the target has the grappled condition (escape DC 17). The vine vanishes when the target is no longer grappled, or when the Gardener wills it to (no action required). A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the vine has the unconscious condition but is stable instead of dying.

Breath of Tranquility (Recharge 5–6)

The Gardener exhales soporific vapor in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or have the poisoned condition. A poisoned creature must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a failed save, it has the unconscious condition, and on a successful save, the effect ends on it. An unconscious creature is no longer poisoned and remains unconscious for 1 hour, until it takes damage, or until a creature uses an action to shake it awake.

Reactions

Pacification

When a creature within 120 feet of the Gardener damages the Gardener, that creature takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage, and the Gardener teleports, along with anything they are wearing or carrying, to an unoccupied space they can see within 15 feet. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the psychic damage has the unconscious condition and is stable instead of dying.

Spell Refuge

When the Gardener or a creature within 30 feet of the Gardener takes damage from a spell, the Gardener chooses up to 5 creatures within 30 feet of themself. The Gardener and the chosen creatures have resistance to all damage from the triggering spell.

Spellcasting

The Gardener casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17):

At will: Druidcraft, Speak with Animals, Speak with Plants

2/day each: Awaken (as an action), Goodberry, Plant Growth (as an action only)

1/day each: Heroes' Feast (as an action), Teleport

Lair actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Gardener can take one of the following lair actions; they can't take the same lair action two rounds in a row:

• Plant Walk: The Gardener moves up to their speed into the space of a Medium or larger plant within the lair, then teleports to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of any other Medium or larger plant within the lair.
• Vine Wall: A wall of grasping vines appears on the ground within 120 feet of the Gardener. The wall is up to 60 feet long, 10 feet high, and 5 feet thick, and it blocks line of sight. When the wall appears, each creature in its area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or have the grappled condition (escape DC 15). A creature must make this saving throw when it starts its turn inside the wall or when it enters the wall for the first time on a turn. The wall's area is difficult terrain for a creature that isn't grappled. The wall sinks back into the ground, freeing all creatures grappled by it, when the Gardener uses this lair action again or when the Gardener dies.

Regional effects

The Eternal Garden has the following features:

• Boundary: At the border of the domain is a lightly obscuring mist, tinged with a sweet blossom scent and the colors of sunset. No matter how far a creature travels into the mist, the creature finds itself back where it entered the border, returning to the garden.
• Eternal Summer: The climate in the garden is a perpetual, lovely summer, but weather conditions reflect the emotional tone of creatures in the garden. In times of danger, thunderstorms shake the sky. During times of melancholy or mourning, chill rain patters throughout the domain.
• Gardener's Vigil: The Gardener senses when anything dies in the garden. If a creature dies in the garden, roll a d6. On a 1, the Gardener appears on initiative count 20 of the next round (losing initiative ties) to investigate.
• Lighting: The sky above the garden is a perpetual twilight range of orange, red, pink, and yellow hues with no visible sun, moon, or stars. During daylight hours, it emits bright light, but at night, it never reaches full darkness, becoming dim light instead.
• Memory Loss: Unless otherwise stated, a creature that leaves the domain must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw; Fey creatures and creatures with the Fey Ancestry trait automatically succeed on the saving throw. On a failed save, the creature remembers nothing of its time in the garden or the Palace of Spires. On a successful save, the creature's memories remain intact, but they're hazy and dreamlike. A Remove Curse or Greater Restoration spell restores the creature's memories.
• Time: Time passes slower in the Eternal Garden relative to other planes. For each day spent in the garden, one year passes on the Material Plane.