Rift Pulper
CREATURE 17The rift pulper chews away at the planar structure of reality, eating quintessence to build their hideous hives. These bulbous structures look like partially melted wasp hives with the appearance of distorted faces, arms, and legs pressing against the walls from within.
Cleftwood fiends blend the properties of demons and wood elementals, their timber bodies distorted by burls, rot, and fungal growths. Planar scholars have debated into which category cleftwood fiends are better categorized, but to cleftwoods themselves there is no question—they feel much more at home in the Outer Rifts than they do the Plane of Wood.
Demonic Elementals
Cleftwood fiends aren't true demons or elementals, but they possess both of those creature traits. Since they aren't formed from sinful souls, they lack the typical sin vulnerability most demons possess, and since they possess blood-like sap, they lack the typical immunity to bleed most elementals possess.
Other Cleftwood Fiends
Rift pulpers and second spawn are the only types of cleftwood fiend currently active in Tanglebriar, but others exist in the Outer Rifts, particularly in the realm of Jeharlu. Here, one might encounter the blood-drinking stump-like splintertooth, the humanoid primal-magic-wielding blighted gardener, or the enormous horror of the fell deadfall.
The rift pulper rapidly chews on reality itself, gnawing open a short-lived rift into the liminal space between planes in any adjacent square. The rift pulper becomes Quickened for 1 round, and can use the extra action to Stride, Fly, or Strike. If another creature occupies the square in which the rift pulper Pulps Quintessence, it takes 18d6 bludgeoning damage as portions of its body are stretched and distorted painfully by the tear in reality (DC 38 basic Fortitude save). The rift pulper can't Pulp Quintessence again for 1 minute.
This ability is more effective in the Outer Sphere, and when used on any of these planes, the rift pulper becomes quickened for 2 rounds, the DC to resist being damaged by the rift increases to DC 38 basic Fortitude, and the rift pulper can't use Pulp Quintessence again for 1d4 rounds.
The rift pulper chews on the flesh of a creature Grabbed or Restrained by it, pulping the quintessence that makes up their soul. The creature takes 3d10+10 spirit damage (DC 38 basic Will save). If the creature is a native to the outer sphere (such as a celestial or fiend) the damage increases to 3d12+12 spirit damage.
The rift pulper spends 1 minute digging into a Huge or larger tree or wooden object, then forms a cyst around itself. While inside the cyst, the rift pulper can only sense its surroundings via tremorsense and is Immobilized until the cyst is broken open. The cyst has AC 40, 50 HP, and shares the rift pulper's weaknesses. If the cyst is broken open by any means other than Burst Cyst, the rift pulper must succeed at a DC 40 Fortitude save or become Stunned 3. While inside its cyst, the rift pulper has an automatic result of 49 on Deception checks and DCs to pass as nothing more than a large bulge on the wooden surface.
The monster can instead use Grab and choose one creature it's grabbing or restraining with an appendage that has Grab to automatically extend that condition to the end of the monster's next turn.