Bogo Snake

''You see a long, slender serpent covered in spines that lay flat against its body, pointing towards the tail. Its coloration so perfectly matches the tree around which it is twined that you only spot it when it moves.''

Combat
Normally, the bogo snake is docile, spending its days winding through the lower branches of forest, searching for food. However, when any creature other than a bogo snake comes too close the reptiles become extremely agitated. When any creature passes within five feet of a bogo snake, it thrashes about wildly and without warning in the invader‘s direction in an effort to scare it off. If the snake is concealed, this sudden attack often allows it to strike with surprise. Bogo snakes do not bite.

The speed of the bogo snake‘s attack is blinding, and victims are frequently unable to match its speed unless aided by magic.

If a creature is able to distance itself at least 10 feet from the thrashing snake, the snake ceases its attack after one round and disappears into the tree‘s upper branches. Given their numbers, it is not uncommon to become surrounded on all sides by thrashing bogo snakes.

Description
Bogo snakes are found only in the Bogo Forest surrounding the Pristine Tower. Each snake is four to five feet in length and covered in thick, sharp spikes that point towards the tail, except when attacking, when they point straight out. The color of the bogo snake is identical to that of a bogo tree, making these creatures extremely difficult to detect. Unlike other snakes, this creature does not shed its skin. There are literally thousands of these creatures in the bogo forest, with an average of 1d4 per tree.

Due to the proximity of the Pristine Tower, little is known of the bogo snake. Resourceful elves of the Sky Singer tribe have been regular gatherers of bogo wood, using hide from animals spells to avoid the thrashing of the hidden snakes. During such harvests, they‘ve noticed that the snakes stay primarily close to the trees. It is unknown whether or not they actually lay eggs in the ground, as do normal snakes. The elves have reported the snakes are never harmful to their own, only others who come too close to them for whatever reason. Snakes that have been taken from the forest have died within hours, for reasons unknown.

This creature‘s only source of food is the berry-like fruit that grows in the lower branches of bogo trees. If there is another source of food, it is unknown. As no baby bogo snake has ever been seen, much of their reproductive ecology is unknown. Since it is possible to mutate into a bogo snake as a result of the Pristine Tower‘s power, a few elves believe this is how their species is propagated.