Living topiary

From PathfinderWiki
Living topiary
(Creature)

Type
CR
4+
Environment
Any land
Alignment
Source: Ashes at Dawn, pg(s). 80f.

A mix of living creature and plant, living topiaries look more like lawn decorations than dangerous creatures. This is a dangerous mistake to make.1

Appearance

Living topiaries look like carved lawn ornaments made of sculpted trees or shrubs, although the actual plant matter from which they are made is somewhat difficult to determine. They assume a variety of carved forms but normally look like some other animal, except in the forms of carefully trimmed plants.1

Ecology

Living topiaries are moving plants that have an aloof but fundamentally bestial nature, despite appearing more like immaculately trimmed lawn ornaments. The origin of the living topiary is a hotly debated topic, but many believe them to come from the land of the fey. In the strange realm of the First World, such an odd creature is far from unheard of. Regardless of their origins, living topiaries now exist only to consume more plant matter to maintain themselves. If they are unable to do so, a living topiary will wither up and die.1

On Golarion

The gardens of the Palace of Birdsong in Taldor, one of the traditional estates of the ruling House Stavian, is rumoured to be guarded by a pack of living topiaries.2

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary 4, 181. Paizo Inc., 2013
  2. Crystal Frasier & Richard Pett. “Songbird, Scion, Saboteur” in Songbird, Scion, Saboteur, 47. Paizo Inc., 2018