Twilight Guardian

Large Plant (Dragonblood)
Hit Dice:	8d8+40 (76 hp)
Initiative:	+2
Speed:	50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class:	19 (–⁠1 size, +2 Dex, +8 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple:	+6/+17
Attack:	Claw +12 (1d6+7)
Full Attack:	2 claws +12 (1d6+7) and tail +7 (2d6+3 plus poison)
Space/Reach:	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:	Poison
Special Qualities:	Damage reduction 10/magic, plant traits, spell-like abilities, spell resistance 16
Saves:	Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities:	Str 25, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 1, Wis 8, Cha 6
Skills:	Climb +9, Listen +2, Search –⁠1, Spot +2
Feats:	Combat Reflexes, Improved Natural Attack (tail), Run
Environment:	Any above ground, but usually in areas of abundant vegetation
Organization:	Solitary, pair, group (3+)
Challenge Rating:	7
Treasure:	None
Alignment:	Always neutral
Advancement:	9-14 HD (Large), 15-20 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment:	—

This creature resembles a dragon in form but is made of a combination of wood, earth, and stone. It has two shining eyes of reflective obsidian but no mouth, with a ridge of spines running down its back to the end of its thorny tail. Twisted vines and roots crisscross its body, giving the beast the appearance of a mouthless dragon pieced together from various parts of the land.

Twilight guardians are physical manifestations of the spirits of dragons that have become one with the land. When a dragon chooses to become a perpetual warden of a particular area (usually around its home), it blends with the land and disappears. Soon after, one or more twilight guardians emerge, their bodies forming from the environment. Though possessing only a rudimentary sense of the dragon spirits that create them, twilight guardians are tough creatures constructed from the earth and capable of defending their chosen lands against those who would encroach upon it.

Combat

Twilight guardians are almost mindless and have little capacity for tactics. As creatures built of the land itself, they can travel nearly instantaneously between two locations by melting into the ground and then emerging some distance away. They often use their ability to transport via plants to throw their quarry into disarray; a twilight guardian might engage a foe in one round only to transport across the battlefield and attack another target the following round. The creatures exploit their mobility to take on enemies that have spread out to avoid getting trapped or cornered.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 19, initial and secondary damage 1d4 Con. The save DC is Constitution-based.