Green Basil

Medium undead, Neutral Evil

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)

Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)

Speed 30 ft.

STR 16 (+3) · DEX 18 (+4) · CON 18 (+4) · INT 14 (+2) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 16 (+3)

Skills Deception +6, Perception +5, Stealth +7

Gear Flaming Bone-Sword

Senses Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15

Languages Common, Draconic

Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

Traits

Rejuvenation. If Green Basil is destroyed, he gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all his hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 1 mile of his hidden life force (nine worms inside a golden apple, swallowed by a lame hare that lives in a chasm on the highest mountain). He can only be permanently destroyed if the worms are crushed.

Treacherous Advantage. Green Basil deals an extra 10 (3d6) necrotic damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when he hits a target that has the Prone condition.

Actions

Multiattack. Green Basil makes two Flaming Bone-Sword attacks. He can replace one of these attacks with Spellcasting.

Flaming Bone-Sword. Melee Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) Slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) Fire damage, and the target is Prone.

Spellcasting. Green Basil casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (Spell Save DC 14):

1/Day Each: Fireball (PHB, p.274), Invisibility (PHB, p.289), Scorching Ray (PHB, p.313)

Reactions

Searing Bones. When a creature within 5 feet of Green Basil hits him with a melee attack, the villain's aflame skeleton flares violently. The attacker takes 10 (3d6) Fire damage.

Hi there! Your point is right on target, and I’m grateful you raised it. I kept the name “Half-Man*” because in some legends it serves as a secondary name for Green Basil. I left the asterisk in the hope that a curious reader would dig into why the creature is called a half-man. Here’s the reasoning behind it.

In Eastern European folklore, Green Basil is sometimes portrayed as literally half a human: half a head, half a torso, one arm, one leg—his body sliced straight down the middle so you can even see his innards. The idea is that one side of him exists in the world of the living while the other side is in the realm of the dead (a sort of mirror world) at the very same time. He’s a fascinating antagonist, but far too dark for this book, so I chose to leave those details out.

Thanks again for the question—I’m happy to clear things up! Best, Sergiusz.

Lore

Once, in a small village, there lived a husband and wife who were heartbroken because they had no children. One day a wise herbalist gave the woman some advice. On the night of Ivan Kupala—the Slavic midsummer night when the earth’s magic stirs and enchanted herbs bloom—she was to go into the fields, gather fresh green basil, and brew a potion from it.

The woman did exactly as she was told. After she drank the brew, she conceived, and in due time gave birth to a boy. They named him Basil the Green. He grew not by days, but by hours, for hidden magic flowed in his veins. They say wherever the young man’s foot touched the ground, new clumps of fragrant basil immediately sprouted.

From The Fairy Tale Compendium · Fern Flower Press