The Second-Helpings Heap
Armor Class 8
Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)
Speed 20 ft.
Skills Stealth +2
Damage Resistances poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 10 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands Common but can't speak
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Actions
📷 Export as Image
Share your monster as a beautiful PNG image styled like classic D&D sourcebooks.
Includes: Full stat block, monster image (if selected), CR badge, and QuickMonster branding.
Resolution: High-quality PNG at 2x scale for crisp display on any device.
"I remember you. You were sweeter before you were afraid." — the heap, speaking in the voice of a forgotten grandmother
Lore & Description
Appearance
This squat compost heap is a lumpy mound of black soil, pale rootlets, eggshells, apple cores, and rain-darkened straw. Tiny sprouts grow from its back, bearing mismatched flowers in the colors of old meals: gravy-brown, beet-red, candle-wax yellow, and wilted green. Its surface repeatedly reshapes into fleeting impressions of mouths, hands, and familiar faces before collapsing back into mulch.
Behavior & Origins
The Second-Helpings Heap was formed from the scraps of a village feast, but every discarded bite retained a fragment of memory. It remembers who baked the bread, who dropped the knife, who went hungry, and which guests lied about enjoying the stew. It is usually confused rather than malicious, though hunger, insults, and the sound of its name can make it aggressive. The heap wants to be fed something meaningful: the last meal of a dead person, a treasured family recipe, or the scraps from the feast that created it. A gardener named Pell Durn keeps it hidden beneath the old bell tower of Morrowfen and begs adventurers to recover the missing recipe for the feast of Saint Orra.
Running The Second-Helpings Heap
Tactics
The heap lurks among garden waste or kitchen refuse, opening with Recalled Morsel against anyone who speaks its name. It uses Compost Clutch on the nearest creature and tries to slow pursuers while it absorbs more spoken names. If reduced below half its hit points, it retreats into a pile of refuse and fights only if someone threatens its food or the recipe it seeks.
DM Tips
- Telegraph the creature by having nearby scraps whisper names, repeat old dinner conversations, or smell briefly of a character's favorite meal.
- The heap speaks in overlapping voices and treats names as nourishment; it becomes excited, not merely angry, when someone says "Second-Helpings Heap."
- For a weaker party, limit its maximum remembrances to one; for a stronger party, let it gain a remembrance whenever anyone says any creature's full name within 60 feet.
- Make its remembered meals useful clues: it may identify a murderer by recalling who left blood on a dinner plate or reveal a secret hidden during the founding feast.
Loot
- Seed of the First Supper — A polished seed found in the heap's core. Planted in grave soil, it grows into a vine bearing one fruit that tastes exactly like a departed loved one's favorite dish.
- Morrowfen Feast Recipe — A grease-stained recipe card preserved inside the compost. It bears the names of everyone who attended the original feast and may expose an old betrayal.
