Hunter’s Tree Fort

Description

This item appears to be a wooden puzzle box that measures 3 inches on a side. When the box is placed on the ground beneath the boughs of a tree with a trunk at least 2 feet in diameter and the command word is spoken, the box unfolds and rises, melding with the tree. It becomes a stable structure attached to the tree limbs 20 feet above ground level, and a rope ladder hangs down from a trapdoor on the underside of the platform. The outer surfaces of the tree fort take on the visual characteristics of the tree in which it is erected; creatures must succeed at a DC 25 Perception check to notice the fort (DC = 15 in a dead tree or tree that has shed its leaves). The tree fort can take one of two forms, chosen at the time the device is activated. Tree House: This version of the tree fort unfolds into a 20-foot-square, open-air platform with railings on all four sides and no roof. It is open to the elements and provides no protection from the weather, but it has enough convenient braces and knotholes to allow tents to be erected across its surface. Creatures standing in the tree house have partial cover against opponents on the ground, while those who are prone within it have total cover. Blind: This version of the tree fort forms into a 5-foot- square hunting blind. It is enclosed on all sides, has a roof, and features a number of narrow horizontal windows for watching or shooting out of any side. Creatures inside the blind have improved cover against all foes outside. In either form, a hunter’s tree fort remains open for up to 12 hours in any 24-hour period; these hours of use don’t need to be consecutive. If the duration expires while the tree fort is occupied or the fort takes 50 points of damage (hardness 5), the fort descends and folds itself back up into its puzzle box form, leaving all inhabitants unharmed on the ground at the base of the tree. If the tree fort was forced to return to box form due to damage, it can’t be activated again for 24 hours.