Wood Wraith

"I have heard the most ridiculous tales about travelers being ambushed by vicious trees! It is too much. Despite their names, the wood wraiths are not plants but fully mobile beasts who have taken on the guise of foliage to ensnare their prey. Only a simpleton could be fooled by such a trick."

- Abd al-Hazir

Wood Wraiths (a.k.a. Gnarled Walkers) are huge demonic plants. They often disguise themselves as other trees, only to ambush and attack unknowing animals or travelers.

Lore
Gnarled Walkers are creatures which have taken on the guise of foliage to ensnare their prey. They move ponderously, and some are known to exude a foul stench that poisons their victims. Bark harvested from Wood Wraiths contains faint traces of life energies, which make the wood ideal for creating effigies or ritual incense.

According to Pablo DeSoto, the Gnarled Walkers are vile mystical creatures from another realm who can only sustain their existence in Sanctuary by sapping life energy from humans or animals. He claimed that the Walkers shifted their appearance to that of trees thereby luring their prey close so as to consume it whole and enrich their reserves of dark power. He claimed that the Priests of Rathma were responsible for their existence.

Conflicting with this, Adria claimed that Wood Wraiths were once human spirits who were drawn to the peace of nature, unwilling to move on after death. Some even imagined themselves as protectors of their new homes. The Wood Wraiths were apparently corrupted; by carving a demon lord's symbol into their trunk, the Wraith would change almost immediately. A strong hand could bend it to their will.

Diablo Immortal
Gnarled Walkers appear as enemies in Diablo Immortal, found at Wortham and Bilefen.

Diablo III
Gnarled Walkers appear in Diablo III, possessing both demon and animal properties (they count as Beasts for game purposes). They can either attack normally in melee (delivering slow, but powerful bashes with their 'arms') or create up to seven sprouts growing in line.

The sprouts cannot be damaged and 'bloom' immediately after player steps on them, or after 6 seconds. Once they open, a cloud of acidic spores is released, dealing very quick ticks of Poison damage to enemies standing close enough for roughly 4 seconds. There is no limit of how many sprouts can be active per walker. The best tactic to counter these is to run away as soon as the Walker creates his sprouts, especially if there are more enemies in the area.

Occasionally, Walkers will ambush the player by pretending they are trees (there is no way to see if they are real trees or monsters) and unrooting when enemy comes close enough.

Due to their sheer size, Walkers are immune to Knockback.

Wildwood Bulwark
Wildwood Bulwarks are a variant of Gnarled Walkers, only appearing on the Greyhollow Island and in Eternal Woods. They are of nearly white color, and do not pretend to be trees.

Their sprout attack is replaced with creating 3 round marks on the ground for several seconds. Stepping on such a mark will instantly Immobilize the character for the remaining duration and inflict Physical damage, instantly and over time.

Uniques

 * The Old Man (The Secluded Grove event, Fields of Misery)

Diablo IV
Wood Wraiths appear in Diablo IV. "Wood Wraith" appears to be their de-facto title now, as opposed to "Gnarled Walker."

Development
When designing the Diablo IV version of the Wood Wraith, its sound came almost entirely from wood creaks and strains processed to extreme lengths.