The Scadutree Avatar

#eldenring #shadowoftheerdtree #eldenringdlc

[@FelixMBlume]

The Avatar is soo much more interesting compared to the base game avatars and it's fascinating how they used a sunflower top with the twisted scadutree stump instead of a tree stump/roots for the base game avatars, the darkness sunflowers gain from drying/riping really fits the shadowy, crumbling scadutree which is implied to break bit by bit yet in reality is still oozing golden sap. It's also interesting how parallel to real world sunflowers the shadow sunflowers are built to turn towards the scadutree (similar to how sunflowers in our world turn towards the sun to gather the highest sunlight intensity possible) and I imagine them charging the shadowy holy energy of the scadutree in that way which explains their color. The impenetrable thorns are also obv a hyperbole of the trichomes that our sunflowers have, which the scadutree also uses to fence off threats

[@nightscout9979]

Sunflowers in the Lands Between also face toward the major Erdtree. IIRC, the kanji for their names even has a minor change that indicates they focus on the Erdtree rather than the sun.

[@sclafantasy]

Crazy fascinating, appreciate you sharing

[@insectoidinheritor896]

I had wondered if something about how sunflowers live and grow was connected to the boss having 3 phases and seem to be 3 separate "bodies" where one would fade away, and another would replace it. In real life the "common" sunflower only lives for a year in the wild, but it makes enough seeds that another plant can essentially take the same place as the original by next year. And some species in the sunflower family have a enlarged root that lets them grow back after the above ground portion dies off in the winter.

[@paracetamolgirl7820]

Base game avatars are literally just DS1 re-skins, so the competition for interest isn't so fierce lol.

[@TrippyTimesTwo]

@@paracetamolgirl7820Oddly enough, seeing the reused skeleton of the Asylum demons brought a smile to me. Nice to see silly old dark souls in the midst of ER’s technical improvements.

[@samuelbucher5189]

♪ There is a Tarnished on your lawn~ ♪

[@laisraposodematosbezerra3778]

I understood the reference

[@neogeo4103]

There is a Tarnished on your lawn (yeah)

[@pratikmandal1350]

Now I need a PvZ mod. The cannon imps could work as peashooters.

[@Khann_2102]

Daveless

[@azultarmizi]

it's crazy how I still remember the beat to this song as reading this comment. I love the nostalgia of the original game

[@PierceArner]

The lean-back pose mirroring the Scadutree is fascinating and I'd never have caught that. I also think the fact that they have sunflower heads whilst the typical Erdtree Avatars are hollowed & headless is especially interesting as well.

[@rainbowkrampus]

That's a good observation about the avatars mimicking the form of the tree. Further credence that the Erdtree is an apparition of sorts and the only surviving physical bit (in the Lands Between) is a hollowed out stump. I'm leaning more and more into the Scadutree being the physical remnant of the Erdtree + the supporting tree that holds it up.

[@tinnasell4161]

The Erdtree avatars look like fat sentinels adorned in capes. Very polished appearance and really reflects the Erdtree's culture of military prowess. They are tree knights, the embodiment of order. Whereas, the Scadutree avatar is wild, more flexible in terms of movement, and had greater magical power. And the fact that it blooms is also fascinating, especially if you consider the fact that the Scadutree still has treesap

[@Worldisafuck-borntodie]

Erdtree is actually gone, but the greater will doesn't want people to know that? Is that what's being implied?​@@rainbowkrampus

[@QuestionableObject]

@@tinnasell4161 You're thinking of the tree sentinels. The erdtree avatars are the big dumpy wood guardians hanging around outside minor erdtrees and a few other places.

[@Khann_2102]

1:45

[@deztacular]

"Internal name: ShadowofErdtrees" We've found him. John Scadutree.

[@youerturtuiop]

"Every shadow has its tree." John Scadutree.

[@Zythryl]

As a person who grows mammoth sunflowers-yeah this is my favorite boss. With the shadow sunflower head being my new favorite (somber) weapon. It’s unironically fun to take a dried grown sunflower stem, and whip it around like a hammer. I’m talking in real life. They have surprising heft and structural integrity. I simply would never have expected someone at From to share the same joy, to then make an in-game weapon out of it. It’s fantastic!

[@biggarlick6673]

I love growing mammoth sunflowers, and sunflowers in general.

[@Impaler765]

Based

[@TrippyTimesTwo]

@@biggarlick6673My favourite thing to do in my mom’s garden. When I was 9 I grew one that’s taller than me today. That thing was a bloody monster.

[@icetide9411]

I remember when we grew mammoth sunflowers for a science project in school. Tiny me thought it would stop growing, but it just kept going. The things gave me a child's version of an existential crisis.

[@Impaler765]

scadutree avatar enjoyers are wholesome

[@Neil.02]

One thing i love about From software's monsters is how "uneven" they tend to be, old, cracked, dying or horribly corrupted in some way (Even the CRABS), the visual storytelling makes them pretty memorable!

[@goatlover6312]

Many looks like they are in constant agony. They probably are too.

[@notebooks6461]

Finding the giant death blight crab was terrible He has Godwyns hair and his lifeless eyes all over him

[@alanrichter1]

It's him, John Shadowoftheerdtree

[@AnmarBatarfi]

John scadutree

[@theopeneyes]

Was anyone else freaked out by how this thing just SHOVES its face into our personal space while fighting it?

[@Suesserto_000]

Tbf, you did come to its home to kill it. It’s defending itself.

[@spankeymymankey7293]

Personally a fan of the second phase zoomies attack 😅

[@icetide9411]

The internal name of "Shadow of Erdtrees" is one of those names that goes unreasonably hard in the code

[@AnmarBatarfi]

2chubbs ahh name

[@OCMOOO]

The Scadutree Avatar OST is honestly one of the best. The 3rd phase gives PTSD of putting down poor Sif.

[@Furrieful]

my favorite boss of the dlc, something very tragic about how it keeps coming back growing more and more desperate and exhausted with each death (and the soundtrack beautifully reflecting that with the third part being so simple and devoid of the usual boss music flare). really made me feel like i was doing something terribly wrong by fighting it it was also kinda viscerally scary about seeing the scadutree up close like that in its arena, especially since it was hidden away underground in a secret part of the castle i also think for how prominent it is in the world and how it's the namesake of the DLC, its intriguing that the scadutree really does not recieve much attention neither in the lore nor in the story of the dlc, not even one NPC mentions it by name, there seems to be no worship of it, etc. makes it all the more mysterious and scary, this gigantic horror always looming over you

[@level5650]

The Scadutree is kind of the devil to the Erdtree’s god, maybe it’s considered bad luck to speak its name out loud and draw its attention.

[@alfalldoot6715]

​@level5650 Well people do have some reverence for it seemingly since Messmer has a huge cauldron to collect its fragments

[@fernandosalamanca1154]

I agree with everything you said, except that I find the Scadutree rather beautiful. In my head, it shows all the inperfections and real conditions of life, which in the Erdtree are artificially omitted to create the illusion of perfect order.

[@mrsgamer9218]

My plants when i forget to water them;

[@dragonslayer3552]

I swear to God you can water them every day during the hot summer days with too much water and then you go like "ah they are fine ill water them tomorrow morning they are wet anyway" and you find them like that

[@mr.kittysavestheworld695]

Easily one of my favorite DLC bosses. The triple-phase fakeout fight, the _incredible_ music, the visual design and spectacle, it's phenomenonal. I felt so bad for it with how it gets increasingly desperate and exhausted, and the music doesn't help. Its existence just seems painful, like it's a distorted, broken, confused thing that isn't certain if it's even supposed to exist, which just makes me feel more conflicted. It creates the rare situation where killing it and not killing it both feel like a cruel thing to do.

[@BlueeCatss]

2:00 i would have never noticed this wow

[@gamerbrothers6545]

Funnily enough, the first time I saw this boss do this attack, I almost immediately recognised the clever resemblance to the Scadutree!

[@tlx4122]

When I saw it I knew it was supposed to mean something. I just wasn't sure what.

[@mitsuri3096]

​Stop the cap he always does this at 3rd phase ​@@gamerbrothers6545

[@icetide9411]

​@@tlx4122Same, I tried to look at it and think "okay, what is that pose..." It was only later when I was getting a good look at the Scadutree for a screenshot that I realized

[@genericcatgirl]

The Erdtree avatar looks like a hollowed-out stump in retrospect, which fits with how the erdtree looks like a golden "ghost" growing atop a regular stump

[@AtomicPineapple23]

It’s so satisfying to hit this dude. That crunchy sound it makes just scratches the brain. Also the idea of the shadowtree’s guardian being a sunflower is ironically great

[@psychomammoth9640]

And this being the place as well where Miquella had broken his great rune when we enter the gate at the Black Keep.

[@nightscout9979]

I think it's less that Miquella broke his Great Rune in that arena and more that just enough shards reflective of the whole landed or gathered in the arena.

[@GrieveIV]

People give this boss a lot of shit. That three health bars bit got me so good and I loved it

[@mushroomy9899]

i tabbed out to check discord thinking it was over, tabbed back in and got obliterated

[@GrieveIV]

@@mushroomy9899 same. And then it got me a second time

[@portalmanHUN]

The thorn AOE covers your entire screen so you can't see shit half the time. That's the biggest complaint.

[@RuthwikRao]

@@portalmanHUN literally the only complaint for me.

[@miemsliva4464]

​@@portalmanHUN My ass hid behind a shield for that

[@HolyKnight-kh1im]

I like how decrepit the scadutree avatar looks in comparison to the erdtree avatar. Its theme is also similar to the erdtree avatar but more somber in a way.

[@brodiesartnstuff1673]

I love how you can hear the erdtree avatar’s leitmotif in its track soooo much

[@rexwest4532]

Ulcerated tree spirit too

[@Orobolus_Outline]

It's two stalk combined into one, with one tearing at the other. One stalk dark, the other light. The sunflower is another symbol of the Marika/Radagon rebis, with Radagon the one metaphorically tearing into Marika. Also, sunflowers can... wait for it... self pollinate using the seeds in the center of the flower, much like our favorite goddess/god.

[@MidnightatMidian]

Lol Marika and Radagon are not an alchemical Rebis. This is just you inventing stuffs!!! Nowhere in the game is it called like that. You people should stop projecting your alchemical delirium on the game, it's been debunked, and the DLC has proven it.

[@DefiantYeast0426]

@@MidnightatMidian where was it debunked? Alchemy is all over this game.

[@cameronstone4495]

@@MidnightatMidian It's called SYMBOLISM

[@uncleulysses2328]

@@MidnightatMidianyou truly are a brainlet lol

[@dzakyatmaja488]

@@MidnightatMidian did you like yourself?😂😂

[@Monoblivious]

I remember when i reached phase 3, the last thing you'd expect a sunflower to do is become a nuke

[@Hennichell]

This one drove me to near insanity, but gods, seeing it all tired and sluggish during the third phase made me feel so bad for it...

[@tylermech66]

The last gasp of a dying Divinity, such melancholic energy was enough to make me cry.

[@samthepigman4069]

Beating up a harmless sunflower, shame on you

[@alfalldoot6715]

​@@samthepigman4069"Harmless"

[@magemold7943]

When it did the pose.. and the transition to the scadutree. LET HIM COOK 👨‍🍳🔥🔥🔥

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

I thought it was really cool how it posed like the Scadutree in the third phase, very nice detail!

[@someguy4405]

"What are you, some kinda, Shadow of The Erdtree?"

[@goats4days]

I assume the four arms are to represent Miquella who also has four arms in his godly form, with his fourth arm only half there due to it being left at Moghwyn Palace, which is why the Scadutree Avatar’s fourth arm is also super small and seemingly half of its size.

[@MisanthropicOcellus]

Pretty sure thats exactly right.

[@Heowolf]

Nice catch! on a semi-similar note - I find it weird they modeled the arm and put a bow on it (for Miquella - in the fight), just to make it invisible.

[@Genesis4119]

You also get Miquella's rune from it, that he cast aside

[@Orzacle]

Originally I thought the sunflower design was a little silly, but it really grew on me! Same with a lot of Elden Ring designs

[@seb1520]

I fucking love this design so much. I didn’t think it was possible to make a sunflower so menacing

[@josephlongbone4255]

She seems a very similar design lineage to the Bed of Chaos, but with an actually good boss fight.

[@KosOrSomeSayKosmo]

I loved this boss. The fight, the arena, the design, it was unique and refreshing.

[@alihadadi81]

This boss has arguably one of the the most complex designs ever

[@redfox9446]

First we got spicy trees, now we have angry, hungover sunflower.

[@spacenaves]

Of course I missed you too, Ebrietas.

[@shadexvii3975]

I thought that was more Metyr than this, tbh

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

Now that you mention it, I'm surprised I hadn't noticed the similarities. The dash attack is 1-1 and it's plunging head attack is very similar to her head smash.

[@thecatalyst473]

@@shadexvii3975 Tbh Metyr is much closer to One Reborn and Rom, at least visually

[@spacenaves]

@@shadexvii3975 One inherited the animations, the other the 'left on read' situation. You could call it the shattering of Ebrietas

[@HelloWorld-ym5vx]

That dash attack and A Call Beyond

[@Elementroar]

It’s mentioned that two trees make up the schadutree, so it having ‘four arms’ is like each pair belongs to each tree. It’s also the motif of the statues around Belurat tower, two figures hugging each other. Also I dunno if this is the same in the base game, but Lost Grace in SOTE actually shows a second mote of grace joining the first grace.

[@gamerbrothers6545]

I don't know if DLC sitea of grace have two motes, but I haven't checked ingame, but it that is the case, then that would be really neat, and would be thematically fitting, sort of!

[@Suesserto_000]

Makes me think of the Twinned set that D wears. It’s two people hugging each other. The Sunflower head weapon also mentions how the two stalks wrapped each other in a “tender embrace”.

[@ddangho914]

Greatest plot twist of the DLC is when you realize it is pronounced 'Shadu Tree' instead of 'Skadu Tree'

[@aidan-h3p]

I think you'll find its pronounced 'Skibidi Tree'.

[@vibecheck4372]

Simple misconception, but it's actually called "Scooby-doo tree".

[@bigzero7720]

That won't stop me, Skadootree sounds a lot funkier

[@icetide9411]

Personally I call it Skadoosh tree, as in the Kung Fu Panda skadoosh

[@genericcatgirl]

Ski-doo Tree (like the snowmobile brand)

[@user-d4talllest]

Sunflower from plants vs zombies really grow up

[@trazwaggon]

ranni, miquella, the scadutree avatar when the corporeal form of a living being is separated from its ethereal form, the ethereal form is somehow left with four arms? just spitballing here

[@TrippyTimesTwo]

The Avatar has 4 due to the twinned trunks I assumed. Ranni got 4 because her body is a reused Mannequin, but Miquella? That’s an interesting shout. Not sure why he spontaneously popped 2 more out after becoming a god.

[@Heowolf]

@@TrippyTimesTwo The avatar has the same amount of arms as Miquella, including the half arm. So I'm not too sure there. For Miquella, I have to assume the final step would be to fully divest himself of his body and inhabit a doll like Ranni, but the location lets him bypass dolls and inject souls directly into bodies. Why this looks different from Radahn I can only make the guesses - Empyrean souls just do that upon possession/he went back into himself/god bs.

[@TheMisbegottenOphanim]

Both the Scadutree Avatar and Metyr, Mother of Fingers give off Bloodborne vibes, probably because they look like Great Ones... Edit: I miss Bloodborne...

[@raydhen8840]

Yeah, feels like Ebrietas & Rom, in a way. Love how they don't simply mimic the general body plan the way Erdtree Avatar to Asylum Demon did. Even side by side, These two bosses still looks distinct compared to their Bloodborne counterpart, and yet there's still air of familiarity.

[@TheWarmachine375]

Brother, get the Flamer! *THE HEAVY FLAMER!*

[@darthvaderbutwayshittier7054]

It only makes sense it has two torsos and two pairs of arms. The Skibidi Tree has two trunks, after all.

[@damiancook3120]

Stop.

[@hwsws]

The Shaboingtree

[@Tortuga2223a]

Please..no more brain rot... Please

[@Kryptnyt]

The Skadooshtree

[@nulls5408]

This is my favorite boss in the game due to: It’s design and gimmick, the context clues around it, the things you have to do to reach it, the atmosphere of it’s arena, and how it’s designed similarly to the dlc dragons of old in a way.

[@gamerjones_8440]

same here man, the entire fight is perfect as is the music, the whole time i just kept thinking "man i love this boss"

[@cj1535]

I had the opposite experience. I dont know the lore so all i was thinking was "i just slaughtered literal God and all her children and now im getting my ass kicked by a flower

[@gamerjones_8440]

miracle gro is one hell of a fertilizer

[@fdhappy6930]

What Bed of Chaos should have been.

[@velcanbalieiro8528]

"Sunflower from pvz" ahh boss

[@Kaito57]

2:00 That mofo is attacking us by T-posing !!!

[@MachineMindDesigns]

[Gasps in Gold Mask]

[@emadhafiz3507]

Tree-posing

[@vitorvena]

Amazing boss with an extremely unique aesthetic and a very satisfying fight, i dont get how abybody complained about this one...

[@hex5219]

It's bgm is a sad, extended version of the Erdtree Avatar BGM. Those things die so fast that I hadn't realized until recently.

[@samita4025]

I love how the ost is almost the same as the erdtree avatars but with a different instrument

[@khushidudy6293]

this thing looks like a pokemon regi with all those dots in his face

[@nightscout9979]

It's interesting how one of the Scadutree Avatar's arms seems less developed than the rest. That reminds me of Miquella's divine form and how one of his left arms stops past his bicep. It's a lower arm for the Avatar though, whereas it's an upper arm for Miquella. It's neat how the arena's gold vanishes after the fight too. By the way, are there extra Avatars hidden under the map for each phase, or does the same model just get reloaded?

[@MisanthropicOcellus]

Fairly certain that the missing arm miquella has matches up with the one hanging outside his cocoon in lands between

[@nightscout9979]

@@MisanthropicOcellus The arm sticking out of the cocoon is a right arm, not a left arm.

[@angeltzepesh1]

I love that the OST feels very similar to the Erdtree Avatars.

[@shariahvt]

I haven't even found this thing yet, but I already fucking love it. the theme is intense as hell. Part of me wishes we fought this thing on a huge farm land, would have been a fun one. imagine it making the field of sunflowers shot a single super charged seed *each*, before it all rains down onto you.

[@colorgreen8728]

Such an awesome boos with probably my favorite dlc ost

[@marcellonovak7271]

that tree pose detail was very observant

[@Epsonea_482]

Can’t believe we get to fight the Skibbidi Tree Avatar. Truly the boss fight of all time

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

From Soft: We have a new tree avatar you'll get to fight. Players: Will we have to fight it multiple times? From Soft: Just three times, lol.

[@TheWarmachine375]

Scadutree: "You don't have the strength! So I hope you can afford arms! In this arms race, you'll need way more than four arms! Catch this clothesline and get folded by my forearms! Cause I don't need no weapons! All it takes are these four arms!"

[@polskillz]

wtf are you saying bro

[@callaghancase6028]

​@@polskillz He thought he cooked by rhyming arms with arms four times.

[@datdam-y8y]

Absolutely love how this sunflower moves and fights like a beast

[@dog.b74]

the avatar making the scadutree shape is a really cool detail surprised i missed that

[@PentaCool_JJBA]

Besides the fact the whole thing is a flower, when those projectiles started hovering over its head It reminded me of Flowey's "Friendliness Pellets"

[@tropezando]

Of course the sunflower would smash its flower face on the Tarnished. Sunflowers are heliocentric and turn to face the sun (gold), and we have the grace of gold. This is how their stalks become twisted. Their seeded/amber-ridden flower looks akin to the Madding Hand. I did not know about their pose emulating the Scadutree, that's so cool!

[@Blurgleflargle]

Scadutree avatar: *exists* Current 93: "I SAW THE ANGELS BREATHING OUT WATCHERS OF THE BARK AND BOAT, AND ENDLESS PRAISE SANG THE SANDS INTO DIAMONDS!"

[@joellemarron3452]

It's cool that this Avatar resembles the scadutree so much. The fact that erdtree avatars are just stumps is further proof that the golden erdtree is just a phantom image.

[@revitoguanto4111]

CUUUURSEEEE YOUUU TREEEEEE

[@dustrose8101]

BEHOLD, A TRUE TRUNK WARRIOR! AND I, IGON- wait wrong boss

[@tythus654]

Solid of bark you might be, foul flower, but I will riddle with holes your rotten hide! With a hail of flame serpents! With every last drop of my being!

[@alfalldoot6715]

Funny how it has arms and branches wrapped around it just like how Messmer's snakes wrap around him. Hell, Messmer even summons a "sun" in his mouth in his second phase.

[@Tomikanoo]

Miquella in the last fight also had 3 arms, the 4th cut/dropped of or something. Funny how the same arm is short on the scadutree avatar.

[@ocean037]

This boss should have 1 health bar per Erdtree Avatar in the main game.

[@StayVCA98]

At first I thought it was related to the Death Root since they're kinda the same a bit...

[@MasoTrumoi]

This was my favorite boss by far. Love this thing.

[@spacefaringyoshi]

0:36 it's him. John Shadow of the Erdtree. Ah darn. Someone already made this joke :(

[@tyagoteoi7978]

I cried when the Avatar said "I am the Shadow of the Erdtree"

[@pathfindersavant3988]

Its in pain. Its very existence is agonizing pain, rage, bitterness, and torment.

[@Issengan]

design-wise, its probably my favorite dlc boss. plus its easy af so thats a plus

[@dogmat8733]

Man the Scadutree is megalophobia exemplified, especially when you’re at the bottom of it. The Erdtree is pretty big, but the Scadutree is a lot more intimidating in appearance.

[@shiningstar737]

Honestly the best thematic design in any fromsoft game

[@mrpotch]

"It started when an alien device did what it did And stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid Now he's got superpowers, he's no ordinary kid He's Ben 10 (Ben 10)"

[@ashrunzeda4099]

The Scadutree Avatar is a Jojo character with the amount of poses it flexes to the player

[@jays.6843]

Best boss of the DLC. I would have killed for more giant plants and fewer zombie dragons and big guys in armor.

[@kamionero]

2:08 - "gurl im fab!"

[@ConstrictorDevlin]

the avatar looks cute when it does the scadutree pose

[@kurenian]

I’m glad fromsoft finally made an interesting tree boss, after the failures of Bed of Chaos and Curse Rotted Greatwood

[@old_shape]

1:59 GOOSEBUMPS

[@thehunter8417]

I wonder if this thing was intended to be a penultimate boss of sorts, but was changed some time in development. It's called "ShadowOfErdtrees" internally, it has three phases and is fought at the base of the Scadutree, with large ties to the main plot. It's also not the easiest fight in my opinion, with Miquella being the only boss that is harder.

[@Heowolf]

Feels like the optional/hidden boss you'd get if the DLC's were split on Miquella's half. Same amount of arms as Miquella (including the half arm) and the item is intended to help with the harder fight, but isn't needed. This next part is speculation/personal theory Boss arena looks like it might have been built a long time ago and redone too. Similar size arena is rough modeled (has collision) and not textured below the erdtree in the base game. Would have been cool if there was a similar fight/refight there after events

[@villelepoaho4105]

I was expecting to fight all manner of beasts in this DLC. But not a sunflower.

[@k0rriban]

Frenzied Burst trivialized this fight. Just watch out for its thorn attacks and charge attack

[@Pascll]

0:34 so you're telling me this guy is THE shadow of the erdtree? the one and only? -is he gonna shadow all over my erdtree?-

[@Spencer-wc6ew]

The joy I felt when I walked into its arena and didn't see some status effect build up.

[@ChamesLiverpool]

Died 2011 reborn 2024 welcome back 4 Kings

[@jroden06]

You have to wonder what process takes place inside the Erd and Scadutree that would produce these creatures...i can see some of the lesser beings trying to be reincarnated and failing becoming those tree spirits.

[@shankrelaxes]

Looks like something out of Lost Izalith

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

Doesn't look like a dragon ass at all.

[@jorgesilva5348]

Bed of chaos but we'll done 😂

[@Pie_Smacker]

I forget the name of it buts its eyes are also shaped like a cluster of stars we've observed on earth

[@Luziehl]

1:58 "this is how we dab on these parts"

[@wvykaine6157]

I actually enjoyed fighting this thing... the 3 phases were done really well. I miss 3 phase bosses.

[@DooMIInIIiik]

every miyazaki sunflowers reference on wan gogh death sunflowers in bloodborne and here same enemy

[@m.ubaidaadam]

It sound weird but I want an armour set from the Scadutree avatar. Like how it curls around the stump it would do the same on the armour piece

[@gamerbrothers6545]

Ayo, the Impenetrable Thorns sorcery (which just requires faith to use) can be a pretty good way of simulating the thorned exterior, however I understand that an actual armor set like how you describe would be really cool! Also, if you plan to uae Impenetrable Thorns, be wary that it doesn't last very long, and the Old Lord's talisman doesn't make it last much longer.

[@Heowolf]

@@gamerbrothers6545 saddest dlc spell

[@ReyaitheShadowWolf]

Internal Name: ShadowOfErdtrees Me: *Leonardo DiCaprio pointing*

[@martonszentkiralyi2251]

Base game avatars looked malformed, this avatar is just withered but its easy to imagine it was once a revered being

[@the_skeleton_boy6501]

I love how these things turn into race cars at a random point in the fight

[@EduardoGarcia-tn5je]

One of my favorite bosses ever

[@fyrebird5898]

Wait... it has 4 arms... 3 normal length and 1 short. Miquella, when we see him ascended, has same thing with his arms. I'm now even more confused, but could this be significant?