Curse-rotted Greatwood

The Curse-rotted Greatwood is a minor antagonist and optional boss in Dark Souls III. Once an ordinary tree, the abundance of curses that were compiled into it turned it into a sentient and vile monster.

Biography
Throughout the ages, the Undead Settlement of Lothric was the place of numerous curses that plagued the area. Curses cannot be fully cured; instead, they are only transferred to something else. As such, a spirit tree in a corner of the courtyard was chosen by the residents to be a vessel for their curses. Over time, the curses took their toll on the tree, twisting it into an abomination craved for devouring more curses.

The Curse-rotted Greatwood can be found at the far left of the courtyard, motionless. There are multiple hollows in the yard bowing down to the tree as if praising or worshipping it. They become hostile to the player once they approach them. After enough time has passed or after two or more hollows have been killed, the Greatwood wakes up. It moves slowly and telegraphs its attacks, but each hit deals heavy damage to the player. It can also shake the "fruits" off its branches, sacks filled with decomposed bodies. It can also leap in the air and slam down, leaving behind puddles of sap-like fluids that both damage and slow down the player. Although the hollows respawn after they are killed, they can be ignored by the player as all of the Greatwood's attacks kill them in a single hit.

The tree itself takes no damage from hits, as any melee weapon bounces off of its bark skin. Instead, the player should focus on the numerous pustules located on the Greatwood's body, back, and ankles. When one of the pustules is popped, the Greatwood takes a large amount of damage. Popping enough pustules triggers the second phase, where the Greatwood slams into the ground hard enough to cause the floor to collapse into the Pit of Hallows. All hollows still alive will die from the fall and no longer respawn.

During the second phase, the Greatwood becomes slightly more agile and aggressive. From its chest a massive undead hand bursts from inside the tree. If the hand grabs the player, it picks them up and smashes them against the floor, dealing heavy damage. The Greatwood will also attempt to stand before attempting to slam onto the player. As the tree is more hostile to kill the player, some of the remaining pustules will not be reachable without a ranged weapon or sorcery. Additionally, the hand itself can be struck for moderate damage. Unlike the pustules, the hand remains throughout the rest of the battle.

Once the Greatwood goes down, it drops its boss soul and the Transposing Kiln, which can be given to Ludleth of Courland for him to construct equipment from boss souls.

Trivia

 * The Greatwood is extremely weak to fire magic.
 * Oddly, despite having "Curse" in its name, the Greatwood cannot inflict a curse on the player.
 * Should the player want to join the Mound-makers covenant, they must do so before fighting the Greatwood. In the pit is Holy Knight Hodrick, who grants the player into the covenant. The player must talk to him first because he will die when the Greatwood smashes through the courtyard into the pit.
 * The Greatwood is one of the only two bosses to react to an Alluring Skull, the others are the Deacons of the Deep excluding the Deacons emitting red aura and Archdeacon Royce.
 * The arm that emerges from the Greatwood resembles the Clawed Curses found in the Grand Archives.
 * Pestilent Mist damages the Greatwood without having to burst any of the pustules.