The Better Nothic Spiciness: 4/5 Feeds about 3-5 players, level 3-5 Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level Ingredients: The Nothic Scaling for Party Size: If the party has 5+ characters in it, let the Nothic use one Gaze or Stare as a Legendary Action to balance out the action economy a little. Scaling for Level: For each level above 3, add +10HP to the Nothic to keep him in the fight a little longer. At level 5, add +1 to his saving throw DC, since many of his spells & abilities are save-or-suck. Preparation Subtle Spell is one of the most powerful metamagics for catching your opponent off guard, & this Nothic, can do that with just a look. After all, Ravaging Gaze requires him to just look at his target-- and while the party may immediately assume the Nothic has launched an attack, it may take them a second to realize what's happening! Things you should know! Surprised creatures can't move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and they can't take a reaction until that turn ends. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't. Frightened creatures have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight. The creature can't willingly move closer to the source of its fear. Cooking the Nothic Round 0. Before combat begins, the Nothic can flick its eye towards any creature and hit it with a Ravaging Gaze. The party rolls Perception (DC 17) to notice the very slight contracting of the Nothic's pupil & reddening of its iris, or they are suprised for the first round! Aim for someone standing near other party members. Round 1. Most of the party is probably surprised, so cast Confusion & RUN! Firstly, all your best abilities are ranged, so never be in arms reach-- and secondly, Surprised creatures don't get reactions (no attacks of opportunity). Aim your confusion at the person we hit with Ravaging Gaze, as they'll have disadvantage on this save, and hopefully you can hit more than one person (10ft radius). Round 2. Try to Recharge your Strange Spellcaster, but save it if it comes back. Target someone who's Confused with your Ravaging Gaze to give them disadvantage on their next save again (or down them outright). Round 3+. By now, the Confusion has mostly worn off-- so target a melee person with Phantasmal Killer to damage & Frighten them (and keep them away from you). Playing keepaway is what will keep you alive! Round 4+ Repeat the strategy from Round 2 thru 3. If you like this monster, get more! ko-fi.com/pipfizzlebang 1 Nothic Medium aberration, neutral evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 68 (8d8 + 32) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 8 (-1) Skills Arcana +4, Deception +2, Insight +6, Perception +3, Stealth +7 Senses Truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 13 Damage Immunity. Psychic Languages Common, 2 Other Exotic Languages. Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Keen Sight. The nothic has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Focused Mind. The Nothic automatically succeeds Concentration Checks. Actions Multiattack. The nothic makes two claw attacks. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. Strange Spellcaster (Recharge 5-6). The Nothic casts one of the following spells innately, at the fourth level (DC 14). Confusion, Phantasmal Killer, Tasha's Mind Whip. Ravaging Gaze. Range 30ft; Target one creature the Nothic can see. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw, or take 21 (6d6) psychic damage, and the creature has disadvantage on its next Saving Throw. Weird Insight. The nothic targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must contest its Charisma (Deception) check against the nothic's Wisdom (Insight) check. If the nothic wins, it magically learns one fact or secret about the target. The target automatically wins if it is immune to being charmed.
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