L Lamias amias live to sow chaos, tainting and twisting the minds of mortals and setting them upon the paths to their ruin. Lamias consider mere death to be a mercy, granted only to those who provide exemplary service; a lamias goal is not to defeat their opponents, but to ruin them utterly, subtly guiding and goading them into actively courting their own doom. Lamia Lore History DC 20: The blood-drinking lilim are the first and greatest of the lamias, said to have been birthed into the world as part of an era-spanning scheme to steer the yoke of the multiverse towards ruin and suffering by their fiendish mother.. Nature DC 15: Whether lamias represent a single species or several is a question hotly debated amongst scholars, due to the wildly different forms represented among their number. While leonine and serpentine presentations seem most common, a mulitude of others have been reported. Nature DC 20: Lamias reproduce asexually, sculpting forms for their daughters from a mixture of soil that has never known water and the fresh blood of a creature that has known true love. Lamia Tactics Lamias begin combat by selecting a melee threat to use its beguiling touch on each turn, and focus on that, first cursing the creature with their dagger, then on subsequent turns using their claws to attack any other creatures that come near, while staying close enough to the cursed creature to benefit from Torn Loyalty. Leonine Lamia Large monstrosity, chaotic evil Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 97 (13d10 + 26) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) Saving Throws WIS +7, CHA +10 Skills Deception +7, Insight +4, Stealth +3 Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12 Languages Abyssal, Common Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Shapechanger. As a Bonus Action, the lamia can take on the illusory appearance of any Small or Medium humanoid. Actions Multiattack. The lamia makes two attacks, one of which it may replace with a use of its beguiling touch. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10 + 3) slashing damage. Cursewright Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage and the target is magically Cursed for 1 hour. Until the curse ends, the target has disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and all Ability Checks. Beguiling Touch. One creature the lamia can see within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or have its Wisdom score reduced by 3 (1d6) until it completes a Short or Long rest, to a minimum of 1. A creature that has its wisdom score reduced to 1 with this ability is Charmed by the lamia. Reactions Torn Loyalty. As a reaction to being targeted with a spell or attack, the lamia may force a creature within 5 feet that is cursed by it to make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes the new target of the spell or attack.
Serpentine Lamia Tactics Much like the leonine lamia, the serpentine lamia focuses on first cursing, then trying to beguile a creature while using her other attacks to keep would-be rescuers at bay. Once it has a creature charmed, it uses its Compel ability each turn Lilim Tactics The lilim alternates between her plague chant and torment of scarabs, retreating and making use of cover while using her Entrancing Sigh. Once locked in melee, she replaces her plague chant with her multiattack, then repeatedly uses beguiling touch if the nearby creature has seems to have low wisdom, or her life drain if it has high wisdom. She tries to ensure that at least one creature is sitting at a wisdom score of 1 by the time her Claim Thrall triggers, but otherwise chooses any creature affected by the curse of her barbed tongue. If a creature manages to blind her or force her to use a legendary resistance with her Light-Blinded ability, she prioritizes targeting it to the exclusion of all else. When reduced to 0 hit points, the lilim flees. Serpentine Lamia Large monstrosity, chaotic evil Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 153 (18d10 + 54) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) Skills Deception +8, Insight +5, Stealth +4 Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12 Languages Abyssal, Common Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Shapechanger. Shapechanger. As a Bonus Action, the lamia can take on the illusory appearance of any Small or Medium humanoid. Actions Multiattack. The lamia makes two attacks, one of which may be with its Constrict, and uses its beguiling touch or its compel ability. Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 15 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). A creature grappled in this way is restrained and takes 14 (3d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns, and the lamia can't constrict another target. Cursewright Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) piercing damage and the target is magically Cursed for 1 hour. Until the curse ends, the target has disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and all Ability Checks. Beguiling Touch. One creature the lamia can see within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or have its Wisdom score reduced by 3 (1d6) until it completes a Short or Long rest, to a minimum of 1. A creature that has its wisdom score reduced to 1 with this ability is Charmed by the lamia. Compel. One creature Charmed by the lamia must use its reaction to move up to half its speed and make a single weapon attack. Reactions Torn Loyalty. As a reaction to being targeted with a spell or attack, the lamia may force a creature within 5 feet that is cursed by it to make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes the new target of the spell or attack.
Lilim Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil Armor Class 19 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 255 (30d8 + 120) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 23 (+6) 19 (+4) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 20 (+5) Skills Deception +15, Insight +12, Stealth +11 Senses Darkvision 60 ft. (penetrates magical darkness), Passive Perception 12 Languages Abyssal, Common Challenge 16 (15,000 XP) Shapechanger. As a Bonus Action, the lilim can take on the illusory appearance of any Small or Medium humanoid. Scornful Gaze. If a creature makes eye contact with the lilim, the lilim learns, in broad terms, the creature's greatest doubts, fears, and insecurities. Light-Blinded. If the lilim takes radiant damage, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be Blinded until the end of its next turn. Sinnuous Escape. When the lilim is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not die or fall unconscious. Instead, it loses the ability to take actions other than to Dash. If it takes damage from a source it cannot see while at 0 hit points, it is killed. Beguiling Resistance (3/Day). If the lilim fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. If it does, each creature affected by its Beguiling touch regains half of its lost Wisdom, rounded up. Actions Multiattack. The lilim makes two attacks, one of which may be with its barbed tongue. Draining Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 6) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 19). Barbed Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one grappled creature. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) slashing plus 22 (4d10) psychic damage and the target is magically Cursed for 1 hour. Until the curse ends, the target has disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws. Plague Chant (6th Level Spell). Ranged Spell Attack: +10 to hit, reach 90 ft., one target. Hit 28 (8d6) necrotic damage. If this attack hits, the plague chant leaps to another creature within 15 feet of the previous target. The lilim makes a new attack roll against the new target, which could cause this ability to leap again. Each creature can be targeted no more than once with each casting of this spell. Torment of Scarabs (7th Level Spell, Recharge 5-6). The lilim sends forth a wave of flesh eating scarabs in a 30 ft. cone. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or take 45 (10d8) piercing damage and be knocked prone, or take half as much damage on a success. A creature with 0 hit points that fails this saving throw is reduced to bones. Reactions Torn Loyalty. As a reaction to being targeted with a spell or attack, the lilim may force a creature within 5 feet that is cursed by it to make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes the new target of the spell or attack. Claim Thrall. As a reaction to being reduced below 128 hit points, the lilim uses her Entrancing Sigh ability. A creature that fails this saving throw by 10 or more remains under her control for the next 24 hours. Legendary Actions The lilim can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Life Drain. One creature grappled by the lilim must succeed on a DC 17 Constitutiton saving throw or be forced to expend a hit die. If the creature does, the lilim gains 8 (1d8 + 4) temporary hit points. If it cannot, the creature instead drops to 0 hit points. Passing Grasp. The lilim moves up to half its speed and makes an attack with its draining claws. Beguiling Touch. One creature the lilim can see within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or have its Wisdom score reduced by 3 (1d6) until it completes a Short or Long rest, to a minimum of 1. Entrancing Sigh (Costs 2 Actions). One creature the lilim can see within 60 ft. must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed by the lilim until the end of its next turn. A creature that fails by 5 or more additionally follows the lilim's verbal directions until the end of its next turn.
Art Credits Lamia by Brynn Metheney Transtra copyright Wizards of the Coast Bisk, Goblin King by Rae Elderidge I've Got a Subreddit! Want more monsters like this? Come check out r/bettermonsters, where I post all my work. Don't see something there? Drop a request and I'll usually get it to you within a day if I've got something on hand, and I'll shoot you a message when it's ready if not. You Found the Free Books! The Part Where I Shill My Patreon Want to support the creation of content like this? I post new monsters with lore and tactics to my patreon five times a week, joining the more than 1300 already there, indexed in a big PDF along with formats for Foundry and 5eTools.