T Cerunnos, Master of the Wild Hunt he horn of the hunt sounds at night and a creature hears wild doom approach; the wild at heart forsake their tools and chase the call, blood up and barefooted; the moon's watch draws the bounding hunter close; the hounds' embrace wakes the quarry from its dream; the night rings raucous with horn and bay and scream. Cerunnos Lore Arcana DC 5: The wild hunt is a haunting phenomenon that occurs throughout the material plane and beyond, where a troupe of fey hunters descend from the sky and chase their chosen quarry through the night, slaying it just before dawn. Arcana DC 10: Names have a great deal of power among the fey; named weapons cut deeper, and spells strike truer against a creature whose name the caster knows. Arcana DC 15: The hunt often carries away those who answer the call of its horn to become spectral hunters themselves, returning them years or decades later with no memory of their time with the hunt. History DC 15: While tales of the wild hunt's quarry escaping their grasp are rare, a commonality among them seems to be that the hunt will not pursue indoors or underground. History DC 20: The hunt's quarry is never predictable, but there are commonalities; they favor the powerful, the beautiful, and the cruel. It is said that the hunt can be summoned against a foe with the proper ritual, but the only guaranteed method of calling the hunt is by drawing the ire of the Mistress of the Moon. Religion DC 10: The hunt has no home and its lord no throne; it rides always, descending from the sky at night and vanishing by daybreak. Its coming is always at inauspicious times, but is most common in Autumn and Winter on the material plane. Religion DC 15: The master of the wild hunt is an archfey known as Cerunnos, exiled from and cursed by each of the fey courts in turn for his unquenchable passion for the hunt and his uncompromising devotion to the moon. Religion DC 20: Cerunnos was once the most favored hunter of the Green Court, a gift-child from the Witch of Fates adopted and beloved by Green Lord Oran until his pursuit of a silver hind led him to the Lake of Dreams, where he was visited by a vision that forever changed him. The lake has been long since lost in the shifting terrain of the Feywild, but may contain clues as to what drives the horned lord of the wild hunt. Cerunnos Tactics Cerunnos approaches methodically at the rear of the hunt, sounding his horn periodically, and typically enters the fray only after combat has been joined with his hounds and riders. He typically adds additional lightning damage to his first attack each turn, then uses the second attack to levitate the target, unless he has a ranged ally caught in melee that needs repositioning. If one among the party has some fey ancestry or a connection to wild places, he uses his Invective of the ThriceCursed against it each turn, and uses Scouring Moonfire whenever he has a flying or levitating creature to target with it, otherwise preferring to use his Blood Hunt when available. If his Wild Terror abilty transforms a creature into a hart, he uses his Invective of the Thrice-Cursed against it once to trap them in that form until they take damage. Cerunnos often appears in combat for only a turn or two at a time before retreating to full cover, likely being forgotten about due to his Moonlit Raed, and returning for multiple engagements with his quarry, even letting them take short rests while they think themselves hidden. He moves in for the kill only if dawn approaches or if his quarry nears an indoor or underground space.
Encounter Groups CR 29 Encounter 56,900 XP 1 Cerunnos, Master of the Wild Hunt (CR 21) 1 Wild Rider Moon Witch (CR 8) 20 Hounds of the Wild Hunt (CR M9) Cerunnos, Master of the Wild Hunt Large fey (sidhe), chaotic neutral Armor Class 21 (Woad, Shield) Hit Points 357 (34d10 + 170) Speed 60 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 22 (+6) 25 (+7) 21 (+5) 19 (+4) 21 (+5) 23 (+6) Saving Throws DEX +13, CON +11, CHA +12 Skills Insight +11, Perception +17, Survival +17 Damage Immunities Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage from Weapons that aren't Named Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Restrained Senses Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 27 Languages All Challenge 21 (33,000 XP) Woad-Clad. Ranged attacks against Cerunnos made from more than 30 feet away hit only on a critical. If Cerunnos is drenched in holy water, this trait is suspended until he completes a Short or Long Rest. Moonlit Raed. While lit by moonlight, the first time each turn Cerunnos leaves a creature's sight that creature must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or lose all clear memories of him, recalling him only as a dim and distant dream. Archfey Resilience. Cerunnos succeeds automatically on saving throws against spells and magical effects imposed by a creature that does not know his name, and has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects. Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If the Cerunnos would fail a saving throw, he may choose to succeed. Actions Multiattack. Cerunnos makes two melee attacks. Dubh Smàladh, the Smoldering Cloud. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) piercing damage and Cerunnos adds an additional effect of his choice: The target takes an additional 14 (4d6) lighting damage. The target must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be levitated up to 30 feet into the air until the beginning of Cerunnos' next turn. The target must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or switch places with a willing creature within 60 feet of it that Cerunnos can see. Wild Terror (Recharge 5-6). Cerunnos lets loose a wild cry that plants the frantic terror of a hounded beast. Each creature of his choice that can see or hear him must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened. A Frightened creature repeats this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more is polymorphed into a Hart for as long as it remains Frightened, or until it takes any damage. Reactions Flush Quarry. As a reaction when a creature fails at an attempt to Hide from Cerunnos, Cerunnos uses his Scouring Moonfire targeting it, if available. Horn of the Wild Hunt (1/Day). As a reaction to being reduced below 179 hit points, Cerunnos blows the Horn of the Wild hunt, summoning five Hounds of the Wild Hunt that act on his initiative to unoccupied spaces he can see. Legendary Actions Scouring Moonfire. One creature illuminated by moonlight that cerunnos can see must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or take 21 (6d6) radiant damage. A flying or levitating creature makes this save at disadvantage. Blood Hunt. Up to two of Cerunnos' hound allies, or up to one of his non-hound allies, may use its reaction to move up to half its speed and make a melee weapon attack. Invective of the Thrice-Cursed (Costs 2 Actions). One creature within 30 feet that Cerunnos can see must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or have its Wisdom score reduced by 1d4 until cured by Greater Restoration or similar magic, to a minimum of 1. A creature that dies with its Wisdom score reduced to 1 in this way is claimed as a rider of The Wild Hunt, and cannot be revived by any means short of a Wish spell.
Art Credits Cerunnos 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.