Other Free Titles From Conflux Creatures License Death Denied is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Art Credits Cover by Elffucker Agadeem's Awakening by Dmitry Burmak Allip by Mark Behm Angel of Decay by Jeremy Jarvis Atropal copyright Wizards of the Coast Atropal by Mark Behm Wraith by Michael Kaluta Banshee copyright Wizards of the Coast Belker by Michael Kaluta Blackwing copyright Wizards of the Coast Blood Amniote by Wayne England Blood Amniote copyright Wizards of the Coast Nechrichor copyright Wizards of the Coast Bodak copyright Wizards of the Coast Boneclaw copyright Wizards of the Coast Bonedrinker copyright Wizards of the Coast Boneless copyright Wizards of the Coast Bone Ooze copyright Wizards of the Coast Caller in Darkness by Wayne Reynolds Cinderspawn copyright Wizards of the Coast Coldlight Walker by Robson Michel Crawling Apocalypse by Michael Phillippi Crawling Claws by Mathias Kollros Josu Vess, Lich Knight by Tyler Jacobson Death Knight Wielding Mace by Steve Argyle Deathpact Angel by Jason Chan Godless Shrine by Cliff Childs Demilich by Michael Berube Devourer by Shawn Wood Bladewing, Deathless Tyrant by Antonio José Manzanedo Skithryx the Blight Dragon by Chippy Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm by Kekai Kotaki Zombie Drake by Kev Walker Boneyard Scourge by Grzegorz Rutkowski
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Monsters Allip Angel of Decay Atropals Atropal Godling Atropal Scion Avatar of Death Banshee Belker Blackwing Blood Oozes Bloodrot Ooze Blood Amniote Nechrichor Bodaks Bodak Bodak Mind-Killer Boneclaws Boneclaw Boneclaw Night Terror Bonedrinker Boneless Bone Ooze Caller in Darkness Cinderspawn Coldlight Walker Crawling Apocalypse Crawling Claws Death Knight Deathpact Angel Demiliches Demilich Derelict Demilich Ascetic Devourer Dragons Dracoliches Ghost Dragon Zombie Dragons Dread Ephemeral Swarm Eye of Fear and Flame Fear Moth Swarm Flameskull Gaunt Ghosts Poltergeist Trap Haunt Tormenting Ghost Ghostly Legionnaire Ghouls Horde Ghoul Fleshseeker Ghoul Ghast Lacedon Ghoul Abyssal Ghoul Ghoul Adept of Orcus Golems Dragonbone Golem Dragonflesh Golem Flesh Golem Flesh Golem Assimilator Bone Golem Tombstone Golem Grisgol Huecuva Hungry Fog Liches Eldritch Lich Fungal Lich Frostlich Archlich Arcane Lich Baelnorn Mohrg Mummies Mummy Retainer Mummy Guardian Salt Mummy Mummy Lord Necromancers Skulldigger Gravebreaker Ghoulcaller Wraithbinder Nightshades Nightwing Nightcrawler Nightwalker Quell Ragewind Revenants Revenant Retainer Questing Revenant Revenant King Serpentir Shadows Shadow Stalker Shadow Strangler Shadow Puppeteer Skeletons Decrepit Skeleton Skeleton Warrior Boneshard Skeleton Blazing Bones Tomb Guard Skeletal Liberator Bonecrusher Skeleton Skin Kite Skull Lord Sorrowsworn The Wretched The Lost The Lonely The Hungry The Angry Spawn of Kyuss Wretch of Kyuss Spawn of Kyuss Specters Specter Voidsoul Specter Sword Wraiths Sword Wraith Warrior Sword Wraith Deathseeker Sword Wraith Commander Tomb Mote Tomb Scarabs Tomb Scarab Swarm of Tomb Scarabs Tomb Spiders Tomb Spider Broodswarm Web Mummy Tomb Spider Ulgurstasta Vampires Vampire Spawn Starveling Vampire Spawn Bloodletter Vampire Vampire Dreadknight Vampire Blood Exarch Vampiric Mist Vitreous Drinker Voidwraith Wheep Wights Wight Deathlock Wight Slaughter Wight Wraiths Wisp Wraith Spectral Wraith Mad Wraith Moon Wraith Zombies Zombie Rotter Gravehound Plague Zombie Rotwing Zombie Zombie Burster Chillborn Zombie Corruption Corpse Zombie Clot Figures of Renown Orcus, Prince of Undeath Solodovnika, Witch-Maw of the Bleakwood Vlaakith CLVII Monsters By CR
Spells Annihilating Aura Batrachian Metamorphosis Bestow Wound Blasphemous Abrogation Bleak Aurora Blessed Unrest Blood Puppeteering Brainrot Bring Low Call to Feast Clutch of Terror Command Ichor Corpus Potency Corrupt Marrow Creeping Bone Curse of Stolen Sight Deathlord's Favor Death's Aid Death Throes Descent of Crows Demonrot Barbs Discharge Douse Dweomer Rupture Enchain Essence Erratic Fireball Eternal Tide Filth Harvest Fireburst Flash Freeze Foetid Fusation Fold Space Forced Growth Freeze the Blood Frostbite Touch Ghastly Scourge Glacier Tomb Grasping Grave Gravebolt Graveway Travel Grave Terror Gravity Gash Hallowed Balance Heartstop Hellfire Orb Horrid Growth Ice Needle Hail Invocation of the Rot Shepherd Lacerating Rain Lay Bare Lignify Litany of Flesh Devoured Litany of Forsaken Vows Mindwrack Binding Misdirection Mycellia Snare Necromiasma Necropulse Salvo Numbing Torpor Ossuary Call Panickfog Plague Chant Polar Burst Psychic Rebound Raise the Horde Reanimate Rend Magic Sapping Cold Screaming Flame Shadowsink Shield of Bones Shred Lungs Slaying Smite Spiritual Arsenal Splinterburst Spontaneous Combustion Sporeflight Sprouting Doom Still Arcana Sudden Wasting To Dust Transporting Touch Twist Spell Unspeakable Insight Wake the Bones Wraithblade Wrench Heart
Allip Allip Lore Religion DC 10. Allips result when a person is burdened with a truth too terrible to bear, one so awful that death seems the only relief. This perception is only another layer of cruelty, however, as in death they are bound even more closely to that truth, forced to find others to pass their cursed knowledge on to. Religion DC 15. The spirit of the allip wanders in terror, forcing the horrid truth that killed them out through stammered whispers, compelled to believe that doing so will free them from their torment. Those sufficiently strong-willed to shrug such knowledge off with impunity often seem to the allip to have already descended into madness, and are treated as with indifference or a kind of commiserative kinship. Allip Tactics Allips begin combat with their Whispers of Madness, then use their Maddening Touch on a single creature repeatedly until it is reduced to 1 Wisdom. Early in a fight they rely on their Shadow Glide to protect them, but if their foes consistently circumvent their damage resistances they begin using their Incorporeal Movement to hide each turn, heedless of the damage and opportunity attacks. If a creature succeeds on a saving throw against one of the allip's abilities by 5 or more, the allip is convinced that it is immune and becomes indifferent to it until the creature takes hostile action against it. Allip Medium undead, lawful evil Armor Class 13 Hit Points 99 (22d8) Speed fly 40 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (-2) 17 (+3) 10 (+0) 17 (+3) 7 (-2) 16 (+3) Saving Throws INT +6, WIS +1 Skills Perception +5, Stealth +6 Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 15 Languages The languages it knew in life Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Incorporeal Movement. The allip can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. Depths of Madness. A creature that attempts to read the allip's mind has disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws for the next minute. Spectral Weapons. The allip's attacks treat all creatures as unarmored (an unarmored creature's AC is usually 10 plus its Dexterity modifier.) Actions Maddening Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (4d6 + 3) psychic damage and the target's Wisdom score is reduced by 2 (1d4) for the next minute, to a minimum of 1. A creature whose Wisdom score is reduced to 1 in this way becomes hostile to all living creatures, including itself, until it recovers. Whispers of Madness (Recharge 5-6). Each nonfiend, non-undead creature within 30 feet must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature uses its reaction to move up half its speed toward and make a melee attack against a living creature in range. Reactions Shadow Glide. As a reaction to taking damage of a type it is resistant to, the allip teleports up to 60 feet to a location it can see and turns invisible until it makes an attack or uses its whispers of madness.
Angel of Decay Angel of Decay Lore History DC 15: Streams of corruption spew from the bodies of angels of decay while they are uninjured, infecting all around them with a terrible rot, which they then harvest when injured to rapidly restore themselves. If allowed to regenerate, they can use this engine of rot to repeatedly suffuse the area around them with bursts of anti-life energy. Religion DC 20: Angels of decay are creatures of pure, elemental undeath, created by the demon lord Orcus from the corpses of a legion of angels sent to slay him, in mockery of their divinity. Angel of Decay Tactics Angels of decay focus on positioning themselves to infect as many creatures as possible with their Festering Presence, using their Foul Unraveling whenever available to keep foes from escaping before infected, and otherwise using their rotting touch against any creature that demonstrates an ability to cure disease. Festering Necrosis. An infected creature gains vulnerability to necrotic damage. Whenever an infected creature would fail one death save, it instead fails two death saves. Angel of Decay Medium elemental/undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 209 (22d10 + 88) Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 23 (+6) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) Saving Throws CON +9, WIS +7, CHA +7 Damage Resistances Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Restrained, Unconscious Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12 Languages Common, Abyssal, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Festering Presence. If the angel has at least 105 HP, a creature that starts its turn within 15 feet of it must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be infected with Festering Necrosis. Parasitic Presence. If the angel has 105 HP or fewer, it regains 10 hit points at the beginning of its turn for each corpse and each creature within 60 feet infected with Festering Necrosis. Magic Resistance. The angel has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Actions Multiattack. The angel makes two melee attacks, one of which it may replace with its foul unraveling, if available. Rotting Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 6) slashing damage plus 18 (4d8) necrotic damage. This attack scores a critical on a 16-20 against a creature with fewer than 100 hit points. Foul Unraveling (Recharge 5-6). The angel lashes out with tendrils of vile corruption, making a rotting touch attack against each creature within 15 feet On a hit, a creature is dragged up to 10 feet towards the angel and grappled (escape DC 17) and restrained until the end of the angel's turn. Reactions Wave of Decay. As a reaction to being reduced below 105 hit points, the angel unleashes a wave of negative energy. Each creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or take 27 (6d8) necrotic damage, or half as much on a success.
T Atropals here is nothing the gods abhor so much as an atropal. Lumps of malformed godflesh, these stillborne corpses of nevermade gods litter the astral plane drifting vacantly in a mockery of divinity. Those who serve the gods seek to destroy or seal such corpses whenever possible, not only to spare the gods their visage, but also because of the terrible power that lies latent within them. In the hands of a powerful necromancer, part or whole of an atropal may be nurtured to undeath, infused with unfathomable negative energies and filled with utter hatred for all living things, capable of depopulating a nation if allowed to rampage unchecked. Atropal Lore Arcana DC 15: Due to their divine origin, atropals are entirely immune to lesser magics. Arcana DC 20: Atropal scions continuously radiate the raw energies of death, rapidly leading to the onset of death or worse for creatures reduced to unconsciousness near the atropal. History DC 10: Creatures of the scale of an atropal scion are often known to be difficult to inflict significant harm on without actively creating an opening to do so. History DC 20: Atropals continuously drain the life from the living, making it crucial that those encountering one have their reserves fully intact. Those who are too far stretched will quickly find themselves succumbing to the atropal's powers. History DC 25: Atropals, despite all their power, are delicate things, soft with putrescence. Those who have faced atropal scions report knocking free huge chunks of flesh with sufficiently mighty blows, which can be disasterous given the atropal's immense necromantic aptitude. Nature DC 20: The twisted and blasphemous nature of the atropal makes it intensely vulnerable to magics of healing and radiance. Religion DC 10: Apocalypse cults often fixate on the idea of unsealing or siphoning power from an atropal. Few such organizations have the raw power to even seriously attempt such an endeavor, however. Religion DC 15: Divine influence in the vicinity of an atropal is severely curtailed, requiring additional personal power from a divine spellcaster to make up for its defecit. Religion DC 20: An atropal on its own is merely the inert husk of an unborn god. Atropal scions are those husks reanimated by dread gods of undeath or spontaneously through their own corrupted divinity, and those malformed creatures called godlings are portions of flesh carved from those corpses and nurtured to undeath by lesser magics. Atropal Tactics An atropal uses its Death Gaze and Necrotizing Beam at range until a creature is knocked unconscious, prioritizing clerics, druids, and paladins, then close to melee range with their Life Supressing Touch to keep as many injured creatures as possible in its aura of unmaking.
Atropal Godling Large undead, neutral evil Armor Class 7 Hit Points 300 (24d12 + 144) Speed fly 30 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 5 (-3) 22 (+6) 25 (+7) 19 (+4) 20 (+5) Saving Throws CON +11, WIS +9 Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weapons Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned Senses Blindsight 120 ft., Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages Understands Celestial but utters only obscene nonsense Challenge 13 (10,000 XP) Aura of Unmaking. Creatures within 30 ft. of the atropal make death saving throws at disadvantage. A creature in the area with no unexpended hit dice that rolls a 1 on a death saving throw fades out of existance and cannot be returned to life by any means other than a Wish spell. Quelling Aura. The area in a 1 mile radius around the atropal is warded from the influence of the divine. Deities cannot sense or communicate with creatures in the area, divine interventions in the area fail except on a roll of 00, and cleric and paladin spell slots count as one level lower in the area. Limited Magic Immunity. The atropal can't be affected or detected by spells of 1st level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects. Anti-Life Nature. If the atropal would receive magical healing, it instead must succeed a Constitution saving throw against the spellcaster's save DC or take an equal amount of radiant damage. If the atropal takes any radiant damage, attacks made against the atropal have advantage until the beginning of its next turn. Actions Multiattack. The atropal makes two attacks with its life suppressing touch. Life Suppressing Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (4d10 + 4) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced to its current hit points until it completes a short or long rest. Wretched Squall. Each living creature within 60 ft. of the atropal must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or take 14 (4d6) thunder damage and be deafened until the end of its next turn. A creature that fails by 5 or more is additionally unable to perform the verbal components of spells until the end of its next turn. Necrotizing Beam (Recharge 5-6). Each creature in a 90 ft. long, 10 ft. wide line from the atropal must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or take 55 (10d10) necrotic damage, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails by 5 or more loses 1d10 unexpended hit dice, then drops to 0 hit points if it has no unexpended hit dice remaining. Legendary Actions The atropal can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Shroud of Death. One creature the atropal can see within 60 ft. must succceed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw or be cursed for the next minute. Whenever the cursed creature takes damage, it takes an additional 5 (1d10) necrotic damage. This curse ends early if the target receives magical healing. The Dead Yet Live. One undead creature within 30 ft. that was destroyed since the end of the atropal's last turn returns to undeath with 22 (4d10) hit points. Atropos Burst. The atropal releases a burst of negative energy centered on a dead or unconscious creature within 60 ft. Each living creature within 15 ft. of the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or take 11 (2d10) necrotic damage, or half as much on a success.
Atropal Scion Huge undead, neutral evil Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 560 (32d20 + 224) Speed fly 50 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 21 (+5) 9 (-1) 25 (+7) 25 (+7) 19 (+4) 24 (+7) Saving Throws STR +12, CON +14, WIS +11, CHA +14 Damage Resistances Attacks made without advantage Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weapons Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, Stunned Senses Blindsight 120 ft., Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages Common, Celestial, Supernal Challenge 24 (10,000 XP) Aura of Unmaking. Creatures within 30 ft. of the atropal that make death saving throws roll three dice and take the lowest result. A creature in the area with no unexpended hit dice that rolls a 1 on a death saving throw fades out of existance and cannot be returned to life by any means other than a Wish spell. Quelling Aura. The area in a 1 mile radius around the atropal is warded from the influence of the divine. Deities cannot sense or communicate with creatures in the area, divine interventions in the area fail except on a roll of 00, and cleric and paladin spell slots count as two levels lower in the area. Limited Magic Immunity. The atropal can't be affected or detected by spells of 2nd level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects. Huge Stature. A creature adjacent to the atropal may spend half of its movement to attempt a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check. On a success, the creature climbs onto the atropal. While climbing on the atropal, a creature has advantage on melee attacks against the atropal. Anti-Life Nature. If the atropal would receive magical healing, it instead must succeed a Constitution saving throw against the spellcaster's save DC or take an equal amount of radiant damage. If the atropal takes any radiant damage, attacks made against the atropal have advantage until the beginning of its next turn. Implacable (5/day). If the atropal fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. If it does, it loses 25 hit points. Actions Multiattack. The atropal makes two attacks with its life suppressing touch, one of which it may replace with its end magic or its death gaze. Life Suppressing Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 38 (6d10 + 5) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced to its current hit points until it completes a short or long rest. This attack is made at advantage against a creature climbing on the atropal. End Magic. One creature within 60 ft. that the atropal can see must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the atropal ends each spell and magical effect affecting the creature, each spell it is concentrating on, and destroys one nonartifact magical item the creature is carrying. Death Gaze. One creature within 120 ft. that the atropal can see must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw or drop to 0 hit points. A creature under the effects of Protection from Evil and Good or Death Ward has advantage on this saving throw. Necrotizing Beam (Recharge 5-6). Each creature in a 300 ft. long, 15 ft. wide line from the atropal must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or take 105 (10d10 + 50) necrotic damage, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails by 5 or more loses 1d20 unexpended hit dice, then drops to 0 hit points if it has no unexpended hit dice remaining. Reactions Spawn Godling (2/day). As a reaction to taking 100 or more damage in a single turn, a piece of the atropal rips off and rapidly grows into a atropal godling with no legendary actions that acts on initiative count 0. Legendary Actions The atropal can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Shroud of Death. One creature the atropal can see within 60 ft. must succceed on a DC 21 Charisma saving throw or be cursed for the next minute. Whenever the cursed creature takes damage, it takes an additional 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. This curse ends early if the target receives magical healing. The Dead Yet Live. One undead creature within 30 ft. that was destroyed since the end of the atropal's last turn returns to undeath with 33 (6d10) hit points. Atropos Burst. The atropal releases a burst of negative energy centered on a dead or unconscious creature within 60 ft. Each living creature within 15 ft. of the target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (4d10) necrotic damage, or half as much on a success.
A Avatar of Death ll life contains within it the seeds of death, and certain dread rituals and artifacts can call forth this patient mote, granting it corporeal form to confront its living mirror. The foolish imagine they may be freed of the burden of death by excising this rotten root from themselves, but such attempts are invariably in vain. Death always claims it due, in the end. Avatar of Death Lore Arcana DC 15: Avatars of death are inextricably bound to the living things from which they spawn; so long as a creature persists, so does its death, living alongside it until ready to make its claim. Arcana DC 20: Even if defeated, an avatar of death will always return to claim its summoner, often when the summoner is at its lowest point of wretchedness. Religion DC 20: While the creation of death's avatars is often attributed to Jergal, the former god of Death, the Scriveners of Doom disavow any connection, asserting that carrying one's death is simply what it is to be alive, and those who wish not to be hastened to their graves would be betteradvised to simply live in that truth rather than rebelling against it. Avatar of Death Medium undead, neutral evil Armor Class 20 (Natural Armor) Hit Points Half the hit point maximum of its summoner. Speed 60 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Turned, Unconscious Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12 Languages All Challenge N/A Incorporeal Movement. The avatar can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. Creeping Return. When the avatar is reduced to 0 hit points it does not die or fall unconscious. Instead, it loses the ability to take actions and silently leaves. Whenever its summoner attempts to rest while it has no unexpended hit dice, roll a D100. On a roll of 5 or below, the avatar is summoned once more. Actions Touch of the Inevitable. One creature within 5 feet has its Charisma score reduced by 3 (1d6) for the next minute, then the avatar teleports at least 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. A creature that has its Charisma score reduced to 0 in this way dies and can't be restored to life by any means.
Banshee Banshee Lore History DC 10: Banshees are often the spirits of those obsessed with some form of perfection in life; now expressed in death for their utter intollerance of any taint of the living in their haunting grounds. Nature DC 15: Banshees persist in opposition to all things natural and living, their very presence withering the life around them. Areas haunted by a banshee are barren and lifeless, and they invariably detect and are drawn to an intrusions by the living into their spaces. Religion DC 10: The very sight of a banshee is an ill omen; presaging the imminent doom of one present. When agitated, banshees can produce a deadly wail of anguish and mourning, lamenting the deaths of those present even as it causes them. Religion DC 15: Banshees are a form of haunting spirit, one bound to a person, location, or object by the circumstances of their death so strongly that only breaking those ties through resolution or ritual can stop them from returning to a space once banished. Banshee Tactics Banshees seek to keep the spaces they haunt clear of life, showing themselves in brief glimpses before initiating combat with their Horrifying Visage to attempt to scare the living away. If its foes refuse to flee, it uses its corrupting touch on whichever seems least frightened of it. If reduced to 0 hit points, it lurks nearby, alternating between spat invectives at the players, predictions at how they will die, and dark hints at its unfinished business. Banshee Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 12 Hit Points 81 (18d8) Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 1 (-5) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 17 (+3) Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11 Languages Any languages it knew in life Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Ill Omen. When initiative is rolled, the banshee forces one creature it can see to succeed on DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be cursed. While cursed in this way, a creature subtracts 1d8 from the result of any Wisdom saving throws it makes. Incorporeal Movement. The banshee can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. Weightless. Whenever the banshee takes damage, it is pushed 10 feet away from the damage's source. Spectral Weapons. The banshee's attacks treat all creatures as unarmored (an unarmored creature's AC is usually 10 plus its Dexterity modifier.) Unfinished Business. When the banshee is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not die or fall unconscious. Instead, it loses the ability to take actions, though it can still communicate. After 24 hours, the banshee recovers all of its hit points. While at 0 hit points, the banshee can be destroyed any of the following ways: Resolving its unifinished business. Subjecting it to the same conditions that killed it. Performing funeral rites for it with the Ceremony spell. Actions Corrupting Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (4d6 + 2) necrotic damage and plants within 10 feet of the target wither and die. Horrifying Visage. Each non-undead creature within 60 feet of the banshee that can see her must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened for 1 minute. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more has its face twist into a permanent rictus of terror until cured by Greater Restoration or similar magic. A Frightened creature repeats this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect and becoming immune to the banshee's horrifying visage for 24 hours on a success. Reactions Wail (1/Day). As a reaction to being reduced below 41 hit points, the banshee releases a mournful wail, provided that she isn’t in sunlight. Each living creature within 30 feet that can hear her must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or drop to 0 hit points. On a success, a creature takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage.
Belker Belker Lore Arcana DC 10: Despite their imposing size, belkers usually weigh no more than a couple of pounds and lack the magical anchoring that true air elementals posess, making them intensely vulnerable to wind-based spells. History DC 15: Belkers are adept at harrying other insubstantial creatures, and are occasionally employed by vampire hunters to corral a vampire in mist form, preventing it from reaching its resting place to regenerate. Nature DC 15: When hunting corporeal prey, a favored tactic of the belker is to simply asphyxiate it in its sleep, one of the many hazards of resting outside major settlements in the Elemental Plane of Fire. Belker Tactics The belker approaches in its smoke form, typically when its prey are resting or engaged in some other hazardous activity, like scaling a cliff face, and attempts to suffocate it with its Sedative Fume and Asphyxiant Presence. If detected, it uses its Shred Lungs, then switches to its elemental form, focusing its attacks on a single creature while using its reach and flight to prevent reprisals. Once it makes a kill, the belker retreats and waits for its prey's allies to leave before returning to claim its meal. Belker Large elemental, neutral evil Armor Class 14 Hit Points 150 (20d10 + 40) Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 4 (-3) 19 (+4) 15 (+2) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) Saving Throws CON +5 Skills Stealth +7, Survival +4 Damage Resistances Fire, Necrotic Damage Immunities Poison Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages Auran Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Smoke Form. As a Bonus Action, the belker may disperse into a large cloud of smoke, or coalesce back to its true elemental form. While in this form, the belker can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, can move through any opening that air can pass through without squeezing, and has resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks. Asphyxiant Presence (Smoke Form Only). A creature in the belker's space is Blinded and cannot breathe. Actions Multiattack (Elemental Form Only). The belker makes two attacks with its smoke claws. Smoke Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 17 (3d8 + 4) slashing plus 5 (1d10) necrotic damage. Shred Lungs (Concentration, Smoke Form Only). One creature in the belker's space must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or have a claw of smoke form in its lungs and begin tearing at them, dealing 13 (3d8) slashing damage to the creature at the start of each of its turns for the next minute. An affected creature may repeat this save as an action, coughing the claw out on a success. Sedative Fume (Recharge 5-6, Smoke Form Only). Each creature in the belker's space must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or fall asleep for the next minute. A creature wakes up early if it takes damage or another creature uses its action to wake it.
Blackwing Blackwing Lore History DC 15: Undead servitors created from the corpses of giant eagles, blackwings patrol ancient sites they were created to guard. They often act as mounts and spies for powerful undead. History DC 20: Blackwings rely on shock and terror tactics, combining the primal fear of their dives with supernaturally enhanced wailing to terrify their foes. While creatures that manage to take cover are somewhat inured to this approach, this suits the blackwing just fine, as its goal is always to divide its foes and pick them off one by one, starting with the slowest. Nature DC 15: Blackwings are fairly resilient, but their wing bones are no stronger than those of the birds they were made from, and can be broken with sufficient bludgeoning force, an especially devastating tactic in any aerial battle. Blackwing Tactics Blackwings use their Terror Dive, pulling up and trying again on a different target if their first target succeeds on its saving throw. Once a creature fails, the blackwing focuses on it to the exclusion of all else until it is unconscious, then carries the creature back to its lair to pick through its belongings. Against flying opponents, they use their speed and reach to employ hit-and-run tactics, picking of stragglers and seperating their foes. Blackwing Huge undead, neutral evil Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 180 (19d10 + 726) Speed 30 ft., fly 80 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) Skills Perception +8 Damage Resistances Cold Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 18 Languages Auran, Common Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Terror Dive. If the blackwing is flying and dives at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a melee weapon attack, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the end of the blackwing's next turn. Empty Bones. If the blackwing takes 15 or more bludgeoning damage from a single source, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or lose its fly speed until it completes a Short or Long rest. Actions Multiattack. The blackwing makes two attacks with its Abductor Talons, one of which it may replace with its Throatripper Beak or Wail of Despair, if available. Throatripper Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing plus 11 (1d10) necrotic damage. If the target is grappled, it additionally begins to bleed profusely. At the end of each of its turns, the target loses 4 (1d8) hit points and must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, with advantage if it received any magical healing since the end of its last turn, ending the effect on a success. Abductor Talons. Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). The blackwing may make this attack as a Bonus Action against a Frightened creature. Wail of Despair (Recharge 5-6). The blackwing lets out a terrible cry. Each living creature within 60 feet that can hear it has disadvantage on Wisdom saves it makes before the end of the blackwing's next turn.
Blood Oozes Bloodrot Ooze Lore Arcana DC 10: The sloughed-off detritus of creatures killed by acid occasionally spontaneously forms into bloodrot oozes, a form that wavers between classification of ooze and undead. Arcana DC 15: Because of their bloody composition, healing and cold can partially solidify the ooze as it forms clots, slowing it but adding heft to its attacks. Nature DC 15: Bloodrot oozes drain the blood from their victims, growing larger in the process until they grow large enough to shed the additional mass, creating a new ooze in the process. Bloodrot Ooze Tactics Bloodrot oozes mindlessly attack the nearest creature not already grappled by another ooze, using their Exsanguinate and Split whenever available. If a creatures takes any cold damage, the bloodrot ooze becomes indifferent to it until the beginning of the creature's next turn. Bloodrot Ooze Small ooze/undead, unaligned Armor Class 8 Hit Points 104 (11d10 + 44) Speed 25 ft., climb 25 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 7 (-2) 18 (+4) 1 (-5) 13 (+1) 1 (-5) Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing Damage Immunities Acid, Poison Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Prone Senses Blindsight 60 Ft. (Blind Beyond This Radius), Passive Perception 11 Challenge 3 (700 XP) Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. Coagulate. If the ooze takes any cold damage, is affected by healing magic, or gains any temporary hit points it coagulates until the end of its next turn. While coagulated, the ooze may not use its amorphous trait, has its movement speed reduced by 10, and it deals an additional 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage with its melee attacks. Blood Siphon. Whenever a creature grappled one or more bloodrot oozes takes any necrotic damage, one bloodrot ooze grappling it gains an equal number of temporary hit points. Actions Multiattack. The ooze makes two attacks with its blood tendril. Blood Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) acid damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Exsanguinate (Recharge 5-6). One creature grappled by the ooze must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (4d10) necrotic damage as its blood wells up from its pores and orifices, or half as much damage on a success. Reactions Split. As a reaction to starting its turn with at least 15 temporary hit points, the ooze loses all temporary hit points and spawns a new bloodrot ooze in the nearest unoccupied space with hit points equal to the temporary hit points lost.
Blood Amniote Lore Arcana DC 15: Blood amniotes are anemone-like oozes that draw the blood through the skin of creatures they touch, birthed from earth soaked in the blood of thousands, typically from battelfields, charnel houses, and ancient sites of ritual sacrifice. History DC 20: While blood amniotes typically arise only spontaneously, bloodflooded battlefields with both sides decimated have given rise to rumors that the sanguine hierophants of Orcus have devised a spell that rains burning blood, all but guaranteeing a harvest of blood amniotes in its wake. Nature DC 15: Blood amniotes drain the blood from their victims, growing larger in the process until they grow large enough to shed the additional mass, creating a new amniote in the process. Blood Amniote Tactics Blood amniotes grapple as many creatures as they can, always preferring to attack a creature they have not yet grappled, then use their blood call whenever available. The amniote's goal is not to consume, but to grow and reproduce, and it does so without regard for its its own safety. Blood Amniote Large ooze/undead, unaligned Armor Class 9 Hit Points 112 (12d10 + 48) Speed 25 ft., climb 25 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 8 (-1) 18 (+4) 1 (-5) 15 (+2) 1 (-5) Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Prone Senses Blindsight 120 Ft. (Blind Beyond This Radius), Passive Perception 12 Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Amorphous. The amniote can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. Coagulate. If the amniote takes any cold damage, is affected by healing magic, or gains any temporary hit points it coagulates until the end of its next turn. While coagulated, the amniote may not use its amorphous trait, has its movement speed reduced by 10, and it deals an additional 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage with its melee attacks. Blood Siphon. Whenever one or more creatures grappled by the amniote take any necrotic damage, the amniote gains an equal number of temporary hit points. If it gains temporary hit points while it already has temporary hit points, the amniote adds them together, to a maximum of 30. Actions Multiattack. The amniote makes four attacks with its rupturing tendrils. Rupturing Tendrils. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage and the target is dragged up to 10 ft. toward the amniote and grappled (escape DC 15). A creature grappled by the amniote takes 5 (1d10) necrotic damage at the end of each of its turns. Blood Call (Recharge 5-6). Up to two creatures grappled by the ooze must each succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (4d10) necrotic damage as its blood wells up from its pores and orifices, or half as much damage on a success. Reactions Split. As a reaction to starting its turn with at least 20 temporary hit points, the amnote loses all temporary hit points and spawns a new blood amniote in the nearest unoccupied space with hit points equal to the temporary hit points lost. Engulf. As a reaction to a Medium or smaller creature the amniote has grappled falling unconscious, the amniote pulls the creature into its space. While in the amniote's space, a creature cannot stabilize.
Nechrichor Lore Religion DC 15: The blood of evil divinities poses a threat in and of itself, as once spilled it is often moved by the malice that spawned it to seek a corporeality and immortality. Religion DC 20: Necrichors leave a portion of themselves in the bloodstream of every creature they attach themselves to, one that can regrow into a full nechricor if the parent is killed. Because of the difficulty of ensuring their full destruction, holy orders often form to seal them away without destroying them, keeping them imprisoned and unliving so they cannot regenerate. Nechricor Tactics Necrichors always use their blood puppeteering whenever available if not already attached to a creature. While attached, the necrichor prefers to use its Wrench Blood against any spellcasters that could incapacitate it, otherwise using its Ichor Tendril to fend off threats to its host. If its host is reduced below 20 hit points, it uses its Blood Puppeteering to jump to another host, if available. It uses its Lose Cohesion only to avoid being incapacitated, and its Bloody Retribution whenever available. Necrichor Medium ooze/undead, lawful evil Armor Class 12 Hit Points 136 (16d10 + 48) Speed 25 ft., climb 25 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 8 (-1) 15 (+2) 17 (+3) 17 (+3) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) Saving Throws CON +6, INT +6, WIS +6 Skills Arcana +9 Damage Resistances Acid, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Blindsight 120 Ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 11 Languages Any three languages, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Spider Climb. The necrichor can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. Rejuvenation. Unless its lifeless remains are splashed with holy water or interred in a location under the effects of the hallow spell, the destroyed necrichor reforms in 1d1O days, regaining all its hits points and appearing in an unoccupied space adjacent to any living creature that has been affected by its blood puppeteering ability. Coagulate. If the necrichor takes any cold damage, is affected by healing magic, or gains any temporary hit points it coagulates until the end of its next turn. While coagulated, the necrichor may not use its spider climb trait, has its movement speed reduced by 10, and it deals an additional 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage with its melee attacks. Blood Siphon. Whenever a creature the necrichor is attached to takes any necrotic damage, the necrichor gains an equal number of temporary hit points. Actions Multiattack. The necrichor makes two attacks with its ichor tendril, one or both of which it may replace with a use of its wrench blood. Ichor Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be forced to expend two of its hit dice. A creature that cannot is instead Paralyzed until the start of the necrichor's next turn. Wrench Blood. One creature the necrichor can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or take 22 (4d10) necrotic damage and be pulled up to 15 feet toward the necrichor, or take half as much damage on a success. Blood Puppeteering (Recharge 5-6). One creature within 5 feet that does not have all of its hit points must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the necrichor enters the target's space and attaches itself to the target. While attached, the nechrichor takes only half the damage dealt to it and the target takes the remaning damage. While the necrichor is attached to a creature, the necrichor can't use its multiattack and the creature acts under the necrichor's control. An affected creature repeats this saving throw whenever it takes damage, expelling the necrichor into an unoccupied adjacent space on a success. Reactions Lose Cohesion. If the necrichor fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead as a reaction. If it does, any creatures it is attached to are freed and the necrichor moves to the nearest unoccupied space. Bloody Retribution. As a reaction when it succeeds on a saving throw, the necrichor causes a creature it is attached to to make a melee atttack against itself.
T Bodaks he art of frightening a creature to death is one that few have the talent or patience for; a delicate balance between threat and harm, between set and setting. One must cultivate the proper atmosphere, such that known terrors may be used to imply still greater unknown ones, and maintain a certain tempo, such that the audience is too overwhelmed to intellectualize their experience, but not so overwhelmed that they miss any details. It is a domain of necromancy dabbled in only by the most dedicated of practitioners, but careful mastery of the craft can allow for the creation of the bodak, among the most loyal and useful of undead sentinels, and once one has been created the process becomes much easier to repeat. Bodak Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 104 (16d8 + 32) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) Skills Perception +4, Stealth +6 Damage Resistances Cold, Fire, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities Lightning, Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages Abyssal, Common. Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Death Gaze. The bodak's eyes reflect the horror that frightened it to death. A creature not immune to the Frightened condition that starts its turn within 30 feet of the bodak and can see its eyes must succeed a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or take 16 (3d10) psychic damage. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more instead drops to 0 hit points. The bodak is forced to close its eyes while in sunlight, disabling this trait. Aura of Annihilation. Creatures within 30 feet of the bodak fail death saves automatically, and cannot be stabilized without regaining at least one Hit Point. A creature that dies in this aura rises as a bodak after 24 hours. Fear is Where It Lives. The bodak is always Frightened. If another effect would subject the bodak to the Frightened condition, it instead gains 18 (4d8) temporary hit points. Actions Soul Drain. One creature within 5 feet of the bodak must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (4d10) necrotic damage and be forced to expend two of its hit dice. If the creature can't, it instead drops to 0 hit points. Share Horror (Recharge 5-6). The bodak opens its mind to those around it. Each creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed and Frightened by the bodak until the end of its next turn. While charmed in this way, a creature cannot avert its eyes.
Bodak Lore Arcana DC 15: Bodaks are the remnants of creatures who were frightened to death, and their eyes continuously reflect their final moments. A creature that gazes into the bodak's eyes is flooded with the experience of those moments, and can be slain where it stands by the sheer terror. History DC 10: The bodak is a species of undead that can slay with a mere glance, so whether hunting or fleeing from them, one is advised to avert one's eyes. History DC 15: While bodaks are never found in sunlight, those with the magical means of producing it find that its presence can force the bodak to avert its gaze, which is much preferrable to the reverse. Religion DC 15: Even among sects that practice necromancy, the bodak is considered taboo, both because of the cruelty involved in its creation, and because some bodaks are known to consume the immortal spirits of their victims. Even for the most callous and inhumane of gods, this is often a bridge too far, not least because it depletes the stock of petitioners sent on to their afterlives. Bodak Tactics Bodaks try to keep as many creatures in range of their Death Gaze and Aura of Annihilation as possible, using their share horror whenever available. They preferentially target clerics and paladins, but will always shift to target a creature at 0 hit points with their Soul Drain if one is available, heedless of attacks of opportunity. Bodaks when found together generally avert their gaze from one another, but if reduced below 30 hit points may cease averting their gaze in the hopes of gaining temporary hit points with their Fear is Where it Lives trait. Bodak Mind Killer Tactics Bodak mind killers behave much as lesser bodaks do, but rather than attacking downed foes rely on their Aura and Consume Spirit reaction to finish them off, instead using its soul drain repeatedly on the weakest-looking creature in its reach. Bodak Mind Killer Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 152 (19d8 + 57) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) Skills Perception +6, Stealth +8 Damage Resistances Cold, Fire, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Damage Immunities Lightning, Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 16 Languages Abyssal, Common. Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Death Gaze. The bodak's eyes reflect the horror that frightened it to death. A creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of the bodak and can see its eyes must succeed a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or take 22 (4d10) psychic damage. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more instead drops to 0 hit points. A creature that is immune to the frightened condition makes this save at advantage. The bodak is forced to close its eyes while in sunlight, disabling this trait. Aura of Annihilation. Creatures within 30 feet of the bodak fail death saves automatically, cannot be stabilized without regaining at least one Hit Point. Additionally, creatures of the bodak's choice that start their turn in the aura take 5 (1d10) necrotic damage. A creature that dies in this aura rises as a bodak after 24 hours. Fear is Where It Lives. The bodak is always Frightened. If another effect would subject the bodak to the Frightened condition, it instead gains 36 (8d8) temporary hit points. Actions Multiattack. The bodak uses its Soul Drain twice, one of which it may replace with a use of its Share Horror, if available. Soul Drain. One creature within 5 feet of the bodak must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 22 (4d10) necrotic damage and be forced to expend two of its hit dice. If the creature can't, it instead drops to 0 hit points. Share Horror (Recharge 5-6). The bodak opens its mind to those around it. Each creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed and Frightened by the bodak until the end of its next turn. While Charmed in this way, a creature cannot avert its eyes. Reactions Consume Spirit (Concentration). As a reaction when a creature drops to 0 hit points within 5 feet of it, the bodak grapples the creature and begins to draw the creature's soul out from its body. At the beginning of the bodak's next turn, if the creature is still unconscious and grappled, the creature dies and cannot be resurrected by any means short of a Wish spell, as the bodak devours its spirit.
I Boneclaw n the journey of those who make the voluntary passage to undeath, few perils are more fearsome than the prospective transformation to a boneclaw. Those who seek immortality wish for their spirit, will, and body to maintain intact, yet will is a fragile thing; in the moment of death it often shatters, leaving behind a husk of power and cunning and malice with no will of its own. Boneclaw Lore Arcana DC 15: Boneclaws are created when a necromancer attempting to ascend to a form of independant undeath has their will fail in the moment of transformation, leaving them a hate-filled husk unable to move under its own will. Arcana DC 20: Upon creation, these boneclaws seek out the most ill-willed creature they can find, substituting its desires for their own missing ones, yet interpreting them in such a way as to serve their own innate impulse to violence and cruelty. Often they remain hidden from their new master, acting as a malicious guardian from the shadows and interpreting their master's will as they may. So long as the creature they are bonded to lives, the boneclaw will always return to life if destroyed. Nature DC 15: Boneclaws are creatures born of shadow that abhor light in all its forms. The shadowstuff claws of a boneclaw are constantly in flux, growing and shrinking in response to the boneclaw's bloodlust and the ambient shadows they consume. Boneclaw Large undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 142 (19d10 + 38) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 9 (-1) Saving Throws DEX +7, CON +6, WIS +6 Skills Perception +5, Stealth +7 Damage Resistances Cold, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing while in Dim Light or Darkness Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 16 Languages The languages it knew in life Challenge 10 (8,400 XP) Rejuvenation. While its master lives, a destroyed boneclaw gains a new body in 1d10 hours, with all its hit points. The new body appears within 1 mile of the boneclaw’s master. Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the boneclaw can take the Hide action as a Bonus Action. Actions Multiattack. The boneclaw makes two attacks with its Ghastly Claws, each of which it may replace with a use of its Douse or Shadowsink, if available. Ghastly Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d10 + 4) piercing damage and the target is pulled up to 10 feet toward the boneclaw and grappled (escape DC 14). Douse. The boneclaw reduces a source of Bright Light it can see within 60 feet to Dim Light, or extinguishes a source of Dim Light it can see in the area. If the boneclaw is hidden, this action does not reveal its position. Shadowsink (Recharge 5-6). If the boneclaw is in Dim Light or Darkness, the shadows around it deepen to a pure black and it sinks through to the world of shadow, emerging at another location in Dim Light or Darkness within 60 feet. Each creature within 5 feet of the boneclaw must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or be drawn through this passage behind it, taking 32 (5d12) necrotic damage and emerging in the nearest unoccupied space to the boneclaw. A grappled creature makes this saving throw at disadvantage.
Boneclaw Tactics Boneclaws prefer to first savor the terror of their victims, stalking them at a distance from the shadows and using their Douse ability periodically and unpredicatably. When they attack, they prefer to be seen only as an impossibly long arm snaking from an alleyway or cellar to snatch a creature, after which they use their shadowsink and attempt to hide. A boneclaw targets only creatures its master harbors negative emotions toward; it never stands its ground to fight and never breaks off a hunt while darkness persists; it has until daylight to take its quarry and does not fear defeat so long as its master lives. Boneclaw Night Terror Tactics Night terrors use their Spider Climb and Change Orientation to approach from oblique angles, using their Douse and Claw Skewer from cover for as long as they can before being discovered. If hit with a debilitating effect, they use their Douse until enough lights have been extinguished to break out of it with their Shadewarded trait. Once it has a creature grappled, the night terror drags it up the nearest vertical surface to finish the creature off without interruption. Boneclaw Night Terror Large undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 228 (24d10 + 96) Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 21 (+5) 17 (+3) 19 (+4) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 9 (-1) Saving Throws DEX +8, CON +9, WIS +6 Skills Perception +6, Stealth +8 Damage Resistances Cold, Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing while in Dim Light or Darkness Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 16 Languages The languages it knew in life Challenge 16 (15,000 XP) Rejuvenation. While its master lives, a destroyed boneclaw gains a new body in 1d10 hours, with all its hit points. The new body appears within 1 mile of the boneclaw’s master. Spider Climb. The boneclaw can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. Shadow Stealth. While in Dim Light or Darkness, the boneclaw can take the Hide action as a Bonus Action. Shadewarded (3/Day). If the boneclaw fails a saving throw while in Dim Light or Darkness, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The boneclaw makes two attacks with its Ghastly Claws, each of which it may replace with a use of its Douse or Shadowsink, if available. Ghastly Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) piercing damage and the target is pulled up to 10 feet toward the boneclaw and grappled (escape DC 18). Douse. The boneclaw reduces a source of Bright Light it can see within 60 feet to Dim Light, or extinguishes a source of Dim Light it can see in the area. If the boneclaw is hidden, this action does not reveal its position. Shadowsink (Recharge 5-6). If the boneclaw is in Dim Light or Darkness, the shadows around it deepen to a pure black and it sinks through to the world of shadow, emerging at another location in Dim Light or Darkness within 60 feet. Each creature within 5 feet of the boneclaw must succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or be drawn through this passage behind it, taking 32 (5d12) necrotic damage and emerging in the nearest unoccupied space to the boneclaw. A grappled creature makes this saving throw at disadvantage. Reactions Shadow Snatch. As a reaction when a creature the boneclaw is hidden from enters its reach, the boneclaw makes an attack with its Ghastly Claws against it. If the attack hits, the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be Stunned until the end of the boneclaw's next turn and hidden from any creature the boneclaw is hidden from. If the boneclaw is hidden, this attack does not reveal its location. Legendary Actions The boneclaw can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Douse. The boneclaw uses its Douse ability. It may take this Legendary Action even while incapacitated. Change Orientation. The boneclaw changes the orientation of gravity toward an surface it can see within 30 feet for itself and for any creatures grappled by it. Claw Skewer. If the boneclaw is not in bright light, it extends a finger through the nearby shadows. One creature the boneclaw can see within 15 feet of an area of dim light or darkness must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take 11 (2d10) piercing damage. If the boneclaw is hidden, this action does not reveal its position.
T Bonedrinker he invasion of a hobgoblin host is a dreadful thing on its face, but one of the most fearsome results happens only after the invasion has been repelled. When traveling through enemy territory, the warpriests and banewrights of a host will often perform a necromantic burial ritual upon their fallen dead, which after a time bestows a particularly foul form of undeath upon them. For years after the army has passed, bonedrinkers will unearth themselves to terrorize communities and soften nations against future assaults, a phenomenon sometimes called Bane's Second Harvest. Bonedrinker Lore History DC 10: Between six months and a year after a hobgoblin invasion, sites of battles are often plagued by bonedrinkers, a form of semivampiric undead that extracts the bones from its victims. Nature DC 15: As a bonedrinker goes without feeding, its flesh erupts in weeping sores. While a well-fed bonedrinker might content itself with ambushing lone travelers and can be repelled with sufficient force, starving ones are more likely to mount direct assaults on towns and villages and fight viciously to the death. Bonedrinker Tactics Bonedrinkers attempt to grab a creature near the edge of a group, then dash to drag it away from its allies. As soon as they grapple a creature, they use their bonesoftening bite, then once that takes effect they drink the creature's bones, losing all regard to their safety as they do. Bonedrinker Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 8 (-1) 14 (+2) 9 (-1) Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12 Languages Common, Goblin Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Bone-Scent Ravening. While within 30 ft. of a living creature with bones, the bonedrinker may Dash as a Bonus Action, and melee attacks made against it by creatures it is not grappling are made at advantage. Weeping Sores. The bonedrinker is covered in sores that weep a clear fluid, and develops more for each day it goes without feeding. Actions Multiattack. The bonedrinker makes two melee attacks, one of which may be with its bonesoftening bite or its drink bones. Bonsoftening Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one grappled target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or have its bones soften for the next minute, reducing the creature's speed by half. Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). The bonedrinker has two tentacles, each of which may grapple a single creature. Drink Bones. One creature with softened bones and grappled by the bonedrinker must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or have its Constitution score reduced by 5 (2d4). A creature that has its Constitution reduced to 0 in this way collapses into a pile of loose flesh and dies.
T Boneless he mantra of the necromancer is "Waste not, want not, " focused as the discipline is on making use of the refuse of the living, and nowhere is this principle more in evidence than in the boneless; created in charge of animating energy driven through the fleshy midden left when an animated skeleton has shed its bonds, or through discarded scraps unsuitable for greater works such as flesh golems. Boneless Lore History DC 15: Certain necromancers have been known to wear controlled boneless as armor, or to clad their skeletal champions with them as a grim surprise for wayward adventurers. Nature DC 20: Unlike constrictor snakes, boneless are unconcerned with efficient use of their strength and actively try to crush the air from their victims' lungs, rather waiting for them to breathe out. A sufficiently strong foe can simply tear them off, however, as their tough leathery bodies don't harbor an overabundance of brute strength. Boneless Tactics Boneless slither in under door cracks or hide in crevaces, attacking creatures when they believe themselves to be safe, targeting the nearest living creature if not directed. In combat, hey first lung with their Clinging Slam, Throttles the creature until it begins to suffocate, then goes back to slamming it repeatedly. Boneless Medium undead, neutral evil Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5) Speed 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 3 (-4) 7 (-2) 5 (-3) Damage Immunities Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 Ft., passive Perception 8 Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) Damage Transfer. While it is wrapped around a creature, the boneless takes only half the damage dealt to it by creatures it is not grappling, and the creature grappled by the boneless takes the other half. Amorphous. The boneless can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. Actions Clinging Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage and the boneless wraps itself around the target (escape DC 11). While the boneless is wrapped around it, a creature cannot speak or breathe, and the boneless moves with the target. Throttle. One creature the boneless is wrapped around must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or have the air driven from its lungs and begin to suffocate.
Bone Ooze Bone Ooze Lore Arcana DC 15: Despite being creatures of death, bone oozes are not creatures of undeath, and suffer greatly when exposed to powerful necrotic energies as their half-digested meals thrash within them. History DC 15: Bone oozes occasionally form spontaneously from ancient battle sites, particularly those that border swampy regions. History DC 20: Due to their disinterest in creatures that lack bones, bone oozes are occasionally used to guard the lairs of powerful necromancers that have relinquished their bones for forms of metal or spirit. Rarely, a creature with bones will attempt to domesticate a bone ooze with regular offerings, but such ventures invariably end with the creature being relieved of its bones. Nature DC 10: While the large pieces of bone within the ooze can be shattered easily enough, those floating pieces are undigested meals, rather than any crucial organ. The ooze itself is naturally resistant to bludgeoning assaults, as it is to all forms of physical damage. Nature DC 15: Like many oozes, bone oozes are ponderously slow, though they rarely give up on prey once they have begun to track it. Bone Ooze Tactics A bone ooze dashes toward the largest nearby creature with bones, attacking with its pseudopod once in range and trying to engulf it, then moving on to the next creature. Once it has two or more creatures engulfed, it uses its Bone Meld whenever available until the creatures are dead or escape. The bone ooze never retreats, and breaks off combat only to pursue larger prey. Bone Ooze Gargantuan ooze, unaligned Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 280 (16d20 + 112) Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 25 (+7) 1 (-5) 24 (+7) 1 (-5) 4 (-3) 1 (-5) Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing Damage Immunities Acid Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Prone Senses Blindsight 60 Ft. (Blind Beyond This Radius), Passive Perception 7 Challenge 16 (15,000 XP) Partially Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 foot wide, though it must squeeze to do so. Rolling Graveyard. If the bone ooze takes at least 15 necrotic damage from a single source, the ooze and each creature engulfed by it lose 10 (3d6) hit points as the skeletons within it briefly reanimate and thrash around. If the ooze is killed by this damage, 1d8 skeletons reanimate and erupt from the ooze, appearing in the nearest unoccupied space. Actions Multiattack. The ooze makes three pseudopod attacks, one of which it may replace with its Engulf. Osteokinetic Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (4d6 + 7) bludgeoning plus 9 (2d8) acid damage. A target with bones is dragged 10 ft. toward the ooze. Engulf. Up to two creatures creatures within 5 ft. must each succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be dragged into the ooze's space and grappled (escape DC 20). While grappled in this way, a creature is Blinded and takes 18 (4d8) acid damage at the beginning of each of the ooze's turns. Bone Meld (Recharge 5-6). Each creature grappled in the ooze must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 45 (10d8) slashing damage and has its Constitution score reduced by 5 (2d4) until restored by Greater Restoration or similar magic as some of its bones are drawn out through its skin, or takes no damage and half as much reduction on a success. A creature killed by this damage has its skeleton torn out and its flesh ejected from the ooze.
D Caller in Darkness eath is a lonely thing, or at least it's meant to be. A creature that dies in extreme agony or discontentment might find its spirit unable to pass beyond the material realm, bound here by its unfinished business. A far crueler fate, however, awaits those that suffer such deaths en masse. Their ghosts become stunted as they form, fusing and merging into a conglomorate too confused and miserable to relate to or understand its past selves, too alienated from its own memories to have its unfinished business resolved. Such spirits are trapped on this plane forever, spreading their wretched curse, until a true and lasting death finds them. Caller in Darkness Lore History DC 15: Callers in darkness are created at sites of mass death, where a mass of spirits begin to form ghosts, only to be drawn together into a malformed conglomorate. Nature DC 10: As with many incorporeal undead, the attacks of the caller pass straight through even the toughest armor, and few means save magical weaponry are able to properly harm them. Religion DC 10: A soul, once absorbed into a Caller in Darkness, is trapped there and cannot recognize a summons for resurrection or a beckoning to judgement. If a caller is destroyed, the souls within it remain bound together, lacking any proper place in the cosmos. Religion DC 15: Healing magic, though typically ineffected on the undead, seems to have an ameliorating effect on the madness of a caller, allowing the most recently claimed spirits the chance to regain enough sense of self to escape the collective. Caller in Darkness Tactics The caller in darkness attacks even if severely outmatched, with no sense of self preservation,and begins combat with its Soulstorm, moving through walls to hide behind them, which it continues using each turn until the party finds a way to effectively hurt it, at which point it alternates between its multiattack and its Visage of Shared Misery, targeting the creature with the lowest health. It uses its Soul Calling whenever available, and will attack a creature at 0 hit points to provoke its Draw Forth reaction, though only if it has already used Soul Calling on the creature at least three times.
Caller in Darkness Large undead, neutral evil Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 168 (16d10 +80) Speed fly 40 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 21 (+5) 18 (+4) 20 (+5) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 17 (+3) Saving Throws WIS +5, CHA +7 Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11 Languages Understands up to six languages, but can only scream Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Incorporeal Movement. The caller can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. Spectral Weapons. The caller's attacks treat all creatures as unarmored (an unarmored creature's AC is usually 10 plus its Dexterity modifier.) Spirit Void. Spirits drawn into the caller are subsumed within it, and are destroyed if it is destroyed. A spirit destroyed in this way can't be revived by any means short of a wish spell. If the caller in darkness would receive any magical healing, it instead receives no healing and must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or release the spirit most recently absorbed into it. Actions Multiattack. The caller uses its withering touch four times, one of which it may replace with a use of its Soul Calling. Withering Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) necrotic damage. Soul Calling. One creature within 30 feet with 0 hit points must succeed on a DC 17 Charisma saving throw or have its Charisma score reduced by 2 (1d4) for the next minute. A creature that has its Charisma score reduced to 0 in this way dies and has its soul drawn into and absorbed by the caller. Soulstorm (Concentration). The caller turns invisible until the beginning of its next turn, and each Large or smaller unattended object within 60 feet begins to levitate and thrash about. A creature that starts its turn in the area must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage, or half as much on a success. Visage of Shared Misery (Recharge 5-6). Each nonundead creature within 60 feet of the caller that can see it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the end of the caller's next turn. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more falls prone and loses hit points equal to half its maximum as a screaming fragment of the creature's soul tears itself free and is absorbed into the caller. Reactions Drifting Apparition. As a reaction to being hit with a melee attack, the caller moves up to half its speed without provoking attacks of opportunity. Draw Forth. As a reaction when a creature within 30 feet fails a death save, the caller uses its Soul Calling, targeting that creature.
Cinderspawn Cinderspawn Lore Arcana DC 10: Cinderspawn are fire elementals imbued with undeath, reduced to ash and embers that burn with the memory of the fire they once were, though their mere presence extinguishes any true flames. Arcana DC 15: Cinderspawn are extraordinarily averse to the cold, and will violently spew ash in retaliation if subjected to it. Nature DC 15: Unlike almost any other form of undead, a cinderspawn's conviction that it can return itself to life by slaying the living is actually grounded in reality, a fact which drives them to heights of savagery uncommon among even the most evil of elementals. Cinderspawn Tactics Cinderspawn are drawn to any creature that casts spells that deal fire damage, using their Snuff Out whenever available on the least damaged enemies in their reach. Cinderspawn rarely attack a downed creature unless commanded to, instead preferring to reduce a new creature to 0 hit points, though if an unconscious creature is healed they always move to attack it on the following turn, regardless of opportunity attacks. Cinderspawn Large elemental/undead, neutral evil Armor Class 14 Hit Points 136 (16d10 + 48) Speed 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 12 (+1) 19 (+4) 16 (+3) 11 (+0) 11 (+0) 17 (+3) Damage Immunities Fire, Necrotic, Poison Damage Vulnerabilities Cold Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Restrained Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10 Languages Ignan Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Extinguishing Presence. Flames in a 15 foot radius around the cinderspawn are extinguished as the enter or appear in the area. Spells that deal fire damage that affect the area or pass through it deal half as much damage. Rekindle. When the cinderspawn reduces a living humanoid or elemental creature to 0 hit points, it makes a DC 20 Charisma saving throw. On a success, the cinderspawn transforms into a Fire Elemental, retaining its current hit points. Actions Multiattack. The cinderspawn makes two attacks with its steal warmth. Steal Warmth. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 8 (1d8 + 4) cold plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage and the creature's movement is reduced by 10 until the beginning of the cinderspawn's next turn. Snuff Out (Recharge 5-6). One living creature within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or drop to 0 hit points. Reactions Gout of Ash. As a reaction to taking cold damage, the cinderspawn releases a gout of ash. Each creature within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 11 (2d10) necrotic damage and be Blinded until the end of the Cinderspawn's next turn.
Coldlight Walker Coldlight Walker Lore Nature DC 10 The undead nature of a coldlight walker rejects the light its body absorbed in life, disgorging it in searing bursts that can blind its prey. Nature DC 15: Victims of a coldlight walker freeze solid, and can't be thawed or revived until the magic sustaining the cold fades, typically after a bit over a week. Religion DC 15: Coldlight walkers are created by gods and spirits of Winter, set upon the frigid wilderness to remind mortals that they live at the mercy of the frigid cold. Coldlight Walker Tactics Coldlight walkers use their Blinding Light each turn, starting with the nearest enemy and switching targets until they find one that consistently fails the save, then attacking the Blinded creature. They use their Cold Ray whenever available, targeting whichever creature seems to be closest to death. If their thawing permafrost trait is active, they make a beeline for whichever creature hit them with fire damage and repeatedly attack it until the walker or its target dies. Coldlight Walker Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 120 (16d8 + 48) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 17 (+3) 8 (-1) 10 (+0) 8 (-1) Saving Throws INT +2, WIS +3 Damage Resistances Fire, Piercing, Slashing Damage Immunities Cold, Poison Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Exhaustion, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10 Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Thawing Permafrost. If the walker takes any fire damage, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or lose its damage resistances and gain the ability to Dash as a Bonus Action for the next minute. Blinding Light. The walker sheds bright light in a 20 foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. As a bonus action, the walker can force one creature in its bright light to succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be Blinded until the end of the walker's next turn. Icy Doom. A creature killed by the walker freezes for 9 days, during which time it can't be thawed, animated or raised from the dead. Actions Multiattack. The walker makes two slam attacks. Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Cold Ray (Recharge 5-6). One creature within 60 ft. that the walker can see must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 49 (9d10) cold damage, or half as much on a success. A grappled creature makes this save at disadvantage. Reactions Chill Weapon. As a reaction to being hit by a melee attack with a metal weapon, the walker forces the attacker to succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) cold damage and drop its weapon. If the creature attempts to pick the weapon up this turn, it must repeat the save.
T Crawling Apocalypse he eyes of this great siege weapon of undeath belie a tragic intelligence, one that mourns for itself and laments the seals that bind it to unlife and cruel service, but nevertheless remain utterly without pity or remorse for the insignificant creatures that lie in its path of ruin. Crawling Apocalypse Lore Arcana DC 15: While long centuries of desiccation leave undead denizens of the desert flamable as dry tinder, there is always a danger of damaging the equally flamable binding seals of the crawling apocalypse, which restrain its power even as they impel it to carnage. Arcana DC 20: The creation of a crawling apocalypse first requires a great leviathan of the deep sea to dragged living into the inhospitable reaches of a burning desert, where it is mummified living in binding magical seals, which will restrain and compel it until its destruction. History DC 15: Crawling apocalypses are great weapons of war, created by those nations so desperate for conquest that they resort to the most extreme reaches of necromancy. So potent are these creations, however, that they often outlive the empires that spawn them, malevolent forces of the sands left to fight dead wars while themselves yet untouched by the relief of death. History DC 20: Crawling apocalpses often retain vestiges of their former aquatic existance and mastery of the seas, drifting through their unliving torment in a fog of memory. Sufficiently strong sense-triggers can send them into a total reverie, a trait which their creators often exploited as a fail-safe. Medicine DC 15: The barbed tentacles of the crawling apocalypse, though devoid of much of the strength they wielded in life, carry in undeath the foul plague of Mummy Rot, a hybrid of curse and disease. Mummy Rot. A creature infected with Mummy Rot can't regain hit points by resting, and its hit point maximum decreases by 10 (3d6) for every 24 hours that elapse. If this reduces the target's hit point maximum to 0, the target dies, and its body crumbles to dust. The disease can be cured by a Remove Curse, in addition to any magic that cures disease. Crawling Apocalypse Tactics Crawling apocalypses patrol their ancient routes beneath the sands, surfacing if they detect movement on the surface above them to invesigate. They will attack any creature in their reach that they do not recognize, but will not depart far from their assigned path to give chase unless they are first attacked. They prioritizing attacking the largest concentration of targets, using their Rotting Tentacle Sweep whenever they can catch three creatures in it, and their crushing slam otherwise. If a creature is attacking persistently from range with attacks that the apocalypse cannot resist, it uses its Despairing Glare repeatedly until they fall prone. If it starts its turn with two or more creatures grappled and its breath of ages is available, it uses it, positioning the grappled creatures in the area with its tentacles.
Crawling Apocalypse Gargantuan undead (titan), lawful evil Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 217 (14d20 + 70) Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 24 (+7) 10 (+0) 21 (+5) 6 (-2) 18 (+4) 20 (+5) Saving Throws CON +9, INT +2, WIS +8, CHA +9 Damage Resistances Attacks made without advantage Damage Vulnerabilities Fire Damage Immunities Lightning, Necrotic, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing From Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 120 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages Understands Aquan but cannot speak Challenge 11 (7,200 XP) Binding Seals. Whenever the apocalypse takes 20 or more fire damage from a single source, it may attempt a DC 25 Charisma saving throw. On a success, its bursts its binding seals. The apocalypse loses its vulnerability to fire damage, its attacks are made at advantage, and it loses 11 (2d10) hit points whenever it makes an attack. Titanic Scale. A creature adjacent to the malukant may spend its full movement to attempt a DC 15 Dexterity (Athletics) or Strength (Athletics) check. On a success, the creature climbs onto the apocalypse's tentacles. A creature may attempt the same check to climb from the apocalypse's tentacles to its body, or from its body to its head. Tentacles. While climbing on the apocalypse's tentacles, a creature has advantage on attacks against it. Whenever the apocalypse makes an attack or uses its Rotting Tentacle Sweep, the creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall off. Body. While climbing on the apocalypse's body, a creature has advantage on attacks against it, and can't be affected by the apocalypse's Rotting Tentacle Sweep. Head. While climbing on the apocalypse's head, a creature has advantage on attacks against it, can't be affected by the apocalypse's Rotting Tentacle Sweep, and its attacks against the apocalypse score a critical on an 18-20. Magic Resistance. The apocalypse has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Implacable. If the apocalypse fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. If it does, it loses 25 hit points. Actions Multiattack. The apocalypse makes two attacks, each of which it may replace with a use of its Rotting Tentacle Sweep or its Despairing Glare. Crushing Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage and the target must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away and knocked prone. Each other creature within 10 feet of the target must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take half the attack's damage be pushed 10 feet away. Hurl Creature (Requires a grappled creature). Ranged Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, range 30/60 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. On a hit or miss, the thrown creature takes the attack's damage. Rotting Tentacle Sweep. Each creature in a 30 foot cone must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage and be grappled (escape DC 19). A creature that ends its turn grappled in this way must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or contract Mummy Rot. A creature that succeeds on this save by 5 or more may use its reaction to attempt to climb onto the apocalypse's tentacles. Despairing Glare. The apocalypse inflicts a portion of its anguish and resentment upon a creature it can see within 120 feet. The creature must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or take 27 (6d8) psychic damage and subtract 1d6 from the next saving throw it makes in the next minute. A creature that fails this saving throw by 5 or more falls prone and cannot stand, and repeats this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. Breath of Ages (Recharge 5-6). Each creature in a 60 foot cone must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or lose 1d10 unexpended hit dice, or gain a point of exhaustion and age 11 (2d10) years if it cannot. The aging effect can be reversed with a Greater Restoration spell.
Crawling Claws Crawling Claw Lore Arcana DC 10: Crawling claws make excellent laboratory assistants, and are often employed by necromancers as familiars. Arcana DC 15: Despite the relatively modest amount of necromantic energy required to animate them, crawling claws that arise spontaneously are relatively rare, as severed hands are so highly prized by necromancers for their utility as crawling claws that they are rarely discarded. History DC 15: Though most typically only humanoid hands are risen as crawling claws, the ritual can technically be performed any number of hand-analogues, though those with prehensile digits, such as dragon claws and giants' hands, are by far more effective in the role. Crawling Claw Tactics Crawling claws operating alone first Grab and then Claw at the nearest creature, using their Skitering Shift whenever available, though they will grab dropped weapons and wield them if given the opportunity, preferring ones with the Finesse property. If supporting allies, they instead Grab and use their Squick repeatedly to distract a creature. Crawling Claw Tiny undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 12 Hit Points 2 (1d4) Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 11 (+0) 5 (-3) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) Damage Immunities Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Poisoned, Turned Senses Blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 10 Languages understands Common but can't speak Challenge 0 (10 XP) Muderous Intent. The claw may pick up and wield unattended weapons and improvised weapons without the Heavy or Two-Handed trait. It is proficient with all such weapons. Actions Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning or slashing damage (claw's choice). Grab. One Medium or smaller creature within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be grabbed (escape DC 11). While grabbed, the creature's movement is reduced by 5 feet., the claw moves with it, and when it makes an attack roll it rolls a d4 and subtracts it from the total. Squick. A creature the claw is grabbing must make a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is Frightened of the claw until the end of the claw's next turn, and must use its action to try to kill or dislodge the claw. Reactions Skittering Shift. As a reaction to being targeted with an attack while grabbing a creature, the claw may release its grab and move up to 5 feet. If this movement makes it an invalid target for the attack, the attack instead targets the creature the claw was grabbing.
Swarm of Crawling Claw Tactics Crawling claw swarms lurk in chests, tapestries, and ceiling corners when they detect creatures approaching, pouring out and swarming any creatures that they perceive casting spells with their Tide of Claws, and using their Squick only if supporting more powerful allies. Giant Crawling Claw Tactics Giant crawling claws patrol the hallways of their creators or lurk in the shadowy reaches of high ceilings and the underside of crumbling bridges, dropping to ambush those passing below with their Grasping Pounce and following up with their Crush. If fighting at great heights such as bridges or ramparts, they roll to drag grappled creatures off ledges or push them off with their Giant Flick. Swarm of Crawling Claws Large swarm of tiny undead, neutral evil Armor Class 12 Hit Points 22 (5d8) Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 11 (+0) 5 (-3) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing Damage Immunities Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Stunned, Turned Senses Blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 10 Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) Awful Fingers. A creature in the swarm's space has disadvantage on checks to maintain Concentration and must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw to maintain Concentration at the end of each of its turns. Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny crawling claw. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. Actions Tide of Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 0 ft ., up to four creatures in the swarm's space. Hit: 12 (4d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage, or 7 (2d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer, and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be grappled and restrained (escape DC 12). Squick. One creature grappled by the swarm must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is Frightened of the swarm until the end of the swarm's next turn, and must use its action to try to kill or escape the swarm. Giant Crawling Claw Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 16 (Giant Gauntlet) Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18) Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 5 (-3) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) Damage Immunities Poison Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Poisoned, Turned Senses Blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 10 Languages understands Common and Giant but can't speak Challenge 1 (200 XP) Delicate Joints. If the claw takes 10 or more bludgeoning damage from a single source, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or fall prone and release any creatures it has grappled. Actions Giant Flick. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) bludgeoning damage and the target is pushed 5 feet away. Grasping Pounce. The claw leaps toward a Medium or smaller creature within 20 feet and attempts to grasp it. The creature must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone and grappled (escape DC 13). Crush. One creature grappled by the claw must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 13 (3d8) bludgeoning damage, or half as much on a success. Reactions Scuttle. As a reaction to being forced to make a saving throw against a spell or magical effect, the claw moves up to 10 feet. If this movement puts the claw out of range or area of the spell or magical effect, the claw is unaffected.
T Death Knight o those who serve the lords of death and undeath, service beyond death is simply a condition of employment. And yet, not all undeaths are created equal; greater and more costly rituals may be performed to grant a servant greater degrees of power and autonomy. The mightiest, if they prove worthy, are occasionally granted resurrection as a true champion of undeath, arising under their own burning will, endowed with the strength of ages and the glory of invincibility. Death Knight Lore Arcana DC 20: A death knights soul is forged into the weapon it wields, and wresting the weapon from its grasp can substantially weaken one, though they can only be destroyed through extraordinarily powerful magic, or by casting them into lava. History DC 10: Death knights are mighty undead warriors, best owed undeath by the gods and masters they served in life. As their patrons occasionally discover, however, undeath can lend a different perspective on service and fealty. History DC 15: Death knights have often been known to return to life, even after the complete destruction of their bodies, likely by the same dread gods that endowed them with undeath in the first place. Religion DC 15: The weapon of a death knight traps the souls of those it slays, and must be destroyed before their spirits can pass on or be resurrected. Death Knight Tactics Death knights prioritize creatures affected by their Fearsome Gaze, repeatedly targeting the same creature until it succeeds on the save, then switching to another in range. They prefer to attack other martial characters, especially those that make a direct challenge to them, focusing on spellcasters only if one manages to land a debilitating spell. They save their Hellfire Orb for when they can catch three or more foes in its area. Soul Weapons. The soul weapon of a slain death knight binds to the first to pick it up, granting it the following benefits for as long as it carries it: The wielder has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. The wielder's Strength increases by 2, to a maximum of 22. The wielder's attacks score a critical on a 19-20 against Frightened creatures. The weapon may be destroyed by casting it into lava, or with a Dispel Magic, or similar magic, cast at 9th level.
Death Knight Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 20 (Plate Armor, Shield) Hit Points 180 (19d8 + 95) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 22 (+6) 11 (+0) 20 (+5) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) Saving Throws STR +12, CON +11, WIS +9 Skills Athletics +18, Perception +9 Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 120 ft. (penetrates magical darkness), Passive Perception 19 Languages Abyssal, Common Challenge 17 (18,000 XP) Soul Bound in Steel. The death knight's soul resides in its weapon. While it wields its weapon, it has resistance to all damage but force and radiant. If it is disarmed, its movement speed is halved and it can't take reactions. If its weapon is intact, a destroyed Death Knight gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the weapon. Fear Eater. The death knight scores a critical hit on a roll of 17-20 on attacks made against a creature that is Frightened. Magic Resistance. The death knight has advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects. Actions Multiattack. The death knight uses its Fearsome Gaze and makes two melee attacks, one of which it may replace with a Slaying Smite. Soulblade. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) slashing damage plus 13 (3d8) necrotic damage. A creature killed by this damage has its soul absorbed into the blade, and cannot be revived while the blade is intact. Fearsome Gaze. One creature the death knight can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the end of the death knight's next turn. Slaying Smite (Recharge 5-6, 5th Level Spell, Concentration). The death knight wreaths its blade in deathly energies. The next time the death knight hits with an attack, the attack deals an additonal 36 (8d8) necrotic damage. If the attack reduces a creature below 20 hit points, the creature must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or die. Hellfire Orb (1/Day, 7th Level Spell). The death knight hurls a magical ball of fire that explodes at a point it can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature in a 20- foot-radius sphere centered on that point must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 21 (6d6) fire damage and 21 (6d6) necrotic damage and be knocked prone, or take half as much damage on a success. Reactions Counterattack. As a reaction to being targeted with a melee attack, the death knight adds 6 to its AC against that attack. If the attack misses, the death knight may make a melee attack as part of this reaction. Overpower. As a reaction to missing a creature with a melee attack, the death knight rerolls its attack. If this causes the attack to hit, the target must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone and be unable to stand on its following turn. Legendary Actions The death knight can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. No Escape. One creature the death knight can see must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be dragged up to 20 feet toward it. A flying creature that fails this save by 5 or more falls prone. Still Arcana. Each creature the death knight can see that is concentrating on a spell affecting it must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or lose concentration. The death knight may take this action even while incapacitated. Gauntlet Strike. One creature within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone. Battle Rush (Costs 2 Actions). The death knight moves up to half its speed. If it takes any damage during this movement, it regains its reaction.
A Deathpact Angel debt to a deathpact angel is acquired easily and discharged with great difficulty; the angel has debts of its own to pay, after all. They manage these debts with a careful balance of carrots and sticks, presenting as a kind and benificent ally while always obliquely hinting at the fates worse than death that await those who renege on their debts. Deathpact Angel Tactics The deathpact angel attacks only if it has exhausted all other avenues of extracting value from its debtors, and seeks only to kill them as quickly as possible, claim their spirit and leave, or hurt them just enough to intimidate them into compliance. It largely ignores creatures outside this relationship, and uses its Visions of Death whenever available. Even in deadly combat, the angel always leaves open the possiblity of peaceful resolution if the debtor makes a good-faith payment against their debt, though it is of course forced to levy recalcitrance penalties. Resurrection Services. The services of a deathpact angel are available for as little as 100 gp, though after material costs, service charges, applicable taxes, maintainance fees, regulatory compliance fees, account establishment fees, and pre-interest, the costs can easily run into four or five figures. Deathpact Angel Lore History DC 10: Favors from a deathpact angel are given readily but come always with the expectation of repayment in full, with usurious interest, though they are happy to discuss payment plans with those who require them. History DC 20: A deathpact angel never relinquishes a debtor that is making regular payments; so long as a creature is fulfilling its obligations the angel will strive to ensure its continued success in doing so. Nature DC 10: A pool of sloshing black fluid gradually accrues in the lower portion of the eyes of those who remain too long in the debt of a deathpact angel, splashing and running down like wine legs as they blink. Those with all-black eyes are those for whom servicing the debt has become their overriding purpose in life, desperate to discharge it before death can doom them to an afterlife of indenture, and willing to do nearly anything for their angelic masters. Religion DC 15: A creature that dies in the debt of a Deathpact Angel is bound as an indentured spirit; absent any method to pay off its debt and cursed to an eternity of menial service until a true death takes it. Encounter Groups CR 22 Encounter 17,475 XP 1 Deathpact Angel (CR 14) 5 Voidsoul Specters (CR M10) 3 Cultists of Night (CR 1/8)
Deathpact Angel Medium celestial, lawful evil Armor Class 18 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 204 (24d8 + 96) Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 19 (+4) 20 (+5) 23 (+6) Saving Throws INT +9, WIS +10, CHA +11 Skills Insight +10, Intimidation +11, Perception +10, Persuasion +11 Damage Resistances Necrotic, Radiant; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened Senses Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 20 Languages All Challenge 14 (11,500 XP) Benificent Presence. If the angel has at least 103 hit points, a creature in the angel's debt that starts its turn within 60 feet of the angel must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed by the angel until the beginning of its next turn. A creature passes this save automatically if the angel attacked it in the last minute. Exacting Presence. If the angel has 102 hit points or fewer, a creature Frightened by the angels Visions of Death is additionally Paralyzed. Debt Keeper. A creature that is indebted to the angel is psychically connected to it. The angel can telepathically communicate with it over any distance and can choose to perceive through its senses. Once per day, the angel can force an indebted creature to reroll an attack, skill check, or saving throw, taking the second result. Magic Resistance. The angel has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Shed Asset (3/Day). If the angel fails a saving throw against a spell or magical effect, it can choose to shift the effect to a creature in its debt within 30 feet. If it does, that creature is freed from the angel's debt. Actions Multiattack. The angel makes three melee attacks, one of which it may replace with its Visions of Death, if available, and uses its Debt to the Deathless. Golden Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) necrotic damage. On a critical hit, the target loses 2 (1d4) unexpended hit dice, or drops to 0 hit points and loses an extremity if it cannot. Debt to the Deathless. One creature within 30 feet that is in the angel's debt loses 11 (2d10) hit points, and the angel gains that many temporary hit points. Visions of Death (Recharge 5-6). One creature within 60 feet that the angel can see must make a DC 19 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is Blinded and Frightened until the end of the angel's next turn as it begins to vividly hallucinate its own gruesome death at the angel's hands. Touch of Life (3/Day). The angel touches a living creature or one that has been dead no longer than ten days. The creature returns to life in the angel's debt if it was dead, then regains hit points equal to half its maximum. Reactions Offer Relief. As a reaction to another creature it can see within 30 feet failing a saving throw, the angel grants it the ability to choose to reroll the saving throw. A creature that does so is indebted to the angel. Recall Obligations. As a reaction when the angel sees a creature in its debt cast a spell, the angel forces the creature to expend an additonal spell slot of any level. If the creature cannot, the spell fails.
W Demiliches hile undeath is sought as a freedom from death, adopting it merely adds sand to the hourglass; in time physical or magical entropy inevitably degrades a seeker of immortality to the point of effective nonexistence. Arcane liches can sustain their form of undeath by feeding captured souls into the artifact that anchors their existence, but the centuries of undeath weigh heavily, and frequently liches neglect the needs of their undead form, leading to a steady decay of their bodies. Typically this results by accident, such as when a lich spends too long with its spirit traveling afield, producing a demilich that is mindless; a body that kills indiscriminately out of deeply ingrained habit rather than any coherent intent. Occasionally, however, liches will undergo this process intentionally, starving themselves to refine their form into one less bound by the strictures of physicality, one less reliant on the consumption of souls, and one able to harness still greater magical energies. Demilich Derelict Tactics Demilich Derelicts exist normally in a sort of torpor and rarely notice opponents until they are very close, often not until they interact physically with the demilich. When combat is joined they open with their Howl, then use their movement each turn to move toward the closest cluster of two or more enemies and use their Life Drain. They programatically cycle through their Legendary Actions, using each of them in sequence at the earliest opportunity without tactical consideration. Demilich Ascetic Tactics Demilich Ascetics begin combat with their Wrench Heart, repeating it whenever it loses concentration, then use their Baleful Telekinesis, typically slamming a single creature repeatedly between the ceiling and floor. The demilich ordinarily tries to situate itself in the midst of any spellcaster foes it is faced with, then uses its Choking Dust at the first opportunity to interfere with verbal components and make it more dificult to target. If cornered by a creature that can bypass its damage resistances, it uses its Life Drain repeatedly against them, then follows up with its Disintegrate once they are reduced to 0 HP. Encounter Groups CR 30 Encounter 52,800 XP 1 Demilich Ascetic (CR 23) 2 Flameskulls (CR 4) 6 Dreads (CR 1/2) Social Encounters While traveling the astral plane, a lich has discovered that its derelict body has gone rogue and refuses to accept its spirit back, and now must contact adventurers in dreams to lure into its lair, hoping that their life force will molify its body enough to accept the spirit back. A local metropolis houses two rival liches, who compete in high stakes betting to entertain themselves in their undeath. While major sporting events are secured against ordinary magical tampering, one suspects that his rival may have allowed himself to degrade into a demilich in order to secrete himself within the ball for an upcoming competition, and requires a team to enter in order to reveal the deception. Demilich Lore Arcana DC 15: Demiliches levitate themselves with a particularly efficient form of telekinesis, one which requires very little magical energy but makes them particularly prone to being pushed around, making them difficult to effectively crush if not secured in place. Arcana DC 20: The scream of a demilich is potentially deadly to all who hear it; while it can often pierce non-magical methods of hearing protection, zones of magical silence have been found exceedingly effective at neutralizing the threat it poses. Religion DC 15: Liches ordinarily sustain themselves through the consumption of souls, without which they degrade steadily until only a small piece of them remains; a skull, spine or arm that contains all their malice and power and yet none of their intellect. Religion DC 20: Some demiliches retain the intellect of their previous forms, a state which both decreases their need to consume souls and increases their capacity for esoteric magics. The means by which it is achieved are not well understood, but it is thought to involve the gradual weaning off of the addiction to souls which accompanies the condition of lichdom.
Demilich Derelict Tiny undead, any evil alignment Armor Class 20 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 144 (32d8) Speed fly 30 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 1 (-5) 20 (+5) 10 (+0) 1 (-5) 13 (+1) 20 (+5) Saving Throws CON +5, INT +0, WIS +6, CHA +10 Damage Resistances Piercing, Slashing Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison, Psychic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weapons Condition Immunities Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Stunned, Turned Senses Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 13 Challenge 13 (20,000 XP) Avoidance. If the demilich is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. Weightless Careening. Whenever the demilich takes damage from a source it is not resistant to, it is pushed 30 feet away from the source. If it hits a wall or object, it bounces. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the demilich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Life Drain. The demilich targets up to three creatures that it can see within 10 feet of it. Each target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be forced to expend a number of hit dice equal to the amount it failed by. A creature that cannot instead drops to 0 hit points. Howl (Recharge 5-6). The demilich emits a bloodcurdling howl. Each creature within 30 feet that can hear the howl must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or drop to 0 hit points. On a successful save, the creature is Frightened until the end of its next turn. Reactions Mindlost Cackle. As a reaction to passing a saving throw against a spell, the demilich forces the spell caster to succeed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw or have its highest level unexpended spell slot drained. Legendary Actions The demilich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Chatter. Each creature within 30 feet that is concentrating and can hear the demilich must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or lose concentration. Choking Dust. The area within 10 feet of the demilich becomes heavily obscured until the end of its next turn. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be unable to speak or breathe until the end of its next turn. Wither One creature within 60 feet that the demilich can see takes 11 (2d10) necrotic damage.
Demilich Ascetic Tiny undead, any evil alignment Armor Class 20 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 306 (36d8 + 144) Speed fly 30 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 1 (-5) 20 (+5) 19 (+4) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 20 (+5) Saving Throws CON +11, INT +12, WIS +9, CHA +12 Skills Arcana +19, History +12, Insight +9, Perception +9 Damage Resistances Piercing, Slashing Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison, Psychic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weapons Condition Immunities Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Stunned, Turned Senses Blindsight 10 ft., Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 19 Languages Common plus up to five other languages Challenge 23 (33,000 XP) Avoidance. If the demilich is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. Paralyzing Aura. A creature that damages the demilich with a melee attack must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be Paralyzed until the end of the demilich's next turn, or until the creature takes damage. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the demilich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The demilich uses its Baleful Telekinesis four times. Baleful Telekinesis. One creature within 60 feet that the demilich can see must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be moved 30 feet. If this movement carries the creature into a wall or other solid surface, the target takes 33 (6d10) bludgeoning damage. Wrench Heart (7th Level Spell, Concentration). One creature within 60 feet that the demilich can see feels a spectral hand sink into its chest and grip its heart. At the begining of each of the creature's turns it takes 45 (10d8) necrotic damage and must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the beginning of its next turn. Disintegrate (6th Level Spell, (Recharge 5-6). One creature within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 80 (10d6 + 45) force damage, or half as much on a success. If this damage reduces a creature to 0 hit points, they are disintigrated. Reactions Shield (1st Level Spell). As a reaction to being targeted with an attack, the demilich may add 5 to its AC until the beginning of its next turn. Spelldrain Cackle. As a reaction to seeing a creature cast a spell within 60 feet, the demilich forces the spell caster to succeed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw or have the spell fail and its highest level unexpended spell slot drained. Howl (1/Day). As a reaction to being reduced below 154 hit points, the demilich emits a bloodcurdling howl. Each creature within 30 feet that can hear the howl must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or drop to 0 hit points. A creature that fails by 5 or more dies. Legendary Actions The demilich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Life Drain. One creature within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be forced to expend a number of hit dice equal to the amount it failed by. A creature that cannot instead drops to 0 hit points. Chatter. Each creature within 30 feet that is concentrating and can hear the demilich must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or lose concentration. Choking Dust. The area within 10 feet of the demilich becomes heavily obscured until the end of its next turn. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be unable to speak or breathe until the end of its next turn. Wither. One creature within 60 feet that the demilich can see takes 11 (2d10) necrotic damage.
Dessicator Dessicator Lore Arcana DC 10: Desiccators are water elementals imbued with undeath. Dried down to only a crystaline clump of its mineral components, the desiccator is consumed by an inescapable craving for the moisture of the living. Arcana DC 15: Despite their compulsion to absorb moisture, the desiccator can never attain its former watery form, as its nature has been so perverted against true water that one or the other must be destroyed if forced into contact. Nature DC 15: Desiccators rend the lifewaters from the living, impeding their body's natural ability to heal itself and receive magical healing, though brute-force application of healing magics can overcome this condition. Dessicator Tactics The desiccator dips into water only to dash through it, careful to end its turn on land to avoid exploding. it begins combat with its Desiccation Breath, using its crumbling touch on whichever enemy has the weakest Constitution. Desiccator Small elemental/undead, neutral evil Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 90 (20d6 + 20) Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 8 (-1) 11 (+0) 13 (+1) Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10 Languages Aquan Challenge 2 (450 XP) Cursed Thirst. Water recedes from the desiccator as though magnetically repelled, and is destroyed if the dessicator touches it. If the desiccator begins its turn fully submerged in water, it explodes in a hail of jagged salts. Each creature within 15 feet of it must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) slashing damage, or half as much on a success. Parch the Weak. The desiccator's attacks score a critical on an 18-20 against a creature with a Constitution score of 10 or lower. Actions Multiattack. The desiccator makes two attacks with its crumbling touch. Crumbling Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3) necrotic damage. A creature killed by this attack crumbles to dust. On a critical hit, the target gains a point of Exhaustion that lasts for a minute. Desiccation Breath (Recharge 5-6). The desiccator inhales, draining the moisture from a 30-foot cone. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or have its Constitution score reduced by 1 until it completes a Short or Long Rest. A creature with its Constitution score reduced in this way that would receive any healing instead receives half as much and repeats this save, ending the effect on a success. Reactions Ragged Panting. As a reaction to taking fire damage, the desiccator falls prone and rolls to recharge its Desiccation breath.
Devourer Devourer Lore Religion DC 15: Devourers are fiendish factories of undeath, commanders of the legions of Orcus dispatched to spread his foul taint. They are nigh-unkillable so long as they are surrounded by undeath, and well-entrenched by their prodigious capacity for necromantic magics. Devourer Tactics Devourers use their Avatar of Hunger to spur on as many allies as possible, freely taking attacks of opportunity to do so, then try to grab a creature with their Rotclaw Grasp, following with their Ribcage Embrace at the first opportunity. Driven by ravenous hunger, they direct their horde ghouls to drag more creatures to them for them to embrace, regardless of the chance that those already trapped might escape. They use Raise the Horde conservatively at first, waiting until a large number of their retinue or enemies have fallen to revive them, but use their Death's Aid and Favored of the Deathlord at every opportunity, trusting to their Raise the Horde to promptly return their slain allies to the fight. Devourer Large fiend, chaotic evil Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 12 (+1) 20 (+5) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) Damage Resistances Cold, Fire, Lightning Damage Immunities Poison Condition Immunities Poisoned Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 10 Languages Abyssal, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 13 (10,000 XP) Corpsechurn Incubator. At the start of the devourer's turn, each creature restrained in its Ribcage Embrace takes 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. A humanoid creature with at least 5 hit dice that dies while restrained in this way rises immediately as an Abyssal Ghoul that acts directly after the devourer. Avatar of Hunger. At the end of the devourer's turn, up to three undead creatures of CR 5 or below that it passed within 5 feet of on its turn may use its reaction to move up to half its speed toward the nearest melee creature to it and make a melee attack. Death's Aid. When the devourer fails a saving throw, it may kill any number of friendly undead creatures of CR 5 or below it can see within 60 feet. It adds +2 to its saving throw for each creature killed in this way. Actions Multiattack. The devourer makes two melee attacks, one of which it may replace with its Ribcage Embrace, if available. Rotclaw Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage plus 13 (3d8) necrotic damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). This attack scores a critical on an 18-20 against a creature with fewer than 50 hit points. Ribcage Embrace. One creature grappled by either the devourer or a ghoul within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or take 18 (4d8) piercing damage and be shoved into the devourer's ribcage and restrained there (escape DC 18). Each other creature restrained in the devourer's ribcage may use its reaction to attempt to escape, succeeding automatically if it is undead. Raise the Horde (Recharge 5-6). Each humanoid corpse within 60 feet of the devourer that has been dead for no longer than 1 year rises as a Horde Ghoul that acts directly after the devourer. Reactions Blasphemous Abrogation. As a reaction when a creature casts a spell or produces a magical effect with a divine source, the devourer forces that creature to succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the spell or effect is negated and the creature takes 5 (1d10) necrotic damage. Favored of the Deathlord. As a reaction to being reduced below 90 hit points, the devourer may kill any number of friendly undead it can see within 60 feet, regaining hit points equal to the total hit points lost in this way.
D Dracoliches ragons are the greatest of all natural creatures, the apex of material creation. And yet, such power and perfection carries with it the ambition to exceed themselves, and so many delve into the deepest mysteries of magic to become not merely long lived but immortal, not striking mere a mortal terror into their lessers, but one borne of an honest acknowledgement of their wretchedness before the highest perfection of nature and magic. The Damnable Libation. The brew of dracolichdom requires several exotic ingredients, including the groundwaters of an ancient draconic graveyard, the breath of a stillborn wyrmling, and the blood of one who cursed the brewer with its final breath. It is then brewed beneath the auspice of a red comet while the ancient and secret rites of draconic undeath are performed. Once a dragon imbibles the potion, it dies a slow and agonizing death over the course of ten days, after which it must make a DC 20 Charisma saving throw. On a success, the dragon's soul passes into a prepared phylactery, then migrates back into its body over the course of the next several days so long as the phylactery's contact with the corpse is maintained, arising as a dracolich. Dracolich Lore Arcana DC 10: A sufficiently powerful and evil dragon can undergo a magical ritual to achieve a form of undeath, endowing them with cruel and terrible powers including the ability to stun with a mere gaze. Arcana DC 20: While the ritual a dragon must undergo to achieve lichdom can be achieved independently by a sufficiently powerful spellcaster dragon, it is much more typical for a dragon to do so with the assistance of a powerful mage, often one that has undergone passage into lichdom themselves. This process can even be inflicted upon an unwilling dragon by a sufficiently potent mage, though it fails if the dragon harbors insufficient malice and hatred to sustain the transformation. History DC 15: Dracoliches frequently seek out distraction from the goals that drive them, plagued as they are by an anxiety common to the undead; that of losing their purpose in undeath and consigning themselves to an eternity of torpidity. They are thus reluctant to ever actually resolve their many twisting plots, looking always for one more thing that must be done before claiming victory. Religion DC 20: The origins of dracolichdom are understandably shrouded in uncertaintainty, but cults of Tiamat whisper of Dragotha, a favored consort of the Dragon Queen who she slew in a pique of rage. In a rare moment of remorse, a personal entreaty was made to the then-god of undeath, who bequeathed to Tiamat the knowledge of The Damnable Libation.
Black Dracolich Tactics The black dracolich initiates combat with its salt breath, then follows up with its Flesh Melting breath whenever available, afterwards focusing its attacks on the most heavily armored opponents. If on the ground, it uses its mire at the first opportunity, then waits to catch as many creatures as possible in its Wing Attack. If flying, the dracolich instead uses its vomit swarm at each opportunity. It typically reserves its reaction to interrupt a dangerous melee attacker's turn with Wilting Glare. Blue Dracolich Tactics The blue dracolich initiates combat with its desiccation breath, afterwards using its Animating Lightning Breath whenever available, prioritizing dead and unconscious targets. While it has more than half its health, it tries to use Gather Charge every turn, but switches to Ionic Attunement as it gets lower on health. It uses Discharge only on spells of 5th level or above, otherwise reserving tis reaction for Wilting Glare. Green Dracolich Tactics The green dracolich begins combat defensively, keeping its distance, hiding, and using its Entangling Breath while it determines which of its foes are resistant or immune to poison damage. It uses hit-and-run tactics with its bite until it is confident at least three of its foes are susceptible to its Miasma Breath, then uses it, slinking into the cloud created by it for cover, and using its Snatch against those who follow it in. Red Dracolich Tactics The red dracolich begins combat with its Necrofire Wake, but waits until it can affect at least three creatures before using its Breath of Dying Flames. Whenever it gets the opportunity it uses its tail sweep to push a creature back into the flames of its Necrofire Wake, otherwise focusing on spreading fire with its Manipulate Flames. Once it has used its Breath of Dying Flames, it switches focus to using its Inhale whenever it get the chance. White Dracolich Tactics The white dracolich begins combat with its Ice Tomb Breath, focusing its attacks on creatures not affected by the Ice Tomb that are Frightened by its Frightful Presence. If it has more than half its hit points, it makes no effort to finish off its prey, instead spreading its attacks around so long as it feels in control of the situation and using its Sudden Pounce and Terrorize abilities whenever given the opportunity. It waits until its foes strike a serious blow against it or force it to expend a legendary resistance before using its Blizzard Breath, at which point it alternates between its breath weapons whenever available and reserves its reaction for Consume Vitality.
Black Dracolich Gargantuan undead, lawful evil Armor Class 22 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 367 (21d20 + 147)) Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 27 (+8) 14 (+2) 25 (+7) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 19 (+4) Saving Throws DEX +9, CON +14, WIS +9, CHA +11 Skills Perception +16, Stealth +9 Damage Resistances Necrotic Damage Immunities Acid, Poison Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 26 Languages Common, Draconic Challenge 21 (33,000 XP) Sensitivity Aura. Attacks against creatures within 15 feet of the dracolich that do not have acid resistance or immunity score a critical on a roll of 18-20. Soul Vessel. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed dracolich's soul returns to its phylactery. If a phylactery containing a dracolich's soul is placed upon a dragon's corpse for 1d10 days, the dracolich's soul inhabits the new body. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dracolich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The dracolich uses its Frightful Presence and makes three attacks, one of which may be with its bite. Acid Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) acid damage. If the target is wearing metal armor or a metal shield, it takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to the AC it offers. Armor reduced to an AC of 10 or a shield that drops to a +0 bonus is destroyed. Paralyzing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage. If the target is Stunned, it must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or become Paralyzed until the end of the dracolich's turn. Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dracolich's choice that is within 120 feet of the dracolich and aware of it must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dracolich's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. Salt Breath (Recharges when the dracolich uses its Flesh Melting Breath). The dracolich exhales a hail of white salt in a 90-foot cone that crusts over creatures in the area, smelling strongly of chlorine. Each creature in the cone must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, suffering vulnerability to acid damage for the next minute on a failed save. A creature with resistance to acid damage instead has that resistance negated for the next minute. Flesh Melting Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dracolich exhales acid in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 67 (15d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more suffers deformities, and has disadvantage on ability checks, saving throws, and attacks based on Strength or Dexterity. Reactions Wilting Glare. As a reaction when it is hit with an attack, the dracolich forces the attacker to succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or be Stunned until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Cruel Jest. As a reaction when a creature attempts to leave the dracolich's reach, the dracolich forces it to succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or be dragged 10 feet back towards the dracolich. If the creature fails this save by 5 or more, the dracolich regains its reaction. Legendary Actions The dracolich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Vomit Swarm. The dracolich disgorges a Swarm of Insects within 15 feet of it that acts under its control on initiative count 20. Mire. The dracolich disturbs the earth around it. A creature that ends its turn within 10 feet of the dracolich begins to sink into the earth, and must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, has a -2 penalty to its AC, and can't make more than a single attack in a turn. These effects last until the end of the creature's next turn. Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The dracolich beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dracolich must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (2d6 + 9) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dracolich can then fly up to half its speed.
Ancient Blue Dracolich Gargantuan undead, lawful evil Armor Class 22 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 481 (26d20 + 208) Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft., fly 80 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 29 (+9) 10 (+0) 27 (+8) 18 (+4) 17 (+3) 21 (+5) Saving Throws DEX +7, CON +15, WIS +10, CHA +12 Skills Perception +17, Stealth +7 Damage Resistances Necrotic Damage Immunities Lightning, Poison Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 27 Languages Common, Draconic Challenge 23 (50,000 XP) Building Charge. When the dracolich rolls to recharge its lightning breath, each creature within 10 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) lightning damage. If the dracolich successfully recharges its lightning breath, each of those creatures takes an additional (2d6) lightning damage. Soul Vessel. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed dracolich's soul returns to its phylactery. If a phylactery containing a dracolich's soul is placed upon a dragon's corpse for 1d10 days, the dracolich's soul inhabits the new body. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dracolich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The dracolich uses its Frightful Presence and makes three attacks, one of which may be with its bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (2d10 + 9) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. Paralyzing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d6 + 9) slashing damage. If the target is Stunned, it must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or become Paralyzed until the end of the dracolich's turn. Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dracolich's choice that is within 120 feet of the dracolich and aware of it must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dracolich's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. Breath Weapons (Recharge 5–6). The dracolich uses one of the following breath weapons. Animating Lightning Breath. The dracolich exhales lightning in a 120-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw, taking 88 (16d10) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A corpse in the affected area rises at the beginning of the dracolich's next turn as a flesh golem under the dracolich's control. A creature that succeeds on a death save caused by this damage regains 1 hit point. Desiccation Breath. The dracolich inhales, draining the moisture from a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that cone must make a DC 23 Constitution saving throw, taking 90 (20d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this damage is unaffected by the next source of healing it would receive in the next minute. Potions in the affected area turn to sand. Reactions Wilting Glare. As a reaction when it is hit with an attack, the dracolich forces the attacker to succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be Stunned until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Discharge. As a reaction when the dracolich succeeds on a saving throw against a spell, the dracolich may force the spell's caster to take 5 (1d10) lightning damage per level of the spell. Legendary Actions The dracolich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Ionic Attunement. One creature within 60 feet must succeed a DC 23 Constitution saving throw or lose any lightning resistance that it has for the next minute and suffer disadvantage on the next Dexterity saving throw it makes in that time. Gather Charge. The dracolich moves up to half its speed. If it is hit with an attack in the course of this movement, it may immediately roll to recharge one of its breath weapons. It may move through creations of magical force with this movement, destroying them. Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The dracolich beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dracolich must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (2d6 + 9) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dracolich can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Ancient Green Dracolich Gargantuan undead, lawful evil Armor Class 21 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 385 (22d20 + 154) Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 27 (+8) 12 (+1) 25 (+7) 20 (+5) 17 (+3) 19 (+4) Saving Throws DEX +8, CON +14, WIS +10, CHA +11 Skills Deception +11, Insight +10, Perception +17, Persuasion +11, Stealth +15 Damage Resistances Necrotic Damage Immunities Poison Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 27 Languages Common, Draconic Challenge 22 (41,000 XP) Forest Walk. The dracolich's movement is not impeded by natural or magical foliage. Fouling Aura. A creature that imbibes a potion within 30 feet of the dracolich takes 14 (4d6) poison damage, in addition to the potion's other effects. The poison damage occurs before any other effects. Soul Vessel. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed dracolich's soul returns to its phylactery. If a phylactery containing a dracolich's soul is placed upon a dragon's corpse for 1d10 days, the dracolich's soul inhabits the new body. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dracolich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The dracolich uses its Frightful Presence and makes three attacks, one of which may be with its bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. The target must then make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or lose any resistance to poison damage for the next minute. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more additionally loses any immunity to poison damage and the poisoned condition for the next minute. Paralyzing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage. If the target is Stunned, it must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or become Paralyzed until the end of the dracolich's turn. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and the target is pushed 15 feet away. Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dracolich's choice that is within 120 feet of the dracolich and aware of it must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dracolich's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. Entangling Breath (Recharges when the dracolich uses its Miasma Breath). Barbed vines burst from the ground in a 90-foot cone. Each creature must make a DC 22 Strength saving throw or be restrained. Until the dracolich uses this ability again, the area is difficult terrain. When a creature moves into or within the area, it takes 18 (4d8) piercing damage for every 5 feet it travels. Miasma Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dracolich exhales a poisonous cloud in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 22 Constitution saving throw, taking 77 (22d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that fails this save by 5 or more is stunned until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Until the dracolich uses this ability again, the area is heavily obscured and a creature that ends its turn in the area must repeat the save. Reactions Adapt Camouflage. As a reaction to being hit with a ranged attack, the dracolich cloaks itself in illusory magics to match its surroundings. Until the end of its next turn, the dracolich becomes invisible to creatures more than 30 feet away from it. Savage. As a reaction to a creature within 20 feet resisting or negating a source of poison damage, the dracolich may move up to half its speed toward and makes a bite attack against the creature. Murderous Glare (1/Day.) As a reaction to a creature the dracolich can see reducing it below 100 hit points, the dracolich unleashes a torrent of negative energy at it. If the creature has fewer than 100 hit points, it dies. Legendary Actions The dracolich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Blinding Venom. One creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or be Blinded until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Snatch. The dracolich makes a claw attack against a creature that it is hidden from. If the attack hits, the target is grappled, Stunned, and hidden from its allies until the beginning of its next turn. This attack does not automatically reveal the dracolich's position. Slink Away (Costs 2 Actions). The dracolich moves up to half its fly speed. Attacks of opportunity provoked by this movement are made at disadvantage. If it ends this movement in at least half cover, it may immediately attempt to hide.
Ancient Red Dracolich Gargantuan undead, lawful evil Armor Class 22 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 663 (34d20 + 306) Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 80 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 30 (+10) 10 (+0) 29 (+9) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 23 (+6) Saving Throws DEX +7, CON +16, WIS +9, CHA +13 Skills Perception +16, Stealth +7 Damage Resistances Necrotic Damage Immunities Fire, Poison Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 26 Languages Common, Draconic Challenge 27 (105,000 XP) Searing Aura. When a creature without fire resistance starts its turn within 10 feet of the dracolich, it catches fire and begins to burn. Until someone takes an action to douse the fire, the creature takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. Soul Vessel. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed dracolich's soul returns to its phylactery. If a phylactery containing a dracolich's soul is placed upon a dragon's corpse for 1d10 days, the dracolich's soul inhabits the new body. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dracolich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The dracolich uses its Frightful Presence and makes three attacks, one of which may be with its bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (2d10 + 10) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. Paralyzing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) slashing damage. If the target is Stunned, it must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or become Paralyzed until the end of the dracolich's turn. Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dracolich's choice that is within 120 feet of the dracolich and aware of it must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dracolich's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. Breath of Dying Flames (Recharges when the dracolich uses its Necrofire Wake). The dracolich breathes malicious intent into all flames in a 90-foot cone, extinguishing them and summoning a Belker that lasts for a minute and acts on initiative count 20 in the space of each creature in the area that was on fire. Necrofire Wake (Recharge 5–6). The dracolich moves up to its fly speed, and a 15-foot wide section of the ground it passes over erupts in a wall of black flames that lasts until the end of the dracolich's next turn as it strafes with its breath. When the wall appears, each creature within its area must make a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 91 (26d6) fire damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. A creature takes the same damage when it enters the wall for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. A creature in the wall that would receive healing instead takes an equal amount of necrotic damage. Reactions Wilting Glare. As a reaction when it is hit with an attack, the dracolich forces the attacker to succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be Stunned until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Billowing Wings. As a reaction to taking 30 or more damage from a single source, the dracolich shrouds itself in smoke, then immediately moves up to half its speed. The area in 60 foot radius becomes heavily obscured until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Legendary Actions The dracolich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Manipulate Flames. One creature within 90 feet of the dracolich and within 30 feet of a flame must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (1d10) fire damage and catch fire. Until someone takes an action to douse the fire, the creature takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. Inhale (Costs 2 Actions). The dracolich rolls to recharge its necrofire wake. Tail Sweep (Costs 2 Actions). Each creature within 15 feet of the dracolich must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (2d6 + 9) bludgeoning damage, be knocked prone, and pushed up to 15 feet away from the dracolich.
Ancient White Dracolich Gargantuan undead, lawful evil Armor Class 20 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 333 (18d20 + 144) Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 26 (+8) 10 (+0) 26 (+8) 10 (+4) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) Saving Throws DEX +6, CON +14, WIS +7, CHA +8 Skills Perception +13, Stealth +6 Damage Resistances Necrotic Damage Immunities Cold, Poison Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 23 Languages Common, Draconic Challenge 20 (25,000 XP) Ice Walk. The dracolich can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost it extra movement. Black Ice Aura. The area in a 10 foot radius around the dracolich is difficult terrain. A creature that enters it for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. Soul Vessel. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed dracolich's soul returns to its phylactery. If a phylactery containing a dracolich's soul is placed upon a dragon's corpse for 1d10 days, the dracolich's soul inhabits the new body. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dracolich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. The dracolich uses its Frightful Presence and makes three attacks, one of which may be with its bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage. Paralyzing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage. If the target is stunned, it must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or become paralyzed until the end of the dracolich's turn. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and the target is pushed 15 feet away from the dracolich. Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dracolich's choice that is within 120 feet of the dracolich and aware of it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dracolich's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. Ice Tomb Breath (Recharges when the dracolich uses its Blizzard Breath). The dracolich exhales a burst of ice in a 90-foot cone that clings to living creatures, sapping their vitality. Each creature in the area must make a DC 22 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a creature gains 45 (10d8) temporary hit points. As long as it has any of these temporary hit points, the creature is restrained, Blinded, and has vulnerability to fire damage. A creature that starts its turn with any of these temporary hit points must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be forced to expend two hit dice. If it cannot, it drops to 0 hit points. Blizzard Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dracolich exhales a blast of ice and thrashing winds in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 22 Constitution saving throw, taking 72 (16d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Until the end of the dracolich's next turn, the area is difficult terrain and heavily obscured. Reactions Sudden Pounce. As a reaction to a creature within 80 feet of the dracolich ending its turn further away from the dracolich than it started, the dracolich moves up to its speed toward the creature without provoking attacks of opportunity and makes a claw attack against it. If the target is Frightened, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of the dracolich's next turn. Consume Vitality. As a reaction to passing a saving throw caused by a spell, the dracolich may force the spell caster to make a DC 16 Constitution Saving Throw. On a failed save, the spell caster expends 2 hit die, and the dracolich heals itself for 37 (2d20+16). If the spell caster can't expend any hit dice, it drops to 0 hit points instead. Legendary Actions The dracolich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Raise Hackles. One creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or lose any immunity it has to the dracolich's Frightful Presence or the Frightened condition.. Terrorize. One Frightened creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or take 14 (4d6) psychic damage. On the creature's next turn, it must use its full movement to run away from the dracolich. Uttercold. The dracolich draws on its deepest reserves. Until the end of its next turn, cold damage the dracolich deals ignores damage resistance, and the dracolich loses one of its legendary resistances.
Ghost Dragon Ghost Dragon Lore Arcana DC 15: The breath of a ghost dragon is cloud of roiling mist, often mimicking the appearace of its breath in life, that fills those trapped within with crippling terror, rapidly aging those unable to quickly escape. History DC 15: While not innately hostile, ghost dragons consider any wealth that enters their lair to be part of their horde, and treat any attempts to remove it, even by the original owner, as theft. History DC 20: While ghost dragons are incredibly difficult to harm by conventional means, their spiritual connection to their treasure causes them agonizing psychic pain if any of it is damaged or destroyed. Religion DC 15: Dragon lairs are often haunted by their former occupants, bound not by things left undone but by the spiritual agony of having their horde plundered. This, along with the curse of Dragonsickness that lies often upon their great treasure, is why dragon hordes are often simply buried untouched. Religion DC 20: Conventional means of exorcism fail before the raw will of a ghost dragon, as even if destroyed the spirit will always return in a matter of hours so long as its horde remains depleted. The only way that has been found effective to banish them is providing them with such tribute as they require to replenish their lost treasure. Ghost Dragon Tactics Ghost dragons stay always within sight of their treasure for fear of being lured away while a thief slips in, invisibly using their telepathy to warn creatures away, or demand tribute if they enter. They approch hidden and use their Telekinetic Thrash as an intimidation tactic if intruders are rude or recalcitrant, hurling them back toward the lair's entrance. If intruders press on without offering tribute, the dragon waits until they are fairly close to its horde before attempting to ambush them with its Terrormist Breath, following up by using its multiattack against anyone trapped in the mist. It tries to stay close enough to keep watch over its treasure, but not so close that a stray AoE effect will damage it. It initially targets the most heavily armed and armored enemy, snatching its wealth for the horde, but readily switches to target whichever creature most recently stole from or damaged its horde, heedless of attacks of opportunity.
Ghost Dragon Huge dragon/undead, any alignment Armor Class 10 Hit Points 324 (24d12 + 168) Speed fly 80 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 10 (+0) 25 (+7) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 19 (+4) Saving Throws CON +13, WIS +8, CHA +10 Skills Perception +14, Stealth +12 Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Turned Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 24 Languages Common, Draconic, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 17 (18,000 XP) Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. Spectral Weapons. The ghost's attacks treat all creatures as unarmored (an unarmored creature's AC is usually 10 plus its Dexterity modifier.) Agonizing Attachment. Whenever 100 gp or more of its horde is destroyed in a turn, the ghost takes 25 psychic damage. Creeping Whisper. The ghost is invisible. Whenever it takes an action other than its Telekinetic Thrash, it becomes visible for 1 minute. Hordebound. If the ghost is destroyed while its horde contains less treasure than it did at the moment of its original death, the ghost returns to undeath and regains all of its hit points after 9 (2d8) hours, appearing within 60 feet of its horde. If the ghost's horde is restored to its original value, the ghost curls up atop the horde and vanishes, along with its horde. Actions Multiattack. The ghost makes three attacks, one of which may be with its Spectral Bite. Spectral Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 32 (6d8 + 5) cold damage damage and the target’s speed is halved until the start of the dragon’s next turn. Covetous Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 5) necrotic damage and the target must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw. On a failure, the ghost snatches one magic item or coinpouch the creature is carrying and flings it up to 30 feet towards the ghost's horde. If the ghost's Horde Posession is active, it gains 10 temporary hit points. Telekinetic Thrash (Recharges when the ghost uses its Terrormist Breath). Each creature within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 21 Strength saving throw or take 21 (6d6) bludgeoning damage, be pushed up to 20 feet in a direction of the ghost's choice, and be knocked prone. On a success, a creature takes half as much damage. Terrormist Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a cloud of shifting mists that heavily obscures the area in a 90-foot cone for the next minute, until cleared away by a strong wind, or until it uses this ability again. A living creature that starts its turn in the area, or enters it for the first time on a turn must make a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 40 (9d8) cold damage and is Frightened until the beginning of its next turn as terrifying hallucinations overcome it, or takes half as much damage on a success. A creature that fails by 5 or more has its speed reduced to 0 until the beginning of its next turn. A living creature that ends its turn in the area ages by 10% of its natural lifespan until cured by Greater Restoration or similar magic. Reactions Horde Posession (1/Day). As a reaction to being reduced below 163 hit points, the ghost draws its horde into itself, forming a body of treasure. For the next minute, the ghost gains the following properties: The ghost loses its Spectral Weapons and Agonizing Attachment traits. All damage dealt to the ghost becomes psychic damage, instead of any other type. The ghost's melee attacks are made at advantage, and deal an additional 13 (3d8) bludgeoning damage.