#cr 08

Image Description: Three humanoid figures. In the front is a small, skeletal, hairless figure with blue-black skin and three long, red claws on each hand. it is wearing a loincloth. To the left is a taller, also skeletal and hairless figure with red skin and bone wings. The figure is on fire. At the back is a heavily muscled white skinned figure with large claws, feathered wings, and a third eye positioned between and just above the other two.

Image by Wayne Reynolds, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Monster Manual II Art Gallery here.

Palrethee Medium fiend (demon), chaotic evil Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 120 (16d8 + 48) Speed 30 ft. Str 19 Dex 16 Con 16 Int 13 Wis 12 Cha 11 Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +6, Wis +4 Skills Deception +3, Insight +4, Persuasion +3 Damage Immunities fire, poison Damage Resistances lightning; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks Damage Vulnerabilities cold Condition Immunities poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 11 Languages Abyssal, telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Brute. A melee weapon deals one extra die of its damage when the palrethee hits with it (included in the attack). Fiery Shield. A creature that touches the palrethee or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d8) fire damage. Magic Resistance. The palrethee has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Actions Multiattack. The palrethee makes two melee attacks. Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage or 15 (2d10+4) slashing slashing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack, plus 9 (2d8) fire damage. Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) fire damage. If the target is a creature or flammable object, it ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.

According to legend, palrethee were once ambitious demons who yearned to rule the Abyss as balors. Despite their great malice and their sadism, these lost souls failed in some unknown trial by fire, and now they burn for all eternity. Many balors use palrethees as sergeants or messengers, taking great pleasure in reinforcing the ambitious demons’ subservient positions. This connection between the two kinds of demons has lent credence to the bards’ tales about the palrethees’ origin.

A palrethee is a tall, emaciated creature of humanoid shape with blood-red or blue skin, and bony, white, vestigial wings. The entire length of its body is wreathed in fire. The creature can alter the color and appearance of its flames at will, making them appear translucent and ghostly, or the red-orange shade of a fiery forge, or even blue-white and delicate. No matter how the flames look, their effects remain unchanged.

Palrethees have all the necessary combat abilities to join the din of battle, but these arrogant fiends often believe themselves to be above the petty assignments they receive. Desperate to acquire magic, mortal souls, or some other currency with which they can gain power, they try to make bargains, use humanoids as tools, or trick unwary mortals into doing their bidding. Unfortunately, part of their failures in the past that led to this punishment is their impatience and inability to manipulate others well, and so palrethee are poorly suited to rising back through the demonic ranks.

Tendriculos Huge plant, unaligned Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 150 (12d12 + 72) Speed 20 ft. Str 24 Dex 9 Con 22 Int 3 Wis 8 Cha 3 Skills Stealth +2 Senses passive Perception 9 Languages - Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Regeneration. The tendriculos regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the tendriculos takes bludgeoning or acid damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the tendriculos' next turn. The tendriculos only dies if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate. Unnatural Aura. The tendriculos exudes a strange aura within 30 feet which unnerves and frightens animals. Any beast that starts its turn in this area or enters it for the first time during a turn must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened. While frightened in this way, the beast must take teh Dash action and move away from the tendriculos by the safest available rout on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move. If it ends its turn in a location where it doesn't have line of sight to the tendriculos, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Actions Multiattack. The tendriculos makes three attacks: two with its tendrils and one with its bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8+7) piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be swallowed by the tendriculos. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, and it takes 14 (4d6) acid damage and must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed at the start of each of the tendriculos' turns. A paralyzed target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the tendriculos takes 20 or more damage on a single turn from a creature inside it, the tendriculos must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the tendriculos. If the tendriculos dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 20 feet of movement, exiting prone. Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d6+7) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). The tendriculos has two tendrils, each of which can grapple one target.

Possibly mutated by magic, or originating on another plane of existence, the tendriculos is a creature that does not seem to be natural to the world. It is far more twisted and invasive than other animated plants and even most monstrosities, having a ravenous appetite for living meat that sees it rampage through entire regions and populations if not checked. They can regrow damage at an exceptional rate, great masses of plant matter appearing in just minutes, and many animals appear to have an innate fear of the plants, fleeing in terror at the sight of it. Whatever they are, and whatever their origin, they are a tremendously dangerous species that is slowly starting to spread.

Conflagration Orb Medium elemental, chaotic evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45) Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover) Str 19 Dex 20 Con 17 Int 15 Wis 17 Cha 22 Damage Immunities fire Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks Condition Immunities exhaustion, petrified, poisoned, prone, unconscious Senses passive Perception 13 Languages Ignan, Primordial Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Burning Body. At the start of each of the orb's turns, each creature within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10) fire damage, and flammable objects in that area that aren't being worn or carried ignite. A creature that touches the orb or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10) fire damage. Illumination. The orb sheds bright light in a 30 foot radius and dim light in an additional 30 feet. Rolling Flame (1/Turn). The orb can spend 5 feet of movement to force one creature within 5 feet of it to succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) 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. Actions Multiattack. The orb makes two scorching bolt attacks. Scorching Bolt. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 50 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (4d6) fire damage. If the target is a creature or a flammable object, it ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. Fire Tempest (Recharge 5-6). The orb hurdles sparks of magical fire to three points it can see within 50 feet of it. Each creature within 10 feet of one of those points must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature in the area of more than one spark is affected only once. This ability damages objects in the area and ignites flammable obbjects that aren't being worn or carried. Waves Of Flame. The orb unleashes waves of fire and each creature within 15 feet of the orb must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the target takes 31 (7d8) fire damage and is pushed 15 feet directly away from the orb and falls prone. On a successful save, the target takes half as much fire damage and is not pushed or knocked prone. This ability ignites flammable objects in that area that aren't being worn or carried. Until the end of the orb's next turn, this area is filled with flames. Each creature that enters the area or ends its turn there takes 11 (2d10) fire damage.

The Princes of Elemental Evil are a major faction within the elemental planes, corrupted by the god Tharizdun into serving and bringing about utter annihilation. Imix is the Prince of Fire, and brings a chaotic, burning destruction down upon the world whenever his cults gain power. Among the other creations of his cults are the conflagration orbs, minor avatars of Imix that give the elemental lord a direct hand in mortal events. A tiny fragment of his power rests in the center of the orb, ensuring it is only loyal to Imix and no one else. This focused loyalty means it doesn’t even care for Imix’s other servants, and rarely bothers to avoid them with its attacks, often incinerating allies who have no fire immunity.

Unlike basic fire elementals, the conflagration orb has a solid core from which the flames it commands spring forth. It appears in the sky like a miniature sun, sending bolts of fire and massive explosions down upon the world. The evil of Imix directs it, giving it joy as it watches its victims burn alive, cackling with a threatening, sizzling laugh. 

In celebration of the one year anniversary of my Patreon page, I’ve released a special offer adventure, Guiresk’s Tower! This adventure will only be available until the 24th of May to any backers, so if you’d like to see what traps and guardians the archmage Guiresk has placed on his home please back me at any level and see what he’s got up his sleeve. If you’re smart and lucky maybe you’ll kill the murderous archmage and escape with the treasure and knowledge he’s been gathering for decades.

As a peek at what is available in this adventure, I present the ballista sentinel, one of the magical guardians Guiresk has built to watch over his tower.

Ballista Sentinel Large construct, unaligned Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 114 (12d10 + 48) Speed 30 ft. (0 in ballista form) Str 15 Dex 18 Con 19 Int 3 Wis 11 Cha 1 Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks not made with adamantine weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 10 Languages understands the language of its creator but can’t speak Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Alternate Form. The sentinel can use its action to polymorph into a Large ballista or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its speed, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. Immutable Form. The sentinel is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form. Magic Resistance. The sentinel has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Magic Weapons. The sentinel’s weapon attacks are magical. Actions Multiattack. The sentinel makes two attacks. Slam (True Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d8+2) bludgeoning damage. Ballista. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10+4) piercing damage.

Lumberjack Ghost Medium undead, true neutral Armor Class 16 Hit Points 127 (15d8 + 60) Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. Str 20 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 18 Damage Immunities fire, necrotic, poison Damage Resistances acid, cold, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 12 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Force Of Personality. The AC of the ghost includes his Charisma bonus. Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. He takes 5 (1d10) force damage if he ends his turn inside an object. Mirror Weakness. A creature within 5 feet of the ghost can spend an action to present a silver mirror worth at least 150 gp. The ghost must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or disappear and be trapped in the mirror. The ghost can't be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, and is unable to take any action or lair action except to cast one of his innate spells. It can only target the mirror with these spells. The ghost can see, hear, and communicate out of the mirror. If the mirror is destroyed, the ghost is immediately released, appearing in the nearest unoccupied space. Innate Spellcasting. The ghost's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). The ghost can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: thaumaturgy 3/day each: animate objects (wood or taxidermied objects only), heat metal 1/day: bestow curse Actions Multiattack. The ghost makes two greataxe attacks. Ghostly Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 18 (2d12+5) necrotic damage. You Are All Wood (Recharge 6). The ghost points to any number of creatures within 120 feet of him. Those creatures must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the target is petrified and turned into wood. A petrified creature must repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. If a creature fails three of these saving throws while petrified, it is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or similar magic. The ghost can free all creatures he has petrified as an action.

One hundred and fifty years ago, a team of lumberfolks built a grand manor at the top of a hill for a wealthy man. He promised them that once the manor was complete there would be a grand party held for all the townsfolk, in honor of their hard work and community. Of course, as all wealthy men do, he lied. When the manor was complete years later, he laughed and turned away the common folk, reserving his grand banquet for only those wealthy and influential enough to buy their way in. The leader of those lumberjacks refused to walk away, standing at the gate and demanding entrance as he was promised until that night the rain fell. The hilltop, stripped of trees for the construction, gave way to a massive mudslide, sweeping the lumberjack away, and in the chaos of the disaster he was killed, struck by a loose axe that had been caught up in the flowing mud. With his final breath, he laid a curse upon the manor. 

And so I say with final breath, 150 years I'll return from death. And if the gate’s still closed to town, wealthy blood will stain the ground.

That time has passed. The wealthy man’s wealthy descendants still hold their yearly party. And the common folk stand outside to watch from a distance. It is time.

The Lumberjack Ghost’s Lair Within the mansion built by the lumberfolk, the ghost has even greater powers. A large manor with many rooms, it has spent the last 150 years in the possession of a wealthy, ruling family who have adapted and modernized many of the features, but the bones of the original house remain. The ghost knows every room, every hidden corner and secret feature of it. He knows it better than even its current owners, and so there is nowhere to escape from his attention.

Lair Actions On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the ghost takes a laira ction to cause one of the following effects:

• A warm wind sweeps through one room in the mansion, and all unattended Tiny objects in the room are picked up and begin spinning through the air. All creatures except the ghost must spend 2 feet of movement for every foot they move, and must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage. The whirlwild lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round. • The furniture and decorations in one room take on a disturbing and unnatural aspect. Taxidermied heads on the wall begin dripping blood and chanting, smoke from a fireplace forms into screaming skulls, or portraits transform into scenes of the mansion’s guests being tortured by tree monsters. All creatures that can see or hear this effect within the room must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until initiative count 20 on the next round. • One room undergoes a drastic transformation. The ballroom erupts with trees and other flora, a garden might descend into a thick swamp, or a bedroom could turn into a torture chamber. This effect is identical to a mirage arcane spell except that it can only affect a single room. The change lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Northwest Mansion Mystery is a high water mark for an already quality series, and a big part of that comes from its ghostly antagonist. Archibald Corduroy (at least the ghost is suggested to be him, a there’s a picture of a man that looks like the ghost in life with that name) is intimidating and allowed to get away with quite a bit for a children’s show. His threats and actions against the Northwest family and their guests are pretty dire, and the scene with the bleeding and chanting taxidermied heads is quite effective. He has a lot that he’s capable of, which I tried to replicate in a D&D style. Making good use of his features and lair actions, along with very fancy descriptions, should be capable of creating an encounter with a very similar feel to his starring role, especially if you set him on a party far too low leveled to fight him effectively. 

Rumble McSkirmish Medium construct, lawful neutral Armor Class 18 Hit Points 142 (15d8 + 75) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 Dex 16 Con 20 Int 8 Wis 8 Cha 16 Saving Throws Str +8, Dex +6, Con +8 Skills Acrobatics +9, Athletics +11, Intimidation +9 Senses passive Perception 9 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Oblivious. Rumble has disadvantage on all Intelligence and Wisdom ability checks. Standing Leap. Rumble's long jump is up to 30 feet and his high jump is up to 15 feet, with or without a running start. Unarmored Defense. While Rumble is wearing no armor and wielding no shield, his AC includes his Constitution modifier. Actions Multiattack. Rumble makes three attacks with unarmed strike or improvised weapons, each of which can be replaced with one use of Throw. Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10+5) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature,Rumble can choose one of the following effects:

• The target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or drop one item it is holding (Rumble's choice) • The target must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. • If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 16). Rumble has two arms, each of which can grapple one target. Improvised Weapon. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage. as appropriate for the weapon. If the weapon is not magical, it is destroyed after making this attack. Fireball. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (6d8) fire damage. Throw. One creature grappled by Rumble is thrown up to 30 feet in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes a solid surface, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take the dame damage and be knocked prone. Fist Punch Rain (Recharge 5-6). Rumble causes pixelated fists to rain down from the sky in a 30 foot radius centered on himself. Each creature and object in that area besides Rumble must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 31 (9d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Super Power Ninja Turbo Neo Ultra Hyper Mega Multi Alpha Meta Extra Uber Prefix Combo (Recharges On A Short Or Long Rest). Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 60 (10d10+5) bludgeoning damage.

Double Dipper, Irrational Treasure, and The Time Traveler’s Pig all lack supernatural foes, or at least non-human ones, so they will unfortunately have no representation in my series. However, I feel like Rumble McSkirmish from Fight Fighters is definitely not actually human, at least not in our world. In his own world he could be human, but when brought out into ours he’s more an artificial creation, and so I’m giving him the construct type. He’s also one of the larger physical threats in the series, outside of Bill related things, so he’s one of the most dangerous monsters I have planned, and has far fewer weaknesses than some of the other powerful ones. 

There's a lot going on in Rumble’s stat block, but I tried to grab most of what he does during the episode and represent it. The improvised weapon is just the result of him punching a trash can and finding a sword, or ripping a street sign out of the ground and hurtling it toward his opponent. The intention is that he can only really make one improvised weapon attack in a round, as he has to pick something up to do so, and after he takes his swing it gets destroyed. I also really wanted to give him a throw combo, since so, so many fighting game characters have them and Rumble did pick up Robbie at one point in the episode, so that’s all the justification I needed. Do make sure to describe his attacks including all kinds of uppercuts, downercuts, and spinning kicks. His two special attacks are his real powerhouse hits, and if you want to keep to some fighting game logic he should save them until later in a battle, once he’s landed a few hits and been hit himself. Also, if you’re ever going to take inspiration from this, change the name of his ultimate combo. You don’t deserve to have to try and memorize that. 

Abyssal Basilisk Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 126 (12d10 + 60) Speed 20 ft. Str 19 Dex 13 Con 20 Int 4 Wis 14 Cha 8 Damage Immunities poison Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning Condition Immunities poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 12 Languages understands Abyssal but can't speak Challenge 8 (3900 XP) Gaze Of Abyssal Horror. If a creature starts its turn within 30 feet of the basilisk and the two can see each other, the basilisk can force the creature to make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw if the basilisk isn't incapacitated. On a failed save, the creature is charmed by the basilisk until it ends its turn and can't see the basilisk, or the basilisk is incapacitated. The charmed target takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage at the start of each of its turns, can't take reactions, and on its turn must spend its action to make one melee or ranged weapon attack against a creature of the basilisk's choice, moving to get into range if necessary. The charmed creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that isn't surprised can avert its eyes to avoid the saving throw at the start of its turn. If it does so, it can't see the basilisk until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes again. If it looks at the basilisk in the meantime, it must immediately make the save. Magic Weapons. The basilisk's weapon attacks are magical. Actions Multiattack. The basilisk makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6+4) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.

It’s not uncommon for demons to find basilisks fascinating, and some will bring the creatures into the Abyss as pets or guardians. Over generations, these basilisks warp and mutate from the corrupting chaos, their descendants eventually becoming true demons. Their gaze changes, no longer petrifying creatures but instead planting a small seed of terror and evil into the mind of those who meet the creature’s gaze, driving them to violence at the basilisk’s direction rather than their own control. Many of these basilisks are placed as guards, watching over gates the demons never want opened and paths none should ever tread.