CROOKED KILLERS

The wrack-glass is a dreadful artifact. It appears as a mirror, taller than a man, bound in a frame of tarnished silver. When one looks upon it, their reflection looks normal at first, but rapidly begins to twist and deform, taking on a malevolent aspect. Some scholars of the occult surmise that this vision represents the viewer’s darkest thoughts and impulses.

If one gazes into the wrack-glass too long, the grotesque image in the mirror is embodied in the viewer’s flesh and spirit. These warped beings are the custodians of the wrack-glass, and the crooked killers are the most militant of this cabal.

Despite their warped bodies and gnarled limbs, crooked killers are swift and lithe. They are cruel and cunning opponents, attacking from ambush to inflict maximum injury while minimizing their risk.

CROOKED KILLER
Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil

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Armor Class: 17
Hit Points: 28 (5d6+10)
Speed 35 ft.

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Str 13 | Dex  17 | Con 15 | Int 14 | Wis 10 | Cha 6

Skills: Acrobatics +6, Intimidate +6, Stealth +8, Perception +5
Passive Perception 15

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Twisted Anatomy A crooked killer has Advantage on ability checks to resist grapples and escape from bonds or confinement. As part of a move action, they can squeeze through spaces two size categories below their own.

Crooked Fighting A crooked killer deals an additional 2d6 damage against an opponent when attacking with Advantage.

Mirror Madness Crooked killer are compelled to smash or otherwise destroy any mirror in their vicinity. They will suffer Disadvantage on all rolls in the presence of an intact mirror. Should a crooked killer see their own reflection, they must succeed a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or move away from the reflective surface as far as possible.

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ACTIONS

Serrated blade +5 melee (1d6+2 slashing damage, can score a critical hit on 19-20)

Barbed dagger +5 melee/ranged (1d4+2 piercing damage, can score a critical hit on 19-20, 20 ft. range)

Multiattack A crooked killer makes one serrated blade and one barbed dagger attack.

Twisting Parry As a reaction to being hit with a melee attack, a crooked killer can substitute their armor class with an attack roll. If their roll is greater than their attacker’s, the crooked killer can redirect the attack to another creature adjacent to them.

Tortuous Gaze If a creature starts its turn within 15 feet of the crooked killer and the two of them can see each other, the killer can force the creature to make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw if the crooked killer isn’t incapacitated. On a failed save, the creature suffers painful muscle spasms that halves its movement speed and grants Disadvantage on Dexterity and Strength based rolls and checks. The creature can make another save at the start of its next turn to end the effect.

NEPHILIM

Is it just me, or is ‘aasimar’ a poor design choice?

I’m just talking about the word itself, which appears to have no connection to any real-world myth or legend, near as I can tell. Considering that the aasimar first appeared in Planescape, maybe it was part of the re-branding effort that saw devils and demons become ‘baatezu’ and ‘tanar’ri’ to divorce D&D from the Satanic Panic of 80s.

Ironically, a better term for the hybrid offspring of mortals and divine beings can be found in the Bible:

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown. Genesis 6:4 (NRSV)

There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them. Numbers 13:33 (NRSV)

Ability Score Increases: Nephilim gain a +2 bonus to their Wisdom score and a +1 bonus to their Strength score.

Alignment: Any.

Age: Nephilim reach maturity at same time as humans, but they have lifespans measured in centuries.

Size: Nephilim are Medium-sized creatures. 

Speed: Nephilim have a base walking speed of 30 feet.

Celestial Legacy: Nephilim know the resistance cantrip. At 3rd level, they can cast command once and regain the ability after completing a long rest. When they reach 5th level, a nephilim can cast fear once and regain the ability after completing a long rest.

Divine might: Nephilim count as Large-sized creatures for the purposes of calculating how much they can lift, carry, and push. They also count as Large-sized creatures when subjected to forced movement effects and when attempting a forced movement effect against another creature.

Giant Presence: Nephilim gain proficiency in Persuasion and Intimidation.

NEPHILIM WARRIOR OF RENOWN

photograph by Annie Leibovitz

Adventurers might encounter an individual from an earlier generation of nephilim, with a closer connection to their divine forebears.

Large humanoid (celestial)

AC: 18 (heavy armor) | HP: 110 (10 Hit Dice) | Speed: 30 ft.

Str: 19 | Dex: 11 | Con: 16 | Int: 12 | Wis: 14 | Cha: 15

Actions

Multiattack: The nephilim makes two attacks with their broadsword.

Broadsword melee weapon attack +7, 10 ft. reach, 1d10+4 slashing damage.

Cast a Spell: The nephilim can cast spells as a 10th level paladin.

What’s this Nephilim’s Deal? (Roll 1d8):

1 – There is Only War: They want nothing more than to crush enemies, drive them before them, and hear the lamentations of somebody. (Neutral Evil)

2 – Mayhem: They just want to watch the world burn. (Chaotic Evil)

3 – Melancholia: They’ve seen it happen before, and they’ll probably see it happen again. (Chaotic Neutral)

4 – Word is Bond: They’re upholding an oath that was sworn long ago and remains undischarged. (Lawful Neutral)

5 – Gimme the Prize: They’re always on the search for a new challenge. (Chaotic Good)

6 – Enlightened: If they could change, then anyone can change. (Neutral Good)

7 – Service is Love: They’ll put everything on the line for a just cause. (Lawful Good)

8 – I am the Way: Only they know what is right for these foolish mortals. (Lawful Evil)

Witchskin (New Magic Item)

photo by Bernard McManus

A close-fitting, full body garment made from the cured and tattooed hide of a magic-user.

Wearing a witchskin provides physical protection equivalent to leather/light armor. Also, it grants the wearer Advantage on saving throws to resist enchantments and curses.

However, the witchskin exudes a rancid stench that imposes Disadvantage on the wearer’s skill checks to hide. Depending on the circumstances, a character wearing a witchskin may also experience Disadvantage in social encounters since, you know, they’re wearing someone else’s skin.

Internet Detritus Monster Manual Supplement 3: FLAMEGATOR

Huge magical beast (elemental)

AC 15, immune to fire damage; resistant to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage
HP 66 (7 HD)
Speed 30, swim 30
Str 21 (+5) | Dex 9 (-1) | Con 17 (+3) | Int 2 (-4) | Wis 10 (+0) | Cha 7 (-2)

Attack:

• Bite +7 (2d10+5 piercing damage and target is grappled. Until the grapple ends, target is restrained and the flamegator can’t bite another target.)
• Tail swipe +7 (10-foot reach, 2d6+5 bludgeoning damage plus DC 15 Strength save or be knocked prone)

Special Attack:

• Swallow: The flamegator attempts to engulf a Medium-sized or smaller target trapped in its jaws. A grappled creature must succeed a contested Strength check versus the flamegator; if the target fails, the target is trapped in the flamegator’s furnace-like gullet. A swallowed target is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects and takes 10 fire damage at the start of each of the flamegator’s turn.
• Combustive Gaze: The flamegator’s blazing eyes can set alight anything it sees. Creatures that the flamegator can see within 60 feet must make a Dexterity check or spontaneously ignite, suffering 2d4 fire damage, plus 1d4 fire every subsequent round until they extinguish themselves.

Some scholars have surmised that the flamegator is one of the legendary Beasts of Atrocity, a herald of the end of the world. They do look the part: massive crocodilian beasts with slate-gray scales and obsidian-like scutes arrayed down its back, crowned with bonfire-sized flames.

In fact, flamegators are merely visitors from the molten swamps at the boundary of the Elemental Planes of Earth and Fire, brought into the mundane world via particularly violent volcanic activity.

Dousing the fire atop a flamegator’s skull instantly puts the beast into a state of suspended animation.

New Spell: Gouging Out a Cave in Empty Sky

Sorcerer/Witch/Wizard (Conjuration)

Using this spell, a magic-user pries open a bubble of space in the extra-dimensional medium.

The area can comfortably accommodate one person per caster level and lasts for one hour per caster level. The interior has the same atmospheric make-up and gravitational orientation as the world it’s connected to and appears to be made of inert, native rock and soil. While inside, creatures and objects cannot be observed by scrying or other kinds of divination. The opening itself, however, can be detected by magical means

When the spell is initially cast, the opening to the area is roughly five feet in diameter; the caster can decrease it down to a pinprick, but not actually close it (doing so would sever the terrestrial connection, casting the bubble-space adrift in the extra-dimensional medium). Additionally, the opening’s location is fixed at the time of casting and cannot be moved.

At the end of the spell’s duration, or when dismissed by the caster, the bubble “pops” and anything still inside becomes lost in the extra-dimensional medium.

NEW SPELL: Thus Sayeth the Parasites of the Mind

Sorcerer/Witch/Wizard (Conjuration)

When conventional methods of interrogation fail, magic-users can turn to more… esoteric means of extracting information.

This spell infects a sentient creature (Intelligence 3 or greater) with a peculiar breed of psychic, para-dimensional worm that transmits the contents of the brain they devour to the one that summoned them. If the target fails a Wisdom saving throw, they must truthfully answer a question the spellcaster asks. The spell requires the caster and target be able to see, hear, and share a language; if the caster touches the target during the casting, the target has Disadvantage on their saving throw.

As the target answers, the information and 1d4 points of their Intelligence are permanently devoured by the psychic worm.

The spellcaster can continue questioning the target, who gets a new saving throw with each additional query. The spell ends when the target successfully saves or their Intelligence drops below 3.

Nocturnals

“Nocturnals,” by Leonora Carrington

Mortal beings indelibly marked by the spectral realm.

Nocturnals can be of any race (elf, goblin, human, whatever), but their normal characteristics are replaced or altered as follows:

Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1

Age: You reach adulthood as normal, but then you age half as fast as is normal for your race.

Darkvision: If your race normally doesn’t have it, you do with a range of 60 feet.  If members of your race already possess darkvision, then you have double the normal range. In any case, your eyes are pure black.

Spectral Sensitivity: You are dimly aware of the spectral realm in a 30-foot radius around you, but you cannot interact with it or anything within it.

Break on Through to the Other Side: Once per day, you can travel into the spectral realm as if you cast enter spectral realms with a caster level equal to your character level.

Uncanny: Your have an eerie appearance and unsettling affect. You gain proficiency with the Intimidation skill and have Advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to detect falsehoods.

Nethereal

Zdzislaw Beksinski

Medium outsider, chaotic neutral

Number appearing: 1, solitary
Armor Class: 17
Hit Dice: 6d10 (30 hp)
Movement: 30 ft.

Str  13 | Dex 15 | Con 15| Int 17  | Wis 15 | Cha 9

Incomprehensible: The thought patterns of a nethereal are too alien to grasp. A creature attempting telepathic contact with a nethereal must make a Wisdom saving throw – with a success, they take 1d4 damage directly to their Wisdom score; on a failed save, their Wisdom score is permanently decreased by 1d4 exploding (if the result is 4, roll another 1d4, if that result is also a 4, add yet another 1d4, and so on).

Liminal existence: Nethereals simultaneously exist in, and can interact with, the spectral realm. When a nethereal is reduced to 0 hitpoints, they dissipate into nothing.

Spectral shroud: The spectral realm seeps into the world around a nethereal – they appear dim and distorted no matter the lighting and atmospheric conditions. Ranged attacks against the nethereal have Disadvantage.

Attack: draining touch +7 (1d8 damage and the target suffers Disadvantage on Strength- and Dexterity-based rolls until the end of the nethereal’s next turn; alternatively, the nethereal can elect to deal no damage and cause the target to fall unconscious for 1d6 rounds).

Spectral Bleedthrough: As a full-round action, a nethereal can channel the spectral realm into the environment, causing the area around them to take on a frightening aspect. When this ability is activated, the light in a 30-foot radius sphere centered on the nethereal drop to nighttime levels. Creatures outside this area must make a Wisdom saving throw before attempting to enter the darkened zone.

As a move-equivalent action, a nethereal can increase the radius of the affected area by 10 feet.

 

The Wolf That Walks Behind

 

“Yeth Hound,” by cinemamind

THE WOLF THAT WALKS BEHIND
Medium outsider, neutral evil

Number appearing: 3 to 6 (1d4+2)
Armor Class: 16
Hit Dice: 3d10 (15 hp)
Movement: 50 feet

Str 13 | Dex 15 | Con 15 | Int 7 | Wis 12 | Cha 3

A foot in each world: a wolf that walks behind can freely move in and out of the spectral realm as part of its move action.

Spectral predator: A wolf that walks behind has Advantage on attack rolls in the spectral realm.

Attack: slavering jaws +4 (1d6 damage; a wolf that walks behind can pull a target it bit into the spectral realm with a successful opposed Strength check)

Howl from Beyond (Recharge 5-6): As a standard action, a wolf that walks behind can emit a haunting, otherworldly cry. All creatures within 30 feet of the wolf must succeed a Wisdom saving throw or be unable to act until the end of the wolf’s next turn. This ability can be used even if the wolf is in the spectral realm.

“All the evil in the universe was concentrated in their lean, hungry bodies. Or had they bodies? I saw them only for a moment, I cannot be certain.”

– Frank Belknap Long, “The Hounds of Tindalos”

Peerless trackers, wolves that walk behind are often summoned by unscrupulous magic-users to chase down their enemies.

NEW SPELL: Enter Spectral Realms

Warlock/Wizard/Sorcerer 1 (Conjuration)

Beneath, or maybe behind, the world of human experience, is another place. In terms of time and location, it corresponds exactly, but the light is always dim, the colors are faded and washed out, and the air is still and cool. Occultists have bestowed many names on this spectral realm: “the Beyond,” “Ghost World,” and “the Dark Side,” among others. 

 

By means of this spell, a magic-user can enter this realm for a number of minutes equal to their caster level. Within the spectral realm, the caster is able to breathe and is subject to gravity as normal. 

Inanimate matter appear as it does on the other side, but living things are transparent and intangible. Passing through a living creature has no effect on either the magic-user or the creature they pass through, though the person on the other side may experience a jolt or a shiver. 

Due to the relationship between the two worlds, caster interactions with spectral objects are reflected in their counterparts on the other side: for example, if the caster picks up a spectral chair and carries it across a room, the same chair in the Prime realm appears to levitate off the floor and float a similar distance. Spectral objects have the same material characteristics, so the caster cannot lift or break or alter something they wouldn’t be able to normally.

At the end of the spell’s duration, the caster will reappear in the location that corresponds with where they were in the spectral realm.