Homebrew A Leveled Up Bestiary
- Thread starter Faolyn
- Start date
Faolyn
(she/her)
OK, back to regular monsters. Tom Moldvay continues his exploration into the ranks of the undead with this article, where he explores skeletons, zombies, and ghouls. He included the wendigo as a type of ghoul, and I used some of that information for my version as well. He draws his ranks of new undead from literature, mythology, and, for one of them, a cartoon.
The first undead to be converted is the bloody bones, an originally English monster otherwise known as Rawhead-And-Bloody-Bones (in the U.S., it became two different creatures who worked together, or a single monster with two bodies, depending on the region). Bloody Bones was a bogeyman of sorts, the type used as a threat to get children to behave, but who also punished gossips. For the game, however, it’s an undead risen from the corpse of an executed criminal—but who is magically aware if people talk about it.
Art by Jennell Jaquays
Bloody Bones
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
Resembling a corpse left to hang in a gibbet, the bloody bones is a particularly nasty type of skeletal undead. Shreds of muscle and sinew hang from their bones and they constantly drip blood from blood from their exposed tissue and empty eye sockets.
Dead Criminals. Nearly all bloody bones rise from corpses of vicious criminals who were executed for their crimes, especially (but not limited to) bandits, thieves, and kidnappers who murdered unnecessarily while committing lesser crimes. The bloody bones continue their crimes even after death. They lurk in dark, wet places: caves, ruins, cellars, wells, and murky ponds. From there, they terrorizing anyone who comes close, sometimes venturing out only after dark to commit more crimes and other perversions of civilized taboos. Bloody bones don’t emerge every night. Many only come out at certain times, such as the anniversaries of their most famous crimes or of their death, or on the nights of the new moon—or when they hear someone invoke their name—and spend the rest of the time among their piles of stolen goods, compulsively sorting and counting it.
Unwanted Treasure. A bloody bones is compelled to steal, but the treasure itself is meaningless. Their lairs are full of stolen goods which they throw about without a care, or even purposely break. Nevertheless, they jealously guard their treasure, even as they treat it as if it were garbage. Should anyone steal from them, even the smallest trinket, they will track that individual down and destroy them.
Guilds and Groupies. A bloody bones becomes a bogeyman of sorts. Its pre-death identity is known to all, even if few refuse to speak its name, and its original crimes, no matter how severe they actually were, become blown far out of proportion. Its name is used as a warning for children: obey your elders, or the bloody bones will get you. But at the same time, a strange sort of madness will descend upon the area, and up-and-coming hoodlums often begin to draw inspiration from the bloody bones’ crimes and form groups based around them. These groups often quickly come to terrible ends, either from the law or from the bloody bones’ cruelties (many bloody bones despise copycats), but in a few cases, the bloody bones takes it upon itself to create something akin to a thieves’ guild, particularly if the bloody bones was a thieves’ guildmaster in life). While these guilds rarely last long, they can wreak terrible havoc while they exist.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. Bloody bones are the undead remains of executed criminals, and they are compelled to continue their criminal activity even after death.
DC 15. Although not particularly intelligence, bloody bones have a low cunning that makes them tricky foes, and their lairs are often filled with traps.
DC 20. A bloody bones can hear you if you speak its name.
Bloody Bones Encounters
Terrain: forest, hill, ruin, settlement
CR 3-4 bloody bones; bloody bones with 1d4+1 bandits
Treasure: 160 gp, 304 sp, citrine (50 gp), tarnished silver ring with moonstones (150 gp), torn fur-trimmed cloak (25 gp, if fixed), dented masterwork dagger with onyx pommel, thieves’ tools, potion of poison.
Signs
1. A trail of blood droplets.
2. People speak in hushed tones of a famed criminal.
3. Corpses hanging in gibbets.
4. A raven, watching the party
Behavior
1. Threatening and torturing a kidnapped victim.
2. Counting its stolen coins, then throwing them over its shoulder.
3. Destroying stolen goods.
4. Hostile; will attack on sight.
Names
Bette the Brute, Crazy-Eyes Eli, Solomon the Jester, Mad Gannon, Reaper Read
Bloody Bones
Medium undead
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
AC 15 (natural armor)
HP 67 (9d8+27; bloodied 33)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
STR 15 (+2) DEX 19 (+5) CON 16 (+3)
INT 8 (-1) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 14 (+2)
Proficiency +3
Maneuver DC 16
Saving Throws Dex +8, Int +2
Skills Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8 (+1d4)
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities fatigue, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages the languages it knew in life
Blood Frenzy. The bloody bones has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points.
Blood Trail. Attempts to track the bloody bones using Wisdom (Survival) checks are made with advantage.
Double-Jointed. The bloody bones can move through a space large enough for a Small creature without squeezing.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The bloody bones deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the bloody bones that isn’t incapacitated and the bloody bones doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Speak My Name. The bloody bones is aware if a creature within 10 miles of it uses the name it went by in life, and knows that creature’s location.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the bloody bones has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Perception checks that rely on sight.
Undead Fortitude (1/Day). If the bloody bones is reduced to 0 hit points by damage that isn’t radiant or from a critical hit, its instead reduced to 1 hit point, falls prone, and is stunned until the end of its next turn, appearing to be dead.
Undead Nature. The bloody bones doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Actions
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) slashing damage.
Horrifying Visage. Each non-undead creature within 60 feet and on the same plane of existence that can see the bloody bones makes a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature is frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature repeats 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, it is immune to this bloody bones’ Horrifying Visage for 24 hours.
King of the Gibbet (1/Day). The bloody bones summons a swarm of ravens for 1 minute. On each of its turns, the bloody bones can use a bonus action to send the swarm to attack a creature within 60 feet of it. If the swarm takes damage from a creature other than the target, the swarm takes half the damage (rounded down) and the other half is dealt to the target. The swarm has 20 hit points, takes up the target’s space, and is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. When the ravens are summoned, and at the start of each of the bloody bones’ turns, the target must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. On a failed save, the creature is also slowed until the end of its next turn.
Bonus Actions
Cunning Action. The bloody bones takes the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Rapid Attack. The bloody bones attacks with its claws.
Combat
Bloody bones attack from ambush whenever possible, using Cunning Action to disengage or hide in order to gain advantage for sneak attacks.
Variant: Ravenking
Sometimes, a bloody bones will have a raven assistant, which it will use as a spy. This raven is one that fed on the bloody bones corpse after it died but before it arose as undead. It acts as a familiar, allowing the bloody bones to use its action to use the raven's senses as its own while being blinded and deafened in regards to its own senses, and the raven's type is fiend. If the raven dies, the bloody bones can resurrect it with a 1-hour ritual that requires no material components.
The first undead to be converted is the bloody bones, an originally English monster otherwise known as Rawhead-And-Bloody-Bones (in the U.S., it became two different creatures who worked together, or a single monster with two bodies, depending on the region). Bloody Bones was a bogeyman of sorts, the type used as a threat to get children to behave, but who also punished gossips. For the game, however, it’s an undead risen from the corpse of an executed criminal—but who is magically aware if people talk about it.
Art by Jennell Jaquays
Bloody Bones
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
Resembling a corpse left to hang in a gibbet, the bloody bones is a particularly nasty type of skeletal undead. Shreds of muscle and sinew hang from their bones and they constantly drip blood from blood from their exposed tissue and empty eye sockets.
Dead Criminals. Nearly all bloody bones rise from corpses of vicious criminals who were executed for their crimes, especially (but not limited to) bandits, thieves, and kidnappers who murdered unnecessarily while committing lesser crimes. The bloody bones continue their crimes even after death. They lurk in dark, wet places: caves, ruins, cellars, wells, and murky ponds. From there, they terrorizing anyone who comes close, sometimes venturing out only after dark to commit more crimes and other perversions of civilized taboos. Bloody bones don’t emerge every night. Many only come out at certain times, such as the anniversaries of their most famous crimes or of their death, or on the nights of the new moon—or when they hear someone invoke their name—and spend the rest of the time among their piles of stolen goods, compulsively sorting and counting it.
Unwanted Treasure. A bloody bones is compelled to steal, but the treasure itself is meaningless. Their lairs are full of stolen goods which they throw about without a care, or even purposely break. Nevertheless, they jealously guard their treasure, even as they treat it as if it were garbage. Should anyone steal from them, even the smallest trinket, they will track that individual down and destroy them.
Guilds and Groupies. A bloody bones becomes a bogeyman of sorts. Its pre-death identity is known to all, even if few refuse to speak its name, and its original crimes, no matter how severe they actually were, become blown far out of proportion. Its name is used as a warning for children: obey your elders, or the bloody bones will get you. But at the same time, a strange sort of madness will descend upon the area, and up-and-coming hoodlums often begin to draw inspiration from the bloody bones’ crimes and form groups based around them. These groups often quickly come to terrible ends, either from the law or from the bloody bones’ cruelties (many bloody bones despise copycats), but in a few cases, the bloody bones takes it upon itself to create something akin to a thieves’ guild, particularly if the bloody bones was a thieves’ guildmaster in life). While these guilds rarely last long, they can wreak terrible havoc while they exist.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. Bloody bones are the undead remains of executed criminals, and they are compelled to continue their criminal activity even after death.
DC 15. Although not particularly intelligence, bloody bones have a low cunning that makes them tricky foes, and their lairs are often filled with traps.
DC 20. A bloody bones can hear you if you speak its name.
Bloody Bones Encounters
Terrain: forest, hill, ruin, settlement
CR 3-4 bloody bones; bloody bones with 1d4+1 bandits
Treasure: 160 gp, 304 sp, citrine (50 gp), tarnished silver ring with moonstones (150 gp), torn fur-trimmed cloak (25 gp, if fixed), dented masterwork dagger with onyx pommel, thieves’ tools, potion of poison.
Signs
1. A trail of blood droplets.
2. People speak in hushed tones of a famed criminal.
3. Corpses hanging in gibbets.
4. A raven, watching the party
Behavior
1. Threatening and torturing a kidnapped victim.
2. Counting its stolen coins, then throwing them over its shoulder.
3. Destroying stolen goods.
4. Hostile; will attack on sight.
Names
Bette the Brute, Crazy-Eyes Eli, Solomon the Jester, Mad Gannon, Reaper Read
Bloody Bones
Medium undead
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
AC 15 (natural armor)
HP 67 (9d8+27; bloodied 33)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
STR 15 (+2) DEX 19 (+5) CON 16 (+3)
INT 8 (-1) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 14 (+2)
Proficiency +3
Maneuver DC 16
Saving Throws Dex +8, Int +2
Skills Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8 (+1d4)
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities fatigue, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages the languages it knew in life
Blood Frenzy. The bloody bones has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points.
Blood Trail. Attempts to track the bloody bones using Wisdom (Survival) checks are made with advantage.
Double-Jointed. The bloody bones can move through a space large enough for a Small creature without squeezing.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The bloody bones deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the bloody bones that isn’t incapacitated and the bloody bones doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Speak My Name. The bloody bones is aware if a creature within 10 miles of it uses the name it went by in life, and knows that creature’s location.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the bloody bones has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Perception checks that rely on sight.
Undead Fortitude (1/Day). If the bloody bones is reduced to 0 hit points by damage that isn’t radiant or from a critical hit, its instead reduced to 1 hit point, falls prone, and is stunned until the end of its next turn, appearing to be dead.
Undead Nature. The bloody bones doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Actions
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) slashing damage.
Horrifying Visage. Each non-undead creature within 60 feet and on the same plane of existence that can see the bloody bones makes a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature is frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature repeats 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, it is immune to this bloody bones’ Horrifying Visage for 24 hours.
King of the Gibbet (1/Day). The bloody bones summons a swarm of ravens for 1 minute. On each of its turns, the bloody bones can use a bonus action to send the swarm to attack a creature within 60 feet of it. If the swarm takes damage from a creature other than the target, the swarm takes half the damage (rounded down) and the other half is dealt to the target. The swarm has 20 hit points, takes up the target’s space, and is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. When the ravens are summoned, and at the start of each of the bloody bones’ turns, the target must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. On a failed save, the creature is also slowed until the end of its next turn.
Bonus Actions
Cunning Action. The bloody bones takes the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Rapid Attack. The bloody bones attacks with its claws.
Combat
Bloody bones attack from ambush whenever possible, using Cunning Action to disengage or hide in order to gain advantage for sneak attacks.
Variant: Ravenking
Sometimes, a bloody bones will have a raven assistant, which it will use as a spy. This raven is one that fed on the bloody bones corpse after it died but before it arose as undead. It acts as a familiar, allowing the bloody bones to use its action to use the raven's senses as its own while being blinded and deafened in regards to its own senses, and the raven's type is fiend. If the raven dies, the bloody bones can resurrect it with a 1-hour ritual that requires no material components.
Faolyn
(she/her)
Awesome! I have a strange love for these guys and I'm not entirely sure why.
Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Undead have always been my favorite monster type. I remember pouring over that article (and the other ones by Tom Moldvay) when the issue came out.
Faolyn
(she/her)
His articles on undead were among my very favorite in Dragon's entire run. They were so evocatively written and really useful for expanding upon what were usually treated as generic monsters.
Faolyn
(she/her)
Aaand back to more monster variations. The next undead are variants on the basic skeleton or skeleton champion—but they can also be used with the immortal skeleton from the upcoming Dungeon Delver’s Guide, since we were given a hint of them back in early August. (Funnily enough, a version of that monster is also written up in this article under the name “dry bones,” named after the song Dem Dry Bones and inspired by the famous Silly Symphonies’ cartoon “The Skeleton Dance”). Anyhoo, what we have today are the gem eyes and the shock bones.
Because “skeleton” is already a template and there are multiple types of skeletons anyway, I’m not including the CR for this. Assume a basic skeleton becomes CR 1/2, however.
As a note, the actual text of the gem eyes implies that the gemstone eyes remain intact once the skeleton is destroyed. However, these are very low-CR creatures that carry not one but two gems that can be worth thousands of gp each. Feel free to have the gemstones crumble to dust or break into less-valuable stones.
Skeleton Variants
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
Gem Eyes
These skeletons have enchanted gemstones placed in their eye sockets. The skeleton must have both gemstones intact for the magic to work.
A gem eyes has the following new action:
Innate Spellcasting (3/Day). The skeleton can cast one of the following spells (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks; spells require no components and do not require concentration), determined by the type of gemstones it has in its eyes:
• Amethyst Eyes: Silent Image (Concentration). The illusion is pre-determined by the caster.
• Diamond Eyes: Haste (Concentration). The skeleton can only cast this on itself. For 1 minute, the skeleton’s Speed is doubled, it gains +2 to its AC, has advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and gains one additional action each turn that can be used to take the Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action. The skeleton does not get tired when the spell ends.
• Obsidian Eyes: Darkness (Concentration). For 10 minutes, a 15-foot-radius sphere is filled with magical darkness. The obsidian gem-eyes’ darkvision can see through magical darkness.
• Opal Eyes: Mirror Image (Concentration). For 1 minute, three illusory copies of the skeleton appear and mimic its actions. Each time the skeleton is targeted, the Narrator will roll a d20. With 3 copies, a roll of 6 or higher means that a copy is targeted; with 2 copies, a roll of 8 or higher targets a copy; with 1 copy, a roll of 11 or higher targets the copy. The copy has AC 12 (skeleton), 13 (skeletal champion or skeletal immortal) and will be destroyed after one hit.
• Pearl Eyes: Sleep (affects 6d10 hit points worth of creatures). Affected targets fall unconscious for 1 minute or until they take damage or another creature uses an action to physically wake them.
• Ruby Eyes: Burning Hands. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) fire damage on a failed save or half as much on a success. Flammable unattended objects catch fire.
• Sapphire Eyes: Enhance Abilities (Concentration). The skeleton will only cast this on an ally, not on itself, and only when commanded to. For 1 hour, the target has advantage on checks made with one attribute, determined when the spell is cast.
• Emerald Eyes: Ray of Enfeeblement (Concentration). A target up to 60 feet away must make a Strength saving throw or be weakened for 1 minute and only deals half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength. The target may make a new saving throw at the end each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Shock Bones
These skeletons were brought to unlife more by scientific means than by magic. Electricity courses through their bones. Not a few artificers of dubious morality use these undead to guard their laboratories.
A shock bones is immune to lightning damage. Its melee weapon attacks inflict an additional 5 (1d10) lightning damage on a successful hit, and it has the following new traits:
Aura of Electricity. A creature that touches the skeleton or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10) lightning damage, or 9 (2d8) lightning damage if it is wearing metal armor or used a metal weapon. The shock bones sheds bright light to 10 feet and dim light for a further 10 feet.
Because “skeleton” is already a template and there are multiple types of skeletons anyway, I’m not including the CR for this. Assume a basic skeleton becomes CR 1/2, however.
As a note, the actual text of the gem eyes implies that the gemstone eyes remain intact once the skeleton is destroyed. However, these are very low-CR creatures that carry not one but two gems that can be worth thousands of gp each. Feel free to have the gemstones crumble to dust or break into less-valuable stones.
Skeleton Variants
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
Gem Eyes
These skeletons have enchanted gemstones placed in their eye sockets. The skeleton must have both gemstones intact for the magic to work.
A gem eyes has the following new action:
Innate Spellcasting (3/Day). The skeleton can cast one of the following spells (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks; spells require no components and do not require concentration), determined by the type of gemstones it has in its eyes:
• Amethyst Eyes: Silent Image (Concentration). The illusion is pre-determined by the caster.
• Diamond Eyes: Haste (Concentration). The skeleton can only cast this on itself. For 1 minute, the skeleton’s Speed is doubled, it gains +2 to its AC, has advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and gains one additional action each turn that can be used to take the Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action. The skeleton does not get tired when the spell ends.
• Obsidian Eyes: Darkness (Concentration). For 10 minutes, a 15-foot-radius sphere is filled with magical darkness. The obsidian gem-eyes’ darkvision can see through magical darkness.
• Opal Eyes: Mirror Image (Concentration). For 1 minute, three illusory copies of the skeleton appear and mimic its actions. Each time the skeleton is targeted, the Narrator will roll a d20. With 3 copies, a roll of 6 or higher means that a copy is targeted; with 2 copies, a roll of 8 or higher targets a copy; with 1 copy, a roll of 11 or higher targets the copy. The copy has AC 12 (skeleton), 13 (skeletal champion or skeletal immortal) and will be destroyed after one hit.
• Pearl Eyes: Sleep (affects 6d10 hit points worth of creatures). Affected targets fall unconscious for 1 minute or until they take damage or another creature uses an action to physically wake them.
• Ruby Eyes: Burning Hands. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) fire damage on a failed save or half as much on a success. Flammable unattended objects catch fire.
• Sapphire Eyes: Enhance Abilities (Concentration). The skeleton will only cast this on an ally, not on itself, and only when commanded to. For 1 hour, the target has advantage on checks made with one attribute, determined when the spell is cast.
• Emerald Eyes: Ray of Enfeeblement (Concentration). A target up to 60 feet away must make a Strength saving throw or be weakened for 1 minute and only deals half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength. The target may make a new saving throw at the end each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Shock Bones
These skeletons were brought to unlife more by scientific means than by magic. Electricity courses through their bones. Not a few artificers of dubious morality use these undead to guard their laboratories.
A shock bones is immune to lightning damage. Its melee weapon attacks inflict an additional 5 (1d10) lightning damage on a successful hit, and it has the following new traits:
Aura of Electricity. A creature that touches the skeleton or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10) lightning damage, or 9 (2d8) lightning damage if it is wearing metal armor or used a metal weapon. The shock bones sheds bright light to 10 feet and dim light for a further 10 feet.
Faolyn
(she/her)
Tom Moldvay’s next undead is the ghulah, the original ghoul of Arabian legend. Ghulah, he notes, is actually the feminine version of the word ghul, which he chose since “so many ghouls are female in Arabic folklore”. I think it’s also possible he chose ghulah because then it wouldn’t be easily confused with either ghoul or gull. I will keep the name for pronunciation reasons, but feel free to assume they are of either sex and use ghul if you like. They differ from standard-issue ghouls in that they’re effectively undead djinn and have an assortment of powers instead of the ability to paralyze.
Moldway also reminds us of the connection that they have with Lovecraft’s ghouls, although sadly doesn’t expand upon it all that much. I would have loved to have seen his stats for a Lovecraftian ghoul. (Are Lovecraftian ghouls even undead? I can't remember.)
Ghuls (called great ghuls) were printed in the Al Qadim Monstrous Compendium and later in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume 2, but it’s unclear how much of Moldvay’s ghulah they contained within them. MCA #2 also had ghul-kin, which were more powerful than ghuls. As usual, I’ve going to grab elements from all the versions.
Ghulah
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
When genie or similar powerful elemental creature is slain by necromantic magic, the elemental matter is destroyed and the animating life force, corrupted by the necromancy, sometimes rises as the undead known as a ghulah. Gaunt things that can stand over nine feet tall, ghulah have cold, clammy skin and smell faintly of rotten flesh. They have sharply-clawed hands and their legs are strangely blunt and misshapen in a way so as to look as though they end in hooves, not feet, and their jaws jut out and are filled with oversized teeth. Ghulah usually have some part of them reminiscent of their elemental heritage, such as webbed ears or flaming eyes, but this reminder serves to fill the ghulah with rage and sorrow at what they have lost.
Hidden Forms. Remembering the beauty they once had as pure elemental matter, ghulahs are deeply ashamed of their appearance. They spend much of their time shapechanged into attractive humanoid form, draped in fine clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics, and they wear perfumes and burn incense to hide their rotten smell. Their shapechanging is imperfect, however, and their feet always appear to be hoof-like. Ghulah typically wear long robes or carefully constructed boots to hide this from casual viewers.
Lonely Lives. Many ghulah attempt to lead relatively normal lives—normal for them, at least: many genies led lives of luxury in their elemental palaces, surrounded by entertainment and servitors, and ghulah wish to continue that life. They usually take on highly attractive appearance in order to gain associates and paramours. But their smell, tendency to hide from the light, and dietary habits prevent them from doing so for long before they’re found out. Because of this, most ghulah dwell in abandoned ruins on the outskirts of settlements, close enough that they are not truly cut off from food, travelers, and amusements.
Followers of the Old Gods. Separated from both mortal civilization and their elemental homes, desperate to reclaim their old lives (or at least the power they once had), and surrounded by the knowledge left behind in the ruins they inhabit, many ghulah become historians, scholars, and priests to ancient elemental gods. While most of these ghulah make these pacts solely for power, a few actually become devoted worshipers and raise cults.
Carrion-Eaters. Ghulah are no longer able to sustain themselves on elemental matter as they used to when they were alive and now require the spark of life within humanoid flesh. They can’t eat freshly-slain meat, however, as the life is too strong for them, but neither can they eat meat that is too rotten and completely bereft of nourishment. A corpse several days old is the ideal meat for them. Like their spiritual cousins, the ghouls, they are always hungry, and are not above kidnapping travelers and holding them prisoner until the ghulah wishes to eat.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. Ghulah are corpse-eating undead, similar to but more powerful than a ghoul.
DC 15. Ghulah are a form of undead created when an elemental such as a genie is killed with necromantic magics. They can shapeshift into humanoid and animal form, curse people, control their minds, and turn invisible.
DC 20. Many ghulah make warlock pacts with eldritch beings and gain powerful magical beings and form cults around those beings.
Ghulah Encounters
Terrain: desert, hill, mountain, ruins, settlement
CR 5-10 Ghulah; ghulah and 1d4 ghouls; ghulah mage
Treasure: 550 gp, 780 sp, copper necklace with multicolored jade beads (worth 500 gp), 2 eldritch tomes (worth 50 gp each), 5 blocks of rare incense (worth 10 gp each), scroll of conjure elementals, book of storing containing gathered information and sympathetic components on a local noble in the secret compartment, robe of eyes.
CR 11-16 Ghulah mage, dust mephit or quasit familiar, 1-2 ghasts, 1d4 ghouls, 1d4 cult fanatics, and 2d4+2 cultists
Treasure: 250 pp, 100 gp, 4,000 sp, idol carved from dragon horn (worth 250 gp), matching gold armlet and two rings (worth 250 gp each), freshwater pearl necklace (worth 500 gp), 2 vials of faerie dragon euphoria gas (worth 250 gp each), book that leads to the discovery of a rare 3rd-level warlock spell, magic mirror (handheld), potions of gaseous form and resistance, staff of the python.
Signs
1-2. The smell of rotting flesh.
3. With a DC 15 Perception check, the sound of low chanting.
4. An NPC known to the party suddenly is very nosy; they are being dominated by the ghulah, who is trying to find out information about the party.
5. A half-devoured human corpse. With a DC 15 Perception check, strange hoofprints lead away.
6. Idols and symbols to an elemental Great Old One.
Behavior
1. In humanoid form; throwing a party but not eating anything.
2. In humanoid form; attempting to befriend or seduce a rich and powerful individual.
3. Acting as a hyena; stealing freshly-killed prey from another predator.
4. Engaging in a depraved ritual to their patron god.
5. Pouring through ancient texts.
6. In true form; throwing a party where the food is all humanoid flesh.
Ghulah
Large undead (shapechanger)
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
AC 17 (natural armor)
HP 85 (10d10+30; bloodied 42)
Speed 50 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4) DEX 14 (+2) CON 17 (+3)
INT 15 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 17 (+3)
Proficiency +3
Maneuver DC 14
Skills Deception +6, History +5, Persuasion +6, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances damage from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, fatigue, paralyzed, poisoned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception
Languages Common, Primordial
Innate Spellcasting. The ghulah’s spellcasting trait is Charisma (spell save DC 13). It can cast the following spells, requiring no material components.
3/day each: bestow curse, dominate person. Both spells have a duration of 8 hours and do not require concentration.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the wight has disadvantage on attack rolls as well as on Perception checks that rely on sight.
Undead Nature. A ghulah doesn’t require air or sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. The ghulah attacks once with its claws and once with its bite.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) damage of an additional type, depending on what sort of elemental the ghulah used to be: cold (water elemental), fire (fire elemental), force (earth elemental), or lightning (air elemental).
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.
Withering Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+3) necrotic damage, and the target must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target takes a level of stride and its hit point maximum is reduced by the amount equal to the necrotic damage dealt. A humanoid reduced to 0 hit points by this attack dies, and its corpse rises the next dusk as a ghoul under the ghulah’s control.
Shapeshift. The ghulah magically polymorphs into a Small or Medium humanoid, a Large giant hyena, or a Medium hyena. Equipment it is carrying isn’t transformed. When in humanoid form, it retains its hoof-like feet. It reverts to its true for when it dies.
Bonus Actions
Invisibility. The ghulah magically turns invisible, along with any equipment it carries. The invisibility ends if the ghulah makes an attack, falls unconscious, or dismisses the effort.
Combat
Ghulah try to avoid combat, preferring to take on an attractive or innocent-seeming form and using dominate person on a creature to use as a living shield. Then, it relies on its Withering Touch to weaken powerful foes before biting and clawing. When bloodied, it flees while invisible.
Variant: Ghulah Dark Artist
Many ghulah turn to magic, becoming arcanists and cultists while worshiping ancient elemental gods. Using their shapeshifting abilities, they sometimes even raise true cults dedicated to these gods. They often have mephits as familiars and scouts.
A ghulah dark artist is CR 7 (2,900 XP) and has 127 (15d10+45; bloodied 63) hit points. Its Intelligence is 19 (+4), it gains a fly speed of 30 feet, has telepathy to a range of 30 feet, is proficient in Arcana and Religion. Detect thoughts is added to its Innate Spellcasting trait, and it can can cast three times per day, and it has the following new traits:
Spellcasting. The ghulah dark artist is a 7th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting trait is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It has 12 spell points and regains all expended spell points after a short or long rest. It knows the following warlock spells:
Cantrips (At Will): dancing lights, friends, minor illusion
Spells Known: arcane riposte (2 pts), charm person (2 pts), dream (6 pts), enthrall (3 pts), fear (5 pts), hallucinatory terrain (6 pts), hold person (3 pts), major image (5 pts), ray of enfeeblement (3 pts)
The ghulah dark artist also has the following additional actions and reaction:
Multiattack. The ghulah dark artist attacks twice with its Eldritch Scythe.
Eldritch Scythe. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d8) force damage artist plus 2 (1d4) psychic damage artist, and one additional creature within reach takes half as much damage artist.
Eldritch Severance (Recharge After a Short or Long Rest). The ghulah dark artist releases eldritch energy in a 60-foot-long, 5-foot-wide line. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d10×3 force damage artist on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
Hold Person (2nd-Level; 3 pts.; V, Concentration). One humanoid the ghulah can see within 60 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. It can make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Ray of Enfeeblement (2nd-Level; 3 pts.; V, S, Concentration). Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The target is deals half damage artist with weapon attacks that use Strength. The target may make a DC 15 Strength saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Arcane Riposte (1st-Level; 2 pts., V, S). When a creature attacks the ghulah with a melee attack, the ghulah can use its reaction to make a melee spell attack against that creature, inflicting 3d6 acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage artist.
Moldway also reminds us of the connection that they have with Lovecraft’s ghouls, although sadly doesn’t expand upon it all that much. I would have loved to have seen his stats for a Lovecraftian ghoul. (Are Lovecraftian ghouls even undead? I can't remember.)
Ghuls (called great ghuls) were printed in the Al Qadim Monstrous Compendium and later in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume 2, but it’s unclear how much of Moldvay’s ghulah they contained within them. MCA #2 also had ghul-kin, which were more powerful than ghuls. As usual, I’ve going to grab elements from all the versions.
Ghulah
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
When genie or similar powerful elemental creature is slain by necromantic magic, the elemental matter is destroyed and the animating life force, corrupted by the necromancy, sometimes rises as the undead known as a ghulah. Gaunt things that can stand over nine feet tall, ghulah have cold, clammy skin and smell faintly of rotten flesh. They have sharply-clawed hands and their legs are strangely blunt and misshapen in a way so as to look as though they end in hooves, not feet, and their jaws jut out and are filled with oversized teeth. Ghulah usually have some part of them reminiscent of their elemental heritage, such as webbed ears or flaming eyes, but this reminder serves to fill the ghulah with rage and sorrow at what they have lost.
Hidden Forms. Remembering the beauty they once had as pure elemental matter, ghulahs are deeply ashamed of their appearance. They spend much of their time shapechanged into attractive humanoid form, draped in fine clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics, and they wear perfumes and burn incense to hide their rotten smell. Their shapechanging is imperfect, however, and their feet always appear to be hoof-like. Ghulah typically wear long robes or carefully constructed boots to hide this from casual viewers.
Lonely Lives. Many ghulah attempt to lead relatively normal lives—normal for them, at least: many genies led lives of luxury in their elemental palaces, surrounded by entertainment and servitors, and ghulah wish to continue that life. They usually take on highly attractive appearance in order to gain associates and paramours. But their smell, tendency to hide from the light, and dietary habits prevent them from doing so for long before they’re found out. Because of this, most ghulah dwell in abandoned ruins on the outskirts of settlements, close enough that they are not truly cut off from food, travelers, and amusements.
Followers of the Old Gods. Separated from both mortal civilization and their elemental homes, desperate to reclaim their old lives (or at least the power they once had), and surrounded by the knowledge left behind in the ruins they inhabit, many ghulah become historians, scholars, and priests to ancient elemental gods. While most of these ghulah make these pacts solely for power, a few actually become devoted worshipers and raise cults.
Carrion-Eaters. Ghulah are no longer able to sustain themselves on elemental matter as they used to when they were alive and now require the spark of life within humanoid flesh. They can’t eat freshly-slain meat, however, as the life is too strong for them, but neither can they eat meat that is too rotten and completely bereft of nourishment. A corpse several days old is the ideal meat for them. Like their spiritual cousins, the ghouls, they are always hungry, and are not above kidnapping travelers and holding them prisoner until the ghulah wishes to eat.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. Ghulah are corpse-eating undead, similar to but more powerful than a ghoul.
DC 15. Ghulah are a form of undead created when an elemental such as a genie is killed with necromantic magics. They can shapeshift into humanoid and animal form, curse people, control their minds, and turn invisible.
DC 20. Many ghulah make warlock pacts with eldritch beings and gain powerful magical beings and form cults around those beings.
Ghulah Encounters
Terrain: desert, hill, mountain, ruins, settlement
CR 5-10 Ghulah; ghulah and 1d4 ghouls; ghulah mage
Treasure: 550 gp, 780 sp, copper necklace with multicolored jade beads (worth 500 gp), 2 eldritch tomes (worth 50 gp each), 5 blocks of rare incense (worth 10 gp each), scroll of conjure elementals, book of storing containing gathered information and sympathetic components on a local noble in the secret compartment, robe of eyes.
CR 11-16 Ghulah mage, dust mephit or quasit familiar, 1-2 ghasts, 1d4 ghouls, 1d4 cult fanatics, and 2d4+2 cultists
Treasure: 250 pp, 100 gp, 4,000 sp, idol carved from dragon horn (worth 250 gp), matching gold armlet and two rings (worth 250 gp each), freshwater pearl necklace (worth 500 gp), 2 vials of faerie dragon euphoria gas (worth 250 gp each), book that leads to the discovery of a rare 3rd-level warlock spell, magic mirror (handheld), potions of gaseous form and resistance, staff of the python.
Signs
1-2. The smell of rotting flesh.
3. With a DC 15 Perception check, the sound of low chanting.
4. An NPC known to the party suddenly is very nosy; they are being dominated by the ghulah, who is trying to find out information about the party.
5. A half-devoured human corpse. With a DC 15 Perception check, strange hoofprints lead away.
6. Idols and symbols to an elemental Great Old One.
Behavior
1. In humanoid form; throwing a party but not eating anything.
2. In humanoid form; attempting to befriend or seduce a rich and powerful individual.
3. Acting as a hyena; stealing freshly-killed prey from another predator.
4. Engaging in a depraved ritual to their patron god.
5. Pouring through ancient texts.
6. In true form; throwing a party where the food is all humanoid flesh.
Ghulah
Large undead (shapechanger)
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
AC 17 (natural armor)
HP 85 (10d10+30; bloodied 42)
Speed 50 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4) DEX 14 (+2) CON 17 (+3)
INT 15 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 17 (+3)
Proficiency +3
Maneuver DC 14
Skills Deception +6, History +5, Persuasion +6, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances damage from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, fatigue, paralyzed, poisoned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception
Languages Common, Primordial
Innate Spellcasting. The ghulah’s spellcasting trait is Charisma (spell save DC 13). It can cast the following spells, requiring no material components.
3/day each: bestow curse, dominate person. Both spells have a duration of 8 hours and do not require concentration.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the wight has disadvantage on attack rolls as well as on Perception checks that rely on sight.
Undead Nature. A ghulah doesn’t require air or sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. The ghulah attacks once with its claws and once with its bite.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) damage of an additional type, depending on what sort of elemental the ghulah used to be: cold (water elemental), fire (fire elemental), force (earth elemental), or lightning (air elemental).
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.
Withering Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+3) necrotic damage, and the target must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target takes a level of stride and its hit point maximum is reduced by the amount equal to the necrotic damage dealt. A humanoid reduced to 0 hit points by this attack dies, and its corpse rises the next dusk as a ghoul under the ghulah’s control.
Shapeshift. The ghulah magically polymorphs into a Small or Medium humanoid, a Large giant hyena, or a Medium hyena. Equipment it is carrying isn’t transformed. When in humanoid form, it retains its hoof-like feet. It reverts to its true for when it dies.
Bonus Actions
Invisibility. The ghulah magically turns invisible, along with any equipment it carries. The invisibility ends if the ghulah makes an attack, falls unconscious, or dismisses the effort.
Combat
Ghulah try to avoid combat, preferring to take on an attractive or innocent-seeming form and using dominate person on a creature to use as a living shield. Then, it relies on its Withering Touch to weaken powerful foes before biting and clawing. When bloodied, it flees while invisible.
Variant: Ghulah Dark Artist
Many ghulah turn to magic, becoming arcanists and cultists while worshiping ancient elemental gods. Using their shapeshifting abilities, they sometimes even raise true cults dedicated to these gods. They often have mephits as familiars and scouts.
A ghulah dark artist is CR 7 (2,900 XP) and has 127 (15d10+45; bloodied 63) hit points. Its Intelligence is 19 (+4), it gains a fly speed of 30 feet, has telepathy to a range of 30 feet, is proficient in Arcana and Religion. Detect thoughts is added to its Innate Spellcasting trait, and it can can cast three times per day, and it has the following new traits:
Spellcasting. The ghulah dark artist is a 7th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting trait is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It has 12 spell points and regains all expended spell points after a short or long rest. It knows the following warlock spells:
Cantrips (At Will): dancing lights, friends, minor illusion
Spells Known: arcane riposte (2 pts), charm person (2 pts), dream (6 pts), enthrall (3 pts), fear (5 pts), hallucinatory terrain (6 pts), hold person (3 pts), major image (5 pts), ray of enfeeblement (3 pts)
The ghulah dark artist also has the following additional actions and reaction:
Multiattack. The ghulah dark artist attacks twice with its Eldritch Scythe.
Eldritch Scythe. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d8) force damage artist plus 2 (1d4) psychic damage artist, and one additional creature within reach takes half as much damage artist.
Eldritch Severance (Recharge After a Short or Long Rest). The ghulah dark artist releases eldritch energy in a 60-foot-long, 5-foot-wide line. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d10×3 force damage artist on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
Hold Person (2nd-Level; 3 pts.; V, Concentration). One humanoid the ghulah can see within 60 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. It can make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Ray of Enfeeblement (2nd-Level; 3 pts.; V, S, Concentration). Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The target is deals half damage artist with weapon attacks that use Strength. The target may make a DC 15 Strength saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Arcane Riposte (1st-Level; 2 pts., V, S). When a creature attacks the ghulah with a melee attack, the ghulah can use its reaction to make a melee spell attack against that creature, inflicting 3d6 acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage artist.
Faolyn
(she/her)
The last monster from this article is the kallikantzaros (plural: kallicantzaroi; the article uses the spelling callicantzaros). It’s one of those folkloric creatures that could be a spirit, a demon, a goblin, or a number of other things, and even Moldvay admits that the reason he made them undead is because they come out at night and can be turned by clerics. Traditionally, they only emerged on the 12 days of Christmas, when the barriers between the worlds of the living and the worlds of the dead are very thin. A few sites I went to called them Greek Krampuses or Christmas goblins. They are not purely a Greek creature, though; they appear in lore throughout Southeast Europe.
In folklore, they spend most of their time underground, sawing through the world tree so it will collapse and destroy the world. When they’re above ground, they mostly cause mischief, like jumping on your back, stealing your hats, or farting on your food so it smells bad. They also punish adulterers. Folklore also says that babies born in the twelve days of Christmas run the risk of turning into one, but I was born during that time and I’m pretty sure I’m human, so I guess baby-me made my saving throw.
After reading up on them, they really don’t feel like undead or even spirits to me; I will make them very minor fiends instead. They are also basically goblins, but are just different enough I’m going to give them their own statblocks. I’d go so far as to say that they make for better monsters than goblins because they are fiends, not free-willed humanoids, and as such they don’t really need to have a culture beyond their fiendishness.
Art by Jennell Jaquays.
Kallikantzaros
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
Kallikantzaroi (sing. kallikantzaros) look like short (about 4 1/2 feet tall), black-furred humanoids with boar-like tusks, long, lolling tongues, and the ears, legs, and tail of a donkey. They smell sulfurous. Their their eyes are burning red but they have very poor vision. They are a stupid, easily distractable, and highly disorganized creature. Even though they tend to live in large groups, they have no ability to coordinate their actions and they bicker amongst each other constantly.
Mischievous. Kallikantzaroi are agents of destruction—very minor destruction. They enjoy breaking objects, scaring livestock, pinching and scratching people, stealing food, and other such rude behavior. But perhaps as a side-effect of their birth,, they are also fond of punishing evil-doers, particularly those who break vows and promises. If a person is being harassed by these fiends, it is likely that that person has broken a vow they have made. When not engaging in this sort of mischief, they enjoy dancing and singing vulgar songs.
Queen Bees. Unlike many other fiends, kallikantzaroi aren't created ex nihilo or from souls, nor are they necessarily created in the Lower Planes. Instead, a female kallikantzaroi must consume the heart of a good person after which the kalikantzaroi produces a large litter of rapidly-maturing young. This is a particularly difficult for them, as not only are they able to directly harm truly good people, only about one in twenty kallikantzaroi are female. These rare females rule the roost and order the males about, as if they were the queens of a swarm of bees (unlike bees, there may be more than one female in a group), although they only barely more organized or competent than the males are.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. A kallikantzaros is a very minor fiend of mischief. They tend to gather in large, disorganized groups and are known to punish oath-breakers and liars.
DC 15. Kallikantzaroi fear fire, although they are not particularly vulnerable to it. They are able to confuse and bewilder people with just a touch.
DC 20. Kallikantzaroi need the heart of a truly good person in order to reproduce, and engineer accidents to procure such hearts.
Kallikantzaroi Encounters
Terrain: Abyss, forest, hills, settlement
CR 0-2 2d4 kallikantzaroi
Treasure: 25 gp, 60 sp, 2 agates (10 gp each), oil of slipperiness, spell scroll of shatter
CR 3-4 2d4+8 kallikantzaroi; 2d6 kallikantzaroi and 2d4 kallikantzaroi whelps (use goblin statistics, but change the type to fiend)
Treasure: 600 sp, local map with sacred areas circled (worth 25 gp), fancy hat that used to belong to a local high-ranking official (worth 50 gp), chime of opening, oil of etherealness
Signs
1. People suffering from embarrassing accidents and petty thefts.
2. A sensitive character feels a slight weakening in the planar walls.
3. Evil chuckling from the eaves and under the floorboards.
4. A sulfurous stink.
Behavior
1. Carrying piles of stolen treasure back to its lair.
2. Bickering and tussling with one another.
3. Trying to destroy a temple or shrine.
4. Goosing a character.
Names
Katachanas, Magras, Megalos, Paroritis,
Kallikantzaros
Medium fiend
Challenge 1/2 (50 XP)
AC 13 (natural armor)
HP 27 (6d8; bloodied 13)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 5 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR 8 (-1) DEX 12 (+1) CON 10 (+0)
INT 7 (-2) WIS 7 (-2) CHA 12 (+1)
Proficiency +2
Maneuver DC 11
Skills Sleight of Hand +3, Stealth +3 (+1d4)
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 8
Languages Common, Abyssal
Chaotic Evil. The kallikantzaros radiates a Chaotic and Evil aura.
Destructive Confusion. When a creature is subjected to the kallikantzaros’ confusion spell, on a roll of 1-4, instead of doing nothing, it tries to break random nearby objects.
Fear of The Light. When the kallikantzaros takes fire or radiant damage, it is rattled until the end of its next turn. While in bright light, the kallikantzaros has disadvantage on attack rolls.
Innate Spellcasting (3/Day). The kallikantzaros can cast confusion. Its spellcasting trait is Charisma (spell save DC 11).
Keen Smell, Poor Vision. The kallikantzaros has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell, but disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight. It is blind in sunlight and has disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being blinded by other means.
Unholy. The kallikantzaros cannot attack a creature with the Good alignment.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage.
Handaxe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions
Nimble Escape. The kallikantzaros takes the Disengage or Hide action.
Variant: Queen Kallikantzaroi
Kallikantzaroi queens are slightly larger than the males are, and usually quite a bit fatter. They have have Int and Wis 8 (-1) and are proficient in Engineering. Additionally, they can cast minor illusion at will with their Innate Spellcasting trait.
In folklore, they spend most of their time underground, sawing through the world tree so it will collapse and destroy the world. When they’re above ground, they mostly cause mischief, like jumping on your back, stealing your hats, or farting on your food so it smells bad. They also punish adulterers. Folklore also says that babies born in the twelve days of Christmas run the risk of turning into one, but I was born during that time and I’m pretty sure I’m human, so I guess baby-me made my saving throw.
After reading up on them, they really don’t feel like undead or even spirits to me; I will make them very minor fiends instead. They are also basically goblins, but are just different enough I’m going to give them their own statblocks. I’d go so far as to say that they make for better monsters than goblins because they are fiends, not free-willed humanoids, and as such they don’t really need to have a culture beyond their fiendishness.
Art by Jennell Jaquays.
Kallikantzaros
The Ungrateful Dead, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Tom Moldvay
Kallikantzaroi (sing. kallikantzaros) look like short (about 4 1/2 feet tall), black-furred humanoids with boar-like tusks, long, lolling tongues, and the ears, legs, and tail of a donkey. They smell sulfurous. Their their eyes are burning red but they have very poor vision. They are a stupid, easily distractable, and highly disorganized creature. Even though they tend to live in large groups, they have no ability to coordinate their actions and they bicker amongst each other constantly.
Mischievous. Kallikantzaroi are agents of destruction—very minor destruction. They enjoy breaking objects, scaring livestock, pinching and scratching people, stealing food, and other such rude behavior. But perhaps as a side-effect of their birth,, they are also fond of punishing evil-doers, particularly those who break vows and promises. If a person is being harassed by these fiends, it is likely that that person has broken a vow they have made. When not engaging in this sort of mischief, they enjoy dancing and singing vulgar songs.
Queen Bees. Unlike many other fiends, kallikantzaroi aren't created ex nihilo or from souls, nor are they necessarily created in the Lower Planes. Instead, a female kallikantzaroi must consume the heart of a good person after which the kalikantzaroi produces a large litter of rapidly-maturing young. This is a particularly difficult for them, as not only are they able to directly harm truly good people, only about one in twenty kallikantzaroi are female. These rare females rule the roost and order the males about, as if they were the queens of a swarm of bees (unlike bees, there may be more than one female in a group), although they only barely more organized or competent than the males are.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. A kallikantzaros is a very minor fiend of mischief. They tend to gather in large, disorganized groups and are known to punish oath-breakers and liars.
DC 15. Kallikantzaroi fear fire, although they are not particularly vulnerable to it. They are able to confuse and bewilder people with just a touch.
DC 20. Kallikantzaroi need the heart of a truly good person in order to reproduce, and engineer accidents to procure such hearts.
Kallikantzaroi Encounters
Terrain: Abyss, forest, hills, settlement
CR 0-2 2d4 kallikantzaroi
Treasure: 25 gp, 60 sp, 2 agates (10 gp each), oil of slipperiness, spell scroll of shatter
CR 3-4 2d4+8 kallikantzaroi; 2d6 kallikantzaroi and 2d4 kallikantzaroi whelps (use goblin statistics, but change the type to fiend)
Treasure: 600 sp, local map with sacred areas circled (worth 25 gp), fancy hat that used to belong to a local high-ranking official (worth 50 gp), chime of opening, oil of etherealness
Signs
1. People suffering from embarrassing accidents and petty thefts.
2. A sensitive character feels a slight weakening in the planar walls.
3. Evil chuckling from the eaves and under the floorboards.
4. A sulfurous stink.
Behavior
1. Carrying piles of stolen treasure back to its lair.
2. Bickering and tussling with one another.
3. Trying to destroy a temple or shrine.
4. Goosing a character.
Names
Katachanas, Magras, Megalos, Paroritis,
Kallikantzaros
Medium fiend
Challenge 1/2 (50 XP)
AC 13 (natural armor)
HP 27 (6d8; bloodied 13)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 5 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR 8 (-1) DEX 12 (+1) CON 10 (+0)
INT 7 (-2) WIS 7 (-2) CHA 12 (+1)
Proficiency +2
Maneuver DC 11
Skills Sleight of Hand +3, Stealth +3 (+1d4)
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 8
Languages Common, Abyssal
Chaotic Evil. The kallikantzaros radiates a Chaotic and Evil aura.
Destructive Confusion. When a creature is subjected to the kallikantzaros’ confusion spell, on a roll of 1-4, instead of doing nothing, it tries to break random nearby objects.
Fear of The Light. When the kallikantzaros takes fire or radiant damage, it is rattled until the end of its next turn. While in bright light, the kallikantzaros has disadvantage on attack rolls.
Innate Spellcasting (3/Day). The kallikantzaros can cast confusion. Its spellcasting trait is Charisma (spell save DC 11).
Keen Smell, Poor Vision. The kallikantzaros has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell, but disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight. It is blind in sunlight and has disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being blinded by other means.
Unholy. The kallikantzaros cannot attack a creature with the Good alignment.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage.
Handaxe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions
Nimble Escape. The kallikantzaros takes the Disengage or Hide action.
Variant: Queen Kallikantzaroi
Kallikantzaroi queens are slightly larger than the males are, and usually quite a bit fatter. They have have Int and Wis 8 (-1) and are proficient in Engineering. Additionally, they can cast minor illusion at will with their Innate Spellcasting trait.
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