Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9249782" data-attributes="member: 6915329">Another ooze! This one is designed specifically to target casters, as it drains the life out of them. The 2e version of the lich’s blood only goes after wizards, but there’s no reason for the Level Up version to be so picky. This’ll teach those squishy casters that there’s safety in numbers… as if PCs really needed another reason to always travel everywhere together.This is another ooze whose final CR I’m unsure of. There are some things that just never get covered by the CR calculation. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />[ATTACH=full]344365[/ATTACH]Lich’s BloodDragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine 238Creature by John Baichtal; art by Tom BaxaLich’s blood looks (and smells) like a pool of dark-red blood, but are actually a rare form of ooze. Moving like water throughout the dark places in which they dwell, lich’s blood seek out magic, especially spellcasters. They need magic as other creatures need food and water, and they drain the magic right out of the spellcasters they feed upon. Their victims nearly always die from this drain, as it drains life along with the magic.Experiment Gone Awry. A necromancer whose identity has long been lost, experimented with a new method of gathering spells. The blood of an actual lich, animated by magic, would draw the spells out of the minds of unsuspecting spellcasters. It would then (theoretically) return, and the necromancer would be able to use the blood as ink and write the spells that it extracted. But the necromancer made a mistake—when he obtained the lich’s blood, he got some of the lich’s intellect and personality as well. Furious at being used in such a manner, the blood made the necromancer its first victim, then slithered away, and has been reproducing ever since.Intelligent Oozes. Although they don’t look like much, lich’s bloods are actually quite intelligent. They are more than smart enough to only attack from ambush, and even then, they only attack people who are alone, as they have little ability to escape from harm.Climate/Terrain: any climate; cavern, ruin, sewerLegends and LoreWith an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:DC 10. Known as lich’s blood, these oozes adhere themselves to casters, suffocating them while also draining the magic right out of them.DC 15. Their liquid body makes them all but immune to physical damage, but they are weak against fire and acid.DC 20. The lich’s blood is immune to spells except for magic from the negation school; these spells can wound or even kill it.Lich’s Blood EncountersCR 3-4 1 lich’s bloodSigns1. With a DC 13 Perception or Survival check, a faint trail of reddish slime2. The withered corpse of a humanoid who was obviously a spellcaster in life3. The smell of blood in the air4. A moisture-damaged magical scroll; it requires a DC 25 Arcana check to decipher it before it can be usedLich’s BloodLegendary Medium ooze; Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)AC 10 (natural armor)HP 60 (8d8+12; bloodied 30)Speed 10 ft., climb 10 ft.STR 12 (+1) DEX 6 (-2) CON 16 (+3)INT 14 (+2) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 13 (+1)Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 11Damage Resistances damage from nonmagical weaponsDamage Vulnerabilities acid, fireCondition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, fatigue, frightened, proneSenses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 11Languages —Amorphous. The lich’s blood can pass through an opening as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.Detect Magic. The lich’s blood can detect the presence of magic items, spells, and spellcasters within 120 feet of it.False Appearance. While motionless, the ooze in indistinguishable from a pool of blood.Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lich's blood fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, some of its body hardens and flakes away, and it can't use its Limited Magic Immunity until the end of its next turn.Limited Magic Immunity. The lich’s blood can’t be affected by spells except for spells from the negation school. If targeted by a spell from that school, it takes 5 (1d10) force damage per slot level with which the spell was cast.Spider Climb. The lich’s blood can use its climb speed even on difficult surfaces and upside down on ceilings.ActionsPseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) necrotic damage, and the lich’s blood regains that many hit points.Smothering Drain. The lich’s blood touches a creature within 5 feet of it, attaching itself to that creature. If the creature is a spellcaster, it must make a DC 13 or become blinded and can’t breathe or speak as the ooze covers its mouth and nose, and is at risk of suffocation. When the lich’s blood is dealt damage, it takes half the damage (rounded down) and the creature it is smothering takes the other half.At the start of each of lich’s blood’s turns, the creature must make a new saving throw. On a failure, it loses its highest-level spell slot and takes 3 (1d6) necrotic damage per level of the spell slot.The lich’s blood can detach itself as a bonus action.Bonus ActionsSplit. Each time the lich’s blood drains two or more spell slots of 6th level or higher, it buds off a new lich’s blood. This new blood is Small and has half the original’s hit points.Legendary ActionsThe lich's blood can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.Pseudopod. The lich makes a pseudopod attack.Burst of Magic (Costs 2 Actions). The lich's blood channels some of its stolen magic into a burst of magical energy. Each creature within 10 feet must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 5 (1d10) force damage and 5 (1d10) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.CombatLich’s bloods typically attack by clinging to the ceiling and dropping down on magic-using passers-by. They only attack individuals, as they are aware of their physical limitations.Variant: Lich's IchorAs the lich's blood ages and grows in size, the power of its meals increases as well. It absorbs more and more magic, and eventually develop the ability to channel it in limited ways.The lich's ichor is an elite monster, equivalent to two CR 4 monsters (2,200 XP). It has Intelligence 16 (+3), its AC is 13 (with mage armor), it is Large, has 120 (16d8+48; bloodied 60) hit points, and it can make two Pseudopod attacks each round. It has the following additional trait:Elite Recovery. At the end of each of its turns while bloodied, the lich's ichor ends one negative effect currently affecting it. It can do so as long as it has at least 1 hit point, even while unconscious or incapacitated.Innate Spellcasting. The lich's blood's spellcasting trait is Intelligence (spell save DC 13). It can cast the following spells, requiring no components:3/day each: dimension door, mage armor, magic missile1/day: counterspellThe lich's ichor can take 3 legendary actions each round, and has the following new legendary action, which it can use only while bloodied:Summon Blood Spawn (Costs 2 Actions). The lich's ichor creates a blood spawn out of its own body. This blood spawn has the statistics of a mephit (type chosen randomly by the Narrator) and acts on the lich's ichor's turns, obeying the lich's blood's mental orders (no action required by it). It remains for 1 minute or until the lich's blood dies, at which point it dissolves into a clump of bloody ooze. The lich’s ichor can use its action to use the blood spawn’s senses as its own, but is blinded to its own surroundings while doing so.</blockquote>

Verification