Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8687232" data-attributes="member: 6915329">I love baku. I actually really like all the non-humanoid celestials (the humanoid ones like solars and devas do nothing for me), but baku are just neat. I was actually introduced to the D&D baku through the 2e Planescape MC, so I think it was the art that really got me. That also meant I didn’t realize that they were created by Gygax as an “official monster.” None of those cheap knockoff monsters for you!The next three monsters are probably going to take several days each—I’ve reached my first dragons![ATTACH=full]253098[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]253101[/ATTACH]Artist: Jim Holloway and Tony DiTerlizziBakuFeatured Creatures, Dragon Magazine #65Created by Gary GygaxBaku resemble small elephants with short trunks, with curled tusks that are scrimshawed into intricate designs. Their backs and serpentine tails are covered in golden scales, and their legs and paws are leonine.Urban Angels. Despite their large size and bulk, baku are remarkably agile. This suits them well, as they prefer to live in heavily populated areas, where they travel invisibly, helping to promote peace and good dreams wherever they can. Their primary purpose is to safeguard the dreams against the intrusions of night hags and other evil creatures with similar abilities.On occasion, a baku will latch onto a humanoid whom they feel needs some extra help and remain with that person for a week or more.Friendly Guardians. Baku are kind creatures. When they discover a creature performing evil, they will offer that creature an opportunity to repent, or at least an alternative action that doesn’t cause anyone harm. They are ever-courteous and always polite.Dark Ones. Baku devour bad dreams, but on rare occasions, the baku becomes gluttonous, desiring to eat more and more bad dreams to eat until the phrase “you are what you eat” becomes all too literal for them. These baku are known as Dark Ones and roam the worlds, inflicting nightmares wherever they go. More than that: they seek to remove hope and creativity from their victims.Legends and LoreWith an Arcana or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:DC 15. Baku are elephantine celestials that protect dreamers.DC 20. Baku are intelligent, kindly shapechanging celestial beings who travel freely among humanoid settlements, protecting and aiding those who are suffering from nightmares. Some unscrupulous buyers are willing to pay a great deal of money for their tusks. A rare few baku, however, fall and consume hope instead of nightmares.Baku EncountersTerrain: Astral, Ethereal, Feywild, Grassland, Jungle, Settlement, TempleCR 5-10 1 baku; 1 baku and 1 minstrel or priestSigns1. The sound of distant trumpeting. It strikes a note of fear in the heart of everyone who hears it.2. A person telling others about the wonderful dream they just had.3. In a crowded marketplace, people unconsciously moving out of the way of an invisible baku.4. An ivory merchant who has recently suffered from a mysterious attack.5. A character with two or more levels of strife falls takes a long rest outside of a haven. Upon waking up, they’ve removed a level of strife.6. An artist who has been suffering from terrible nightmares and a loss of creativity.Behavior1. Hot on the trail of a coven of night hags; may ask the party for help finding them.2. In the form of a bull with a golden hide, whom the locals revere as a sign of special favor from the gods.3. In humanoid form, acting as a therapist for people who need to talk about their problems.4. In humanoid form, battling a malcubus who is also in humanoid form.5. In humanoid form, inquiring about people’s dreams; looking for a renegade Dark One.6. Appearing in an adventurer’s dream with a message.NamesAhlam, Bhranti, Cimon, Eidniuet, Hulum, Imena, Menalli, SvajoneBakuLarge celestial (shapechanger)Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)AC 15 (natural armor)HP 102 (12d8+48)Speed 50 ft., fly 50 ft.STR 21 (+5) DEX 12 (+1) CON 19 (+4)INT 18 (+4) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 18 (+4) Proficiency +3Maneuver DC 16Saving Throws Int +7, Wis +6, Cha +7Skills Insight +6 (detecting emotions +1d4), Perception +6, Persuasion +7, Stealth +4Condition Immunities charmed, paralyzed, poisonedSenses darkvision 120 ft., truesight 30 ft., passive Perception 17Languages Celestial, Common, Sylvan, telepathy 100 ft.Celestial Nature. The baku doesn’t require air or sleep, and feeds harmlessly off the dreams of mortals.Etherealness. The baku magically travels to the Ethereal Plane. While on the Ethereal Plane, the baku can see and hear into the Material Plane and can choose to make itself audible and hazily visible to creatures on the Material Plane. If a humanoid on the Material Plane invites the baku to do so, the baku can use an action to magically travel from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane.Good. The baku radiates a Good aura.Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The baku’s spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:At Will: detect evil and good3/day each: calm emotions, cure wounds, lesser restoration, protection from evil and goodMagic Resistance. The baku has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Dream-Eater (3/Day). While on the Ethereal Plane, the baku magically touches a sleeping humanoid that is not protected by a magic circle or protection from evil and good spell or similar magic. While the touch persists, the baku appears in the creature’s dreams and can manipulate them, as per the dream spell. The creature can end the dream at any time. If the dream lasts for 1 hour, the target removes a level of strife. This is in addition to any levels of strife that are removed by completing a long rest. Upon waking up, the creature gains an expertise die on the next check they make that day with the Performance skill or with an artisan tool kit. Additionally, for the next 8 hours, the creature can’t be affected by nightmares, whether magical in origin, such as those created by the dream spell or by a night hag’s Nightmare Haunting, or purely mundane.ActionsClaw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) slashing damage.Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8+5) piercing damage. If the baku moves at least 20 feet straight towards a creature and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.Trumpet (Recharge 5-6, True Form Only). The baku emits a powerful trumpeting. Each creature within 60 ft. of the baku that can hear it must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. A creature with the Evil alignment has disadvantage on this save. On a failure, the creature takes 21 (6d6) psychic damage and is frightened for 1 minute. On each of its turns, the frightened creature must take the Dash action and move away from the baku by the safest and shortest available route, unless there is nowhere to move. On a success, the creature takes half damage and isn’t frightened. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. The baku can choose any number of creatures it can see to be immune to the trumpet.Change Shape. The baku magically takes the shape of a Medium humanoid or a Large beast, or changes back into its true form. It reverts to its true form if it dies. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form. In the new form, the baku’s stats are unchanged except for its size. In beast form, it can only use its Claw and Gore attacks.Invisibility. The baku magically turns invisible until its concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell) or it uses a bonus action to become visible. Any equipment the baku wears or carries is invisible with it.Bonus ActionsTrample Underfoot. The baku makes a claw attack against a prone creature.CombatNormally shy and peaceful, baku are determined combatants against creatures that prey on the hopes and dreams of others. They typically prefer to start a fight by trumpeting and then engaging in melee combat while invisible. If bloodied and fighting a mundane foe, they retreat into the ethereal. If fighting a foe such as a night hag or malcubus, or are fighting to protect a chosen mortal, they fight to the death.Variant: Useful TrunkBaku trunks are short but fully prehensile and quite agile. It’s not uncommon for a baku to wield a weapon in their trunks, particularly if it’s a magical weapon. These baku are proficient in simple and martial weapons that don’t have the Heavy or Two-Handed trait, and gain the following trait:Elephant Strength. A melee weapon deals one extra die of damage when the baku hits with it (included in the attack).The baku also gains an attack such as this one:Morningstar +1. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+6) bludgeoning damage. If a fiend comes within 30 feet of the baku while it is wielding this morningstar, the weapon’s head glows red. Once per day, upon inflicting damage to a fiend, the baku can use its reaction to cause the morningstar to inflict an additional 11 (2d10) radiant damage to that fiend.Variant: Dark OnesOnly a tiny percentage of baku fall from grace, but those that do are implacable in their desire to undo the good their cousins perform. These baku lose the Dream-Eater and Good traits, when they use their Trumpet attack, creatures with the Good alignment, not Evil, have disadvantage on their save, and they gain the following traits:Evil. The dark one radiates an Evil aura.Dreams Must Die (1/Day). While on the Ethereal Plane, the dark one magically touches a sleeping humanoid that is not protected by a magic circle or protection from evil and good spell or similar magic. While the touch persists, the dark one appears in the creature’s dreams and can manipulate them, as per the dream spell. The creature can end the dream at any time. If the dream lasts for 1 hour, the target gains a level of strife and gains no benefit from the rest, and is rattled for 24 hours.</blockquote>

Verification