Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8756733" data-attributes="member: 6915329">I used the tyerkow against my players once, expecting them to realize that something was up but not to know exactly what, and then for it to end in a terrible battle. But, sadly for me, the party’s wizard also had an empty iron flask and, not knowing what exactly they were up against, used it. And it worked. The party had fun talking about how badass the wizard was instead of fighting and I just sat there being sad I never got to have the monster reveal its true skinless form. And now I have to deal with the fact that they have a horrible monster who will briefly be charmed by the wizard whenever he gets around to releasing it.I can’t actually find much about the tyerkow online—and a lot of what I can find is gaming related and comes back to this issue of Dragon. Even Wikipedia doesn’t have an article that references it by name. The bit of non-gaming information I can find is about “Traditional Medical Beliefs And Practices In The City Of Timbuctoo”, written by a New York doctor, an article on JSTOR that my antivirus throws a fit about when I try to access, and... that's about it. So. I have no idea how accurate this monster is to any real-world mythology. But it's pretty cool, so that’s good enough for me.Oh, you might notice it has some of its spells aren’t normally on the sorcerer spell list. That’s because I decided that it used the Annihilator archetype from Zeitgeist. It seemed appropriate.[ATTACH=full]259851[/ATTACH]art by Jennell JaquaysTyerkowOut of Africa, Dragon Magazine #122Created by Charles R. Saunders and Roger MooreThese vampiric undead are hideous, as they have no skin and their musculature and tendons are plainly visible and glisten greasily in the light. From their backs spring tattered, leathery wings. Like other vampires, they need to drink the blood of the living and burn in sunlight, but unlike them, tyerkow require no coffin during the day, nor do they need to sleep.Skin-Shapers. Tyerkow living in cities and towns, hiding amongst their prey by wearing the skin of a humanoid they have personally slain, skinned, and magically preserved by imbuing it with a bit of their own spirit. The skin allows them to change their height and even the sound of their voice to match that of the original person—and more importantly, it masks their true nature and allows them to freely walk among living, even in daylight.Fiendish Creations. In life, tyerkow were beings who allied themselves with dark forces, particularly Archdevils, and they engaged in truly horrific deeds and ritual cannibalism in order to further the fiend’s goals. In exchange for their service, these devils sometimes turn these worshipers into tyerkow instead of imps, and infuse their blood with fiendish sorcerous powers. Whether this is a reward or punishment is up to debate.Using their charisma and both innate and sorcerous magic, tyerkow often set up charismatic cults dedicated to their fiendish patrons. Others tyerkow simply try to lead enjoyable unlives by wearing the skins of the rich and powerful and enjoying their stolen wealth until it runs out, or setting up elaborate blackmail schemes to keep the money rolling in.Legends and LoreWith an History or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:DC 10. Tyerkow are urban undead that drink blood and are harmed by sunlight. They kill humanoids and wear their skin, allowing them to walk safely during the day. They can onlyDC 15. Created by fiends, tyerkow are sorcerers of some power. They also feed their own flesh to people, causing those creatures to be enchanted by them, terribly sickened for a long period of time, or to be turned into a zombie under the tyerkow’s command.DC 20. Tyerkow have few weaknesses besides sunlight, but destroying all of the skins they have made for themselves dooms them to die at dawn, unless it can procure a new skin before then.Tyerkow EncountersTerrain: settlementCR 5-10 Tyerkow; tyerkow with 1d4 zombies or 1 impTreasure: 300 gp, 70 sp, a signet ring from a noble house (worth 50 gp), ivory necklace (250 gp),bead of tracking, philter of love, potion of poison, spell scrolls of nondetection and phantom steed CR 11-16 Tyerkow with zombie knight and 2d8 zombies or 1 zombie horde; tyerkow with cult fanatic and 2d4+2 cultistsTreasure: 110 pp, 140 gp, 1,200 sp, aquamarine and pearl pendant earrings and necklace set (earrings and necklace worth 750 gp each), portrait of a famed courtesan by a respected painter worth 250 gp, 2 oils of etherealness, helm of telepathyCR 17-22 Tyerkow with night hag, lemur band, and zombie horde; tyerkow with malcubus, 2-3 cult fanatics, and 2d6+4 cultistsTreasure: 350 pp, 2,500 gp, small idol of an archdevil made of mithral and gold (worth 2,500 gp), assassin’s ring, devil’s eye ring, 2 potions of animal friendship, scimitar +2 with gold and amber hilt, spell scroll of contact other plane, skull liqueur, Signs1. People fearful of a strange disease that seems to strike randomly; some of the sickened people turn into zombies. They haven’t yet realized that all the sick people have eaten meals cooked by the same person yet.2. People speaking highly of certain individual; they are charmed by the tyerkow.3. A strange, bat-winged reddish figure flitting about at night.4. A shredded humanoid skin.Lair Behavior1. Practicing magic2. Preaching to a cult.3. Holding a fancy party.4. Cooking a meal; will invite the party to eat up.Lone Behavior1. Carefully tending to a new skin or repairing an old one.2. Stalking a potential victim in order to learn their routine.3. Tries to stall you with small talk until its zombies arrive.4. Engaging in a lengthy ritual to appease its patron.TyerkowMedium legendary undead (fiend)Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)AC 16 (natural armor; when skinless), 12 when wearing a skinHP 102 (12d8+48; bloodied 51)Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.STR 18 (+4) DEX 14 (+2) CON 19 (+4)INT 17 (+3) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 18 (+4)Proficiency +4Maneuver DC 14Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +8, Cha +8Skills Arcana +7, Deception +8, Insight +6 (+d4), Perception +6, Persuasion +8Damage Resistances necrotic; damage from nonmagical, nonsilvered weaponsSenses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16Languages The languages it knew in life.Evil. The tyerkow radiates an aura of evil.Legendary Resistance (3.Day). When the tyerkow fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, if it’s wearing its skin, the skin cracks and peels, revealing the musculature underneath. If it’s not wearing its skin, its exposed musculature dries and tatters. Its original appearance is restored when it finishes a long rest, although it must spend a few minutes fixing its skin.Regeneration. The tyerkow regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and hasn’t taken radiant damage since its last turn.Skin of the Living. The tyerkow wears the skin of a Medium humanoid. While wearing this skin, the tyerkow’s creature type changes to humanoid, it isn’t harmed by sunlight, can’t fly, and can’t use its Horrifying Visage. While wearing the skin, the tyerkow has advantage on Deception checks made to impersonate the skin’s original owner. It takes 10 minutes to don or doff a skin carefully. It can use its action to rip the skin off, but doing so ruins the skin. The tyerkow can only have three skins at a time, and it takes 1 hour to make a new skin.     When not worn, a skin is an object with AC 10 and 5 hit points. It is immune to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage.Spellcasting. The tyerkow is a 9th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). The tyerkow knows the following sorcerer spells:Cantrips (At Will): altered strike, friends, mage hand, message, pestilence, 1st-Level (4 slots): bane, fog cloud2nd-Level (3 slots): detect thoughts, hold person, lemure transformation3rd-Level (3 slots): cobra spit, stinking cloud4th-Level (2 slots): blight, polymorphSorcery: The tyerkow has 9 sorcery points. When it casts a spell that deals poison damage, it can spend 1 sorcery point to cause creatures that are immune to poison damage to take half damage, and creatures that are resistant to poison damage to take full damage. Additionally, the tyerkow can spend 1 or more sorcery points to use one of the following metamagic options:• Delayed Spell: The tyerkow can spend 1 point hold a spell for up to 1 minute.• Distant Spell: The tyerkow can spend 1 point to double the range of a spell, or to increase the range of a touch spell to 20 feet.• Empowered Spell: When it rolls damage for a spell, the tyerkow can spend 1 point to reroll up to four of the damage dice, and can use Empowered Spell even if it has already used a different metamagic option.• Persistent Spell: When the tyerkow casts a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, it can spend 1 point to double the duration, up to 24 hours.Things Fall Apart. The tyerkow can use its action to touch an object and cause it to decay, as if was suddenly aged by decades or centuries. It can also spend one minute and 1 sorcery point to repair an object of any size that it can see within 120 feet of it.Tyerkow Weaknesses. If the tyerkow isn’t wearing a skin and starts its turn in sunlight, it takes 20 radiant damage. If all of its skins are destroyed, the tyerkow will immediately begin to take 20 radiant damage at dawn, even if not in sunlight.Undead Nature. The tyerkow doesn’t need air or sleep.ActionsMultiattack. The tyerkow makes two scimitar attacks.Grab. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage, or 6 (1d4+4) damage if the tyerkow is wearing a skin. The target is grappled (escape DC 16) and restrained while grappled in this way.Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) slashing damage.Horrific Visage (Only When Skinless). Each non-undead creature within 60 feet of the tyerkow that can see it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the frightened condition on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this tyerkow’s Horrifying Visage for the next 24 hours. The tyerkow can’t use this ability if it is wearing its skin.Bonus ActionsBite (Only When Skinless). Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target that is grappled, incapacitated, restrained, or unaware of the vampire’s presence. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) piercing damage plus 22 (6d6) poison damage and the target takes 1 level of strife. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the poison damage dealt, and the tyerkow regains that number of hit points. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest.Legendary ActionsThe tyerkow can take 1 legendary action, 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.Cantrip. The tyercow casts a cantrip.Grab. The tyerkow makes a Grab attack.CombatWhile wearing its skin, the tyerkow fights with humanoid weapons, often scimitars or spears. If without its skin, it uses Horrific Visage, then bites at frightened target. If bloodied, it flies away, will don a new skin, and hunt down its attackers.Variant: Deviled MeatThe tyerkow can remove some of its own flesh—an act which can only be done once per day and causes brief but not inconsiderable pain—and prepare it in a cooked dish, which they can then feed to someone else. Cooking this dish involves both regular cooking times and effort and a 10-minute ritual to give the dish a special power. If eaten by a humanoid, the dish counts as 1 Supply and the consumer has disadvantage on Deception checks made against the tyerkow for 24 hours. The consumer must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or suffer one of the following effects, determined by the tyerkow when it engaged in the ritual. At the Narrator’s discretion, a gourmand or a creature with proficiency in chef’s tools can make a DC 15 Perception check to notice something amiss about the meal before they finish it.The tyerkow must use one piece of its flesh for each creature it wishes to affect. A piece of flesh lasts for 1 year before rotting too much to be used in this manner.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ensorcelling Meal. The consumer is charmed by the tyerkow for 24 hours. While charmed, the creature views the tyerkow as a close friend.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Muting Meal. The creature loses the ability to speak for 1 hour. It may make a new saving throw at the end of each minute, ending the effect on itself on a success.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sickening Meal. The consumer becomes sickened 2d6 hours later. Symptoms include blurred vision, disorientation, and a drop in body temperature that causes uncontrollable shivering. While sick, the creature is poisoned and regains only half the normal number of hit points from spending a Hit Die, and regains no hit points from a long rest. At the end of each long rest, a creature may make a new saving throw, shaking off the disease on a successful save.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spawning Meal. On a successful saving throw, the consumer is poisoned for 2d4 hours. On a failure, it is poisoned for 2d4 hours and if it remains poisoned the entire time, then at the end of that time it drops to 0 hit points and must begin making death saves. If it dies, then it rises as a zombie under the tyerkow’s control. This meal can also be used to change beasts, giants, and monstrosities into zombies.</li> </ul>Variant: Elder TyerkowThese tyerkow have been in existence for centuries or even millennia, and have built up huge networks of humanoids and even fiends who owe allegiance to it.The elder tyerkow is an elite monster, equal to two CR 9 monsters (10,000 XP). It has 204 (24d8+96; bloodied 102) hit points and truesight to a distance of 60 ft. The elder tyerkow has the following additional trait and action:Blood Frenzy. While bloodied, the tyerkow can take 3 legendary actions instead of 1.The elder tyerkow has the following additional legendary actions, which it can use only while bloodied:Elite Recovery. The tyerkow ends one negative effect currently affecting it. It can use this action as long as it has at least 1 hit point, even while unconscious or incapacitated.Quick Flight. The tyerkow flies up to its speed. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.Arise, Minion! (1/Day; Costs 2 Actions). The tyerkow causes a dead creature to rise as either a mummy or a wight under the tyerkow’s control.Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The tyerkow makes a bite attack, and may do so even when wearing its skin.</blockquote>

Verification