Hawk Diesel
Adventurer
Ok, so I recently ran a totally gonzo one-shot using story dice to figure out what was going on (a WONDERFUL DM tool if you haven't checked them out before, I strongly recommend it).
Anyways, when it was time to reveal the antagonist, I rolled the story dice (including the Adventure Time themed story dice), and the dice came up with a bug, and the Ice King from adventure time (which made me think Vampire and I went with it). Anyways, this resulted in the reveal to the players that they were facing a Vampire Were-Mantis. And to give it an unusual style on top of all that, I figured the creature was originally a goliath. So it was a fun and hilarious one-shot, but then I got to thinking. A goliath vampire were-mantis is kind of a badass idea. So I got to wondering, how would I create something like that?
I started with the vampire as the base creature from the Monster Manual. Given that Goliaths have a racial bonus of +2 strength and +1 Con, I raised these scores by their bonus. Then I got to wondering what special abilities would be added in for the Goliath, and for the Were-Mantis. But the most interesting part, I thought, was how do I incorporate the weaknesses and strengths of a vampire and were-creature.
Finally, I came up with a name. Lorcan Ala de Medicus. I choose Lorcan because I saw somewhere that it means fierce, little, and silent (perfect for a mantis or vampire, and ironic for a goliath). I went with Ala because when I typed wings into Google Translate, "alas" is what came out, and then Medicus because when I type Glamour into Google Translate "medicatus" is what comes out. So in essence the name is rooted in "glamour wing." I thought the name was pretty cool for a vampire, and the meaning makes it more interesting to me.
I envision a creature like this with a really tragic backstory. How would something like a goliath become so cursed as to bear both vampirism and lycanthropy? I thought this could make for an interesting rival to Count Strahd von Zarovich or perhaps one of his generals that accompanied him to Barovia. Where Strahd is the master strategist and acts through cunning and deceit, Lorcan is much more direct and heavy handed. In fact, I'm preparing to run CoS in a month or so, and I may now try to find a place in the story for this creature.
Anyways, here are the stats. Let me know what you think. I tried to make a number of unique abilities that combine Goliath, Were-Mantis, and Vampire.
Lorcan Ala de Medicus
Goliath Vampire Were-Mantis
Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor) in vampire form, 18 (natural armor) in Large mantis and hybrid form
Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)
Speed 40ft. (50 ft., fly 50ft. in Large mantis or hybrid form)
STR 20 (+5); DEX 18 (+4); CON 19 (+4); INT 12 (+1); WIS 15 (+2); CHA 13 (+1)
Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +7, Cha +6
Skills Athletics +12, Perception +7, Stealth +9
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered
Damage Resistances cold, necrotic
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Common and Giant
Challenge ?
Shapechanger. If Lorcan isn't in sun light or running water, and if he is not bound by silver, he can use his action to polymorph in to a Tiny bat, Tiny mantis, Large mantis-humanoid hybrid, Large mantis, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form.
While in bat or mantis form, Lorcan can't speak, his walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a flying speed of 30 feet. His statistics, other than his size and speed, are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms with him, but nothing he is carrying does. He reverts to his true form if he dies.
While in hybrid or Large mantis form, his statistics other than size, AC, and speed are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms with him, but nothing he is carrying does. he reverts to his true form if he dies.
While in mist form, Lorcan can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. He is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and he can't pass through water. He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and he is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage he takes from sunlight.
Evasion. When Lorcan is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, he instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if he fails.
Keen Sight. Lorcan has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Lorcan fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. When Lorcan drops to 0 hit points outside his resting place, Lorcan transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that he isn't in sun light or running water and he is not bound by silver. If he can't transform, he is destroyed.
While he has 0 hit points in mist form, he can't revert to his vampire form, and he must reach his resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in his resting place, he reverts to his vampire form. He is then paralyzed until he regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in his resting place with 0 hit points, he regains 1 hit point.
Powerful Build. Lorcan counts as one size larger when determining his carrying capacity and the weight he can push, drag, or lift.
Regeneration. Lorcan regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sun light or running water and he is not bound by silver. If Lorcan takes radiant damage, damage from holy water, or damage from a silvered weapon, this trait doesn't function at the start of Lorcan’s next turn.
Spider Climb. Lorcan can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Strong Arm. Lorcan can use two-handed melee weapons in one or two-hands as long as they do not have the reach property. When using such weapons with one hand, weapons that normally do 1d12 or 2d6 damage instead deal 1d10 damage.
Vampire Weaknesses. Lorcan has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. Lorcan can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. Lorcan takes 20 acid damage if he ends his turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood or silver is driven into Lorcan’s heart while he is incapacitated in his resting place, Lorcan is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. Lorcan takes 20 radiant damage when he starts his turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Silver Hypersensitivity. If Lorcan is in direct contact with silver for at least one round, he begins to take 20 radiant damage when he starts his turn in contact with the silver. While in contact with the silver, he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
REACTIONS
Stone’s Endurance (Recharge 5-6). When Lorcan takes damage, he can use his reaction to roll a d12+4 and reduce the damage by that total.
ACTIONS
Multiattack (Hybrid or Vampire Form Only). Lorcan makes three attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, Lorcan can grapple the target (escape DC 20).
Maul (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage, or 10 (1d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage if used with one hand.
Claw (Large Mantis or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with were-mantis lycanthropy.
Bite (Bat, Hybrid, Large Mantis, or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by Lorcan, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and Lorcan regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under Lorcan’s control.
Charm. Lorcan targets one humanoid he can see within 30 feet of him. If the target can see Lorcan, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by Lorcan. The charmed target regards Lorcan as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under Lorcan's control, it takes Lorcan's requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for Lorcan's bite attack.
Each time Lorcan or his companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until Lorcan is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
Children of the Night (1/Day). Lorcan magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats, insects, or rats, provided that the sun isn't up. While outdoors, Lorcan can call 3d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of Lorcan and obeying his spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until Lorcan dies, or until Lorcan dismisses them as a bonus action.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Lorcan can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Lorcan regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Move. Lorcan moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Strike. Lorcan makes one unarmed strike, weapon attack, or claw attack.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). Lorcan makes one bite attack.
Anyways, when it was time to reveal the antagonist, I rolled the story dice (including the Adventure Time themed story dice), and the dice came up with a bug, and the Ice King from adventure time (which made me think Vampire and I went with it). Anyways, this resulted in the reveal to the players that they were facing a Vampire Were-Mantis. And to give it an unusual style on top of all that, I figured the creature was originally a goliath. So it was a fun and hilarious one-shot, but then I got to thinking. A goliath vampire were-mantis is kind of a badass idea. So I got to wondering, how would I create something like that?
I started with the vampire as the base creature from the Monster Manual. Given that Goliaths have a racial bonus of +2 strength and +1 Con, I raised these scores by their bonus. Then I got to wondering what special abilities would be added in for the Goliath, and for the Were-Mantis. But the most interesting part, I thought, was how do I incorporate the weaknesses and strengths of a vampire and were-creature.
Finally, I came up with a name. Lorcan Ala de Medicus. I choose Lorcan because I saw somewhere that it means fierce, little, and silent (perfect for a mantis or vampire, and ironic for a goliath). I went with Ala because when I typed wings into Google Translate, "alas" is what came out, and then Medicus because when I type Glamour into Google Translate "medicatus" is what comes out. So in essence the name is rooted in "glamour wing." I thought the name was pretty cool for a vampire, and the meaning makes it more interesting to me.
I envision a creature like this with a really tragic backstory. How would something like a goliath become so cursed as to bear both vampirism and lycanthropy? I thought this could make for an interesting rival to Count Strahd von Zarovich or perhaps one of his generals that accompanied him to Barovia. Where Strahd is the master strategist and acts through cunning and deceit, Lorcan is much more direct and heavy handed. In fact, I'm preparing to run CoS in a month or so, and I may now try to find a place in the story for this creature.
Anyways, here are the stats. Let me know what you think. I tried to make a number of unique abilities that combine Goliath, Were-Mantis, and Vampire.
Lorcan Ala de Medicus
Goliath Vampire Were-Mantis
Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor) in vampire form, 18 (natural armor) in Large mantis and hybrid form
Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)
Speed 40ft. (50 ft., fly 50ft. in Large mantis or hybrid form)
STR 20 (+5); DEX 18 (+4); CON 19 (+4); INT 12 (+1); WIS 15 (+2); CHA 13 (+1)
Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +7, Cha +6
Skills Athletics +12, Perception +7, Stealth +9
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered
Damage Resistances cold, necrotic
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Common and Giant
Challenge ?
Shapechanger. If Lorcan isn't in sun light or running water, and if he is not bound by silver, he can use his action to polymorph in to a Tiny bat, Tiny mantis, Large mantis-humanoid hybrid, Large mantis, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form.
While in bat or mantis form, Lorcan can't speak, his walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a flying speed of 30 feet. His statistics, other than his size and speed, are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms with him, but nothing he is carrying does. He reverts to his true form if he dies.
While in hybrid or Large mantis form, his statistics other than size, AC, and speed are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms with him, but nothing he is carrying does. he reverts to his true form if he dies.
While in mist form, Lorcan can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. He is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and he can't pass through water. He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and he is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage he takes from sunlight.
Evasion. When Lorcan is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, he instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if he fails.
Keen Sight. Lorcan has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Lorcan fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. When Lorcan drops to 0 hit points outside his resting place, Lorcan transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that he isn't in sun light or running water and he is not bound by silver. If he can't transform, he is destroyed.
While he has 0 hit points in mist form, he can't revert to his vampire form, and he must reach his resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in his resting place, he reverts to his vampire form. He is then paralyzed until he regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in his resting place with 0 hit points, he regains 1 hit point.
Powerful Build. Lorcan counts as one size larger when determining his carrying capacity and the weight he can push, drag, or lift.
Regeneration. Lorcan regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sun light or running water and he is not bound by silver. If Lorcan takes radiant damage, damage from holy water, or damage from a silvered weapon, this trait doesn't function at the start of Lorcan’s next turn.
Spider Climb. Lorcan can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Strong Arm. Lorcan can use two-handed melee weapons in one or two-hands as long as they do not have the reach property. When using such weapons with one hand, weapons that normally do 1d12 or 2d6 damage instead deal 1d10 damage.
Vampire Weaknesses. Lorcan has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. Lorcan can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. Lorcan takes 20 acid damage if he ends his turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood or silver is driven into Lorcan’s heart while he is incapacitated in his resting place, Lorcan is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. Lorcan takes 20 radiant damage when he starts his turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Silver Hypersensitivity. If Lorcan is in direct contact with silver for at least one round, he begins to take 20 radiant damage when he starts his turn in contact with the silver. While in contact with the silver, he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
REACTIONS
Stone’s Endurance (Recharge 5-6). When Lorcan takes damage, he can use his reaction to roll a d12+4 and reduce the damage by that total.
ACTIONS
Multiattack (Hybrid or Vampire Form Only). Lorcan makes three attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, Lorcan can grapple the target (escape DC 20).
Maul (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage, or 10 (1d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage if used with one hand.
Claw (Large Mantis or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with were-mantis lycanthropy.
Bite (Bat, Hybrid, Large Mantis, or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by Lorcan, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and Lorcan regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under Lorcan’s control.
Charm. Lorcan targets one humanoid he can see within 30 feet of him. If the target can see Lorcan, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by Lorcan. The charmed target regards Lorcan as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under Lorcan's control, it takes Lorcan's requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for Lorcan's bite attack.
Each time Lorcan or his companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until Lorcan is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
Children of the Night (1/Day). Lorcan magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats, insects, or rats, provided that the sun isn't up. While outdoors, Lorcan can call 3d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of Lorcan and obeying his spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until Lorcan dies, or until Lorcan dismisses them as a bonus action.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Lorcan can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Lorcan regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Move. Lorcan moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Strike. Lorcan makes one unarmed strike, weapon attack, or claw attack.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). Lorcan makes one bite attack.
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