Alpluachra

Diminutive fey, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 16 (3d4 + 9)
Speed 10 ft., swim 10 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
4 (-3)	15 (+2)	17 (+3)	4 (-3)	11 (+0)	11 (+0)

Skills Stealth +3
Senses low-light vision, passive Perception 10
Languages Deep Speech
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d2+2) piercing damage.
• Numbing Slime. Any creature that touches an alpluachra must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution save or become numb. While numb, that creature has disadvantage on any checks that require tactile senses, such as sleight of hand or performance checks involving instruments.
• Implant. As an action an alpluachra can crawl into the mouth of a helpless creature (no more than three size categories larger than itself) and implant itself into the creature’s throat. Once implanted, anything that the creature ingests is instead consumed by the alpluachra, including such substances as elixirs and potions, or ingested alchemical items, diseases, drugs, or poisons. Once the alpluachra is implanted, the host creature begins suffering the effects of starvation and thirst. Due in part to its numbing slime, an implanted alpluachra is difficult to detect. Each time the host creature ingests anything, it gains an automatic DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check, made with disadvantage. After the newt-like fey is detected, it can be removed either by consuming at least a teaspoon of salt or a pint of salt water, or by treating the host with a successful DC 15 Medicine check. While implanted, an alpluachra is considered incapacitated.
• Salt Weakness. Alpluachras that come in contact with salt or saltwater take 1d3 points of damage per round that they remain in contact. An alpluachra that is implanted in a creature takes 1d3 points of damage for every teaspoon of salt, or pint of salt water that creature consumes.

ABOUT

These strange and insatiable fey resemble slimy newts with three tails. They prowl bubbling brooks, sauntering streams, and slow-moving rivers in a constant pursuit of food, but the extremely lazy creatures often tire of hunting. Alpluachras find it much easier to slip down a sleeping creature’s throat, fall asleep, and dream of fantastic feasts and warm bubbling pools while its host does the eating for it. Because of this, alpluachras always keep an eye on riverbanks, looking for creatures napping near waterways. Once they find potential hosts, alpluachras stealthily slither up and slide down their snoring gullets.

Parasitic. Once inside, an alpluachra rests along the walls of the esophagus and devours all the food that comes down the host’s throat. The host often starves to death in the process, as the parasite becomes more ravenous over time.

Despite their propensity to slowly kill their hosts, alpluachras are slothful rather than cruel. They have no concept of the harm they are doing, lazily enjoying the benefits while the host is still alive.