Bakeneko

Small fiend (shapechanger), chaotic evil

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 36 (8d6 + 8)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
11 (+0)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	13 (+1)	10 (+0)	17 (+3)

Saving Throws Dex +6
Skills Acrobatics +6, Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Special Traits

• Innate Spellcasting. The bakeneko’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13). The bakeneko can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • 3/day each: color spray, silent image
  • 1/day each: hypnotic pattern, invisibility

Actions

• Multiattack. The bakeneko uses Mark of Envy if it is able and makes two attacks with its claws.
• Claws (Bakeneko Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage.
• Change Shape. The bakeneko can magically polymorph into a Small humanoid or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form. If the bakeneko dies, it reverts to its true form.
• Mark of Envy (1/day). The bakeneko magically marks a creature it can see within 90 feet. The bakeneko gains a bonus on attack and damage rolls against the target equal to its charisma bonus (typically +3). The mark lasts until the target is slain or 24 hours has passed.

About

A bakeneko stands 3 feet tall, with a lean build covered in fur, and weighs around 35 pounds. Bakeneko are fiendish spirits condemned to small cat-like bodies for failures in a past existence. They thrive on attention, similar to the cats whose form they imitate. A bakeneko becomes incredibly irate if attention is drawn away from them by another creature, marking such targets with an invisible brand.

They’re physically more powerful than spirit oni, but aren’t appropriate as familiars, putting them in a strange societal structure.

Attention Seekers. Among the lowest of fleshbound fiends, a bakeneko indulges in its craving at all times, regardless of other concerns. Once it finds a creature or group that fawns over its appearance, the bakeneko basks for as long as it can. A bakeneko receives its greatest attention from groups of children, but other creatures can give similar attention-particularly, lonely hermit creatures or distant sages and scholars.

The cat-like fiend’s demeanor is pleasant enough, but once a new creature appears to take attention away from it, the bakeneko enters a fierce rage.

Jealous Narcissists. The ?mark of envy’ is the name of the invisible brand a bakeneko places on those who steal its rightfully deserved tribute. This invisible brand is typically a single symbol, often bearing the meaning of some derogatory term the bakeneko has for its target. Such brands last for a day, during which, they fuel the bakeneko’s rage at the target, granting them strength and accuracy far beyond what their small feline frame should be able to accomplish. If its fiendish nature is revealed, a bakeneko wastes no time in retreating, marking its target before fleeing. In the next few hours, it returns, this time using its Change Shape ability to appear as an inconspicuous child. If all goes well, the bakeneko closes in on its target and reverts back to its true form, shredding its enemy with vicious claw strikes.