Bil’djooli Commander

Medium aberration, lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (enchanted bil’djooli armor)
Hit Points 273 (26d8 + 156)
Speed 20 ft., swim 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	22 (+6)	22 (+6)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	15 (+2)

Saving Throws Str +5, Dex +11, Con +11
Skills Athletics +10, Intimidate +7, Stealth +11
Damage Resistances cold
Damage Vulnerabilities poison
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Bil›djooli, Ultari
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Bil’djooli Military Training. A bil’djooli rod deals one extra weapon die of damage when the bil’djooli commander hits with it in melee (included in the attack). The rod is also considered to have the finesse trait when wielded by a bil’djooli commander.
• Bil’djooli Traits. The bil’djooli aquamancer has the Hold Breath, Interstellar, Jet, Underwater Camouflage, and Vulnerability to Toxins traits of a standard bil’djooli.
• Die Hard. When reduced to 0 hit points instead of dying the bil’djooli commander becomes immune to all damage until the end of the next round when it dies. During this “die hard” round it may take its actions as normal.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The bil’djooli commander uses one of the following attack options: bil’djooli rod and 2 tentacle slams, or 4 tentacle slams.
• Bil’djooli Rod. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft. and range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage and 3 (1d6) energy damage (acid, cold, fire, lightning or necrotic), or 20 (4d6+6) energy damage (acid, cold, fire, lightning or necrotic) if used to make a range attack.
• Bil’djooli Rod Blast (1/Day). The bil’djooli commander fires a single focused ray that deals 21 (6d6) points of energy damage, or half as much on a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, to each creature it hits in a 60-foot line. The energy type can be chosen as part of the attack – acid, cold, fire, lightning or necrotic damage – but it consumes the bil’djooli commander’s bonus action if it differs from the energy type of a previous attack made by it.
• Tentacle Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour. The bil’jooli can then use a bonus action to Shove the target, and if successful can force the target to drop one held item instead of knocking them prone or pushing them away.

ACTIONS

• Side Shot. Any time an attack targets a bil’djooli commander, it may use its reaction to make a bil’djooli rod ranged attack against any creature it can see. The commander must be wielding a bil’djooli rod to use this reaction.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

A bil’djooli commander 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. A bil’djooli commander regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Decisive Strike. One of the commander’s allies that can see and hear it immediately makes a single melee or ranged attack with advantage. The damage dealt by this attack bypasses all damage reduction. This attack doesn’t count toward the ally’s actions on its turn.
• Rise Up. All allies that can see or hear the commander can add 1d10 to their next attack roll.
• Directed Assault (1/Day). By finding a gap in the enemy’s defenses, the commander allows its allies to take advantage of the weakness. All allies of the commander within 30 feet of the commander can move up to 30 feet and make one melee or ranged attack. This attack is made with advantage and has its critical hit chance increased by 1 (for example a 20 becomes a 19 or 20) and if a critical hit is rolled the attack deals maximum damage. This attack doesn’t count toward the ally’s actions on its turn.

ABOUT

Bil’djooli commanders are decorated combatants recognized for ferocity and obedience. They bark commands during combat and expect their soldiers to follow them to death if necessary. A bil’djooli commander makes use of its legendary actions to threaten spellcasters or end formidable melee threats, and don’t shy away from combat themselves. Though each chafe under its aquamancer’s conceit, commanders are responsible for their fellow officers, both cooperating with them and defending them in combat.

Bil’djooli are an aggressive race of interplanetary travelers who raid worlds for their own gain and routinely scavenge alien technology. Once sorely pressed, the bil’djooli now range across disparate systems to find the fresh water essential for the continuation of their race. Bil’djooli physiology requires a significant amount of clean, fresh water in order to breathe and metabolize food properly. Their immune systems are strong, but delicate, and they produce toxins offensive to most living creatures very quickly. Without protective gear, bil’djooli poison is actually more dangerous for the bil’djooli than it is for most creatures they encounter. As aquatic creatures, they wear protective helmets full of fresh water they can breathe through a series of gills in their throat, lest they poison themselves and their fellow soldiers.

The bil’djooli teach a peculiar martial art that makes use of their long tentacles and superior reach. They take what they desire from enemy combatants, striking them with powerful tentacles and using agile suction to disarm their opponents or lift other equipment. In mass combat they fire their magical rods, using the most appropriate energy type and then firing into melee amid a flurry of slam attacks.

A single bil’djool has incredibly competitive instincts and a large measure of pride, but the culture rewards cooperation and team work in order to secure the race’s survival. Advancement in their militarized society requires competence and loyalty, though some level of corruption allows the truly ambitious to exploit others to their benefit. Regardless of rank or station, all bil’djooli receive intensive martial training, learning to fight with mass-produced technomagical rods that can crunch bones in melee or fire rays of magical energy.

The bil’djooli spread filth across the galaxy, polluting entire planets with a naturally occurring byproduct of their toxic skin. Hailing from a dozen different home worlds, their kind has sought a means to inhabit aquatic worlds for generations without having to leave them behind.

Bil’djooli family life is harsh from the beginning. Families are governed by ordered pair which lays hundreds of eggs over a lifetime. Though bil’djooli have distinctive male and female internal anatomies, their breeding produces a thick slime full of eggs that is then carried by both parents. The slime is spread across a flat surface when the eggs near maturity, and a dozen bil’djooli might hatch from a single clutch. Bil’djooli young learn quickly and train for survival and combat almost from birth, competing with one another for food and favor. While individual families do not always encourage violence among siblings, there are few penalties in the military meritocracy for murdering a sibling with cause.

A single bil’djooli is 7 feet long from head to tentacle. They have somewhat translucent blue or purple skin with a white or pale blue underside to their tentacles. A mature bil’djooli weighs 300 pounds. A being resembling a humanoid octopus with translucent blue skin bears an unusual metal rod with glowing arcane signals. Its leather vest is connected to a round glass helmet filled with clear fluid.