Mythic Bogeyman

Medium fey, neutral evil

Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
Hit Points 169 (22d8 + 44)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	23 (+6)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)	27 (+8)

Saving Throws Dex + 10, Wis +8, Cha +12
Skills Arcana + 10, Deception +12, Insight + 8, Intimidate + 16, Perception +12, Sleight of Hand +14, Stealth +14
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft. (can see in magical darkness), passive Perception
Languages Aklo, Common, tongues
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Deepest Dread. A mythic bogeyman is cloaked in a 30-foot aura of dread. This aura manifests as a shifting haze of images that reflect the viewer’s deepest fears. Each round an opponent ends its turn within the aura, it must succeed at a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute, and can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. Once per day, the mythic bogeyman can spend an action to remove the immunity to fear from any creature within its aura. At that time, every creature within the aura must make a saving throw against its effects, with creatures that did not previously have immunity making this saving throw with disadvantage.
• Dread Strike. A bogeyman has advantage to attack a creature that is frightened.
• Innate Spellcasting. The bogeyman’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 20). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components.
  • At will: cause fear, detect thoughts, darkness, invisibility, minor illusion, tongues
  • 3/day: hold monster, phantasmal killer
  • 1/day: dream
• Magic Resistance. The bogeyman has advantage on saving throws against spells or other magical effects.
• Sneak Attack (1/turn). The bogeyman deals an extra 21 (6d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the bogeyman that isn’t incapacitated and the bogeyman doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
• Terrible Rejuvenation. A mythic bogeyman regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn while any creature within its deepest fear aura is suffering from a fear effect, including any fear effect created by the aura itself. If it is destroyed while within 30 feet of a frightened creature, the mythic bogeyman reappears after 3d4 days, fully healed on the Material Plane within a 1 mile radius of the place where it was destroyed. It also has an obsession for revenge against those who previously destroyed it. While a destroyed mythic bogeyman is reforming, any time a creature sleeps that was present at the mythic bogeyman’s destruction sleeps in the Material Plane, it must make a DC 22 Wisdom saving or suffer the effects of a dream spell (with the monstrous messenger). Once the bogeyman is reformed, it can choose to reappear within a 30-foot radius of a creature suffering from the dream spell if that creature failed its saving throw. The rejuvenation of a destroyed mythic bogeyman can be prevented if dispel evil is cast at the place on the Plane of Shadow that corresponds to the place at which the mythic bogeyman was destroyed.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The bogeyman makes two claw attacks
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage and 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. A critical hit from a mythic bogeyman’s claw forces any target that has successfully saved against the creature’s deepest dread aura to make another Wisdom saving throw against its effects.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The bogeyman 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. The bogeyman regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Abduct. The bogeyman can attempt to initiate a grapple contest with an adjacent target. If it succeeds, it can move up to its full speed along with the creature that it is grappling.
• Claw. The bogeyman makes a claw attack.
• Cast a Spell (Costs 2 Actions). The bogeyman casts a spell.

ABOUT

Many believe that the most cruel and mischievous fey become bogeymen as a punishment or a reward for their actions. Others see bogeymen as supernatural manifestations of society’s willingness to do itself harm.

Bogeymen use their powers to haunt houses or secluded natural places where they can hunt prey unobserved. They relish using their minor illusion power to hint at their presence long before they fully reveal themselves. It is not uncommon for a bogeyman to hide under a bed, or in a closet left slightly ajar, for days or even weeks, all the while feeding on its victims’ growing realization that they are not alone.

The most evil bogeymen are those who abandon the tactic of feeding on one person’s fears at a time and take up roles of mass murderers or serial killers, or other pursuits designed to drive fear into the hearts of an entire city of victims. True to their name, all bogeymen are male. Sometimes, children whom they steal away to secret lairs emerge years later, transformed into new bogeymen, and return home to continue their supernatural father’s work.