Cacodaemon, Cackling

Family: Daemons

Large fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 110 (13d10 + 39)
Speed 0 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	10 (+0)	17 (+3)	16 (+3)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Wis +6
Skills Arcana +7
Damage Immunities lightning
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, prone
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Innate Spellcasting. The cacodaemon’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). The cacodaemon can innately cast the following spells, requiring no somatic or material components:
• At will: call lightning, flaming sphere (3rd level)
• 3/day: lightning bolt (4th level)
• 1/day: chain lightning, confusion
• Magic Resistance. The cacodaemon has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The cacodaemon can use its Frightful Presence. It then either makes a bite attack or uses call lightning.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage and 22 (4d10) psychic damage. If it takes psychic damage, the target can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
• Frightful Presence. Each creature of the cacodaemon’s choice that is within 120 feet of the cacodaemon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to that cacodaemon’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.

REACTIONS

• Spell Spit. When the cacodaemon takes damage from a spell, it can spit some of the spell’s magic back at the caster as a reaction. The cacodaemon momentarily gains resistance to the damage dealt by that spell and makes a ranged spell attack (with a +8 bonus) to hit the caster. On a hit, the caster takes damage equal to the damage the cacodaemon took from the spell.

ABOUT

A cackling cacodaemon chafes in the presences of its peers, so it seeks out bands of weaker fiends to bully into serving it at all times, including as its shields in battle. Cackling cacodaemons also often take the initiative to consult with Archlords and other potent fiends, so a cackling cacodaemon might well be an adviser, court mage, or jester to an even worse fiend.

When expecting battle, cackling cacodaemons tend to favor void maggot minions they can use as laborers or performers, alongside one or a few underfiend bodyguards. They have a fondness for tormenting grylluses in what they consider to be amusing ways, including forcing them to face too-powerful adversaries, so grylluses avoid these sort of cacodaemons whenever possible.

This towering abomination resembles little more than a flying, fanged mouth below leering eyes. Glinting, sparking spines protrude from the quivering hide on its barrel-sized cheeks.