Cacodaemon, Shrieking

Family: Daemons

Large fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 133 (14d10 + 56)
Speed 0 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	10 (+0)	18 (+4)	16 (+3)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Wis +6
Skills Arcana +7
Damage Immunities cold
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 12 (8,400 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: blight, ice storm
• 3/day: cone of cold
• 1/day: freezing sphere (8th level)
• 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 casts blight.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6 + 2) piercing damage and 33 (6d10) 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.
• Limited Possession (Recharge 6). One creature other than a construct that the cacodaemon can see within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 17 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by the cacodaemon; the cacodaemon then disappears, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. The cacodaemon now controls the body but doesn’t deprive the target of awareness. The cacodaemon can’t be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones that banish fiends, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and immunity to being charmed. It otherwise uses the possessed target’s statistics, but doesn’t gain access to the target’s knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body takes damage and is left with half its maximum hit points (if it was already below half maximum hit points, the possession ends after any amount of damage), the cacodaemon ends it as a bonus action, or the cacodaemon is banished or forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. When the possession ends, the cacodaemon reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the body. The target is immune to that cacodaemon’s Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.

ABOUT

A shrieking cacodaemon most often serves as leader of an elite squad of shock troops deployed at the personal command of an Archlord or other unique fiend, sowing chaos to make the attacks of its allies all the deadlier. Although they are eerily quiet outside combat, once engaged, shrieking cacodaemons loose resounding battle cries that echo for miles. The unearthly sound draws fiends from far away eager to watch the carnage.

When a mortal dares challenge a shrieking cacodaemon in melee or the cacodaemon wants to loose a devastating surprise attack, it can force its soul into the body of a mortal creature. It can be surprisingly clever about impersonating its victim when it knows the strategic stakes are high, but most of the time it maintains its habitual silence until it is in position to lay waste to all the mortals nearby. The shrieking cacodaemon knows its control is easier to break than a ghost’s possession, such as by damaging the host, so it favors possessing targets with effective ranged attacks that can stay far away from allies.