Church Grim

Small celestial, lawful good

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 99 (18d6+36)
Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (can hover)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
1 (-5) 15 (+2) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 14 (+2)

Saves Wis +4, Cha +4
Skills Insight +4, Perception +6, Religion +3
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Celestial, Common (can’t speak)
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Consecrated Domain. The realm of a church grim encompasses only the churchyard it defends; it can wander freely in its cemetery and any adjoining church grounds, but it cannot move beyond; it must stop at the boundary of consecrated land.
  • Incorporeal Movement. The church grim can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
  • Rejuvenation. It is difficult to destroy a church grim through simple combat. A slain church grim restores itself within 24 hours. Even the most powerful spells are often only temporary solutions. A church grim that would otherwise be destroyed returns to its churchyard with a successful DC 13 Constitution saving throw. The only sure way to get rid of a church grim is to raze the church it protects, and cast hallow on the churchyard, dedicating it to an unholy purpose.
  • Soul Defender. It is the sacred duty of a church grim to defend the bodies and souls of those buried in its churchyard. Any attempts to cast an animate dead or similar spell to create undead within the confines of an area guarded by a church grim requires the caster to make a successful DC 12 spellcasting ability check. If the check fails, the spell fizzles away just as if it had been cast. Whether the check succeeds or not, the caster incurs the full wrath of the church grim immediately.

ACTIONS

  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) force damage and 5 (2d4) psychic damage.
  • Detect Evil and Good. For as long as it concentrates (like a spell), the grim knows if there is an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead within its domain, as well as where the creature is located. Similarly, it knows if there is a place or object within its domain that has been magically consecrated or desecrated.

ABOUT

Church grims are good spirits that guard cemeteries from those who seek to steal from the dead, or those who wish to desecrate the sanctity of the graves there. The eyes of a church grim see all evil that crosses into its territory, and it spares no mercy for such trespassers. The precinct of a church grim is the cemetery and church it has chosen to protect, and it cannot leave that holy ground around. A church grim cannot truly be destroyed, for it is not a mortal creature of flesh and blood. If dispatched, a church grim will return the following night to resume its duties.

Sacred Guardian. A church grim does not attack or harm anyone that enters the churchyard or the cemetery if they are there to worship or pay their respects. It only attacks evil creatures and those who enter the churchyard to rob from the dead. Church grims always attack undead creatures on sight. At the GM’s option, a church or temple dedicated to a good deity is 25% likely to have attracted a guardian church grim; this chance increases to 75% if the church or temple grounds have been hallowed.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Faerie Bestiary (5E) © 2022, Legendary Games; Authors Matt Kimmel, Michael “solomani” Mifsud, Miguel Colon, Robert J. Grady, Jason Nelson, Jeff Ibach, Tim Hitchcock.

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