Daemon, Vulnudaemon

Family: Daemons

Small fiend (daemon), neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (life’s last gasp)
Hit Points 72 (11d6 + 33)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	11 (+0)	12 (+1)	13 (+1)

Skills Perception +5, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that are no silver
Damage Immunities acid, poison
Condition Immunities Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 15
Languages Abyssal, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Innate Spellcasting. The vulnudaemon’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 11). The vulnudaemon can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • At will: detect good, detect magic, darkness, dispel magic, fear, heat metal, levitate
  • 3/day each: blur, invisibility, silent image
  • 1/day: inflict wounds (it delivers this spell via its barbed daemon blade)
• Aura of Doom. A vulnudaemon can radiate an aura of dread and hopelessness. Any creature within 30 feet of the vulnudaemon must succeed at a DC 11 Wisdom saving or gain disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws for as long as it remains in the aura.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The vulnudaemon makes two melee attacks. It can also use Deteriorating Gaze before or after making these attacks.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.
• Barbed Daemon Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage and 8 (1d8 + 4) necrotic damage.
• Deteriorating Gaze. The vulnudaemon targets one creature that it can see within 20 feet of it. The target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target deals only half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
• Summon Daemon (1/Day). The vulnudaemon has a 40 percent chance of summoning 1d4 cacodaemon. A summoned cacodaemon appears in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of its summoner, acts as an ally of its summoner, and can’t summon other daemons. It remains for 1 minute, until it or its summoner dies, or until its summoner dismisses it as an action.

ABOUT

These deceptive daemons personify death resulting from murder accented with betrayal. Most often formed from the souls of evil creatures killed by family or friends, vulnudaemons spread their insanity throughout the worlds by deceiving and killing all creatures they meet. Vulnudaemons stalk their prey, infecting them with a sense of impending doom and watching their reactions, learning their responses before attacking and savoring their death. These daemons serve as excellent assassins, hiding in the shadows before debilitating their enemies, or striking from the protection of invisibility in order to deliver the killing blow. When facing stronger enemies, vulnudaemons seek to wear them down through a series of attacks, nicking at them and darting off, then repeating the process until their opponents bleed out.

Vulnudaemons stand 3 feet tall and weigh 25 pounds.

Assassin Cults. Vulnudaemons often find themselves called to the Material Plane by cultists of deities associated with murder and assassination. These cultists often see vulnudaemons as sacred creatures favored by their deity, and rather than simply use the daemons as assassins, cultists often grant them a shocking degree of freedom to wander the region as they will, picking victims to fit their own agendas and murdering whomever they wish. Cultists who conjure vulnudaemons into the world usually take care to show the daemons a secret hand sign or other code that members of the cult can show them, lest the monsters decide to target one of the believers for an attack. Whether or not an accidentally targeted cultist has the time to flash her safety sign to the daemon should the creature attack her at a later date is, of course, another matter.