Desert Stalker

Large monstrosity (titanspawn), chaotic evil

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	13 (+1)	21 (+5)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	7 (-2)

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 136 (13d10 + 65)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 20 ft.
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +7
Condition Immunities exhaustion
Senses blindsight 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Primordial, Titan Speech, Ukrudan
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Special Traits

• Blind Senses. The desert stalker can’t use its blindsight while unable to smell.
• Earth Glide. The desert stalker can burrow through nonmagical, unworked sand and earth, but not through solid stone. While doing so, the stalker doesn’t disturb the material it moves through.
• Innate Spellcasting. The desert stalker’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • 3/day each: commune with nature, locate creature
• Keen Smell. The desert stalker has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
• Peerless Tracker. The desert stalker can use a bonus action to choose one creature it can see as its quarry. The stalker knows the direction and distance to its quarry as long as the two of them are on the same plane of existence. The desert stalker can have only one creature designated as its quarry at a time.
• Perfect Camouflage. While it is in desert terrain, a desert stalker is invisible.

Actions

• Multiattack. The desert stalker makes three attacks: one bite and two slams.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.
• Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Tactics

Using their chameleon-like ability to blend with the sands and an innate capacity to observe signs and messages from their environment, desert stalkers track their victims patiently, savoring the battle of wits and strength. A stalker frequently torments its prey, closing in until escape seems impossible and then backing off to prolong the enjoyment of the chase. When the time comes to attack, a stalker attempts to take a victim unawares, using its stealth abilities to sneak up on a victim and attack from below, behind, or above. On rare occasions, a large, well armed group of travelers may attract the attention of more than one stalker, so the creatures operate in pairs or even as a pack, coordinating their tactics to isolate and ambush solitary victims, but this behavior is highly unusual.

Description

Desert stalkers were created to hunt and kill, and they seek out any prey that presents a significant challenge to their abilities. A stalker is hard to spot even while moving, for it blends in uncannily against the desert background. It is large, powerful, and vaguely humanoid, but notably missing eyes or other visible sensory organs on its flattened head, most of which is taken up by its enormous mouth.

Tireless Pursuers. Desert stalkers enjoy the thrill of the chase and pursue their prey for leagues across the desert, closing in for the kill only when a target grows too exhausted to run any more. When confronted with multiple opponents, a stalker is cautious, waiting for an opportunity to ambush isolated individuals rather than tackling the entire group at once.