Forest Child

Small undead, neutral evil

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 209 (22d6 + 132)
Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	20 (+5)	23 (+6)	7 (-2)	16 (+3)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +10, Con +11
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, fright, poisoned, unconscious.

Resistances Bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks; necrotic damage.
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages None, though it repeats a few phrases in any languages common to the region (see below).
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Boundless Hunger. The forest child can eat the flesh of sapient beings very quickly, without ever growing full. When eating, its mouth stretches impossibly wide to reveal a limitless void within. Whenever a forest child successfully deals damage with a bite, the target must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or take terrible harm to an appendage. Roll 1d4 to determine which limb is being eaten. It takes four bites to the same limb to consume it completely, though only two bites are required to fully disable the limb. Disabled limbs heal normally, but lost limbs can be restored only with regeneration.
• Charm. Any sapient creature who hears the forest child’s voice must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the forest child. The charmed target regards the forest child as a real child to be cared for and protected. Although the target isn’t under the forest child’s control, it interprets the forest child’s requests or actions in irrationally favorable ways. The effect lasts 24 hours or until the forest child is destroyed, or is on a different plane of existence than the target, or if the ability is countered by a bard’s countercharm or similar magical effects. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it (for any reason other than the 24-hour duration), the creature is immune to the forest child’s Charm for the next 24 hours.
• Forest Lullaby. Anyone who falls victim to a forest child’s Charm ability must, in the next round, succeed on a DC 19 Intelligence saving throw or be caught in a kind of dreamy daze. An affected character hears lovely, tinkling music from nowhere, and feels comfortable and safe. The target can take no action and can no longer feel pain or register damage or danger while in this state. In any round in which the target takes damage, a new saving throw may be made to shake off the effects and act normally until the Forest Lullaby reasserts itself. Effective recharge 6, but rolled individually on each charmed creature’s initiative. The overall Forest Lullaby continues until either the forest child is destroyed or a remove curse or dispel magic is cast upon the target. Creatures immune to the forest child’s Charm, for any reason, are also immune to the Forest Lullaby.
• Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the forest child fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
• Magic Resistance. The forest child has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, unless they specifically target undead.
• Regeneration. The forest child heals 3 hit points at the start of its turn. This ability doesn’t function if it took damage from any magical ability that specifically targets undead since its previous turn.
• Rise Again. After a forest child is defeated, the region in which it spawned remains vulnerable to the spawning of a new forest child within 1d6 moon cycles. This effect can be ended only by casting hallow on the spot where the forest child was destroyed.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d12 +5) slashing damage, plus boundless hunger.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The forest child can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The forest child regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Skittering Advance. The forest child moves up to twice its movement, only to close distance with a single chosen target. This provokes opportunity attacks as normal.
• Unsettling Touch. Smiling sweetly, the forest child touches one opponent, like a child’s fond caress. The target must make a DC 19 Wisdom save or be frightened for one round. This ability works only once per opponent, and not at all on opponents who make their saves.
• Chomp (costs 2 actions). The forest child makes a bite attack on one target in range. If successful, it also uses its Boundless Hunger ability.
• Disappear (costs 2 actions). The forest child magically teleports up to 60 feet to a suitable hiding place, if any is in range, and immediately makes a Dexterity check to hide.

ABOUT

Forest children are born as amalgams of the restless spirits of children who were murdered or who died of prolonged suffering. When such innocent, outraged souls go unavenged or are unable to pass on, they sometimes drift toward the heart of the nearest forest and merge into a forest child’s unquenchable malice. Only in cases of nearby mass child tragedy do two or more forest children appear together, but when they do, they appear and behave as close siblings.

Forest children are not intelligent, and their hunger cannot be sated. They do speak, but only to repeat phrases such as “I’m so hungry” and “Please give me some food.” Ignoring all offers of actual food, a forest child seeks to eat any beings it encounters and does not distinguish between good or evil, kind or cruel. Forest children charm anyone they can and then eat their victims alive, all the while behaving as if they are sweet, innocent children. The only way to release the tormented souls is to destroy them, and until a forest child is destroyed, it never stops attempting to feed. That said, if a forest child is attacked, it retaliates savagely until either it or its attacker is slain.