Giant, Corpse Swallower

Family: Giant

Huge giant (shapechanger, titan), neutral

Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 241 (21d12 + 105)
Speed 50 ft. (20 ft., fly 120 ft. in roc form)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
25 (+7) 10 (+0) 20 (+5) 16 (+3) 17 (+3) 20 (+5)

Saving Throws Dex +6, Int +9, Wis +9, Cha +11
Skills Athletics +13, Perception +9, Survival +9
Damage Resistances lightning, thunder
Damage Immunities cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities exhaustion
Senses passive Perception 19
Languages Auran, Common, Giant (can’t speak in roc form)
Challenge 19 (22,000 XP)

Special Traits

  • Innate Spellcasting. The Corpse Swallower’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 19). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material or somatic components:
  • Keen Sight (Roc Form Only). The Corpse Swallower has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
  • Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the Corpse Swallower fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
  • Shapechanger. The Corpse Swallower can use a bonus action to change into a roc. Any equipment he wears or carries melds into his new form. It keeps its game statistics except as noted. He reverts to his giant form if it is reduced to 0 hit points or when it uses a bonus action to change back.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The Corpse Swallower makes two attacks.
  • Beak (Roc Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 25 (4d8 + 7) piercing damage.
  • Fist (Giant Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the start of the Corpse Swallower’s next turn.
  • Talons (Roc Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (4d6 + 7) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the Corpse Swallower can’t use his talons against another target.
  • Gale Blast (recharge 5-6). The Corpse Swallower unleashes a gale-force blast of wind in a line 60 feet long and 10 feet wide. Creatures in the area take 35 (10d6) bludgeoning damage and are pushed 15 feet directly away from the Corpse Swallower, or they take half damage and are not pushed with a successful DC 19 Strength saving throw.

Legendary Actions

The Corpse Swallower can take 3 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 Corpse Swallower regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

  • Attack. The Corpse Swallower makes a fist or talon attack.
  • Move (2 actions). The Corpse Swallower moves half his speed. If in roc form, all creatures within 10 feet of the Corpse Swallower at the end of this move must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and fall prone.
  • Swallow (3 actions, Roc Form Only). The Corpse Swallower makes a bite attack against a creature he has grappled. If he hits, he swallows the creature. A swallowed creature is no longer grappled, but is blinded, restrained, and has advantage against attacks and effects originating from outside the Corpse Swallower. A swallowed creature takes 14 (4d6) acid damage at the start of each of The Corpse Swallower’s turns. If the Corpse Swallower returns to giant form, or takes 40 damage or more in a single turn from a swallowed creature, he must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which land prone within 10 feet of the giant. If the Corpse Swallower dies, swallowed creatures are no longer restrained and can escape the corpse by spending 30 feet of movement, exiting prone.

Lair

The Corpse Swallower’s lair is a windswept crag of gray stone at the edge of the world. At the highest pinnacle rests a massive cottage hewn from the mountainside. A great nest made from the splintered trunks of immense trees rests on the flat roof of the cottage, and the wind constantly howls.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Corpse Swallower takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Corpse Swallower can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

  • The Corpse Swallower unleashes a blast of wind in a 60-foot cone. All creatures in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
  • One creature within 60 feet that the Corpse Swallower can see must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be swept up in a pillar of wind. The creature is restrained and suspended 15 feet off the ground. If the creature has something to pull on, it can pull itself out of the wind by using an action and making a successful DC 15 Strength check; another creature who can reach the suspended creature can pull it free in the same way. Alternatively, a flying creature can repeat the saving throw as an action. On a success, it moves 5 feet out of the pillar of wind. This effect lasts until the Corpse Swallower takes this action again or dies.
  • The Corpse Swallower lets out a thunderous bellow in giant form or an ear-splitting shriek in roc form. All creatures within 30 feet must make a successful DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature repeats the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Regional Effects

The region containing the Corpse Swallower’s lair is warped by the corpse swallower’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

  • Strong windstorms are common within 6 miles of the lair.
  • Giant avian beasts are drawn to the lair and fiercely defend it against intruders.
  • The wind within 10 miles of the lair bears a pungent carrion stench.

If the Corpse Swallower dies, conditions in the area surrounding the lair return to normal over the course of 1d10 days.

ABOUT

The giant stands braced in the midst of powerful wind. With a baleful stare, he shakes his fist and bellows a war cry. The cry becomes an avian shriek, and the giant’s form melts into that of a massive bird whose wings blot out the sky.

A giant with divine blood in his veins, the Corpse Swallower is powerfully muscled. His skin is a pale bronze, his eyes are violet, and his hair and beard are the color of storm clouds.

Roc Form. When he takes his alternate form, he becomes a tremendous roc, with massive wings that stir the wind across the sky. His eyes remain the same violet and this roc-form feathers match the color of his hair, sparkling with specks of color here and there, like jewels set in steel.

Birth of the Wind. The Corpse Swallower dwells on the fringe of the world itself. From atop the peak of his home, he creates the wind and sends it across the globe. As befits a creature of such primal power, he doesn’t take kindly to intruders. He gluts himself on the bodies of fools who test his might in search of the fabled riches in his home.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts. Copyright 2016, Open Design; Authors Chris Harris, Dan Dillon, Rodrigo Garcia Carmona, and Wolfgang Baur.

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