Gurravene

Medium fiend (izravene), neutral evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 76 (17d8)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	17 (+3)	10 (+0)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)

Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Infernal
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Mortal Form (1/Day). As a bonus action, a gurravene can transform into an unremarkablelooking mortal of any race. The gurravene returns to its true form if it takes any amount of damage or if it uses its bonus action to do so.
• Unholy Aura. Undead within 30 feet of the gurravene have advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 21 (6d6) necrotic damage. A humanoid slain by this attack rises 24 hours later as a ghoul under the gurravene’s control unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed. The gurravene can have no more than five ghouls under its control at one time.
• Summon Ghouls (1/Day). The gurravene summons 3 (1d4 + 1) ghouls from Evermaw. The ghouls appear in spaces within 30 feet of the gurravene that it can see, and they can attack creatures of the gurravene’s choice when they arrive. The ghouls remain on the plane to which they were summoned until they are destroyed. As a bonus action on each of its turns, the gurravene can mentally command all of the ghouls it has summoned to move to a specific location and take an action of its choice. The gurravene can summon 1 (1d2) ghasts instead of ghouls if it wishes.

REACTIONS

• Multiattack. If the gurravene kills a living creature with its bite, it can use its reaction to completely consume the creature. A creature devoured by the gurravene cannot be resurrected by anything short of a wish spell.

ABOUT

The creature appears as a gaunt, hairless feline that flies with a pair of bat-like wings. Its torso writhes with dozens of gnashing, slobbering mouths filled with sharp teeth. Instead of a head, its long neck ends in a slavering maw, inside which a single large eye is situated directly above its gaping gullet. A second, smaller eyeball is situated at the end of its sinuous tail.

Like the ghouls they represent, gurravenes hunger ceaselessly. The places they lair are reeking charnel pits filled with decaying flesh and carrion creatures to feed upon it. Despite not requiring food for subsistence, gurravenes devour every scrap of the creatures they kill while also trying to keep their larder stocked with ripening flesh. Gurravenes are fascinated by mechanical devices, particularly traps, and tend to place them throughout their lairs, more to examine the suffering they cause firsthand rather than to keep their demesnes safe.

Each gurravene styles itself the master of its domain and grooms ghoul and ghast servitors to see to its desires. When they use their ability to take on a humanoid aspect, they gravitate to poor areas with large settlements where they feel a few missing people won’t be noticed.

Gurravenes find darakhul too strong-willed and difficult to keep control of. Alliances between the two types of creatures are almost always short-lived and often end with the gurravene attempting to destroy its darakhul ally.