Haunted Ventriloquist Dummy

Tiny construct, lawful evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 21 (6d4 + 6)
Speed 25 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)

Skills Perception +4, Performance +4, Stealth +7
Damage Vulnerabilities fire, slashing
Damage Resistances cold, piercing
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, plus all the languages spoken by creatures within 30 feet of it Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• False Appearance. If the dummy is motionless at the start of combat, it has advantage on its initiative roll. Moreover, if a creature hasn’t observed the dummy move or act, it is indistinguishable from a normal toy or puppet.
• Stealthy Killer. The dummy has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. Wisdom (Perception) checks to hear the dummy’s movements are made at disadvantage.
• Ventriloquism. When the dummy speaks or makes other vocal noises, it can cause those sounds to emanate from another space of its choice within 30 feet of it, rather than from itself.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The dummy makes one Concealed Dagger attack and one Strangling Hands attack.
• Concealed Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. If the target was within 5 feet, the dummy has advantage on the next attack it makes against the same target before the end of the turn.
• Strangling Hands. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or fall prone and become grappled by the dummy (escape DC 13). The dummy can have only one creature grappled in this way at a time, and while a creature is grappled, the dummy can’t make melee attacks except Strangling Hands attacks against the grappled target. While grappled by the dummy, a creature can’t speak or breathe and takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage at the end of each of its turns.

REACTIONS

• Stolen Voice. When a creature the dummy can see within 30 feet of it speaks, the dummy can force it to attempt a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature can’t speak or cast spells with verbal components until the next sunrise. This effect ends early if the dummy is destroyed or if the dummy uses this this ability on another creature. Until the effect ends, the dummy can perfectly mimic the voice of the affected creature, and it can read the affected creature’s surface thoughts, as if with a detect thoughts spell.

ABOUT

Malevolent specters frequently haunt dolls, puppets, and dummies, taking advantage of the fear mortals often have toward such lifelike, but inanimate, objects.

The ventriloquist dummy lends itself particularly to such haunting, as its unblinking eyes and perceived ability to speak make an unnerving combination.

Haunted ventriloquist dummies use deceitful and sadistic methods to blend in and kill as many innocents as they can. One of their favorite methods is revealing their ability to speak to a child by swearing them to secrecy. When the child takes the dummy home, it slaughters everyone in the home and repeats the process.

The haunted ventriloquist dummy has two dangerous powers used to hide itself and trick its enemies. First is its ability to blend in with other dolls or toys, a key part of its strategy when hunting. The second is its ability to steal voices from its enemies. The dummy can read the thoughts of those it steals voices from, allowing them to quickly gather information they can use in their hunt.