Horrormancer

Medium humanoid (half-orc), neutral evil

Armor Class 19 (+3 studded leather, ring of protection)
Hit Points 391 (46d8+184)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	16 (+3)	19 (+4)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)	21 (+5)

Saving Throws Str +3, Dex +4, Con +12, Int +3, Wis +10, Cha +6
Skills Arcana +16, Deception +12, Insight +16, Intimidation +19, Perception +9
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 19
Languages Abyssal, Common, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Orc, Undercommon
Challenge 24 (62,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Aura of Fear. At the start of the horrormancer’s turn, each creature of her choice that is within 60 feet of her and aware of her must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the horrormancer’s Aura of Fear for the next 24 hours.
• Fiendish Genius. By spending an action touching any item, the horrormancer gains an innate understanding of how to use it.
• Frightful Gaze (5/Long Rest). When a creature that can see the horrormancer’s eyes starts its turn within 30 feet of her, she can spend her bonus action or reaction to force it to make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw if she isn’t incapacitated and can see the creature. If the saving throw fails, the creature is frightened for 6 rounds. Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid this feature at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it can’t see the horrormancer until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes again. If the creature looks at the horrormancer in the meantime, she may spend her reaction to cause it to immediately make the saving throw.
• Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the horrormancer fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
• Magic Resistance. The horrormancer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Metamagic (20 points/Long Rest). The horrormancer can enhance her spells using metamagic, though only one option can be used with a spell.
  • Distant Spell (1 point). When the horrormancer casts a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, she can double the range of the spell. When she casts a spell that has a range of touch, she can make the range of the spell 30 feet.
  • Extended Spell (1 point). The horrormancer doubles the duration of a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer (maximum 24 hours).
  • Subtle Spell (1 point). The horrormancer casts a spell without any somatic or verbal components.
  • Twinned Spell (1 point per spell level, minimum 1 point). When the horrormancer casts a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, she targets a second creature in range with the same spell. To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level (magic missile and scorching ray aren’t eligible, but ray of frost is).
• Relentless Endurance (1/Long Rest). When the horrormancer is reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, she can drop to 1 hit point instead.
• Spellcasting. The horrormancer is a 20th-level spellcaster that uses Charisma as her spellcasting ability (spell save DC 20; +12 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared from the sorcerer’s spell list:
  • Cantrips: acid splash, fire bolt, mage hand, ray of frost, shocking grasp
  • 1st (4 slots): charm person, magic missile, shield
  • 2nd (3 slots): alter self, mirror image, misty step, suggestion
  • 3rd (3 slots): counterspell, dispel magic, fear, fireball
  • 4th (3 slots): blight, greater invisibility, polymorph
  • 5th (3 slots): cone of cold, dominate person
  • 6th (2 slots): disintegrate, globe of invulnerability
  • 7th (2 slots): finger of death, teleport
  • 8th (1 slot): incendiary cloud
  • 9th (1 slot): weird
• Treasure. The horrormancer has an amulet of health, bead of force, cape of the mountebank, elemental gem, potion of superior healing, ring of protection, and bag of holding (filled with precise maps of an unknown locale) on her person. In addition, she carries technological devices able to innately cast spells: a strange pistol (move earth and stone shape at will), a metallic cap (giant insect once each day), a handheld box (knock twice each day), and a silver harness (fly at will without the need for concentration).
• True Terror and Thing of Horror. Creatures have disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being frightened by the horrormancer. Creatures that normally have advantage on saving throws against fear do not have advantage against the horrormancer, and a creature immune to fear loses its immunity but has a +5 bonus on its saving throw (which is made normally without advantage or disadvantage).

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The horrormancer casts a spell and attacks once with her Terror Scythe.
• Terror Scythe (15 charges). Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8+5) magical slashing damage. The horrormancer can expend up to 4 charges, dealing an extra 1d6 psychic damage for each expended charge. If she expends the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the scythe becomes a nonmagical scythe. When the horrormancer hits a creature with the frightened condition, the staff regains 2 charges.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The horrormancer 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. She regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.

• Attack. The horrormancer attacks with her Terror Scythe or casts a cantrip.
• Magic Detection. The horrormancer makes a Wisdom (Perception) check with advantage. This check is made as if she had cast detect magic, though no action is required to see magical auras.
• Solidify Fear. The horrormancer chooses a frightened creature she can see within 50 feet, taking the fear in its mind and making it a physical reality inside of its skull. The creature makes a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 21 (6d6) force damage and 21 (6d6) psychic damage, and it gains the stunned condition until the start of the horrormancer’s next turn. On a successful save the creature is not stunned and takes no force damage.

ABOUT

The most courageous and stalwart hearts still quake in fear at the whims of horrormancers. These spellcasters have not only pursued the magical arts of terror, their descent into the wickedness of the mind is so deep and profound that they forever become a thing of darkness. Just catching their sight alone is enough to shake the resolve of any living creature whether construct, herald, or god, and this is the very goal for which horrormancers have sacrificed their all-and that fear is what they thrive upon, each gasp, shriek, and bit of dread they inspire nourishing their twisted souls. Only those in possession of a supernatural presence are capable of becoming horrormancers and they are all transcended sorcerers, well versed in the nuances of innate magic and as experienced with how to manipulate it as they are the fear in a creature’s soul. Before combat begins a horrormancer prepares with mirror image and greater invisibility, often instigating the fight with an attempt to take control of an opponent via a dominate person and if that fails a globe of invulnerability soon follows to negate enemy spellcasters. After that there’s no holding back and as many foes as possible are targeted with weird then the next most powerful spell down the line, although as soon as someone shows weakness a quickened and upcasted magic missile is unleashed to permanently remove them from the fight.

Deciphering how to use one of these technological devices requires a DC 25 Intelligence check.