Malebolgite, Warai

Family: Malebolgite

Large fiend (malebolgite), chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 90 (12d10 + 24
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	17 (+3)

Saving Throws Str +9, Cha +7
Skills Deception +7, Intimidation +7, Perception +6, Persuasion +7, Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Ambusher. In the first round of a combat, the warai has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised.
• Innate Spellcasting. The warai’s spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components.
  • 3/day: invisibility (self only), phantasmal killer
  • 1/day each: mirror image, mislead
• Magic Resistance. The warai has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Magic Weapons. The warai’s weapon attacks are magical.
• Shapechanger. The warai can use its action to polymorph into a Small or Medium humanoid it has seen, or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
• Surprise Attack. If the warai surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 10 (3d6) damage from the attack.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The warai can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) piercing damage.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage.
• Frightful Presence. Each creature of The Warai’s choice within 120 feet of it and aware of it must succeed on a DC 15 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 Warai’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
• Read Thoughts. The warai magically reads the surface thoughts of one creature within 60 ft. of it. The effect can penetrate barriers, but 3 ft. of wood or dirt, 2 ft. of stone, 2 inches of metal, or a thin sheet of lead blocks it. While the target is in range, the warai can continue reading its thoughts, as long as the warai’s Concentration isn’t broken (as if concentrating on a spell). While reading the target’s mind, the warai has advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion) checks against the target.
• Disorienting Smile. The warai targets one creature that can see it within 10 feet that has a mouth. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw against this magic or take 11 (2d10) psychic damage. Also on a failure, roll 3d6: If the total equals or exceeds the target’s Charisma score, that score is reduced to 0. The target is stunned until it regains at least one point of Charisma.
• Body Thief. The warai initiates a Charisma contest with an incapacitated humanoid within 5 feet of it that isn’t protected by protection from evil and good. If it wins the contest, the warai magically crawls into the target’s mouth, and takes control of the target’s body. While inside a creature, the warai has total cover against attacks and other effects originating outside its host. The warai retains its Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as its understanding of Infernal, its telepathy, and its traits. It otherwise adopts the target’s statistics. It knows everything the creature knew, including spells and languages. If the host body dies, the warai must leave it. A protection from evil and good spell cast on the body drives the warai out. The warai is also forced out by means of a wish. By spending 5 feet of its movement, the warai can voluntarily leave the body, teleporting to the nearest unoccupied space within 5 feet of it. The body then dies by attacking itself. The warai does its best to harm its host in front of a witness so it can use its Viral Tracker ability.
• Viral Tracker. The warai can unerringly track any creature that has witnessed it exiting a creature using its Body Thief ability. It knows the distance and direction to its quarry as long as the two of them are on the same plane of existence.

ABOUT

This monstrous fiend has large, grotesque smile that stretches from ear to ear, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth within. Its skin is a sickly pale color, and its eyes are wide and red. The creature moves with an unnatural grace, and it emits a high-pitched, unnerving laughter that echoes throughout the surrounding area.

Warais are found in the Malebolges, where they cheerily engage in their tortures with glee. They are always smiling, with multiple rows upon rows of teeth within their grinning maws. When they occasionally manage to escape, their shapeshifting abilities make them extremely difficult to contain. More than one warai has wreaked havoc on the Prime Plane, shifting its way from body to body as it ruthlessly creating a viral series of deaths in which each witness becomes its next victim. Warais possess powerful supernatural abilities that it uses to torment and manipulate its victims. They have the ability to control the minds of those it encounters, causing them to see hallucinations and experience intense fear and paranoia. They can also create illusory environments, twisting reality to its will to create nightmarish landscapes that are impossible to escape.

In addition, warais are masters of deception, able to trick and manipulate its victims with ease. It is incredibly fast and agile, able to dodge attacks with ease and move effortlessly through its environment. The creature’s smile has a hypnotic quality that can cause those who hear it to become disoriented and vulnerable to its attacks.