Moth Mother

Medium fey, lawful neutral

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 195 (30d8 + 60)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	18 (+4)	14 (+2)	17 (+3)	18 (+4)	20 (+5)

Saving Throws Cha + 10, Wis + 9
Skills Deception +10, Persuasion +10, Stealth +9
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Elvish, Sylvan
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +5

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Fey Ancestry. The Moth Mother has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put her to sleep.
• Magic Resistance. The Moth Mother has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The Moth Mother makes one Piercing Gaze attack and one Shadow Touch attack.
• Piercing Gaze. Ranged Spell Attack: +10 to hit, range 120 ft., one creature. Hit: 31 (7d8) radiant damage.
• Shadow Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (6d6) slashing damage.
• Spellcasting. The Moth Mother casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks):
  • At will: bane, charm person, chill touch, major image
  • 1/day each: confusion, geas (as an action), harm, insect plague
  • 3/day each: blur, command, faerie fire, hypnotic pattern

BONUS ACTIONS

• Winged Step. The Moth Mother’s body appears to explode into hundreds of moths as she teleports to a space already occupied by a swarm of shadowlight moths under her command. Once she reaches her destination, her body appears to reform itself.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The Moth Mother 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 Moth Mother regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.

• Hide. The Moth Mother shrouds herself from view behind a screen of moths. Attacks against her are made with disadvantage until the end of her next turn.
• Summon Moths (Costs 2 Actions). The Moth Mother summons a swarm of shadowlight moths. The swarm appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the Moth Mother. The swarm acts as an ally of the Moth Mother and remains for 1 hour, until it or the Moth Mother dies, or until the Moth Mother dismisses it as an action. The Moth Mother can have no more than three swarms under her control at one time.
• Spell (Costs 3 Actions). The Moth Mother casts a spell.

TACTICS

The Moth Mother avoids face to face confrontations whenever possible, as she relies on her deception to conceal her agenda. Even if approached with evidence of her intentions, she attempts to talk her way out of trouble, and failing that, she creates distractions to hide and escape unseen. If forced into combat, the Moth Mother tries to have at least one swarm of shadowlight moths always summoned.

She commands the swarm to confuse and distract her enemies long enough for her to escape. These swarms may be left behind after her departure to inflict as much damage on the enemies as possible and discourage pursuit.

ABOUT

The shadowlight moth is believed to have originated in the Fey Realm, where it is quite common in the forests and glens ruled over by creatures of the Unseelie Court. Left to its own devices, it avoids Humanoids, preferring to keep to its canopies and meadows. Larger than an average moth, its primary color ranges from black to many shades of purple.

The darkness of its dominant color is contrasted with the many points of light that dot its wings.

These moonlight spots twinkle like stars at times and their brightness seems to wax and wane with the moon. The fine powder that falls from their beating wings has been said to catch a unique shimmer in the moonlight, creating beautiful, almost dreamlike displays above the flowers and lush grasses.

The Mother of Midnight, Winged Matriarch, the Silken Judge… the Moth Mother is known by many names. A wandering denizen of the Fey Realm who travels from plane to plane on a moral mission to hand down judgement on the peoples she encounters. Her constant companions and dark-winged informants go wherever she goes – a flock of midnight-and-moonlight-winged moths at their mistress’s beck and call.

Light & Dark. The Moth Mother’s power comes from her affinity for and close connection to shadowlight moths, a particular breed of moth native to the Fey Realm. These moths are a breed slightly larger than the common moth, with wings the deep black of midnight, shot through with the glimmer of moonlight on a cloudless night. They are silent fliers, imperceptible sentinels, and unmatched spies. All these skills are at the Moth Mother’s disposal – wherever she goes she can command a swarm of hundreds of these moths.

Nomadic Life. The Moth Mother and her swarm tend not to stay in any one settlement for more than a few months. Arriving under the guise of a travelling trader or merchant, she feigns intent to pass through and then move on, taking a room in an inn or other bunkhouse. Before long, she declares that the town has caught her attention and she intends to stay, moving into any suitable and available property. Money is no object to her in these transactions. And with that, she assimilates quickly and quietly into village life.

False Identity. Establishing a life and a background in her new home is relatively easy for the Moth Mother. After the pretense of settling into the village, she will create a front – as a tailor or clothier with a shop. To all appearances, this is how she maintains her very sociable lifestyle. She inserts herself into town business with relish, making friends and connections, and subtly learning all she can about the people of her new home. Behind this front, the home she moves into is left unchanged. She takes her rest in a silken bower slung high in the roof of its topmost chamber. She is always attended by her moths, though they remain out of sight whenever a customer or townsperson appears.

Winged Espionage. Once installed in her new home, the Moth Mother begins her real work. Each night she commands her familiars to take wing to explore the town and report back on the nature of those who inhabit it. The customer who haggled so vehemently for a deal this afternoon – is he as poor as he claimed, scrimping for even the simplest of garments? Or is he an experienced liar, happy to take advantage of the newcomer to town? How do the townsfolk behave behind closed doors? What crimes and wicked acts are committed underneath the cover of darkness? The shadowlight moths are privy to it all.

Judgment on Silent Wings. With the moral temperature of her temporary home taken, the Moth Mother passes her judgment. If the village is deemed to be good (by Fey standards, at least) – friendly, industrious, hospitable, and true to its word – then the Moth Mother places a blessing on the settlement and its people that lasts for the next few years. Crops grow voraciously; weather is mild; typical dangers that lurk in the nights around such places are subtly deterred from causing problems. Places full of selfish, duplicitous, or mean-spirited inhabitants experience a malign influence. Crops wither; stubbed toes are unduly common; and malevolent forces seem drawn into the area. Once the Moth Mother has enacted her judgment of the settlement, she leaves quietly in the dead of night with the soft thump of thousands of wings.

Magic of the Moths

Many of the garments the Moth Mother makes in her guise as a tailor are magical.