Myrmidon Rakshasa

Family: Rakshasa

Medium fiend, lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (scale mail, shield)
Hit Points 51 (6d8 + 24)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	14 (+2)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)

Skills Athletics +6, Perception +3, Stealth +4
Damage Vulnerabilities piercing from magic weapons wielded by good creatures
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Arcane Weapons. The myrmidon’s weapon attacks are magical. When the myrmidon hits with any weapon, the weapon deals an extra 2d4 force damage (included in the attack).
• Dedicated Warrior. The myrmidon has advantage on saving throws against being charmed and frightened.
• Limited Magic Immunity. The myrmidon can’t be affected or detected by spells of 1st level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.
• Tiger Tag Team. The myrmidon has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one friendly rakshasa is within 5 feet of the creature and that rakshasa isn’t incapacitated.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The myrmidon rakshasa makes two Forked Scimitar or Arcane Bolt attacks.
• Forked Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage plus 5 (2d4) force damage. Instead of dealing damage, the myrmidon can disarm a target wielding a weapon. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or its weapon lands in a random space within 10 feet of the target.
• Arcane Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +4 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (4d4 + 2) force damage.
• Spellcasting. The myrmidon casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 12):
  • At will: detect thoughts, disguise self
  • 2/day: expeditious retreat

REACTIONS

• Allied Parry. When a creature the myrmidon can see attacks a creature within 5 feet of it, the myrmidon can impose disadvantage on the attack roll. To do so, the myrmidon must be wielding a shield.

ABOUT

A trio of cat people stand beside a seated tiger man, dutifully poised to carry out his instructions.

In the rigid hierarchy of rakshasas, low-ranking rakshasas serve the more powerful to gather and increase their own power.

The Saahase. The fierce infantry class of the rakshasa, more commonly known as myrmidons, serves as the tiger’s claws. Myrmidons blend arcane might and martial warfare, and they guard the palaces and secret hideaways of their masters or serve as bodyguards for the masters themselves.

The Pustakam. When a rakshasa is killed on the Material Plane, its spirit is banished back to the Hells, where it is tormented by devils until it is reincarnated in a new body. Sometimes, when it committed a grave error that resulted in its death, the slain fiend returns in an inferior form, obliged to perform a series of evil deeds before regaining its former status. These rakshasas occupy a unique rank outside the standard hierarchy and are called pustakams. Separate from their brethren, pustakams reside almost entirely on the Material Plane, disguising themselves as books, paintings, or statuettes and insinuating themselves into mortal hands. Their natural form is that of a mauve-skinned fiend the size of a halfling with the tell-tale backward hands of a rakshasa.

To regain its former status as a full rakshasa, the pustakam must tempt mortals into committing evil acts, and the severity of its failure determines the depth of the acts or how many mortals it must manipulate before it regains its power, which only the pustakam itself knows. Pustakams typically coerce victims into performing minor acts first, then push them into progressively more evil and depraved actions until the pustakam earns its return to the Hells, where it is reincarnated as a true rakshasa.

The Chhota. The laborer class of the rakshasa, called servitors, serve as the lowest rung in rakshasa society. Minor functionaries, builders, and laborers, servitors possess a burning desire to advance. When a servitor proves itself worthy, elder rakshasas perform the “Unnati” ritual. In this ritual, the servitor literally earns its stripes, transforming from a leopard-like fiend into a more powerful, tiger-like rakshasa.

The Slayer. When a rakshasa or greater rakshasa needs an enemy spied upon or killed, it sends a slayer to carry out the mission. Slayers operate outside rakshasa society to better protect themselves and their employers. They can assume dozens of identities and humanoid forms, switching identities as needed.