Naerlulth

Large aberration, lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (Natural)
Hit Points 76 (12d10 HD)
Speed 30 ft., 40 ft. (swim), 20 ft. (climb)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	10 (+0)	10 (+0)	18 (+4)	16 (+3)	7 (-2)

Damage Immunities acid, fire, poison
Condition Immunities grappled, poisoned, restrained
Damage Resistances bashing, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons
Damage Vulnerabilities radiant
Senses darkvision 120’, passive Perception 17
Skills Arcana +8, History +8, Perception +7, Religion +7
Languages All, via telepathy
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Aura of Fear. The naerluth is a creature of the nether planes, constructed of all that is unnatural and wrong. Any creature that ventures within thirty feet of one must succeed at a Charisma save (DC 16) or be frightened until it leaves the area. A creature who succeeds at this saving throw is immune to the aura from the same naerluth thereafter.
• Dark Resurrection. Any creature slain by a naerluth arises again as a random type of undead within 1d10 rounds. This new creature is standard as its undead type in all ways, save that it is subservient to the naerluth that created it. Should the naerluth be destroyed, the undead it has created become independent.
• Regeneration. The naerluth regenerates 10 hit points per round as long as it has at least one hit point.
• Spell Resistance. The naerluth has advantage on all saving throws against magical spells and effects.
• Telepathy. The naerluth can communicate with any intelligent creature telepathically.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The naerluth makes 6 tentacle attacks.
• Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6+8) bashing damage.
• Thrown Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 60/120 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6+8) bashing
• Ash Cloud (recharge 5-6). As an action, the Naerluth can spray a cloud of ash in a line that is 30 feet long and 10 feet wide. All within this cloud must make a Dexterity save (DC 16), suffering 3d8 points of acid damage and be blinded for 1d6 rounds on a failed save, or half damage and no blindness on a success.
• Digest. As a bonus action, the naerluth can draw any grappled creature into its bulk and begin to digest it. Such creatures are grappled and restrained, and suffer 1d8 acid damage each round until they are freed or the naerluth is destroyed (Escape DC 17). A creature thus engulfed can attempt to escape once per round at the beginning of the naerluth’s turn.
• Improved Grapple. Any creature struck by two of the naerluth’s tentacles is grappled (escape DC 17). Severing a tentacle can free a creature thus grappled; each tentacle has 5 (1d10) hit points, independent of the main body hit points. Severed tentacles regrow in 1d4 rounds.

REACTIONS

• Inspire. As a reaction, the naerluth can give any creature an inspiration die (1d10). This die functions in all ways the same as a bard’s Inspiration die.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The naerluth 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 naerluth regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Detect. The naerluth makes a Wisdom (perception) check.
• Tentacle Attack. The naerluth makes a tentacle attack.
• Acid Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The naerluth expels its digestive acid in an explosive spray. Each creature within 10 feet of the naerluth suffers 15 (2d6 + 8) acid damage, plus an additional 1d6 damage each round for 1d4 rounds. A successful Dexterity save (DC 17) halves the initial damage and negates ongoing damage.

ABOUT

The naeurluth are creatures from the nether planes fashioned of ash, smoke, and the dust of burnt things. The naeurluth’s body is generally oblong in shape, though crusted over with scabs and the like. It is possessed of long, ashen-colored tentacles which sprout from the upper torso. These are long, thin, and branched with thousands of tiny finger-like appendages that allow the creature to grasp almost anything. The naerluth can have a few tentacles or dozens, depending on its age; these are constantly shed and re-growing. It uses its tentacles for locomotion as well as grasping and combat.

Tentacled Horrors. The naerluth possesses no cartilage or bones and it is amorphous in shape, its form changing according to mood or needs—it can flatten, contract, or assume almost any shape so long as its total mass and surface area remains the same. It has no visible features or anatomy save its tentacles and main body mass, and its skin constantly peels and flakes, leaving trails of ash behind wherever it goes.

Haters of the Living. The creature is a ravenous eater, devouring everything it encounters by engulfing it and dissolving it with natural digestive acids, discarding the residue as more ash in its wake. A single naerluth, left unchecked, can lay waste to an entire region. It is a highly intelligent being but is consumed with hatred for all living things and an overwhelming desire to feed and sow decay and destruction wherever it goes. Fortunately, it is also consumed with a desire to survive and so tends to avoid civilized regions where it might be quickly dispatched. Rather, it prefers to spend its time alone in remote areas, poisoning a landscape until there is nothing left before moving on to the next.