Peuchen

Medium monstrosity, neutral evil

Armor Class 17 (natural hide)
Hit Points 237 (25d8 + 125)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
22 (+6)	25 (+7)	20 (+5)	13 (+0)	16 (+3)	23 (+6)

Skills Perception +7, Stealth +11
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Common
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Innate Spellcasting. The peuchen’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
• At will: vampiric touch
• 3/day each: charm person, hold person
• Paralyzing Poison. A creature hit by the peuchen’s bite attack must succeed a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed until the peuchen’s next turn. A creature that fails its saving throw is also poisoned for 1 minute.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 45 (6d12 + 6) piercing damage plus 33 (6d10) poison damage.
• Animal Possession. A peuchen can possess a beast within 100 feet of the same species it has assumed with its Shapechanger ability. The beast must succeed a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw to avoid this effect. If the possession succeeds, the peuchen’s previous body dies. This does not change the amount of hit points the peuchen has.
• Hypnotic Scales. A peuchen can cause its scales to glisten and gleam, causing all creatures within 30 feet to be stunned unless they succeed a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. Once a creature is stunned, it remains until it is damaged. A creature can retry its saving throw at the end of each of its rounds. A creature that successfully saves against this ability is immune to this peuchen’s Hypnotic Scales for 24 hours.
• Shapechanger. The peuchen can transform into a Small or Medium beast, keeping all of the same statistics as its base form though it loses its fly speed if the beast it transformed into cannot fly.

ABOUT

These winged snakes range in color from violet to vibrant green to glossy black; the most commonly encountered peuchens are a dark, tawny brown. Those in jungles tend to match the patterns found on local pythons. Rarely, they sport a series of red, white, and black bands, with the thin white band sandwiched between the thicker red and black bands. When peuchens are not flying, their leathery, batlike wings lie folded along their bodies, matching the coloration of the hides below. Their eyes are a brilliant green, with snakelike pupils. Peuchens have a smooth, dry texture to their diamond-shaped scales and smell faintly of nutmeg. Their fangs fold up into their jaw, but snap into place to bite prey with lightning speed. A peuchen measures around 12 feet long and 1 foot in diameter at its thickest point, with a wingspan of 8 feet; it weighs nearly 250 pounds.

Livestock Stalkers. When they hunt, peuchens take on the form of livestock, such as sheep, goats, and cattle, and they prefer to stalk places suffering from drought or famine. These ambush predators often trick shepherds or lone farmers into bringing them back to farms, homesteads, and towns, where they can slip out each night to prey on any creatures they can find. They ambush their prey by coiling up and lunging with their strikes from a distance father than their prey usually expects. Peuchens prefer to drain the blood of humanoids, but they will eat sheep, goats, cats, dogs, or poultry if they fail to capture their favorite prey. They happily lair in haylofts or open attics, but also create nests in large trees or rock formations.