Polong

Medium undead, neutral evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 209 (22d8+110)
Speed fly 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	18 (+4)	20 (+5)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	24 (+7)

Saving Throws Con +9, Wis +6
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
Skills Deception +11, Persuasion +11
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Blood Slick. Whenever the polong moves, it leaves a trail of blood in each space it passes over that lasts for 1 round before drying. Creatures passing over these squares must succeed a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or be affected as if they stepped in the area of a grease spell.
• Bottle Bound. A polong is bound to a bottle as part of the ritual to create it. A polong must remain within 1 mile of its bottle and regains 18 (4d8) hit points for each hour it spends inside its bottle. If a polong’s bottle (Armor Class 11, 1 hit point) is destroyed, the polong is considered stunned until the bottle reforms in 24 hours. Once per day, a creature that possesses a polong’s bottle can attempt to take control of the polong for 24 hours as if the polong were under the effect of a dominate monster spell. The polong can attempt a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw to negate this effect. A creature that’s controlling the polong is immune to its Murderous Intent trait.
• Murderous Intent. A polong generates a seething aura of unrestrained violence and malicious intent. Any creatures that come within 120 feet of the polong must succeed a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened. A frightened creature can attempt a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns. A creature that succeeds its saving throw is immune to the polong’s aura for 24 hours.

ACTIONS

• Necrotic Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 66 (12d10) necrotic damage.
• Bloody Possession (Recharge 6). One humanoid that the polong can see within 5 ft. of it, that is not at its maximum hit point value, must succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by the polong; the polong then disappears, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. The polong now controls the body but doesn’t deprive the target of awareness. The polong can’t be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones that turn undead, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and immunity to being charmed and frightened. It otherwise uses the possessed target’s statistics, but doesn’t gain access to the target’s knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the polong ends it as a bonus action, or the polong is turned or forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. When the possession ends, the polong reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 ft. of the body. The target is immune to this polong’s Bloody Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.

ABOUT

Polongs are the spirits of murderers who have been magically bound to a bottle. Whoever possesses a polong’s bottle can command the creature to carry out murderous acts. Necromancers, cultists, and assassins sometimes use polongs to perform assassinations from afar. Commanding polongs is dangerous, however, as their desire to kill makes them turn on their own masters if given the chance. When a polong’s bottle is opened, the creature manifests as a blood-drenched spirit with hands transformed into long claws. Its thirst for violence and murder twists its distorted features into a hateful visage. Polongs remember little of their past lives, their own thoughts turned to committing the heinous acts commanded by their masters.