Queen of Night and Magic

Family: Fey Lords

Medium fey, neutral evil

Armor Class 22 (regal bearing)
Hit Points 225 (30d8 + 90)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	19 (+4)	17 (+3)	20 (+5)	18 (+4)	26 (+8)

Saving Throws Con +10, Wis +11
Skills Arcana +12, Deception +15, Intimidation +15, Perception +11, Stealth +11
Damage Resistances fire, lightning
Damage Immunities cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with cold iron weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 21
Languages Celestial, Common, Elvish, Sylvan, Umbral, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 21 (33,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +7

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the Queen of Night and Magic fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
• Magic Resistance. The Queen of Night and Magic has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Regal Bearing. While the Queen of Night and Magic is wearing no armor and wielding no shield, her AC includes her Charisma modifier.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The Queen of Night and Magic makes three Rapier or Star Strike attacks. She can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting or Unravel.
• Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) cold damage.
• Star Strike. Ranged Spell Attack: +15 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) fire damage plus 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
• Unravel. The Queen of Night and Magic ends one magical effect she can see within 60 feet of her. To do so, she must succeed on a Charisma check against a DC of 10 + the spell’s level or the magical effect’s DC, whichever is higher.
• Shadow Rift (Recharge 5–6). The Queen of Night and Magic creates a shadowy rift on a point she can see within 120 feet. Each creature within the 20 feet of the rift must make a DC 23 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 36 (8d8) cold damage and 36 (8d8) necrotic damage and is restrained by wisps of icy shadow for 1 minute. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and isn’t restrained. A restrained creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
• Spellcasting. The Queen of Night and Magic casts one of the following spells, using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 23):
  • At will: command, dancing lights, darkness, mage hand, suggestion
  • 3/day each: confusion, fear, greater invisibility, mirror image
  • 1/day each: dominate monster, plane shift, power word stun

BONUS ACTIONS

• Hidden Step. The Queen of Night and Magic magically teleports, along with any equipment she is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space she can see and takes the Hide action.

REACTIONS

• Sudden Fraying. When the Queen of Night and Magic is targeted by a spell or included in a spell’s area and the spell doesn’t have an instantaneous duration, she can use Unravel on the spell, dispelling it after it is cast. She doesn’t need to see a spell to target it with this reaction, but she must be able to see at least some portion of an area or object affected by the spell.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The Queen of Night and Magic 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 Queen of Night and Magic regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.

• Attack. The Queen of Night and Magic makes one Star Strike attack. She doesn’t have disadvantage on this attack roll from being within 5 feet of a creature, though she can have disadvantage from other sources.
• Move. The Queen of Night and Magic moves up to her walking speed or up to half of her flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
• Cast a Spell (Costs 2 Actions). The Queen of Night and Magic uses Spellcasting.
• Swirling Stars (Costs 2 Actions). The stars on the Queen’s gown pulse with brilliant starlight. Each creature within 15 feet of her must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded until the end of its next turn.

LAIR

The Queen of Night and Magic makes her home in the Plane of Shadows in the ancient halls of the courts of the shadow fey. Her lair is a great castle of delicate spires and graceful bridges with sprawling wings that house various members of the court.

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Queen of Night and Magic takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Queen of Night and Magic can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Demoralizing Assault. Visions of hopelessness and despair assail the mind of one creature the Queen can see within 60 feet of her. The creature must succeed on a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until initiative count 20 on the next round.
• Extinguish Light. Each source of magical or nonmagical bright light within 60 feet of the Queen becomes dim light, and each source of magical or nonmagical dim light within 60 feet of her becomes darkness. This effect lasts until the Queen uses this lair action again, until she dismisses it as a bonus action, or until she dies.
• Wall of Shadow. An opaque wall of writhing shadows springs up from a solid surface within 120 feet of the Queen. The wall can be up to 60 feet long, 10 feet high, and 5 feet thick, and it blocks line of sight. When the wall appears, each creature in its area must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or take 18 (4d8) necrotic damage. Creatures in the wall’s space are pushed 5 feet out of the wall’s space, appearing on whichever side of the wall they choose. A creature can move through the wall, but the semi-material shadow resists intrusion. For every 1 foot a creature travels through the wall, it must spend 4 feet of movement. A creature that starts its turn in the wall or enters the wall’s space for the first time on a turn must make a DC 23 Constitution saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The wall dissipates when the Queen uses this lair action again or when she dies.

REGIONAL EFFECTS

The region containing the Queen of Night and Magic’s lair is warped by her magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Constant Surveillance. The Queen of Night and Magic can cast her senses to any area containing darkness, dim light, or shadows within 6 miles of her lair. This effect works like the clairvoyance spell, except its range is 6 miles.
• Living Shadow. Shadows come to life within 6 miles of the Queen’s lair. Most of the time these living shadows are unnerving and nothing more, but when a creature acts against the interests of the Queen, the shadows can interfere and cause the creature to have disadvantage on ability checks made to act against her interests.
• Magically Active. Magic saturates the area within 6 miles of the lair, causing temporary, minor, and harmless magical effects, like random aromas wafting through the air, sudden chills, spontaneous motes of light dancing in the sky, and similar. If the Queen of Night and Magic dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.

ABOUT

A fey lady of stunning beauty with hair the color of midnight stands before a shining field of stars. A gown seemingly woven from the night sky drapes her flawless ivory skin. Bright lights glitter like diamonds in her crown and raiment, and some drift about her body and dance near her hand.

Her Celestial and Royal Majesty, Sarastra Aestruum, Queen of Night and Magic, is also Duchess of the Heavens, Mistress of Air and Darkness, Lady of the Summer Palace, and Bride of Shadows. The Queen rules the court of the shadow fey with grace and majesty—most of the time. Queen Sarastra is the head of the Summer Court, which rules the shadow fey in its season.

On the rare occasion when the courtly season turns, Sarastra steps aside in favor of her husband and rival, the Moonlit King, who is head of the Winter Court.

Shadow Sorceress. The Queen of Night and Magic does not bear her moniker lightly. She is a devastatingly potent sorceress, augmented with command over the stuff of shadows.

Though her nature is undeniably dark, Queen Sarastra is hardly unreasonable. She is quick to recognize the value in any supplicant, mortal or fey, who catches her royal eye. She is never one to ignore an opportunity to further her agenda or to gain further power over the Moonlit King.