Rakshasa, Maharaja

Family: Rakshasa

Medium fiend (shapechanger), lawful evil

Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 594 (41d8+369)
Speed 40 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
26 (+8)	28 (+9)	29 (+9)	25 (+7)	22 (+6)	30 (+10)

Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks
Damage Vulnerabilities piercing from magic weapons wielded by good creatures
Skills Arcana +16, Deception +19, History +16, Intimidation +19, Perception +15, Persuasion +19
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 25
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal, Undercommon
Challenge 30 (155,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Innate Spellcasting. The maharaja rakshasa’s spell casting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 26). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
• Constant: true seeing
• At will: charm person, detect thoughts, disguise self, dispel magic, fear, haste, tongues
• 3/day each: dominate person, dimension door, mirror image, phantasmal killer
• 1/day each: dominate monster, mind blank, weird
• Limited Magic Immunity. The maharaja rakshasa can’t be affected or detected by spells of 7th level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.
• Mindslaver. The maharaja rakshasa is experienced in warping the minds of others. Creatures have disadvantage on saving throws against spells and abilities the maharaja rakshasa uses which would cause them to be charmed or frightened.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The maharaja rakshasa makes four claw attacks, or it can cast a spell and make one claw attack
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 53 (8d10 + 9) slashing damage, and the target is cursed if it is a creature. The magical curse takes effect whenever the target takes a short or long rest, filling the target’s thoughts with horrible images and dreams. The cursed target gains no benefit from finishing a short or long rest. The curse lasts until it is lifted by a remove curse spell or similar magic.
• Forced Reincarnation (1/Day). The maharaja rakshasa can choose a humanoid that it sees within 60 feet. It must succeed a DC 25 Charisma saving throw or die then immediately be brought back to life in the same place in a new body as per the reincarnate spell.
• Shapechanger. The maharaja rakshasa can take the shape of any Medium or smaller humanoid or transform into its natural form.

REACTIONS

• Switch. When it is attacked, the rakshasa maharaja chooses one ally within 60 feet and switches places with it, each teleporting to the other’s location. The maharaja can use its disguise self or shapechanger ability as part of this reaction to assume the appearance of its ally, and if its ally has a similar ability it can use it as a free action to assume the appearance of the maharaja. The attack is then resolved against the disguised ally rather than the maharaja itself.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

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

• Cast a Spell (Costs 3 Actions). The rakshasa maharaja casts a spell from its list of innate spells, consuming a use of the spell as normal.
• Charming Gaze (Costs 2 Actions). The maharaja rakshasa can focus its gaze on one creature which must succeed a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the maharaja rakshasa. A charmed creature can attempt a saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the condition.
• Know Spells. The maharaja rakshasa can choose a creature within 60 feet that it can see. That creature must make an Intelligence saving throw. If it fails, the maharaja rakshasa knows all of the spells that it can cast and all spells that are currently affecting it, if any.
• Warp Mind. The maharaja rakshasa can twist a creature’s mind so that it is wracked with unbearable pain. A creature within 60 feet of the maharaja rakshasa must succeed a DC 21 Intelligence saving throw or take 7 (2d6) psychic damage and be stunned for 1 round.

LAIR ACTIONS

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the rakshasa maharaja can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; the rakshasa can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• A sweetly scented invisible vapor fills the halls of the lair. All living creatures in the lair must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on saving throws against enchantment spells until initiative count 20 on the next round.
• The rakshasa maharaja summons a rakshasa or rakshasa ambari, which appears in an unoccupied space within 60 feet and faithfully serves the maharaja for 1 hour or until slain. The maharaja cannot have more than three summoned rakshasas or ambaris at a time.
• The rakshasa maharaja surrounds itself with a mantle of divine radiance that demands worship and obeisance. All living creatures within 120 feet of it other than rakshasa must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or fall prone and be incapacitated with a speed of 0 until initiative count 20 on the next round.
• The rakshasa blesses all allies that can see or hear it within 60 feet. They regain 10 hit points and can add 1d4 to the result of one attack roll, ability check, or saving throw before the end of their next turn. If they are charmed or frightened, they can forgo these benefits to immediately make a new saving throw to end that effect.
• The rakshasa maharaja can cast scrying on any creature within its lair, or any creature that has failed a saving throw against its dominate person or dominate monster ability within the past week regardless of range. This does not have the normal 10-minute casting time, but it only maintains concentration on the scrying for 1 round. If the creature fails its saving throw against the maharaja’s scrying, it can send a message to the target of up to 25 words, as if it had cast sending.

REGIONAL EFFECTS

The region containing a rakshasa maharaja’s lair is warped by the fiend’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Creatures hostile to the rakshasa maharaja can’t recover from exhaustion after a long rest while within 1 mile of its lair, and each night it must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as a dream spell.
• The rakshasa maharaja cloaks the traps protecting its lair with clever illusions. Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect traps within the lair are made with disadvantage.
• Creatures who spend 1 week within 10 miles of the rakshasa maharaja begin leaving small offerings out at night, whether of food, incense, valuables, or even a bowl of blood, to appease the rakshasas.

ABOUT

Each maharaja is unique, the process of its evolution granting it strengths and weaknesses that differentiate the being from all before it. Over its lifetimes, its path teaches it myriad lessons and grants distinctive powers. A typical maharaja is a master of divination, enchantment, and illusion. Other maharajas master various other techniques, such as necromancy or conjuration. As a maharaja continues to grow in malignant might, its powers outstrip those even of its peers. It might ultimately ascend to the rank of rajadhiraja-a king of kings.