Red Jester

Medium undead, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 67 (15d8)
Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
15 (+2) 17 (+3) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Dex +6
Skills Acrobatics +6, Deception +6, Sleight of Hand +6
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common and any two others
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Unassailable Mind. The mind of a red jester is a twisted and dangerous place to peer into. If a living creature targets a red jester with an attack that normally causes psychic damage or tries to use telepathy on a red jester, that creature must make a successful DC 13 Intelligence saving throw or be cursed, with an effect identical to a permanent confusion spell. The confusion effect can be ended only by magic that lifts the curse.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. A red jester makes two Fist attacks or two Mace attacks.
  • Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
  • Jester’s Deck. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 20 ft., one creature. Hit: The target creature is affected as if it drew a random card from the deck of many things. In the hands of anyone but a red jester, the jester’s deck acts as a normal, nonmagical deck of playing cards. +2 Mace of Merriment. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage and the target must make a successful DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed with merriment for 1d3 rounds. In the hands of anyone but a red jester, the weapon acts as a +1 mace.
  • Fear Cackle (1/day). The red jester unleashes a fear-inducing cackle. All creatures within 60 feet that hear the cackle must make a successful DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 2d4 rounds. A frightened creature has a 50% chance of immediately dropping everything it holds in its hands.

ABOUT

Red jesters are thought to be undead court jesters put to death for telling bad jokes, making fun of the local ruler, or dying in an untimely manner (which could be attributed to one or both of the first two). Another legend speaks of the red jesters as being the court jesters of Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead, sent to the Material Plane to “entertain” those the demon prince has chosen to pay special attention to. While they can be encountered anywhere from the coldest to the warmest regions of the world and on any type of terrain, a red jester is generally encountered near civilized areas. Though it is dead (or undead) now, it still delights in entertaining living creatures through its humor and obviously cannot do that if it resides far away in unsettled lands. Some red jesters, in an effort to disguise their undead nature, don masks or wear makeup.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Horrors 2020, (C) 2020, Necromancer Games

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