Scheznyki

Small fey, chaotic evil

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 153 (18d6 + 72)
Speed 20 ft., climb 15 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)	15 (+2)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)

Saving Throws Str +10, Con +10
Condition Immunities sleep
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Darakhul, Elvish
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Special Traits

• Innate Spellcasting. The scheznyki’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • At will: dancing lights, darkness, detect evil and good, faerie fire, invisibility., fly*, mage hand, ray of frost (*only when wearing a vanisher hat)
  • 5/day each: magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, silent image
  • 3/day each: locate object (radius 3,000 ft. to locate a vanisher hat), hideous laughter, web
  • 1/day each: dispel magic, dominate person, hold person
• Magic Resistance. The scheznyki has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Actions

• Multiattack. The scheznyki makes four war pick attacks or two hand crossbow attacks.
• Heavy Pick. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.
• Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

About

These small, vicious fey look like dirty, lazy dwarves dressed in burlap pants and shirts tied on with dirty twine and frayed rope.

They are usually bootless with broken, dirty toenails and wearing rough burlap and leather tams as hats.

About

Corrupted Dwarves. Nicknamed “vanishers,” these small, vicious, dwarf-like fey haunt abandoned quarries and ancient ruins, killing and robbing unsuspecting visitors. Legend says the scheznykis are lazy dwarves corrupted by the shadow fey, though others claim that these are dwarves who swore allegiance to fey lords and ladies long ago. They live in drowned and abandoned mines, tumbledown ruins, and even in the tomb complexes of long-departed priests and god-kings.

Magical Hats. Their shadow fey masters have given them magical hats that allow them to fly and become invisible at will.

These hats can be stolen and used by adventurers (see sidebar), but the scheznykis fight hard to retrieve them.

Arcane Beards. If an adventurer can successfully grapple a scheznyki, they can attempt to cut the creature’s beard with a magical blade (the beard is AC 15 and has 5 hp). When an attacker successfully cuts off the beard, the scheznyki loses access to all spell-like and spell casting abilities-and the beard hair itself is valuable in making potion inks.

If the scheznyki loses its hat and beard at the same time, it falls into a deep, wasting coma and dies in 24 hours or when next exposed to sunlight. When this occurs, the scheznyki’s body crumbles into dust and blows away one round later. If its beard is magically mended or regrown, or its hat restored to its head before this happens, the scheznyki recovers fully and immediately.