Slayer Rakshasa

Family: Rakshasa

Medium fiend, lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 142 (19d8 + 57)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	20 (+5)	16 (+3)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	18 (+4)

Skills Deception +8, Insight +6, Perception +6, Stealth +9
Damage Vulnerabilities piercing from magic weapons wielded by good creatures
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Limited Magic Immunity. The slayer can’t be affected or detected by spells of 4th level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The slayer makes three Rapier or Light Crossbow attacks.
• Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
• Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
• Spellcasting. The slayer casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 16):
  • At will: detect thoughts, disguise self
  • 3/day: invisibility
  • 1/day: mislead

BONUS ACTIONS

• Cunning Action. The slayer takes the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
• Gain the Upper Hand. The slayer studies one creature it can see within 30 feet of it, granting the slayer advantage on the next attack roll it makes against the target before the start of the slayer’s next turn. If the attack hits, the slayer’s weapon attack deals an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage.

REACTIONS

• Shadow Leap. When a creature moves into a space within 5 feet of the slayer while the slayer is in dim light or darkness, the slayer can teleport to an unoccupied space it can see within 30 feet of it. The destination must also be in dim light or darkness.

ABOUT

A trio of cat people stand beside a seated tiger man, dutifully poised to carry out his instructions.

In the rigid hierarchy of rakshasas, low-ranking rakshasas serve the more powerful to gather and increase their own power.

The Saahase. The fierce infantry class of the rakshasa, more commonly known as myrmidons, serves as the tiger’s claws. Myrmidons blend arcane might and martial warfare, and they guard the palaces and secret hideaways of their masters or serve as bodyguards for the masters themselves.

The Pustakam. When a rakshasa is killed on the Material Plane, its spirit is banished back to the Hells, where it is tormented by devils until it is reincarnated in a new body. Sometimes, when it committed a grave error that resulted in its death, the slain fiend returns in an inferior form, obliged to perform a series of evil deeds before regaining its former status. These rakshasas occupy a unique rank outside the standard hierarchy and are called pustakams. Separate from their brethren, pustakams reside almost entirely on the Material Plane, disguising themselves as books, paintings, or statuettes and insinuating themselves into mortal hands. Their natural form is that of a mauve-skinned fiend the size of a halfling with the tell-tale backward hands of a rakshasa.

To regain its former status as a full rakshasa, the pustakam must tempt mortals into committing evil acts, and the severity of its failure determines the depth of the acts or how many mortals it must manipulate before it regains its power, which only the pustakam itself knows. Pustakams typically coerce victims into performing minor acts first, then push them into progressively more evil and depraved actions until the pustakam earns its return to the Hells, where it is reincarnated as a true rakshasa.

The Chhota. The laborer class of the rakshasa, called servitors, serve as the lowest rung in rakshasa society. Minor functionaries, builders, and laborers, servitors possess a burning desire to advance. When a servitor proves itself worthy, elder rakshasas perform the “Unnati” ritual. In this ritual, the servitor literally earns its stripes, transforming from a leopard-like fiend into a more powerful, tiger-like rakshasa.

The Slayer. When a rakshasa or greater rakshasa needs an enemy spied upon or killed, it sends a slayer to carry out the mission. Slayers operate outside rakshasa society to better protect themselves and their employers. They can assume dozens of identities and humanoid forms, switching identities as needed.