Slough

Medium undead, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (natural)
Hit Points 135 (18d8 + 54)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	12 (+1)	16 (+3)	15 (+2)	22 (+6)	16 (+3)

Saves Con +8, Wis +11, Cha +8
Skills Arcana +7, Intimidation +13, Nature +11, Stealth +11
Damage Resistances acid, cold, lightning, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Languages Common
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Magic Resistance. The slough makes saving throws against spells and magical affects with advantage.
• Rejuvenation. When a slough is destroyed, its body rapidly decomposes and the weirdstone immediately begins absorbing her essence creating a foul and putrescent smelling bog that surrounds stone. This process takes about a month. The bog begins as a shallow bog covering a 10-foot-square area and spreads at the rate of an additional 10 square feet per day. For every 40 square feet of bog that emerges, 10 square feet turn to deep bog. After about a month passes, the slough emerges from the bog fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), usually with a burning need for revenge against those who previously destroyed it.
• Spellcasting. The slough cast spells as 17th level druid. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom. Spell attacks +11, Spell DC 19 Cantrips: acid splash, druidcraft, poison spray, produce flame, thorn whip
  • 1st (4): charm person, entangle, inflict wounds, fog cloud, ray of sickness
  • 2nd (3): acid arrow, darkness, hold person
  • 3rd (3): call lightning, dispel magic, stinking cloud, water walk
  • 4th (3): blight, freedom of movement, giant insect, locate creature
  • 5th (2): conjure elemental, insect plague, scrying, tree stride
  • 6th (1): conjure fey, wall of thorns
  • 7th (1): mirage arcana, symbol
  • 8th (1): imprisonment (burial or slumber only), tsunami
• Stench. Any living creature that starts its round within 10 ft of the slough must succeed at a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or gain the poisoned condition until the end of their next round. If a creature makes a successful saving throw, they become immune to the stench effect of sloughs for 8 hours.
• Turn Resistance. The slough has advantage on saving throws against turn undead and channel divinity effects.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The slough may make two attacks; one with a cantrip and one withering touch.
• Withering Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10 + 6) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or be affected by a withering curse for 1 minute. Each round at the start of each of the target’s turn, they must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or have their hit point maximum reduced by 2d10 (11). A successful saving throw ends the effect. The target’s hit point maximum returns to normal after a full rest.
• Undead Wildshape. The slough may take on the form of a beast with a challenge rating no greater than 7 or change back again. Any equipment the slough is carrying becomes a part of its new form, and it returns to its original form when killed. While in its beast form, the slough retains its type (undead), alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as the ability to change its shape. It also retains its resistances and immunities, including magic and turn resistance. Otherwise, it takes on the abilities of the beast it is imitating. The slough may not cast spells in this form, though it may maintain concentration on any spell it cast before changing shape.

The Slough’s Weirdstone

A weirdstone is magical item that serves as the source of the slough’s mystic power. A typical weirdstone is a roughly egg-shaped boulder about three cubic feet in volume and entirely scribed with strange runes.

Weirdstones weigh roughly 4,000 lbs.

Blasphemous versions of dolmen and similar druidic stones, the slough’s weirdstone draws energy directly from the earth. This allows the slough to use the earth’s energies to restore her own druid powers even though she herself is an abomination that violates the druidic code.

Weirdstones allow the user to cast spells as a druid with a caster level equal to the creator at the time of its creation (minimum 7th). As these dolmens are typically handed down or stolen by their users, the caster levels of acquired weirdstones varies.

Undead creatures that cast druidic spells in their previous life may tap into the weirdstone’s power automatically. A living creature who wishes to use a weirdstone must spend 8 hours in meditation. At the end of 8 hours, they may attempt an Intelligence (Arcane) or Intelligence (Nature) check (DC 8 + the stone’s caster level). A successful check attunes the stone to the user and allows them to cast spells as a druid of the weirdstone’s level until they take a full rest. After a full rest, the user loses attunement and must attempt to attune the wierdstone again to regain use of its powers. Each attempt by a living creature to attune the stone reduces the creature’s hit point maximum by 11 (2d10) whether or not the skill check is successful. The user’s hit point maximum returns at a rate of 5 (1d10) per full rest.

A slough is powerful undead creature, a former druid that steals her power directly from the earth she once swore to protect. To sustain herself in undeath a slough manipulates a specially prepared dolmen known as a weirdstone to siphon life from the earth, which she then feeds upon to empower for her own dark and malevolent existence.

Temptations of Power. All sloughs begin as mortal druids who become corrupted by using weirdstones. Though the weirdstone can supply a mortal with great power, using these artifacts also drains the life energy of a mortal user, eventually slaying that individual and forcing its body into a constant cycle of decomposition and regeneration. Upon dying, the mortal sheds her skin and transforms into a slough.

Wandering Corruption. Unlike most undead, sloughs show great discontent at the thought of becoming pent up in musty underground tombs or web-filled catacombs. Instead, sloughs tend to be nomadic, for their survival depends of draining untainted lands. If a slough remains too long in the same area, she completely drains the earth, turning it to near lifeless salt bogs filled with zombie beasts. Oftentimes, slough will gather followers, such as primitive humanoid tribes, and promise them power in exchange for sacrifices.

These groups travel at night and each dawn when they arrive at a new location, erect a massive tent for their lord.

The slough lord typically remains inside the tent, while his followers bring their issues and sacrifices before him.

Solitary Bonds. Sloughs also meet informally, drawn by their weirdstones to ancient caves where lost civilizations of beastmen performed blood rituals documented in pictographic paintings and ancient runes lining the cavern walls. In these sacred caves also hide the secrets of the dolmens and manipulating the brutal and earth-draining magic practiced by the first slough lord. There are also unconfirmed rumors that describe a book of wood-carved plates and sealed with a thick wooden cover sealed with hardened amber. The book contains several lost spells of great concern to the slough and slough magic.

Less frequently, a group of sloughs may form a cabal.

Cabals perform group rituals in which they combine their weirdstones by placing them into mystic circles to capture even greater earth energies. Cabals usually don’t last long, and more often than not, when they dissolve their power-hungry members immediately begin plotting against each other.