Verivore, Willseeker

Family: Verivore

Small aberration

Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
Hit Points 16 (3d6 + 6)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	15 (+2)	13 (+1)	8 (-1)	15 (+2)	7 (-2)

Saving Throws Wis +4
Skills Perception +4
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages Deep Speech, Telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Memory Sense. Verivores make an opposed Perception check against an Intelligence saving throw to view any memories (last 24 hours) for any target in visual range.
• Orbs of Verity. Verivores generate one Orb of Verity, from the tendrils of their cranial cavity for each use of their psychic theft ability.

ACTIONS

• Psychic Theft – Memory. The willseeker can attempt to steal a single memory (a moment 1 minute or less) of a creature within 30′ and replace it with a false one once per round as a bonus action.
• Desperate Dodge. The flickering sting of the willseeker requires a DC 12 Wissave to evade, otherwise the target of the attack takes 1d8+2 damage. For each Orb of Verity the willseeker has formed, it deals +2 more points of damage. Their hit points increase by 5 for each Orb of Verity they have created.
  • For every three Orbs of Verity, their proficiency bonus increases by +1.
  • For every 2 Orbs of Verity, their AC increases by +1.
  • When their orbs exceed their hit dice, they seek a safe location to cocoon and evolve into higher castes as dictated by the nearest voidhatcher.
  • By holding an orb taken from it, a creature may undo the psychic theft it has suffered by succeeding against the original saving throw.
• Seeking Telepathy. If a creature within 1 mile per hit die of the verivore has a Proficiency bonus greater than +1 it can sense the target’s general direction.
• Subversive Strength. All Verivores gain advantage on attacks and saving throws against creatures that have false memories, identities, or powers.

ABOUT

Willseekers are the scouts of the verivore cysts. They are drawn to beings of significant truth or areas of conflicted belief, reporting suitable targets to other verivores.

Verivores are aberrations from deep within the Ethereal Plane tangential to the demiplane of Nightmares. They sap the will and steal essential truths, draining the “sense of being” from creatures they encounter. They repurpose the energy to form corrupt cysts in the fabric of reality. These cysts become the homes of each new verivore colony.

Verivores (or Trutheaters) share many physical characteristics across their five castes. They have large wings with two grasping digits and opposed thumbs attached to a torso. At the waist, the creature splits into a cluster of tendril tails they usually coil to stand upright. The cranial cavity of each verivore is crowned with a set of appendages similar to humanoid hands. Within this grasp form pale orbs of congealed reality called Orbs of Verity.

The Verivores’ victims’ stolen truths become enmeshed into organic spheres of quasi-reality known as the “Orbs of Verity.” These orbs provide the parasites with increasing expertise, expanding magical ability, and increasing mastery over reality. Corrupting the truths of civilized populations, these insidious creatures weave a tapestry of deception and distorted reality.