Zog

Huge fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 153 (18d12 + 36)
Speed 30 ft., swim 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
21 (+5)	9 (-1)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Int +7, Wis +7
Skills Arcana +7, Insight +7, Perception +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Damage Immunities exhaustion, paralyzed, poisoned, petrified
Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common
Challenge 6 (2300 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Amphibious. The zog can breathe air and water.
• Displacement (Recharges after the Illusionist Casts an Illusion Spell of 1st Level or Higher). As a bonus action, the illusionist projects an illusion that makes the illusionist appear to be standing in a place a few inches from its actual location, causing any creature to have disadvantage on attack rolls against the illusionist. The effect ends if the illusionist takes damage, it is incapacitated, or its speed becomes 0.
• Magic Resistance. The zog has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Probing Telepathy. If a creature communicates telepathically with the zog, the zog learns the creature’s greatest desires if the zog can see the creature.
• Spellcasting. The zog is a 7th-level spellcaster. its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). The zog has the following wizard spells prepared:
• Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation
• 1st level (4 slots): alarm, color spray*, disguise self*, mage armor, magic missile
• 2nd level (3 slots): invisibility*, mirror image*, phantasmal force
• 3rd level (3 slots): boil water, chill water, conjure animals, major image*
• 4th level (3 slots): arcane eye, control water, hallucinatory terrain*, locate creature
• 5th level (3 slots): creation, mislead*, planar binding, seeming*
• 6th level (2 slots): guards and wards, programmed illusion*, water scrying
• 7th level (1 slot): collapse ceiling, mirage arcane*, sequester
• 8th level (1 slot): control weather, maze
• 9th level (1 slot): foresight, weird*

*Illusion spell of 1st level or higher

ACTIONS

• Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and takes 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns, and the anathema can’t constrict another target. The zog can choose to deal no damage with the attack to disarm the target. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or drop one item it is holding on the ground. A humanoid slain by this attack rises 24 hours later as a zogspawn that acts as an ally of the zog but isn’t under its control, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed. The zog can have no more than 24 zogspawn under its control at one time.
• Enslave (3/Day). The zog targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the zog until the zog dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed target is under the zog’s control and can’t take reactions, and the zog and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance. Whenever the charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the zog.
• Horrible Laughter (Recharge 6). The zog laughs horribly in a 120-foot radius. Each creature in that area that isn’t deafened must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of the zog’s next turn. While a creature is frightened in this way, its speed is halved, and it is incapacitated. Successful save bestows immunity to all zogs horrible laughter for 24 hours.

ABOUT

A zog’s face is the face of a man, except that the tops of its ears are pointed like horns and it has small horns instead of eyebrows, and a horn on the end of its chin. In spite of these deformities the expression of the face is not unpleasant, or repulsive. Its hair is carefully parted and brushed, and its mouth and nose are not only perfect in shape, but quite handsome. Only the eyes make it terrible: they seem like coals of glowing fire. It has two well-shaped legs that end in the hooves of beasts, instead of feet, and these hooves are shod with gold. Their bodies are usually a shapeless mass covered with richly embroidered raiment.

Its arms and hands are delicate and well-formed, and its voice is sweet and gentle.

Zogs are dreadful creatures, part fish, part man, part beast and part serpent. Centuries ago they were cast off the earth into the sea, where they caused much trouble. One of them waged a terrible war against King Anko, but the sea serpent finally conquered the first zog, and drove the magician into his castle. As fiendish amalgams, it seems likely there are many more.

Terrible to Behold. When roused to anger, a zog is terrible to behold. Its cloven hooves, upon which it usually walks, are drawn up under it, while coil after coil of its eellike body wriggles away like a serpent. At its shoulders two broad wings expand, and these enable the monster to cleave its way through the water with terrific force. Its undulating body is broad and thin, and like the body of an eel.

Zogs hate themselves nearly as much as they hate everyone else. Their sworn enemies are sea serpents, and the first Zog was over three thousand six hundred years old. Zogs are all accomplished magicians and invest heavily in illusion magic to protect themselves. They will kill foes they can easily catch and are wily enough to avoid those they can’t.

Zogspawn are created by zogs, snatched from certain death and convert in their coils to a sort of amphibious unlife.

They tend to wear formal attire in service to the zog that made them and look much as they did in life with the exception that beneath their cheeks are several scarletedged slits that looked like the gills of fishes. They are all marked by their apparent cheerfulness despite their dire circumstances. They are not especially loyal to their zog, although they do fear it.