Belker

Large elemental, neutral evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 60 (8d10 + 16)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	19 (+4)	14 (+2)	6(–2)	11 (+0)	9 (–1)

Saving Throws Dexterity +6
Skills Acrobatics +6, Perception +2, Stealth + 6
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Auran
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Actions

• Multiattack (normal form only). The belker makes one Bite attack and two Claw attacks.
• Bite (normal form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) piercing damage.
• Claw (normal form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
• Smoke Claws (smoke form only). When the belker initiates this attack, any creatures whose space overlaps with that of the belker must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw to avoid breathing in or absorbing some of the belker. A creature that fails takes 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage as the belker temporarily rematerializes its claws inside it. Anytime a creature under this effect moves, the belker may choose to reposition the space it occupies (one to four adjacent 5-foot squares) to continue to overlap with the moving creature, without expending any of its own movement. Creatures are affected even if they hold their breath or don’t need to breathe.

Bonus Actions

• Smoke Form (recharge 6). The belker can turn into a form made of pure smoke and maintain that form for up to 1 minute. While in this form, it has all the properties of a creature under the effect of a gaseous form spell. It can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. It can enter the space(s) occupied by hostile creature(s) and stop there. When it ends its movement, it can occupy from one to four adjacent 5-foot squares, as it wishes. It cannot attack except with its Smoke Claws. It is resistant to all nonmagical damage. It retains its flying speed of 50 ft.

About

Belkers are hateful elemental air creatures resembling fiends made of smoke. Xenophobic in the extreme, they see most non-elemental creatures as threats, and stalk and kill any such intruders in their territory. Among their elemental kin, they especially hate djinn and jann. They tolerate air mephits, dust mephits, steam mephits, air elementals, and fire elementals, but given the choice, prefer the company of their own kind.

Belkers create no permanent lairs, but do claim and defend large territories from other living things, particularly areas ravaged by frequent storms, volcanic eruptions, hot springs, or forest fires. Some sages believe the belkers worship these dangerous natural phenomena; others speculate the elementals somehow feed on the unusual air from these sites. Still other scholars theorize that the reclusive beasts require the energy from these phenomena to feed or reproduce.