Daimon, Keres

Family: Daimons

Medium fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 22 (4d8 + 4)
Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	17 (+3)	12 (+1)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)

Damage Immunities electricity, poison
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities poisoned
Skills Perception +4
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Special Traits

• Blood Frenzy. The keres has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points.
• Consume Life. As a bonus action, the keres can target one creature it can see within 5 feet of it that has 0 hit points and is still alive. The target must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw against this magic or die. If the target dies, the keres regains 10 (3d6) hit points.
• Ethereal Jaunt. As a bonus action, the keres can magically shift from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane, or vice versa.
• Keen Smell. The keres has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
• Magic Resistance. The keres has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Rampage. When the keres reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on its turn, the keres can take a bonus action to move up to half its speed and make a bite attack.

Actions

• Multiattack. The keres makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
• Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the keres can grapple the target (escape DC 13).
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the keres, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the keres regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

About

You see a roiling mass of fanged and taloned women, clothed in bloody garments, fighting over the fallen in Hades. They rush forward to drink of the black blood, and each, as soon as she snatches a corpse, hooks her great claws into it and drags it into the ethereal.

Keres are the daimons of violent death, be it in battle, through murder, or accident. They are the inevitable results of death and are called upon when a person’s life is to naturally end as determined by the fates.

Like vultures, keres swarm over battlefields, fighting with each other over prey in a bloodlust. They are never found alone, and their rampages only propel more of them into a frenzy that makes them nearly impossible to fight off.

Spawn of Nyx. As children of Nyx, keres are behold to no one. Keres do not recognize divine allegiances and it’s not uncommon for deities to protect their favored servants’ souls by sending a guardian to ward off a keres attack lest their soul be consumed. On Infernus they are native to the Fifth Circle of Infernus.