Alien creatures such as aboleths, as well as the occasional mad wizard or capricious deity, enjoy tinkering with creatures to make them more suited for their environments or just as a thought exercise. Then the PCs have to go out and fight things like owlbears or chimeras.
Doesn’t it make you want to get in on the action? Monster Mix crosses two monsters from the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault to create new horrors that combine elements from the original creatures beyond just shuffling their component abilities.
Check here for previous installments. This installment looks at demons that endure punishment or decide to enhance themselves by merging with oozes.
Woeful Blob
Bits of bone, unidentifiable detritus, and green globules hang suspended within this translucent, vaguely humanoid-shaped creature. As it shambles, it leaves behind a smelly goo.
Front-Line Shocks. Woeful blobs are dretches permanently fused with gelatinous cubes, granting the resulting creatures with additional formlessness. The demons stand still at the forefront of demon troop formations where they present an unexpected trap for opponents who overlook their translucence when charging into battle.
Captors. Beyond acting as surprise cannon fodder, woeful blobs are commanded to kidnap vexing battlefield foes or those with valuable intel. Their lack of intelligence renders them useless as spies in a greater sense.
Unholy Tradeoff. By choosing to permanently bond with gelatinous oozes, woeful blobs lose their inherent connection to the Abyss. Therefore, death is permanent for them. In exchange for relief from their perpetual cycle of death and rebirth, woeful blobs experience constant pain, alleviated somewhat only by absorbing other creatures.
WOEFUL BLOB CR 1
Medium Fiend (Demon)
Armor Class 9
Hit Points 55
Speed 15 ft.
Perception 8Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Stealth 9 (14 when motionless)
Resistant acid | grappled, prone, restrained | Demonic Resilience
Immune piercing | charmed, exhaustion, frightened | Demonic Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft., keensense 30 ft.
Languages Abyssal
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +3 | −1 | +4 | −4 | −2 | −4 |
Demonic Resilience. The woeful blob is resistant to cold, fire, and lightning damage. In addition, it is immune to poisoned damage and to the poisoned condition.
Poisonous Rebuke. If the woeful blob is hit by piercing or slashing damage, it emits a gout of poisonous gas 5 feet toward the direction of the attack. A creature in the gas must succeed on a DC 12 CON save or be poisoned until the end of its next turn. While poisoned in this way, a creature can take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both, and can’t take reactions.
Transparent. While motionless, the woeful blob’s Stealth is 14, even when the blob is in plain sight.
ACTIONS
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 2 (1d4) poison damage and 3 (1d6) acid damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13).
Absorb. The woeful blob pulls a Medium or smaller grappled creature into its mass. The creature must succeed on a DC 13 STR save or it enters the blob’s space and takes 7 (2d6) acid damage. The absorbed creature can’t breathe, is restrained, takes 10 (3d6) acid damage at the start of each of the blob’s turns, and must succeed on a DC 12 CON save at the start of each of its turns or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. When the blob moves, the engulfed creature moves with it. The blob can absorb only one Medum creature or up to two Small or smaller creatures inside it at a time.
A creature, including the absorbed creature, can attempt to free it by taking an action to make a DC 13 STR check. On a success, the absorbed creature escapes and enters a space of its choice within 5 feet of the blob. If a creature other than the absorbed creature makes this attempt, it takes 7 (2d6) acid damage regardless of the result.
REACTIONS
Sacrifice the Absorbed. When the woeful blob is targeted by an attack that deals piercing damage, it can choose one of the creatures absorbed by it to be the target of the attack.
Onyx Gorger
The tarry residue covering this winged creature makes it difficult to see its features underneath. The tar ripples along its body as if seeking to grab hold of nearby prey.
All-Consuming Hunger. Nalfeshnee demons desirous of non-fleshy fare underwent a horrifying procedure where they replaced their outer flesh with black puddings. The oozes’ corrosiveness allows onyx gorgers to consume anything that can dissolve in acid.
Extinguished Light. The onyx gorger’s composition removes the nalfeshnee demon’s terrifying light, as the black pudding dampens it. However, the onyx gorger can still horrify those who dare come close to it as acidic pseudopods undulate disturbingly.
ONYX GORGER CR 11
Large Fiend (Demon)
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 192
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 30 ft.
Perception 14 Stealth 9
Resistant bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks | grappled, prone, restrained | Demonic Resilience
Immune acid | exhaustion, frightened | Demonic Resilience
Senses truesight 120 ft.
Languages Abyssal, telepathy 120 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +5 | −1 | +9 | +6 | +4 | +5 |
Demonic Resilience. The onyx gorger is resistant to cold, fire, and lightning damage. In addition, it is immune to poisoned damage and to the poisoned condition.
Fluid Form. The onyx gorger can move through a space large enough for a Tiny creature without squeezing.
Magic Resistance. The onyx gorger has advantage on saves against spells and other magical effects.
Spider Climb. The onyx gorger can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Spookily Corrosive Form. A creature that touches the onyx gorger or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 4 (1d8) acid damage. The creature must succeed on a DC 17 WIS save or be frightened of the gorger until the end of the creature’s next turn.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The onyx gorger makes one Bite attack, one Gore attack, and two Pseudopod attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) piercing damage. If this attack hits a creature covered in acid, the onyx gorger regains HP equal to half the damage dealt.
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 17 STR save or be knocked prone.
Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) acid damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 17 DEX save or be covered in acid. The target takes 7 (2d6) acid damage at the end of each of its turns. A creature, including the target, can use its action to remove the acid from the target.
Acid Strafe (Recharge 5–6). The onyx gorger flies in a straight line up to its flying speed. Each creature in the path must make a DC 17 DEX save, taking 21 (6d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
BONUS ACTIONS
Teleport. The onyx gorger magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.
REACTIONS
Sudden Feast. When a creature covered in acid that the onyx gorger can see within 20 feet of it is reduced to 0 HP or dies, the gorger can move up to its speed toward the creature without provoking opportunity attacks, then feast on the creature, if it moves to within 10 feet of the creature. The gorger regains HP equal to twice the creature’s CR or class level, and the creature has disadvantage on the next death save it makes, if it making death saves.