___ ___ > ## Oblex Puppeteer (AO) >*Medium ooze, lawful evil* > ___ > - **Armor Class** 14 > - **Hit Points** 75 (10d8 + 30) > - **Speed** 20 ft. >___ >|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA| >|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| >|8 (-1)|19 (+4)|16 (+3)|19 (+4)|12 (+1)|15 (+2)| >___ > - **Saving Throws** Int +7, Cha +5 > - **Skills** Deception +5, Perception +4, plus one of the following: Arcana +7, History +7, Nature +7, or Religion +7 > - **Condition Immunities** blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, prone > - **Senses** blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this distance), passive Perception 14 > - **Languages** Common plus two more languages > - **Challenge** 5 (1,800 XP) > ___ > > ***Amorphous.*** The oblex can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. > > ***Aversion to Fire.*** If the oblex takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn. > > ***Innate Spellcasting.*** The oblex's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components: > > 3/day each: charm person (as 5th-level spell), color spray, detect thoughts, hold person (as 3rd-level spell) > > > ***Sulfurous Impersonation.*** As a bonus action, the oblex can extrude a piece of itself that assumes the appearance of one Medium or smaller creature whose memories it has stolen. This simulacrum appears, feels, and sounds exactly like the creature it impersonates, though it smells faintly of sulfur. > > The oblex can impersonate 1d4 + 1 different creatures, each one tethered to its body by a strand of slime that can extend up to 120 feet away. For all practical purposes, the simulacrum is the oblex, meaning that the oblex occupies its space and the simulacrum's space simultaneously. The slimy tether is immune to damage, but it is severed if there is no opening at least 1 inch wide between the oblex's main body and the simulacrum. The simulacrum disappears if the tether is severed. > > ### Actions > > ***Pseudopod.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 5 (2d4) psychic damage. > > ***Eat Memories.*** The oblex targets one creature it can see within 5 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or take 18 (4d8) psychic damage and become memory drained until it finishes a short or long rest or until it benefits from the greater restoration or heal spell. Constructs, oozes, plants, and undead succeed on the save automatically. > > While memory drained, the target must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from any ability check or attack roll it makes. Each time the target is memory drained beyond the first, the die size increases by one: the d4 becomes a d6, the d6 becomes a d8, and so on until the die becomes a d20, at which point the target becomes unconscious for 1 hour. The effect then ends. > > When an oblex causes a target to become memory drained, the oblex learns all the languages the target knows and gains all its proficiencies, except for any saving throw proficiencies. > ### Reactions > ***Dismiss Simulacrum.*** After the Oblex takes damage sourced from one of its simulacrum, the Oblex can cut its contact with that simulacrum as a reaction. This creates an independent Oblex Spawn at the simulacrum's last location. > > ### Legendary Actions > The Oblex can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Oblex regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. > > ***Psychic Scream (Costs 2 Actions, Recharge 5–6).*** Each creature within 10ft of the Oblex (or a simulacrum) must make a DC 15 Wisdom Saving Throw or take 1d8 Psychic Damage and be blinded until the end of the Oblex's next turn. > > ***Cut and Run (Costs 2 Actions).*** The Oblex discharges 1d4 Oblex Spawn and may move up to its speed. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. > > ***Master Puppeteer.*** One of the Oblex's Simulacrum may either move without provoking opportunity attacks or make one attack with a weapon it is holding (Pseudopod if the Simulacrum is not holding a weapon). \pagebreak ## Theme The Oblex is a master of deception and puppeteering, using its impersonations to lure victims somewhere that it can devour their memories in peace. Its main focus in combat is keeping its main body safe from harm. If a simulacrum is taking too much damage, it will cut them off. This causes the Oblex to lose the memories that simulacrum had not had time to deliver to the main body, which in turn causes an independent Oblex Spawn to be created. This Spawn is a formless Ooze as it has essentially just been born. See MTF for the statblock, or use a gray ooze statblock that deals psychic damage instead of acid. This battle can quickly turn into the players vs a lot of Oblex Spawn, while the main Oblex slinks away to a new hiding place. The Oblex will recover if it survives, and the Oblex Spawn will each become a new Adult Oblex if given time to grow. ## Differences from MTF Adult Oblex - **Removes Multiattack in favor of using Legendary Actions to move a simulacrum.** Allowing the Oblex to manipulate its puppets when it's not the Oblex's turn will add to the illusion that the players aren't fighting one creature, but several. - **Adds a Reaction to dismiss a simulacrum.** The MTF version doesn't specify how to dismiss a simulacrum so I made the assumption that it's a process whereby the simulacrum physically walks into the main body, allowing the main body to absorb and digest any memories that simulacrum has stolen. Allowing the Oblex to jettison a simulacrum mid-fight with a cost makes sense though. - **Adds Psychic Scream and Cut and Run legendary (villain) actions.** I recommend opening with Psychic Scream, and when the Oblex's main body is put into too much danger, firing off the Cut and Run. ## Tips Make a big deal out of the presence of an Oblex. They are highly intelligent creatures who don't really want to kill people, they simply take some memories and subsist on that. I made a tweak that Eat Memories, if done enough times or slowly enough, doesn't physically hurt the victim but instead gives them an awful migrane, disorienting them and making their memories of the encounter fuzzy. My players were very concerned their beloved town NPCs starting to report migraines after interviewing with a Nobleman who was "looking to preserve the historical record". They knew he was up to *something*, but didn't know what. Some brain food for adding an Oblex into your stories: ### Oblex in a Carriage Some carriage was hijacked by an Oblex when it ate the driver and its occupants. The Oblex now poses as the carriage, traveling from town to town seeking new memories to subsist on. \columnbreak ### Oblex Opera The Oblex is a puppeteer, and puppeteers love stages. An unusually talented band of performers is actually an Oblex who has discovered an easy way to make minds flock to him to be eaten.