Croaker
Medium monstrosity, Neutral
- Armor Class 14
- Hit Points 190 (20d8+100)
- Speed 15 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 2 (–4) 8 (–1) 8 (–1)
- Saving Throws Con +8, Str +6
- Damage Resistances poison
- Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 9
- Languages —
- Combined Challenge 8 (4500 XP)
Amphibious. The Croaker can breathe air and water.
Schrodinger's Croaker. If a character with red perspective is hit by an effect originating from the Croaker, they have resistance to the damage of that effect.
Swallow. If the Croaker has a creature grappled at the start of its turn, the Croaker swallows that creature as a free action. A swallowed creature is no longer grappled.
Temporal Duplicate. The Croaker shares its space with the Never-There. When the Croaker's turn ends, the Never-There may immediately take a turn. This is in addition to the Never-There's turn in initiative.
Actions
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +6, Reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
Tongue whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +7, Reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage and 2 (1d4) poison damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). While the Croaker is grappling a creature it cannot use its Tongue Whip attack.
Toxic sludge. If the Never-There took damage already this round, the Croaker can spend its action vomiting toxic sludge in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) acid damage on a failed save and becoming poisoned. On a successful save the creature takes half as much damage and is not poisoned.
Reactions
Jump. When the Croaker takes melee damage it can use its reaction to jump 40 ft. without provoking opportunity attacks.
Evolving weirdness (1/day). When the Croaker is reduced to 30 or fewer hit points, it may use its reaction to immediately make three simultaneous tongue whip attacks. If the Croaker has a creature grappled it instead makes two simultaneous tongue whip attacks.
Never-There
Medium monstrosity, Neutral
- Armor Class 11
- Hit Points —
- Speed 15 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 20 (+5) 13 (+1) 1 (–5) 5 (–3) 1 (–5)
- Saving Throws Dex +8, Str +5
- Damage Immunities poison, necrotic
- Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
- Senses blindsight 25 ft., passive Perception 5
- Languages —
- Combined Challenge 8 (See Croaker for XP)
Dead. The Never-There is already dead and is sustained only by the continued life of the Croaker. A DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) or DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that the Never-There is dead. A DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that it is sustained by the Croaker.
Never there. If a character with green perspective is hit by an effect originating from the Never-There, they have resistance to the damage of that effect.
Slime Splatter. When the Never-There is hit by a melee attack or a spell with a range of touch, it deals 5 (2d4) acid damage to the creature who made the attack or delivered the spell.
Temporal Duplicate. The Never-There shares its space with the Croaker. When the Never-There's turn ends, the Croaker may immediately take a turn. This is in addition to the Croaker's turn in initiative.
Actions
Barbed tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +8, Reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) piercing damage. Once/per day, after the Never-There hits a creature with its Barbed Tail attack, the Never-There can force the target to make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. The creature takes 24 (7d6) poison damage and becomes poisoned on a failed save, or half as much damage and is not poisoned on a successful one.
Absorb Vitality. If the Croaker currently has a creature swallowed, the Never-There can use its action to absorb vitality from that creature. The creature's total hit dice pool is reduced by 2 hit dice and the Croaker may roll those hit dice. The swallowed creature takes necrotic damage equal to the number rolled and the Croaker regains that many hit points. This damage is not reduced by perspective difference. At the end of this action, the Never-There spits the creature out into an adjacent space. That creature now has red perspective.
Reactions
Death throes. When the Croaker is reduced to 0 hit points, the Never-There can immediately take a turn. At the end of its turn it melts into a puddle of toxic slime, causing all creatures in a 10 foot radius to make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) acid damage. The Never-There is now actually dead.
Environmental Actions
Every round, on initiative count 0, the ship is rocked by stormy seas. Characters must make a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be hurled to the port side of the ship (with the stairs positioned at the bottom of the map this is to the right). Every round the DC increases by one. If a creature with red perspective is knocked into a space where the wall or floor is missing from the shipwreck, they do not fall through. Instead, they find themselves on solid floors and against solid walls. They now have green perspective.
Green and Red Perspective
To create the green and red glasses the players will use to inform their perspective during this encounter, I used four layers of cellophane secured as lenses between two identical layers of card in the shape of glasses. For use with the included images you will want to craft an even number of glasses with green lenses and with red lenses. You should have enough glasses to split between your players with a few spares of each colour. Before the session, have players choose what colour glasses they would like to wear, making sure that there is an even split of green and red glasses between them.
Some printers may not be able to accurately achieve the colours presented. In this case, showing the dual images on a screen should work fine.
