The Doomstalker Demon
One sting, & you're Doomed.
While the souls of violent murderers often become other forms of demon, those who rely on poison to do their bidding become Doomstalkers in the Abyss. These horrifying monsters live a cursed existence-- they cannot eat, and instead must use their venom to dissolve their prey's innards, allowing them to drink their prey's foul essence.
Inspiration behind the Monster
This monster was a direct request from my Spicy Guild members!
They wanted a monster who can ambush, sting, flee, and wait for the venom to do its trick. That, to me, sounded like a creature reliant on its venom to hunt, rather than defend itself. Such creatures, like the Scorpion or New World Tarantulas, often have secondary mechanisms for defense. Since D&D Demons are depicted as animalistic, Demon was a natural creature type choice for this monster!
As such, my goal was to make a scorpion demon, which can be found below!
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Doomstalker Demon
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
- Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 114 (12d10 + 48)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 16 (+3)
- Saving Throws Int +4, Wis +5, Con +7
- Skills Stealth +5, Perception +5
- Damage Resistances fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
- Damage Immunities poison
- Condition Immunities poisoned
- Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 12
- Languages Abyssal
- Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Prof. Bonus +3 Spice: 2
Poisonous Fixation. The Doomstalker knows the location of all poisoned creatures within 60ft of it, and can see them through walls & darkness.
Quenching Chitin. The Doomstalker's unnaturally dark exoskeleton absorbs light. While in darkness, it is invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see the Doomstalker in that darkness.
Spiderclimb. The Doomstalker can use its spiked feet to climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Multiattack. The Doomstalker makes three attacks: two with its claws and one with its Envenomate (if available).
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) slashing damage, and the Doomstalker can choose to grapple & restrain the creature. If it does, it cannot use this claw on another target until it releases.
Envenomate (Recharge 5-6). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. On a hit, the target becomes Poisoned. The target can make a DC 14 Constitution Saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Each time the creature fails this Saving throw, their Constitution Score is reduced by d4. For every 2 Constitution Damage they take, their Max & Current HP is reduced by their character level. Their Constitution score damage lasts even after the poison ends, and can only be restored by Lesser Restoration or similar magical healing effects. If their Constitution Score reaches 0, they die, and their corpse is dissolved beyond use for purposes of Revivify or similar spells.
How the Doomstalker hunts
The Doomstalker lays in wait, using its Quenching Chitin to hide in the darkness, where naive adventurers assume their darkvision keeps them safe. If the players did not have a source of light to see the Doomstalker, they are Surprised when initiative is rolled. It starts with its Envenomate, lunging its stinger towards them to do so. This powerful venom will take time to kill, so the Doomstalker then uses the time that the Surprise bought them to flee, using its Spider Climb to get through places the party can't easily follow.
The party is then left to quickly find a means of curing the poison-- Lesser Restoration, Lay on Hands, & other magical methods work well. Whether they do or not, the Doomstalker comes back into the fight once its Envenomate is recharged, attempting to finish off its prey while using its Claws to defend itself, both dealing damage & restraining their prey.