Menu Close

Carnifex the Demonic Plumber

5e (simplified) conversion from Maze of the Blue Medusae for my own reference.

THE DEMONIC PLUMBER

Carnifex appears as a blue and yellow obese bipedal toad with a dozen eyes and sharp sabertooth-like teeth.  He cackles and giggles like a madman finding everything, in particular misfortune, funny.  If killed he turns into a puddle of goop and the only thing that remains is his wrench, gremlin bag, and his green eyes. His equipment and eyes are the treasure.  Apart from causing trouble and being a nuisance he seeks a Tear of Time so he can rewrite time and take over the universe (likelihood of success, 4.2%).

CARNIFEX the DEMONIC PLUMBER

Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
AC 18; HP 170; Speed 40 ft.
Skills Arcana +6, Perception +8
Damage Immunities Fire, Poison
Damage Resistances Chaotic (he is resistant to the first damage type he takes in a round until the end of his next turn).
Condition Immunities Frightened
Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 60 ft.
Languages Abyssal, Slaad, Telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 10 (590 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. Carnifex’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

Amphibious. Carnifex can breathe air and water.
Standing Leap. Carnifex’s long jump is up to 20 feet and his high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.
Magic Reflection. Carnifex has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. If he succeeds at the saving throw due to this advantage the spell is reflected back at the caster.
Magic Weapons. Carnifex’s weapon attacks are magical.
Regeneration. Carnifex regains 10 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point.
Touch of Chaos. Any physical touch made by Carnifex (bite and claws in combat) invokes his chaotic nature.  He may announce that the target may not do the same thing again.  This curse lasts until Carnifex is dead. The restriction should not be unplayably broad, examples include “Casting a Spell”, and “Attacking with that Weapon”. For a more mechanical version that works better with Theatre of the Mind, the attribute is crippled.  For example, being hit by a greatsword (that uses STR) means you can not use STR with that weapon.  If the target casts a spell they can not use INT (or WIS) for the spellcasting and so on.

 

ACTIONS
  1. Multiattack. Carnifex makes three attacks – roll three times.
  2. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 5 piercing damage plus 2d6 necrotic damage. He also chucks a vial of auto-corroder at anyone wearing metal armor.  This automatically corrodes the target’s metal equipment. The equipment grates and jams imposing disadvantage until they can be properly maintained. Plus touch of chaos.
  3. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d10 + 5 slashing damage plus 2d6 necrotic damage. Plus touch of chaos.
  4. Devil’s Wrench. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2d6 + 5 bludgeoning damage plus 2d6 necrotic damage. If used on any reasonably complex machinery, that machine will break down catastrophically after 1d4 further uses.
  5. Cast a spell. Choose a spell, cast it.
  6. Gremlin Bag. Tosses out 1d6+1 gremlins which attack the party.  If left to their own devices will smash machinery (treat as quasits).
  7. Grow and Animate Plants. So long as he is in an area with plant life grasping roots and vines erupt in a 20-foot radius centred on a point on the ground that Carnifex can see within 120 feet of him. That area becomes difficult terrain, and each creature there must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained by the roots and vines. A creature can be freed if it or another creature takes an action to make a Strength check and succeeds. The roots and vines wilt away when he uses this action again or when he dies.
  8. Gaze Attack. Roll on the Gaze Attack table ((Knock! issue #1)
  9. Bite and Swallow. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 4 piercing damage, and the target is swallowed if it is a Medium or smaller creature. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside Carnifex, and takes 3d6 acid damage at the start of each of Carnifex’s turns. His gullet can hold up to two creatures at a time. If he takes 20 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside him, he must succeed on a Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, each of which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of him. If he dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 10 feet of movement, exiting prone. Creatures in the stomach can only use small weapons like daggers or spells to attack.
  10. Tongue. Carnifex targets one Medium or smaller creature that he can see within 20 feet of him. The target must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is pulled into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the Carnifex, and he can make a bite attack against it as a bonus action.

If the same attack is rolled twice in the same round or Carnifex scores a critical hit, he has the option of using the following action instead:

The Black Toad. Carnifex regurgitates a small black toad into the air and spits it up to 15 feet. If the black toad will attack the target in the same round and if it successfully hits and damages the target (+5 to-hit, 1d8+2 necrotic damage), the target will vomit up another toad (still in the same round) which will leap at the next available target (within 15’) and attack in the same way and with the same consequences. The process continues until one of the toad’s attacks is unsuccessful. Toads dissolve into an inky black goo at the end of the round. Carnifex will giggle at the wonderful chaos this causes.

REACTIONS
Now you see me, now you don’t. If an attack misses Carnifex may cast invisibility and move up to 40 feet.

LEGNEDARY ACTIONS
Carnifex has 1 legendary action per round for each living PC above 4 to a maximum of 3 (5 PCs = 1 Legendary Action, 6 PCs = 2 Legendary Actions and 7+ PCs = 3 Legendary Actions).  This is checked at the start of each round.  Either pick an appropriate Action from the above list or roll randomly.

TREASURE
The Devil’s Wrench, Gremlin Bag, and 2d4 usable eyes. Each eye does something different per the “Harvested Eye” table (Knock! issue #1)

 

Posted in 5e, Clash of the Titans, Dungeons & Dragons, Monstrous Compendium

1 Comment

Leave a Reply