I know I'm not alone in attempting to homebrew stats for a/the Bagman, but I've found others a bit complicated or weaker than I was intending, so decided to give it a go myself.
For those not familiar, the Bagman is a creature mentioned as a rumour in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (along with some really sinister artwork), of a tall, gangly, humanoid(-ish) creature that can emerge at any time from a bag of holding and drag things back inside.
Contortionist. The Bagman can move through gaps small enough for Small creatures without squeezing.
Living Nightmare. Creatures that start their turn within 120 ft. of the Bagman must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom save or be frightened (and paralyzed, on a 9 or lower). A creature can repeat this save at the end of its following turns. Once a creature saves, it is immune for 1 minute.
Actions
Multiattack. The Bagman makes up to 3 claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack:+6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage and a Medium or smaller target may be grappled.
The Bagman may have up to two targets grappled at once, but may not attack with its claws when it does.
Drag. The Bagman uses its movement to drag one or more creatures it has grappled up to 30 feet, ignoring difficult terrain and the weight of its victim(s).
Disappear. The Bagman disappears into a bag of holding within 5 feet, gaining three-quarters cover against all effects originating from outside the bag. It may continue to take actions as normal, but may not use its multiattack from inside the bag. Any creatures grappled by the Bagman are pulled part way inside the bag, causing them to be restrained until the grapple ends.
Emerge. While inside a bag of holding, the Bagman may emerge into an unoccupied space adjacent to any other bag of holding within 500 feet.
Vanish. While inside a bag of holding, the Bagman vanishes without a trace. Any creature(s) it has grappled must succeed on one last grapple check to avoid vanishing with it, never to be seen again…
Description
Among the adventurers of the multiverse there exists no urban legend more terrifying than the Bagman. This sinister figure is said to have once been an adventurer themselves, who sought refuge inside their bag of holding as their friends were massacred, only to become hopelessly lost within a maze of extra-dimensional spaces.
Others suggest there is not a single bag-man but many, and that these creatures are displaced from their homes whenever a new bag of holding is created, and seek only to find their revenge. Whatever the truth may be, rumours abound of those who have been snatched away in their sleep, disappearing from locked rooms and fortified buildings – the only apparent explanation being that something dragged them away through their nearby bag of holding.
That there could be the slightest chance that an adventuring party's beloved bag of holding could be used as a portal by an unknown horror strikes terror at the very heart of even seasoned veterans – for even after they've checked for mimics, and confirmed their bag is not the devouring variety, they still may never truly be safe…
Bagman. The Bagman does not need to breathe, and may emerge from any improperly secured bag of holding at any time and without any warning.
Inescapable. The Bagman is unaffected by magical means of detection and warding, meaning it cannot be detected by spells such as alarm, or denied entry by spells such as forbiddance.
Strategy
The Bagman prefers to open a bag of holding cautiously to inspect its surroundings and ensure that any nearby creatures are asleep before it strikes. When it does attack it will use its claws to grab one or two victim(s) before attempting to drag them into the bag of holding.
If the Bagman succeeds in dragging a creature into a bag of holding and then vanishing with them, your DM will decide whether the creature is slain, or a new quest must begin to recover them from whatever strange realm the Bagman calls home…
Lair and Lair Actions
The lair of the Bagman is a strange realm that exists both inside and between the extra-dimensional spaces that make up a bag of holding. It is formed of twisting passages of leather and canvas that undulate and shift in unpredictable ways, leading through the interiors of forgotten bags filled with long lost relics of an adventurer's, possibly short, life. The Bagman will make its home in one of these, poring through the various items of detritus to be found in this strange place.
There is no light, and even darkvision struggles with the lack of any real landmarks within the seemingly endless maze, while maddening glimpses of sensation bleed through cracks into a forgotten corner of the astral sea. Occasionally a creature may encounter an apparent dead end, yet by pressing against it at just the right angle, they can slip through a hidden seam and into a bag of holding that remains in use.
Airless Realm. The bag realm contains no oxygen except that which spills into it when a creature enters. A creature that did not hold its breath before entering can breathe normally for one minute before it will begin to suffocate.
Pockets Dimension. The bag realm may contain bag-sized "pockets" affixed to the tunnel walls, which the Bagman can treat as bags of holding for the purposes of its disappear and emerge actions.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Bagman takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Bagman can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
Alluring Sights: One creature the Bagman can see within 120 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or find themselves enthralled by valuable loot lost within the bag realm. A creature that is immune to being charmed automatically succeeds. On its turn an enthralled creature can do nothing but move towards and admire the loot. It may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Fabrication: One tunnel opening within 60 feet of the Bagman is sealed off by a wall of fabric. The wall is an object with AC 10, 20 hit-points and vulnerability to acid, fire and piercing damage.
Folding Space: The bag realm folds around the Bagman and one creature it can see within 120 feet, swapping their locations. After relocating in this way, the Bagman may make a single claw attack.
Unstable Ground: All other creatures within the bag realm must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. The ground throughout the entire bag realm becomes difficult terrain for all creatures except the Bagman until the next lair action.
If the Bagman dies, the Unstable Ground effect applies as the realm becomes increasingly unstable over the next d6 minutes. Any creatures remaining inside the realm after this time are ejected from a random bag of holding on any plane of existence that bags of holding can function normally.
Notes
I'm a bit unsure about the challenge rating and the difficulty; in terms of damage my Bagman isn't terribly threatening for CR8, and it's not super tough (poor AC, not that many hit-points) however non-magical bludgeoning/piercing/slashing immunity does make it quite difficult to take down quickly.
My thinking is that it should be a tense encounter as the Bagman focuses on one or two party members and attempts to drag them into the bag, while everyone else is struggling to break its grip, or Help on those crucial grapple checks. This means balance may not be crucial, and there's always the chance that if a party member is taken, a lenient DM will just begin a new quest to rescue them. I also feel like the fact that it cannot be magically detected (e.g- by alarm) or denied entry (e.g- by forbiddance) makes it pretty terrifying; gotta use those old school physical tripwires and barricades!
There's a risk that the Bagman sheltering in a bag but still taking swipes at the party could become comical, though it massively boosts its defences and every attack that doesn't hit the Bagman itself risks damaging the bag…
Lastly, the rationale on the drag action is to remind the DM it can do it, plus it gives it the ability to drag victims a full 30 feet regardless of other conditions, as otherwise two fully loaded adventurers could argue even a Large creature would be reduced to 5 feet to move them. But the intention is that once you're grabbed, you're going to want to seriously consider breaking the grapple because you've got maybe two turns before you're pulled into the back (restrained) then a third before you're gone. Since this thing is usually emerging from the same bag it will try to pull you into it's not going to have a lot of distance to cover.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Some initial comments: you don't need the drag ability. All creatures can drag a grappled creature at half their speed. Emerge also feels too weak. Should the bagman not be able to emerge from a bag of holding in a much larger radius? Perhaps on the entire material plane?
A cool addition might be to give the bagman a lair on the astral plane, since bags of holding are implied to be connected to the astral.
Some initial comments: you don't need the drag ability. All creatures can drag a grappled creature at half their speed.
My intention with including it was partly as the reminder to do it, but also to make it unambiguous when there are any weight concerns; for example if it grabs two heavily armoured targets who choose to drop prone, it will still move at half speed.
That said it should be faster actually as I forgot about Dashing (so under normal circumstances it can actually move a target 30 feet if it uses its action), so I'll amend that for now. Even if it might be redundant, I think it's good to have the reminder.
Update: I opted to correct it to 30 feet and explicitly ignore both difficult terrain and the weight of the victim(s); this should make it useful regardless and clarify the intent of including.
Emerge also feels too weak. Should the bagman not be able to emerge from a bag of holding in a much larger radius? Perhaps on the entire material plane?
The emerge action is for the during an encounter case; the Bagman can of course emerge from any bag of holding (potentially on any plane of existence that a bag of holding can exist…?) at any time without warning, but that takes longer. It's sort of covered in the Bagman minor rule in the description.
A cool addition might be to give the bagman a lair on the astral plane, since bags of holding are implied to be connected to the astral.
Ooh, a specified lair could be cool, I'll definitely have a think on that. Thanks for the feedback!
Update: Well this didn't take long, here's a quick preview of the "bag realm" description and lair actions:
The lair of the Bagman is a strange realm that exists both inside and between the extra-dimensional spaces that make up a bag of holding. It is formed of twisting passages of leather and canvas that undulate and shift in unpredictable ways, leading through the interiors of forgotten bags filled with long lost relics of an adventurer's, possibly short, life. The Bagman will make its home in one of these, poring through the various items of detritus to be found in this strange place.
There is no light, and even darkvision struggles with the lack of any real landmarks within the seemingly endless maze, while maddening glimpses of sensation bleed through cracks into a forgotten corner of the astral sea. Occasionally a creature may encounter an apparent dead end, yet by pressing against it at just the right angle, they can slip through a hidden seam and into a bag of holding that remains in use.
Airless Realm. The bag realm contains no oxygen except that which spills into it when a creature enters. A creature that did not hold its breath before entering can breathe normally for one minute before it will begin to suffocate.
Pockets Dimension. The bag realm may contain bag-sized "pockets" affixed to the tunnel walls, which the Bagman can treat as bags of holding for the purposes of its disappear and emerge actions.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Bagman takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Bagman can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
Alluring Sights: One creature the Bagman can see within 120 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or find themselves enthralled by valuable loot lost within the bag realm. A creature that is immune to being charmed automatically succeeds. On its turn an enthralled creature can do nothing but move towards and admire the loot. It may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Fabrication: One tunnel opening within 60 feet of the Bagman is sealed off by a wall of fabric. The wall is an object with AC 10, 20 hit-points and vulnerability to acid, fire and piercing damage.
Folding Space: The bag realm folds around the Bagman and one creature it can see within 120 feet, swapping their locations. After relocating in this way, the Bagman may make a single claw attack.
Unstable Ground: All other creatures within the bag realm must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. The ground throughout the entire bag realm becomes difficult terrain for all creatures except the Bagman until the next lair action.
If the Bagman dies, the Unstable Ground effect applies as the realm becomes increasingly unstable over the next d6 minutes. Any creatures remaining inside the realm after this time are ejected from a random bag of holding on any plane of existence that bags of holding can function normally.
My thinking was to not make anything especially lethal, but by throwing out conditions it will make a straight up fight more difficult; the real threat comes from the fact that the party must defeat the Bagman and/or rescue whoever they entered the realm for, and find their way out again, before they run out of air (the inside of your bags of holding will literally leave you breathless, folks!).
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I just wanted to say that this is absolutely beautiful, I am going to max out the stats, and use it in a scene as a boss. Thank you for making this!
Love to hear it! I realised I never updated this thread after sharing the release version of the Bagman, which you can add here, though it's largely the same as the forum version.
From running it in encounters, you want to avoid the Bagman being out in the open for any length of time, as even maxxing out the HP it likely won't be that durable; it works best (and is more horrifying) when you've got several bags it can disappear into and emerge from, as this gives it cover and opportunities to try to drag party members to parts unknown, which should be its goal (or to escape if outmatched), it's not a "stand and fight to the bitter end" kind of enemy unless it's cornered inside "the bag realm".
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
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I know I'm not alone in attempting to homebrew stats for a/the Bagman, but I've found others a bit complicated or weaker than I was intending, so decided to give it a go myself.
For those not familiar, the Bagman is a creature mentioned as a rumour in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (along with some really sinister artwork), of a tall, gangly, humanoid(-ish) creature that can emerge at any time from a bag of holding and drag things back inside.
Anyway, here it is. 😈
And here's the older forum version:
Contortionist. The Bagman can move through gaps small enough for Small creatures without squeezing.
Living Nightmare. Creatures that start their turn within 120 ft. of the Bagman must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom save or be frightened (and paralyzed, on a 9 or lower). A creature can repeat this save at the end of its following turns. Once a creature saves, it is immune for 1 minute.
Multiattack. The Bagman makes up to 3 claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage and a Medium or smaller target may be grappled.
The Bagman may have up to two targets grappled at once, but may not attack with its claws when it does.
Drag. The Bagman uses its movement to drag one or more creatures it has grappled up to 30 feet, ignoring difficult terrain and the weight of its victim(s).
Disappear. The Bagman disappears into a bag of holding within 5 feet, gaining three-quarters cover against all effects originating from outside the bag. It may continue to take actions as normal, but may not use its multiattack from inside the bag. Any creatures grappled by the Bagman are pulled part way inside the bag, causing them to be restrained until the grapple ends.
Emerge. While inside a bag of holding, the Bagman may emerge into an unoccupied space adjacent to any other bag of holding within 500 feet.
Vanish. While inside a bag of holding, the Bagman vanishes without a trace. Any creature(s) it has grappled must succeed on one last grapple check to avoid vanishing with it, never to be seen again…
Description
Among the adventurers of the multiverse there exists no urban legend more terrifying than the Bagman. This sinister figure is said to have once been an adventurer themselves, who sought refuge inside their bag of holding as their friends were massacred, only to become hopelessly lost within a maze of extra-dimensional spaces.
Others suggest there is not a single bag-man but many, and that these creatures are displaced from their homes whenever a new bag of holding is created, and seek only to find their revenge. Whatever the truth may be, rumours abound of those who have been snatched away in their sleep, disappearing from locked rooms and fortified buildings – the only apparent explanation being that something dragged them away through their nearby bag of holding.
That there could be the slightest chance that an adventuring party's beloved bag of holding could be used as a portal by an unknown horror strikes terror at the very heart of even seasoned veterans – for even after they've checked for mimics, and confirmed their bag is not the devouring variety, they still may never truly be safe…
Bagman. The Bagman does not need to breathe, and may emerge from any improperly secured bag of holding at any time and without any warning.
Inescapable. The Bagman is unaffected by magical means of detection and warding, meaning it cannot be detected by spells such as alarm, or denied entry by spells such as forbiddance.
Lair and Lair Actions
The lair of the Bagman is a strange realm that exists both inside and between the extra-dimensional spaces that make up a bag of holding. It is formed of twisting passages of leather and canvas that undulate and shift in unpredictable ways, leading through the interiors of forgotten bags filled with long lost relics of an adventurer's, possibly short, life. The Bagman will make its home in one of these, poring through the various items of detritus to be found in this strange place.
There is no light, and even darkvision struggles with the lack of any real landmarks within the seemingly endless maze, while maddening glimpses of sensation bleed through cracks into a forgotten corner of the astral sea. Occasionally a creature may encounter an apparent dead end, yet by pressing against it at just the right angle, they can slip through a hidden seam and into a bag of holding that remains in use.
Airless Realm. The bag realm contains no oxygen except that which spills into it when a creature enters. A creature that did not hold its breath before entering can breathe normally for one minute before it will begin to suffocate.
Pockets Dimension. The bag realm may contain bag-sized "pockets" affixed to the tunnel walls, which the Bagman can treat as bags of holding for the purposes of its disappear and emerge actions.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Bagman takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Bagman can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
If the Bagman dies, the Unstable Ground effect applies as the realm becomes increasingly unstable over the next d6 minutes. Any creatures remaining inside the realm after this time are ejected from a random bag of holding on any plane of existence that bags of holding can function normally.
Notes
I'm a bit unsure about the challenge rating and the difficulty; in terms of damage my Bagman isn't terribly threatening for CR8, and it's not super tough (poor AC, not that many hit-points) however non-magical bludgeoning/piercing/slashing immunity does make it quite difficult to take down quickly.
My thinking is that it should be a tense encounter as the Bagman focuses on one or two party members and attempts to drag them into the bag, while everyone else is struggling to break its grip, or Help on those crucial grapple checks. This means balance may not be crucial, and there's always the chance that if a party member is taken, a lenient DM will just begin a new quest to rescue them. I also feel like the fact that it cannot be magically detected (e.g- by alarm) or denied entry (e.g- by forbiddance) makes it pretty terrifying; gotta use those old school physical tripwires and barricades!
There's a risk that the Bagman sheltering in a bag but still taking swipes at the party could become comical, though it massively boosts its defences and every attack that doesn't hit the Bagman itself risks damaging the bag…
Lastly, the rationale on the drag action is to remind the DM it can do it, plus it gives it the ability to drag victims a full 30 feet regardless of other conditions, as otherwise two fully loaded adventurers could argue even a Large creature would be reduced to 5 feet to move them. But the intention is that once you're grabbed, you're going to want to seriously consider breaking the grapple because you've got maybe two turns before you're pulled into the back (restrained) then a third before you're gone. Since this thing is usually emerging from the same bag it will try to pull you into it's not going to have a lot of distance to cover.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Some initial comments: you don't need the drag ability. All creatures can drag a grappled creature at half their speed. Emerge also feels too weak. Should the bagman not be able to emerge from a bag of holding in a much larger radius? Perhaps on the entire material plane?
A cool addition might be to give the bagman a lair on the astral plane, since bags of holding are implied to be connected to the astral.
My intention with including it was partly as the reminder to do it, but also to make it unambiguous when there are any weight concerns; for example if it grabs two heavily armoured targets who choose to drop prone, it will still move at half speed.
That said it should be faster actually as I forgot about Dashing (so under normal circumstances it can actually move a target 30 feet if it uses its action), so I'll amend that for now. Even if it might be redundant, I think it's good to have the reminder.
Update: I opted to correct it to 30 feet and explicitly ignore both difficult terrain and the weight of the victim(s); this should make it useful regardless and clarify the intent of including.
The emerge action is for the during an encounter case; the Bagman can of course emerge from any bag of holding (potentially on any plane of existence that a bag of holding can exist…?) at any time without warning, but that takes longer. It's sort of covered in the Bagman minor rule in the description.
Ooh, a specified lair could be cool, I'll definitely have a think on that. Thanks for the feedback!
Update: Well this didn't take long, here's a quick preview of the "bag realm" description and lair actions:
The lair of the Bagman is a strange realm that exists both inside and between the extra-dimensional spaces that make up a bag of holding. It is formed of twisting passages of leather and canvas that undulate and shift in unpredictable ways, leading through the interiors of forgotten bags filled with long lost relics of an adventurer's, possibly short, life. The Bagman will make its home in one of these, poring through the various items of detritus to be found in this strange place.
There is no light, and even darkvision struggles with the lack of any real landmarks within the seemingly endless maze, while maddening glimpses of sensation bleed through cracks into a forgotten corner of the astral sea. Occasionally a creature may encounter an apparent dead end, yet by pressing against it at just the right angle, they can slip through a hidden seam and into a bag of holding that remains in use.
Airless Realm. The bag realm contains no oxygen except that which spills into it when a creature enters. A creature that did not hold its breath before entering can breathe normally for one minute before it will begin to suffocate.
Pockets Dimension. The bag realm may contain bag-sized "pockets" affixed to the tunnel walls, which the Bagman can treat as bags of holding for the purposes of its disappear and emerge actions.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Bagman takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Bagman can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
If the Bagman dies, the Unstable Ground effect applies as the realm becomes increasingly unstable over the next d6 minutes. Any creatures remaining inside the realm after this time are ejected from a random bag of holding on any plane of existence that bags of holding can function normally.
My thinking was to not make anything especially lethal, but by throwing out conditions it will make a straight up fight more difficult; the real threat comes from the fact that the party must defeat the Bagman and/or rescue whoever they entered the realm for, and find their way out again, before they run out of air (the inside of your bags of holding will literally leave you breathless, folks!).
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I just wanted to say that this is absolutely beautiful, I am going to max out the stats, and use it in a scene as a boss. Thank you for making this!
Love to hear it! I realised I never updated this thread after sharing the release version of the Bagman, which you can add here, though it's largely the same as the forum version.
From running it in encounters, you want to avoid the Bagman being out in the open for any length of time, as even maxxing out the HP it likely won't be that durable; it works best (and is more horrifying) when you've got several bags it can disappear into and emerge from, as this gives it cover and opportunities to try to drag party members to parts unknown, which should be its goal (or to escape if outmatched), it's not a "stand and fight to the bitter end" kind of enemy unless it's cornered inside "the bag realm".
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.