Amphibious. The Creature can breathe air and water.
Probing Telepathy. If a creature communicates telepathically with the whale, the whale learns the creature's greatest desires if the whale can see the creature.
Magic Resistance. The whale has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Multiattack. The whale uses its Frightening Presence, The whale then makes a tail attack and a bite attack. It can use its swallow ability in place of its bite.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft. one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (4d8 + 6) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 20). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the tarrasque can't bite another target.
Swallow. The whale makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target takes the bite's damage, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the whale, and it takes 42 (12d6) acid damage at the start of each of the whale’s turns.
If the whale takes 40 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the whale must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the whale. If the whale dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 30 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Enslave (3/Day). The whale targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the whale until the whale dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed target is under the whale’s control and can't take reactions, and the whale and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance.
Whenever the charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the aboleth.
The whale can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The whale regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The whale makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Swipe. The whale makes one tail attack.
Psychic Bellow (Costs 2 Actions). The Whale exhales a psychic scream in a 30 ft. Cone. All creatures in this are must make a DC 17 wisdom saving throw taking 18d4 psychic damage, or half as much on a success.
Lair and Lair Actions
Whether or not you have a lair is your choice, I’d recommend using a similar lair description as the aboleths.
Aboleths lair in subterranean lakes or the rocky depths of the ocean, often surrounded by the ruins of an ancient, fallen aboleth city. An aboleth spends most of its existence underwater, surfacing occasionally to treat with visitors or deranged worshipers.
Lair Actions
When fighting inside its lair, an aboleth can invoke the ambient magic to take lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the aboleth takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- The aboleth casts phantasmal force (no components required) on any number of creatures it can see within 60 feet of it. While maintaining concentration on this effect, the aboleth can’t take other lair actions. If a target succeeds on the saving throw or if the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the aboleth’s phantasmal force lair action for the next 24 hours, although such a creature can choose to be affected.
- Pools of water within 90 feet of the aboleth surge outward in a grasping tide. Any creature on the ground within 20 feet of such a pool must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 20 feet into the water and knocked prone. The aboleth can’t use this lair action again until it has used a different one.
- Water in the aboleth’s lair magically becomes a conduit for the creature’s rage. The aboleth can target any number of creatures it can see in such water within 90 feet of it. A target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or take 7 (2d6) psychic damage. The aboleth can’t use this lair action again until it has used a different one.
Regional Effects
The region containing an aboleth’s lair is warped by the creature’s presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Underground surfaces within 1 mile of the aboleth’s lair are slimy and wet and are difficult terrain.
- Water sources within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally fouled. Enemies of the aboleth that drink such water vomit it within minutes.
- As an action, the aboleth can create an illusory image of itself within 1 mile of the lair. The copy can appear at any location the aboleth has seen before or in any location a creature charmed by the aboleth can currently see. Once created, the image lasts for as long as the aboleth maintains concentration, as if concentrating on a spell. Although the image is intangible, it looks, sounds, and can move like the aboleth. The aboleth can sense, speak, and use telepathy from the image’s position as if present at that position. If the image takes any damage, it disappears.
If the aboleth dies, the first two effects fade over the course of 3d10 days.
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