Keen Sight. The nothic has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Multiattack. The nothic makes two claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Rotting Gaze. The nothic targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw against this magic or take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.
Weird Insight. The nothic targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must contest its Charisma (Deception) check against the nothic’s Wisdom (Insight) check. If the nothic wins, it magically learns one fact or secret about the target. The target automatically wins if it is immune to being charmed.
Description
A nothic is a monstrous creature with terrible talons and a single great eye. When driven to violence, it uses its horrific gaze to rot the flesh from its enemies’ bones.
I created an undead "Gothic Nothic" for my homebrew. One ability is its gaze causes a turn to stone effect, even when beheaded, (like a Medusa). It's on a Barbarian's shield right now. It's good for a laugh during combat.
AMAZING Mission complete! THAT right there is why you're the best Boss. The one and only!"
Being a D.M. playing as a Nothic is really fun, as long as the players don't chicken out because they have never faced anything more powerful than a Bugbear.
The Nothic was a surprise hit in my LMOP campaign. I used my characters flaws as ways to mock each of them. I had all of them nervous whispering all their insecurities to them.
Weekling. my party befriended it and turned it. Against the people in the people the lived in the place (we were trying to defeat them) and my brothers were obseced with it for the rest of the game but little do they know in my current campaign they are about to enter an area with bloodthirsty nothics
They could learn something like where the party is staying - then it could try and escape to turn into a bigger encounter later.
So ah I Have a magic city. I think I might use one or a group of these as librians in the deepest darkest parts of the library. Esiantally they run the restricted section of an academic library in a town wear almost anything goes. They keep the knowledge the most powerful mages in the world are afraid of.
These are also helpful in back stories of younger Wizards as a cautionary tale or boogeyman like tales for arcane practitioners who are far to eager to learn to much. Either told from parents, grandparents or just older mentors.
My party managed to befriend the one in the redbrand hideout and they’re using it as a guard while they turn the hideout into an adventurers inn/guild thing. They also have a illusionist hobo they found in a dungeon that is going to be the innkeeper
Okay, so im just going to go ahead and start the controversy. Since Weird insight says uncharmable creatures are immune to its effects, that means Elves and Half Elves have Advantage on their Deception check to avoid it. As Fey Ancestry lets them have advantage on saves that cause the Charmed condition.
In addition, i would reccommend using the 2nd lvl spell Nondetection, which means you cannot be targeted by divination spells or seen through magical sensors, (while i still wouldnt rule that this makes you invisible to Nothics entirely, a creature under this spell should be immune to Weird Insight) it can be a bit pricey to continually cast though. 50gold worth of components each time.
Finally, the rare magic item Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location: it is attunement, but for a BBEG or a player who'se backstory is they are being hunted, this item is a godsend. It is a constant nondetection spell without the monetary cost and only requires an attunement slot.
Read a good bit of lore on these things. Apparently they were arcane casters who got a little too close to a secret that Vecna wanted to keep hush hush.
I would also rule some of them being cursed, or willing servitors of Savras the unseeing. (Lesser diety of divination in Forgotten Realms)
Ah, but that is exactly it. Do you really expect the evil wizard turned Lich, turned God would WANT people to be able to do what he did?
If i were a maniacal overlord bent on bending the universe to my whims the last thing i would want is some upstart using the techniques that i spent millenia inventing from the ground up to pull the rug out from under me and take the universe himself.
The reasonable solution? Curse the everloving crud out of them and eliminate their memories, including the memory of the key secret they discovered.
why does it have only one eye
He's the god of secrets, not the god of information known only to some. It's like how a god of trees and a lumberjack both base their existence around trees, but the god isn't going to like the lumberjack that much.
Also craving to know the secrets of the nothics might just result in you learning those secrets the hard way.
Probably deep back story secrets
my party ate it
I just tamed one with the corpse of a random goblin and decided to call it norman
Holy shit this is cool. My players new favorite monster.
My character died to this
I wonder if I should stay as a nothic because right now I am cursed and am a nothic.