Magic Resistance. A cauchemange larva has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage. If the cauchemange larva scores a critical hit against a creature not infected by another cauchemange larva, the larva burrows into the target. Once inside a target, the larva is a disease. For seven days, each time the host finishes a long rest, the host must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the host gains no benefit from that rest. After seven days, the cauchemange erupts from its host’s body as an adult cauchemange that is either corporeal or incorporeal. This exit deals the host 20 (4d8 + 2) slashing damage.
Description
“We thought he was just having nightmares for a few days straight, until he keeled over in the field and a big worm burrowed from his chest.”
Failed Experiment. Folktales say the Arch Daemon Beleth created the cauchemange as another tool to torment mortals. Those who’ve studied the secret histories of the Arcanist Inquisition know that these aberrations are a result of a failed experiment by a long-dead Ostoyan wizard. Her intent was to create a creature that allows command over armies of mind-controlled servants. Instead, the experiment created a creature that feeds on and manipulates people’s nightmares.
Hungry Larvae. A larval cauchemange resembles a monstrous maggot the size of a human forearm. Hardy, magically resistant creatures, these larvae seek host bodies to burrow into and continue their life cycle. Cauchemange larvae prefer sleeping victims, an insidious trait, because the entry wound heals rapidly, and a victim recognizes few signs of an invading parasite.
Nightmare Pupation. Once a cauchemange larva burrows into a creature, the larva’s body dissolves into tiny particles that distribute themselves into the host’s nervous system. As the cauchemange pupates, it induces nightmares, hallucinations, and terrifying thoughts, which it feeds upon to mature. While an infected adult is likely to have an extremely uncomfortable few days, many such victims are thought to suffer from lesser maladies.
Dream Incarnate. Once a cauchemange absorbs enough negative memories, thoughts, and dreams, it bursts out of the host’s body, taking the form of the host’s worst nightmare. This corporeal cauchemange is a nightmare made flesh. It can take a variety of forms, depending on the host’s fears or lusts. From a potent host or after developing for years, an adult cauchemange can become a ghostly creature that shifts among nightmare forms.
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