Innate Spellcasting. The lion’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: ceremony, command, compelled duel (no concentration), crusader's mantle, flesh to stone, heroism (as a 5th-level spell), hold person, spiritual weapon
1/day: heroes' feast
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lion fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Speak with Beasts. The lion can communicate with beasts as if they shared a language.
Thunder Step. As a bonus action the lion can teleport to an unoccupied space it can see within 120 feet of it. Immediately after it disappears, a thunderous boom sounds, and each creature within 15 feet of the space it left must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save the creature takes 27 (5d10) thunder damage and is deafened for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn't deafened. The thunder can be heard from up to 1 mile away. If the lion has a creature grappled when it uses this trait the creature is teleported with the lion.
Titan's Stability. The lion can only become prone if it wishes to be.
Multiattack. The lion makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claw.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 36 (4d12 + 10) piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 24). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the lion can't bite another target.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (2d10 + 10) slashing damage plus 14 (4d6) thunder damage, and the target is pushed 30 feet away and knocked prone. Additionally, the strike emits a thunderous boom which can be heard up to 1 mile away, forcing creatures within 15 feet of the lion to make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or become deafened for 1 minute.
Thunderous Roar (Recharge 5–6). The lion lets out an earth-shaking roar, which can be heard up to 300 feet away. Each creature in a 30-foot cube originating from the lion must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 55 (10d10) thunder damage and is deafened until the start of the lion's next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t deafened. If the lion has a creature grappled, the grapple ends and that creature automatically fails the saving throw.
The lion 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 lion regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Attack. The lion makes a bite or claw attack.
Thunder Step. The lion uses its thunder step ability.
Menacing Aura (Costs 2 Actions). Each creature of the lion's choice that is within 60 feet of the lion and aware of it must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature frightened in this way must spend its turns trying to move as far away from the lion as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of the lion. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn if it is more than 60 feet away from the lion, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's initial saving throw was successful, the creature is immune to the lion's Menacing Aura for the next 24 hours.
Description
Colossal lions are typically ninety-five feet long and seventy feet tall, when standing — though they rarely stand except to assert their dominance over a creature. They have the same short, pale-colored, fur covering the majority of their body, that normal lions do. Their manes are also the typical brown color, however they typically have streaks of either black, bronze, or gold running through their mane. Older colossal lions will sometimes have bronze colored manes with gold highlights. More aggressive colossal lions will also have front paws that are noticeably bigger than their back paws, and it is more common for them to have black streaks in their mane.
The colossal lion is a proudful, arrogant creature. Similarly to the boar it desires nothing more than for creatures to bow before it, but as their king not just because they are less than it. A colossal lion typically lives on a grass covered hill — one that puts it higher than those around it and that makes it visible to others — rarely moving from that hill. While the colossal lion has a strong desire to have followers, it typically will have none. This is in large part due to the fact that not many creatures come across these beasts, and those who do typically have no desire to stay in one place for long, as the lands which the colossal lion inhabits are filled with a plethora of dangers (primarily hordes of undead). These factors culminate in colossal lions not only being lonely, but also in them having a hatred for undead and a lust for power.
A colossal lion rules its realm with an iron fist. Colossal lions do not permit the usage of illusion and necromancy magic in its territory, and it punishes those that do with deafness, at the very least. Deafness is also the punishment for those that speak poorly of the lion. It also petrifies thieves, and punishes undeath with death; killing any undead that steps foot on its land. An occurrence that is marked by the loud thunderclap a colossal lion's strikes produce — which reminds all in the area who is the lord of the land (or who at least thinks they are).
Most colossal beasts frown upon the colossal lion's domineering nature, and many will straight up ignore not just the lion's claim to authority but also the lion itself. The lion knows that it is not strong enough to challenge other colossal beasts, so some have taken to hunting down undead, in order to gain the respect from other colossal beasts (particularly colossal bears, which many of them look up to). However, most colossal lions are so self-absorbed that, they do not have this interest — or any interest — in anything beyond the land they claim as theirs. This carelessness leads them to ignoring any undead outside of its territory, so they never address the source of their problem, and will likely be lonely and powerless for their entire life. Though this trend may be changing, albeit very slowly.
Similarly to other colossal beasts, colossal lions do not need to eat or drink as much as other creatures, but they still need to eat — a characteristic that sets them apart from other colossal beasts. However, a colossal lions spells provide it with enough to eat and drink. They also still need to sleep though only about once a week. Colossal lions are also shorter lived than many of the other colossal beasts, with it being common for elves to out live them.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Colossal Lion's Lair
A colossal lion's lair is typically a grass covered hill, the surrounding smaller hills and the valleys in between.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the lion takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the lion can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- A thunderclap originates at a point the lion can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature within a 20-foot radius centered on that point must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or take 5 (1d10) thunder damage and be deafened until the end of its next turn.
- A thunderous detonation of sound that can be heard up to 300 feet away surrounds one creature in the lair that the lion can see. That creature must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or take 13 (3d8) thunder damage and be stunned until the end of its next turn.
- The lion casts the dominate person spell. The lion doesn't need to concentrate on the spell, which ends on initiative count 20 of the next round. Any creature that is within 15 feet of the target of the spell must make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the lion, until initiative count 20 of the next round.
- The lion casts the command spell three times, targeting different creatures with each spell.
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