Ambusher. The blood stag has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised.
Blood Call. The blood stag can use a bonus action to teleport to a creature within 60 feet of it that doesn't have all its hit points and makes one Impale Attack.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the blood stag has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Multiattack. The blood stag makes two attacks, one with Impale and one with its Bite. It can replace the Bite attack by a Tail attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus {"diceNotation":"2d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Bite","rollDamageType":"necrotic"}[/rollable] necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the blood stag regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces it hit point maximum to 0.
Impale. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage and the target must succeed at a Strength saving throw DC 13 or be impaled by the antler and be restrained. The Blood Stag can restrain a maximum of 2 creatures in this manner. A restrained creature can us an action to repeat the saving throw, freeing itself on a success.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Description
Blood Stags are known to roam the deep and lush forests of the world. The most common theory explains that their voracious tendencies for humanoid blood, elven in particular, could be explained by a curse that plagues them. An unknown vampire lord tried to strengthen his armies, experimenting on a herd of stags and deer. In his experiments, he modified the genome of the creatures using dark forces, and even darker pacts. Seeing failure after failure, his subjects dying one after the other, he chose to release them and move his focus to something more productive.
But the curse was latent. Carried in the genes of these original stags, it would manifest at random, instantly killing the beast and bringing it back as a terrifying monster. Due to its inheritable nature, this curse has yet to be neutralized.
Blood stags are lonely specimens, mostly due to the fact that when their mutations manifest, they devour their whole herd, not even sparing their own children, leaving themselves alone in the world.
From there they start hunting, starting with other large herbivores, until they inevitably taste humanoid flesh; perhaps a group of hunters contracted to hunt it or simply perhaps some unfortunate travelers; and get addicted to it.
Once a Blood Stag has feasted enough, it's curse progresses further turning them into an Albino Blood Stags. These monsters tear through flesh, leaving a trail of blood in their path. Once an Albino Blood Stag has been spotted, most villages go into high alert, closing their gates, until the threat has been dealt with.
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