"Over many years, the blood of wolves, moles and snakes had mixed to form the Canendae, a rare monstrosity that lives within the swamps and the underdark. Resting in the Mere of Dead Men, one of these lone creatures laid in an isolated divot of loose mud and rock, few of the swamp's creatures dared to approach, even when the monster had left to hunt, and the bones of those who did adorned the cave's walls."

The Canendae is a beastly monstrosity, possessing the appearance of a wolf with a scaly tail and heavy, hooked claws. Standing on all fours, a full-grown Canendae is around 10 feet long, 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, weighing 400 pounds, and has a long, serpentine tail 4 feet in length. It usually has grey, black or dark brown fur with dark skin and black eyes with yellow, brown or green sclera.

- The name Canendae is a mix of the words 'Canine', 'Serpentes' and 'Talpidae', being the scientific names for the creatures it is made up of.

It's lair is either a small cave in a swamp or a crevice within the underdark. The Canendae has carved out an area to rest, the area is dampened by the monster's saliva, and has some areas of difficult terrain.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Canendae takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Canendae can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row and must wait for it's abilities to recharge:

• Aggressive Terrain (Recharge 5-6). The Canendae moves the terrain with a command word (in the form of a growl of sorts) affecting a 15 foot radius area of terrain to jump. Each creature standing on the affected terrain must make a DC 14 Dexterity Saving Throw, taking 26 (4d12) bludgeoning damage and 19 (3d12) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Creatures who failed the Saving Throw must also make a DC 12 Strength Saving Throw, becoming knocked prone on a failed save.
• Shifting Terrain (Recharge 3-4-5-6). The Canendae slightly shifts the terrain with a command word (in the form of a growl of sorts) affecting a 20 foot radius area of terrain to shift. Each creature standing on the affected terrain must make a DC 12 Dexterity Saving Throw, becoming knocked prone on a failed save.

Regional Effects

The region containing a legendary Canendae’s lair is warped by the monster's presence, which creates the following effects:

• Every 25 squared feet land within the lair has at least 10 squared feet of difficult terrain which doesn't affect the movement of the Canendae and is in the form of sticky mud or mineral.
• When a creature is knocked prone within the lair, it must make a DC 15 Strength Saving Throw, becoming restrained on a failed save, retaining movement speed. It must use 10 feet of movement to become unrestrained, and is still prone after doing so.
• Upon taking a long rest within the lair, the Canendae gains 5 (1d6 + 2) temporary hit points

If the Canendae dies, these effects fade over the course of 3d4 days.