Large Fey, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 76 (9d10 + 27)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
18 (+4)
DEX
12 (+1)
CON
17 (+3)
INT
10 (+0)
WIS
9 (-1)
CHA
14 (+2)
Saving Throws WIS +1
Skills Perception +1
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11
Languages Giant, Gnoll, Goblin
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

Monocular Illusion Resistance. The amiraspian cyclops has advantage on saving throws against illusions that include visual elements it can see.

Poor Depth Perception. The amiraspian cyclops has disadvantage on any attack roll against a target more than 5 feet away.

Actions

Multiattack. The cyclops makes three attacks: two with its claws and one with its bite, or it makes two attacks with its morningstar.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7(1d6+4) slashing damage.

Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13(2d8+4) bludgeoning damage.

Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage

 

 

Bonus Actions

Aggressive. As a bonus action, the amiraspian cyclops can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.

Hypnotic Glare. As a bonus action, the cyclops's eye becomes a twisting vortex of colors and it stares at a creature within 60 feet. If the target can see the cyclops it must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes charmed for 1 minute. While charmed by the stare, the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0. The effect ends if an affected creature takes any damage, or if someone else uses an action to shake the creature out of its stupor.
 A target that successfully saves is immune to this cyclops's stare for the next 24 hours.

Description

Amiraspian cyclopes are one-eyed man-eaters known for their savage attacks on humans and other humanoids. A cyclops stands around 9 feet tall and resembles a man in general shape, with powerful arms, clawed hands and a horrible mouth, broad and crammed with flesh-ripping fangs. Its single massive eye is clear sea green and eerily human apart from its size. The cyclops's weathered skin is tan in color, with scattered clumps of straggly green-black hair.

Foes of Humankind. Amiraspian cyclopes are carnivores with an innate fondness for humanoid flesh. Their favorite food is halfling, followed by gnome, dwarf, elf, gnome and human, but they loathe the taste of orcflesh. Only a starving cyclops would eat an orc or half-orc, it would rather leave the corpse as carrion.

Cyclopes are notorious for raiding undefended settlements, repeatedly attacking them whenever they feel hungry. Like many predators, cyclopes prefer weak victims (e.g. abducting unarmed villagers from hamlets or farmhouses) over hunting strong prey that might injure them (e.g. fighting warriors or adventurers).

Cave Tyrants. These monsters can live off most types of terrain, including subterranean, and normally lair in caves. Amiraspian cyclopes often dominate bands of humanoid monsters (orcs, gnolls, goblins, et cetera) as their minions. The group is ruled by the strongest and fiercest cyclops (see Amiraspian Cyclops Chief for an example). A cyclops lair might also contain young cyclopes and captured humanoids. Often human, these living prisoners are held to be eaten. Unlucky captives suffer ghastly fates before being devoured.

A cyclops may attract scavengers that feed on the gory remains of its prey. They are sometimes trailed by carrion-eaters such as buzzards or jackals, and their dwellings are usually infested with corpse-flies and similar vermin.

Cursed Births. Amiraspian cyclopes appear to always be male, but are incapable of natural procreation. Instead, they multiply by cursing pregnant human women they have captured so their offspring are sometimes born as cyclopes. Little is known of this "Amiraspian Curse", but it seems certain that it requires the woman be devoured once she gives birth. It is also clear the curse does not always work. Instead of a cyclops whelp, the newborn may be fully human (in which case it is eaten too), or a cyclopean-human hybrid (see Amiraspian Hybrid); this one-eyed humanoid is cast out of the lair once its elders realize it isn't a true cyclops. The curse's effectiveness can be randomly determined with a d10 roll: 1-3 is a human, 4-6 a hybrid, 7-10 a cyclops.

Pregnant women who escape or are rescued from a cyclops den are free of the curse and give birth normally. The curse only covers the lair and ends if all the cyclopes are dead or incapacitated.

(Originally created by Albie Fiore; appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #21 (Oct/Nov 1980) as part of the Fiend Factory mini-module "One-Eye Canyon", edited by Albie Fiore.)

Previous Versions

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Environment: DesertGrasslandHillMountainUnderdark

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