Dark Cloud. Any defending army aware of the presence of Aufgeben within 100 miles of a battlefield, at GM discretion, is demoralized. A DC 18 Charisma (Persuasion) check is required to convince d100 percent of the force from deserting.
Divide and Devour (1/day). Aufgeben can choose to exist as a fully formed dragon or as multiple more miniature versions of himself on a whim. As an action, Aufgeben can disperse into six individual creatures for one minute. The creatures have the statistics of a young black dragon but divide Aufgeben's hit points at the time of dispersal equally among them. When the separated creatures lose half their hit points, they reform into one collective creature and regenerate 22 (4d10) hit points.
Flyby. Aufgeben doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when he flies out of an enemy's reach.
Legendary Resistance (3/day). If Aufgeben fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Turn Defiance (3/day). Aufgeben and any undead victim within 60 feet of him are immune to the effects of turn undead.
Stench of Death. Aufgeben reeks of the rotten corpses upon which he feeds. Any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of Aufgeben must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of the creature's next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to Aufgeben's stench of death until the end of its next turn.
Multiattack. Aufgeben can use his Frightful Presence. He then makes three attacks: one with his bite and two with his claws.
Bite (single form). Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned.
Claw (single form). Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 +8) slashing damage. If the target is a creature other than undead, it must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for one minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Rotten Breath (Recharge 5-6). Aufgeben exhales acid and rotten flesh in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 67 (15d8) acid damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a success. Additionally, each creature in the area of effect must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of their next turn.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of Aufgeben's choice within 120 feet of Aufgeben and aware of it must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for one minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Aufgeben's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Action Ranged Attack. RangedWeapon Attack: +# to hit, range #/# ft., # target. Hit: # (#d# + #) [damage type] damage.
Aufgeben can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Aufgeben regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Detect. Aufgeben makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Bite Attack. Aufgeben makes a bite attack.
Consume corpse (Costs 3 actions). Aufgeben devours a dead body, swallowing it whole. Aufgeben can roll hit dice as if taking a short rest, and his breath weapon is automatically recharged.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 actions). Aufgeben beats his wings. Each creature within 15 feet of Aufgeben must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Aufgeben can then fly up to half his flying speed.
Enter the description for how mythic actions work for your monster here.
Mythic Action Name (Costs # Actions). Enter the description for your mythic action.
Description
Aufgeben is a grotesque undead abomination. Unlike other dragonkin, he is not a hunter, a predator, or an apex beast but a scavenger who consumes rotten flesh, empowered by fear and death. Immune to all diseases, he smells of rot and is almost always preceded by a hail of buzzing flies and vermin as well as rumors of defeat.
In many ways, Aufgeben is an omen. He is the manifestation of fear among a gathered army--he grows stronger when its odds of victory are bleak. As the individual fears of each soldier grow Aufgeben manifests into a terrifying physical form that longs to feast on their bodies once they fall victim to an invading force. As he feeds, he grows stronger, spreading fear and disaster in equal measure.
Few people have witnessed Aufgeben and stories of him are rare. Those who have come in contact with the beast rarely survive. Victims' corpses are never found, their deaths are attributed to fey, ghosts, swamp creatures, undead, or the other horrors that stalk the battle-torn lands between encamped forces. Aufgeben is a timeless beast and his ruin has been felt around the world, whether or not people know his name. Should anyone have a story about the Dark Cloud--a bard or bartender, for instance--it is often told through parable and myth, as though the story was born of a child's fantasies and fears.
The details vary each time the tale is recounted, but one superstitious aspect is consistent. All good generals know the fear of losing a battle can manifest into the swarming body of Aufgeben in an instant. A great many field marshals arrive to battle with hairs on their necks standing up straight, unable to push down the fear that they will lose the day. Acknowledging such fear to their soldiers is enough to summon Aufgeben to the fight, his sole purpose to feed on ensuing failure, to relish the taste of defeat.
Hook
Aufgeben exists wherever there is death--battlefields, graveyards, plague-riddled lands, and the like. As such, the beast is likely to be spotted by peasants and travelers, with rumors of his location quick to follow. Though heroes are unlikely to have encountered Aufgeben face to face, anyone with a soldier's background would at least have heard the rumors of a decaying dragon that moves like a murmuration, eating the dead like a carrion beast--and it sounds like something similar is heading for the frontlines. If not, the great dragon can always eat the dead from a sacred cemetery, which will certainly draw the ire of any who fight to cleanse the world of evil. Other hooks could include:
- The party are messengers sent out to tell a general to stand down his army, but they'll need to get there before Aufgeben does.
- The party stumbles upon the two-day-old remnants of a battlefield. The stench is unbearable, but the spoils of war have been left behind. Armor, swords and the like lie in puddles of gore, free for the taking. The buzzing of flies that heralds a rotting dragon is heard in the distance.
- The party is part of a large army that remains a little too long after the fight, only to witness Aufgeben land among the carnage and begin feasting on friend and foe alike. In their weakened state, the party is not a threat to the dragon, who has already deemed the dead its spoils of war...
Encounter Conditions
The smell of decay abounds. Aufgeben is most often found in abbatoirs, battlefields, and graveyards. He has found no true lair. He nests wherever there are dead bodies, piles of bones, and rotting carcasses.
Encounter.
Encounters with Aufgeben are bound to be lengthy. In the open--on a battlefield for instance--he will see the party coming a long way off. He will have time to prepare and to fly away if necessary. Being undead, he does not sleep, so attacking him at night is unlikely. If possible, Aufgeben would be found atop a pile of bones and corpses to give himself a better view of the surrounding area.
Tactics.
Aufgeben is a scavenger and knows the value of killing the weakest thing first, like a vulture waiting for a lamb to die in the hot sun. Whenever possible, Aufgeben uses his Consume Corpse legendary action. Beyond that, he makes sure to use his lair actions in whatever manner will harm the (perceivable) weakest enemy.
Despite being impervious to many attacks, Aufgeben does not think like a traditional dragon. He is a scavenger and eater of the dead. He does not approach anything he cannot kill easily or that is not already dead. Fighting toe-to-toe with the party is not his style and he keeps them at bay with numerous ranged attacks or by dispersing into smaller forms and flying away. Since he is rarely--if ever--encountered underground, Aufgeben flees at the sight of a strong force and only attacks with his breath weapon at a distance. He will never stand toe-to-toe with fighter types.
Even airborne, Aufgeben can use his lair actions on the party on the ground. When the party approaches a body pile that the dragon is near, Aufgeben immediately takes flight and targets the party from the air, leaving them to deal with the effect of his presence.
Given that there may be several body pile lairs within a few miles of each other, some lairs may be empty or inactive. This is a prime opportunity for some body piles to be decoys. Game masters can surprise the party with a lair action or two to spring a trap.
Treasure
Aufgeben has no use for treasure. His stomach consumes everything he eats, and only the strongest of magic could survive his pseudo-intestines. The actual prize of defeating Aufgeben is his decaying flesh, which could be studied by a powerful wizard, should they reach the corpse in time.
Lair and Lair Actions
Aufgeben is likely nesting somewhere near a recent and cataclysmic battle, his lair a mound of corpses he collected over several weeks. Aufgeben may have several lairs spread our across the lands.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Aufgeben takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; Aufgeben can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row, and cannot repeat an effect until they have all been used:
- A pocket of rotten flesh gives way beneath one creature of Aufgeben's choosing. That creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or suffer 21 (6d6) acid damage as they slip into a pool of collected stomach acid and fetid blood.
- The rotten corpses piled about this lair shift in a 15-foot area of Aufgeben's choice. Any creature in this area must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or become buried in corpses. Escaping requires a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) saving throw.
- Maggots writhing in the corpses of the area surge upward at Aufgeben's command. The ground in a 20-foot radius centered on a point of Aufgeben's choosing becomes difficult terrain for the next round. When a creature moves into or within the area, it takes 5 (2d4) piercing damage for every 5 feet it travels, as the maggots gnaw at the creature's flesh.
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