False Appearance. While the brooding mawlek remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal cave formation, such as flowstones or helictites.
Spider Climb. The brooding mawlek can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Multiattack. Brooding Mawlek makes three attacks: one Spit attack and two Slash attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) slashing damage.
Slash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (1d12 + 4) slashing damage.
Spit. RangedWeapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) acid damage.
Vomit (Recharge 5-6). Brooding Mawlek spews blobs of Infection in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take 25 (7d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage as the next one.
The Brooding Mawlek can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be taken at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Brooding Mawlek regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Bite. The Brooding Mawlek makes a bite attack.
Leap (Costs 2 Actions). The Brooding Mawlek can long jump up to 30 feet and if they land on the space of a creature, that creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. A creature that succeeds on their save takes no damage and isn't knocked prone. Any creature forced to make a save is pushed out to within 5 feet of the Brooding Mawlek's space to a point of their choosing if they succeed or the most natural point if they fail.
Vomit (Costs 3 actions). Without needing to recharge, the Brooding Mawlek takes the Vomit action.
Description
Ferocious but extremely social creature. Becomes aggressive if not able to mingle with its own kind.
I hear this beast crying out sometimes as I prowl the caverns, although I've never actually laid eyes on it. Who or what is it calling for? As far as I can tell, its voice is never answered.
One lone Brooding Mawlek can be found off-road in the Forgotten Crossroads (Infected Crossroads), far from its living brethren in the Ancient Basin. It sits amidst fossilized remains of its kind and calls for them to breed. This wild beast was driven mad both by its loneliness and the Infection which started covering its body with bulbs. It attacks any creature as soon as they enter its room by jumping out of seemingly nowhere. Upon defeat, the Infection bursts out of the Mawlek, making it explode.
Lair and Lair Actions
A 60-foot wide 30-foot tall cavern covered with all forms of stalagmites and stalactites. That and dozens of fossilized lesser mawleks.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Brooding Mawlek takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- Hanging Stalactites. Rock formations drop from the ceiling in a 5-foot radius at up to 4 different points on the ground that the Brooding Mawlek can see with 60 feet of it. Those areas then become difficult terrain, and each creature within those points must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 9 (2d8) piercing damage.
- Sealed Arena. The lair of the Brooding Mawlek is sealed. There are no means of breaking out except via teleportation, planar travel, similar forms of magic, or by killing the Brooding Mawlek.
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