Shapechanger. The avolakia can use its action to polymorph into a small or medium humanoid creature with features and an appearance of its choosing, or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Disease Immunity. Due to their constant association with undead and other uncleanly beings, avolakia are immune to all forms of disease.
Regeneration. The avolakia regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the avolakia takes acid or lightning damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the avolakia’s next turn.
Suggestive Voice. When in humanoid form an avolakia has a hypnotic and melodious voice. By speaking soothingly to any creature that can both hear and understand it, the avolakia can force a creature to make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. The target has disadvantage if the avolakia is speaking their native language. On a failed save the target is placed under effects identical to a suggestion spell. If the target succeeds on the saving throw it is not aware the avolakia was trying to magically manipulate it.
Innate Spellcasting. The avolakia’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 17). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect magic, mage hand, cause fear, inflict wounds, speak with dead
3/day each: animate dead, raise dead, create undead, tongues
1/day each: contagion, enervation
Multiattack. The avolakia makes three attacks, one with its bite and two with its claws.
Venomous Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) piercing damage, and if the target is not undead it must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw, having their Wisdom score reduced by 1d6 on a failed save. The target is incapacitated if this reduces its Wisdom to 0. Otherwise, the target regains 1 point of wisdom with each long rest.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) slashing damage.
Description
In their natural form, an avolakia is a nauseating being that combines the worst aspects of a worm, an octopus, and several insectile creatures. It is exceptionally wise and glib, two traits it uses to fuel its goal of infiltrating other societies in service to the ancient dead avolakian god.
Undead Masters. Avolakias are spawns of an ancient evil known as Kyuss. They were made in his image, that of a vile worm, and follow his dogma in every aspect of their lives. Their society is very religious, with many different rituals, most of which involve the slaughter of humanoid races and the creation of countless undead servants. To them, undeath is seen not as a blight, but a sacred sort of twisted purity. It is common within avolakian society to see undead being used to attend all manner of menial tasks. Undead are also put to use as brute force security. In battle, an avolakia will ideally never engage with its physical attacks, instead remaining at a distance while its minions tear apart any threats.
Unholy Diets. To an avolakia, there is no better taste than that of “fresh” undead flesh. While they can stomach fresh meat or other edible substances to avoid starvation, they prefer to consume the flesh of the undead. For this reason massive creatures who otherwise offer nothing useful in their grand schemes will sometimes be raised as undead for the sole purpose of being used as a source of food. If a large group of avolakia must travel somewhere, it is not uncommon to see large beasts of burden doubling as a travelling larder.
Infectious Infiltrators. Avolakia in their true form of a truly terrible sight. They are only capable of speaking their own language (a guttural, slobbering tongue) when not in another humanoid form, however they do still understand any languages they know. They merely lack the vocal apparatus to speak more typical languages. However, once they transform into a form that is capable of speaking the language it desires, they are notoriously smooth talkers. The primary goal of most avolakia is to infiltrate a humanoid society and corrupt it from within. They will convince important figures within society to come with them to their true home where they can be made into undead servants. They will insert themselves as religious leaders, and try to lead any susceptible individuals down the path of worshipping Kyuss, thus establishing new cults, and if the avolakia in question is particularly powerful in the ways of magic they may even be able to turn nobility or other leadership figures into vampires that can manipulate the masses even further.
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Posted Feb 23, 2021My party fought an Avolakia in their most recent session, and though I used my own slightly beefed up version, I do like this take (especially the Suggestive Voice, instead of an at will suggestion spell).
One way I beefed up my Avolakia was by giving it legendary actions; it could use one of its three legendary actions to either make a bite attack, cast one of its at will spells, or tap into its eldritch origin and conjure a (large) swarm of rot grubs that attack immediately, but scatter away at initiave 20.
My party prevailed, but they wish to never see another worm again.