Ambusher. In the first round of a combat, the crawling cage has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it surprised.
Mimicry. The crawling cage can mimic any sounds it has heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Shadowed Hunter. The crawling cage has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in dim light or darkness.
Spider Climb. The crawling cage can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Multiattack. The crawling cage makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature that is grappled by the cage, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A creature killed by this attack can not be resurrected by any means weaker than a true resurrection spell until the crawling cage is killed.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the cage can grapple the target (escape DC 16).
Ensnaring Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (4d8 + 6) piercing damage and the creature is grappled by the crawling cage (Escape DC 16). While a creature grappled this way it is restrained and the crawling cage can't target another creature with its ensnaring grasp.
Beckoning Phantasm. The crawling cage targets a creature it is aware of within 60 feet of it. The creature must make an DC 18 Intelligence saving throw, on a failed save the crawling cage creates an illusion that only the targeted creature can see and hear within 5 feet of itself. The illusion takes the form of a creature that the targeted creature had a positive opinion of that has died, if no such creature exists then the target is treated as if it succeeded the saving throw. The affected creature is considered charmed by the illusion. This effect lasts until the crawling cage takes another action.
While charmed by the illusion, a target is incapacitated. If the charmed target is more than 5 feet away from the illusion, the target must move on its turn toward the illusion by the most direct route, trying to get within 5 feet. It doesn't avoid opportunity attacks, but before moving into damaging terrain, such as lava or a pit, and whenever it takes damage from any source, the target can repeat the saving throw. A charmed target can also repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If the saving throw is successful, the effect ends on it.
A target that successfully saves is immune to the crawling cage's beckoning phantasm for the next 24 hours.
Screaming Cacophony (Recharge 5-6). The crawling cage releases a harrowing screech using the screams of its former victims that pierces the souls and minds of those who hear it in a 15 foot cone. Creatures within the cone that can hear must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw, taking 35 (10d6) psychic damage and becoming frightened for a minute on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature frightened this way can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Ensnare. While the crawling cage remains hidden if a creature moves within 10 feet of it, it can use its reaction to move up to 5 feet towards it and use its Ensnaring Grasp on it. Alternatively it can use its Claws attack to grapple the creature instead.
Description
The crawling cage is a monstrous undead made primarily of various blackened bones, formed into the shape of a vague monstrous creature that stands at roughly 12 feet tall when upright with the sole desire to hunt and consume the souls of living creatures. Their heads are vaguely shaped like dragon skulls and will usually be the only white bones of their bodies. These skulls have three eye sockets the have a spectral glow inside them. The crawling cage has 8 limbs with 4 acting as its primary limbs that it uses to get around and 4 secondary limbs that rarely see use outside of ensnaring prey. Its forelimbs are raptorial like claws that it crawls around on and aid it in digging and grabbing prey that are outside its secondary limbs' reach. Its back limbs are a segmented sickle shape facing the opposite direction of its forelimbs that allow it to stand up to an extent and balance using its long, skeletal tail when it's holding prey in its forelimbs. Its 4 secondary limbs are more similar to segmented, elongated ribs that extend from behind its rib cage out to the side and are generally only used to close in around prey to pierce and hold them in place. Within its ribcage is glowing spectral energy where its heart would be that resembles the glow in its eye sockets. This energy is the souls that it's collected that are being used to keep itself alive. The crawling cage is a solitary nocturnal ambush hunter that primarily preys at night or in the darkness of caverns. During the day it buries itself just beneath the surface and lies in wait until it senses a suitable prey approaching. Once its target gets close enough it peers into its mind to search through its mind, finding memories of deceased loved ones that the creature recalls. It then plants a spectral vision into the creature's mind to make it appear as if that loved one is standing above the cage, beckoning them closer. Once the creature is close enough it uses its secondary limbs to snap shut around the target to hold them in place and bites down on them to drain the soul from the creature's body, discarding the body afterwards. If this method fails it can instead mimic voices or sounds that it has heard in order to lure its chosen prey in close. During the night the crawling cage becomes much more active and sneakily searches around for prey that are alone or weak looking and uses the same deceptive tactics to lure them in range of its forelimb's grasp and pulls them in to drain their soul from their body in the same manner. Though the crawling cage is more intelligent than typical undead and capable of understanding the meaning of words it is almost impossible to reason with one.
The mishmash of bones that make of the bodies of crawling cages originally come from ancient dragon-like projectors of civilization that ultimately fell in battle. These bones were left to rest for many years before being disturbed by a mage who wanted to revive them, to have them act as guardians once again. Through necromantic magic the mage was able to siphon lost souls into the bones in order to revive them, but not as they were. Instead the bones shifted and formed in ways they shouldn't and put themselves together as the undead monstrosities known as crawling cages. Despite being horrified by what he created the mage found these monsters could seemingly be controlled and was permitted by the city to put them to work. The crawling cages acted as fierce and and dangerous protectors of the city, the only cost being the occasional criminal or invader having their souls siphoned out to continue powering these undead enforcers. After a time however this wouldn't be enough and people would begin to go missing, lured away by calls of the deceased, only to turn up dead days later. The crawling cages had become to intelligent to continue to allow themselves to be controlled and began feasting on the souls of the civilians, and ultimately turning on their creator as well. This city was left in ruins, without a single survivor other than the undead soul harvesters that had no been unleashed into the world due to their carelessness and arrogance thinking that they could truly control such creatures.
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