All-Around Vision. The Creation Shard has advantage on sight-based Wisdom (perception) checks.
Flawless Crystal. When at maximum hit points, the Creation Shard has resistance to all damage and immunity to all conditions except invisible. The Creation Shard is immune to disease.
Glorified by Light. If the Creation Shard is hit by an attack that does radiant damage, all negative conditions and ongoing damage affecting it end, and it emits a flash of blinding light. All creatures within 100ft. of the Creation Shard must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded until the end of their next turn.
Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the Creation Shard fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Moonlit. The Creation Shard radiates bright light in a 20ft. radius and dim light out another 20ft.
Multiattack. The Creation Shard makes a ram attack and two light beam attacks.
Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 27 (6d6+6) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 21 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Light Beam. Ranged Spell Attack: +12 to hit, range 200ft., one creature. Hit: 18 (4d8) radiant damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be covered in a crystal shell. A creature in a crystal shell is paralyzed and cannot breathe. A creature can break free by making a successful DC 20 Strength saving throw at the end of its turn.
The Creation Shard can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Creation Shard regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Beam. The Creation Shard makes a light beam attack.
Move. The Creation Shard moves up to its speed.
Ram. The Creation Shard makes a ram attack.
Shatter. A creature in a crystal shell within 200ft. of the Creation Shard takes 36 (8d8) slashing damage and is freed from the crystal shell.
Description
Eons ago during a forgotten war, a powerful elemental invaded the Upper Planes. Some power there transformed it into something new, still an elemental but now blessed--or, in the view of its fellow elementals, corrupted--with holy light. Surrounded by enemies, many of whom were once its allies, it retreated from the war and fled to the Prime Material.
Once it found a satisfactory hiding spot, the elemental discovered a new drive within itself. The energy bursting within it drove it to create. The Creation Shard, as it became to be called by the few who knew of its existence, brought into being one creature after another, crystalline lifeforms like itself. And so it has done every since.
Two compulsions fuel one another within the Creation Shard. It is driven to create more and more of its "offspring," the shardborn. But it is also extremely paranoid. Rightly or not, it believes that both the celestials and elementals seek its destruction. This fear compels it to create ever more shardborn to guard it, but it worries that doing so will make remaining hidden more difficult, which further enhances its paranoia. It is a vicious cycle that has being going on for millenia with little chance of ending.
To create a new shardborn, the Creation Shard creates a pillar of crystal with its light beams, which it then uses to shape the pillar into the proper shape and infuse it with life and power. The type of shardborn created is determined not by practical need but in response to the Shard's random urges. The time requires is determined by the power of shardborn being made. A star-razor takes about a month to create, while an agonia might take two or three. A clear assassin requires years to bring forth. The Creation Shard is usually working on several shardborn at once.
The Creation Shard is a massive teardrop-shaped crystal with a wide base and tapering top. It is perfectly smooth and flawless, and it glows light blue. On two sides, just before where its body begins to taper upward, the upper half of a humanoid figure grows from the Shard. The figure on one side is feminine, and the other is masculine.
The Creation Shard wants more than anything to be left alone. Even if intruders are able to convince it that they are not in league with its enemies--no small feat considering its paranoia--it will still likely attempt to destroy them to keep its location secret.
During battle, the Creation Shard rams enemies with its rock-hard body. The humanoid figures shoot beams of light from their hands, the same beams used to create new shardborn. Creatures struck by these beams become trapped in a crystalline shell.
Lair and Lair Actions
The Creation Shard dwells in a vast labyrinth of caverns deep beneath the earth. Due to its paranoia, it moves to a different location within the labyrinth frequently, but almost never leaves. A great number of shardborn dwell in the labyrinth with it.
While fighting inside its lair, the Creation Shard can invoke the ambient magic to take lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Creation Shard can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- The Creation Shard casts daylight at a point within 120ft. of it, requiring no components, or it automatically dispels an area of magical darkness in a sphere with a 60ft. radius within 120ft. of it. The daylight spell remains until initiative count 20 the following round.
- The Creation Shard sends a telepathic message to any number of shardborn located anywhere within its lair. If the message gives them orders, they must obey unless the orders are suicidal.
- A square of ground 20ft. on a side within 120ft. of the Creation Shard becomes coated in slick crystal until initiative count 20 on the following round. Creatures crossing the affected ground must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity (acrobatics) check to avoid falling prone.
- A spike of crystal up to 20ft. long erupts from the floor, wall, or ceiling within 120ft. of the Creation Shard and thrusts at a creature, who must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) piercing damage. The spike then crumbles to dust.
Regional Effects
A region containing the Creation Shard's lair is warped by the creature's unnatural presence, which creates one or more of the following effects.
- Within one mile of the lair, a glass or crystal nonmagical object exposed to the open air shines as bright as a torch for one minute and then shatters.
- Undead creatures within one mile of the lair have disadvantage on saving throws versus turn undead, and creatures within one mile of the lair lose any vulnerability to necrotic damage they might have.
- Creatures that sleep within one mile of the lair must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw upon awakening or gain extreme paranoia, as per the long term madness effect (DMG p260).
If the Creation Shard dies or leaves the area, these effects fade away over the course of 1d10 days.