Amphibious. The zombie aboleth can breathe air and water.
Mucous Cloud. While underwater, the zombie aboleth is surrounded by transformative mucus. A creature that touches the aboleth or that hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is diseased for 1d4 hours. The diseased creature can breathe only underwater.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie aboleth to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.
Multiattack. The zombie aboleth makes three tentacle attacks.
Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become diseased. The disease has no effect for 1 minute and can be removed by any magic that cures disease. After 1 minute, the diseased creature's skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can't regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft. one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Anomaly Rewind. The zombie aboleth can use a reaction to force an opponent to re-roll the damage of their attack, taking the lower of the two scores.
The zombie aboleth can take 3 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 zombie aboleth regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Tail Swipe. The zombie aboleth makes one tail attack. (Costs 1 Action)
Vengeful Servant. The zombie aboleth opens a rift next to the opponent that last damaged it causing it to take half the damage it just dealt to the aboleth that turn. (Costs 2 actions)
Description
Before the coming of the gods, aboleths lurked in primordial oceans and underground lakes. They reached out with their minds and seized control of the burgeoning life-forms of the mortal realm, making those creatures their slaves. Their dominance made them like gods. Then the true gods appeared, smashing the aboleths’ empire and freeing their slaves.
Aboleths have never forgotten.
Shattered Memories. Zombie Aboleths have fractured memories. While they remember enough to allow them to function and maintain their lairs, their past and what brought them to the place where such a transformation was allowed to transpire.
Defiler of Time. Zombie aboleths dwell in watery ruins, including ocean abysses, deep lakes, and the deep underneath coastal cities. In these domains and the lands that adjoin them, zombie aboleths are temporal anomalies, diverting and redirecting the flow of time around them. When a creature enters a loop, zombie aboleths add the creatures torment and suffering as fuel to maintain the loop.
If a being dies in the loop they remain unaware unless they come across their own body. This results in Indefinite Madness. The only way to remove an individual from the loop is to change their actions and prevent their death. If the saved individual had escaped and died with a copy still in the loop then the copy will disappear. If the individual is still alive then all the memories of the loops the copy had will flood into the living individual.
Failed Enemy of the Gods. The aboleths’ fall from power is written in stark clarity on their flawless memories, for aboleths never truly die. Normally if an aboleth’s body is destroyed, its spirit returns to the Elemental Plane of Water, where a new body coalesces for it over days or months. However, for some reason this Aboleth's body continued to function in spite of its spirit leaving for the elemental plane of water, kept alive by its innate rage and hatred now turned to all living things.
Lair and Lair Actions
Aboleths lair in subterranean lakes or the rocky depths of the ocean, often surrounded by the ruins of an ancient, fallen aboleth city. An aboleth spends most of its existence underwater, surfacing occasionally to treat with visitors or deranged worshipers.
Lair Actions
When fighting inside its lair, a zombie aboleth can invoke the ambient magic to take lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the zombie aboleth takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- By manipulating the temporal loops around it, the zombie aboleth can summon a version of a random opponent that was driven mad in its lair and will fight for it. The duplicate remains for 1d4 rounds. The zombie aboleth can’t use this lair action again until it has used a different one.
- Pools of water within 90 feet of the aboleth surge outward in a grasping tide. Any creature on the ground within 20 feet of such a pool must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 20 feet into the water and knocked prone. The zombie aboleth can’t use this lair action again until it has used a different one.
- Water in the zombie aboleth’s lair magically becomes a conduit for the creature’s rage. The zombie aboleth can target any number of creatures it can see in such water within 90 feet of it. A target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or take 7 (2d6) psychic damage. The zombie aboleth can’t use this lair action again until it has used a different one.
Regional Effects
The region containing a zombie aboleth’s lair is warped by the creature’s presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Underground surfaces within 1 mile of the zombie aboleth’s lair are slimy and wet and are difficult terrain.
- Water sources within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally fouled. Enemies of the zombie aboleth that drink such water vomit it within minutes.
- Areas around the zombie aboleth lair become subjected to temporal looping anomalies of varying sizes. Individuals inside it shall find themselves sent back to their point of entry every rest having received none of the benefits of the rest. Anyone who dies is brought back to life unaware of eveything including their death and afterwards.
If the zombie aboleth dies, the first two effects fade over the course of 3d10 days.
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