Mechanical Nature. The music box does not require air, food, drink, or sleep. It is immune to exhaustion and poison.
Creepy Melody (Recharge 5–6). Plays a haunting, looping melody for 1 minute. Creatures of its choice within 30 ft. must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the melody ends. While frightened, creatures have disadvantage on saving throws against being grappled by the music box’s mouth.
Unsettling Silence. When the melody stops, creatures within 10 ft. that failed their saving throw take 5 (1d10) psychic damage.
Multiattack. The music box can make two attacks: one with its mouth (if extended) and one with one of its other mechanical attacks.
Long Cubed Mouth (Recharge 6).
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Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
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Hit: 14 (3d8 + 1) piercing damage, target must succeed on DC 13 Strength saving throw or be grappled. While grappled, the target is restrained, and the music box can make an additional bite attack at the start of its turn.
Crushing Slam.
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Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
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Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Gear Swipe.
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Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., all creatures in a 5 ft. arc.
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Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
Whirling Springs (Recharge 5–6).
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The music box spins its internal gears and springs violently in a 15 ft. radius. Each creature in the area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
Snap Shut. When a creature moves within 5 feet of the music box or tries to escape a grapple, the mouth can snap shut. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) piercing damage and be restrained.
Retreat Into Safety. When the music box takes damage, it can use its reaction to retract its long cubed mouth back into the box, gaining a protective posture.
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Until the start of its next turn, the music box has half cover (+2 AC).
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While retracted, the music box cannot make mouth attacks or grapple, but it can still move and use other actions.
Enter the description for how legendary actions work for your monster here.
Legendary Action Name (Costs # Actions). Enter the description for your legendary action.
Mythic Action Name. Enter the description for how mythic actions work for your monster here.
Mythic Action Name (Costs # Actions). Enter the description for your mythic action.
Description
This unassuming medium-sized music box is a nightmarish construct, appearing harmless at first glance with its polished wood and ornate brass details. Its exterior is covered in intricate carvings and delicate inlays, almost inviting players to inspect it… but that is a dangerous mistake.
When idle, it emits a faint, haunting melody that drifts through the air, unsettling and uncanny. The tune has an unnatural cadence, warping perception and instilling a creeping fear in those who hear it. If the music completes its cycle, the lid bursts open to reveal a long, grotesque cube-shaped mouth lined with jagged teeth. The mouth extends unnaturally, capable of biting and grappling any creature within reach.
The music box is highly reactive and unpredictable in combat. It alternates between its melodic manipulation, aggressive mouth attacks, and sudden defensive retreats, snapping its mouth shut into safety when threatened. It can lash out with its crushing mechanical body, swipe nearby foes with spinning gears, or unleash a violent burst of slashing springs to punish clusters of enemies.
Though a construct, it seems almost sentient in its tactics, carefully choosing when to frighten, bite, or defend itself. Its mechanical movements are jerky and unsettling, and the whirring gears and faint ticking serve as a constant reminder of the monstrosity concealed within what appears to be a harmless trinket.
Adventurers beware: the Creeping Music Box is patient, cunning, and relentless, turning curiosity into peril with terrifying efficiency.
Lair and Lair Actions
Enter a description of your monster's lair here.
Lair Actions
On initiative count # (losing initiative ties), the [monster name] takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the [monster name] can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Enter a description for a lair action.
- Enter a description for a lair action.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary [monster name]’s lair is [enter the effect description], which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Enter a regional effect description.
- Enter a regional effect description.
If the [monster name] dies, these effects fade over the course of #d# days.
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