| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 14 | +2 | +2 |
| DEX | 14 | +2 | +2 |
| CON | 15 | +2 | +5 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| WIS | 14 | +2 | +2 |
| CHA | 13 | +1 | +4 |
Umbral Form. When a creature fails its saving throw against the Bauk’s Terrifying Shadow, the Bauk gains the Invisible condition as it enters its Umbral Form. The Bauk has Advantage on Strength and Constitution ability checks and saving throws. The Bauk also gains access to its Umbral Form abilities. This transformation lasts for 1 minute.
Abduct (Umbral Form Only). The Bauk needn’t spend extra movement to move a creature; it is grappling.
Multiattack. The Bauk makes two Rend attacks.
Rend. Melee Attack Roll: +3, reach 5 ft. Hit: 4 (1d8) Slashing damage.
Rend (Umbral Form). Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) Slashing damage in Umbral Form.
Terrifying Shadow. The Bauk casts its shadow in a 30-foot-long, 10-foot-wide Line. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 13, each creature that can see the shadow. Creatures within the Line have Disadvantage on the saving throw. Failure: The creature has the Frightened condition and repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. After 1 minute, it succeeds automatically. Success: The creature is immune to this feature for 24 hours.
Quick Grapple (Umbral Form Only). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 13, one Medium or smaller creature the Bauk can see within 5 feet. Failure: The target has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13).
Description
Before the comforts of civilization, before the warmth of the hearth, folk who wandered the woods in search of sustenance would always be on edge, their eyes darting in fear of a singular sight: the looming shadow of a predator, dancing on the foliage. This sight, herald of death by claw and wicked fang, still freezes the blood of mortals. And the selfsame fear gives birth to the cunning, ferocious spirit known as Bauk.
Large as its Legend. A Bauk is normally a forest spirit of modest proportions, a little shorter than the average human, and of mediocre strength. Yet it possesses a curious weapon: the shadow it casts is much larger, far more fearsome than its unimposing form, giving the sense of a far bigger monster to anyone who witnesses it, filling them with primal dread. That power alone is impressive, but the Bauk’s true power is this: when someone first views the shadow and believes they are facing a great beast, the Bauk’s physical body enlarges too, brawn and speed increasing to match the perception of its prey. For the Bauk is a spirit, and one thing is true of spirits above all else: it is our belief, more than our senses, that makes them what they are.
Feeding on Fear. Alas, the same quirk that makes the Bauk so dangerous can also be a weakness. If one were to find the creature in repose, observing its physicality before its shadow, they would know its true size — and the dreaded umbrage would reduce itself to match. For that reason, Bauks are careful hunters, taking great pains to obscure their forms and cover their tracks, venturing out in twilight, when the shadows are longest. They also make sure to leave evidence of their presence: ravaged clothes and broken bones they scatter in clearings, trails of blood leading to them, all to enlarge the fable and spread the tale of a predator in the woods, a huge monster that leaves ruin in its wake.
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