mordenkainens tome of foes

120

BERBALANG

Berbalangs creep across the petrified remains of

dead gods adrift on the Astral Plane. Obsessed with

gathering secrets, both from the gods they inhabit and

from the bones of dead creatures, they call forth the

spirits of the dead and force them to divulge what they

learned in life.

Speakers of the Dead. Berbalangs prefer to sp eak

only to dead things, a nd specifically only to the spirits

they call forth in the hope of learning secrets. They

record their s to ries on the bones that once belonged

to these creatures, thus preserving the information

they gain.

Spectral Spy. The pursuit of knowledge drives every-

thing berbala ngs do. Although they mostly learn the ir

secrets from the dead, they a ren' t above spying on the

living to take knowledge from them as well. A berbal-

ang can create a spectral d uplicate of itself and send

the duplicate out to gather information on other planes

by watching places where the gods and their servants

gather. When a berba lang is perceiving its environment

through its duplicate, its actual body is unconscious

and can't protect or nourish its elf. T hus, a berbala ng

typically uses its duplicate for only a short time before

re turning its consciousness to its body.

Weird Oracles. T he knowledge that

berbalangs accumulate makes them

great s ources of information for p ower-

ful people traveling the planes. Berba-

langs ignore petit ioners , however, unle ss

they come bearing a choice s ecret or

the bones of a particularly interesting

creature. Githya nki have found a way to

coexist with berbalangs, and sometimes

use the creatures to spy on their ene-

mies a nd to watch over their creches on

the Materia l Plane.

BERBALANG

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Medium aberration, neutral evil

Armor Class 14 (natura l armor)

Hit Points 38 (lld8 -11)

Speed 30 ft ., fly 40 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS

9 (-1)

16 (+3) 9 (-1) 17 (+3) 11 (+O)

Savi ng Throws Dex +S, Int +S

'.&..,

CHA

10 (+O)

Skills Arcana +S, History +S, Insight +2, Perception +2,

Religion +S

Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 12

Languages all, but rare ly speaks

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Spectral Duplicate (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). As

a bonus action, the berbalang creates one spectral duplicate

of itself in an unoccupied space it can see within 60 feet of it.

While the duplicate exists, t he berbalang is unconscious. A

berbalang can have o nly one duplicate at a time. The duplicate

CHAPTER 6 I OESTJJ\RY

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disappears whe n it or the berbalang drops to 0 hit points or

w hen the berbalang dismisses it (no action required).

T he duplicate has the same sta tistics and knowledge as

the berbalang, a nd everything experie nced by t he duplicate is

know n by the berbalang. All damage dealt by the d uplicate's

at tacks is psychic damage.

Innate Spellcasting. The berbalang's innate spellcasting ability

is Intel ligence (spell save DC 13 ). The berbalang can innately

cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: speak with dead

l/day: plane shift (self only)

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The berbalang makes two a ttacks: one with its

bite a nd one with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +S to hit, reach S ft., one target.

Hit: 8 (l dl O + 3) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +S to hit, reach S ft., o ne target.

Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage.

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