Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

116


ALLIP


When a mind uncovers
a secret that a powerful being

has
protected with a mighty curse, the result
is often the

emergence of an a llip. Secrets protected
in this manner

range in scope from
a demon lord's true name to the

hidden truths of th
e cosmic order. The allip acquires

the secret, but the
curse annihilates its body and leaves

behind a spectral creature compose
d of fragments from

the victim's psyche and overwhelmi
ng psychic agony.

Blasphemous Secr e ts. Every
allip is wracked with

a horrifyin
g insight that torments what remains of
its

mind. In the pres ence of other
creatures, an allip see ks

to relieve this burden by sharing
its secret. T he creature

can impart
only a shard of the knowledge that doom
ed

it, but
that piece is enough to wrack the recipient
with

tempo
rary madness. The survivors of an allip
's attack

are
sometimes left with a compulsion to learn
more

about what spawned
this monstrosity. Strange phrases

echo through their minds,
and weird visions occupy

their dreams. The
sense that some colossal truth sits

just outside their recall plagues the m
for days, months ,

and sometimes years after their fateful
encounter.

Undead Nature.
An allip doesn't require air, food,

drink, or sleep.

INSIDIOUS L
ORE

An allip might attempt to share its lore
to escape its curse

and enter the afterlife. It can transfer
knowledge from its

mind by guiding another creature
to write down what it

knows. This process takes days
or possibly weeks. An allip

can
accomplish this task by lurking in the study
or work-

place of a scholar. If the allip remains hidden,
its victim is

gradually overcome by manic energy. A schola
r, driven by

sudden insights to work night and day,
produces reams of

text with little
memory of exactly what the documents con





tain. If
the allip succeeds, it passes from the world-and

its
terrible secret hides somewhere in the scholar's text
,

waiting to be discovered by its next victim.

ALLIP


Medium undead,
neutral evil

Armo r Clas
s 13

Hit Points 40 (9d8)

Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)

STR

6 (-2)

DEX

17 (+3)

CON

10 (+O)

Saving Throws Int +6, Wis +5

Skills
Perception +5, Stealth +6

INT

17
(+3)

WIS

15 (+2)

CHA

16 (+3)

Damage Resistances acid, fire , lightning, thunde
r; bludgeoning,

piercing, and s lashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison

Condition Immunities charmed, exh
austion, frightened,

grappled, paralyzed, petrified,
poisoned, prone, rest rained

Senses
d arkvision 60 ft ., passive Perception 15

Language
s the languages it knew in life

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

CHAPTER
6 I BESTIARY

Incorporeal
Movement. The allip can move throug h
other

creatures and objects as
if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5

(ldlO) force damage if it ends its turn inside
an object.

ACTIONS

Maddening Touch.
Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one

target. Hit: 17 (4d6 + 3) psychic damage.

Whispers
of Madness. The allip chooses up to three
creatures it

can see within 60 feet
of it. Each target must succeed on a DC

14 Wisdom saving throw, or it takes 7 (ld8
+ 3) psychic dam-

age and must use its reaction to make a
melee weapon attack

against one crea
ture of the allip's choice that the allip can see.

Constructs and undead are immune
to this effec t.

Howling Babble (Recharge 6). Each creatu re
within 30 feet of

the allip that can hear
it must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving

throw. On a failed
save, a target takes 12 (2d8 + 3) psychic

damage, and it is stunned until the end
of its next turn. On

a successful
save, it takes half as much damage and isn't

stunned.
Constructs and undead are immune to this effect.




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