Volo's Guide to Monsters

UNTI L VE' VE SEEN A l<ING's
SHOULDERS ANO HEAD TEAR OFF HIS
FLAP ALOFT
BLOOD, ONLY TO AMI D FOUNTAINING
TURN AND LAP
GORE AS HIS Boou H I S OWN DYING
' TOTTERS ANO
LIVED. AND IF FALLS, VE HAVEN'T
VE \VANT TO Go O
WANT TO STOP \uAT N LIVt"IG, VE MIGHT
' CHING INF AIIOR OF FLEEING.

• ELMINST1cR.

VARGOUILLE

Shrieking, flapping, and hideous to behold- with a body

like a severed head and bat-like wings in place of ears-

vargouilles boil out of the Abyss to infest other planes

of existence, such as Carceri, where they are a menace.

Each vargouille carries a disease that creates more of

its kind; a flock of vargouilles on the wing is a plague of

chaos and evil waiting to happen.

Abyssal Nuisances. Swarms of vargouilles flap

through the caverns and skies of the Abyss. They are

given little regard by powerful and intelligent demons

since vargouilles can do them no harm. Even the

weakest demon, such as a manes or a dretch, fears

vargouilles only if they appear in great numbers. In the

Lower Planes, vargouilles rarely get the chance to eat

live prey other than vermin. More often, they lap up the

ichor left behind when one fiend kills another.

The World Awaits. Because of their instinctive hun-

ger for living prey, vargouilles are eager to escape the

Lower Planes. On rare occasions, the summoning of a

demon to another plane can bring a vargouille along for

the ride, attaching itself like a tick. The precautions a

mortal takes to contain and control a summoned demon

rarely account for a stowaway, and thus a vargouille en-

ters the world unbidden.

Ghastly Reproduction. Vargouilles that roam free on

the Material Plane are a dire threat to all creatures, es-

pecially humanoids. Their awful shrieking can paralyze

other creatures with fear, and such victims are helpless

to resist a vargouille's accursed kiss. ·

The kiss of a vargouille infects a humanoid with a

fiendish curse. If allowed to run its course, the curse

brings about a gruesome transformation as an abyssal

spirit invades the person's body. Over a period of hours,

the victim's head takes on fiendish aspects such as

fangs, tentacles, and horns. At the same time, the per-

son's ears grow larger, expanding and transforming into

wing-like appendages. In the final moments, the victim's

head tears away from the body in a fountain of blood,

becoming another vargouille, which often then eagerly

laps up its own life fluids. Sunlight or the brilliant illumi-

nation of a daylight spell can delay this transformation,

and vargouilles instinctively shun bright light as a result.

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VARGOUILLE

Tiny fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 13 (3d4 + 6)

Speed 5 ft., fly 40 ft.

STR

6 (-2)

DEX

14 (+2)

CON

14 (+2)

INT

4 (-3)

Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

WIS

7 (-2)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8

a

CHA

2 (-4)

Languages understands Abyssal, Infernal, and any languages it

knew before becoming a vargouille but can't speak

Challenge l (200 XP)

ACTIONS

Bite. Me/ee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. , one target.

Hit: 5 (ld6 + 2) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage.

Kiss. The vargouille kisses one incapacitated humanoid within

5 feet ofit. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Charisma sav-

ing throw or become cursed. The cursed target loses l point

of Charisma after each hour, as its head takes on fiendish as-

pects. The curse doesn't advance while the target is in sunlight

or the area of a daylight spell; don't count that time. When the

cursed target's Charisma becomes 2, it dies, and its head tears

from its body and becomes a new vargouille. Casting remove

curse, greater restoration, or a similar spell on the target before

the transformation is complete can end the curse. Doing so

undoes the changes made to the target by the curse.

Stunning Shriek. The vargouille shrieks. Each humanoid and

beast within 30 feet of the vargouille and able to hear it must

succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened un-

til the end of the vargouille's next turn. While frightened in this

way, a target is stunned. If a target's saving throw is successful

or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the Stunning

Shriek of all vargouilles for l hour.