Lord Fallowfields, Duke of Autumn's End

A lovely apple deflated by rot. A ruptured gourd infested with maggots. A once-full tree stripped down to all but the last of its leaves. The finest wine turned to sour vinegar. Young love aged to bitter amenity. These are the sort of things Lord Fallowfields represents; everything once ripe and beautiful caught in decay. His skin is pulled so tight over his fine-boned face that the stretch marks seep clear, viscous fluid. Gazelle-like antlers spiral from his temples, the base riddled with bloodied honeycombs. Strings of black hair cling to a puckered scalp, his eyes are like shriveled grapes squatting in distended sockets. The Duke of Autumn's End is a lithe fey, around six-and-a-half feet tall. His stick-like limbs are swathed in uncured leather punctuated by sepia chitin plates. Barbs adorn the back of his knee-high boots, giving the impression of a locust's legs. He wears a cloak of dead butterflies stitched together, their shells cracking and wings flaking in an inexplicable, chilled breeze. The Duke bears a circlet of withered wisteria. His signet ring is a petrified honeycomb inset with nightshade seeds. Lastly, he carries the first Rusted Scyther, having long ago devoured its magic to augment his failing body.

The Blighted Bastard. Lord Fallowfields is the eldest son of the Solemn Harvester, a princess of the Waning Court. He is also a bastard who doesn't know who his father is and loathes his mother first and foremost for bringing him into this world, and secondly for not ending him shortly after birth. While the nobles of the Waning Court are terrible to behold, they still care a timeless beauty as any archfey should. Lord Fallowfields, however, is anything but. He came out over-ripe and rotting. Relentlessly teased by his peers while growing up and despised for his hideousness by even his own mother, Lord Fallowfields grew to loathe all things beautiful. He is the epitome of the decay that comes in the aftermath of harvest, and has come to fully embrace his fate. Denied a real title he gathered up an army of the misshapen and ugly and carved a vile fiefdom for himself in the feywild, Autumn's End. His forces represent a spoiler, pun intended, within the machinations between the archfey's courts. One never knows what side he will land on, and when his fickle allegiance may change.

Septic Schemer. Like his kin Lord Fallowfields takes a keen interest in the affairs of the material plane. In spite of his outsider status among the Waning Court, he's heard rumblings that some of the princes wish to claim it as their own. He intends to beat them to it and show the beautiful fey he is better than them, for once and for all. In addition, the mortal races are quite susceptible to his Harvest Rot, and other diseases. With luck, the infection will spread before even the first troops of the other noble's set foot on the Material Plane, and the war will already be won for Autumn's End.

Lord Fallowfields

Medium fey, neutral evil

Armor Class 18 (+1 studded leather armor)

Hit Points 190 (20d8 + 100)

Speed 30ft

Str 11 Dex 20 Con 20 Int 16 Wis 16 Cha 20

Saves Dex +11, Con +11 Cha +11

Skills Athletics +6, Deception +11, Persuasion +11

Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened

Damage Immunities lightning, necrotic, thunder

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered

Senses darkvision 120ft, passive Perception 13

Languages common, elven, infernal, sylvan

Challenge 17 (18,000 XP)

Cloying Air.

Any non-fey that starts its turn within 5 feet of Lord Fallowfield's must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned and can only move at half-speed until the start of the creature's next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to Lord Fallowfield's cloying air for 1 hour.

Innate Spellcasting.

Lord Fallowfields is a 18th level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). He requires no material components to cast his spells

At will: Cause Fear, Infestation, Prestidigitation, Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Sickness, Thunderwave, Witchbolt,

3 times per day: Blight, Phantasmal Killer, Slow

1 time per day: Cloudkill, Gate, Geas

Magic Resistance:

Lord Fallowfields has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Rotting Aura:

Any creature that starts its turn within 20ft of Lord Fallowfeilds must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or take 14 (4d8) necrotic damage, half as much on a successful save. Lord Fallowfeilds can activate or suppress his rotting aura as a bonus action.

Actions

Multiattack

Lord Fallowfields makes two rusted scythe attacks.

Rusted Scythe:

Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: Hit: 10 (2d4 + 5) slashing damage plus 4d8 necrotic damage. DC 19 Con save or contract Harvest Rot.

reactions

Riposte

If a creature misses on a melee attack on Lord Fallowfields, Lord Fallowfields may move without provoking an opportunity attack and make a rusted scythe attack against it.

Legendary Actions

Lord Fallowfields can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Lord Fallowfields regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

Attack (1 point):

Lord Fallowfields makes a Rusted Scythe attack action.

Bound Bodyguards (1 point):

Lord Fallowfields summons 2d4 Lesionnaires to aid him. The fey appear in the first unoccupied square within 30 ft. If there are no unoccupied squares for a Lesionarre to appear in, the fey does not appear.

Harvest Time (2 points).

All creatures infect with Harvest Rot within 30ft of Lord Fallowfields must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution save or lose 1 Hit Die and be poisoned until the end of their next turn. Lord Fallowfiends heals a number of hit points equal to the Hit Dice lost.

Spell (2 points):

Lord Fallowfields casts an available spell.

Using Lord Fallowfields, Duke of Autumn's End –

Lord Fallowfields is a melodramatic and disgusting villain without a redeeming quality. The Duke of Summer’s End is so abusive and vile his subordinates chaff under him, but they also reflect these terrible qualities. The archfey plans to invade the material plain to prove he is better than his disdainful peers. He intends to deploy his plague, Harvest Rot. The contagion will not only weaken any bastion of defense against his invading fey, but raise fresh fodder in a bumper crop of bubonic drifters. In the campaign, the heroes would face many plague-created threats and fey soldiers before facing off against the archfey directly to end his plans once and for all.

Lord Fallowfields can also be used as a distant antagonist, never directly encountered. Perhaps he’s been foiled before, and like any lord of the feywild first plans to repay this slight. Or, he could be the boss of a plague-themed dungeon or scenario for high-level heroes to vanquish over a few sessions.

Appropriate Minions

Any fey

Any creature of the waning court

Plague-induced undead.

Warlocks and Deathlocks

Optional Rule: Harvest Rot. The character has Disadvantage on Dexterity checks and Dexterity saves due to painful buboes covering on their body. Also, any successful attack against the victim deals an additional 2 (1d4) necrotic damage as it also bursts buboes. A creature who dies while infected with Harvest Rot rises the following morning as a Bubonic Drifter. A creature may repeat the Constitution save each day, success ending the disease.