Nobles of the Waning Court - The beauty of ripe fruit blended with the dread within autumn’s long shadows, every noble of the waning court is a vision to behold. Black, pupilless eyes dominate their fine-boned faces while sharp teeth lurk behind plush lips. The faeries’ ears are pointed like an elf’s, but slightly shorter. This is due to the antelope-like horns spiraling from their temples, the base of which are riddled with red-stained honeycombs. Waning court nobles wear their hair long, often braided with bones and sticks, and is a color of fall leaves. Their skin tone can best be described as bloodless. Commonly, these fey wear leathers cured of eldritch animals, cloaks made from a nightmare or displacer beast pelts, black iron plates, and amber adornments with petrified insects within. Most find their mien more savage than aristocratic. Stray direflies are their constant companions, always buzzing cryptic prophecies as they crawl about.

Not all waning court nobles are fit for sinister courtly circles, tending gory gardens, or honorably serving in war. These rebels would rather work with their hands and create breathtaking, sometimes literally, works of art. The greatest of these wrights find a way of harnessing the fury of forge flames within their bodies by bonding it with their inner rage. Their pallid skin darkens as if burned to charcoal save red veins of concentrated anger just below the surface. Smoke curls from the honeycombed base of the animus artisan’s horns as they blacken as well. With their ethereal beauty ruined, the crofters lord over workshops stuffed with devious underlings and enslaved mortals.

The Iron Gauntlet. The fey noble completes its transformation into an animus artisan by lopping off an arm at the elbow and fusing a rusty prosthesis in place. The iron gauntlet not only allows the animus artisan to reach into a burning fire without injury it also focuses the rancor in their veins into a psychic weapon. In addition, The gauntlet also allows the artisan to mend constructs on the fly by investing them with the same violent energy. If an iron gauntlet is ever severed from its bearer the fey’s magic drains from them leaving a pitiful creature behind. Worse yet, if a mortal holds a severed iron gauntlet the animus artisan is bound to their will.

Animus Artisan

Medium Fey, lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (studded leather armor)

Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)

Speed 30ft

Str 12 Dex 16 Con 16 Int 18 Wis 11 Cha 14

Saving Throws Con +6, Wis +3

Condition Immunities blinded, deafened

Damage Immunities fire

Damage Resistances lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons

Senses darkvision 120ft, passive Perception 10

Languages common, sylvan.

Challenge 5 (1800 XP)

Innate Spellcasting.

The animus artisan's spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It requires no material components to cast its spells.

At will: Mage Hand, Tenser’s Floating Disc, Unseen Servant

2/day each: Heat Metal, Shatter

Magic Resistance:

The fey has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Virtuoso:

The animus artistan is proficient in all tools, except thieves tools, and doubles its proficiency bonus when using them. As a bonus action, the fey can magically produce a full set of tools or dismiss said tools back into nothingness. If the tools are subject to Dispel Magic, like effects, or the animus artisan dies the tools also vanish.

Actions

Iron Gauntlet:

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) psychic damage.

Malignant Vigor (Recharge 5-6):

The animus artisan heals a construct it can see within 30ft for 14 (4d4+4) hit points. That construct gains advantage on all attacks until the end of its next turn.

Reactions

Bad Blood:

After being struck by a melee attack the animus artisan curses the creature who dared strike it. The creature must make a DC 14 Charisma save; on failure, the creature must use its next turn to attack a friendly creature. After making this attack the curse ends. If the creature cannot attack a friendly creature it takes 9 (2d8) psychic damage at the end of each turn until it does so. On a successful save the creature is not compelled to attack a friendly creature and is immune to the animus artisan’s bad blood for 24 hours.