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Grinning Herald




Whether wearing a mortal guise or in its true form the first thing one notices about a grinning herald is its smile. When pretending to be a fleeting thing the fey's grin is warm, charming, almost entrancing. When showing its true colors the herald’s mouth stretches painfully wide, its pearly teeth large, flat, but holding a cleaver's edge. The fey has corpse-gray skin pulled thin over its bony body and jet-black eyes within sunken sockets. Even in its horrid form, the fey is beguiling in its intensity. Their barrel chests don’t match the rest of their scarecrow physique..

Trumpeter. Grinning heralds are not only smooth talkers and insidious spies. They are also embodiments of thunder itself and have little need for the instruments their mortal counterparts utilize. They can produce sonorous announcements that vibrate a castle's stones and set a court abuzz. Likewise, they can utter violent cacophonies capable of bursting eardrums and shattering bones. Heralds enjoy both aspects of their voice, sometimes combining them to create a chaotic entrance for their noble masters.

Seducers. Within the waning court, heralds hold a unique position. They are too lowly to find romance among the fey nobility and too proud of their elevation to seek it among the common fey. To that end, and also because of the political power it brings, they cultivate lovers among mortal institutions. They find dalliances with aristocrats entertaining and romps with lower classes as fun. If they ever need to dispose of a troublesome paramour it is as simple as showing their true smile and biting down while in an intimate circumstance.

Grinning Herald

Medium Fey, lawful evil

Armor Class 14

 Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)

Speed 30ft

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

Saves Con +6 Cha +7

Skills Deception +7, Insight +6, Persasion +7

Condition Immunities charmed

Damage Resistances lighting, thunder, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silver

Senses darkvision 120ft, passive Perception 13

Languages sylvan, all humanoid.

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Magic Resistances:

The Grinning Herald has advantage on saving throws against spells or other magical effects.

Innate Spellcasting:

The Grinning Herald's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). The Grinning Herald can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At Will: Bane, Bless, Chaos Bolt, Charm Person

2/day each: Crown of Madness, Heroism, Plane Shift (self only)

Actions

Bite:

Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) slashing damage

Rapier:

Meele Magic Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage

Change Shape

The creature magically polymorphs into a Small or Medium humanoid, or back to its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts back to its true form if it dies or uses its bite attack.

Horn of Marrow (Recharge 5-6)

The Grinning Herald ushers a bone-jarring bellow in a 15-ft cone. Each creature in the cone must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) thunder damage and is pushed 10ft away from the Grinning Herald on a failed save before falling prone. On success the creature takes half as much damage, is not pushed back and does not fall prone.

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