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.

Another rank and file troop of the autumn host, a waning thisle carries deadwood sapling sculpted into a pike; its hungry roots infesting the fey's arm. To that end, the thistle seeks out opportunities to feed the living weapon the blood of others instead of its own. The pikeman’s main hand is encased in an oversized chainmail glove intertwined with vegetation, while the rest of their armor is the standard studded leather of the waning forces. A waning thistle formation finds the fey shoulder-to-shoulder with its peers, utilizing their superior reach whenever possible. In addition, the waning thistle can conjure temporary brambles, funneling its enemies to exactly where it wants them to be.

Waning Thistle

Medium Fey, lawful evil

Armor Class 17 (studded leather armor)

Hit Points 127 (17d8 + 51)

Speed 30ft

Str 14 Dex 20 Con 16 Int 11 Wis 11 Cha 16

Saving Throws Con +6, Wis +3

Skills Survival +5

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

Senses darkvision 120ft, passive Perception 11

Languages common, sylvan.

Challenge 7 (2900 XP)

Magic Resistance:

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

Innate Spellcasting:

The thistle’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). it can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At Will: Entangle

Pack Tactics:

The waning thistle gains advantage on attack rolls against a creature if an ally is within 5ft of the target, and the ally is not incapacitated.

Wall of Brier.

When the thistle hits a creature with an opportunity attack the creature is restrained until the end of its next turn. Creatures still provoke opportunity attacks when they use the Disengage action within the waning thistle’s reach.

Actions

Multiattack

The waning thistle makes 2 attacks as one action.

Deadwood Pike:

Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage and 5 (1d8) psychic damage. If the target is a creature it must make a DC 14 Charisma Saving throw, suffering disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn on failure.