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.

Trained at the feet of the Heir of Crisp, the First Chill and Betrothed to Winter, the withered rimer takes to the field as both skald and shock troop among many a waning prince's host. Its world play warps enemies' minds, brings the wrath of winter, can shave meat from bone. The rimer girds itself in snow white leathers and a gossamer raiment woven from icy crystals. It sometimes carries an instrument into battle such as mandolin, drums, or flute but its words always remain its most powerful weapon. Sometimes the sinister wordsmiths are sent to an opposing army's commander under the ruse of parley, where it tells jokes that literally make its victims laugh themselves to death.

Waning Rimer

Medium Fey, lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (studded leather armor)

Hit Points 117 (18d8 + 36)

Speed 30ft

Str 10 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 13 Wis 11 Cha 20

Saving Throws Con +5, Wis +3

Skills Decpetion +8, Performance +8, Persuation +8

Damage Immunities Cold

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 8 (2900 XP)

Magic Resistance:

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

Innate Spellcasting:

The rimer’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). it can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components at 5th level:

At Will: Armor of Agathys, Chill Touch, Ice Knife, Ray of Frost, Thaumaturgy, Tongues

Rhymes of Rime:

Creatures that are friendly to the Rimer and can hear that are within 20 ft of the fey gain resistance to cold damage.

Actions

Multiattack

The waning rimer makes 2 rapier attach and uses one rhyme as one action.

Rapier:

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage and 9 (2d8) cold damage.

Rhymes:

To use a rhyme the waning rimer must be able to speak. The fey's rhymes are considered magical effects.

Cackling Rhyme: (Recharge 5-6) Creatures within 10 ft that can hear in are afflicted by uncontrollable laughter and must make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or have their speed reduced to 0 and suffer 14 (4d6) psychic damage. At the end of reach turn the creature may repeat this save, effect ending on success. Creatures that succeed on the save gain advantage on saves against the Gut-Busting Rhyme for the next 24 hours.

Charming Rhyme: One humanoid the rimer can see within 30ft that can hear must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the rimer for 1 days. The charmed target obeys the rimer’s verbal commands. If the creature suffers any harm or receives a suicidal command, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on success. Cold damage does not trigger a repeated save. If the target successfully saves against the charming rhyme the creature is immune to charming rhyme for the next 24 hours.

The waning rimer can have up to 5 creatures charmed by this effect at one time. If the fey uses charming rhyme on a sixth creature then the effect ends on the creature it has had charmed the longest.

Flaying Rhyme: (Recharge 5-6) Creatures in a 15ft cone in front of the rimer must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, suffering 42 (12d6) cold damage on a failed save. In addition, the creature suffers disadvantage on Dexterity based skill rolls and attacks using Dexterity. On a successful save the creature takes half as much damage and does not suffer disadvantage. Creatures with cold resistance or immunity do not suffer disadvantage whether they succeed on the save or not.

Freezing Rhyme: (Recharge 5-6) The rimer ushers a line of absurdities that is 5ft wide and 30ft long. All creatures within that line must succeed on a DC 16 Strength save or be knocked prone and crusted over with ice, becoming restrained for 1 minute. Creatures restrained in this way may use their action to try and escape with either a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Escape Artist) check, DC 16. Alternately other creatures may attempt to break the ice and free the creature with a 5ft patch of ice having an AC of 14 and 25 hit points, immunity to ice damage and vulnerability to fire damage.

Howling Rhyme. One humanoid the rimer can see within 30ft that can hear must succeed on a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw or have their mind blasted by a constant, howling sound that scrambles its mind for the next minute. The creature cannot understand any languages and may only take a move or attack action. If the afflicted creature casts a spell it must make a Constitution (Concentration) check or the spell is lost. If the creature is maintaining a concentration spell it must make a Constitution (Concentration) check or the spell ends. At the end of each of its turn the creature may repeat the save, the effect ending on success.