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.

Instead of wreaking havoc with a blade or bow, the waning fife breaks its foes with dirges and rondos. The fey bears a flute of deadwood cultivated about a shared of their own sternum, making the fife and instrument truly one. Despite the inevitable direfly infestation the flute always plays true for the peerless and sinister musician. The waning fife wears stylized leathers like others of the fey host but are swathed in scarves or sashes bearing their lord’s colors. It also sports a thin, pointed caps between its horns, speared by a slice from a giant direfly's wing dyed the fife’s patron’s field color.

Tireless Revelry. A waning fife’s life is consumed by music. It rarely stops humming and speaks in lilting tones. Often waning fifes and rimers form close friendships, even romantic entanglements in between entertaining fey courts or stirring the waning hosts in war. The fey’s unceasing music can be as infectious as any plague and has been known to raise battlefield corpses en masse or overwhelm the thoughts of enemy arcanists until their spells falter.

Waning Fife

Medium Fey, lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (studded leather armor)

Hit Points 110 (17d8 + 34)

Speed 30ft

Str 14 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 15 Cha 20

Saving Throws Con +5, Wis +5

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 (3900 XP)

Double Time:

As a bonus action, the waning fife can grant up to five creatures it can see within 30ft that can hear its piping the ability to dash as a bonus action until the start of the fife’s next turn.

Magic Resistance:

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

Musical Soul:

If the waning fife is under the effect of a Silence spell or similar magic at the start of their turn they take 11 (2d10) psychic damage and cannot cast spells, use the piping or peeling fusillade actions, or use the discord reaction.

Innate Spellcasting:

The fife’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 Will: Message, Thunderclap, Thunderwave

3/day: Charm Monster, Mislead

1/day: Danse Macabre

Relentless March:

Friendly creatures that are within 60ft of the fife and can hear the fey’s piping have advantage on all saving throws against charm and fear effects. In addition, they gain resistance to psychic damage.

Actions

Piping:

Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 60ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) psychic damage. In addition, the creature must make a Dexterity saving throw DC 16 or be enveloped in amber light. For the next minute the creature sheds dim light in a 10ft radius. Any attack roll against an affected creature has advantage if the attacker can see it, and the creature can’t benefit from being invisible.

If the creature fails this save by 5 or more the amber light hardens and they are paralyzed for the next minute. During this time the creature gains resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. At the end of each of its turn the paralyzed creature must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom save or take 12 (2d6+5) psychic damage. If an affected creature is reduced to zero due to this psychic damage it dies and a swarm of direflies explodes out of it under control of the fife.

Fae Blade:

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage.

Peeling Fusillade: (Recharge 6)

The fife emits a shrill blast of sound in a 60ft line that is 5ft wide. All creatures within the line must succeed on a Dexterity Save DC 16 or take 28(8d6)thunder damage or half as much damage on success. In addition, creatures who fail the save are enveloped in an amber light. For the next minute the creature sheds dim light in a 10ft radius. Any attack roll against an affected creature has advantage if the creature can see it, and the creature can’t benefit from being invisible.

If the creature fails this save by 5 or more the amber light hardens and they are paralyzed for the next minute. During this time the creature gains resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. At the end of each of its turn the paralyzed creature must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom save or take 12 (2d6+5) psychic damage. If an affected creature is reduced to zero due to this psychic damage it dies and a swarm of direflies explodes out of it under control of the fife.

Reactions

Discord:

The fife attempts to interrupt a creature in the process of casting a spell. If the creature is casting a spell of 3rd level or lower, its spell fails and has no effect. If it is casting a spell of 4th level or higher, the fief makes a spell casting check with a +8. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a success, the creature’s spell fails and has no effect.