Legendary Rushlight Chanter

While a scion oversees the hierarchy of a waning cult it falls on a rushlight chanter to tend to the spiritual needs of its members. Often clad in revealing, flowing clothing the chanters always have a glow of health to them. Charismatic and energetic, most find a rushlight chanter hard to resist. Thus, they prime recruiters for cult and often cultivate contacts outside of it. Behind the mask, however, lurks a corrupted heart on which direfly larvae suckle.

Foul Beacon. Unlike the rest of the waning cult the direflies infesting a rushlight chanter never mature. Instead, the larvae burrow into the bard's core. The fey insects reshape the sternum and ribs into a honeycombed network around the heart and enter into a state of permanent hibernation around the muscle. The slumbering larvae grow fat and infuse the singer's body with an otherworldly radiance; rushlight. Now offically a rushlight chanter the bard can channel the mad energies of the feywild and allow it to flow through them. Glossolalia and spittle fly from their lips and they burn through their arcane energy to stoke the rushlight to a lethal intensity.

Song for the Lost A robust woman with a booming laugh and steely hair, Ashbraid Ramdoittier fell in with the waning cult when she was left broken and bleeding in the alleyway of a human city. Tormented by a street gang after months of being homeless, she crawled after a glowing mote until she found herself at the feet of a waning scion. Of course, the mote ended up being a direfly. The cult took her in, tended her wounds, gave her the community she’d lacked for so long. In turn, Ashbraid took their beliefs – and direflies- into her heart. The murmuring of the dread larva created a harmony with the ceaseless voices in her head. The soothing ‘music’ allowed Ashbraid to not only interact with society but excel. She now travels of circuit of taverns across the region to keep waning cult cells in communication with one another. She also defends the downtrodden and converts all she can to the waning court’s ideals.

Ashbraid

Medium humanoid (dwarf), lawful evil

Armor Class 14 (chain shirt)

Hit Points 84 (13d8 + 26)

Speed 30ft

Str 16 Dex 13 Con 15 Int 14 Wis 10 Cha 18

Skills: Deception +7, History +5, Performance +7

Damage Resistances necrotic, poison Senses passive Perception 11

Languages Common, Dwarven, Sylvan

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Dwarven Resilience.

Ashbraid has advantage on saving throws against poison.

Soothslayer

Whenever the rushlight chanter’s action drops a creature to 0 hit points it may regain a spell slot equal to half the creature’s level or CR, minimum of 1.

Spellcasting

The rushlight chanter is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It has the following bard spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, thunderclap

1st level (4 slots): bane, charm person, dissonant whispers, thunderwave

2nd level (3 slots) animal messenger, detect thoughts, hold person, invisibility, phantasmal force

Actions

Deadwood Sheleighleigh.

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. In addition, a creature must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution save or be Incapacitated until the end of their next turn. If a creature fails this save by 5 or more, Ashbraid may use her reaction to cast a spell targeting them.

Rushlight (1/day).

The rushlight chanter’s flesh alights and produces jaundice, enervating light that envelopes a radius of 15 feet centered on the chanter. When the creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma save or take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage, half as much on success. Creatures within the area reduce their speed by half.

At the start of its turn the rushlight chanter may expend a spell slot to extend the light for a number of turns equal to the spell slot’s level. If the rushlight chanter does not do so the effect immediately ends. While Rushlight is active the chanter may not cast any spells as they babble blasphemies in sylvan.

The rushlight chanter is immune to the effects of Rushlight.

Reaction

Humiliating Whispers.

If a melee attack misses the rushlight chanter the singer’s direflies relentlessly mock the attacker for their failure. The attacker has Disadvantage on its attacks until the end of its next turn.

Reaction

Ashbraid can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Ashbraid regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Bottoms Up (1 point).

Ashbraid makes a melee attack. If Ashbraid uses an improvised weapon to do so, she gains Advantage and the target creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity save or be pushed 5ft away from the dwarf. If she attacks with her Deadwood Sheleighleigh, she may not use her reaction to cast a spell.

Cast the Runes (1 point).

Ashbraid curses a target creature she can see within 30ft. This functions as the Bane spell but does not require concentration and lasts until the end of Ashbraid's next turn.

Rush (2 points).

Briefly turning into rushlight, Ashbraid teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that she can see.