Lithe and tall, the humanoid is without any distinct facial features other than the vague impression of a nose and indents where eyes should be; though there is a golden glow implies ocular organs of some sort under its epidermis. At first glance, one might think this is due to a pale cloth drawn tight over its visage, but whenever the creature moves its plain that is some sort of artificial skin. The rest of its body is a smooth crimson shell of molded musculature. Raised, thicker and darker patches of skin form intricate patterns across its shoulders, down its spine and each arm. The synth conductor wears simple clothing, a crossed halter with spaulders attached; bracers and boots of a barbaric design. However, these accessories are crafted from materials not of this sphere. Its bracers are covered with indented dials and sliders that produce various magical effects with little resemblance to arcane ritual. It's main weapon is a thin, serrated blade that vibrates with no a...

Lithe and tall, the humanoid is without any distinct facial features other than the vague impression of a nose and indents where eyes should be; though there is a golden glow implies ocular organs of some sort under its epidermis. At first glance, one might think this is due to a pale cloth drawn tight over its visage, but whenever the creature moves its plain that is some sort of artificial skin. The rest of its body is a smooth crimson shell of molded musculature. Raised, thicker and darker patches of skin form intricate patterns across its shoulders, down its spine and each arm. The synth extractor wears simple clothing, a crossed halter with spaulders attached; bracers and boots of a barbaric design. However, these accessories are crafted from materials not of this sphere. Its bracers are covered with indented dials and sliders that produce various magical effects with little resemblance to arcane ritual. It's main weapons are a thin, serrated blade that vibrates with no...

The lithe humanoid bears the vague impression of a nose and a black-glass lens the forehead above it. This device runs the length of the synth lenser's cranium and fully replaces its eyes. At first glance, one might think this is due to a pale cloth drawn tight over its visage, but whenever the creature moves its plain that is some sort of artificial skin. The rest of its body is a smooth crimson shell of molded musculature. Raised, thicker and darker patches of skin form intricate patterns across its shoulders, down its spine and each arm. The synth lenser wears simple clothing, a crossed halter with spaulders attached; bracers and boots of a barbaric design. However, these accessories are crafted from materials not of this sphere. It’s left forearm is dominated by a thick bracer made of a strange, yellow metal etched with alien symbols. With a thought, the bracer rapidly unfolds like flower petals into a sigiled katar and back again. Spotter. The synth lenser's pu...

Each cult the Lodgemaster establishes has its own unique name, symbology and social rules on a surface level. One might present as a social club for blue-blood hunters to gamble and drink in between fox chases, another may be an elite safari company catering to wealthy merchants, while yet another is an exclusive boarding school to teach young nobles military skills. However, behind closed doors or when involved in dark deeds their trappings are all the same. Lodge members wear deep-red frockcoats with polished bone buttons, bright red cravats and sashes, riding boots, assorted personal fetishes, and carved bone masks donating their rank. While lodge members can use a variety of weapons all of them carry a lodge knife with them. This cleaver is roughly the size of a short sword, its wide blade stamped with a wolf's skull and hilt bound with human leather. Note on weapons. The lodge members are built using firearms, specifically flintlocks, from the DMG rules. (Page 276,268). I...

Carved from bone and stained by the blood of the hunted and butchered, the war mask depicts the representation of a snarling, horned beast not of this world. The construct floats on a sulfurous cloud with strands of woven fur and feathers trailing behind it. Yellow orbs fill the eyeholes when viewed from the front, but no trace can be seen of the organs from behind. The war mask's gaze fills with ecstatic intensity whenever prey is near. Hunters' Hounds. War masks are produced by foolish mortals loyal to the Lodgemaster , its parts reaped from the beasts, humanoids and monstrosity the lodge slays. Through prolonged ritual the fetishes are imbued with fiendish power and bound to questioningly serve the organization. The constructs do this by magically marking the hunted and sharing the insight with a nearby lodge member. They can also manifest poisoned-tipped darts out of thin air to slow the prey down. War Mask tiny construct, lawful evil ...

Most butterflies drink flower nectar to survive but resort to sucking the putrid juices of a corpse instead of starving. Not so with the gossamurder. The dog-sized insect eschews ambrosia all together in favor of rancid blood. Its dappled wings are dotted with purple splotches, antenna adorned with barbs. Most would say its body resembles a spider more than a butterfly. Ill Omen. Soldiers consider a sighting of a gossamurder feeding on a corpse a forewarning of tragedy. They will often simply refuse to fight until the insect is caught and burned to ash. If the gossamurder gets away it is not unheard of for a commander to retreat to a different position entirely rather than ruin the morale of his troops. Gossamurder small beast, unaligned Armor Class 14 Hit Points 27 (5d6+10) Speed 10ft Flight 30ft Str 5 Dex 18 Con 15 Int 2 Wis 11 Cha 4 Condition Immunities Poisoned Damage Resistances N...

Nobles of the Waning Court - The beauty of ripe fruit blended with the breach 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. Unlike other waning nobles, the waning w...

The corpse colonist is a creature caught somewhere between a venomous spider and a hermit crab that makes its home in a humanoid cadaver. Yellow, segmented eyes and dripping fangs hide under a cadaver's rotting ribcage. Its long, front limbs of gut-purple chitin keep its zombified shell from toppling over as it shambles along. Its back half is stunted and horseshoe-shaped. Under the corpse colonist's carapace, a collection of tiny, barbed legs dig deep into the putrid meat, wrap around the stiff's spine, and utilizes that connection to pilot the body like a puppeteer pulls on strings. Lastly, the anathema's spinneret extends up through the corpse's throat so its webs shoot from the cadaver's mouth. Ambush Predator. The corpse colonist prefers to avoid a direct confrontation with its prey if it can. After finding an appropriate body to nest in the monstrosity lays in wait on battlefields, in cemeteries, or amid undead hordes. Whenever a victim gets close enou...

Built around a banshee's unhallowed skull, baintsi are thankfully rare construct due to the rarity of this prime ingredient. Encased in enchanted crystal, the skull sits where the face would be in the foul bust. The profane brass construction has sculpted hair running down the back of the enclosure and pointed ears jutting from the locks. That statue's shoulders are dotted with honeycomb patterns, each with a polished onyx fixed inside. Below the shoulders, the baintsi is nothing more than a brazen urn containing dirt from its disturbed grave. A halo of crimson lightning floats above its head with regular rivulets of electricity cascading down its casing. Wailing Ward. Dark fey and elven necromancers have methods to divine where the corpse a banshee rose from lays but obtaining the accursed craniums is a different matter entirely. Even then, the crofter has to tightly bind the unholy energies saturating the corpse to both empower the baintsi and focus its undying hatred wh...

Galvanically powered and piecemeal, the rattling skeleton lurches toward its victim with uneven steps as lances of crimson lighting lick nearby surfaces. The undead's body is constructed by mismatched bones from a handful of corpses with sigil-etched manacles floating around its wrists. Long chains snake away from the skeleton's shackles, writhing on waves of electrical fury. Gothic Instrument. Each rattling skeleton is tuned by its creator to fit a particular eerie chord. Thus when assembled, a clutch of the crackling corpses creates a grisly song that can rout an enemy formation before the battle even really begins. As skeletons fall the song becomes a discordant, uneasy mess that grates on the nerves just as much, if not more so, than the initial tune. Skeletal Conductor. Every orchestra needs a leader, even one as morbid as an ensemble of rattling skeletons. A rattling conductor appears much like its fellows, save its bones are fused to a lattice of accursed chains. Wh...

A collection of broken statuary heads rests on the shoulders of this hulking automaton. The rest of the headstone puppet's bipedal body is comprised of moss, shattered grave markers, and withered wood cobbled together by sticky clumps of crimson ichors and direfly honeycombs. Its crude hands grasp a poor imitation of a gravedigger's shovel with a sharp, but rusted edge. Sinister Sentry. Headstone Puppets are constructed by animus artisans at the behest of the Prince of Omens, Beloved by Banshees and members of that archfey's court. Those at follow the waning prince of thunder often claim cemeteries and sepulchers on material planes as their domains and their drunken revelries rapidly wreck the place. It is from these unhallowed debris, headstone puppets arise. Part roaming guard, part cleaning crew the construct wanders the fey-usurped domain keeping it clear of trash and trespassers alike. Headstone Puppet large construct, unaligned A...

While just around two-feet tall, the mortuary scamp can frighten foes many times its height. In fact, the mottled fey works very hard to drive its foes into a panic. Its eyes are reflective, like cats, and its skin is a scaley grey. Pointed ears flank its thin, bald head. Whenever the scamp grins it is out of malice and full of needle-teeth. The grim gremlin wears cloaks made from grave shroud tatters and the occasional burial ensemble stolen from a child's corpse. Bump in the Night. Mortuary scamps stalk all manner of abandoned places of the dead from cemeteries to necropolises. These fey are drawn to such loci of sorrow and enjoy terrorizing and killing those foolish enough to poke around. They vandalize crypts and graves to gather trinkets and clothing for themselves, often forming mock courts following the style of those in the feywild. If too much time passes without mortals to terrorize, the mortuary scamps will strike out at nearby villages and other habitations with ...

An unholy amalgamation of fiend and machine the unitrifle is a pale-scaled devil from the waist up and a single black-iron wheel below. Like the rest of the King of Fool's Cavalcade the infernal swaths itself in ostentatious finery. This is often a heavily-brocaded black doublet with ruby sequins and a pointed hat with a red puff at the top. Its face is painted to be almost clownish, but the angles of its makeup are acute enough to be unsettling. The unitrifle carries a vicious whip crafted from demon-skin. Hell on Wheels. The cavalcade's unitrifles fulfill many roles within the infernal cirque. When the malefic motley is on the move they serve as outriders. When the King of Fools has set up shop in a favored tyrant's territory the unitrifles function as scouts or calvary if matters get bloody. Matters often do. When performing for the masses unitrifles delight the unwitting crowd with all manners of acrobatics and other tricks in tandem with their fellow devils. ...

The actual force behind the strawman is a devilish spirit without substance or threat until it inhabits a vessel of straw. Generally these vessels are medium, humanoid shapes of blight and offal infested straw covered by a gawdy, patchwork costume of garish colors. The devil's face floats just in front of the vessel's blank visage, continuously twisting to resemble who each onlooker hates the most. Inhuman Shields. The strawmen devils delight in fomenting hatred in mortal hearts and in turn using it to lure them to their demise. The King of Fools Cavalcade usually deploys a few of them amid its other devils when engaging hostiles. The strawmen divert attacks that would be better aimed at true threats and usually fell a few 'troublemakers' when they finally go down. Occasionally, though, the King of Fools will set loose a handful of the infernals among the camps and enclaves of a tyrant's enemies so they end up burning out from within. The stat block below re...

The devil's chalky, distended face is flanked by oversized ears and a mop of unruly, red hair. Its face is frozen in a grin with a vibrant, long tongue lolling from a perpetually open mouth. Make no mistake, though, beneath the vein juggler's ludicrous countenance lays a bloodthirsty beast. The acrobat wears a ruffled color of white top its bodysuit of a red and black checkerboard pattern. A ring of rusty spikes pierces the fiend's wrists. This leaves its hands slick with toxic blood that the vein juggler coalesces into balls for both combat and entertainment. Shock and Awe Troops. Vein Jugglers, as absurd as they are, make up the elite troops and everyday performers of the King of Fools Cavalcade. Their cartoonish mannerisms distract the masses who often assume them to be grotesque clowns. Disturbing or not, the vein jugglers further pacify the audience by tossing out bread and sweets. Their supernatural physique allows them to perform the most amazing stunts. At the sa...

Clad in only the most cutting-edge courtly fashions, the dandy lion prances in its perfectly-tailored wares. The clothing, no matter how ornate and garish, never hampers the creature. The fiend has a head of a red-furred lion, with claws to match. Strangely, though, the dandy lion's tail is scaled and tipped with a spade-shape. The dandy lion always has a twinkle in its eyes and blood on its lips. Social Predator. The King of Fools knows for the social order to topple some level of the political elite must sanction the proceedings. The dandy lions of the cavalcade vigilantly scour the peerage for any hint of rebellious tendencies. With honeyed words and cruel barbs, they rip the possible offender's reputation to ribbons. They can even literally turn their opponents' attire against them. If that does not work the fiends demand the satisfaction only a duel can bring and let their tooth and claw do the work for them. Dandy Lion mediul devil, lawful evil ...

The devil's curvaceous body all but spills out of a clingy dress with a black and red diamond pattern complete with ridiculous ruffles and glittering sequins. Behind a brocaded fan lays the bloated head of an infernal pig complete with gleaming tusks. The swine's face seems caked with white power, its cheeks rosy and beauty mark perfectly placed on the jowls. Blonde ringlets spill from its crown. Painted hooves and a ring-adorned, spiraling tail complete the creature's look. Weaponized Gossip. Blush swine know that something doesn't need to be true to be inciting. These boorish, pun intended, members of the King of Fools cavalcade spread disinformation and breed envy among the mortals they encounter. They take the guise of alluring courtesans to provoke nobles against commoners, or alluring circus floozies to provoke commoners against nobles. When the social classes clash the pigs whip up raw emotions until no one can tell friends from foe. Protective Mother. Nea...

The bauta's eyeless and mouthless skull is polished to the point of gleaming like a porcelain mask. In fact, it is not uncommon for the infernal visage to be mistaken as such. Clad in a great coat of inky-black fabric the devil carries a truncheon of hell-forged iron and a shield emblazoned with the King of Fool's judging gaze. Tyrant's Bloody Hand. Bauta devils are attracted to any despot struggling to enforce their dictates be they devil or mortal; monarch or theocrat. Compelled to enforce the law in the move violent way possible the skull-faced fiends manifest out of the ethereal plane and beat the surprised troublemakers until they surrender or perish all while spouting orders in infernal. Then the devils disappear back into the ethereal plane and let local authorities clean up the mess. Bauta mediul devil, lawful evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 45 (7d8+14) Speed 30ft ...

It was one of those rare times that Sickle Smile wished, well, that he could stop smiling. It wasn't the ravaged corpses strew about the courtyard that spoiled his mood, or the mishmash of bones and brier gnawing at spilled insides. The greasy smoke stinking of roasting, mortal flesh rising from the keep-side inn didn't sour the grinning herald's attitude, nor did the struggling cries of a trio of jugglers slowly being crushed and digested by the enchanted ivy on the rampart. Indeed, these were a few of his favorite things. Sickle Smile sighed heavily and sank to sit on the keep's front step. It was the fact he was stuck here because that arrogant waning noble that he'd worked so hard to release pulled rank. Of all the gall! Of course, he bowed and scrapped to Lord Leafripper and spun flowery bullshit about how it was just an honor to serve. The grinning herald grunted. His spindly fingers tapped on the direfly-in-amber top of his cane. With any luck the monstrous...