dnd5e-mote
Murexian Creature
The peaks of the Ashen Scape loom large on the horizon, towering over the plains to the west and separating them from the seas. This mountain range was formed from now-dormant volcanoes as the continent drifted across shifting plates deep beneath the ocean. Though these mountains no longer rain down fiery death upon the lands, the soil was infused with vast deposits of a material known as murex, from which the Murexian Grove sources both its name and its purplish hue.
Anatomy of a Murexian Creature
Murex exists at all levels of the food chain in the Grove, permeating from the soil to the plants to the herbivores and carnivores, then back into the soil and carrion feeders. Though murex is highly toxic when creatures are exposed to it directly, the denizens of the forest adapt to the murex and incorporate it into their bodies. In addition to the bright purple stripes, spots, rings, and other markings, the murex can cause more extreme mutations. Creatures corrupted by murex will become venomous, injecting deadly toxins into any prey that hasn't adapted to endure murex's effect.
On occasion, these mutations extend to new physiological features such as back and tail frills or bioluminescence. The intensity of the physical mutations increases with higher levels of corruption.
If a creature eats a murexian plant or animal, they must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 hour.
A plant or animal newly introduced to the Murexian Grove, if not killed and eaten by the deadly venomous predators there, will start to mutate after subsisting on a murexian diet for about one month. Most of the physical changes will last until the creature dies or is removed from the Grove for more than 1d4 days. Constructs, as well as creatures with prior immunity to Poison, are immune to murexian corruption.
Murexian Corruption Levels
Murexian creatures have varying traits due to the severity of corruption caused by the murex in their systems. The following traits apply to all murexian creatures of given challenge rating thresholds; lower corruption traits also apply to creatures with more severe corruption, unless otherwise noted. In addition, creatures corrupted by murex change their creature type to Monstrosity, unless they already have the Monstrosity or Aberration creature type.
Basic Corruption (Challenge 1 or lower)
Addled Mind. A murexian creature's Intelligence cannot exceed 13.
Contact Poison. If a creature comes into direct contact with a murexian creature's body, it is subject to the following effect. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 8 + the Constitution modifier and Proficiency Bonus of the murexian creature. Failure: The target has the Poisoned condition and repeats the save at the end of each of its turns when it is not in direct contact with the murexian creature, ending the effect on itself on a success. After 1 minute without physical contact with the murexian creature, it succeeds automatically.
If the creature already has an effect from contact or melee attacks that includes a saving throw to resist the Poisoned condition, this replaces that feature, but uses the higher of the two DCs.
Murexian Immunity. The creature is immune to Poison damage and the Poisoned condition, including those caused by Murexian Poison.
Severe Corruption (Challenge 2-5)
Enhanced Contact Poison. A creature that fails the Constitution saving throw from a murexian creature's Contact Poison trait additionally has the Paralyzed condition until the end of its next turn.
Murexian Poison. All attacks and traits of a murexian creature that deal Poison damage or cause the Poisoned condition treat Immunity to Poison as Resistance and ignore a target's normal Resistance to Poison, unless the target has specific Resistance or Immunity to Murexian Poison. Targets with Immunity to Poison or Resistance to Murexian Poison have Advantage on saving throws against Murexian Poison, and targets with Immunity to Murexian Poison automatically succeed on such saving throws.
Murexian Venom. The sludge coursing through the veins and fangs of murexian creatures is highly toxic to those who come in contact with them. When a murexian creature hits a creature with an attack using a natural weapon such as a bite or claw, the attack deals an additional 1d6 Poison damage.
Complete Corruption (Challenge 6 or higher)
Enhanced Venom. The murexian creature's natural weapon attacks deal an additional 3d6 Poison damage (4d6 total) on a hit.
Toxic Contact Poison. If a creature that is already Poisoned by murex fails the Contact Poison saving throw from new skin contact, it gains 1 Exhaustion level.
Example Murexian Creatures
The following creatures are all based on existing creatures and modified with murexian traits based on their original challenge rating (the murexian squirrel is based on a rat). This can serve as an example of how murex corruption affects a stat block. Note that the addition of Poison immunity, contact Poison effects, and increased damage on attacks may increase a creature's challenge rating; an effort has been made to recalculate challenge ratings accordingly, and some attributes have been adjusted to better match the new challenge rating.
Murexian Squirrel
Attributes
Tiny Monstrosity, Unaligned
AC 10 Initiative +0 (10)
HP 1 (1d4 - 1)
Speed 20 ft., Climb 20 ft.
| MOD | SAVE | MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR 2 | -4 | -4 | INT 2 | -4 | -4 |
| DEX 11 | +0 | +0 | WIS 10 | +0 | +0 |
| CON 9 | -1 | -1 | CHA 4 | -3 | -3 |
Skills Perception +2
Immunities Poison, Murexian Poison
Senses Darkvision 30 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages None
CR 0 (XP 10; PB +2)
Traits
Agile. The squirrel doesn't provoke an Opportunity Attack when it moves out of an enemy's reach.
Contact Poison. If another creature comes into direct contact with the squirrel's body (including as part of the squirrel's Bite attack), they must succeed on a DC 9 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 minute. A Poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with the squirrel can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.
Actions
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +2, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1 Piercing damage.
Murexian Twig Blight
Attributes
Small Monstrosity, Neutral Evil
AC 14 Initiative +2 (12)
HP 7 (2d6)
Speed 20 ft.
| MOD | SAVE | MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR 6 | -2 | -2 | INT 4 | -3 | -3 |
| DEX 14 | +2 | +2 | WIS 8 | -1 | -1 |
| CON 11 | +0 | +0 | CHA 3 | -4 | -4 |
Skills Stealth +4
Vulnerabilities Fire
Immunities Poison, Murexian Poison; Deafened
Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Passive Perception 9
Languages Understands Common but can't speak
CR ⅛ (XP 25; PB +2)
Traits
Pack Tactics. The blight has Advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the blight's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally doesn't have the Incapacitated condition.
Contact Poison. If another creature comes into direct contact with the twig blight's body (including as part of the twig blight's Claw attack), they must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 minute. A Poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with the squirrel can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.
Actions
Claw. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) Slashing damage.
Murexian Giant Boar
Attributes
Large Monstrosity, Unaligned
AC 13 Initiative +0 (10)
HP 42 (5d10 + 15)
Speed 40 ft.
| MOD | SAVE | MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR 17 | +3 | +5 | INT 2 | -4 | -4 |
| DEX 10 | +0 | +0 | WIS 7 | -2 | -2 |
| CON 16 | +3 | +3 | CHA 5 | -3 | -3 |
Immunities Poison, Murexian Poison
Senses Passive Perception 8
Languages None
CR 2 (XP 450; PB +2)
Traits
Bloodied Fury. The boar has Advantage on melee attack rolls while it is Bloodied.
Enhanced Contact Poison. If another creature comes into direct contact with the boar's body (including as part of the boar's Gore attack), they must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 minute and Paralyzed until the end of their next turn. A Poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with the boar can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.
Murexian Poison. All of the boar's attacks and traits that deal Poison damage or cause the Poisoned condition treat Immunity to Poison as Resistance and ignore a target's normal Resistance to Poison, unless the target has specific Resistance or Immunity to Murexian Poison. Targets with Immunity to Poison or Resistance to Murexian Poison have Advantage on saving throws against Murexian Poison, and targets with Immunity to Murexian Poison automatically succeed on such saving throws.
Actions
Gore. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) Piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature and the boar moved 20+ feet straight toward it immediately before the hit, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) Piercing damage and has the Prone condition.
Murexian Hellwasp
Attributes
Large Monstrosity, Lawful Evil
AC 19 Initiative +2 (12)
HP 52 (8d10 + 8)
Speed 10 ft., Fly 60 ft. (hover)
| MOD | SAVE | MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR 18 | +4 | +4 | INT 10 | +0 | +0 |
| DEX 15 | +2 | +5 | WIS 10 | +0 | +3 |
| CON 12 | +1 | +1 | CHA 7 | -2 | -2 |
Vulnerabilities Cold
Immunities Fire, Poison, Murexian Poison
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages Infernal, Telepathy 300 ft. (with other hellwasps only)
CR 5 (XP 1,800; PB +3)
Traits
Enhanced Contact Poison. If another creature comes into direct contact with the hellwasp's body (including as part of the hellwasp's Sting or Sword Talons attacks), they must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 minute and Paralyzed until the end of their next turn. A Poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with the hellwasp can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.
Magic Weapons. The hellwasp's weapon attacks are magical.
Murexian Poison. All of the wasp's attacks and traits that deal Poison damage or cause the Poisoned condition treat Immunity to Poison as Resistance and ignore a target's normal Resistance to Poison, unless the target has specific Resistance or Immunity to Murexian Poison. Targets with Immunity to Poison or Resistance to Murexian Poison have Advantage on saving throws against Murexian Poison, and targets with Immunity to Murexian Poison automatically succeed on such saving throws.
Actions
Multiattack. The hellwasp makes two attacks: one with their sting and one with their sword talons.
Sting. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft.. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) Piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) Fire damage and 3 (1d6) Poison damage.
Sword Talons. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) Piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) Poison damage.
Murexian Tyrannosaurus Rex
Attributes
Huge Monstrosity (Dinosaur), Unaligned
AC 13 Initiative +4 (14)
HP 136 (13d12 + 52)
Speed 50 ft.
| MOD | SAVE | MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR 25 | +7 | +10 | INT 2 | -4 | -4 |
| DEX 10 | +0 | +0 | WIS 12 | +1 | +4 |
| CON 19 | +4 | +4 | CHA 9 | -1 | -1 |
Skills Perception +5
Immunities Poison, Murexian Poison
Senses Passive Perception 15
Languages None
CR 10 (XP 5,000; PB +4)
Traits
Murexian Poison. All of the tyrannosaurus' attacks and traits that deal Poison damage or cause the Poisoned condition treat Immunity to Poison as Resistance and ignore a target's normal Resistance to Poison, unless the target has specific Resistance or Immunity to Murexian Poison. Targets with Immunity to Poison or Resistance to Murexian Poison have Advantage on saving throws against Murexian Poison, and targets with Immunity to Murexian Poison automatically succeed on such saving throws.
Toxic Contact Poison. If another creature comes into direct contact with the tyrannosaurus' body (including as part of T. rex's Bite or Tail attack), they must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 minute and Paralyzed until the end of their next turn. A Poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with T. rex can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.
If a creature that is already Poisoned by murex fails this saving throw from new skin contact, it gains 1 Exhaustion level.
Actions
Multiattack. The tyrannosaurus makes one Bite attack and one Tail attack.
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +11, reach 10 ft. Hit: 33 (4d12 + 7) Piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) Poison damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 17). While Grappled, the target has the Restrained condition and can't be targeted by the tyrannosaurus' Tail.
Tail. Melee Attack Roll: +11, reach 15 ft. Hit: 25 (4d8 + 7) Bludgeoning damage plus 14 (4d6) Poison damage. If the target is a Huge or smaller creature, it has the Prone condition.
Murexian Beholder
It is a strange scenario indeed for a beholder to allow themself to become corrupted by murex. This might occur if the beholder was driven out of their lair and had to flee, finding themself in the Murexian Grove and subsisting on the tainted flesh of the beasts found there to survive. Or it may have been a conscious decision, some play to take in these powerful toxins to use against their real or perceived foes. The ambitions of a beholder are sometimes difficult to predict, and a beholder prefers it this way.
However this came to be, the beholder will find that not only is their body infused with murex, but that their mind is also impacted. The toxins cloud thought and judgment, twisting the beholder's innate paranoia. The aberrant mind becomes more so, reducing the beholder's mental acuity and making them fearful of anything they encounter, thinking that they have discovered an agent of their foes. Such a beholder will generally try to kill creatures on the spot rather than converse or negotiate terms. They still make an effort to anticipate their enemies' next actions, but they become a generally less effective tactician.
Murexian beholders will happily make their new surroundings into a lair, tending to create vast tunnels underground amidst the mexite deposits from ancient volcanic activity. Their slaves dig until they hit magma flows, so that the beholder might better protect their interests through ever more hazardous pathways.
Attributes
Large Aberration, Lawful Evil
AC 18 Initiative +12 (22)
HP 190 (20d10 + 80)
Speed 5 ft., Fly 40 ft. (hover)
| MOD | SAVE | MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR 16 | +3 | +3 | INT 13 | +1 | +1 |
| DEX 14 | +2 | +2 | WIS 15 | +2 | +7 |
| CON 18 | +4 | +9 | CHA 17 | +3 | +3 |
Skills Perception +12
Immunities Poison, Murexian Poison; Prone
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 22
Languages Deep Speech, Undercommon
CR 13 (XP 10,000, or 11,500 in lair; PB +5)
Traits
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the beholder fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Murexian Poison. All the beholder's attacks and traits that deal Poison damage or cause the Poisoned condition treat Immunity to Poison as Resistance and ignore a target's normal Resistance to Poison, unless the target has specific Resistance or Immunity to Murexian Poison. Targets with Immunity to Poison or Resistance to Murexian Poison have Advantage on saving throws against Murexian Poison, and targets with Immunity to Murexian Poison automatically succeed on such saving throws.
Toxic Contact Poison. If another creature comes into direct contact with the beholder's body (including as part of the beholder's Bite attack), they must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned for 1 minute and Paralyzed until the end of their next turn. A Poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with the beholder can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.
If a creature that is already Poisoned by murex fails this saving throw from new skin contact, it gains 1 Exhaustion level.
Actions
Multiattack. The beholder uses Eye Rays three times.
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +8, reach 5 ft. Hit: 13 (3d6 + 3) Piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) Poison damage.
Eye Rays. The beholder randomly shoots one of the following magical rays at a target it can see within 120 feet of itself (roll 1d10; reroll if the beholder has already used that ray during this turn). See the beholder stat block in the Monster Manual for eye ray effects; the Enervation Ray is replaced with a Murexian Ray which behaves as follows:
Murexian Ray. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 16. Failure: 36 (8d8) Poison damage, and the target has the Poisoned condition as defined by Toxic Contact Poison. Success: Half damage only.
Bonus Actions
Antimagic Cone. The beholder's central eye emits an antimagic wave in a 150-foot Cone. Until the start of the beholder's next turn, that area acts as an Antimagic Field spell, and that area works against the beholder's own Eye Rays.
Legendary Actions
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the beholder can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The beholder regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Chomp. The beholder makes two Bite attacks.
Eye Ray. The beholder uses Eye Rays.
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This artwork was originally commissioned for the Halloween Zero-to-Thirty Challenge Rating Challenge. ↩