Monster Monday: Tallstriders

RPG monsters

Druids often lament the fate of the tallstriders. Innately magical creatures, tallstriders wander the desolate areas of the world, filtering necrotic energy through their bodies to feed themselves, much like whales filter krill. As a result, they often wander magically desolated areas and clean it of magical putrefaction.

Unfortunately, the magical nature fo their bodies makes their body parts highly valuable as spell components, so rangers hunt them often. Since they rarely produce young, and even then through a mysterious process that appears to be asexual, tallstriders have been hunted to what was thought extinction more than once.

Normally gentle giants a good 7 meters in height, they attack only if seriously threatened, but their attacks are vicious. Not only can one kick with its powerful lower limbs, it can unleash strange, whip-like vines of necrotic energy from its tendrils, all while bellowing a weird, high-pitched scream that stuns and sickens its enemies. In addition, a threatened tallstrider radiates a sickly aura that enervates its foes.

Tallstrider

I think I want to go for a higher challenge rating than I normally do, so I'm going to base this off the CR 9 treant, a huge creature with a few attacks and several extra abilities.

I'll swap out slam and rock with kick and necrotic tendrils, and instead of its other abilities I'll add the sickly aura and scream. I'll also swap out its vulnerabilities and resistances for an immunity to necrotic damage.

Let's do this!

Tallstrider

huge monstrosity, neutral

  • Armor Class 16
  • Hit Points 140 (12d12 + 62)
  • Speed 30 ft.
    STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
    23 (+6) 8 (-1) 21 (+5) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1)
  • Damage Immunities necrotic
  • Senses passive Perception 13
  • Languages None
  • Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

    Sickly aura. When a tallstrider is in initiative order, any creature that starts its turn within 15 feet of the tallstrider must make a DC 16 Constitution save or suffer one level of exhaustion. This feature cannot inflict 2 or more levels of exhaustion on the same creature.

    Actions

    Multiattack. The tallstrider makes two attacks.

Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage

Necrotic Tendrils. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage plus 11 (2d10) necrotic damage.

Monstrous Scream. All creatures except tallstriders within 60 feet must make a DC 16 Constitution save or be stunned.

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