Nightmare Orb
Taking its name from the malicious duke who created the first of them, nightmare orbs more than live up to their devilish monikers.
Although they only measure six inches in diameter, the orbs are fast, deadly, and frightfully intelligent. At the Battle of Aspaeth, a single orb nicknamed Hell cut down an entire army of witchslayers.
Nightmare orbs are employed by dark wizards to hunt and persecute their mortal enemies. And although the orbs have the ability to capture and bring back living quarry, they rarely—if ever—do.
The constructs are created through the grim ritual known as Penance, one of the Eight Majikmütarr outlined in the Librex Malmütaronn. Penance is an eight-hour ritual that requires the vessel orb to be dipped in the blood of three sylvans. Then, an invisible stalker is imprisoned within the vessel. In eighty-eight days, the orb gains sentience.
Construct Nature. The orb does not require food, air, drink, or water.
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Nightmare Orb
Tiny construct, chaotic evil
Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 130 (20d4 + 80)
Speed 0 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
Abilities Str 10 (+0), Dex 20 (+5), Con 18 (+3), Int 16 (+3), Wis 16 (+3), Cha 7 (-2)
Saving Throws Dex +9, Int +7, Wis +7
Skills Perception +11 , Stealth +13
Damage Resistances necrotic
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with adamantine weapons
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, paralyzed, petrified, prone, unconscious
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 21
Languages understands the languages of its creator but cannot speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Faultless Tracker. The orb is given a quarry by its creator. The orb knows the direction and distance to its quarry as long as the two of them are on the same plane of existence. The orb also knows the location of its creator.
Innate Spellcasting. The orb’s spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells requiring no components.
- At will: blur, invisibility, shield
- 3/day each: darkness, hypnotic pattern. teleportation
- 1/day each: cloudkill, etherealness, forcecage
Magic Resistance. The orb has advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.
Actions
Rays. The orb shoots two of the following magical rays at random (reroll duplicates), choosing one to two targets it can see within 60 feet of it:
- Paralyzing Ray. The target creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
- Fear Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself with a success.
- Fire Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) fire damage on a failed saving throw or half as much damage on a successful one.
- Lightning Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) lightning damage on a failed saving throw or half as much damage on a successful one.
- Teleportation Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a failed saving throw, the creature is teleported to a location that the orb can see within 60 feet of the orb.
- Death Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed saving throw, the target’s hit points are reduced to 0. A creature with 50 or more hit points remaining automatically passes its saving throw.
Reaction
Retune. When the orb is targeted by an attack or spell that deals acid, cold, fire, lightning, psychic or thunder damage it gains immunity to that damage type (including against the triggering attack) for 1 minute or until it uses this trait again,
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