Everything you need to know about Aboleths:
the oldest and most evil creatures in the world
If you are a fan of D&D, you probably have heard of Aboleths, the aberrant creatures that live underwater and use their telepathy and their ability to enslave minds to manipulate other beings. Aboleths are among the oldest and most evil creatures in the world, and they have a millennial knowledge of the history and secrets of the world. But what do we really know about Aboleths? How do you fight an Aboleth? What allies do they surround themselves with? What are their goals and strategies? In this article, we will try to answer these questions and delve into the mystery of Aboleths.
The combat tactics of an Aboleth
An Aboleth is a powerful and dangerous creature that can inflict a lot of damage with its physical and mental attacks. An Aboleth uses the following combat tactics:
- It uses its Mucous Cloud to infect other creatures with a pathogen that prevents them from breathing air. If you touch the Aboleth or hit it with a melee attack while you are within 5 feet of it, you must make a Constitution saving throw or be infected by the disease. The disease has no effect for 1 minute and can be removed by any magic that cures diseases. After 1 minute, the skin of the infected creature becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can’t regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another healing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed.
- It uses its Telepathy and its Enslave ability to recruit and control creatures that can serve as its slaves, spies, guards or baits. If a creature responds to the telepathic call of the Aboleth, the Aboleth learns its greatest desires and tries to convince it to serve it. The Aboleth can enslave a creature that it sees within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the Aboleth until the Aboleth dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed creature is under the control of the Aboleth and can’t take reactions, and the Aboleth and the target can communicate telepathically with each other at any distance. Whenever the charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the Aboleth.
- It uses its Multiattack to hit three times with its tentacles, which have a reach of 10 feet and a bonus of +9 to hit. These tentacles deal 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage and if the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be infected by the disease of the Mucous Cloud.
- It uses its Tail to hit a target within 10 feet, dealing 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
- It uses its Legendary Actions to detect hidden creatures, counterattack with its tail or drain psychically an enslaved creature, regaining hit points equal to the damage that the creature takes.
An Aboleth prefers a short and decisive battle, based on its phenomenal strength, rather than a prolonged one. It would retreat from combat if it was severely wounded, using the Disengage or Dodge action while moving away.
The aquatic allies of an Aboleth
An Aboleth is never alone, but surrounds itself with various allies that can live and fight underwater, that know well the marine environment and that have abilities or powers useful for the Aboleth. Some of these allies are:
- The kuo-toa, fish-like humanoids that the Aboleth enslaves and makes worship as a deity, exploiting their collective faith and their divine magic.
- The sahuagin, shark-like humanoids that the Aboleth allies or enslaves to obtain warriors, weapons and resources, or to eliminate other aquatic races.
- The merrow, mutated orcs that live in underwater caves. The merrow are brutal and stupid, and follow the strongest. The Aboleth enslaves them and uses them as guards, hunters or torturers.
- The chuul, aberrations similar to giant crabs that live in swamps or lakes. The chuul are intelligent and voracious predators, and have a natural affinity for other aberrations. The Aboleth allies or enslaves them to obtain food, information or support, or to explore, sabotage or assassinate, thanks to their intelligence and voracity.
- The skum, amphibious humanoids that live in underwater ruins. The skum are the result of genetic experiments of ancient aboleths, and have an innate loyalty to their creators. The Aboleth enslaves them and uses them as slaves, servants or experiments.
These are just some examples of possible aquatic allies of an Aboleth. Of course, an Aboleth could have other types of allies depending on the circumstances and its goals. In general, an Aboleth prefers to have allies that it can dominate or manipulate easily, that are useful for its purposes and that do not represent a threat to its supremacy.
The long-term strategy of an Aboleth
An Aboleth is not satisfied with ruling over its natural environment, but always seeks to extend its influence over other territories and planes of existence. To do this, an Aboleth uses a long-term strategy based on its telepathy, its enslavement, its mucous cloud, its history, its intelligence, its connection with the elemental plane of water, its legendary actions and its psychic drain. With these abilities, an Aboleth creates a network of cults, slaves and allies that operate for its purposes, manipulates events in its favor, discovers the secrets and weaknesses of the world and its inhabitants, travels between planes of existence and seeks new allies or enemies, and maintains control and power over its followers and opponents. In this way, an Aboleth always seeks to increase its knowledge, its domain and its cult, without ever forgetting its ancient origin and its hatred towards the gods and the mortal creatures.
Conclusions
Aboleths are fascinating and terrible creatures that represent a difficult and dangerous challenge for anyone who dares to face them. To fight an Aboleth, you need to be prepared to resist its telepathy, to avoid its mucous cloud, to endure its physical attacks and to counteract its legendary actions. If you manage to defeat an Aboleth, you might discover its secrets and free its victims.