Medium fiend (demon), chaotic evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 157 (15d8 + 90)
Speed 40 ft.
Proficiency Bonus +4
Proficiency Bonus +6 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 19 (+4) | 22 (+6) | 6 (-1) | 11 (+0) | 7 (-2) |
Saving Throws Dex +8, Con +10
Skills Stealth +8
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands Abyssal but can’t speak
Challenge 11 (7200 XP)
Amorphous. The alkilith can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
False Appearance. While the alkilith is motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary slime or fungus.
Foment Madness. Any creature that isn’t a demon that starts its turn within 30 feet of the alkilith must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw, or it hears a faint buzzing in its head for a moment and has disadvantage on its next attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. If the saving throw against Foment Madness fails by 5 or more, the creature is instead subjected to the Confusion spell for 1 minute (no concentration required by the alkilith). While under the effect of that confusion, the creature is immune to Foment Madness.
Magic Resistance. The alkilith has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Miasma of Decay (suggested). The alkilith can use a bonus action to transform into a 20-foot cube of foul, stinking vapors that fills its space and spreads around corners. The vapors are heavily obscured and create a cloudkill effect in the area. Any creature that starts its turn in the vapors or enters them for the first time on a turn must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (5d8) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Creatures are affected even if they hold their breath or don’t need to breathe. The vapors move with the alkilith and can be dispersed by a moderate or stronger wind. The alkilith can’t take any other actions while in this form, except to revert to its normal form as a bonus action. The alkilith can move up to 10 feet per round in this form, but it can’t use its pseudopods or corrosive slime. The alkilith is immune to nonmagical damage in this form, but it takes 1d6 force damage per spell level if it is affected by a gust of wind spell or a similar effect.
ACTIONS
- Multiattack. The alkilith makes three attacks with its tentacles.
- Multiattack (suggested). The alkilith makes four attacks with its tentacles.
- Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) acid damage.
- Tentacle (suggested). Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d6 + 4) acid damage. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. The poisoned target takes 7 (2d6) acid damage at the start of each of its turns. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
- Corrosive Slime (suggested, recharge 5-6). When the alkilith hits a creature with a pseudopod attack, it can choose to coat the creature with its corrosive slime. The creature must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Additionally, one nonmagical item worn or carried by the creature is exposed to the slime. The DM chooses the item or determines it randomly. The item is destroyed unless it succeeds on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. Magic items have advantage on the saving throw.
5th Edition Advanced Mode
Limiting the power of a character and making the overall difficulty of the game harder, does not reduce the creativity, indeed it does quite the opposite.
The Game Master has the option to use any and all of the instances proposed in this guide, or just some of them according to their preference.
It is the lack of something that move and motivate characters, not the abundance of it
DESCRIPTION
An alkilith is a demon that resembles a bright green mass of dripping, toxic corruption. It has a gelatinous body, covered with a leathery coating that constantly cracks open, oozes, and hardens again. It has several swollen eye-globules that can see in the dark, and it can form pseudopods to strike at its enemies or manipulate objects. An alkilith can also transform into a cloud of foul, stinking vapors that fills a large area and harms any living creature that breathes it in. An alkilith is an embodiment of pestilence and decay, and it delights in polluting and corrupting its surroundings.
An alkilith is a type of tanar’ri that thrives in the foulest and most inhospitable places of the Abyss, acting as personal agents of the unspeakable Abyssal Lords. They exist to corrupt all they touch, extending the reach of the Abyss by despoiling anything that comes into contact with it. The alkiliths seek to pollute the world beyond the Abyss physically and morally. While fiends such as the glabrezu and succubi bring mortals to the Abyss, the alkiliths work to bring the Abyss itself to any world unfortunate enough to be within reach. Alkiliths destroy things that are beautiful, desecrate things that are sacred, and fan the embers of fear or resentment into raging hatred. By spreading chaos and evil throughout the multiverse, they’ll increase the power of the Abyss.
COMBAT
An alkilith is extremely dangerous in close combat, as it can lash out with four pseudopods at a time, each inflicting acid damage and poisoning its victim. The alkilith’s slime can also coat the creature or its equipment, causing further damage or destruction. An alkilith can use a variety of magical abilities to further its goals of spreading disease and desecration, such as contagion, desecrate, enervation, stinking cloud, unholy blight, and cone of cold. An alkilith can also summon other demons to aid it in battle, such as hezrous or chasmes, or control oozes that share its affinity for filth.
An alkilith can also use its stinking cloud ability to transform into a cloud of vapors that moves with it and creates a cloudkill effect in the area. Any creature that starts its turn in the vapors or enters them for the first time on a turn must make a saving throw or take poison damage and suffer disadvantage on its next attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. The alkilith is immune to nonmagical damage in this form, but it can be harmed by strong winds blowing away its essence. The alkilith can’t take any other actions while in this form, except to revert to its normal form as a bonus action. The alkilith can use this ability once per day, and it lasts for up to an hour or until the alkilith ends it.
An alkilith has resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, and nonmagical physical damage, and immunity to poison. It also has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. It can move through spaces as narrow as one inch wide without squeezing, and it can disguise itself as an ordinary slime or fungus when motionless. It can understand Abyssal but can’t speak.
HABITAT / SOCIETY
An alkilith dwells in the Abyss, the chaotic evil plane of existence that spawns demons. It prefers layers that are dark, damp, and fetid, such as the Endless Maze of Baphomet or the Wells of Darkness of Orcus. It seeks out places where it can cause the most pollution and corruption, such as fresh water sources, fertile lands, or holy sites. It often works alone or with other oozes or demons that share its twisted vision of beauty.
An alkilith is hateful and malicious towards all living things, especially those that value purity and order. It has no loyalty or respect for other demons, except for those that are more powerful or useful to it. It often clashes with baatezu, the lawful evil devils that are the natural enemies of demons. It also despises celestials, fey, elementals, and any other beings that embody natural harmony or positive energy. An alkilith will stop at nothing to destroy or defile anything that opposes its vile agenda.
An alkilith is the envoy, agent, and assassin of the Abyssal Lords. A great number of its missions take place within the Abyss, as the lords of the tanar’ri spend much of their time scheming and feuding with each other. From time to time they’re sent into the Great Wheel or onto the Prime Material Plane on an errand of vile corruption. Alkiliths take an unholy delight in tasks that allow them to mar things or places of beauty.
The Blood War is only a tangential concern for the alkiliths. They’ll fight when they have to, but normally they steer clear of the babaus and molydei by retreating into regions so despicable and unclean that even other tanar’ri hesitate to follow. However, an alkilith will savagely attack any baatezu it encounters while it’s about its work.
An alkilith is not very common in the Abyss, but it is greatly feared because other tanar’ri have no innate resistance to its horrible acid or vile cloud of poisonous gas. As a creature of the Abyssal Lords, the alkilith is not well-liked by its peers, but it is guaranteed a certain measure of protection. An alkilith’s fortunes wax and wane with those of its master, and when the Abyssal Lord suffers a setback, the alkilith often ends up lost.
ECOLOGY
An alkilith is a living manifestation of decay and disease. It feeds on organic matter, especially living flesh, and leaves behind a trail of slime and rot wherever it goes. It reproduces by fission, splitting into two smaller copies of itself when it reaches a certain size or when it is severely wounded. It can also infect other creatures with its slime, turning them into oozes or spawning new demons within them. An alkilith has no natural predators, as few creatures can stomach its foul taste or withstand its acidic touch. An alkilith is an ecological disaster that threatens to ruin any environment it inhabits.
Whenever possible, alkiliths bring the hateful spite and corruption of the Abyss to unfortunate prime-material worlds. In some cases, the seeds of evil and pestilence planted by an alkilith can overwhelm an entire land, plunging thousands of mortals into a living nightmare of senseless war and devastation.