Large fiend (shapechanger), neutral evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 90 (12d10 + 24)
Speed 60 ft. (30 ft. in goblinoid form)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Proficiency Bonus +5 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 (+4) | 15 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) |
Saving Throws (suggested) Str +6
Skills Deception +4, Intimidation +4, Perception +5, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities acid, poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Abyssal, Common, Goblin, Infernal, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 4 (1100 XP)
Shapechanger. The barghest can use its action to polymorph into a goblinoid or back into its true form. Other than its size and speed, its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. The barghest reverts to its true form if it dies.
Fire Banishment. When the barghest starts its turn engulfed in flames that are at least 10 feet high or wide, it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be instantly banished to Gehenna. Instantaneous bursts of flame (such as a red dragon’s breath or a fireball spell) don’t have this effect on the barghest.
Keen Smelt. The barghest has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Innate Spellcasting. The barghest’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). The barghest can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
- At will: levitate, minor illusion, pass without trace
- 1/day each: charm person, dimension door, suggestion
ACTIONS
- Multiattack (suggested). The barghest can make two attacks with its claws in goblinoid form or three attack, two with its claws and one with its bite in canine form.
- Bite. Melee Weapon Attack (true form only): +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.
- Claws. Melee Weapon Attack. +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
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
A barghest is a fiendish creature that resembles a large wolf or a goblin, depending on its form. It is native to the plane of Gehenna, where it serves the General of Gehenna, a powerful yugoloth lord. A barghest can shapeshift between its wolf and goblin forms at will, and can also assume the appearance of any humanoid it has devoured. A barghest’s eyes glow with an orange light when it is excited or angry, revealing its true nature. Barghests are intelligent and cunning, and often command goblinoid tribes or infiltrate humanoid societies. Barghests have a hunger for mortal souls, which they consume by feeding on the corpses of their victims. This allows them to grow in power and eventually return to Gehenna.
A barghest is born to goblin parents as a normal goblin child, but soon develops its fiendish traits and abilities. A barghest usually leaves its goblin tribe and seeks out other barghests or goblinoids to dominate or ally with. While it appears to be a large goblin when it is a whelp, its skin darkens from yellow to a bluish-red as it grows larger and stronger, and eventually its skin turns an even blue at adulthood.
The barghest passes through different stages in its life. As a whelp it is a hunter and tracker consigned to the Prime Material Plane. There it grows in cunning and wisdom until it is ready to enter into the next stage of its life. At this phase it returns to Gehenna and becomes a leader. It is still a hunter, though now its tactics and attitudes are greater, to match the game — other intelligent beings — that it hunts.
COMBAT
A barghest is a formidable opponent in combat, using its claws, teeth, and strength to tear apart its enemies. It can also use its innate magic to create illusions, charm or frighten foes, or teleport short distances. A barghest prefers to ambush its prey, using its shapeshifting ability to disguise itself or lure unsuspecting victims into a trap. A barghest can also sense the presence of any creature within a mile of it that has a soul, making it difficult to escape or hide from it. A barghest is vulnerable to fire, which can banish it back to Gehenna if it fails to resist its effect. A barghest can also be killed by silver weapons or by powerful magic.
Barghests employ their claws in goblinoid form and both claws and bite in canine form. When in canine form, barghests are able to move at double their normal movement rate (maximum of 30), pass without a trace (as the spell), and become 75% unlikely to be noticed when motionless. If undetected, they impose a -2 penalty on opponents’ surprise rolls.
HABITAT / SOCIETY
Barghests are often found in the company of hobgoblins, bugbears, or worgs, who respect their strength and leadership. Barghests are also known to infiltrate humanoid societies, posing as merchants, nobles, or adventurers, and using their charm and deception to manipulate others. Barghests are loyal to the General of Gehenna, who sends them on missions to sow chaos and destruction in the Material Plane. Barghests also compete with each other for power and prestige, and sometimes clash over territory or resources.
These beings are native to Gehenna and tend to live in isolation on that plane. There, each barghest has its own stronghold and force of servitors, over which it rules despotically. Goblins readily recognize and worship barghests (even in their goblinoid form), but other races find them to be virtually indistinguishable from these common prime-material monsters. The goblin hosts fear and serve the barghests, often going to great lengths to bring them suitable gifts and sacrifices, and the barghests respond by slaying powerful enemies of the goblins as well as generally enriching the goblins’ treasure hoards.
Occasionally, a barghest on Gehenna will spawn a litter of six young, which are immediately sent to the Prime Material Plane to feed and grow. Those that survive eventually return to Gehenna, but while they are away, they must feed upon humans and demihumans. Barghest whelps are found either alone or in pairs on the Prime Material Plane, generally living near isolated communities of humans or with bands of goblins.
Those banished from the Prime Material Plane and returned to the Outer Plane are most likely slain or enslaved by their full-grown fellows, but even if they are not so treated they cannot return to the Prime Material Plane without outside assistance.
ECOLOGY
A barghest is a consumer of souls, which it obtains by devouring the bodies of fey or humanoids it has killed. This feeding takes at least a minute, and destroys the corpse completely. The victim’s soul is trapped within the barghest, preventing any form of resurrection until the barghest is slain. A barghest can feed on any number of souls, but only gains power from a limited amount. The more powerful the soul, the more power the barghest gains. A barghest can use this power to enhance its physical or magical abilities, or to return to Gehenna as a greater barghest. A greater barghest is larger and stronger than a normal barghest, and can transform into a dire wolf or a huge goblin-like monster. A greater barghest can also create lesser barghests by impregnating goblins or other humanoids.
When barghest whelps first come to the Prime Material, they are relatively weak, having only 6 Hit Dice. However, for every energy (experience) level of human (or demihuman) life that they slay or devour, 1 hit point is added to their overall total. Once they absorb eight levels, they gain another Hit Die. Note that 0-level characters are worth only one-half of an experience level to the barghest, so they are considerably less attractive targets than high-level heroes. In addition, each time a barghest gains a Hit Die, its Armor Class and Strength score increases by 1. When the barghest finally achieves full growth and power, it discovers the ability to plane shift to Gehenna, where it seeks its own reeking valley rift to lord over.
What treasure barghests gather into their own strongholds in Gehenna is unknown, although it is rumored to be great. However, while they live upon the Prime Material Plane, they accumulate no personal treasure.