Medium fey, neutral evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 105 (14d8 + 42)
Speed 40 ft.
Proficiency Bonus +3
Proficiency Bonus +6 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 (+5) | 10 (+0) | 17 (+3) | 11 (+0) | 13 (+1) | 8 (-1) |
Saving Throws Con +6
Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Common, Sylvan, Undercommon
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Clomping Boots. The redcap has disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Red Cap. The redcap must soak its cap in the blood of a humanoid killed no more than an hour ago at least once every three days. If it goes more than 72 hours without doing so, the blood on its cap dries and the redcap gains one level of exhaustion every 24 hours. While the cap is dry, the redcap can’t remove exhaustion by any means. All levels of exhaustion are removed immediately when the redcap soaks its cap in fresh blood. A redcap that dies as a result of this exhaustion crumbles to dust.
Solid Kick. The redcap can kick a creature within 5 feet as a bonus action. The kicked creature must make a successful DC 15 Strength saving throw or fall prone
ACTIONS
- Multiattack. The redcap makes two pike attacks and one bite attack.
- Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage and the creature is bleeding profusely. A bleeding creature must make a successful DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the start of its turn or take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage and continue bleeding. On a successful save the creature takes no necrotic damage and the effect ends. A creature takes only 10 necrotic damage per turn from this effect no matter how many times it’s been bitten, and a single successful saving throw ends all bleeding. Spending an action to make a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check or any amount of magical healing also stops the bleeding. Constructs and undead are immune to the bleeding effect.
- Pike. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) piercing 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 redcap is a small, evil fey creature that is born from the blood spilled by acts of violence. It resembles a tough and elderly human or gnome, with a hunched back, wiry muscles, leathery skin, and a wicked smile full of sharp teeth. It wears heavy iron boots, leather pants, and a pointed cap made of red leather that is always soaked in fresh blood. The cap is the source of the redcap’s power and life force, and it must be replenished with new blood every few days, or else the redcap will vanish. A redcap speaks Common and Sylvan, and has darkvision and blindsight. It is sensitive to bright light, which hampers its vision and attacks.
COMBAT
A redcap is a homicidal maniac that lives for direct confrontation and the mayhem of mortal combat. It has no sense of subtlety or stealth, and prefers to attack head-on with its outsize strength and speed. It typically wields a scythe, a sickle, or another heavy bladed weapon that seems too big for its size. It can also kick with its iron boots, causing great injury and knocking down its foes. A redcap can deal extra damage when it attacks with advantage, such as when it strikes in darkness against an enemy who lacks darkvision. A redcap will not hesitate to kill any living creature it encounters, unless it is clearly outmatched or outnumbered. In that case, it will try to escape by dashing or disengaging. A redcap will also flee if it cannot soak its cap in fresh blood within three days of its last kill.
HABITAT / SOCIETY
A redcap can appear in any place where blood has been spilled by violence, such as battlefields, murder scenes, or sacrificial altars. It does not need to eat, drink, or sleep, but only to kill and soak its cap in blood. A redcap is usually solitary, but sometimes it may form a small band with other redcaps who share its bloodlust. Redcaps have no loyalty or compassion for anyone, not even their own kind. They may cooperate for a short time to hunt down a common prey, but they will turn on each other if they run out of victims or if their caps start to dry out. Redcaps have no culture or civilization of their own, but they may mimic the habits and speech of the creatures they kill. Redcaps are hated and feared by most other fey, who regard them as abominations and enemies.
ECOLOGY
A redcap is a manifestation of the dark side of the fey realm, a twisted reflection of the natural cycle of life and death. A redcap is created when a creature feels intense bloodlust while spilling blood on the ground, causing a spark of fey magic to ignite in the soil. The magic then animates a clump of earth and blood into a living being that embodies the killer’s rage and malice. A redcap does not reproduce or age, but it can die if its cap dries out or if it is slain by cold iron weapons. When a redcap dies, it explodes in a flash of bright light that can blind nearby creatures. The flash also purifies the ground where the redcap was born, preventing another one from arising in the same spot. A redcap has no role or purpose in the natural order, but only disrupts and destroys it with its senseless violence.
Redcap is employed as material component to empower the following spells: