5etools-mirror-2.github.io/data/bestiary/fluff-bestiary-vgm.json

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	"monsterFluff": [
		{
			"name": "Abjurer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Abjurers are specialist wizards who feel secure when warded by layers of magical power. Kings, nobles, and other wealthy individuals commonly hire abjurers to cast protective spells on their homes and vaults."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Alhoon",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Mind flayers that pursue arcane magic are exiled as deviants, and for them no eternal communion with an elder brain is possible. The road to lichdom offers a way to escape the permanency of death, but that path is long and solitary. Alhoons are mind flayers that use a shortcut.",
										{
											"name": "Arcane Temptation",
											"entries": [
												"Elder brains forbid mind flayers from pursuing magic power aside from psionics, but it isn't an interdiction they must often enforce. Illithids brook no masters but members of their own kind, so it isn't in their nature to bow to any god or otherworldly patron. However, wizardry remains a rare temptation.",
												"In the pages of a spellbook, an illithid sees a system to acquire authority. Through the writings of the wizard who penned it, the illithid perceives the workings of a highly intelligent mind. Most mind flayers who find a spellbook react with abhorrence or indifference, but for some a spellbook is a gateway to a new way of thinking.",
												"For a time, the study of such forbidden texts can be hidden from other illithids and even from an elder brain. Understanding of wizardry eludes the mind like a living thing. Yet eventually, understanding comes, and a mind flayer arcanist must accept itself as deviant and flee the colony if it is to live.",
												"Confronting this awful reality, a group of nine mind flayer deviants used their arcane magic and psionics to weave a new truth. These nine called themselves the alhoon, and ever afterward, all those who follow in their footsteps have been referred to by the same name.",
												"Initially, an alhoon can be difficult to distinguish from a normal mind flayer. The most obvious difference is the lack of the mind flayer's ever-present mucus coating. Without that protection, an alhoon's skin becomes dry and cracked. Its eyes might appear shriveled and sunken. Both of these clues are easily missed by someone who hasn't seen a mind flayer. However, in short order, an alhoon's flesh withers away and its empty eye sockets gleam with cold pinpricks of light like other liches.",
												"The undeath conferred by a periapt of mind trapping lasts only so long as the life of the living victim selected. Thus an alhoon who brought a 200-year-old elf to be sacrificed looks forward to a much longer existence than one that sacrifices a 35-year-old person. Alhoons can extend their existence by repeating the ritual with new victims, effectively resetting the clocks for themselves.",
												"Destruction of a periapt of mind trapping consigns those trapped within it to oblivion, and thus alhoons often work together to create elaborate protections about the periapt and their preferred ritual site. Sometimes a single alhoon is entrusted with the periapt of mind trapping, but this is a dangerous proposition. Anyone who holds the periapt of mind trapping gains advantage on attacks, saves, and check against the alhoons associated with its creation, and those alhoons in turn suffer disadvantage on attacks, saves, and check against the holder.",
												"In addition, the holder of the periapt can telepathically communicate with any sacrificed soul trapped within, and alhoons within the periapt can speak telepathically with the holder. A creature carrying the periapt can't prevent communication from alhoons but can silence trapped souls."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Existential Fear",
											"entries": [
												"Arcanist deviants that taste freedom from the colony react in a variety of ways. Some prize their privacy, others seek to commune with similar minds, and still others seek to dominate a colony, elevating themselves to the position of leadership normally held by an elder brain. Regardless of the arcanist's personal inclinations, it faces the same stark fact: When it dies, it will not join the host of minds in the elder brain. Deviant minds are never accepted as part of the collective. For it, death means oblivion."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Dreadful Deliverance",
											"entries": [
												"Lichdom offers salvation and the prospect of being able to pursue knowledge indefinitely. Having feasted on the brains of people when alive, a mind flayer has no compunction about feeding souls to a phylactery. The only hindrance to a mind flayer becoming a lich is the means, which is a secret some mind flayer arcanists stop at nothing to discover. Yet lichdom requires an arcane spellcaster to be at the apex of power, something many mind flayers find is far from their grasps."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "A Psionic Secret",
											"entries": [
												"Alhoons can cooperate in the creation of a periapt of mind trapping, a fist-sized container made of silver, emerald, and amethyst. The process requires at least three mind flayer arcanists and the sacrifice of an equal number of souls from living victims in a three-day-long ritual of spellcasting and psionic communion. Upon its completion, free-willed undeath is conferred on the mind flayers, turning them into alhoons."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Precarious Immortality",
											"entries": [
												"Unlike with true lichdom, the periapt of mind trapping doesn't restore the alhoons to undeath if they are destroyed. Instead, a destroyed alhoon's mind is transferred to the periapt where it remains in communion with any other trapped alhoon minds, as well as the souls of those sacrificed."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
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							]
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			],
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					"type": "image",
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					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Annis Hag",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Annis hags lair in mountains or hills. Despite being hunchbacked and hump-shouldered, they are the largest and most physically imposing of their kind, standing eight feet tall.",
										{
											"name": "Tormenting the Weak",
											"entries": [
												"Although annis hags can easily tear a grown man apart, they love hunting children, preferring their flesh above all others. They use the flayed skin of such victims to make supple leather, and a hag's lair often shows the signs of this industry.",
												"Annis hags leave tokens of their cruelty at the edges of forests and other areas they claim. In this way, they provoke fear and paranoia in nearby villages and settlements. To an annis hag, nothing is sweeter than turning a vibrant community into a place paralyzed with terror, where folk never venture out at night, strangers are met with suspicion and anger, and parents warn their children to \"be good, or the annis will get you.\""
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Child Corrupter",
											"entries": [
												"When an annis feels especially cruel, she disguises herself as a kindly-looking elderly woman, approaches a child in a remote place, and gives it an iron token that it can use to confide in her. Over time, \"Granny\" convinces the child that it's okay to have bad thoughts and do bad deeds-starting with breaking things or wandering outside without permission, then graduating to pushing someone down the stairs or setting a house on fire. Sooner or later, the child's family and community become terrified of the \"bad seed\" and must face the awful decision of whether the child should be punished or exiled."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Tribe Mother",
											"entries": [
												"Much in the way that they befriend children in order to corrupt them, annis hags have a tendency for adopting a group of ogres, trolls, or other loutish creatures, ruling them through brute strength, verbal abuse, and superstition."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Covens",
											"entries": [
												"An annis hag that is part of a coven (see the \"Hag Covens\" sidebar in the Monster Manual) has a challenge rating of 8 (3,900 XP)."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Iron Token",
									"entries": [
										"An annis hag can pull out one of her iron teeth or nails and spend 1 minute shaping and polishing it into the form of a coin, a ring, or a tiny mirror. Thereafter, any creature that holds this iron token can have a whispered conversation with the hag, provided the creature and the hag are on the same plane of existence and within 10 miles of each other. The holder of the token can hear only the hag's voice, not those of any other creatures or any ambient noise around the hag. Similarly, the hag can hear the holder of the token and not the noise around it.",
										"A hag can have up to three iron tokens active at one time. As an action, she can discern the direction and approximate distance to all of her active tokens. She can instantaneously deactivate any of her tokens at any distance (no action required), whereupon the token retains its current form but loses its magical properties."
									]
								}
							]
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					]
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					"credit": "Tom Babbey"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Apprentice Wizard",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Apprentices are novice arcane spellcasters who serve more experienced wizards or attend school. They perform menial work such as cooking and cleaning in exchange for education in the ways of magic."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
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					"credit": "Eva Widermann"
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			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Archdruid",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
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							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Archdruids watch over the natural wonders of their domains. They seldom interact with civilized folk unless there is a great threat to the natural order. An archdruid typically has one or more pupils who are druids (see the Monster Manual for statistics), and the archdruid's lair is usually guarded by loyal beasts and fey creatures."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Archer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Archers defend castles, hunt wild game on the fringes of civilization, serve as artillery in military units, and occasionally make good coin as brigands or caravan guards."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
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					"credit": "Howard Lyon"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Aurochs",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
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							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
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									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Bahgtru, son of Gruumsh and Luthic, is the orc deity of unbridled strength. Legend says Bahgtru needed a mount as fierce as him for making war, so he sought a mighty aurochs, subjugated the creature with his bare hands, and hauled it to Nishrek, Gruumsh's realm. Bahgtru named the beast Kazaht, or \"Bull\" in Orc. On Kazaht's bare back, Bahgtru charges into battle, ramming into an enemy host and leaping over the aurochs's horns to land in the midst of his foes.",
										"Orcs that revere Bahgtru might tend a stable of war bulls that carry them into combat. Trained to be fierce mounts from a young age, aurochs are sacred symbols of Bahgtru. No orc will eat such creatures, which are treated as honored warriors when they perish."
									]
								}
							]
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					]
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		},
		{
			"name": "Babau",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Demon lords create lesser demons for the purpose of spreading chaos and terror throughout the multiverse."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Babau",
									"entries": [
										"Demons and devils clash endlessly for control of the Lower Planes. One of these battles pitted the legions of the archdevil Glasya against the screaming hordes of the demon lord Graz'zt. It is said that Glasya wounded Graz'zt with her sword, and the first babaus arose where his blood struck the ground. Their sudden appearance helped rout Glasya and secured Graz'zt's place as one of the preeminent demon lords of the Abyss.",
										"A babau demon possesses the cunning of a devil and the bloodthirstiness of a demon. It has leathery black skin pulled tight over its gaunt frame, and a curved horn protruding from the back of its elongated skull. A babau's baleful glare can weaken a creature."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
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					"credit": "Ben Wootten"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Banderhobb",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A banderhobb is a hybrid of shadow and flesh. Through dark magic, these components take on an enormous and vile humanoid shape, resembling a bipedal toad. In this form, a banderhobb temporarily serves its creator as a thug, a thief, and a kidnapper.",
										{
											"name": "Birthed by Hags",
											"entries": [
												"In the earliest days of the world, a coven of night hags devised a ritual that led to the creation of the first banderhobb. A hag that knows the ritual might be willing to teach it for the right price. Some other dark fey and powerful fiends also know of the process, as do a few mortal mages. Instructions might also be found in a tome devoted to debased wizardry.",
												"A banderhobb fulfills its duties until its existence ends. When it expires, usually several days after its birth, it leaves behind only tarry goo and wisps of shadow. Legends tell of a dark tower in the Shadowfell where the shadows sometimes reform, and banderhobbs roam."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Silent and Deadly",
											"entries": [
												"When the ritual to create a banderhobb is complete, flesh, spirit, and shadow combine to produce a creature as big as an ogre. The newly formed monstrosity has spindly limbs that belie great strength. Its broad maw holds a long tongue and rows of fangs, both of which it uses to grab and swallow a creature or perhaps an object the banderhobb intends to steal. Despite its size, a banderhobb makes little noise, moving as silently as the shadows that infuse it. A banderhobb isn't capable of speech, but it can understand orders given to it by its creator and communicates with nearby banderhobbs in a psychic manner."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Agents of Evil",
											"entries": [
												"During its brief existence, a banderhobb attempts to carry out the bidding of the one who birthed it. It accomplishes its mission with no concern for the harm it suffers or creates. Its only desire is to serve and succeed. A banderhobb that is assigned to track down a target is particularly dangerous when it is provided with a lock of hair, a personal belonging, or other object connected to the target. Possession of such an item allows it to sense the creature's location from as far as a mile away."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
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							]
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					]
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			],
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					"credit": "Brynn Metheney"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Bard",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Bards are gifted poets, storytellers, and entertainers who travel far and wide, but are commonly found in taverns or in the company of jolly bands of adventurers, rough-and-tumble mercenaries, and wealthy patrons."
									]
								}
							]
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		{
			"name": "Barghest",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Long ago, Maglubiyet, master of the goblinoid gods, bargained with the General of Gehenna for aid. The General provided yugoloths that died to serve the cause of the goblin god. Yet when the time came to honor his part of the compact, Maglubiyet reneged on the deal. As an act of vengeance, the General of Gehenna created the soul-devouring barghests to devour goblinoid souls and deprive Maglubiyet of troops for his army in the afterlife.",
										{
											"name": "Consumers of Souls",
											"type": "entries",
											"entries": [
												"A barghest is born to goblin parents just as normal offspring are. The creature emerges in the form of a goblin, then develops the ability to assume its true form: that of a large, fiendish canine.",
												"The mission of every barghest, implanted in it by the General of Gehenna, is to consume seventeen goblinoid souls by devouring the bodies of those it kills. Souls consumed in this way are prevented from joining Maglubiyet's forces in Acheron. Why seventeen? Because the oaths Maglubiyet broke in his compact with the General totaled seventeen.",
												"A barghest hungers for the day when it can complete its mission, return to Gehenna, and serve the General directly in his yugoloth legions, but it doesn't kill goblinoids indiscriminately. By devouring the souls of goblinoid leaders and other powerful individuals, rather than lowly goblins, a barghest earns elevated status in the afterlife. Barghests typically keep their true nature secret, preying upon a goblin or two when the opportunity arises, until they reach adult age and are old and strong enough to seek out stronger prey. When goblins discover that a barghest is among them, they react with groveling obeisance, each member of the tribe eager to show the barghest that it isn't worthy of being devoured."
											]
										},
										{
											"name": "Banished by Fire",
											"type": "entries",
											"entries": [
												"A barghest avoids contact with large, open fires. Any conflagration larger than its body acts as a gateway to Gehenna and banishes the fiend to that plane, where it is likely to be slain or enslaved by a yugoloth for its failure."
											]
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Soul Feeding",
									"entries": [
										"A barghest can feed on the corpse of a humanoid that it killed that has been dead for less than 10 minutes, devouring both flesh and soul in doing so. This feeding takes at least 1 minute, and it destroys the victim's body. The victim's soul is trapped in the barghest for 24 hours, after which time it is digested. If the barghest dies before the soul is digested, the soul is released.",
										"While a humanoid's soul is trapped in a barghest, any form of revival that could work has only a {@chance 50|50 percent} chance of doing so, freeing the soul from the barghest if it is successful. Once a creature's soul is digested, however, no mortal magic can return that humanoid to life."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
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					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Bheur Hag",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Bheur hags live in wintry lands, favoring snow-covered mountains. They become more active during winter, using their ice and weather magic to make life miserable for nearby settlements.",
										"A bheur hag's skin is blue-white, like that of a person who has frozen to death. Her hair is pale white, and she is emaciated, as if she were a person who had survived winter by eating bark and leather. Her eyes are pale and surrounded by dark, bruise-colored flesh. A bheur carries a twisted gray wooden staff, which she can ride like a flying broom and augments her magical powers.",
										{
											"name": "Cold Hearts",
											"entries": [
												"Bheur hags are attracted to selfish actions justified by deadly cold, such as murdering a traveler for a winter coat, chopping down a dryad's grove for firewood, and so on. These actions are especially sweet to a bheur if they are unwarranted, such as a greedy merchant hoarding more food for the winter than he could possibly eat while others starve. Bheurs love to seed such ideas and thoughts in mortals. They use their ability to manipulate weather to batter villages with snow and freezing cold, hoping to instill despair that turns the villagers against each other.",
												"A bheur hag loves watching unprepared people suffer and die for their mistakes during the winter. She is delighted when mortals make petty, pathetic attempts to survive, such as eating boots and leather scraps when no real food is to be found."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Awful to Behold",
											"entries": [
												"When a bheur hag is fully in the throes of combat and has recently slain one of her foes, she often forgoes a direct attack on her remaining enemies and instead takes a moment to feed on the corpse, dismembering it and tearing meat from bone. The sight of this savagery is enough to render witnesses temporarily insane."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Covens",
											"entries": [
												"A bheur hag that is part of a coven (see the \"Hag Covens\" sidebar in the Monster Manual) has a challenge rating of 9 (5,000 XP)."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
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					"credit": "Tom Babbey"
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		},
		{
			"name": "Black Guard Drake",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Guard Drake",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Blackguard",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Blackguards are paladins who broke their sacred oaths and now indulge their own dark ambitions. They consort with fiends and undead, and they reject all goodly things from their former lives."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Blue Guard Drake",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Guard Drake",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Bodak",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A bodak is the undead remains of someone who revered Orcus. Devoid of life and soul, it exists only to cause death.",
										{
											"name": "Marked by Orcus",
											"entries": [
												"A worshiper of Orcus can take ritual vows while carving the demon lord's symbol on its chest over the heart. Orcus's power flays body, mind, and soul, leaving behind a sentient husk that sucks in all life energy near it. Most bodaks come into being in this way, then unleashed to spread death in Orcus's name.",
												"Orcus created the first bodaks in the Abyss from seven devotees, called the Hierophants of Annihilation. These figures, as mighty as balors, have free will but serve the Prince of Undeath directly. Any one of these bodaks can turn a slain mortal into a bodak with its gaze. Like each Hierophant of Annihilation, every bodak bears the mark of Orcus as a chest wound, an opening where a mortal humanoid's heart would be.",
												"Orcus can recall anything a bodak sees or hears. If he so chooses, he can speak through a bodak to address his enemies and followers directly. Bodaks are extensions of Orcus's will outside the Abyss, serving the demon prince's aims and other minions.",
												"Even nature despises bodaks. The sun burns away a bodak's tainted flesh. The creature's gaze lays waste to the living. Anyone a bodak slays with its gaze withers, its face frozen in a mask of terror. The monster's mere presence is so unnatural that it chills the soul. Animals untrained for war instinctively flee just before a bodak arrives."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Unhallowed Fragments",
											"entries": [
												"A bodak retains vague impressions of its past life. It seeks out both its former allies and its former enemies to destroy them, as its warped soul seeks to erase anything connected to its former life. Minions of Orcus are the one exception to this compulsion; a bodak recognizes them as kindred souls and spares them from its wrath. Anyone who knew the individual before its transformation into a bodak can recognize mannerisms or other subtle clues to its original identity."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Ravaged Soul",
											"entries": [
												"The soul of a creature that becomes a bodak is so damaged that it is unfit for most forms of magical resurrection. Only a {@spell wish} spell or similar magic can return a bodak to its former life."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Undead Nature",
											"entries": [
												"A bodak doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Bodak.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Boggle",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Boggles are the little bogeys of fairy tales. They lurk in the fringes of the Feywild and are also found on the Material Plane, where they hide under beds and in closets, waiting to frighten and bedevil folk with their mischief.",
										"A boggle is born out of feelings of loneliness, materializing in a place where the Feywild touches the world in proximity to an intelligent being that feels isolated or abandoned. For example, a forsaken child might unintentionally conjure a boggle and see it as a sort of imaginary friend. A boggle might also appear in the attic of a lonely widower's house or in the caves of a hermit.",
										{
											"name": "Irksome Pests",
											"entries": [
												"Boggles engage in petty pranks to amuse themselves, passing the time at their hosts' expense. A boggle isn't above breaking dishes, hiding tools, making frightening sounds to startle cows and sour their milk, or hiding a baby in an attic. Although a boggle's antics might cause distress and unintentional harm, mischief-not mayhem-is usually its intent. If threatened, a boggle flees rather than stand and fight."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Oily Excretions",
											"entries": [
												"A boggle excretes an oil from its pores and can make its oil slippery or sticky. The oil dries up and disappears an hour later."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Twisting Space",
											"entries": [
												"A boggle can create magical openings to travel short distances or to pilfer items that would otherwise be beyond its reach. To create such a rift in space, a boggle must be adjacent to a space defined by a frame, such as an open window or a doorway, a gap between the bars of a cage, or the opening between the feet of a bed and the floor. The rift is invisible and disappears after a few seconds-enough time for the boggle to step, reach, or attack through it."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Unreliable Allies",
											"entries": [
												"A boggle makes a decent servant for a strong-willed master, and wicked creatures such as fomorians and hags sometimes shelter boggles in their lairs. Warlocks who form pacts with archfey have also been known to command boggles, and charismatic individuals who make the right offers have enjoyed temporary alliances with these little tricksters. A bored boggle always finds some way to entertain itself."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Boggle.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Booyahg Booyahg",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahgs",
				"source": "VGM",
				"_mod": {
					"entries": {
						"mode": "prependArr",
						"items": {
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This goblin is a sorcerer with the wild magic origin whose every casting, including cantrips, is accompanied by a wild magic surge. Each time the goblin casts a spell, there is an accompanying surge of wild magic; roll on the {@table Wild Magic Surge|PHB} table in the {@book Player's Handbook|PHB} to determine the wild magic effect."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Caster",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahgs",
				"source": "VGM",
				"_mod": {
					"entries": {
						"mode": "prependArr",
						"items": {
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This goblin served under a hobgoblin wizard, stole a look at its master's spellbook, and learned a little wizardry by aping the gestures and words it remembered. The goblin can cast a randomly determined 1st-level wizard spell once per day. Intelligence is its spellcasting ability."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Slave",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahgs",
				"source": "VGM",
				"_mod": {
					"entries": {
						"mode": "prependArr",
						"items": {
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This goblin warlock serves a patron who can extract payment in flesh if the goblin doesn't do as promised. Often this patron is a coven of hags serving as the tribe's boss, a fiend that has made its way into the world, or an undying lord such as a lich or a vampire. (For more information on undying lord patrons, see the {@book Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide|SCAG})."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Slave of the Archfey",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahg Slave",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Slave of the Fiend",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahg Slave",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Slave of the Great Old One",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahg Slave",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Whip",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahgs",
				"source": "VGM",
				"_mod": {
					"entries": {
						"mode": "prependArr",
						"items": {
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Khurgorbaeyag saw fit to gift this goblin with powers that enable it to dominate others. The goblin has {@dice 1d3} other goblins that slavishly obey its orders."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahg Wielder",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Booyahgs",
				"source": "VGM",
				"_mod": {
					"entries": {
						"mode": "prependArr",
						"items": {
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This goblin found a magic item (a {@item necklace of fireballs}, a {@item circlet of blasting}, or the like) and learned how to use it."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					}
				}
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Booyahgs",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"name": "Booyahgs",
					"entries": [
						"Spellcasters of any sort among the goblins are rare. Goblins typically lack the intelligence and patience needed to learn and practice wizardry, and they fare poorly even when given access to the necessary training and knowledge. Sorcerers are less prevalent among them than in many other races, and Khurgorbaeyag seems to dislike sharing his divine power with his followers. And although many goblins would readily offer anything to have the abilities of a warlock, the patrons that grant such power know a goblin is unlikely to be able to uphold its end of any bargain.",
						"Even when a goblin is born with the ability to become a spellcaster, the knowledge and talent necessary to carry on the tradition rarely persists for more than a couple of generations. Because they have so little experience with magic, goblins make no distinction between its forms. To them all magic is \"booyahg,\" and the word is part of the name they give to any of its practitioners.",
						"A goblin with access to booyahg becomes a member of the lashers and can often rise to the role of boss."
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Brontosaurus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This massive four-legged dinosaur is large enough that most predators leave it alone. Its deadly tail can drive away or kill smaller threats."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Brontosaurus.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Catoblepas",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"The catoblepas is as loathsome as the vile swamplands in which it lives. Like such wastelands, this conglomeration of bloated buffalo, dinosaur, warthog, and hippopotamus parts has few redeeming qualities. Few travelers willingly traverse the territory of a catoblepas.",
										{
											"name": "Animalistic Nature",
											"entries": [
												"Despite their ungainly physiology, catoblepases resemble natural beasts. A catoblepas behaves much like an animal, too, ambling through its marshy home, munching choice vegetation, eating the occasional bit of carrion, and wallowing in mire. A catoblepas might be found with the one mate it chooses for life and, on occasion, a calf. Especially if it's guarding its young, a catoblepas attacks anyone that moves too close.",
												"Sages say that gods of pestilence and rot created catoblepases as embodiments of their influence. Whatever the origin of the creature, stories link the catoblepas to misfortune, and many of these yarns have elements of truth. Some such tales claim that hags tend catoblepases like cattle, and that a swamp that contains a catoblepas might also be home to a hag that drinks the monster's milk. Although a particular catoblepas might not be linked to a hag, a coven of hags might keep one or more of these beasts as guardians or pets. Other legends say that those of impure heart can tame a catoblepas. Indeed, some tales have circulated of malevolent warlocks and dark knights who have discovered how to domesticate the beasts and use them as mounts."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Stench of Death",
											"entries": [
												"A catoblepas's stink, like that of death mixed with swamp gas and skunk musk, gives it away as being much more ghastly than its appearance suggests. When it is on the attack, a catoblepas reveals the extent of its horrific nature. The creature's serpentine neck has trouble lifting its head, but one glare from its bloodshot eyes can rot flesh. At the end of its tail is a club that can rattle body and soul if it strikes true, leaving a victim unable to act. If the target of its attacks dies, the catoblepas feasts on the fresh remains."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Blighted Territory",
											"entries": [
												"A catoblepas's nature as a creature of disease and decay brings out similar characteristics in the creature's swampy habitat. Such a wetland becomes gloomy, tangled, and more fetid than it was before. Beneficial qualities of the environment, such as healing herbs and clean water, diminish when a catoblepas lives nearby. Swamp gases have a hint of the catoblepas's foulness to them. Animals in the area are more aggressive and liable to be diseased. Degenerate creatures are likely to take up residence near a catoblepas's territory, as are those seeking to avoid notice."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Sinister Folklore",
											"entries": [
												"Ordinary folk rarely see a catoblepas, but the creature has such a feared reputation that stories about it are ingrained in the popular culture. Any rumor of a catoblepas taking up residence nearby is taken to be a bad omen, even if the rumor is proven false. The silhouette of a catoblepas, with its tail extended over its body and its head held low, is a baleful heraldic figure signifying death or doom."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Catoblepas.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Cave Fisher",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A cave fisher is a subterranean arachnid with a long snout that houses spinnerets, enabling the creature to produce sticky filament, much like the strands of a spider's webbing, which the creature uses to snag prey.",
										{
											"name": "Ambushers",
											"entries": [
												"A cave fisher usually hunts small animals and is fond of bats, so it stretches its filament over an opening that such prey might travel through. It then climbs to a hiding spot and adheres itself to the surface to rest and wait. When prey blunders into the filament, the cave fisher reels in its meal. A group of cave fishers might work together to cover a large area with filaments, but as soon as one captures potential food, every cave fisher in the area competes for the prize. If a victim escapes from the initial ambush, a cave fisher can reclaim its prey by shooting a filament out to capture it again.",
												"A cave fisher instinctively knows that larger targets such as humanoids are more difficult to overcome, so the creatures shy away from attacking such prey unless they come across a solitary target. They might try to pick off a scout moving ahead of a group of travelers or a straggler lagging behind, rather than attracting the attention of the entire group."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Moving Up in the World",
											"entries": [
												"Scarce food might draw a group of cave fishers up to the surface, into a shadowy canyon or a gloomy forest that features both native animal prey and creatures such as explorers or travelers occasionally moving through the area."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Valuable Innards",
											"entries": [
												"Nearly every part of a cave fisher is useful after the creature has been dispatched. Its blood is alcoholic and tastes like strong liquor. Several dwarven spirits include cave fisher blood as part of the recipe, and some dwarves, especially berserkers, drink the blood straight. If they are gathered after being extruded, cave fisher filaments can be woven into rope that is thin, tough, and nearly invisible. Cave fisher meat is edible, tasting much like crab cooked in strong wine. The creature's shell is used in the manufacture of tools, armor, and jewelry."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Reluctant Servants",
											"entries": [
												"While some folk hunt cave fishers to kill them for their filaments and their blood, others capture cave fisher eggs and rear the hatchlings. Cave fishers have a natural aversion to fire, since their blood is flammable. As such, chitines and hobgoblins sometimes use the threat of fire to train cave fishers, then employ them to guard passages or as beasts of war."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Cave Fisher.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Champion",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Champions are mighty warriors who honed their fighting skills in wars or gladiatorial pits. To soldiers and other people who fight for a living, champions are as influential as nobles, and their presence is courted as a sign of status among rulers."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Champion.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Tyler Jacobson"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Chitine",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Chitines are multiarmed humanoids with arachnid qualities that serve Lolth. They operate in well-organized colonies that prove to be effective fighters in the war against the enemies of the Demon Queen of Spiders. On occasion, Lolth pits chitines against dark elves-even though both groups worship her-as a way of punishing the drow, who created the chitines but displeased their goddess by doing so.",
										{
											"name": "Unnatural Origin",
											"entries": [
												"Long ago, the drow first subjected elf prisoners to horrible rituals that transformed the captives into creatures with both humanoid and spider traits, which their creators dubbed chitines. The dark elves' intention was to create slaves dedicated first of all to the drow and, by association with them, to Lolth. As the drow ultimately discovered, the goddess found this arrangement unacceptable.",
												"The creation process required cooperation between magical disciplines. Drow wizards and warlocks used arcane magic and demonic powers, and drow priestesses invoked Lolth's aid for the divine spark needed to ensure the subject's survival. Lolth watched, expecting at some part of the process to see these new abominations dedicated to her, but no such ritual was performed. In retribution for this lack of respect, the Spider Queen twisted the drow's creation rituals to serve her own purposes.",
												"At first, the drow were unaware that the new creatures were signs of Lolth's displeasure with them. Instead, they were pleased, because choldriths could lay eggs that birthed more chitines (and the rare choldrith) and could direct the chitines in their work. But the dark elves came to realize their mistake-choldriths belonged to Lolth, body and soul. They whispered to the chitines of their adoration of the Spider Queen and their enmity of the drow, and the seeds of a rebellion took root and grew. The chitines and choldriths rose up against their would-be masters; soon afterward most of the creatures were free, and a number of the drow who helped breed and tend them were dead.",
												"Nowadays, drow still create chitines when they have need to. Outside the presence of a choldrith, chitines make good workers for the drow, and they can be useful if the drow find an independent chitine colony and want to infiltrate it. If the creation process yields a choldrith, though, the drow destroy the creature immediately.",
												"As servants of Lolth, choldriths and chitines love spiders and spider-like creatures. They rear spiders and similar arachnids, such as cave fishers. Chitine colonies erect shrines to Lolth that serve as beacons, attracting spiders and other evil, brutish beings that serve her. Anywhere chitines set up a colony quickly becomes a web-shrouded, gloomy, and treacherous place.",
												"A colony can support numerous choldriths, which serve as commanders, priests, and supervisors. The choldriths continually jockey for position, although they rarely confront one another in a way that puts the colony at risk. The colony is ruled by a singular sovereign that determines which colony members perform which tasks, including whether she or any other choldrith is permitted to lay eggs. If this supreme ruler receives a vision from Lolth, she might change her colony's entire course of action. At such times, chitines have emerged from the Underdark to settle in remote, gloomy places on the surface, from where they can wage war on other species, especially drow and elves."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Lolth's Revenge",
											"entries": [
												"As the drow continued to perform the rituals, the process usually transformed the subject into the spindly, stunted creature they expected. Occasionally, though, the elf changed into a monstrosity that was more spider than elf, resembling Lolth in her spider form, and more cunning than a chitine, that the drow dubbed a choldrith."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Lolth's Chosen",
											"entries": [
												"Choldriths are born with a fanatical devotion to Lolth, which leads them to develop some skill in divine magic. They preach that chitines are Lolth's favored people, and that choldriths are the Spider Queen's rightful worldly representatives sent to free the chitines from slavery. Although choldriths and chitines lack sexual characteristics, and choldriths need no mate to lay eggs, these creatures choose the gender identity of their goddess. Choldriths also believe and teach that Lolth's spider form, much like that of a choldrith, is her truest shape. Any idol to Lolth in a chitine colony depicts Lolth in this way."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Communal Spiders",
											"entries": [
												"Chitines and choldriths resemble spiders, but they behave more like social insects such as ants. Chitines are divided into worker and warrior castes, and choldriths occupy the top levels of a colony's hierarchy. Each chitine has a social position that comes with duties related to that rank, and all chitines are expected to willingly sacrifice themselves to protect the choldriths. Every chitine has spinnerets and slowly produces webbing that is used to build floors, walls, structures, objects, and traps that benefit and protect the colony. A warrior might be responsible for crafting web armor (which is as tough as hide or leather), while a group of workers might be tasked to dig a pit trap and cover it with fragile webbing disguised with loose dirt to appear as a solid surface."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Chitine.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Choldrith",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Chitines are multiarmed humanoids with arachnid qualities that serve Lolth. They operate in well-organized colonies that prove to be effective fighters in the war against the enemies of the Demon Queen of Spiders. On occasion, Lolth pits chitines against dark elves-even though both groups worship her-as a way of punishing the drow, who created the chitines but displeased their goddess by doing so.",
										{
											"name": "Unnatural Origin",
											"entries": [
												"Long ago, the drow first subjected elf prisoners to horrible rituals that transformed the captives into creatures with both humanoid and spider traits, which their creators dubbed chitines. The dark elves' intention was to create slaves dedicated first of all to the drow and, by association with them, to Lolth. As the drow ultimately discovered, the goddess found this arrangement unacceptable.",
												"The creation process required cooperation between magical disciplines. Drow wizards and warlocks used arcane magic and demonic powers, and drow priestesses invoked Lolth's aid for the divine spark needed to ensure the subject's survival. Lolth watched, expecting at some part of the process to see these new abominations dedicated to her, but no such ritual was performed. In retribution for this lack of respect, the Spider Queen twisted the drow's creation rituals to serve her own purposes.",
												"At first, the drow were unaware that the new creatures were signs of Lolth's displeasure with them. Instead, they were pleased, because choldriths could lay eggs that birthed more chitines (and the rare choldrith) and could direct the chitines in their work. But the dark elves came to realize their mistake-choldriths belonged to Lolth, body and soul. They whispered to the chitines of their adoration of the Spider Queen and their enmity of the drow, and the seeds of a rebellion took root and grew. The chitines and choldriths rose up against their would-be masters; soon afterward most of the creatures were free, and a number of the drow who helped breed and tend them were dead.",
												"Nowadays, drow still create chitines when they have need to. Outside the presence of a choldrith, chitines make good workers for the drow, and they can be useful if the drow find an independent chitine colony and want to infiltrate it. If the creation process yields a choldrith, though, the drow destroy the creature immediately.",
												"As servants of Lolth, choldriths and chitines love spiders and spider-like creatures. They rear spiders and similar arachnids, such as cave fishers. Chitine colonies erect shrines to Lolth that serve as beacons, attracting spiders and other evil, brutish beings that serve her. Anywhere chitines set up a colony quickly becomes a web-shrouded, gloomy, and treacherous place.",
												"A colony can support numerous choldriths, which serve as commanders, priests, and supervisors. The choldriths continually jockey for position, although they rarely confront one another in a way that puts the colony at risk. The colony is ruled by a singular sovereign that determines which colony members perform which tasks, including whether she or any other choldrith is permitted to lay eggs. If this supreme ruler receives a vision from Lolth, she might change her colony's entire course of action. At such times, chitines have emerged from the Underdark to settle in remote, gloomy places on the surface, from where they can wage war on other species, especially drow and elves."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Lolth's Revenge",
											"entries": [
												"As the drow continued to perform the rituals, the process usually transformed the subject into the spindly, stunted creature they expected. Occasionally, though, the elf changed into a monstrosity that was more spider than elf, resembling Lolth in her spider form, and more cunning than a chitine, that the drow dubbed a choldrith."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Lolth's Chosen",
											"entries": [
												"Choldriths are born with a fanatical devotion to Lolth, which leads them to develop some skill in divine magic. They preach that chitines are Lolth's favored people, and that choldriths are the Spider Queen's rightful worldly representatives sent to free the chitines from slavery. Although choldriths and chitines lack sexual characteristics, and choldriths need no mate to lay eggs, these creatures choose the gender identity of their goddess. Choldriths also believe and teach that Lolth's spider form, much like that of a choldrith, is her truest shape. Any idol to Lolth in a chitine colony depicts Lolth in this way."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Communal Spiders",
											"entries": [
												"Chitines and choldriths resemble spiders, but they behave more like social insects such as ants. Chitines are divided into worker and warrior castes, and choldriths occupy the top levels of a colony's hierarchy. Each chitine has a social position that comes with duties related to that rank, and all chitines are expected to willingly sacrifice themselves to protect the choldriths. Every chitine has spinnerets and slowly produces webbing that is used to build floors, walls, structures, objects, and traps that benefit and protect the colony. A warrior might be responsible for crafting web armor (which is as tough as hide or leather), while a group of workers might be tasked to dig a pit trap and cover it with fragile webbing disguised with loose dirt to appear as a solid surface."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Choldrith.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Cloud Giant Smiling One",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Cloud giants aren't, on the whole, religious. They tolerate many conflicting ideas about their patron deity, Memnor. The smiling ones strain that tolerance.",
										"Smiling ones are cloud giants who honor and emulate Memnor's craftiness and deceit above all else. They are tricksters supreme who use sleight of hand, deception, misdirection, and magic in their pursuit of wealth. They also possess a flair for unpredictability and a wicked sense of humor.",
										"While cloud giants expect a certain amount of trickery and deceit in their dealings with others of their kind, smiling ones overstep the bounds of decorum with their behavior, doing and saying things that nobler cloud giants consider beneath the dignity of their kind.",
										{
											"name": "Mysterious Masks",
											"entries": [
												"Smiling ones take their name from the strange two-faced masks they wear. The smiling half of the face often looks more like a smirk or a triumphant sneer than a pleasant grin. The frowning half represents the displeasure smiling ones feel about their place in the ordning-second to the storm giants. The masks serve as symbols of their devotion, but they also conceal their wearers' true facial expressions."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Cloud Giant Smiling One.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Conjurer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Conjurers are specialist wizards who summon creatures from other planes and create materials out of thin air. Some conjurers use their magic to bolster armies or destroy enemies on battlefields, while others use summoned creatures to guard their lairs."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Cow",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"There are many kinds of cattle, from common oxen to more unusual, magical variants."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Cranium Rat",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Mind flayers create cranium rats by bombarding normal rats with psionic energy.",
										{
											"type": "entries",
											"name": "Evil Collectives",
											"entries": [
												"Cranium rats are no smarter than ordinary rats and behave as such. However, if enough cranium rats come together to form a swarm, they merge their minds into a single intelligence with the accumulated memories of all the swarm's constituents. The rats become smarter as a result, and they retain their heightened intelligence for as long as the swarm persists. The swarm also awakens latent psionic abilities implanted within each cranium rat by its mind flayer creators, bestowing upon the swarm psionic powers similar to spells.",
												"A rat separated from the swarm becomes an ordinary cranium rat with an Intelligence of 15. It loses 1 point of Intelligence each day that it remains separated from the swarm. Its Intelligence can't drop below 4 and becomes 15 again if it rejoins the swarm or another one."
											]
										},
										{
											"type": "entries",
											"name": "Telepathic Vermin",
											"entries": [
												"A single, low-intelligence cranium rat uses its natural telepathy to communicate hunger, fear, and other base emotions. A swarm of cranium rats communicating telepathically \"speaks\" as one creature, often referring to itself using the collective pronouns \"we\" and \"us.\""
											]
										},
										{
											"type": "entries",
											"name": "Spies for an Elder Brain",
											"entries": [
												"Mind flayer colonies use cranium rats as spies. The rats invade surface communities and act as eyes and ears for the elder brain, transmitting their thoughts when they swarm and are within range of the elder brain's telepathy.",
												"Cranium rats occasionally spread beyond the elder brain's range of influence. Whatever these rats do is of no concern to the elder brain, and the illithids can always make more if they so desire."
											]
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Cranium Rat.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Marco Nelor"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Darkling",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Ancient legends speak of a seelie fey who betrayed the Summer Queen. His true name has been stricken from history, but the stories call him Dubh Catha (\"Dark Crow\" in Common). So great was the Summer Queen's wrath that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha's house as the dubh sith-or, in Common, \"darklings.\" Darklings most often settle in secluded caverns and chambers beneath the towns of other species. From such enclaves, they quietly ply their trade as thieves and assassins.",
										{
											"name": "The Killing Light",
											"entries": [
												"The Summer Queen's curse causes a darkling's body to absorb light, and doing so wizens the creature, much like the effect of rapid aging. For this reason, darklings cover every part of their body with clothing when exposure to light is a risk. The light a darkling absorbs over the course of its lifetime explodes outward when the darkling dies, incinerating the creature and much of its possessions."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Love of Art",
											"entries": [
												"Despite their curse, darklings retain a fondness for the beauty of art. A darkling might risk taking a peek at a sunset or lighting a tiny candle to glimpse the colors in a painting or a jewel."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Elder Transformation",
											"entries": [
												"A wise and respected darkling can qualify to undergo a ritual to become an elder. Other elders mark the supplicant with glowing tattoos, channeling some of the darkling's absorbed light away from its body. If the ritual succeeds, the darkling grows into a tall and fair form, like that of a gray-skinned elf. The darkling perishes if the ritual fails."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Darkling.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Darkling Elder",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Ancient legends speak of a seelie fey who betrayed the Summer Queen. His true name has been stricken from history, but the stories call him Dubh Catha (\"Dark Crow\" in Common). So great was the Summer Queen's wrath that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha's house as the dubh sith-or, in Common, \"darklings.\" Darklings most often settle in secluded caverns and chambers beneath the towns of other species. From such enclaves, they quietly ply their trade as thieves and assassins.",
										{
											"name": "The Killing Light",
											"entries": [
												"The Summer Queen's curse causes a darkling's body to absorb light, and doing so wizens the creature, much like the effect of rapid aging. For this reason, darklings cover every part of their body with clothing when exposure to light is a risk. The light a darkling absorbs over the course of its lifetime explodes outward when the darkling dies, incinerating the creature and much of its possessions."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Love of Art",
											"entries": [
												"Despite their curse, darklings retain a fondness for the beauty of art. A darkling might risk taking a peek at a sunset or lighting a tiny candle to glimpse the colors in a painting or a jewel."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Elder Transformation",
											"entries": [
												"A wise and respected darkling can qualify to undergo a ritual to become an elder. Other elders mark the supplicant with glowing tattoos, channeling some of the darkling's absorbed light away from its body. If the ritual succeeds, the darkling grows into a tall and fair form, like that of a gray-skinned elf. The darkling perishes if the ritual fails."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Darkling.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Death Kiss",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A death kiss is a lesser beholder that might come into being when a beholder has a vivid nightmare about losing blood. Instead of magical eye rays, it has ten long tentacles, each ending in a mouth full of teeth. In coloration and shape it is similar to the beholder that dreamed it into existence, but its hue is more muted.",
										{
											"name": "Blood Drinker",
											"entries": [
												"A death kiss survives solely on ingested blood, which it uses to generate electrical energy inside its body. Paranoid about dying from starvation, it obsessively drains even little creatures such as rats in an effort to stave off this fate for as long as possible. After it drains its prey, it abandons the corpse to scavengers. A death kiss prefers to hunt alone. If it meets another death kiss, it might fight, flee, or team up, depending on its health and pride. When underground, it uses its tentacles as feelers, prodding and examining the environment in all directions. Above ground, it usually keeps its tentacles retracted when on the hunt, then lashes out and extends them to their full length to catch opponents off guard."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "False Tyrant",
											"entries": [
												"In poor lighting and with its tentacles extended, a death kiss can be mistaken for a true beholder. It might purposely present itself as a beholder to an ignorant creature, but this behavior is rare, since it usually is focused on hunting and lacks the self-importance and paranoia of a true beholder. It can speak through any of its tentacle-throats, and its voice sounds nasal and high-pitched. A true beholder has little to fear from a death kiss, since it can easily kill or subdue the death kiss long before the death kiss gets into melee range. Thus, out of self-preservation, a death kiss usually submits to the rule of a beholder that it encounters, though it might attempt to escape as soon as its master is preoccupied."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Simple Tactics",
											"entries": [
												"A death kiss lacks the combat finesse and intelligence of a beholder. It might attempt an unusual maneuver to control its prey (such as flying up while grappling), but in most cases, it attaches one or more of its tentacles to a creature and drains blood until its prey collapses. If it is in a superior position and its opponent poses no threat, it might toy with its food, slowly squeezing and draining the life out of a creature."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Death Kiss.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Deep Rothé",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Rothe, Deep",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Deep Scion",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Deep scions began life as people who were stolen from shore or saved from sinking ships and offered a terrible bargain by an undersea power: surrender, body and soul, or drown. Those who submit are subjected to an ancient ritual widespread among evil aquatic creatures. Its methods are painful and the result never certain, but when it works, the magic transforms an air-breathing person into a shapechanger that can take a form that is fully at home beneath the waves.",
										{
											"name": "Spies from the Sea",
											"entries": [
												"A deep scion emerges from the depths in service to its underwater master, which is likely a kraken or some other ancient being of the deep. While wearing the mind and body of the person it once was as a sort of mask, the creature is bent on fulfilling its master's desires. Sometimes a deep scion returns to its former home and a hero's welcome-unexpectedly found alive when all hope was lost. At other times the deep scion takes on a new identity. In any case, it is the deep scion's duty to infiltrate the air-breathing world and report back to its master. When set to its task, a deep scion worms its way into the life of an unsuspecting enemy as a new best friend, an irresistible lover, the perfect candidate for a job, or in some other role that enables the minion to carry out its master's commands.",
												"If you meet a human and there's something fishy about them, they might be a deep scion. Or a crook, or just a fishmonger. Sometimes fish stink is just fish stink.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Cold-Hearted Killers",
											"entries": [
												"The training to which a deep scion is subjected rids it of empathy for those whom it spies on. Though one might behave as though infatuated, laugh at the joke of a friend, or appear incensed at some injustice, each of these acts is artificial to the deep scion, a means to an end. It believes that its true form is the shape it takes when it returns to the sea that it thinks of as home. Ironically, however, a deep scion that is killed when in its piscine form is stripped of the magic that robbed it of emotion, leaving behind the corpse of the person the deep scion once was."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Deep Scion.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Brynn Metheney"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Deinonychus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This larger cousin of the velociraptor kills by gripping its target with its claws and feeding while the creature is still alive."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Devourer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Of all the abominations Orcus has unleashed, devourers are among the most feared. These tall, mummy-like fiends wander the planes, consuming souls and, by example, spreading Orcus's creed of replacing all life with everlasting death.",
										{
											"name": "Instruments of Orcus",
											"entries": [
												"A lesser demon that proves itself to Orcus might be granted the privilege of becoming a devourer. The Prince of Undeath transforms such a demon into an 8-foot-tall, desiccated humanoid with a hollowed-out ribcage, then fills the new creature with a hunger for souls. Orcus grants each new devourer the essence of a less fortunate demon to power the devourer's first foray into the planes. Most devourers remain in the Abyss, or on the Astral or Ethereal Plane, pursuing Orcus's schemes and interests in those realms. When Orcus sends devourers to the Material Plane, he often sets them on a mission to create, control, and lead a plague of undead. Skeletons, zombies, ghouls and ghasts, and shadows are particularly attracted to the presence of a devourer.",
												"I've heard of \"rib-sticking,\" but this is ridiculous.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Tormentors of Souls",
											"entries": [
												"Devourers hunt humanoids, with the intent of consuming them body and soul. After a devourer brings a target to the brink of death, it pulls the victim's body in and traps the creature within its own ribcage. As the victim tries to stave off death (usually without success), the devourer tortures its soul with telepathic noise. When the victim expires, it undergoes a horrible transformation, springing forth from the devourer's body to begin its new existence as an undead servitor of the monster that spawned it."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Fiendish Nature",
											"entries": [
												"A devourer doesn't require air, food (other than souls), drink, or sleep."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Devourer.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Dimetrodon",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This sail-backed reptile is commonly found in areas where dinosaurs live. It hunts on shores and in shallow water, filling a similar role as a crocodile."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Diviner",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Diviners are specialist wizards who know that knowledge is power. They might act aloof and mysterious, hinting at omens and secrets, or they might be know-it-alls, spilling secrets and insights to advance their own status or reputation."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Dolphin",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Dolphins are clever, social marine mammals that feed on small fish and squid. An adult specimen is between 5 and 6 feet long."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Draegloth",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A draegloth is a half-drow, half-glabrezu demon, born of a drow high priestess in an unholy, dangerous ritual. Gifted with innate magic and physical might, it usually remains in the service of its mother's house, lending its thirst for destruction to that house's plans to triumph over its rivals.",
										"A draegloth is an ogre-sized, four-armed humanoid with purple-black skin and yellow-white hair. Two of its arms are huge and muscular, tipped with sharp claws; the other two are the size and shape of drow arms, capable of delicate movements. Although the creature is heavily muscled, it is graceful and quiet like a drow. Its face is clearly demonic, with bestial features, glowing red eyes, an elongated dog-like snout, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.",
										{
											"name": "Blessing on the House",
											"entries": [
												"The ritual to create a draegloth succeeds only rarely, but when it does, it is a great event that is seen by the drow of the house as a sign of the demon lord Lolth's favor-and a sign of Lolth's disregard for the family's rivals, which were not thus gifted. The birth prompts the leaders of the house to begin crafting new plans to strike at its rivals when the draegloth is fully grown. These plans always use the draegloth in a significant role, because its abilities can turn the tide in a battle against a house that doesn't have a draegloth of its own.",
												"These drow house pets are as graceful and nimble as Waterdhavian stage dancers. Only they're slayers and enforcers, four-armed brutes built like an ogre. Life isn't fair.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Subservient Enforcers",
											"entries": [
												"Although it plays an important part in the welfare of its house, a draegloth can't rise above the status of a favored slave or a consort to a priestess. Before a draegloth is given any duties, it receives instruction in accepting the role set for it and not challenging authority. Draegloths instinctively resist this sort of treatment, but most of them take out their frustration on their house's enemies. A draegloth that can't suppress its ambitions might abandon its house and strike out on its own. Whether these rebellious draegloths are part of Lolth's plan for sowing even greater chaos is unclear."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Brute Cunning and Dark Magic",
											"entries": [
												"A draegloth loves the feeling of tearing opponents apart with its claws and teeth and of wielding the magic that courses through its veins. Most are too impatient to bother with complicated tactics, but a few go on to learn more destructive magic."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Draegloth.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Conceptopolis"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Elder Brain",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"The ultimate expression of illithid domination, an elder brain sprawls within a vat of viscous brine, touching the thoughts of creatures near and far. It scrawls upon the canvas of their minds, rewriting their thoughts and authoring their dreams.",
										{
											"name": "Psychic Infiltrators",
											"entries": [
												"When an elder brain infiltrates a mind, it alters the creature's perception and deceives its senses, causing it to see, hear, touch, taste, or feel reality according to the elder brain's intent. From across great distances, it implants subconscious suggestions or subtly influences dreams to compel creatures toward a course of action that benefits its grand plan.",
												"When its insidious suggestions fail to take hold, an elder brain asserts its dominance more directly. It seizes control of a resistant mind and controls the creature's body as it would a puppet. Against the rare, strong-willed stalwart that defies it or attacks it, an elder brain sends a blast of overwhelming psychic force to crush the upstart's mind, rendering the creature a thoughtless, drooling shell.",
												"When a mind flayer perishes, the elder brain's servants feed the contents of its skull to their master, which absorbs the illithid's brain and all the knowledge and experience contained therein. In this way the elder brain continually increases its knowledge, uniting the thoughts and experiences of the illithid colony into a unified whole. Mind flayers conceive of this \"oneness\" as a sacred state in the same way that a worshiper of a human deity might view an eternal afterlife in the heavens-for an elder brain can evoke the persona of any illithid it has ever absorbed.",
												"The ambitions of an elder brain are always tempered by its relative immobility. Although its telepathic senses can reach for miles, moving anywhere is always a dangerous proposition. If forced outside its brine pool, an elder brain will swiftly expire, and transporting an elder brain in its pool through confining and tortuous subterranean tunnels frequently proves difficult or impossible."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Devourer of Thoughts",
											"entries": [
												"An elder brain sustains itself by consuming the brains of other creatures. When the mind flayer servants that guard and tend to an elder brain don't bring its meals directly to it, the elder brain reaches out with tendrils of thought, mentally compelling creatures to come to it so that it may feed upon them."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Hive Mind",
											"entries": [
												"Non-illithids call this creature an elder brain because it acts as the central communication hub for an entire mind flayer colony just as a brain does for a living body. Linked to the elder brain, the colony acts like a single organism, acting in concert as if each illithid were the digit of a hand."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Ego Unhindered",
											"entries": [
												"Each elder brain considers itself and its desires the most important things in the multiverse, the mind flayers in its colony nothing more than extensions of its will. But no two elder brains are alike, and each presides over its colony according to its own unique personality and storehouse of collected knowledge and experience. Some elder brains reign as domineering tyrants, while others serve more benignly as sages, counselors, and repositories of information and lore for the mind flayers that protect and nourish them."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "An Elder Brain's Lair",
									"entries": [
										"The lair of an elder brain always lies deep in the heart of a mind flayer colony. The creature dwells in a dimly glowing brine pool, filled with foul and brackish water infused with the elder brain's vital fluids and with psionic energy."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Elder Brain.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Craig J Spearing"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Enchanter",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Enchanters are specialist wizards who understand how to alter and control minds using magic. They might be personable and interesting, using magic to manipulate people only when banter and conventional persuasion fails, or they might be rude and demanding, using and relying on {@condition charmed}, obedient minions."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Evoker",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Evokers are specialist wizards who harness magical energy and elemental forces to destroy. Many tend to be hotheaded and aggressive. Others are cold and reserved, unleashing their power at just the right moment to exploit an opponent's weakness."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Fire Giant Dreadnought",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"The ordning for fire giants emphasizes not just strength but also skill at forgecraft. The foundry is the heart of any fire giant community. It is temple, school, proving ground, and political hub rolled into one.",
										"Those who have brawn but little brain are usually consigned to the lowliest of tasks such as working forge bellows or moving coal. However, there is one role at which the strongest among them can excel and gain rank: the dreadnought.",
										{
											"name": "Weapons of War",
											"entries": [
												"Dreadnoughts are massively powerful fire giants who wield two huge shields like plow blades. These shields bear spikes on their exterior and have hollow interiors into which the dreadnought pours hot coals at the first sign of danger. Armed with its two shields, the dreadnought can present a fiery wall to any attacker. When the dreadnought has finished, often all that is left of a foe is a smoking smear on the floor.",
												"When not called on to fight, dreadnoughts maintain their strength by using their shields to shove huge quantities of coal, stone, or ore about the foundry. Occasionally, dreadnoughts are called on by their superiors to accompany a war or diplomatic delegation, The presence of the dreadnoughts presents a fierce face in either case."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Fire Giant Dreadnought.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Scott Murphy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Firenewt Warlock of Imix",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"In regions that contain hot springs, volcanic activity, or similar hot and wet conditions, firenewts might be found. These humanoid amphibians live in a militaristic theocracy that reveres elemental fire in its worst incarnation.",
										{
											"name": "Heat Seekers",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewts need hot water to live and breed. A firenewt becomes sluggish, mentally and physically, after spending a week away from an external source of moist heat. A prolonged lack of heat can shut down a firenewt community, as the creatures within go into hibernation and their eggs stop developing.",
												"Firenewts delve for sources of heat in the earth, such as boiling mud and hot springs, that make ideal places to settle. Through excavation and mining in the area, they fashion living space and obtain an ample supply of minerals for other uses, such as smelting, smithing, and alchemy. A firenewt lair features a network of channels and sluices to circulate hot liquid through the settlement.",
												"The alchemy practiced by firenewts focuses on fire. One of their favorite mixtures is a paste of sulfur, mineral salts, and oil. Firenewts chew this blend habitually, because doing so produces a pleasant internal heat and it enables a firenewt to vomit forth a small ball of flame. Most firenewts carry a container with this mixture in it.",
												"Warlocks of Imix command warriors to prove their worth by going on raids to bring back treasure and captives. The warlocks take the choicest loot as a tithe to Imix, and then those who participated in the raid divide the rest according to merit. Prisoners that have no apparent usefulness are sacrificed to Imix and then eaten. Those that are deemed capable of mining and performing other chores around the lair are kept as slaves for a while before meeting the same fate.",
												"When firenewts muster for war, rather than merely staging occasional raids, they take no prisoners. Their goal is nothing less than the annihilation of their foes\u2014and they reserve their greatest animosity for others of their kind. If two groups of firenewts come upon each other, it's likely that they're in competition for the same territory, and a bloody battle is the usual result."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Religious Militants",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewt society and culture are based on the worship of Imix, the Prince of Evil Fire. This veneration of Imix leads firenewts to be aggressive, wrathful, and cruel. Firenewt warlocks of Imix teach that by demonstrating these qualities, a firenewt warrior in combat can become \"touched by the Fire Lord,\" entering a nearly unstoppable battle rage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Giant Striders",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewts have a close relationship with a type of monstrous beast they believe Imix sent to aid them-borne out by the creatures' ability to send a gout of flame against distant enemies. Called giant striders, these monsters appear birdlike and reptilian, but are truly neither. Firenewts provide shelter, food, and breeding grounds in their lairs for giant striders, and the striders voluntarily serve as mounts for elite fire newt soldiers."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Firenewt.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Firenewt Warrior",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"In regions that contain hot springs, volcanic activity, or similar hot and wet conditions, firenewts might be found. These humanoid amphibians live in a militaristic theocracy that reveres elemental fire in its worst incarnation.",
										{
											"name": "Heat Seekers",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewts need hot water to live and breed. A firenewt becomes sluggish, mentally and physically, after spending a week away from an external source of moist heat. A prolonged lack of heat can shut down a firenewt community, as the creatures within go into hibernation and their eggs stop developing.",
												"Firenewts delve for sources of heat in the earth, such as boiling mud and hot springs, that make ideal places to settle. Through excavation and mining in the area, they fashion living space and obtain an ample supply of minerals for other uses, such as smelting, smithing, and alchemy. A firenewt lair features a network of channels and sluices to circulate hot liquid through the settlement.",
												"The alchemy practiced by firenewts focuses on fire. One of their favorite mixtures is a paste of sulfur, mineral salts, and oil. Firenewts chew this blend habitually, because doing so produces a pleasant internal heat and it enables a firenewt to vomit forth a small ball of flame. Most firenewts carry a container with this mixture in it.",
												"Warlocks of Imix command warriors to prove their worth by going on raids to bring back treasure and captives. The warlocks take the choicest loot as a tithe to Imix, and then those who participated in the raid divide the rest according to merit. Prisoners that have no apparent usefulness are sacrificed to Imix and then eaten. Those that are deemed capable of mining and performing other chores around the lair are kept as slaves for a while before meeting the same fate.",
												"When firenewts muster for war, rather than merely staging occasional raids, they take no prisoners. Their goal is nothing less than the annihilation of their foes\u2014and they reserve their greatest animosity for others of their kind. If two groups of firenewts come upon each other, it's likely that they're in competition for the same territory, and a bloody battle is the usual result."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Religious Militants",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewt society and culture are based on the worship of Imix, the Prince of Evil Fire. This veneration of Imix leads firenewts to be aggressive, wrathful, and cruel. Firenewt warlocks of Imix teach that by demonstrating these qualities, a firenewt warrior in combat can become \"touched by the Fire Lord,\" entering a nearly unstoppable battle rage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Giant Striders",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewts have a close relationship with a type of monstrous beast they believe Imix sent to aid them-borne out by the creatures' ability to send a gout of flame against distant enemies. Called giant striders, these monsters appear birdlike and reptilian, but are truly neither. Firenewts provide shelter, food, and breeding grounds in their lairs for giant striders, and the striders voluntarily serve as mounts for elite fire newt soldiers."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Firenewt.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Flail Snail",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A flail snail is a creature of elemental earth that is prized for its multi-hued shell. Hunters might be lulled into a false sense of confidence upon sighting this ponderous, seemingly nonhostile creature. If any other creature large enough to be a threat approaches too close, though, the snail unleashes a flash of scintillating light and then attacks with its mace-like tentacles.",
										{
											"name": "Trail of Treasure",
											"entries": [
												"Left undisturbed, a flail snail moves slowly along the ground, consuming everything on the surface, including rocks, sand, and soil, stopping to relish crystal growths and other large mineral deposits. It leaves behind a shimmering trail that quickly solidifies into a thin layer of a nearly transparent substance inedible to the snail. This glassy residue can be harvested and cut to form window panes of varying clearness. It can also be heated and spun into glass objects of other sorts. Some humanoids make a living from trailing flail snails to collect this glass."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "inset",
									"name": "Using the Shell of a Flail Snail",
									"entries": [
										"A flail snail shell, which weighs about 250 pounds, has numerous uses. One intact shell can sell for 5,000 gp.",
										"Many hunters seek the shell for its antimagic properties. A skilled armorer can make three shields from one shell. For 1 month, each shield gives its wielder the snail's Antimagic Shell trait. When the shield's magic fades, it leaves behind an exotic shield that is the perfect item from which to make a {@item spellguard shield}.",
										"A flail snail shell can also be used to make a {@item robe of scintillating colors}. The shell is ground and added to the dye while the garment is being fashioned. The powder is also a material component of the ritual that enchants the robe."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Flail Snail.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Flind",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A flind is an exceptionally strong and vicious gnoll that commands and directs the war band it is a part of. It wields a flail imbued with powerful magic by Yeenoghu himself.",
										"A war band can have only one flind, and that creature sets a war band's path. Because of its special connection to Yeenoghu, a flind uses god-given omens and demonic insight to guide the gnolls toward weak prey ripe for slaughter.",
										"Unlike other humanoid leaders that might skulk behind their minions, a flind leads the charge in battle. Its flail causes wracking pain, paralysis, and disorientation in those struck by it."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Flind.webp"
					},
					"credit": "John Paul Balmet"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Froghemoth",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A froghemoth is an amphibious predator as big as an elephant. It lairs in swamps and has four tentacles, a thick rubbery hide, a fang-filled maw with a prehensile tongue, and an extendable stalk sporting three bulbous eyes that face in different directions.",
										{
											"name": "Otherworldly Entities",
											"entries": [
												"Froghemoths are creatures not of this world. A journal purportedly written long ago by the wizard Lum the Mad describes strange, cylindrical chambers of metal buried in the ground from which froghemoths emerged, but no reliable reports of the location of such places exist."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Hungry from Birth",
											"entries": [
												"Every few years, a froghemoth can lay a fertile egg without mating. The froghemoth cares nothing for its egg, and might eat the hatchling. A young froghemoth's survival is most often predicated on its parent leaving it behind in indifference. A newborn froghemoth grows to full size over a period of months by indiscriminately preying on other creatures in its swampy domain. It learns to hide its enormous body in murky pools, keeping only its eyestalk above water to watch for passing creatures. When food comes within reach, the froghemoth erupts from its pool, tentacles and tongue flailing. It can grab several targets at once, keeping them at bay while it wraps its tongue around another one and pulls it in to be devoured."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Revered by Bullywugs",
											"entries": [
												"If a bullywug tribe comes across a froghemoth, the bullywugs treat the froghemoth as a god and do all they can to coax the monster into their den. A froghemoth can be tamed (after a fashion) by offering it food, and bullywugs can communicate with it on a basic level, so the creature might eat only a few bullywugs before following the rest. Bullywugs gather food as tribute for it, provide it with a comfortable lair, fanatically protect it from harm, and try to ensure that any young froghemoth reaches maturity."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Froghemoth.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Frost Giant Everlasting One",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To hold its place or rise within the ordning, a frost giant must routinely face mighty foes in single combat. Some seek out magic that will aid them, but enchanted objects can be taken or lost. True greatness relies on personal prowess. Faced with this truth, a frost giant might seek a supernatural gift from Vaprak the Destroyer.",
										{
											"name": "Troll Eater",
											"entries": [
												"Frost giants mainly turn to Vaprak, a rapacious god of strength and hunger worshiped by ogres and trolls, out of desperation. Vaprak likes to tempt frost giants with dreams of glory followed by nightmares of bloody cannibalism. Those who don't shrink from such visions or report them to priests of Thrym receive more of the same. If a frost giant comes to relish these dreams and nightmares, as some do, Vaprak sets a troll upon a sacred quest to find the frost giant and meet it in secret. The troll offers up its own body to be devoured in Vaprak's name. Only the boldest and most determined frost giants can finish such a gory feast."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Vaprak's Blessing",
											"entries": [
												"After devouring the troll sent by Vaprak, bones and all, a frost giant becomes an everlasting one, gaining tremendous strength, an ill temper, and a troll's regenerative ability. With these gifts, the frost giant can swiftly claim the title of jarl and easily fend off rivals for decades. However, if the frost giant doesn't give enough honor to Vaprak or fails to heed Vaprak's visions, injuries the frost giant sustains heal wrong, often resulting in discolored skin, warty scars, and vestigial body parts, such as extra digits, limbs, and even extra heads. The touch of Vaprak can no longer be hidden then, and the everlasting one is either killed or exiled by its clan. Sometimes small communities of everlasting ones gather and even reproduce, passing the \"blessing\" and worship of Vaprak from one generation to the next."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Frost Giant Everlasting One.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Chris Seaman"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Gauth",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A gauth is a hungry, tyrannical beholder-like creature that eats magic and tries to exact tribute from anything weaker than itself. Its body is about 4 feet in diameter, with six eyestalks, a central eye (sometimes surrounded by multiple smaller eyes), and four small grasping tentacles near its mouth. It has color and texture variations similar to a true beholder.",
										{
											"name": "Magical Metabolism",
											"entries": [
												"A gauth can survive on meat but prefers to sustain itself with power drained from magic objects. If starved of magic for several weeks, it is forced back to its home plane, so it constantly seeks new items to drain. A gauth might employ creatures to serve it by bringing it items that provide it with sustenance."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Accidental Summoning",
											"entries": [
												"When the ritual to summon a spectator goes wrong, a gauth might push itself through the flawed connection, arriving immediately or several minutes later. It might present itself as a beholder to ignorant creatures in an attempt to intimidate them, or as a spectator to its summoner in order to drain magic items it is expected to guard."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Inferior Tyrant",
											"entries": [
												"A beholder usually drives away or kills any gauths that enter its territory, but it might choose to enslave them and use them as lieutenants. Gauths are less xenophobic than beholders, so they might form small clusters and work together, though they're just as likely to ignore each other entirely."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Gauth.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Scott Murphy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Gazer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A gazer is a tiny manifestation of a beholder's dreams. It resembles the beholder who dreamed it into existence, but its body is only 8 inches wide, and it has only four eyestalks. It follows its creator like a devoted, aggressive puppy, and sometimes small packs of these creatures patrol their master's lair for vermin to kill and lone creatures to harass.",
										{
											"name": "Nuisance Pet",
											"entries": [
												"A gazer can't speak any languages but can approximate mimicking words and sentences in a high-pitched, mocking manner. Beholders find gazers amusing and tolerate their presence like spoiled pets. A gazer can't be tamed by anyone but its creator, except through the use of magic or by bonding with a spellcaster (see sidebar). Some beholders with wizard minions insist they take a gazer as a familiar because they can see through the eyes of these creatures."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Aggressive Vermin-Eater",
											"entries": [
												"A wild gazer (one living separately from a beholder) is territorial, eats bugs and small animals, and is known for playing with its food. A lone gazer avoids picking fights with creatures that are Medium or larger, but a pack of them might take on larger prey. A gazer might follow humanoids in its territory, noisily mimicking their speech and generally being a nuisance, until they leave the area, but it flees if confronted by something it can't kill."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Variant: Gazer Familiar",
									"entries": [
										"Spellcasters who are interested in unusual familiars find that gazers are eager to serve someone who has magical power, especially those who make a point of bullying and harassing others. The gazer behaves aggressively toward creatures smaller than itself, and it tends to randomly attack house pets, farm animals, and even children in town unless its master is very strict. A gazer serving as a familiar has the following trait.",
										{
											"name": "Familiar",
											"entries": [
												"The gazer can serve another creature as a familiar, forming a telepathic bond with its willing master, provided that the master is at least a 3rd-level spellcaster. While the two are bonded, the master can sense what the gazer senses as long as they are within 1 mile of each other. If its master causes it physical harm, the gazer will end its service as a familiar, breaking the telepathic bond."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Gazer.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Christopher Burdett"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Giant Strider",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"In regions that contain hot springs, volcanic activity, or similar hot and wet conditions, firenewts might be found. These humanoid amphibians live in a militaristic theocracy that reveres elemental fire in its worst incarnation.",
										{
											"name": "Heat Seekers",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewts need hot water to live and breed. A firenewt becomes sluggish, mentally and physically, after spending a week away from an external source of moist heat. A prolonged lack of heat can shut down a firenewt community, as the creatures within go into hibernation and their eggs stop developing.",
												"Firenewts delve for sources of heat in the earth, such as boiling mud and hot springs, that make ideal places to settle. Through excavation and mining in the area, they fashion living space and obtain an ample supply of minerals for other uses, such as smelting, smithing, and alchemy. A firenewt lair features a network of channels and sluices to circulate hot liquid through the settlement.",
												"The alchemy practiced by firenewts focuses on fire. One of their favorite mixtures is a paste of sulfur, mineral salts, and oil. Firenewts chew this blend habitually, because doing so produces a pleasant internal heat and it enables a firenewt to vomit forth a small ball of flame. Most firenewts carry a container with this mixture in it.",
												"Warlocks of Imix command warriors to prove their worth by going on raids to bring back treasure and captives. The warlocks take the choicest loot as a tithe to Imix, and then those who participated in the raid divide the rest according to merit. Prisoners that have no apparent usefulness are sacrificed to Imix and then eaten. Those that are deemed capable of mining and performing other chores around the lair are kept as slaves for a while before meeting the same fate.",
												"When firenewts muster for war, rather than merely staging occasional raids, they take no prisoners. Their goal is nothing less than the annihilation of their foes\u2014and they reserve their greatest animosity for others of their kind. If two groups of firenewts come upon each other, it's likely that they're in competition for the same territory, and a bloody battle is the usual result."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Religious Militants",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewt society and culture are based on the worship of Imix, the Prince of Evil Fire. This veneration of Imix leads firenewts to be aggressive, wrathful, and cruel. Firenewt warlocks of Imix teach that by demonstrating these qualities, a firenewt warrior in combat can become \"touched by the Fire Lord,\" entering a nearly unstoppable battle rage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Giant Striders",
											"entries": [
												"Firenewts have a close relationship with a type of monstrous beast they believe Imix sent to aid them-borne out by the creatures' ability to send a gout of flame against distant enemies. Called giant striders, these monsters appear birdlike and reptilian, but are truly neither. Firenewts provide shelter, food, and breeding grounds in their lairs for giant striders, and the striders voluntarily serve as mounts for elite fire newt soldiers."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Giant Strider.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Girallon",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A girallon looks like an oversized, four-armed ape with gray skin and white fur. Its fangs and claws set it apart from a normal ape, revealing it to be a monstrous predator.",
										{
											"name": "Forest Hunters",
											"entries": [
												"Girallons are most common in temperate or warm forest environments abundant with life. They share the ape's adeptness at climbing, although these half-ton creatures shy away from scaling trees that can't support their bulk. Instead, they stalk the forest floor, lurk in narrow ravines or shallow caves, or hide in ruined sites while waiting for prey to come near. A girallon is surprisingly stealthy, considering its size and its lack of camouflage.",
												"Girallons form loose bands of several individuals and their offspring, usually led by a dominant adult that also tends to be the oldest member of the group. When on the hunt away from their lair, girallons use roars and body language to communicate with one another over distance. Each individual typically hunts alone and widely separated from the others, to ensure that everyone gets adequate fodder. The leader might organize members to work together to make a big kill. If they succeed, everyone in the group shares the spoils, with the best parts going to mothers caring for their young.",
												"In the time since then, numerous creatures have tried to tame, subjugate, or cooperate with the monsters. For instance, yuan-ti enslave girallons, turning them into border sentinels for their serpent kingdoms. Because girallons are known to be peaceful among their own kind, some humanoids have learned how to approach a group's leader, offering food and other gifts in hopes of establishing an alliance with the creatures.",
												"Girallons that are well treated might be willing to serve as guards, though they lack the intelligence to take on tasks more complicated than attacking strangers that enter their domain. If one is taken young and properly trained, a girallon could end up in a seemingly unlikely place, such as guarding the entrance to a city's thieves' guild. Those who would keep a girallon as a pet must always be wary, because the creature could revert to its predatory nature at any time."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Wall Climbers",
											"entries": [
												"The ruins of humanoid habitations, especially those found in deep forests and jungles, seem to attract girallons. They move effortlessly along stairs and balconies, as well as on the sloped rooftops and buttresses of such formations. To a girallon, a city's buildings are just another sort of forest-and better yet, one whose uppermost \"branches\" can easily support the creatures. In such a setting, the girallons take full advantage of their skill in climbing. The creatures can easily scale walls and battlements, and they perch on tower tops and other high vantages to keep an eye on the surrounding area."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Magical Origin",
											"entries": [
												"The social habits of wild girallons are unusual for apes, as is their instinctive attraction to humanoid structures. These facts, together with the girallon's appearance, lead sages to believe that girallons were created through magic to serve as guardians for some lost empire. When that empire fell ages ago, girallons turned feral and spread out across the world."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Girallon.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Brynn Metheney"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Gnoll Flesh Gnawer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"If any group of gnolls could be said to be more feral than the others, that distinction would go to the flesh gnawers. These gnolls eschew the use of ranged weapons in favor of short blades that they wield with speed and efficiency. In the thick of a fight, they are capable of dashing across the field, slashing and snarling as they run down stragglers and finish off wounded foes."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Gnoll Flesh Gnawer.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Gnoll Hunter",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Hunters are the stealthiest gnolls in a war band, and they put their talents to use on the battlefield in a number of ways. In the vanguard of a war band, hunters creep around, picking off isolated opposition while clearing the way for the rest of the force to run roughshod over the enemy's territory.",
										"Hunters are particularly skilled with the longbow, and they fire arrows with viciously barbed heads. Even when a hunter doesn't kill its target with its first shot, the arrow strike brings so much pain that the victim is hobbled in its attempt to run away. When a hunter on the prowl finds prey and isn't concerned about remaining stealthy, it sounds a horn crafted from bone that produces a keening wail similar to a banshee's yell."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Gnoll Witherling",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Sometimes gnolls turn against each other, perhaps to determine who rules a war band or because of extreme starvation. Even under ordinary circumstances, gnolls that are deprived of victims for too long can't control their hunger and violent urges. Eventually, they fight among themselves.",
										"The survivors devour the flesh of their slain comrades but preserve the bones. Then, by invoking rituals to Yeenoghu, they bring the remains back to a semblance of life in the form of a gnoll witherling.",
										"Witherlings act much as gnolls do in life, traveling with their comrades and trying to kill anything in their path. They don't eat and aren't motivated by hunger, leaving more flesh for the rest of the war band. Gnoll witherlings are incapable of wielding any weapon more sophisticated than a simple club.",
										{
											"name": "Undead Nature",
											"entries": [
												"A gnoll witherling doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.",
												"I heard a warlock sought to magically turn the last witherlings of a destroyed gnoll war band into his own strike force against foes. That worked well until Yeenoghu sent seven war bands after him.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Gnoll Witherling.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Filip Burburan"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Green Guard Drake",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Guard Drake",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Grung",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Grungs are aggressive frog-like humanoids found in rain forests and tropical jungles. They are fiercely territorial and see themselves as superior to most other creatures.",
										{
											"name": "Tree-Dwelling Amphibians",
											"entries": [
												"Grungs live in trees and prefer shade. A grung hatchery is maintained in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape of an adult. It takes another six to nine months for a grung juvenile to reach maturity.",
												"Green grungs are the tribe's warriors, hunters, and laborers, and blue grungs work as artisans and in other domestic roles. Supervising and guiding both groups are the purple grungs, which serve as administrators and commanders. (Use the grung stat block to represent members of the green, blue, and purple castes.)",
												"Red grungs are the tribe's scholars and magic users. They are superior to purple, blue, and green grungs and given proper respect even by grungs of higher status. (Use the grung wildling stat block to represent members of the red caste.)",
												"Higher castes include orange grungs, which are elite warriors that have authority over all lesser grungs, and gold grungs, which hold the highest leadership positions. A tribe's sovereign is always a gold grung. (Use the grung elite warrior stat block to represent members of the orange and gold castes.)",
												"A grung normally remains in its caste for life. On rare occasions, an individual that distinguishes itself with great deeds can earn an invitation to join a higher caste. Through a combination of herbal tonics and ritual magic, an elevated grung changes color and is inducted into its new caste in the same way that a juvenile of the caste would be. From then on, the grung and its progeny are members of the higher caste.",
												"Sentient, poisonous frogs that live in trees. Truly, the gods hate us.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Castes and Colors",
											"entries": [
												"Grung society is a caste system. Each caste lays eggs in a separate hatching pool, and juvenile grungs join their caste upon emergence from the hatchery. All grungs are a dull greenish gray when they are born, but each individual takes on the color of its caste as it grows to adulthood."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Naturally Toxic",
											"entries": [
												"All grungs secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures. A grung also uses venom to poison its weapons."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Slavers",
											"entries": [
												"Grungs are always on the lookout for creatures they can capture and enslave. Grungs use slaves for all manner of menial tasks, but mostly they just like bossing them around. Slaves are fed mildly {@condition poisoned} food to keep them lethargic and compliant. A creature afflicted in this way over a long period of time becomes a shell of its former self and can be restored to normalcy only by magic."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Water Dependency",
											"entries": [
												"A grung that fails to immerse itself in water for at least 1 hour during a day suffers one level of {@condition exhaustion} at the end of that day. A grung can recover from this {@condition exhaustion} only through magic or by immersing itself in water for at least 1 hour."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Variant: Grung Poison",
									"entries": [
										"Grung poison loses its potency 1 minute after being removed from a grung. A similar breakdown occurs if the grung dies.",
										"A creature {@condition poisoned} by a grung can suffer an additional effect that varies depending on the grung's skin color. This effect lasts until the creature is no longer {@condition poisoned} by the grung.",
										{
											"name": "Green",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature can't move except to climb or make standing jumps. If the creature is flying, it can't take any actions or reactions unless it lands."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Blue",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature must shout loudly or otherwise make a loud noise at the start and end of its turn."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Purple",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature feels a desperate need to soak itself in liquid or mud. It can't take actions or move except to do so or to reach a body of liquid or mud."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Red",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature must use its action to eat if food is within reach."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Orange",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature is {@condition frightened} of its allies."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Gold",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature is {@condition charmed} and can speak Grung."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Grung.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Grung Elite Warrior",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Grungs are aggressive frog-like humanoids found in rain forests and tropical jungles. They are fiercely territorial and see themselves as superior to most other creatures.",
										{
											"name": "Tree-Dwelling Amphibians",
											"entries": [
												"Grungs live in trees and prefer shade. A grung hatchery is maintained in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape of an adult. It takes another six to nine months for a grung juvenile to reach maturity.",
												"Green grungs are the tribe's warriors, hunters, and laborers, and blue grungs work as artisans and in other domestic roles. Supervising and guiding both groups are the purple grungs, which serve as administrators and commanders. (Use the grung stat block to represent members of the green, blue, and purple castes.)",
												"Red grungs are the tribe's scholars and magic users. They are superior to purple, blue, and green grungs and given proper respect even by grungs of higher status. (Use the grung wildling stat block to represent members of the red caste.)",
												"Higher castes include orange grungs, which are elite warriors that have authority over all lesser grungs, and gold grungs, which hold the highest leadership positions. A tribe's sovereign is always a gold grung. (Use the grung elite warrior stat block to represent members of the orange and gold castes.)",
												"A grung normally remains in its caste for life. On rare occasions, an individual that distinguishes itself with great deeds can earn an invitation to join a higher caste. Through a combination of herbal tonics and ritual magic, an elevated grung changes color and is inducted into its new caste in the same way that a juvenile of the caste would be. From then on, the grung and its progeny are members of the higher caste.",
												"Sentient, poisonous frogs that live in trees. Truly, the gods hate us.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Castes and Colors",
											"entries": [
												"Grung society is a caste system. Each caste lays eggs in a separate hatching pool, and juvenile grungs join their caste upon emergence from the hatchery. All grungs are a dull greenish gray when they are born, but each individual takes on the color of its caste as it grows to adulthood."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Naturally Toxic",
											"entries": [
												"All grungs secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures. A grung also uses venom to poison its weapons."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Slavers",
											"entries": [
												"Grungs are always on the lookout for creatures they can capture and enslave. Grungs use slaves for all manner of menial tasks, but mostly they just like bossing them around. Slaves are fed mildly {@condition poisoned} food to keep them lethargic and compliant. A creature afflicted in this way over a long period of time becomes a shell of its former self and can be restored to normalcy only by magic."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Water Dependency",
											"entries": [
												"A grung that fails to immerse itself in water for at least 1 hour during a day suffers one level of {@condition exhaustion} at the end of that day. A grung can recover from this {@condition exhaustion} only through magic or by immersing itself in water for at least 1 hour."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Variant: Grung Poison",
									"entries": [
										"Grung poison loses its potency 1 minute after being removed from a grung. A similar breakdown occurs if the grung dies.",
										"A creature {@condition poisoned} by a grung can suffer an additional effect that varies depending on the grung's skin color. This effect lasts until the creature is no longer {@condition poisoned} by the grung.",
										{
											"name": "Green",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature can't move except to climb or make standing jumps. If the creature is flying, it can't take any actions or reactions unless it lands."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Blue",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature must shout loudly or otherwise make a loud noise at the start and end of its turn."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Purple",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature feels a desperate need to soak itself in liquid or mud. It can't take actions or move except to do so or to reach a body of liquid or mud."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Red",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature must use its action to eat if food is within reach."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Orange",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature is {@condition frightened} of its allies."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Gold",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature is {@condition charmed} and can speak Grung."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Grung.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Grung Wildling",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Grungs are aggressive frog-like humanoids found in rain forests and tropical jungles. They are fiercely territorial and see themselves as superior to most other creatures.",
										{
											"name": "Tree-Dwelling Amphibians",
											"entries": [
												"Grungs live in trees and prefer shade. A grung hatchery is maintained in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape of an adult. It takes another six to nine months for a grung juvenile to reach maturity.",
												"Green grungs are the tribe's warriors, hunters, and laborers, and blue grungs work as artisans and in other domestic roles. Supervising and guiding both groups are the purple grungs, which serve as administrators and commanders. (Use the grung stat block to represent members of the green, blue, and purple castes.)",
												"Red grungs are the tribe's scholars and magic users. They are superior to purple, blue, and green grungs and given proper respect even by grungs of higher status. (Use the grung wildling stat block to represent members of the red caste.)",
												"Higher castes include orange grungs, which are elite warriors that have authority over all lesser grungs, and gold grungs, which hold the highest leadership positions. A tribe's sovereign is always a gold grung. (Use the grung elite warrior stat block to represent members of the orange and gold castes.)",
												"A grung normally remains in its caste for life. On rare occasions, an individual that distinguishes itself with great deeds can earn an invitation to join a higher caste. Through a combination of herbal tonics and ritual magic, an elevated grung changes color and is inducted into its new caste in the same way that a juvenile of the caste would be. From then on, the grung and its progeny are members of the higher caste.",
												"Sentient, poisonous frogs that live in trees. Truly, the gods hate us.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Castes and Colors",
											"entries": [
												"Grung society is a caste system. Each caste lays eggs in a separate hatching pool, and juvenile grungs join their caste upon emergence from the hatchery. All grungs are a dull greenish gray when they are born, but each individual takes on the color of its caste as it grows to adulthood."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Naturally Toxic",
											"entries": [
												"All grungs secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures. A grung also uses venom to poison its weapons."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Slavers",
											"entries": [
												"Grungs are always on the lookout for creatures they can capture and enslave. Grungs use slaves for all manner of menial tasks, but mostly they just like bossing them around. Slaves are fed mildly {@condition poisoned} food to keep them lethargic and compliant. A creature afflicted in this way over a long period of time becomes a shell of its former self and can be restored to normalcy only by magic."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Water Dependency",
											"entries": [
												"A grung that fails to immerse itself in water for at least 1 hour during a day suffers one level of {@condition exhaustion} at the end of that day. A grung can recover from this {@condition exhaustion} only through magic or by immersing itself in water for at least 1 hour."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Variant: Grung Poison",
									"entries": [
										"Grung poison loses its potency 1 minute after being removed from a grung. A similar breakdown occurs if the grung dies.",
										"A creature {@condition poisoned} by a grung can suffer an additional effect that varies depending on the grung's skin color. This effect lasts until the creature is no longer {@condition poisoned} by the grung.",
										{
											"name": "Green",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature can't move except to climb or make standing jumps. If the creature is flying, it can't take any actions or reactions unless it lands."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Blue",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature must shout loudly or otherwise make a loud noise at the start and end of its turn."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Purple",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature feels a desperate need to soak itself in liquid or mud. It can't take actions or move except to do so or to reach a body of liquid or mud."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Red",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature must use its action to eat if food is within reach."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Orange",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature is {@condition frightened} of its allies."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Gold",
											"entries": [
												"The {@condition poisoned} creature is {@condition charmed} and can speak Grung."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Grung.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Guard Drake",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A guard drake is a reptilian creature created out of dragon scales by means of a bizarre and grisly ritual. When trained properly, a drake is obedient, loyal, and territorial, which makes it an excellent watch-beast that can follow simple commands.",
										{
											"name": "Gifts from Dragons",
											"entries": [
												"The ritual to create a guard drake was originally devised by the cult of Tiamat, but has spread to other groups that are skilled in arcana and associated with dragons. The cooperation of a dragon is necessary for the ritual to succeed, and a dragon typically provides its help when it wants to reward its allies or worshipers with a valuable servant.",
												"The ritual, which takes several days, requires 10 pounds of fresh dragon scales (donated by the dragon allied with the group), a large amount of fresh meat, and an iron cauldron. When the process is complete, a halfling-sized egg emerges from the cauldron and is ready to hatch within a few hours.",
												"A guard drake resembles the type of dragon it was created from, but with a wingless, squat, muscular build. A drake can't reproduce, nor can its scales be used to make other guard drakes."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Eager to Learn",
											"entries": [
												"A newly hatched guard drake imprints upon the first creature that feeds it (usually the one planning to train it), establishing an aggressive but trusting bond with that individual. A guard drake is fully grown within two to three weeks and can be trained in the same length of time. One is the equivalent of a guard dog in terms of what it can be trained to do."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Variant: Chromatic Guard Drakes",
									"entries": [
										"Each type of chromatic dragon's scales and blood creates a guard drake that resembles a wingless, stunted version of that type of dragon, with unique abilities related to that type. Each has the special features described below.",
										{
											"name": "Black Guard Drake",
											"entries": [
												"A black guard drake is amphibious (it can breathe air or water), has a swimming speed of 30 feet, and has resistance to acid damage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Blue Guard Drake",
											"entries": [
												"A blue guard drake has a burrowing speed of 20 feet and resistance to lightning damage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Green Guard Drake",
											"entries": [
												"A green guard drake is amphibious (it can breathe air or water), has a swimming speed of 30 feet, and has resistance to poison damage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Red Guard Drake",
											"entries": [
												"A red guard drake has climbing speed of 30 feet and resistance to fire damage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "White Guard Drake",
											"entries": [
												"A white guard drake has a burrowing speed of 20 feet, a climbing speed of 30 feet, and resistance to cold damage."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Guard Drake.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Conceptopolis"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Hadrosaurus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A hadrosaurus is a semi-quadrupedal herbivore recognizable by its bony head crests. If raised as a hatchling, it can be trained to carry a Small or Medium rider."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Hobgoblin Devastator",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"In hobgoblin society, the Academy of Devastation identifies hobgoblins with a talent for magic and puts them through a grueling training regimen that endows them with the ability to call down fireballs and other destructive magic on the host's behalf. A hobgoblin devastator on the battlefield is simultaneously a boon to all its allies and a threat to every foe around it.",
										{
											"name": "Into the Fray",
											"entries": [
												"While other cultures treat their wizards as cloistered academics, hobgoblins expect their spellcasters to fight. Devastators learn the basics of weapon use, and they measure their deeds by the enemies defeated though their magic.",
												"Devastators have the respect of other members of the host, and they receive obedience and deference from many quarters. Their ability to lay waste to entire formations with a single use of magic allows them to gain far more glory in battle than a single warrior.",
												"Other cultures might view the use of such abilities as a short cut to glory, but to hobgoblins a gift for magic is as valued and useful as a strong sword arm or brilliance in tactics. They are all boons from Maglubiyet that must be cultivated and unleashed upon the enemy.",
												"The Academy of Devastation believes that an academic approach to magic is a sign of weakness and inefficiency. A warrior doesn't need to know about metallurgy to wield a blade, so why should a wizard care about where magic comes from? Devastators love to prove their superiority in battle by seeking out enemy spellcasters and destroying them."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Only Results Matter",
											"entries": [
												"Devastators study a simplified form of evocation magic. Their training lacks the theory and context that other folk study, making them skilled in battle but relatively illiterate on the finer points of how and why their magic works."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Hobgoblin Devastator.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Hobgoblin Iron Shadow",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"The Iron Shadows are hobgoblin monks that serve as secret police, scouts, and assassins. Among other hobgoblins, they spy to ferret out treachery, rebellion, and betrayal.",
										{
											"name": "Trained in Secret",
											"entries": [
												"Iron Shadows are recruited from across the hobgoblin ranks. Each member keeps her eyes open for potential recruits, those whose agility and stamina are matched only by an ironclad commitment to Maglubiyet's will.",
												"A candidate for admission undergoes a series of tests designed to reveal any potential for treachery. Those who fail are slain, while those who pass receive secret training in the magical and martial arts. This indoctrination is a slow and arduous process; many aspirants don't finish it, and years might go by during which the Iron Shadows welcome no new members into their ranks. While a recruit is in training, it serves the Iron Shadows by looking for and reporting suspicious behavior.",
												"Their masks also signify the supposed origin of their fighting techniques. The priests of Maglubiyet teach that the Great One stole the secrets of shadows from an archdevil, allowing his followers to conceal their identities, walk between shadows, and craft illusions to confuse and confound their enemies."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Masters of Shadow and Fist",
											"entries": [
												"When a recruit's training is complete, she is ready to wield a deadly combination of unarmed fighting techniques and shadow magic to deceive and defeat her foes. She continues to spy on other hobgoblins, but is now also empowered to conduct assassinations and spy missions, both against enemies and among goblinoids. These missions are ordained by the clerics of Maglubiyet, who keep a careful eye on the goblinoid community to ensure that it functions according to Maglubiyet's will."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Masked Devils",
											"entries": [
												"Iron Shadows on a secret mission wear masks crafted to resemble devils, both to conceal their identities and to strike fear into their foes."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Hobgoblin Iron Shadow.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Scott Murphy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Illithilich",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Mind flayers that pursue arcane magic are exiled as deviants, and for them no eternal communion with an elder brain is possible. The road to lichdom offers a way to escape the permanency of death, but that path is long and solitary. Alhoons are mind flayers that use a shortcut.",
										{
											"name": "Arcane Temptation",
											"entries": [
												"Elder brains forbid mind flayers from pursuing magic power aside from psionics, but it isn't an interdiction they must often enforce. Illithids brook no masters but members of their own kind, so it isn't in their nature to bow to any god or otherworldly patron. However, wizardry remains a rare temptation.",
												"In the pages of a spellbook, an illithid sees a system to acquire authority. Through the writings of the wizard who penned it, the illithid perceives the workings of a highly intelligent mind. Most mind flayers who find a spellbook react with abhorrence or indifference, but for some a spellbook is a gateway to a new way of thinking.",
												"For a time, the study of such forbidden texts can be hidden from other illithids and even from an elder brain. Understanding of wizardry eludes the mind like a living thing. Yet eventually, understanding comes, and a mind flayer arcanist must accept itself as deviant and flee the colony if it is to live.",
												"Confronting this awful reality, a group of nine mind flayer deviants used their arcane magic and psionics to weave a new truth. These nine called themselves the alhoon, and ever afterward, all those who follow in their footsteps have been referred to by the same name.",
												"Initially, an alhoon can be difficult to distinguish from a normal mind flayer. The most obvious difference is the lack of the mind flayer's ever-present mucus coating. Without that protection, an alhoon's skin becomes dry and cracked. Its eyes might appear shriveled and sunken. Both of these clues are easily missed by someone who hasn't seen a mind flayer. However, in short order, an alhoon's flesh withers away and its empty eye sockets gleam with cold pinpricks of light like other liches.",
												"The undeath conferred by a periapt of mind trapping lasts only so long as the life of the living victim selected. Thus an alhoon who brought a 200-year-old elf to be sacrificed looks forward to a much longer existence than one that sacrifices a 35-year-old person. Alhoons can extend their existence by repeating the ritual with new victims, effectively resetting the clocks for themselves.",
												"Destruction of a periapt of mind trapping consigns those trapped within it to oblivion, and thus alhoons often work together to create elaborate protections about the periapt and their preferred ritual site. Sometimes a single alhoon is entrusted with the periapt of mind trapping, but this is a dangerous proposition. Anyone who holds the periapt of mind trapping gains advantage on attacks, saves, and check against the alhoons associated with its creation, and those alhoons in turn suffer disadvantage on attacks, saves, and check against the holder.",
												"In addition, the holder of the periapt can telepathically communicate with any sacrificed soul trapped within, and alhoons within the periapt can speak telepathically with the holder. A creature carrying the periapt can't prevent communication from alhoons but can silence trapped souls."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Existential Fear",
											"entries": [
												"Arcanist deviants that taste freedom from the colony react in a variety of ways. Some prize their privacy, others seek to commune with similar minds, and still others seek to dominate a colony, elevating themselves to the position of leadership normally held by an elder brain. Regardless of the arcanist's personal inclinations, it faces the same stark fact: When it dies, it will not join the host of minds in the elder brain. Deviant minds are never accepted as part of the collective. For it, death means oblivion."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Dreadful Deliverance",
											"entries": [
												"Lichdom offers salvation and the prospect of being able to pursue knowledge indefinitely. Having feasted on the brains of people when alive, a mind flayer has no compunction about feeding souls to a phylactery. The only hindrance to a mind flayer becoming a lich is the means, which is a secret some mind flayer arcanists stop at nothing to discover. Yet lichdom requires an arcane spellcaster to be at the apex of power, something many mind flayers find is far from their grasps."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "A Psionic Secret",
											"entries": [
												"Alhoons can cooperate in the creation of a periapt of mind trapping, a fist-sized container made of silver, emerald, and amethyst. The process requires at least three mind flayer arcanists and the sacrifice of an equal number of souls from living victims in a three-day-long ritual of spellcasting and psionic communion. Upon its completion, free-willed undeath is conferred on the mind flayers, turning them into alhoons."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Precarious Immortality",
											"entries": [
												"Unlike with true lichdom, the periapt of mind trapping doesn't restore the alhoons to undeath if they are destroyed. Instead, a destroyed alhoon's mind is transferred to the periapt where it remains in communion with any other trapped alhoon minds, as well as the souls of those sacrificed."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Variant: Mind Flayer Lich (Illithilich)",
									"entries": [
										"The path to true lichdom is something only the most powerful mind flayer mages can pursue, since it requires the ability to craft a phylactery and cast the {@spell imprisonment} spell. A mind flayer lich uses the lich stat block (see the Monster Manual), with the following changes:",
										{
											"type": "list",
											"items": [
												"It has a challenge rating of 22 (41,000 XP).",
												"It speaks Deep Speech and Undercommon, and has telepathy out to a range of 120 feet.",
												"It has the Magic Resistance and Innate Spellcasting (Psionics) traits, as well as the Tentacles, Extract Brain, and Mind Blast action options (all described below). So long as a mind flayer lich feeds captured souls to its phylactery, it maintains the muscular power of its tentacles and the ability to extract brains.",
												"Its suite of legendary actions (described below) is different from that of the normal lich."
											]
										},
										{
											"name": "Magic Resistance",
											"entries": [
												"The lich has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.",
												"At will: detect thoughts, levitate",
												"1/day each: dominate monster, plane shift (self only)"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Innate Spellcasting (Psionics)",
											"entries": [
												"The lich's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Actions",
									"entries": [
										{
											"name": "Tentacles",
											"entries": [
												"Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 21 ({@damage 3d10 + 5}) psychic damage. If the target is Large or smaller, it is {@condition grappled} (escape DC 15) and must succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence saving throw or be {@condition stunned} until this grapple ends."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Extract Brain",
											"entries": [
												"Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one {@condition incapacitated} humanoid {@condition grappled} by the lich. Hit: 55 ({@damage 10d10}) piercing damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the lich kills the target by extracting and devouring its brain."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mind Blast {@recharge 5}",
											"entries": [
												"The lich magically emits psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence saving throw or take 27 ({@damage 5d8 + 5}) psychic damage and be {@condition stunned} for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Illithilich Legendary Actions",
									"entries": [
										"The lich gains the following legendary action options, which replace all of the lich's legendary actions.",
										{
											"name": "Tentacles",
											"entries": [
												"The lich makes one attack with its tentacles."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Extract Brain (Costs 2 Actions)",
											"entries": [
												"The lich uses Extract Brain."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mind Blast (Costs 3 Actions)",
											"entries": [
												"The lich recharges its Mind Blast and uses it."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Cast Spell (Costs 1\u20133 Actions)",
											"entries": [
												"The lich uses a spell slot to cast a 1st-, 2nd-, or 3rd-level spell that it has prepared. Doing so costs 1 legendary action per level of the spell."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Alhoon.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Illusionist",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Illusionists are specialist wizards who twist light, sound, shadow, and even minds to create false and quasi-real effects. They can be flamboyant and use their powers in spectacular and obvious ways, or quiet and subtle, using their magic to conceal the truth."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Illusionist.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Ki-rin",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Ki-rins are noble, celestial creatures. In the Outer Planes, ki-rins in service to benevolent deities take a direct role in the eternal struggle between good and evil. In the mortal world, a ki-rin is celebrated far and wide as a harbinger of destiny, a guardian of the sacred, and a counterbalance to the forces of evil.",
										{
											"name": "Good Personified",
											"entries": [
												"Ki-rins are the embodiment of good, and simply beholding one can evoke fear or awe in an observer. A typical ki-rin looks like a muscular stag the size of an elephant, covered in golden scales lined in some places with golden fur. It has a dark gold mane and tail, coppery cloven hooves, and a spiral-shaped coppery horn just above and between its luminous violet eyes. In a breeze or when aloft, the creature's scales and hair can create the impression that the ki-rin is ablaze with a holy, golden fire.",
												"Beyond their coloration, ki-rins vary in appearance, based on the deity each one reveres and the function it typically performs in service to that god. Some are horse-shaped, looking like gigantic unicorns, and are often used as guardians. Others have draconic features and tend to be aggressive foes of evil. One horn is most common, but a ki-rin of fierce demeanor might have two horns or a set of antlers like those of a great stag.",
												"A ki-rin in the world claims a territory to watch over, and one ki-rin might safeguard an area that encompasses several nations. On other planes, ki-rins that serve good deities go wherever they are commanded, which could include coming to the Material Plane on a mission. A ki-rin disciple in the world usually serves its deity as a scout, a messenger, or a spy.",
												"Ki-rins are attracted to the worship of deities of courage, loyalty, selflessness, and truth, as well as the advancement of just societies. For instance, in Faerûn, ki-rins rally mostly to Torm, although ki-rins also serve his allies Tyr and Ilmater.",
												"Many who seek a ki-rin's guidance end up pledging service to the creature. They study as monks under its tutelage and serve as its agents in the world. The followers of a ki-rin might travel incognito across the land, seeking news of growing evil and working behind the scenes, or might be champions of their master's cause, out to defeat villainy wherever it is found."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Bringers of Boons",
											"entries": [
												"Common folk consider ki-rins to be rare and remote heralds of good fortune. Seeing a ki-rin fly overhead is a blessing, and events that happen on such a day are especially auspicious. If a ki-rin alights during a ceremony, such as a birth announcement or a coronation, everyone present understands that the creature is telling them great good could be in the offing. The ki-rin conveys its gifts and omens, then rises back into the sky. Ki-rins have also been known to appear at the sites of great battles to inspire and strengthen the side of good, or to rescue heroes from certain death."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Objects of Adoration",
											"entries": [
												"Because a ki-rin is renowned for its wisdom, other creatures would naturally seek it out with questions and requests if they could. For that reason among others, the creature makes its lair atop a forbidding mountain peak or in some other equally inaccessible location. Only those that have the tenacity to complete the daunting journey to a ki-rin's lair can prove themselves worthy of speaking with its occupant."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Lair of Luxury",
									"entries": [
										"On the celestial planes, ki-rins reside in lofty, elegant aeries filled with luxurious objects. In the world, a ki-rin chooses a similar location, such as atop a tall pinnacle or within a cloud solidified by the ki-rin's magic. When viewed from the outside, a ki-rin's lair is indistinguishable from a natural site, and the entrance is difficult for visitors to find and reach. Inside, the lair is a serene and comfortable place, its ambiance a mix between palace and temple. If the ki-rin has taken creatures into its service, its lair doubles as a sacred site wherein the ki-rin not only rests, but also teaches of holy mysteries."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Ki-rin.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Daniel Ljunggren"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Kobold Dragonshield",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A kobold dragonshield is a champion of its race. Almost all dragonshields begin life as normal kobolds, then are chosen by a dragon and invested with great powers for the purpose of protecting the dragon's eggs, but once every few years a kobold hatches with an innate version of the dragonshield's abilities. Accomplished at hand-to-hand combat, it bears many scars from desperate fights and carries a shield made out of cast-off dragon scales.",
										{
											"name": "Uncommon Courage",
											"entries": [
												"A dragonshield knows that it has a place of honor in the tribe, but-being kobolds at heart-most of them feel unworthy of their status and thus desperate to prove themselves deserving of it. A dragonshield's natural kobold cowardice is still present in its makeup, and thus it might still run away from a threat. But it also has the ability to rally in the face of certain death, inspiring other kobolds to follow it in a charge against the invaders of their warren."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Kobold Dragonshield.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Kobold Inventor",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A kobold inventor, crafty and with quick hands, builds improvised weapons in the hope of gaining some new advantage in combat. An inventor captures bugs, scoops up exotic dungeon slimes, and claims the best stolen goods as ingredients in its experiments. Its creations are sometimes comical in appearance, but-like kobolds' traps-they work a lot better than their materials would suggest.",
										{
											"name": "Good While They Last",
											"entries": [
												"An inventor's new weapons last for only one or two attacks before they break, but might be surprisingly effective in the meantime. Most inventors are skilled enough that their improvised weapons don't backfire on them, but other users might not be so lucky. The weapons don't have to be lethal-in many cases one serves its purpose if it distracts, scares, or confuses a creature long enough for other kobolds to kill the enemy. In any particular encounter, an inventor usually has one or two improvised weapons at its disposal."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Kobold Inventor.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Chris Seaman"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Kobold Scale Sorcerer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A kobold scale sorcerer has an innate talent for arcane magic, making it a highly valuable member of the tribe for several reasons. Because the kobolds' deity remains imprisoned, most tribes lack individuals that can use divine magic, and so the scale sorcerers fill the roles of advisor and historian. In times of peace, they use their spells to fortify and enhance the warren and aid the rest of the tribe. When the tribe is threatened, a scale sorcerer lashes out with fire and poison against enemies, saving a bit of magic for itself in case it needs to flee or take advantage of a captor.",
										{
											"name": "Duty-Bound to a Dragon",
											"entries": [
												"In a kobold tribe associated with a dragon, typically one that resides in or near the dragon's lair, the scale sorcerer also serves as diplomat and mouthpiece-anticipating the dragon's needs, issuing commands to other kobolds on the dragon's behalf, and reporting information back to the dragon. The sorcerer is just as awed by and respectful of dragons as common kobolds are, but it knows that its duty requires it not to fawn over its master at all times. It also understands that its frequent proximity to the dragon means it would probably be the first to die if its master became angry or displeased, and so it frantically maintains a balance between adoration and terror in its behavior toward the dragon.",
												"Never make the mistake of thinking kobolds are stupid or backward just because they're small. Size has nothing to do with it.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Kobold Scale Sorcerer.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Scott Murphy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Korred",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Korreds are unpredictable, secretive fey with strong ties to earth and stone. Because of their magical hair and their mystical understanding of minerals, they are sought after by treasure-hunters, dwarves, and others that desire wealth beneath the earth.",
										{
											"name": "Earthy Fey",
											"entries": [
												"Korreds prefer to keep their own company and occasionally consort with creatures of elemental earth such as galeb duhr. A tribe of korreds gathers weekly to perform ceremonial dances, beating out rhythms on stone with their hooves and clubs. In the depths of the Material Plane, korreds typically flee from other creatures but become aggressive when they feel insulted or are annoyed by the sounds of mining.",
												"Korreds can hurl boulders far larger than it seems they should be able to, shape stone as though it were clay, swim through rock, and summon earth elementals and other creatures. They also gain supernatural strength just from standing on the ground.",
												"There's a legend about a merchant who tried to cut a korred's hair with golden shears. The korred fed him those shears, from his swallow to his sitter.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Stone Sympathy",
											"entries": [
												"No one knows the ways of stone and earth better than a korred. Korreds can seemingly smell veins of metal or gems. A korred on the surface can feel the rise and fall of bedrock under the earth and where caves lie, and underground it knows the pathways through the stone for miles. Secret doors that lead through stone are as obvious as windows to a korred."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Enchanted Hair",
											"entries": [
												"Korreds have hair all over their bodies, but the hair that grows from their heads is magical. When cut, it transforms into whatever material was used to cut it. Korreds use iron shears to cut lengths of their hair, then weave the strands together to create iron ropes that they can manipulate, animating them to bind or snake around creatures and objects. Korreds take great pride in their hair, and equally great offense at any one who attempts to cut it without permission."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Korred.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Kraken Priest",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A kraken can seem godlike to folk who have witnessed its fury. Those who mistake its might for divine power and those who seek to appease the monster through veneration are sometimes rewarded with power, to serve thereafter as kraken priests.",
										"The kraken can make itself dimly aware of a kraken priest's thoughts if the two are on the same plane of existence, and it can then push aside the priest's personality and control it. Kraken priests can thereby act as eyes and ears for their masters, and when the kraken has something to say, the priest becomes its mouthpiece.",
										"Every kraken priest undergoes a change in appearance that reflects the kraken's influence, although each one differs in how its reverence is displayed. One kraken priest might have ink-black eyes and a suckered tentacle for a tongue, while another has a featureless face and a body covered in eyes and mouths that dribble seawater. These horrific manifestations intensify when the kraken possesses its minion to utter its dire pronouncements."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Kraken Priest.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Chris Seaman"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Leucrotta",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A leucrotta is what you would get if you took the head of a giant badger, the brain of a person who likes to torture and eat people, the legs of a deer, and the body of a large hyena, put them together, and reanimated them with demon ichor without bothering to cover up the stink of death.",
										{
											"name": "Spawn of Yeenoghu",
											"entries": [
												"The first leucrottas came into being alongside the gnolls during Yeenoghu's rampages on the Material Plane. Some of the hyenas that ate Yeenoghu's kills went through different transformations rather than turning into gnolls. Among these bizarre results, leucrottas were the most numerous.",
												"As clever as it is cruel, a leucrotta loves to deceive, torture, and kill. Because leucrottas are smarter and tougher than most gnolls, one could occupy an elevated position within a gnoll tribe. Although a leucrotta is unlikely to lead a group of gnolls, it can influence the leader, and it might even agree to carry a leader into battle and offer advice during the fight.",
												"Gnolls see leucrottas as a form of entertainment, partly because a leucrotta can mimic the squeals of a suffering victim-a sound that always gives gnolls pleasure-even when no victims are to be had. Further, a gnoll is bloodthirsty and sadistic, but unable by its nature to prolong the fun of killing. Most leucrottas are consciously cruel, to the point of being meticulous about their savagery to draw out a kill into better and longer sport. Gnolls enjoy watching a leucrotta work almost as much as they like doing their own killing.",
												"A leucrotta's stench would normally warn away prey long before the creature could attack. It has two natural capabilities, however, that give it an advantage. First, a leucrotta's tracks are nearly impossible to distinguish from those of common deer. Second, it can duplicate the call or the vocal expressions of just about any creature it has heard. The monster uses its mimicry to lure in potential victims, then attacks when they are confused or unaware of the actual threat."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Foulness Embodied",
											"entries": [
												"The leucrotta is so loathsome that only gnolls and others of its kind can stand to be around one for long. Its horrific, hodgepodge body oozes a foul stench that pollutes anywhere the creature lairs. This reek is outdone only by the creature's breath, which issues from a maw that drips fluid corrupted with rot and digestive juices. In place of fangs, a leucrotta has bony ridges as hard as steel that can crush bones and lacerate flesh. These plates are so tough that a leucrotta can use them to peel plate armor away from the body of a slain knight."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Leucrotta.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Brynn Metheney"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Martial Arts Adept",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Martial arts adepts are disciplined monks with extensive training in hand-to-hand combat. Some protect monasteries; others travel the world seeking enlightenment or new forms of combat to master. A few become bodyguards, trading their combat prowess and loyalty for food and lodging."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Master Thief",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Master thieves are known for perpetrating daring heists. They tend to develop a reputation and a cult of personality. A master thief might \"retire\" from hands-on work to run a thieves' guild, spearhead some covert enterprise, or enjoy a quiet life of luxury."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Master Thief.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Maw Demon",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Demon lords create lesser demons for the purpose of spreading chaos and terror throughout the multiverse."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Maw Demon",
									"entries": [
										"Maw demons share Yeenoghu's ceaseless hunger for carnage and mortal flesh. After a maw demon rests for 8 hours, anything devoured by it is transported directly into the Lord of Savagery's gullet.",
										"Maw demons appear among gnoll war bands, usually summoned as part of ritual offerings of freshly slain humanoids made to Yeenoghu. The gnolls don't command them, but these demons accompany the war band and attack whatever creatures the gnolls fall upon."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Maw Demon.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Thomas M. Baxa"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Meenlock",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Meenlocks are deformed fey that invoke terror and seek to destroy all that is good, innocent, and beautiful. They primarily live in forests, although they adapt well to urban and subterranean settings.",
										{
											"name": "Fear Incarnate",
											"entries": [
												"Meenlocks are spawned by fear. Whenever fear overwhelms a creature in the Feywild, or in any other location where the Feywild's influence is strong, one or more meenlocks might spontaneously arise in the shadows or darkness nearby. If more than one meenlock is born, a lair also magically forms. The earth creaks and moans as narrow, twisting tunnels open up within it. One of these newly formed passageways serves as the lair's only entrance and exit.",
												"Meenlocks give other creatures the creeps and project a supernatural aura that instills terror in those nearby. So evil and twisted are they that a palpable sense of foreboding haunts those who intrude upon a meenlock lair. Inside the warren, black moss covers every surface, muffling sound. A large central chamber serves as the meenlocks' den, where they torment captives.",
												"During the day, meenlocks confine themselves to their dark warrens. At night, they crawl out of their tunnels to torment sleeping prey, particularly those who seem to embody all that is good in the world. Meenlocks like to paralyze creatures with their claws, drag them back to their hidden den, beat them unconscious, and telepathically torture them over a period of hours. A humanoid that succumbs to this psychic torment undergoes a transformation into an evil, full-grown meenlock (see the \"Telepathic Torment\" sidebar)."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Dark Dwellers",
											"entries": [
												"A meenlock shuns bright light. It can supernaturally sense areas of darkness and shadow in its vicinity and thus is able to teleport from one darkened space to another-enabling it to sneak up on its prey or run away when outmatched."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Telepathic Tormentors",
											"entries": [
												"Meenlocks have no form of communication other than telepathy. They can use it to project unsettling hallucinations into the minds of their prey. These hallucinations take the form of terrible whispers or fleeting movements just at the edges of one's peripheral vision."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "inset",
									"name": "Telepathic Torment",
									"entries": [
										"Up to four meenlocks can telepathically torment one {@condition incapacitated} creature, filling its mind with disturbing sounds and dreadful imagery. Participating meenlocks can't use their telepathy for any other purpose during this time, though they can move about and take actions and reactions as normal. This torment has no effect on a creature that is immune to the {@condition frightened} condition. If the creature is susceptible and remains {@condition incapacitated} for 1 hour, the creature must make a Wisdom saving throw, taking 10 ({@damage 3d6}) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The save DC is 10 + the number of meenlocks participating in the torment, considering only those that remain within sight of the victim for the entire hour and aren't {@condition incapacitated} during it. The process can be repeated. A humanoid that drops to 0 hit points as a result of this damage instantly transforms into a meenlock at full health and under the DM's control. Only a {@spell wish} spell or divine intervention can restore a transformed creature to its former state."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Meenlock.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Filip Burburan"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Mind Flayer Psion",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Mind flayers sometimes devote themselves to deeper study of psionic power, and many excel at using their innate psionic energy to duplicate the casting of spells."
									]
								},
								{
									"name": "Mind Flayer",
									"type": "section",
									"entries": [
										"Mind flayers, also called illithids, are the scourge of sentient creatures across countless worlds. Psionic tyrants, slavers, and interdimensional voyagers, they are insidious masterminds that harvest entire races for their own twisted ends. Four tentacles snake from their octopus-like heads, flexing in hungry anticipation when sentient creatures come near.",
										"In eons past, illithids controlled empires that spanned many worlds. They subjugated and consequently warped whole races of humanoid slaves, including the githyanki and githzerai, the grimlocks, and the kuo-toa. Conjoined by a collective consciousness, the illithids hatch plots as far-reaching and evil as their fathomless minds can conceive.",
										"Since the fall of their empires, illithid collectives on the Material Plane have resided in the Underdark. Psionic Commanders. Mind flayers possess psionic powers that enable them to control the minds of creatures such as troglodytes, grimlocks, quaggoths, and ogres. Illithids prefer to communicate via telepathy and use their telepathy when issuing commands to their thralls.",
										"When an illithid meets strong resistance, it avoids initial combat as it orders its thralls to attack. Like physical extensions of the illithid's thoughts, these thralls interpose themselves between the mind flayer and its foes, sacrificing their lives so that their master can escape.",
										{
											"name": "Hive Mind Colonies",
											"entries": [
												"Solitary mind flayers are likely rogues and outcasts. Most illithids belong to a colony of sibling mind flayers devoted to an elder brain-a massive brain-like being that resides in a briny pool near the center of a mind flayer community. From its pool, an elder brain telepathically dictates its desires to each individual mind flayer within 5 miles of it, for it is able to hold multiple mental conversations at once.",
												"An illithid experiences euphoria as it devours the brain of a humanoid, along with its memories, personality, and innermost fears. Mind flayers will sometimes harvest a brain rather than devour it, using it as part of some alien experiment or transforming it into an intellect devourer.",
												"Qualith",
												"On the rare occasion that mind flayers need to write something down, they do so in Qualith. This system of tactile writing (similar to braille) is read by an illithid's tentacles. Qualith is written in four-line stanzas and is so alien in construction that non-illithids must resort to magic to discern its meaning. Though Qualith can be used to keep records, illithids most often use it to mark portals or other surfaces with warnings or instructions."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Hunger of the Mind",
											"entries": [
												"Illithids subsist on the brains of humanoids. The brains provide enzymes, hormones, and psychic energy necessary for their survival. An illithid healthy from a brain-rich diet secretes a thin glaze of mucus that coats its mauve skin."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Mind Flayer Psion.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Mindwitness",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"If the beholder can be stunned and brought safely to the brine pool of the elder brain, it can be converted through ceremorphosis into a mindwitness. The process of ceremorphosis transforms four of the beholder's eyestalks into tentacles similar to those of a mind flayer, and alters some of the beholder's eye rays.",
										"Less intelligent than beholders and less liable to endanger the colony, mindwitnesses are psionically imprinted with devotion to the elder brain and submission to illithid commands, making them almost as obedient as intellect devourers.",
										{
											"name": "Telepathic Hub",
											"entries": [
												"The primary function of a mindwitness is to improve telepathic communication in a mind flayer colony. A creature in telepathic communication with a mindwitness can converse telepathically through it to as many as seven other creatures the mindwitness can see, allowing the rapid spread of commands and other information."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Solitary Seekers",
											"entries": [
												"If separated from its illithid masters, a mindwitness seeks out other telepathic creatures to tell it what to do. Mindwitnesses have been known to ally with flumphs and telepathic planar beings such as demons, shifting their worldview and changing their alignment to match that of their new masters."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Mindwitness.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Dave Dorman"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Morkoth",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Ancient and devious, morkoths are voracious collectors. Each one travels the planes, amassing the valuables, oddities, and castoffs of the multiverse to make its collection ever more complete.",
										{
											"name": "Spawned by a God",
											"entries": [
												"Long ago, a deity of greed and strife perished in the battles among the immortals. Its body drifted through the Astral Plane, eventually becoming a petrified husk. This corpse floated up against a pearlescent remnant of celestial matter imbued with life and life-giving magic. The collision shattered both objects and released a storm of chaotic energy. Countless islands of mixed matter spun away into the silvery void. Within some of them, a vein of pearl-like material held a bit of the deity's rejuvenated supernatural vitality, which spontaneously created a habitable environment. On those same islands, bits of the god's petrified flesh came back to life, in the form of tentacled monstrosities brimming with malice and greed. Ever since that time, each morkoth has had an extraplanar island to call home.",
												"The pearly matter inside an island enables it to glide on planar currents, maintains the island's environment, and keeps the place safe from harmful external effects. A morkoth's island might be found anywhere from the bottom of the ocean to the void of the Astral Plane. One could float in the skies of Avernus in the Nine Hells without being destroyed and without causing harm to its residents. Whatever is on or within a certain distance of a morkoth's isle travels with it in its journey through the planes. Thus, people from lost civilizations and creatures or objects from bygone ages might be found within a morkoth's dominion.",
												"Some islands travel a specific route, arriving at the same destinations regularly over a cycle of years. Others are tied to a particular place or group of locales, and still others move erratically through the cosmos. Rarely, a morkoth learns to control its island's movement, so the island goes wherever its master wishes.",
												"A morkoth spends its time watching over its collection and plotting to acquire more possessions. The monster hoards vast stores of treasure and knowledge. Its island holds numerous captives, which it considers part of its collection. Some inhabitants, such as descendants of original prisoners, might view the morkoth as a ruler or a god. A morkoth's storehouse of wealth and lore attracts would-be plunderers, of course, as well as those seeking something specific the morkoth has or knows. The creature shows no mercy to those that try to steal from it, but it can be bargained with by a visitor that offers the morkoth something it desires.",
												"No morkoth freely gives away what it owns. Morkoths exist to acquire, and they give up possessions only if doing so helps their hoard grow.",
												"A morkoth knows every object in its collection and can track its possessions through the planes. Someone who dares to steal from a morkoth, or breaks a deal with one, will know no rest until the morkoth is slain or all promises are kept.",
												"Collectors of everything odd, unusual, and valuable-hopefully not including you.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "No Rhyme or Reason",
											"entries": [
												"A morkoth's island has the qualities of a dreamscape in which nature and predictability take a back seat to strangeness and chaos. Upon it is a jumble of objects and a mixture of creatures, some of which date from forgotten times. An island might have natural-looking illumination, but most are shrouded in twilight, and on any of them, mists and shadows can appear without notice. The environment is warm and wet, a subtropical or tropical climate that keeps the morkoth and its \"guests\" comfortable."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Primeval Hoarders",
											"entries": [
												"Morkoths are driven by greed and selfishness, mixed with a yearning for conflict. They desire anything they don't possess, have no scruples about taking what they crave, and endeavor to keep everything they collect."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "A Morkoth's Lair",
									"entries": [
										"A morkoth claims dominion over an entire island, and it also maintains a central sanctum on that isle. This lair is most often a twisted network of narrow tunnels that connect several underground chambers, although other structural forms might be incorporated. The morkoth dwells among its most prized possessions in a spacious vault at the core of the warren, where the pearly matter of the island is also located. Sections of the lair and its center might be kept dry to better protect and preserve collected objects and creatures, but most of the lair is underwater.",
										"A morkoth encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 12 (8,400 XP)."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Morkoth.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Christopher Burdett"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Mouth of Grolantor",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Hill giants know the kinds of foods that make them fatter, and they understand that exerting themselves too much tends to make them thinner. What the lazy brutes don't comprehend are the things that make them sick. They consume spoiled food and diseased carcasses with as much enthusiasm as children eating dessert. Fortunately for hill giants, they have a vulture's constitution and rarely suffer for such eating habits. This makes it all the more mysterious to them when one of their kind becomes ill and incapable of keeping down food. Vomiting hill giants are seen as vessels of a message from Grolantor.",
										"The clan separates the sickened giant from the others, often trapping the giant in a cage or tying the giant to a post. A priest of Grolantor or chieftain visits the famished giant daily, trying to read portents in the puddles of bile the hill giant retched up. If the sickness soon passes, the hill giant can rejoin society. If not, the hill giant is instead starved to the point of madness so that Grolantor's hunger can be given a mouth in the world.",
										{
											"name": "Starved and Insane",
											"entries": [
												"A mouth of Grolantor is so disgraced that it ceases to be an individual and becomes an object. Paradoxically, that object is revered as a holy embodiment of Grolantor's eternal, aching hunger. Unlike a typical thick, sluggish, half-asleep hill giant, a mouth of Grolantor is thin as a whippet, alert like a bird, and constantly twitching around the edges. A mouth of Grolantor is kept perpetually imprisoned or shackled; if it breaks free, it's sure to kill a few hill giants before it's brought down or it sprints away on a killing spree. The only time a mouth of Grolantor is set loose is during a war, a raid against an enemy settlement, or in a last-ditch defense of the tribe's home. When the mouth of Grolantor has slaughtered and eaten its fill of the tribe's enemies, it passes out amid the gory remains of its victims, making it easy to recapture."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Mouth of Grolantor.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Scott Murphy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Necromancer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Necromancers are specialist wizards who study the interaction of life, death, and undeath. Some like to dig up corpses to create undead slaves. A few use their powers for good, becoming hunters of the undead and risking their lives to save others."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Neogi",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Neogi are hateful slavers that consider most other creatures, even weaker neogi, to be servants and prey. A neogi looks like an outsize spider with an eel's neck and head. The creature can poison the body and the mind of its target, able to subjugate other beings that are otherwise physically superior.",
										{
											"name": "Alien Tyrants",
											"entries": [
												"Neogi usually dwell in far-flung locations on the Material Plane, as well as in the Feywild, the Shadowfell, and the Astral and Ethereal Planes. They invaded the world long ago from a remote location on the Material Plane, abandoning their home to conquer and devour creatures in other realms. To meet their need to navigate great distances, the neogi first dominated and assimilated the umber hulks of another lost world. Then, with these slaves providing the physical labor, the neogi designed and built sleek vessels, some capable of traversing the planes, to carry them to their new frontiers. Some neogi groups still create and use such vehicles, which have a distinct spidery aspect.",
												"Some neogi use magic-the result of a pact between the neogi and aberrant entities they met during their journey from their home world. These entities look like stars and embody the essence of evil. They are known by such names as Acamar, Caiphon, Gibbeth, and Hadar.",
												"Nothing about the neogi is more unfathomable than their mentality. Because they have the power to control minds, neogi consider doing so to be entirely appropriate. Their society makes no distinction between individuals, aside from the ability that a given creature has to control others, and they don't comprehend the emotional aspects of existence that humans and similar beings experience. To a neogi, hatred is as foreign a sensation as love, and showing loyalty in the absence of authority is foolishness.",
												"Neogi mark themselves and their slaves through the use of dyes, transformational magic, and tattoos intended to signify rank, achievements, and ownership. By these signs, each neogi can identify its betters-and it must defer to those of higher station or risk harsh punishment.",
												"Damn eel-spiders want to enslave us all! And no, they don't taste good.",
												"-Volo",
												"Outside the obligations of a servant to its master, neogi are willing to engage in any activity that profits them, and they are as devious as devils when doing so. Neogi buy and sell, but they pose a grave risk to potential patrons that might instead be easily enslaved, so their customers generally consist of desperate or evil individuals, or creatures that are formidable enough to treat with the neogi as equals. Neogi traders might set up shop in a planar bazaar, on the edge of a drow city, or near a mind flayer enclave. In other locations, the natives are more likely to join together to destroy a neogi caravan than to allow it safe conduct and trading privileges."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Cycle of Death and Life",
											"entries": [
												"A neogi lives about as long as a human, and like a human it faces physical and mental infirmity as it ages. When an individual is rendered weak by advanced age, the other neogi in the group overpower it and inject it with a special poison. The toxin transforms the old neogi into a bloated, helpless mass of flesh called a great old master. Young neogi lay their eggs atop it, and when the hatchlings emerge, they devour the great old master and one another, until only a few of the strongest newborns are left."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Hierarchy of Ownership",
											"entries": [
												"Surviving neogi hatchlings begin their lives under the control of adult neogi. They must learn about their society and earn a place in it, and each one starts its training by gaining mastery over a young umber hulk."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Neogi.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Warren Mahy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Neogi Hatchling",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Neogi are hateful slavers that consider most other creatures, even weaker neogi, to be servants and prey. A neogi looks like an outsize spider with an eel's neck and head. The creature can poison the body and the mind of its target, able to subjugate other beings that are otherwise physically superior.",
										{
											"name": "Alien Tyrants",
											"entries": [
												"Neogi usually dwell in far-flung locations on the Material Plane, as well as in the Feywild, the Shadowfell, and the Astral and Ethereal Planes. They invaded the world long ago from a remote location on the Material Plane, abandoning their home to conquer and devour creatures in other realms. To meet their need to navigate great distances, the neogi first dominated and assimilated the umber hulks of another lost world. Then, with these slaves providing the physical labor, the neogi designed and built sleek vessels, some capable of traversing the planes, to carry them to their new frontiers. Some neogi groups still create and use such vehicles, which have a distinct spidery aspect.",
												"Some neogi use magic-the result of a pact between the neogi and aberrant entities they met during their journey from their home world. These entities look like stars and embody the essence of evil. They are known by such names as Acamar, Caiphon, Gibbeth, and Hadar.",
												"Nothing about the neogi is more unfathomable than their mentality. Because they have the power to control minds, neogi consider doing so to be entirely appropriate. Their society makes no distinction between individuals, aside from the ability that a given creature has to control others, and they don't comprehend the emotional aspects of existence that humans and similar beings experience. To a neogi, hatred is as foreign a sensation as love, and showing loyalty in the absence of authority is foolishness.",
												"Neogi mark themselves and their slaves through the use of dyes, transformational magic, and tattoos intended to signify rank, achievements, and ownership. By these signs, each neogi can identify its betters-and it must defer to those of higher station or risk harsh punishment.",
												"Damn eel-spiders want to enslave us all! And no, they don't taste good.",
												"-Volo",
												"Outside the obligations of a servant to its master, neogi are willing to engage in any activity that profits them, and they are as devious as devils when doing so. Neogi buy and sell, but they pose a grave risk to potential patrons that might instead be easily enslaved, so their customers generally consist of desperate or evil individuals, or creatures that are formidable enough to treat with the neogi as equals. Neogi traders might set up shop in a planar bazaar, on the edge of a drow city, or near a mind flayer enclave. In other locations, the natives are more likely to join together to destroy a neogi caravan than to allow it safe conduct and trading privileges."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Cycle of Death and Life",
											"entries": [
												"A neogi lives about as long as a human, and like a human it faces physical and mental infirmity as it ages. When an individual is rendered weak by advanced age, the other neogi in the group overpower it and inject it with a special poison. The toxin transforms the old neogi into a bloated, helpless mass of flesh called a great old master. Young neogi lay their eggs atop it, and when the hatchlings emerge, they devour the great old master and one another, until only a few of the strongest newborns are left."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Hierarchy of Ownership",
											"entries": [
												"Surviving neogi hatchlings begin their lives under the control of adult neogi. They must learn about their society and earn a place in it, and each one starts its training by gaining mastery over a young umber hulk."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Neogi.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Warren Mahy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Neogi Master",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Neogi are hateful slavers that consider most other creatures, even weaker neogi, to be servants and prey. A neogi looks like an outsize spider with an eel's neck and head. The creature can poison the body and the mind of its target, able to subjugate other beings that are otherwise physically superior.",
										{
											"name": "Alien Tyrants",
											"entries": [
												"Neogi usually dwell in far-flung locations on the Material Plane, as well as in the Feywild, the Shadowfell, and the Astral and Ethereal Planes. They invaded the world long ago from a remote location on the Material Plane, abandoning their home to conquer and devour creatures in other realms. To meet their need to navigate great distances, the neogi first dominated and assimilated the umber hulks of another lost world. Then, with these slaves providing the physical labor, the neogi designed and built sleek vessels, some capable of traversing the planes, to carry them to their new frontiers. Some neogi groups still create and use such vehicles, which have a distinct spidery aspect.",
												"Some neogi use magic-the result of a pact between the neogi and aberrant entities they met during their journey from their home world. These entities look like stars and embody the essence of evil. They are known by such names as Acamar, Caiphon, Gibbeth, and Hadar.",
												"Nothing about the neogi is more unfathomable than their mentality. Because they have the power to control minds, neogi consider doing so to be entirely appropriate. Their society makes no distinction between individuals, aside from the ability that a given creature has to control others, and they don't comprehend the emotional aspects of existence that humans and similar beings experience. To a neogi, hatred is as foreign a sensation as love, and showing loyalty in the absence of authority is foolishness.",
												"Neogi mark themselves and their slaves through the use of dyes, transformational magic, and tattoos intended to signify rank, achievements, and ownership. By these signs, each neogi can identify its betters-and it must defer to those of higher station or risk harsh punishment.",
												"Damn eel-spiders want to enslave us all! And no, they don't taste good.",
												"-Volo",
												"Outside the obligations of a servant to its master, neogi are willing to engage in any activity that profits them, and they are as devious as devils when doing so. Neogi buy and sell, but they pose a grave risk to potential patrons that might instead be easily enslaved, so their customers generally consist of desperate or evil individuals, or creatures that are formidable enough to treat with the neogi as equals. Neogi traders might set up shop in a planar bazaar, on the edge of a drow city, or near a mind flayer enclave. In other locations, the natives are more likely to join together to destroy a neogi caravan than to allow it safe conduct and trading privileges."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Cycle of Death and Life",
											"entries": [
												"A neogi lives about as long as a human, and like a human it faces physical and mental infirmity as it ages. When an individual is rendered weak by advanced age, the other neogi in the group overpower it and inject it with a special poison. The toxin transforms the old neogi into a bloated, helpless mass of flesh called a great old master. Young neogi lay their eggs atop it, and when the hatchlings emerge, they devour the great old master and one another, until only a few of the strongest newborns are left."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Hierarchy of Ownership",
											"entries": [
												"Surviving neogi hatchlings begin their lives under the control of adult neogi. They must learn about their society and earn a place in it, and each one starts its training by gaining mastery over a young umber hulk."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Neogi.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Warren Mahy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Neothelid",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A slime-covered worm of immense size, a neothelid is the result of the mind flayer reproductive cycle gone horribly wrong. On rare occasions, an illithid colony collapses, typically after an external assault, and the elder brain is killed. When that happens, the colony's tadpoles are suddenly freed from their fate. They no longer serve as food, and in turn are no longer fed by their caretakers. Driven by hunger, they turn to devouring one another. Only one tadpole survives out of the thousands in the colony's pool, and it emerges as a neothelid.",
										{
											"name": "Abhorrent to Illithids",
											"entries": [
												"Among the strongest taboos in illithid society is the idea of allowing a mature tadpole to survive without implanting it into a donor brain. Under normal circumstances, any tadpole that grows larger than a few inches in length is killed by the elder brain to be food for it or for less mature tadpoles. Any tadpole that survives beyond that state is perceived as a threat to the colony, and the mind flayers organize hunting parties to exterminate the abomination. Lacking enough intelligence to be detected by an elder brain's power to sense thoughts, neothelids warrant such precautions."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Savage Behemoth",
											"entries": [
												"As a feral thing, a neothelid knows nothing beyond the predatory existence it has lived so far and struggles to comprehend its new psionic abilities. Neothelids prowl subterranean passages in search of more brains to sate their constant hunger, growing ever more vicious. These creatures can spray tissue-dissolving enzymes from their tentacle ducts, reducing victims to a puddle of slime and leaving only the pulsing brain unharmed. They have no knowledge of their link to illithids, so they're just as likely to prey on mind flayers as on anything else."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Neothelid.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Ben Wootten"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Nilbog",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"When Maglubiyet conquered the goblin gods, he intended to leave only Khurgorbaeyag alive as a harsh overseer who would keep the goblins under heel. But the goblins' pantheon included a trickster deity who was determined to get the last laugh. Although its essence was shattered by Maglubiyet, this trickster god survives in splintered form as a possessing spirit that arises when goblinoids form a host, causing disorder in the ranks unless it is appeased. Goblins have no name for this deity and dare not give it one, lest Maglubiyet use its name to ensnare and crush it as he did their other deities. They call the possessing spirit, and the goblin possessed by it, a nilbog (\"goblin\" spelled backward), and they revel in the fear that a nilbog sows among the ranks of the bugbears and hobgoblins in the host.",
										{
											"name": "Goblins' Revenge",
											"entries": [
												"When goblinoids form a host, there is a chance that a goblin will become possessed by a nilbog, particularly if the goblin has been mistreated by its betters. This possession turns the goblin into a wisecracking, impish creature fearless of reprisal. It gives the goblin strange powers that drive others to do the opposite of what they desire. Attacking a goblin possessed by a nilbog is foolhardy, and killing the creature just prompts the spirit to possess another goblin. The only way to keep a nilbog from wreaking havoc is to treat it well and give it respect and praise."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "No Joking Matter",
											"entries": [
												"The possible presence of a nilbog in a host has given rise to a practice among goblinoids that each host include at least one goblin jester. This jester is allowed to go anywhere and do whatever it pleases. The position of jester is a much sought-after one among the goblins, because even if the jester is obviously not a nilbog, hobgoblins and bugbears indulge its manic behavior."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Nilbogism",
									"entries": [
										"A nilbog is an invisible spirit that possesses only goblins. Bereft of a host, the spirit has a flying speed of 30 feet and can't speak or be attacked. The only action it can take is to attempt to possess a goblin within 5 feet of it.",
										"A goblin targeted by the spirit must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or become possessed. While possessed by the spirit, the goblin's alignment becomes chaotic evil, its Charisma becomes 15 (unless it was already higher), and it gains the nilbog's Innate Spellcasting and Nilbogism traits, as well as its Reversal of Fortune reaction. If the save succeeds, the spirit can't possess that goblin for 24 hours. If its host is killed or the possession is ended by a spell such as hallow, magic circle, or protection from evil and good, the spirit searches for another goblin to possess. The spirit can leave its host at any time, but it won't do so willingly unless it knows there's another potential host nearby. A goblin stripped of its nilbog spirit reverts to its normal statistics and loses the traits it gained while possessed."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Nilbog.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Orc Blade of Ilneval",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary.",
										"Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what lies outside the darkness of their den.",
										"In addition, orcs have special relationships with two creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill it. The aurochs is described in appendix A. The tanarukk is described below."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Orc Blade of Ilneval",
									"entries": [
										"Ilneval is Gruumsh's battle captain, a devious strategist who directs Gruumsh's soldiers with boldness. Among orcs, warriors that venerate Ilneval emulate their deity. Such orcs learn to command their fellows in ways that are unpredictable but help to ensure victory.",
										"The wisest among these leaders gain Ilneval's favor and rise to become known as blades, tactical experts who advise their chief in matters of war. Blades lead from the front, wading into combat fearlessly while barking orders at lesser soldiers. A blade knows how to use orcish ferocity to best advantage, and helps the ordinary warriors to work together against their adversaries."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Orc Claw of Luthic",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary.",
										"Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what lies outside the darkness of their den.",
										"In addition, orcs have special relationships with two creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill it. The aurochs is described in appendix A. The tanarukk is described below."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Orc Claw of Luthic",
									"entries": [
										"Luthic is Gruumsh's wife and the paragon of maternity to all orcs. She is the Cave Mother, a fierce dweller in the darkness who raises new broods of orcs to be vicious and strong. Her symbol is the cave bear, and orc females raise such bears alongside orc whelps. Females particularly attracted to Luthic grow long nails and lacquer them, learning to use these claws as weapons much as Luthic uses her own.",
										"Orc females devoted to Luthic are in charge of fortifying and maintaining an orc stronghold. They help to guarantee the survival of the tribe, and most are skilled in the healing arts. The most powerful among Luthic's disciples are the claws of Luthic, which can use the Cave Mother's magic to heal, protect, and curse."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Orc Claw of Luthic.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Orc Hand of Yurtrus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary.",
										"Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what lies outside the darkness of their den.",
										"In addition, orcs have special relationships with two creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill it. The aurochs is described in appendix A. The tanarukk is described below."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Orc Hand of Yurtrus",
									"entries": [
										"Yurtrus is the orc god of death and disease. He is a horrifying abomination covered in rot and infection, except for his perfect, smooth white hands.",
										"Orc priests that oversee the line between life and death are known by the others in the tribe as hands of Yurtrus. They dwell on the fringes of an orc lair, usually communing with other orcs through the auspices of those who follow Luthic. The hands of Yurtrus wear pale gloves made of the bleached skin of other humanoids (preferably elves), symbolizing their connection with Yurtrus, and are sometimes called \"white hands\" as a result.",
										"Every orc knows that the hands of Yurtrus are the tribe's gateway to the ancestors. Orcs who die having served the tribe well go on to rituals meant to send them to Gruumsh's realm.",
										"As befits followers of a god who doesn't speak, hands of Yurtrus remove their tongues to emulate their deity, for a reason similar to why an eye of Gruumsh puts out one of its eyes."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Orc Nurtured One of Yurtrus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary.",
										"Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what lies outside the darkness of their den.",
										"In addition, orcs have special relationships with two creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill it. The aurochs is described in appendix A. The tanarukk is described below."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Orc Nurtured One of Yurtrus",
									"entries": [
										"When plague strikes a tribe, the hands of Yurtrus isolate the sick. The priests then minister to those who can be saved but not healed. The hands cultivate the sickness of these nurtured ones, turning them into instruments of defense and weapons of war. When orcs go to battle, a band of nurtured ones might charge in first-to give themselves up while softening up the enemy by spreading Yurtrus's vile blessing in its ranks."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Orc Nurtured One of Yurtrus.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Orc Red Fang of Shargaas",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary.",
										"Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what lies outside the darkness of their den.",
										"In addition, orcs have special relationships with two creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill it. The aurochs is described in appendix A. The tanarukk is described below."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Orc Red Fang of Shargaas",
									"entries": [
										"Shargaas is the orc deity of deep darkness and sneakiness, a murderous god who hates anything that lives that isn't an orc. Orcs consider Shargaas to be a divinity suited to pariahs and weaklings, all of them unfit for true roles in tribal life. These outsiders live in the most remote, deepest parts of the tribe's domain.",
										"The elite among Shargaas's followers are the assassins and thieves that follow the cult of the Red Fang. They perform assassinations, stealthy raids, and other covert operations on the tribe's behalf. They rely on a mix of intense training and magic granted to them by Shargaas.",
										"Most Red Fang enclaves keep and nurture giant bats, creatures that are sacred to Shargaas. Red Fangs ride these bats into battle or on secret raids and assassination missions into enemy territory."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Orc Red Fang of Shargaas.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Ox",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"An ox is mainly used for draft work rather than meat or milk."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Quetzalcoatlus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This giant relative of the pteranodon has a wingspan exceeding 30 feet. Although it can move on the ground like a quadruped, it is more comfortable in the air."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Quickling",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Quicklings rocket through haunting, twisted forests where the unseelie fey hold sway, both in the Feywild and in the world. Racing faster than the eye can track, each appears as little more than a blurry wavering in the air.",
										"A quickling is a small, slender fey, similar to a miniature elf with sharp, feral features. Its cold, cruel eyes gleam like jewels.",
										{
											"name": "Live Fast, Die Young",
											"entries": [
												"Quicklings owe their existence-and their plight-to the Queen of Air and Darkness, the dread ruler of the Gloaming Court. Once a race of lazy and egotistical fey, the creatures that would become the quicklings were late in answering the queen's summons one time too many. To hasten their pace and teach them to mind her will, the queen shrank their stature and sped up their internal clocks. The queen's curse gave quicklings their amazing speed but also accelerated their passage through life-no quickling lives longer than fifteen years.",
												"To other creatures, a quickling seems blindingly fast, vanishing into an indistinct blur as it moves. Its cruel laughter is a burst of rapid staccato sounds, its speech a shrill squeal. Only when a quickling deliberately slows down, which it prefers not to do, can other beings properly see, hear, and comprehend it. Never truly at rest, a \"stationary\" quickling constantly paces and shifts in place, as though it can't wait to be off again.",
												"Tricks of that sort are hardly the limit of their artful malice, however. They don't commit outright murder, but quicklings can ruin lives in plenty of other ways: stealing an important letter, swiping coins collected for the poor, planting a stolen item in someone's bag. Quicklings enjoy causing suffering that transcends mere mis chief, especially when the blame for their actions falls on other creatures and creates discord."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Too Fast for Words",
											"entries": [
												"The mortal realm is a ponderous place to a quickling's eye: a hurricane creeps gradually across the sky, a torrent of rain drifts earthward like lazy snowflakes, lightning crawls in a meandering path from cloud to cloud. The slow and boring world seems to be populated by torpid creatures whose deep, mooing speech lacks meaning."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mischief, Not Murder",
											"entries": [
												"Quicklings have a capricious nature that goes well with their energy level: they think as fast as they run, and they are always up to something. A quickling spends most of its time perpetrating acts of mischief on slower creatures. One rarely passes up an opportunity to tie a person's bootlaces together, move the stool a creature is about to sit on, or unbuckle a saddle while no one's looking."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Quickling.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Red Guard Drake",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Guard Drake",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Redcap",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A redcap is a homicidal fey creature born of blood lust. Redcaps, although small, have formidable strength, which they use to hunt and kill without hesitation or regret.",
										{
											"name": "Blood Lust Personified",
											"entries": [
												"In the Feywild, or where that plane touches the world at a fey crossing, if a sentient creature acts on an intense desire for bloodshed, one or more redcaps might appear where the blood of a slain person soaks the ground. At first, new red caps look like tiny bloodstained mushrooms just pushing their caps out of the soil. When moonlight shines on one of these caps, a creature that looks like a wizened and undersized gnome with a hunched back and a sinewy frame springs from the earth. The creature has a pointed leather cap, pants of similar material, heavy iron boots, and a heavy bladed weapon. From the moment it awakens, a redcap desires only murder and carnage, and it sets out to satisfy these cravings.",
												"Redcaps lack subtlety. They live for direct confrontation and the mayhem of mortal combat. Even if a redcap wanted to be stealthy, its iron boots force it to take ponderous, thunderous steps. When a redcap is near to potential prey, though, it can close the distance quickly and get in a vicious swing of its weapon before the target can react.",
												"Also, some redcaps can sense the being whose murderous acts led to their birth. A redcap might use this innate connection to find its creator and make that creature its first victim. Others seek out their maker to enjoy proximity to a kindred spirit. An individual responsible for the creation of multiple redcaps at the same site could attract the entire group to serve as cohorts, emulating that creature's murderous handiwork.",
												"In any case, if a redcap works with another being, the redcap demands to be paid in victims. A patron who tries to stifle a redcap's natural and necessary urge for blood risks becoming the redcap's next target.",
												"As subtle as a flung battleaxe.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Steeped in Slaughter",
											"entries": [
												"To sustain its unnatural existence, a redcap has to soak its hat in the fresh blood of its victims. When a redcap is born, its hat is coated with wet blood, and it knows that if the blood isn't replenished at least once every three days, the redcap vanishes as if it had never been. A redcap's desire to slay is rooted in its will to survive."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Bloodthirsty Mercenaries",
											"entries": [
												"Redcaps don't usually operate in groups, but in some circumstances they might be fond in the employ of hags and dark mages that know methods to call redcaps out of the Feywild and put them to work as grisly servants."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Redcap.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				},
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Redcap 001.webp"
					}
				},
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/BGDIA/Madcap.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Rothe",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Ordinary rothé resemble musk oxen and have {@sense darkvision} out to a range of 30 feet."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Rothe, Deep",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Deep rothé are stunted Underdark variants of {@creature rothé|vgm}."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Rothé",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Rothe",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Sea Spawn",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Many of the stories sung as sea shanties and passed on as tales in dockside taverns tell of people lost to the sea-but not merely drowned and gone. These unfortunates are taken by the ocean and live on as sea spawn, haunting the waves like tortured reflections of their former selves. Coral encrusts them. Barnacles cling to their cold skin. Lungs that once filled with air can now breathe in water as well.",
										"Tales provide myriad reasons for these strange transformations. \"Be wary of falling in love with a sea elf or a merfolk,\" some say. \"Return to port before a storm, no matter how tempting the catch.\" \"Honor the sea gods as they demand, but never promise them your heart.\" Such cautionary tales disguise the deeper truth: things lurk beneath the waves that strive to claim the hearts and minds of land dwellers.",
										{
											"name": "Deep Thralls",
											"entries": [
												"Krakens, morkoths, sea hags, marids, storm giants, dragon turtles-all of these sea creatures and more can mark mortals as their own and claim them as minions. Such people might become beholden to their master through a bleak bargain, or they might find themselves cursed by such creatures. Once warped into a fishlike form, the person can't leave the sea for long without courting death."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Anatomical Diversity",
											"entries": [
												"Sea spawn come in a wide variety of forms. An individual might have a tentacle for an arm, the jaws of a shark, a sea urchin's spines, a whale's fin, octopus eyes, seaweed hair, or any combination of such qualities. Some sea spawn have piscine body parts that provide them with special abilities beyond those of an ordinary humanoid."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "The Sea Spawn of Purple Rocks",
									"entries": [
										"Visitors to a string of islands called the Purple Rocks (in the Forgotten Realms setting) might notice one curious fact about the islands' human inhabitants: no infants or elderly are among them. This is because babies born to the Rocklanders are cast into the sea and claimed by a kraken named Slarkrethel. The experience transforms the children into fanatics dedicated to the kraken. They return from the sea as humans, but when they reach old age, they transform into sea spawn and rejoin their master in the dark depths. Some children return having suffered partial transformations, leaving them semi-bestial until their full transformation when they reach old age. These wretches are hidden until their final change, to keep the secret of the Purple Rocks.",
										"Kraken priests (described in appendix B) are the tenders of the kraken's flock. Most of the priests are island natives, but some are merfolk, merrow, or sea elves that live in the water around the Purple Rocks."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Sea Spawn.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Shadow Mastiff",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"These black hounds of the Shadowfell move invisibly through the shadows, always on the hunt. In gloomy places where the veil between the Shadowfell and the Material Plane is thinnest, they can cross over into the dark realms of the world.",
										{
											"name": "Ravenous Lurkers",
											"entries": [
												"Shadow mastiffs hunt in packs on the Shadowfell, so when one of them enters a rift between the planes, several more are sure to follow. Each pack is led by an alpha (male or female) that is the smartest and toughest one of the group. The alpha must remain sharp to keep the rest of the pack in line, lest it be killed and replaced.",
												"When a shadow mastiff pack is hungry and senses prey nearby, the alpha lets loose a howl that strikes fear into the hearts of nearby beasts and humanoids. Its howl is also a signal to the rest of the pack to move in for the kill. Gloom provides a shadow mastiff with supernatural protection, granting it resistance to nonmagical weapons while in dim light or darkness. Shadow mastiffs can tolerate bright light, but they shun sunlight."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Summoned for Service",
											"entries": [
												"Some faiths devoted to deities of gloom and night, such as Shar in the Forgotten Realms, perform unholy rites to summon shadow mastiffs from the Shadowfell and then put them to work as temple sentinels, bodyguards, and punishers of nonbelievers, heretics, and apostates. The method for bringing shadow mastiffs into the world is also known by other strong-willed and evil-minded individuals, who find use for the hounds as guards in their strongholds."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Ethereal Sight",
											"entries": [
												"In addition to its other capabilities, a shadow mastiff can see creatures and objects on the Ethereal Plane. This extraplanar perception makes a mastiff an especially skilled guardian, especially in situations when magical or spiritual incursion is likely."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Shadow Mastiff.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Conceptopolis"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Shoosuva",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Demon lords create lesser demons for the purpose of spreading chaos and terror throughout the multiverse."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Shoosuva",
									"entries": [
										"A shoosuva is a hyena-demon gifted by Yeenoghu to an especially powerful gnoll (typically as a fang of Yeenoghu). A shoosuva manifests shortly after a war band achieves a great victory, emerging from a billowing, fetid cloud of smoke as it arrives from the Abyss. In battle, the demon wraps its slavering jaws around one victim while lashing out with the poisonous stinger on its tail to bring down another one. A creature immobilized by the poison becomes easy pickings for any gnolls nearby.",
										"Each shoosuva is bonded to a particular gnoll and fights alongside its master. A gnoll that has been gifted with a shoosuva is second only to a flind in status within a war band."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Shoosuva.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Craig J Spearing"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Slithering Tracker",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"The quest for revenge sometimes leads one to undergo a ritual whereby they transform into a body of semiliquid sentience known as a slithering tracker. Innocuous and insidious at the same time, a tracker flows into places where a normal creature can't go and brings its own brand of watery death down upon its quarry.",
										{
											"name": "Vengeance at Any Cost",
											"entries": [
												"The ritual for creating a slithering tracker is known to hags, liches, and priests who worship gods of vengeance. It can only be performed on a willing creature that hungers for revenge. The ritual sucks all the moisture from the person's body, killing it. Yet the mind lives on in the puddle of liquid that issues forth from the remains, and so too does the subject's insatiable need for retribution."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Stealthy Assassins",
											"entries": [
												"A slithering tracker tastes the ground it courses over, seeking any trace of its prey. To kill, a slithering tracker rises up and enshrouds a creature, attempting to drown the prey while also draining it of blood. A slithering tracker that has killed in this fashion becomes much easier to locate for a time, since its liquid form becomes tinged with blood and its body leaves a visible trail of the stuff behind it."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Descent into Madness",
											"entries": [
												"Achieving revenge against its target doesn't end a slithering tracker's existence, nor its hunger for blood. Some slithering trackers remain aware of their purpose and extend their quest for vengeance to others, such as anyone who supported or befriended the original target. Most of the time, though, a tracker's mind can't cope with being trapped in liquid form, unable to communicate, and driven by the desire for blood: after a tracker fulfills its duty, insanity takes over the creature, and it attacks indiscriminately until it is destroyed."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Slithering Tracker.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Spawn of Kyuss",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Kyuss was a high priest of Orcus who plundered corpses from necropolises to create the first spawn of Kyuss. Even centuries after Kyuss's death, his mad disciples continue performing the horrific rites he perfected.",
										{
											"name": "Plague of Worms",
											"entries": [
												"From a distance or in poor light, a spawn of Kyuss looks like an ordinary zombie. As it comes into clearer view, one can see scores of little green worms crawling in and out of it. These worms jump onto nearby humanoids and burrow into their flesh. A worm that penetrates a humanoid body makes its way to the creature's brain. Once inside the brain, the worm kills its host and animates the corpse, transforming it into a spawn of Kyuss that breeds more worms. The dead humanoid's soul remains trapped inside the corpse, preventing the individual from being raised or resurrected until the undead body is destroyed. The horror of being a soul imprisoned in an undead body drives a spawn of Kyuss insane."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Corruption Without End",
											"entries": [
												"Spawn of Kyuss are expressions of Orcus's intent to replace all life with undeath. Left to its own devices, a solitary spawn of Kyuss travels aimlessly. If it stumbles across a living creature, the spawn attacks with the sole intent of creating more spawn. Whether they are dispersed or clustered, spawn reproduce exponentially if nothing stops them."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Undead Nature",
											"entries": [
												"Spawn of Kyuss require no air, food, drink, or sleep."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Spawn of Kyuss.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Stegosaurus",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This heavily built dinosaur has rows of plates on its back and a flexible, spiked tail held high to strike predators. It tends to travel in herds of mixed ages."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Stegosaurus.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Marc Sasso"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Stench Kow",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"These orange and green misshapen bison are native to the Lower Planes."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Stone Giant Dreamwalker",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"The surface of the world is an alien realm to stone giants: fluctuating, temporary, exposed to gusting wind and sudden rain. It is as wildly changeable as a dream, and that's how they regard it-as a dream. Nothing there is permanent, so nothing there is real. What happens on the surface doesn't matter. Promises and bargains made there needn't be honored. Life and even art hold less value there.",
										{
											"name": "Dream Dwellers",
											"entries": [
												"Stone giants sometimes go on dream quests in the surface world, seeking inspiration for their art, to break a decades-long ennui, or out of simple curiosity. Some who go on these quests let themselves become lost in the dream. Other stone giants are banished to the surface as punishment. Regardless of the reason, if they don't take shelter under stone, such individuals can become dreamwalkers.",
												"Dreamwalkers occupy an odd place of respect outside of stone giant ordning. They are considered outcasts, but their familiarity with the surface world makes them valuable guides, and their insights can help other stone giants grasp the dangers of living in a dream."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mad Wanderers",
											"entries": [
												"Dreamwalkers are driven mad by isolation, shame, and their unendingly alien surroundings, and this madness leeches out into the world around them, affecting other creatures that get too close. Believing that they're living in a dream and that their actions have no real consequences, dreamwalkers act as they please, becoming forces of chaos. As they travel the world, they collect objects and creatures that seem especially significant in their mad minds. Over time, the collected things accrete to their bodies, becoming encased in stone."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Stone Giant Dreamwalker.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Storm Giant Quintessent",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To forestall the inevitable, some storm giants approaching the end of their natural life spans seek an escape from death. They plumb the depths of their powerful connection to the elements and disperse themselves into nature, literally transforming into semiconscious storms. The blizzard that rages unendingly around a mountain peak, the vortex that swirls around a remote island, or the thunderstorm that howls ceaselessly up and down a rugged coastline could, in fact, be the undying form of a storm giant clinging to existence.",
										{
											"name": "Elemental Weapons",
											"entries": [
												"A storm giant quintessent sheds its armor and weapons, but gains the power to form makeshift weapons out of thin air. When the giant has no further use of them, or when the giant dies, its elemental weapons disappear."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Forsaken Form",
											"entries": [
												"A storm giant quintessent can revert to its true giant form on a whim. The change is temporary but can be maintained long enough for the giant to communicate with a mortal, carry out a short task, or defend its home against aggressors."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "A Quintessent's Lair",
									"entries": [
										"A storm giant quintessent has no need for castles or dungeon lairs. Its lair is usually a secluded region or prominent geographic feature, such as a mountain peak, a great waterfall, a remote island, a fog-shrouded loch, a beautiful coral reef, or a windswept desert bluff. As befits the environment, the storm in which the giant lives could be a blizzard, a typhoon, a thunderstorm, or a sandstorm."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Storm Giant Quintessent.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Eric Belisle"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Swarm of Cranium Rats",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Cranium Rat",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Swarm of Rot Grubs",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Rot grubs are finger-sized maggots that eat living or dead flesh, although they can survive on plant matter. They infest corpses and piles of decaying matter and attack living creatures that disturb them. After burrowing into the flesh of a living creature, a rot grub instinctively chews its way toward the heart in order to kill its host.",
										"Rot grubs pose a threat both singly and as a swarm. See the accompanying stat block for the mechanics of a swarm of rot grubs. A single rot grub has no stat block. Any creature that comes into contact with it must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the rot grub burrows into the creature's flesh and deals 3 ({@damage 1d6}) piercing damage at the start of each of the host creature's turns. Applying fire to the wound before the end of the host creature's next turn deals 1 fire damage to the host and kills the infesting rot grub. After this time, the rot grub is too far under the host creature's skin to be burned. If a creature infested by one or more rot grubs ends its turn with 0 hit points, it dies as the grubs burrow into its heart and kill it. Any effect that cures disease kills all rot grubs infesting the target. Burning a body kills any rot grubs infesting it."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Swashbuckler",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Swashbucklers are charming ne'er-do-wells who live by their own codes of honor. They crave notoriety, often indulge in romantic trysts, and eke out livings as pirates and corsairs, rarely staying in one place for too long."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Swashbuckler.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Jim Nelson"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Tanarukk",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary.",
										"Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what lies outside the darkness of their den.",
										"In addition, orcs have special relationships with two creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill it. The aurochs is described in appendix A. The tanarukk is described below."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Tanarukk",
									"entries": [
										"When demonic corruption taints a tribe's leadership, orcs might turn to abyssal magic to make tanarukks. Evil humans who control orcs also use such power to bolster their followers' strength.",
										"The demon lord Baphomet gladly shares the secret of creating tanarukks with those who entreat him for power. The process corrupts an unborn orc of the tribe, transforming it at birth into a creature much more savage than an orc.",
										"Although tanarukks are fearsome fighters, they are a threat to their allies off the battlefield. Within the tribe's lair, a tanarukk is destructive and volatile, and best kept imprisoned. Sooner or later, a free tanarukk rampages through the tribe, attempting to take over by force. Most such coups fail, but at great cost to the tribe. If a tanarukk does seize the leadership of a tribe, reckless war is the course it inevitably chooses.",
										"If a tanarukk manages to breed, its blood taints numerous subsequent generations, so its female descendants randomly produce tanarukks. Rather than risk raising a natural-born tanarukk, most tribes slay such abominations."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Tanarukk.webp"
					},
					"credit": "John-Paul Balmet"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Thorny",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Vegepygmies are fungus creatures that live in simple tribal units, hunting for sustenance and spreading the spores from which they reproduce.",
										{
											"name": "Primitive Plants",
											"entries": [
												"Vegepygmies, also called mold folk or moldies, inhabit dark areas that are warm and wet, so they are most commonly found underground or in dense forests where little sunlight penetrates. A vegepygmy instinctively feels kinship with other plant and fungus creatures, and thus vegepygmy tribes coexist well with creatures such as myconids, shriekers, and violet fungi.",
												"Although they prefer to eat fresh meat, bone, and blood, vegepygmies can absorb nutrients from soil and many sorts of organic matter, meaning that they rarely go hungry. A vegepygmy can hiss and make other noises by forcing air through its mouth, but it can't speak in a conventional sense. Among themselves, vegepygmies communicate by hissing, gestures, and rhythmic tapping on the body. Vegepygmies build and craft little; any gear they have is acquired from other creatures or built by copying simple construction they have witnessed.",
												"As a vegepygmy ages, it grows tougher and develops spore clusters on its body. Spore-bearing vegepygmies are deferred to by other vegepygmies, so outsiders refer to such vegepygmies as chiefs. A chief can expel its spores in a burst, infecting nearby creatures. If a creature dies while infected, its corpse produces vegepygmies the same way russet mold does.",
												"No one knows for sure where russet mold came from. One historical account tells of adventurers in a forbidding mountain range discovering russet mold and vegepygmies in a peculiar metal dungeon full of strange life. Another story says that explorers found russet mold in a crater left by a falling star, with vegepygmies infesting the dense jungle nearby."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mold Begets Mold",
											"entries": [
												"Vegepygmies originate from the remains left behind when a humanoid or a giant is killed by russet mold. One or more vegepygmies emerge from the corpse a day later. If a beast such as a dog or a bear dies from russet mold, the result is a bestial moldie called a thorny result instead of a humanoid-shaped vegepygmy. Thornies are less intelligent than vegepygmies, but have greater size and ferocity, as well as a thorn-covered body."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Russet Mold",
									"entries": [
										"The fungus known as russet mold is reddish-brown in color and found only in places that are dark, warm, and wet. Russet mold that spreads out across a metal object can be mistaken for natural rust, and a successful DC 15 Intelligence ({@skill Nature}) or Wisdom ({@skill Survival}) check is required to identify it accurately by sight in such a case.",
										"Any creature that comes within 5 feet of russet mold must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw as the mold emits a puff of spores. On a failed save, the creature becomes {@condition poisoned}. While {@condition poisoned} in this way, the creature takes 7 ({@damage 2d6}) poison damage at the start of each of its turns, sprouting mold as it takes damage. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Any magic that neutralizes poison or cures disease kills the infestation. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the mold's poison damage dies. If the dead creature is a beast, a giant, or a humanoid, one or more newborn vegepygmies emerge from its body 24 hours later: one newborn from a Small corpse, two from a Medium corpse, four from a Large corpse, eight from a Huge corpse, or sixteen from a Gargantuan corpse.",
										"Russet mold can be hard to kill, since weapons and most types of damage do it no harm. Effects that deal acid, necrotic, or radiant damage kill 1 square foot of russet mold per 1 damage dealt. A pound of salt, a gallon of alcohol, or a magical effect that cures disease kills russet mold in a square area that is 10 feet on a side. Sunlight kills any russet mold in the light's area."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Vegepygmy.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Jim Nelson"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Tlincalli",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Tlincallis, also called scorpion folk, are chitin-covered creatures, humanoid from the waist up with the lower body of an enormous scorpion, complete with a stinger at the end of a long tail.",
										{
											"name": "Desert Nomads",
											"entries": [
												"Tlincallis live austerely. They range across arid lands, hunting at dawn and dusk. In the hours between, they wait out the day's heat or the night's cold by burying themselves in loose sand or earth or, if the terrain proves too inflexible, lurking in ruins or shallow caves. A tribe of tlincallis stays in one place for only as long as the hunting is good in the immediate area, though they might visit the same way stations over and over during their wanderings. The tribe also settles down temporarily whenever it's time to lay eggs and hatch a new brood of young."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Poisonous Eggs",
											"entries": [
												"Tlincallis deposit their eggs in warm places out of direct sunlight, often amid a stand of cacti near their present encampment. There the eggs lie protected by hard shells coated in paralytic poison similar to that produced by their stingers. A would-be predator that dares to break an egg is defenseless against the tlincallis that come to investigate."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Horrid Kidnappers",
											"entries": [
												"Tlincallis eat what they kill, but they also take some of their prey alive when they have new mouths to feed. After using their stingers to paralyze victims and their spiked chains to bind them, tlincallis take these prisoners back to their encampment and tie them to cactus or rock formations. There, victims wait until the sun sets and the newly hatched young emerge from the lair to eat them alive."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Prideful Hunters",
											"entries": [
												"Tlincallis see themselves as great hunters. If a tlincalli tribe encounters a more powerful hunter, such as a blue dragon, the tribe's leader must decide whether the group becomes obedient to the superior hunter, moves on, or fights to the death to defeat it."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Makeshift Weapons and Objects",
											"entries": [
												"Tlincallis are uncivilized and don't build cities, make clothing, or mine metals. Instead, they scavenge what they need or want. They do, however, know how to melt down scavenged metal to forge crude weapons and tools."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Tlincalli.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Conceptopolis"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Transmuter",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Transmuters are specialist wizards who embrace change, rail against the status quo, and view magical transmutation as a path to riches, enlightenment, or apotheosis."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Trapper",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A trapper is a manta-like creature that lurks in subterranean and natural environments. It can change the color and texture of its tough, outward-facing side to help it blend in with its surroundings, while its soft, inward-facing side clings to the floor, wall, or ceiling in its hunting territory. It remains motionless as it waits for prey to come close. When a target is within its reach, it peels itself away from the surface and wraps around its prey, crushing, smothering, and then digesting it.",
										{
											"name": "Versatile Camouflage",
											"entries": [
												"A trapper can alter the color and texture of its outer side to match its surroundings. It can blend in with any surface made of stone, earth, or wood, masking its presence to any but the most rigorous scrutiny. It can't change its texture to that of a grassy or snow-covered surface, but it can change its color to match and then conceal itself under a thin layer of vegetation or actual snow.",
												"Trappers know when prey draws near, so explore ruins and dungeons with equal wariness. For dumb beasts, they know very well what treasure is, what treasure chests are, and how these lure the likes of us.",
												"-Volo"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Stationary Hunters",
											"entries": [
												"A trapper needs to eat about a halfling-sized meal once a week to remain sated. It is content to stay in one place, given a steady supply of food, and thus trappers are a threat along any well-traveled dungeon corridor and on routes through the wilderness that see a lot of traffic. When prey is scarce, a trapper enters a state of hibernation that can last for months, though it is still aware when prey comes near. A trapper on the verge of starvation might defy its instincts and begin creeping along, abandoning its old territory in search of better hunting."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Beware of Leftovers",
											"entries": [
												"When its prey is dead, a trapper dissolves and absorbs the fleshy parts, leaving a scattering of bones, metal, treasure, and other indigestible bits in the place where the creature had been. A trapper that lurks on the floor of its hunting grounds can cover these remains with own body, making them look like irregularities in the surface. The creature might also attach itself to a wall or a ceiling close to a recent kill, effectively using the remnants as bait: a creature that stops to investigate the bones for valuables stands a good chance of becoming the trapper's next meal."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Trapper.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Dave Dorman"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Ulitharid",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Very rarely, a tadpole from an elder brain's brine pool transforms an individual into an ulitharid, a larger and more potent mind flayer that boasts six tentacles.",
										{
											"name": "Master Minds",
											"entries": [
												"Illithids innately recognize that an ulitharid's survival is more important than their own. An elder brain's reaction to the rise of an ulitharid varies. In most colonies, the ulitharid becomes an elder brain's most favored servant, invested with power and authority. In others, the elder brain perceives an ulitharid as a potential rival for power, and it manipulates or quashes the ulitharid's ambitions accordingly."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Birth of a Colony",
											"entries": [
												"When an ulitharid finds sharing leadership with an elder brain to be insufferable, it breaks off from the colony, taking a group of mind flayers with it, and moves to another location to form a new colony. After the death of the ulitharid's body, mind flayers take its brain and place it in a brine pool, where it grows into an elder brain over a few days. This process doesn't work on the brain of an ulitharid that dies a natural death, as a brain that succumbs to old age is too decrepit to be used in the creation of an elder brain."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Extractor Staff",
											"entries": [
												"Each ulitharid carries a psionically enhanced staff made of black metal. When the ulitharid is ready to give up its life, it attaches the staff to the back of its head, and the staff cracks open its skull and peels it apart, enabling its brain to be extracted. The brain and the staff are then planted in the ulitharid's corpse, causing it to dissolve into ichor. This psionically potent slime helps to fuel the transformation of the area into a brine pool that surrounds an embryonic elder brain."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Ulitharid.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Scott Murphy"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Vargouille",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Shrieking, flapping, and hideous to behold-with a body like a severed head and bat-like wings in place of ears\u2014vargouilles boil out of the Abyss to infest other planes of existence, such as Carceri, where they are a menace. Each vargouille carries a disease that creates more of its kind; a flock of vargouilles on the wing is a plague of chaos and evil waiting to happen.",
										{
											"name": "Abyssal Nuisances",
											"entries": [
												"Swarms of vargouilles flap through the caverns and skies of the Abyss. They are given little regard by powerful and intelligent demons since vargouilles can do them no harm. Even the weakest demon, such as a manes or a dretch, fears vargouilles only if they appear in great numbers. In the Lower Planes, vargouilles rarely get the chance to eat live prey other than vermin. More often, they lap up the ichor left behind when one fiend kills another.",
												"The kiss of a vargouille infects a humanoid with a fiendish curse. If allowed to run its course, the curse brings about a gruesome transformation as an abyssal spirit invades the person's body. Over a period of hours, the victim's head takes on fiendish aspects such as fangs, tentacles, and horns. At the same time, the person's ears grow larger, expanding and transforming into wing-like appendages. In the final moments, the victim's head tears away from the body in a fountain of blood, becoming another vargouille, which often then eagerly laps up its own life fluids. Sunlight or the brilliant illumination of a {@spell daylight} spell can delay this transformation, and vargouilles instinctively shun bright light as a result."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "The World Awaits",
											"entries": [
												"Because of their instinctive hunger for living prey, vargouilles are eager to escape the Lower Planes. On rare occasions, the summoning of a demon to another plane can bring a vargouille along for the ride, attaching itself like a tick. The precautions a mortal takes to contain and control a summoned demon rarely account for a stowaway, and thus a vargouille enters the world unbidden."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Ghastly Reproduction",
											"entries": [
												"Vargouilles that roam free on the Material Plane are a dire threat to all creatures, especially humanoids. Their awful shrieking can paralyze other creatures with fear, and such victims are helpless to resist a vargouille's accursed kiss."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Vargouille.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Shawn Wood"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Vegepygmy",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Vegepygmies are fungus creatures that live in simple tribal units, hunting for sustenance and spreading the spores from which they reproduce.",
										{
											"name": "Primitive Plants",
											"entries": [
												"Vegepygmies, also called mold folk or moldies, inhabit dark areas that are warm and wet, so they are most commonly found underground or in dense forests where little sunlight penetrates. A vegepygmy instinctively feels kinship with other plant and fungus creatures, and thus vegepygmy tribes coexist well with creatures such as myconids, shriekers, and violet fungi.",
												"Although they prefer to eat fresh meat, bone, and blood, vegepygmies can absorb nutrients from soil and many sorts of organic matter, meaning that they rarely go hungry. A vegepygmy can hiss and make other noises by forcing air through its mouth, but it can't speak in a conventional sense. Among themselves, vegepygmies communicate by hissing, gestures, and rhythmic tapping on the body. Vegepygmies build and craft little; any gear they have is acquired from other creatures or built by copying simple construction they have witnessed.",
												"As a vegepygmy ages, it grows tougher and develops spore clusters on its body. Spore-bearing vegepygmies are deferred to by other vegepygmies, so outsiders refer to such vegepygmies as chiefs. A chief can expel its spores in a burst, infecting nearby creatures. If a creature dies while infected, its corpse produces vegepygmies the same way russet mold does.",
												"No one knows for sure where russet mold came from. One historical account tells of adventurers in a forbidding mountain range discovering russet mold and vegepygmies in a peculiar metal dungeon full of strange life. Another story says that explorers found russet mold in a crater left by a falling star, with vegepygmies infesting the dense jungle nearby."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mold Begets Mold",
											"entries": [
												"Vegepygmies originate from the remains left behind when a humanoid or a giant is killed by russet mold. One or more vegepygmies emerge from the corpse a day later. If a beast such as a dog or a bear dies from russet mold, the result is a bestial moldie called a thorny result instead of a humanoid-shaped vegepygmy. Thornies are less intelligent than vegepygmies, but have greater size and ferocity, as well as a thorn-covered body."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Russet Mold",
									"entries": [
										"The fungus known as russet mold is reddish-brown in color and found only in places that are dark, warm, and wet. Russet mold that spreads out across a metal object can be mistaken for natural rust, and a successful DC 15 Intelligence ({@skill Nature}) or Wisdom ({@skill Survival}) check is required to identify it accurately by sight in such a case.",
										"Any creature that comes within 5 feet of russet mold must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw as the mold emits a puff of spores. On a failed save, the creature becomes {@condition poisoned}. While {@condition poisoned} in this way, the creature takes 7 ({@damage 2d6}) poison damage at the start of each of its turns, sprouting mold as it takes damage. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Any magic that neutralizes poison or cures disease kills the infestation. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the mold's poison damage dies. If the dead creature is a beast, a giant, or a humanoid, one or more newborn vegepygmies emerge from its body 24 hours later: one newborn from a Small corpse, two from a Medium corpse, four from a Large corpse, eight from a Huge corpse, or sixteen from a Gargantuan corpse.",
										"Russet mold can be hard to kill, since weapons and most types of damage do it no harm. Effects that deal acid, necrotic, or radiant damage kill 1 square foot of russet mold per 1 damage dealt. A pound of salt, a gallon of alcohol, or a magical effect that cures disease kills russet mold in a square area that is 10 feet on a side. Sunlight kills any russet mold in the light's area."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Vegepygmy.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Vegepygmy Chief",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Vegepygmies are fungus creatures that live in simple tribal units, hunting for sustenance and spreading the spores from which they reproduce.",
										{
											"name": "Primitive Plants",
											"entries": [
												"Vegepygmies, also called mold folk or moldies, inhabit dark areas that are warm and wet, so they are most commonly found underground or in dense forests where little sunlight penetrates. A vegepygmy instinctively feels kinship with other plant and fungus creatures, and thus vegepygmy tribes coexist well with creatures such as myconids, shriekers, and violet fungi.",
												"Although they prefer to eat fresh meat, bone, and blood, vegepygmies can absorb nutrients from soil and many sorts of organic matter, meaning that they rarely go hungry. A vegepygmy can hiss and make other noises by forcing air through its mouth, but it can't speak in a conventional sense. Among themselves, vegepygmies communicate by hissing, gestures, and rhythmic tapping on the body. Vegepygmies build and craft little; any gear they have is acquired from other creatures or built by copying simple construction they have witnessed.",
												"As a vegepygmy ages, it grows tougher and develops spore clusters on its body. Spore-bearing vegepygmies are deferred to by other vegepygmies, so outsiders refer to such vegepygmies as chiefs. A chief can expel its spores in a burst, infecting nearby creatures. If a creature dies while infected, its corpse produces vegepygmies the same way russet mold does.",
												"No one knows for sure where russet mold came from. One historical account tells of adventurers in a forbidding mountain range discovering russet mold and vegepygmies in a peculiar metal dungeon full of strange life. Another story says that explorers found russet mold in a crater left by a falling star, with vegepygmies infesting the dense jungle nearby."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Mold Begets Mold",
											"entries": [
												"Vegepygmies originate from the remains left behind when a humanoid or a giant is killed by russet mold. One or more vegepygmies emerge from the corpse a day later. If a beast such as a dog or a bear dies from russet mold, the result is a bestial moldie called a thorny result instead of a humanoid-shaped vegepygmy. Thornies are less intelligent than vegepygmies, but have greater size and ferocity, as well as a thorn-covered body."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Russet Mold",
									"entries": [
										"The fungus known as russet mold is reddish-brown in color and found only in places that are dark, warm, and wet. Russet mold that spreads out across a metal object can be mistaken for natural rust, and a successful DC 15 Intelligence ({@skill Nature}) or Wisdom ({@skill Survival}) check is required to identify it accurately by sight in such a case.",
										"Any creature that comes within 5 feet of russet mold must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw as the mold emits a puff of spores. On a failed save, the creature becomes {@condition poisoned}. While {@condition poisoned} in this way, the creature takes 7 ({@damage 2d6}) poison damage at the start of each of its turns, sprouting mold as it takes damage. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Any magic that neutralizes poison or cures disease kills the infestation. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the mold's poison damage dies. If the dead creature is a beast, a giant, or a humanoid, one or more newborn vegepygmies emerge from its body 24 hours later: one newborn from a Small corpse, two from a Medium corpse, four from a Large corpse, eight from a Huge corpse, or sixteen from a Gargantuan corpse.",
										"Russet mold can be hard to kill, since weapons and most types of damage do it no harm. Effects that deal acid, necrotic, or radiant damage kill 1 square foot of russet mold per 1 damage dealt. A pound of salt, a gallon of alcohol, or a magical effect that cures disease kills russet mold in a square area that is 10 feet on a side. Sunlight kills any russet mold in the light's area."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Vegepygmy.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Velociraptor",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"This feathered dinosaur is about the size of a large turkey. It is an aggressive predator and often hunts in packs to bring down larger prey."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "War Priest",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"War priests worship deities of war and combat. They plan tactics, lead soldiers into battle, confront enemy spellcasters, and tend to casualties. A war priest might command an army or serve as a warlord's right hand on the battlefield."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Warlock of the Archfey",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Warlocks of the archfey gain their powers through magical pacts forged with lords of the Feywild. These warlocks commonly associate with lesser fey creatures such as boggles, quicklings, redcaps, satyrs, and sprites."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Warlock of the Fiend",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Warlocks of the fiend gain their powers through magical pacts forged with archfiends of the Lower Planes. These warlocks often keep imps or quasits as companions, and they tend toward extremes of behavior: consorting with fiend-worshiping cultists or dedicating their lives to destroying fiendish cults."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Warlock of the Fiend.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Warlock of the Great Old One",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Warlocks of the Great Old One gain their powers through magical pacts forged with eldritch entities from strange and distant realms of existence. Some of these warlocks associate with cultists devoted to these entities, as well as aberrations that share their goals, yet other warlocks of the Great Old One are experts at rooting out the insanity and wickedness inspired by bizarre beings from beyond the stars."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Warlord",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Warlords are legendary battlefield commanders whose names are spoken with awe. After a string of decisive victories, a warlord could easily take on the role of monarch or general and attract followers willing to die for his or her banner."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "White Guard Drake",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Guard Drake",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Wood Woad",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"A wood woad is a powerful plant in humanoid form invested with the soul of someone who gave up life to become an eternal guardian.",
										{
											"name": "Born of Sacrifice",
											"entries": [
												"The ritual to create a wood woad is a primeval secret passed down through generations of savage societies and dark druid circles. Performing the ritual isn't necessarily an act of evil, if the victim-to-be has entered into a bargain that requires it to be a willing sacrifice.",
												"In the ritual a living person's chest is pierced and the heart removed. A seed is then pushed into the heart, and it is placed in a tree. Any hollow or crook will do, but often a special cavity is carved out of the trunk. The tree is then bathed and watered with the blood of the sacrificed victim, and the body is buried among the tree's roots. After three days, a sprout emerges from the ground at the base of the tree and swiftly grows into a humanoid form.",
												"This new body, armored in tough bark and bearing a gnarled club and shield, is at once ready to perform its duty. The one who performed the ritual sets the wood woad to its task, and the creature follows those orders unceasingly.",
												"Wood woads are drawn to creatures that have close ties to nature, and that protect and respect the land, such as druids and treants. Some treants have wood woad servants by virtue of age-old pacts with druids or fey that performed the rituals, while others acquire the services of freed wood woads that find renewed purpose in the domain of a kindred guardian."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Pitiless Protectors",
											"entries": [
												"A wood woad has a hole where its heart would be, just as does the body of its former self, buried in the earth. Those who become wood woads trade their free will and all sense of sentiment for supernatural strength and a deathless duty. They exist only to protect woodlands and the people who tend them. A wood woad's face is void and expressionless, except for the motes of light that swim about in its eye sockets. Wood woads speak little, and when not being called upon to take action, they root themselves in the earth and silently take sustenance from it."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Uprooted by Immortality",
											"entries": [
												"Like a tree, a wood woad needs only sunlight, air, and nutrients from the earth to go on living. Because they are undying, some wood woads outlive their original purpose. The site a wood woad guards might lose its power or significance over time, or those whom it was assigned to guard might themselves die. If it is freed from its specific duties, a wood woad might roam to find another place of natural beauty or fey influence to watch over."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Wood Woad.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Cory Trego-Erdner"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Xvart",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Xvarts are cruel, cowardly humanoids spawned by a cowardly, renegade demigod. They have blue skin, vivid orange eyes, and receding hairlines, mirroring their creator's appearance. They stand about 3 feet tall.",
										"Xvarts live in remote hills, forests, and caves. Each tribe is led by a speaker, who is usually the brightest one among them. The speaker serves as the tribe's ambassador, and often dons short wooden stilts and heavy robes to look taller and more imperious. The rest of the tribe hunts for food, plundering crops and livestock from nearby farms if the hunt goes poorly. Xvarts aren't much of a threat to civilized locations because they are somewhat fearful of humans, dwarves, and elves.",
										{
											"name": "Raxivort's Betrayal",
											"entries": [
												"All xvarts are the degenerate offspring of an entity named Raxivort, who once served Graz'zt the Dark Prince as treasurer. Raxivort spent long centuries watching over the treasury, and in time he grew to lust after his master's riches. In one bold move, he plundered a treasure vault and fled to the Material Plane. One of the treasures he stole was the Infinity Spindle, a crystalline shard from the early days of the multiverse that could transform even a creature as low as Raxivort into a demigod.",
												"After he ascended to godhood, Raxivort forged a realm called the Black Sewers, within Pandesmos, the topmost layer of Pandemonium. He enjoyed his divine ascension only briefly, though, before Graz'zt unleashed his vengeance. The demon prince had no need to regain the Infinity Spindle, since he already possessed power greater than what it could grant. Instead, he dispatched agents far and wide to spread news of what the spindle could do and the puny, pathetic creature that claimed its ownership. Soon enough, Raxivort was pursued by a variety of enemies, all eager to claim the Spindle as their own.",
												"In the face of his imminent destruction, Raxivort hatched a plan. Fleeing to the Material Plane, he wandered across a variety of worlds and spawned creatures that were his exact duplicate. These are the xvarts, creatures that not only look identical to Raxivort in appearance but also foil any magic used to track him down. Spells, rituals, and other effects that could reveal Raxivort's location instead point to the nearest xvart.",
												"Although the initial rush of enemies against him has subsided, Raxivort knows that the planar powers are patient. He remains in hiding, a wretch of a demigod who does little more than wander the planes, spawning ever more xvarts to ensure his continued safety.",
												"When things go badly for them, they kidnap whoever's handy and sacrifice them to their craven god. Hmm. I guess they're not so different from a lot of humans, after all.",
												"-Volo",
												"Despite their muddled nature, all xvarts have an unshakable devotion to Raxivort. The desire to please Raxivort weighs heavily on all their decisions. When things aren't going well for them, xvarts naturally assume that Raxivort is angry. To appease their troubled lord, they stage kidnappings. They fashion nets to capture their enemies, which are dragged back to the lair and sacrificed on a makeshift altar. Raxivort can hear their supplications, but he's too afraid to come out of hiding most of the time. Occasionally, he does appear before a tribe of worshipers as a 9-foot-tall xvart carrying an empty sack. In every such instance, Raxivort takes all of the treasure that the tribe has accumulated, stuffs it in his sack, and disappears, leaving nothing behind as compensation.",
												"Xvart Speakers",
												"A xvart tribe has one speaker that serves as its leader. The speaker has the statistics of a normal xvart, except that it has an Intelligence of 13 (+1) and knows one additional language (usually Common or Goblin)."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Greedy Thugs",
											"entries": [
												"Xvarts have all of their creator's flaws and few redeeming qualities. They lack the physical equipment to reproduce, as well as the inclination to do so. They are greedy, conniving, and obsessed with the acquisition of valuables-the more ornate or bizarre, the better. They know they are flawed, and this minor amount of self-awareness only magnifies their other deficiencies . They hate almost any creature they perceive as better than they are, which includes almost anyone, but they lack the courage or wherewithal to act on their hatred most of the time. Their fear has led them to dwell either in gloomy places on the far fringes of civilized lands or in areas neglected or forgotten by mightier creatures. In other words, xvarts usually live in places where normal vermin might flourish."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Vermin Masters",
											"entries": [
												"Rats and bats (including giant-sized specimens) are naturally attracted to xvarts, and xvarts domesticate such beasts for food and battle. Xvarts also form alliances with wererats, although the lycanthropes are dominant in any such arrangement. This relationship traces back to Raxivort's divine nature. Even though the xvarts inherited Raxivort's greed and cowardice, they also gained his ability to form bonds with such creatures."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Xvart Warlocks",
											"entries": [
												"A xvart can forge a pact with Raxivort by stealing an item of such great value that the demigod himself appears before the xvart to claim it. After surrendering the item to Raxivort, the xvart asks for magical power so that it can find and deliver more great treasures into Raxivort's custody. If the demigod feels so inclined, he imbues the xvart with greater wisdom and charisma and grants it the spellcasting abilities of a warlock before returning to the howling chaos of"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Pandemonium",
											"entries": [
												"Raxivort's warlocks are respected and feared in xvart society, but they have little interest in political power. They scour the wilderness, old ruins, and dungeons for treasures, often with a handful of xvart sycophants and giant rat bodyguards in tow."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Xvart.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Richard Whitters"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Xvart Speaker",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Xvart",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Xvart Warlock of Raxivort",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Xvarts are cruel, cowardly humanoids spawned by a cowardly, renegade demigod. They have blue skin, vivid orange eyes, and receding hairlines, mirroring their creator's appearance. They stand about 3 feet tall.",
										"Xvarts live in remote hills, forests, and caves. Each tribe is led by a speaker, who is usually the brightest one among them. The speaker serves as the tribe's ambassador, and often dons short wooden stilts and heavy robes to look taller and more imperious. The rest of the tribe hunts for food, plundering crops and livestock from nearby farms if the hunt goes poorly. Xvarts aren't much of a threat to civilized locations because they are somewhat fearful of humans, dwarves, and elves.",
										{
											"name": "Raxivort's Betrayal",
											"entries": [
												"All xvarts are the degenerate offspring of an entity named Raxivort, who once served Graz'zt the Dark Prince as treasurer. Raxivort spent long centuries watching over the treasury, and in time he grew to lust after his master's riches. In one bold move, he plundered a treasure vault and fled to the Material Plane. One of the treasures he stole was the Infinity Spindle, a crystalline shard from the early days of the multiverse that could transform even a creature as low as Raxivort into a demigod.",
												"After he ascended to godhood, Raxivort forged a realm called the Black Sewers, within Pandesmos, the topmost layer of Pandemonium. He enjoyed his divine ascension only briefly, though, before Graz'zt unleashed his vengeance. The demon prince had no need to regain the Infinity Spindle, since he already possessed power greater than what it could grant. Instead, he dispatched agents far and wide to spread news of what the spindle could do and the puny, pathetic creature that claimed its ownership. Soon enough, Raxivort was pursued by a variety of enemies, all eager to claim the Spindle as their own.",
												"In the face of his imminent destruction, Raxivort hatched a plan. Fleeing to the Material Plane, he wandered across a variety of worlds and spawned creatures that were his exact duplicate. These are the xvarts, creatures that not only look identical to Raxivort in appearance but also foil any magic used to track him down. Spells, rituals, and other effects that could reveal Raxivort's location instead point to the nearest xvart.",
												"Although the initial rush of enemies against him has subsided, Raxivort knows that the planar powers are patient. He remains in hiding, a wretch of a demigod who does little more than wander the planes, spawning ever more xvarts to ensure his continued safety.",
												"When things go badly for them, they kidnap whoever's handy and sacrifice them to their craven god. Hmm. I guess they're not so different from a lot of humans, after all.",
												"-Volo",
												"Despite their muddled nature, all xvarts have an unshakable devotion to Raxivort. The desire to please Raxivort weighs heavily on all their decisions. When things aren't going well for them, xvarts naturally assume that Raxivort is angry. To appease their troubled lord, they stage kidnappings. They fashion nets to capture their enemies, which are dragged back to the lair and sacrificed on a makeshift altar. Raxivort can hear their supplications, but he's too afraid to come out of hiding most of the time. Occasionally, he does appear before a tribe of worshipers as a 9-foot-tall xvart carrying an empty sack. In every such instance, Raxivort takes all of the treasure that the tribe has accumulated, stuffs it in his sack, and disappears, leaving nothing behind as compensation.",
												"Xvart Speakers",
												"A xvart tribe has one speaker that serves as its leader. The speaker has the statistics of a normal xvart, except that it has an Intelligence of 13 (+1) and knows one additional language (usually Common or Goblin)."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Greedy Thugs",
											"entries": [
												"Xvarts have all of their creator's flaws and few redeeming qualities. They lack the physical equipment to reproduce, as well as the inclination to do so. They are greedy, conniving, and obsessed with the acquisition of valuables-the more ornate or bizarre, the better. They know they are flawed, and this minor amount of self-awareness only magnifies their other deficiencies . They hate almost any creature they perceive as better than they are, which includes almost anyone, but they lack the courage or wherewithal to act on their hatred most of the time. Their fear has led them to dwell either in gloomy places on the far fringes of civilized lands or in areas neglected or forgotten by mightier creatures. In other words, xvarts usually live in places where normal vermin might flourish."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Vermin Masters",
											"entries": [
												"Rats and bats (including giant-sized specimens) are naturally attracted to xvarts, and xvarts domesticate such beasts for food and battle. Xvarts also form alliances with wererats, although the lycanthropes are dominant in any such arrangement. This relationship traces back to Raxivort's divine nature. Even though the xvarts inherited Raxivort's greed and cowardice, they also gained his ability to form bonds with such creatures."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Xvart Warlocks",
											"entries": [
												"A xvart can forge a pact with Raxivort by stealing an item of such great value that the demigod himself appears before the xvart to claim it. After surrendering the item to Raxivort, the xvart asks for magical power so that it can find and deliver more great treasures into Raxivort's custody. If the demigod feels so inclined, he imbues the xvart with greater wisdom and charisma and grants it the spellcasting abilities of a warlock before returning to the howling chaos of"
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Pandemonium",
											"entries": [
												"Raxivort's warlocks are respected and feared in xvart society, but they have little interest in political power. They scour the wilderness, old ruins, and dungeons for treasures, often with a handful of xvart sycophants and giant rat bodyguards in tow."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yeth Hound",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Granted by powerful fey to individuals who please them, yeth hounds serve evil masters like hunting dogs. Yeth hounds fly in pursuit of their prey, often waiting until it is too exhausted to fight back. Only the threat of dawn drives the pack back into hiding.",
										{
											"name": "Minions of a Dark Master",
											"entries": [
												"A pack of yeth hounds can be created by powerful fey such as the Queen of Air and Darkness. Once it is brought into existence, a pack must have a master, who is often someone the creator wishes to reward. The master can telepathically communicate with its yeth hounds to give them commands from afar. If the master of a pack is killed, the hounds seek and choose a new master, typically an individual of great evil such as a vampire, a necromancer, or a hag.",
												"A yeth hound stands about 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs around 400 pounds. Often all that can be seen of one in the darkness is the red glow of its eyes against its night-black fur. The head of a yeth hound has a human-like face, held up by a neck more flexible than a dog's. The creature gives off an odor like smoke.",
												"Those that stand their ground and fight back discover that mundane weapons partially pass through the hound as if it was made of fog, but magic weapons and silvered weapons can strike true."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Sound of Looming Death",
											"entries": [
												"Yeth hounds make a ghastly baying sound that can be heard all around. Creatures that can see a hound when it bays are filled with supernatural fear and usually flee in terror. When a victim tries to run away, a hound delights in chasing after it and tormenting it before bringing the hunt to a close."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Foiled by Sunlight",
											"entries": [
												"Yeth hounds can't stand sunlight. A pack never willingly prolongs a hunt beyond the night hours and always seeks to return to its dark den before the first rays of dawn. No amount of coercion by a pack's master can deter this behavior. If a yeth hound is exposed to natural sunlight, it fades away, vanishing into the Ethereal Plane, from where its master can retrieve it only after the sun has set."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yeth Hound.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Brynn Metheney"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Anathema",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Yuan-ti malisons who become priestly devotees of a particular god-be it Sseth, Dendar the Night Serpent, or Merrshaulk-often rise through the ranks to become spiritual leaders among the serpent folk. These priests perform sacrificial rites to appease their vile gods."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Yuan-ti Anathema",
									"entries": [
										"A yuan-ti abomination's quest for godhood might lead it to perform a ritual that, if successful, transforms it into an even greater form: a yuan-ti anathema. This ritual demands the sacrifice of hundreds of snakes and requires the abomination to bathe in the blood of its enemies. The transformation is quick yet painful.",
										"Not all yuan-ti are eager to see one of their own become an anathema, since anathemas brutally subjugate their lessers for their own evil ends.",
										{
											"name": "Not Quite Divine",
											"entries": [
												"An anathema considers itself a demigod on the path to greater divinity. It demands obeisance from weaker yuan-ti and uses every resource at its disposal to launch small-scale wars against its neighbors. Each conquest brings new slaves and sacrifices, as well as glory and riches, that the anathema thinks it needs to achieve true divinity.",
												"An anathema's most loyal yuan-ti followers see it as the pinnacle of the serpentine form, an unbelievable improvement on the nearly perfect abomination. Its devoted human followers think of it as \"divine flesh in a mortal body,\" and cultists serving an anathema tend to be more bloodthirsty and self-sacrificing in its presence."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										},
										{
											"name": "Immortal",
											"entries": [
												"Anathemas don't age, allowing them to pursue their goals until the end of days. Truly powerful ones can grow to rule multiple yuan-ti cities and bring entire regions, including humanoid realms, under yuan-ti control."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yuan-ti Anathema.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Dave Dorman"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Broodguard",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Yuan-ti malisons who become priestly devotees of a particular god-be it Sseth, Dendar the Night Serpent, or Merrshaulk-often rise through the ranks to become spiritual leaders among the serpent folk. These priests perform sacrificial rites to appease their vile gods."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Yuan-ti Broodguard",
									"entries": [
										"Broodguards are humanoids transformed by yuan-ti into simple-minded, scaly creatures that do their masters' bidding. The transformation process warps not only a subject's body but also its mind, making it instinctively obey any yuan-ti and filling it with a seething rage that rises at the sight of non-reptilian creatures.",
										"Although broodguards have low intelligence, they are able to perform simple yet important tasks in the community, such as guarding eggs or patrolling for intruders. The yuan-ti refer to broodguards as \"histachii,\" which means \"egg-watchers.\"",
										{
											"name": "Human No More",
											"entries": [
												"Most broodguards are made from human prisoners forced to consume a magical brew that renders them helpless and unable to fight off the inevitable. A human transformed into a broodguard loses all semblance of who it once was, and even its human origin is barely discernible. A broodguard is hairless and emaciated, with yellow-green, scaly skin. It has beady, bloodshot eyes and a forked tongue, and smells faintly of rotting meat. Broodguards can speak but rarely do so, preferring to use snake-like hisses and guttural noises."
											],
											"type": "entries"
										}
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Making a Broodguard",
									"entries": [
										"Yuan-ti create broodguards from captured humanoids. Each subject is fed a special potion that immediately renders it {@condition incapacitated} and transforms it into a broodguard over the next {@dice 1d6 + 6} days. A subject forced to imbibe the brew can make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw; on a success, it takes 14 ({@damage 4d6}) poison damage and isn't otherwise affected.",
										"A spell such as lesser restoration or remove curse can end the transformation process at any time before it runs its course. After the process is complete, only a {@spell wish} spell can reverse the effect."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yuan-ti Broodguard.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Christopher Burdett"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Malison (Type 4)",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Yuan-ti Malison",
				"source": "MM",
				"_mod": {
					"entries": {
						"mode": "prependArr",
						"items": {
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										{
											"type": "entries",
											"name": "Yuan-ti Malison Variants: Types 4 and 5",
											"entries": [
												"A malison is a yuan-ti that has a blend of human and serpentine features. Three different types of malisons are described in the Monster Manual, and two rarer types are described here. Type 4 and type 5 malisons are the lowest-ranking members of the malison caste, and neither type is venomous in its yuan-ti form."
											]
										}
									]
								}
							]
						}
					}
				}
			},
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yuan-ti Malison Type 4 and 5.webp"
					}
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Malison (Type 5)",
			"source": "VGM",
			"_copy": {
				"name": "Yuan-ti Malison (Type 4)",
				"source": "VGM"
			}
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Mind Whisperer",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Yuan-ti malisons who become priestly devotees of a particular god-be it Sseth, Dendar the Night Serpent, or Merrshaulk-often rise through the ranks to become spiritual leaders among the serpent folk. These priests perform sacrificial rites to appease their vile gods."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Yuan-ti Mind Whisperer",
									"entries": [
										"Mind whisperers are malison spellcasters that enter into a pact with the serpent god Sseth, the Sibilant Death. They use their abilities to convert others to their faith, increase their personal power, and befuddle the minds of their enemies.",
										"A mind whisperer is elusive, manipulative, unpredictable, and willing to cheat or kill comrades and rivals alike if doing so benefits it. The worshipers of Sseth have their hands in many schemes, often plying the middle ground between two factions, and thus spend a lot of energy making sure neither of their allies learn of their conflicting connections. Even among yuan-ti, mind whisperers are known for being self-important, sneaky, and prone to flee at the first sign of trouble.",
										"This malison is the type that has a human body and a snake head."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yuan-ti Mind Whisperer.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Daarken"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Nightmare Speaker",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Yuan-ti malisons who become priestly devotees of a particular god-be it Sseth, Dendar the Night Serpent, or Merrshaulk-often rise through the ranks to become spiritual leaders among the serpent folk. These priests perform sacrificial rites to appease their vile gods."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Yuan-ti Nightmare Speaker",
									"entries": [
										"Nightmare speakers are female yuan-ti malison priests that make a pact with the Dendar the Night Serpent to feed their deity the fears and nightmares of their victims in exchange for power in the mortal world. The priestesses receive nightmarish visions from Dendar, which they interpret as prophecies, and then use their magic and influence to make these visions come true.",
										"The cruelest of all yuan-ti, nightmare speakers revel in torturing prisoners and slaves, leaving them in a constant state of fear and dread. They prefer to terrify rather than kill their opponents. They manipulate humanoid communities for the purpose of acquiring more victims, and enjoy the company of undead.",
										"This malison is the type that has a human head and upper body with a serpentine lower body instead of legs."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yuan-ti Nightmare Speaker.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Mark Behm"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "Yuan-ti Pit Master",
			"source": "VGM",
			"entries": [
				{
					"type": "entries",
					"entries": [
						{
							"type": "entries",
							"entries": [
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"entries": [
										"Yuan-ti malisons who become priestly devotees of a particular god-be it Sseth, Dendar the Night Serpent, or Merrshaulk-often rise through the ranks to become spiritual leaders among the serpent folk. These priests perform sacrificial rites to appease their vile gods."
									]
								},
								{
									"type": "entries",
									"name": "Yuan-ti Pit Master",
									"entries": [
										"Pit masters are yuan-ti malison priests that have made a pact with the god Merrshaulk and seek to rouse him from his slumber by sacrificing humanoids to him. They are the most traditionalist in attitude among yuan-ti and believe that they are best equipped to achieve the goals of their people.",
										"Pit masters are deeply involved in the race's long-term plan to take over humanoid governments, as well as in the ongoing effort to protect their cities from discovery or attacks by hostiles. They oppose reckless behavior and argue for a slow, cautious approach in all matters.",
										"This malison is the type that has a human head and body and snakes for arms."
									]
								}
							]
						}
					]
				}
			],
			"images": [
				{
					"type": "image",
					"href": {
						"type": "internal",
						"path": "bestiary/VGM/Yuan-ti Pit Master.webp"
					},
					"credit": "Daarken"
				}
			]
		}
	]
}