Psithalide Broodmother
Huge • Monstrosity • Lawful Neutral
Armor Class 20
Hit Points 287 (23d12 + 138)
Speed 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Initiative +9 (19)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 (+5) | 16 (+3) | 22 (+6) | 25 (+7) | 20 (+5) | 20 (+5) |
Skills Insight +11, Investigation +13, Perception +11
Damage Resistances lightning, psychic
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 21
Languages telepathy 300 ft.
CR 18 (XP 20,000 or 22,000 in lair; PB +6)
Hive Core. Any allied psithalide that starts its turn within 60 feet of the psithalide broodmother gains 10 (3d6) temporary hit points, which last for 1 minute.
Hive Resistance (2/Day; or 3/Day in Lair). If the psithalide broodmother fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When she does so, her Hive Core trait provides comulatively 1d6 less temporary hit points until she finishes a long rest.
Protect the Queen. When the psithalide broodmother is targeted by a melee attack roll, an allied psithalide that is within 5 feet of the attacker can use its reaction to become the target instead.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The psithalide makes two Psi Stake attacks and one Nerve Shock attack. She can replace the Nerve Shock attack with a use of Spellcasting.
Psi Stake. Melee Weapon Attack: +11, reach 10 ft. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) force damage.
Nerve Shock. Melee Weapon Attack: +12, reach 5 ft. Hit: 16 (3d10) lightning damage plus 16 (3d10) psychic damage. If this attack scores a critical hit, the target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn.
Spellcasting. The psithalide casts one of the following spells, requiring no spell components and using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 21, +13 to hit with spell attacks):
At will: command, detect thoughts, telekinesis, web (40-foot cube, not obscured, and allies ignore the effect)
2/day: arcane hand, scrying, wall of force
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the psithalide can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The psithalide regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Chittering Echo. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 21, each creature of the psithalide's choice in a 30-foot cube within 60 feet of the psithalide. Failure: The target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn. Success: The target is affected by the slow spell until the end of its next turn or until it leaves that area. Failure or Success: The psithalide can’t take this action again until the start of her next turn.
Lay Brood. The psithalide creates eggs (AC 15, HP 10) within 5 feet of herself, and the psithalide can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn. The eggs are considered as one Medium-sized object and slowly levitate to the ground below them without taking fall damage. At initiative count 0, the eggs hatch into psithalide broodlings, which take their turn immediately after the psithalide broodmother and follow her commands.
Psi Ray. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature within 150 feet of the psithalide that it can see. Failure: 14 (4d6) force damage.
Psithalide Broodmother
Huge • Monstrosity • Lawful Neutral
Armor Class 19
Hit Points 207 (18d12 + 90)
Speed 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Initiative +7 (17)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 20 (+5) | 23 (+6) | 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) |
Skills Insight +9, Investigation +11, Perception +9
Damage Resistances lightning, psychic
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 19
Languages telepathy 300 ft.
CR 15 (XP 13,000 or 15,000 in lair; PB +5)
Hive Core. Any allied psithalide that starts its turn within 60 feet of the psithalide broodmother gains 7 (2d6) temporary hit points, which last for 1 minute.
Hive Resistance (1/Day; or 2/Day in Lair). If the psithalide broodmother fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When she does so, her Hive Core trait provides comulatively 1d6 less temporary hit points until she finishes a long rest.
Protect the Queen. When the psithalide broodmother is targeted by a melee attack roll, an allied psithalide that is within 5 feet of the attacker can use its reaction to become the target instead.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The psithalide makes two Psi Stake attacks and one Nerve Shock attack. She can replace the Nerve Shock attack with a use of Spellcasting.
Psi Stake. Melee Weapon Attack: +9, reach 10 ft. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) force damage.
Nerve Shock. Melee Weapon Attack: +10, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d10) lightning damage plus 11 (2d10) psychic damage. If this attack scores a critical hit, the target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn.
Spellcasting. The psithalide casts one of the following spells, requiring no spell components and using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks):
At will: command, detect thoughts, telekinesis, web (40-foot cube, not obscured, and allies ignore the effect)
2/day: arcane hand, scrying, wall of force
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the psithalide can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The psithalide regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Chittering Echo. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 19, each creature of the psithalide's choice in a 20-foot cube within 60 feet of the psithalide. Failure: The target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn. Success: The target is affected by the slow spell until the end of its next turn or until it leaves that area. Failure or Success: The psithalide can’t take this action again until the start of her next turn.
Lay Brood. The psithalide creates eggs (AC 13, HP 10) within 5 feet of herself, and the psithalide can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn. The eggs are considered as one Medium-sized object and slowly levitate to the ground below them without taking fall damage. At initiative count 0, the eggs hatch into psithalide broodlings, which take their turn immediately after the psithalide broodmother and follow her commands.
Psi Ray. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 19, one creature within 150 feet of the psithalide that it can see. Failure: 10 (3d6) force damage.
Psithalide Broodmother
Huge • Monstrosity • Lawful Neutral
Armor Class 21
Hit Points 351 (26d12 + 182)
Speed 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Initiative +11 (21)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 (+6) | 18 (+4) | 24 (+7) | 27 (+8) | 22 (+6) | 22 (+6) |
Skills Insight +13, Investigation +15, Perception +13
Damage Resistances lightning, psychic
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 23
Languages telepathy 300 ft.
CR 21 (XP 33,000 or 41,000 in lair; PB +7)
Hive Core. Any allied psithalide that starts its turn within 60 feet of the psithalide broodmother gains 14 (4d6) temporary hit points, which last for 1 minute.
Hive Resistance (3/Day; or 4/Day in Lair). If the psithalide broodmother fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When she does so, her Hive Core trait provides comulatively 1d6 less temporary hit points until she finishes a long rest.
Protect the Queen. When the psithalide broodmother is targeted by a melee attack roll, an allied psithalide that is within 5 feet of the attacker can use its reaction to become the target instead.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The psithalide makes two Psi Stake attacks and one Nerve Shock attack. She can replace the Nerve Shock attack with a use of Spellcasting.
Psi Stake. Melee Weapon Attack: +13, reach 10 ft. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) force damage.
Nerve Shock. Melee Weapon Attack: +14, reach 5 ft. Hit: 22 (4d10) lightning damage plus 22 (4d10) psychic damage. If this attack scores a critical hit, the target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn.
Spellcasting. The psithalide casts one of the following spells, requiring no spell components and using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 23, +15 to hit with spell attacks):
At will: command, detect thoughts, telekinesis, web (40-foot cube, not obscured, and allies ignore the effect)
2/day: arcane hand, scrying, wall of force
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the psithalide can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The psithalide regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Chittering Echo. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 23, each creature of the psithalide's choice in a 30-foot cube within 60 feet of the psithalide. Failure: The target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn. Success: The target is affected by the slow spell until the end of its next turn or until it leaves that area. Failure or Success: The psithalide can’t take this action again until the start of her next turn.
Lay Brood. The psithalide creates eggs (AC 17, HP 15) within 10 feet of herself. The eggs are considered as one Medium-sized object and slowly levitate to the ground below them without taking fall damage. At initiative count 0, the eggs hatch into psithalide broodlings, which take their turn immediately after the psithalide broodmother and follow her commands.
Psi Ray. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature within 150 feet of the psithalide that it can see. Failure: 17 (5d6) force damage.
QUICK REFERENCE
USING MONSTER VARIANTS
Monster variants allow the GM to adjust encounters to better match the party’s strength, narrative needs, or world-building logic. A weaker variant may represent a juvenile, wounded, or lesser specimen, while a stronger variant can serve as a leader, champion, ancient creature, or apex predator.
Variants can be used to fine-tune difficulty without changing the core identity of the monster, making them ideal for scaling encounters, reinforcing hierarchy within a faction, or creating memorable boss-style enemies. You can even use the same stat block but different variants in the same encounter if you want.
Design Note. Each monster is primarily balanced around its normal version. Weaker and stronger variants are derived adjustments and may not always preserve every tactical nuance or “feel” of the original creature. GMs are encouraged to review variants carefully and adjust abilities or tactics as needed to best suit their table.