Despair Diarch
Medium • Fiend • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 18
Hit Points 199 (21d8 + 105)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
Initiative +11 (21)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 (+5) | 21 (+5) | 20 (+5) | 19 (+4) | 20 (+5) | 22 (+6) |
Saving Throws Dex +11, Con +11, Cha +12
Skills Arcana +10, Acrobatics +11, Performance +12, Perception +11
Damage Resistances force, psychic
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned, stunned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 21
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
CR 17 (XP 18,000 or 20,000 in lair; PB +6)
Legendary Resistance (2/Day, 3/Day in Lair). If the despair diarch fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, its Regeneration is reduced by 5 until it finishes a long rest.
Magic Resistance. The despair diarch has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The despair diarch regains 20 hit points at the start of each of its turns.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The despair diarch makes two Claw attacks. He can replace one of those attacks with a use of Spellcasting.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) slashing damage plus 5 (1d10) force damage plus 5 (1d10) psychic damage.
Wave of Despair (Recharge 5-6). Constitution Saving Throw: DC 20, each creature in a 60-foot cone. Failure: 21 (6d6) force damage plus 21 (6d6) psychic damage, and the target is incapacitated, falls prone, and is unable to stand up until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage.
Spellcasting. The despair diarch casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks):
At will: mage hand, command
1/day: compulsion, dispel magic, dominate monster, wall of force
REACTIONS
Protective Magic (3/Day). The despair diarch casts counterspell or shield in response to the spell's trigger, using the same spellcasting ability as Spellcasting.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the despair diarch can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The despair diarch regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Advance. The despair diarch moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Blasting And Mocking. The despair diarch casts eldritch blast (three beams) with all attacks against one target. It then casts vicious mockery (3d4 damage) at the target. If the target was hit by all attacks, it has disadvantage on the saving throw against vicious mockery. The despair diarch can't take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Claw. The despair diarch makes one Claw attack.
Despair Diarch
Medium • Fiend • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 161 (19d8 + 76)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
Initiative +9 (19)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 (+4) | 19 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 17 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 20 (+5) |
Saving Throws Dex +9, Con +9, Cha +10
Skills Arcana +8, Acrobatics +9, Performance +10, Perception +9
Damage Resistances force, psychic
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned, stunned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 19
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
CR 14 (XP 11,500 or 13,000 in lair; PB +5)
Legendary Resistance (1/Day, 2/Day in Lair). If the despair diarch fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, its Regeneration is reduced by 5 until it finishes a long rest.
Magic Resistance. The despair diarch has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The despair diarch regains 15 hit points at the start of each of its turns.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The despair diarch makes two Claw attacks. He can replace one of those attacks with a use of Spellcasting.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) force damage plus 4 (1d8) psychic damage.
Wave of Despair (Recharge 5-6). Constitution Saving Throw: DC 18, each creature in a 60-foot cone. Failure: 14 (4d6) force damage plus 14 (4d6) psychic damage, and the target is incapacitated, falls prone, and is unable to stand up until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage.
Spellcasting. The despair diarch casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks):
At will: mage hand, command
1/day: compulsion, dispel magic, dominate monster, wall of force
REACTIONS
Protective Magic (2/Day). The despair diarch casts counterspell or shield in response to the spell's trigger, using the same spellcasting ability as Spellcasting.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the despair diarch can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The despair diarch regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Advance. The despair diarch moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Blasting And Mocking. The despair diarch casts eldritch blast (two beams) with all attacks against one target. It then casts vicious mockery (2d4 damage) at the target. If the target was hit by all attacks, it has disadvantage on the saving throw against vicious mockery. The despair diarch can't take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Claw. The despair diarch makes one Claw attack.
Despair Diarch
Medium • Fiend • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 19
Hit Points 231 (22d8 + 132)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
Initiative +12 (22)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 (+6) | 23 (+6) | 22 (+6) | 21 (+5) | 22 (+6) | 24 (+7) |
Saving Throws Dex +12, Con +12, Cha +13
Skills Arcana +11, Acrobatics +12, Performance +13, Perception +12
Damage Resistances force, psychic
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned, stunned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 22
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
CR 20 (XP 25,000 or 33,000 in lair; PB +6)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, 4/Day in Lair). If the despair diarch fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, its Regeneration is reduced by 5 until it finishes a long rest.
Magic Resistance. The despair diarch has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The despair diarch regains 25 hit points at the start of each of its turns.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The despair diarch makes two Claw attacks. He can replace one of those attacks with a use of Spellcasting.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +12, reach 5 ft. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage plus 5 (1d10) force damage plus 5 (1d10) psychic damage.
Wave of Despair (Recharge 5-6). Constitution Saving Throw: DC 21, each creature in a 60-foot cone. Failure: 28 (8d6) force damage plus 28 (8d6) psychic damage, and the target is incapacitated, falls prone, and is unable to stand up until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage.
Spellcasting. The despair diarch casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 21, +13 to hit with spell attacks):
At will: mage hand, command
2/day: compulsion, dispel magic, dominate monster, wall of force
REACTIONS
Protective Magic (4/Day). The despair diarch casts counterspell or shield in response to the spell's trigger, using the same spellcasting ability as Spellcasting.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the despair diarch can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The despair diarch regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Advance. The despair diarch moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Blasting And Mocking. The despair diarch casts eldritch blast (four beams) with all attacks against one target. It then casts vicious mockery (4d4 damage) at the target. If the target was hit by all attacks, it has disadvantage on the saving throw against vicious mockery. The despair diarch can't take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Claw. The despair diarch makes one Claw attack.
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.