Malice Striker

## Story

The water lapping the shore is turbid and tired, the waves slow and thick, rolling over hard red sand. You drag your little rowboat onto land, finally escaping the reach of the water. A particularly strong coastal wind blows the scent of the sea to your nostrils and bends the stubborn branches of the scattered trees. It turns the corner, whistling.

> *A hall I saw,
> far from the sun,
> On Dead-Man Shore.
> Its door looks north.*
>
>

You round the rocky cliffs just in time to see the decrepit temple groan under the strain as the wind passes it by. The sun hides its face behind a row of dark mountains; the surroundings are obscured by shadow. A small sign is nailed crookedly beside the road. You squint to read the faded text in the waning light. *Náströndu.*The Strand of the Dead.

> *Venom drops
> through the smoke-vent down,
> For around the walls
> do serpents wind.*
>
>

The temple's doors are hanging by a thread, just waiting for the slightest disturbance to fall. Acid-crackle scars are etched on the world-weary walls, rending stone and iron. Near the entrance there are signs of recent use; some marble stones gleam among the granite, gold still visible on their inscriptions. Further back, the stones are old and grey and stand crooked like bad teeth. Moss chokes the inscriptions and many of them have been worn smooth by years of cold rain. There is a windy spot of land crammed between the ruins of the temple and the dark mountain peaks. There, behind the echo of the hollow wind, a low noise is rising from the earth.

> *I there saw wading
> through rivers wild
> Treacherous men
> and murderers too;*
>
>

The gates out back are patchy with rust, and they open with a painful squeal. Beyond the archway there, the water picks up its pace, dusting off its lazy waves and unfurling into a living stream. It rings a merry jingle as it carves a liquid path through the dirty hovel, its flow is tainted with blood; dark swirls settling on black soil. The clearing is thick with mangled bodies and billowing smoke. All around, the cries of the dying form brief, unsettling harmonies with the moans of the shambling dead and the rustle and hiss of a serpentine spine sliding over cool stones.

> *There Malice Striker sucked
> corpses of the dead,
> And the wolf tore men;
> would you know yet more?*
>
>

A large wolf dashes past, its skeletal maw hanging open in a morbid grin. Along its path, the earth cracks and parts. A hand emerges from the grass—a hand with no flesh. Bony arms pull an entire corpse from the ground, it's body bent in an impossible arch. The creature pushes itself onto two legs, reeling from side to side. The eerie twilight casts ugly shadows across its sickly face as it surveys its surroundings through empty sockets, covered in dirt and the stink of the grave.

> *There comes the shadowy
> dragon flying,
> From below the dragon,
> dark comes forth.*
>
>

At the centre of the clearing, the great serpentine dragon swallows a final mouthful of bloodied flesh and lifts her head, her mouth covered with gore and her face nothing but a mess of festering flesh, tinged green with decay. She claps her crooked wings once and her body rises to meet the sky. Below her, the earth drops into a sudden trench; a pot-hole remnant of what should have been her resting place. The force of her wing-beats sends a gust of wind and dust and guttural moans into the air.

> *The bodies of men
> on her wings she bears,
> glittering serpent, up
> from Dark of the Moon Hills.*
>
>

Scattered pieces of flesh and mud flakes down from the skies, her patchwork wings straining hard with the effort of flight. As she clears the Dark Mountains and reunites with the sun, a hoarse scream of triumph erupts from half-rotten lungs. A fervent soul unwilling to rest, her strength is beyond death.

 Traits

* **Challenge** 17 (18,000 XP)
* **Armour Class** 19 (Natural Armour)
* **Hit Points** 243 (18d12 + 126)
* **Speed** 40 ft., fly 80 ft.

 27 (+8)

* **Saving Throws** Dex +5, Con +12, Wis +6, Cha +10
* **Skills** Arcana +8, History +8, Perception +11, Stealth +5
* **Damage Resistances** cold
* **Damage Immunities** necrotic, poison
* **Senses** blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 21
* **Languages** Common, Draconic
* ***Innate Spellcasting.*** The dracolich's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18). The dracolich can cast the following spells, requiring no material components.
	+ 1/day each: animate dead, blight, contagion, shield, vampiric touch
* ***Legendary Resistance (3/day).*** If the dracolich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

* ***Magic Resistance.*** The dracolich has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

### Actions

* ***Multiattack.*** The dracolich can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
* ***Bite.*** *Melee Weapon Attack:* +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage.
* ***Claws**. Melee Weapon Attack:* +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage.
* ***Tail**. Melee Weapon Attack:* +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) slashing damage.
* ***Breath Weapons (Recharge 5-6).*** The dracolich uses one of the following breath weapons.
	+ **Poison Breath.** The dracolich exhales poisonous gas in a 30‐foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw, taking 58 (13d8) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
	+ **Paralyzing Breath**. The dracolich exhales paralyzing gas in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed 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
* ***Frightful Presence.*** Each creature of the dracolich's choice that is within 120 feet of the dracolich and aware of it must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened 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. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dracolich's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.

### Legendary Actions

The dracolich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The dracolich regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

* ***Detect.*** The dracolich makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
* ***Tail Attack.*** The dracolich makes a tail attack.
* ***Wing Attack (Costs 2 actions).*** The dracolich beats its wings. Each creature within 10 feet of the dracolich must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dracolich can then fly up to half its flying speed.

### Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dracolich takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects.

* The dracolich creates fog as if it had cast the *fog cloud* spell. The fog lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round.
* A noxious wind blows through the lair near the dracolich. Each creature within 120 feet of the dracolich must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 5 (1d10) poison damage. Gases and vapours are dispersed by the wind, and unprotected flames are extinguished. Protected flames, such as lanterns, have a 50 percent chance of being extinguished.