Morchia
Author’s Note: The updated version of the monster below can now be found at the Free Game Resources page of World Builder Blog. Thank you for all your feedback and please keep it coming!
Deep beneath the surface of Canus, the progeny of an ancient alliance between aberrations and devils slumber, waiting to be awakened. The morchia, cast down and unconscious by The Reckoning Spell, have hate boiling in their sleeping hearts for the world their parents said would be theirs. Simply put, you’re not an aberrant or a devil, they hate you. The exception is of course, tieflings, whom they hate beyond measure, despite the infernal influence on their heritage. Of course, some morchia escaped the influence of The Reckoning Spell, and still wander Verda’s jungles, scheming and plotting the ways they might be able to free their kin.
Morchia Redux
I’ve mentioned the morchia before, and I also created their statistics using the final D&D Next playtest packet. Just like The Lingering Havoc, blazing wraiths, icebreaker sharks, gaping maw, sand krakens, and mystauk, I’m going to now give you my proposed morchia statistics for fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons rules.
I am keeping the random variability of the morchia as I push forward. I like that their devil traits are consistent and their aberrant traits are more of a variable. I hope you think it’s fun as well! Check it out below!
Morchia
Large monstrosity, neutral evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 142 (15d10 + 60)
Speed 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 20 (+5) | 11 (+0) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Dex +3, Wisdom +4
Damage Resistances cold, fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Skills Deception +7, Insight +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Deep Speech, Infernal, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Aberrant Trait. All morchia have at least one feature trait which can be determined by rolling on the Aberrant Feature Table below.
Devil’s Sight. Magical darkness doesn’t impede the morchia’s darkvision.
Magic Resistance. The morchia has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack. The morchia can make two attacks, or one attack and uses Hold Monster.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Hold Monster (3/day). The morchia casts hold monster. The spell save DC for this spell is 15.
Aberrant Feature Table
| d20 | Time | Phyiscal Feature | Effect |
| 1 | Bonus Action | Tentacles | Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. |
| 2 | – | Ooze Feet | Aberrant Ground. The ground in a 10-foot radius around the morchia is doughlike difficult terrain. Each creature that starts its turn in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn. |
| 3 | – | Mouths All Over | Gibbering. The morchia has mouths all over its body which babble incoherently while it can see any enemy that isn’t incapacitated. Each creature that starts its turn within 20 feet of the morchia and can hear the babbling must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature can’t take reactions until the start of its next turn and rolls a d8 to determine what it does during its turn. On a 1 to 4, the creature does nothing. On a 5 or 6, the creature takes no action or bonus action and uses all its movement to move in a randomly determined direction. On a 7 or 8, the creature makes a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach or does nothing if it can’t make such an attack. |
| 4 | – | Third Eye | Antimagic Cone. A third eye on stalk atop the morchia’s head emits a 60-foot anti-magic cone, as in the anti-magic field spell. At the start of each of its turns the morchia decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against any of the morchia’s own abilities. |
| 5 | – | Covered In Mucus | Mucus Covered. The morchia is covered in a transformative mucus. A creature that touches the morchia or hits it with a melee attack within 5 feet of it must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is diseased for 1d4 hours. The diseased creature can breathe only underwater. |
| 6 | Action | Purple Eyes | Enslave (3/day). The morchia targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the morchia until the morchia dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed target is under the morchia’s control and can’t take reactions, and the morchia and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance. Whenever the charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the morchia. |
| 7 | Action | Forked Tongue | Moan. Each enemy within 60 feet of the morchia that can hear the morchia must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of the morchia’s next turn. If a creature’s saving throw is successful, the creature is immune to the morchia’s moan for the next 24 hours. |
| 8 | Action | Black Scales | Phantasms. The morchia magically creates three illusory duplicates of itself. The duplicates move with it and mimmic its actions, shifting position so as to make it impossible to track which morchia is the real one. Whenever any creature targets the morchia with an attack or a harmful spell while a duplicate remains, that creature rolls randomly to determine whether it targets the morchia or one of the duplicates. A duplicate has the morchia’s AC and uses its saving throws. If an attack hits a duplicate, or if a duplicate fails a saving throw against an effect that deals damage, the duplicate disappears. |
| 9 | Action | Exposed Brain | Devour Intellect. The morchia targets one creature it can see within 20 feet of it that has a brain. The target must succeeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw against this magic or take 22 (4d10) pyschic damage. Also on a failure, roll 3d6: If the total equals or exceeeds the target’s Intelligence score, the score is reduced to 0. The target is stunned until it regains at least one point of Intelligence. |
| 10 | Action | Protruding Forehead | Mind Blast (Recharge 5 – 6). The morchia magically emits psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 22 (4d8 + 4) psychic damage and be 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. |
| 11 | Action | One Large Eye | Rotting Gaze. The morchia targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw against this magic or take 21 (6d6) necrotic damage. |
| 12 | – | Webbed Feet | Regeneration. The morchia regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. |
| 13 | Action | None | Shapechanger. The morchia can use its action to polymorph into a Small or Medium humanoid, or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies. |
| 14 | – | None | The morchia gains a fly speed of 40 ft. |
| 15 | Action | Third Eye | Petrification Ray. The morchia targets a creature within 90 feet. The targeted creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic. |
| 16 | Action | Third Eye | Sleep Ray. The morchia targets a creature within 90 feet. The targeted creature must succeeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or fall asleep and remain unconscious for 1 minute. The target awakens if it takes damage or another creature takes an action to wake it. This ray has no effect on constructs and undead. |
| 17 | Action | Third Eye | Paralyzing Ray. The morchia targets a creature within 90 feet. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. |
| 18 | – | Black Eyes | Telepathic Probe. If a creature communicates telepathically with the morchia, the morchia learns the creature’s greatest desires and one fact or secret about the creature. |
| 19 | Action | None | Invisibility. The morchia can cast invisibility on itself at-will. |
| 20 | – | – | Roll twice on this table. If you get this result again roll three times and so on. |
So what do you think? Sound off in the comments below and let me know if you like the morchia!
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