The Dangerous Perytons
Spiciness: 4/5
Feeds about 3-5 players, level 3-5
Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level
Ingredients
- 2-4 Perytons
Scaling for Level & Party Size: Usually I provide very specific instructions on how to scale the encounter, but in this case, it's very straightforward-- simply use kobold fight club to find the proper number of them to use! If it would suggest more than 5 Perytons, use 4 and divide the HP of the 5th among them equally (to keep them on the field longer without drowning the party in actions).
Preparation
Perytons typically nest in groups of 2-4, and need to eat a heart from a humanoid to reproduce. Their goal will be to knock someone prone, and go for their heart.
Things To Know
- Grappled. A grappled creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
- Prone. A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition. The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage. A creature who's speed is 0 (such as from grappled) cannot stand.
Cooking the Perytons
The Perytons will fly in, and Gore as many people as possible to land their Charging Dive ability for extra damage and to knock them prone. To work in that "birds of prey" feel, we can have them fly down from above, potentially surprising some party members.
Since the creature is now prone, your attacks against them will have advantage until they stand back up. Use your Bite to grapple them, which will prevent them from standing up. If all prone creatures are already grappled, you can use your Flyby ability to do hit-and-runs instead-- 30ft in, Gore (+Charging Dive) & Talons, 30ft out, no attacks of opportunity.
When a party member is finally downed, have all Perytons in Hit-And-Run mode use their Heart Seekers reaction to swarm him like someone just threw a french fry into a flock of seagulls.
End Conditions: When they tear out a heart, they're satisfied, and leave. If a Peryton gets below 10hp, it will choose life over food and leave.
Peryton
Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil
- Armor Class 13
- Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
- Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 9 (-1) 12 (+1) 10 (+0)
- Skills Perception +3,
- Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
- Condition Immunities frightened
- Senses passive Perception 15, Darkvision 60ft
- Languages Common and Elvish but can't speak
- Challenge 2 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Charging Dive. If the peryton is flying and dives at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a Gore attack, the attack deals an extra 9 (2d8) damage to the target. If the creature is size medium or smaller, it must make a DC 13 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Flyby. The Peryton doesn't provoke an opportunity attack when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Heartsense. The Peryton knows the location of any creature within 300ft of it whose hitpoints are below half, and can hear its heartbeat.
Actions
Multiattack. The peryton makes one gore attack and one bite or talon attack.
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage, and the creature is grappled (DC 13 to Escape)
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) piercing damage.
Reactions
Heart Seekers When a Humanoid is reduced to 0hp, the Peryton may use its reaction to fly over to it.