Carbuncle
Tiny Fey, chaotic neutral
- Armor Class 12
- Hit Points 38 (15d4)
- Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 3 (−4) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 6 (−2) 12 (+1) 14 (+2)
- Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4, Sleight of Hand +4
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
- Languages —
- Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Escape Expert. The carbuncle can take the Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action.
Actions
Detect Gems. The carbuncle casts locate object (for gems).
Activate Gem. The carbuncle magically activates a gem. The gem(s) recharge on short rest.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) slashing damage.
Carbuncle
Jewel Thieves. Carbuncles are not born with the gem(s) on their foreheads. Rather, those gem(s) are the best of the gems that the carbuncles have sensed, stolen and eaten.
Foxy Socializers. Carbuncles love to play with other carbuncles; pecking order is established by gem size, type and quality. They live (and thieve) in small family groups, and parents will regurgitate lesser gems for their kits' betterment. They do sometimes take a liking to individuals of other species, and more than one opulent noble has successfully kept a pampered carbuncle as an exotic pet (at the cost of the occasional pilfering or piece of mischief.).
Carbuncle Gems. Most carbuncles
have only one forehead gem; a few
have up to three. See
table for gems.
| d10 | Gem | Gem Activation Magical Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diamond (Transparent) | The next time in the next minute that the carbuncle would drop to 0 hp (even if it was instantly slain), its diamond gem sparkles and it immediately revives with 1 hit point. |
| 2 | Opal (White) | The carbuncle's opal gem glimmers, and a point or small object the carbuncle chooses within 30 feet of itself emits a tremendous flash of light, dispelling overlapping darkness created by a spell of 3rd level or lower and forcing each creature within 5 feet of it to succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be blinded for one round. For the next hour it sheds bright light in a 5' radius and dim light 5' beyond that. |
| 3 | Spinel (Pink) | The carbuncle purrs and its spinel gem sheds a warm pink glow. Each creature within 5' of the carbuncle must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw, or be charmed by it until the end of their next turn and spend that turn attempting to gently pet the fluffy, adorable carbuncle. |
| 4 | Ruby (Red) | The carbuncle conjures a 5' cube of fire within 30' of itself; any creature in that space must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 fire damage. After the carbuncle's turn ends, the flame produces no heat, consumes no oxygen, and does not spread; it lasts for one week. |
| 5 | Amber (Orange) | A stroke of lightning forming a line 30 feet long and 5 feet wide blasts out from the carbuncle's amber gem. Each creature in the line takes 1d6 lightning damage on a failed DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, or half as much on a successful one. |
| 6 | Topaz (Yellow) | The carbuncle makes a spell attack roll with a +4 bonus to shoot a beam of radiance from its topaz gem at a creature or object within 30' of itself. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 radiant damage, and the next attack roll made against that target before the end of the carbuncle's next turn has advantage, thanks to the mystical dim light glittering on the target until then. |
| 7 | Jade (Green) | Under cover of a flash of green light from its jade gem, the carbuncle moves 5' and creates an illusion of itself in the space it just occupied. The illusion moves as the carbuncle programs when activating this gem (typically it runs away), and lasts up to 1 minute. Physical interaction (or spending an action on Investigation) reveals it to be an illusion as objects pass through it, after which it appears transparent. |
| 8 | Sapphire (Blue) | The carbuncle summons a cloud-like tiny air elemental from its sapphire gem, which carries the carbuncle as desired (fly speed 80') for one turn. |
| 9 | Amethyst (Purple) | The carbuncle projects a puff of noxious gas from its amethyst gem in a 5' radius around itself. Each creature in the cloud must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 1d12 poison damage. |
| 10 | Black Pearl (Black) | The carbuncle conjures a small black circle around its black pearl gem, and a 1' thick, 10' diameter ring of negative energy around itself. Each creature in the ring must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 1d6 damage on a failed save or half as much on a success. |
Carbuncle Prep
Organization: 2-5 adults.
Environment: Urban/Mountain
Lore: Nature DC 5 / 10 / 15
Treasures: The head gem(s). Note that many of these gems were chosen because they're part of expensive material components for spells. (The rest are part of magic items.) By default, a carbuncle gem is worth 1/10th the DMG pg 134 values for that type of gem: Spinel, Amber, Jade, & Amethyst are each worth 10gp; Topaz & Black Pearl are 50gp; Opal & Sapphire are 100gp; Diamond and Ruby are 500 gp.
Images/Tokens (remove spaces): Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ 17b098TMy2UZPHC_dzBHBYK2WCWORktE8?usp=sharing
Image/Token credits: Edits, u/NobleCuriosity3.
=== Espeon Bases by (prepend https://www.deviantart.com/):
- Volmise/art/Pokedex-196-Espeon-207754306
- CaptainEdwardTeague/art/Espeon-841009809
- uraharataichou/art/Espeon-513715810
- uraharataichou/art/Espeon-515970906
=== Gem base images from:
- DiamondGalaxy @ istockphoto.com/photo/sparkling-round-cut-diamond-on-ligt-gray-background-gm1097492854-294722393
- opalauctions.com/auctions/165-cts-coober-pedy-crystal-opal-calibrated-1232742
- jupitergem.com/natural-pink-tourmaline-8-73-carats
- nwgems.com/products/parcel-natural-extra-fine-vivid-red-ruby-melee-round-brilliant-extra-fine-grade
- gemexi.com/gemstones/baltic-amber
- KaratKing @ amazon.in/Getgemstones-Yellow-Natural-Certified-Golden/dp/B072BK4MQV
- CrystalAge @ amazon.com/CrystalAge-Jade-Palm-Stone/dp/B00E6KBHX4
- gia.edu/gem-encyclopedia
- nwgems.com/products/natural-fine-vivid-purple-amethyst-round-brazil-top-grade
- gemselect.com/pearl/pearl-338283.php
Typical Tactics and Motives
If simply curious about the PCs, one of the skulk (collective noun for a group of foxes) will typically try and observe from a higher-up hiding point like a tree or rooftop. Roll the carbuncle's stealth (+4 bonus) to see if they beat the PCs' passive perception.
If after gems that the PCs are carrying, a mountain-dwelling carbuncle waits until night, tracking the PCs with their ability to sense gems while trying to stay out of sight. Once the gem-bearing PC goes to sleep, the main Carbuncle thief will sneak up, slit any gem container with their claws and try to swallow the gem (or, if the gem is firmly mounted in another object, try to grab the entire object in its mouth to later pry off) and use its bonus action dash or disengage and/or the hide action to make off with it, possibly while another skulk-mate distracts any guard.
Urban carbuncles are less afraid of humanoids and may try to exploit their cuteness instead. They will purr and cuddle a
Carbuncle (Tiny CN Fey Striker) (50 XP)
AC 12 HP 38 SPD 40', climb 30'
| STR -4 | DEX +2 | CON +0 | INT -2 | WIS +1 | CHA +2 |
Skills. Perception +3, Stealth +4, Sleight of Hand +4 Senses. darkvision 60.
Escape Expert. Dash or Disengage as bonus action.
Detect Gems. Cast locate object for gems.
Claws. M W ATK +5; 2d8+3 (12) slash
Activate Gem.
.
receptive PC while ostensibly begging for food. If rewarded with high-quality food and attention, the carbuncle may hold off on the gem thievery for a few days, enjoying itself for a while (and possibly introducing the PCs to its skulk) before ultimately swiping the gems at night and vamoosing.
In all cases carbuncles are risk-adverse and immediately flee if attacked. If a carbuncle eats a magic item with a gem, it will absorb the magic item as well, which can be recovered unharmed by slaying the carbuncle or offering it a larger gem of the same kind. Carbuncles that got gems from a PC once will remember them and may show up again later to see if the PCs have acquired more gems.
Development notes
These are intended to be metal slimes (explanation: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MetalSlime) or nuisance enemies that encourage your players to scribe a scroll of revivify/raise dead. They also serve as a nice minor utility option for fey-summoning spells.
CR calculation
Defensive first: AC 12, HP 38: 1/4 in both cases. Because the diamond requires an action to activate, it doesn't change this.
Offensive: To-hit in line with CR 0-4. Base dpr (claws) is 4.5, base 3-round damage is 13.5. 1/4 Offensive CR can have 3-round damage of at most 16 (and still have it round to 5 dpr). So we have 3.5 points of wiggle room. Note that, using the dmg 249 AoE rules to estimate number of targets, none of the gems deals more than 7 damage, meaning one of those gems leaves the carbuncle at offensive CR 1/4. The atypical carbuncle with 3 7-damage gems is offensive CR 1/2, and we round down the 1/2;1/4 combination to 1/4 in this case for consistency.
Suggestions
Consider using the DMG chase rules (dmg 252) for chasing down a carbuncle!
If your players adopt one (perhaps as a loot-detector), make sure it swipes a diamond at some point so it can survive the occasional area of effect attack.