Buy me a coffeeCloaker, Dread of the Lightless Deep
“The Cloaker: A living shadow that strikes from the darkness, wrapping you in deadly silence and madness.”
The Cloaker resembles a large, dark, leathery cloak or manta ray, with smooth, rubbery skin stretched over a flat, disc-like body roughly five to six feet across. Its edges ripple like a cloak caught in a breeze, and its underside reveals a maw filled with sharp, jagged teeth. Pale, eerie eyes peer out from beneath its folds, glowing faintly in dim light.
Behavior:
Cloakers are cunning ambush predators, relying on stealth and deception rather than brute force. They float silently along cavern walls or ceilings, perfectly mimicking tattered cloaks or shadows. When prey approaches, they emit a haunting, low-frequency moan that disorients and frightens before lunging to envelop their target in suffocating folds.
Habitat:
Preferring dark, underground environments, they are commonly found in deep caverns, abandoned ruins, and the twisting tunnels of the Underdark. They favor places where shadows cling thickly and prey is plentiful.
Modus Operandi:
Cloakers employ patience and cunning, often waiting motionless for hours or days. When unsuspecting adventurers pass beneath, they strike with terrifying speed, wrapping themselves around their victim to smother and immobilize. They can also create illusory duplicates to confuse foes, slipping away into the darkness once their victim is subdued.
Motivation:
Driven by hunger and self-preservation, Cloakers are solitary hunters. Their eerie moans suggest a deeper, unsettling intelligence—some speculate they are haunted remnants of ancient aberrations or enslaved by mind flayers. Above all, they seek to avoid threats and maintain control over their shadowy lairs.
Cloaker 5e
Cloaker, Pathfinder
Cloaker
Large aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 110 (13d10 + 39)
Speed: 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws: Dex +7, Wis +5
Skills: Stealth +9, Perception +5
Damage Resistances: Psychic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened
Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 15
Languages: Deep Speech, Undercommon
Challenge: 7 (2,900 XP)
Traits
Shadowy Form.
It can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
False Appearance.
While motionless and in dim light or darkness, the Cloaker is indistinguishable from a tattered cloak or shadowy drape.
Moaning Aura (Recharge 5–6).
It emits a haunting moan in a 30-foot radius. Each creature of the Cloaker’s choice in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened and disoriented until the end of their next turn. While disoriented, creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Illusory Double (3/Day).
It creates a perfect illusory duplicate of itself within 60 feet. The duplicate lasts for 1 minute or until it takes damage. The duplicate mimics the Cloaker’s movements perfectly, granting the Cloaker advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. Attacks targeting the Cloaker have a 50% chance to hit the illusion instead.
Actions
Multiattack.
The Cloaker makes two attacks: one with its Wrap and one with its Bite.
Wrap. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and suffocating.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage.
Reactions
Evasive Glide.
When a creature the Cloaker can see hits it with a melee attack, the Cloaker can use its reaction to halve the damage and move up to 20 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
Tactics
The Cloaker prefers to hang motionless in dim, shadowy environments, perfectly camouflaged as a tattered cloak or shadow. It uses its Moaning Aura to disorient and frighten foes before striking with a deadly Wrap to immobilize a victim. When threatened, it creates Illusory Doubles to confuse enemies and uses Evasive Glide to slip away, repositioning itself for another ambush. It hunts alone, isolating targets and striking from darkness with terrifying speed.
Cloaker
This ray-like creature opens a toothy maw and leers with glaring red eyes. Behind it whips a menacing tail of segmented bone.
Cloaker CR 5
XP 1,600
CN Large aberration
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +7 natural, –1 size)
hp 51 (6d8+24)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +7
Defensive Abilities shadow shift
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee bite +8 (1d6+5), tail slap +3 (1d8+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (5 ft. with bite)
Special Attacks engulf, moan
STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 14
Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 23 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Disguise +8 (+16 as cloak), Fly +10, Knowledge (religion) +11, Perception +14, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +8; Racial Modifiers +8 Disguise to appear as a cloak, sheet, manta ray, or similarly shaped object or creature
Languages Undercommon
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Engulf (Ex)
A cloaker can try to wrap a Medium or smaller creature in its body as a standard action. The cloaker attempts a grapple that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and bites the engulfed victim with a +4 bonus on its attack roll. It can still use its whip-like tail to strike at other targets. Attacks that hit an engulfing cloaker deal half their damage to the monster and half to the trapped victim.
Moan (Ex)
It can emit an infrasonic moan as a standard action, with one of four effects.
- Fear: All creatures in a 30-foot spread must save (Will negates) or become panicked for 2 rounds.
- Nausea: All creatures in a 30-foot cone must save (Fortitude negates) or fall prone and be nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds.
- Stupor: A single creature within 30 feet is affected by hold monster for 5 rounds (Will negates).
- Unnerve: Anyone within a 60-foot spread automatically takes a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Those in the area for more than 6 consecutive rounds must save (Will negates) or enter a trance, helpless until the moaning stops.
Cloakers are immune to these sonic, mind-affecting attacks. A creature that successfully saves against the cloaker’s fear, nausea, or unnerve moans cannot be affected by that same moan effect from that cloaker for 24 hours. All of the save DCs against a cloaker’s moan are DC 15. Save DCs are Charisma-based.
Shadow Shift (Su)
When in dim illumination, a cloaker can manipulate shadows as a free action to create one of three effects: blur (lasts 1d4 rounds, self only), mirror image (CL 6th), or silent image (DC 15, CL 6th, save DC is Charisma-based).
ECOLOGY
Environment underground
Organization solitary, pair, mob (3–6), or flock (7–12)
Treasure standard
Resembling hideously evil flying manta rays, they are mysterious and paranoid creatures. A typical specimen has an 8-foot wingspan and weighs 100 pounds.
A cloaker’s motives are hidden and confusing, and they distrust even their own kind. Their strange shape allows them to disguise themselves as a variety of cloaks, tapestries, and other mundane objects, and stories linger of cloakers that ally with other creatures, hitching a ride on their backs and aiding in their ally’s protection for their own inscrutable reasons. A rare few are priests of ancient gods, leading cults of cloakers and skum to undertake all manner of hideous rites and working toward singularly sinister goals.