Buy me a coffeeBoobrie: The Dread Warden of the Lochs
“This terrifying Scottish monster shapeshifts, haunts lochs, and devours cattle—meet the deadly Boobrie!”
Appearance: The Boobrie is a towering, nightmarish bird-beast that stands nearly 8 feet tall, resembling a grotesquely overgrown black heron. Its body is covered in sleek, oily feathers, jet-black and shimmering like wet tar, making it almost invisible in dim light. The creature’s elongated neck is serpentine, coiling and twisting in unnaturally fluid motions. Its hooked beak is as thick as a forearm and serrated like a saw, ending in a vicious point meant for puncturing and tearing flesh. Its eyes are large, glowing yellow orbs with slitted, reptilian irises that radiate a malevolent, unnatural intelligence.
When it spreads its massive, dagger-like wings, the span can reach nearly 15 feet, casting a shadow that seems to devour the landscape. Its legs are long and sinewy, covered in tough, dark scales, and end in webbed, clawed feet capable of raking through armor and dragging prey underwater.
Behavior: The Boobrie is solitary and fiercely territorial, guarding its domain with unrelenting ferocity. Silent and methodical, it stalks its prey from the water’s edge, often remaining unseen until it is too late. Its eerie, mournful cries reverberate across lochs and marshes, often imitating the sounds of distressed livestock or other birds to lure unsuspecting creatures closer. It displays both predatory patience and a sadistic cunning, sometimes toying with its prey before striking. The Boobrie rarely attacks immediately; instead, it waits for the perfect moment, using its mastery of stealth to get within lethal range.
Habitat: The Boobrie inhabits the cold, mist-shrouded lochs and treacherous marshlands of the Scottish Highlands. It prefers isolated, desolate areas where thick fog and murky waters conceal its presence. It nests in hidden nooks along rocky shores or in dense reed beds, lairs marked by the remnants of its meals—scattered bones and matted feathers. Its favorite haunts are places steeped in legend, shunned by locals for their eerie atmosphere and frequent disappearances.
Modus Operandi: The Boobrie is an ambush predator, lying in wait beneath the surface of dark lochs or in the tall reeds. When targeting livestock, it silently glides through the water, emerging to snatch sheep, cattle, or deer grazing too close to the shore. It uses its long neck to coil around prey, dragging it underwater to drown and consume in the murky depths.
When preying on humans, it employs its shape-shifting abilities—taking the form of a lost horse or even mimicking a boat—tempting travelers to approach before revealing its true form in a deadly pounce. Its attack is swift and violent: massive wings unfurl, razor beak pierces, and its powerful talons latch onto the victim, pulling them to a watery grave.
Motivation: The Boobrie is driven by an insatiable hunger and a twisted sense of vengeance. It feeds on flesh, both animal and human, but its aggression seems fueled by more than just a need for sustenance. Some legends suggest it was once a cursed spirit, doomed to this monstrous form, and its rage is directed at any creature that invades its watery domain. It delights in spreading fear and suffering, punishing those foolish enough to wander into its territory.
Boobrie 5e
Boobrie 3.5
Boobrie
Large monstrosity, chaotic evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 138 (18d10 + 54)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 (+5) | 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 2 (-4) | 14 (+2) | 5 (-3) |
Saving Throws
- Str +9, Dex +6, Con +7, Wis +6
Skills
- Perception +10, Stealth +10
Damage Immunities
- Poison, Psychic
Condition Immunities
- Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses
- Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 20
Languages
- Understands Common but cannot speak
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Traits
- Amphibious: The Boobrie can breathe both air and water.
- Keen Senses: The Boobrie has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
- Shapechanger: The Boobrie can use its action to polymorph into a Medium humanoid or back into its true form. Its statistics remain the same, except for the following changes:
- In humanoid form, it retains its Intelligence and Wisdom scores, but its Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores become those of the new form.
- It cannot attack or cast spells while in humanoid form.
- It can revert to its true form as a bonus action.
- Fearsome Presence: Creatures within 30 feet of the Boobrie that can see it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of their next turn.
- Terror of the Night: When a creature is reduced to 0 hit points by the Boobrie, the Boobrie can choose to regain hit points equal to the creature’s hit point maximum divided by 10 (minimum of 1).
Actions
- Multiattack: The Boobrie makes three attacks: one with its beak and two with its talons.
- Beak:
- Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
- Hit: 25 (3d10 + 5) piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be grappled (escape DC 16).
- Talons:
- Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target grappled by the Boobrie.
- Hit: 19 (3d8 + 5) slashing damage.
- Screech of the Damned (Recharge 5-6):
- The Boobrie unleashes a terrifying screech. Each creature within 60 feet of the Boobrie that can hear it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 45 (10d8) thunder damage and be deafened for 1 minute. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw takes half damage and is not deafened. A creature deafened in this way can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Reactions
- Defensive Maneuver: When the Boobrie is hit by an attack, it can use its reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll, as it swiftly maneuvers to avoid the attack.
Tactics
- Ambush Predator: The Boobrie prefers to hide in the dense fog around lakes or marshes, using its Stealth bonus to remain undetected until its prey is within range. It may use Fearsome Presence to instill terror in multiple enemies before attacking.
- Shape-Shifting Cunning: The Boobrie can shift into a Medium humanoid form to deceive or manipulate its prey. It might pose as a lost traveler or a helpful villager to draw adventurers closer before revealing its true nature.
- Hit and Run: Utilizing its fly speed, the Boobrie can strike from above and retreat into the fog, making it difficult for melee-focused characters to target it effectively.
- Grapple and Finish: The Boobrie will often grapple smaller foes with its Beak attack, using its Talons for devastating follow-up strikes, effectively taking down weaker opponents first.
- Area Control: With Screech of the Damned, the Boobrie can disable multiple enemies in a single turn, creating chaos and allowing it to focus on isolated foes.
Lore
Legends speak of the Boobrie as a harbinger of doom, a creature that stalks the night, drawn to those who wander too close to its murky lair. With its ghastly appearance, cunning shape-shifting abilities, and horrifying attacks, the Boobrie embodies the fears of the unknown, lurking just beyond the light in the shadowy depths of forgotten marshlands.
An enormous bird swims past, its wings reduced to flaps and its clawed toes covered in fleshy lobes. Its hooked beak is as long as a man’s arm.
Taken from the Creature Codex
Boobries are enormous, monstrous relatives of the common loon. Those mundane birds are well-known for their bizarre and eerie cries, but the boobrie takes this vocal expertise to unparalleled levels, capable of both imitating the sounds of other creatures and creating a pulse of powerful sonic energy.
Boobries use their mimicry to hunt—they lure creatures such as seals and dolphins to striking distance by copying their vocalizations. Barges and ships carrying livestock are likely to be trailed by a boobrie for days until it learns how to properly mimic a sheep, goat or cow. Any curious animals (or sailors) that approach the edge of the ship to investigate the bizarre noise will then be dragged overboard and consumed by the immense bird.
Boobries are equally at home in salt and fresh water, preying on fish, sea mammals and creatures drinking on the shoreline. Like ordinary loons, they are clumsy on land, dragging themselves on their bellies and pushing themselves with back-set legs. They are solitary creatures except during mating season.
Male boobries compete over females not with violence but with displays of mimicry—the bird that creates the widest and most impressive variety of sounds will earn mating rights. Male and female boobries care for their chicks with equal fervor and will defend their nests to the death. A boobrie grows to 20 feet long and weighs 1,200 pounds. Their feathers are a glossy black with white accents and their eyes are vivid shades of red, orange or yellow.
Boobrie CR 5
XP 1,600
N Huge magical beast
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +6
Defense
AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 16 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 52 (7d8+14)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +3
Offense
Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +9 (2d6+6 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks capsize, roar, swallow whole (AC 14, 5 hp, 2d6+4 bludgeoning)
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +7; CMB +13; CMD 24
Feats Dodge, Mobility, Skill Focus (Bluff), Spring Attack
Skills Bluff +10, Perception +6, Stealth +6, Swim +15; Racial Modifiers +4 Bluff, +4 Stealth
SQ hold breath, sound mimicry (animal sounds)
Ecology
Environment cold aquatic
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Roar (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, a boobrie can give an enormous bellow. All creatures within 60 feet of a roaring boobrie take 3d6 points of sonic damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution based.