Greater Rakshasa

This fiendish mastermind appears as a sleek, white tiger-headed humanoid with bright blue eyes, striking markings and impressive whiskers. Dressed in fine silk robes woven with golden patterns, he lounges indolently on a low seat, smoking a hookah held in his backward paw.

Greater rakshasas are more powerful cousins of standard rakshasas. When a truly wicked rakshasa is reincarnated after several lifetimes of treachery and depravity, it will return to the Material Plane from the Hells as a member of a higher caste.

Master Manipulators. Greater rakshasas are driven by a lust for power, keeping their true natures hidden as they maneuver themselves into the highest echelons of society. Some rule duchies, baronies, or even whole kingdoms, while others are content to be the power behind the throne, pulling the strings as the king’s vizier or first minister. No scheme is ever too complicated for them, and they are willing to employ a variety of techniques to achieve their aims, including eloquence, deception, bribery, blackmail, and intimidation. Greater rakshasas are adept at assuming multiple identities to carry out their plots, sometimes whispering in the same person’s ear from different guises to sway them.

Wickedly Decadent. A greater rakshasa seeks to live a life of luxury and vice. Like its lesser cousin, it takes pleasure in toying with mortals as it carries out its evil schemes, manipulating and corrupting foolish creatures, then feeding on their flesh when tiring of them. A greater rakshasa usually has several rakshasas in its service, as well as a number of charmed humanoid guards and retainers. Although it is a capable melee fighter, a greater rakshasa considers hand-to-hand combat beneath it, preferring to use magical domination and fear whenever possible. er

A Greater Rakshasa’s Lair

Greater rakshasas make their lairs in opulent mansions and palaces adorned with exquisite and valuable objects of gold and ivory and decorated with precious stones and draperies of the finest silk. They enjoy paintings and other works of art depicting their victories over foes, and they usually have a trophy room filled with skulls and other mementos taken from their enemies. Their lairs are guarded by rakshasas and charmed humanoids and warded with deadly traps hidden behind cunning illusions. A greater rakshasa encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 16 (15,000 XP).

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the greater rakshasa can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; the rakshasa can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

  • A sweetly scented invisible vapor fills the halls of the lair. Each humanoid creature in the lair must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on saving throws against enchantment spells until initiative count 20 on the next round.
  • A psychedelic, twisting pattern of colored shapes appears in the air at a point the greater rakshasa can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature, other than the greater rakshasa, that can see the pattern must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become incapacitated with a speed of 0 until initiative count 20 on the next round.
  • Four quasi-real Medium swarms of burning monkeys (use swarm of rats statistics) appear in spaces that the greater rakshasa can see within 60 feet; these spaces can be occupied. The monkeys act immediately. A creature starting its turn in a space occupied by burning monkeys takes 3 (1d6) fire damage and must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become confused. This works like the confusion spell, except it only lasts 1 round. The burning monkeys disappear on initiative count 20 on the next round.

Regional Effects

The region containing a greater rakshasa’s lair is warped by the fiend’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

  • A creature hostile to the greater rakshasa can’t recover from exhaustion after a long rest while within 1 mile of the rakshasa’s lair as its sleep is haunted by strange dreams.
  • The greater rakshasa cloaks the traps protecting its lair with clever illusions. Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect traps within the lair are made with disadvantage.

Greater Rakshasa

Medium fiend, lawful evil
Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)
Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 20 (+5)

Skills Deception +10, Insight +8
Damage Vulnerabilities piercing from magic weapons wielded by good creatures
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)

Limited Magic Immunity. The greater rakshasa can’t be affected or detected by spells of 7th level or lower unless it wishes to be. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.

Puppet Master. When the greater rakshasa casts the charm person spell, it can target up to five creatures. When it casts the dominate person spell, the spell’s duration is concentration, up to 8 hours.

Innate Spellcasting. The greater rakshasa’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). The greater rakshasa can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect thoughts, disguise self, mage hand, minor illusion
3/day each: charm person, detect magic, invisibility, major image, suggestion
1/day each: dominate person, fly, plane shift, true seeing

Actions

Multiattack. The greater rakshasa makes two claw attacks.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) slashing damage, and the target is cursed if it is a creature. The magical curse takes effect whenever the target takes a short or long rest, filling the target’s thoughts with horrible images and dreams. The cursed target gains no benefit from finishing a short or long rest. The curse lasts until it is lifted by a remove curse spell or similar magic.

Harrowing Visions (Recharge 5-6). The greater rakshasa chooses a point it can see within 60 feet, conjuring a terrifying manifestation of its enemies’ worst fears in a 30-foot-radius around the point. Each non-rakshasa in the area must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 66 (12d10) psychic damage and becomes frightened for 1 minute. On a success, the target takes half the damage and isn’t frightened. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Legendary Actions

The greater rakshasa can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The greater rakshasa regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Claw Attack. The greater rakshasa makes one claw attack.

Misleading Escape (Costs 2 Actions). The greater rakshasa becomes invisible at the same time that an illusory double of itself appears where it is standing. This switch is indiscernible to others. After the double appears, the greater rakshasa can move up to its speed. Both effects last until the start of the greater rakshasa’s next turn, but the invisibility ends if the greater rakshasa makes an attack or casts a spell before then.

Cast a Spell (Costs 3 Actions). The greater rakshasa casts a spell from its list of innate spells, consuming a use of the spell as normal.

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