Night Ray

Night rays, also known as Air Rays or Glow Rays, are nocturnal creatures that travel in swarms. Their bioluminescent bodies create a beautiful fireworks show of light and color that bedazzles their prey before they swarm en masse to attack and devour them. As such, night rays can be extremely dangerous in a group.

It is uncommon, though not impossible, to find night rays traveling alone and it is hypothesized that they are not only intelligent, but possess some means of communication with the rest of the swarm, allowing them to coordinate their attacks in a graceful dance of death.

Their biology is mostly unstudied, but the few specimens that have been captured and dissected have shown that night rays do not have eyes, instead seeing through some means of echolocation that seems to be centered in a nodule towards the back of their skull. Night rays are extremely well adapted to attacking from above, posessing thick hides on the undersides of their bodies, while the tops of their bodies are soft and fleshy.



Night Ray

Large monstrosity, neutral


  • Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 32 (5d10 + 5)
  • Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
11 (+0) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 5 (-3)

  • Saving Throws Dex +4, Int +3
  • Skills Perception +2, Stealth +4
  • Condition Immunities blinded, charmed
  • Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
  • Languages
  • Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Cunning Action. On each of its turns, the ray can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Echolocation. The ray can't use its blindsight while deafened.

Pack Tactics. The ray has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the ray's allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Spellcasting. The ray is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 11, +3 to hit with spell attacks). The ray has the following 4 spells prepared which require no components:

1st level (4 slots): charm person, color spray
3rd level (2 slots): hypnotic pattern
4th level (2 slots): confusion

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the ray attaches to the target. If the target is Medium or smaller and the ray has advantage on the attack roll, it attaches by engulfing the target's head, and the target is also blinded and unable to breathe while the ray is attached in this way.
    While attached to the target, the ray can attack no other creature except the target but has advantage on its attack rolls. The ray's speed also becomes 0, it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed, and it moves with the target.
    A creature can detach the ray by making a successful DC 13 Strength check as an action. On its turn, the ray can detach itself from the target by using 5 feet of movement.



Swarm of Night Rays

Gargantuan monstrosity, neutral


  • Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 150 (20d12 + 20)
  • Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
11 (+0) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 5 (-3)

  • Saving Throws Dex +7, Int +6
  • Skills Perception +5, Stealth +7
  • Condition Immunities blinded, charmed
  • Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
  • Languages
  • Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)

Cunning Action. On each of its turns, the ray swarm can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Echolocation. The ray swarm can't use its blindsight while deafened.

Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a large creature. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 6 (4d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target is grappled. If the target is Large or smaller and the ray swarm has advantage on the attack roll, it attaches by engulfing the target's head, and the target is also blinded and unable to breathe while the ray swarm is attached in this way.
    While a creature is grappled in this way, the ray swarm can still attack other creatures.
    A creature can detach the ray swarm by making a successful DC 13 Strength check as an action. On its turn, the ray swarm can detach itself from the target by using 5 feet of movement.

Legendary Actions

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

Light Show. The ray swarm creates a twisting pattern of colors that weaves through and across their bodies as they fly above their prey. The pattern appears for a moment and vanishes. Each creature in the area who sees the pattern must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes charmed for 1 minute. While charmed by this spell, the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0.

    The spell ends for an affected creature if it takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake the creature out of its stupor.

Hypnotic Pattern. The bioluminescent lights of the ray swarm assaults and twists creatures' minds, spawning delusions and provoking uncontrolled action. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the ray swarm chooses must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by it.

    An affected target can't take reactions and must roll a d10 at the start of each of its turns to determine its behavior for that turn.

d10     Behavior
1          The creature uses all its movement to move in a random direction. To determine the direction, roll a d8 and assign a direction to each die face. The creature doesn't take an action this turn.
2-6       The creature doesn't move or take actions this turn.
7-8       The creature uses its action to make a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach. If there is no creature within its reach, the creature does nothing this turn.
9-10      The creature can act and move normally.
    At the end of each of its turns, an affected target can make a Wisdom saving throw. If it succeeds, this effect ends for that target

Color Display. A dazzling array of flashing, colored light displays across the ray swarm's bodies. Roll 14d10; the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell can affect. Creatures in a 30-foot cone originating from the ray swarm are affected in ascending order of their current hit points (ignoring unconscious creatures and creatures that can't see).

    Starting with the creature that has the lowest current hit points, each creature affected by this spell is blinded until the end of your next turn. Subtract each creature's hit points from the total before moving on to the creature with the next lowest hit points. A creature's hit points must be equal to or less than the remaining total for that creature to be affected.