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In Dungeons Dragons Fifth Edition, undead monsters are a dime a dozen, but this creature is more than just a random encounter, it’s a quest-maker.
Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition fans are all too familiar with the zombie or shadow of undead creatures. Even wights and specters are becoming more common. However, deep in the shadows of a library or lurking in the ancient ruins of a once-grand civilization lies a new horror — the Allip. This intriguing, unique monster isn’t just a scary undead thing players need to hit until it’s dead. It’s creative, and its abilities make it a challenge to defeat. What’s more, this creature can still affect players long after they’ve seemingly vanquished it.
The Allip offers Dungeon Masters a unique undead monster that focuses on psychic attacks and player manipulation. These creatures can wreak havoc on even an advanced party when you go beyond their stat block. While they can consistently dole out a decent amount of damage, it’s the Blasphemous Secrets that truly make this monster stand out.
The Allip Targets The Mind
At its core, this undead creature is similar to those gamers have seen before. It’s immune to the same types of damage higher challenge rating undead are, including cold and necrotic. The Allip’s damage resistances are also quite strong, including non-magical attacks, fire, and lighting. Where things get interesting for the Allip is in the abilities. It has three core features: Maddening Touch, Whispers of Madness, and Howling Babble. Maddening Touch is the basic attack for this monster, and it deals 4d6 + 3 psychic damage on a hit and affects one creature.
Whispers of Madness kicks things up a notch and affects three creatures it can see within 60 feet. This feature causes 1d8 + 3 psychic damage, which isn’t much, but the real power lies in its additional effect. Creatures who fail the Wisdom saving throw must use their reaction to attack a creature of the Allip’s choice that’s in melee range. This manipulation effect can cause quite a bit of damage and affects up to three players at a time. Getting the party to start attacking each other is an incredibly useful tool for the Allip. This ability practically gives it free attacks with potentially much greater damage. If a player’s hit modifier is +7 or more, the Allip is more likely to land an attack thanks to the party members.
Howling Babble is the Allip’s recharging ability, which comes back on a six. With this feature, each creature within 30 feet of the Allip who can hear it makes a Wisdom save to avoid 2d8 + 3 psychic damage. The real kicker comes when a player fails the save and is stunned until the end of its next turn. These features can pack a punch, but it’s in the lore where the monster truly shines.
The Allip Is a Monster Who Knows Too Much
The Allip’s Blasphemous Secrets trait could be easily overlooked if the lore and flavor text was dismissed. Still, this feature is what makes the Allip such an interesting foe. An Allip wasn’t always a terrible undead creature; it only became one when it’s wracked with a horrendous insight into the secret of a powerful being. This knowledge becomes a curse that disintegrates the Allip’s body and leaves only a broken psyche trapped to wander the realms as a specter.
From learning a truth about the way of the cosmos to the secret of a Demon Lord’s power, the knowledge an Allip acquires is life-changing, or life-ending as the case may be. Its mind is so corrupted and twisted by the secret that it seeks to rid itself of the weight by sharing it with another. By doing so, the Allip implants a shard of the information in the target’s mind, driving them to temporary madness.
Survivors are left with a compulsion to learn more about that ancient truth, which can plague them for days or even months. As creatures that infect the mind, an Allip can get victims to do their bidding and spread their curse to others. As such, a DM can use this monster to lay clues about the campaign, create an adventure based on a deadly secret or make the answer to the players’ quest trapped in the mind of an Allip. The cost of obtaining such information is high. The DM can test if one of the players is willing to accept it and what the others might do to save their companion from such a terrible fate.
For example, in the D&D sourcebook, Mythic Odysseys of Theros, the Path of Phenax can allow a mortal to escape the Underworld. However, the knowledge of the Path itself and what one must do is lost because no Returned that’s succeeded remembers what they did. If the players are looking for a way to bring someone back from the Underworld or if they died themselves, pulling this dark secret from an Allip could save them.
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