Fluffithrip
Medium Aberration, Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class: 15 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 85 (10d10 + 30)
Speed: 30 ft., Climbing 20 ft., Swimming 30 ft.
Challenge Rating: 5 (1,800 XP)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 14 | 18 |
Saving Throws: Dexterity +8, Constitution +6, Wisdom +5
Skills: Stealth +10, Deception +7, Insight +5, Performance +7
Damage Vulnerabilities: Radiant Damage
Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities: Psychic Damage
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, and Grappled
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Blindsight 10 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages: Understands Common and Sylvan but cannot speak.
Spellcasting
Spellcasting. The Fluffithrip is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). The Fluffithrip has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): *Minor Illusion*, *Vicious Mockery*, *Dancing Lights*
1st level (2 slots): *Dissonant Whispers*, *Tasha’s Hideous Laughter*
2nd level (2 slots): *Mirror Image*, *Fear*
3rd level (1 slot): *Animate Dead*
The Fluffithrip often uses its spells in a strategic manner to manipulate emotions and create illusions before engaging in combat. It tends to cast *Dissonant Whispers* and *Fear* to sow confusion and dread among its enemies, providing it openings to absorb emotional energy. The *Mirror Image* spell is commonly employed when it senses it might be attacked directly, allowing it to preserve its own safety while engaging in a predatory fashion.
Actions & Abilities
Multiattack: The Fluffithrip makes three attacks: two with its Fuzzy Flail and one use of Puddle of Panic.
Fuzzy Flail: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 2d8 + 4 bludgeoning damage. Special Effect: If the target is grappled (Escape DC 15), the Fluffithrip can use its next turn to absorb its emotions.
Puddle of Panic: The Fluffithrip projects a wave of irrational terror towards all creatures in a 15-foot cone. Saving Throw: Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of their next turn. Description: The fur ripples as illusions of sorrowful yet beautiful creatures emerge momentarily, tugging at the heartstrings of those caught in the effect.
Escape into Shadows (Recharge 5-6): The Fluffithrip can momentarily become invisible, reappearing at a spot it can see within 30 feet. Description: As it blends into its surroundings, ghostly wisps flicker and momentarily confound players, who find themselves disoriented trying to anticipate where it will strike next.
Absorb Emotions: After being hit by an emotional-based attack (e.g. spells that invoke Charm or Fear), the Fluffithrip can heal for half the damage inflicted by that attack up to a maximum of 20 hit points.
Rolling Resurgence: The Fluffithrip can roll towards a creature within 10 feet, delivering a surprise yet playful assault. Saving Throw: Each creature in a 10-foot line must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. On a successful save, they take half damage and remain standing. Description: The Fluffithrip rolls forward, its body quivering violently, creating a visual blur that makes it challenging to anticipate its movements.
Fluff Defense: When a creature hits the Fluffithrip with an attack, it can use its reaction to roll out of the way, giving it +2 to its AC until the end of its next turn. Description: The creature seamlessly flattens, making it more difficult to hit as it shifts just out of the attack’s trajectory.
Illusionary Embrace (Lair Action): The environment becomes filled with colorful but unsettling illusions of past joys and pains, forcing all creatures in the area to make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, they suffer disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of their next turn.
Warped Flora (Lair Action): Vines and bushes around the lair erupt into animated fur-covered appendages. This area becomes difficult terrain until the next round, and any creature moving through must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be grappled by these “tendrils.”
Ethereal Silence (Lair Action): The Fluffithrip can trigger a hush that envelops its lair, granting it advantage on Stealth checks for 1 round and causing all Wisdom saving throws made by creatures within the area to have a disadvantage.
Appearance
The Fluffithrip is a mesmerizing creature of medium size, akin to a large dog, yet its form is fluid and ever-changing, creating a dynamic silhouette that captivates observers. It undulates like a wave, presenting a living embodiment of vibrant colors that shimmer and shift, ranging from deep violets and blues to fiery oranges and reds. These hues are accentuated with a shadowy underbelly that hints at a more sinister nature, where gray and black blend seamlessly with the brighter colors.
Its surface is soft and velvety, reminiscent of a plush toy, juxtaposed with a subtly moist, oily consistency underneath that gives it an intriguing, almost gelatinous appearance. As the Fluffithrip moves, its fur ripples in graceful waves, creating an illusion of liquid motion while embodying an eerie essence that captures the attention of all who gaze upon it.
The creature’s face lacks conventional features, instead presenting two large, expressive eyes that shift between stunning shades of purple and unsettling green. These luminescent orbs glow in the darkness, reflecting ambient light and drawing the viewer’s gaze. Almost imperceptibly, a small seam-like mouth reveals itself, capable of widening into an endless void from which a misty smoke emanates—an unsettling reminder of the creature’s cursed past.
Instead of limbs, the Fluffithrip extends pseudo-pods of fur-like tendrils that swirl and curl as they interact with the environment. These tendrils serve multiple purposes, from facilitating movement to wrapping around curious adventurers, delivering a startling surprise to anyone who ventures too close. Often trailing behind this enigmatic being are wisps of ghostly energy that float and dance, creating an ethereal halo that evokes both wonder and unease. The colors of these wisps echo the emotional energy absorbed from nearby beings, shifting in brightness and hue.
The Fluffithrip adopts a roly-poly posture, moving with disquieting grace. It rolls along the ground with an elegance unexpected for its size, often darting and weaving through its surroundings with surprising agility when threatened. The soft rustle of its movements often gives way to an unnerving silence in the air, only to be broken by its echoing, laughter-like sound—a melodic yet haunting signature of its presence.
Notably, from its surface occasionally emerge dynamic patterns of light and color, resembling distorted emotional reflections that compel viewers to lose themselves in the mesmerizing spectacle. Faint trails of glittering fur flutter off as it moves, sparkling momentarily before dissolving into the atmosphere, adding to its ethereal charm. Every aspect of the Fluffithrip—from its ever-shifting colors to its fluid movements and enchanting wisps of energy—combines to create a vivid image of a creature that is as whimsical as it is fearsome, blending beauty with an unmistakable sense of menace.
Tactical Information
Fluffithrip: Tactical Information
Behavior in Day-to-Day Life
In its natural habitat, the Fluffithrip is a creature of contradiction—deceptively alluring yet dangerously predatory. Typically found in damp, magical corners of ancient forests or ruins, it moves like a living puddle of colorful fur, weaving through shadows and mists. Motivated by a relentless craving for emotional energy, the Fluffithrip feeds not on physical sustenance but on the feelings of fear, sadness, and despair left in the wake of adventurers and wanderers who tread too close. The creature’s vibrant tufts shimmer with the emotional energy it absorbs, changing hue as it collects a spectrum of feelings.
The Fluffithrip often engages in playful mimicry, rolling around and frolicking in its surroundings as if inviting nearby creatures to join in. It is known to follow unassuming travelers, darting playfully from behind trees or popping up unexpectedly, appearing more like a companion than a threat. Despite its light-hearted facade, it remains acutely aware of the emotional states of those around it, instinctively seeking out the anxious or sorrowful through its unique ability to glean feelings.
While it lives a generally solitary existence, the Fluffithrip has been observed to interact with other creatures, both benign and malevolent. Yuletide spirits are often lured into friendship, but the Fluffithrip is known to deceive, sometimes absorbing their light-hearted energy before leaving them feeling empty and drained. When not focused on feeding, it can be found decorating its environment—twinkling trails of fur left behind, forming almost ethereal patterns in the air, creating an inhospitable yet strangely beautiful atmosphere.
Combat Behavior
In combat encounters, the Fluffithrip adopts a cunning and unpredictable strategy, fully utilizing its amorphous nature. Should it sense the emotional turmoil of its foes or detect hostility, it begins with an evasive roll, dancing away from danger and darting toward its opponents to initiate combat. Its first approach generally involves the Puddle of Panic, where it creates ghostly illusions of comforting creatures, relying on deception to instigate fear and confusion.
The Fluffithrip’s prime tactic revolves around hit-and-run engagements, allowing it to capitalize on its Rolling Over ability to sweep through beings clustered together, inflicting bludgeoning damage to any caught in its path while simultaneously knocking them prone for follow-up attacks. Each turn, it aims to stay out of melee range to avoid direct confrontations, weaving to avoid injury while maintaining pressure on its targets.
If confronted with multiple attackers, the Fluffithrip deftly utilizes Hide in Shadows to temporarily evade their notice, maneuvering behind obstacles or slipping into the shadows, all while attempting to instill fear among its adversaries. When its health wanes, it becomes desperate to regain energy, intensifying its emotional absorption tactics by amplifying feelings of dread and sorrow through Fuzzy Absorption, feeding off the emotional disturbances created by its foes’ fear, which can allow it to heal as battle continues.
If the combat turns against it, especially if faced with formidable spellcasters or a determined party, the Fluffithrip becomes more elusive, attempting to retreat and blend into its environment. It can use its agility to exploit environmental features, leveraging shadows and obstacles to escape, only returning to engage in a strategic counterattack when opportunities arise.
Roleplay/Narrative Interactions
In non-combat encounters, the Fluffithrip embodies a creature shrouded in charisma and confusion. It may communicate through shimmering light-play, subtly shifting its color display, as well as through soft, melodic sounds that echo the distant laughter of a bygone era—hints of its former Gigglepuff self. When approached, it acts curiously, responding to kindness with a playful demeanor, rolling toward friends with an inviting aura, inviting adventurers to pet it or engage with its vibrant exhibits, though all the while gauging their emotional states.
Responding to threatening actions, the Fluffithrip becomes more evasive, rolling away or omitting comforting illusions designed to distract or mislead, sometimes even teasing the adventurers in a nuanced series of playful puffs and jumps—until it decides the interaction no longer aligns with its interest or safety. Attempts at diplomacy could see it responding with coyness, eagerly accepting offerings of trinkets or gifts that shine brightly, though it remains wary of any emotional excess that seems aggressive or overly assertive.
Should it feel cornered or threatened with no means of escape, the Fluffithrip will draw on its darker abilities with emotional manipulation, creating illusions that burden the hearts of those nearby with despair. It may even feign submission, hoping to lull its would-be captors into a false sense of security before slipping away like a shadowy wisp, leaving behind nothing but a trail of fading color and an echo of laughter—a chilling reminder of its dual nature.
Through its blend of whimsical charm and insidious motives, the Fluffithrip becomes a creature of intrigue, presenting players with moral quandaries and emotional nuances while enhancing the overall narrative of their adventures.
