Category: Evlyn Moreau

Evlyn Moreau over at Le Chaudron Chromatique posted this amazing picture several months ago, with an invitation to make something out of it:

Here’s my take, statted D&D 5E:  Auspexia’s Bird House

Auspexia’s Birdhouse

Flocks of birds sweep the Unbidden Plains like angry thunderheads. Through their eyes, Auspexia sees all that happens on the ancient grasslands. The PCs might raid Auspexia’s birdhouse to secure a long-lost secret or to steal one of the hag’s enchanted birds.

1 – Rope Ladder: The lowest rung remains 6 ft. off the ground even when the ladder is unfurled. Small-sized characters must make a successful DC 10 DEX (Acrobatics) check to catch the ladder if the house is in motion. The ladder attaches to a wooden walkway encircling the house.

2 – Undercarriage: Two pairs of enormous cockatrice feet sprout from the house’s foundation. Woven into the grasses are the desiccated heads of thieves who’ve tried and failed to break into Auspexia’s home.

Cockatrice Feet:  The feet grant the birdhouse a speed of 60 ft. A creature near the feet while the house is in motion must make a DC 16 DEX save or take 4d6+5 bludgeoning and fall prone. Each leg has AC 16 and 90 hp (immune to psychic damage). The house’s speed drops by 30 ft. for each leg destroyed. The house crashes to the ground if three or more the legs are destroyed.

Thief Heads: Weaver birds nest inside the thieves’ open mouths. Auspexia routinely interrogates the thieves via speak with dead spells. Characters who steal a head must wait 1d10 days before another speak with dead can be cast on it. Unless the PCs seek a specific head, there’s only a 1 in 6 chance a given head provides useful information.

3 – Needle-bill Hummingbirds: 1d12 thumb-sized hummingbirds struggle in individual cheesecloth sacks. Auspexia dips the hummingbirds’ bills in a poison to which the birds are immune. If released from its sack, a hummingbird attacks the nearest creature until it hits, then it flies away.

Needle-bill hummingbird: AC 15; 1 hp; SPD fly 40 ft.; ATK beak (+7 to hit, 1 piercing + 6d6 poison, DC 15 CON halves); STR -4, DEX +5, CON -1, INT -4, WIS -1, CHA -4; TRAITS flyby (doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks while flying)

4 – Wooden Ladder: The ladder’s lowest rung is 10 ft. off the ground. The ladder ascends to a sturdy door (AC 15, 18 hp, immune to poison and psychic). A character with thieves’ tools can pick the door’s lock by making a successful DC 16 DEX check. The beak of a key-nose warbler (see Area 5) also fits the lock.

The three porthole windows above the door are identical to the one in Area 12.

5 – Key-nose Warblers: Two key-nose warblers occupy the perches. The warblers’ notched beaks fit the lock of the door in Area 4. The warblers can be called to hand with a successful DC 13 WIS (Animal Handling) check. Otherwise, catching a warbler requires a successful DC 18 DEX check. The warblers can be killed (AC 14, 1 hp), but they fly off if attacked.

6 – Egg Depositories: Many of Auspexia’s birds have abandoned nest-building. Instead, they lay eggs in these baskets on their way to and from other errands. A kestrel (as a blood hawk) named Masego tends the eggs until Auspexia collects them. Zuri, a mischievous cuckoo, pesters Masego night and day. Auspexia’s magic has given both birds the ability to speak Common.

7 – Shuttered Windows: The shutters are locked. A character with thieves’ tools can open a set of shutters by making a successful DC 12 DEX check. The shutters can also be smashed (AC 13, 5 hp, immune to poison and psychic).

8 – Spirit Chimney: Auspexia vents her victims’ souls through this chimney to ensure they don’t haunt her. Once they hit open air, the unquiet spirits dissipate within moments. Plugging the chimney traps the spirits instead and causes Auspexia no end of trouble. Tiny-size creatures can climb down the chimney but are subject to possession by a ghost.

9 – Feather Doors: The double doors are 10 ft. tall and curtained with vibrant feathers. No knob or keyhole is visible. A knock spell opens the doors. The doors can also be forced open with a successful DC 20 STR (Athletics) check or smashed (AC 15, 27 hp, immune to poison and psychic).

The giant flamingo Uzomo (see Area 11) can open the doors magically but does so only at Auspexia’s request. Uzomo attacks creatures who try to force their way through the doors.

10 – Weeping Window: The window’s glass is smashed, and the shards that remain weep black ichor. Climbing through the window while avoiding the ichor requires a successful DC 12 DEX (Acrobatics) check. A creature that makes contact with the ichor must make a DC 13 CON save or become poisoned for 24 hours.

11 – Uzomo: The giant war flamingo Uzomo has served Auspexia for centuries and is her most powerful servant. Uzomo attacks anyone who tries to break into Auspexia’s house and discusses philosophy with everyone else. He’s grown too large to retract his head through the window, but Uzomo’s daughters (see Area 16) come to his aid if he is in danger.

Uzomo: AC 13; 76 hp; SPD 0 ft.; ATK beak (+6 to hit, reach 15 ft., 4d6 + 4 piercing) or mind’s-eye beams (up to 4 beams, +6 to hit, range 120 ft., 2d6 psychic + the target must make a DC 14 INT save or be blinded, save ends); STR +4, DEX +2, CON +3, INT +4, WIS +4, CHA +3; TRAITS truesight, immune (charmed, frightened), resist (psychic)

12 – Porthole Windows: Numerous circular windows light the interior of Auspexia’s home. The windows are latched securely and can’t be opened from outside without the use of a knock spell or similar magic. If smashed, the window’s glass weeps a poisonous ichor, as described in Area 10.

13 – Forethought and Hindsight: The perches belong to Auspexia’s giant vultures, Forethought and Hindsight. There’s a 1 in 6 chance per bird that the vulture is here; otherwise, it’s out surveying the plains for Auspexia. The vultures are hostile but can be bribed with carrion.

Scrying Mirrors:  Two eye-shaped mirrors hang on the wall nearby. If inspected with a detect magic spell, the mirrors radiate auras of divination magic. The mirrors can be removed but each is 5 feet across and weighs over 100 pounds.

Creatures within 5 feet of Hindsight’s mirror can use their action to scry on the bird at its location exactly 30 days in the past. Similarly, Forethought’s mirror can be used to scry wherever it will be 30 days from now. A mirror loses its magic if destroyed or if the vulture to which it is linked is killed.

14 – The Starling Knight: The shutters are identical to those described in Area 7. A painted wooden panel stands between the shutters. The panel depicts a bird-headed warrior outfitted with iridescent armor and carrying a greatsword. The slanted roof is shingled with feathers.

Slanted Roof:  Because of its steep angle, the roof is difficult terrain. A creature that takes damage while standing on the roof must make a DC 10 DEX saving throw or fall prone. A creature that falls prone then slides off the edge of the roof unless it makes a successful DC 12 STR saving throw. The starling knight (see below) ignores these effects.

Starling Knight:  A creature that steps onto the roof causes the starling knight to animate (as a knight). The starling knight attacks anyone who tries to force their way into Auspexia’s home. The knight is intelligent but communicates only by mimicking words it has heard spoken within the past 24 hours. The knight returns to the panel once it has dealt with any perceived threats. The starling knight regains all hit points each time it returns to the panel.

The knight’s armor is magical plate mail that functions as a robe of scintillating colors. It wields a +3 greatsword.

15 – Rookery: Six swarms of ravens perch here. The ravens harvest treasure from the surrounding area and deliver it to Auspexia by dropping it into the flower box above. The box contains 130 sp, 60 gp, a necklace of painted beads worth 25 gp, and a potion of clairvoyance, mixed in among other shiny but worthless trinkets. The ravens attack only if provoked or if their treasure is disturbed.

16 – Vrepna and Galeen: Vrepna and Galeen have neither the size nor intelligence of their father Uzomo (see Area 11), but they compensate with ferociousness and cunning. They also serve as mounts for Auspexia on the rare occasions the hag must leave her home.

Vrepna and Galeen: AC 13; 60 hp; SPD 20 ft., fly 40 ft.; ATK beak (+5 to hit, reach 10 ft., 3d6 + 3 piercing); STR +3, DEX +2, CON +2, INT +0, WIS +2, CHA +0; TRAITS dive attack (+2d6 piercing if it dives at least 30 ft. toward a target and then hits with a beak attack)

17 – Weather Vane: While touching the weather vane, you can use an action to cast control weather without expending a spell slot. Instead of the spell’s normal area of effect, you control the weather in a 5-mile quadrant you choose (north, south, east, or west). You can change the vane’s direction as an action. You lose concentration on the spell if you end your turn not touching the weather vane. Once the vane has been used to cast control weather, it can’t do so again until 66 days have passed. The vane can be removed but functions only if affixed to a rooftop or similar structure.

18 – High Gable: The roof here is pitched, as described in Area 14. The porthole windows are identical to those described in Area 12. The gable is superficially dilapidated, but closer inspection reveals sturdy construction. A successful DC 18 INT (Investigation) or WIS (Perception) check reveals a secret door to Auspexia’s inner sanctum.

19 – Low Gable: The roof here is pitched, as described in Area 14. The porthole windows are identical to those described in Area 12. A wooden panel depicting a skull-headed humanoid wearing a fashionable suit adorns one side of the gable. Creatures that start their turn within 30 ft. of the panel and that can see it must make a successful DC 14 WIS saving throw or become cursed. While cursed, the creature suffers intense acrophobia and is frightened whenever they are more than 10 ft. above the ground. A creature that resists or recovers from this effect becomes immune to the panel’s curse.

20 – Bird Feeders: A 7-ft. tall iron spike juts from the house’s peak. The head of a large humanoid, its eyes plucked out by carrion birds, is impaled upon the spike. Nearby, a swing dangles at the end of a 10-ft. long gangplank.

Iron Spike:  If inspected with a detect magic spell, the spike radiates necromancy. A dead creature impaled on the spike reanimates as undead. Reanimated creatures are sentient and aware of their predicament, but they can’t free themselves from the spike. The creature dies again if removed from the spike by other means.

The spike’s current occupant is an oni named Ocheron. Ocheron tells the party the location of his lost spellbook if they promise to end his suffering. If the PCs double-cross him, Ocheron casts cone of cold.

Swing:  Aspexia binds those who displease her to the swing so that her avian minions can pick their flesh. Traversing the gangplank requires a successful DC 12 DEX (Acrobatics) check. This check is made with disadvantage if the house is in motion. A creature that fails the check can make a DC 12 STR saving throw to catch themselves before falling 15 ft. and landing on the rooftop below.