Monster Monday: Bellwether - It Tolls for Thee

Today's Monster Monday is the bellwether, a black ram with a large bronze bell in place of its head. This harbinger of doom delivers blasts of pummeling sonic energy with every toll, leaving its targets shaken. If the bellwether is not stopped before it tolls thirteen times, all who hear its final bell are cursed, and the surrounding land is left blighted.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

In place of a head, this black ram has a cylindrical bronze bell ringed with arcane inscriptions

Bellwether             CR 3

XP 800

N Medium magical beast

Init +5; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +4 natural)

hp 30 (4d10+8)

Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +4

Immune sonic

Defensive Abilities silence resistance

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee slam +6 (1d6+2 plus 1d6 sonic)

Special Attacks bell (30 ft. cone, 13/day, 4d6 sonic plus shaken, DC 16 Fort), thirteenth toll

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 7, Wis 16, Cha 14

Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 17 (21 vs trip)

Feats Ability Focus (bell), Improved Initiative

Skills Climb +7, Perception +8

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Bell (Su)

The bellwether can cause its bell to ring as a standard action, blasting enemies with waves of pure sonic force. All creatures in a 30 foot cone must make a DC 16 Fortitude save or take 4d6 sonic damage and become shaken for 1d4+1 rounds. Those who successfully save take half damage and are not shaken. The bellwether can ring its bell this way thirteen times per day. This is a sonic mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Silence Resistance (Su)

Upon casting the spell silence within range of any of the bellwether’s sonic abilities, the caster must make a DC 14 caster level check; failure means that the ringing of the bellwether’s bell is audible even within the range of the magical silence.

Thirteenth Toll (Su)

The thirteenth time a bellwether uses its bell ability in a single day, all creatures within 500 feet who have heard the tolling of its bell must make a DC 14 Will save or become cursed as if by the spell bestow curse. Alternately, the bellwether can curse the land for one mile around with blight, as per the Blight witch hex. This is a sonic necromancy curse effect. The save DC is Charisma-based

ECOLOGY

Environment any

Organization solitary

Treasure none

This bell-headed beast is widely known as a harbinger of doom. It appears as a black-furred ram with a large cylindrical bronze bell in place of a head. The mere ringing of its bell can blast those nearby with waves of solid sonic energy and cause those who hear it to become gripped with fear. Upon ringing thirteen times, the bellwether inflicts a curse upon the hearer and blights the land around it. 

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Plot Hooks and Encounter Ideas

• When a bellwether appears on the hill above town and begins to toll its bell, the adventurers have just over one minute to reach the creature and silence it before the whole town is cursed.
• A cleric of the goddess of fortune seeks the bell of a bellwether in order to craft a magical mace. 
• A travelling gnomish merchant whose black cart is pulled by two bell-headed goats offers arcane deals that seem too good to be true.
• The party's bard must negotiate with an orcish metal band to change the venue of their concert after it becomes apparent that the use of live bellwethers in their performance threatens the surrounding villages.

-your trendsetting d20 despot