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Jabberwocky

Challenge
str
24
dex
18
con
24
int
14
wis
20
cha
22

AC 20 (natural armor)

HP 405 (30d12 + 210; bloodied 202)

Speed 60 ft., fly 40 ft.


Proficiency +6; Maneuver DC 21

Saving Throws Dexterity +10, Constitution +13, Wisdom +11, Charisma +12

Skills Stealth +10, Intimidation +12, Perception +11

Damage Resistances fire; bludgeoning and piercing

Condition Immunities charmed, confused, fatigued, frightened, paralyzed, unconscious

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 21

Languages Jabber


Legendary Resistance (3/Day). When the jabberwock fails a saving throw , it can choose to succeed instead. It can’t do so against an effect that would sever one of its body parts.

Reactive. The jabberwock can take three reactions per round. It can’t take more than one reaction on the same turn.

Regeneration. The jabberwock regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn. The jabberwock dies only if its head is severed. A creature can sever the jabberwock’s head by dealing 15 slashing damage to it in a single turn while it has 0 hit points.

Vorpal Weakness. While the jabberwocky is bloodied, a roll of 16 or higher with a sword of sharpness or vorpal sword is treated as a 20.

Whiffling Flight. The jabberwock’s flight is clumsy and unpredictable. While the jabberwock is flying it has disadvantage on attack rolls and attack rolls against it have disadvantage .

Manxome Burble. Creatures subject to Jabberwocky’s Burbling Curse can spread the curse to those that hear them. Whenever a creature that was cursed by Jabberwocky speaks, each listener must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or be subject to Burbling Curse. A listener cursed in this way can’t spread the curse any further.


ACTIONS

Multiattack. The jabberwock attacks once with its bite and twice with its claw.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (3d12 + 7) slashing damage. On a critical hit against a creature, the jabberwock’s teeth debilitate a limb until the character completes a long rest or is restored to full hit points. At the Narrator's discretion, the target might suffer a permanent wound that requires the greater restoration spell. For a typical humanoid, roll 1d6: 1–3 arm (preventing the use of that arm to hold items or wear a shield), 4–6 leg (halving the target’s Speed). 

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 21). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained . The jabberwock can have up to two creatures grappled at a time.

Eyes of Flame (Recharge 5–6). The jabberwock’s gaze ignites everything in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area makes a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw , taking 49 (14d6) fire damage on a failed save or half damage on a success.


REACTIONS

Claws that Catch. When a creature escapes the jabberwock’s grapple , the jabberwock makes a claw attack against that creature.

Jaws that Bite. When a creature that the jabberwock can see makes a melee attack against it, the jabberwock makes a bite attack against that creature.

Whiffling Dodge. When the jabberwock would be hit by a ranged attack while it is not flying, it flies up to its speed, imposing disadvantage on the triggering attack.

Eyes of Vengeance. When a creature within 60 feet targets Jabberwocky with a spell or magical effect, or includes Jabberwocky in the area of a spell or magical effect, Jabberwocky immediately recharges and uses Eyes of Flame, including the attacker in its area if possible.


BONUS ACTIONS

Burble. The jabberwock speaks in the magical Jabber language. Each creature within 30 feet of the jabberwock that can hear it and that doesn’t speak Jabber makes a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw . On a failure, the creature is subjected to a burbling curse . While cursed, half the words the creature speaks are replaced with words in the Jabber language. Each time the creature speaks, casts a spell with a vocalized component, or uses an effect that requires listeners to understand its words, the creature must roll a d20. On a roll of 1–9, the speech is unintelligible or the spell or effect is wasted. The creature repeats the saving throw whenever it finishes a long rest, ending the curse on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, it is immune to Burble for 24 hours.

Combat

While flying, the jabberwock uses Eyes of Flame. The jabberwock then lands, attacking one opponent with a bite and a claw and a different opponent with its second claw. It focuses on spellcasters, grappling them and using Burble to hamper their spells. It prefers to use its reaction to bite a grappled creature. If it isn’t grappling a creature, it uses Whiffling Dodge. The jabberwock flies away if it takes slashing damage while it is bloodied. When it retreats, it carries with it any creatures it is grappling.


Names

Barbjadorith, Gostak, Mimlimious


Legends and Lore

An Arcana or History check reveals the following:

DC 10 Jabberwocks are dragons native to the fey realm. Accounts of the creatures vary.

DC 15 Survivors of a jabberwock encounter are often afflicted with a curse that reduces their speech to nonsense.

DC 20 Jabberwocks fear bladed weapons, especially vorpal swords.


Burbling Curse

Characters with low Wisdom scores might struggle to recover from the curse inflicted by the jabberwock’s unintelligible speech. The rules of the curse indicate that an affected character should roll a d20 each time it tries to communicate. Players or Narrators who prefer to act out the curse might instead try the following challenge: when an affected character speaks, replace each adjective and noun with a nonsense word, such as “jabberwock” for nouns and “jabberwocky” for adjectives. Casting a spell with a vocalized component still requires a die roll.

Description

The mightiest of the jabberwocks is the one known as Jabberwocky. It broods over a lair littered with broken magical blades, from which it ventures to slay the most promising swordsmiths of the Dreaming. It speaks a particularly virulent form of Jabber, which has spread even beyond its wide hunting range.

Behavior

1 Hunting

2 Questioning a victim of its burbling curse; it understands them perfectly

3 Following an adventuring party (possibly yours!) that it suspects carries a vorpal sword

4 Reciting Jabber poetry to an inanimate tree

Signs

1 A humanoid afflicted with a burbling curse, trying to warn travelers of danger

2 Two talking animals; one always lies, one always tells the truth

3 Easy-to-spot footprints (DC 15 Survival check: the footprints of a jabberwock walking backwards)

4 A stretch of barren, ashy ground


 

Encounters

The jabberwock whiffles through ancient and fey forests.

CR 17–22 jabberwock ; jabberwock with 2 or 3 faerie dragons , flying swords , or keches

Treasure 600 pp, 2,000 gp, Huge-size silken waistcoat (200 gp), 2 potions of diminution , 2 potions of growth , sword of sharpness hidden in an alcove that a Small creature must squeeze into to reach

CR 23–30 Jabberwocky ; jabberwock with 2 or 3 coven green hags , invisible stalkers , or trolls

Treasure 14,500 gp, 2 sentient diamonds (5,000 gp each) that argue with each other, book of incomprehensible poetry, vorpal battleaxe (as vorpal sword)

Monster Type Description

Dragons include red and gold dragons, which are huge reptilian fire-breathers that number among the world’s most dangerous monsters. This type includes white dragons , which breathe killing frost, as well as smaller reptilian creatures related to true dragons, such as pseudodragons