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Greater Barghest

Once a barghest has eaten enough to grow into a greater barghest, it typically seeks a method to leave the Material Plane and return to the Abyss, there joining other fiends as yet another of that plane’s horrors. As barghests have no innate ability to travel the planes, though, the time it takes for most greater barghests to engineer such a return can usually be measured in years, if not decades. During that time, greater barghests continue to play the roles of gluttons, hunters of humanity, and tyrants of goblinoid tribes. More than a few grow accustomed to such lives on the Material Plane and wholly abandon the end goal of returning to the Abyss, despite the fact that those who do make such a return home often grow even more powerful over time, gaining eerie new abilities and qualities absorbed from the raw chaos of the Abyss itself.

In addition to greater barghests being more powerful than typical barghests, the process of transforming into a greater barghest results in hideous mutations that often grant deadly abilities. Some barghests grow large bat-like wings upon their transformation. Others develop toxic breath or vestigial limbs. The options detailed in the stats below represent only the tip of the proverbial iceberg for barghest mutations—feel free to use these as inspiration for coming up with new mutations of your own design.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 25

Greater BarghestCreature 7

UncommonCELargeFiendMutant
Source Bestiary pg. 37
Perception +16; darkvision, scent (imprecise) 30 feet
Languages Abyssal, Common, Goblin
Skills Acrobatics +15, Athletics +15, Deception +18, Diplomacy +14, Intimidation +16, Stealth +15, Survival +14
Str +6, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +3, Cha +5
AC 25; Fort +17, Ref +15, Will +12
HP 105; Resistances fire 10, physical 10 (except magical); Weaknesses good 5, lawful 5
Attack of Opportunity ReactionReaction
Speed 35 feet
Melee Single ActionSingle Action jaws +17 [+12/+7], Damage 2d10+6 piercingMelee Single ActionSingle Action claw +17 [+13/+9] (agile), Damage 2d8+6 slashingDivine Innate Spells DC 25; 4th blink (at will), confusion, dimension door, enlarge; 3rd levitate (at will); 2nd invisibility (at will); 1st charm
Change Shape Single ActionSingle Action (concentrate, divine, polymorph, transmutation) The barghest takes on the shape of a goblinoid (a goblin, hobgoblin, or bugbear) or a wolf, or it transforms back into its true form. When the barghest is a goblinoid, it loses its jaws and claw Strikes, it becomes Small if it is a goblin, and its Speed changes to 20 feet. When the barghest is a wolf, its Speed changes to 40 feet and its jaws gain Knockdown. Each individual barghest has only one goblinoid form and one wolf form.Mutations The process of consuming corpses to evolve into a greater barghest results in odd and unpredictable physiological changes. A greater barghest has one mutation, typically chosen from the following options.
  • Fangs (poison) The barghest grows elongated fangs that seep poison. Its jaws deal 1d6 additional poison damage and 1d6 persistent poison damage.
  • Toxic Breath Two ActionsTwo Actions (divine, evocation, poison) The barghest breathes a cloud of toxic gas that deals 8d6 poison damage to all creatures in a 30-foot cone (DC 25 basic Fortitude save). It can’t use Toxic Breath again for 1d4 rounds.
  • Vestigial Arm Strike Free ActionFree Action Frequency once per round; Trigger The barghest completes a Strike. Effect The barghest makes a claw Strike with a shriveled third arm hanging from its torso. This attack doesn’t count for the barghest’s multiple attack penalty, nor does that penalty apply on the attack.
  • Wings The barghest has malformed wings extending from its back. It gains a fly Speed of 25 feet.

All Monsters in "Barghest"

NameLevel
Barghest4
Greater Barghest7

Barghest

Source Bestiary pg. 36
Barghests are lupine fiends with goblinoid faces and humanoid hands. They stalk the Material Plane in search of souls to sate their demonic hunger. Eons ago, barghests dwelled in the pits of Hell and served Asmodeus, but after Lamashtu abducted and adopted the four most powerful of their kind to serve as pets (and in time, as a pantheon of hero-gods worshipped by evil goblins), barghests’ loyalties and philosophical nature changed significantly. Today, while barghests retain their connection to goblinoids, they serve none but their own appetites.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Barghest Cults

The barghest hero-gods may be the only ones of their kind capable of granting spells to their clerics, but the idea of adoring worshippers appeals to all barghests. A barghest that completes its transformation into a greater barghest, and thus is no longer morbidly distracted by its hunger, often plays the role of a deity to ignorant groups of goblins or other monsters. To them, the fact that the barghest can’t grant spells is irrelevant—rather, their veneration is due the fact that worshipping the barghest is the best way to keep it from devouring the entire tribe.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Barghest Hero-Gods

The four barghests stolen from Hell’s kennels by the deity Lamashtu were not the originals of their kind, but they were then and remain today the most powerful. Now they are denizens of the Abyss, dwelling in their own realm adjacent to Lamashtu’s domain, and are heavily worshipped by goblins across multiple worlds as “hero-gods.” These four barghests include Hadregash the slaver, Venkelvore the torturer, Zarongel the dog slayer, and Zogmugot the scavenger.