Gloomstalkers are flying monstrosities native to the Shadowfell.
Description[]
Appearance[]
Fan art of a gloomstalker, by Emi (@emisartcr).[art 2]
"Black as night against the gray sky. From this distance, you make out no details in their bodies. It's almost like a moving shadow above you. Wherever light would hit to give you some sense of structure, it's just absence, void. It's just a flying shadow."[4]
"It is billowing black shadow like smoke off of it. You can see glimpses of some sort of physical form in there, but it's so blurry, it's almost like it's phasing between physical matter and dream. You're not sure what it's made from, but you can see what looks to be an elongated neck, some sort of snapping jaw at the end, and two bright, greenish-yellow glowing beacons like eyes at the front of its face. Its wings don't have skin or flesh, it's just dark smoke, and as it flaps, it leaves these trails, these curling bits like black, black, black smoke. It's wyvern-sized. It's maybe 20 feet from wingtip to wingtip."[5]
Behavior[]
The gloomstalkers were intelligent enough to coordinate an air patrol above Thar Amphala. They were able to communicate with one another and obey commands given via Dominate Monster.
One of the gloomstalkers encountered by Vox Machina showed evidence of being able to dispel an illusion of a little girl, produced by Scanlan. However, the gloomstalker was not intelligent enough to understand why the little girl disappeared when its anti-glamor cone crossed her.[6]
Abilities[]
Gloomstalkers are able to fly at a speed of 80 feet per round[7][1] and they have the ability to teleport short distances.[8] Gloomstalkers are vulnerable to radiant damage.[9]
History[]
The Calamity[]
When the Betrayer Gods created Ghor Dranas, gloomstalkers could be seen flying over the city, and were used as mounts by followers of these deities and other evil individuals. Even after The Divergence, these creatures can still be found in Xhorhas.[1]
During that era, Alyxian once protected two children from a gloomstalker.[10]
"Thar Amphala" (1x101)[]
Fan art of gloomstalkers, by Kae Hunter.[art 4]
Vox Machina encountered them in the Shadowfell, above the city of Thar Amphala.[11]
"Race to the Tower" (1x102)[]
While patrolling the skies above Thar Amphala, one of the gloomstalkers caught sight of Vox Machina as they were crawling under a wall into the city. It grabbed Keyleth, the last one to go through, and pulled her back. Scanlan quickly cast Dominate Monster and took control of it, telling it to release Keyleth and tell the other gloomstalkers that the hunt was off. It obeyed and, after a short discussion, the party gave the creature the name "Mr. Mistoffelees".[12]
Vax'ildan and Scanlan later rode Mr. Mistoffelees up to scout out the ritual taking place atop Entropis.[13]
"The Final Ascent" (1x113)[]
Fan art of Arkhan wrestling the gloomstalker, by Lap Pun Cheung.[art 5]
Arkhan the Cruel took control of a gloomstalker using the Wreath of the Prism to cast Dominate Monster. This creature, dubbed "They" by the dragonborn, became his new mount before he and Vox Machina were attacked by Lord and Lady Briarwood and their own mount: an undead white dragon and previous mount of Arkhan.
"Chases and Trees" (2x65)[]
The Mighty Nein, on their way toward Bazzoxan, inadvertently encountered a group of gloomstalkers in the Barbed Fields. The gloomstalkers were eating an udaak they had just killed.[14]
Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep[]
Gloomstalkers can be encountered in the Barbed Fields[15] and at the Betrayers' Rise.[16]
"Aid of the Tempest" (3x66)[]
When Bells Hells visited the Grey Valley in 843 PD they saw flying creatures that seemed to be gloomstalkers, but they managed to hide from them.[17]
Trivia[]
- Gloomstalkers are sexless.[18]
- There is a rare magical ingredient known as "shadow essence" that can be collected from dead gloomstalkers.[19]
- Gloomstalkers share a name with a ranger subclass introduced in Xanathar's Guide to Everything called the "Gloom Stalker".[20]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 291.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 216.
- ↑ See "Race to the Tower" (1x102) at 0:36:59.
- ↑ See "Thar Amphala" (1x101) at 2:55:06.
- ↑ See "Race to the Tower" (1x102) at 0:36:59.
- ↑ See "Race to the Tower" (1x102) at 0:38:56.
- ↑ See "Chases and Trees" (2x65) at 1:01:00. Gloomstalkers travel at a speed of 80 feet per round.
- ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 0:58:27. A gloomstalker teleports a short distance.
- ↑ See "Chases and Trees" (2x65) at 1:04:16. A gloomstalker takes radiant damage and Matt indicates that it takes more damage than usual.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 166.
- ↑ See "Thar Amphala" (1x101) at 2:54:38.
- ↑ See "Race to the Tower" (1x102).
- ↑ See "Race to the Tower" (1x102).
- ↑ See "Chases and Trees" (2x65) at 0:52:32.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 43. See also p. 40.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 62–63.
- ↑ See "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66) at 2:43:19.
- ↑ See "The Final Ascent" (1x113) at 1:36:15.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 154.
- ↑ See D&D: Xanathar's Guide to Everything, 5th ed., p. 41.
Art:
- ↑ Depiction of a gloomstalker from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
- ↑ Fan art of a gloomstalker, by Emi (@emisartcr) (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Official art of Ghor Dranas, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of gloomstalkers, by Kae Hunter (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Arkhan wrestling the gloomstalker, by Lap Pun Cheung (source). Used with permission.
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