Mothlight Lamplorn
Armor Class 16 (iron housing)
Hit Points 85 (10d8+40)
Speed 25 ft.
Saving Throws Con +7, Wis +4
Skills Insight +4, Perception +4
Damage Resistances fire; psychic
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3
Actions
Bonus Actions
Reactions
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"Do not come closer. The light is for Vesper alone." — scratched into the paving stones of Bellweather Avenue
Lore & Description
Appearance
A cast-iron street lamp stands on three warped, rootlike legs, its once-painted green body blistered black around a furnace-bright lantern. Cracks in the glass reveal a beating orange glow rather than a flame, and tiny moth-shaped sparks crawl across its metal. A single enormous ivory moth rests on its crown, dusting the streets with silver scales. Beneath the lamp's iron collar, new brass-colored plates are unfolding like the beginnings of wings.
Behavior & Origins
The lamplorn was once the seventh gas lamp on Bellweather Avenue, installed by a lamplighter named Orra Venn. One winter night, a dying moth flew into its flame and did not burn; instead, the lamp began to dream. It now calls the moth Vesper its beloved and considers every other living thing a rival, trespasser, or potential source of warmth. The lamplorn knows its transformation is accelerating: soon it expects to hatch, shed its iron body, and become something winged and hungry. A concrete hook for the DM is the abandoned Bellweather Pump House, where Orra Venn still keeps the original key and begs adventurers to save the lamp before its next metamorphosis.
Running Mothlight Lamplorn
Tactics
The Mothlight Lamplorn begins by dimming its light and using Moth's Beacon to draw the most isolated creature into the bright radius. It then fights from the edge of its illumination, using its reach and Ember Burst to punish groups while Vesper's dust protects it from retaliation. When bloodied, it becomes frantic and uses Jealous Flare against anyone near the moth; it fights to the death if Vesper is threatened, but otherwise flees toward the Bellweather Pump House when reduced below 20 hit points.
DM Tips
- Telegraph the encounter with scorched footprints, dead moths fused to windows, and the sound of a metal pole tapping toward the party.
- Play the lamplorn as possessive and self-aware: it speaks tenderly to Vesper, then abruptly addresses intruders as if they are insects.
- For a weaker party, reduce hit points to 68 and make Ember Burst deal 3d6 damage; for a stronger party, give it a 30-foot flying speed during Unfinished Metamorphosis and let Vesper restore 5 hit points once per encounter.
Loot
- Vesper's Silver Dust — A thumb-sized vial of luminous moth scales. Sprinkled on a lantern, it makes the light reveal invisible creatures for 1 hour, but the bearer dreams of warm flames.
- Bellweather Lamp-Key — The original iron key to the city's old street-lamp network, hidden inside the lamplorn's cracked base. It opens the Bellweather Pump House and bears Orra Venn's initials.
- Unhatched Brass Wing — A curved plate that fell from the lamplorn during its metamorphosis. An artificer can fashion it into a shield boss or use it as a component for a fire-resistant construct.
