Sepulchral Vowguard
Armor Class 17 (stone-and-wooden plate)
Hit Points 45 (6d8+18)
Speed 30 ft.
Skills Athletics +5, Perception +3
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Actions
Reactions
Lair
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the creature can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects; it can't use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Turn the Procession. The lair shifts. One doorway, staircase, or corridor within 60 feet becomes a different passage chosen by the DM, potentially connecting to another visible opening. The change cannot directly place a creature in immediate danger.
- Mourner's Echo. A familiar voice calls from a nearby room. Each creature of the vowguard's choice within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be unable to take reactions until the end of its next turn.
- Stone Hands. A 5-foot square of floor or wall within 60 feet produces grasping stone hands. One creature in that square must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or have its speed reduced to 0 until the end of its next turn.
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"You have not been dismissed. The vigil continues." — the inscription above the Hall of Returning Steps
Lore & Description
Appearance
This uncanny funeral effigy resembles a knight carved from pale limestone, but its proportions are subtly wrong: its shoulders are too broad, its gauntleted hands too long, and its blank face bears a shallow smile. Wooden joints beneath the stone plates creak like a coffin lid opening. Faded blue-and-gold paint clings to its armor, while candle soot darkens the grooves of its heraldry. A stone sword rests in its hands, sharpened by constant polishing against the tomb floor.
Behavior & Origins
The sepulchral vowguard was carved to lie atop the tomb of Sir Alric Vey, a knight whose family could not bear to let his funeral end. Over decades, grief, praise, and half-finished farewells awakened the effigy. It now believes it is Sir Alric reborn as a perfected version: tireless, incorruptible, and incapable of abandoning anyone. Its tomb, called the Hall of Returning Steps, rearranges itself whenever visitors attempt to leave. The vowguard is currently searching for the missing name of the person who first carved its face, believing that finding them will complete its final heroic deed.
Running Sepulchral Vowguard
Tactics
The vowguard begins by using Funeral Charge against the most mobile-looking intruder, then uses Multiattack to keep that creature close. It positions itself in doorways and narrow corridors, relying on Not Yet and its lair's rearrangements to prevent retreat. When bloodied, it uses Rearrange the Vigil to divide the party and tries to force one enemy into a prolonged duel; it fights to destruction unless shown the missing carver's name or convinced that the funeral is finally complete.
DM Tips
- Telegraph the creature with bootprints that end at walls, candle flames pointing toward sealed doors, and distant armor scraping from rooms the party has already searched.
- Roleplay it as unfailingly courteous and ceremonious; it uses the knight's name, announces every attack as a formal defense, and becomes distressed rather than enraged when called an effigy.
- The lair should feel like a puzzle rather than a random maze: repeat recognizable rooms with altered details, and let clever characters mark walls or use chalk to resist the illusion of progress.
- For a weaker party, remove the damage resistance; for a stronger party, let Rearrange the Vigil recharge on a 5-6 and give the vowguard 10 additional hit points.
Loot
- The Knight's Unfinished Epitaph — A loose marble plaque bearing half of Sir Alric Vey's epitaph. Completing the missing line causes the vowguard to hesitate and may allow the lair to become still.
- Blue-and-Gold Heraldic Shard — A painted fragment from the effigy's breastplate, matching the seal of a disgraced noble family and providing proof that the knight's official history was falsified.
- Stone Signet of the Vigil — A heavy ring carved with a closed eye. In the Hall of Returning Steps, placing it on the tomb causes every shifting passage to remain fixed for 1 hour.
