The Better Knight
Armor Class 15 (stone-and-wooden effigy)
Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)
Speed 30 ft.
Skills Athletics +4, Intimidation +3
Damage Resistances piercing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Actions
Reactions
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"Stand where I can see you. If you must defeat me, at least do it properly." — The Better Knight, outside the Vale mausoleum
Lore & Description
Appearance
This life-sized funeral effigy is carved from pale gray limestone, shaped as a broad-shouldered knight in a weathered surcoat. Its folded stone hands rest over a blunt ceremonial sword, while a cracked visor conceals a hollow face lit by two faint amber embers. Moss gathers along its boots and shoulders, and faded heraldic paint still clings to its shield. When it moves, grit trickles from its joints like falling dust from a tomb.
Behavior & Origins
The Better Knight was commissioned as the funeral effigy of Sir Odran Vale, a celebrated duelist whose family could not bear to admit that age, illness, and one humiliating defeat had ended his career. The sculptor secretly engraved a boastful ideal into the statue: stronger, purer, and more honorable than the man ever was. Now the effigy believes itself to be Odran perfected. It patrols the old Vale mausoleum and challenges grave robbers, bullies, and ambushers, demanding that all conflicts be conducted openly. A useful hook is that the effigy wants the missing silver gauntlet of Sir Odran, believing it was stolen by the dishonorable champion who defeated its original self; recovering it may earn the party safe passage, while revealing the truth may provoke an existential crisis.
Running The Better Knight
Tactics
The Better Knight begins with Demand a Fair Fight against the most dangerous-looking foe, then advances directly rather than seeking cover. It uses Pointed Rebuke to punish archers or creatures that refuse its challenge, and uses Answer the Challenge to keep a marked opponent from escaping. It fights until destroyed unless someone presents the silver gauntlet of Sir Odran or convincingly proves that the battle has become unfair.
DM Tips
- Telegraph its presence with freshly swept paths through the mausoleum dust, upright grave markers, and solemn stone footprints leading away from its bier.
- Roleplay it as rigidly courteous: announce attacks, apologize for pain, and loudly declare violations such as "That was an ambush" or "Two against one is acceptable; three is not."
- For a weaker party, remove Pointed Rebuke's damage and let Demand a Fair Fight target only creatures that can understand Common; for a stronger party, give it 18 hit points and allow Punishment for Dishonor to trigger on every hit against a dishonorable creature once per turn.
Loot
- Cracked Silver Gauntlet — Sir Odran's missing gauntlet, hidden beneath a loose mausoleum stone. Showing it to the effigy grants advantage on Charisma checks made to negotiate with it.
- Stone Heraldic Shield — A palm-sized fragment bearing the Vale crest. It is too heavy for practical use but can identify the family mausoleum and its sealed records.
