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Book of Beasts: Bazil

Bazil: Book of Beasts

The blood-filled calabash floats towards the colossal silk cotton tree with the Soucouyant in her true form trailing behind it. It lands next to the banana and bottle of dark rum brought by the Bacoo. She joins the leprechaun-like creature near the buttressed roots as they wait for Bazil to accept their offerings. A strong breeze passes through the night air in the forest, the leaves and branches tremble and suddenly, Bazil’s face manifests on the tree to greet them. The Devil’s Castle.Bazil, the visitor of death, was once a free-roaming entity but became imprisoned in the sacred silk cotton tree when a local carpenter carved seven magical rooms into the tree to entrap him. With roots extending to the underworld and branches to the heavens, the tree is both feared and revered due to Bazil’s active demonic presence. Other residents in the silk cotton tree include equally naughty creatures and restless human spirits guarding ancient buried treasure.   Offerings for Powers. Creatures seeking to acquire or increase their powers will go to the silk cotton tree to meet Bazil. For the exchange, offerings such as rum, fruits, cigarettes, or the blood of sacrificed fowls, pigs, or goats are left at the tree’s buttressed roots. Frequent devotees include the Soucouyant, Bacoo, Pirate Jumbie, and Gang Gang Sarah. Douens are also often seen roaming near the tree. Witch doctors can perform rituals and spells on the tree to have spirits enter or exit their bodies.   The Supplier. Looking for a quick fix? Different parts of the silk cotton tree are significant resources in the daily life of villagers. The wood is often utilized to craft coffins, cricket bats, and canoes, its fibers for upholstery, insulation, and floss, and its round seeds for oil, soap, and edible products. The leaves and bark are used as traditional medicine to treat fevers and diseases. Just remember to leave an offering for Bazil!   Bazil’s Wrath. While seeking shelter under the silk cotton tree, local vagabonds may take and consume the offerings. Bazil will cause them to disappear or die as a punishment. Those who dare to release the creatures and spirits by climbing, cutting down, digging at the roots, or marking the tree, will experience bad karma, be haunted, fall violently ill, or die.  

Bazil

Huge fiend, lawful evil Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 200 (16d12 + 96) Speed 10 ft. — STR 21 (+5) DEX 2 (-4) CON 22 (+6) INT 13 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 21 (+5) Saving Throws Str + 10, Con +11, Wis +7, Cha +10 Skills Insight +6, Perception +6 Damage Resistances  Necrotic, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Senses Blindsight 30 ft., Passive Perception 16 Languages Common, Infernal, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 13 (10,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +5 Both Creature and Lair. The Bazil’s spirit is imprisoned within, and merged with, the form of a silk cotton tree. The Bazil’s trunk magically contains many rooms, which sometimes contain other creatures. The Bazil can always sense these rooms with its blindsight and can target creatures within with its spells. It can take lair actions within these rooms as well. False Appearance. While the Bazil remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal silk cotton tree. Innate Spellcasting. The Bazil’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At-will: animate dead, bestow curse, darkness, entangle, inflict wounds, speak with dead 3/day each: banishment, blight, circle of death, contagion, fabricate, harm 1/day each: magnificent mansion Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the Bazil fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Magic Resistance. The Bazil has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.   Actions Multiattack. The Bazil makes two branch attacks and casts a spell. Branch. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.  

Legendary Actions

The Bazil can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The Bazil regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn. Branch. The Bazil makes a Branch attack. Cast a Spell (Costs 3 Actions). The Bazil casts one of its innate spells, expending a use of the spell as normal.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Bazil can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects within its interior rooms. It can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.

  • The Bazil blocks all doorways between his seven internal rooms, possibly trapping whoever is within. Blocked doors reopen the next time the Bazil takes a lair action.
  • The Bazil fills its internal rooms with magical darkness, as if it had cast the darkness spell in every room. The darkness subsides the next time the bazil takes a lair action.
  • The Bazil summons 1d4 shadows at locations it chooses in its rooms or within 30 feet of it.

  Credits: Creative Director: Kevin Andrew Murphy Lore: Krystal Ramroop Krystal M. Ramroop – Avaaz Media Statblock: Eugene Marshall https://arcanistpress.com/ Art: Everard McBain ArtStation – Everard McBain Sensitivity Editor: Pamela Punzalan https://www.patreon.com/thedovetailor Art Director: Aaron Acevedo http://sigil.info/


This creature is from the upcoming Book of Beasts. Keep an eye out every Thursday for a new monster as part of our Monster of the Week series!

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Kevin Andrew Murphy writes short stories, plays, poems, novels, and roleplaying games. A long-standing contributor to Wild Cards (www.wildcardsworld.com), George R.R. Martin’s super-hero series, Kevin’s story for Mississippi Roll, “Find the Lady,” won the 2019 Darrell Award for Best Novella. On the gaming end, Kevin’s currently editor in chief for Savage Sign, the Savage Worlds roleplaying game magazine. Kevin’s next short story is “Anastasia’s Egg” coming out in October in Weird World War III edited by Sean Patrick Hazlett for Baen. A lifelong resident of California’s Bay Area, Kevin has recently relocated to Reno, Nevada.

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