Baekdu Yacha 백두야차

Huge giant (spirit), chaotic neutral

Armor Class 18 (natural armor; fur)

Hit Points 225 (18d12 + 108)

Speed 50 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR 27 (+8) · DEX 12 (+1) · CON 23 (+6) · INT 8 (−1) · WIS 15 (+2) · CHA 14 (+2)

Saving Throws Con +11, Wis +7

Skills Athletics +13, Perception +7, Stealth +6

Damage Vulnerabilities radiant (see Sacred Weakness)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical attacks

Condition Immunities frightened, prone

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17

Languages understands Common, Giant, and Celestial but can’t speak

Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)

Traits

Enormous Leap. If the Baekdu Yacha moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a Bite attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 18 (4d8) piercing damage and must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Sacred Weakness. While within 20 feet of a consecrated object (such as a blessed sutra scroll, holy symbol, or relic of Dangun), the Baekdu Yacha loses its damage resistances and its Bite and Claw attacks are made with disadvantage.

Siege Monster. The Baekdu Yacha deals double damage to objects and structures.

Actions

Multiattack. The Baekdu Yacha makes two attacks: one with its Bite and one with its Claw.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 30 (4d10 + 8) piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 19). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Baekdu Yacha can’t bite another target.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (3d10 + 8) slashing damage.

Rock Hurl. Ranged Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, range 240/480 ft., one target. Hit: 35 (4d12 + 9) bludgeoning damage.

Bonus Actions

Chest-Thundering Roar (Recharge 5–6). The Baekdu Yacha pounds its chest and bellows. Each creature of its choice within 60 feet that can hear it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of the yacha’s next turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to this roar for 24 hours.

Reactions

Protect the Young. When a creature the Baekdu Yacha can see targets its juvenile with an attack, the yacha uses its reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll, interposing its massive hand or body.

Lair Actions

When the Baekdu Yacha fights within 1 mile of its cavern lair, on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties) it can invoke one of the following effects; it can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

Avalanche Stir. Loose stones cascade in a 20-foot-radius sphere on a cliff face or slope. Creatures in the area must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.

Howling Wind. A sudden gale fills a 60-foot cone. Ranged weapon attacks that pass through the cone are made with disadvantage until initiative count 20 of the next round.

Lore

A fierce, flying man-eater. Its body is covered in long hair; the hair on its head is tangled and shoulder-length. It carries a roughly one-meter-long offspring on its back.

There is an old legend about the Baekdu Yacha. Long ago, when an aged hunter was still a young man, he went up Mount Baekdusan (백두산) to hunt deer. Suddenly a huge creature appeared—a giant covered in thick fur, several dozen cheok tall (an old unit, roughly 10 feet / 3 meters). The monster had a wild face, shoulder-length tangled hair, and a vast maw. Most striking of all, it carried an equally enormous infant on its back.

Seeing a deer, the creature leaped, tore the animal apart, and began devouring it, handing choice pieces to its young. The hunter dropped flat, held his breath, and hid in the bushes—an act that likely saved his life. From that day on he never again dared approach Mount Baekdusan.

From Korean Bestiary 5E, p. 12 · Fern Flower Press