Tuesday Terror: The Hish
Today’s picture is “Hish” by that uncanny illustrator of the weird Sidney Sime. Sime lived from 1865 to 1941, and he is best known for his iconic illustrations of Lord Dunsany’s tales and poems.
The hish are mysterious creatures, part shadow, part silence, or so it seems. They are seldom seen or heard, even by their victims, for the hish practice assassination as a form of religious devotion to their strange deities.
Hish
Medium fey, any evil
Armor Class 16 (studded leather)
Hit Points 90 (12d8+36)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR 13 (+1), DEX 18 (+4), CON 16 (+3), INT 15 (+2), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 12 (+1)
Saving Throws DEX +8, INT +6
Skills Acrobatics +8, Deception +5, Perception +5, Stealth +8
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Sylvan, plus any two languages
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Assassinate. During its first turn, the hish has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn. Any hit the hish scores against a surprised creature is a critical hit.
Hish Senses. Magical darkness does not impede the hish’s darkvision. Magical silence does not impeded the hish’s hearing. The hish cannot be blinded or deafened.
Innate Spellcasting. The hish’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material or verbal components:
At will: disguise self, invisibility (self only)
2/day each: darkness, silence
1/day each: pass without trace (self only), vampiric touch
Sneak Attack. Once per turn, the hish deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the hish that isn’t incapacitated and the assassin doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Spider Climb. The hish can climb difficult surfaces including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Multiattack. The hish makes two shortsword attacks.
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Reactions
Misty Step. The hish surrounds itself with silvery mist and teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that it can see.
