The Thought-Drinker
Medium aberration, neutral evil
A tall, stooped figure in a coat of stained paper. Its face is a blank page that slowly fills with other people's handwriting, and its fingers end in hollow quills. It drinks memories the way a scribe drinks ink, and it keeps what it takes: the oldest thought-drinkers are walking archives of the dead, and some scholars bargain with them for a single remembered hour.
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 91 (14d8 + 28)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
- STR
- 10 (+0)
- DEX
- 14 (+2)
- CON
- 14 (+2)
- INT
- 18 (+4)
- WIS
- 15 (+2)
- CHA
- 12 (+1)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 7
Traits
Borrowed Tongues. The thought-drinker knows every language known by any creature it has hit with Drink Memory in the last 24 hours.
Actions
Multiattack. The thought-drinker makes two Quill Strike attacks. It can replace one of them with Drink Memory.
Quill Strike. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) Piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) Psychic damage.
Drink Memory. One creature the thought-drinker can see within 5 feet of it must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 18 (4d8) Psychic damage and loses its most recent hour of memory. If the target has spell slots, it also loses one unexpended slot of its highest level; otherwise it has disadvantage on ability checks until it finishes a short rest. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and loses nothing.
Blot (Recharge 5-6). The thought-drinker spills ink into a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point it can see within 60 feet. The sphere is heavily obscured until the start of its next turn. Each creature in it must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or lose track of friend and foe until the end of its next turn: it picks the target of each attack or harmful spell at random from the creatures it can see in range.
Bonus Actions
Write Over. The thought-drinker targets one creature within 30 feet that failed a saving throw against Drink Memory in the last minute. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the thought-drinker until the end of the target's next turn.