Nuribotoke 塗仏

Medium undead (tsukumogami), neutral evil

Armor Class 12 (cracked lacquer hide)

Hit Points 22 (4d8 + 4)

Speed 20 ft., hover 20 ft. (levitates just above the floor)

STR 8 (−1) · DEX 10 (+0) · CON 12 (+1) · INT 11 (+0) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 12 (+1)

Saving Throws Wis +4

Skills Religion +2, Stealth +4

Damage Vulnerabilities radiant

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical attacks that aren’t silvered or blessed; necrotic

Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, prone

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12

Languages understands Common and Celestial but can’t speak

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Traits

False Appearance. While motionless, the nuribotoke is indistinguishable from an old, dust-coated household altar or mortuary tablet.

Aura of Neglect. An oppressive sense of guilt radiates 10 ft. around the nuribotoke. A creature that starts its turn in the aura must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or take 2 (1d4) psychic damage and have disadvantage on its next attack roll before the end of its turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to the aura for 24 hours.

Actions

Multiattack. The nuribotoke makes two Withering Touch attacks.

Withering Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) necrotic damage, and the target can’t regain hit points until the start of the nuribotoke’s next turn.

Eyes of Hollow Reproach (Recharge 5–6). The nuribotoke’s bulging eyes flare with baleful light. Each creature of the nuribotoke’s choice within 15 ft. that can see it must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or take 9 (2d8) psychic damage and be frightened until the end of the creature’s next turn.

Reactions

Rebuke. When a creature the nuribotoke can see misses it with an attack, the nuribotoke sheds a shower of sharp lacquer shards. The attacker must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3 (1d6) slashing damage.

Lore

A corpse-ghost coated in black lacquer that crawls around graves after dark.

Nuribotoke belongs to the class of tsukumogami—spirits that form when man-made objects grow old, are taken for granted, and lose the reverence they once enjoyed. In this case the object is usually a lacquered household altar or a mortuary tablet—the very centerpiece of ancestor veneration.

In the old picture scrolls artists painted Nuribotoke as a finished, recognizable warning sign. Most often it appears as a pitch-black monk whose bulging, sagging eyes all but spill from their sockets. Those eyes became its trademark; they underscore rot and desecration, turning what was once sacred into a stark reminder of a broken duty to the family altar. Early images sometimes add odd touches: a long hair-like tuft down the back, or a silhouette that hints at a fish tail.

From Yokai Bestiary 5E, Book Two, p. 68 · Fern Flower Press