Malar, The Beastlord — CR 32 Avatar Stat Block

Avatar of Malar, the Beast

Huge monstrosity (avatar, shapechanger), chaotic evil

Armor Class: 27 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 860 (44d12 + 396)
Speed: 60 ft., climb 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
34 (+12)	24 (+7)	29 (+9)	18 (+4)	22 (+6)	20 (+5)

Saving Throws: Str +21, Dex +16, Con +18, Wis +15
Skills: Athletics +21, Perception +24, Stealth +16, Survival +24
Damage Resistances: cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities: charmed, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses: truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 34
Languages: understands Abyssal, Common, and Sylvan but cannot speak in Beast form
Challenge: 32 (250,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus: +9

Traits

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Malar fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Magic Resistance. Malar has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Unstoppable Predator. Malar ignores difficult terrain, and his speed cannot be reduced.

Savage Criticals. Malar rolls three additional weapon damage dice when determining the extra damage for a critical hit.

Eternal Chase. When a hostile creature Malar can see within 120 feet willingly moves away from him, he gains one Chase Die, a d6. He can hold up to six Chase Dice. Malar can expend one die to add 10 feet to his movement, add 1d12 damage to a hit, reroll a missed attack, or gain advantage on a saving throw against being paralyzed or restrained.

Master of the Hunt (Mythic Trait; 1/Day). When Malar is reduced to 0 hit points, he instead regains 390 hit points and assumes the Master of the Hunt form. He becomes a Huge humanoid, his Armor Class becomes 28, he can speak, and his Spear of the Hunt replaces his Bite attack. While in this form, one creature he can see is the Hunted Prey. Malar has advantage on attack rolls against it, and movement toward it does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Actions

Multiattack. Malar makes four attacks: two Claw attacks, one Bite attack, and one Tail Smash attack.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +21 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (3d10 + 12) slashing damage.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +21 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 36 (4d10 + 12) piercing damage plus 21 (6d6) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 27 Constitution saving throw or take 9 (2d8) poison damage at the start of each of its turns. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

Spear of the Hunt (Master Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +19 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 39 (5d10 + 12) piercing damage plus 22 (4d10) force damage.

Tail Smash. Melee Weapon Attack: +21 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 34 (4d10 + 12) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 27 Strength saving throw or be pushed 20 feet and knocked prone.

Pack Summons (1/Day). Malar summons six dire wolves, four displacer beasts, or four worgs in unoccupied spaces within 60 feet. They obey him and act immediately after his turn.

Reactions

Predatory Pursuit. When a creature within 30 feet moves away from Malar, he moves up to half his speed toward it without provoking opportunity attacks.

Legendary Actions

The avatar can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Attack. Malar makes one Claw, Bite, Spear of the Hunt, or Tail Smash attack.

Feral Leap. Malar moves up to 40 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.

Command the Pack (Costs 2 Actions). Up to three beasts or monstrosities Malar can see can each use their reaction to move up to half their speed and make one attack.

Terrifying Snarl (Costs 3 Actions). Each hostile creature within 60 feet that can hear Malar must succeed on a DC 25 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of its next turn and immediately move up to half its speed away from him.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the avatar uses one lair action. It cannot use the same option two rounds in a row.

Closing Trails. Malar chooses up to three creatures in the lair. Until initiative count 20 on the next round, ground within 20 feet of each chosen creature is difficult terrain for Malar’s enemies.

Howls in the Dark. Each enemy that can hear Malar must succeed on a DC 25 Wisdom saving throw or be unable to take reactions until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Blood-Scent. Until initiative count 20 on the next round, Malar knows the location of every wounded creature in the lair and has advantage on attack rolls against creatures below half their hit point maximum.

Grasping Underbrush. Roots and thorny growth fill a 30-foot-radius area within 120 feet. Creatures there must succeed on a DC 25 Strength saving throw or be restrained until the end of their next turn.

Mythic Actions

The avatar can take 3 mythic actions per day, using one option at a time. It regains spent uses at dawn.

Bloody Pursuit. Malar expends up to three Chase Dice and teleports up to 20 feet per die toward the Hunted Prey. If he ends within reach, he makes one Spear of the Hunt attack.

Savage Maul (Costs 2 Actions). Malar makes one Claw attack and one Bite or Spear of the Hunt attack against a prone or restrained creature. Both attacks have advantage.

Tail Whirl (Costs 2 Actions). Each creature of Malar’s choice within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 27 Strength saving throw or take 27 (6d8) bludgeoning damage and fall prone.

Call the Black Blood (Costs 3 Actions). Malar calls every lycanthrope within 1 mile. At initiative count 20 on the next round, eight werewolves appear in unoccupied spaces within 120 feet and obey him.

Introduction

Malar, the Beastlord, embodies the savage heart of the hunt. Called the Black-Blooded Pard, the Ravaging Bear, and the Lord of Beasts, he exults in pursuit, slaughter, and the moment a predator closes on exhausted prey.

Malarites include lycanthropes, cruel rangers, and fallen druids who reject the Balance. Huntmasters lead High Hunts in which sentient captives receive a brief head start before the faithful pursue them through the wilds.

The avatar appears when a hunt must be sanctified, a great predator challenges Malar’s dominion, or the People of the Black Blood call their scattered packs together. Its arrival turns roads, settlements, and forests into one hunting ground.

Physical Appearance

The Beast is a hulking feline predator with blood-matted fur, hooked talons, and a mouth crowded with fangs. It moves without speech and watches every nearby escape route.

As the Master of the Hunt, Malar stands as a towering humanoid wrapped in black fur. A whuffling hollow replaces his mouth and nose. Antlers fade in and out above burning red eyes, and a black spear rests in one clawed hand.

Roleplaying the Avatar

Malar treats every exchange as part of the chase. He grants a quarry room to run only because terror, exhaustion, and pursuit make the kill worthwhile.

Speak in short growled commands in humanoid form.
Answer defiance by naming the speaker’s scent, wounds, or failing breath.
Circle a group while deciding which member will break first.
Respect cunning that prolongs the hunt, never mercy that ends it.
Press retreating creatures even when a stationary target looks more dangerous.

Use in a Campaign

The High Hunt

A Malarite cult names the characters as sacred quarry. They have one night to cross a trapped forest while the avatar and its packs close from every direction.

Black Blood Rising

Several lycanthrope tribes unite beneath the Master of the Hunt. The party can break the alliance, challenge its huntmaster, or turn the host toward a worse threat.

The Empty Wood

Predators abandon a settled region just before Malar arrives to kill the one beast that refuses his dominion. The creature may be guardian, rival god, or necessary evil.

A Hunter’s Bargain

Malar offers to hunt an immortal enemy the party cannot defeat. His price is the right to name a future quarry from among their allies.

Lairs

Malar’s lairs erase the boundary between hunter and terrain. Trails turn back toward waiting packs, blood remains warm for days, and every distant howl sounds one step closer.

The Land of the Hunt

In Colothys, supernatural predators pursue one another across broken forests and impossible slopes without rest or final escape.

Black-Blooded Grove

Skulls hang from claw-scored trees around a clearing where tracks appear before the creatures that make them.

The Red Den

A cavern layered in hides and old bones carries sound through hidden vents, allowing the avatar to stalk by heartbeat alone.

High Hunt Preserve

Standing stones mark a vast hunting ground. Crossing a boundary awakens spectral hounds and closes every path leading out.

Shared References

Open a reference for its canonical description and related entries.