ᛈᚢᚲᛁ
The bucca are fae creatures native to southwest England who traditionally have bedeviled the mines and coastal communities of Cornwall, especially during heavy weather. The bucca have been responsible for a great deal of misfortune among miners and sailors and their families and are one of the greatest threats to human shipping at the time of the Viking invasion.
The bucca appear to be male mermaids, with the head, arms, and upper torso of a man and the body of a great fish. However, the two are separate types of fae and the bucca scorn to work with or even acknowledge their less powerful female
Medium fae, cruel and evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 83 (11d8+33)
Speed swim 50 ft
Str 16 (+3) Dex 14 (+2) Con 16 (+3)
Int 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2) Cha 18 (+4)
Saving Throws CON +6, CHA +7
Skills Athletics +6, Perception +5, Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 15
Condition Immunities charmed
Damage Vulnerabilities iron
Languages Fae, Old English, The Sea, Viking
Reaction to really poisonous hatred
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Fae Vulnerabilities. A bucca rolls with disadvantage for all actions taken while they hear the sound of church bells ringing or while touching silver.
Innate Spellcasting. A bucca’s innate spellcasting ability is CHA (spell save DC 15, spell attack bonus +7). A bucca can innately cast the following spells:
- At-will: dancing lights, minor illusion, sweet song
- 2/day: charm person, faerie fire, silent image
Iron Anathema. A bucca rolls with disadvantage on all actions taken while touching iron.
Bucca roll at disadvantage on saving throws involving iron and on any spell they cast against someone wearing iron armor or wearing an iron holy symbol.
When a bucca takes damage from an iron or steel weapon they gain the distracted condition (from the pain) until the end of their next turn.
Speak with Animals (fish). The bucca can communicate with all the fish in the sea as if they shared a language.
Spellcasting. A bucca is an 8th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is CHA (spell save DC 15, spell attack bonus +7). A bucca has the following spells prepared:
- Cantrips (at-will): predict weather, prestidigitation, produce flame, shadowed vision, thaumaturgy
- 1st-level (4 slots): entangle, fog cloud, sleep, witchlight
- 2nd-level (3 slots): blur, darkness, enthrall
- 3rd-level (3 slots): baleful suggestion, fade, sleet storm
- 4th-level (2 slots): compulsion, hallucinatory terrain
ACTIONS
Multiattack. A bucca can make two slam attacks each turn.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled. A grappled target is restrained and must make a DC 14 STR saving throw to break free.
Drown. A bucca drags a creature it has grappled under the water and drowns them. The grappled creature must make an opposed STR check against the bucca’s STR or be dragged under the water and held there.
The target falls unconscious after 1 + CON bonus minutes of holding their breath underwater; their hit points fall to 0, and they begin drowning: the target can survive for 1 + CON bonus rounds, after which point they begin making death saving throws.
MOTIVES
The bucca are the fae of Cornwall’s coastline and practice the fae ways of aggravation and endangerment against all the humans there.
ALLIES
Allies to the bucca tend to be much less intelligent aquatic creatures who will obey the bucca without questioning.