TEXT: ������� Anna Blackwell
  ����� ��� Alba Palacio
  ������� Mike Myler
  ������ Eric Life-Putnam
  T
  he 
  village 
  of 
  Cridhe 
  Briste  has  had  its  heart 
  ensnared  and  impassioned  by 
  an  exiled  succubus  yet  she 
  wears  not  the  usual  seductive 
  form— this  ﬁend  has  taken  on 
  the  appearance  of  a  kindly  old 
  woman.
  As rumors abound of missing 
  merchants and monsters in the 
  mist, 
  can 
  the 
  truth 
  about 
  Granny  Buccus  and  her  hinter‐
  land 
  village 
  be 
  discovered 
  before  she  completes  her  ﬁnal 
  ritual?
  VILLAIN SPOTLIGHT
  Granny Buccus
  EN World EN�����
  
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  B���������
  A�er centuries of growing her power in the Abyss an 
  ancient  succubus  was  near  fatally  wounded  by  a 
  group of adventurers, escaping only barely and with 
  her planar connection severed by magical weaponry‐
  inﬂicted injuries. Stuck and wounded in the mortal 
  realm she began to age (an understandably diﬃcult 
  process for succubi) and as her looks fade and her 
  bones start to ache, her ability to tempt the righteous 
  with carnal desires diminishes. The usual solution is 
  to  drain  vital  energies  from  a  beautiful,  youthful 
  victim but Granny Buccus’s situation won’t allow for it
  —in  times  like  these  one  must  adapt  and  the  ﬁend 
  has  done  just  that.  With  the  last  remnants  of  her 
  power she insinuated herself into the memories of 
  the hinterland village of Cridhe Briste where as the 
  years  passed  she  learned  to  feed  on  their  love;  the 
  gratitude they oﬀered for her baking, the kind words 
  they  said  as  she  gave  age‐old  wisdom,  and  the 
  respect  they  paid  her  every  day.  In  time  it  made 
  Granny  Buccus  strong  again  and  her  powers  have 
  returned yet she’s grown fond of the settlement and 
  her  admirers  with  no  good  reason  to  abandon  her 
  new home.
  For generations she has charmed the people of the 
  village—they never question her, never defy her, and 
  never  forget  to  pay  their  respects—and  should 
  anyone threaten poor old Granny Buccus, they never 
  ﬁnd the body. Unlike most succubi she has chosen to 
  keep  her  old  appearance  and  unbeknownst  to  her, 
  she’s started to be aﬀected by the energy on which 
  she’s been feeding: her attachment to the village is 
  stronger  than  she  thinks  and  her  grand  scheme  is 
  merely a way to not leave them behind. Though she 
  has Cridhe Briste completely under her spell and her 
  plan  is  nearly  complete,  she  has  started  getting 
  restless.  Granny  Buccus  needs  to  regain  her 
  connection  to  the  Abyss  but  while  she’s  separated 
  there may still be hope for her and the villagers she 
  has made her own…
  A���������
  Granny Buccus physically resembles an eighty‐year‐
  old  woman  with  curled  white  hair  and  onyx  black 
  eyes.  She  dresses  modestly  in  even  the  hottest 
  weather, adorned in a cardigan and skirt with thick 
  tights and a shawl. Those that meet her o�en remark 
  that she, “looks good for her age,” and that they, “can 
  really tell she were a beauty in her day”. She takes 
  these comments with a smile, absorbing a little more 
  power than necessary from them.
  P����������
  An ancient lust demon with a taste for power and a 
  head for the long game doesn’t immediately spring to 
  mind 
  when 
  looking 
  at 
  Granny 
  Buccus 
  but 
  appearances can be deceiving—doubly so when even 
  she  isn’t  fully  aware  of  her  own  personality.  By 
  feeding on the love and respect as well as the carnal 
  energy  of  the  villagers  in  Cridhe  Briste,  she  has 
  aﬀected  herself.  Her  plan  to  bring  the  village  to 
  Abyss with her is not entirely born of evil intent; in 
  truth  she  would  feel  incomplete  without  her 
  neighbors and friends, and through a twisted moral 
  compass she believes they’ll be happier with her no 
  matter where that might be.
  A���������
  They  say  every  village  has  its  secret  and  Granny 
  Buccus  has  done  her  fair  share  to  ensure  Cridhe 
  Briste  is  no  diﬀerent.  Adultery,  fetishism,  jealousy, 
  and lust boil under the surface, kept fueled by little 
  words  of  advice  from  a  harmless  old  lady—she 
  discovered early on that carpe diem and you only live 
  once  can  corrupt  far  more  than  her  Abyssal  script. 
  To ensure that common sense or inhibitions can’t get 
  Villain Spotlight: Granny Buccus  |  EN World EN�����
  
  in the way of true love she bakes cakes and pies that 
  are 
  imbued 
  with 
  both 
  demonic 
  magic 
  and 
  alchemical  concoctions.  Love  potions  are  her 
  speciality  and  many  a  merchant  has  found  them‐
  selves staying in the settlement far longer than they 
  had intended. Anyone looking for Granny Buccus is 
  encouraged to check at the Buccus Bakery or out in 
  the woods where she collects the “ﬁnest truﬄes” (a 
  simple cover story for her to gather components for 
  her spells and for her ﬁnal plan.)
  M����������
  Granny Buccus treats the village and its inhabitants 
  like  an  extended  family  but  the  truth  is  she  has 
  terrible  plans  for  the  settlement.  In  the  same  way 
  that an alchemist may keep rats for experiments she 
  pushes and prods Cridhe Briste along the path she 
  wants, prompting them to change laws and cultural 
  practices  without  even  realizing  her  involvement. 
  Her  generation  spanning  experiment  is  ﬁnally 
  nearing  its  ﬁnal  result:  true  decadence.  Once  she 
  suﬃciently  corrupts  the  village  and  regains  the 
  totality  of  her  powers  Granny  Buccus  plans  to 
  transport the entire village to the Abyss where they 
  can worship her openly. 
  It  has  been  a  quiet  few  centuries  since  Granny 
  Buccus settled down in Cridhe Briste, and while she 
  has nearly everything in place, she needs one last 
  element  to  regain  her  former  connection  to  the 
  Abyss:  blood.  Not  just  any  blood,  however—she 
  needs the blood of an adventurer, someone with ﬁre 
  in  their  veins,  wanderlust  in  their  heart,  and  the 
  same  spirit  as  those  who  severed  her  from  her 
  ﬁendish  home  so  long  ago.  Granny  Buccus  would 
  prefer  to  choose  a  paladin  or  cleric  as  her  victim, 
  but other adventurers may ﬁt the bill provided they 
  have enough zeal.
  Cridhe  Briste  hasn’t  seen  such  an  adventurer  in 
  more  than  two  generations  and  Granny  Buccus  is 
  getting  frustrated.  To  lure  one  in  she  has  started 
  getting reckless with her power: more merchants are 
  disappearing,  more  monsters  are  being  spotted  in 
  the  woods,  and  more  rumors  about  the  village  are 
  spreading further than ever before.
  L���
  Nothing says “sweet old lady” like homemade cakes 
  and pies, so a�er her arrival Granny Buccus set up 
  shop  in  the  village  bakery  (a�er  disposing  of  the 
  existing baker). Over the years she has developed a 
  ﬁne  selection  of  demonically  and  alchemically 
  improved  baked  goods.  She  doesn’t  permit  anyone 
  into  her  kitchen  for  fear  of  “learning  her  secret 
  recipes,” and she keeps her “recipe book” in a safe in 
  her  bedroom.  Anyone  proﬁcient  with  Arcana  or 
  Religion  instantly  recognizes  the  foul  tome’s  true 
  purpose  as  a  spell  book.  Granny  Buccus  keeps  her 
  potions in the kitchen, though they are stored in old 
  whiskey and wine bottles with innocuous names like 
  Heartﬁre  Whiskey  (charm  person)  and  Cloudy  Jack 
  Scrumpy (modify memory). 
  U���� G����� B����� �� 
  Y��� C�������
  Granny Buccus is a succubus who still hasn’t gotten 
  all of her former power back. Her connection to the 
  village  makes  her  ideal  for  a  single  story‐arc  or 
  location quests. 
  News  of  the  missing  merchants  can  be  littered 
  around  nearby  towns  under  the  guise  of  a  bandit 
  quest with the intrigue being revealed slowly as the 
  adventurers spend time in Cridhe Briste.
  Depending on the size of the party, Granny Buccus 
  attempts  to  separate  and  weaken  the  adventurers. 
  She rarely interacts directly, preferring to have PCs 
  follow red herrings into the woods where dominated 
  wild  animals  or  monsters  can  dispose  of  the 
  unneeded members of the group. If this fails and the 
  adventurers start to uncover the truth, Granny has a 
  beauty  from  the  village  seduce  two  of  them  and, 
  using  a  love  potion  cake,  turns  them  against  each 
  other to break the party apart.
  Granny’s position makes her diﬃcult to challenge 
  directly  without  risking  innocent  lives;  her  true 
  intentions  are  veiled  behind  misdirection,  false 
  history, and mind control. If the adventurers directly 
  oppose Granny or seem to have worked out what she 
  is, the charmed villagers become hostile towards the 
  party. They attempt to kidnap the most religious PC 
  EN World EN�����  |  Villain Spotlight: Granny Buccus
  
  while ﬁghting the others, at which point Granny uses 
  dominate  person  and  vampiric  touch  to  regain  the 
  power needed to transport the village to the Abyss.
  Granny Buccus
  Medium fiend (shapechanger), neutral evil
  Armor Class �� (natural armor)
  Hit Points �� (��d�+��)
  Speed �� �.
  STR
  DEX
  CON
  INT
  WIS
  CHA
  � (–�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  �� (+�)
  Skills Deception +��, Insight +��, Perception +��,
   Persuasion +��, Stealth +�
  Damage Resistance cold, bludgeoning, piercing, and 
  slashing from nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities fire, poison, psychic
  Condition Immunities charmed
  Senses darkvision �� �., passive Perception ��
  Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal, telepathy �� �.
  Challenge � (�,��� XP)
  Feedback. Whenever Granny takes nonmagical
  damage, she can choose one charmed creature she 
  can see to take the damage instead. The target can 
  resist this eﬀect with a successful DC �� Wisdom 
  saving throw.
  Hero’s Heart. When Granny casts vampiric touch on a 
  charmed creature with class levels and good alignment 
  and successfully hits with her melee spell attack, she 
  can use her bonus action to grapple the target (escape 
  DC ��) at which point she holds on until the target is 
  drained to � hit points. At the start of Granny’s turn, a 
  creature grappled in this way takes damage from the 
  vampiric touch. If Granny kills a creature while using 
  this trait, she regains her connection to the Abyss and 
  immediately begins casting a spell that takes three 
  turns of actions, bonus actions, and reactions. She has 
  advantage on Constitution checks made to continue 
  concentrating on the spell. When the spell is cast she, 
  the village of Cridhe Briste, and its inhabitants are all 
  teleported to the Abyss.
  Infernal Fortitude. Granny is able to concentrate on 
  more than one spell at a time so long as at least one of 
  these spells is an enchantment spell. When Granny 
  loses concentration on either spell, she loses 
  concentration on both spells.
  Innate Spellcasting. Granny’s innate spellcasting ability 
  is Wisdom (spell save DC ��). She can innately cast the 
  following spells, requiring no material components.
  At will: bestow curse, scorching ray
  �/day: command
  �/day: compulsion, suggestion
  �/day: dominate person
  Meatshield (1/turn). When Granny is threatened, every 
  villager alerted to her plight uses their turns to Dash 
  between her and the threat. Granny can use her 
  movement to get behind a villager, prompting an 
  attack of opportunity against the villager instead of 
  her (use the statistics for a commoner). Villagers 
  continue to protect Granny unless the charm eﬀect 
  can be broken with a dispel magic and a successful 
  DC �� spellcasting ability check.
  Spellcasting. Granny Buccus is an �th-level spellcaster. 
  Her spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC ��). 
  Granny has the following spells prepared:
  Cantrips (at will): fire bolt, prestidigitation, vicious 
  mockery
  �st level (� slots): bane, comprehend languages, 
  hellish rebuke, hideous laughter, minor illusion, 
  prestidigitation, shocking grasp, sleep
  �nd level (� slots): detect thoughts, enhance ability, 
  heat metal, silence
  �rd level (� slots): counterspell, dispel magic, vampiric 
  touch
  �th level (� slots): dominate beast, phantasmal killer, 
  wall of fire
  �th level (� slots): awaken, mislead
  Telepathic Bond. Granny can communicate 
  telepathically with any creature she has charmed so 
  long as they are on the same plane of existence.
  ACTIONS
  Sharp Nails. Melee Weapon Attack: +� to hit, reach � �., 
  one target. Hit: � (�d�–�) slashing damage plus � 
  (�d��) fire damage.
  Draining Kiss. Granny kisses a creature charmed by her 
  or a willing creature. The target must make a DC �� 
  Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 
  �� (�d��+�) psychic damage on a failed save, or half 
  as much damage on a successful one. The target's hit 
  point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the 
  damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target 
  Villain Spotlight: Granny Buccus  |  EN World EN�����
  
  finishes a long rest. The target dies if this eﬀect 
  reduces its hit point maximum to �.
  Practiced Charm (Recharge 5–6). Granny targets one 
  humanoid she can see within �� feet of her. If the target 
  can see her, the target must succeed on a DC �� 
  Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed 
  by Granny for � day. The charmed target obeys 
  Granny’s verbal or telepathic commands. If the target 
  suﬀers any harm or receives a suicidal command, it can 
  repeat the saving throw, ending the eﬀect on a success. 
  If the target successfully saves against the eﬀect, or if 
  the eﬀect on it ends, the target is immune to Granny’s 
  Practiced Charm for the next hour.
  LEGENDARY ACTIONS
  Granny can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the 
  options below. Only one legendary action option can be 
  used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s 
  turn unless noted otherwise. Granny regains spent 
  legendary actions at the start of her turn.
  • Meatshield (Costs 1 action). Granny uses Meatshield.
  • Fire Bolt (Costs 2 Actions). Granny casts fire bolt at 
  the most threatening enemy.
  • Dispel (Costs 3 Actions). Granny uses counterspell to 
  try and stop an incoming spell. e
  EN World EN�����  |  Villain Spotlight: Granny Buccus
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 255 - vs Granny Buccus.pdf