Bog-Born
(a.k.a. “The Twice-Cursed”)
Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil
Armor Class: 13 (natural agility)
Hit Points: 110 (13d8 + 52)
Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4), DEX 14 (+2), CON 18 (+4)
INT 8 (–1), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 10 (+0)
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +7,
Wis +5
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +8, Survival +5
Damage Resistances poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks while in swamp terrain
Condition Immunities frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Understands Sylvan and Common but speaks only in broken mimicry
Challenge 0 (10 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Traits
Amphibious Horror.
The bog-born can breathe air and water.
Swamp Stalker.
While in swampy or heavily obscured terrain (mud, fog, heavy foliage), the bog-born has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, and creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect it.
Unnatural Metabolism.
At the start of its turn, the bog-born regains 10 hit points if it has at least 1 hit point and is in contact with swamp water, mud, or saturated ground.
Twice-Cursed Physiology.
The bog-born has advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects that would restrain, paralyze, or charm it.
Mimicry of the Lost.
The bog-born can mimic the voice of a Small or Medium creature it has heard, including cries for help or familiar phrases. A creature that hears the sounds can determine they are fake with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Actions
Multiattack.
The bog-born makes two Claw attacks and one Bite attack.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 12 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 15 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.
If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be [condition]poisoned[/condition] until the end of its next turn as swamp toxins flood the wound.
Drowning Drag (Recharge 5–6).
The bog-born targets one creature it can see within 5 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (target’s choice) or be grappled (escape DC 15) and pulled up to 15 feet into swamp water or mud.
If the target ends this movement submerged, it immediately begins suffocating.
Reactions
Bog Recoil.
When the bog-born takes damage from a creature within 5 feet, it can use its reaction to move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks, leaving behind churned mud and reeds.
Description
No Lurklet must ever touch stagnate swamp waters else the metamorphosis from cuddly pet to ecological menace is immediate. The change is not magical in the spellcraft sense. It is biological, violent, and irreversible. When swamp water contacts their skin: fur sloughs away within minutes. The spine elongates and re-knits. Teeth and claws force their way through soft tissue. The creature grows to nearly three feet tall. Eyes cloud, then sharpen—predatory, cold, focused. What rises from the muck is no longer curious.
The Bog-Born are reptilian bipeds with remnants of fur hanging like rotted moss along their backs. Their skin is slick, scaled, and swamp-dark, their limbs corded with unnatural strength. They retain fragments of their former intelligence—enough to set ambushes, feign retreat, or mimic distress sounds they once used playfully.
Each Bog-Born is a solitary menace. A lone Bog-born can stalk and kill a seasoned warrior if it chooses the ground well. They favor: fog. knee-deep water, rotting logs, and narrow causeways and old boardwalks. They do not travel in packs for long—territorial violence inevitably reduces their numbers—but a swamp that births even a few can become impassable.
Ecology & Lore
Bog-Born are what remains when a lurklet touches tainted swamp waters. The transformation is violent, irreversible, and fueled by corruption in the land itself. Though their bodies grow stronger, fragments of their former curiosity linger—manifesting as cruel mimicry and baited traps rather than innocence.
Centaurs refuse to name them aloud, calling them only The Twice-Cursed, and warn that killing one does not cleanse the swamp—it merely quiets it for a time.
⚠️ DM TACTICAL NOTES
- Never run them head-on. Use fog, water, and terrain.
- One Bog-Born is a duel monster—deadly to single PCs.
- Two Bog-Born becomes a boss encounter for a level 6 party.
- Their regeneration forces players to control terrain or reposition.
- Let players realize—too late—that they met these things when they were cute.
Return to Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicks
Members of DnD Beyond can add Bog-born to their campaigns
Bog-born base images were built using ChatGPT using prompts by Alien Graphics ©2026 Alien Graphics
All verbiage is ©2026 Alien Graphics and all imagery is ©2026 Alien Graphics and shared under the CC BY-NC-SA
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