Archive Entry #003: The Great Old One Monster Rug – Creature Stat Card

---

TRAITS

Aura of Whispers

Creatures that start their turn within 20 feet of the rug must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or hear intrusive thoughts in a familiar voice. On a failure:

• The creature has disadvantage on its first attack roll that turn.

• The creature cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.

Mind-Tether

A creature that ends its turn on the rug must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or become tethered to the rug:

• While tethered, the creature cannot move more than 20 feet from the rug.

• At the start of each of its turns, it takes 2d6 psychic damage.

• The tether lasts for 1 minute or until the rug is destroyed.

---

ACTIONS

Gaze into the Depths (Recharge 5–6)

The rug focuses on one creature it can see. That creature must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become incapacitated until the end of its next turn, overwhelmed by visions of alien depths and impossible futures. On a success, the creature has disadvantage on its next Intelligence-based check instead.

Summon: Echo of the Great One (1/day)

When the rug is reduced to 45 HP or less, or on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), it splits down the middle as a massive tentacle of astral-black flesh tears through.

• The Echo of the Great One emerges and acts on its own initiative (immediately after the rug).

• The Echo remains until destroyed or the rug is removed from the area.

---

LEGENDARY ACTIONS (1 per round)

Whisper Surge

The rug emits a pulse of unseen thought.

• One creature within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw, or become silenced (unable to speak, cast spells with verbal components, or use bardic inspiration) until the end of its next turn.

---

---

TRAITS

One Mind, Many Eyes

While the Echo exists, the rug gains advantage on all saving throws and resistance to radiant damage.

Dreams of the Deep (Aura)

Creatures that start their turn within 20 feet of the Echo must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or suffer the following effects until the start of their next turn:

• Speed is halved
• Cannot take reactions

---

ACTIONS

Multiattack

The Echo makes two Tentacle attacks, or one Tentacle attack and one Mind Spire (if available).

Tentacle

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target.
Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 6 (1d12) psychic damage.

• Target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be grappled and blinded (covered in slime that obscures vision).

Mind Spire (Recharge 5–6)

The Echo releases a cone of psychic force.

• Each creature in a 30-foot cone must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw.

• On a failure:

  • Take 22 (5d8) psychic damage

  • Become stunned until the end of their next turn

• On a success: Half damage, no stun

Fragment Recoils (Death Effect)

When reduced to 0 HP, the Echo shatters into oily, glass-like shards.
Each creature within 15 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or:

• Be teleported 1d100 feet in a random direction (DM’s choice of method)

• Suffer one short-term madness (use DMG table or choose narratively appropriate effect)

---

LORE

The first record of it came from a scribe who slit her own tongue to “stop the whispers from learning how to speak.” She’d spent a single night beside it. The rug was silent, but the air tasted like her mother’s perfume, and something breathed in sync with her thoughts.

They say it doesn’t hunt—it simply remembers you, and waits for your return. Sometimes in dreams. Sometimes in doorways. Sometimes in your house.

Some claim it's not a rug at all, but a tether left behind by something that couldn’t quite follow. A fragment of a being that had no shape, so it made one from memory, stitched from minds it had already ruined.

If you find yourself whispering things you never meant to say—check the rug.
If you wake with blood from your ears and a second name in your head—check the rug.
If it’s closer than it was yesterday—don’t check the rug. It’s already seen you.

---

ENCOUNTER IDEAS

The Loom Beneath the Library

A forgotten sanctum beneath a ruined wizard’s tower. Books rot. Candles melt upward. A spiral stair leads down to a vault where one artifact remains untouched by time: a perfectly preserved rug, spread atop the original arcane circle.

Twist: The rug mirrors thoughts. Each PC sees different surroundings—familiar, but wrong. When someone speaks to it, it answers… with a memory they never shared.

Trap Hook: First creature to address or step onto the rug makes a DC 16 Wisdom save or is incapacitated by visions of impossible futures (Gaze into the Depths). On success: disadvantage on next Intelligence check.

Combat Hook:

• Attacking or disrupting the rug triggers the Echo’s summoning at initiative 20.

• While active, the rug gains advantage on saves and radiant resistance (One Mind, Many Eyes).

• The Echo targets thinkers first, unspooling reality one turn at a time.

Optional: The Echo’s corpse conceals a stair downward—but only one PC sees it.

The Echo’s Cradle

A coastal cave used by a strange, vanished cult. The floor is covered in decaying remnants of woven offerings—tapestries, cloaks, funeral wraps. At the center: the Great Old One Rug, massive and breathing softly.

Twist: Touching any fabric triggers a vivid, false memory. The rug doesn’t protect the Echo—it births it.

Trap Hook: Ending a turn on the rug forces a DC 15 Intelligence save or the creature becomes tethered:

• Can’t move >20 ft from the rug

• Takes 2d6 psychic damage/turn

• Hallucinates allies as cultists trying to pull them from paradise

Combat Hook:

• At 45 HP or initiative 20, the rug splits open and the Echo rises.

• Echo uses Dreams of the Deep to slow and mute.

• As it’s damaged, it erases player memories (spells, bonds, names).

Death Effect: The Echo explodes into oily shards. DC 15 Wisdom save or:

• Teleported 1d100 ft in a random direction

• Suffer short-term madness

---

IT DREAMS OF YOU, TOO

The Great Old One Rug