Baku (Bak-Koo)

Devourer of Nightmares

At no point during our tenure within the Seishin Isles did we receive the benefit of encountering one of these holy beasts. Despite our poor luck on this exploratory front, the actions and beliefs of the many people we met lead me to believe that such a creature must exist, and thus I am including it within this document.

— Iorki P.

With the head of an elephant, the eyes of a rhinoceros, the tail of an ox, and the legs of a tiger, the baku is a sacred creature to the people of the Seishin Isles.

Dream Eater

Bakus are creatures that hail from the realm of dreams. Viewed as guardian spirits, bakus travel towards minds that house dark dreams, and consume the nightmares that plague individuals. Beings whose dreams are being consumed by a baku find themselves well rested, and often times healthy and with good fortune.

Protective Guardians

Holy beasts of the dreamscape, baku are revered as powerful forces of good, and are known for deterring the presence of yokai and other creatures. Such evil spirits and yokai will avoid areas where a baku is present, with many even leaving their territories once a baku starts feasting on a mortal within.
On rare occasions, when a monster attacks a mortal whose protected by a baku, the baku will manifest upon the material plane and take actions against the monster, defending the mortal whose dreams they currently feast upon. While it is most likely just a baku protecting it's food source, these rare encounters have lead to their raised belief as holy beasts and divine protectors.

Festive Worship

While the many races of the Seishin Isles hold a variety of festivals to many different creatures and deities, festivals dedicated to the baku are common and found across the archipelago. such festivals are believed to attract and please the bakus, and help protect the towns by warding off evil spirits.

homebrew by Team Brievary

Baku CR: 7 (2,900 XP)

Medium monstrosity, lawful good

Armor Class: 15 natural armor

Hit Points: 102 12d8+48

Speed: 30 ft , fly: 60 ft

STR

14 +2

DEX

21 +5

CON

18 +4

INT

15 +2

WIS

16 +3

CHA

25 +7

Saving Throws: Dex +9, Cha +11

Damage Immunities: psychic

Condition Immunities: exhaustion

Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception +13

Languages: Understands all languages

Challenge Rating: 7 (2,900 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The baku's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). The baku can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: invisibility, lullaby, sleep

1/day: ethereal jaunt, modify memory

3/day: sleep (5th level), dream

Dream Beast. The baku is immune to spells that would cause it to fall asleep, and does not experience the need to sleep.
Dream Claws. A baku’s claws are magic for purposes of overcoming damage resistance.
Dream Sight. The baku can see 60 ft. into the Dreamscape (Realm of Dreams) when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.

Actions

Multiattack. The baku makes 2 claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d4+2) slashing damage plus 5 2d4 psychic damage
Dream Eating. A baku can feed upon the dreams of any single sleeping creature within 100 feet. Alternatively, the baku can feed upon the dreams of a creature that it manages to contact with the dream spell. A creature can resist this effect with a DC 22 Wisdom save. When a baku feeds in this way, it can elect to consume only nightmares or all dreams. If it only consumes nightmares, the target creature is immune to the effects of the nightmare haunting ability of the night hag, and other similar attacks for that period of sleep. If the baku instead feeds on all of the creature’s dreams, that creature is fatigued upon waking and does not gain any benefits it would have received from sleep.
Dreamwalker. The baku enters the dreamscape from the Material Plane, or vice versa.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

While Baku can be found in all regions of the dreamscape, they tend to appear within territories where Seishin minds tend to migrate, seemingly gaining power from the Isles's belief in their protective nature, and appeasing their stomachs.

Average Intelligence

Backu are quite the intelligent creatures, having above average intelligence from the perspective of a human, and both understanding and being capable of speaking any language they come into contact with. Because of this, those who are granted the chance to commune with a baku will often find themselves impressed with their knowledge of things happening from the mortal world, though this is a byproduct of the dreams the Baku consumes.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• The Dreamweavers

Origin/Ancestry

The Dreamweavers

Lifespan

Indefinite

Average Height

4'3" to 5'1"

Average Weight

500lbs - 800lbs

Average Length

8 ft. - 9 ft.

Geographic Distribution

• Realm of Dream

Statblock Links
Baku