Creeping Tarlight

As the shadows thicken, the night air shudders under the eerie cackling of this sinister cosmic entity. The Creeping Tarlight, a moon emblazoned with a disquieting smile, projects its baleful grin upon Luyarnha. From its contorted face, a deluge of tar plummets, seeping from the moon's very countenance. As this glutinous substance permeates the land beneath, it imbues the city's darkness with an oppressive sense of dread, and its monsters with a viscous guile.
As the Creeping Tarlight is visible, the following effects apply to the world.

Monsters

The tar dripping from the moon causes shadows to become viscous and sticky. Creatures moving through areas of dim light or darkness have their speed halved, and they have disadvantage on initiative rolls while in dim light or darkness.

All monsters, apart from humanoids, are coated in tar. The first time a tar-coated creature takes fire or radiant damage, it explodes. Each creature within 10 feet of an exploding creature must make a Trait DC Dexterity saving throw or take fire damage equal to the Trait Damage. The tar-coated creature has disadvantage on the saving throw.

The influence of the Creeping Tarlight causes curses and hexes to become sticky and difficult to remove. Even if dispelled, the tar-like residue of the curse may linger, causing persistent effects. All spells that cause curses have their duration doubled and cannot be removed by the remove curse spell while the moon is up.

MONSTER CR

TRAIT DC

TRAIT DAMAGE

≤2

10

1d4

3-4

11

1d6

5-6

12

2d6

7-8

13

3d6

9-12

14

4d6

13-16

15

5d6

17-20

19

6d6

21+

20

7d6

Travel

Under the sinister grin of the Creeping Tarlight, the atmosphere is permeated with unease and the lingering aroma of viscous sludge. Darkness intensifies, stretching inky tendrils across the night, while the pallid, twisted smile of the moon stands out against the void. This deceptive gloom masks the true threat of the encroaching tar, engulfing those who fail to tread with caution.
The eerie smile on the moon occasionally emits a faint, disturbing laughter that can be heard throughout the night. This unsettling sound makes it increasingly difficult for creatures to relax their mind, as the sound emerges from everywhere at once. If characters finish a long rest during a night where the Creeping Tarlight is visible, they must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw to gain the benefits.
In addition, the tar that drips from the moons risks engulfing the unwary in its inky depths. For each hour that passes, roll a d6. On a 1, the party becomes trapped in a heavily shadowed area, generated from the tar of the moon. Each character must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or fall in the darkness and be restrained. If the party traveled at a slow pace (as per the travel rules), the characters have advantage on this saving throw.
On their turn, as part of their movement, a trapped character can escape by making a DC 17 Strength check. Another creature can use an action to make a DC 17 Strength check to attempt to pull the restrained character out of the shadows, freeing them on a success. After 2 turns, the trapped character begins to suffocate in the tar, and after 3 turns, the trapped character is completely engulfed; any creature that attempts to free the character will get coated in tar. Alternatively, the shadowy tar can be lit ablaze with fire damage, which burns for 1 minute. For the duration, any creature in contact with the tar takes 2d6 fire damage at the start of each of its turns.

Madness

The madness section of each moon refers to a Madness DC, which is indicated in the following table.

AVERAGE PARTY LEVEL

MADNESS DC

1-4

11

5-8

13

9-12

15

13-16

17

17-20

19

21+

21

The tar slugs the body and the mind. If a character gains a madness while the Creeping Tarlight is out, for the duration of the madness, their speed is halved, they take a -2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws, and they can’t use reactions.

Short-Term

Whenever a character gains a short-term madness under the Creeping Tarlight, they burst into a frenzied laughter. For the duration of the madness, they automatically fail any Stealth check they make, and all creatures in a 120-foot radius are alerted to their presence.

Long-Term

Whenever a character gains a long-term madness under the Creeping Tarlight, the demented laughter that grips their mind becomes untenable. For the duration of the madness, they find the darkest of things profoundly amusing. If they attempt to speak or cast a spell with a verbal component, they must succeed on a Madness DC Constitution saving throw to steady themselves or be unable to talk or cast the spell, wasting their action but not the spell slot, and instead giggle and smile.

If one of their allies is reduced to 0 hit points, they explode with laughter, completely losing their focus, and are stunned until the start of their next turn.

Indefinite

A character that gains an indefinite madness under the Creeping Tarlight finds inner joy, and the laughter quiets.
Roll a d100:

on a result of 33 or lower, the character begins to laugh and regurgitate tar, which completely coats their body, acting like a battle armor, and their AC increases by 1

on a result of 34 or higher, the tar solidifies too much, and the character becomes petrified, their face frozen in a terrifying smile. Ending the petrification also ends the indefinite madness.

"Of all the moons, the Creeping Tarlight is the one most suited for hunting hordes of creatures, as they huddle like terrified cowards before detonating one after the other, as the explosion from their viscous skin spreads."

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural