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Old Man 'Bad Liar' - AI-generated fantasy Monster

Old Man 'Bad Liar'

Old Man 'Bad Liar' has appeared under dozens of names, always as a harmless traveler with an impossible story. Some say his gift began when a desperate lie saved a village from a tyrant. Others insist he has always been this way. The one consistent detail is that anyone who catches him in a lie eventually discovers that the lie was hiding a worse truth.

Monsters
Medium humanoid · CR 20 (custom estimate) · Unique

Old Man 'Bad Liar'

An infamous, magically persuasive schemer whose absurd lies become momentarily convincing enough to fracture a battle line.
AC19
HP285/285
CR20 (custom estimate)
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 19 · HP 285 · CR 20 (custom estimate)

Old Man 'Bad Liar'

Medium humanoid (shapechanger), chaotic evil
Armor Class19 (enchanted coat, uncanny footwork)
Hit Points285 (30d8 + 150)
Speed
30 ft.,
Can magically teleport up to 60 ft. as a legendary action
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsConstitutionWisdomCharisma
SkillsDeceptionInsightPerceptionPersuasionSleight of HandStealth
Damage Resistances
Psychic damage
Weaknesses
His custom social and speech-based abilities cannot affect a creature that cannot hear him.
His disguises do not change his statistics and can be exposed by careful physical inspection.
He is mortal and can be restrained or cornered if denied open routes and teleportation.
Senses
Truesight 30 ft.,
Passive Perception 19
Languages
Common,
Dwarvish,
Elvish,
Thieves' cant
Challenge20 (custom estimate)
Proficiency Bonus+6
Initiative+5
Spell Save DC20
Spell Attack Bonus+12
Unflappable. Old Man 'Bad Liar' has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and magic cannot put him to sleep.
Borrowed Face. Old Man 'Bad Liar' can use an action to magically change his appearance and voice to resemble any Medium humanoid he has seen. His statistics do not change. A creature can discern the disguise with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check contested by his Charisma (Deception) check, or by physical inspection that reveals an inconsistency.
Innate Spellcasting. Old Man 'Bad Liar' is a 20th-level spellcaster. Charisma is his spellcasting ability (spell save , to hit with spell attacks). He requires no material components for his listed spells.
A Face That Fits. Old Man 'Bad Liar' has advantage on ability checks made to pass himself off as someone else or to convince a creature that a mundane claim is true. This does not make a false statement automatically believed and does not override a creature's successful saving throw against his abilities.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Old Man 'Bad Liar' fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead. Once he uses this trait, he cannot use it again until he finishes a short or long rest.

Spells

Minor illusion (cantrip, illusion). At will. He creates a minor sensory illusion, such as a whispered voice, a harmless sound, or a small visual effect.
Disguise self (level 2, illusion). At will. He alters his appearance, though the spell does not withstand physical inspection.
Charm person (level 2, enchantment). At will. He magically charms one creature that can see or hear him, subject to the spell's normal limits.
Major image (level 3, illusion). 3/day. He creates an illusory image with the spell's normal duration and limitations.
Seeming (level 5, illusion). 3/day. He magically alters his appearance, voice, and mannerisms as described by the spell.
Modify memory (level 5, enchantment). 1/day. He attempts to alter one creature's memories according to the spell's normal rules.
Teleport (level 7, conjuration). 1/day. He teleports himself and willing creatures as described by the spell.

Actions

Multiattack. Old Man 'Bad Liar' makes three attacks, in any combination, with his Crooked Cane and Silver-Tongued Rebuke.
Crooked Cane. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 () bludgeoning damage plus 13 () psychic damage. If the target is concentrating, it has disadvantage on the Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration.
Silver-Tongued Rebuke. Ranged Spell Attack: to hit, range 120 ft., one creature Old Man 'Bad Liar' can see. Hit: 36 () psychic damage, and the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be unable to take reactions until the end of its next turn. This attack is a custom feature, not a spell.
A Story for Everyone (Recharge 5–6). Old Man 'Bad Liar' targets up to three creatures he can see within 60 feet. Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 45 () psychic damage and is charmed by him until the end of its next turn. On a success, it takes half damage and is not charmed. A charmed target must use its reaction, if available, to move up to its speed in a direction Old Man 'Bad Liar' chooses, avoiding obviously dangerous terrain. This is a custom feature, not a spell.
Convincing Nonsense (Recharge 4–6). Old Man 'Bad Liar' produces a plausible but impossible claim, such as that a doorway is a wall or an ally is an enemy. Each creature of his choice within 30 feet that can hear him must make a Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, the creature believes the claim to be true until the end of its next turn and has disadvantage on its next attack roll or ability check that contradicts it. The creature knows it has been deceived once the effect ends. This is a custom feature.

Reactions

You Saw Nothing. When a creature Old Man 'Bad Liar' can see hits him with an attack, he imposes a momentary false opening. The attacker must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the attack instead misses. Once he uses this reaction, he cannot use it again until the start of his next turn.

Legendary Actions

Shuffle Away. Old Man 'Bad Liar' moves up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Tap the Cane. Old Man 'Bad Liar' makes one Crooked Cane attack.
You Misheard Me (costs 2 actions). One creature Old Man 'Bad Liar' can see within 60 feet must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Convenient Disappearance (costs 3 actions). Old Man 'Bad Liar' magically teleports up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. A creature adjacent to the space he left must succeed on a Intelligence saving throw or be unable to take reactions until the end of its next turn.
Role
Legendary controller and evasive social mastermind
Built for
Designed as a major challenge for four to five characters of levels 17–20; use supporting creatures or terrain to tune difficulty.

Gear

  • Crooked Cane (Weapon and spellcasting focus, Priceless to him; worth 25 gp as carved ivory and hardwood)A knotted walking stick that strikes with supernatural force and serves as his spellcasting focus.
  • The Apology Coat (Wondrous clothing, 300 gp)A threadbare coat reinforced with subtle enchantments. Its pockets contain old receipts, counterfeit letters, and one genuinely useful map.
  • False Signet (Jewelry, 50 gp)A tarnished signet ring bearing a crest that belongs to no known noble house.

Feats

Custom legendary creature design
Innate spellcasting

Notes for the game master

Old Man 'Bad Liar' is a custom legendary creature, not a canonical published D&D monster.
Proficiency bonus is +6. His spellcasting ability is Charisma.
Spell entries use the standard spell names and their usual rules. Custom features are explicitly labeled as custom.
He has three legendary actions per round and regains them at the start of his turn.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    Begin in disguise or behind a crowd. Try to separate the party with a false emergency or a fabricated accusation, then open with Convincing Nonsense when combat becomes unavoidable.

  2. Mid-fight

    Use A Story for Everyone against clustered enemies, then focus Silver-Tongued Rebuke on spellcasters or wounded targets. Use legendary movement to stay behind cover and out of melee.

  3. End of the fight

    At low hit points, use teleportation or a prepared escape route, then turn pursuers against one another with Convincing Nonsense. He prefers surviving to winning.

  4. Retreat

    Old Man 'Bad Liar' retreats if reduced below 70 hit points and unable to escape safely. He bargains shamelessly, offers a true secret, and lies about what he is giving up.

How it fights

Avoid being surrounded; use cover and teleportation to change the geometry of the fight.
Use control against clusters, then focus attacks on isolated characters.
Speak throughout combat, but keep lies testable through clues rather than arbitrarily rewriting established facts.
Spend legendary actions to disrupt reactions, punish exposed targets, and escape threatened positions.

Who it attacks first

Characters who can expose disguises, identify illusions, or coordinate the party.
Spellcasters concentrating on powerful effects.
Isolated or wounded characters vulnerable to psychic damage.

Works well with

Illusionists and mimics make his false paths and fake allies harder to distinguish.
A small group of loyal informants can deliver contradictory rumors before he enters the scene.
A single durable guardian can hold the party's attention while he uses his mobility and control.

How to beat it

Silence, deafness, or blocking line of sight can interfere with his speech-based abilities.
Effects that grant advantage on Wisdom or Intelligence saving throws blunt his strongest control options.
Force him into a confined space where teleportation and evasive movement are limited.
His high defenses do not include immunity to grapple, restraint, or forced movement.

Ways to avoid a fight

He may trade an accurate secret for safe passage, while obscuring its significance with a lie.
A party can expose an important lie by comparing independent witnesses, records, and physical evidence.
He can become a recurring informant whose advice is useful but never wholly trustworthy.

Ecology

A stooped, white-bearded old man in a patched coat, with bright eyes that never seem to match his solemn expression. His cane is carved with tiny faces, each caught mid-laugh. His shadow gestures a heartbeat before he does.

Behavior

He tells lies with the careless confidence of someone who expects to be forgiven. He enjoys elaborate stories, but in danger becomes precise, observant, and cruel. He never repeats the same lie in the same way.

How it lives

He does not age normally and needs no more food than an ordinary old man, though he favors meals bought with someone else's money. He leaves towns before people agree on which of his stories was the first lie.

Lair

His lair is usually a rented room above a busy inn, arranged with three exits, a hidden speaking tube, and props for several competing identities. If cornered, he turns the room's clutter into cover and escapes through a route he has already paid someone to keep open.

Habitat
Crowded streets, old inns, abandoned courts, caravans, and any place where a convincing story can travel faster than the truth.

Signs that it is near

A witness insists that a gray-bearded stranger warned them about an event that has not happened.
A stack of signed contracts contains identical handwriting but contradictory terms.
Coins appear in a locked room beside a note claiming they were always there.

Tags

legendary,
unique,
humanoid,
controller,
deceiver,
spellcaster

Lore

Old Man 'Bad Liar' has appeared under dozens of names, always as a harmless traveler with an impossible story. Some say his gift began when a desperate lie saved a village from a tyrant. Others insist he has always been this way. The one consistent detail is that anyone who catches him in a lie eventually discovers that the lie was hiding a worse truth.

What drives it

To remain free, entertained, and impossible to pin down. He collects secrets as leverage and occasionally lies to protect people, though he rarely admits it.

After the fight

When Old Man 'Bad Liar' falls, his last breath is usually another promise: that he will be back before the kettle boils. His effects retain mundane value, but every written account in his possession contains at least one deliberate falsehood.

“Some say his gift began when a desperate lie saved a village from a tyrant.”
From its lore

Variants

The Kindly Uncle: Less violent, with stronger charm and disguise magic, but fewer direct attacks.
The Last Honest Man: His lies are obvious, yet each one conceals a real warning that the party may need to decode.
The Young Impostor: A mortal apprentice who copies his methods but lacks Legendary Resistance and legendary actions.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A town's residents remember a disaster differently, and each version traces back to a story Old Man 'Bad Liar' told.
He offers the party the location of a lost relic, but his directions contain a lie designed to keep another treasure hunter alive.
A ruler hires the characters to capture him, insisting that he stole a treaty. The treaty may itself be a forgery.
Someone has begun using his name to frame him, and the real culprit knows one of his oldest secrets.

How to use it

Run him as a mobile solo villain who wins time and positioning rather than standing still to trade attacks.
Give the party environmental choices to investigate which claims are false, such as contradictory signs, witnesses, and routes.
At CR 20, present him as a major villain for a well-equipped party around levels 17–20, ideally with terrain or a few minions.
Make his lies dramatic but fair: describe observable facts clearly, and let player characters test claims with actions.

Treasure

The Apology Coat and Crooked Cane, if the party can claim them.
A cache of letters containing real secrets alongside deliberate fabrications.
A purse of mixed foreign coins and several forged travel papers.

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