Medium Aberration, Chaotic Evil

Armor Class: 13 

Hit Points: 52 (8d8+16)

Speed: 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

STR 10/+0

DEX 17/+3

CON 14/+2

INT 16/+3

WIS 14/+2

CHA 8/–1

Skills: Stealth +5

Senses: Blindsight 60 ft., Passive Perception 12

Condition Immunities: Prone

Languages: Deep Speech, Undercommon

Challenge: 3

Proficiency Bonus: +2

Mind and Matter. Putamen Crawler can innately cast the Phantasmal Force and Catapult spells (DC 13, Spellcasting Ability – Intelligence) at will without requiring any components. 

Psionic Anchor. As a bonus action, Crawler can place a Psionic Anchor at a point of its choosing within 60 feet of it. All creatures  that are within 30 feet of the anchor, or start their turn in the area, must make a DC 13 Strength Saving throw, being forced to move up to 20 feet towards the anchor on a failure.
All creatures in the area of the anchor gain flying speed equal to their swimming speed for as long as they are in the area, and the area is considered difficult terrain if they try to move away from the anchor. 

• The crawler can voluntarily choose to succeed or fail on the Strength saving throw when in the area of a Psionic Anchor, and it ignores difficult terrain created by it. 

Any creatures that go prone in the area don’t fall to the ground, but are instead moved up to 20 feet towards the anchor.
If a creature goes through another creature’s space due to being dragged by the anchor, the other creature must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, stopping the dragged creature’s movement and making them both take 2d6 bludgeoning damage on a failure. 

A single Putamen Crawler can only have two active Psionic Anchors at once, and it can dismiss any of its Anchors as a bonus action. If the areas of two or more Psionic Anchors intersect, their combined area works as if they were created by a single Anchor that is found in the center of their combined areas. 

Psionic Tendrils. In addition to its plethora of ordinary tendrils, the Putamen Crawler also has up to four Psionic Tendrils. A creature that ends their turn while grappled by a Psionic Tendril has their intelligence score reduced by 2 until they finish a short or long rest. The target dies if this reduces its intelligence to 0, and its body turns into a new Putamen Crawler after seven days. 

 The Psionic Tendrils can be attacked while they are grappling a creature. (AC 16, 20 Hit Points). A Putamen Crawler regrows its Psionic Tendrils once it finishes a long rest. When a Psionic Tendril is destroyed, the creature it is grappling can restore up to two points of its reduced intelligence score. 

Actions. 

• Multiattack. Putamen Crawler makes two attacks with its Tendrils. 
• Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6+3) piercing damage damage.
• Psionic Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) piercing damage, the target is grappled (Escape DC 10) and the Crawler can’t use the same tendril against another target.
• Limbic Manipulator (2x/Day). All creature within 45 feet of the Putamen Crawler must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw, taking 2d10 psychic damage and becoming frightened of the Putamen Crawler until the end of their next turn on a failure, or half as much damage and not becoming frightened on a success.Creatures affected by this ability also start to see the area around them as if it was affected by the Hallucinatory Terrain (DC 13) spell, the specifics of the terrain are determined by the Crawler.