If you’ve ever looked up into the night sky and knew without a doubt, that there was some awe-inspiring being from a different dimension looking down upon you, then you aren’t wrong. Up in the vast field of stars are the ancient elder evils who have slipped into our worlds from the Far Realm. They have infected the stars, and apparently, these stars hate the world. From their stars, the elder evils send down their envoys, those who herald their inevitable arrival on the world. The Star Spawn are not a singular species but rather a type of monster ushered into our worlds by ancient, extra-dimensional beings.

4e - Herald of Hadar

Level 15 Brute
Medium aberrant humanoid / XP 1,200
Initiative +9 / Senses Perception +11; darkvision
HP 180; Bloodied 90
AC 27; Fortitude 27, Reflex 26, Will 27
Speed 6
Hungry Claws (standard; at-will) +18 vs. AC; 1d10 + 5 damage. Effect: The herald of Hadar makes one more hungry claws attack against the same target or a different one.
Feeding Frenzy (standard; encounter) +18 vs. AC; 1d10 + 5 damage. Effect: The herald of Hadar makes three more hungry claws attacks against the same target or different ones. No more than two of the attacks can target the same creature.
Breath of a Dying Star (standard; encounter) Close blast 5; +18 vs. Reflex; 2d10 + 5 damage, and the target cannot spend healing surges or regain hit points (save ends).
Hadar’s Hunger (immediate reaction, when a creature within 5 squares of the herald of Hadar spends a healing surge; at-will) The herald chooses one of the following options:
- The herald shifts 3 squares and must end the move closer to the triggering creature.
- The herald uses a hungry claws attack.
- The herald regains the use of one of its encounter powers.
- The herald gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls until the end of its next turn.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages telepathy 10
Str 17 (+10) Dex 15 (+9) Wis 18 (+11) Con 20 (+12) Int 10 (+7) Cha 15 (+9)

**Monster Manual 2**, 2009 WotC / **Herald of Hadar**

First introduced in the Monster Manual 2 (2009), the Star Spawn aren’t just a single being created by an insane wizard, but rather a category of monsters created by different elder evils with the express purpose of infecting and corrupting the multiverse. Star Spawn are specifically sent from the elder evils that have infested the stars of our worlds, and each star, and by extension each elder evil, will have different Star Spawn based on their power, needs, and hungers. Some stars will only have a single type of Star Spawn, while another star may have dozens of different forms it sends its heralds in, but each star is restricted to how often they can send their spawn, with once a year being the most they can accomplish. This is largely due to the celestial movements of objects and stars, as they must wait for planets to align or be close enough to worlds to fling their spawn into them.

This book features three Star Spawn and the stars that created them. The first is probably the most well-known of all the elder evil stars, Hadar. The Herald of Hadar appears like a fiendish monster grasping for life, attempting to grab onto creatures with its claws and fulfill its yearning for life. The first inkling that anyone would have about Hadar is from the Player’s Handbook (2008) for 4th edition, where the warlock power hunger of Hadar is first introduced. This is the first mention of this elder evil, whetting a player’s appetite to finally learn who, or what, Hadar and its spawn were about.

The Herald of Hadar is a monster spawned from the dull red glow of the Hadar star, which was once the brightest star in the sky before it burnt itself out during the calamities of Bael Turath. The Heralds are thought of as the dying gasps of Hadar, attempting to siphon life back into the star that spawned it. It journeys across the worlds, attacking the living, draining creatures of their life, and sending it back to Hadar to hold off its death. The biggest ability comes from when you regain hit points while fighting this creature. It feeds off that energy, suddenly rejuvenating it for a few rounds, making it even more dangerous to fight.

**Monster Manual 2**, 2009 WotC / **Maw of Acamar**

The Maw of Acamar is the next Star Spawn, the star entity of Acamar was first hinted at in the Player’s Handbook as the warlock power wrath of Acamar. Acamar is a corpse star, a star that has died and is a void of nothingness, devouring other stars that draw close to it in the deep space. Think sentient black hole that hates and devours literally everything. The Star Spawn is that star’s hunger given form, in a black void humanoid-like body, destroying and eating anything that wanders close while on its march across the world.

While fighting the Maw, you are first drawn in closer to the creature, making it difficult terrain if you try to move further away from the being. If you are able to escape its incessant pull, it can grip you with its magic, dragging you back to where you started where it can then touch you, dealing 15 damage that lasts every turn until you can succeed on your save against it. These powers only get stronger if you attempt to recover hit points while you are near it, causing its pull to grow stronger and for you to take additional damage every round from its touch.

**Monster Manual 2**, 2009 WotC / **Scion of Gibbeth**

The last Star Spawn shown off is the Scion of Gibbeth, the spawn of a cursed green star. Gibbeth first appears in Dragon #366 (Aug. 2008) in the article Wish Upon a Star by Bruce R. Cordell. The article mentions that one shouldn’t think about Gibbeth, even for just a little bit, as imagining what it really looked like would be enough to crack lesser minds and put yourself under intense mental strain. There is no known form of Gibbeth, simply because its impossibility in appearance causes minds to break and madness to flood through a world. When one gazes upon the Scion of Gibbeth, what you gaze upon is different from what your allies might see as your mind reels at what it sees and instead puts something familiar to you. You might see a green, hideous mass with an assortment of arms and legs while your ally may gaze upon a red bull, oozing with horrific slime and odd contusions. What each person sees is real, to them, and just another anomaly you must deal with while you fight this creature.

The Scion attacks by tearing apart your mind with its gaze, dominating your person and taking control of your body. Even if you can withstand its mental attacks, when you strike this spawn, you are met with its psychic gaze that brings devastation with it, crushing your mind and forcing you to move based on the Scion’s will. If you attempt to heal while near this foul creature, you only end up making it stronger, granting it a bonus on its attack rolls until the end of its next turn. Even if you manage to kill the Scion of Gibbeth, its remaining psychic energy lashes out, causing all those nearby to briefly lose their minds and attack their allies until they are able to overcome it.

Returning to Dragon #366 and the article Wish Upon a Star, we can learn a little bit more about the strange entities that form the Star Spawns, sending them to the worlds to feed them life, material, and to further their ultimate goals of corrupting the multiverse. This article is focused on the warlock’s Star Pact feature that influences what powers they can gain as they level up, as well as information on how you could play a warlock who made a pact with a star entity. Star pacts are a very new way for a warlock to gain power, and so this article helps players better understand what their decisions to form a pact with stars has in store for them.

Not every star in the night sky houses an entity within it, but there are very specific stars that are elder evils. With that said, not every star entity has to be from the Far Realm, it could very well be that they were formed when the multiverse was and are just ancient creatures whose form is that of a star. The best information about the eldritch stars comes from the scroll, Revelations of Melech. It is wound inside an obsidian cylinder that is scribed with star constellations and contains information on several of the stars that are willing to make pacts, whether conscious or unconsciously. They are Acamar, a corpse star that harkens doom, Caiphon, a purple star of betrayal, Delban, an ice-white star of winter, Gibbeth, a green star that should not be gazed or thought upon, Hadar, the cinders of a star lurking in the night sky, Ihbar, the dark nebula between stars, Khirad, a piercing blue star that reveals gruesome secrets, Nihal, a writhing reddish star, Ulban, a blue-white light that disrupts cognition, and Zhudun, a baleful corpse-star that was extinguished long ago. Each of these stars houses an eldritch being that is seeking to expand its influence and hunger across the worlds, sending Star Spawn to carry out their hate, hunger, and need for the worlds.

**Monster Manual 3**, 2010 WotC / **Allabar**

More Star Spawn are conjured in our world with the release of the Monster Manual 3 (2010), featuring the Spawn of Ulban, Emissary of Caiphon, and Serpent of Nihal. Each of these are stars we previously mentioned, sending their servants forth when the star, Allabar, Opener of the Way, shoots past them on its erratic path through the stars. Allabar is a living star/planet that, while not specifically a Star Spawn, is somehow linked to them, providing a gap between this multiverse and the realms outside of it, allowing the star beings to summon forth a spawn onto our worlds whenever Allabar gets close. Allabar was first formed by the primordials at the beginning of the multiverse, though they weren’t alone. The gods noticed the primordials’ creation and breathed life into it, for some reason. Fearing the power that the planet had, the gods flung it into the Far Realm.

**Monster Manual 3**, 2010 WotC / **Spawn of Ulban**

It spent millennia in the Far Realm where it was warped and twisted, returning to the multiverse full of malevolence for the multiverse and the creations that the gods had created. It now spends its time opening gateways between the Far Realm and the multiverse, sending Star Spawn into the worlds to destroy them. Some believe it is looking for revenge and the ultimate destruction of the world. Some others believe that it is attempting to transform the world into a perverted semblance of life like itself.

What few people know is that a silent war, known as the Forgotten War, has been taking place between the stars and the world for over a thousand years. The Star Spawn are the stars' foot soldiers. They do not just engage in combat as many soldiers would, but also seek to influence the worlds they arrive at in any way possible.

Arriving alone on a given world, Star Spawn know that they cannot accomplish their goals single-handedly. Each Spawn has its own methods to find allies and raise an army to complete their goals. They may attempt to influence humanoids, but usually find all sorts of evil creatures to join them. Wars need soldiers and these creatures are the Star Spawn’s front-line warriors. Unfortunately for them, they are little more than cannon fodder, since the Star Spawn doesn’t give a hoot about them. They are focused on one goal only; to serve their star, destroy the fabric of civilization, and once that is done, wipe out all life on the world.

Our first Star Spawn is the Spawn of Ulban, a star focused on betrayal and strife. It fights by causing its enemies to squabble and attack each other, forgetting that the Spawn is there, manipulating them and causing such strife between them. It appears as a tentacled creature with a humanoid torso, conjuring bluefire that burns and freezes its enemies at the same time.

**Monster Manual 3**, 2010 WotC / **Emissary of Caiphon** and **Serpent of Nihal**

The Emissary of Caiphon is much like the star that spawned it, patient and biding its time. It waits until a town begins suffering, famine, or a drought causing discontent. It spreads rumors and secrets, causing unrest to all it speaks to. Since it disguises itself with magic, appearing like an ordinary humanoid, it can infiltrate into anyone’s trust, spreading rumors of mistrust. It uses a creature’s needs against it, causing mental anguish and telling them what they want to hear, turning them against even their closest allies.

The last is the Serpent of Nihal, a Spawn made of pure star-stuff. We are in the dark just as much as you dear reader about what star-stuff is. They feed on every living creature they can find, feeding the star of Nihal who slivers its way across the night sky. When they attack, they blink in and out of reality, suddenly surrounding their victims as their numbers grow larger and larger. On occasion, a suitably powerful master might exert control over the groups, but it is only a temporary event, as Nihal never loses control over its Spawn. They whisper false promises, worming their way into the trust of any who might seek to summon the power of Nihal, destroying them when the time is right to cause the greatest destruction.

**Dungeon #207**, Oct. 2012 WotC / **Star Wisp** and **Star Beckoner**

The last of the Star Spawn appears in Dungeon #207 (Oct. 2012) in the adventure Starhaunt by Craig Campbell and Christopher Perkins. This adventure features two new Star Spawn, the Star Beckoner and the Star Wisp. These are not true Star Spawn, but rather come about in different ways. the Star Beckoner is formed when a humanoid undergoes a transformation under the light of a baleful star, twisting and changing it into a mass of black tentacles in humanoid shape. The Star Wisp are the minuscule fragments of evil stars that act as seeds. They are frail but help to further the end goals of the Star Spawn and the star that formed them.

5e - Star Spawn Grue

Small aberration, neutral evil
Armor Class 11
Hit Points 17 (5d6)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 6 (−2) DEX 13 (+1) CON 10 (+0) INT 9 (−1) WIS 11 (+0) CHA 6 (−2)
Damage Immunities psychic
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Deep Speech
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Aura of Madness. Creatures within 20 feet of the grue that aren’t aberrations have disadvantage on saving throws, as well as on attack rolls against creatures other than a star spawn grue.
Confounding Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (2d4 + 1) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or attack rolls against it have advantage until the start of the grue’s next turn.

**Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes**, 2018 WotC / **Larva Mage**

The Star Spawn crash land in this edition in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (2018) with a change in why they are known as Star Spawn. The elder evils that send them are not the stars that twinkle in the night sky, but rather they are the ones stuck or trapped in the Far Realm, only able to send envoys into the multiverse. The sourcebook even says not to blame the stars on these creatures, that such beauty could never create these beings. The reason they are called Star Spawn is that they are ushered into the world on comets, or at least comets are often a signifier that they are traveling and arriving. When warlocks and cultists see such signs in the night sky, they rush to pull out their eldritch texts and perform dark rituals to usher in the Star Spawn. Acting as a group of air traffic controllers, these evil humanoids direct the Star Spawn where to land their comets.

Star Spawn are the foot soldiers of the elder evils who shot them at the Far Realm, the Spawn are responsible for carrying out their master’s will on the multiverse. This might be to bring about complete devastation, or perhaps to find ways to weaken the multiverse to allow the elder evil access to it personally. They take on many forms, from roughly humanoid to odd and spindly with incorrect anatomy. Cultists have a variety of reasons why they might summon forth the Star Spawn, but it's most likely that their minds are not their own and they have descended into madness.

**Monsters of the Multiverse**, 2022 WotC / **Grue**

This sourcebook presents five Star Spawn, untied to any elder evil that might have created them, they are the Grue, Hulk, Larva Mage, Mangler, and the Seer. The Grue is the weakest of all Star Spawn and often travels in packs behind a stronger one. They appear with spindly legs and long arms, fangs in lipless grins, and covered in patches of bristles and spines. They are constantly chittering, the noises they make causing creatures a mental break where they are unable to properly focus. Another common footsoldier are the Manglers, who are described as creeping horrors. They have anywhere from four to eight arms and are often hiding in shadows. They are often summoned as they make excellent guards and assassins, and their ability to ambush creatures ensures they have greater accuracy in their attacks against unwary prey.

The Hulks are large Star Spawn that appear like hulking ogres covered in glistening translucent skin. Their lidless eyes glare balefully at all creatures, they are not going to be found alone as they lack individuality and willpower. They are used for their raw strength, smashing through those that would stop their master’s plans, but they also have a unique trait. When they are dealt psychic damage, it bounces off of them and instead hits every creature within 10 feet of them. This might mean if you get two of them together, you could bounce psychic energy off of each of them, the single attack bouncing back and forth for eternity between the two. Or maybe not.

The last two Star Spawn both are formed when a powerful spellcaster attempts to contact them. When they do so, the comet-borne emissaries merge into the mind of the foolish mortal, creating either a powerful mage or a Seer. The Larva Mage appears humanoid in form but is thousands or millions of larvae formed together into a singular, writhing humanoid shape. It can summon forth masses of eldritch worms, blinding and restraining its opponents.

**Monsters of the Multiverse**, 2022 WotC / **Seer**

The Seer retains little of its humanoid form, transforming its host into a piscine being with flippers and tumorous skin. The Seer entity is often the cult leader dedicated to an elder evil. They seek to bridge the multiverse with the Far Realm, to help usher in their elder gods and bring madness to the worlds. The Seer primary purpose on the Material Plane is to use the energy of the universe to form a bridge between the delicate consciousness of the Material Plane and the terrifying insanity of an Elder Evil’s prison.

To help augment your cult of ne’er-do-wells, the book also comes with a few boons that you can grant your Star Spawn or cultists, giving them ways of ushering in the power of their elder evil. While Hadar, Allabar, Ulban, and the others don’t show up, we do have boons for Borem of the Lake of Boiling Mud, Atropus the World Born Dead, Haask the Voice of Hargut, Tyranthraxus the Flamed One, and Tharizdun the Chained God. Borem and Atropus are thought to be primordials, though Atropus is an undead primordial in the shape of a planet. Haask and Tyranthraxus are both thought to be lost gods, with Haask attaching itself to the elder evil of Hargut to further its own life when almost slain, while Tyranthraxus may be a type of yugoloth who can possess other creatures. The final entity, Tharizdun, is a god from Greyhawk and is said to be responsible for creating the Abyss, an act that got it imprisoned for eternity by the other gods who thought that that was a bad idea. None of these really jump out to us as elder evils, but we suppose being an elder evil is an easy club to join, you just have to be weird.

**Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft**, 2021 / **Greater Emissary**

This edition features two more Star Spawn in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (2021) with the Lesser Star Spawn Emissary and the Greater Star Spawn Emissary. However, they are technically the same monster, just in different forms. An Emissary is not the servant of an elder evil, but rather alien realms given sentience and form, almost like a natural disaster that invades the Material Plane, attempting to break reality and twist it into the Far Realm. These creatures work to destroy order and trust, bringing about apocalypses and massive changes that cause sanity to shatter.

They accomplish these goals by walking the world, disguised as anyone or anything that would best allow them to blend into the environment. They can take any form that would best serve their plans and attempt to cause chaos and dismay. The Lesser Emissary morph into its true form, that of a bipedal mass of organs, orifices, and appendages, only when their true nature is revealed. It has no true form, but instead, every form it has ever taken makes an appearance on its bulk. While fighting the Lesser Emissary, you must contend with it attacking your mind, physical attacks, and bubbling acid. Fun times.

**Monsters of the Multiverse**, 2022 WotC / **Mangler**

If you defeat the Lesser Emissary, the fight is not done as its body dissolves and a Greater Emissary suddenly explodes into reality nearby. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? This Greater Emissary appears as a 25-foot tall column of flesh, alien physiology twisted into horrific organs, and a cacophony of noise and sound. The creature is still an Emissary Star Spawn, just more powerful. On the positive side, its basic attacks are mostly the same as its lesser form. Of course, there is a pretty horrifying downside too. The Greater Emissary can shoot bile from its form, summoning forth gibbering mouthers that attempt to rip and tear into its enemies. Only by defeating this final form can you safely say that the Emissary is dead, but we don’t trust it. If there is one thing we have learned, creatures from the Far Realm have a loose idea about the rules of the universe. We suggest lots of fireballs… just to make sure.

Whether they were sent by the stars or simply ride on comets, these creatures are the envoys of the elder evils - eldritch beings from a realm outside a mortal’s understanding. This realm isn’t just one place either, and so every Star Spawn that arrives here comes with its own horrific appearance and desires. Some wish to see the Far Realm consume the Material Plane, while others merely wish to feed on life in a desperate attempt to keep their eldritch gods alive.