Arcane Head

Each arcane head was once a traveler whose body died in the dream borderlands of the nightmare realm, raised afterward by the witch Mother Marrow of the court of nightmares. It looks much as it did in life, minus the body: blank white eyes, a ghostly glow, teeth far sharper than any human's, and a neck stitched closed where it was cut. It flies by magic, tracing mystic patterns as it moves; certain combined patterns open a gateway for its mistress.

The heads only moan and grind their teeth. They seem able to communicate with Mother Marrow but never speak to victims.

The heads always fight as a flock, circling and darting in. On the first round they dive to bash, which needs an attack roll but deals no physical harm; instead the target saves vs. spell or is stunned by the head's aura for 1d4+1 rounds. Any head attacking a stunned character hits automatically with its bite. Each bite deals 1d6. Speed and size give the heads their Armor Class; one held still, say by web, drops to AC 7.

At least five heads spinning together for 1d4+1 rounds open a portal controlled by Mother Marrow. She can step through it herself or use it to send travelers into a dreamscape.

Between hunts the flock rests in a tenement within her ever-shifting slums. It never exceeds 13, and she replaces losses quickly. The heads spy for her across the borderlands, watching dream spawn, travelers and even other members of the court, but chiefly seeking physical travelers for her experiments. Those she has no immediate use for are tucked away in a dreamscape.

Supernatural through and through, the heads have no natural niche. They eat flesh, preferring living travelers but also feeding on the lost souls that form in the borderlands.