Lingering Phantom
Not every lost spirit that wanders the Material Plane is a sob story, wrapped in a tragic origin. Some spirits are created when those who die refuse to go, allowing their souls to find an anchor that ties them to the world. Unlike ghosts and shades, trapped by circumstance and wanting to move on, these phantoms are constantly drawn towards the eclipse of the afterlife but linger anyway in a place that is no longer their own.
But remaining in the world of the living past your time is hard, taking time and effort, every moment spent being drained of energy. To deal with this, a lingering phantom must suck the life and energy from others, in whatever way it can.
Undead Sinkhole In spite of all the effort they put in to remain in this world, half-dead, and half-alive at the same time, a lingering phantom rarely remembers why it does. In the beginning, their memories of life might drive their cause, but as time passes and the burden of remaining grows too harsh on their minds, they begin to lose themselves.
Eventually, all that remains is the fear of going, and the willingness to do anything to stay. In every moment, the necromantic essence that a lingering phantom uses to keep itself anchored to the Material Plane drains away from it, pouring from its tattered clothes and grey skin in the form of a thick, black mist.
This mist is part of the phantom, a remnant of its shredded soul, and it uses it to view the world, defend itself from harm, and drain necromantic energy from other sources. Losing the mist means losing part of itself, and though more mist will eventually rise to take its place, and though more mist will despise those who take it from them, often flying into a rage if a strong gust of wind happens to blow it away. For this seeking shelter in tombs, tunnels, and ruins to avoid the chance of a windstorm tearing it to pieces.
Lingering Phantom
Not every lost spirit that wanders the Material Plane is a sob story, wrapped in a tragic origin. Some spirits are created when those who die refuse to go, allowing their souls to find an anchor that ties them to the world. Unlike ghosts and shades, trapped by circumstance and wanting to move on, these phantoms are constantly drawn towards the eclipse of the afterlife but linger anyway in a place that is no longer their own.
But remaining in the world of the living past your time is hard, taking time and effort, every moment spent being drained of energy. To deal with this, a lingering phantom must suck the life and energy from others, in whatever way it can.
| Armor Class | 14 (natural armor) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hit Points | 15d10+45 | ||
| Speed | 40 ft. | ||
| Strength | 17 (+3) | ||
| Dexterity | 12 (+1) | ||
| Constitution | 17 (+3) | ||
| Intelligence | 9 (-1) | ||
| Wisdom | 18 (+4) | ||
| Charisma | 3 (-4) | ||
| Damage Resistances | Fire | Necrotic | Bludgeoning |
| Piercing | Slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered | ||
| Damage Immunities | Cold | Poison | |
| Condition Immunities | Blinded | Exhaustion | Paralyzed |
| Poisoned | |||
| Senses | Blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius) | Passive Perception | |
| Languages | Understands the languages it knew in life but can't speak | ||
| Challenge | 9 (5,000 XP) | ||
| Special 1 | Negative Strike | Whenever a necromancy spell is cast within 60 feet of the phantom, | it regains a number of hit points equal to 10 x the level of the spell |
| Special 2 | Shadowy Cloak | The phantom is surrounded by a constant cloud of dark mist that makes it difficult to perceive, | giving the phantom half-cover at all times except against creatures with blindsight or truesight. |
| Creatures with blindsight or truesight ignore this effect, | and the mist can be dispersed with a strong wind to remove the cover, | though it returns in 1d4 rounds | |
| Action 1 | Multiatack | The phantom makes three claw attacks | |
| Action 2 | Claw | Melee Weapon Attack | d20+7 to hit |
| Reach 5 ft., one target | Hit 1d6+3 slashing damage | plus 4d6 necrotic damage | |
| Action 3 | Horrifying Visage | Each non-undead creature within 60 ft. of the phantom that can see it must succeed on | a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frighted for 1 minute. |
| If the save fails by 5 or more, | the target also ages 1d4 x 10 years, | and the phantom regains a number of hit points equal to that amount. | A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, |
| ending the frightened condition on itself on success. | If the target's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, | the target is immune to this phantom's Horrifying Visage for the next 24 hours. | The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration spell, |
| but only within 24 hours of it occurring |
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