Phantom

The dark, vague outline of a person flickers in the gloom. The restless, angry spirits of those who have met a violent end, phantoms wander the night, vacillating between confusion, outrage, and misery.

Medium undead, any alignment

Armor Class 11
Hit Points 22 (5d8)
Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
7 (-2) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) 12 (+1) 12 (+1)

Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages any languages it knew in life
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Special Traits

  • Incorporeal Movement. The phantom can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
  • Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the phantom has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
  • Undead Nature. A phantom doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Actions

  • Ghostly Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
  • Chilling Moan (Recharge 5-6). The phantom emits an eerie moan. Each creature within 30 feet that isn’t an undead or a construct must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target takes 9 (2d8) cold damage and is frightened until the end of the phantom’s next turn. If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also paralyzed for the same duration. On a success, the target takes half the damage and isn’t frightened.

About

Bewildered Victims. Those who have attempted communication with phantoms report that the phantoms have little, if any, awareness of their undead state, and they seem disoriented and permanently trapped in the traumatic moments surrounding their deaths.

Accidental Killers. Phantoms often approach the living with what seems like benign intent, but, when they draw close, they grab hold of living creatures and give voice to a terrifying, unearthly moan. They seem to be attempting communication, but, when their actions lead to the death of the creature, they wander away to find another.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Creature Codex. © 2018 Open Design LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon, Richard Green, James Haeck, Chris Harris, Jeremy Hochhalter, James Introcaso, Chris Lockey, Shawn Merwin, and Jon Sawatsky.