Jiang-Shi

Medium undead, lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 110 (13d8+52)
Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	20 (+5)	18 (+4)	11 (+0)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)

Saving Throws Dex +8, Str +8
Damage Resistances cold, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from weapons not made from the wood of peach trees
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +8
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages The languages it knew in life
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Hopping Vampire. The jiang-shi moves around by hopping, ignoring all difficult terrain.
• Jiang-Shi Weaknesses. The jiang-shi recoils from mirrors and handbells that are rung within 10 feet of them, as well as glutinous rice. A recoiling jiang-shi must attempt a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw in order to get within 5 feet of a creature brandishing any of these items. Brandishing an item in this manner requires an action each turn from the creature trying to keep the jiang-shi at bay.
• Talisman Scroll. The scroll on the jiang-shi’s face, often inscribed with an imperial writ or divine command, makes it immune to the spells and effects of scrolls, staves, and wands. Once the jiang-shi is reduced to half its hit points, the talisman scroll is damaged and this trait no longer functions.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The jiang-shi makes one bite attack and two claw attacks.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) piercing damage.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the jiang-shi can grapple the target (escape DC 15).
• Steal Breath. When the jiang-shi successfully grapples a creature, as a bonus action it can try to draw forth the grappled creature’s life energy through its breath. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or gain 1 level of exhaustion. If the target fails its saving throw, the jiang-shi regains 10 hit points.

ABOUT

Jiang-shis (often known as “hopping vampires”) are undead humanoid creatures that feed on the exhaled life energy of the living. A jiang-shi’s appearance is based on the state of the creature’s corpse at the time of its reanimation. Regardless of the state of decay, jiang-shis wear the clothing or armor they were buried in. Sometimes this is common clothing but for some it may be generations out of style. Additionally, each has a short parchment scroll talisman affixed to its brow by rice glue; intended in some cases to protect the body from restless spirits, in others to cause them to rise, and others where fear of them rampaging the talisman is meant to weaken or restrain them. A jiang-shi rises from the grave when an excess of necrotic yin energy builds up where the coffin is buried (or sometimes as a result of a curse), and all three parts of its soul being bound into its body at the time of death and are instead forced to fester and putrefy within. At some point during the body’s decomposition, the thing rises in its grotesque form and seeks living creatures to feed upon, though they do not create spawn the way Western vampires do.