Killing Intent

Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 31 (7d8)
Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
7 (-2)	15 (+2)	10 (+0)	6 (-2)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)

Skills Intimidation +5, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common; telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Fear Sense. The killing intent can magically pinpoint the locations of frightened creatures within 60 feet of it.
• Incorporeal Movement. The killing intent 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.
• Spine-Chilling Aura. The killing intent’s lust for violence creates a palpable aura around it. A creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of the killing intent must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn. If this saving throw is successful, the creature is immune to the killing intent’s Spine-Chilling Aura for 24 hours.

ACTIONS

• Spirit Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6 + 2) force damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away from the killing intent.
• Killer’s Possession. One frightened humanoid that the killing intent can see within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by the killing intent. The killing intent then disappears, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. The killing intent now controls the body and deprives the target of awareness. The killing intent can’t be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and immunity to being frightened. It otherwise uses the possessed target’s statistics, but doesn’t gain access to the target’s knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the killing intent ends it as a bonus action, or the killing intent is turned or forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. When the possession ends, the killing intent reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the body.

ABOUT

The mysterious entities called killing intents manifest on the Ethereal Plane when an especially violent mortal perishes on that plane and leaves a significant psychic impression on the planar landscape. A killing intent’s presence is more often felt than perceived by sight or sound; witnesses report sudden drops in temperature, constant strong winds, and the extinguishment of lights. More terrifying, though, are counter-reports which suggest that these phenomena occur solely within the mind of a killing intent’s victim.

Killing intents are attracted to fear, but they feed on pure bloodlust. When a killing intent locates a suitably strong host, it possesses the corporeal creature’s body and goes on a murderous rampage to sate its hunger. Once its possession has run its course, or it runs out of victims to kill, a killing intent vacates its host and leaves the confused creature to deal with the bloody aftermath.

Some fringe scholars theorize that killing intents are connected to “the pattern” a mystical force that supposedly drives mortals to become pattern killers. Such scholars do not claim that the killing intents are behind this mysterious force, but rather that these spirits are living stains left on the Ethereal Plane by the psyches of mortals affected by the pattern.