Love-scorned Soul

Medium undead, chaotic evil

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	17 (+3)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	15 (+2)	20 (+5)

Armor Class 13
Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20)
Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Saving Throws Dexterity +6, Wisdom +5, Charisma +8
Skills Insight +8, Perception +8, Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 18
Languages those it knew in life
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Special Traits

• Incorporeal Movement. The love-scorned soul 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.
• Magic Resistance. The love-scorned soul has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Nimble Escape. The love-scorned soul can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.

Actions

• Draining Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) psychic damage and the target must make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or become stunned until the end of its next turn.
• Hateful Gaze. The love-scorned soul targets one creature that it can see and that can see it. The creature must make a DC 16 saving throw or become charmed by the love-scorned soul for the next 24 hours. While the effect lasts, it believes that its loved ones are hated enemies and will attempt to harm them by whatever means it has at its disposal. After the effect ends, the creature realizes that it has been charmed by the love-scorned soul. A creature that succeeds at a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check can force the charmed creature to make another saving throw at the end of its turn. Dispel magic or remove curse can also end the effect.

Tactics

A love-scorned soul often chooses a particular individual or a couple to be the object of its malicious attention. It then shadows its targets, waiting for the best moment to strike. When possible, it traps the lovers together, using its hateful gaze to drive them to destroy one another. Alternatively, the love-scorned soul might employ its gaze against an individual, even retreating afterwards to fool its victim into believing that the spirit has been defeated. The target then ‘escapes’ and returns to their loved ones, but only then ‘realizes’ that they are hated enemies instead. Once the victims have done as much damage to their beloved as possible, the love-scorned soul will use its draining touch to finish off the heartbroken victim.

Description

These sad creatures are the undead remains of particularly strong-willed people who died tragically because of their love for another. A woman slain en route to the altar, a man who fell from his bedroom window after finding his lover in the arms of another, victims of the Unhallowed monster known as the False Lover (see page 186) – any of these might return as a love-scorned soul. Embittered and warped by their deaths, love-scorned souls appear as spectral versions of their former lives, their once happy features twisted by sorrow, anger, despair, and hatred. Denied love as mortals, they now exist only to crush and hurt the living.