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Specter

• Size: Medium
• Type: Undead
• Alignment: Chaotic Evil
• AC: 12
• Initiative: +2 (12)
• HP: 22(5d8)
• Speed: 30 ft, Fly 50 ft. (hover)

ATTR	VAL	MOD	SAVE
STR	1	-5	-5
DEX	14	+2	+2
CON	11	+0	+0
INT	10	+0	+0
WIS	10	+0	+0
CHA	11	+0	+0

• Resistances: Acid, Bludgeoning, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Piercing, Slashing, Thunder
• Immunities: Necrotic, Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Unconscious
• Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 10
• Languages: Understands Common plus one other language but can't speak
• CR: 1 (XP 200; PB +2)

Traits

Incorporeal Movement. The specter 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 Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the specter has Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls.

Actions

Life Drain. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 7 (2d6) Necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, its Hit Point maximum decreases by an amount equal to the damage taken.

Lore & Background

Specters are incorporeal undead born from the souls of individuals who died with overwhelming hatred, resentment, or unfinished business that anchors them to the material plane. Unlike other undead, specters retain significant portions of their original personality and memories, making them both more dangerous and more tragic than mindless undead. Their translucent forms flicker between visibility and invisibility, reflecting their tenuous connection to the physical world.

These tormented spirits are driven by the same emotions that prevented their peaceful death, often targeting those they blame for their fate or those who remind them of their former lives. Specters possess the ability to drain life force from living creatures, potentially creating more of their kind from their victims. They are particularly drawn to places where they experienced strong emotions in life, making them territorial and predictable in some ways.

Combat Tactics

Specters use their incorporeal nature to devastating effect, phasing through walls and solid objects to attack from unexpected angles. They prefer to target isolated victims, using their life drain ability to weaken opponents while staying out of reach of most physical attacks. Their ability to become invisible makes them excellent ambush predators.

In combat, specters focus on draining the life force of living creatures, creating new specters from those they kill completely. They use hit-and-run tactics, appearing long enough to attack before phasing through walls or becoming invisible. Multiple specters often coordinate their attacks to overwhelm individual targets.

Encounter Ideas

1. The Vengeful Manor A specter haunts the estate where it died, targeting the descendants of those it believes wronged it in life. The party must uncover the historical injustice while protecting the current inhabitants from the spirit's supernatural vengeance.

2. The Battlefield Remnant A specter formed from a soldier who died feeling betrayed by his commanders continues to attack anyone wearing military insignia. The party encounters this tormented spirit while investigating reports of mysterious deaths among local guards.

3. The Unfinished Business A specter seeks to complete a task it was prevented from finishing in life, but its methods now threaten innocent people. The party must determine what the spirit needs while finding a way to help it without enabling further harm.

4. The Spectral Plague A powerful specter has begun creating others at an alarming rate, leading to an exponentially growing threat. The party must track down the original spirit and find a way to stop its reproduction before an entire region becomes overrun with vengeful undead.

Environmental Effects

• Life Drain Aura: Areas with spectral activity become cold and draining, making living creatures feel tired and weak
• Emotional Resonance: The specter's presence amplifies negative emotions like anger, sadness, and despair in nearby living beings
• Incorporeal Disturbance: Electronic devices malfunction, lights flicker, and physical objects move without explanation
• Spectral Manifestations: The spirit's memories and emotions create visual echoes of past events that play out repeatedly

Treasure

• Spectral Essence (200-800 gp): Crystallized ectoplasm that forms when specters are destroyed, useful for magical research
• Life Force Crystals (500-1500 gp): Gems that have absorbed life energy, valuable for necromantic purposes
• Personal Effects (varies): Items from the specter's life that retain emotional significance and potential magical properties
• Memory Fragments (varies): Psychic imprints containing information about the specter's past and the circumstances of its death
• Spectral Residue (100-400 gp): Ethereal substances left behind by the spirit's presence, useful in crafting items affecting incorporeal beings

Plot Hooks

1. The Innocent Descendant A specter targets someone who shares a bloodline with its perceived enemy, but the current descendant is completely innocent of any wrongdoing. The party must protect this person while finding a way to resolve the specter's ancient grievance.

2. The Hidden Truth Investigation into a specter's haunting reveals that the spirit was actually the victim of the very injustice it seeks to avenge. The party must uncover the truth about historical events while dealing with a spirit driven by justified but misdirected anger.

3. The Spectral Witness A specter possesses crucial information about a current crisis, but communicating with it risks becoming the target of its life-draining powers. The party must find safe ways to extract information from a dangerous and unstable undead consciousness.

4. The Redemption Quest A specter realizes the evil of its actions and seeks redemption, asking the party to help it make amends for the harm it has caused. This requires completing the spirit's unfinished business while protecting it from those who would destroy it on sight.