New Monster – Pleurant

Need to have a least one undead for October:

Pleurant
Through the mist, you hear before you see a robed and hooded figure bent in sorrow, its voice a mixture of mourning songs and choking cries of sorrow.  It turns to looks at you and inside the hood and robes is a barely seen spectral figure and a feeling of sorrow and malice washes over you.

Pleurant

Pleurant CR 5 (1,600 XP)
NE medium undead (incorporeal)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 13; (+2 Dex, +3 Deflection, +1 Dodge)
hp 45 (6d8+18)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +7
Defensive Abilities incorporeal; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Spd fly 50 ft (good)
Melee incorporeal touch +5 (1d6 cold + soul drain)
Special Attacks Mourning cry, sorrowful chorus
STATISTICS
Str —, Dex 15, Con —, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Ability Focus (mourning cry), Dodge, Improved Initiative
Skills Intimidate +12, Perform (mourning) +12, Perception +11, Stealth +11
Languages as before death
Environment any but usually in graveyards or near places of mass slaughter
Organization Solitary, pair, gang (3-5), or crowd (6-15)
Treasure Value 1,000 gp
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Mourning Cry (Su): The weeping and wailing of the pleurant plunges those who hear it into feelings of deep despair and hopelessness.  This is a continuous effect and all who come within 30′ are effected.  This has the same effect as a crushing despair cast by a 12th level sorcerer, Will DC 18, once this save is made one is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours.  This is a sonic, mind-affecting effect.  The save is Charisma based.

Sorrowful Chorus (Su): As dangerous as a single pleurant is, in groups their mourning cries reinforce each other, creating a web of sorrow and fear.  If there are at least three pleurant withing 60′ of each other they gain the benefits of the Bardic Inspire Courage and if there are five or more, their mourning cries have the effect of Bardic Dirge of Doom.

Soul Drain (Su): The touch of the pleurant chills the body to the very soul of its victim, who must make a DC 16 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of damage to their highest abilities (or to all highest abilities if tied).  This save is Charisma based.  On each successful attack, that is one in which the saving throw is failed against, the pleurant gains 5 temporary hit points.

A pleurant is created when someone dies in the depths of despair over the loss of a loved one, they are often created in numbers in the aftermath of plagues or slaughters, but a single pleurant found haunting a graveyard or burial site is most common.  As long as they are left alone,  a pleurant will usually not attack others, but what they will find offensive is difficult to predict: some will attack any cheerful music or noise (such as laughter), others hate bright colors, those who loved one was slain by a particular type of person are often hostile to that sort of person and so on.  This means that a pleurant haunting is always a potential threat even if not always an active one.

A pleurant will usually attack the closest foe, unless there is a particular foe that trigger its attack, using its incorporeal nature to strike from unexpected angles while its mourning cry keeps its foes off balance.

Notes: For D&D 3.x give the pleurant Turn Resistance +2.

These were created for a particular scenario in my wife’s campaign but I was happy enough with how they worked out to share them.

Picture from littlebritain1.