Ghost: Is… Is that all?

Oh, the rollercoaster that is the Monster Manual. One minute, you’re talking about the all-powerful masters of the elements. The next, you’re talking about a dead guy who stuck around because his wife fucked the mailman. You never know what you’re going to get!

Lore: Hi! I’m Dead!

You know how ghosts work? You know, a soul stuck in the mortal plane? Often embodying a single emotion incredibly strongly? Banished with sacred magic or a ritual? Yeah, it’s that. But stretched over four paragraphs that explain it like you’ve never heard of a ghost before.

Boring. Next.

Design: *Shocked Gasp*

Okay, I’ve talked about some simple designs before. Hell, the last ten weeks or so have been nothing but that, with a few good exceptions. And every time, I’ve complained about not having anything to talk about.

That has never been more true than right here and right now.

What is there to be said? It’s a ghost. Not the silly kind like in kid’s cartoons. Not the horrifying kind like in a rated-R movie. Just your typical translucent blue spirit trapped between life and death.

It’s a fantasy classic, yes. But if I’ve learned anything doing this series, it’s that the classics are often the most boring.

Stats: Please, God, Be Interesting

Last chance. Let’s see what it’s got.

Number wise, it’s defenses aren’t all that thrilling. Its AC is pitiful and its HP is only slightly better. However, this is more than made up for by the long list of resistances and immunities. This angry spirit is resistant to acid, fire, lightning, thunder, and all non-magical melee attacks. It’s completely immune to cold, necrotic, and poison damage (go figure), as well as the charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, and restrained conditions.

If this were a higher-level monster, it would be a real bastard to fight. Hell, it is already.

As you’d expect, it can pass through things. It can also see into the Ethereal Plane, which is neat! You’ll see why that’s useful in just a moment.

Action wise, this thing has a surprisingly extensive list. It can use Withering Touch to deal necrotic damage as its basic attack. With Etherealness, it can slip between the two planes (Ethereal and Material), making it impossible to attack from the side it just left. With Horrifying Visage, it can frighten any non-undead creature and age them 1d4 x 10 years (brutal!) Possession is… exactly what you’d expect.

This could make for a very annoying boss fight. If the players don’t go down the route of a dispelling ritual or something like that, then they’re in for a long and frustrating battle. What with the hopping between planes and possessing party members and aging them up a couple decades every time it screams.

But if played carefully? It could be pretty fun! Key word there being could.

Placement

This thing was absolutely saved by the stats segment. Given the fact that its lore and design are basically nothing, it looked dead set to take the bottom spot from the gargoyle. But I can be at least a little generous because of its interesting combat abilities.

With all that in mind, let’s put the Ghost on the Best of the Bestiary!

1. Beholder
2. Death Tyrant
3. Dragon Turtle
4. Green Dragons
5. Red Dragons
6. Blue Dragons
7. Black Dragons
8. White Dragons
9. Silver Dragons
10. Couatl
11. Behir
12. Aboleth
13. Bronze Dragons
14. Brass Dragons
15. Copper Dragons
16. Gold Dragons
17. Chuul
18. Chimera
19. Death Knight
20. Fomorian
21. Bone Devil
22. Dracolich
23. Faerie Dragon
24. Ankheg
25. Empyrean
26. Efreeti
27. Dao
28. Drow (all four of ’em)
29. Shadow Demon
30. Marilith
31. Drider
32. Aarackockra
33. Azer
34. Demilich
35. Spectator
36. Marid
37. Cambion
38. Animated Armor
39. Banshee
40. Basilisk
41. Yochlol
42. Bulette
43. Cloaker
44. Darkmantle
45. Doppelganger
46. Ettin
47. Pit Fiend
48. Erinyes
49. Chain Devil
50. Bearded Devil
51. Barbed Devil
52. Spined Devil
53. Ice Devil
54. Djinni
55. Nalfeshnee
56. Glabrezu
57. Chasme
58. Barlgura
59. Horned Devil
60. Balor
61. Shadow Dragon
62. Vrock
63. Dretch
64. Goristro
65. Hezrou
66. Manes
67. Duergar
68. Quasit
69. Dryad
70. Flumph
71. Planetar
72. Imp
73. Flameskull
74. Displacer Beast
75. Carrion Crawler
76. Rug of Smothering
77. Bugbear Chief
78. Bugbear
79. Vine Blight
80. Twig Blight
81. Needle Blight
82. Bullywug
83. Ettercap
84. Gas Spore
85. Cockatrice
86. Lemure
87. Solar
88. Deva
89. Cyclops
90. Centaur
91. Ghost <———————
92. Fire Elemental
93. Water Elemental
94. Air Elemental
95. Dinosaurs (All six of them)
96. Earth Elemental
97. Galeb Duhr
98. Flying Sword
99. Crawling Claw
100. Violet Fungus
101. Shrieker
102. Gargoyle