Lore: Angry in Death
When a spirit is unable to pass unto the afterlife, a specter is born. Condemned to walk the world forever, with no memory of their former lives, it is no wonder they are consumed by rage. Unlike other spirits, nothing beyond destruction can set this creature free. Hurt by the sun, these creatures lurk in the night. They hate all living things, as life is a reminder of their eternal torment.
And… that’s it. No, I’m not joking. That’s really all we’ve got to work with.
There’s really nothing you can do with this. The lore is so restrictive that it actively discourages story telling! Sure, you can make a basic combat encounter out of it. But if you actually want to tell a story with a specter, you’re gonna have to put on your imagination cap and ignore the lore here.
Not off to a great start, are we?
Design: Big Angry
Alright, this is a bit better!
I appreciate how minimalistic this design is. A simple spirit, nearly devoid of physical form. It’s a good approach for an incorporeal being, especially one with such sparse lore.
Its lack of features makes its one stand-out detail all the more striking. That feature being the face. A twisted expression of pure rage, utterly devoid of anything else. Fitting for this particular creature.
Still, it isn’t a particularly amazing design. Not bad, mind you, but it just isn’t as interesting or memorable as some of the monsters higher on the list. Not bad, but not amazing.
Stats: Uh… Angry Something, I Dunno
Killing a specter shouldn’t be so hard. Both its AC and HP are fairly low. However, its list of resistances and immunities make that harder than it seems. Specters are resistant to acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, and all nonmagical melee. On top of that, they’re immune to necrotic and poison damage, as well as all conditions.
However, it does have a weakness. Sunlight. With Sunlight Sensitivity, this monster is made much weaker in the daytime, with disadvantage on attack rolls and perception checks.
It also has the Incorporeal Movement ability. With this, they can pass through living beings like they were difficult terrain, dealing damage as they go. More dangerous is their Life Drain action, which does a decent amount of damage and threatens to lower the victim’s max HP, should they fail a saving throw.
If you’re looking for a more dangerous foe, look to the specter’s variant, the poltergeist. In place of Life Drain, they have a powerful slam attack as well as the Telekinetic Thrust action, which can push enemies away and deal damage upon impact.
Also, they can turn invisible. So that’s fun.
All of this can make for a semi-decent fight. The base format can suck health from the players, adding some tension to the battle. Though the poltergeist might be the more interesting, with its telekinesis. Still, it’s not an especially interesting fight.
Placement
This is a fairly weak monster. Its lore is basically non-existent, and the remaining categories are okay at best. It’s the pinnacle of mediocrity.
With all that in mind, the Specter is going to #188 on the Best of the Bestiary!
- Beholder
- Death Tyrant
- Mind Flayer
- Dragon Turtle
- Mummy/Mummy Lord
- Nagas (all three of ’em)
- Green Dragons
- Red Dragons
- Blue Dragons
- Black Dragons
- White Dragons
- Silver Dragons
- Couatl
- Behir
- Aboleth
- Sea Hag
- Slaadi (all six of ’em)
- Lamia
- Bronze Dragons
- Brass Dragons
- Copper Dragons
- Gold Dragons
- Chuul
- Kuo-Toa
- Gibbering Mouther
- Kraken
- Intellect Devourer
- Shadow
- Chimera
- Death Knight
- Fomorian
- Bone Devil
- Dracolich
- Faerie Dragon
- Gelatinous Cube
- Lich
- Peryton
- Remorhaz
- Orcs (all four of ’em)
- Magmin
- Shield Guardian
- Kobold
- Kenku
- Hobgoblins
- Night Hag
- Green Hag
- Black Pudding
- Ankheg
- Hook Horror
- Oni
- Purple Worm
- Storm Giant
- Hill Giant
- Empyrean
- Efreeti
- Grimlock
- Minotaur
- Dao
- Cloud Giant
- Manticore
- Scarecrow
- Drow (all four of ’em)
- Shadow Demon
- Modrons (all five of ’em)
- Marilith
- Drider
- Aarackockra
- Azer
- Demilich
- Spectator
- Gray Ooze
- Ochre Jelly
- Hydra
- Rakshasa
- Marid
- Salamander
- Harpy
- Werejackal
- Otyugh
- Satyr
- Half-Dragon
- Cambion
- Fire Giant
- Nothic
- Pixie
- Animated Armor
- Roper
- Banshee
- Basilisk
- Yochlol
- Bulette
- Cloaker
- Darkmantle
- Doppelganger
- Revenant
- Ghoul and Ghast
- Sahuagin (all three)
- Ettin
- Medusa
- Pit Fiend
- Erinyes
- Chain Devil
- Bearded Devil
- Barbed Devil
- Spined Devil
- Ice Devil
- Mimic
- Djinni
- Merrow
- Nalfeshnee
- Glabrezu
- Chasme
- Grell
- Barlgura
- Horned Devil
- Balor
- Skeletons
- Shadow Dragon
- Myconids (all four of ’em)
- Piercer
- Werebear
- Lizardfolk
- Vrock
- Dretch
- Pseudodragon
- Gnolls (all three)
- Goristro
- Hezrou
- Manes
- Quaggoth
- Frost Giant
- Weretiger
- Werewolf
- Duergar
- Quasit
- Dryad
- Shambling Mound
- Flumph
- Goblin
- Nightmare
- Rust Monster
- Wereboar
- Wererat
- Githyanki
- Owlbear
- Planetar
- Imp
- Ogres/Half-ogres
- Roc
- Clay Golem
- Flameskull
- Displacer Beast
- Carrion Crawler
- Githzerai
- Grick
- Invisible Stalker
- Rug of Smothering
- Bugbear Chief
- Bugbear
- Flesh Golem
- Vine Blight
- Twig Blight
- Needle Blight
- Mephits (all six of ’em)
- Bullywug
- Hellhound
- Ettercap
- Gas Spore
- Cockatrice
- Lemure
- Homonculus
- Merfolk
- Solar
- Deva
- Gorgon
- Hippogriff
- Griffon
- Cyclops
- Centaur
- Ghost
- Pegasus
- Fire Elemental
- Water Elemental
- Air Elemental
- Stone Giant
- Deep Gnome
- Dinosaurs (All six of them)
- Specter <————–
- Iron Golem
- Stone Golem
- Earth Elemental
- Galeb Duhr
- Helmed Horror
- Flying Sword
- Crawling Claw
- Violet Fungus
- Shrieker
- Gargoyle
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