Darkness Form. The spirit can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. A creature that touches the spirit or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. In addition, the spirit can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. The first time it enters a creature's space on a turn, that creature takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. A creature that ends its turn inside the spirit's space also takes this damage. Finally, while the spirit is entirely within darkness, it is invisible.
Shadow Sight. Magical darkness doesn't impede the spirit's darkvision.
Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the spirit can take the Hide action as a bonus action.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The spirit takes 5 (1d10) radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in the spirit is in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
Undead Hybrid. The spirit is also an undead.
Multiattack. The spirit makes two wither attacks.
Wither. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) necrotic damage. If a non-evil humanoid dies from this attack, a shadow (CR 1/2) rises from the corpse 1d4 minutes later. The shadow is allied with the spirit.
Terrorize (Recharge 4–6). The spirit pulses with dark energy, and nonmagical sources of light within 30 feet of the spirit are extinguished. Each creature in the spirit's space must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 13 (3d8) psychic damage and becomes frightened of the spirit until the end of its next turn.
Description
Native to the plane of Hades, spirits of darkness can be found in any of the Lower Planes as well as throughout the Shadowfell. They can also make their way through mysterious means to rare places in the Material Plane, such as desecrated locations or places that are sacred to one of the evil gods. These spirits are born when the negative energy leaking from the Plane of Negative Energy coalesces around the twisted evil that permeates the Lower Planes.
Evil Incarnate. Spirits of darkness are beloved by the evil deities such as Lolth, who delight in darkness and the terror that it brings. They rely on these spirits to watch over their sacred places. Spirits of darkness are the archenemies of spirits of light, and they oppose all celestials instinctively, just as they feel an instinctive urge to protect fiends and evil undead.
Shadows of Night. Spirits of darkness are believed to be the origin of the dark undead known as shadows, humanoid shadows that rise from the corpse they once matched in every movement. Spirits of darkness delight in creating undead shadows and do so whenever they are able to. Scholars also believe that these spirits are somehow related to the mysterious creatures known as nightwalkers, but they disagree as to the nature of this relationship. Some claim that these spirits are juvenile nightwalkers, awaiting their final form after some time or some form of ritual transformation. Others think the spirits are the nightwalkers' servants or perhaps even some kind of livestock for the creatures.
Fiendish Nature. A spirit of darkness doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Devils, demons, and yugoloths are not the only creatures native to the lower planes. All manner of wild beasts live as fiends among the lower planes. Some of them, such as the canine hell hounds and the equine nightmares, are well known to adventurers, while others are more enigmatic. The following fiends are native to the lower planes but live like wild, feral beasts.
Sometimes, these fiends can be summoned into the Material Plane or other planes. In rare cases, a group of wild fiends can find suitable environments to reproduce in another plane, and a small population may begin to live there, such as in a hellish volcano, poisonous jungle, frozen wasteland, or death-choked hollow.
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