Wendar - Forbidding Soul
by Geoff Gander This is a monster that I have
created for the Wendar region:
Forbidding Soul
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 6**
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: 1 weapon +2 or 1 slime
Damage: by weapon or special
No. Appearing: 1-2
Save As: F6
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: V
Intelligence: 10
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 725
Monster Type: Undead (Rare, Enchanted)
Forbidding Souls are hideous creatures. They resemble tall,
mouldering skeletons, between seven and eight feet in height,
wearing rusted armour and bearing battered weapons, usually battle
axes or longswords. Loose pieces of rotting flesh dangle from their
forms where their flesh is exposed, but what makes them truly
horrible is the black, glistening slime that coasts large portions
of their bodies, which appears to move of its own accord.
These creatures inhabit the Mengul Mountain range to the northeast
of Wendar, from the highest peaks down into the forested foothills.
They have also been sighted on the Denagoth Plateau itself. This
form of undead is tied to the magics that make that plateau the
evil place it is today, and, in fact, it is a product of them.
Violent murders caused by madness or wars, committed on the plateau
or in the mountains, produce these creatures from the tortured
spirits of the former victims. The victims' memories of their
former lives are lost, and are replaced by a murderous desire to
destroy all living things. This process takes only a few hours,
during which the spirit cannot be harmed in any way, short of a
wish. Once the transformation is completed, the spirit assumes a
solid form resembling that described above. This form, complete
with armour and weapons, is taken regardless of what sort of person
the victim was in life, as this creature is a product of the evil
of the Denagoth plateau, and therefore the magical effect does not
act in any way mortals can understand.
Forbidding Souls are tremendously strong creatures; in combat they
receive a bonus of +2 to damage when using any melee weapon. They
are also capable of lifting, one-handed, anything weighing up to
5,000 cn.
In addition to its formidable strength, they also radiate an aura
of fear - anyone seeing a Forbidding Soul must Save vs.
Paralysation or be frozen with fear for 1d4 rounds. They can only
be hit by silvered weapons, or those of +1 enchantment or better.
Also, Forbidding Souls can become ethereal in order to pass through
walls 10 feet thick or less. The act of assuming ethereal form
takes one round, as does the reverse.
These creatures are also reasonably intelligent, capable of
employing tactics of average complexity when in combat (such as
feints, parrying, disarming foes, and so on). Some have been seen
leading groups of humanoids and undead in the Mengul Mountains, it
is known in some circles that more powerful Forbidding Souls,
somewhere on the Denagoth Plateau, command small legions of common
versions of themselves, as well as groups of lesser undead and
humanoids. Although they are chiefly driven by the desire to
destroy, Forbidding Souls can be commanded by powerful spellcasters
and clerics to follow commands, and they can be turned as well. In
both cases, they are treated as Spectres. Even when controlled,
Forbidding Souls are surprisingly wilful, and when given orders
will always seek to find a loophole to avoid doing its master's
bidding.
What makes this form of undead truly dangerous, though, is its
slime. Once per round, instead of attacking with its weapon, a
Forbidding Soul can point at an opponent and fire some of its black
slime in their direction. The victim must make a successful Save
vs. Death Ray in order to avoid this attack. If the save fails, the
slime begins to dissolve the victim, doing 1d10 points of damage
per round. While the victim takes damage, the amount of hit points
lost is gained by the Forbidding Soul. The creature can add a
maximum of 30 additional hit points on top of its normal maximum,
and any damage received by the creature is absorbed by these hit
points, first. The slime can only be neutralised by holy water, a
remove curse spell, or by a natural fire. Any of these methods will
automatically destroy the slime in the round in which they are
used, and the victim will stop taking damage. Hit points lost from
this slime may be regained through magical healing or normal
rest.
Forbidding Souls cannot venture more than 20 miles away from the
Mengul Mountains or the plateau (the general region of Denagoth),
otherwise their bodies will grow insubstantial and fade away,
destroying them. If a Forbidding Soul is killed, its body crumbles
into dust, and its spirit is freed. Any treasures carried by the
creature materialise on top of the pile of dust one round after it
is destroyed.