Spirit, Ancestral

An ancestral spirit is the ghost of a humanoid that remains in the Material Plane to service some function. Each is associated with its culture and appears as a member of its culture at the time it lived.

Sometimes Worshipped. Some settlements or individual families worship their ancestors, and may fall under the watchful eye of an ancestral spirit, including a direct ancestor.

Bound to Life. An ancestral spirit remains close to those in life, particularly descendents of its culture. Unlike many undead, these spirits are not trapped to an existence because of calamity or curse, they choose to remain to guide, protect, and watch over their people and their lands.

Harbingers of Past and Future. An ancestral spirit lived at some point in the past, often as a celebrated member of its people, and it remembers that past and its events. As a spirit, it continued to observe and learn, granting it an awareness of the threads that mortals weave and the future they hold. The ancestral spirit is a teacher when sought, and a portent of the future when it is the one to reach out.

Undead Nature. An ancestral spirit doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Community

Spirits of community are the closest to the living, often dwelling alongside the living, out of sight, but their presence is always felt, as a warm breeze, a distant melody, or just a feeling of peace. In life they were stewards, chieftains, and shamans; in death they are guides. These spirits will use their abilities to aid their people or a people they’ve adopted as their own, but avoid direct intervention.

Guardian

Many threats terrorized the past, and heroes rose to defeat them. But not all evils are so easily slain, or buried within history, and in these cases guardian spirits take eternal vigil. Heroes of the past frequently surrender eternal rest or rebirth to contain the evils that cost countless lives. They may be seals on these primeval foes or merely watch the ancient tombs to alert and aid new heroes in preventing the return of greater evils.

Tormented

While most ancestral spirits are helpful watchers and guides, there are some who had met dejected ends or passed far from home with none to honor their memories. These spirits are tormented, and appear somewhat twisted. While scornful, not all tormented spirits seek to do harm: many seek to warn or drive away the living to spare them from their torments. Those without a people are the most tumultuous, as they have lost much of their humanity.

Warrior

Warrior spirits are comprised of hunters and soldiers. Unlike the guardian spirits, the foes of the warrior spirits remain, and these spirits continue the hunt or fight. They are the most likely spirit to connect with the living to gain compatriots in their quests to see an end to their service. Should a warrior spirit complete its eternal task, it can choose to move on to the next life or remain as a guide.

Community Spirit

Medium undead (spirit), typically lawful

Armor Class 11
Hit Points 60 (11d8 + 11)
Speed fly 30 ft. (hover)

Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unsettled
Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 13
Languages the language it knew in life
Challenge 2 (450 XP)                              Proficiency Bonus +2

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Innate Spellcasting. The spirit’s spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 13). The spirit can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: bless, guidance, light
3/day: aid, bane, dispel magic, freedom of movement, misty step, spiritual weapon
1/day: fear, stinking cloud

Magic Weapons. The spirit’s weapon attacks are magical.

Actions

Multiattack. The spirit makes two quarterstaff attacks.

Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage, or 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage if used with two hands.

Etherealness. The spirit enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible in the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t effect or be affected by anything on the other plane.

Invisibility. The spirit magically turns invisible until it attacks or ends the effect as a bonus action.

Pacify. The spirit pacifies one living creature it can see within 60 feet of it. For one minute, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of its turns or be unable to take an action during that turn. Each time within the minute the target attempts to take a reaction, it must make the same saving throw.

Guardian Spirit

Medium undead (spirit), typically lawful

Armor Class 18 (scale mail, shield)
Hit Points 132 (16d8 + 64)
Speed 30 ft.

Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unsettled
Senses darkvision 60 ft., truesight 60 ft. passive Perception 12
Languages the language it knew in life
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)                              Proficiency Bonus +4

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Magic Weapons. The spirit’s weapon attacks are magical.

Protective Aura. The spirit and its allies within 20 feet of it have advantage on saving throws.

Unyielding. If damage reduces the spirit to 0 hit points, it can expend Hit Dice to regain hit points at the start of its turn. Once the spirit has expended all of its Hit Dice, it can’t use this trait until it finishes a long rest and regains Hit Dice.

Actions

Multiattack. The spirit makes two greataxe attacks.

Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.

Banish. The spirit cast the banishment spell (save DC 14) without requiring components or concentration, but it can only target a celestial, elemental, fiend, fey or creature with the spirit subtype. A creature with a CR of 8 or more makes a new Charisma saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the spell on a success.

Etherealness. The spirit enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible in the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t effect or be affected by anything on the other plane.

Invisibility. The spirit magically turns invisible until it attacks or ends the effect as a bonus action.

Tormented Spirit

Medium undead (spirit), typically evil

Armor Class 13
Hit Points 102 (12d8 + 48)
Speed 30 ft.

Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unsettled
Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 12
Languages the language it knew in life
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)                              Proficiency Bonus +3

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Unsettling. Each creature that starts its turn within 20 feet of the spirit must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be unsettled until it ends its turn more than 20 feet away from the spirit.

Actions

Multiattack. The spirit makes two spectral chain attacks.

Spectral Chain. Melee Power Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) psychic damage.

Ensnare. The spirit targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or take 11 (2d10) psychic damage and then be restrained for 1 minute. The target can repeat saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the target’s saving throw is successful, or if the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the spirit’s Ensnare for 1 hour.

Etherealness. The spirit enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible in the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t effect or be affected by anything on the other plane.

Invisibility. The spirit magically turns invisible until it attacks or ends the effect as a bonus action.

Misery (Recharge 6). The spirit shrieks in agony. Each living creature it chooses within 60 feet of it must make a Wisdom saving throw. One a failed save, the target takes 33 (6d10) psychic damage and each time it takes damage for 1 minute, it takes an extra 3 (1d6) psychic damage. The effect ends early after the creature has taken at least 10 dice of damage from this effect. On a successful save, the target only takes half of the initial psychic damage.

Warrior Spirit

Medium undead (spirit), typically good

Armor Class 16 (scale mail)
Hit Points 97 (13d8 + 39)
Speed 30 ft.

Skills Perception (+4), Stealth (+5), Survival (+4)
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unsettled
Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 14
Languages the language it knew in life
Challenge 4 ( XP)                              Proficiency Bonus +2

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Call to Arms. The spirit and its allies within 10 feet of it deal an extra 4 (1d8) weapon damage when they hit with a weapon or unarmed strike (included in the attack). In addition, for each ally the spirit has within 10 feet of it, its AC increases by 1 (to a maximum bonus of +4).

Magic Weapons. The spirit’s weapon attacks are magical.

Master Tracker. The spirit has advantage on ability checks made to track.

Actions

Multiattack. The spirit makes two spear attacks.

Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage, or 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack, plus 4 (1d8) piercing damage.

Etherealness. The spirit enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible in the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t effect or be affected by anything on the other plane.

Invisibility. The spirit magically turns invisible until it attacks or ends the effect as a bonus action.