Specter of Melanthios
Undead · no Crown (Meridian)
T4d10Sovereign
A translucent figure of anguished regal beauty whose aura of self-doubt and sabotage causes competent people to fumble and victories to sour into defeats.
Tier 4 · Role Sovereign · Pool Vigor 9 / Vitality 26 · AC 14 · ATK +7 · Save DC 17 · Dmg d10
| Stat | Score | Mod | Die |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | 8 | -1 | -d3 |
| Mind | 18 | +4 | d8 |
| Sense | 22 | +6 | d12 |
| Heart | 20 | +5 | d10 |
| Cunning | 18 | +4 | d8 |
| Fate | 20 | +5 | d10 |
Passives
Flaw Manifest
30 ft aura. At the start of each round, creatures in the aura make a Heart save (DC 17) or their next successful roll becomes a failure.
Semi-Incorporeal
In dim light, physical attacks deal only Vigor damage to it; in darkness they do nothing at all. In bright light it turns fully solid and takes damage normally.
Maneuvers
Fade-Touch
Its touch saps competence: a creature it damages is weakened until the end of its next turn.
Declarations
Declared in the enemy tactical window and resolved at the start of its next turn. Any Vitality it loses first forces the disruption roll: on a 1 the telegraph is lost.
Melanthi Curse
One creature within 30 ft makes a Heart save (DC 17); on a failure it takes 4 damage and is cursed so that its d20 rolls of 15 or higher count as failures (save ends), on a success it takes 1 Vigor damage.
Reactions
Fade Shift
When attacked in dim light, it becomes fully incorporeal until the start of its next turn.
Tactics
GM tactics
The specter weaponizes failure. It stays in dim light where it is incorporeal and uses Flaw Manifest to sabotage enemies. It uses Fade-Touch on targets forced into its reach. The counter is bright light, which makes it fully corporeal and vulnerable. It avoids well-lit areas.
Running it
Rules
- Shield of Tier + Heart mod over a Vitality pool of 10 + 4 x Tier. Full Vigor at combat start; at the start of its turn it rolls 4 exploding d4s and regains 1 Vigor per 4. Dead at 0 Vigor and 0 Vitality.
- A hit rolls d10. A crit rolls two: 2d10.
- Crits on a natural 16+ (Cunning 18).
- Two or three attacks in a normal turn: multiattack is the threat scaler, and one swing a round makes it a mook.
- Sovereign: 2 Sovereign Actions a round, spent after other combatants' turns, on top of its attacks.
- Any Vitality lost while a telegraph is pending forces its disruption roll; on a 1 the telegraph is lost.
- Never checks morale: it fights to 0 Vitality or to the exit written into its lowest phase.
- NPCs never take wounds.