The undead were once living creatures, returned to a horrific second life. Undead can be created through necromantic spells, profane curses, or even sometimes through divine decree. Such creatures are rarely bothered by the needs of their former life, instead craving something unique to their new form.
The Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault has 23 undead in its arsenal to pair with the multitude of monsters ready for conversion from the Creature Codex and Tomes of Beasts 1, 2, and 3. All these monsters are more narratively interesting and tactically dynamic than their counterparts in similar games.
The Need to Feed
While the lore for many undead speak to a certain craving, there are few mechanical implications for their hunger. By adding game mechanics to these undead, the Tales of the Valiant framework offers more nuanced foes to challenge the players—but all the more so, to tell more interesting tales for their valiant heroes.
Spooky Apparitions
Ghosts are wispy, ethereal undead who often haunt a particular location associated with their life (or sometimes their death). Ghosts often linger in these locations, hoping to rectify a wrong that occurred while they yet lived, and they often prove difficult to eradicate.
Ghosts are also fairly unique monsters, as they can permanently age PCs who fail their saving throw against the Horrify trait. (Other monsters of this ilk include the grolar bear alpha from Tome of Beasts 3, which can rip a PC’s limbs from their body.)
Hungry ghosts feed on the life essence of living creatures, as evidenced by their ability to drain creatures of years–nay, decades–of their lives. Once sated, ghosts become pranksters and poltergeists, at least until their hunger finally returns.
Other than the An Urge to Haunt trait, this is the ghost from the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault.
Urgent Ghost CR 4
Medium Undead
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 68
Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft.
Perception 13 Stealth 11
Immune cold, necrotic | charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained | Undead Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages any languages it knew in life
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| −2 | +2 | +0 | +0 | +3 | +4 |
An Urge to Haunt. The ghost must haunt living creatures, sustaining itself from the premature aging its Horrify trait can cause. Starting the first night after the ghost prematurely ages a living creature, the ghost becomes a trickster ghost for one week. If the ghost hasn’t prematurely aged a living creature for at least one year, it becomes a blood-curdling ghost.
Ethereal Sight. The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Undead Nature. The ghost doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Undead Resilience. The ghost is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the poisoned condition.
Unfinished Business. Unless its unfinished business is fulfilled, a destroyed ghost returns in 1d4 days, regaining all its HP and becoming active again within 10 feet of where it died. If presented with an object or piece of information related to its unfinished business, the ghost must succeed on a DC 13 WIS save or be incapacitated until the end of its next turn. After it has been incapacitated by a particular source, the ghost can’t be incapacitated by that same source again for 24 hours. If presented with everything it needs to complete its unfinished business, the ghost permanently dies after completing it.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The ghost makes two Withering Touch or Telekinetic Throw attacks.
Withering Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) necrotic damage.
Telekinetic Throw. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (6d4 + 2) bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, depending on the type of object thrown. The ghost can throw only Small or smaller objects within range that aren’t being worn or carried.
Horrify (Recharge 5–6). The ghost speaks a haunting phrase, reveals the wounds from its death, or performs some other expression to scare creatures in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 WIS save. On a failure, a creature takes 21 (6d6) psychic damage and is frightened until the end of its next turn. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and isn’t frightened. A creature that fails the save by 5 or more increases its age in years by 10 percent, rounded up. This aging can be reversed with a greater restoration spell or similar magic, but only within 24 hours of the aging occurring.
BONUS ACTIONS
Etherealness. The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Ethereal Plane, and vice versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
When more than a year has passed since it has fed on the youthful vitality of the living, the ghost forgets its unfinished business. While less likely to throw tantrums using its Telekinetic Throw attack, its Withering Attack now imposes disadvantage on the saving throw that prematurely ages its target, thereby feeding the ghost.
Blood-Curdling Ghost CR 3
Medium Undead
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 68
Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft.
Perception 13 Stealth 11
Immune cold, necrotic | charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained | Undead Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages any languages it knew in life
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| −2 | +2 | +0 | +0 | +3 | +4 |
An Urge to Haunt. The ghost must haunt living creatures, sustaining itself from the premature aging its Horrify feature can cause. Starting the first night after the ghost prematurely ages a living creature, the ghost becomes a trickster ghost for one week. If the ghost hasn’t prematurely aged a living creature for at least one year, it becomes a blood-curdling ghost.
Ethereal Sight. The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Undead Nature. The ghost doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Undead Resilience. The ghost is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the poisoned condition.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The ghost makes two Withering Touch attacks.
Withering Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) necrotic damage, and the creature must make a DC 14 CON save or suffers disadvantage on INT, WIS, and CHA saves under the end of the ghost’s next turn.
Telekinetic Throw. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (6d4 + 2) bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, depending on the type of object thrown. The ghost can throw only Small or smaller objects within range that aren’t being worn or carried.
Horrify (Recharge 4-6). The ghost speaks a haunting phrase, reveals the wounds from its death, or performs some other expression to scare creatures in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 WIS save. On a failure, a creature takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage and is frightened until the end of its next turn. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and isn’t frightened. A creature that fails the save by 5 or more increases its age in years by 10 percent, rounded up. This aging can be reversed with a greater restoration spell or similar magic, but only within 24 hours of the aging occurring.
BONUS ACTIONS
Etherealness. The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Ethereal Plane, and vice versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
Once the ghost has fed, it spends a week as a comedian instead of the horrific, tragic undead that it is. The sated ghost will not use its Withering Touch attack, instead using its Telekinetic Throw attack to embarrass the living creatures who dare approach this huckster’s lair.
Trickster Ghost CR 3
Medium Undead
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 68
Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft.
Perception 13 Stealth 11
Immune cold, necrotic | charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained | Undead Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages any languages it knew in life
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| −2 | +2 | +0 | +0 | +3 | +4 |
An Urge to Haunt. The ghost must haunt living creatures, sustaining itself from the premature aging its Horrify feature can cause. Starting the first night after the ghost prematurely ages a living creature, the ghost becomes a trickster ghost for one week. If the ghost hasn’t prematurely aged a living creature for at least one year, it becomes a blood-curdling ghost.
Ethereal Sight. The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Undead Nature. The ghost doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Undead Resilience. The ghost is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the poisoned condition.
Unfinished Business. Unless its unfinished business is fulfilled, a destroyed ghost returns in 1d4 days, regaining all its HP and becoming active again within 10 feet of where it died. If presented with an object or piece of information related to its unfinished business, the ghost must succeed on a DC 13 WIS save or be incapacitated until the end of its next turn. After it has been incapacitated by a particular source, the ghost can’t be incapacitated by that same source again for 24 hours. If presented with everything it needs to complete its unfinished business, the ghost permanently dies after completing it.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The ghost makes two Telekinetic Throw attacks.
Telekinetic Throw. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (6d4 + 2) bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, depending on the type of object thrown. The ghost can throw only Small or smaller objects within range that aren’t being worn or carried. If struck by an object, the creature has disadvantage on INT, WIS, and CHA saves until the end of the ghost’s next turn.
Wisecrack (Recharge 5–6). The ghost tells a joke, makes a pun, or performs some other expression to humor creatures in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 CHA save. On a failure, a creature takes 14 (4d6) psychic damage, falls prone, and becomes incapacitated until the end of its next turn. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and is neither prone nor incapacitated.
BONUS ACTIONS
Etherealness. The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Ethereal Plane, and vice versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
