Bhuta

Bhuta Creature11

Rare NE Medium Incorporeal Undead

Senses Perception +22; darkvision

Languages Common, Necril; speak with animals

Skills Arcana +20, Deception +22, Nature +24, Survival +22

Str -5, Dex +7, Con +3, Int +5, Wis +5, Cha +7

Bound Bhutas are bound to a natural area or feature where they died and must remain within 120 feet of that anchor. A bhuta can only leave if invited to travel with living companions, an invitation bhutas often seek to obtain via trickery. While traveling, the bhuta must remain within 120 feet of at least one of the living creatures who invited them. If all members of the group die, the bhuta must return to their bound area by midnight the same day or be destroyed.

Shadowless A bhuta casts no shadow.

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AC 30; Fort +18, Ref +24, Will +22

HP 150, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, poison, precision, unconscious; Weaknesses cold iron 5; Resistances all damage 10 (except force, ghost touch, or positive; double resistance vs. non-magical)

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Speed fly 30 feet

Melee fangs +24 (finesse, magical), Damage 2d12+13 piercing plus 1d8 persistent bleed

Melee claw +24 (agile, finesse, magical), Damage 2d10+13 slashing

Primal Innate Spells DC 30, attack +22; 9th nature’s enmity (only while within the area to which the bhuta is bound); 6th summon animal; 5th command (animals only), vampiric touch; 4th charm (animals only); 3rd animal vision; Cantrips (6th) daze, tanglefoot; Constant (2nd) speak with animals

Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, occult, polymorph, transmutation) The bhuta takes the form of a Large, Medium, or Small animal common to their bound area. This doesn’t change the bhuta’s Speed or attack and damage modifiers with their Strikes but might change the damage type their Strikes deal. No matter what form the bhuta takes, their feet remain backward and they cast no shadow. A bhuta in animal form is still incorporeal, though that isn’t obvious just by looking at it.

Possess Animal [two-actions] The bhuta attempts to possess an adjacent animal. They cast 9th-level heightened possession with the following changes: since the bhuta has no physical body, they’re unaffected by that restriction. On a critical failure, the duration extends to 1 full day. While possessed by a bhuta, the animal casts no shadow.

Primal Corruption A bhuta corrupts wildlife near their bound area, worming their way into animals’ minds. Animals who live within the bound area take a –4 circumstance penalty to saves against the bhuta’s Possess Animal ability, the bhuta’s charm innate spell, and the bhuta’s command innate spell.

About

When sapient creatures die violently in a natural setting or a location infused with primal magic, they sometimes rise as a ghostlike undead called a bhuta. Resembling a translucent version of their mortal form, only shadowless and with backward feet, a bhuta’s lust for vengeance or unquenchable desire to complete an unfinished task poisons the natural world, turning animals into agents of the bhuta’s corrupted will. However, a bhuta’s connection to their mortal life is weak and vague, more a series of compulsions and triggers than the torturous recollections of a ghost. Thus, while a bhuta might start by hunting down and devouring those who slew their mortal form, they find no relief and soon turn to predation through their domain.

Bunking with Bhutas

Most often, bhutas ingratiate themselves with living travelers through deception, using their influence over animals to appear trustworthy, then picking their prey off one by one in secret. However, a few stories exist of bhutas finding true friendship among the living and, through it, attaining a measure of peace that allows them to pass on.