Ambition Wraith
Medium Undead (Wraith), Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 15 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: Average: 67 (9d8 + 27)
Speed: 0 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
Challenge Rating: 4 (1,100 XP)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 18 |
Saving Throws: Strength +3, Dexterity +8, Constitution +6, Wisdom +5
Skills: Stealth +11, Insight +5, Deception +7, Persuasion +7
Damage Vulnerabilities: Radiant damage
Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: Necrotic damage, Poison damage
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12, Starlight Awareness (can see into the Ethereal Plane within 30 ft.)
Languages: Understands Common and Undercommon but cannot speak.
Spellcasting
Spellcasting. The Ambition Wraith is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). The Ambition Wraith has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): *Chill Touch*, *Minor Illusion*
1st level (2 slots): *Disguise Self*, *Hex*
2nd level (2 slots): *Mirror Image*, *Invisibility*
3rd level (1 slot): *Fear*
**Descriptions:**
– **Cantrips**: The wraith can cast *Chill Touch* to deal necrotic damage and prevent healing, reflecting its nature as a harbinger of ambition’s downfall. *Minor Illusion* allows it to create deceptive sounds or images to lure adventurers into traps or make them question their own memories.
– **1st level (2 slots)**:
– *Disguise Self*: The wraith can alter its appearance to deceive adventurers, manifesting as someone they once knew or a figure of ambition to sow confusion.
– *Hex*: This spell allows the wraith to curse an opponent to suffer disadvantage on ability checks of its choice, symbolizing how ambition can corrupt one’s abilities.
– **2nd level (2 slots)**:
– *Mirror Image*: The wraith can create illusory duplicates of itself, enhancing its evasiveness in combat, mirroring its ability to slacken its tangible form and confuse adventurers.
– *Invisibility*: The wraith can use this spell to vanish from sight, retreating or striking without warning, further exemplifying its hit-and-run tactics.
– **3rd level (1 slot)**:
– *Fear*: This spell allows the wraith to project its own anguish and insatiable desires onto adventurers, instilling a bone-deep fear reflective of the costs of ambition gone awry.
**Special notes about the spellcaster’s spellcasting abilities or actions**: The Ambition Wraith may cast *Invisibility* at the start of combat to gain tactical advantage. Its ability to weave illusions and manipulate the environment through spellcasting expands its capacity for psychological warfare, making it a multidimensional threat in encounters.
Actions & Abilities
Ambitious Strike: The wraith lunges from the shadows to strike with vengeful intent, targeting the aspirations of its foe.
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 2d8 + 2 necrotic damage. If the target is reduced to 0 hit points, the wraith regains hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.
Phase Shift (Recharge 4-6): The wraith melts into the Ethereal Plane, allowing it to maneuver through obstacles and reappear suddenly. This action provides tactical repositioning, appearing behind or beside opponents.
Effect: The Ambition Wraith shifts into the Ethereal Plane, becoming incorporeal until the end of its next turn. It can move through objects and solid barriers, reemerging at any point within 30 feet. This ability recharges on a roll of 4-6 at the start of the wraith’s turn.
Infernal Whispers: The wraith emits a haunting cacophony of whispers that penetrate the minds of nearby adventurers, sowing doubt and confusion.
Effect: Each creature within a 30-foot radius must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature suffers disadvantage on its next attack action. On a success, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours.
Shadow Cloak: Harnessing the shadows around it, the wraith becomes nearly invisible in dim light and darkness, enhancing its stealth capabilities.
Effect: The wraith has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while in areas of dim light or darkness.
Echo of Regrets: The wraith creates an illusory double of itself, born from the anguish of its past, to confuse its enemies.
Effect: Once per encounter, the wraith can create a spectral illusion that lasts for 2 rounds. The double can be attacked, drawing attention and providing the wraith an opportunity to attack from the real location. The double has the same AC as the wraith but only 5 hit points.
Defensive Retreat (Reaction): When the wraith is reduced to half its hit points, it quickly retreats into the Ethereal Plane as a reaction to avoid further damage.
Effect: The wraith uses its Phase Shift ability immediately without expending its turn. This enables it to reposition strategically, leveraging its incorporeal nature.
Appearance
The Ambition Wraith
Standing at an imposing height of 7 feet, the Ambition Wraith looms with a slender, elongated body that captures the essence of darkness itself. Its ethereal silhouette melds seamlessly with the air around it, creating a striking vision that is both haunting and magnificent. The wraith appears almost weightless, gliding above the ground, and its graceful yet unsettling posture hints at a predatory nature, poised and ready to strike.
The coloration of the Ambition Wraith is a chilling blend of dark silver and deep charcoal gray, reminiscent of swirling shadows. Flecks of iridescent blue shimmer sporadically across its form, hinting at a lost opulence, an echo of grandeur now laced with despair. This dynamic interplay of colors enhances its otherworldly presence, making it seem both alive and spectral—an embodiment of ambition turned dark.
Its surface is smooth and delicately translucent, almost as if woven from strands of regret and longing. The fabric of its existence ripples with an otherworldly mist, which seems to cloak its true form in a veil of enigma. Tattered remnants of ancient armor drape over its figure, flowing and dissolving like vapor rather than clanking metal, a striking testament to its tragic past.
The wraith’s face is a portrait of torment and desire, with hollow eye sockets emanating an eerie, faint glow—symbolizing the unquenchable ambition that fuels its restless spirit. Its mouth, a narrow, shadowy slit, often twists into a grimace or whispering snarl, devoid of teeth but filled with a palpable malice that chills the air. Each expression reflects its anguish, driving home the wraith’s relentless pursuit of its long-lost goals.
The Ambition Wraith possesses long, sinewy arms, each tapering into claw-like appendages that serve as deadly tools. These ethereal talons are sharp and menacing, capable of slicing through both flesh and spirit. Its wiry legs allow for agile, darting movements, while the constant twisting and shifting of its form impart a sense of unsettling unpredictability.
A cloud of swirling mist constantly envelops the wraith, creating an aura of cold dread in its wake. Ethereal chains dangle from its wrists, emitting a faint light and a subtle hum, enhancing the atmosphere of ambition and regret that surrounds it. These chains give the wraith strength while simultaneously binding it to its tragic fate, a poignant reminder of the aspirations that have turned into an endless cycle of torment.
In its dynamic display, the Ambition Wraith glides through shadows with fluidity, disappearing and reappearing unexpectedly, disorienting its foes. This ghostly presence is often accompanied by a whispering echo, murmuring the unfulfilled ambitions and tragic regrets of its past, casting a disquieting echo that resonates in the hearts of those daring enough to trespass into its domain.
With every subtle movement, every flicker of light, and the chilling mist that surrounds it, the Ambition Wraith stands as a powerful specter, a striking vision of a spirit forever trapped in the throes of longing and vengeance.
Tactical Information
Tactical Information on the Ambition Wraith
Behavior in Day-to-Day Life:
In the decaying halls of the Abandoned Ashen Keep, the Ambition Wraith exists as an eternal sentinel of lost desires and shattered dreams. It roams the once-grand corridors, where the echoes of its former life resonate through the air. The wraith harbors an insatiable need for recognition and revenge, driven by a singular ambition: to protect the legacy of Gaius Valen and to punish those who dare to lust for power without understanding the cost.
During its restless existence, the wraith manifests as a observeful entity, keenly aware of the living beings who dare to intrude upon its domain. It spends its “days” in dim recesses, listening to the whispers of the keep, reliving its tragic history as it languishes within memories that cannot be altered.
The Ambition Wraith holds no allegiance to allies, for it exists in isolation, referencing the treachery that led to its creation. Its temperament is deeply volatile; moments of quiet contemplation are punctuated by violent outbursts of rage if provoked by adventurers seeking to claim the ambition it guards. This entity thrives in fear and chaos, feeding off the ambition of those who wish for greatness, as it hunts the aspirations of anyone who would walk the halls of the keep.
Combat Behavior:
When combat is initiated, the Ambition Wraith takes a calculated approach. It often begins encounters by silently observing the party, gauging their strengths and weaknesses. Once it senses an opportunity, it unleashes its Infernal Whispers as a bonus action, seeking to disorient its targets. The wraith’s soft, haunting whispers resonate with the ambition hidden in the hearts of its foes, complicating their resolve.
Once the encounter begins, the wraith employs hit-and-run tactics, utilizing Phase Shift to slip into the Ethereal Plane, scouting the battlefield before emerging where it believes the greatest impact will resonate. It prefers to attack isolated characters first, avoiding direct confrontations when faced with the full force of the party.
During a clash, the wraith’s Ambitious Strike aims to instill dread by draining ambition through necrotic damage, thus restoring its own vitality—a twisted reflection of its former self. It targets characters who exhibit strong ambitions, choosing to strike their core desires, tempting them into a reflective struggle against their own goals.
If the tide of battle appears to shift against it, the wraith employs Echo of Regrets, summoning an illusory double to mislead adventurers. This tactic is intended to confound and create an opening for a sudden, deadly ambush. Should it find itself severely outnumbered or severely wounded, the wraith’s instinct would be to retreat into the depths of the keep, slipping between shadows while still attempting to sow fear through lingering whispers.
Roleplay/Narrative Interactions:
In non-combat situations, the Ambition Wraith tends to manifest as a ghostly presence within the shadows, reserving direct engagement for those who threaten its domain. Those who bravely venture into conversation might find themselves ensnared by its haunting machinations. The wraith does not converse in a human manner; instead, it communicates through riddles and echoes from the past, often reflecting its tragic history. It may speak of ambition’s fruits and the costs that accompany them—an attempt to seduce intruders into contemplating their own aspirations.
Should an adventurer demonstrate significant ambition or hubris, the wraith might choose to engage in a more directly manipulative fashion, prodding at vulnerabilities and offering twisted guidance on achieving greatness. It does not respond well to diplomacy; instead, it views negotiations as challenges to one’s ambition, often leading to games of wits rather than straightforward conversation.
Desperation and attempts to appease the wraith with bribes of wealth or power may yield momentary distractions, but the wraith sees such offerings as fleeting baubles, tempting it further into vengeance rather than actual negotiations. In scenarios where the adventurers attempt to corner or confront the wraith directly, it would respond with rage, using its terrain familiarity to slip from reality, teasing the party with their failed pursuits.
In the end, the Ambition Wraith is a creature deeply intertwined with its own tragic backstory, a mausoleum of ambition gone awry—a malevolent guardian of lost dreams that manipulates its environment and the fears of others to etch its legacy into eternity.
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