Vor’mith, The Keeper of Ambition
Medium Undead (Wraith), Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class: 15 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 112 (15d8 + 45)
Speed: 30 ft., Shadow Step (Teleportation through shadows within 30 ft.)
Challenge Rating: 8 (3,900 XP)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 20 |
Saving Throws: Dexterity +8, Charisma +9, Wisdom +7
Skills: Stealth +8, Deception +9, Insight +7, Persuasion +9
Damage Vulnerabilities: Radiant Damage
Damage Resistances: Necrotic and Psychic Damage
Damage Immunities: Poison and Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 15
Languages: Common, Infernal
Spellcasting
Spellcasting. Vor’mith is a 10th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). Vor’mith has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): *Eldritch Blast*, *Minor Illusion*, *Thaumaturgy*
1st level (4 slots): *Hex*, *Shield of Faith*
2nd level (3 slots): *Misty Step*, *Suggestion*
3rd level (3 slots): *Fear*, *Counterspell*
4th level (3 slots): *Greater Invisibility*, *Phantasmal Killer*
5th level (2 slots): *Dominate Person*, *Modify Memory*
**Special Notes**: Vor’mith can cast lower-level spells through his powerful connection to supernatural forces, using them to evoke fear and confusion in his victims. He often preemptively casts *Greater Invisibility* before combat to give him a significant advantage in mobility and strikes during encounters. The use of *Hex* can enhance his attacks by cursing adversaries, while *Suggestion* is often employed to manipulate the motivations of intruders before they engage him directly.
Actions & Abilities
Multiattack: Vor’mith makes two attacks with **Eldritch Grasp** or one **Eldritch Grasp** attack and one **Shadow Pulse** attack.
Eldritch Grasp: – **Melee Weapon Attack**: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
– **Hit**: 3d10 + 4 necrotic damage. If the target is already Blinded or Charmed by Vor’mith, they take an additional 2d10 necrotic damage.
– **Hook**: Vor’mith reaches out with his elongated, shadowy fingers, pulling on the tendrils of ambition tethered to the victim’s heart.
Shadow Pulse: – **Action**: Vor’mith creates a pulse of shadowy energy in a **30-foot radius** around him.
– **Effect**: Each creature must make a **DC 15 Constitution saving throw**. On a failed save, they take **3d8 necrotic damage** and are **Blinded** until the end of their next turn. On a success, they take half damage and are unaffected.
– **Flavor**: The pulse resonates with voices of the ambitious, clouding the thoughts of adventurers momentarily.
Ambitious Lure: – **Action**: Vor’mith targets one creature within **60 feet**.
– **Save**: The target must make a **DC 16 Wisdom saving throw** or become **Charmed** for **1 minute**. While charmed, they must pursue their deepest ambition, gaining Disadvantage on Insight and Perception checks to notice traps or ambushes. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.
– **Flavor**: Vor’mith’s voice drips with dark temptation, drawing characters toward their desires and away from their vigilance.
Whispers of Madness: (Recharge 5-6):
– **Action**: Vor’mith unleashes a wave of maddening whispers in a **30 ft. radius**.
– **Save**: Each creature must succeed on a **DC 16 Wisdom saving throw** or take **2d10 psychic damage** and become **Confused** (as per the “Confusion” spell) until the end of their next turn.
– **Flavor**: The air thickens with haunting murmurs that echo the desires of the characters, warping their thoughts into chaos.
Pulsing Chains: (Environmental Reactive):
– **Environmental Action**: At the end of his turn, Vor’mith can awaken the energies of the glowing iron bars nearby.
– **Effect**: Each creature standing within **5 feet** must make a **DC 15 Constitution saving throw**. Failure results in **3d6 necrotic damage**, and they are **Blinded** until the end of their next turn.
– **Flavor**: Shadows writhe, and chains clank as energy surges beneath the iron bars, ensnaring transgressors.
Shadow Step: (3 per round):
– Vor’mith can teleport to any unoccupied space within **30 feet** that he can see, emerging from a shadow.
– **Flavor**: Shadows surge before him as he twists into the darkness, reappearing in an unexpected spot.
Haunting Echo: (3 per round):
– Vor’mith targets one creature he can see within **60 feet**. The target must succeed on a **DC 16 Wisdom saving throw** or take **2d6 psychic damage** and has disadvantage on its next attack roll or saving throw.
– **Flavor**: The voice of Vor’mith resonates in the target’s mind like a haunting echo, disrupting their focus.
Blurred Movement: (3 per round):
– Vor’mith can take the Disengage action without expending his action, allowing him to move away from combat unhindered.
– **Flavor**: Shadows twist around him, creating an illusion of shifting forms that confuse those who would strike.
Appearance
In the heart of the Ironveil, Vor’mith, The Keeper of Ambition, looms as a striking presence, a tall, elongated figure stretching nearly 8 feet high. Its slender, hunched silhouette creates an imposing sight, embodying the essence of shadows and darkness. As it grips the air around it, wisps of shadow flow and flicker, giving the impression of a being not entirely solid but rather a collection of swirling darkness.
The color palette of Vor’mith is deep and unsettling, dominated by inky blackness intertwined with vibrant crimson streaks. These flickers of maroon dance along its surface, creating a visually captivating contrast that draws the eye while evoking a sense of dread. The swirling shadows enveloping it form an endless play of color, enhancing the creature’s otherworldly nature.
Vor’mith’s texture is reminiscent of dense smoke, lacking a traditional skin but instead appearing fluid and misty. The entity seems to ebb and flow, its form melding seamlessly into the darkness around it. Iron bars materialize around it, pulsing ominously as if suffused with a dark energy, each bar vibrating in resonance with Vor’mith’s whispered taunts.
Its face is partially obscured, shrouded in a veil of chaotic shadows. Two hollow eye sockets glow with a haunting crimson light, radiating an insistent hunger for ambition. The mouth is an unsettling gaping void, occasionally uttering ominous whispers that hint at the dreams turned ashes. This expression gives Vor’mith an aura of malevolence that seeps into the very core of any would-be adventurer.
Vor’mith’s limbs are elongated and spectral, tapering into claw-like fingers that stretch with an unnerving grace. These ghostly appendages serve both to beckon and ensnare, drawing in those who dare approach. Its legs vanish into the ground, further solidifying its ethereal presence as it moves with a fluid, gliding motion, leaving trails of dark energy that dissipate like smoke.
The creature often adopts a hunched posture, deceptively concealing its true height and form. This stance embodies a lurking menace, while its movement is both graceful and erratic, flickering in and out of visibility, ensuring that no encounter with Vor’mith is stable or predictable. Each sway of its form exudes a palpable tension, amplifying the aura of dread that lingers in its wake.
Surrounding Vor’mith is an immersive atmosphere thick with despair and ambition’s whispers. As it invokes its abilities, dark tendrils ripple across its form, visually demonstrating the emotions it consumes. This dynamic interplay of shadow, color, and movement renders Vor’mith a memorable and haunting entity, one that embodies the perilous allure of ambition twisted into darkness. This creature stands as a testament to the desires unfulfilled and the looming threat that ambition can become when tainted by despair.
Tactical Information
Vor’mith, The Keeper of Ambition: Encounter Narrative
Behavior in Day-to-Day Life
Within the twisted labyrinth of the Ironveil, Vor’mith exists as more than just a threat; he embodies the marrow of ambition and the despair that long ensnares those who seek it. The Keeper of Ambition drifts silently among the echoes, moving through the shadows of the iron corridors like a fading memory, ever watchful for new souls desperate to realize their dreams. Vor’mith’s motivations revolve around feeding on the fervent desires of mortals; he believes that every flicker of ambition presents a potential meal. His demeanor is melancholic yet enticing, a wisp of a presence that swirls around the shadows, beckoning adventurers with promises of strength, influence, or knowledge.
During the day, Vor’mith may coil himself around the iron bars that bind him, listening for whispers of ambition from the realm outside. He seldom interacts with others, for he knows that none inhabit the Ironveil willingly; those who linger are prisoners of their own desires. In this isolation, Vor’mith becomes a solitary predator, watching as adventurers forge their paths—often feeling a sense of triumphant amusement as they unwittingly expose their weaknesses through their ambitions. His temperament shifts like the shadows, sometimes that of a tormentor, exuding patience as he draws out their fears, while other times adopting a sympathetic facade, luring them closer with deceitful compassion.
Combat Behavior
When battle ensues, Vor’mith is an elusive specter, weaving through the shadows with an unsettling grace. He initiates combat by observing his adversaries and using his Ambitious Lure to prey upon their weaknesses. As he senses their desperation or ambition, he whispers sweet promises that pull at their hearts and minds, leaving them vulnerable to his further manipulation. Vor’mith prefers to engage at a distance, striking with Shadow Pulse to blind and disorient. To capitalize on the ensuing chaos, he uses Shadow Step to dodge into the obscurity, sowing confusion as he re-emerges at unexpected angles.
Vor’mith is acutely aware of the vulnerabilities of each adventurer; spellcasters and other support characters fall first under his siege, particularly those whose ambitions are palpable. When outnumbered or overwhelmed, Vor’mith demonstrates cunning resourcefulness. His use of Pulsing Chains not only harms but lays traps in his realm, forcing adventurers to adapt quickly or suffer additional repercussions. Should the fight take a turn against him, he retreats with supernatural agility into the shadows, employing whispers of madness to disarray his pursuers before slipping away, preserving his energy for a return at a more opportune moment.
Vor’mith serves as an expert tactician, exploiting the emotional landscape of the battlefield as much as the physical terrain. He knows the shadows intimately; if faced with greater numbers and unable to disappear, he fights more viciously, creating chaos by dominating one target at a time with hit-and-run tactics. If one adversary appears to have a stronger ambition than all others, he will fixate on them, attempting to lure the rest into a false sense of confidence to turn their weakness against them.
Roleplay/Narrative Interactions
In moments of non-combat engagement, Vor’mith can often be found spiraling in and out of visibility, his presence felt rather than seen. His voice, a haunting echo, responds with a confluence of tantalization and foreboding. When adventurers approach, he may exude a charmer’s allure, but the darkness of his experience permeates through his words. He delights in toying with their ambitions, asking provocative questions designed to reveal their driving desires or regrets.
If adventurers threaten him, he remains unfazed, often retorting with philosophical musings about ambition and consequence. Each exchange is a dance; he might diffuse tension with veiled humor or philosophical rhetoric, using an almost soft tone to mask his malevolence: “Ah, but what is the price of your dreams? Can you truly afford to pursue them in this domain?”
When tempted by diplomacy, Vor’mith can be mischievously accommodating, engaging in discussions about what they seek, offering to guide them through the labyrinth for a price—be it a promise of devotion, ensuring he feasts on their ambitions, or requiring them to impart their deepest desire for a potential boon. His reactions to bribes or bargaining are unpredictable; if the offer intrigues him, he may feign acceptance, only to twist the deal into something disastrous later.
If cornered, Vor’mith can appear surprisingly desperate, albeit still calculating. His facade may crack under duress, revealing the remnants of his former self—a mortal desperate for redemption in knowing the depths of ambition’s darkness. As the urge to escape surges, he may attempt to ensnare the party in fleeting visions of what their ambitions could yield, attempting to confuse them enough to slip through as shadows fade.
Ultimately, Vor’mith provides a deeply immersive experience, challenging not only the combat prowess of adventurers but also their very desires and fears, leaving them with unsettling questions about their own ambitions long after they emerge from the Ironveil.
Speak Your Mind