Monster of the Week: the Wraith

Wraiths are the souls of malevolent individuals who have returned after death to wreak revenge on the living. Their form is ghostly and incorporeal, almost invisible in the shadows of the abandoned temples and haunted castles where they prefer to live. Their touch is deadly.

The Wraith's main attack does little physical damage, but has two special traits which make it dangerous. The first is that it is non-corporeal, i.e. it passes through all armour and shields as if they were not there. This means that a Wraith's attack is essentially a touch attack, and defense against such an attack depends entirely on ones ability to dodge or avoid hits.

The second trait of a Wraith's attack is its formidable power to sap the strength. Every time a Wraith hits its opponent, the wraith drains 1d6 points of Constitution. This immediately causes the targeted creature to lose hit points, but the most dangerous aspect of this attack is that, should the target reach 0 constitution, they will die and be reborn as a Wraith. This constitution drain effect can be resisted, but the saving throw is Fortitude - as the target's constitution drops, this saving throw becomes weaker.

Wraiths are undead, so can be turned, destroyed or controlled by Clerics. Some other types of undead (such as Spectres and ghosts) are incorporeal; some other types of undead (such as Spectres, Vampires and Wights) have a touch attack that drains some power from its target. Vampires, for example, drain levels. It is important when confronting Undead to consider the effect their touch might have, and to prepare oneself to counter it.

Wraiths vary in power according to their age and who they were in life. The stats for a simple wraith are given below.

	Wraith Medium Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice:	5d12 (32 hp)
Initiative:	+7
Armor Class:	15 (+3 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 12
Attack:	Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 plus 1d6 Constitution drain)
Special Attacks:	Constitution drain, create spawn
Special Qualities:	Darkvision 60 ft., daylight powerlessness, incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits, unnatural aura
Saves:	Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities:	Str —, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 15
Feats:	AlertnessB, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved InitiativeB
Challenge Rating:	5
Alignment:	Always lawful evil