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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9461724" data-attributes="member: 6915329">So waaay back when, I statted up the <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/a-leveled-up-bestiary.689467/#post-8675229" target="_blank">curst</a> as presented in Dragon #30. In that article, they were specifically called out as living creatures who couldn’t die, and I listed them as aberrations. By the time 3e’s Monsters of Faerûn rolled around, they had been switched to undead. I say to heck with that and am keeping them as aberrations.(If you really want them to be undead, just change the typing and make them immune to turning.)Monsters of Faerûn says that way to create one is to cast bestow curse on someone and then, within four rounds, using a wish or miracle spell. I suppose you can say that the wish is “I wish this dude dies and then comes back as an unkillable undead,” but I think that’s a bit silly, and there’s nothing in any of those spells that says that the resultant creature must be undead. It’s creepier if they’re not.The curst generally hates their creators, and if they serve them, it’s only because the creator is dangling the carrot of true death in front of them. I’m not entirely sure why someone would waste a wish on creating a creature (aberration or undead) who (a) hates you, (b) is insane, and (c) you can’t control. But then again, I’m not a mad wizard, so it doesn’t have to make sense to me. I’m also not sure why you would need to have both bestow curse and wish; certainly wish by itself should suffice.Anyway, with that in mind, here’s the curst template. It’s not an exact match to my original statblock, since that, uh, had a lot of mistakes in it. I think the template is better, though.Curst (Template)Source: Monsters of Faerûn; Designers: James Wyatt and Rob HeinsooCursts are unfortunate humanoids cursed to never die. They look much like wights: gaunt and pallid, with thin skin stretched tightly over jutting bones and sunken, glittering eyes are filled with anger. They favor dark clothes and hooded cloaks, although some cling to the clothing they wore when they were initially cursed. They rarely speak, and when they do so they speak with a dry, rasping voice.Transformed Mortals. A curst is created by using a wish to inflict a terrible curse on a person. Once changed, the curst’s mind shatters, driving it mad and making it prone to erratic behaviors. Although it retains many of the memories of its former life, it loses many of its skills and all of its magical abilities. Cursts do not immediately know the nature of their curse, but those who find out usually begin to long for the release of death. Some throw themselves into battle, hoping that they will one day come across an opponent capable of slaying them. Others seek to destroy the individual who placed the curse, believing—rightly or wrongly—that the caster will remove the curse in order to save their own life.Not Undead. Curst are not undead, although it would be an easy mistake to make. Although they can heal from any damage, their wounds often don’t close properly and look raw, and are frequently infested with insects and worse. It often comes as a surprise when they completely ignore attempts to ignore them.Legends and LoreWith an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:DC 10. Cursts were the subject of fell magics and are cursed to never die. The curse drives them mad. They can regenerate from any injury, even when burned to ash.DC 15. Despite their appearance, cursts are not undead and can’t be turned.DC 20. Cursts can be permanently slain only with powerful magic: a remove curse, cast with a 7th-level or higher spell slot, and only when the curst has been reduced to 0 hit points.Signs1. Graffiti that is a random mixture of hate-filled slurs and happy, childish imagery, all clearly created by the same hand. Careful examination reveals the name of the spellcaster who created the curst.3. The sound of singing in the distance.4. A wanted poster for the high-level spellcaster who created the curst. The poster may be so old that the spellcaster is long-dead—or has become a lich.5. The husks of dead rot grubs.Behavior1. Singing terribly off-key while dancing.2. Hostile; it immediately attacks the characters.3. Staring off into space and seemingly unaware of its surroundings.4. Approaches the characters and begs for their help in either ending the curse against them or getting revenge against the spellcaster who cursed them.5. Engaging in battle with creatures who remind it of an ancient foe.6. Acting like a normal human traveler, seemingly unaware of its appearance.NamesAeron, Amrit, Briar, Huet, Jolon, Keres, Nerezza, Sidero, Tuma, Ubel--“Curst” is a template that can be added to any humanoid.Type. The curst is an aberration.Attributes. The curst’s Strength increases by 2 and its Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are reduced by 4 (minimum 3).Immunities. The curst is immune to cold, fire, and necrotic damage, and to the charmed, frightened, petrified, and stunned conditions.Senses. The curst gains darkvision to 90 feet.Addled. At the start of each of its turns, the curst rolls a d20. On a 1, the curst is confused until the start of its next turn.Already Mad. The curst has disadvantage on saving throws to avoid the confused condition.Chaotic. The curst radiates a Chaotic aura.Immortal Nature. The curst doesn’t require air, sustenance, or sleep.Magic Resistance. The curst has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Natural Armor. When not wearing weapons or armor, the curst’s AC is 13.Unkillable. The curst regains 5 hit points at the start of each of its turns as long as it has 1 hit point. Additionally, its hit point maximum can’t be reduced. When reduced to 0 hit points, it falls prone and is paralyzed for 1d4 days, at which point it begins regenerating again. It it can only be permanently destroyed by completely destroying the body, or by casting remove curse with a 6th-level or higher spell slot on it when paralyzed. If slain, it will crumble to dust and can’t be brought back to life by any means short of a true resurrection.Variant: Infested CurstSome curst are infested with Rot Grubs (described in Trials & Treasures page 145) and has the following trait:Infested. Once during a combat, the rot grubs will leap out onto all targets within 10 feet of the curst (no action required by the curst). Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or be hit by 1d4 rot grubs, which deal 3 (1d6) ongoing damage each until removed. Destroying the rot grubs requires either digging them out, which causes the target to suffer an additional 1d6 piercing or slashing damage per rot grub, or burning them by inflicting at least 10 fire damage to the target.--The following uses a blackguard as the base creature.Curst KnightMedium humanoid; Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)AC 18 (full plate)HP 82 (11d8+33; bloodied 41)Speed 30 ft.STR 18 (+4) DEX 12 (+1) CON 10 (+0)INT 8 (-1) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 10 (+0)Proficiency +3; Maneuver DC 14Saving Throws Str +7, Con +6, Wis +3Skills Athletics 76, Intimidation +3, Perception +3Damage ResistancesDamage Immunities cold, fire, necroticCondition Immunities charmed, frightened, petrified, stunnedSenses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 13Languages Any twoAddled. At the start of each of its turns, the curst knight rolls a d20. On a 1, the curst knight is confused until the start of its next turn.Already Mad. The curst knight has disadvantage on saving throws to avoid the confused condition.Aura of Anger. While the curst knight is conscious, allies within 10 feet gain a +2 bonus to melee weapon damage. A creature can benefit from only one Aura of Anger at a time.Chaotic. The curst knight radiates a Chaotic aura.Immortal Nature. The curst knight doesn’t require air, sustenance, or sleep.Magic Resistance. The curst knight has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Natural Armor. When not wearing weapons or armor, the curst knight’s AC is 13.Unkillable. The curst knight regains 5 hit points at the start of each of its turns as long as it has 1 hit point. Additionally, its hit point maximum can’t be reduced. When reduced to 0 hit points, it falls prone and is paralyzed for 1d4 days, at which point it begins regenerating again. It it can only be permanently destroyed by killing it and casting remove curse with a 6th-level or higher spell slot on it when paralyzed. If slain, it will crumble to dust and can’t be brought back to life by any means short of a true resurrection.ActionsMultiattack. The curst knight attacks three times with their greatsword.Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) slashing damage.Lance (Mounted Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d12+3) piercing damage. If the curst knight moves at least 20 feet straight towards the target before the attack, they deal an extra 13 (2d12) piercing damage, and the target makes a DC 14 Strength saving throw, falling prone on a failure. This attack is made at disadvantage against targets within 5 feet.Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d10+1) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage.Vile Curse (1/Day). The curst knight utters hellish words that scald the soul. Living creatures of the curst knight’s choice within 30 feet that can hear and understand them are magically cursed for 1 minute. A d4 is subtracted from attack rolls and saving throws made by a cursed creature. A creature immune to the frightened condition is immune to this curse.</blockquote>

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