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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8803584" data-attributes="member: 6915329">I wish it were later in the month, because up next is an undead, and more specifically, an undead with folkloric roots—the ankou, of Breton, Cornwall, and Wales. The ankou is a psychopomp—appearance-wise, it’s your standard Grim Reaper, plus a black cart pulled by black horses—and according to some myths, is the very first person to die in a year and therefore has to escort the soul of everyone else who dies that year to the afterlife. Some myths say that every parish has its own ankou, which is actually kind of an interesting way to divvy up the workload.Although as is typical for D&D, the monster has little to do with the actual myth. Here, it’s was a “miserly farmer or peasant in life” who killed their own family out of greed or let them die of hunger rather than share food with them and now is doomed to collect souls for... presumably its masters, who dwell in Tartarus/Carceri. At least that's where it goes when its banished. I guess miserly and murderous nobles and merchant-class individuals produce other types of undead.[ATTACH=full]264284[/ATTACH]Art by Tom BaxaAnkouThe Dragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #162Created by Spike Y. JonesAnkou are undead who were so miserly in life that they allowed people to die rather than share even a fraction of their wealth. In death, they have been cursed with unlife and a hunger for lifeforce—but they can only return to the Material to gather souls for their new fiendish masters and cannot take any for themselves.Reapers. Ankou look much like the classical image of the Grim Reaper, and may indeed be the genesis of that image. They are emaciated and clad in dark clothes, usually with a cloak or broad-brimmed hat that hides their fiery eyes, and wielding a farmer’s scythe. They are always followed by an invisible cart pulled by an equally invisible beast of burden, usually a horse, mule, or ox. It seems that the ankou’s station in life determines the quality of the animal. To those who can see invisible things, the cart is run-down and the animal is so thin and ill-looking as to be nearly dead. Although it can’t be seen or touched by living beings, the cart’s creaking and the animal’s clopping hooves can be easily heard, even from a distance.Soul-Takers. Ankou are allowed to roam the Material only at night. Any corpses they find or make are hauled into the cart. At dawn the ankou and its cart are pulled back to the Lower Planes. Perhaps fortunately, living creatures and objects other than corpses can’t be placed in the cart or use it to travel to the underworld. When an ankou is finally slain, its and its cart are pulled into the Lower Planes, screaming as they go.Legends and LoreWith an Arcana or Religion check, the characters can learn the following:DC 15. These undead are created from the souls of beings whose greed led to other creature’s death. In undeath, ankou are charged with gathering souls for the underworld.DC 20. Ankou are filled with hatred but have no true memory; if it fails to kill a target before dawn banishes it back to the Lower Planes, it won’t try to pursue that target the next night.Ankou EncountersTerrain: forest, grassland, ruin, settlementCR 3-4 Ankou.Signs1-2. The sound of a creaking, ox-drawn cart.3. A line of footprints that stop abruptly; nearby are wheel ruts that fade to nothingness.4. Blazing red eyes in the dark.AnkouMedium undeadChallenge 4 (1,100 XP)AC 15 (natural armor)HP 68 (8d8+32; bloodied 34)Speed 20 ft.STR 22 (+7) DEX 10 (+0) CON 18 (+4)INT 12 (+1) WIS 15 (+2) CHA 17 (+3)Proficiency +2Maneuver DC 17Skills Perception +5 (+1d4)Damage Resistances cold, fireDamage Immunities necrotic, poisonCondition Immunities charmed, fatigue, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, unconscious, strifeSenses darkvision 60 ft., truesight 10 ft., passive Perception 18Languages the languages it knew in life plus either Abyssal or InfernalAnkou Weaknesses. Neither the ankou or its cart can cross running water. If the amkou starts its turn in sunlight, it is transported back to its home lower plane. It can’t return to the Material Plane until the next dusk at the place from which it was banished. If dispel evil and good is cast on the cart, both the cart and the ankou are banished as if in sunlight.Eldritch Cart. Difficult terrain doesn’t impede the movement of either the ankou or its cart and beast of burden.Turn Resistance. The ankou has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.Undead Nature. The ankou doesn’t require air, sustenance, or sleep.Unearthly Strength. The ankou’s weapon attacks deal an extra die of damage (included below).ActionsScythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d10+7) necrotic damage. If the ankou scores a critical hit, the target takes a level of fatigue.Bonus ActionsFrightening Gaze (Gaze, Recharge 5-6). The ankou targets one creature it can see within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this ankou’s gaze for the next 24 hours.Scythe. The ankou makes a scythe attack.Summon Cart. The ankou summons its cart, which appears in an empty space within 30 feet of it.ReactionsParry. If the ankou is wielding a melee weapon and can see its attack, it adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it.CombatThe ankou rarely challenges groups of travelers, unless they seem weak.The Cart of The DeadThe ankou’s cart is an extension of the ankou, not separate objects. It travels at a pace of 30 feet and the ankou can’t move more than 50 feet away from it. The cart and the beast that pulls it are invisible and intangible, but not inaudible, and neither of them can affect anything or take actions or be affected by attacks or magical effects. An inanimate object placed in the cart becomes invisible and intangible as well.If the ankou places the corpse of a humanoid that has been dead for 10 minutes or less and the corpse remains in the cart until dawn, the corpse is destroyed and the soul is transferred to one of the lower planes. If the ankou is slain before then, the corpse reappears. The ankou can’t place live humanoids in the cart. While the corpse is trapped in the cart, any attempt to bring it back to life has only a 50% chance of working.</blockquote>

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