oh forgot that, yes, sounds good.
Updated the
Cairn Shadowraith Working Draft.
Okay, I think that's the first section done so moving on to
Actions.
The last
D&D Beyond Rough Draft posted here has a
Multiattack with "makes two melee or ranged attacks" which I'm not keen on, since that's two Soul Drain or Doomball attacks per round, each of which could inflict two levels on exhaustion.
The more powerful
Cairn Wight can only make one exhaustion-inflicting attack per round when multiattacking, and only as a melee attack, as its Multiattack is "The cairn wight makes two skull mace attacks or two rock attacks. It can use its Soul Drain in place of one skull mace attack."
I'd rather it be more like the Wight version. I'm fine it having an exhaustion-inflicting attack that works at range like
Doomball but think it should only be able to use it once per round like the Cairn Wight with its
Death Grip or
Soul Drain.
Maybe make its equivalent of
Soul Drain an attack that works in melee and at range?
So something like the following, names to be determined:
Multiattack. The cairn shadowraith makes two [death fist?] attacks or two [phantom boulder?] attacks. It can use its [Doom Strike?] in place of one attack.
Death Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one creature. Hit: ## (#d# + #) bludgeoning damage plus ## (#d# + #) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC ## Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
Doom Strike. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft. or range 60/240, one creature. Hit: ## (#d# + #) psychic damage plus ## (#d# + #) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC ## Constitution saving throw or suffer 1 level of exhaustion. If the target fails the saving throw by 5 points or more, it suffers an additional level of exhaustion. This exhaustion remains until it is healed magically: a lesser restoration can remove one level of exhaustion from a victim with two or fewer levels, a greater restoration will remove three levels of exhaustion. The target dies if it suffers 6 levels or exhaustion.
Phantom Boulder. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 60/240 ft., one creature. Hit: ## (#d# + #) psychic damage plus ## (#d# + #) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC ## Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
Finally, it looks very cluttered giving the Shadowraith three different actions that create Spectres, especially when it has an Action whose sole purpose is creating a Spectre.
I'd be inclined to cut out the "A humanoid or giant slain by this attack rises 24 hours later as a specter under the cairn wight's control" and give it
Create Specter.
It'd be a lot simpler.