Darkhood

The darkhood, also known as a rorphyr, is a see-through gray shape in a hooded robe whose face is nothing but shadow. It never speaks, though learned folk believe it can follow a number of human and demihuman languages. It rarely does much physical harm; its danger lies in leaving a party scattered, drained and easy pickings for other monsters.

Anyone who looks at a darkhood must roll 1d20 and score higher than their Intelligence, since sharp, imaginative minds are the most vulnerable. Characters who have lately lived through something especially harrowing may take a penalty of 1 to 3 on the roll at the DM's discretion. Success shows only an empty cowl. Failure fills the hood with the character's own nightmares, and the victim runs flat out for 1d4+2 rounds, veering in a random direction each round.

That flight is draining. Each round of running requires a save vs. spell; a failure costs 1d3 points of Constitution, along with any hit points lost from a reduced Constitution bonus. A character whose Constitution falls below 3 passes out until it climbs back to 3 or higher. Lost points return at 1 per turn. A character who has recovered from a darkhood's terror cannot be frightened by that same creature again for 24 hours.

Its chilling touch deals 1d4 damage and, unless the victim saves vs. spell, causes the same panic as the vision in its hood. It can be struck only by weapons of +1 or better and, like other undead, ignores sleep, charm, hold, cold and poison. Priests turn it as a vampire.

The darkhood leaves fallen victims alone. Once everyone has collapsed, shaken off the fear or escaped its ground, it stops and drifts back to its lair, satisfied.

Each darkhood is bound to a small patch of ground, perhaps part of a crypt, a dungeon or a deserted village, and cannot leave it. Inside those bounds it passes through walls, floors and ceilings freely and appears without warning. It uses this to cut off fleeing victims, slipping unseen through stone to emerge in front of them and keep them running in circles within its haunt until fear drops them.

These spirits are loners; one is the rule, and never more than two share a territory. Tales say they are the restless souls of people who died in extreme terror, especially terror of dying. Feeding on the fear of thinking creatures sustains the bond that holds them to their haunt. No one has managed to talk with or properly study one, so the legends remain unproven.

Some are tied so tightly to their place that no magic can banish, dispel or disperse them. Defeated in battle, such a darkhood simply re-forms later and returns. Usually a particular cause lies behind these hauntings, and uncovering it and taking the right steps can lay the creature to rest for good.