Radiant Spirit

Seeing a radiant spirit is nearly impossible, because it shows itself as a dazzling burst of white light. The rare few who have looked past the glare describe a figure twisted with pain over the acts it is compelled to commit. It speaks whatever languages it knew in life, in a voice heavy with grief and regret.

Simply gazing at it forces a save vs. spell to avoid 1d4 rounds of blindness. It can also focus its light into pulses, once per round, striking every creature within 25 feet who looks straight at it; a save vs. paralysis prevents the effect, but failure blinds the victim for good. Survivors carry white scars on their pupils shaped like grinning human skulls, and suffer -2 Charisma for NPC reactions, since the people of the misty dread realm, the wandering fortune-tellers above all, shun anyone so marked.

Only +1 or better magic weapons injure it fully; silver weapons deal half damage. It can be turned as a ghost, and holy water splashed on it inflicts 2d4.

The spirit is bound within a mile of where it fell, often lingering in a ruin or other place tied to finishing its quest. It lets lawful good folk pass unhindered but obstructs other intruders, evil ones most of all, and attacks anyone of any alignment who desecrates or mocks its remains.

It can be freed only by completing the quest it died pursuing, and the dangers along the way usually dwarf the spirit itself. Success brings it back in its living form to thank its liberators before it fades into the beyond. Learning what the cause even was can be as hard as finishing it, but the payoff is triple: a soul released, treasure and experience along the way, and nearly always a blow against some greater evil. The spirit helps as best it can but may not answer direct questions about its quest, even under magical compulsion.

A paladin or lawful good cleric who dies pursuing a righteous cause may return as a radiant spirit 2d4 months later, trapped in the dread realm and tormented by its failure. The quest must be of supreme importance, typically one whose failure would bring about something as dire as the total collapse of the hero's faith.