# Deathshrieker >[!rimg]+ > ![[Placeholder2.png]] *This horrible apparition floats above the ground, its skeletal face twisted in horrible pain while it screams in a terrifying cacophony that sounds like the last shrieks of the dying.* <div class="grid-container"><div class="MON">Deathshrieker</div> <div class="CR">CR 15 (51,200 XP)</div> <div class="SOU">Monster Manual 3</div> <div class="SYS">Dungeons & Dragons 3.5</div></div> CE Medium Undead (incorporeal) **Init** +11 **Senses** darkvision 60 ft.; **Perception** +6 **Aura** dispair (30 ft., DC 24 Will, paralyzed for 1d4 rounds) #### defense **AC** 29, 29 touch, 22 flat-footed (+5 deflection, +7 Dex, +7 profane) **hp** 189 (18d8+108) **Fort** +13, **Refl** +13, **Will** +15 **Feint** 25, **Demoralize** 30 **Defensive Abilities** death's aegis, incorporeal **Immune** undead traits **Weakness** silence vulnerability #### offense **Speed** fly 40 ft. (good) **Melee** 2 incorporeal touch +20 (1d4 Cha drain) **Space** 5 ft., **Reach** 5 ft. **Special Attacks** death throes, disruptive screaming, scream of the dying #### statistics **Str** —, **Dex** 25, **Con** —, **Int** 8, **Wis** 14, **Cha** 20 **BAB** +13, **CMB** +20, **CMD** 42, **TA** +13, **RTA** +20 **Feats** [[Ability Focus]] (scream of the dying), [[Alertness]], [[Combat Reflexes]], [[Dodge]], [[Great Fortitude]], [[Improved Initiative]], [[Toughness]], [[Iron Will]], [[Lightning Reflexes]] **Skills** Fly +32, Intimidate +26, Perception +6, Stealth +28 **Languages** Common, Necril #### special abilities ### Charisma Drain (Su) Whenever it drains Charisma, the deathshrieker heals 5 points of damage, gaining any excess as temporary hit points. ### Death Throes (Su) When a deathshrieker is reduced to 0 hit points, it releases a final, devastating shriek. All living creatures within a 300-foot spread must succeed on a DC 24 Will save or gain 1d4 negative levels. This is a sonic effect. This effect is not blocked by magical silence, but creatures that cannot hear or are under the effect of a silence spell gain a +4 bonus on their Will saves. The save DC is Charisma-based. ### Death's Aegis (Ex) A deahtshrieker gains a +1 profane bonus to AC for every 3 Hit Dice it possesses. ### Despair (Su) All creatures within a 30-foot radius that see a deathshrieker must succeed on a DC 24 Will save or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by the same deathshrieker's despair ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based. ### Disruptive Screaming (Ex) Spellcasters who attempt to cast spells with a verbal component while within 300 feet of a deathshreiker is using its Scream of the Dying ability must make a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level) or the spell is wasted. This effect is not blocked by magical silence, but creatures that cannot hear or are under the effect of a silence spell gain a +4 bonus on their Concentration check. ### Scream of the Dying (Su) Once per day, as a full-round action, a deathshrieker can release a soul-numbing scream that affects all living creatures within a 30-foot centered on the shrieker, or within a 60-foot cone extending from the deathshrieker. This effect can be maintained for two additional rounds if the deathshreiker maintains the effect as a standard action each round, but once started, the shape cannot be changed. Creatures caught in this area must succeed at a DC 26 Will save or suffer the effects described below. The effects are cumulative and concurrent: * Round 1: The creature is deafened for 1d4 rounds. * Round 2: The creature is stunned for 1d3 rounds. * Round 3: The creature suffers the effects of _insanity_. This is a sonic effect. This effect is not blocked by magical silence, but creatures that cannot hear or are under the effect of a silence spell gain a +4 bonus on their Will saves. The save DC is Charisma-based. ### Silence Vulnerability (Ex) Deathshriekers cannot abide silence and are harmed by it. To even enter into the radius of a silence spell, a deathshrieker must make a Will save (DC 12 + caster level). Each round that a deathshrieker remains within the area of a silence spell, it takes 1d10 points of damage (Will save for half). #### tactics A deathshrieker charges headlong into combat, using its despair ability to root creatures in place before striking with their incorporeal touch. A deathshrieker will wait until it can catch as many creatures as possible in the area of its scream of the dying ability. If it is close to being destroyed, a deathshrieker will stay in the thick of combat, using its death rattle ability to cause a retributive strike against the living. #### ecology **Terrain** Any **Organization** Solitary **Treasure** None **Advancement** 19–30 HD (Medium) The deathshrieker is an undead spirit that embodies the horrible cries and shrieks of the dying as they utter their last gasps of life. It roams lonely and forgotten battlefi elds, charnel houses, or sites of terrible plagues, fi lling the air with its mournful and soul-sapping screams. It relives the fi nal moments of those who have died from slow, agonizing deaths due to violence, disease, or some other tragedy. Typically, the larger the death and despair of an area, the larger the deathshrieker, although relatively small areas that hosted truly despicable acts of violence can bring one into being as well. Most deathshriekers haunt a single location, although some wander aimlessly on lonely and desolate roads or other forbidding terrain. They are angry, vengeful spirits that endlessly babble the final words of those who have died. They seek to kill living beings just to hear their final scream. The haunt of a deathshrieker is noted for odd, disturbing noises and the occasional whisper of the dead crying out in pain. These noises can persist for years even if the deathshrieker is destroyed. A deathshrieker is 5 to 6 feet tall and weightless.