Victims of Circumstance
"I do not care that they are women and children, Athulbon! These, these traitors have been harboring a filthy bloodsucker! And this wench has the gall to refer to It as her husband. The recent deaths must be this abominations doing! Stop stalling and be done with it already! Perhaps the death of his livestock will make him slink back into the Empire..." - Inquisitor Julius Mourne
These Violent Delights. The echoes of women who have met violent ends usually cannot pass to Elysium, for the grudges they hold in life have kept them firmly tethered to the world. Like a revenant, they cannot pass to the beyond until they get their vengeance. Sadly, most never do, and while their tether to the living world remains, their sense of self eventually corrodes until nothing of who they were remains: except, their seething wrath. Tales of beautiful women in the moonlight have been told, but they all end the same way: with screaming and then silence, only for a wandering soul to find the deceased victim days later.
Have Violent Ends. Most sightings of a Bound Widow are usually the same; they are described as being fairly beautiful, dressed most of the time in tattered and worn clothing. Some bear their apparent wounds from their death, while others seem almost pristine in appearance until you look closely enough. Many however, are usually bound in some manner, but most are seen with bound arms. Reports indicate that most do not see this
The Silver Lady Fanart by Okomearo
apparition, but hear its sobbing first. And in that case it is usually too late for them to flee, for the Widow is upon them.
Free From Bondage. When a Bound Widow is able to seek its vengeance, the soul passes as soon as the ghost clarifies that the target of her abuse has finally perished. However, in some cases, there are stories of wandering clergymen and priests who have been able to exorcist these widows to allow them to pass. There have heated debates on whether or not such a forced departing to the beyond is morally just after the trauma they had endured, but in most cases is seen as a necessary precaution so that wanderers aren't needlessly killed.
A Vicious Cycle. As long as a man can kill another, there will be grudges all throughout history. And in these grudges, there will be unneeded casualties. Brigands will pillage and kill, and in the process, they may end up creating the evil that will undo them. Of course, for every dead man, there is a woman, or a child. Unless man learns to be at peace with his own, more of these vengeful spirits will return to seek their justice. Just hope those you fell do not hold such powerful grudges, or perhaps you be on the end of a knife one night.
The Silver Lady Fanart by CR-C90U3
Bound Widow
Medium undead, neutral evil
- Armor Class 14
- Hit Points 75 (10d8 + 30)
- Speed 0 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (-2) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 18 (+4)
- Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
- Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
- Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
- Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 13
- Languages the languages she knew in life
- Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Incorporeal Movement. The bound widow can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. She takes 5 (1d10) force damage if she ends her turn inside an object.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the bound widow has disadvantage on attack rolls.
They Can't See Me. If a creature is further than 20 feet away from the bound widow, she is considered to be invisible to that creature.
Desperate Flurry. When the bound widow hits with an attack on her turn, she can immediately make another attack, up to 3 in total. The bound widow can't move between attacks made with this trait, and this trait doesn't activate on opportunity attacks.
Actions
Frenzied Stab. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage plus 13 (3d8) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 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.
Variant: Decapitated Widow. Some widows did not pass due to a slit throat, but instead were decapitated. These widows are easily discernible, as they carry their own heads in their bound arms. A decapitated widow cannot make Frenzied stab attacks, but instead gains an alternative action:
Screech. The Decapitated Widow lifts her severed head up, letting loose an ear piercing shriek. Each creature that isn't undead within a 30-foot radius of the Decapitated Widow must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. A creature takes 22 (5d8) psychic damage on a failed save, or half on a successful one. In addition, on a failed save, a creature is paralyzed for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns and on a successful save, a creature is immune to the paralyzed condition from this action for 24 hours.
Credits
- Made using GM Binder.
- Page stains by /u/flamableconcrete
- Bound Widow Concept by FromSoftware
- Created and edited by u/Macekill.