A spook is an apparition that is spontaneously created when strong emotions manifest during the death of a human being. Spooks are ethereal creatures. They are unintelligent beings, which shape themselves after the creatures whose emotions they picked up.

Thus, most spooks look like dead or dying people, though they are slightly transparent, and they are often confused with ghosts. When they attack, their body contorts gruesomely, their eyes bulge, their teeth elongate to fangs, and their hands become wicked claws.

Nobody has been able to communicate with a spook, and those who try telepathic contact should make a madness check as they contact the unintelligible, alien mind.

Combat: A spook attacks first by twisting their adopted shape into a horrible visage. Together with their unnatural aura, this causes fear into everyone who looks upon the spook. Those who fail a save vs. spell will be paralyzed of horror, unable to move for 1d4 rounds.

In the round after evoking its fear aura, the spook turns on the unmoving victim, trying to attack it against the victim’s natural Armor Class. If it hits, it wraps its arms around its victim and starts draining the person of his emotions. While this does not initially cause damage, the draining leaves the victim lethargic for 1d4 days, as if affected by a slow spell. The victim’s fear vanishes, though the horror of the experience is still grafted into their minds. In addition, the draining is a very strenuous experience, and the victim needs to save vs. death magic or temporarily lose one point of Constitution. Lost Constitution is regained at the rate of one point every week.

Regardless whether the save is made, the spook then breaks of its attack, ready to feed on the next victim. It will ignore its earlier meal until the next time they meet. If no other persons are available, it will simply leave.

A spook partly exists in the border ethereal, and therefor can only be hit by weapons of +2 enchantment or higher. If the attacker is on the ethereal plane, however, any weapon will do, and the Armor Class of the Spook is lowered to 10.

Spooks cannot be turned, and charm and mind-affecting spells do not have effect on them. They are not undead, and thus cannot be affected by holy water or spells specifically designed for undead. On the other hand, cold-based spells do have normal effect, and as spooks are ethereal, a protection from evil will hold them at bay.

Habitat/Society: Spooks are creatures who attack those emitting the strongest emotions. They are attracted by fear, hate, lust, or love. Spooks ignore anyone who does not possess these emotions, so mindless undead and the phlegmatic may wander undisturbed. Indeed, not a few castles seem to have a house spook, to which the inhabitants are accustomed to such a degree that the spook does not prove much of a threat.

Otherwise, spooks often live in abandoned homes and sites, as their attacks will drive off any eager inhabitants. This gives rise to a lot of tales of haunted sites throughout the land.

Ecology: Spooks seem to live off of emotions. They like strong feelings the best, but spooks are able to live for centuries without nourishment, though some sages speculate that, in this case, they simply feed off the land.

Spooks seem to be a natural phenomenon from the ethereal plane. They exist primarily in Ravenloft, but are occasionally encountered on the Prime Material.

By Liederick