Meld

Large Undead, Any Alignment
EE'24

A meld is formed from the faded souls of mortals—husks whose memories have been consumed by Dolurrh. These husks are typically harmless, but sometimes an aggressive nucleus gathers other husks, forming a deadly gestalt. In essence, a meld is a fusion of half-formed ghosts; it has an amorphous shape, with vague faces and limbs projecting from the mass, then being consumed once more. It makes no sound when it moves, but mortals around a meld hear cries of pain, pleading voices, and unearthly moans. Its Conflicted Soul action reflects it projecting some of its husks into a mortal body, temporarily overwhelming the victim with conflicting desires and visions.

Denizens of Dolurrh. Melds are born in Dolurrh, and prowl the endless caverns searching for scraps of memory. This hunger can draw them to Eberron through manifest zones or when planes are coterminous. A meld can also manifest when someone is raised from the dead, following in the wake of the soul being drawn back to the world of the living. Melds that enter Eberron rarely stray more than a mile from the point where they arrived.
Hunger for Memory. A meld has the barest traces of dozens of souls. It remembers scraps of the most powerful moments of its component husks, but it can't place these in any context. The meld yearns to consume other spirits, to feast on their memories and emotions. While highly unusual, it's possible for a powerful personality within a meld to exert temporary control; this might cause the meld to pursue a particular individual or draw it to a specific location. When a meld kills a living creature and consumes its spirit, the flood of memories can also shift the purpose of the meld, as it suddenly acts on the desires of its most recent victim. A meld loose in Eberron retains the spirits it consumes, preventing them from transitioning to Dolurrh. This prevents the spirit from fading; a character could hear the whispers of a trapped spirit within a meld, and a meld could hold the souls of people who died long ago. A side effect of this is that creatures slain by a meld cannot be resurrected or raised from the dead until the meld is destroyed.

AC 11

Initiative +1 (11)

HP 119 (14d10 + 42)

Speed 40 ft., Climb 40 ft.

STR

18 (+4)

Save +4

DEX

13 (+1)

Save +1

CON

16 (+3)

Save +3

INT

8 (-1)

Save -1

WIS

12 (+1)

Save +1

CHA

17 (+3)

Save +3

Skills Stealth +4

Resistances Acid, Bludgeoning, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Piercing, Slashing

Immunities Necrotic, Poison, Psychic; Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained

Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11

Languages Common plus one other language

CR 6

Traits

Ethereal Sight. The meld can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane and vice versa.

Incorporeal Movement. The meld can move through other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult Terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. The meld can also interact with any liquid surface as if it were a solid surface.

Actions

Multiattack. The meld makes four Withering Slam attacks. It can replace two attacks with a use of Conflicted Soul.

Withering Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) Necrotic damage.

Conflicted Soul. Charisma Saving Throw: DC 14, one creature the meld can see within 30 feet. Failure: The target suffers the effect of the Confusion spell (no Concentration required to maintain the spell).

Etherealness. The meld casts the Etherealness spell, requiring no spell components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability. The meld is visible on the Material Plane while on the Border Ethereal and vice versa, but it can't affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.