Wyrmwraith

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now
something far less noble.

Wyrmwraith CR 17

XP 102,400
CE Gargantuan undead (incorporeal)
Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +38; Aura unnatural aura

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 31, flat-footed 18 (+6 deflection, +12 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 profane, �4
size)
hp 252 (24d8+144)
Fort +14, Ref +20, Will +19
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, positive energy
transference; Immune undead traits
Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness

OFFENSE

Speed fly 80 ft. (perfect)

Melee incorporeal bite +27 (4d6 plus energy drain), 2 incorporeal claws +27 (2d8
plus divine dispelling), 2 incorporeal wings +24 (2d6), incorporeal tail slap +24
(2d8)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with incorporeal bite)
Special Attacks breath weapon (60-ft. cone, 20d6 negative energy and 1 negative
level, Reflex DC 22 half damage, usable every 1d4 rounds), create spawn,
ectoplasmic shift, energy drain (2 levels, DC 28)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 24th; concentration +30)

At will�animate dead, command undead (DC 18), desecrate, detect undead, protection
from good
5/day�create undead, control undead (DC 23), unhallow, unholy blight (DC 20)
3/day�create greater undead, quickened finger of death (DC 23), waves of exhaustion
1/day�energy drain (DC 25), soul bind (DC 25)

STATISTICS

Str �, Dex 34, Con �, Int 20, Wis 21, Cha 22

Base Atk +18; CMB +34; CMD 57 (61 vs. trip)
Feats Acrobatic, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Initiative, Multiattack,
Quicken Spell-Like Ability (finger of death), Skill Focus (Intimidate), Skill Focus
(Perception), Stealthy, Weapon Focus (incorporeal bite), Weapon Focus (incorporeal
claw)
Skills Acrobatics +40, Escape Artist +14, Fly +45, Intimidate +39, Knowledge
(arcana) +20, Knowledge (planes) +17, Knowledge (religion) +32, Perception +38,
Sense Motive +32, Stealth +31, Survival +29
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal
SQ phase lurch

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Create Spawn (Su)

Any humanoids slain by a wyrmwraith become dread wraiths in 1d4 rounds. Spawn are
under the command of the wyrmwraith that created them and remain enslaved until its
death, at which point they become free-willed dread wraiths. They don�t possess any
of the abilities they had in life.
Divine Dispelling (Su)

When a wyrmwraith strikes a creature with one of its claws, that creature is also
affected by a targeted greater dispel magic (CL 20th) that can dispel only divine
spells.
Ectoplasmic Shift (Su)

A wyrmwraith can push through the ectoplasmic veil to temporarily assume a physical
form made of ectoplasm. As a swift action, the wyrmwraith can become corporeal for
1d4 rounds. It can return to its incorporeal form as a free action. Once its
ectoplasmic form�s duration ends, the wyrmwraith can�t assume that form again for
1d4 rounds. While in ectoplasmic form, the wyrmwraith loses the incorporeal ability
(including its deflection bonus to AC) and gains a +16 natural armor bonus to AC,
DR 15/�, a Strength score equal to its Dexterity score, and the phase lurch
ability.

The AC for a typical wyrmwraith in ectoplasmic form is 41.

When in ectoplasmic form, its attacks are Melee bite +27 (4d6+18 plus energy
drain), 2 claws +27 (2d8+12 plus divine dispelling), 2 wings +24 (2d6+6), tail slap
+24 (2d8+18).
Phase Lurch (Su)

A wyrmwraith in ectoplasmic form can pass through walls or material obstacles. It

must begin and end its turn outside whatever wall or obstacle it�s moving through.
It can�t move through corporeal creatures with this ability, and its movement speed
is halved while moving through a wall or obstacle. Any surface it moves through is
coated with a thin, silvery mucus that lingers for 1 minute.
Positive Energy Transference (Su)

Whenever a wyrmwraith succeeds at a saving throw to resist positive energy damage

but still suffers damage, the wyrmwraith can immediately transfer that damage to
any dread wraith spawn of its choice with 120 feet that it controls. The wyrmwraith
takes any excess damage beyond the spawn�s hit points. Even if the wyrmwraith has
no spawn under its control, when it succeeds at its save against a positive energy
effect that normally deals half damage on a successful save, it instead takes one
quarter damage.

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2�4 dread wraiths)
Treasure double

Wyrmwraiths arise from the souls of powerful dragons who refuse to accept death or
have an irrational fear of moving on to an afterlife. No longer concerned with
amassing wealth and power, wyrmwraiths instead brood with an unrelenting hatred of
all living things. They hate other dragons above all else, seeing the existence of
those living creatures as a mockery of their own.

Wyrmwraiths typically haunt their former lairs or some other location where they
can hide from the sunlight. They are drawn toward ancient ruins, forgotten
catacombs, and other places associated with death. Litter, detritus and bones lie
heaped in areas controlled by a wyrmwraith instead of the coins and gems. In the
rare instances when a wyrmwraith is away from its den, the malice of its presence
still lingers palpably in the cold air. Still displaying the draconic instinct to
protect their homes from would-be thieves, wyrmwraiths will often create and leave
behind undead guardians.
Wyrmwraiths slay those who venture near their lairs, surrounding themselves with
their newly created dread wraiths and any other undead they can create or control,
carving out small fiefdoms populated by undead servitors. They send their minions
to collect anything and anyone with knowledge or power they believe can aid them in
their dark endeavors. Captured individuals who please the wyrmwraith can expect to
be reborn as powerful undead while those that fail wallow in eternal torment as
dread wraiths.

On rare occasions throughout history, powerful necromancers or dark cults have

managed to entice or coerce a wyrmwraith into an alliance. These collaborations are
fleeting, as wyrmwraiths still retain a twisted shadow of their draconic pride,
seeing all other creatures as beneath them. Unless compelled to work with others, a
wyrmwraith turns on its allies once they are no longer useful to it.

Finding a way to gain a wyrmwraith�s attention is difficult because it is no longer

interested in wealth or other mundane material possessions. Instead, wyrmwraiths
seek knowledge or items to reverse or improve their undead condition. Their own
loathing of what they have become is the only thing as strong as their hatred of
the living. Yet, despite their predicament, they still fear ultimate death.

A wyrmwraith blights the land with its very presence, a slowly spreading stain
tainting anything it touches. Undead activity inevitably increases in any area a
wyrmwraith inhabits. Unless a wyrmwraith is destroyed, its territory often becomes
a lifeless wasteland for miles.

Wyrmwraiths are very dangerous opponents in combat. They prefer to soften up

enemies with their breath weapon and spells before closing in for melee.
Wyrmwraiths target clerics, paladins, and other spellcasters wielding divine magic,
both because they know divine magic possesses the greatest threat to them and
because they see it as a chance to strike back against the gods for their accursed
state.

Wyrmwraiths care little about how many of their undead minions are destroyed in
combat. They are merely pawns to the wyrmwraiths, who have the means at their
disposal to create more.

Wyrmwraiths appear as skeletal, ghostly versions of their former selves, their

features warped by malice. No matter the size they once possessed, wyrmwraiths
measure roughly 50 ft. from snout to tail. Unencumbered by flesh, they move with a
silent, effortless, and deadly grace. Even wyrmwraiths� minds become changed in
undeath. Already long-lived creatures when they were dragons, some wyrmwraiths have
spent an even longer time as undead.

Brooding and nurturing brutal hatred for the living for so long drives these
wyrmwraiths insane, causing them to become reckless�or self-destructive�and to
venture out into the night to rain down destruction on a nearby settlement or even
an entire kingdom, knowing that they will eventually be hunted down and destroyed.