[Ghosts] Jeebes, Poltergeist of the Great School of Magic

Today begins a series of posts featuring ghosts created using Ghosts -- The Incorporeal Undead. The first is Jeebes, a presence haunting a school for magic-users...

JEEBES*

No. Enc.: 1 (1)

Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)

Movement: N/A

   Fly: 240’ (80’)

Armor Class: 4

Hit Dice: 1******

Hit Points: 7 hp

Attacks: 1 Touch

Damage: 1d4 plus Fear

Save: F1

Morale: 12

Intelligence: 8

XP: 28

Jeebes is a presence that haunts the Great School of Magic; there he causes grief for students and teachers alike, though his pranks on the teachers are far less dangerous than the pranks he plays on the students. Jeebes is the ghost of one of the nameless, faceless servants of a noble student at the School; decades ago the clumsy, foolish servant walked into the wrong room at the wrong time, interrupted a class while they were experimenting with several dangerous magical spells, and ended up causing a magical disaster that took his life and injured dozens.

He continues to haunt the students and teachers, believing them to be at fault for his death, even though it was his own foolishness. After several decades of threats of destruction from the teachers, his pranks don’t become deadly dangerous unless the students match his ferocity and stupidity; the teachers don’t mind this, as it weeds out the stupid and foolish, and cleaning up after the ghost’s messier pranks gives teachers something to assign to troublesome students.

Jeebes looks much like he did in life, an oafish sort of fellow with a big bald head, large potato-like nose, squinty little eyes, scrunched-up face, sneering lips, and jug-handle ears. His body looks like a potato sack, from which spindly arms writhe and wave; he has no legs, his torso simply ending in a wispy trail. His vocalizations are barely understandable, even when he tries to make words, as his rustic bumpkin accent is several generations out of date. He rarely takes time to talk as it is, as he prefers to announce his presence by upending statuary, flinging books and tomes out of hands, and causing clothing and accouterments to fly and flutter at random.

ORGANIZATION: Jeebes operates alone, though there are other ghosts at the Great School of Magic. The other ghosts consider him beneath their notice, because of his weak nature, poor intellect, and his lowly status in life. Living students who are bullies, upon first hearing of his existence, often try to join up with him, but quickly learn that they are his preferred targets, as he was bullied during life and likes to take vengeance on living bullies in death.

TREASURE: Jeebes has a small collection of rings; any ring lost or left alone for any time in the Great School of Magic ends up in his hidden trove, which can be found in a crack high in the Tottering Belfry. During life his master always told him to “work for that shiny brass ring,” and in death Jeebes believes that if he finds that brass ring, he might come back to life. There are more than two dozen rings total, worth almost 600 gp, plus a magical ring of protection +1 and a ring of wishes (with one wish remaining). Jeebes has no idea of the real value of the two magical rings, and does not even know they are magical. If his trove is discovered and looted, he will go on a rampage that could be dangerous even to the teachers and ends only when all of his rings are returned.

RANGE: Jeebes is limited in range, chained to the Great School of Magic and its grounds, able to wander up to 60’ from the edge of the grounds. He rarely leaves the buildings of the school itself, where he can remain active both night and day.

COMBAT: Jeebes prefers to use his Poltergeist ability, as it enables him to cause the most mischief. Another favorite is to use his Ectoplasmic Blast on students who are running late for class. Though he is dead, he still fears direct physical conflict, and usually remains a distance from anyone that might try to hit him. If threatened by any force that might harm him, he simply flies through a wall into the next room… after throwing curses and imprecations at any being so bold as to threaten him.

CHAINED GHOST [LOCATION] (L): This ghost must remain near the site of its death. It must remain within 60’ of the point at which it died per hit die of the ghost. The ghost has no connection to its earthly remains; casting an exorcism on its earthly remains has no effect on it. The exorcism spell can be cast on the site of the ghost’s death, with the same effect as though the spell had been cast on its earthly remains.

ECTOPLASMIC BLAST (*): This ghost can shoot a line of slimy, sticky ectoplasm; sometimes the line is from the hands, often it is vomited forth from the mouth. Range is 10’ plus 5’ per hit die in a line 5’ wide. All those caught within the line must make a saving throw versus Breath Attacks; failure indicates that they are struck by the line of ectoplasm and covered in the sticky slime.

Those covered in the sticky, slimy ectoplasm are effectively paralyzed for 1d6 rounds per hit die of the ghost; all they can do is writhe around and try to scrape the slime off. It is a form of mental compulsion, as the mind of the victim rebels at the unnatural stuff stuck to him. The time is halved for each companion who helps to scrape the slime off of the victim.

Ectoplasm created by an Ectoplasmic Blast is a lesser form of ectoplasm, not useful for magical purposes.

FAST GHOST (*): This ghost’s speed is twice as fast as normal when manifesting on the Material Plane, five times as fast when exclusively in the Near Ethereal, and ten times as fast when exclusively in the Deep Ethereal.

FEAR ATTACK (*): Any being struck by a presence must make a saving throw versus Spells or be affected by the fear spell.

Spawn Ghost: If a presence slays a creature while that creature is under the effect of its fear ability, the slain creature must make a saving throw versus Death or rise again 24 hours later as a presence.

INCORPOREAL (*): All incorporeal undead share the following abilities, immunities, and weaknesses: Bodiless, Ectoplasm, Flight, Powerless in Sunlight, and Weapon Immunity (see below for specifics for the presence).

Weapon Immunity: Presences suffer only half damage from non-magical weapons; all damage suffered from such weapons is fully regenerated at the end of the round in which the damage was dealt if the presence is not reduced to 0 hit points. If dealt a total amount of damage in one round from non-magical weapons equal to their hit points, a presence is disrupted, and disappears, seemingly destroyed. However, it merely retreats into the Deep Ethereal, where it regenerates 1 hit point of damage per round, returning again at the same spot when it reaches full hit points.

Presences suffer full damage from silver and magical weapons, and do not regenerate damage from such weapons.

POLTERGEIST (*): This ghost has the ability to telekinetically move physical objects in the Material Plane. The ghost can move a total weight of objects no greater than 50 pounds per hit die of the ghost. Unlike the telekinesis spell, these can move at a slow pace or a very rapid pace, as though they were being thrown in combat. The ranges at which objects may be grasped and the distance objects may be thrown are the same, 20’ plus 10’ per hit die of the ghost.

Poltergeists often just fling items randomly, not seeking to attack in combat. When they attack with this ability, they have little finesse, and thus usually fling all they can at a single target or bunch of targets as an area effect. Damage is 1d4 per hit die of the ghost, in a diameter to the area of 10’ per hit die of the ghost. All those caught in the area must make a saving throw versus Breath Attacks; success indicates they suffer only half damage.

For example, a 1 HD presence flings 50 pounds of detritus from a ruin – stones, bricks, shards of wooden beams, etc. – at a group of three adventurers. The area of effect is 10’ in diameter, and all are caught in the area; each must save versus Breath Attacks. Those who fail take 1d6 points of damage; those who succeed take half damage.

A Poltergeist can also select a single item – such as a weapon, an altar, or a statue, depending on the maximum weight it can lift – and fling it at a single target. In this case the target must make a saving throw versus Wands; failure indicates the target is hit by the object and suffers full damage, success avoids the attack entirely. Weapons do their normal damage, plus 1 point per hit die of the ghost. Other objects deal 1d6 points of damage per 50 pounds of weight or portion thereof.

A Poltergeist can also pick up an individual who weighs, together with its equipment, less than the maximum weight the Poltergeist can lift. The target gets a saving throw versus Spells; if the save succeeds, the Poltergeist cannot lift the target on this attack. If the save fails, the Poltergeist lifts the target and can do with it what it wishes; often, it throws it with great force against a nearby wall, dealing damage as though the target had fallen the same distance, plus 1 point of damage per hit die of the ghost.

A Poltergeist can use this ability as many times per day as it wishes to merely throw objects around. It may also attack with the ability as many times as it wishes provided the targets continue to fail their saving throws. However, every time a target succeeds a saving throw counts as one failure against the Poltergeist, which has a maximum number of failures equal to its hit dice. A group attack counts as a failure only if all the targets in the group succeed in their saving throws.

Once a Poltergeist has used up all its failures for the day, it no longer has the patience or willpower to continue to attack with this ability, and can only cast about with objects in blind rage.

UNDEAD (*): All undead creatures share the following abilities, immunities, and weaknesses: Infravision, Mindless, Poison Immunity, Silent as the Grave, and Susceptible to Turning.