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Waynhim

Appearance

"We thought it nothing when Holin, the bakers boy, disappeared. The search lasted a couple days, but his father was poor and there was better things for the city guards to worry on then a lost boy of a destitute baker. Things went on, as things do. The sun laid low on the horizon as winter deepened and the days became shorter. And while we went on with our lives, it was brooding... planing how to make its way amongst us, watching how we lived, and it must have been growing hungrier. Then, after Winterfest had passed and the merrymakers went there ways through the city streets in the torch lit evening of winter, then the murders began and fear stalked those who traveled the night streets. Night streets that no lamp could light bright enough to keep away the fear."
    The Waynhim is a wandering spirit that is desperate to experience the sensations of the living. To travel among the living is a delicious and addicting experience to a Waynhim, reminiscent of its past life. They are attracted to cities where they prey upon the homeless and solitary. They lurk about mortuaries hoping for fresh corpses to take possession of, but what they really wish for is to blend into society and this can only be done by possessing bodies of those which they have murdered.
    Waynhim also seek confirmation of their existance. Once they have possessed a body it is not enough for one to walk among the living. In possession of a corporeal body, they seek to spread fear and rumor by leaving a trail of gruesome murders and then hearing of these exploits spoken of through the ears of the body they possess. Waynhim draw strength from this and are able to remain in possession of the body they inhabit by feeding on the confirmation that the body they possess is able to interact with the world about them.
    The Waynhim's appearance is an enigma to most but its victims who see it as one their night-terrors, stalking them just out of sight through the darkest streets where they already dread to travel. Those who claim to have seen it speak of a cloud of gray mist that pours from the air above, gnarled claws and frightful, tortured faces of its previous victims gasp and grasp from its depths.

Combat

A bodiless Waynhim seeks out creatures who are alone and vulnerable to attack and take possession of. They are cautious creatures and fearful of any final demise, fleeing from dangerous combat to preserve themselves. A Waynhim in possession of a corpse walks about during the day
    Corpse Possession (Su): A Waynhim can possess the corpse of a creature that it has slain with its Intelligence drain attack. Possessed corpses appear as they did in life, allowing the Waynhim to masquerade as a living creature. A Waynhim that possesses a body gains the bodies physical ability scores and enhances them, increasing the bodies Strength by +4. The possessed body is essentially an animated object, having no constitution score. The Waynhim has full control over the body, experiences sensations through the body as though it lived (touch, smells, sounds), and can do things such as speak.
    A Waynhim gains an additional +4 turning resistance bonus when possessing a body. Further, its evil nature is concealed from magic which detects alignment, allowing the Waynhim to make a Will save (DC equal to effective spell level + 10 + relevant ability score modifier) to resist being detected. The Waynhim has access to some of the knowledge that the corpse had in life and may use the corpses previous skills and knowledge in place of its own with a 20% success rate.
    The Hit Dice of a corpse are separate from those of a Waynhim and damage inflicted to the possessed corpse does not count against the Waynhim's hit point total. However, the corpse does begin to decay, losing a number of hit points each day equal to its Hit Dice. When a corpse reaches 0 hit points it is destroyed, crumbling into dust, and the Waynhim is returned to its incorporeal form. A Waynhim can slow the destruction of the corpse by slaying creatures and using the energy of their fear to sustain themselves. On any day in which a Waynhim commits a murder, the corpse that it possesses does not decay. Cure spells and other healing spells have no effect on a corpse and harm the Waynhim as though cast upon its incorporeal form. The Waynhim can attempt a saving throw against the healing spell, as is normal for undead.
    A possessed corpse is not a perfect disguise. Besides eventually rotting away, it does not breathe (except to draw breath to speak), and its demeanor can be halting or unsure if the possessing spirit is attempting to perform some action that it is not familiar with. It can eat, but the corpse body cannot process the food, and so it eats sparingly, vomiting up food when it believes itself to be unseen. It does not need to sleep and is loathe to pretend to do so since it desires to spend every moment it can interacting with the world about it, but it will pretend to do so for at little while if necessary to maintain its cover. Creatures witnessing the possessed corpse may (at the DM's discretion) be allowed a Sense Motive check, opposed by the Waynhim's Bluff skill, to discern that there is something unusual about the creature.
    A Waynhim can voluntarily leave the body it is in and will do so if the corpse has badly decayed and an opportunity presents itself to easily take another. Casting raise dead or magically bringing back the corpse a Waynhim possesses back to life will evict it from a corpse. Likewise, its spirit can be forced out of a body through other conventional means of that rid a body of its possessor, such as an Exorcism spell.
    Frightful Presence (Ex): A Waynhim's vicious attacks strikes fear into the hearts of all who witness it. All creatures within 30 feet who witness the Waynhim must make a Will save (DC 18) or become frightened and flee for 5d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
    Intelligence Drain (Su): Intelligent creatures hit by a Waynhim's incorporeal touch attack must succeed on a DC 18 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Intelligence drain. The save DC is Charisma-based. On each such successful attack the Waynhim gains 5 temporary hit points. A victim reduced to a 0 Intelligence by a Waynhim's touch is slain, their brain ceasing to function, and their corpse becomes vulnerable to the Waynhim's corpse possession ability.
    Paralyzation (Su): Those hit by a Waynhim's incorporeal touch must succeed on a DC 18 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4+1 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.
    Incorporeal Traits: Can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic weapons, or magic, with a 50% chance to ignore damage from a corporeal source. Can pass through solid objects at will, and own attacks pass through armor. Always moves silently.
    Undead Traits: Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects. Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points of less, it is immediately destroyed. Undead do not breath, eat, or sleep.

Habitat/Society

The Waynhim wants nothing more then to be a part of the living world, thus it conducts its terrible acts to gain the energies necessary to maintain its facade. Waynhim never act in concert, finding the presence of each other a detestable reminder of what they are. Waynhim avoid the presence of other undead for the same reason. They prefer cities located in non-equatorial regions or mountainous climates because of the shorter spans of daylight, thus making it easier to feed upon the populace. Waynhim try to place the corpses of their victims in places where they will be easily found and viewed by many, gaining some small power from the fear and revulsion of those who see its work. An incorporeal makes its lair in the walls of dark alley ways. A Waynhim in possession of a badly decayed corpse might hide in the rafters of abandoned buildings or other dark places where it is unlikely to be discovered.

Ecology

The Waynhim is undead, existing outside of the social circles it wants to be a part of. Despite being able to walk among the living, Waynhim do not hold jobs, they rarely eat, and they are cautious with how they interact with the mortals that move around them so as not to reveal themselves.