Grimhost
- Armor Class
- 2 [17] (m)
- Hit Dice
- 5
- Attacks
- Weapon (1d6)
- Special
- magic weapons to hit, disease, former-life abilities, dispel magic/evil, turns undead as 8th-level Cleric, invisibility/illusion, doom omen, immune to sleep/charm/hold
- Move
- 12
- HDE/XP
- 7/600
Description
The first individual buried in a temple or a cemetery will sometimes rise up as its ghostly protector. To avoid this fate, a dog is often buried first. A Grimhost will lurk invisibly and silently. It might chose to appear as the living person it once was to gain information or assistance, or to issue a warning. It will always appear as a ghostly shade to protect their charge.
A grimhost will retain the abilities it had in its former life, however a former Magic-user will only be able to cast spells if a spellbook is left available for it to use. A grimhost's weapon is a manifestation of its essence and is considered a magical weapon, but it does not exist on its own.
A grimhost can see invisible beings and magic auras. It can Cure (Cause) Light Wounds, Cure (Cause) Disease, and Neutralize Poison by laying of hands. Magical weapons are required to harm a grimhost, and it is immune to charm, hold, Sleep, and illusion spells. A grimhost can cast Dispel Magic and Dispel Chaos (Law) (Chaos only), and Turn undead as an 8th-level Cleric without the need for a holy symbol. Even though it is undead, a grimhost cannot be Turned itself.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.