Dybbuk (Di-Buhk)
Appearance
Translucent and undefined, a Dybbuk's true form is rarely seen as it floats silently through the air. Even when unseen, their presence is followed by brief sensations, the reek of rotting lilies, a chilling breeze and sudden feeling of loss. Even when noticed, most can only make out a faint flicker of light trail by tendrils of faded haze. When properly see, Dybbuks appear as see-through jellyfish with the nebulous features of a Humanoid face drifting across their body's surface. They wriggle through the air with scores of smoky tendrils 5ft long on their undersides that can intertwine to form a pair of arms if needed.Combat
Dybbuks are elusive and predatory but avoid combat when in their true forms ads they know that it is only then they can be truly killed. Only when trapped whcih is a difficult situation to do given their incorporeality then they will be forced to fight. Skilled in going unseen, they try to escape through a combination of mist and teleporation or by terrifying their enemies into scattering. If able to focus on a single enemy they try to kill them from afar, or failing that, quickly moving in to deliver a death blow.Behaviour
Dybbuks have a driving compulsion to indulge in material pleasures but lack the corporeality to do so in their normal forms. To achieve their wicked ends, they use their bodies of the first suitable, dead mortal they can find, judging the quality of a corpse by its physical condition, attractiveness, social ties to its society, and whether their dead is known. It is disputed how many memories of the deceased they inherited, if any, but their natural deceptiveness and acting abilities help them to pass as their host regardless, normally keeping the victim's possession and imitating their lifestyle. Despite their expertise in impersonation, Dybbuks struggle to keep their nature under control for long, quickly descending into uncharacteristic debauchery, delighting in sordid behaviours. They also derive glee from horrifying witnesses by making their bodies act in unholy ways, such as puking blood, excreting vermin, or contorting limbs to scuttle across the floor.Society
Although they can easily blend into the societies of others, relishing opportunities to possess those with jobs relate to the dead, Dybbuks are solitary annd selfish beings that lack their own cultures. Even when they are surrounded by acceptable corpses, they deny other members of their kind access to certain bodies as fervently as they sought them out.Ecology
Although Dybbuks commonly ate and slept, they did not need to do so to sustain their hosts since the bodies under their power do not rot or worsen in condition expect when misused by the Dybbuk. They are drawn to large cemeteries, massive battle sites, and other places rife with cadavers to control, although doing so might cause competition between them. Unable to possess the already animated dead, they avoid regions with dense, Undead populations. Like all Loumaras, they are born from the dying thoughts of the deities from the 230rd Layer known as the Dreaming Gulf. It is believed that the Dybbuks are spawned by the dying thoughts of a Goddess of love and art.In-Game Stats
Mordenkainen´s Tome of Foes
Dybbuk CR: 4
STR
6 -2
DEX
19 +4
CON
16 +3
INT
16 +3
WIS
15 +2
CHA
14 +2
Innate Spellcasting: The Dybbuk’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
Magic Resistance: The Dybbuk has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Violate Corpse: The Dybbuk can use a bonus action while it is possessing a corpse to make it do something unnatural, such as vomit blood, twist its head all the way around, or cause a quadruped to move as a biped. Any beast or humanoid that sees this behavior must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of the dybbuk for 1 minute. The frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on it self on a success. A creature that succeeds on a saving throw against this ability is immune to Violate Corpse for 24 hours.
Actions
Tendril: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, its hit point maximum is also reduced by 3 (1d6). This reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. Possess Corpse (Recharge 6): The dybbuk disappears into an intact corpse it can see within 5 feet of it. The corpse must be Large or smaller and be that of a beast or a humanoid. The dybbuk is now effectively the possessed creature. Its type becomes undead, though it now looks alive, and it gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the corpse’s hit point maximum in life. While possessing the corpse, the dybbuk retains its hit points, alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma , telepathy, and immunity to poison damage, exhaustion, and being charmed and frightened. It otherwise uses the possessed target’s game statistics, gaining access to its knowledge and proficiencies but not its class features, if any. The possession lasts until the temporary hit points are lost (at which point the body becomes a corpse once more) or the dybbuk ends its possession using a bonus action. When the possession ends, the dybbuk reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the corpse.
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