Bodiless Aboleth

[Arkhios]

That's right. An aboleth without a body. Since an aboleth is technically reincarnated upon its death, what if for some reason an aboleth's consciousness was forced to linger without a new body?

In such a situation, which of its abilities would such an aboleth be able to use?

I would assume that it couldn't move far from the location where it died.
It might get some of the traits of a ghost, but probably couldn't manifest itself, and wouldn't be considered as an undead. Just... Something strange.

[Millstone85]

One of the regional effects of an aboleth's lair is an illusory duplicate that can appear in locations the creature has seen within 1 mile of its lair. How about reducing the aboleth to that?

[Arkhios]

One of the regional effects of an aboleth's lair is an illusory duplicate that can appear in locations the creature has seen within 1 mile of its lair. How about reducing the aboleth to that?

I suppose that would work.

[Typhon]

That's right. An aboleth without a body. Since an aboleth is technically reincarnated upon its death, what if for some reason an aboleth's consciousness was forced to linger without a new body?

In such a situation, which of its abilities would such an aboleth be able to use?

I would assume that it couldn't move far from the location where it died.
It might get some of the traits of a ghost, but probably couldn't manifest itself, and wouldn't be considered as an undead. Just... Something strange.

So basically like the haunting essence of a location? Its spirit/conciousness trapped to an artifact or building. That might be interesting. Say reduce the thrall to once a day, but leave it the same otherwise. I also like the idea of still possessing the psychic drain legendary trait as is and keep the probing telepathy.

[Millstone85]

I suppose that would work.If you want something weirder and more dangerous, you could make the aboleth a phantasm.

The aboleth has a movable location and any creature that starts its turn within a certain distance of it becomes the target of a Phantasmal Force spell. On a failed save, the creature perceives the aboleth as if it were still alive. On a successful save, the creature becomes immune to this effect for 24 hours but can choose to be affected at any time.

[Regitnui]

This actually solves a problem I've been working on for a little while. If I make the aboleth bound to a location and only able to manifest through a host....

[Typhon]

This actually solves a problem I've been working on for a little while. If I make the aboleth bound to a location and only able to manifest through a host....

It is a movie trope for a reason and it works great. A few NPC deaths and ominous happenings make for a great small dungeon campaign.

[Arkhios]

If you want something weirder and more dangerous, you could make the aboleth a phantasm.

The aboleth has a movable location and any creature that starts its turn within a certain distance of it becomes the target of a Phantasmal Force spell. On a failed save, the creature perceives the aboleth as if it were still alive. On a successful save, the creature becomes immune to this effect for 24 hours but can choose to be affected at any time.

Storywise I had the idea that this particular aboleth was bound to a location where lies the grave of a dead god. Since gods are not like mortals and even dead ones might actually rise again for any reason, the grave has so powerful wards that they can keep even a god dead. I was wondering that perhaps these very same wards have been preventing the aboleth from reincarnating to its new body. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I'm quite certain that the aboleth can't move from the location - only within the location. But a phantasm it could very well be, I like that!


This actually solves a problem I've been working on for a little while. If I make the aboleth bound to a location and only able to manifest through a host....

Hmm. Manifest through a host. That's a great idea, and to be honest, that fits perfectly with the recurring villain of the story, who might have plans to break the wards keeping the god dead. Maybe the aboleth has taken this villain as its host and is scheming - quite literally behind the curtains.

[Arkhios]

I know it's been a while since I posted in the thread, but I started it so it's not so bad, right?

How much should an entity like this affect the encounter difficulty and experience yield?

[Lord_Jord]

Hmm. Manifest through a host. That's a great idea, and to be honest, that fits perfectly with the recurring villain of the story, who might have plans to break the wards keeping the god dead. Maybe the aboleth has taken this villain as its host and is scheming - quite literally behind the curtains.

I would like this idea better if the PCs were the one's who broke the wards, unknowingly...

[rlc]

I think they do have ghosts

[Arkhios]

I would like this idea better if the PCs were the one's who broke the wards, unknowingly...
Hmm. It might be interesting if the PC's unknowingly aided the recurring villain in breaking those wards.

I'll have to make a note of that. Thanks!

I think they do have ghosts

Eh? What were you referring to? Who have ghosts? Aboleth's normally reincarnate immediately when they die.

[Unoriginal]

Aboleths are transported to to the Plane of Water as soon as their body die. To stop that, you'd need something like "they got their soul ripped off and imprisoned", or something like that. Being trapped by the tomb of a dead god would be ironic, but the Aboleths are older than the gods and not similar to them


If they're able to manifest as an ethereal form, they would probably count as undead.

[Arkhios]

Aboleths are transported to to the Plane of Water as soon as their body die. To stop that, you'd need something like "they got their soul ripped off and imprisoned", or something like that. Being trapped by the tomb of a dead god would be ironic, but the Aboleths are older than the gods and not similar to them


If they're able to manifest as an ethereal form, they would probably count as undead.

That's the idea. The aboleth in question was accidentally caught in the aftermath of an event that caused the death of a former goddess of death, and it died at the same time - its soul being ripped off and imprisoned with the god's remains.

Also, while aboleths are older than the oldest gods, they're not as powerful.

I'm leaning towards the idea that the aboleth itself is unable to manifest at all, but it does keep the ability to make a thrall (the recurring villain, for example, although he was already evil and villainous to begin with).