Buy me a coffeeBogeyman, the Shadow of Nightmares
“The Bogeyman waits in the shadows, feeds on your fear, and when he finally steps into the light—it’s already too late.”
A Bogeyman is a gaunt, shadowy humanoid draped in an impossibly long black coat that always seems damp from mist or rot. Towering over most mortals, it wears a tall, angular top hat that blends seamlessly into the gloom. Its skin ripples like a tar-like membrane, never quite still, and from beneath its wide-brimmed hat peer two luminescent eyes—pinpoints of pale malevolence. When it grins, jagged, needle-thin fangs protrude from its abyssal mouth, often slick with the psychic residue of its victims’ terror. It emits no sound unless it chooses to, though an unnatural stillness or a sudden drop in ambient noise often heralds its arrival.
Behaviour
Bogeymen are patient and methodical. They are not brutes or hunters in the conventional sense; they are curators of fear, studying their victims before striking. They prefer isolation and psychological erosion over physical confrontation, and will stalk a target for weeks—learning its routines, discovering its weaknesses, and manipulating its environment. Their demeanor is intelligent and cunning, often eerily calm. They are fluent in mimicry, manipulation, and deception, capable of impersonating loved ones, mimicking voices, or subtly altering their victims’ perception of reality through illusion and suggestion.
Bogeymen rarely speak aloud unless it is to whisper threats no one else can hear or to deliver cruel, intimate monologues just before a kill. When forced into combat, they are swift and efficient, using fear as both a weapon and a shield.
Habitat
Bogeymen dwell in places where reality feels thin—abandoned homes, forgotten fairgrounds, derelict schools, or mist-shrouded forest glades. Though they can exist anywhere, they prefer secluded, liminal spaces—areas between light and shadow, dream and waking, life and death.
A Bogeyman may claim a single house, town block, or stretch of wilderness as its lair, slowly transforming it into a twisted reflection of its prey’s nightmares. These lairs often exhibit signs of minor spatial or temporal distortion, unexplained cold spots, and manifestations of fear-based hallucinations.
Modus Operandi
The Bogeyman begins by implanting the idea of its presence—a voice behind a door, a footstep on the stairs, a shadow where there should be none. As fear sets in, it grows bolder, influencing dreams, moving objects subtly, whispering during sleep. It sustains itself on this fear, growing stronger as its victim unravels.
At its peak, the Bogeyman will physically manifest—often during sleep paralysis, isolated travel, or in moments of complete emotional despair. It strikes suddenly and with terrifying precision, but rarely kills immediately. Instead, it seeks to break its prey through escalating fear until their minds and spirits collapse.
In some cases, it abducts its victims—particularly children—spiriting them away to fey-shadow realms, where they are tormented and reshaped. A few return, forever changed. Others are never seen again.
Motivation
The origin and purpose of Bogeymen are the subject of fearful speculation:
- Some scholars claim they are fey punished by darker archfey, twisted into reflections of their cruelty and exiled to the mortal world.
- Others believe Bogeymen are manifestations of cultural guilt and repressed fear, born when a society chooses to ignore its own darkness.
- Whatever their origin, all Bogeymen feed on fear. Not in a simple, monstrous sense—but as an artist feeds on inspiration or a scholar on knowledge. Fear is their sustenance, obsession, and pleasure.
The most ancient among them may act as mentors or progenitors to newer bogeymen, stealing children not to devour them, but to mold them into successors. Over time, a single Bogeyman may create a legacy of terror, extending its influence across generations.
Bogeyman 5e
Bogeyman, Pathfinder
Bogeyman
Medium fey, neutral evil
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 162 (25d8 + 50)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 20 (+5) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 22 (+6) |
Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +8, Cha +10
Skills Deception +10, Insight +8, Intimidation +12, Perception +8, Stealth +13
Damage Resistances psychic, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 18
Languages Common, Aklo; understands all languages through tongues, but rarely speaks aloud.
Traits
Aura of Dread. At the start of each creature’s turn within 30 feet of the bogeyman, the creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature sees shifting illusions based on its worst fears. The creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Terrible Rejuvenation. The bogeyman regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if any creature within 30 feet is frightened.
Shadow Stalker. The bogeyman can Hide in dim light or shadows without cover. While hidden, it does not provoke opportunity attacks and has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Innate Spellcasting
The bogeyman’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
- At will. detect thoughts, ghost sound, suggestion, invisibility, darkness, silent image
- 3/day each. fear, hold person, phantasmal killer, gaseous form, greater invisibility, crushing despair*
- 1/day each. nightmare, modify memory, hallucinatory terrain, eyes in the dark*
Actions
Multiattack. The bogeyman makes two claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage. If the target is frightened, it takes an additional 13 (3d8) psychic damage.
If the bogeyman scores a critical hit or hits a frightened target, the target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or escalate its fear: frightened becomes incapacitated, and incapacitated becomes paralyzed until the end of its next turn.
Dread Manifestation (Recharge 5–6). The bogeyman targets one creature it can see within 60 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or take 27 (6d8) psychic damage and become frightened for 1 minute. While frightened in this way, the creature cannot distinguish friend from foe and must move away from the bogeyman by the safest available route. On a successful save, the target takes half damage and is not frightened.
Legendary Actions
The bogeyman can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Shadow Step. The bogeyman teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space in dim light or darkness it can see.
- Linger in the Mind. The bogeyman becomes invisible until the end of its next turn or until it attacks or casts a spell.
- Whisper of Dread (Costs 2 Actions). One creature the bogeyman can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn.
Custom Spells
Crushing Despair
3rd-level necromancy
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You unleash a wave of overwhelming sorrow and hopelessness in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range. Each creature in that area must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 4d6 psychic damage and suffer disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks for the duration. Affected creatures can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.
Eyes in the Dark
2nd-level divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (60-foot radius)
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
For the duration, you gain the supernatural ability to see and hear through all shadows and darkness within 60 feet of you, ignoring normal vision restrictions imposed by dim light or darkness. Additionally, frightened creatures within dim light or darkness have disadvantage on saving throws against your spells and magical effects.
Bogeyman
Dressed in a long dark coat and a tall hat, this lanky, fanged humanoid exudes an almost palpable aura of horror.
Many believe that the most cruel and mischievous fey become bogeymen as a punishment or a reward for their actions. Others see bogeymen as supernatural manifestations of society’s willingness to do itself harm.
Bogeymen use their powers to haunt houses or secluded natural places where they can hunt prey unobserved. They relish using their ghost sound ability to hint at their presence long before they fully reveal themselves. It is not uncommon for a bogeyman to hide under a bed, or in a closet left slightly ajar, for days or even weeks, all the while feeding on its victims’ growing realization that they are not alone.
The most evil bogeymen are those who abandon the tactic of feeding on one person’s fears at a time and take up roles of mass murderers or serial killers, or other pursuits designed to drive fear into the hearts of an entire city of victims. True to their name, all bogeymen are male. Sometimes, children whom they steal away to secret lairs emerge years later, transformed into new bogeymen, and return home to continue their supernatural father’s work.
Bogeyman CR 10
XP 9,600
NE Medium fey
Init +9; Senses low-light vision; Perception +23; Aura deepest fear (30 ft., DC 25)
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 23, flat-footed 17 (+7 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 93 (17d6+34); terrible rejuvenation 5
Fort +9, Ref +15, Will +13
DR 15/cold iron; SR 21
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee* 2 claws +13 (1d8+8/19-20)
Special Attacks sneak attack +6d6, striking fear
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +17)
- Constant—detect thoughts, tongues
- At will—darkness, gaseous form, ghost sound (DC 17), invisibility, suggestion (DC 20)
- 3/day—crushing despair (DC 21), hold person (DC 20), quickened phantasmal killer (DC 21)
- 1/day—nightmare (DC 22)
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 25
Base Atk +8; CMB +9; CMD 32
Feats Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Mobility, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (phantasmal killer), Skill Focus (Stealth), Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +27, Diplomacy +20, Disable Device +15, Escape Artist +18, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (local) +16, Perception +23, Sense Motive +23, Spellcraft +12, Stealth +35; Racial Modifiers +4 Intimidate, +4 Stealth
Languages Aklo, Common; tongues
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Deepest Fear (Su)
A bogeyman is cloaked in a 30-foot aura of fear. This aura manifests as a shifting haze of images that reflect the viewer’s deepest fears. The first time it ends its turn within the aura, a creature must make a DC 25 Will save or become shaken for as long as it stays within the aura. If the creature succeeds at the saving throw, it cannot be affected again by the aura for another 24 hours. This is a fear effect. The DC is Charisma-based.
Striking Fear (Su)
If a bogeyman confirms a critical hit or a sneak attack with one of its claws on a target currently suffering a fear effect, that effect automatically becomes one step more severe (shaken creatures become frightened, frightened creatures become panicked, and panicked creatures cower in fear). A DC 25 Will save negates this increase. In addition, a critical hit from the bogeyman’s claw forces any target that has successfully saved against the creature’s fear aura to make another Will save against its effects, even if 24 hours have not yet passed. This is a fear effect. The DC is Charisma-based.
Terrible Rejuvenation (Su)
A bogeyman gains fast healing 5 while any creature within its deepest fear aura is suffering from a fear effect, including any fear effect created by the aura itself.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure double
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.