Buy me a coffeeAttic Whisperer, “Lurkers of the Lost”
“The Attic Whisperer: This Creepy Child-like Creature Lurks in Abandoned AtticsâAnd It Wants to Steal More Than Just Your Voice!”
The Attic Whisperer is a diminutive, skeletal creature resembling a starved child, its fragile frame cloaked in tatters of old clothing that have fused with cobwebs and dust. Its flesh, pale and translucent, clings tightly to its bones, revealing an eerie glimpse of an undead anatomy beneath. The most disturbing feature is its head â a bleached, grinning fox skull, sitting where a child’s face should be, empty sockets peering with malevolent curiosity. Jagged teeth line its snout, hinting at its predatory nature, while tiny, claw-like fingers clutch onto a weathered childâs toy â a torn doll or a rusty trinket, a relic from a lost and forgotten past. This pitiful memento dangles loosely in its grasp, serving as a reminder of the innocence it was stripped of long ago.
Behavior:
Despite its unsettling appearance, the Attic Whisperer exudes an aura of melancholic neediness and misplaced affection. It is drawn to the living, particularly children, craving the companionship it was denied in life. These creatures haunt the dark, forgotten corners of decrepit buildings, preferring to remain unseen and unheard unless they wish to make themselves known. The air around them is thick with their unnerving Aura of Sobs â disembodied voices that whisper, cry, and sing twisted lullabies. When it moves, it does so with unsettling silence, limbs bending in unnatural angles as it creeps closer. An attic whisperer can be strangely patient, often observing potential victims for hours, letting its aura seep into their minds, gradually wearing down their resolve before it finally strikes.
Habitat:
Attic Whisperers are most commonly found in the shadowy, neglected spaces of abandoned homes, crumbling orphanages, and ruined schools â any place where childhood once bloomed but was cut short by tragedy, neglect, or death. They linger in dust-choked attics, decaying nurseries, or behind cracked walls of long-forgotten buildings. Such places resonate with the sadness and loneliness of lost childhoods, making them ideal haunts for these tragic undead. They rarely leave these locations, bound to the emptiness that birthed them. They may even appear dormant for decades, shrouded in dust and detritus, until the presence of new life â especially the laughter or cries of children â rouses them from their torpor.
Modus Operandi:
The Attic Whispererâs tactics are as cunning as they are cruel. It starts by subtly influencing its surroundings, using its Aura of Sobs to create unsettling noises â faint giggles, distant sobs, or a lullaby half-remembered from childhood. It mimics familiar voices with unnerving precision, luring curious or frightened victims deeper into its lair. When it finally reveals itself, it seeks to isolate its prey, especially targeting children or those who show signs of loneliness or vulnerability.
Once close enough, it uses its abilities to steal breath and silence voices, rendering victims defenseless. With each stolen breath, it saps its victimâs strength, inducing exhaustion and sleep. With each stolen voice, it cuts off their ability to cry for help, sealing them in a nightmarish silence. It takes a twisted delight in using stolen voices to manipulate and deceive, calling out to others for help or leading them into traps. While it often relishes in psychological torment, an attic whispererâs ultimate goal is to keep its new âplaymatesâ close â forever.
Motivation:
An Attic Whisperer is driven by a twisted and tragic need for companionship. In life, these creatures were the spirits of abandoned or forgotten children who died alone, their innocent longing for love and attention turned into a desperate, consuming hunger. In death, they are cursed to wander the places they perished, endlessly seeking the companionship they were denied. They cannot comprehend love or friendship as the living do; instead, they see fear as rejection, and their clinging, suffocating behavior as affection.
Once an attic whisperer fixates on a living being, it becomes obsessively possessive. It wants to keep its âfriendâ by its side forever, even if it means robbing them of their vitality, their voice, and ultimately, their life. For an attic whisperer, death is merely another way to ensure it is never left alone again, adding yet another voice to its ghostly, sobbing chorus.
Attic Whisperer 5e
Attic Whisperer Pathfinder
Attic Whisperer
Small Undead, Neutral Evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (10d6 + 10)
Speed 20 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 (-1) | 18 (+4) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +6, Cha +7
Skills Deception +7, Stealth +7, Perception +6
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 16
Languages Common, understands all languages it knew in life but cannot speak
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Traits
- Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the Attic Whisperer to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the Attic Whisperer drops to 1 hit point instead.
- Aura of Sobs. The Attic Whisperer emits an aura in a 10-foot radius. Creatures within this aura have disadvantage on saving throws against being frightened and take a -1 penalty to attack rolls and damage rolls. The Attic Whisperer can suppress or activate this aura as a bonus action.
Actions
- Multiattack. The Attic Whisperer makes two attacks: one with its Bite and one with its Steal Voice ability.
- Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be fatigued for 1 hour. A fatigued creature becomes exhausted for 1 hour, and an exhausted creature falls unconscious for 1 hour. This sleep is magically induced, and the creature can only be awoken by a dispel magic spell (DC 15) or the Attic Whispererâs destruction. - Steal Voice. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit: The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or lose the ability to speak for 1 hour. During this time, the target cannot cast spells with verbal components or use any abilities that require speech. The Attic Whisperer can perfectly mimic the stolen voice for the duration.
Reactions
- Ethereal Escape. When the Attic Whisperer is hit by an attack, it can use its reaction to become invisible until the start of its next turn or until it attacks.
Tactics
- The Attic Whisperer lurks in shadowy corners, using its Ethereal Escape to avoid damage and reposition itself when threatened.
- It begins encounters by activating its Aura of Sobs to debilitate its enemies, relying on the haunting sounds to instill fear and confusion.
- It prioritizes targets that are weaker or isolated, using its Steal Voice to silence spellcasters and hinder team communication.
- When engaging, the Attic Whisperer uses hit-and-run tactics, relying on its Multiattack to weaken foes before retreating to the shadows, using stealth to hide until it can strike again.
- If faced with strong opponents, it may retreat and use its surroundings to hide, striking from the darkness when its foes are vulnerable.
Lore
The Attic Whisperer is a tragic remnant of lost childhood, a spectral entity that feeds off the sorrow and loneliness of others. It haunts abandoned homes and dilapidated institutions, seeking solace in the company of the living. Its ghastly whispers of nursery rhymes and lost lullabies fill the air, ensnaring the hearts of those who wander too close to its realm.
In battle, it is relentless, utilizing its ethereal nature to slip between the living and the dead, sowing despair and confusion as it seeks to reclaim the warmth of companionship it once lost.
Attic Whisperer
The thing in the corner of the attic resembles an emaciated child. It is a gray, forgotten remnant with cobwebs and dust covering the leering, fox skull that serves as its head. In tiny, claw-like hands it grasps a stuffed child’s toy – a ratty dolly with pins in its eyes. Worse are the voices, the calling whispers that haunt the air, filling it with nursery rhymes, sobbing, and laughing at the same time, as if the air around the creature were alive with lost invisible children.
Children seem to experience emotions more intensely than adults. Quicker to laugh and swifter to love, certainly,but also more vulnerable to sorrow and faster to wither when abandoned. It is such desertion, the desperation and hopeless freezing of an innocent’s dreams, that gives rise to the tragic abominations called attic whisperers.
Attic whisperers haunt shadowy, forgotten places like old buildings and dilapidated institutions, places that were once homes to both young children and subtle evils. Hiding in drafty attics and moldy basements, these creatures might lie dormant for decades while the quick go about their lives – often a scant floor away. The coming of a child, though, rekindles some hope in these creatures, their animating spirits motivated by lonesomeness, ever-seeking comfort and companionship. Once they find a potential playmate, an attic whisperer does all it can to assure it will never be lonely again.
With the ability to steal one’s voice, along with the air from living lungs, these undead torment and terrify by circumstance alone, misunderstanding fear for further rejection and their own murderousness for love. And ever surrounding these creatures murmur the lost whispers of others they sought comfort from, voices of the long departed, oftentimes dead at the hands of these broken-hearted undead.
| Attic Whisperer CR 4 |
| NE Small undead Init +8 ; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +12, Spot +9 Aura aura of sobs |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dexterity, +3 natural, +1 size) hp 39 (6d12) Fort +2 , Ref +6 , Will +8 Immune undead traits |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 20 ft. Melee bite +8 (1d4-1 plus steal breath) and touch +3 (steal voice) Space 5 ft. , Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks steal breath, steal voice Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th) 3/day – ghost sound (DC 13), invisibility (DC 16), minor image (DC 15) |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 9 , Dexterity 19 , Constitution -, Intelligence 14 , Wisdom 16 , Charisma 17 Base Atk +3 ; Grapple -2 Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse (bite) Skills Bluff +12, Climb +5, Hide +17, Knowledge (local) +8, Listen +12, Move Silently +13, Spot +9 Languages Common |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any urban or ruins Organization solitary, pair (2), generation (3-9) Treasure no coins, 10% goods, no items Advancement 7-18 HD (Small) |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Aura of Sobs (Su) All the voices an attic whisperer steals linger around it in an invisible but audible aura of unnerving ” often child-like ” whimpers, limericks, songs, and sobs. This aura surrounds an attic whisper in a 10-foot radius. Any sentient living creature that enters this area loses the benefit of any bardic music ability and takes a -1 penalty on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and Will saving throws. An attic whisperer can suppress or reactive its aura as a free action. Steal Breath (Su) A creature damaged by an attic whisperer’s bite attack must make a DC 16 Will save or become fatigued for 1 hour. A fatigued creature affected by this attack becomes exhausted for 1 hour, while an exhausted creature falls unconscious for 1 hour. This sleep is magically induced, and a sleeper can only be roused by a targeted dispel magic (dispel check DC 17), remove curse, or the attic whisperer’s destruction. The save DC is Charisma-based. Steal Voice (Su) Any creature hit by this touch attack must make a DC 16 Will save or lose its ability to speak for 1 hour. During that time, the creature cannot talk, cast spells with verbal components, use bardic music, turn undead, or use any other skill or ability that requires speech. This ability has no effect on creatures incapable of speech. The save DC is Charisma-based. Once an attic whisperer has stolen a creature’s voice it can perfectly mimic that voice (or any other it has previously stolen) at any time, even after its victim’s voice has returned. While mimicking a voice, the attic whisper can speak in any language the voice’s owner knew, regardless of its prior knowledge of the language. Those familiar with an individual’s voice can make a Sense Motive check opposed by the attic whisperer’s Bluff check to realize a mimicked voice is inauthentic. |