Geist

Medium undead, chaotic evil

---

Armor Class 15 (Incorporeal Form)

Hit Points 127 (17d8 + 51)

Speed 0 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (−2)	18 (+4)	16 (+3)	11 (+0)	15 (+2)	19 (+4)

---

Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +5, Cha +7
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +7, Intimidation +7
Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison
Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 15
Languages Understands the languages it knew in life but rarely speaks
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3

---

Incorporeal Movement.

The Geist can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Aura of Dread.

Any creature that starts its turn within 20 feet of the Geist must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of its next turn. A frightened creature that ends its turn in this aura takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw is immune to the Geist’s Aura of Dread for 24 hours.

Haunting Visions (Recharge 5–6).

The Geist manifests the traumatic echoes of its death. Each creature of its choice within 30 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn, overwhelmed by spectral memories of suffering.

Innate Spellcasting.

The Geist’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

• At will: thaumaturgy, chill touch (2d8), minor illusion
• 3/day each: fear, invisibility, detect thoughts, darkness
• 1/day each: greater invisibility, phantasmal killer, banishment

---

Actions

Withering Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (4d8) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have its Strength score reduced by 1d4 until it finishes a short or long rest.

Possession (Recharge 6).

One humanoid the Geist can see within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be possessed; the Geist vanishes, and the target is incapacitated while the Geist controls its body. The Geist can’t be targeted by any attack or spell except dispel evil and good, magic circle, or remove curse. The possession ends if the body drops to 0 hit points, the Geist ends it as a bonus action, or it’s forced out by a spell. When the possession ends, the Geist reappears in an empty space within 5 feet of the host.

---

Reactions

Ethereal Slip.

When targeted by an attack, the Geist can move up to 15 feet into a wall, object, or floor, gaining total cover until the start of its next turn.

---

Legendary Actions

The Geist 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. The Geist regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Whispering Doom. One creature the Geist can see within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or take 5 (1d10) psychic damage and have disadvantage on its next attack roll.
• Ethereal Drift. The Geist moves up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
• Drain Vitality (Costs 2 Actions). The Geist targets a frightened creature within 10 feet, dealing 10 (3d6) necrotic damage and regaining hit points equal to the damage dealt.

---

Tactics

A Geist begins its hunt unseen, using darkness or invisibility to stalk prey before sowing panic with its Aura of Dread. It isolates weak minds through Haunting Visions and feeds on terror with Withering Touch. Against organized foes, it uses fear or phantasmal killer to scatter them, then possesses the isolated or dying to turn allies against one another. When threatened, it slips into walls or floors using Ethereal Slip, reappearing from impossible angles to continue the torment.

---

Lore

Geists are the echoes of mortal souls too tormented to rest, their essence torn from the natural cycle of death by obsession, betrayal, or a violent end. Unlike typical ghosts, Geists retain only fragments of memory and emotion—rage, grief, or despair given form.
They are often bound to the site of their death or the object of their fixation: a battlefield drenched in blood, a defiled crypt, or a ruined manor echoing with tragedy. The air grows colder where a Geist lingers; flames gutter, mirrors frost, and whispers carry the sound of its dying breath.

Some sages believe Geists are the second death—spirits that perished even after their ghosts faded, leaving behind only hatred and thought.

Destroying a Geist rarely ends its curse. Unless the injustice or sorrow that birthed it is resolved, the spirit reforms within weeks, hungrier and crueler than before.

---

Role in the World

Geists embody psychological horror and moral consequence—manifestations of what cannot be buried. In campaigns, they serve as:

• Haunting antagonists, guarding cursed places or reliving their death until released.
• Narrative catalysts, revealing hidden crimes or binding characters to unfinished business.
• Spiritual mirrors, reflecting the party’s guilt, secrets, or moral failings.

Mechanically, a Geist fills the “elite haunting undead” niche—faster and more intelligent than a ghost, more emotional than a wraith. Their fear-based aura, possession, and psychic damage make them ideal for psychological or investigative adventures, gothic campaigns, or planar stories involving the Shadowfell and Ethereal Plane.

Geist

This disembodied phantom wears black robes that swirl around a maw of sharp teeth.

Source Bestiary 4 pg. 124
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys

A geist is formed when an exceptionally evil humanoid is killed by a haunt and proves too tenacious to submit to death’s call.  

---

Geist CR 9

XP 6,400 CE Medium undead (incorporeal) Init +9; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 15 (+5 deflection, +5 Dexterity) hp 114 (12d8+60) Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +10 Defensive Abilities Channel Resistance +4, incorporeal; Immune undead traits Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness

OFFENSE

Speed Fly 40 ft. (perfect) Melee incorporeal bite +14 (1d6 negative energy plus 1d4 Constitution) Special Attacks spiritual manipulation, terrifying laughter (30 ft.; DC 21)

STATISTICS

Strength -, Dexterity 20, Constitution -, Intelligence 15, Wisdom 15, Charisma 21 Base Atk +9; CMB +14; CMD 29 Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse Skills Bluff +17, Fly +18, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (religion) +15, Perception +17, Sense Motive +17, Stealth +26 Languages Abyssal, Common

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Spiritual Manipulation (Su) Geists have the ability to take control of haunts. When a geist enters a haunt’s area of effect, the geist can immediately attempt to take over the haunt by making a Charisma check. If the result of the Charisma check is equal to or greater than the haunt’s CR, the geist takes over the haunt and maintains control as long as the geist remains within 1 mile. If the geist’s attempt to take control of a haunt fails, the geist must retreat from the haunt’s area of effect and cannot attempt to take control of the haunt again for 24 hours. When a geist controls a haunt, it can activate or suppress the haunt’s effects as a free action and the haunt automatically resets in half its normal time. A haunt under a geist’s control can still be neutralized when reduced to 0 hit points, but it cannot be permanently put to rest until the geist that controls it is destroyed. A geist can control a number of haunts up to its Charisma modifier at one time (usually five). Terrifying Laugh (Su) Once per minute, a geist can unleash a terrifying laugh as a standard action. The laughter lasts until the beginning of the geist’s next turn. All creatures within 30 feet of the geist when it begins to laugh, as well as all creatures that end their turn within that radius, must succeed at a DC 21 Will save or be panicked. The save is required only once per laugh. Those who succeed at their saving throws need not save against the same geist’s terrifying laughter for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (haunted sites or ruins) Organization solitary or haunting (2-7) Treasure incidental