Wraith
Medium Undead · · CR 5
- Undead
- Medium
- Tier 2
Wraith, CR 5, fills the medium undead role with neutral evil disposition. Encounter regions: underground, ruins, and urban. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 5
- Type
- Undead
- Size
- Medium
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Underground, Ruins, Urban
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024), Flee, Mortals!
Ecology
Wraiths are incorporeal undead, the embittered remains of mortals who died with intense hatred or unfinished evil intent. They have no biological needs; they sustain themselves by draining the life-force of living creatures. They haunt sites tied to their mortal death (battlefields, betrayal-castles, murdered cathedrals), unable or unwilling to leave. They drift through walls and matter, seeing the world through a misty hate-tinged perception. Their presence physically chills nearby air and kills small plants.
Behaviour
Wraiths remember their mortal lives in fragments, twisted by the corruption of undeath. They often pursue centuries-old grudges, seeking descendants of those who wronged them or sites of personal trauma. They can speak languages they knew in life, though their voices come as distant whispers. When they slay humanoids, the victims rise as specters bound to the wraith's command. A powerful wraith may have dozens of specter-thralls. They fear sunlight (which suppresses their powers) and holy ground (which actively repels them).
Origin
Wraiths are formed when a humanoid dies in a state of consuming hatred or ungranted vengeance, and the death is not properly mourned or sanctified. Necromancers can deliberately create wraiths by sacrificing prisoners in dark rituals. The first wraiths arose in the wars of the early ages, when mass deaths produced uncountable embittered souls. Modern wraiths are usually solitary, but old battlefields can host many at once, all from the same conflict, none aware of each other's distinct identities.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Wraith
- What is the challenge rating of Wraith?
- Wraith is rated CR 5. The rating fits levels 5-11.
- What type of creature is Wraith?
- Wraith is classified as a undead in D&D 5e, medium size.
- Where does Wraith live?
- In the bestiary, Wraith appears in Underground, Ruins, Urban.