Ashtide

Once a scholar of arcane knowledge who sought to transcend mortal limitations, Ashtide made a pact with an entity dwelling in the spaces between worlds—a being of pure contagion that existed as a living plague of consciousness itself. The ritual of binding went catastrophically wrong, or perhaps precisely as intended by the otherworldly parasite, and Ashtide's flesh became a vessel for something far older and hungrier than any demon or devil. Now neither fully alive nor dead, Ashtide exists as a walking wound in reality, their body a writhing nexus of corruption that spreads like wildfire to anything it touches, transforming the healthy into extensions of its own twisted existence. Driven by an insatiable hunger that transcends logic or morality, Ashtide wanders the world as a deliberate vector of infection, viewing civilization not as something to conquer but as fertile ground to cultivate into a garden of shared suffering and transformation. Bound by no code or creed save the primal imperative to spread, Ashtide has become a nightmare made manifest—neither male nor female, neither wholly sane nor completely mad, but something caught eternally between states of being. The warlock's pact grows stronger with each soul corrupted and each new plague unleashed, and Ashtide laughs at the irony that they no longer remember whether they are master or slave to their own infection.

Strength

10, modifier 0

Dexterity

14, modifier +2

Constitution

20, modifier +5

Intelligence

18, modifier +4

Wisdom

12, modifier +1

Charisma

16, modifier +3

Infecting Touch

Melee Spell Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3d10 necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become infected.

Plague Burst

As an action, Ashtide releases a wave of infectious energy in a 30 ft. radius. Each creature must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 4d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.

Corrupting Whispers

Ashtide targets one creature within 60 ft. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or take 3d8 psychic damage and be frightened until the end of its next turn.

Corruption Spread

Any creature that touches Ashtide must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become infected, taking 2d8 necrotic damage and gaining the poisoned condition for 1 minute.

strength

+0

dexterity

+2

constitution

+5

intelligence

+4

wisdom

+1

charisma

+3

necrotic

poison