Esko the Drowning One (3.5e Vestige)
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Contents
Esko, the Drowning One[edit]
The lost spirit of a drowned female who brings her drowning touch of terror to all that gaze upon her.
Level: 4th
Binding DC: 21
Special Requirement: None.
Legend[edit]
Esko was once a young girl who, for reasons which change with every telling, was hated by her mother who bore her. Born from a seemingly spontaneous pregnancy with no father, her presence brought scandal on the woman's house with accusations of shame and adultery. With her life ruined by the presence of Esko, the mother attempted to kill her many times, only to be thwarted again and again, until, finally, she managed to throw her down into a well, sealing the entrance with a heavy stone lid. Within the darkness and the cold Esko lay, treading water and crying out for help which never came. The voice of her daughter haunted the woman for hours... days... weeks... and the voice continued to call, driving her mad. How could she still be alive? Years passed, the whole murder covered up as a kidnapping that was never solved, but each time the mother passed near the well, she would hear the cries, until one day, in her madness, she finally went to the well and opened it.
It was uncertain what she saw, but what was left of the woman was a horrible disfigured body, mouth distended in abject horror and body blue and bloated like a drowned corpse. No body or any evidence of a person was ever found in the well, but the tales of a terrible murdering phantom which leaves its figures as drowned corpses continues to this day.
Special summoning[edit]
You must trace Esko's seal in a liquid medium, though it can simply be a puddle.
Manifestation[edit]
The air grows cold and dark, and to the binder and those within 30 feet of him, it would seem the sun or moon is entering an eclipse. When the eclipse completes, the pool of water suddenly bubbles up, black foaming liquid spilling from the ground as the waterlogged and skeletally thin corpse of a young woman pulls herself out. Long black stringy hair covers her face, and she speaks in a raspy whisper as if her throat is worn from a thousand years of calling for help.
Sign[edit]
Your hair seems constantly damp, and is a darker shade than normal. It naturally seems to want to move over your face, though it never hampers your sight.
Influence[edit]
Esko never wants to return to the well, and the presence of water unnerves her. While you are fine with a glass or water, getting hit with a water balloon, or even the ocean, if you begin to enter any water deep enough to impede movement, you must make a DC 21 Will save or become shaken for as long as you are in the water. If you are ever submerged, you must make a DC 21 Will save or immediately panic, and you are shaken on a successful save. This lasts until you escape the situation.
Granted Abilities[edit]
Control Water[edit]
While bound to Esko, you may use control water at will.
Drowning Hex[edit]
With a hateful glare, you can cause a creature within 60 feet to start drowning as water begins to fill its lungs. The creature must succeed on a Fortitude save (10 + 1/2 level + Charisma) or spend the round dazed as they are choking and coughing. On the next round, they must save again or fall unconscious and at −1 hp as they begin to suffocate. They are stable at −1. On the third round, they must make another save or they immediately die. A successful save at any point ends the effect. Drowning Hex only works on creatures which need to breathe. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.
Gaze of Fear[edit]
While you are bound to Esko, you gain a gaze attack out to 30 feet. Any creatures you are hostile against in 30 feet which see you must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 level + Cha) or become shaken for the rest of the encounter. If the creatures have fewer HD than your own −4, they are instead frightened for 1 minute. A successful save renders creatures immune to the effect of your gaze for 24 hours.
As a standard action, you can stare at an opponent in 30 feet and force a Will save, even if they made the save against your aura. Unlike most fear effects, this fear effect doesn't stack with itself. However, it may stack with others, such as if the opponent was already shaken, or you later succeed on an intimidate check to demoralize.
Twitch Walk[edit]
Not quite of this world, your movement seems erratic and jagged when you walk as you blink between this world and the next. As a move action, you can teleport up to half your movement speed. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Undead Traits[edit]
While bound to Esko, your body seems a bit colder and lifeless. You now heal through negative energy and are harmed by positive energy as if you were undead, and detect undead registers you as undead. Non-intelligent undead do not immediately attack you, as they think you are also undead, though intelligent undead can see otherwise. You do not eat, sleep, or breathe, and you gain half your binder level as a bonus against ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, poison, paralysis, and stunning. You also benefit from any weapons you wield as being ghost touch. You are subject to turn and rebuke undead attempts. Effects which would destroy or control you instead stun you for 1d4 rounds, no save.
Withering Touch[edit]
You gain a negative energy touch which deals 1d6 negative energy damage for every 3 levels you possess. Those who die by your touch, or corpses you touch with this ability, shrivel and bloat as if a drowned corpse.
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