The abatadire should be swimming through the cold, lifeless gap between spheres instead of poisoning the material plane with its presence; yet it is. The fifteen-foot-long atrocity resembles an armored, prehistoric fish with plates of polished meteorite, scales of space-dust, and a core of swirling stars. Being entranced by its alien beauty risks missing the aberration's reinforced jaws until it is too late. Non-Euclidian sigils sizzle across its asymmetrical fins and shift as the abatadire rains arcane fury on its foes. Thawed Terror. Pulled along by an uncanny force, the Groom returns to the frozen wastes of the world again and again. The living golem feels like the hole in his incomplete soul lays somewhere underneath the timeless ice. On one of his forays, the Groom found the remains of the first abatadire but was unable to free it from its frigid tomb. He returned the next summer with a fresh nepethe cult to dig it out. Most of the anarchists perished from the elements du...

There are certain personalities that are attracted to the cold, beautiful abomination known as Groom ; the dispossessed, the lost, and the suicidal. Once in the construct's orbit, their minds warp as they are exposed to the dead shard of divinity within the stoic destroyer. Their already fragile grasp on reality melts away and they become obsessed with garnering the Groom's acceptance and love. Unfortunately, the living golem is capable of neither. However, the Groom will use their infatuation to fulfill his aims. Often that is destroying the order and peace in a region so he can usurp control, or just because he loathes the honor and love the local powers represent. From time to time, the Groom mobilizes them against his hated creator and foe, the Relict. Lineament. If the cult exists for more than a couple of months inevitably a handful of its members improve their oblivion connection to the point where they become lineaments. No longer strictly mortal creatures, their b...

Encased in a rime-kissed cage of sigil-stained iron, the fleshless skull screams with the voice of the tundral wind. Pale curls of necrotic energy lick from the undead's empty sockets. Its teeth have been replaced with icicle fangs. A hint of the numbskull's spine remains but only as an ethereal afterthought dangling from the cage's bottom as the horror floats along. Desolate Soul. The numbskull was born from self-inflicted torture. It once belonged to one of the nihilistic nepenthe cultists who worship the Groom . The now-dead cult believed that existence is a worthless endeavor and one day entropy will drag it all back to the frigid void between the stars. The soon-to-be numbskull slipped into a runic head cage of its own volition and relished every tormented moment as the device burned away its identity and soul until only an instrument of oblivion remained. Ceaseless Hunger. The numbskull not only seeks to devour the living but all sources of heat. The icy nature...

There are certain personalities that are attracted to the cold, beautiful abomination known as Groom ; the dispossessed, the lost, and the suicidal. Once in the construct's orbit, their minds warp as they are exposed to the dead shard of divinity within the stoic destroyer. Their already fragile grasp on reality melts away and they become obsessed with garnering the Groom's acceptance and love. Unfortunately, the living golem is capable of neither. However, the Groom will use their infatuation to fulfill his aims. Often that is destroying the order and peace in a region so he can usurp control, or just because he loathes the honor and love the local powers represent. From time to time, the Groom mobilizes them against his hated creator and foe, the Relict. The fates of these gatherings are always the same though, those are not expended for the Groom's interests are willingly eliminated with his blade when the construct eventually tires of their presence. The typical n...

This flagon-shaped plant grows amid the slow-rotting meat of a frozen humanoid's corpse. Its outer layer mimics the appearance of leathery flesh with a ring of putrid pink along the rim. Many a hapless adventurer has mistaken a nepenthe for a cadaver's exposed organ. That is, until, the plant's ruddy roots tear free of its putrescent soil and the carnivorous creature skitters toward the soon-to-be victim. Sinister Sacrament. These plants are primarily cultivated by the cult of its namesake, the Nepenthe. The growth sucks the spiritual residue from a corpse and produces a psychically-charged sap. The cultists willing imbibe the viscous fluid gathered in the nepenthe's pitcher-like core and relish the way it burns away their passions and personality. The dangerous draught tastes somewhat like a strong wine and produces a similar intoxication if the drinker survives. This repeated rite is eventually terminal and that's what the cultists prefer. Each member hopes the...

A ghost without definition or personality, the lethe is a pitch-black silhouette save for reflective, lifeless eyes. It is all that remains of a suicidal nepenthe cultist intent on bringing the rest of reality down with it so it might please the stoic Groom . Accompanying the lemure is a moist, grey fog that quickly gets under the skin and dulls one's wits. Curse of the Lethe. A lethe is driven by a single task; wiping all sense of being from the world. Through its actions the apparition hopes to bring about a state of nothingness for everyone and everything. This intense focus grants the lethe the ability to wipe away the memories of its victims in a deluge of necromantic energy. Most heroes shake off this temporary fugue, but should they succumb the victims find their minds permanently impaired until treated with magic. Lethe medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 13 Hit Points 49 (11d8) Speed ...