AC 13
HP 58 (13d8; bloodied 29)
Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft.
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 13
Saving Throws Wis +2
Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; damage from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed , exhaustion , frightened , grappled , paralyzed , petrified , poisoned , prone , restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages the languages it spoke in life
Death Howl. When reduced to 0 hit points, the banshee uses Baleful Wail.
Detect Life. The banshee magically senses the general direction of living creatures up to 5 miles away.
Incorporeal Movement. The banshee can move through creatures and objects. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Undead Nature. A banshee doesn’t require air, sustenance, or sleep.
Unquiet Spirit. If defeated in combat, the banshee returns on the anniversary of its death. It can be permanently put to rest only by finding and casting remove curse on its grave or by righting whatever wrong was done to it.
ACTIONS
Presage Death. The banshee targets a creature within 60 feet that can hear it, predicting its doom. The target makes a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw . On a failure, the target takes 11 (2d6 + 4) psychic damage and is magically cursed for 1 hour. While cursed in this way, the target has disadvantage on saving throws against the banshee’s Baleful Wail.
Baleful Wail. The banshee shrieks. All living creatures within 30 feet of it that can hear it make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw . On a failure, a creature takes 11 (2d6 + 4) psychic damage. If the creature is cursed by the banshee, it drops to 0 hit points instead.
REACTIONS
Wounded Warning. When the banshee takes damage from a creature within 60 feet, it uses Presage Death on the attacker.
Combat
The banshee begins combat by using Presage Death. It uses Wail whenever a cursed creature is within 30 feet, and otherwise uses Presage Death on a creature not yet under its curse.
Names
Ardas, Aurelia, Bellavia, Bittern, Callias, Desdemona, Leta, Morrigan
Legends & Lore
With a History or Religion check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10 Banshee are ghostly spirits whose screams can kill.
DC 15 A banshee is insubstantial and can pass through walls. It takes little damage from most weapons and magic, but fears radiant and force energy.
DC 20: A banshee is the spirit of a creature that was a victim of violence. It can be put to rest by bringing a criminal to justice or by casting remove curse on its grave.
A banshee manifests as a wispy spirit with a faint glow that resembles moonlight. Its form is suggestive of an androgynous humanoid wearing layers of rags, though stories often depict banshees as grieving women.
Born from Violence. Banshees are created when a humanoid is killed in an act of horrific violence, or when a mourner of such a violent death dies of grief. The trauma binds a spirit to the Material Plane. A remove curse spell or similar magic cast on its remains can release a spirit that has become a banshee, as can setting right old crimes.
Bound by Trauma. The banshee is cursed to spend eternity in the place where it was formed. It is unable to venture more than five miles from the site of its death. A banshee will wander within this boundary forever, occasionally manifesting illusory depictions of its brutal demise.
Harbingers of Death. Compelled by its curse, a banshee uses its powerful shriek (sometimes called a keen) to warn people of their imminent demise and to mourn the recent dead. If angered or attacked, it can instead use its shriek to inflict pain and death on the living.
Lone Behavior
1 Crooning a love song or working on an opera; attacks if interrupted
2 Mistakes you for someone from its life: friendly unless reminded of its death
3 While attacking, begs to be destroyed
4 Can’t speak, but has something important about its life it wants to communicate; wails when frustrated
Group Behavior
1 Singing together, attacks anyone that doesn’t sign along
2 Floating in a circle around a grim altar; attack on sight
3 Circling an inanimate skeleton, towards which they feel some strong emotion; attack anyone that interferes with it
4 Each wishes you to side with them on some disagreement
1 Distant weeping or singing
2 A distant eerie wail
3 A sudden chill
4 A chilly mist that reduces visibility to 30 feet
5 A corpse, its face frozen in horror, with no obvious cause of death
6 A face looks back at you from a pool of water or mirror
Banshees haunt tombs and places of tragedy.
CR 3–4 Banshee
Treasure gold ring (125 gp), 3 vials of holy water
CR 11–16 3 banshees ; banshee with 2 ghosts
Treasure golden harp (750 gp), letter revealing the spot where 3000 gp are buried, dagger of venom between the ribs of a skeleton