Planar Bestiary
Breaking into a tomb sealed by defensive magic can have immediate consequences. Other times a curse slowly gathers and concentrates magic, finally investing nearby remains as an undead avenger tasked with finding the intruder.
These "walking curses" track down grave robbers months or years later, traveling as far as necessary to find their quarry, across mountains, seas, and even planar boundaries. The curse of the crypt promises death to grave robbers. Eventually.
The curse is sometimes associated with the Tomb of Winter (page 135).
As an undead being, a curse of the crypt doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Motive: Revenge on tomb robbers
Environment: Anywhere in the multiverse tomb robbers have fled
Health: 22
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 7; resists mental influence and effects targeting the undead as level 9; tracks cursed quarry as level 10
Combat: A curse of the crypt attacks twice each round with their greatsword, or twice with a necrotic ray against targets who are up to a long range away. Both ray and greatsword are suffused with necrotic energy, inflicting a moderate wound (5 points) (ignores Armor).
The curse of the crypt can magically frighten a creature within short range. On a failed Intellect defense task, the victim drops whatever they are holding and must use their action to move away from the curse by the safest available route for one minute. If the victim reaches someplace they can't see the curse, they can stop running and begin attempting Intellect tasks to end the effect early. Tactically, a curse of the crypt uses this ability to peel away allies from their primary target.
Once per day, the curse can use their action to transfer to another plane they know to exist, or one that a tracked target has previously entered.
A curse of the crypt is immune to poison attacks.
Interaction: After entering a warded tomb, one or more characters feel as if they've stirred up a malign influence, though they probably don't know how or what. Within about six to nine months, a curse of the crypt tracks them down.
A curse is single-minded, though they may speak with creatures using common humanoid languages or telepathy, seeking information about their quarry. They might even ally with other creatures for a brief time if that helps the curse reach their quarry more quickly. Once physically manifest, a given curse may have a mental list of several targets to visit, each one in turn.
Use: A rich tomb raider asks for aid, claiming a revenant has risen and is tracking him down. He won't willingly admit it's because he transgressed into a sacred tomb and stole something of unique cultural value from a distant world of the Material Plane.
GM Intrusion: When the curse evades a ranged attack that targets only them, the attack (whether magic or mundane) is reflected off the curse's greatsword and directed back at the attacker as if the curse had launched the attack.