Sir Nareth, The Crownless Knight

Medium undead, Lawful Neutral

Stats

Armor Class: 17 (spectral plate)
Hit Points: 110 (13d8 + 52)
Speed: 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)

STR 16 (+3)
DEX 14 (+2)
CON 18 (+4)
INT 10 (+0)
WIS 12 (+1)
CHA 18 (+4)

Saving Throws: Wis +4, Cha +7
Skills: Athletics +6, Perception +4, History +3, Intimidation +7
Damage Resistances: acid, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: cold, necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages: Common, understands all languages it knew in life
Challenge: 6 (2,300 XP)

Traits

Incorporeal Movement: Sir Nareth can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. He takes 5 (1d10) force damage if he ends his turn inside an object.
Haunting Presence: Any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of Sir Nareth must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom save or be frightened until the start of its next turn.
Vengeful Spirit: If Sir Nareth is reduced to 0 hit points, he can choose to rise again at 1 hit point (1/day).

Actions

Spectral Blade: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) necrotic damage.
Withering Strike (Recharge 5–6): Each creature of his choice within 10 feet must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
Terrifying Wail (Recharge 6): Each creature of his choice within 30 feet that can hear him must make a DC 15 Wisdom save or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

Reactions

Spectral Parry: When a creature Sir Nareth can see hits him with an attack, he can add +3 to his AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss.

Tactics

Sir Nareth hovers silently over the battlefield, using Spectral Blade to cut down foes while keeping enemies at bay with Terrifying Wail and Withering Strike. He prefers to frighten and weaken before finishing his enemies, flickering ghost-like through obstacles and shadows.

Background

Sir Nareth: The Crownless Knight

In life, Sir Nareth was the epitome of honor and loyalty—a knight sworn to a kingdom that promised glory but delivered betrayal. Clad in shimmering plate and bearing the royal crest, he served faithfully through war and peace, earning titles and the love of his people. Yet his devotion was his undoing.

When a usurper seized the throne, Nareth stood defiant, refusing to bend the knee to a false crown. Labeled a traitor by the very king he once bled for, Nareth was cast into exile, stripped of his lands, titles, and honor. His final stand—a doomed rebellion—ended not with a glorious death in battle, but with his betrayal and execution beneath a storm-darkened sky.

But death was not his end.

Fueled by righteous fury and unfinished oaths, Sir Nareth rose again as a spirit, cursed to wander the realm as the Crownless Knight. His once-proud armor turned spectral, and his sword became a blade of necrotic vengeance. Though his soul is bound to the mortal plane, his sense of justice remains; Nareth hunts tyrants and oathbreakers, offering aid to the oppressed—but never resting, never at peace.

Some whisper that should a worthy ruler rise and reclaim the honor of the shattered kingdom, Nareth’s spirit might finally find release. Until that day, he remains a grim sentinel, eyes burning with a ghostly light, his hollow voice echoing across battlefields: “I serve no crown but justice.”