Bhut

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A bhut was a poisonous undead spirit, created when a humanoid died violently in a remote location. It took possession of and reanimated any humanoid corpse in a manner reminiscent of a zombie, but it could also exist in a more vulnerable state independent of the corpse host. Bhuts hated the living and sought to kill any travelers they could find.

Description
When not in possession of a corpse, a bhut took the hideous ghostly form of a rotted, mutilated, emaciated, and malformed humanoid with red eyes, knife-like teeth, and an incorporeal body that dissolved into black smoke and dank red mist. The bite of the bhut was poisonous, and anyone killed by its poison became a bhut themselves after death, rising at the next sunset.

In its corpse form, the bhut differed from a zombie in that it retained its bhut intellect.

Personality
A bhut was a kind of ghost created when a humanoid died a violent and sudden death in a remote location. The bhut retained at least some of the knowledge of its former life, including fluency in all the languages it had known, but it nursed a deep hatred for the living. Bhuts stalked travelers and pilgrims in remote regions, often fooling them by animating corpses to convincingly behave like living humanoids. They could be found alone, in coveys of up to five, or in colonies of up to twenty four.

Combat
Though very capable in combat, bhuts preferred to eschew an open fight for tricks and surprises and intentionally avoided combat in their incorporeal forms.

Bhuts had a pathological aversion to earth and stone, which caused them great harm. Weapons made from these materials were effective against them.