Witherer

Witherers were a type of ghul-kin found in Zakhara, the Land of Fate.

Description
Witherers usually stood tall. All witherers were shapechangers and could assume any humanoid form at will, preferring to choose something beautiful or seductive. Any assumed shape was based on a person the witherer met, but something about the shape was just a bit off. In their natural form they resembled gangly undead elves.

Combat
Witherers often had the skills and spells of a competent wizard or priest. Enchanted weapons were needed to cause them harm.

True to their name, a witherer's touch weakened a target while strengthening itself. In addition to draining strength, each touch also caused harm and aged the victim by one year. Strength lost from a witherer returned slowly, but the aging was permanent unless remedied by magical means.Any creature slain by a witherer needed to have a remove curse spell cast on their body before they could be brought back from the dead.

Habitat/Society
Witherers were exceptionally intelligent and dominant. They used their cunning to execute long-term goals usually involving the gathering of power and corruption of mortals. They enjoyed sacrificial rituals of sentient creatures and treasure. Witherers used soultakers as lieutenants to help execute their plans and gather pawns. It was common for witherers to keep humans and demihumans as shock troops or a food source.

Witherers often reacted poorly to unexpected situations, but could easily spend decades planning revenge for past defeats. Female witherers were more numerous and dominant compared to their male counterparts.