Breathdrinker

The breathdrinker is a dreadful elemental that feeds on air extracted from the lungs of living creatures. How it actually derives sustenance from such a source is unknown, but the cruel monster seems to take great delight in stealing the breath of its helpless victims.

The breathdrinker is normally invisible, except when attacking. When it does become visible, it roughly mimics the form of its chosen victim, appearing as a misty, translucent duplicate. Its eyes resemble tiny, red spheres of light.

Most breathdrinkers reside on the Elemental Plane of Air. Occasionally, a breathdrinker summoned to the Material Plane by a spellcaster for a specific task (most often the slaying of a specific target) decides to stay on after completing the assignment. A creature that chooses this course nearly always does so because it enjoyed its task and wishes to continue bringing death and destruction.

Breathdrinkers speak Common and Auran.

Combat

A breathdrinker lurks invisibly most of the time, waiting for prey to wander near. It normally selects a single creature as a victim, then spends some time stalking and watching its quarry before deciding on the best method of approach. Often, it simply waits for its chosen prey to fall asleep before attempting to steal its breath. Alternatively, it may first attempt to render the creature helpless with its gaze attack, then follow up with its steal breath attack. The breathdrinker is single-minded to a fault⁠—​once it selects a victim, it does not rest until it has fully fed from that creature’s lungs. Unless the breathdrinker is killed, it persists with its breath-stealing attacks until its chosen victim dies, then flees to digest its meal (a process that usually takes several days) before setting out to hunt again.

If attacked by creatures other than the one it has selected, the breathdrinker usually defends itself with a wind scythe⁠—​a plane of pressurized air that it forms from its own body. The creature does not use this attack against its chosen victim, preferring to kill that creature entirely through breath-stealing.

Fear Gaze (Su): Anyone within 30 feet of a breathdrinker who meets the creature’s glowing red eyes must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC 16) or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds.

Steal Breath (Su): As a full-round action, a breathdrinker can attempt to suck the air from the lungs of any helpless creature within reach. The target must make a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 17) or take 1d6 points of Constitution damage. The target dies when his or her Constitution score reaches 0. The breathdrinker heals 5 points of damage for each point of Constitution the target loses, gaining any excess as temporary hit points. So long as the target remains helpless, the breathdrinker continues to use this attack against that creature every round until it dies.

Air Mastery (Ex): Any airborne creature takes a –⁠1 penalty on attack and damage rolls made against a breathdrinker.

Invisibility (Su): A breathdrinker can make itself invisible at will as a free action. This ability functions like an invisibility spell (caster level 8th), except that it lasts until the breathdrinker ends the effect, either by choice or by attacking.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 39. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II.