Husks

Notes from the writer: The vacuum of space not only strips bodies of air, it rips away the soul, leaving behind Undead husks. These ominous space zombies are built for sci-fi horror campaigns in 5E. Hidden by Life Suits, nearly ubiquitous equipment in the Dark Matter setting, they’re the perfect jump scare: a suffocating hunter hidden in plain sight. Get this and more than 120 other sci-fi monsters in Dark Matter: Sci-Fi 5E, on Kickstarter now!

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Suffocated Space Undead

Habitat: Space (Spacecraft); Treasure: Any

When someone dies in the vacuum of space, the brutal process not only strips the body of all gasses, freezes it whole, and boils its blood, it sometimes also rips away the soul, leaving behind a shriveled Undead husk. This gaunt corpse, riddled with fissures, relentlessly hungers for air and seeks to drain it from the living. Aboard derelict ships, old crew members drift as husks, desperately clutching at their Life Suits and Escape Pods for air.

Spacer wisdom attests that the dead should be pushed out the airlock without exception or delay. In certain regions of space, bodies can unnaturally dehydrate, shriveling to the gaunt, lifeless outline of husks without ever meeting the vacuum directly.

Husk Resting Places

d6	The Husk Lurks…
1	Within a derelict starship.
2	In the depths of an asteroid mine.
3	At the crash site of its Escape Pod.
4	In the morgue of a Maw station hospital.
5	In an abandoned moon colony.
6	Near a pulsing, alien satellite.

Husk

Husks represent the grim fate of countless spacers who have been stranded in deep space without hope for rescue. Though a husk might at first resemble a spacer in distress, its cracked grey skin and ruptured Life Suit reveals its Undead nature.

Husk Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil
AC 13 Initiative−1 (9) HP 29 (4d8 + 8) Speed 30 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	15	+2	+2	DEX	8	−1	−1	CON	14	+2	+2
INT	6	−2	−2	WIS	9	−1	−1	CHA	5	−3	−3
Immunities Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 9 Languages Understands Common but can’t speak CR 1/2 (XP 100; PB +2)
Actions
Suffocating Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) Necrotic damage, and the target has Disadvantage on D20 Tests until the end of the husk’s next turn.

Forlorn Husk

Husks abandoned for too long become saturated with a sinister magic that dwells in deep space. They float uncannily in the air, even in artificial gravity, and suck the air out of the room like a hull breach.

Forlorn Husk Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil
AC 15 Initiative +1 (11) HP 76 (9d8 + 36) Speed 30 ft., Fly 30 ft. (hover)
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	18	+4	+4	DEX	12	+1	+1	CON	18	+4	+4
INT	9	−1	−1	WIS	11	+0	+0	CHA	7	−2	−2
Immunities Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10 Languages Understands Common but can’t speak CR 4 (XP 1,100; PB +2)
Traits
Vacuum Aura. The husk creates a magical vacuum in an 5-foot Emanation originating from itself. A creature that ends its turn within the Emantation gains 1 Exhaustion level (even if it has a breathing apparatus, such as a Life Suit). When a creature leaves the Emanation, it removes all levels of Exhaustion it gained from suffocating.
Actions
Multiattack. The husk makes two Suffocating Slam attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Gravitational Crush. Suffocating Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) Necrotic damage, and the target has Disadvantage on D20 Tests until the end of the husk’s next turn. Gravitational Crush. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 14, one creature within 30 feet. Failure: 13 (3d8) Force damage and the target’s Speed is 0 until the end of the husk’s next turn. Success: Half damage only.