The Blightburst
Death Comes Bursting
“At first, we mistook it for another of the countless pitiful shamblers that infest the marsh.
It lurched toward us, stumbling through knee-deep muck, its bloated form swaying grotesquely, limbs swollen beyond recognition.We joked nervously, taking bets on who'd land the killing blow. How quickly our laughter died.”
OfA Blightburst is a swollen Blightborn whose body has become a pressurized vessel of foul gas, contaminated fluid, and decaying tissue. From a distance it can be mistaken for an unusually bloated Shambler. The mistake becomes obvious when the numerousbody torments that the Rotmire Blight has visited upon Faulmoor, few are as cruelly deceptive as the creature known to locals simply as the Blightburst. These tragic beings were once ordinary people—farmers, merchants, and travelers—now reduced to hideous vessels swollen by decay, their bodies distended and distorted, stretched impossibly by vile fluids and trapped gases. Their skin, marbled with sickly shades of purple and green, is stretched taut like overripe fruit, pulsating disturbingly with each labored movement.ruptures.
Appearance
FromBlightbursts afar,are grotesquely distended. Their skin is stretched thin over enlarged torsos, purple-green bruising, trapped fluid, and pockets of gas. Limbs may look too small for the body they appearsupport. harmlessThe enough: sluggishabdomen and cumbersome,chest can visibly shift with internal pressure.
Their movement is slow but unnatural. Some barely seem to place their stepsfull weight on the ground, drifting over mud, shallow water, rubble, or broken flooring with a sickening buoyancy. A faint hiss, wet creak, or escape of gas may precede a rupture.
Rupture
The defining danger of a Blightburst is its death. When the body fails, it can burst with enough force to cover the surrounding area in poisonous vapor and contaminated matter.
Survivors exposed at close range describe burning lungs, vomiting, weakness, and rapidly worsening sickness. This makes a Blightburst dangerous even when it appears too slow or fragile to threaten anyone directly.
The practical lesson has spread widely: killing one at arm's reach can be worse than allowing it to pass.
Behavior
Blightbursts do not display the coordination associated with more sophisticated Blightborn. They drift or shuffle toward movement, reach with swollen limbs when prey comes close, and unsureotherwise asbehave ifwith uncertainlittle apparent purpose.
Their value to a mass of theirBlighted grotesquecomes new form. Yet this very frailty is a sinister deception. Within their bloated carcasses lies a foul concoction of rot and contagion, pressurized until evenfrom the slightest puncture can unleash a catastrophic explosion of infectious gore and suffocating spores.
Seasoned travelers and hunters alike know to fear their presence, for when ruptured—whether by blade, arrow, or even a particularly reckless shove—they burst violently, drenching nearby victims in thick, pungent ichor. This vile fluid clings stubbornly to clothing and skin, exuding a stench potent enough to attract every Blighted creature within leagues. Those unfortunate enough to become covered find themselves hunted relentlessly, as though marked by an invisible beacon of suffering and despair.
Grim tales speak of doomed expeditions and desperate warriors falling victim to the Blightburst’s terrible trap. It is said that entire scouting parties have been overwhelmed in mere minutes after mistakenly striking down one of these grotesque figures, their last moments spent frantically trying to scrape the poisonous muck fromhazard their bodies ascreate. A narrow road, doorway, bridge, or packed melee can turn a single Blightburst into a problem far larger than the marshcreature itself seemed to come alive, disgorging hordes of ravenous undead drawn to the scent.itself.
Thus,
Field wise traveler heeds the old marshfolk saying:
Knowledge
IfExperienced youtravelers seegive itbloated swollen,Blighted letbodies itextra walk. Better lost minutes than lost lives.
Yet caution alone is not always enough. In the cruel, twisting marshes of Faulmoor, encounters with the Blightburst often occur at close quartersdistance and withavoid littlestriking warning.them Theircasually. slowRanged shuffleattacks andare painedpreferred moans, like the anguished groan of rotting timber under strain, can easily be drowned out by rain or masked by the dense fog. Many seasoned explorers carry long pikes or sturdy poles, gently pushing away the bloated creatures rather than risking direct confrontation.
One final detail persists among those few who have witnessed the aftermath firsthand: a faint, almost plaintive sound—a low hiss or sigh—often heard just beforewhen a Blightburst ruptures.must Perhaps,be indestroyed, thatand briefestenclosed moment,spaces somethingare treated with particular caution.
The nature of their human soul remains, trapped within the horrormaterial theyreleased haveduring become,a desperatelyrupture longingremains forpoorly release.understood. OrPublic perhapsaccounts commonly describe it isas simplyinfectious theor soundspore-like, ofbut foulno gasesagreement escapingexists theabout prisonwhat ofit fleshactually at last. None remain close enough, nor brave enough, to learn which is true.is.
Stat
See Block
Medium Undead, unaligned
Damage Vulnerabilities: FireDamage Immunities: PoisonCondition Immunities: Poisoned, ExhaustionSenses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 8Languages: —Challenge: 1/2 (100 XP)