Zeek’ll Vane-Stethoscope — The Auditor of Expiration

Ability Scores

STR

8

-1

DEX

18

+4

CON

14

+2

INT

16

+3

WIS

16

+3

CHA

8

-1

Combat

Armor Class: 17; Unarmored Defense
Hit Points: 66; Hit Dice: 9d8+18
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft.
Proficiency: +4
Passive Perception: 17

Attacks

Unarmed Strike+81d6+4 bludgeoning

Obsidian Needle+81d4+4 piercing

Personality

Speaks in a dry, clicking monotone. They often pause conversations to press a finger against the listener's pulse, murmuring about 'rhythm fluctuations.'

Ideal

Mechanical Truth. Entropy is the only honest law; everything else is a malfunction of hope.

Bond

The Obsidian Needle and the Vials. A collection of captured 'final breaths' that Zeek'll believes will one day harmonize into a grand cosmic frequency.

Flaw

Will intentionally delay a life-saving treatment for several seconds to observe how the body reacts to the onset of cellular shutdown.

Backstory

Zeek’ll was born in the pressurized silences of the Lower Dark, serving as a geomancer who listened to the tectonic heartbeats of the world. Their life shifted when they excavated a vein of forbidden adamant and found a celestial being fossilized within the rock—a creature of light turned to cold, decaying stone. The sight of a divine entity succumbing to the 'mechanical failure' of entropy shattered Zeek’ll’s mind. If the gods could rot, then life was not a miracle; it was merely a temporary, inefficient vibration of meat and bone.

Driven by a morbid obsession, Zeek’ll abandoned the stone to study the 'biological mechanism.' They mastered the Way of Mercy not to soothe suffering, but to control the exact moment the machine stops. They view every pulse as a countdown and every breath as a leak in a pressurized system. They have spent decades wandering the surface, 'auditing' the deaths of various species, convinced that the microsecond of expiration holds the only objective truth left in a crumbling multiverse.

Abilities & Actions

Audit the Machine (3/Day)

When Zeek’ll uses their Hand of Healing, they also gain insight into the target's mechanical weaknesses. For 1 minute, the target has disadvantage on saving throws against Zeek’ll’s Monk features, as Zeek'll has identified the exact pressure points of their anatomy.

Obsidian Nerve-Pin (Action)

Zeek’ll makes a melee weapon attack with their signature obsidian acupuncture needle (+8 to hit, 1d4+4 piercing damage). On a hit, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be Paralyzed until the end of Zeek’ll's next turn as their motor functions are mechanically suspended.

Siphon the Final Vibration (Reaction)

When a creature within 5 feet of Zeek’ll drops to 0 hit points, Zeek’ll can use their reaction to funnel the creature's expiring energy into a crystal vial. Zeek’ll regains 2d8 + 3 hit points, or can choose to store this energy, making their next Hand of Harm deal an extra 2d8 necrotic damage.

Physician's Cold Touch (Passive)

Whenever Zeek’ll deals necrotic damage with their Hand of Harm, the target is also Poisoned until the end of Zeek'll's next turn. Zeek'll's clinical detachment allows them to bypass resistances to necrotic damage if the target is a humanoid or celestial.

DM Notes

Zeek’ll never blinks. When they speak, they refer to party members as 'The Brute Unit,' 'The Arcane Conduit,' or 'The Redundant One.' They carry a small ledger where they record the 'vibration frequency' of everyone they meet. To initiate a deal, they might say: 'Your cardiovascular system is laboring under the weight of your choices. I can recalibrate your heart... for a specimen of your spinal fluid.' Signature gesture: Tilting their plague mask up and squinting with unblinking obsidian eyes at a person's neck.