Aberration
Voidleech
CR 4
Small Aberration — Unaligned
In the World
Voidleeches are drawn to Essa energy the way certain deep-sea creatures are drawn to light — not for warmth, but for consumption. They have no eyes. They navigate entirely by Essa signature. The Still practitioners are invisible to them. Everyone else is food. A Voidleech feeds by physically contacting a vial or an active rig and draining the Essa content directly. The process accelerates Burn. In the early years after the Long Night, the Citadel classified Voidleeches as natural Suppression Grid candidates — creatures that police Essa use without Empire coordination. That classification was quietly removed from public records.
Traits
Essa Blindsight
The Voidleech detects the location and intensity of all Essa signatures within 120 ft. It is blind to anything that produces no Essa signature (including The Still practitioners). It cannot see in any other way.
Invisible to the Still
The Voidleech cannot detect, target, or perceive The Still practitioners in any way while they are not actively using a Technique.
Essa Drain Aura
Any creature that starts its turn within 10 ft of the Voidleech and is carrying at least one vial must succeed on a DC 13 CON save or one randomly selected vial loses its contents (counts as consumed). Essa constructs instead take 7 (2d6) force damage.
Actions
Drain Touch
Melee Spell Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 9 (2d8) necrotic damage and the target gains 1 Burn level. On a hit against a creature carrying vials, one vial (attacker's choice) is drained.
Essa Overload
The Voidleech forces a surge of drained Essa back into one creature within 30 ft. The target must succeed on a DC 13 CON save or take 22 (5d8) force damage and gain 1 Burn level (half damage, no Burn on success). The Voidleech cannot use this action if it has not drained any Essa this encounter.