Funa-Yurei 船幽霊

Medium undead (yokai), chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 114 (12d8 + 60)

Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover), swim 40 ft.

STR 16 (+3) · DEX 14 (+2) · CON 20 (+5) · INT 10 (+0) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Con +8, Cha +6

Skills Athletics +6, Perception +5, Stealth +5

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities poison, necrotic

Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15

Languages understands Common (or local dialect), but typically “speaks” via eerie wails; telepathy 60 ft. (only with creatures that have stepped onto or into water within the last 24 hours)

Challenge 7

Traits

Ghostly Vessel. A Funa-Yurei is bound to the spectral remnant of its lost ship or boat (though not always visible to others). In coastal or aquatic combat, it can use Wail of the Drowned (see below) without expending a recharge if it starts its turn at 0 ft. from water at least 10 feet deep.

Waterborne Haunt. The Funa-Yurei can move across water surfaces as if they were solid ground, ignoring difficult terrain in water. If forcibly moved beneath the surface, it can still hover/ swim normally.

Tidal Lure. As a bonus action, the Funa-Yurei can project an illusory light or fleeting silhouette up to 60 feet away in the water. Any creature that sees this must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) check or believe it to be a real threat or beckoning signal, potentially luring them into hazardous waters. A creature that fails by 5 or more becomes charmed by the illusion until it uses its action to examine it (prompting another check).

Actions

Multiattack. The Funa-Yurei makes two attacks with Drowning Touch or one Drowning Touch and uses Wail of the Drowned if available.

Drowning Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.

Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) cold damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or run out of breath (as though submerged) until the end of the Funa-Yurei’s next turn. While out of breath, the target cannot speak or cast spells with a verbal component.

Wail of the Drowned (Recharge 5-6). The Funa-Yurei emits a haunting cry reminiscent of howling wind over waves. Each creature within 20 feet that can hear it must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. While frightened by this effect, a creature’s speed is halved, and it takes 7 (2d6) cold damage at the start of each of its turns as it feels icy water rising around its legs. A frightened creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Phantasmal Undertow (1/Day). The Funa-Yurei beckons watery spirits to drag enemies downward. Each creature of its choice in a 20-foot cube originating from the Funa-Yurei must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is pulled up to 15 feet toward a body of water or downward if already in water. If it is submerged after being pulled, it is restrained by grasping phantom hands (escape DC 15). The undertow ends after 1 minute or if the Funa-Yurei is incapacitated.

Reactions

Ghostly Shriek. When a creature within 5 feet deals damage to the Funa-Yurei, it can let out a shrill cry. The attacker must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or become deafened for 1 minute and have disadvantage on its next attack roll against the Funa-Yurei.

Lair Actions (Optional)

If you want to feature the Funa-Yurei as a boss in a haunting environment (like a foggy cove or sunken deck), consider giving it lair actions. For instance, on initiative count 20 (losing ties), the Funa-Yurei might:

Summon Swirling Fog. A 15-footradius area of thick fog appears, functioning like fog cloud until initiative count 20 of the next round.

Echoing Moans. Eerie voices echo across the water, forcing creatures in a 30-foot radius to succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or lose concentration on spells or become momentarily disoriented.

Lore & Behavior

Funa-Yurei bear an intense grudge against the living, especially those at sea. They strike swiftly and try to drag victims into the water.

Often appear at dusk or just before dawn in a thick bank of fog, using illusions and telepathic cries to unnerve or manipulate targets.

Some Funa-Yurei are trapped in a ghostly reenactment of their final moments at sea. They may ignore intruders unless the living actively disrupt their eternal drama.

Lore

Ghostly spirits of drowned sailors, sometimes sinking boats by scooping water aboard.

Funa-Yurei are believed to be the spirits of sailors, fishermen, or warriors lost at sea during storms and other disasters. They become ghosts precisely because they cannot find peace in death, wandering ceaselessly across the open waters. In ancient lore, these apparitions were described as the souls of fallen warriors who drowned in naval battles—famous examples include the vengeful spirits of the Taira clan in the story of Miminashi Hoichi. However, during the Edo period, when maritime trade and fishing thrived, these “ship ghosts” came to be associated more broadly with common victims of shipwrecks. As their name suggests, they are yurei—unquiet spirits—yet they often manifest as an entire spectral crew, presenting a collective threat rather than a lone phantom.

Curiously, these drowned apparitions, like many yokai, tend to appear late in the evening or at night, but this is not an absolute rule. Their phantom vessel emerges silently from the mist‑wreathed ocean, gliding across the surface with unnerving grace. The crew is sometimes depicted as waterlogged corpses, drifting for ages among sea life, crusted with shells. Each one wears a tenkan—a triangular cloth placed on the forehead of the dead to signify the soul’s passage into the afterlife.

From Yokai Bestiary 5E, p. 68 · Fern Flower Press