Creeping Evil

Religious philosophers have noted that while the virtuous are often filled with a righteous conviction that inures them from hopelessness and fear, the wicked are beset by constant doubt, driving them to commit even greater atrocities in an effort to stave off their insecurities. Sometimes, when this cycle reaches a crisis point, persistent doubt can even break from the psyche that created it, adopting a physical form known as a creeping evil.

While demons, devils, and other fiends are those most likely to spawn a creeping evil, a mortal tyrant gripped by constant fear of rebellion or a murderer compelled to kill again in order to cover up their previous crimes can manifest one as well. Often, a creeping evil will linger near the creature that created it, sparing their life but lurking in the shadows as a constant reminder of their failures. Only when the creature summons their courage and finally confronts their fear head-on does the creeping evil turn on them. Other creeping evils abandon their creators as soon as they spawn, slithering down lightless alleyways or into abandoned sewer tunnels to search for new souls to corrupt.

Though its body has the consistency of flowing tar, a creeping evil's predator-like cunning and unnatural ability to vary its volume at a whim set it apart from the living oozes often encountered by adventurers.