This skeletal figure is dressed in the style of a town crier. It carries an elaborate silver bell in its bony hands, and its skull gleams white in the moonlight._ **Heralds of Calamity.** The black crier is an undead that appears hours, days, or even months before a great catastrophe. The larger the catastrophe, the earlier the black crier appears. **Servants of Fate.** Black criers are not malicious or vengeful undead and exist to warn of coming danger. They defend themselves if attacked but don’t pursue fleeing opponents. **Mute Messengers.** Despite their name, black criers cannot speak; instead, they use cryptic hand gestures or other mysterious signs to warn people of the impending calamity. **Undead Nature.** A black crier doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep. ## Portents of Disaster A black crier is always accompanied by signs of impending disaster. The crier isn’t affected or targeted by these portents, but it otherwise has no control over them. The portents appear within a black crier’s bound region (see the Bound by Calamity trait) and can be one or more of the following, becoming more frequent as the date of the catastrophe approaches: * Swarms of rats or insects appear, destroying crops, eating food stores, and spreading disease. * The ground in the region experiences minor tremors, lasting 1d6 minutes. * Thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes plague the region, lasting 1d6 hours. * Natural water sources in the region turn the color of blood for 1d4 hours. The water is safe to drink, and the change in color has no adverse effect on local flora and fauna.