Negative LA-Assignment : Resurrection, but no diamond here

[Beni-Kujaku]

Caller in Darkness

And today, we have the Caller in Darkness, a deliciously creepy psionic incorporeal monster eating souls to add them to itself!
Come....
They're surprisingly similar to a wraith, even having the same stats (+6 Dex, +4 in all mental stats), or more accurately an orb wraith, as a collection of souls acting as a single Undead monster, fearing the sunlight and surrounded by an unnatural aura.
Come to us...
Sadly, where an incorporeal undead damaging Con is overpowered at 5 RHD, the same incorporeal undead with no ability damage on its incorporeal touch and 11 RHD is very much outclassed, and the Caller in Darkness expectedly got a -0 LA.
Join us...
However, multiple heads, despite not giving more intelligence, seem to grant psionic powers, which gives the CiD at least a niche. The PLAs themselves are actually really good, with at-will Mind Thrust for direct damage, and 3/day Death Urge, Psychic Crush and Suggestion for basically save-or-loses. But my favorite is definitely at-will Clairvoyant Sense.
You know you want to.
Being able to put long-running sensors (7 minutes) without limits means you can keep tab on 70 important locations in your campaign, as well as being able to see above the ground while being hidden underneath. Actually, that's the main reason why Sunlight Vulnerability isn't a big deal, despite the Caller not being able to simply wear concealing clothes. This also goes with the lack of body slot, except a hypothetical Ghost Touch Mask.
The darkness beckons!
The last thing the caller has going for it is four incorporeal touches. No built-in rider, but going Swordsage for these sweet swift action boosts might be really good (one level gives you assassin stance and Burning Blade for a total of 2d6+2d6+1d6+5 per incorporeal touch to which most enemies will be flat-footed, which is pretty damn good).
The darkness calls!
All in all, the Caller in Darkness is more interesting as a PC than as a monster, with the customizable touch attacks and the immense potential of Clairvoyant Sense.
Sadly, as for most undead, we don't get any lore, and it didn't appear in any other edition, nor is it particularly interesting by itself, really. I mean, it appeared in 4e in Open Grave, the equivalent to Libris Mortis, but the litteral only lore we get from there is its type as a Shadow Animate, which means that it comes from the Shadowfell (like all incorporeal undead and a few creatures made of shadow, so nothing new) and that it's an Animate, that is that it was created through a ritual that erases its original identity, contrary to wraiths that are "naturally occurring" I guess. The point is that a wraith is still an humanoid at heart, and becomes it again if resurrected, while the Caller in Darkness is such an amalgamation of sould that no type can emerge. It's bound by magic, not by a soul. So yeah, one of the most cryptic lore clue from the edition with the worst lore, and not even a picture or description. That's great.
COME JOIN US IN THE DARKNESS!!
Still, despite the few problems, it still seems stronger than the wraith. 9 RHD, DLA-2 seems fair to me, though it may have a few difficulties leveling up (I still think swordsage is the best choice).
We will take good care of you...

And with this, we move on to the next monster. Next week, after this monster who only appeared in 3e (and slightly in 4e), we will have a creature who was featured from 1st edition and hasn't changed even one bit: the Crysmal!