Chapter Four: Creatures
Dream Hunter Encounter (EL 8) The PCs are after an akashic kidnapped by the mercenaries of a powerful warlord who wants some information that only the akashic knows. Little do they realize that the warlord’s rival—a powerful champion of darkness—wants this akashic as well. She doesn’t know where the akashic is or how to find him, but she knows the characters are looking for him. So she sends a pack of four trained dream hunters to find the party. The PCs begin to have disturbing dreams of being chased while they themselves chase the kidnappers, hoping to intercept them before they reach the warlord’s castle. If they do recover the akashic, the dream hunters and their 5th-level unfettered handler move in to take him away from his rescuers.
Harrid Medium Monstrous Humanoid Hit Dice: 4d8+8 + 1d8+2 (32 hp), dying/dead –3/–15 Initiative: +2 (Dexterity) Speed: 30 feet AC: 14 (+2 Dexterity, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12; or 16 (+2 Dexterity, +2 natural, +2 long shield), touch 12, flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7 Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d4+3), or scimitar athame +8 melee (1d6+4), or mighty composite longbow (+3) +6 ranged (1d8+3) Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d4+3), bite +2 melee (1d6+1); or scimitar athame +8 melee (1d6+4); or mighty composite longbow (+3) +6 ranged (1d8+3) Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet Special Attacks: Poisoned weapons, spell-like abilities, magic drain, athame Special Qualities: SR 15 Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +3 Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 16, Wis 9, Cha 17 Skills: Alchemy +10, Knowledge (ceremony) +5, Knowledge (history) +5, Knowledge (magic) +5, Knowledge (runes) +5, Sneak +9, Spellcraft +9, Spot +6 Feats: Corrupt Mage, The Voice, Modify Spell Environment: Warm land Organization: Solitary, band (5–8), clutch (8–18 plus one leader of 2nd to 5th level), or clan (20–200 plus 10 3rd-level mage blades, five 5th-level runethanes, and one magister leader of 5th to 9th level) Challenge Rating: 5 Treasure: Double standard Advancement: By character class Level Adjustment: +3 Harrids are degenerate avian creatures who literally thrive on magic. They long ago gave up food and drink, in fact, and now subsist entirely on magic. These crafty and ingenious spellcasters love to use poisoned weapons (and poison of all kinds). Many of the worst poisons in the world are harrid concoctions.
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Harrids are humanoids that stand about 5 to 6 feet tall. Their bodies are hairless, although some sprout thin tufts of coarse feathery down. Twisted, skeletal arms hang low and end in surprisingly nimble four-fingered claws. The small head atop a thin, almost spindly neck, sports a curved beak and two large, sunken Tharis Root eyes. They have been Found in isolated mountain vales and windlikened to sickly, blown hilltops, the root of the blue-flowered deformed vultures. tharis plant can aid those on the run from dream hunters. When boiled and made into a Their thin, warped broth, the brew allows those who drink it to go bodies betray their without dreams the next time they sleep. This effect lasts about 24 hours. strength and agility. These creatures There is a danger, however. Every consecutive day after the first day of using tharis root, hail from the contia character must make a Will saving throw nent to the south(DC 15 + the number of dreamless days). Failure means the character suffers west, across the 1d6 points of Wisdom damage. Sonish Sea. Fair Tharis root costs about 10 gp per dose if bought sailors, they use long rather than found. A few recorded instances mention that the brew was used as a slow, galleys crewed by insanity-inducing poison to unwitting victims humanoid slaves at who thought they were drinking merely a bitter tea. the oars. They come to the magic-rich shores of the Lands of the Diamond Throne seeking enchantments and magic items to steal and magical locations to drain (like power cysts; see page 24). They have already drained their own land of such sites, and they want more. Though contemptuous and selfish, harrids are not cruel for cruelty’s sake. However, they are not beyond torturing captives to gain something they need. They have no pity, no empathy for others. Harrids even seem contemptuous of each other and frequently squabble among themselves. Harrids speak their own grating language, but about half also speak Common and Giant. The statistics here are for a 1st-level mage blade harrid.
Combat Poisoned Weapons (Ex): Harrids always poison their weapons with toxins of their own making. These poisons have a Difficulty Class of 16, with initial damage of 1d3 points of temporary Constitution, and secondary damage of 1d4 points of temporary Constitution. Some harrids have even worse poisons. Harrids sometimes wear envenomed tips on their claws, making even their natural weapons toxic. Magic Drain (Su): With a touch attack, a harrid can drain and consume magic. Should the harrid touch a creature with a spell effect cast upon it, it dispels the effect (the highestlevel effect, if multiple spells are operative). If the creature is a spellcaster but has no spells active upon it, the harrid drains its highest-level spell slot still available, as if the slot were
