Flay

Illus. by D. Martin

Flay is a long whip fashioned from the skin of a giant constrictor snake.

Nonlegacy Game Statistics: +1 whip; Cost 2,301 gp. Omen: The tail end of the whip restlessly writhes across the ground as if alive. With Flay in your possession, you can taste food with your sense of smell. HISTORY

Fulanor didn’t adventure with companions. This wasn’t because he disliked company—he loved to share stories of risk and danger—but because he didn’t want to share any loot. The chance of not getting exactly what he wanted was too great in a group of people. As a result, Fulanor was exceedingly self-suffi cient. In fact, there was little Fulanor couldn’t do, from casting spells to healing himself, from holding his own in a fi ght to sneaking past sentries. For the most part, he avoided overextending himself in situations he couldn’t easily escape. He was good at this too. Then he heard a rumor about a giant snake known as Saelishus. The snake reputedly guarded untold riches, slithering over piles of gold but unaware of what it guarded. An adventurer needed only avoid Saelishus long enough to scoop up a helmet full of coins and make out like a bandit. Such wealth would guarantee a comfortable life for years. It is from the hide of Saelishus that Flay was eventually fashioned. (DC 15) Only a handful of brave souls told the stories about Saelishus, bragging about their exploits and freely showing off their wealth. When yet another adventurer emerged with riches fi tting the rumor, Fulanor fi nally gave in to his curiosity. The location was well known: The snake’s abode was an underground river and the surrounding caverns. Fulanor ventured inside and found spelunking equipment strewn about. That’s when Saelishus introduced herself—a huge constrictor that could speak the Common tongue. Fulanor had not entered the lair hoping to avoid the serpent, as so many others had done before. He was prepared to face Saelishus and magically charmed her. This development brought some familiar faces out of hiding—the selfsame braggarts whom Fulanor had heard speaking of fooling the mighty serpent. These adventurers now revealed themselves as pureblood yuan-ti. They were in cahoots with Saelishus, luring the foolhardy to the snake and looting their

The skin of the monster Saelishus was fashioned into the whip Flay

possessions after the constrictor made the kill.

Fulanor convinced his new “friend” that the yuan-ti would serve better in her belly, so Saelishus began to fi ght the yuan-ti. Both sides took severe wounds, allowing Fulanor to mop up handily. He left not only with the promised treasure, but also with Saelishus’s skin. (DC 20; Snake Charmer) LEGACY RITUAL

One ritual is required to unlock all the abilities of Flay.

Snake Charmer: You must convince one opponent out of a group to turn against its own and its comrades’ interests. Cost: 4,300 gp. Feat Granted: Least

Legacy (Flay). WIELDER REQUIREMENTS

Most wielders of Flay are bards, although anyone with some talents of persuasion and the Exotic Weapon

Profi ciency (whip) feat can readily use the weapon.

Flay Wielder Requirements

Base attack bonus +2 Bluff or Diplomacy 2 ranks Exotic Weapon Proficiency (whip)

LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES

All the following are legacy item abilities of Flay. Snake Sting (Sp): Beginning at 5th level, three times per day, you can snap Flay to use magic missile as the spell. The projectiles of force are shaped like snakes’ heads. Caster level 5th. Whip Wrap (Su): At 8th level and higher, whenever you succeed on a trip attempt with Flay, you can choose to resolve the trip normally or begin to constrict your opponent with the whip. If you choose to constrict,

Table 3–21: Flay

——————— Personal Costs ——————— Wielder Will Save Skill Check Hit Point Skill Point Level Penalty Penalty Loss Loss Abilities

5th — — — — Snake sting 3/day 6th — — 2 3 — 7th –1 — — — +1 animal bane whip 8th — — — 3 Whip wrap 9th — –1 — — — 10th — — 2 — Snake sense

Flay immediately makes a grapple check as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, using your grapple modifi er + 4. If the check is successful,

Flay establishes a hold and can make grapple checks on its own each round (you can release the whip). On each subsequent successful grapple check, Flay constricts, dealing 1d3+5 points of damage. The grappled opponent can escape using the normal grapple rules (see page 155 of the Player’s Handbook). Snake Sense (Su): Starting at 10th level, you gain blindsense in a 20-foot radius. You are also granted a +5 bonus on Survival checks to follow tracks, ignoring the effects of poor lighting and surface conditions. ADVENTURE SEED (EL 7)

A nest of pureblood yuan-ti once worshiped Saelishus, quietly living among humans and feeding live offerings to their precious beast. When the resourceful bard Fulanor slew the snake and made Flay out of her skin, the yuan-ti pursued him for years, incensed at his fashioning their favored pet into a common weapon. When Fulanor fi nally grew tired of fl eeing, fi ghting, or outsmarting the yuan-ti, he attempted to call a truce. The yuan-ti agreed, but they betrayed him by later sending an assassin to kill the bard in his sleep. The whip is now the possession of Krenas, a pureblood yuan-ti snake trainer. Krenas treats the magically animated weapon as if it were a living snake, believing the spirit of Saelishus remains alive within the whip.

Krenas the Snake Trainer CR 7

Male yuan-ti pureblood ranger 3 CE Medium monstrous humanoid Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Listen +6, Spot +6 Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Goblin, Yuan-Ti AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 16; Dodge, Two-Weapon

Defense hp 40 (7 HD) SR 17 Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 Speed 30 ft. (6 squares) Melee mwk scimitar +10/+5 (1d6+2/18–20) or Melee mwk scimitar +8/+3 (1d6+2/18–20) and mwk short sword +8 melee (1d6+1/19–20) with

Two-Weapon Fighting or Melee Flay +8/+3 (1d3+3 nonlethal) and mwk short sword +8 melee (1d6+1/19–20) with

Two-Weapon Fighting or Ranged mwk composite longbow +12/+7 (1d8+2/×3) Base Atk +7; Grp +9 Atk Options favored enemy humans +2 Combat Gear 3 potions of cure light wounds Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th): 1/day—animal trance (DC 12), cause fear (DC 11), charm person (DC 11), darkness, entangle (DC 11) 3/day (by snapping Flay)—magic missile (CL 5th)

At will—detect poison (CL 6th) Abilities Str 14, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10 SQ alternate form, wild empathy +5 (+1 magical beasts) Feats AlertnessB, Blind-FightB, Dodge, EnduranceB, Exotic

Weapon Proficiency (whip), Least Legacy (Flay)B ,

TrackB, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon FightingB Skills Bluff +2, Concentration +8, Disguise +3 (+8 impersonating a human), Handle Animal +7, Hide +9, Listen +6, Move Silently +8, Spot +6, Survival +4 Possessions combat gear plus +2 studded leather, Flay, masterwork scimitar, masterwork short sword, masterwork composite longbow (+2 Str bonus) with 20 arrows, 10 cold iron arrows, 10 silver arrows, masterwork dagger Alternate Form (Sp) Can change into a Tiny to Large viper (MM 280) as if using polymorph (caster level 19th). Does not regain hit points for changing form.

Yuan-Ti Snake Farm

This map depicts a secret underground facility, built beneath an ordinary-looking house, where the yuan-ti Krenas breeds and trains dangerous snakes. Aboveground, the yuan-ti pureblood assumes a human guise and masquerades as an ordinary townsperson. Mating Cages Prospective breeding snakes are introduced in these rather small cages to encourage mating and egg laying. The cages are currently empty, since several clutches of eggs were recently laid.

Incubator

Natural packed earth provides protection and warmth for the snake eggs, which are nestled in bedding on a raised shelf.

Ladder to House

This ascends to a trap door in the house’s cellar, which is kept barred from the underside while

Krenas is in his facility. When he is aboveground, he piles trash on top of the trap door to hide it from casual view.

Bedroom

Krenas sleeps here and keeps the whip Flay in a pet cage, as though it were a living snake. He often hisses and croons to it affectionately. A small hole has been burrowed into the earthen floor, underneath Krenas’s cot. This is an emergency escape that he can use in Tiny viper form. The burrow opens into a dirt alley beside the house and is concealed by a patch of weeds.

Snake Cages

This small, enclosed room is kept warm and contains a number of cages. Each holds a Medium viper or a

Medium constrictor. Tactical Notes

Krenas prefers to fight using his scimitar, but he might draw Flay to access its snake sting ability. At any given time, there is a 50 percent chance the snake trainer is in his bedroom, which also serves as general living quarters, usually holding and caressing Flay as though it were a living snake. The rest of the time is split equally between the incubator chamber and the room filled with snake cages, as Krenas goes about his regular feeding and tending. Unless the party uses teleportation or digs into this area, the only entry is by way of the ladder. Breaking through the trapdoor is extremely difficult to do quietly, since it is barred from the underside. However, Krenas is usually preoccupied, so he takes a –2 penalty on Listen checks.

Round 1: If Krenas hears the party entering, he activates his darkness ability around himself, trusting to his Blind-Fight to give him an advantage. He also moves to remove Flay from its cage if he is in his living quarters. If he is in the room with snake cages, he instead releases one of the snakes.

Round 2: If he is not engaged in melee and has Flay, Krenas cracks the whip to launch three magic missiles. He directs the bolts against an apparent spellcaster if he can see one, or against an obvious martial character if not. He then draws his short sword or releases another snake as suits the situation. Otherwise, he draws his scimitar and short sword. (Until he wields two weapons, his AC is only 20.) Krenas is obsessed with protecting Flay and tries to get to that area if he is not holding the whip.

Round 3 and Beyond: If Krenas has Flay, he continues to use its snake sting ability until all daily uses are exhausted or doing so is no longer practical, then moves into melee combat. He does not drop the whip but will take a move action to carefully wrap it about his waist before drawing a second weapon. Krenas doesn’t use his spell-like abilities (cause fear, charm person) unless he is reasonably certain that he faces opponents weak enough to be affected by them. If things get dicey, Krenas attempts to withdraw from combat and escape to his bedroom (there to transform into a Tiny viper and use the bolt-hole) or the ladder.