Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Return of the Flumph 07-30-07, 11:19 PM	From the journal of the late Father Rethilus, respected healer and cleric of Pelor: 08/14/26 I had an interesting patient this afternoon. Tobias Hal, a local banker, was found wandering aimlessly through the marketplace, whispering rapidly under his breath in what was probably gibberish. From what his neighbors (the man has no immediate family) have told me, Tobias' mental health had been on a steady decline for the last several days, with this being the first incident of full-fledged psychosis. Although a healing spell was able to restore his mind easily enough, he could not tell me what had caused his sudden madness, nor could he recall what he was thinking during the time of his incoherency. All he could tell me was that he had been feeling distinctly "nightmarish" for the last few days, and that "things around him didn't seem to make sense anymore." I was unable to detect any evil aura about him (which rules out the possibility of fiendish possession), and so, deciding his condition was most likely caused by a brain sickness, I used a cure disease spell before sending him on his way. I will have to check the temple library to see if I can identify this disease; I certainly hope it isn't contagious. 08/20/26 Tobias, the mental patient from last week, was back in the sanitarium again today. He had not gone completely mad yet, but had recognized the resurgence of the early stages of his disease, and had returned to the temple of his own accord. I don't know how his condition could have returned after the treatment I gave him. My research has failed to yeild any precident for this pathology, and additional tests (including holy water and dispelling) failed to reveal a poison, supernatural presence, or magical curse of any kind. Brother Thomasson and I checked his home and workplace for anything that could have caused his mental illness, to no avail. I also tried various divinations, but could not arrive at a conclusive answer. In the meantime, I've applied another heal spell, which seemed to undo the damage once again, and told Tobias to sleep at the temple for a few days for further observation. 08/23/26 Something strange has happened to Tobias. After the two days of seeming normality, he awoke in the middle of the night, screaming like a frightened baby and shaking his head violently back and forth, tearing his hair out by the roots. I tried heal, as well as a wand of calm emotions, but no spell at my disposal could calm him down. In the end, I had to cast sleep to knock him out, but even in unconsciousness his body twitches spasmodically and his face contorts every few minutes, as if experiencing immense pain. No one in the temple has ever heard of anything like this before. 08/24/26 He is gone. Suddenly and for no reason at all, he just dissapeared. Brother Syllax, who was watching the santiorium last night after I left, said that several hours after I put him to sleep, Tobias dematerialized. Locate person spells have yielded no results. Most frightening of all, divinations have revealed that something similar to a plane shift spell has been used in the room recently. Spontaneous planar travel? How is that possible? Something must have come into the temple, invisible to our eyes, and taken him to one of the Realities Beyond. The temple is consecrated, hallowed, and warded with a constant magic circle against evil, but still we are breached! I have already alerted the Baron, as well as the Temple of Heironeous and the regional wizard. In the meantime, I will pray for information gathering spells of all kinds tomorrow morning; with enough time and the right wording, I may be able to divine the answer. 08/25/26 Curse the day that poor wretch was brought to me. Even I, a retired adventurer, can scarcely stand to comprehend the existence of the foulest evils, and last night I was brought face to face with one of them. I write this entry while hiding in the planar dampening field conjured by the wizard, praying that Pelor will not allow those horrors to breach it. I was alone in my study when they appeared. It is because they knew of my scrying attempts, I am sure of it. They appeared behind me; had I not happened to turn around at that precise moment, I would not be able to write these words. Three naked, glistening, slime-covered figures, emaciated to the point of being nearly skeletal, glared at me with cold, bulbous, alien eyes. Their skin was so stretched and their muscles so degenerated, I could clearly see their green-tinged skeletons and the host of pulsating, squirming, unidentifiable organ systems that they housed. The skulls were human, but inside of them I could just make out an organ that resembled nothing so much as a bloated worm or maggot, whose tail was wrapped around the spinal column and whose oversized heads extended into the mouth area. The skulls' lower jaws were missing, and from where the mouths should be there grew four, long, swaying tentacles, which seemed to sprout directly from the top of the wormlike "brain" organ. They were covered in a layer of foul smelling ooze, which even now stains the floor of my sanctum. The three blasphemies stared into my very soul, and I felt a tidal wave of morbid, nightmarish chaos surge through my brain; were I not an experienced and powerful minister of the Shining One, I believe that mental shockwave would have reduced me to a blabbering ape. Quickly, gritting my teeth against the surge, I seized my mace from its place on the wall and struck the nearest creature on its pallid skull. I heard the crack as the consecrated metal banged against its head, and it fell back, badly injured. A moment later, all three of them had vanished back to whatever extradimensional cesspit they call home, no doubt to devour what remains of Tobias at their unholy leisure. Phantasmithid Medium Aberration (extraplanar) Hit Dice: 8d8/8d8+32 (36 hp/68 hp) Initiative: +2 Armor Class: 19 (+2 dex, +3 natural, +4 deflection) Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+7 Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Attack: 4 tentacles +7 melee (1d4+1) Special Abilities: Psychic Entropy, Nightmare Visage, Psionics, Improved Grab, Mind Meld Special Qualities: Material Tolerance, Dream Mastery, SR 19/25, Telepathy (160 ft) Saves: Fort +4 Ref +4 Will +10 Abilities: Strength 12, Constitution 10, Dexterity 14, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 18, Charisma 18 Skills: Concentration (+15), Knowledge (the planes) (+12), Bluff (+11), Sense Motive (+11), Diplomacy (+9), Intimidate (+5) Feats: Ability Focus (Psychic Entropy), Quicken Spell Like Ability (plane shift)*, Great Fortitude, Psi Penetration Challenge Rating: 7/9 Alignment: Usually Neutral Evil Advancement: by character class An emaciated-nearly skeletal-humanoid with unrecognizable viscera writhing and pulsing beneath its membranous, transparent skin. Its visible skeleton is discolored, and its mouth has been replaced by four sinuous tentacles. Several hundred years ago, a group of mind flayers whose city in the underdark had been destroyed retreated to the Ethereal Plane, deciding to abandon their former lifestyle and find a more secure home for themselves. Adapting to the Border Ethereal, these illithids learned to be hunters rather than herdsmen; they settled in areas of the Ethereal that were coterminious with humanoid cities, and used their plane shift ability to steal a brain whenever they were hungry. Soon, they established an elder brain in their ethereal sanctum, and secured some hidden bases on the nearby Material where they could bring victims for ceremorphosis. This new way of life was surprisingly easy for them, and soon they had spawned more settlements with their own elder brains to haunt other human cities. Aside from their habitat, these illithids were identical to their underdark brethren. However, at some point, a group of these ethereal mind flayers ventured further into the mists of the ether, perhaps seeking to understand deeper secrets of the mind, until they discovered the Plane of Dreams. Prolonged exposure to this new plane mutated the illithids who moved there, and in time a new species was born. Phantasmithids, or "dream flayers," no longer devour brains to survive. Instead, they invade the dreams of a sleeping creature and suck away at its sanity and imagination, causing nightmares, restlessness, paranoia, amnesia, and psychosis. While they seldom drain all of a person's wisdom for fear of discovery, they leave a rash of mental illness wherever they strike, and have been known to drain a person completely if they are sure he won't be missed. In order to reproduce, a phantasmithid brings a tadpole to the Prime Material and inserts it into the ear of an incapacitated (usually wisdom drained) humanoid. Once ceremorphosis reaches an advanced stage (usually within twelve hours or less), the victim plane shifts to the Plane of Dreams, where it completes the transformation in the care of its soon to be fellows. A phantasmithid elder brain is similar to an illithid one, but dwells in the Plane of Dreams and has slightly different abilites. A phantasmithid lacks vocal chords, but can communicate telepathically with any creature that has language. Combat If attacked on the Prime Material, phantasmithids will try to retreat quickly to their home plane (often using Nightmare Visage to cover their retreat), where they can regroup and formulate a counterattack. When they attack targets on the Material, they usually shift first to the Ethereal to ambush the victims, suddenly appearing on all sides and attacking in unison. While not as intelligent as terrestrial mind flayers, phantasmithids are still far smarter than the average humanoid, and fight with impeccable tactics and strategy. Psychic Entropy (Su): A phantasmithid can release a blast of psionic energy within a fifteen foot radius of itself. All creatures within this area that have an intelligence score (except other phantasmithids) must succeed at a will save (DC 20) or become catatonic and helpless for 3d4 rounds. A catatonic creature drops whatever it may be holding and stands in place blankly; it can take no actions on its own, but may be led to walk in a certain direction or pushed into different positions by another creature. A heal spell or a Heal check (DC 25) can restore them to sanity earlier. The save DC is charisma based. On the Plane of Dreams, this attack also deals 4d6 damage, half damage on a succesful save. Nightmare Visage (Su): A phantasmithid can cause itself to become irrationally terrifying. Any within sixty feet who look at the creature while this ability is active must succeed at a will save (DC 18) or become terrified for one round. The save DC is charisma based. Psionics (Sp): mind thrust (DC 15), detect thoughts ( DC 16), plane shift, suggestion (DC 17), charm monster (DC 18). Caster level 8. The save DCs are charisma based. Improved Grab (Ex): If it hits with a tentacle attack, a phantasmithid can attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it maintains a hold for one full round or longer, it can Mind Meld. Mind Meld (Su): A phantasmithid can gorge itself upon the dreams and creativity of a grappled or sleeping creature by temporarily merging the victim's consciousness with its own. While mind melding, both the phantasmithid and the victim are oblivious to the world around them and can take no actions. Every round, the victim must succeed at a will save (DC 18) or have part of its mental vitality sucked out, dealing 1d4 wisdom drain. The phantasmithid gains 5 temporary hit points whenever the victim fails its save. A victim reduced to 0 wisdom is a babbling idiot forevermore. Material Tolerance (Ex): A phantasmithid can remain on the Prime Material for one hour per point of charisma bonus. After that, it must succeed at a will save (DC 20 +1 per hour) every hour or take 1d4 wisdom damage. Its wisdom recovers at a rate of one point per day once it returns to the Plane of Dreams. Dream Mastery (Ex): While on the Plane of Dreams, a phantasmithid adds its charisma modifier as a deflection bonus to AC, gains a number of bonus hit points equal to its charisma modifier times its hit dice, increases its SR to 25, and adds a damaging effect to its Psychic Entropy. It is a CR 9 encounter when fought on its home plane. *All phantasmithids gain Quicken Spell Like Ability (plane shift) as a bonus feat, even though they would normally not be able to.
Return of the Flumph 07-31-07, 12:54 PM	I will keep bumping this until it gets PEACHed.
Supercupcake 07-31-07, 01:04 PM	Wow. That's pretty cool! I love Mind Flayers! Great work! :ayyyy!:
Talisman 07-31-07, 01:18 PM	I love the concept. Very flavorful, very well-written. Phantasmithid Hit Dice: 8d8/8d8+8+32 (36 hp/76 hp) Dream Mastery (Ex): While on the Plane of Dreams, a phantasmithid...gains a number of bonus hit points equal to its charisma modifier times its hit dice. It seems to be gaining bonus hp equal to (Cha mod +1) x HD, which are divided up for some reason. Where did the extra 8 hp come from? Feats: Ability Focus (Psychic Entropy), Quicken Spell Like Ability (plane shift), Great Fortitude In order to take Quicken SLA for plane shift, you need a minimum caster level of 18th (MM, page 304). Incidentally, you haven't provided a caster/manifester level for its psionics. Psychic Entropy (Su): A phantasmithid can release a blast of psionic energy within a fifteen foot radius of itself. All creatures within this area that have an intelligence score (except other phantasmithids) must succeed at a will save (DC 20) or become catatonic and helpless for 1d4 hours. A catatonic creature drops whatever it may be holding and stands in place blankly; it can take no actions on its own, but may be led to walk in a certain direction or pushed into different positions by another creature. A heal spell or a Heal check (DC 25) can restore them to sanity earlier. The save DC is charisma based. Helpless? For 1d4 hours? That's an awfully potent ability; it has the potential for TPK. If the whole party is within 15' of the 'lithid, and the high Will save crew rolls crap, you could have everyone helpless for 1-4 hours. Bad, bad, bad. I suggest dropping this to either "helpess for 1d3 rounds" or "stunned for 3d4 rounds." You can add an ability called Dream Snare or Phantasmal Shackles that allows the 'lithid to keep a single victim in a helpless state. Mass helplessness with a duration measured in hours is not a good thing. Nightmare Visage (Su): A phantasmithid can cause itself to become irrationally terrifying. Any within sixty feet who look at the creature while this ability is active must succeed at a will save (DC 18) or run away in fear for one round until it is at least sixty feet away. The save DC is charisma based. "Become frightend for one round" accomplished the exact same thing and is neater and cleaner. Psionics (Sp): magic missile, detect thoughts ( DC 16)), plane shift, suggestion (DC 17), charm monster (DC 18). The save DCs are charisma based. Magic missile? First, how is that a psionic or psi-like power? Second, why? Third, what's the caster/manifester level? I'd suggest swapping out magic missile for crystal shard, energy ray or mind thrust. Mind Meld (Su): A phantasmithid can gorge itself upon the dreams and creativity of a grappled or sleeping creature by temporarily merging the victim's consciousness with its own. While mind melding, both the phantasmithid and the victim are oblivious to the world around them and can take no actions. Every round, the victim must succeed at a will save (DC 18) or have part of its mental vitality sucked out, dealing 1d4 wisdom drain. The phantasmithid gains 5 temporary hit points whenever the victim fails its save. A victim reduced to 0 wisdom is a babbling idiot forevermore. Taken literally, this means that a victim cannot attempt to free himself. Is this what you meant? Material Tolerance (Ex): A phantasmithid can remain on the Prime Material for one hour per charisma modifier. After that, it must succeed at a will save (DC 20 +1 per hour) every hour or take 1d4 wisdom damage. Its wisdom recovers at a rate of one point per day once it returns to the Plane of Dreams. Of course you meant "per point of Charisma bonus" :P Overall, I really like this monster...a nice, horrific twist on the standard mind flayer. However, unless you tone down some of the more devestating attack powers, the CR is at least 8 or 9, not 7.
ADHadh 07-31-07, 02:37 PM	This monster made me want to DM an all Gith campaign. It's too terrifying for normal players :gah:
Return of the Flumph 07-31-07, 06:55 PM	I love the concept. Very flavorful, very well-written. Phantasmithid Hit Dice: 8d8/8d8+8+32 (36 hp/76 hp) Dream Mastery (Ex): While on the Plane of Dreams, a phantasmithid...gains a number of bonus hit points equal to its charisma modifier times its hit dice. It seems to be gaining bonus hp equal to (Cha mod +1) x HD, which are divided up for some reason. Where did the extra 8 hp come from? Feats: Ability Focus (Psychic Entropy), Quicken Spell Like Ability (plane shift), Great Fortitude In order to take Quicken SLA for plane shift, you need a minimum caster level of 18th (MM, page 304). Incidentally, you haven't provided a caster/manifester level for its psionics. Psychic Entropy (Su): A phantasmithid can release a blast of psionic energy within a fifteen foot radius of itself. All creatures within this area that have an intelligence score (except other phantasmithids) must succeed at a will save (DC 20) or become catatonic and helpless for 1d4 hours. A catatonic creature drops whatever it may be holding and stands in place blankly; it can take no actions on its own, but may be led to walk in a certain direction or pushed into different positions by another creature. A heal spell or a Heal check (DC 25) can restore them to sanity earlier. The save DC is charisma based. Helpless? For 1d4 hours? That's an awfully potent ability; it has the potential for TPK. If the whole party is within 15' of the 'lithid, and the high Will save crew rolls crap, you could have everyone helpless for 1-4 hours. Bad, bad, bad. I suggest dropping this to either "helpess for 1d3 rounds" or "stunned for 3d4 rounds." You can add an ability called Dream Snare or Phantasmal Shackles that allows the 'lithid to keep a single victim in a helpless state. Mass helplessness with a duration measured in hours is not a good thing. Nightmare Visage (Su): A phantasmithid can cause itself to become irrationally terrifying. Any within sixty feet who look at the creature while this ability is active must succeed at a will save (DC 18) or run away in fear for one round until it is at least sixty feet away. The save DC is charisma based. "Become frightend for one round" accomplished the exact same thing and is neater and cleaner. Psionics (Sp): magic missile, detect thoughts ( DC 16)), plane shift, suggestion (DC 17), charm monster (DC 18). The save DCs are charisma based. Magic missile? First, how is that a psionic or psi-like power? Second, why? Third, what's the caster/manifester level? I'd suggest swapping out magic missile for crystal shard, energy ray or mind thrust. Mind Meld (Su): A phantasmithid can gorge itself upon the dreams and creativity of a grappled or sleeping creature by temporarily merging the victim's consciousness with its own. While mind melding, both the phantasmithid and the victim are oblivious to the world around them and can take no actions. Every round, the victim must succeed at a will save (DC 18) or have part of its mental vitality sucked out, dealing 1d4 wisdom drain. The phantasmithid gains 5 temporary hit points whenever the victim fails its save. A victim reduced to 0 wisdom is a babbling idiot forevermore. Taken literally, this means that a victim cannot attempt to free himself. Is this what you meant? Material Tolerance (Ex): A phantasmithid can remain on the Prime Material for one hour per charisma modifier. After that, it must succeed at a will save (DC 20 +1 per hour) every hour or take 1d4 wisdom damage. Its wisdom recovers at a rate of one point per day once it returns to the Plane of Dreams. Of course you meant "per point of Charisma bonus" :P Overall, I really like this monster...a nice, horrific twist on the standard mind flayer. However, unless you tone down some of the more devestating attack powers, the CR is at least 8 or 9, not 7. Thank you much. I caught the hit point error before you finished posting (the extra 8 hp were left over from before I took away the con bonus), but all your other comments were very helpful. And yes, the victim is completely helpless during the mind meld...but so is the flayer. You could easily coup de grace the beasty while it feeds, if no others are there to stop you.