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The Vorpal Tribble
2010-07-14, 11:50 PM
These are beings I dreamt and worked into an entry for the Optimization contests over in the Gaming forums. If interested here is the entry:

Part I (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8888409&postcount=147)
Part II (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8888428&postcount=148)

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Zikm

Medium Aberration (far (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4554114#post4554114))
Hit Dice: 9d8+9 (49 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: Fly 50 ft. (good), swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 26 (+3 dex, +4 insight, +9 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+13
Attack: Tentacle +12 melee (1d3+6)
Full Attack: 8 tentacles +12 melee (1d3+6) and bite (1d2+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Constrict, improved grab, reality flux
Special Qualities: damage reduction 15/star metal, far traits (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4554114#post4554114), fate of the green, power resistance 21, stranger to the sun, voidborn, weaknesses
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +7
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 19, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Escape Artist +8, Hide +15, Knowledge (forbidden) +16, Listen +13, Move Silently +15, Spot +13, Swim +18
Feats: Darkstalker (http://www.realmshelps.org/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Darkstalker), Heavyweight Wings (http://www.realmshelps.org/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Heavyweight_Wings), Reinforced Wings (http://www.realmshelps.org/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Reinforced_Wings), Open Minded
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary or Invasion (3+)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Unaligned
Advancement: 10-15 HD (Medium), 16-39 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -

When the comet Alhazarde appears in the sky others know to be wary. Creatures of all manner are awakened, some fearing it, others dancing beneath it, and some using it. Its composition makes it deadly to outsiders and unnatural things flinch in its light as the normal pattern of the heavens is altered.

The Zikm are an intrusion on the worlds they are found. None are sure if they even belong to this multiverse or what their purpose is on the locales they are seen. They spend much of their time in hiding it seems, living within the deepest, most hidden places. Caverns beneath lakes and deep sea caves are standard, though dark swamps and mountain crevasses are known to occasionally hold small populations.

They are known as kidnappers from beyond, taking specimens of living creatures, usually children of sentient races. It is doubtful that they are eaten, and the journey upwards is absolutely lethal. As such, speculation on their plans is grim indeed.

Zikm are vaguely humanoid, though with winged arms resembling that of a pterosaur. Instead of finger joints there are hundreds of tiny tentacles so that the edge of the wings seem to be ringed with twitching worms.
The feet appear to be a great mass of tentacles, but each one is in fact a boneless toe of great strength with suckers at the tips.

The head is strange, but a fist-sized, neckless dome far too small for the body, with odd knobs along the top. Two black eyes and a small mouth filled with tiny tearing teeth take up almost all the facial area.

Combat
Zikm enjoy snatch and grab methods, remaining so still until then that they might as well not exist. Most of those they wish to attack they first study and watch, learning their ways. Sometimes the zikm will then leave them be, or attack when it seems there would be a better opportunity, following some instinct not of this world.

Constrict (Ex): A zikm deals 1d6+3 points of damage per tentacle holding the victim with a successful grapple check.

Far Traits: There is a 1 in 20 chance each time a spell without the [natural] descriptor is directed at a Zikm that it is changed and warped as the Wild Magic trait.

Information on a Zikm cannot be learned with a Knowledge (dungeoneering) check like most aberrations. Instead it requires the Knowledge (forbidden lore) (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedSanity.html#knowledge-forbidden-lore) skill.

Zikm are normally immune to mind-affecting effects from a non-aberration source; though see Fate of the Green below. Those even attempting to use one upon them, including natural telepathy, must succeed on a Will save (DC 18) or be rendered Confused for 1 round and the ability ends.

Fate of the Green (Ex): The week before, during, and the week after the closest approach of the comet Alhazarde a Zikm loses it's Reality Flux abilities and its immunity to mind-affecting effect. The zikm also takes 1d6 points of strength damage and 1d4 constitution. On the flipside, it may leave the world it is trapped upon during this time, and its flying maneuverability increases to Perfect. It can fly even where there is no air to support it, and once out of a planet's gravity well may use a version of Planeshift that allows it to shift to the Far Realm or the equivalent in your campaign world.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a zikm must hit a creature of any size with two of it's tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

If it wins the grapple check, it it establishes a hold and can attempt to constrict the opponent in the following round.

Reality Flux: Zikm's state of being in the multiverse is haphazard at best. Zikm seem to collectively share the same state of being. Roll a 1d10 every 1d10-1 weeks and 1d6+1 days and use the chart below:

1 - Incorporeal and invisible
2 - Incorporeal
3 - Greater Invisibility: Invisible, but cannot be seen with True Seeing.
4 - Nightmare: Only exists in dreams with no physical body. Those within 1000 feet of a Zikm's hiding place are affected as by the Nightmare spell. The save against the negative aspects of this feat is DC 18, though even on a successful save they may dream of the creature. Saves are Intelligence-based.
5 - Timefused: Affected as by the Timeless Body and Immovability power, except it lasts for the duration above. The Zikm is unconscious and unable to take any action.
6 - Sped Up: Affected as by Haste. Every 2d6 rounds Haste becomes Temporal Acceleration.
7 - Every 1d6 rounds you skip ahead 1d20 rounds as the Time Hop power.
8 - Out of Body: The Zikm appears to be where its not and can do battle. However, the Zikm's true body remains elsewhere and cannot approach within a thousand feat of itself. They cannot interact or affect one another in any way. If the first body is killed the real Zikm is unaffected, though gains no other flux until its re-roll.
9 - Realer Than Real: Reality becomes like a dream to them. They are as ghosts, but it is that everything else is incorporeal to them. They become roaming force affects, dealing 10d6 damage when they interact with living flesh, sweeping it aside like vapor. If they walk through trees or buildings they may move through them, leaving a gaping hole as if from a Disintegrate spell.
10 - Reroll the 1d10 every hour instead of the time listed above. If you roll a second 8 reroll every minute. If you roll 3 consecutive 8's reroll every round.

Stranger To the Sun (Ex): Zikm are dazzled in natural sunlight. This does not include artificial or magical light of any kind.

Voidborn (Ex): A Zikm does not appear to require breath and is completely immune to the chill of space or ice or the most blazing heat. Thus they do not need to make checks in airless environs or against inhaled poisons and similar. They may still take damage from supernatural cold and fire damage, but not natural cold or heat.

Weaknesses

Cerulean Sign: The natural order of the planes is anathema to a Zikm. They recoil from a strongly presented cerulean sign symbol. Non-spell signs don’t harm the zikm - it merely keeps it at bay. A recoiling zikm must stay at least 5 feet away from a creature displaying the cerulean sign and cannot touch or make melee attacks against the creature displaying the symbol for the rest of the encounter. Holding a zikm at bay takes a standard action.

Star Metal: A zikm takes double damage from Star Metal weapons. It loses its Reality Flux abilites and is rendered Fatigued if injured by one until the damage is healed.
Multiple blows do not increase the Fatigue to Exhausted or any worsened state. However, other affects that increase Fatigue another level still apply as normal.