Sylenti
As the Satyrs are creatures of the forest, wild and impetuous, the Sylenti are beasts of the desert, harsh and deadly.
This morning's trek through the sands has been long and arduous. The winds are hot, and the noontime sun has barely risen in the sky. It will be hours before the heat becomes remotely tolerable again. You can only hope that you reach the fabled oasis city before you run out of water.
Suddenly, there is a disturbance in the otherwise smooth sands to either side of your party. Two long staves with curved blades on either end come whirling out of the earth, flying straight upwards. Barely a second passes before their wielders follow, leaping up from beneath the sands to catch their weapons in midair.
Landing neatly on its two hooves, the creature turns to you and your companions. Its towers over you - it is close to seven feet tall. Sand seems to continually drift from its emaciated frame, shrouding its form. It wears rough-looking leather armor, and a set of bone pipes hang around its neck on a loose thong.
It swings its double scythe with ease, twirling the weapon with an uncanny degree of finesse. The sun glints wickedly off the golden blades. The two of them circle you, tumbling and flipping without slowing or ceasing to twirl their blades. They allow you a moment of awe before moving in to strike.
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Sylenti
Medium Fey
HD: 4d6+15 (29 HP)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40ft Land, 20ft Burrow
Armor Class: 19 (+5 Dex, +2 Natural, +2 Leather Armor) /15/14
BAB/Grapple: +2/-2
Attack: +2 crescent scythe +9 (1d8+6/19-20, x3)
Full Attack: +2 crescent scythe +7/+7 (1d8+6[+3]/19-20, x3)
or: whirlwind attack, +2 crescent scythe +9 (1d8+7/19-20, x3)
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Whirlwind Attack, Silence of the Wind
Special Qualities: DR 5/cold iron, Spirit of the Sands, Unnatural Finesse
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +3
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 6
Skills: Balance +12, Hide +16*, Jump +10, Listen +6, Move Silently +16*, Spot +6, Tumble +16*
Feats: Toughness, Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Critical (crescent scythe) B, Lightning Reflexes B, Spring Attack B, Whirlwind Attack B
Environment: Hot deserts
Organization: Solitary, pair, or rarely pack (3-4)
Challenge Rating: Approx 4 or 5
Treasure: Standard, no goods. Any currency will likely be ancient coinage.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral - the Sylenti are not wanton bringers of destruction, but an embodiment of the natural cruelty of the waste.
Advancement: Not sure.
Silence of the Wind (Sp): As a standard action, a sylenti may begin playing its bone pipes to produce a silence effect, as the spell, in a 20-ft radius around itself (caster level 10th, DC 10 Will negates). The effect lasts only as long as the sylenti continues to play. The sylenti must concentrate on the pipes: it cannot attack or burrow while playing, and can only move 10ft/round. It can be distracted by means of an attack or a grapple attempt, or similar actions. Pairs or packs of sylenti use this ability to set up ambushes on unsuspecting travellers.
Spirit of the Sands (Su): Sylenti are creatures of the sands, and the sands are part of them. Their bodies constantly shed sand in a cloud around them, giving them a constant 10% concealment.
Unnatural Finesse (Ex): A sylenti's crescent scythe is almost an extension of its body. As such, it may apply Weapon Finesse to the crescent scythe as though it were a light weapon. However, it may never apply Weapon Finesse to another weapon, even if that weapon would normally qualify for Weapon Finesse.
Blade of the Waste (Su): A sylenti's blade is formed from the sands. If its owner dies, or if the blade is otherwise removed from the sylenti, it begins to decay into sand over a period of 2d4 days. A sylenti whose blade is stolen can create a new one from sand, a process that requires 1d2 weeks.
Clumsy Grappler (Ex): The sylenti have come to rely on their scythes, and as such, are terrible unarmed combatants. If disarmed, they have no natural attacks; they may fight unarmed as a regular human, but rarely deign to do so. Additionally, they take a -6 penalty on all grapple checks due to their clumsiness while wrestling.
Skills: Sylenti have a +4 racial bonus to Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble.
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The sylenti were designed from the ground up for the desert portion of my campaign. They were created from satyrs when an insane sorcerer razed a few thousand miles of land with epic-level casting (Global Warming, from Sandstorm, I believe). The north part of the land, which was formerly a temperate forest, was reduced to smoking charcoal. The survivors were changed beyond repair into creatures of the waste - elves became painted elves (Sandstorm), water elementals became dessicators (Libris Mortis), and satyrs became sylenti.
Once wild and capricious spirits of the forest, the sylenti were twisted and warped into harsh, dangerous creatures of the waste. They move quickly, strike hard, and disappear into the sands. No one knows why they attack, or in fact, why they sometimes don't. They don't speak. They don't write. And no one has ever followed one back through the sands...
Generally, they're supposed to be about Challenge Rating 4 or 5, though since this is my first creature, I may be wildly wrong. The scythe comes from Sandstorm, and it does an extra point of damage when using Whirlwind Attack.
Your thoughts?
