[Creature] Kiss from a rose on the grave...

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Rosynhaunt



Medium Deathless
Hit Dice: 8d12 (52 HP)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 19 (+5 deflection, +2 dex, +2 natural), touch 17, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+4
Attack: Slam +7 melee (1d4)
Full Attack: 2 slams +7 melee (1d4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Leave us be, tears of blood, veiled, vision of heaven
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., deathless traits, fast healing 5, friend of the community, home spirit
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +9
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16, Con -, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 21
Skills: Diplomacy +16, Handle Animal +8, Knowledge (local) +11 (+15 in her community), Move Silently +14, Sense Motive +10
Feats: Ability Focus (leave us be), Nimbus of Light, Spirit Sense, Weapon Finesse(B)
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Any good
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: -

This being appears as an ageless woman with an expression of great kindness. Her features are ghostly and transluscent, so that if one looks carefully they can see her solid skeleton through the apparition, lovingly twined with thornless roses and a tiara of red ferns about her skull...

A rosynhaunt are the remains of a woman who died in the flush of youth, one whoes spirit was so beautiful that those that knew her were devestated. Their everlasting mourning bound her to her mortal form, so while she simultaneously inhabits the rewards of the afterlife, she may also look to the world in which she lived. She only rises when the community which she loved, and was loved in return, is faced with great unrest. She tries to seek a way to bring peace again to these peoples, and will often be spotted strolling about the settlement, both enjoying being home once again while also watching for trouble. Though unaffected by light, she tends to only be seen while the sun is down, when bright light cannot pierce her veil of flesh to show her skeletal remains and frighten those about her.

The rosynhaunt is fearless in her protection, knowing that if she is killed she will be return to paradise.

If all the peoples of her community are killed or scattered from their homes the rosynhaunt's bond is severed and she is unable to rise.

The weight of a rosynhaunt is that of her bones, around 20 lbs. or so, and stands anywhere in the medium range. She speaks Celestial and whatever language she knew in life, usually common.

@}-,-`--Combat--`-,-{@
A rosynhaunt is loathe to do battle, instead attempting to frighten off intruders and ill-thinking strangers, looking into their eyes and filling them with a fear of her lands. If forced however she surrounds herself with a fog to make those about her forget their purpose. Only if there is no other way she strikes them, filling them with the pain and misery suffered by her loved ones.

A rosynhaunt's natural weapons are considered good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Friend of the Community (Ex): A rosynhaunt gains a +4 bonus to all charisma-based checks with those that knew her in life. As well, animals of that land will not attack a rosynhaunt, even if commanded by their master. Domination and similar spells can still be used to bring an animal to violence however.

Home Spirit (Su): A rosynhaunt is bound to the spirit of her community, giving her keen insight into its well being. She may sense events of strong emotion that have happened in an area of 60 feet. The types of events most likely to leave impressions she can detect are those that elicited strong emotions: battles and betrayals, marriages and murders, births and great pain, or any other event where one emotion dominates.

Beginning with the most recent significant event at a location and working backward in time, she can sense one distinct event for every 10 minutes she maintains concentration, if any such events exist to be sensed. Her sensitivity extends into the past only as long as the community has existed there. As long as they belonged to the community she knows their names and their personalities, but no more than she can detect from the impressions or that she knew in life.

If the event is happening in the present, she automatically senses it as long as she is within the land of which she was raised, or the plane where her spirit rests.

She also gains the benefits of the Find the Path spell within the land she was raised.

Leave Us Be (Su): If she wishes, a being that looks into a rosynhaunt's eyes must succeed on a DC 21 will save or gain an extreme reluctance to remain within the lands of her birth for 24 hours. They will attempt their utmost to leave, though will not put themselves in jeopardy by doing so. If the being is forced into remaining or returning by some method, they take a -2 penalty on attack rolls, ability checks, or skill checks for as long as they remain. This is a compulsion, mind-affecting gaze attack. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Tears of Blood (Su): A rosynhaunt can cause thorns to grow from the rose twining about her. Each time she makes a slam attack her opponent is pricked. Their opponents are filled with the collective sorrow experienced by the rosynhaunt's community upon her death. Such is the stress they must succeed on a DC 19 fortitude save each time they are struck, or cry tears of blood, taking 1 point of Constitution damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Veiled (Su): If she wishes, strangers to the rosynhaunt see only a strange mist rising from the ground. This mists acts as the Fog Cloud spell, though it follows the rosynhaunt wherever she goes and cannot be blown away by winds. As well, if she wishes, those that enter must succeed on a DC 19 will save each round or begin to have their memory purged, taking 1d4 wisdom drain. Those that take 5 points of drain or more forget everything having to do with the rosynhaunt's community and the reason they came to be there, even if their Wisdom is restored. She may choose who within the fog to be affected. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Those that loved her in living are not affected by the mists, nor even seeing it, able to view their beloved clearly. The rosynhaunt may cause this mist to disipate at any time.

Vision of Heaven (Su): Those that touch a rosynhaunt, or attack her with a natural weapon, momentarily have a vision of her celestial home. Good aligned creatures gain a +1 morale bonus on saves and skill checks for a minute if they touch, but do not attack. Evil creatures must succeed on a DC 19 will save or be rendered Dazed for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Skills: A rosynhaunt gains a +4 bonus to knowledge (local) checks in her community.

[AKA_Bait]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"]Vision of Heaven (Su): Those that touch a rosynhaunt, or attack her with a natural weapon, momentarily have a vision of her celestial home. Good aligned creatures gain a +1 morale bonus on saves and skill checks for a minute if they touch, but do not attack. Evil creatures must succeed on a DC 19 will save or be rendered Dazed for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma-based.
[/COLOR]

Assuming this ability mimics the spell, shouldn't evil creatures also get a minus to checks against being converted?

Also, neat idea. Does are these things bound to remain in their communities or are they capable of leaving them to help solve a communities problems if the issue must finally be settled elsewhere? (i.e. would this be playable as a PC, putting aside the big racial HD blow?)

[blue_fenix]

This is amazingly awesome. Great fluff, great crunch. I'm particularly fond of the deathless type exactly because it lets you create stuff like this - dead that aren't undead, if you know what I mean.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Assuming this ability mimics the spell, shouldn't evil creatures also get a minus to checks against being converted?

Well, could have also mentioned that, but didn't see much point.

are these things bound to remain in their communities or are they capable of leaving them to help solve a communities problems if the issue must finally be settled elsewhere? (i.e. would this be playable as a PC, putting aside the big racial HD blow?)

Oh, no, they aren't bound, though many of their abilities are pretty useless outside the specific communities. She could go abroad, though it'd have to be something pretty bad to get her out.

[SurlySeraph]

Looks balanced to me, though obviously is much more powerful in its home community than outside it. Also, the concept is excellent ; since the idea of ghosts who love their homes is common in literature, I'm surprised no one else thought of something like this already. Vorpal, you really need to make a book of these and sell it to WOTC as a new Monster Manual.

[dyslexicfaser]

Very interesting - good undead are in such short supply.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Vorpal, you really need to make a book of these and sell it to WOTC as a new Monster Manual.

Heh, I can't even get Dragon Magazine to accept a single monster in two years of submitting. Not even a response back to hear more about it.

Very interesting - good undead are in such short supply.

And Deathless more so

[Korias]

And Deathless more so

Whats a Deathless? A New subtype of Undead?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Its a type from the Book of Exalted Deeds, mainly for those who are not powered by negative energy which can be harmful, but by positive energy, much closer to a construct.

Basically most deathless are already in their 'final reward', but their remains or spirits can be supercharged with life for a short time to do what needs done in the living world.

Deathless for instance are not so much a perversion of nature, but filled with it. Their souls actually come back to animate the body.

[blue_fenix]

Whats a Deathless? A New subtype of Undead?

It's a new type from Book of Exalted Deeds. They have a lot of qualities in common with undead in terms of immunities and such, but instead of being automatically evil they tend to be things like guardian spirits and such.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I'm having trouble finding stats for a deathless in my copy of the BoED. Do they have any "traits" other than or differerant than standard undead?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I'm having trouble finding stats for a deathless in my copy of the BoED. Do they have any "traits" other than or differerant than standard undead?

Here, just scroll down to the D's

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/monsters/types.shtml

[littlechicory]

Deathless also appear in the Eberron Campaign Setting.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Here, just scroll down to the D's

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/monsters/types.shtml

Domo! Invisible text to lengthen beyond the 10-character minimum!

[IvoryRaven]

Thanks to this monster, I'm actually reconsidering my aversion to the Deathless subtype. Thanks, VorpalTribble.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Thanks to this monster, I'm actually reconsidering my aversion to the Deathless subtype. Thanks, VorpalTribble.

I shall convert thee all

[Duke Malagigi]

I shall convert thee all

My aversion to the deathless type is from the basic assumptions that negative energy is not Evil, that not all undead are Evil and that if something is dead but doesn't act like it's dead, it should officially count as an undead regardless of alignment. I might consider this an exception to that rule of mine.

[F.H. Zebedee]

Nice! I must say, outdoing yourself yet again, VT. I can think of so many different ways to use these in a campaign, it's not even funny.

-Option 1: In the typical "Organized Crime moves in and the heroes give it the boot" plot, alluding to it occasionally with rose motifs and stories of fair maiden. In the final confrontation, when the odds against the party look bad, have it show up and send some enemies fleeing.

-Option 2: I could see a sort of LOTR style event in a plot where the heroes are saving the earth. Like meeting a caravan of them all travelling towards the stronghold of evil, all of them knowing that they're on a suicide mission, but doing all they can to prevent damage to their beloved homes.


-Option 3: A DM bitchslap for players that want to screw with your towns below level 10.

It gives a lot of options and has superb dramatic potential. I like it a LOT.

And BTW, that Deathless type soooo clears up the Sapphire Guard issue.