Communicative Theory of Terminology

Climate/Terrain: Any Frequency: Very

rare Organization: Pack Activity Cycle: Any Diet: Special Intelligence: Average Treasure: Nil Alignment: Neurtal No. Appearing: 1d10 Armor Class: 4 Movement: 12, Fl

24(C) Hit Dice: 11 (50

hp)

THAC0: 9

No. of Attacks: 2

Damage/Attack: 2d10(x2) Special Attacks: Initiative

bonus, control winds Special

Defenses:

+1 or better weapon to hit Magic

Resistance:

Nil

Size: L (8'

tall) Morale: Fearless

(19) XP Value: 4,000

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Monstrous Supplement - Spirit of the Air

Spirits of the air are minions of powers associated with wind and air - most of these deities are elemental in nature, but any god who can create and control the wind can create and control a spirit of the air. These creatures are fierce in their desires to obey and serve. They may be mere messengers or full-fledged proxies.

Spirits of the air appear to be large batlike creatures with black skin, large wings, clawed feet, and tusked monkey heads. They dress in resplendent, shimmering fabric that would put the finest silk or spider thread to shame. Their clothes are more colorful than the rainbow, in ever-shifting hues that are impossible to name. Their voices are melodiously sweet or gratingly harsh, but never are the same at once.

Spirits of the air are born white as the chills of winter, but each endless day under the sun loads their essences with the colors of the world. At night their colors wash away in the silver of the moon. The cleansing tickles their spirits until their laughter is heard wafting through the night. With the dawn their burdensome colors return like the sighs of the morning breeze.

Combat: Spirits of the air fight as 11-HD creatures. Their range of weaponry is broad, but a typical choice is a longbow or darts for missile attacks and a two-handed sword or footman's mace for melee combat. Although these weapons have no magical bonuses, they are imbued with the might of their patron and can strike creatures

requiring +3 weapons or better to hit. This property is inherent, so no such power is gained by other creatures who would wield their weapons.

Their greatest combat advantage is in their maneuverability. They live in the air, constantly and forever. Even when they fight their feet never touch ground. When battling "landlings," spirits of the air enjoy a -2 modifier on all initiative rolls. When fighting flying creatures of maneuverability class  or less, they have a -1 initiative modifier. It is only when faced with a creature as maneuverable as themselves that the spirits of the air lose their combat advantage.

Every spirit of the air radiates a 30-yard-radius magical aura in which the spirit can control winds at will, provided its attention is not occupied by combat. Beyond this restriction, the spirit of the air can control winds while

performing virtually any other activity.

Spirits of the air can be struck only by weapons of +1 or greater enchantment.

Habitat/Society: Spirits of the air are not aggressive beings. Unshackled by their own pleasures, they would ignore the world to revel in the sheer joy of flight, for they have no need of anything else. They are, however, not so free.

The spirits of the air serve the powers - good, evil, lawful, chaotic, or neutral - without question. It is their duty, bound upon them by forces long forgotten.

An ancient legend describes their lot in life:

When the powers made the multiverse, they looked at all the work they had done and knew that it was complete, except for its final destruction. The annihilation of their work was all that remained to be done in eternity, the last thing left to "create." This eventuality was a sad fact for them, and yet it made them happy, and they said, "Truly we are omniscient, for we can visualize the end of all we have made. Since we have foreseen this end, we do not need to create it, and our creation will live

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Monstrous Supplement - Spirit of the Air

incomplete forever."

But the powers were not truly omniscient, for they had never seen the source of their own creation.

This error hid many others from their eyes, yet it soon grew plain to them that they had erred, for after they spoke, they realized the very breath of their words had given life to the air around them.

Before they could stop them, the creators' words took shape and flight, becoming silvery little beings who mocked their parents' hubris.

Such disrespect by their children angered the powers who, still being powerful, (but not omniscient) drew in their breaths, stealing back some the life they had given. Thus, the spirits of the air were bound by the will of the powers. Hence, the wispy children forever hear within themselves the breathing of the gods, whose rhythmic sighs carry secret messages to their aerial messengers.

Altrough they live free and follow no single power, the spirits exist to carry out the will of the wind gods, the breath of all creation. Any power related to the winds, be it good, evil, or otherwise, can demand obedience from a spirit of the air. Refusal is impossible, for the spirits are no more than the breath of the gods. În the other hand, spirits of the air are as free as a breath released from lips. Sent like a heavy sigh on its mission, a spirit of the air finds its own time and means to fulfill its master's desire.

It is said that in the small space between the drawing and releasing of a single breath, the spirits of the air are free of their bonds. In that space, quicker than th hand can follow the eye, they plot and rage against their parents, forming thoughts, word by word, and preparing deeds, thought by thought, for their chance to break free. It is said that in this way they live two lives hidden from each other - slave and freeman, all in one. Each spirit imagines it courts and marries, builds cities, and fights great wars in those collected instants, believing their servile existence is nothing but a dream. Each life is as rich and detailed as the others, so who can say which is the lie?

It is in the midst of these dreams that a spirit of the air reaches out to adventurers, sometimes including them in a bittersweet and surrealistic vision of a life that never was, and sometimes begging them to save it from the power who would kill it with a word - or rather, with the withdrawal of a word.

Ecology: Creatures of the gods, the spirits of the air have no ecology that mortals can understand. They feed upon the happiness of others, sharing it like bread freely broken at the meal, and they sleep amongst the sunbeams.

When they die, their bodies release the burdensome colors trapped within, arcing out rainbows to paint all things around. The colors give forth bright implings full of play and mirth, who last no more than a hour or two. These can't be commanded or charmed, nor can glass contain them. Born without knowledge of the world, they have no interest in it. They merely play parts in the spirits' dreams of another life or whirl about adventurers' heads, gibbering and laughing in high-pitched, high-speed voices.

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Monstrous Supplement - Vortex

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Vortex

Climate/Terrain: Sky/Plane of Air Frequency: Very rare Organization: Solitary Activity Cycle: Any

Diet: Unknown

Intelligence: Non Treasure: Nil Alignment: Chaotic

Neutral No. Appearing: 1 Armor Class: 0 Movement: 15 Hit Dice: 2+2

THAC0: 19

No. of Attacks: 1

Damage/Attack: See below Special Attacks: Nil

Special Defenses:

Nil

Magic Resistance:

Nil

Size: Variable

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Monstrous Supplement - Vortex

Morale: Champion (16) XP Value: 270

Those few who have seen them usually think vortexes are miniature whirlwinds, little dust devils about the size of a small jug, but what they see is not the vortex itself. Rather, it's the air wrapped like a second skin around the being within. Peel the airy element aweay still the mad motion, and underneath is a small round thing, a sphere the size of child's ball, which is the color of frozen mist. That's the true vortex.

Is it alive? The answer is: who knows? It has no eyes, no mouth, no features that reveal a spirit. It shows few signs of intelligence or consciousness. The vortex only spins, bobbles, and weaves like a sublime dervish. Perhaps it dreams only of the endless gyrations of the worlds. Or perhaps it is only mindless energy.

Combat: The vortex poses a far greater threat than its small size would portend. It is far from malevolent - indeed, it seems blind to the presence of others - but in that blindness it is dangerous. Not surprisingly, straight lines are foreign to the creature, and when it moves, it changes directions quickly and without any discernable pattern. Spinning so randomly, there is a chance the vortex will hit any one creature within 5 feet of it. If there are multiple targets, the DM should randomly determine which one will be struck.

A vortex spins into a target by making an attack roll, ignoring the armor worn by the target. Only natural Armor Class and Dexterity bonuses are applied. If the hit is successful and the target is man-sized or smaller, the vortex engulfs the victim. Creatures larger than man sized are not enveloped, although the winds still swirl partially around them. If a character is engulfed by a vortex, he or she suffers no immediate damage, but is caught in the whirling cone of air and begins to spin with it.

The victim usually remains trapped until the vortex is killed. After the first round, the victim suffers 1d3 points of damage per round. There is also a 5% cumulative chance per round that the spinning victim will be instantly killed by a particularly violent current or by crashing into a solid object.

If the target too large and is struck but not engulfed, the vortex causes no damage. However, the whirling winds effectively prevent action for 1d4 rounds, as all effort is spent staying balanced and upright against the mini-cyclone. Creatures of huge size or greater are completely unaffected by the vortex's attack.

A victim trapped inside the whirlwind cannot break free of the winds without some form of outside anchor, like the hand of a companion or a tree limb. Securing a grip requires a successful attack roll with a -4 penalty, and once the anchor is seized, a bend bars/lift gates roll must be successfully rolled to break free of the vortex.

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Monstrous Supplement - Vortex

Alternatively, the victim can attempt to slay the vortex, thus ending the whirlwind. Only small weapons such as a dagger can be used. Using spells, scrolls, potions, and most magical items is impossible. All attempts by the trapped person to hit the vortex suffer a -2 penalty on the attack roll. Those outside the whirlwind can also attack (without the penalty), but if any blow misses, a second attack roll must be made against the trapped character.

A vortex can hold only one victim at a time. Should it strike a second target after the first has been engulfed, another attack roll is made as described above. If the attack succeeds, the vortex "spits out" its previous victim and engulfs (if possible) the new target.

Its small size and speed of movement make the vortex difficult to hit, hence the low Armor Class.

Habitat/Society: It can be said with confidence that vortexes are drawn from the Elemental Plane of Air, but are they living creatures there? Some argue that these pests are nothing but bubbles of elemental force, carrying in them all the energy of their plane. After all, they do not eat anything that can be seen, nor do they reproduce and spread their numbers.

Not so, claim others, who believe that the vortexes are the spawn of the plane itself, cast out to create a home of their own. Those sages argue that this is the act of an ungrateful parent, like Cronus devouring his children, for the plane must certainly know the vortexes will die in the void. For others it is an act of unfulfilled faith, that the impossible shall spawn and spread anew.

A more practical matter to consider is how the vortex escapes the prison of ether that binds its plane in the Inner regions. The secret may lie in the dervish-like whirling, as the vortex spins through the gaps in the web of the planes. Theoretically, if one twirls endlessly and perfectly, then one may suddenly be not there, but here.

Ecology: Unable to separate force from life, there can be no understanding of where these things belong. It is only certain that they cannot be summoned.

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Monstrous Supplement - Yuogoloth - Marraenoloth

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