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View Full Version : The Shifting Bite of the Sun God [Creature]



Icewalker
2009-05-16, 02:24 AM
I think the inspiration for this is clear enough, but I'll just say that I was in Hawaii at the time. You know, while it does rain a lot there, it's certainly sunny a lot of the time as well. Got the top of my feet. It was all bad.

Anyways. Thusesh's Bite. I intend to use them to some extent in the campaign setting I am vaguely putting together once I finish numerous other projects, in which Epa Thusesh is one of the major gods.

Not positive about the CR. VT's calculator gave me 9, but that seems a little high for a 10 HD creature, so I put it at 8.

[hr]
Sun Mite Swarm
Fine Magical Beast (Swarm)
HD 10d10+40 (95 HP)
Speed Fly (perfect) 30 ft.
Init: +5
AC 23; touch 23; flat-footed 18
(+8 size, +5 Dex)
BAB/Grp +10/-
Attack Swarm 2d6 plus Thusesh's Torture
Full-Attack Swarm 2d6 plus Thusesh's Torture
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks Distraction, Thusesh's Torture, Shimmering Ray
Special Qualities immune to weapon damage, swarm traits, immunity to fire
Saves Fort +11 Ref +12 Will +5
Abilities Str 1, Dex 20, Con 18, Int -, Wis 14, Cha 21
Environment Anywhere in bright sunlight.
Organization Single swarm, Burn (2-4 swarms), Wrath of the Sun (5-20 swarms)
Challenge Rating 8
Alignment Chaotic Evil
Advancement via Thusesh's Torture, see below

The cloud of white specks blurs and shifts constantly, moving in an almost blinding mass of pure white insects. You can still see a spot of red here and there inside the swarm where the cauterized blood or burnt skin of the first victim still flows within the mass of mites.

Sun Mites, also known as Thusesh's Bite, are the horrific tools of the malicious sun god, Epa Thusesh, who will cast them upon those he considers deserving of punishment.

All it takes is some time in the sun. The victim finds themselves with a sunburn, an unusually harsh one, but merely a sunburn. Nothing of significant concern. However the burn worsens to the point of extensive pain on the burnt portion of the body. When the skin begins to peel as normal for a sunburn, the Sun Mites emerge. The skin which strips from the burn, faster and in many more layers than is normal, flays into thousands upon thousands of minuscule pure white insects, which immediately turn on and devour the skin of the victim, before moving to tear the skin from anything else in their path. Luckily, sun mites are extremely short lived without bodies to feed from. The lifespan of a swarm of sun mites is approximated at half an hour, less if they engage in extensive overland travel, resulting in sun mite attacks rarely spreading over a wide area.

This period of burn is initially indistinguishable from an unusually bad sunburn until it begins to peel. At this point, it deals 5d6 fire damage to the target as the sun mites erupt from them, immediately forming in the square occupied by the victim.

Most commonly, Thusesh's Bite will affect sailors on long ocean voyages, as they are always subject to the sun.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a sun mite swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Thusesh's Torture (Su): Whenever a sun mite swarm damages a target with its swarm attack, the target must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or vicious red burns form on the target. This deals 3d6 fire damage, and after 3 rounds the skin of the afflicted erupts into additional mites, increasing the HD of the sun mite swarm by one as long as a swarm is within 60 ft. of the target when the three rounds expire and the new mites are created.

Shimmering Ray (Su): As long as a swarm of sun mites is in the sun, they can use their reflective bodies to form passages and aim focused sunlight at their foes. As a full round action, the swarm of sun mites can focus a total of four rays, making ranged touch attacks on up to four targets, or multiple attacks against a smaller number of targets. The attack bonus is +10, and the rays deal 2d6 fire damage each. If the sun mites use this ability, they do not make swarm attacks for one round.

Debihuman
2009-05-18, 01:15 AM
I like these a lot. If you want to err on the side of caution use CR 9. It's not the hit die that are the issue, but the special abilities that cause damage. It makes for a more powerful creature.

Debby

Icewalker
2009-05-18, 03:55 AM
Namely I was worried that it wasn't sturdy enough, and a 9th level party would eat it alive before it could act.