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The Vorpal Tribble
2006-04-01, 06:35 PM
Insomnus

http://www.mariannekolb.com/gallery_shadow/shadow_images/passage.jpg

Medium Undead (incorporeal, psionic)
Hit Dice: 4d12 (26 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+3 dex, +4 deflection), touch 17, flat-footed 14; 20% miss-chance
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+9
Attack: Touch +5 melee touch; Claw +3 melee (1d4+1) against incorporeal foes
Full Attack: Touch +5 melee touch; 2 claws +3 melee (1d4+1) against incorporeal foes
Space/Reach: 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Dreamheld, dreamless, headtrip, psi-like abilities
Special Qualities: Born of dream, incorporeal traits, power resistance 18, rejuvenation, slumber sense, turn resistance, undead traits
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +9
Abilities: Str 12 (- against non incorporeal), Dex 16, Con —, Int 1, Wis 10, Cha 19
Skills: Concentration +8, Intimidate +13, Spot +7
Feats: Ability Focus (dreamless), Improved Grapple, Lightening Reflexes(B)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 5-14 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: --

A section of the scenery changes out of the corner of your eye. Turning you see a figure with wide, unblinking eyes that are red with fatigue with dark shadowy bags of utter exhaustion. Its hair is strewn about, knotted and uncombed. The features are that of an utterly insane being appearing inhumanly weary. Its movements are manic and overly energetic. In an oval area of of six feet by four feet the scene around the creature is alike to normal surroundings, but as it moves the background as seen through this oval is nightmarish and unreal.

An insomnus is the mental echo of a creature who by a spell, brain damage, or attack from another insomnus, has died from lack of sleep with a portion of its soul still within Dream which is brutally seperated from the rest when it dies. Its only urge is to find rest, and will attack any sleeping character it can find, instinctively attempting to gain by force the restful state from which it is forever restricted.

Combat
The insomnus generally prefer to go after those who sleep and unable to put up resistance, trying to bring them physically into the realm of dream. It has no qualms about doing this to waking creatures as well, though it will attempt to put them to sleep if it has the chance.

Born of Dream (Ex):
As a being of dream, an insomnus appears hazy and out of focus, such that all melee and ranged attacks are assessed a 20-percent miss chance. This 20-percent miss chance is not the same as concealment.

Dreamless (Su):
An insomnus may attempt a touch attack against a single target who must succeed on a DC 18 will save or be affected as by the Dreamless (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43363) power. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Any creature that dies from this power generates their own Insomnus within 2d4 days.

Dreamheld (Su):
An insomnus can try to grapple its opponent, using its dexterity modifier instead of its nonexistent strength to grab hold of its opponent. If successfully grappled the victim is pulled physically within the terrifying realm of dream that the insomnus inhabits for 1d6 minutes. Here the insomnus draws upon the energy of its horrified victim, draining 2 points of constitution per minute of the victim's stay. Every two points of constitution drained temporarily increases the insomnus's Charisma by 1. If the victim is reduced to 0 constitution his body crumbles away, leaving the spirit forever trapped in Dream. Upon being expelled from the nightmare the victim must make a DC 16 will save or remain shaken for the rest of that day. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Head Trip (Su):
If any kind of telepathic contact is attempted with the Insomnus the manifester's conscious is brutally forced into the horrible dreamscape the insomnus calls home. This unnatural dislocation opens conduits of pain the victim has never endured before. While hellish landscapes unfold in the victim's mind, the victim's body collapses to a prone and helpless position, insensate to the enviroment around it, and it screams mindlessly (literally). Within 1d6 rounds the victim awakes and the awful memory of pain remains, making the target susceptible to other mind-affecting effects (a -2 penalty on Will saves against mind affecting effects) for a period of one day.

Incorporeal Traits: An insomnus is harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons, powers, spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. It has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source, except for force effects or attacks made with ghost touch weapons. It can pass through solid objects, but not force effects, at will. Its attacks ignore natural armor, armor, and shields, but deflection bonuses and force effects work normally against them. An incorporeal creature always moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn’t wish to be.

Psi-like Abilities: Manifester level 6th. Save DC's are Charisma based.
At will - Dream Travel (self only), *Primal Fear
3/day - *Cerebral Phantasm, Id Insinuation, Psychic Drain (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42535)
1/day - Insanity

* From Complete Psionic

Rejuvenation (Su): It is almost impossible to permanently kill an insomnus, the portion of itself that never leaves dream enters into the mind of a sleeping being and restores itself in 2d4 days.

Only entering into the Region of Dreams physically and destroying the insomnus there permanently destroys it.

Slumber Sense (Su):
An insomnus can sense all sleeping beings within 200 feet.

Turn Resistance (Ex): An insomnus has +6 turn resistance.

Skills: An Insomnus has a +6 racial bonus on concentration and intimidate checks.

Winged One
2006-04-01, 06:44 PM
By the fact that you're doing this, I can only conclude that you're Vorpal Tribble changing your avatar and screen name in order to confuse people for April Fools day. Very nice, as always.

EDIT: and you forgot to change your sig.

Gyrfalcon
2006-04-01, 06:49 PM
Given the toothy tribble with a wand and tiara... it was ever in doubt? :)

Very nice, but I'd be afraid of *everything* in your campaigns, Vorpal Tribble. Trees... rocks... streams... roads... dreams... EVERYTHING is potentially hostile!

Rei_Jin
2006-04-01, 07:31 PM
That's why you don't adventure in VT land.


Puts on Ruski Hat

In VT land, you don't go adventuring, adventuring goes YOU.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-04-01, 11:03 PM
Very nice, but I'd be afraid of *everything* in your campaigns, Vorpal Tribble. Trees... rocks... streams... roads... dreams... EVERYTHING is potentially hostile!
The trick is to foist things off on them like this in the beginning... and then gradually stop introducing them till you never even actually have to do anything. They'll be freaking themselves out. Mind games are so much more fun than encounters...

For example, I love this little encounter here with two of my players. Basically they are just venturing out of a town ringed with a wall...

-=-=-=-=-

Me
As you converse the mist thickens into a peasoup a man could drown in if he took too deep a breath. The world around you shrinks to a personal space that hardly extends twenty feet in any direction. Several minutes into your talk a *clunk* comes from overhead nearby, easily heard, though out of sight in the fog, followed by some random thumps and clankings.

Chesae
"Whoa," Chesae whispers sharply, gesturing the dogs to halt but at the same time cautioning Kramus. Chesae lifts his bow from around his shoulders and stares hard into the thick mist, trying hard to discern the source of the noise.

Kramus
Kramus stretches his arm towards the crossbow secured to his backpack, which now rides the horse in his place. Damn! Won’t be much use if I can’t see beyond my own nose, he thinks to himself hesitating. With a frown he makes up his mind and arms himself with the crossbow, keeping his staff close at hand. At least I’ll get one shot off, ”Hopefully I hit something,” he mutters quietly as he trains his crossbow towards the noise.

[OOC: Readying an action: shoot at anything that comes into view looking hostile]


Me
There is a creaking, and a moment later a *clink* *flash* *clink* *flash* *clink* *flash* of light up within in the mists from where the sound is originating.

Chesae
"What...? What the hell is going on?" Chesae whispers to Kramus. "Have you seen anything like this before?" Chesae nocks an arrow then ducks low, aiming his bow upward and awaiting the cause of this strange display.

[OOC: I will also ready an action to shoot at any apparently hostile target that comes into sight, in addition to appointing the target for my dodge bonus]

Kramus
Not taking his eyes from the strange sight ahead, Kramus replies, ”That a fog would so hastily concentrate about us seems unnatural. I know of magic that could produce such an effect.” He thinks for a moment before continuing, ”Generally the area of such magic is limited, which would allow us to simply walk from the fog. However, at the moment we are equally hidden from them as they are from us. I rather like it that way.”

Chesae
"Hm... agreed," Chesae whispers back over the noise above, waiting for who-or-whatever it is to pass or reveal itself.

Me
The spark flares up and light spreads out to partially illuminate the wall surrounding Chaunelfiel upon which the flickering foglamp sets. A shadowy figure on the other side closes the lantern with a familiar squeak of hinges. It then climbs down whatever it is he was standing upon.

[OOC: *whistles*]


Chesae
[OOC: boy is my face red]

X15lm204
2006-04-01, 11:30 PM
Very nice, as always. ;D
These should be useful for my Eberron campaign, in which the heroes will soon be ivestigating some Dal Quor-related deaths. One thing bothers me, though: why does the Insomnious gain bonus HD from the Dreamheld ability, rather than the more common and more easy to adjucate +5 HP? Because it doesn't really rely on attacks, skills, or feats, the only thing that makes the HD boost better than temp. HP is a bonus to turn resistence, but considering that it's 3 HD behind its CR already, that won't make very much difference.

PS: IMHO, you should stick with Belly Button Lint with ATTITUDE as your screen name.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-04-02, 12:31 AM
These should be useful for my Eberron campaign, in which the heroes will soon be ivestigating some Dal Quor-related deaths. One thing bothers me, though: why does the Insomnious gain bonus HD from the Dreamheld ability, rather than the more common and more easy to adjucate +5 HP? Because it doesn't really rely on attacks, skills, or feats, the only thing that makes the HD boost better than temp. HP is a bonus to turn resistence, but considering that it's 3 HD behind its CR already, that won't make very much difference.
Well, basically was going for increase in HD because many powers are more difficult to affect it at that point. And, as you mentioned, its harder to turn that way. Also a save increase isn't bad.

Could still go for HP though, will think on it.



PS: IMHO, you should stick with Belly Button Lint with ATTITUDE as your screen name.
I've just been changing it all day ;)

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-04-03, 02:54 PM
Adjusted it a bit as folks over on Wizards were wondering why Dreamless kept folks from casting or manifesting, and had to elaborate that it was with the classes requiring a 'good night's sleep' to regain power points or spell slots.

Traveling_Angel
2006-04-03, 07:43 PM
but wouldn't kalstar (from ebberon) be
a) immune to it's nasty thing-a-ma-gigger,
b) by your reasoning, not be able to manfest/cast?

thing is, kalstar(excuse my spelling) don't dream, and why is dreaming related to casting anyways?

if you printed off all the monsters you have made, organized them by CR, then when your characters reapeadly beat your favorate,(of the aproprate level) then you just pull the next one off the correct stack and say "that storage for rent space was worth it!"

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-04-03, 09:38 PM
but wouldn't kalstar (from ebberon) be
a) immune to it's nasty thing-a-ma-gigger,
b) by your reasoning, not be able to manfest/cast?
A) I don't know much about the Kalashtar, but if they even have to meditate, or some other substitute for sleep, they are affected, because any creature that has to have mental downtime is so that the brain can do its subconscious stuff. As this being messes with the connection between conscious and subconscious I'd think it might even affect kalashtar more.

B) If they play those listed below, nope, shouldn't be able to cast or manifest.



thing is, kalstar(excuse my spelling) don't dream, and why is dreaming related to casting anyways?
Psion/Psychic Warrior/Wilder
"He does not need to prepare them (in the way that some spellcasters prepare their spells), though he must get a good night’s sleep each day to regain all his spent power points."

Wizard
"She must choose and prepare her spells ahead of time by getting a good night’s sleep"


Without being able to dream, the process that actually allows our brain to do its critical functions, do you really think they are getting a good night's sleep?


if you printed off all the monsters you have made, organized them by CR, then when your characters reapeadly beat your favorate,(of the aproprate level) then you just pull the next one off the correct stack and say "that storage for rent space was worth it!"
Eh?