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View Full Version : The Fimalaire shall steal you away! [3.5 creature]



Morph Bark
2011-08-01, 08:36 PM
Fimalaire, CR 6 (+1/extra HD)

Tiny Magical Beast (Incarnum, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice 5d10+25 (53 hp)
Initiative +5
Speed 30 ft, fly 40 ft (perfect maneuverability)
Armor Class 20 (+2 size, +5 Dex, +1 natural, +1 deflection, +1 insight), touch 19, flat-footed 15
Base Attack Bonus/Grapple +5/-8
Attack Claw +6 melee (1d4+1)
Full Attack 2 claws +6 melee (1d4+1) and 3 bites +1 melee (1d4+1) or soul breath +11 ranged touch (see below)
Space/Reach 2˝ ft/0 ft
Special Attacks Improved grab, powers and spells, shared soulmeld, soul breath, swallow whole
Special Qualities Fast healing 8, Master’s Toughness, spell resistance 13, soul pearl, improved evasion, darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +6, Ref +11, Will +8
Abilities Str 9, Dex 20, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 20, Cha 20
Skills* Balance +12*, Climb +12*, Hide +16*, Jump +23*, Listen +5, Move Silently +12*, Spot +13*
Feats* --
Alignment Always Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil or Lawful Neutral
Advancement 4-17 HD (Tiny)
Treasure None

A fimalaire is a mysterious creature, a shapechanger who kidnaps people, eats them and steals their abilities for its own use, which is its signature practice known as "stealing people away". Fimalaires are rare and ancient. The oldest among them is said to have stolen away some of the earliest dragons, still keeping them alive in its soul space up to this day. Most fimalaires however stalk the streets of cities, spying on potential targets, gathering information before they make their move to steal them away, not always succeeding. They progress slowly in power, but there are some smart and malicious familaires who are said to have stolen away thousands within days...

Fimalaires speak Draconic, Elven, Giant, Gnomish and Sylvan. Its natural weapons pierce damage reduction of the same type as its non-neutral alignment component.

Alternate Forms (Su): The basic form of a fimalaire is that of a normal Tiny-sized cat, but this is only a disguise. Their true form is that of a three-headed cat with eagle-like wings whose eyes glow with a bright blue fire. Only in its true form can it fly and both of its extra heads can use an extra standard action every round to make a bite attack, use its soul breath, cast a Stilled spell or manifest a power.

Alternatively, a fimalaire can take the form of a Colossal viper once per week for five hours. Its physical ability scores become Str 28, Dex 11, Con 17. It gains 20 ft climb and swim speeds and has a single bite attack that deals 3d6+1˝ Str mod plus a poison that deals 1d6 Con damage both initially and secondary, Fort DC 13 + half HD negates. It can also use the Swallow Whole ability.

*Amnesiac soul: A fimalaire knows nothing by itself. It never gains feats or skill points from Hit Dice. Instead, it leeches this knowledge from those stored in the dimensional space within its soul pearl (hereafter referred to as its ‘soul space’). The basic fimalaire presented above is as if it has no one stored within its dimensional space. The fimalaire uses the highest skill rank anyone within its soul space has (up to a maximum of 3 + the fimalaire's HD in ranks per skill).

Bonuses: A fimalaire has a +1 deflection bonus and a +1 insight bonus to its AC. These bonuses increase by 1 for every 3 extra HD it has. Furthermore, it has a +2 bonus to its attack and damage rolls a +2 bonus to all saving throws. These bonuses increase by 2 for every 3 extra HD it has. (The damage bonuses are only added to its natural weapons, not to its soul breath.) Its natural armor bonus increases by 1 for every 1 extra HD it has.

Fast healing (Su): A fimalaire's fast healing increases by 1 for every 1 extra HD it has.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the fimalaire (in its Colossal viper form) must hit a Gargantuan or smaller opponent with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to swallow the foe the following round.

Master’s Toughness: A fimalaire has 5 bonus hp per HD thanks to its links with the living creatures within itself, as well as all undead immunities. It still needs to eat, sleep and breathe.

Powers and spells: A fimalaire can use the powers and spells of those trapped in its soul space, as well as their Item Creation, Reserve, Metamagic, Metapsionic, Psionic and Incarnum feats. However, there is a limit to the level of power or spell a fimalaire can use.


{table=head]Fimalaire’s HD|Caster/Manifester level|Maximum spell level useable
5|2|1
7|5|3
9|8|4
11|11|6
13|14|7
15|17|9
17|20|9[/table]

A fimalaire can only cast spells with a range of touch or spells that it can cast on itself, but it is also affected by spells it casts on itself that would affect creatures of other types as long as at least one creature of that type resides within its soul space. (For instance, it can cast enlarge person on itself if it has at least one humanoid in its soul space.) Furthermore, it can apply metamagic to reserve feats, where the level of the reserve feat ‘spell’ is equal to the spell slot required to remain filled to be able to use it.

Shared soulmeld (Su): If a fimalaire has creatures capable of shaping soulmelds trapped inside its soul space, it can force them to share those soulmelds with it. However, it can, of course, have only one soulmeld shaped and bound for every chakra. In its true form a fimalaire has three crown, brow and throat slots.

Skills: Fimalaires have a +8 bonus to Balance, Climb, Hide, Move Silently and Spot. They have a +18 bonus to Jump and use their Dex modifier for Climb and Jump checks.

Soul Breath (Su): In its true form, a fimalaire can fire rays from its mouths with a range of 10 ft that deals 2d10 points of force damage normally. This requires using up its normal standard action and those of its two extra heads, but it can still use its move and swift actions for that round. It fires three rays, which can be aimed at up to three different targets. Furthermore, every time it fires these rays the fimalaire can opt to instead cause targets hit to lose 2d10 power points or half that amount in spell levels or cause them to lose 1d4+1 points of essentia. This damage doubles (to 4d10 or 2d4+2) if the fimalaire has 12 or more HD. No save.

Soul Pearl (Su): Where a normal cat’s heart would be, a fimalaire has its soul pearl, a shiny white pearl that is the gateway to its soul space, where it draws its power and knowledge from. The fimalaire is always affected by beneficial auras and bardic music active anywhere within its soul space. When the fimalaire dies, its body disintegrates and its soul pearl remains behind. The soul space can be accessed by casting a teleportation spell, using a teleportation power or by saying the fimalaire’s truename, but these methods only work while holding the soul pearl. A soul pearl can be used to replace up to 1000 gp times the fimalaire's HD in diamonds for a raise dead, resurrection or true resurrection spell. If its soul pearl is not destroyed, the fimalaire reforms around it 1d10 days after its apparent death.

Spell Resistance: A fimalaire has spell resistance 8+HD.

Swallow Whole (Ex): While in Colossal viper form a fimalaire can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Gargantuan or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 2d8+8 points of crushing damage plus 2d8+6 points of acid damage per round from the fimalaire’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the fimalaire’s digestive tract (AC 10 + 1 per 2 HD). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.

If the creature remains within the fimalaire’s body for two rounds it is automatically transported to its soul space. If a creature takes enough damage from its digestive tract to kill it, it is instead stabilized at -9 hp and instantly transported to the fimalaire’s soul space. This only works if the creature doesn't have more than 3 HD more than the fimalaire.


Soul Space
The soul space of a fimalaire is different and unique to each fimalaire. Some resemble large libraries with people instead of books stacked on the shelves, others resemble graveyards, workshops, museums and so on. The state the people who are trapped in the soul space are in can vary. While most of them keep them firmly controlled or locked away, some fimalaires even allow their prisoners to build within their soul space, causing the mightiest fimalaires to have city-states within their soul space.

The soul space is a cube of which the sides are 5x(fimalaire’s HD^3) ft long. The soul space can be a contained area like a large room or building, a square disk floating in the middle of nothingness or a self-contained space where walking ‘out’ of the cube on one end causes you to walk ‘into’ the cube on the other end.


{table=head]Fimalaire’s HD|Soul space size|Minimum HD in creatures needed|At least one creature with X HD
5|625 ft cube|0|0
6|1080 ft cube|5|3
7|1715 ft cube|30|5
8|2560 ft cube|65|7
9|3645 ft cube|105|8
10|5000 ft cube|205|10
11|6655 ft cube|275|11
12|8640 ft cube|380|13
13|10985 ft cube|575|14
14|13720 ft cube|1465|16
15|16875 ft cube|3960|17
16|20480 ft cube|4630|19
17|24565 ft cube|7640|20
17 (max)|24565 ft cube|16100|20[/table]

The soul space is filled with an endless supply of breathable air, but there is generally no food or water present unless it is put there. If the fimalaire eats food or drinks water that is affected by magic at the time it will be absorbed by the soul pearl and spilled into the middle of its soul space. For this reason a fimalaire will often first seek out a spellcaster capable of casting purify food and drink to steal away.

Within the soul space certain magic is limited. First and foremost, one can only exit the soul space by using planeshift or similar magic, but only while the fimalaire is dead. While the fimalaire is alive, not even epic magic can get someone out of the soul space. Secondly, calling and summoning spells do not function as well as any divination of anything outside of the soul space. Anyone attempting to use divination to find out information about the inside of the fimalaire's soul space likewise fails. Thirdly, while raise dead, reincarnate and resurrection work, true resurrection does not.

If a creature dies within the soul space, its corpse disintegrates into nothingness after an amount of days equal to the fimalaire's caster level.


Reproduction
When a fimalaire reaches their maximum capacity of creatures within their soul space, it can cough up a hairball that grows into a new full-fledged 5 HD fimalaire. However, it can do this only once ever 110 years and only while they still have the maximum capacity of creatures within their soul space.
There is speculation that there are other ways that a fimalaire may reproduce, but they are as of yet unknown as the investigators were stolen away before they could publish their findings.

Morph Bark
2011-08-01, 08:41 PM
A creature that has been buggin' my noggin for ages and finally took shape in Word over the course of this past week. Still have to get some fluff together for it (especially how it came to be in the first place), though if anyone has thoughts on that, do share!

As always, please evaluate and comment/critique honestly. :smallsmile:

NeoSeraphi
2011-08-01, 08:53 PM
I certainly like the concept, but I'm confused as to why the Colossal viper can only use its Improved Grab ability on Huge or smaller creatures. Improved Grab generally works on creatures one size category smaller than the creature.

Morph Bark
2011-08-02, 04:49 AM
I certainly like the concept, but I'm confused as to why the Colossal viper can only use its Improved Grab ability on Huge or smaller creatures. Improved Grab generally works on creatures one size category smaller than the creature.

In this particular case, I copied it directly off the Tarrasque. I have seen Swallow Whole differently worded between creatures, some working on one-size-below, others on two-sizes-below. So I tried to think of how large a Small and Medium viper are supposed to be (due to their differently-structured bodies compared to most mammals and other reptiles). I figured Medium vipers to be the kind of snakes that can swallow a cat whole, while Small ones are the ones that swallow rats and the like, but nothing bigger.

Is the Tarrasque the only exception to the general rule of Improved Grab working on creatures one size category smaller? If so, I'll be glad to change it.

Yitzi
2011-08-02, 07:40 AM
How many HD does it get for creatures within its soul space?

How does it force creatures into its soul space?

Morph Bark
2011-08-02, 12:43 PM
How many HD does it get for creatures within its soul space?

I had tried to make a table, but threw that out the window as it became too complicated. I'm currently working on a simple formula.


How does it force creatures into its soul space?

See Swallow Whole.


I could add more methods into forcing creatures into its soul space, but considering how hard it is to get out again, I figure it should not be too easy for it to steal you away.

Yitzi
2011-08-02, 10:09 PM
See Swallow Whole.


I could add more methods into forcing creatures into its soul space, but considering how hard it is to get out again, I figure it should not be too easy for it to steal you away.

No, that's good; I think that line just wasn't there when I posted the question.

Morph Bark
2011-08-03, 09:16 AM
No, that's good; I think that line just wasn't there when I posted the question.

Actually it was. :smalltongue: However, I have edited some other parts of the fimalaire here to make its abilities scale more according to its HD and I added some attack/damage/save bonuses. The damage bonuses might be next to worthless normally, but through stolen spells and powers a fimalaire could make itself become larger and gain reach, at which point they'll be handy for sure.

Debihuman
2011-08-03, 11:43 AM
I'll preface this by saying that a 1 HD monster with a CR 5 is probably unbalanced, making it a glass cannon. However, it is interesting. I'm not sure why you didn't stat it up as its base form with three heads. as I think that is its most interesting form. Does each head make a soul breath ranged attack separately or do all three heads combine to make one attack? You weren't clear on this.

Forms should be Alternate Forms as per standard ability and it should probably have the Shapechanger subtype.

Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d4-1) or soul breath +9 ranged touch (see below)
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d4-1) and 3 bites +4 melee (1d4-1) or soul breath +9 ranged touch (see below)

In its natural form it would have 3 bite attacks (one for each head).
Secondary attacks are ALWAYS secondary even if used as primary attacks. So it would bite at +4 melee even as a primary attack. Str modifier applies to damage.

You say it doesn't have feats and skills and yet the stat block has those filled in. It should have at least one feat rather than two bonus feats. It would normally have 20 skill points to start. Magical Beasts start with skill points equal to (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die.

Things that are probably overkill on this: Perfect Maneuverability, Dex & Wis & Cha all being 20, and Fast Healing 8.

How does it leech skills? You need a game mechanic for that. How many skills (does it leech one skill per HD up to a maximum bonus and how long does it take). Saying it can leech a maximum of +23 in any skill seems arbitrary.

Good luck with it.

Debby

Morph Bark
2011-08-04, 11:28 AM
I'll preface this by saying that a 1 HD monster with a CR 5 is probably unbalanced, making it a glass cannon. However, it is interesting. I'm not sure why you didn't stat it up as its base form with three heads. as I think that is its most interesting form. Does each head make a soul breath ranged attack separately or do all three heads combine to make one attack? You weren't clear on this.

I just happened to be reading through Savage Species yesterday and came across the Multiheaded template. I took some guidelines from it, combined it with your preface remark, and increased its base HD to 5. (I might have to increase the CR a bit, but I'm not sure.)

I actually did stat up the true form, otherwise I would have excluded the fly speed and soul breath, as those cannot be used in its cat form. The soul breath is meant to be one per head, I thought I was clear enough on that, but reading over it again I see I wasn't -- sorry.


Forms should be Alternate Forms as per standard ability and it should probably have the Shapechanger subtype.

Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d4-1) or soul breath +9 ranged touch (see below)
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d4-1) and 3 bites +4 melee (1d4-1) or soul breath +9 ranged touch (see below)

In its natural form it would have 3 bite attacks (one for each head).
Secondary attacks are ALWAYS secondary even if used as primary attacks. So it would bite at +4 melee even as a primary attack. Str modifier applies to damage.

Good catch about Alternate Forms. Had forgotten about that! Editing that.

I was not aware secondary attacks also count as secondary when making a single attack (though I had to remind myself the bite attack was secondary at all, because you've told me that a long time ago).

It does not have 3 bite attacks listed because the extra two heads get their own standard action, which they can use for a bite attack, but they could also manifest powers in the same round as that the creature makes a full attack with its two claws and main head's bite.


You say it doesn't have feats and skills and yet the stat block has those filled in.

I only filled in the extras it gets, hence the bonus feats and why the skill bonuses are only from its natural bonuses and its ability scores.


How does it leech skills? You need a game mechanic for that. How many skills (does it leech one skill per HD up to a maximum bonus and how long does it take). Saying it can leech a maximum of +23 in any skill seems arbitrary.

Hmmm, I might have to invent something yeah. The intention was that it could simply use the highest skill ranks of those in its soul space (hence why the maximum is +23). If that still seems overkill once I figure out a formula for how many HD it has based on the amount of people in its soul space, I'll figure something out.


Thanks for the review Debby. :smallsmile:

Debihuman
2011-08-04, 07:54 PM
The strength modifier to its damage is -1 not +1. I think it works a lot better with the extra HD.

Debby

Realms of Chaos
2011-08-04, 11:27 PM
hmmm... When I think of a fey or magical beast coming to steal someone away, I typically think of having the creature simply kidnap creatures, turn them into plants, lead them into the realms of fae, or transform them into new beings of the same race. Stuff like that.

Turning into a giant snake, eating, and sending you into nowhere land is not something that I'd guess if given a hundred guesses. All I can say is that these things must give rise to some pretty twisted children stories. :smallamused:

Thanks in advance for the looks on my players' faces.

Pyromancer999
2011-08-05, 10:46 PM
Um, not entirely sure how to put this, so I'll say it Lolcat style: I can has fluff?

Debihuman
2011-08-06, 04:06 AM
From a design standpoint, stating the creature has no skills as its Amnesiac feature and then giving it bonus to skills is rather contradictory. You might as well have just given it skills normally. Also, how quickly can it leech skills does it leech them? Would it be at rate of X per round up to its maximum. Are the creatures who's skills are leeched left with no skills of their own? Is the loss permanent? It should only be able to leech skills that are ranked not skills from bonuses or from special abilities.

It's rather awkward and requires too much in game number crunching. Not only would it be a major headache for the DM but I pity the PC whose skills get leeched. I imagine you'd have pretty upset players.

To make it easier on all parties involved, rather than leeching the skills and feats, it should just share them. It would have no feats and skills on its own and just uses the skills and feats with whatever modifiers the creature in its soul space uses, with the exception of Size modifier. The fimalaire would still have a -8 size modifier to Hide.

Recalculating all those skills would just take far to long in game and would be a huge waste of time for very little benefit.

Is there a maximum number of creatures that can be held in the fimalaire's soul space. Is there air? How long can creatures survive in it?

Debby


Debby

Morph Bark
2011-08-11, 06:08 PM
The strength modifier to its damage is -1 not +1. I think it works a lot better with the extra HD.

Debby

Note the "bonuses" section, it gets a +2 bonus to attack and damage.


Thanks in advance for the looks on my players' faces.

You're welcome. :smallbiggrin:


Um, not entirely sure how to put this, so I'll say it Lolcat style: I can has fluff?

You can has!


To make it easier on all parties involved, rather than leeching the skills and feats, it should just share them. It would have no feats and skills on its own and just uses the skills and feats with whatever modifiers the creature in its soul space uses, with the exception of Size modifier. The fimalaire would still have a -8 size modifier to Hide.

Um, that's what it did from the start. I'm sorry if using the word "leech" there confused you. I only used it once, but I guess that was one time too many. Sorry about that, I just didn't know a better way to say it that still sounded cool in my head.


Is there a maximum number of creatures that can be held in the fimalaire's soul space. Is there air? How long can creatures survive in it?

Maximum number of creatures is on the table. I have moved it now to make information regarding the soul space more seperate as it is a whole big new thing altogether. I've added some information in there regarding air and such and what kinds of magic work within it.

Pyromancer999
2011-08-12, 09:13 AM
You can has!


Awesome fluff! The fluff kind of tempts me to make use of this creature to mess with my players' minds. And I've never been good at resisting temptation when it comes to D&D, so this'll make for a good gaming session or two. :smallbiggrin: