A Question Of Monstrosity

[Fax Celestis]

My players in my weekly arctic campaign (A Storm Is Coming) ran into a creature that I've not posted in the homebrew fora. They're trying to figure out what it is, and I thought that I'd present the problem to the forum as a whole.

The creature appears in a puff of black mist that coagulates into the shape of a pegasus. The creature's wings solidify and acquire black feathers, but the rest of the beast remains foggy and nigh-transparent. The creature's eyes blaze orange. Light in the area surrounding the beast dims considerably.

Creatures with natural telepathy in the vicinity of the beast find their telepathic powers temporarily shorted and might find their minds intruded. Creatures that are part of a hive-mind are severed from it, potentially killing any creatures ultimately dependent upon it for survival. Those that are not killed are either struck unconscious or enter a dream-state if they sleep and/or dream.

Teleportation effects near the beast fail. Physical attacks against it have no effect, passing through even the seemingly physical aspects of the creature. Attempts to dispel the creature fail. Energy damage is uncertain as to it's effects.

On its turn, the creature fires bursts of burning orange energy from its eyes that disintegrate targets that they kill. Psionically potent, highly telepathic, or hive-mind invested creatures (except those struck immediately dead) find black tendrils of shadow emitting from their brains and stretching towards the beast. Should the creature touch these tendrils, the creature dies. This effect appears to stem from the creature's brain ceasing to function, though it is uncertain as to whether this is the case. A magic circle against evil effect appears to block the advancement of the tendrils but not negate their existence.

What is known is that the creature hails from the Plane of Shadow and that it appears to feed on psionically active minds. The creature does not appear responsive to attacks or movement--it seems that it understands that such attacks cannot harm it, and any subsequent movement is immaterial.

Now, the question is, what is it, and how do they kill it?

[Theli]

First instinct is to call it a nightmare.

[Fax Celestis]

Nightmares, however, are physical and therefore strikable.

[Blackadder]

Second thought, it's some OTHER pscionic creature, but everyone failed the illusion save throw.

Third thought, Have we tried setting it on fire yet? That works on quite allot of things.

Fourth thought:Ok if it is a Half Shadow/Half Bird/Half Horse/Half Illithid, which of thoses halves can we target to kill it? Hmm... Dismiss or other Outside banshing spell? If it's Shadow then it should not be native.

[GimliFett]

I agree with Theli. Nightmare was my first instinct (and a better fit for the name, I might add). Shadow Creature (from Tome of Magic)-Ethereal Fiendish-Ghost Pegasus from the Plane of Dreams?

[Fax Celestis]

No one's tried burninating/freezinating/electrinating it yet: it didn't stay long enough for that to happen.

Banishing could work. It is extraplanar.

And no, this is not a templated monstrosity. I'm saving that for my BBEG.

[cupkeyk]

Name it?

Amalthea, the name of the goat that nursed Zeus as a baby and from whose head the cornucopia was plucked. It has since died but gained some manner of immortality from its former ward and now grazes of reality like its own personal pasture. Amoral but favored by the gods.

[Fax Celestis]

Nah, it's called a 'makau'. The question is, "What is it, why is it here, and how do we kill it?"

[Karsh]

Summon Undead IV, summon an Allip. Have the monster try to devour the Allip's consciousness. Watch as it explodes.

[Worira]

It's an Authentic Hawaiian Fishhook Golem.

[Fax Celestis]

It's an Authentic Hawaiian Fishhook Golem.

The original was "maka'u" but I took out the apostrophe for simplicty.

[Proven_Paradox]

I'd probably try all the usual suspects. Kill it with fire, look for some way to have a ghost touch weapon, and so on.

From its appearance, I would assume it's something evil and here to do something not nice to me. Since, y'know, in DnD, evil wears black and smoke.

[TheLogman]

It is obviously intelligent to a degree, and is feeding off their minds, or at least blocking them. It may have been sent by a higher power, or may have been hungry. Possibly, the things it kills that are Psionically active are sucked into the creature. Their brain stops working, cause their thinkie-parts are gone.

Seems pretty tough to kill. It could have a secret weakness to a certain spell, Daylight seems like a good try. Force effects would also probably work. If they can Ethereal Jaunt, they can send someone in to the Ethereal plane to take it out.

[Yami]

Aha! A trick question.

Now, the question is, what is it, and how do they kill it?

It is my new mount, and we do not kill it, we bind it. Huzzah!

[Fax Celestis]

It is my new mount, and we do not kill it, we bind it. Huzzah!

How does one ride something you cannot touch?

[sikyon]

Party Level?

Also, I'm confused about the tendril part. So the tendrils leak out of your brain toward the beast, but if you touch those tendrils then you die? How can you not touch the tendrils? Wouldn't they be touching your forehead/ears/brain?

Anyhow, it's incoporeal. I suggest force cage. Tounges to talk to it, anything anti-incoporeal.

Spiritual weapon, bless weapon (maybe), forcecage, magic missile, etc.

[sikyon]

How does one ride something you cannot touch?

Become incoporeal yourself!

[Fax Celestis]

Party Level?

ECL 11, I think. Color me a DM that keeps poor track of his party's level.

Also, I'm confused about the tendril part. So the tendrils leak out of your brain toward the beast, but if you touch those tendrils then you die? How can you not touch the tendrils? Wouldn't they be touching your forehead/ears/brain?

No, no. If the makau touches the tendrils, you die.

Anyhow, it's incoporeal. I suggest force cage. Tounges to talk to it, anything anti-incoporeal.

Spiritual weapon, bless weapon (maybe), forcecage, magic missile, etc.

The makau is capable of speech, after a fashion: it emanates a kind of nonverbal emotional/intellectual state to converse.

[MandibleBones]

It's fear itself. Cast remove fear on it until it fails its save.

[Miles Invictus]

First thing I'd try would be Dismissal or Banishment.

[Alleine]

How does one ride something you cannot touch?

Ghost touch pants.

[dyslexicfaser]

How does one ride something you cannot touch?

Where there's a will - and with something like a cool mount, there certainly WILL be a will - the players will find a way. Usually the most complicated and fiendishly complex way possible.

[Gig_Complex]

Well I'd go with this order to try and find out more about the creature, Force Cage, Planar Binding, Analyze Dweomer, Legend Lore, True Seeing, if it shows up to be Undead then Undeath to Death if not continue on, if an illusion locate true cause of the effect if not, hit it with an Antimagic Field.

[Collin152]

This monstrosity is clearly the result of global warming.
How do we kill it? We need to drive an SUV into it.

I'd cast Vision about it.

[kemmotar]

Dammit..my daylight idea was already taken...

Hmmm...how to kill it...send the barbarian in, it will try to eat his mind, will find none as the crazy,foaming human with a ginormous axe attacks it be disgusted by this poor creature's futile and incredibly stupid actions and in another exotic land variant commit seppuku or at least never bother the party again lest it be molested by the barbarian's non existent mind again...

Seriously though, a few questions, does it cast a shadow? It could be as perverse as what you see is actually it's shadow or projected image and the actual shadow is in fact the real thing...daylight, banishment...

Maybe if they can find how often this creature comes or what triggers it appearance, maybe it appears every thursday because it gets hungry for brains once a week so they can set it up....Maybe use an inward magic circle against evil thus forcing it not move and the shadow tendrils can no longer touch it...

Also the usual if nothing works fireball/set it on fire comes to mind...

Edit: also on the mount idea, after you use the magic circle against evil bind it into something like a magical saddle that makes it corporeal enough for you to die...just like the artificers in eberron made ships out of elementals

[Idea Man]

Fax, you have all the best monsters.

As far as "What is it?", I'd need more information. It has a lot of specific traits, so narrowing down its pupose should be relatively easy. It's a shadow beast of psionic doom, nothing it has engaged can run magically/psionically, and it is not taking prisoners.

If it can be talked/negotiated with, they should. Anything with instant death effects built into it should be avoided.

How to fight it... hmm. Working on level 11 powers, what do we have? Banishment is surely worth a try, and spiritual hammer and magic missle are sure fire for incorporial enemies. The Bigby's hand spells could be useful for keeping it from the party, if they should actually have access to them. Searing light should be effective, too.

As a side note, mage armor for everyone.

Of course, you could fight shadow with shadow (evocation and conjuration). Positive thinking says stuff of the same type as your enemy should hurt him. Negative thinking says those spells might help it. Worth the gamble?

[Voyager_I]

If it doesn't respond to movement, the obvious solution is running away...

...remember, you don't have to outrun the monster, you just have to outrun the Gnome (throwing the Gnome to the monster is also a valid option).

[Icewalker]

Hmm...sounds like something my DM would come up with. He has sent a dragon swarm at us (full sized dragons...).

Interesting creature, probably with an interesting and unique way to defeat it: nothing simple. The easiest way to figure it out is to start doing divination stuff to ask questions about it. I don't know how many of those there are or how they work in 3rd edition, but there is stuff like Commune in 1st edition which lets you ask questions of the gods, perfect for solving this kind of situation.

[Adumbration]

First cast Dimensional Anchor, so it can't get away. Then cast Magic Circle against Evil, focused inwards on it. Congratulations, you now have the bastard trapped, most likely. Draw the diagram for good effect and further dimensional anchor.

[Collin152]

But, to draw the diagram, you'd need to get inside the circle with it. And that's just suicide.