Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Monster: K'sshri

K'sshri (Nightmist)
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 2+4**
Move: fly 120' (40')
Attacks: 3
Damage: 1-6/1-6/1-6
No. Appearing: 2-8
Save As: F3
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: Special
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 45

Strange and inexplicable, k'sshri resemble nothing so much as coiling, twisting clouds of dense pearly-grey mists almost thick enough to touch. Tendrils of mist may uncurl to dissipate over or otherwise explore the nightmist's environment, then withdraw back into the main mass for the digestion of the information gained; pale grey-white motes of light occasionally flicker through a k'sshri, for some unfathomable reason. They do not explain their actions; they feel no need to.

Nightmists attack suddenly and without warning. Long needle-sharp lances of a jet-black, vaguely crystalline substance condense within the k'sshri's mists before flying towards a victim or victims, piercing for 1-6 hit points of damage each; each such attack has an effective range of 60'. The k'sshri will attempt to reabsorb these lances, given the chance, and feed from the emotional shock and pain of the wounds caused by them.

A k'sshri has a 1-in-6 chance of attacking with a colourless lance; if this attack succeeds, the lance breaks off in the victim's body, implanting an embryonic nightmist which will kill the victim within 2-8 days if not somehow removed. If the removal is successful the embryo -- which resembles a curled-up tadpole of black pearl the size of one's thumb -- is valued at 2-800gp.

Silver weapons are required to harm a nightmist.

12 comments:

Jeff Rients said...

taichara, I think it's time for you to make a book out of all your great stuff. I would gladly buy a copy in PDF or print form. And if you need any help in steps involved in taking a manuscript and turning it into a book, I will gladly lend whatever meager assistance I can.

Also, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer:

http://jrients.blogspot.com/2009/05/committee-to-draft-taichara-will-now.html

taichara said...

@Jeff Rients:

Yeep!

I ... don't really know how to respond. Except to say that I thank you very very much, and will certainly chew on the idea.

I've put out a few feelers about publishing an elemental book (although I've yet to hear back about the proposal -- and will write it up in any case if I'm turned down), but would publishing a book of material already posted for free be entirely acceptable ...?

I admit it's one of the larger thoughts that give me pause over the idea.

Matthew Slepin said...

I totally support this idea. You've been churning out massive quantities of good stuff, but finding it through the blogsite is not very handy. A book and/or pdf would be keen. If that seems to much, then, at the very least, you ought to set up a proper website for all this stuff.

Randolph said...

Yes...What Jeff Said!!! Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please,Please!!!!!!!!

taichara said...

@Matthew Slepin:

With a little aid from a few quarters (I am despairingly bad at layout), I think I'd actually find it easier to put together a pdf or book than a webpage *grins* Thanks for the good words!


@Randolph:

Noted :3

Adam Dickstein said...

You go for yours!

I'm totally up for helping with illustrations. I'm a bit rusty but I've worked as a professinal illustrator before and have a somewhat anime/manga influenced style when I need to.

Let me know!

AD
Barking Alien

Phil said...

I add my voice to the chorus requesting a book... your creations are fantastic and it would be great to have them more accessible.

taichara said...

@Barking Alien:

Thank ye very much for the kind offer! :3


@Phil:

And thank ye much also, for the support! :3

trollsmyth said...

I have no problem at all paying hard cash for a dead-tree version of the stuff you've posted online. After all, online comic books like PvP, Girl Genius, and others do the same thing. It's just convenient to be able to read those anywhere without wrestling with a computer.

And a listing of your monsters, especially one with art, that I could flip through when designing dungeons or while playing, would be great! At this point, they're all going in a large, unwieldy Word doc.

And I'd be thrilled to help in whatever way I can.

taichara said...

@trollsmyth:

You've always supported this idea for me, and I appreciate it muchly :3

See the new post on here for more meandering ~

Matthew Slepin said...

I am despairingly bad at layoutI'm no whizz, but I'm okay. Check out the (currently free version of) Swords of Fortune [https://sites.google.com/site/thefiendish/Home/swords-of-fortune] to see an example--simple but okay. I'll help if asked.

taichara said...

@Matthew Slepin:

I took a peek, and that's not bad at all :3 Thank you for the offer!