Defenders of Daybreak

"Where are we?" asks TomTom. "Or rather, how did I get here? I was in Eversink a second ago." He suddenly twitches and spins, reaching behind him and pulling something off of his back. A large, crystalline spider hits the floor. "And WHAT is that?"

"I don't know!" says Agar, reaching for a specimen jar before anyone can step on the slow-moving crystal spider. "But it's fascinating. I'll do some research on it as soon as I can."

The group explains to TomTom that he's suffering from a side effect of their earlier trip to Kodali's Retreat. TomTom looks aggrieved. "I had tens of thousands of gold pieces invested in Eversink. Please tell me you cashed out our investments." No one meets his eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud."

"One thing is important, TomTom," says Tao. "Give us all of your magic items in case this happens again!" Instead, TomTom gives her a vaguely obscene gesture, and the group settles down to a hot breakfast.

"It's an extremely tight section of the cavern. There's about enough room for me to get through without crouching too much, but a man in armor would be in trouble. I'd guess that maybe Malachite could squeeze through, if he wasn't armored. It's an excellent place for ambushes, because people crawling have a hard time fighting."

The group exchanges glance. "And incorporeal undead could easily move through stone," concludes Malachite. "We'll have to scout it first." As the heroes discuss the relative merits of etherealness versus clairvoyance for such scouting, they're interrupted by a dwarf entering the main hall. "Found something interesting," the soldier says. "Message plaques from a dwarven outpost less than a day's march away. Looks like the dwarves tried to send several messengers to get help." He looks sorrowful. "None of 'em got any further than here."

The group reads the stones. The first reports that the dwarven city of Mrid has fallen, and the dwarven outpost of Mridsgate is receiving refugees. It is expected that the ghouls will arrive before long, and reinforcements are needed from anyone on the surface who can help. The second reports that the ghoulish army is closing, renewing a plea for any refugees on the surface to return and fight. The third reports that the ghouls are less than a day away, and survival seems slim, but that they will defend the fort to the last man. As the Defenders piece together the picture, the dwarf shakes his head, beard wagging. "We found some mostly-eaten bodies," says the soldier. "I think the ghouls somehow got some troops up here to cut off messengers or escape. That must be what we fought yesterday."

Next: Negotiating the Narrows! Drums in the deep! And an overwhelming foe . . . .

Ashy:

::chuckle:: You'd be surprised what an advanced, ethereal, psionic, undead, half-troll, negative-energy infused KOBOLD can do!!! BWAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! :P

Erp - sorry, PC, I did not mean to give away your surprise.....

Piratecat:

Oh, you mean Klixxit!

Klixxit, male ethereal psionic ghast half-troll negative-energy infused kobold Sor20: CR 27; Size S (3 ft., 6 in. tall); HD 22d12; hp 146; Init +3 (+3 Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 23 (+3 Dex, +1 Size, +9 Natural); Attack by weapon +17/+12/+7 melee, or +11/+6/+1 ranged or 2 claws +17 melee, 1 bite +12 melee; dmg claw 1d4+7, bite 1d4+3; SV Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +14; AL CE; Str 22, Dex 16, Con --, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 25.

Languages Spoken: Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon.

Skill points: Sor 92 Skills and feats: Craft +9, Hide +14, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Listen +5, Move silently +14, Profession +2, Scry +20, Search +5, Spellcraft +26, Spot +2; Craft wondrous object, Empower spell, Enlarge spell, Heighten spell, Lightning reflexes, Scribe scroll, Toughness.

SA: Rend 2d4+9, psionics, spellcasting, paralysis, negative energy infusion, create spawn

SQ: Regeneration, undead, turn resistance, stench, manifestation

Possessions: 220,000 gp in gear.

Sorcerer Spells Known (6/7/7/7/7/6/6/6/6/6): 0th -- Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic. 1st -- Change Self, Chill Touch, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield. 2nd -- Blindness/Deafness, Blur, Flaming Sphere, Knock, Melf's Acid Arrow. 3rd -- Dispel Magic, Fireball, Haste, Lightning Bolt. 4th -- Charm Monster, Emotion, Polymorph Other, Solid Fog. 5th -- Dream, Permanency, Summon Monster V, Teleport. 6th -- Acid Fog, Analyze Dweomer, Mass Suggestion. 7th -- Shadow Walk, Simulacrum, Teleport without Error. 8th -- Demand, Horrid Wilting, Mass Charm. 9th -- Energy Drain, Shapechange, Time Stop.

Psionic powers known: charm person

Special attacks

Rend (Ex): If Klixxit hits with both claw attacks, he latches onto the opponent's body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an additional 2d4+9 points of damage.

Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by Klixxit's bite or claw attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 28) or be paralyzed for 1d6+4 minutes Elves are not immune to his paralysis.

Negative energy infusion (Ex): Those hit by Klixxit's bite or claw attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 28) or suffer 2 negative levels per hit from the negative energy that has infused the kobold's being.

Create Spawn (Su): In most cases, Klixxit devours those he kills. From time to time, however, the bodies of his humanoid victims lie where they fell, to rise as ghouls themselves in 1d4 days. Casting protection from evil on a body before the end of that time averts the transformation.

Special qualities

Regeneration (Ex): Fire and acid deal normal damage to Klixxit. If he loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 3d6 minutes. He can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.

Undead: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.

Turn Resistance: Klixxit possesses +2 turn resistance.

Stench (Ex): The stink of death and corruption surrounding Klixxit is sickening. Those within 10 feet must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 28) or be wracked with nausea, suffering a --2 circumstance penalty to all attacks, saves, and skill checks for 1d6+4 minutes.

Manifestation (Su): As an ethereal creature, Klixxit cannot affect or be affected by anything in the material world. When he manifests, he becomes visible but remains incorporeal. However, a manifested Klixxit can strike with his touch attack or a ghost touch weapon. A manifested Klixxit remains on the Ethereal Plane but can be attacked by opponents on both the Material and Ethereal planes. When Klixxit is on the Ethereal Plane, his spells cannot affect targets on the Material Plane, but they work normally against ethereal targets. When he manifests, his spells continue to affect ethereal targets and can affect targets on the Material Plane normally unless the spells rely on touch. His touch spells don't work on material targets.

Darkvision 60 ft.

Nah. He's just a mascot.

Tokiwong:

Good Lord!!!! that thing is mean machine... mascot indeed... Awesome critter Piratecat, very awesome... suprised you were not crucified for that one. Rat Bastard DM's everywhere applaud thee I am sure... I know I do.

Piratecat:

Klixxit is just a joke. I whipped him up after I read Ashy's post, adding template after template until he toppled over from the weight and lay there squeaking and waving his little claws. Maybe he lives somewhere in the underdark, but blessedly, my players can rest assured that I'd never use him after displaying his stats here. Poor little fella; now he feels all abandoned and rejected. Sniff.

I tend to reject too many layered templates as inherently silly, although I'm willing to make a rare exception.

What my players DID fight was somewhat more off-beat.

Argent:

Can I have Klixxit? I promis to keep him warm and feed and walk him! Please....?