The Mountain is cruel...(Peach)

nightmareone · 3rd September 2007, 10:20 PM

Dark Cliffs Fey CR 5
Usually CE Small Fey
Init +7 Senses low-light vision, Listen +12, Spot +12, tremorsense 60ft.
Languages Common, Terran, Sylvan
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AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 40 (9 HD) DR 5/cold iron
Fort +4 Ref +9 Will +7
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Speed 30ft. (6 squares); earth glide, spring attack
Melee 2 claws +6 each (1d6+2)
Space 5ft./5ft. Reach 5ft.
Base Atk +4 Grp +2
Atk Options Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC)
Spell-like abilities: (CL 9th)
3/day:spike stones(DC 14), wall of stone
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Abilities Str 14, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 11
Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Improved initiative
Skills Climb +13, Craft (Stoneworking) +12, Listen +12, Hide +14, Move Silently +14, Spot +12
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Earth Glide (Ex) A dark cliffs fey can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence.
Skirmish (Ex) A dark cliffs fey deals an extra 2d6 points of damage on all attacks she makes during any round in which she moves at least 10 feet. The extra damage only applies against living creatures that have a discernible anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporal creatures, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are not susceptible to this extra damage. The dark cliffs fey must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A dark cliffs fey gains a +2 competence bonus to Armor Class during any round in which it moves at least 10 feet.

Dark cliffs fey are nature spirits of the inhospitable regions of high cliffs. They are cruel creatures that seek for harm to come to any that disturb them.

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
Dark Cliffs fey use hit and run tactics, using spring attack to move and attack out of solid stone walls and move back in. They try to ensure that every attack they make is a skirmish attack. If groups of opponents fight back in an organized manner, they separate them using their wall of stone ability and continue to attack.
If reduced to less than half of their hp or by confornted by opponents with cold iron weapons, dark cliffs fey retreat, using wall of stone or spike stones to cover their retreat.

ECOLOGY
Dark cliffs Fey are spirits of the high places of the world. They protect the delicate life at the summits of mountains and, in this quest to protect all they hold dear, they forsake all other forms of life and will do anything to keep it safe.
Dark Cliffs Fey mate for life. The children reach adult age uncannily fast, within 4 to 6 years. Despite this early coming of age, Dark cliffs fey can live for up to a thousand years.

DARK CLIFFS FEY WITH CLASS LEVELS
Dark Cliffs Fey’s favored class is scout. Their scout levels add to their skirmish ability.
Level Adjustment: +5

demiurge1138 · 11th September 2007, 01:32 AM

Not so terribly fond of these guys, from either a mechanical or flavorful perspective. They just seem a little bland.

Mechanically, what does a Dark Cliffs Fey bring to the table that a minor xorn with levels in scout doesn't? Spike stones and wall of stone are sensible SLAs for a fey with earth ties, but why use them to cover escapes? Since they can earth glide, there's not much that can follow a Dark Cliffs Fey if it wants to run. Wall of stone should be used to pin opponents into small kill-zones.

(Also, as an aside, since they are supposed to protect the lichens and birds and other life clinging to the edge of survival up in the cliffs, having telekinesis as an SLA to shove intruders off of cliff faces to their dooms would be cool. But that's just my opinion.)

Flavorwise, there's a few things that bug me. Why does their devotion to the delicate life of high cliff faces and their spurning of other life lead to a CE alignment? If they're cruel but devoted to nature, they should fall within druidic alignment standards, I think, so NE. Why are they just Dark Cliffs Fey? Is that what they call themselves? The lack of a more flavorful, exotic name seems a detractant to me. Also, like the masked horror before, the critter's hurt by the lack of a physical description. What do the PCs see when one of these jumps out at them?

Demiurge out.