Thief of Thought

Small Aberration (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 4d8+8 (26 hp)
Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 17 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +3 deflection)
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/-1
Attack: Touch +4 melee (possession)
Full Attack: Touch +4 melee (possession)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Animate dead, gaze of idiocy, intellect transferral, possession
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., incorporeal, natural invisibility, unnatural aura
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities: Str --, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 17
Skills: Knowledge (the planes) +9, Search +9, Sense Motive +9, Spot +8, Survival +3
Feats: Ability Focus, Improved Initiative
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4 (+2 for hosts)
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class

There was a pounding on the door. "For the love of God, please, let me in!" called the voice of the professor. "I beg you!"

Roused from my slumber, I awoke and shuffled downstairs, and fiddled with the locks, casting the door open. Before me, in the rain, stood the dishevelled form of Professor Douglas. He put one foot over the threshold and then stared slack-jawed. In the lane outside stood a gentleman, dark in complexion, glaring.

"Mercy!" cried Douglas, falling to his knees. "He has found me!"

The man stepped towards the professor, and glared at him as though his eyes were embers slowly burning their way through him. A reddish luminescence appeared within his eyes, and I watched, aghast, as the professor's head lolled this way and that, his eyes rolling back into his head, blood streaming from the corners of the sockets. In a moment the professor crumpled to the ground, dead. I looked up from where I knelt by his body only to see the man bounding away.

Description
Thieves of thought are bizarre alien creatures, though whether from another plane or another world none may say. They are invisible to the naked eye, but creatures or mages capable of seeing invisible objects report that they are small, roughly humanoid creatures with writhing tendrils in place of fingers and a head discernable only as two darkened pits where eyes would be.

Thieves seem to prefer cold climes. Only a handful of encounters with thieves have ever been reported, and those stories have originated in sub-arctic regions such as northern China, Scotland, and Alaska.

Combat
A thief of thought can survive without a host, though its attacks are limited without one. As a result, it is very rarely encountered in its natural form. When it is, it will always attempt to possess the first available host. A thief of thought can only possess intelligent creatures (no animals), and prefers those which have skills or status in society it can use. The host body has all of its normal statistics and also gains several special abilities from the thief. The special qualities given above in italics are granted only to a host being, while the others are possessed by the thief itself. Both forms possess the unnatural aura ability.

Animate Dead (Su): Once per day, as a standard action, a thief of thought's host can animate up to 15 Hit Dice worth of beings slain by its gaze of idiocy attack. These corpses must be within 500 ft. of the thief's current position, and must also be intact. The dead are animated as zombies. The thief has no control over the dead after they are animated.

Gaze of Idiocy (Ex): A victim meeting the glance of a thief of thought's host body must make a Fort save (DC 15) or be rendered helpless as the creature drains 1d6 permanent points of both Intelligence and Wisdom.

Intellect Transferral (Ex): A thief of thought can choose to assimilate one feat or Intelligence- or Wisdom-based skill from a creature slain by its gaze of idiocy attack.

Natural Invisibility (Ex): In its natural form, the thief of thought is invisible. This invisibility is total, and cannot be negated by an invisibility purge spell. The invisibility remains in effect even when the thief attacks.

Possession (Su): When touched by the incorporeal tendril of a thief of thought, a victim must make a Will save (DC 17) or be possessed by the creature.

Unnatural Aura (Ex): Both wild and domestic animals can sense the presence of a thief of thought, even within a host body, at a distance of 30 ft. They will never willingly approach nearer than that and will become panicked if they are forced to do so (remaing panicked until they leave the 30 ft. range).

Could these be used to retrieve thoughts garnerred from cursed sources? Or perhaps dispatched by powerful summoned creatures to kill all those who know their true name.


Creatures summoned by the reading of a cursed book. They seek the reader and anyone who knows too much -- when the have silenced the knowledge they return whence they came.


Perhaps they have a code which requires that they briefly haunt their victem before they can kill them. Perhaps they enjoy taking the thoughts from them during moments of abject fear?


S.

Well, I originally made this guy for Masque of the Red Death and the monster itself is based on the one in the movie Horror Express. So while I had in the back of my mind horror uses and a role as a straightforward enemy like it was in that movie, you give some nifty ideas for how to use them in a more typical DnD game. And good ones, too. I especially like the one that has them eliminating a fiend's truename. That's a really good idea, IMHO.

I think they need some sort of track ability or such to find and follow their prey.

What languages do they understand? Telepathy?

You say their presence can be sensed by animals etc... are there other tell tale signs that might be trackable?

Do they have any weaknesses?

S.

This is really cool, but it seems a little brief in the ability description. I mean once the creature is posessed is it just that creature plus the abilities of does it change in other ways? Can it just posess anyone? Do you get the usual "Immunity for hours X if ypou make the save?"