While we're working on the the grave mist...
Mist, Scarlet Dancer
CLIMATE/TERRAIN Swamps/sewers
FREOUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Cluster
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE Semi- (2-4)
TREASURE: Nil (S)
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING 10-100
ARMOR CLASS: 1 (8 after feeding)
MOVEMENT: Fl 24 (A) (12 (B) after feeding)
HIT DICE: 1 per 10 present
THACO: 1 HD: 19 (varies by HD)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d3 per HD
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Blood drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: T (2" diameter)
MORALE: Champion (15-16)
XP VALUE
10 dancers: 35 60 dancers: 420
20 dancers: 65 70 dancers: 975
30 dancers: 120 80 dancers: 1,400
40 dancers: 175 90 dancers: 2,000
50 dancers: 270 100 dancers: 3,000
A scarlet dancer is similar to a crimson death mist, but is much smaller in size. While it appears as a miniature version of the crimson death, this creature lacks an outward humanoid appearance (such as a face with the look of intelligence). Some sages theorize that scarlet dancers are immature versions of the malevolent crimson death. Scarlet dancers gather together in clusters of 10 to 100.
Combat: Clusters of scarlet dancers can sense the presence of warm-blooded creatures within a 100-foot radius. The red mist that surrounds the dancers draws the blood from their victims, using tentacles of scarlet mist. The amount of blood drained depends on the number of dancers present-the more dancers in a cluster, the more blood is drained from the victim each round. For each 10 scarlet dancers present, the cluster has 1 HD (and appropriate THACO) and drains 1d3 hit points on a successful hit.
Because these creatures are partially mist, metal and leather armor do not protect an intended victim from a cluster of dancers--their misty tentacles permeate the cracks in the armor, seeking out the victim's skin. Only Dexterity adjustments and magical protection can hinder the attack of the dancers.
Before 10 dancers (1 HD) feed, they have an Armor Class of 1, but after draining 7 hit points of blood they are slower and their Armor Class drops to 8. A cluster of 10 scarlet dancers can absorb up to 14 points of blood before the cluster stops attacking to digest its spoils.
Having evolved in the sewers of Zhentil Keep, scarlet dancers cannot stand the light of the sun. Though sunlight does no physical damage to them, the dancers instinctively flee from it to the safety of darkness.
Habitat/Society: The dancers are neither mean nor malicious, but do what they need to in order to survive, as would any animal in need of food. Scarlet dancers need small amounts of blood on a daily basis to survive. If a cluster goes for more than three days without feeding, the dancers of that cluster perish. However, since the sewers are flooded with vermin and other nasty monsters, fiiding potential supplies of food is seldom a problem.
Most scarlet dancers live in the sewer tunnels below Zhentil Keep. The dancers live in clusters that float throughout the sewers in search of food. The only time they are not flying is when they have consumed their maximum daily allotment of blood (14 hit points per 10 dancers). Then they seek an out-of-the-way place to rest for 1d4 hours.
The shadowy forces of Zhentil Keep know the locations of five clusters of scarlet dancers in the city sewers. These areas have been marked on certain maps and have gained notoriety by word of mouth. However, Zhentil Keep's sewers are not the only home of the dancers, as many of them live in small clusters throughout the tunnels honeycombing the ground beneath the Keep-and their numbers are greatest in the deepest tunnels.
Ecology: Since only the foolish come down into the sewers beneath the city, scarlet dancers feed mostly on mice, rats, and other warm-blooded denizens living in the bowels of Zhentil Keep. The favorite food of the dancers is humans, since their reproduction requires human blood. While scarlet dancers need human blood to reproduce, any kind of iron-based blood will suffice for nourishment.
The creature's origins are unknown. Some believe that scarlet dancers are but another Zhentarim experiment gone bad. The truth may lie deep underground beneath Zhentil Keep. The similarities between scarlet dancers and crimson deaths are unnerving, especially to the lords of Zhentil Keep, who are fearful of a possible outbreak of crimson death mists throughout the city. In fact, crimson deaths and scarlet dancers are in no way biologically related.
Originally appeared in Ruins of Zhentil Keep (1995).
