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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shade" data-source="post: 4962741" data-attributes="member: 287">EkimmuCLIMATE/TERRAIN: Ruins & wildernessFREQUENCY: Very rareORGANIZATION: NoneACTIVITY CYCLE: Prefers nightDIET: CarnivoreINTELLIGENCE: Semi-intelligentTREASURE: 25% FALIGNMENT: Any evilNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: - 6MOVEMENT: 12HIT DICE: 8THAC0: As per victimNO. OF ATTACKS: As per victimDAMAGE/ATTACK: As per victimSPECIAL ATTACKS: PossessionSPECIAL DEFENSES: NoneMAGIC RESISTANCE: NilSIZE: LMORALE: Fearless (20)X.P. VALUE: 2,000Ekimmu are undead spirits that hate humans (and demihumans) and seek only to wreak havoc and destroy their victims. The ekimmu themselves were once humans. The ekummu died far from home and were not given proper burial rites. Those unfortunates who were good or neutral merely bemoan their fate, seeking proper burial. Those unfortunates who were evil became undead to satisfy their hatred and destroy anyone fortunate enough to be living.Note that, if the characters can find the remains of the ekimmu, and give it proper burial, the ekimmu will cease plaguing its victims.An ekimmu appears as a bull-headed, spectral humanoid nearly 10’ tall. It thus looks a bit like a ghostly minotaur. An ekummu may be invisible until it attacks. If invisible, however, its presence will still be felt as a ghastly wind carrying the charnel stench of the grave.Combat: The ekimmu does not attack physically, at least not directly. The monster has one desire: to inhabit a physical body again. Thus, it seeks to possess the body of a character. If the victim fails its save versus spells then that individual becomes possessed. The ekummu will then seek to wreak havoc on the rest of the party, attacking as if it were the possessed character.Note: In their mindless fury, ekimmu are classed as “semi-intelligent” so DMs may wish to limit the intelligent use of spells by ekimmu in possession of a spell-caster’s body.An ekimmu has no care whatsoever for the body it possesses. In fact, the ekimmu will do its best to get that body killed. When in possession of a body the ekimmu will only take one point of damage for every two points of damage taken by that body. It is thus possible, but difficult, to dissipate the ekimmu (i.e., reduce it to 0 hp) without killing the possessed host. If so, the possession ends and the victim returns to normal (retaining any damage taken until cured). It also is possible that the host body will be slain, leaving the ekimmu with hit points. In that case, the ekimmu will leave that body and seek to possess another victim. The ekimmu will continue attacking until all the characters are dead, or it is dissipated. Even in possession of a body, the ekimmu retains many special undead powers. It is immune to sleep, charm, hold, paralysis, and cold-based spells and poison. It will take 2d4 points of damage from holy water, but so will the possessed victim. The most effective spell against the ekimmu is a holy word spell. If an ekimmu seeks to possess a character ‘s body, and the character makes its save versus spells, then that character is immune to further possession attempts by that particular ekimmu. Another ekimmu may attempt possession. Likewise, the ekimmu can try to possess another character.In its natural form, the ekimmu has little physical substance, hence its low armor class. When in possession of a victim the ekimmu has the same armor class as the victim. A cleric has the same chance to turn an ekimmu as she does a vampire. Note: A group of ekimmu can be especially deadly. In gaming, it was found that few things were more deadly to the characters than the characters themselves. A DM may want to take special care in an encounter with multiple ekimmu.Habitat/Society: Ekimmu are mainly solitary. Ekimmu may, however, band together to better vent their hatred. Ekimmu are more likely to band together under circumstances where several of them died in the same place at the same time. Ekimmu have no real society. Ekimmu are most likely to be found in wilderness areas where no one has discovered their remains and given them proper funeral rites. Ruins and isolated caverns are among the favorite lairs for ekimmu.Ekimmu prefer to remain reasonably close to the spot where they died, but they are not limited to such a spot, and may sometimes roam at will. If so, the ekimmu usually will return to the spot of its death every few days. Seeing its unburied remains serves to rekindle the anger and hatred of the ekimmu.Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #210 (1994).EkimmuCLIMATmERRAIN Wilderness, ruinsFREQUENCY: Very rareORGANIZATION Solitary or bandACTIVITY CYCLE NocturnalDIET: carnivoreINTELLIGENCE Semi- (2-4)TREASURE Nil (F 25% chance)ALIGNMENT: Any evilNO. APPEARING: 1 Or 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 4 or as hostMOVEMENT: 12 or as hostHIT DICE 8THACO Nil or as hostNO. OF ATTACKS 1 or as hostDAMAGWATTACK: Nil or as hostSPECIAL ATTACKS PossessionSPECIAL DEFENSES invisibility; immune to sleep,charm, hold, paralysis, cold-based spells and poisonMAGIC RESISTANCE NilSIZE L (10' tall)MORALE: Fearless (20)XP Value: 3,000An ekimmu is an angry undead spirit that was once human. It is created when a human dies far from home and is not given proper burial rites; for this reason an ekimmu hates humans, demihumans, and humanoids, and seeks vengeance against the living.  An ekimmu appears as a spectral, bull-headed humanoid nearly 10 feet tall, much like a ghostly minotaur.Combat:  The ekimmu may be completely invisible before it attacks; in this case its presence will be felt as a ghastly wind carrying the charnel stench of the grave, and its presence may be detected as a malevolent and brooding evil.The ekimmu does not attack directly.  Instead, it seeks to take over the body of a character.  The potential host is allowed a saving throw vs. spell to avoid the attack.  If the saving throw is successful, then that ekimmu cannot try to take over that character again during the same encounter.  It might try to take over some other character.If the character fails the saving throw, then the ekimmu uses the host body to wreak havoc on all other intelligent living creatures in the area, attacking exactly as if it were the controlled character.  In its fury, the semi-intelligent ekimmu is unlikely to use spells memorized by a spellcasting host; physical attacks are most likely.  The ekimmu attacks furiously with no care whatsoever for the host body.   Should the host be slain, the ekimmu will leave the host and take over another. In its natural form, the ekimmu has no physical attacks, but its wispy substance gives it an unnaturally low Armor Class.While in a host, the ekimmu has the host’s Armor Class, taking one point of damage itself for every two points of damage inflicted on the host.  Should the ekimmu be reduced to 0 hit points, it is forced out of the host and dissipated, and the host (if alive) returns to normal. The ekimmu will continue attacking until all characters are slain, all characters have saved against its attack, or until it is driven out or dissipated.The ekimmu gives its host many of its undead powers: immunity to sleep, charm, hold, paralysis, cold-based spells and poison.  However, it (and its host) takes 2d4 points of damage from a vial of holy water.  A protection from evil spell will block its possession attack.  A dispel evil exorcises it from its host and gives the host immunity as if a successful saving throw had been made.  A holy word immediately exorcises all ekimmu in its area and drives them away, ending the encounter.If the characters cn find the remains of the ekimmu and give it a proper burial, the ekimmu will dissipate, abandoning any host it controls.An ekimmu outside a host body can be turned as a vampire.  Note:  A group of ekimmu can be especially deadly, since each ekimmu can attack each character in the group.  The DM should exercise special care when preparing an encounter with multiple ekimmu.HabitatlSociety: Ekimmu are most likely to be found in wilderness areas where no one has found their remains and given them proper funeral rites. Ruins and isolated caverns are among their most common haunts.Ekimmu usually remain dose to the spot they died, but are not bound to it; many roam at will. A wandering ekimmu usually returns to the site of its death every few days.  Seeing its unburied remains again rekindles its anger and hatred.Ekimmu are solitary, but sometimes form bands to better vent their hatred.  Bands are most likely when the individuals died in the same place at the same time.Ecology: Ekimmu try to destroy any intelligent life that encounter. As long as its remains are unburied, a dissipated ekimmu will eventually reform, though this may take some days or weeks.Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #210 (1994) and later in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two (1995).</blockquote>

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