Menace Felt But Not Seen

In a field a quarter-mile to the east of the Chaos Well, where the corn grows tall and sways in the gentle wind that always comes down off the hills this time of year, a clawed hand cautiously pulls aside a thick green stem. Dark eyes peer at the observer Harotanu as she makes her way along the low stone fence that borders the valley of the Well. She stops as she draws parallel to the eyes, prompted by some inner urging or sensitivity nagging at her conscious mind. The eyes are hooded immediately, and the impossibly slender figure withdraws, disappearing in the corn. Harotanu’s worried grey eyes clear to a cheerful green, and she smiles wryly at her own follies, tossing her purple hair. The hand that had strayed towards the sword scabbarded at her side does not move, however, and she finishes her rounds in an even more cautious manner than usual. The thin creature waits for her to disappear from view, every moment a torment. Eventually, however, she is gone. Time for a drink, the thin thing growls inwardly and resumes its slow progress through the corn towards the wall, pausing only to whistle its new friend out of cover. It comes slowly, ears lowered in eternal, undying weariness, tail dragging behind it on the ground, red fur matted and in some places gone altogether, revealing the corrupted skin beneath. Pity the hunter that chases this fox, the emaciated creature thinks to itself with a sardonic chuckle.

As noted earlier, the Chaos Well’s arcane energies pulse throughout the land, sending out subliminal summons to various creatures whose very nature renders them susceptible. Two such creatures have found themselves drawn to Chelmsey’s hinterland in recent times. None of the ‘observers’ are as yet aware of their presence, but it is only a matter of time before they make themselves known in one way or another.

The first of these is a Thin Man, a fey creature generally found in warmer climes. This particular monster stowed away on a boat carrying sugar cane from plantations in the sub-tropical north over a year ago, and, after disembarking unnoticed in the port city of Pareja – six week’s travel to the east – made its way across the sparsely populated north until, three weeks later, it felt a sudden urge to travel south and west, until it came to Chelmsey and found what it had, all unknowing, been seeking: the Chaos Well. Evading the attentions of the observers it made its way to the Well and began drinking regularly of the corrupted water there. The water swiftly affected the Thin Man, undermining its native resilience, but quickening its reactions and hardening its already tough skin.

MUTANT THIN MAN (Pathfinder)                                                  CR5

NEUTRAL MEDIUM ABERRATION

Init +9; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60' Perception +12

XP 1,600

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 16, flat-footed 15,(+5 Dex, +5 Natural, +1 Dodge)

HP 31 (7d6 + 7)

Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +9

Immune poison

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., burrowing 20 ft.

Melee

bite +6 (1d6 + 3)

2 claws +7 (1d4 + 3 plus 1d4 bleeding)

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 9

Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD +21

Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Weapon Focus (claw)

Skills Climb 13, Escape Artist 19, Perception 12, Stealth 15 (27 in cane fields, 21 in corn/wheat fields), Survival 9

Racial Modifiers +4 Escape Artist, +12 Stealth in cane fields (+6 in corn/wheat fields)

Languages Aklo

SQ concealment, vanish, celerity, armored, fragile

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Vanish (Su)

Once per day as a move action while benefiting from concealment, a thin man can simply vanish from sight. This gives it a +20 bonus on Stealth checks and the ability to hide in plain sight for 1 round per Hit Die even when there is no cover, concealment, or shadow nearby. If it makes an attack, the thin man is no longer in its vanished state. It usually uses this ability when attempting to elude pursuit.

Armored (Ex)

The mutant’s natural armor bonus to AC increases by 2.

Celerity (Ex)

As a swift action, the mutant gains the benefits of haste for 1 round. This ability can be used once every 1d4 rounds. The mutant has a +2 bonus on Initiative checks.

Fragile (Ex)

When the mutant fails a Fortitude save, it is staggered for 1 round.

MUTANT THIN MAN (RMFRP)

Level: 8

Base Rate: 50' (30' when burrowing)

Max Pace/MN bonus: FSpt/30

Speed MS/AQ: MD/FA

Size/Crit: M/-

Hits: 57

At (DB): 5(20)

Attacks: Small Bite 70 √ Medium Claw (x2)  40

Special Notes

Stalking/Hiding 65 (125 in cane fields; 95 in wheat/corn fields); Contortions 85; Climbing 70; Perception 50; Darkvsion 60'; +100 RRs vs. Poison; Can use Haste at no PP cost once every 4 rounds; gains the effect of Shrink Self when making a successful Contortions roll. If partially concealed, may automatically gain +100 on Stalking rolls even if under observation. If failing a RR vs Poison/Disease, or taking hit damage equal to 1/2 or more of their hit total, they are stunned for 1 round.

The Thin Man was joined, just two weeks ago by another creature that felt itself drawn to Chelmsey: an Undead Fox stricken with demon-plague. This small horror and the Thin Man have since taken to hunting together and, with a gathering sense of ownership, defending the Well against other interlopers. Two wandering Goblins and a lone Sprite have fallen to them thus far, and they are now considering ambushing one of the observers, although the unknown consequences have restrained them for the moment. The Thin Man and the Plague-Fox share burrows in several locations around Chelmsey and move from one to another regularly to avoid discovery. However, it is only a matter of time before some farmer or shepherd falls afoul of them.

PLAGUE-FOX (Pathfinder)                                                              CR1

NEUTRAL EVIL TINY UNDEAD (AUGMENTED ANIMAL)

Init +3; Senses Perception +8; Senses Low-light vision, scent, darkvsion 60 ft.

DEFENSE

AC  17, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +2 Natural, +2 Size)

HP 9(1d8 + 5)

Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, DR 5/slashing

Immune cold, undead traits

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft.

Melee

bite +3 (1d4 + 1, plus disease)

Special Attacks disease

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 17, Con -, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 15

Base Atk +0; CMB 0; CMD 12 (16 vs trip)

Feats Skill Focus (Perception), Toughness

Skills Acrobatics +3 (+11 when jumping), Perception +8, Stealth +11, Survival +1 (+5 scent tracking)

Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics when jumping, +4 Survival when tracking by scent

Special Abilities

Disease (Ex) Demon Plague: Bite—injury; save Fortitude DC 13; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Constitution damage and 1d6 Wisdom damage, victim is fatigued if it takes any ability damage from the disease, and certain creatures slain by demon plague rise as plagued beasts; cure 3 consecutive saves.

PLAGUE-FOX (RMFRP)

Level: 1

Base Rate: 65'

Max Pace/MN bonus: Dash/35

Speed MS/AQ: MF/MD

Size/Crit: S/II (slash only), #, @

Hits: 25

At (DB): 3(45)

Attacks: Medium Bite 25

Special Notes

Type I Undead. Bite carries demon-plague (RR vs. Disease 5th level, drain 1 CO/10 failure and 1 SD/5 failure. Target loses 50 Exhaustion Points and regains them at 1 pt./day).  Darkvision 60'. Add +10 to RR's vs. spells from the Repulsions and Exorcism lists. Immune to Cold-based attacks, type 'm' spells.