No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90' (via blink)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1 (magic weapon or spell)
Damage: 1d6+1/by spell
Save: F4
Morale: 8
Horrid little parasites, the Macroceum are a larval-form of an otherwise unknown otherplanar creature whose life-cycle includes incubating within the bodies of undead. They are known to infest certain forms of mummies, liches and other cadaver-type undead that retain some form of sentience and spell-casting ability.
Necromantic Parasitism
Macroceum attach to their victims by means of a combination of telekinesis and digging into the rotting flesh with their tiny claws. They then burrow into the nearest large clump of undead flesh to lay eggs and bask in the necromantic energies coursing through their host. Over time a Macroceum can gain 1 point of INT or WIS, acquire spell-casting ability, and gain spells by siphoning them away from their host. Thankfully, most Macroceum never survive long enough to gain true sentience and spell-ability as their hosts notice the tell-tale signs of an infestation and use Dispel Ectoplasm or another, similar spell to eliminate the pests.
Patient, Slow-Growing Things
Macroceum gain 1 point of INT or WIS per 1d6 months spent incubating within an undead host. They gain spell-casting ability when they would otherwise qualify as a player character, siphoning off their beginning spells directly from the mind/brain of their host. Even the most inattentive undead will likely notice the loss of spells and thus will usually take suitable counter-measures, unless prevented from doing so by sorcerous bonds, soul manacles or worse things...
Macroceum attach to their victims by means of a combination of telekinesis and digging into the rotting flesh with their tiny claws. They then burrow into the nearest large clump of undead flesh to lay eggs and bask in the necromantic energies coursing through their host. Over time a Macroceum can gain 1 point of INT or WIS, acquire spell-casting ability, and gain spells by siphoning them away from their host. Thankfully, most Macroceum never survive long enough to gain true sentience and spell-ability as their hosts notice the tell-tale signs of an infestation and use Dispel Ectoplasm or another, similar spell to eliminate the pests.
Patient, Slow-Growing Things
Macroceum gain 1 point of INT or WIS per 1d6 months spent incubating within an undead host. They gain spell-casting ability when they would otherwise qualify as a player character, siphoning off their beginning spells directly from the mind/brain of their host. Even the most inattentive undead will likely notice the loss of spells and thus will usually take suitable counter-measures, unless prevented from doing so by sorcerous bonds, soul manacles or worse things...
Blasphemous Rumors
There are rumors that some Fantomists have taken certain mummies hostage, constrained them with ensorcelled chains or bonds or some sort, and used them to forcibly grow Macroceum into intelligence as part of some mad, unspeakable scheme...
There are rumors that some Fantomists have taken certain mummies hostage, constrained them with ensorcelled chains or bonds or some sort, and used them to forcibly grow Macroceum into intelligence as part of some mad, unspeakable scheme...
Something else that makes perfect sense, at least in the mad, bad worlds of the fiction. As usual, you give enough to hint at all kinds of ways to bring them in, but the whole stays simple and easy to use.
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