Aethyrim

Aethyrim
No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 150' (50')
         Aethyrial Shift: 300' (150')
Armor Class: 2 (Reduced to AC 6 if using Plattnerized Bronze weapons)
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 1 (touch)
Damage: 2d4 (+Aethyric Rot)
Save: F5
Morale: 9

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Special: Aethyric Rot is a condition similar to very severe frost-bite, caused by the touch attack of the Aethyrim. The wounds inflicted by the Aethyrim's touch attack heal at 1/10th the normal rate and have a base 10% chance to develop a blue-tinged form of gangrene. Each successful attack on the same victim increases the chances of contracting gangrene by another 10%. This effect is not a disease, nor is it s curse; the gangrene is a symptom, a side-effect of the condition caused by the Aethyrim's touch. The areas affected by this blue-tinged rotting effect are resistant to most forms of magical healing. Each wound received from an Aethyrim adds another -10% penalty to the efficacy of any spells or potions used to heal it. After ten attacks, none of the common spells or medicines are going to be enough, but perhaps a miracle can be prayed for, or some sort of planar intervention can be employed to alleviate the dreadful effects of this terrible condition. Those who survive an Aethyrim's attack have a 10% chance to gain a +1 bonus to subsequent Saves versus rotting effects, however if instead of rolling 1-10%, the fail and roll 90-100%, they suffer a -1 penalty against all rotting effects.

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What We Know:

• Aethyrim take double-damage from optick and galvanic weapons.
• Their close proximity causes wood and all similar organic matter to rot at an accelerated rate.
• Victims of an Aethyrim's attack must make a Save or their wounds will grow gangrenous (similar to mummy rot). Neither Cure Disease nor Remove Curse does anything to relieve the rotting effect. Certain Midwives are rumored to know a way to treat this affliction. Most surgeons simply amputate.
• This attack extends across the Near Aethyrial into the Close Oneiric regions.
• They Move Silently (40%) and Hide in Shadows (30%), as a 5th level Thief.
• Aethyrim also gain a +4 bonus to hit if they successfully ambush an opponent (as in back-stab).
• The touch attack of the Aethyrim leaves behind a rancid blue grease-like residue that will ruin leather, cloth and other organic materials if it is not cleaned-off with vinegar and gunpowder within fifteen minutes. This residue remains toxic for 1d4 weeks and stains anything exposed to it a garish blue.
• Aethyrim avoid bright light, loud noises and will flee if confronted with bells.
• Aethyrim relish feeding upon Ordrang. There are rumors that if you offer an Aethyrim an Ordrang, they will remove the worst of the effects of their attacks from a victim...but this might only be wishful thinking...

Silent and sinister, the Aethyrim are troublesome, incomplete beings that were originally summoned by a small cabal of disgraced students from the Academy. They had called upon the Aethyrim to wreak vengeance upon those who had expelled them. Instead the Aethyrim killed the students and took up residence in a cellar. They have spread from caved-in basement to flooded root cellar to some of the less-trafficked tunnels and passages beneath various Shunned Houses and Abandoned Properties in the Burned Over Districts.

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Six Scenario Seeds for the Aethyrim

1. Yurdo Malgref, an advanced student at the Academy, wishes to hire someone amenable to testing-out a new ward that they have crafted. It's a disk of Plattnerized Bronze set with a dark blue jewel at the center. The jewel is composed of the blue goop salvaged from a former victim of an Aethyrim attack. The ward is supposed to protect the bearer from Aethyrim...but it has to be tested to make sure it functions properly. Yurdo would prefer not to mention their connection to the students who originally summoned these things, but a little careful investigation will reveal that several of the restricted texts used by the group were checked-out and later returned by Yurdo.
2. Ruch'Ka, a Clovian Charm-Peddler operating along the fringes of the Refugee camp near the Shrine of Protajjio has offered fifty-pounds of salted venison in exchange for a few ounces of the Aethyrim's blue-goo. The meat is from last Autumn, but it's probably still good.
3. A trio of Foragers have recently reported running into a large sub-basement where the walls, floors and ceiling were all covered with strange diagrams and symbols smeared into the plaster and concrete. Whoever did this used Aethyrim goo. Or rather, everything had a dripping residue of the blue-goo on it. Perhaps some of these things are trying to open the way back to their home? But are they trying to leave, or looking to call forth reinforcements?
4. Murak, a half-morlock contract sapper was left behind when the Foragers made a hasty retreat from the so-called 'Blue Basement.' They've chipped-in to hire someone else to go find their hireling and to return with him. They are a bit worried about what his clan might do to them if they don't get him back. Even if he's dead. Better to deliver them a corpse than to come to them with empty hands.
5. Radaloph Nalox spent more than three years in an abandoned attic garret perfecting his device for capturing aethyrical entities. He took it into the Burned Over District. No one's seen him for a week now. He might be broke, but the device might be worth salvaging. If you can find it before the Foragers get to it.
6. The Eastern Guard House along the Inner Ramparts is not only flooded, there are reports of Aethyrim down there. How did these things get in there? The Wall Guards want to know. So do the Cellar Inspectors and Sewer Militia; all of them suspect there is an unlicensed, undocumented tunnel connecting the East Guard House back into the Burned Over District. All three of them are preparing to launch investigations into the matter, which means that there is a great opportunity for someone to get there first and claim a reward from one or more of the Local Authorities. If you move quickly, quietly, carefully and don't get tangled-up with anyone else with the same idea as you...

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