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Night Hag (Styrix)
From time to time, the misty tendrils of Ravenloft reach out into other lands and draw in unsuspecting beings. Often, these creatures are innocents, pulled in seemingly at random. Others are pulled in because of the evil things that they do. In rare cases, however, someone already trapped within the confines of Ravenloft reaches out to snare an outsider. Such is the case with the dreadful Styrix, a native of the lower planes. She was summoned into Ravenloft by one of the few people powerful enough to contain her: Azalin of Darken. Desperate to escape, Styrix has created a device called the Rift. Spanner, which, she hopes, will see her clear of Ravenloft's misty borders. Styrix is a night hag, a member of the foul and horrible race that rules Hades. In her normal form, she appears as a withered old crone with tangled black hair, skin the color of a fresh bruise, and eyes that burn a bright red in the darkness. Her lips are puffy and blistered, giving her a sickly look. Her teeth and nails are sharp and pointed, though the former look crooked and uneven while the latter are cracked and broken. Like all her evil kind, Styrix is able to polymorph at will, so few ever see her true form. The shape that she most commonly takes is that of an elderly, gnarled human woman. In this guise, she often passes herself off as a lindly old soul who is alone and without family. Those who seek to comfort or befriend this poor creature run the risk of a dreadful fate. Styrix seems to be able to speak any language known to those she encounters. Whether this is an aspect of some magical item in her possession or the product of some enchantment is unknown. Combat: In melee combat combat, Styrix generally attacks with a frenzy of ripping claws and biting fangs. This is taken as a single attack that inflicts 2 to 12 (2d6) points of damage. Anyone hit by her must make a successful saving throw vs. poison or be infected with a debilitating disease. This ailment is treated exactly as if it had been produced by the 3rd-level priest spell cause disease. While this disease runs its course, the victim's skin is mottled with patches of purple and black that look like open sores and bruises from a dreadful beating. Despite its vile appearance, the disease is not contagious. In addition to her melee capability, Styrix is able to use many spell-like abilities. At will, she is able to employ know alignment and polymorph self (although the former is of limited use in Ravenloft because of the detrimental effect that the demiplane has on all detection spells). As many as 5 times per day, she can release a volley of four magic missiles, each of which does 2 to 5 (1d4+1) points of damage. Styrix usually targets all of the missiles at a single foe, hoping to destroy that opponent utterly and to cow his or her companions in one stroke. Thrice per day, she is able to project a ray of enfeeblement. Perhaps her most dreadful ability is her power to cast an unusually potent sleep spell, this spell can be targeted at any person of up to 12th level (or any monster with up to 12 Hit Dice). A saving throw vs. spell is allowed, but failure indicates that the target has fallen into a deep magical slumber. Once the victim is unable to defend himself or herself, Styrix will do one of two things. Most of her victims are simply consumed to satisfy her hunger for human flesh. When this happens, the life essence of her victim is torn from the body and transformed into a larva (as described in the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM Outer Planes Appendix). In Styrix's home plane of Hades, these pathetic creatures are used as a sort of macabre currency. Because such things have no value in Ravenloft, Styrix employs them as mindless guardians. It is said that there are vast catacombs beneath her lair filled with these disgusting creatures. Styrix's other victims are fed into her Rift Spanner, and this terrible device absorbs their life energy to power itself. Styrix plans to use the Rift Spanner to escape from Ravenloft as soon as it is fully charged. Those who make their saves against the sleep spell will become targeted for special torment and destruction later on through her use of a special ethereal dreamform. This state is similar to that induced by the wraithform spell but actually allows her to enter the dreams of others. When she does this, an otherwise normal dream becomes tainted by her foul presence and turns into the vilest nightmare. As soon as she enters the dream, she leaps upon the back of the victim and begins to ride him or her like a horse. Throughout the night, the merciless hag beats and pokes at her mount to keep him or her running until dawn. When at last she leaves the dream and the victim awakes, Styrix has permanently drained away 1 point of his or her Constitution. No natural healing occurs on those fitful nights when Styrix intrudes upon a dream, nor can spells be memorized or psionic strength points be regained from such uneasy slumber. Once someone's Constitution is reduced to 0 by this draining attack, his or her body dies and the spirit is transformed into a larva. The only way to halt this draining process is to destroy Styrix while the victim still has Constitution points left. There is one restriction on the use of Styrix's dreamform: She cannot enter the dreams of anyone whose heart is pure. Thus, only those who have been forced to roll a Ravenloft powers check can be attacked in this manner. Whether or not the check was successful does not matter; only that the character committed some act which required the check in the first place. Styrix wears a special amulet known as a charm of blackness, or cob. This periapt is made of dark iron cast in the shape of a 10-pointed star. This pendant has several magical powers and is Styrix's most prized possession. Anyone wearing the charm is instantly cured of any disease that he or she contracts. In addition, the periapt gives its wearer a +2 bonus on every saving throw he or she is required to make. Without her cob, Styrix is unable to assume her dreamform state. Curiously, the amulet does not bestow this power upon others who come into possession of it. Each time a good-aligned creature uses the cob, 1 of its 10 points will break off. When the last point cracks off, the amulet loses its power and becomes worthless. Creating a new charm of blackness requires one month of dedicated labor and the destruction of no fewer than 100 larvae. In addition to her 65% resistance to any type of magic, Styrix is totally immune to any manner of charm, sleep, or fear spell, nor can she be injured by any fire- or cold-based attack, whether magical or mundane in nature. Most weapons are unable to harm Styrix as well, for only those cast from silver or cold iron, or those which have an enchantment of +3 or better, can "bite" on her withered skin. Habitat/Society: In the lower planes, Styrix and her foul kindred are the de facto rulers of Hades. This is not through any plan or action of their own but is the result of their being the most numerous and most powerful natives of that plane. Styrix was dragged from her comfortable home in Hades by the power of the lich Azalin. Knowing that the night hags frequently visited the Prime Material Plane seeking souls for the creation of new larvae, he realized that their knowledge of planar travel must be quite extensive—perhaps even sufficient to allow them to enter and leave the Demiplane of Dread at will. No longer able to learn new magics himself, Azalin hoped to cajole a night hag into helping him escape. With this in mind, the lich lord cast a potent spell and opened a gate to the depths of Hades and randomly drew one of the night hags into it. Much to the surprise of them both, the night hag he summoned, Styrix, proved unable to escape Ravenloft. Like Azalin himself, she was now a prisoner of the demiplane. Although she was enraged by the lich's summoning, she dared not attack him; being an intelligent creature, Styrix recognized that she could not hope to defeat Azalin in a direct confrontation. Thus, she agreed to work with him in his attempts to escape from Ravenloft. Unbeknownst to Azalin, Styrix made not one but two vows on the night she entered his service. The first was to devise a method by which she could escape from Ravenloft. The second and secret one was to see to it that Azalin both knew about her escape and was unable to follow. Months passed, during which Azalin became less and less interested in Styrix's researches. It seemed quite clear to him that she was accomplishing nothing of any importance and that she was draining a great many resources in her efforts. At last, the lich tired of her and cast her out of his dark castle. What Azalin did not realize was that Styrix had spent her time learning a great deal about the fabric of Ravenloft. Indeed, she had conceived of the design for a machine that might actually be capable of escaping the Demiplane of Dread Day after day she conducted magical research and unearthed the carefully hidden secrets of the dark realms. In the end she undoubtedly knew more about the composition of the demiplane than any other living creature. Free of the lich's yoke, she traveled to the city of Martira Bay on the coast of the Sea of Sorrows. Here, she assumed the guise of an old woman and set up a lair in an old manor on the outskirts of town. For nearly a year, she labored away and built the mysterious Rift Spanner. Recently, she completed work on the dark and terrible machine. It rests in a vast chamber deep beneath the manor house she lives in. The labyrinth of tunnels that encircles the central cavern is filled with larvae created in the months she has lived here. These foul creatures serve as Stynx's guards, keeping intruders from exploring the caverns. Thanks to them, no one has yet discovered the night hag's true nature or the details of her labors. Ecology: As a night hag, Styrix is eternally hungry. Each day, she must kill and consume one person. Such a high mortality rate would certainly be noticed were it not for the fact that Martira Bay's waterfront district has a highly transient population. When she hunts in this area, Styrix polymorphs herself into the shape of a comely harlot or a rugged sailor. In either of these forms she is able to move freely through the waterfront district and seek out victims either to satisfy her hunger or fuel her evil machine. Adventure Ideas: Styrix's plan to escape Ravenloft requires that she fuel her diabolical machine with the life energy of roughly 100 people. This, in addition to her normal hunger, is certainly likely to attract attention. She will gladly claim higher-level characters to power the Rift Spanner because they provide correspondingly greater amounts of energy. If she can manage to feed ten characters into the machine, for example, it will be fully charged. Players anxious to find a means of escaping Ravenloft may well the Rift Spanner themselves. Of course, charging the machine is as evil an act as one is likely to commit. The number of powers checks that must be made to get the machine functioning ought to persuade any player that his or her character would be lost in the attempt to escape Ravenloft. If they come into possession of the charged machine, however, it might well be a fine means of egress. Player characters can become ensnared in Styrix's activities if they somehow become aware of the disappearances in Martira Bay and search for the cause. Alternatively, they could hear vague rumors of the Rift Spanner and come to investigate. The Rift Spanner The Rift Spanner is a huge device which was designed and built to puncture the fabric of Ravenloft and allow escape from the Demiplane of Dread. Its ability to do this makes it one of the most powerful magical objects ever constructed. When it is fully charged, it can carry up to three human-size creatures across the misty fabric of Ravenloft's ethereal border and back to the Prime Material Plane. However, the very ties with the demiplane that give them their special powers prevents domain lords from being able to escape with this device. They are too firmly tied to Ravenloft, and would simply be left behind when it makes its way clear of the misty borders. This magical contraption, triangular in shape, comprises a brass framework that stretches some eight feet on a side. The most obvious feature of the device is the great Iridium Orb that stands at its center. Fully five feet in diameter, this opalescent sphere glimmers and pulses with the tremendous energies trapped at its heart. Three brass seats, positioned at the corners of the triangular base, face toward the Orb with a small bank of controls before each. Leather straps on each seat can be used to secure an occupant. Although it usually rests in an inert state, the Rift Spanner has two operational modes. The first is used to charge the device in preparation for travel. The second is engaged when the machine is ready to attempt transit across the planes. Charging the Rift Spanner is a very difficult, timeconsuming, and gruesome operation. In order to operate, the Iridium Orb must be charged with life energy. The more energy in the orb, the better the chance that the spanner will reach its intended destination. Anyone who is seated in one of the brass chairs when the spanner's recharging mode is activated will be instantly slain, drained of all life energy. If the victim is not strapped in, he or she may make a successful saving throw vs. death magic to leap out of the chair before being killed. When this happens, the victim is reduced to one half his or her current level (rounded down). If the victim is strapped in or otherwise unable to escape the brass chair, no saving roll is permitted. Each level the device absorbs gives it a 1 % chance of operating successfully when its transit mode is engaged. Thus, if the machine is able to drain ten 5th- level characters of life, it will have a 50% chance of functioning when engaged. Anyone overseeing the charging of the device must make a powers check for each life consumed by the machine. The orb can hold up to 100 levels of life energy safely. As insurance against negative die modifiers, however, it can be overcharged. Each life energy level beyond the 100th creates a cumulative 1% chance per level of the device exploding when activated, however. If it is ever charged to 200 energy levels, the device will instantly explode. This detonation will be incredible, utterly annihilating everything within 100 yards (no saving throw) and forcing every creature or object between 100 and 1.000 yards to successfully save vs. breath weapons (or disintegration, for items) or be utterly destroyed. Once the orb is charged, anyone familiar with its operation can set it to travel to a specific point on the Prime Material Plane. Activating the transit mode requires an operator in each of the three chairs to engage a specific control at the exact same time. Failure to trigger all three switches at once bleeds off the energy stored in the orb and forces the machine to be recharged before another travel attempt can be made. There are three steps in any journey made with the Rift Spanner, dematenalization, transit, and rematerialization. Each of these requires a 1d1OO roll against the energy level of the orb. Failure on any one of these three checks indicates that the voyage has been aborted. If this happens, the spanner and its occupants are returned to their starting point with the orb utterly drained of energy. The journey across dimensions is quite perilous. Anyone who is not strapped in when the Rift Spanner begins its voyage has a good chance of being tossed clear during the voyage and lost somewhere between the planes. Each time that the dice are rolled to check on the ma- chine's operation, an unsecured passenger must make a successful saving throw vs. death magic or be torn free of the buffeting spanner and lost. |
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