New Awnsheigh for my campaign.

[Birthright-L]

I don`t know about you guys, but I love the idea of the blooded Abominations
in my campaigns. I`m curious as to any minor awnsheigh that you people use.

---

The peaceloving alchemist Rickard Pike was in a field one afternoon trying
desperately to crack the mystery of the luminescent Phospherous Root when he
suddenly was konged on the head by a piece of debris fallen from the sky.
Studying the curious green, glowing rock he soon realised that it was indeed
a piece of Godrock, the remains of a mountain imbued with the essence of
gods. This was such a wonderous discovery that he raced home as fast as he
could to tell everyone.

As Rickard Pike arived that evening to tell of his great discovery he found
himself transformed into a gigantic flying, feathered squid. Now, whenever
Rickard Pike is exposed to light, the peaceloving alchemist is metamorphed
by the essence of a dark god into the twisted half-eagle, half-squid hybrid:
The Demented Squeagle.


The Squeagle

Gargantuan Magical Beast (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 20d10+140 (250 hp)
Initiative: +2 (Dex)
Speed: Swim 20 ft. Fly 60 ft. (average)
AC: 22 (-4 size, +2 Dex, +14 natural)
Attacks: 2 tentacle rakes +28 melee, 6 arms +23 melee, _bite +23 melee
Damage: Tentacle rake 2d8+12, arm 1d6+6, bite 4d6+6
Face/Reach: 20 ft. by 40 ft./"_10 ft. (100 ft. with tentacle)
Special Attacks: Improved grab, constrict 2d8+12 or 1d6+6, Snatch
Special Qualities: Jet, ink cloud, Darkness Vulnerability
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +14, Will +13
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 15, Con 24, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 11
Skills: Knowledge (geography) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Listen +16, Search
+16, Spot +16
Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, Expertise, Improved Critical_(tentacle), Iron
Will

Climate/Terrain: Temperate, warm mountains, or any aquatic
Organization: Solitary or swarm (2-200)
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 21-32 HD (Gargantuan); 33-60 HD (Colossal)

Squeagles speak Aquan and Auran.

Combat

The Squeagle often attacks from the air, swooping earthward to snatch prey
in its powerful tentacles and carry its prize off to its aquatic home for a
proper feast. An airborne Squeagle is typically hunting and will attack any
Medium-size or larger creature that appears edible. The Squeagle strikes its
opponent with its barbed tentacles, then grabs and crushes with its arms or
drags victims into its huge beak.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, The Squeagle must hit an opponent
of up to Huge size with an arm or tentacle attack. If it gets a hold, it can
constrict.

Constrict (Ex): The Squeagle deals automatic arm or tentacle damage with a
successful grapple check against Huge or smaller creatures.

Jet (Ex): When underwater, The Squeagle can jet backward once per round as a
double move action, at a speed of 280 feet.

Ink Cloud (Ex): The Squeagle can emit a cloud of jet-black ink 80 feet high
by 80 feet wide by 120 feet long once per minute as a free action. The cloud
provides total concealment, which the kraken normally uses to escape a
losing fight. Creatures within the cloud suffer the effects of total
darkness.

Snatch (Ex): When the Squeagle hits a creature of at least Small size, but
no larger than Huge, with a tentacle attack, it attempts to start a grapple
as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If The Squeagle
achieves a hold, it can fly off with its prey and automatically make a bite
attack each round in lieu of a tentacle attack. It can drop a snatched
creature as a free action or use a standard action to fling it aside. A
flung creature travels 90 feet and takes 9d6 points of damage. If the roc
flings it while flying, the creature suffers this amount of damage or
falling damage, whichever is greater.

Darkness Vulnerability (Su): Whenever The Squeagle is not exposed to at
least some tiny amount of natural or magical light (the effect of the Ink
Cloud do not cause this), the powerful abomination is transformed into the
peaceloving alchemist Rickard Pike, who, of course, in the tradition of such
things, is an annoying, pacifist, lawful good character who will have no
memory of the events that happened during the time he was The Demented
Squeagle. Exposure to light will heal him of this awful affliction,
returning him to his true form once more.

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[Ariadne]

Oh no, horrible, you did it.... ;)

[Arjan]

in the book of regency is stated



By giving in to the blood of Azrai and acting in an evil (or even merely a chaotic) manner, characters begin to transform into a terrible monster. Awnsheghlien produced this way may develop quickly or slowly, depending on the strength of Azrai's blood in their veins, the way they use their blood abilities and bloodline, and the alignment to which they adhere.


So if you talk about a minor awnshegh totaly transforms into a eagle/squid hybryd, by just running towards home is a little overdone/unbelievable i think.

just my 2 ct.

Arjan

[marcum uth mather]

The SQUEAGLE!!!!!
This ones on me([_]

[geeman]

At 02:58 PM 9/26/2002 +0200, Arjan wrote:

>So if you talk about a minor awnshegh totaly transforms into a eagle/squid
>hybryd, by just running towards home is a little overdone/unbelievable i think.

I agree but I think the problem here is with the eagle-squid
combination. There`s something about the combo that doesn`t lend itself to
the urgency of transformation implied by the description. A third
influence to compensate for the whole invertebrate sea creature in
combination with majestic aerial creature and step up the urgency and
reflect the mercurial nature of Azrai`s blood. You know, something that
fits into the theme... like chipmunk or kangaroo.

Eagle/squid/panda bear. THAT`s an awnsheghlien that should overcome any
verisimilitude problems.

Of course, this combination of creatures opens up a whole new line for the
er-/awnsheghlien concept. By combining disparate creatures like a head-on
collision on the Autobahn we can expand the list of such monsters
exponentially. Consider the following list of combinations:

Polar Bear/Hummingbird
Aardvark/Zebra
Rhinoceros/squirrel
Koala bear/lawyer
Al Gore/Britney Spears

It`s an endless avenue of speculation.

Gary

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[Lord Rahvin]

Arjan:
>So if you talk about a minor awnshegh totaly transforms >into a eagle/squid hybryd, by just running towards home is >a little overdone/unbelievable i think.
---


Well, yes. It was meant to be overdone/unbelievable. I guess I didn't get that across. Sorry about that.

But incidently, he didn't transform for running home, he transformed when he found the fragment of Deismaar ("Deismaarite?" "Azraite?").

There's a whole bunch of these fragments in a ring orbiting the world, and every so often one falls down and kongs a peaceloving alchemist out in a field -- eventually I'll use Gary's tech system to make them invent helmets.

Given the speed and trajectory of the falling Azraiite meteor, and the fact that it konged the poor guy on the head (making him, of course, lose all his hair), it very likely may have killed him. Being killed by the divine essence of shadow, treachery, undeath and all that good stuff, it's likely he would have momentarily been undead once he reached -10 (or whatever) HP, and that would turn his alignment evil, and now that he has no brain he's probably insane, and evil, insane, peaceloving alchemists with the divine essence of Azrai would of course turn into Squeagles.

See? Perfectly rational explanation. He did not transform simply be "by just running towards home."

(The Squeagles evil motivation of course is that he blames superpowered heroes for the loss of his hair.)

[Birthright-L]

On Thu, 26 Sep 2002, Gary wrote:

> I agree but I think the problem here is with the eagle-squid
> combination. There`s something about the combo that doesn`t lend
> itself to the urgency of transformation implied by the description.

Or to existence at all. I actually spent a small amount of effort trying
to think of two creatures which could never possibly be combined. I never
dreamed the idea would be so infectious.

And, of course, to compare elves to majestic aerial creatures who
symbolize power and freedom, and humans to squishy tentacled invertebrates
who are eaten fried. =)

> By combining disparate creatures like a head-on collision on the Autobahn

Ummm, quite. Like a squid dropped from a great height, in fact. *splutch*

> Polar Bear/Hummingbird

Anyone read Phillip Pullman`s "His Dark Materials" trilogy? My favorite
character from the first one, "The Golden Compass", represents a race
which I really want to introduce into a fantasy campaign. Not sure if
they`re quite right for BR, but I think they might fit well in Thaele, or
perhaps explain why Torova Temylatin is devoid of other settlement. The
race I have in mind are the panserbjorne -- literally "armored bears".
Polar Bears who wear extremely thick full plate armor, hire themselves out
as mercenaries, and rule a kingdom on an Arctic island (Spitsbergen, off
Norway -- the book is an alternate-Earth high-magic Victorian fantasy,
advertised as being for children but definitely worth an adult`s time,
too). They`d be very tough individual opponents, obviously (10ish HD of
bear plus fighter levels plus bear-sized magic weapons and armor), but
that does sort of make them the only species with a decent chance to
survive an environment populated largely by remorhaz and ice giants...


Ryan Caveney

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[Merador]

Lol...

One wonders how history would have been different if Hitler knew about panserbjorne and luftsqueagle!

[Azrai]

Orginally posted by Merador
One wonders how history would have been different if Hitler knew about panserbjorne and luftsqueagle!
That's no fun at all. Bad joke.