The material below is Open Game Content
Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary
| Author | Chris Aylott et al |
| Publisher | Atlas Games |
| Publish date | 2003 |
| OGL Section 15 | fantasy-bestiary |
The material below is Open Game Content
Castigoran Manavore
Medium-size Aberration
Hit Dice 5d8+5 (27 hp)
Initiative +3 (Dex)
Speed 40 ft.
AC 18 (+3 Dex, +5 natural)
Attacks Antennae touch +3 melee, and bite –2 melee
Damage Antennae touch (Dissolve Magic), bite (2d6)
Face/Reach: 5 ft. x 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Dissolve Magic
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., Innate Counterspell, Garlic Distaste, Magic Damage Reduction, Magic Sustenance, Magical Glow, Rust Magic, Scent, Sense Magic, Spell Resistance 14
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8
Skills: Perception +91
Feats: Alertness
Climate/Terrain: Underground
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 6–8 HD (Medium-size), 9–15 HD (Large)
Aberration: Aberrations have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Dissolve Magic (Su): A Castigoran manavore that makes a successful touch attack with its antennae causes the target to be drained of magic. If the target is a magical item, the effect is the same as if struck by a rod of cancellation.
The item touched gets a saving throw (DC 19). If a creature is holding it at the time, then the item can use the holder’s Will save bonus in place of its own if the holder’s is better. If the save is failed the item instantly loses all magical abilities. Artifacts are unaffected.
Spellcasters and creatures with spell-like abilities must make a Will saving throw (DC 19) or temporarily lose all memorized spells, open spell slots, or unused uses of their spell-like ability for the rest of the day. Creatures or objects with spells on them are affected as if by a targeted dispel magic effect (caster level 15). Each time the manavore successfully uses its Dissolve Magic ability, it gains 5 temporary hit points.
Garlic Distaste (Ex): The scent of garlic repels Castigoran manavores, keeping them at bay. A manavore will not willingly come within 15 feet of a clove of garlic, even if there is nearby magic. Similarly, a manavore will not come within 5 feet of a person who has eaten a substantial amount of garlic within the last 24 hours. This distaste is so strong that a manavore will not attempt to Dissolve Magic within 5 feet of garlic unless it has lost at least 8 points of Constitution score due to magical starvation (see below). At this point, it can once per day attempt a Will save (DC 20) to approach within the garlic ‘barrier’ and try to dissolve the magic.
Innate Counterspell (Su): A Castigoran manavore is permanently protected by a constant counterspell effect, which works as if a dis-pel magic spell cast at 5th level were used to attempt to counter spells targeting the manavore.
The manavore must make a dispel check: it rolls 1d20 with a +5 bonus for its caster level against a DC of 11 + the spell’s caster level. Spells that are successfully counterspelled grant the manavore 1 temporary hit point for each level of the counterspelled spell.
Magic Damage Reduction (Su): A Castigoran manavore gains a variable Damage Reduction that increases with the power of the weapon used to attack it. Against items without magical enhancement bonuses, it gains no Damage Reduction. Against items with +1 bonus it gains DR 5/+2, against weapons with a +2 bonus it gains DR 10/+3, against weapons with a +3 bonus it gains DR 15/+4, against weapons with a +4 bonus it gains DR 20/+5, and against weapons with a +5 or greater bonus it gains DR 25/—, which is effective against any attack that does not ignore Damage Reduction.
The special abilities of weapons do not affect the manavore’s Damage Reduction, and weapons without an magical enhancement bonus do not trigger it.
Magic Sustenance (Ex): The Castigoran manavore must consume at least 1 spell level or 25 gp worth of magical items per day. Each day that the manavore does not consume magic causes 1 point of temporary Constitution damage, which cannot be healed until the manavore successfully uses its Dissolve Magic ability.
Magical Glow (Su): The Castigoran manavore glows as if illuminated by a greenishwhite candle. This glow increases as the manavore dissolves magic or successfully counterspells it. The manavore does not benefit from the concealment normally caused by darkness, blur, displacement, invisibility, or similar effects. The light is too dim to have any special effect on undead or dark-dwelling creatures.
Rust Magic (Ex): A Castigoran manavore that makes a successful touch attack with its antennae causes the target magical metal item to corrode, falling to pieces and becoming useless immediately. The size of the object is immaterial — a full suit of armor rusts away as quickly as a sword. Magical armor and weapons, and other enchanted items made of metal, must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 20) or be physically dissolved. A magical metal weapon that deals damage to a rust monster also corrodes immediately with no save. Wooden, stone, and other nonmetallic magical weapons are unaffected, as are nonmagical metal weapons.
Scent (Ex): Creatures with Scent can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell, and can pinpoint the source of a scent if it is within 5 feet. They can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom check DC 10 + 2 per hour that the trail is cold.
Sense Magic (Ex): The Castigoran manavore senses magic as the spell detect magic, up to a range of 90 feet.
Spell Resistance (Ex): To determine if a spell of spell-like ability works against the creature, the spellcaster makes a level check (1d20 + caster level). If the result equals or exceeds 14, the spell works normally, though the creature still gets a saving throw if the spell allows such.
New Wondrous Item: Castigoran
Manavore Conrol Box Castigor created a dilemma for himself when he made his manavores. The creatures were highly resistant to magic, and would be incredibly destructive and dangerous if left uncontrolled. Castigor’s solution was to create a magical dampening effect with a delivery system peculiar to his manavores. He made a magical iron box that appeared to be a small jackin- the-box, but with nothing inside. The box, however, actually contained a shell illusion that made it appear to manavores as a nutritious, powerful magic item. When the shell glamer was dissolved and consumed by a manavore, it triggered the box’s latent secondary aspect.
This secondary magical effect temporarily suppressed the manavore’s defenses for one day solely with respect to spells cast by the magic user who last placed the glamer on the box.
With this solution, Castigor was able to charm and dominate his creations so they could be implemented according to his plans.
To ‘recharge’ a box whose glamer has already been consumed by a Castigoran manavore, a spellcaster must cast magic aura on the box. The glamer lasts only as long as it normally would, as determined by the caster’s level, and a manavore that attempts to dissolve the magic of a control box without a glamer in place drains it as it would any other wondrous item.
Caster Level: 5th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, magic aura, dispel magic, and spellcaster level 8th+; Market Price: 400 gp
