Darkness (Creature)

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 	Lesser 	Normal 	Greater
Intelligence: 	Very (11-12) 	High (13-14) 	Exceptional (15-16)
Alignment: 	Chaotic Evil 	Chaotic Evil 	Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 	5 	3 	1
Movement: 	15 	15 	15
Hit Dice: 	2 (HP 8, 11) 	5 (HP 18, 29) 	8 (HP 34, 40)
THAC0: 	19 	15 	13
No. of Attacks: 	1 	1 	1
Damage/Attack: 	2d4 	5d4 	8d4
Special Attacks: 	Vampiric Touch	Vampiric Touch 	Vampiric Touchenergy drain (one level)
Special Defenses:	Aura of Fear 	Aura of Fearsilver or magic weapons to hit	Aura of Fear+2 or better weapons to hit
Magic Resist: 	0% 	10% 	25%
Size: 	M (6' tall) 	M (6' tall) 	M (6' tall)
Morale: 	16 	17 	18
XP Value: 	270 	2,000 	8,000
The creatures that emerge from the portal are lesser manifestations of the seething Darkness that swallowed the ancient elven city of Fey-Aryth, whose ruins lie beneath the Sleeping Dragon Inn. Completely alien to the Prime Material plane, the darknesses adopt humanoid shapes only in imitation of their opponents. Their thoughts and motivations are beyond human comprehension, though their purposes and actions are clearly malevolent.
The powers of the darknesses depend on the level of the PCs, but they all share certain traits. The darknesses attack by touch, draining hit points from their victims and adding the drained points to their own hit point totals. As with the vampiric touch spell, any hit points exceeding the creature's normal maximum are treated as temporary hit points that the creature loses first and that wear off after 1 hour. The number of hit points drained depends on the strength of the creature. The greater darknesses also drain one energy level from their victims with a successful melee attack.
A PC who is struck and drained by a greater darkness experiences a taste of the madness that is their existence. Faint voices echo in her mind; they sound distant, but their torment is plain. The voices fade immediately and have no lasting effect on the character beyond lingering nightmares. If the darknesses kill a character, her voice joins the screaming cacophony. The PC cannot be raised or resurrected unless his companions first undertake a quest to banish the Darkness from Fey-Aryth and release the mad souls contained within it.
The darknesses also exude an aura of fear that affects all opponents within 15 feet. These PCs must make a successful saving throw vs. spell or succumb to the fear effect; the results of a failed saving throw depend on the power of the darknesses, as listed below. One a PC makes a successful saving throw against a darkness's aura of fear, she is forever immune to the fear generated by that particular darkness.
For levels 1-3: Lesser darknesses (2): AC 5; MV 15; HD 2; hp 8, 11; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 2d4; SA vampiric touch; SD aura of fear (make a successful saving throw vs. spell or suffer a -1 penalty to attacks, damage, and saving throws); SZ M (6' tall); ML 16; Int very (11-12); AL CE; XP 270; New monster.
For levels 4-6: Normal darknesses (2): AC 3; MV 15; HD 5; hp 18, 29; THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 5d4; SA vampiric touch; SD aura of fear (make a successful saving throw vs. spell or suffer a -2 penalty to attacks, damage, and saving throws), silver or magic weapons to hit; MR 10%; SZ M (6' tall); ML 17; Int high (13-14); AL CE; XP 2,000; New monster.
For levels 7-9: Greater darknesses (2): AC 1; MV 15; HD 8; hp 34, 40; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg 8d4; SA energy drain (one level), vampiric touch; SD aura of fear (make a successful saving throw vs. spell or flee in terror for 3d4 rounds), +2 or better weapons to hit; MR 25%; SZ M (6' tall); ML 18; Int exceptional (15-16); AL CE; XP 8,000; New monster.
Category:Creatures
Category:Dungeon Magazine Creatures