Bestiary: Fraethnin

by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Fraethnin

A gigantic green patch of moss that seems to be alive slowly moves towards you along the forest floor. As it approaches you notice it is in fact hundreds of tiny bipedal creatures.

© Nicholas Cloister, Monsters by Email, licensed to Timothy Wallace

Fraethnin      CR 6

XP 2,400

N Tiny fey

Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +12

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DEFENSE

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AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural, +2 size)

hp 67 (10d6+30)

Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +6

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OFFENSE

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Speed 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +8 (1d4+1 plus paralysis)

Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks paralysis (DC 17), pheromones

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +6)

   1/day—hide campsite ^APG (DC 12)

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STATISTICS

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Str 12, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 17, Wis 8, Cha 11

Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 17

Feats Bonded Mind, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Toughness

Skills Acrobatics +15, Climb +15, Disguise +13, Escape Artist +15, Knowledge (geography) +16, Knowledge (nature) +16, Perception +12, Stealth +23, Survival +9

Languages Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Sylvan

SQ swarming

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ECOLOGY

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Environment any forests, swamps, or jungles

Organization pair, family (1d4×3), or colony (2d6×100)

Treasure None

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Bonded Mind (Ex) A fraethnin with this feat and ally it can see that has this feat can trade nonverbal messages.

Pheromones (Su) After the first round of combat, a fraethnin can emit a strange, musky scent in a 30-foot radius as a free action. All creatures within this area (save for other fraethnin) must make a DC 17 Fortitude save each round to avoid becoming weakened by the pheromones. Once a creature fails a save against this effect, it takes a –4 penalty to its Strength score—this penalty lasts for as long as the battle continues and for 1 hour thereafter. Lesser restoration or any other effect capable of healing ability damage immediately removes this Strength penalty. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Swarming (Ex) Fraethnin are used to living and fighting communally, and are adept at swarming foes for their own gain and their foes' detriment. Up to four fraethnin can share the same square at the same time. If two fraethnin in the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares.

The fraethnin are communal creatures that live in swarms hundreds, even thousands strong. They live in forests and jungles everywhere and mostly keep to themselves. While intelligent they tend to shy away from anything large enough to pose a threat to their colony. If harried too much they will attack swarming over their enemy and injecting them with a powerful paralytic poison and sweet scent. Once the threat is neutralized they will move on and let larger predators, attracted by the poison’s smell finish off the attacker. They are tiny creatures that stay together for safety. While one fraethnin does not pose any threat to a medium sized creature an entire swarm is capable of paralyzing almost any threat to the colony.

Strict vegetarians the fraethnin will graze as they travel. They tend to prefer dead leaves and grasses as well as fungus and molds. No small amount of adventurers have followed the trail made by a fraethnin colony thinking it a newly blazed path cleared of most hazards. On more than one occasion the fraethnin have mistaken these travelers as a threat and left them, paralyzed and alone for bigger threats to find.