The Night Mist
It’s the end of Vampire Week, which means, of course, it’s time for Exotic Encounters. Naturally, some of you might be expecting some kind of variant vampire. Well, I’m afraid you’re only half right. While today’s monster does feast on other characters to maintain its power, which is derived from blood, and it’s even undead, it’s far from a typical vampire. Enter the night mist.
Night Mist
As you feed upon your victim, a red mist descends from the air to feast on the pair of you, turning you instantly from predator to prey.
NIGHT MIST CR 14
XP 38,400
NE Large undead (incorporeal)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3
DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 22, flat-footed 18 (+9 deflection, +4 Dex, -1 size)
hp 174 (12d8+120)
Fort +13, Ref +8, Will +9
Defensive Abilities incorporeal; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee -
Special Attack cruomancy (cruomancer level 12), drain blood
STATISTICS
Str -, Dex 18, Con -, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 28
Base Atk +9; CMB +14 (+18 grapple); CMD 28
Feats Alertness, Blood Dart, Blood Wall, Call Blood, Toughness, Vampire’s Bite(B), Vein of Empathy
Skills Bluff +21, Sense Motive +20, Stealth +19, Survival +13
Languages Common
SQ one with the night
ECOLOGY
Environment urban
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Cruomancy: A night mist has a cruomancer level of 12 and has access to the following vampire feats: Blood Dart, Blood Wall, Call Blood, Vampire’s Bite, Vein of Empathy
Drain Blood (Su): Whenever a night mist begins its round in a square occupied by one or more other creatures, any creature sharing a square with the night mist suffers 1d6 points of Constitution damage. The night mist gains a number of temporary blood points equal to 1/5 the Constitution damage dealt this way (total among all affected creatures, rounded down). If a creature sharing a square with the night mist has a blood point pool with blood points in it, it loses 1 blood point for each point of Constitution damage it would otherwise take. The night mist gains 1 blood point for each blood point lost in this way. A successful Fortitude save (DC 25) negates this effect (whether Constitution damage or loss of blood points).
One with the Night (Su): A night mist can become invisible, as the spell invisibility, in areas of darkness or less light.
Ecology
Night mists are hideous undead predators which stalk the streets of major cities, hungering for blood to fuel their wicked magic. These creatures, while not mindless, are driven by a single-minded hunger which consumes them constantly. Consequently, their intellect is used almost exclusively for tormenting their prey.
Scholars have long debated the origins of the night mist, with some claiming they are the ghosts of vampires, while others have claimed them to be demons. The truth is unknown, though the fact that the night mists relentlessly hunt vampires has led some to conclude that they are some kind of curse from an evil god who holds a distaste for vampirism. Others are quick to point out that vampires and their prey makes for easy and convenient sources of blood.
Listed below are the feats gained by the night mist, from our latest release, Scions of the Vampire: Shadow, Smoke, and Blood, as well as one feat from the original Liber Vampyr.
Blood Dart (Vampire)
You can channel the blood from within your body, hardening it with your rage and hatred, and propel it from your mouth or fingertip as a deadly projectile.
Prerequisite: Cruomancer level 1st.
Benefit: As a standard action, by spending 1 blood point, you can fire a projectile of solidified blood at a single target. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 20 feet. If the attack hits, it deals 1d10 points of piercing damage.
When your cruomancer level reaches 4, and every three cruomancer levels thereafter, whenever you use this ability, you can spend 1 additional blood point. For each additional blood point spent in this way, the attack deals an additional 1d10 points of piercing damage.
Blood Wall (Vampire)
You can channel the blood from within your body, pouring it out onto the ground before you, and watching as it rises in front of you as a solid curtain of vital fluid.
Prerequisites: Blood Dart, cruomancer level 8th.
Benefit: As a standard action, by spending 3 blood points, you can create a solid wall of blood. The wall takes your choice of one of the following forms: a 30- foot line, or a ring with a 10-foot radius. In either case, the wall is 10 feet tall, and 5 feet thick. The wall is opaque, and completely obscures all creatures on the other side. The wall blocks projectiles, and ranged attacks made through the wall automatically miss. Further, any creature attempting to pass through the wall must succeed on a Strength check (DC 20) to do so. Whether or not the Strength check is successful, the creature must also succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 your cruomancer level + your Constitution modifier) or be sickened for 1d4 rounds.
If the area in which you create the blood wall already has one or more creatures in it, each of those creatures may choose to move to any adjacent unoccupied square as a free action, and this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Any creature that chooses to remain in a square that will be occupied by the blood wall becomes trapped within it, and cannot leave the wall without succeeding on a Strength check, as normal.
The blood wall remains in place for a number of rounds equal to 3 + 1 per two cruomancer levels you possess.
Call Blood (Vampire)
You can draw out the blood from within a nearby living creature, draining the creature’s life force from afar.
Prerequisites: Vampire’s Bite, cruomancer level 6th.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can force a single living creature within 30 feet to succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 your cruomancer level + your Charisma modifier), or suffer 1 point of Constitution damage. For every 4 points of Constitution damage inflicted in this way, you gain a single blood point. Only Constitution damage inflicted to the same creature in consecutive rounds is counted for the purposes of this ability (for example, inflicting 2 points of Constitution damage on one target, and then inflicting 2 points of Constitution damage on another target several minutes later would not cause you to gain 1 blood point).
Vampire’s Bite (Vampire)
You have fangs that allow you to drain the blood of your victims.
Prerequisite: Cruomancer level 1st.
Benefit: As a full-round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, you can drain blood from an adjacent creature that is both living and either willing or helpless. Alternatively, you can drain blood from a creature that you have pinned in a grapple, in which case you do so instead of any other action when you successfully maintain the grapple. Either way, this inflicts 1 point of Constitution damage on the target per round that you continue the attack. For every 5 points of Constitution damage inflicted in this way, you gain a single blood point. Only Constitution damage inflicted to the same creature in consecutive rounds is counted for the purposes of this ability (for example, inflicting 2 points of Constitution damage on one target, and then inflicting 3 points of Constitution damage on another target several minutes later would not cause you to gain 1 blood point).
Vein of Empathy (Vampire)
Once you have tasted the blood of a creature, you can forge an empathic bond with them.
Prerequisite: Call Blood.
Benefit: As a standard action, by spending 1 blood point, you can forge a one-way empathic bond with a single creature whose blood you have consumed within the last week. This bond allows you to identify the direction and relative distance to the creature’s current location at any given time, and also allows you to get a general sense of the target’s mood, but does not allow you to learn the target’s thoughts, or anything nearly so specific. Finally, this empathic link imposes a -2 penalty on saving throws made to resist spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities that you use on the target. This empathic link has a maximum range of 1 mile per cruomancer level you possess, and lasts for a number of hours equal to your cruomancer level.