Faceless Dreamer
The first new theme week of the year is all about dreams and… well, nightmares. For most of us, dreaming is a relatively common experience in which fantasies and fears come vividly to life for a brief time. This week’s brand new monster attempts to capture that unique sensation and has the potential to be a wonderful friend or a terrible enemy, depending on circumstances. The faceless dreamer, a brand new CR 10 outsider, has both the power to manipulate the dreams of others, as well as abilities which tie it directly to dreams in a more tangible way. How you use the monster is entirely up to you.
Faceless Dreamer
For the briefest of moments, you spot a truly alien creature, extremely gaunt, with wood-colored skin, lanky hair, and worst of all, no face. Then the being is simply gone, and in its place stands a beautiful elf gripping a staff, but in a moment, that too vanishes, as the elf’s features twist and warp into some new horror.
FACELESS DREAMER CR 10
XP 9,600
N Medium outsider (extraplanar)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15
DEFENSE
AC 24, touch 14, flat-footed 20 (+4 Dex, +10 natural)
hp 95 (10d10+40)
Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +11
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk quarterstaff +15/+10 (1d6+6 plus sleep), or 2 claws (nightmare form only) +17 (2d6+6 plus sleep plus 1 Wis damage)
Special Attacks dream form, manipulate dreams, nightmare form, sleep strike
Spell Like Abilities (CL 20; concentration +24)
At will—dream, nightmare (DC 19)
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 18
Base Atk +10; CMB +14; CMD 28
Feats Cleave, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Power Attack, Toughness
Skills Bluff +17, Diplomacy +17, Knowledge (planes) +13, Perception +15, Sense Motive +15, Survival +15
Languages Common; truespeech
ENCOUNTERS
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard (mwk quarterstaff, other treasure)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Dream Form (Su): A faceless dreamer has the ability to assume a pleasant and striking form, the exact details of which are determined by the viewer. Assuming dream form requires a standard action and the transformation lasts for 1 hour. While in dream form, the faceless dreamer gains a +4 bonus to Wisdom and Charisma and radiates an aura of peace and calm within 10 feet. Characters within the aura are affected as though by calm emotions for as long as the faceless dreamer remains in dream form; a successful Will save (DC 21) negates this effect. This ability can be used at will, but the faceless dreamer must enter a nightmare form for at least 10 minutes before it can use this ability again in the same day. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
Manipulate Dreams (Su): A faceless dreamer has the ability to force a sleeping character within 30 feet to dream of whatever it wishes, so long as she remains asleep. Activating this ability is a swift action and causes a sleeping character to have a vivid dream of the faceless dreamer’s choosing. The nature of the dream is determined when the faceless dreamer uses this ability, but then develops naturally unless the faceless dreamer continues to use a swift action each round to alter the character’s dreams. Most often, faceless dreamers use this ability either to torment their foes or to communicate with their friends.
Nightmare Form (Su): A faceless dreamer can assume the form of a terrible nightmare, the exact details of which vary depending on the viewer. Assuming nightmare form requires a standard action and the transformation lasts for 1 hour. While in nightmare form, a faceless dreamer gains a +4 bonus to its Strength and Dexterity scores and gains 2 primary claw natural attacks, which it may use in place of its staff (this attack’s listing in the stat block already has taken into account the bonus to Strength). These claws deal 2d6 points of damage plus 1 point of Wisdom damage on a successful hit unless the target succeeds on a (DC 19) Will save. This ability can be used at will, but the faceless dreamer must enter a dream form for at least 10 minutes before it can use this ability again in the same day. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
Sleep Strike (Su): Whenever a faceless dreamer hits a living creature with a melee attack, she must succeed on a Will save (DC 19) or fall asleep for 1d10 rounds. A character with more total Hit Dice than the faceless dreamer gains a +2 bonus on her save to resist this effect.
Ecology
Faceless dreamers are unusual outsiders with an ephemeral appearance and temperament. They are spawned initially by rare once-in-a-lifetime dreams, which cause them to spring into existence on the Ethereal Plane. A faceless dreamer has a special connection to the dreamer that spawned it, and many leave the Ethereal Plane to seek out their progenitors, wishing to engage them in conversation and seek to understand their minds. Out of a misguided desire to please their creators, faceless dreamers will often seek out and torment their creator’s enemies or the enemies they see in their creator’s dreams, manipulating these enemies’ dreams or even outright attacking them.
Faceless dreamers seem alien to many observers, causing them to believe that they are undead horrors or aberrations rather than outsiders. Because of this, often faceless dreamers will assume dream form in order to confront peaceful individuals in a physical manner. Despite this adequate camouflage, faceless dreamers prefer to communicate with others in their dreams, assuming their disguise only when the dreamer is awakened. While faceless dreamers are intelligent, they are highly irrational individuals and will often behave erratically, turning from friendly to violent with the least provocation.