lgondor@utflis.UUCP (Les Gondor) (05/10/85)
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Here's a new monster my 10th thief was cursed with a few weeks ago.
It is aptly named 'Thief's Bane'.
Name: Thief's Bane
Frequency: Uncommon
Number Appearing: 1
Armour Class: 0
Move: 15"
Hit Dice: 2 or one-half that of the thief, whichever is higher
% in lair: NIL
Treasure Type: F (never on his person, but hidden nearby)
# of attacks: 1
Damage/attack: d4 (see below)
Special Attacks: Enragement (see below)
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 50%, 100% vs mind related attacks/spells
Intelligence: High
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Size: Small
Psionic Ability: Nil
E.P. Worth: 400 + 2/hp if gotten rid of without killing it, otherwise 0
Description:
This relative of the leprechaun is a prankster by nature and is the bane of
all thieves. It chooses a thief to annoy (preferring high level thieves over
low level), avoiding evil theives. It also prefers true theives over multi-
classed and good over neutral.
The thief's bane will stay with his 'companion' until one of them dies or until
the thief obtains the services of a cleric five levels higher than himself to
perform an exorcism. Due to the natural reluctance of neutral and good clerics
to allow a thief free rein, there is only a 20% chance these clerics will
actually do the exorcism.
When the thief's bane chooses a 'companion', it will assume the appearance of
the thief in all respects.
This monster will annoy the thief in somewhat harmless ways: calling attention
to the thief when the thief is attempting to be stealthy, filching small items
from the thief and generally being a pest.
The thieving abilities of the thief's bane are at fifth level, with one level
of skill gained for each hit die accrued due to the level of the thief.
Additional abilities include illusionist spell casting ability at the fifth
level, again with one level gained for each hit die gained due to the companion.
Thief's banes also teleport, usually in order to hide items stolen from the
thief. This ability, coupled with the ability to become ethereal or invisible
at will, make the little pest difficult to lay one's hands on.
The enragement attack occurs when a (possibly) hostile creature listens to
the monster. The creature must save vs. spell or run in a random direction
for 2-6 rounds.
The thief's bane will never wish to harm his 'companion', but will sometimes
help his 'companion' in a fight by casting spells. If harm should come due
to the actions of the thief's bane, there is a 50% chance the thief's bane
will give the thief something useful (a potion or a needed mundane item),
10% chance that the item will have been taken from another party member..
The thief's bane also has the innate ability to know alignment, the better
to chose his victim.
---End of monster description---
I finally managed to rid myself of this thing by circulating around in a
large city fair. When the thief's bane spotted a higher level thief, he
just up and left.
Les Gondor, U of Toronto
{cornell,ihnp4,allegra,uw-beaver,decvax!utzoo}!utcsri![utflis!]lgondor
CSNET: lgondor@toronto ARPA: lgondor%Toronto@CSNet-Relay
From here on down, it's uphill all the way.