Ethergaunt, Black (CR 17)
Medium Aberration (Extraplanar)
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Initiative: +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Senses: darkvision 60 ft., total vision, Listen +21, and Spot +21
Languages: Khen-Zai. May know others but cannot speak them
AC: 29 (+4 Dex, +15 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 25
Hit Dice: 16d8+32 (104 hp)
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +12
Speed: 30 ft.
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +12; Grapple +13
Attack: Etherblade +13 melee, or etherblade +16 ranged touch
Full Attack: Etherblade +13 melee, or etherblade +16 ranged touch
Damage: Etherblade 1d10+1, or etherblade 1d6
Special Attacks/Actions: Enslave, spells, stupefying gaze
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 31, Wis 15, Cha 15
Special Qualities: material jaunt, immunity to spells
Feats: Combat Casting; Empower Spell; Exotic Weapon Proficiency (etherblade) (B); Extend Spell; Heighten Spell; Quicken Spell; Spell Penetration
Skills: Concentration +21, Diplomacy +23, Heal +21, Knowledge (any three) +29, Knowledge (arcana) +29, Listen +21, Move Silently +23, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +31, and Spot +21
Advancement: By character class
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (Ethereal Plane)
Organization: Solitary or council (1 black, 5 whites, and 12 reds)
Treasure/Possessions: Double standard
Source:
Fiend Folio
Black ethergaunts are rarely found without a handful of powerful slaves that serve as bodyguards. If necessary, they sacrifice their thralls to protect themselves. Though they are able to use etherblades, black ethergaunts consider engaging in physical combat to be a sign of failure, preferring to rely on spells or technological items such as doubt bombs. They particularly hate clerics, viewing divine spellcasters as a threat to the khen-zai's atheist philosophy. Rather than change that philosophy, the black ethergaunts have decided to simply eliminate the divine spellcasters.
Spells: A black ethergaunt can cast arcane spells as a 17th-level wizard (4/7 7/6/6/6/6/3/3/2; save DC 20 + spell level). A typical spell list: 0 - daze, disrupt undead, mage hand, resistance; 1st - endurance, expeditious retreat, hypnotism, mage armor, magic missile (2), shield; 2nd - detect thoughts, glitter dust, Melf's acid arrow, mirror image, protection from arrows, see invisibility; 3rd - dispel magic, displacement, fireball, haste, lightning bolt, vampiric touch; 4th - charm monster, ice storm, improved invisibility, Otiluke's resilient sphere, phantasmal killer, rainbow pattern; 5th - cone of cold, dismissal, feeblemind, mind fog (2), wall of force; 6th - Bigby's force hand, disintegrate (2), greater dispelling, mass suggestion, project image; 7th - finger of death, plane shift, prismatic spray; 8th - Bigby's clenched fist, horrid wilting, sunburst; 9th - Bigby's crushing hand, energy drain.
Though members of each ethergaunt caste have unique individual spells and abilities, the race as a whole shares a number of characteristics.
Enslave (Su): Three times per day, an ethergaunt can attempt to enslave any one living creature within 30 feet. This ability functions similarly to a dominate monster spell (caster level 16th; Will save DC 13 for red, DC 16 for white, and DC 20 for black ethergaunts). An enslaved creature obeys the ethergaunt's telepathic commands to the letter. The subject can attempt a new Will save every day to break free. Otherwise, the ethergaunt's control is broken only by the death of either the ethergaunt or the enslaved creature, or by a remove curse or dispel magic effect, or if the ethergaunt travels more than 1 mile from the enslaved creature or travels to a different plane from the one its thrall is on. At any given time, an ethergaunt may have one slave per point of Charisma buns-is (normally one slave for a red or white ethergaunt or two for a black, although exceptional individuals may be able to command more slaves).
Stupefying Gaze (Su): An ethergaunt can open and close its vertically bisected mask as a free action, revealing a horrifically alien morass of facial organs and orifices. On its turn, the creature decides if it wants its mask open or closed. Anyone within 30 feet of an ethergaunt with an open mask who meets the creature's gaze must succeed on a Will saving throw (DC 13 for red, DC 16 for white, and DC 20 for black ethergaunts) or immediately take 1d4 points of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma damage. A creature that successfully saves against this effect cannot be affected by the same ethergaunt's stupefying gaze for one day. Ethergaunts are immune to their own gaze attacks and to those of others of their kind.
Immunity to Spells (Su): Ethergaunts may choose to ignore the effects of arcane spells, just as if the spellcaster had failed to overcome spell resistance. They have no power over divine spells, having long ago rationalized divinity out of their racial philosophy. Though powerful, this ability is somewhat limited. It applies only to arcane spells of 2nd level or lower for red ethergaunts, 4th level at lower for white ethergaunts, and 6th level or lower for black ethergaunts.
Material Jaunt (Su): Ethergaunts dwell on the Ethereal Plane. While in their natural state of etherealness, they can perceive but not affect creatures and objects on the Material Plane. However, an ethergaunt can transport itself from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane as a standard action. It can remain on the Material Plane for up to 1 round per Hit Die it possesses. At the end of this time, or when the ethergaunt chooses, it becomes ethereal again. An ethergaunt must remain on the Ethereal Plane for at least 1 hour after a material jaunt before it can use the ability again.
Ethergaunts who wish to remain on the Material Plane for a longer time must use plane shift or similar magic. Most white and black ethergaunts know the plane shift spell and use it for this purpose.
Total Vision (Ex): An ethergaunt's superdeveloped brain and countless facial sensory organs allow it to discern all objects within 40 feet, even through the mask that hides its face. An ethergaunt usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice creatures within range of its total vision. A silence spell has no bearing upon an ethergaunt's total vision.
Extraplanar Subtype
A subtype applied to any creature when it is on a plane other than its native plane. A creature that travels the planes can gain or lose this subtype as it goes from plane to plane. This book assumes that encounters with creatures take place on the Material Plane, and every creature whose native plane is not the Material Plane has the extraplanar subtype (but would not have when on its home plane). An extraplanar creatures usually has a home plane mentioned in its description. These home planes are taken from the Great Wheel cosmology of the D&D game (see Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). If your campaign uses a different cosmology, you will need to assign different home planes to extraplanar creatures.
Creatures not labeled as extraplanar are natives of the Material Plane, and they gain the extraplanar subtype if they leave the Material Plane. No creature has the extraplanar subtype when it is on a transitive plane; the transitive planes in the D&D cosmology are the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow.