Ephemeral

Description

A humanoid-shaped being appears not quite solid as you can view through its body to the other side. The sounds it makes while moving are oddly hollow and muted.

An ephemeral is a humanoid being that exists partly on the Ethereal Plane. They are semi-transparent in appearance, and look somewhat like a living ghost. However they do exist physically and can be harmed by material objects.

Ephemerals are native to the planes of raw chaos, but are not as well known as the other inhabitants of those dimensions. They appear in a wide variety of shapes and forms, although they are always humanoid in shape and are able to interbreed with each other.

Combat

Ephemerals are cautious creatures and usually prefer to escape a dangerous situation through guile. They fight with weapons and armor much like other humanoid creatures, although they are not generally aggressive beings.

Partly Ethereal (Ex): An ephemeral can use all of its sense on both the Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane simultaneously. She can interact physically with either plane, switching back and forth as a free action. Items worn or carried solely by an ephemeral for a full round assume the same partly-ethereal condition. These objects are are treated as having the ghost touch magical ability for combat purposes. This includes missile weapons and any dropped implements, although all such return to their normal plane at the end of the round.

The partly ethereal condition of the ephemeral provides some protection from attack from both the Material and the Ethereal planes, providing damage reduction 5 except against magic or ghost touch-like abilities. If it is ever forced to appear fully on the Material Plane, it loses this damage reduction and can not interact with the Ethereal Plane.

Ephemeral Physique (Su): When an ephemeral is slain, its body disappears in a swirl of dark mist, and any gear drops to the ground. A dead ephemeral never returns as an undead creature, regardless of the manner of its death, and can not be animated by means of an animate dead spell. It can not be restored to life by means of a raise dead spell, although it can still be resurrected or reincarnated.

Ephemeral Society

Ephemerals generally dwell in nomadic tribes that wander their native plane struggling to survive. They possess a sophisticated culture and practice a number of arts common to more civilized peoples. Their society closely resembles that of the gypsies, although there are marked differences.

They typically interact peacefully with other denizens of their native plane, although they are always on their guard against the unexpected. They are skilled traders and negotiators, but for the most part only marginally decent craftsmen. They prefer to trade in readily transportable goods, such as gems, and do not deal in bulky raw materials.

Ephemeral Characters

Ephemeral characters possess the following racial traits.

• Medium size.
• An ephemeral's base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Racial Feats: An ephemeral gains feats according to its character class.
• Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/ghost touch, partly ethereal, animation resistance (see above).
• Weapon Proficiency: Nunchaku
• +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Move Silently checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, native plane. Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Elf, Slaad, Undercommon.
• Favored Class: Rogue.
• Level adjustment: +2.

Also in this section of the source

Figment

Author: Robert J. Hall.

A figment is a dream creature brought into the world of the real. Normally these beings dwell somewhere among the domain of dreams and nightmares, becoming the focus of fantasies for sleeping creatures. However they will occasionally slip into the material realm, whether through a dimensional portal, as a side effect of a character using dream travel, or by some other magical or supernatural means.

When they materialize, figments have a quasi-real existence that lacks the substantial nature of normal creatures. They shift and move about in odd ways, never quite forming a solid body upon which the eyes can rest. Yet they are capable of interacting with reality to a significant degree. Usually when the dream state that brought about the figment ends, however, the figment will fade from existence.

While figments can not inflict lethal wounds, they can still cause severe trauma to their foes and leave them vulnerable to other hazards.

On highly-magical planes or locations, figments can sometimes be sent to clerics or druids as a portent of some dire event that is about to occur. The figment serves as a divinational metaphor of the danger, rather than the actual hazard. For this reason they are often called harbingers.

Sample Figment

A gigantic gray wolf seems to radiate shimmering waves of hazy air from its heavy fur. Its eyes glare with menace and its mouth is drawn back in a threatening snarl.

This example uses a dire wolf as the base creature.