Chardes

Description

"Aye, seen them I have. Nasty things they be, too. They cut down me whole lot o' friends. And I mean that literally. I was lucky though, I was. They only got me arms. Hurt like the nine hells though. Lucky I says, I got myself away from there right quick like. Or I'd be a headless bubber and not an armless one. And a headless bubber is no bubber at all."

"I ain't the least bit ashamed to say I still get nightmares about the things. They say they hunt you after they attack. I believe it, if not literally then figuratively. Now if you'll be excusin' me I need to see a bubser about a drink."

And with that he left, the poor retired traveler heading towards the nearest alehouse, long ago having given up on being so paranoid about his attack. But as any planewalker knows, grudges, and lusts never fade. He was dreadfully unprepared when the attack came. He was shredded to pieces a mere ten feet from where I stood..."

-- Excerpt from Med Mert's Travel Journal

One of the most fearsome creatures of the Inner Planes, chardes always appear as thin cylindrical metal rods, the surface glittering with microscopic crystalline barbs. They range in size anywhere between 1 inch long, to a full 70 feet long. Despite their length they remain a mere 1/4 inch thin.

Combat

In combat chardes are particularly fierce adversaries. When an encounter starts they use their natural senses to detect magic, then they direct their initial attack at a magic user, or a hand holding an enchanted item. They attack in three ways.

First and most common is a dive/slash, which causes 2d6 damage.

Second and definitely more devastating is their coil attack. They will wrap themselves around an arm, leg, neck, tail, or any other section of the body their length allows them to surround at least twice around. They then begin to spin at lightning quick speeds, causing 3d10 damage, and quickly sawing through all non-magic material. Enchanted materials at less than +2 requires a saving throw. They can not destroy +3 or better items. This includes armor, weapons, body parts, etc. Please use your own judgment for items such as magical staves, rods, wands, etc. Items save against disintegration; PCs save versus paralyzation. Those items failing their rolls are sawn in half, those PCs that fail loses a limb as per a vorpal sword. Should a charde get a natural 20 on its attack roll it automatically cuts through all armors regardless of it's magical bonus, and severs the limb.

Lastly they can impale a victim on themselves. By launching themselves at their target and getting a successful attack they proceed to bore through armor (again, non-magical is destroyed automatically, under +2 a saving throw, +3 or above deflects the attack). A successful impalement causes 4d4 damage.

Often when large groups of chardes attack they will impale a victim many times over, coiling around while still embedded in flesh, and saw chunks off. Many times a victim of a charde attack is little less than a pile of powdered bones and pulp.

Habitat/Society

Chardes roam the Quasielemental Plane of Minerals in packs of 2d10 creatures. They devour precious gem deposits, and often other inhabitants of their home plane. They constantly hunt, and are hunted by, the Tsnng.

Aside from that they have little to no society. No one has yet to see how, or when they reproduce, but there is never a shortage of Chardes on this plane.

When a lucky cutter escapes a pack of chardes he'd best watch his back. 90% of the time chardes will hunt their wounded prey down. They have an uncanny sense to track the wounded they have drawn blood from. If the target shifts planes of existence there is a 70% chance the chardes will end the pursuit. Otherwise they will actively seek a portal and hunt them down. While they may not know what plane their target fled to, they instinctively recognize it if/when they arrive.

The only end to these stalkings is the death of either the prey, or the hunter.

Ecology

Not much is known about chardes. There a few theories out there I will share with you:

• The most widespread belief is that some clueless priest found his way onto the plain and tried to cast a Blade Barrier spell. It's effects twisting to create the first of many chardes.
• Another popular belief is they are small bits broken off of some larger, crystalline porcupine type creature. Neither story can be confirmed, but what about the planes can? Regardless of their origins, be wary of them, or you'll find yourself in boxes and pieces.

Once dead, chardes continue to spin. A careful blood with a long-winded hold spell could conceivably create a magical blade, more fearsome than any sword of sharpness known. There is reputed to be one traveler that sells magic items made of chardes.

Also in this section of the source

XP value: 7,000.

Elemental Monsters

Dragon, Elemental

By John Kastronis and Jon Winter

When it comes to the so-called elemental dragons, a lot of greybeards scratch their heads, frown and start to look worried. See, nobody really knows if they're actually real dragons or not. Oh sure, they look like dragons, they roar like dragons, and they breathe fiery death (or watery, or whatever) like dragons...you get the idea...but is that enough?

See, the elemental dragons are made of sterner stuff than your average Prime Material dragon. For starters, they not only dwell on the Inner Planes, but they also thrive there. Even a hardy old red would find the hottest parts of the Plane of Fire a little uncomfortable at times. Elemental dragons seem to be made of the planar material themselves.

If you follow this line of reasoning, the elemental dragons are little more than glorified mephits, or dragon-shaped elementals with brains. Perhaps that's right, but if so, what mephits they are! Few creatures in existence are more beautiful than a radiant dragon in flight, or more hardy than an earth dragon.

The chant seems divided as to the origins of these creatures. As might be expected there are three opinions:

1. Perhaps the elemental dragons are the ancestors of the more common prime dragons. After leaving their elemental homes and staying on the prime for a few millennia, the elemental dragons could have slowly became prime dragons with similar alignment and abilities (ie. a lawful good fire dragon would become a gold dragon, while a chaotic evil one would become a red dragon).
2. Or maybe the prime dragons are the ancestors of elemental dragons. When a prime dragon spends a few millennia on an elemental plane, it might slowly becomes an elemental of similar alignment (ie. a silver dragon on the elemental plane of earth would slowly become a good earth dragon, while if it were on the elemental plane of fire, it would become a fire dragon).
3. The last school of thought suggests the elemental dragons are something entirely natural to the Inner Planes and unrelated to the prime dragons. Maybe each plane evolves its own supreme life form, and primes just happen to have called the elemental ones "dragons".

Of course, nobody seems to know which of these tales is true, and the dragons themselves certainly ain't telling. Still, a few facts are known about these strange creatures, from which you may draw your own conclusions...

Chant goes that if a elemental dragon is forced into the plane diametrically opposing its own element (such as a fire dragon being tricked through a portal to the Plane of Water), it is instantly and irrevocably destroyed. The chant goes on to say that elemental dragons ain't immune to the effects of other Inner Planes either. Apparently, the dragons' bodily composition changes slowly to reflect its environment, so if the same fire dragon instead went to the Plane of Air and stayed there long enough it'd become an air dragon.

Now, nobody seems to know just how much time "long enough" is, but many Inner Planewalkers who've observed elemental dragons out of their home planes maintain the creatures' personalities do seem to drift slowly. This leads some greybeards to suggest there is really only one "elemental dragon" and the apparently different subspecies are merely facets of these beings reflecting their current planes.

Think whatever you like, basher, but one thing's a cert; elemental dragons are affected by potions of dragon control and swords versus dragons just like any Prime specimen.

Do the elemental dragons mutate while on the Prime? Can they visit the Outer Planes without ill effect? Cutter, that's as dark as they come. Nobody really knows, and perhaps the dragons want to keep it that way.

The following Elemental Dragons have been detailed so far...