Brittle Masters are from a subplane of the elemental
plane of ice. It is an exile world where outcasts from ice are sent for
gross misconduct, a high security prison of sorts, whose only bars and
walls are the dimension itself, from which escape is impossible without
outside help. Many eddies now travel the surface of Chill, leaving more
and more of the creatures washing up in the prime material plane. Many
of these have remained in the caves, but a few have ventured out in search
of prey. They find the rural inhabitants of Asterland easily gotten food.
They are large, white haired creatures standing some
9' tall with huge knotty hands with sabrelike claws. They are very intellegent,
expertly wielding swords of crysteel, a metal made from Iron and Vibracrystal.
The blades are magically forged. Vibracrystal is a naturally occuring
crystalling metal that vibrates as its structure takes the background
lifeforce of nature, or magic, and transfers it to vibrational energy.
In the fairly lifeless region of Chill, the crystal served mostly to
strengthen the iron. In a world such as Asterland, where the land is
teeming with life, the crysteel literally hums when near a group of people.
In the absense of life of any type, the sword is silent, but if even
common animals are present, it will hum slightly. In the presence of
large creatures or groups of them, it will literally sing in a high pitched
whine. Thus the creatures are only surprised on a 1 in 10. The nature
of the swords warn them of approaching life. The swords can be pointed
in a sweeping motion to detect in which direction that concentrations
of life lie. The weapons are at a +1 for every 10 hit dice present, thus
a party of 5 10th level adventurers will result in the sword attacks
being made at +5 over and above the +2 base bonus for the swords. The
creatures must be within 100 yards for the sword to get its plusses,
which are due to the vibrations which make the sword's serrated blade
like the edge of a chainsaw when in a crowd. Thus, entering a city, the
creature can kill with every swing often. The creature will often try
to get near a party, leaving the sword in its insulated sheath until
within range of its bow. The arrows that it uses are also of Crysteel,
getting half the bonusses as the swords. Thus, for every 20 hit die of
monsters in a 100' range, it will be at +1.
Brittle Masters are incredible hunters and expert bowsmen.
They get a +2 to hit with a bow over and above their 15 hit dice. They
have an equivalent strength of 23, giving them +7 to hit and +11 damage.
They shoot crysteel bows of strength, the arrows of which are poisoned
with a toxin which places one in a hypothermic state. Unless a warmth
spell or ring can be cast upon the victim, they will die of exposure
within d6 hours, their body ceasing to produce chemicals to regulate
body temperature. Brittle Masters fight two handed style with no penalties
on either hand. They are cunning, and once per day can do a chameleon
power, blending into their surroundings for up to 1 hour, at which time
they can either change back to their original coloring and texture, or
remain the changed form until the next day, when they can change form
again. This change only applies to coloration and texture and not the
form of the creatures themselves.
If such are around, they can summon arctic wolves or
bears. They prefer arctic conditions, which better suits them than warmer
climes. They are immune to cold based attacks, which actually add 1/2
of the damage intended to their hit point total for one day after the
attack. Heat based attacks are at +4, due to their lack of heat resistance.
They have a breath weapon which does 3d6 frostbite damage, which they
can use as well as their weapon attacks. The breath weapon, if succesful,
will be shot in the eyes of its victim. A save vs. Poison must be made
to avoid blindness. Brittle Masters have ventured as far south as Grunburg,
and find the sewers an ideal place to hide, and from which to attack,
taking advantage of the 'background noise' of the city's living creatures
to make their weapons more powerful. They will try to remain in packs
of three or more to hunt, venturing briefly from the sewers to claim
a victim and then fleeing to kill again. This makes for a perfect setting
for a panicked city willing to pay high bounty for the destruction of
the creatures. One of the town councilmen was recently killed by a pair
of the beasts, upping the ante, so to speak.
