Black Ethergaunt

Actions

Stupefying Gaze. 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 Wisdom saving throw DC20 or immediately take 1d4 points of psychic 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.   Material Jaunt. 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.

Black ethergaunts stand at the pinnacle of khen-zai society. Honored as near-divine philosopher-scientists, the black caste is credited with advancing ethergaunt society to its present state of perfection. No lesser khen-zai questions the will of a black ethergaunt, for to do so is to question the progress of the entire race. By far the thinnest and most emaciated of the ethergaunts, blacks lack the physical power of their underlings—a deficiency balanced by a brain that allows them to outthink even the most intelligent opponent. Their black faceplates represent a complete void of emotion—the khen-zai believe that the blacks have rid themselves of all emotion, thus allowing them to command the race without being clouded by weaknesses such as regret, compassion, and mercy. Despite pretensions to the contrary, however, most black ethergaunts possess an abundance of selfish emotions such as greed, ambition, and hubris.   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.

Ethereal Plane

Black ethergaunt by Puddnhead