Starcatcher Fae (3.5e Monster)



''A sparkling glowbug flits around your head, the sound of bells and musical instruments following its every motion. Looking through the radiant cloudy haze, you see a lithe humanoid figure like a pixie, dressed in leaves and carrying a bow made of a twig and spider silk. The dust that drifts from its body makes you... strangely... drowsy...''

Starcatcher fae are a fairy hailing from the Plane of Dreams, which moved here some time ago and settled. As such they are not extraplanar, but remain their dreamborn origins. They may seem tiny and adorable, but these fairy are dangerous. They say that the starcatcher's body is so small it can only hold one emotion at a time, which results in the starcatcher fae being very passionate and violent in its emotions.

As creatures of dreams, they are half-real themselves. Their presence is easily forgotten, and they have the power to speak through dreams and force creatures asleep through their dream arrows. While hardly a powerhouse, they are rather difficult to hit and get rid of, making them dangerous pests if they have a vendetta against you. Starcatcher fae speak common, sylven, and "tinkertongue" (see below).

Combat
Starcatcher Fae rarely face off in direct combat. Their battles are fought with traps formed by their Dreamcrafting and other forms of trickery. When unable to fight an unfair battle, they use their superior defenses, miss chance, and damage reduction to save them as they peck away at the enemy's strength with nonlethal damage. Starcatcher fae are easily distracted through, and enjoy positive bardic performances. Such effects can get them to change their emotional tune and completely forget what they were fighting for.

Dream Arrows :  Starcatcher Fae arrows don't hurt much, but they do make creatures sleepy. They deal 3d6 extra nonlethal damage, and on a critical hit they force a DC 19 Will save vs sleep, as per the sleep spell with no HD limit.

Dreamborn Traits (Ex): Introduced in the book Hyperconciousness, Dreamborn creatures are spawned from, and made of "dreamstuff". They appear slightly hazy and out of focus, and so all melee and ranged attacks against them suffer a 20% miss chance, as they are not entirely real. This miss chance is not the same as concealment and does not prevent the use of sneak attacks or other precision strikes. The subtype also determines if it is vulnerable to certain spells and effects which deal with dream-based creatures.

Dreamcraft :  Starcatcher fae can shape their fairy dust to form phantasmal objects made out of dreams and imagination. As a 1 round action they can form up to 100g per HD in non-magical non-consumable items. These items are obviously unnatural when observed closely. If the object is complex, a craft check may be required to complete the object. Typically starcatcher fae shape simple traps for their own personal amusement or hunting. No matter what, a starcatcher fae cannot have more than 100g per HD of objects shaped at any one time.

Dry Wings : Starcatcher fae's wings cannot fly when wet. A starcatcher fae loses its fly speed in rain or when soaked in water. Its wings dry out over the course of 10 minutes in normal conditions.

Fairy Dust :  Starcatcher Fae constantly emit a constant light glowing magical dust which has unusual magical properties. If collected, it can be used as a magical item to cast fly on a creature, caster level equal to the starcatcher fae's HD. A starcatcher fey can produce enough dust to perform this 1/day. Alternatively it can be used as a material component in any spell or spell-like ability which grants a fly speed, in which case it doubles the duration. This stacks with Extend Spell (to a x3 duration). Fairy dust degrades rapidly, losing its shine and evaporating within 24 hours. Fairy dust makes it easier to track the starcatcher fae, trackers gain a +5 bonus on search checks to track a starcatcher fae.

Forget :  Like the dreams they spawn from, starcatcher fae are easy to forget about. Even after being directly assaulted or having spoken with the fey moments prior, if a starcatcher fae successfully hides creatures must make a DC 19 Will save or forget the fey was ever there. They'll still remember other things that happened as a result of the fey, such as walking into a trap, or being injured, but not recall who made the trap, what injured them, or why they were chasing something a moment ago. A successful save negates the forgetfulness. The save is Charisma based.

Glow : Starcatcher Fae glow naturally. They illuminate the area as a torch, or can suppress the light to not illuminate the area at all. Changing the light amount is a swift action.

Spell-Like Abilities :  At will- dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, sleep; 2/day- augury, greater plane shiftSPC (self only, to the Plane of Dreams and back); 1/day- dream. Caster level equal to character level. Saving throws are Charisma based.

Tinkertongue :  Starcatcher Fae can communicate in "Tinkertongue", a language which is impossible to translate and simple sounds like musical instruments and bells. A starcatcher fae can have one or more creatures listening be able to understand what it is saying, thereby insuring privacy in what is being said (though not the act of speaking). It uses this often, especially to cloak any rude or obnoxious things it wishes to say about people in the company of others. Changing who can understand tinkertongue is a free action on its turn.

Vulnerability to Emotion : Starcatcher Fae are particularly vulnerable to emotional changes. Any effect which causes an emotional effect (such as charm, crushing despair, rage, bardic music, or anything invoking a morale penalty or bonus) takes a -4 penalty to the save against it. Morale bonuses and penalties are increased by 50%; a +2 inspire courage now grants +3, a -4 penalty now gives -6, and so forth.

Skills: Starcatcher fae have a +10 racial bonus on all craft checks when using their dreamcraft ability. They also have a +8 bonus to move silently.

Familiar
Starcatcher Fae can be obtained at 7th level and beyond with the Improved Familiar feat.