Many fey are strange andperverse, and the nocturnal

glaistig is no exception. She appears asa fair and comely lass, rosy-cheekedand unafraid of exchanging glanceswith menfolk. She laughs and gailydances the night away in inns or atfestivals. She can also be found aftersunset, camped along empty roadsides,alone with but a herd of cattle orsheep she professes to take care of, andeager for companionship. In wilder,more rural locales, glaistig have thecloven feet of goats, and must wearlong skirts to disguise their hooveswhilst they dance; glaistig nearcivilization do not have this feydeformity.

The glaistig will invite those whoseem willing to a dance, and indeed,those who take her up on her offer willenjoy themselves to the fullest anddance their merry hearts out.Afterwards, though, they findthemselves somewhat winded, for theglaistig’s dance, though seeminginnocuous, is one no mortal canendure. The dance drains away thelife of the glaistig’s partner, while theglaistig draws vitality from it. Theglaistig leaves the dance fairer thanbefore, with even more of a blush to hercheek. Whether she does thismaliciously, or in the unthinkingmanner of the fey, no one can say.

Later, when the glaistig chancesto cross paths with her former dancepartner again, he finds himself hard-pressed to ignore a second invitation todance from the glaistig. This goes onuntil, over time, the friends of thedancer notice he is weaker, and nolonger himself. The source of hisaffliction is not always obvious, asthe dancer generally notices nodifference in his own health if asked.Then, finally, he meets the glaistigand dances one last dance — for whocould refuse this sweet maid? — andtheir dance ends with his last breath.

Addictive Presence (Su): Those whodance with the glaistig find it increasingly hardto resist her in the future. Such individuals suf-fer a –2 penalty to saves against her CharmingGaze and her Withering Dance. This penalty iscumulative; every dance makes the next oneharder to ignore.

Charming Gaze (Su): The glaistig, withher winsome smile and honey-sweet looks, ishard to ignore. When she chooses a partner andhe passes up the chance to dance with her, shemay force him with but a glance. This is treat-ed as a gaze attack, with a range of 30 feet; toavoid the effects of the gaze, the target mustmake a Will save (DC 16) or else treat theglaistig with all the affection of a youthful crush,as if affected by a charm monster spell cast by a7th-level caster. Usually, the glaistig chooses tocharm only one individual, but if a small groupis about and the glaistig is feeling lucky, shemight try to charm them all and lead them in amerry reel. The glaistig’s Charming Gaze onlyaffects male humanoids, or other mortal crea-tures that find women attractive in some way,such as some ogres, certain outsiders, etc.

Death Curse (Su): If a glaistig is slain byforce of arms, whoever inflicts the killing blowmust make a Will save (DC 19) or else suffer the

effects of a bestow curse spell, uttered by theglaistig as she dies and turns into morning mist.Such death curses often take the form of a –6 tothe slayer’s highest ability score.

Fey: Fey have Low-light Vision, and areproficient with all simple weapons and thosementioned in their entries.

Skills: The glaistig has a +3 racial bonus toHandle Animal skill checks. This is included inthe stats above.

Spell-like Abilities: The glaistig can usethe following spells as if cast by a 10th-level sor-cerer. The DC to resist these abilities is 15 + thespell level.At Will — change self, detect thoughts, emo-

tion, suggestionThe glaistig can use the following spells as if

cast by a 10th-level druid, but she can only usethem to aid children, the elderly, and animals.The DC to resist these abilities is 13 + the spelllevel.3/day — cure serious wounds, mending, neu-

tralize poison, purify food and water,remove diseaseVulnerabilities (Ex): The glaistig is a

wild, strange thing, and is vulnerable to thegods of civilization; she can be Turned and evendestroyed by a cleric, though few clerics know

125

GlaistigMedium-sized Fey

Hit Dice: 2d6+4 (11 hp)Initiative: +4 (Dex)Speed: 30 ft.AC: 14 (Dex)Attacks: Dagger +1 melee, or sling +5 rangedDamage: Dagger 1d4, sling 1d4Face/Reach: 5 ft. x 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Addictive Presence, Charming Gaze,

Withering DanceSpecial Qualities: Death Curse, Low-light Vision,

Spell-like Abilities, VulnerabilitiesSaves: Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +8Abilities: Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 20Skills: Balance +10, Bluff +9, Concentration +6,

Diplomacy +10, Handle Animal +8, Hide +8,Listen +10, Perform (dance) +18, Spot +5

Feats: Alertness, Iron Will Climate/Terrain: Any landOrganization: Solitary or covey (1–3)Challenge Rating: 1Treasure: StandardAlignment: Usually chaotic neutral Advancement: As character class (bard)

24

02 Eyak to Morrigan 4/29/03 4:01 PM Page 125

As dangerous as she can be, theglaistig has a strange, contradictorynature. She is always kind to elderlyfolk, children, and animals. She willalways aid them if they are sick andhelp them with chores or shepherding.

ADVENTURE SEEDS

��After a particularly nastyexpedition, the PCs come across aweek-long festival in a nearby city.Such an event is an easy meal for agroup of glaistig, as the nights ofdancing and revelry disguise thefeeding of the hungry fey. Will thePCs become casualties in the revels asthey indulge their hedonistictendencies, or will they discover theunderlying threat? Worse yet, willdrunken adventurers start stabbingevery lovely dancing maid they see,assuming that casual flirtationdisguises the vile glaistig?

��A hamlet is beset by a plaguethat takes only the healthiest of itsyoung men. On further investigation,it’s revealed that the glaistig wholives nearby has used her powers tokeep the old people and children free ofthe raging epidemic, but in return shehas taken to finding dance partnersamongst the already sickly youngmen of the village. Will the PCsdecide to slay her, and hope they cancontain the plague, or will they try todiscover source of the plague? Theirquestioning eventually reveals thatone of the old men of the hamlet is atfault. Though a cripple now, he wasenraptured as a youth by the feymaiden but has been unable to dancewith her all these years. He has usedmagic to summon a plague, using thesick children and elderly folk as baitso that he might be close to her for thislast part of his life.

126

this. She also cannot enter holy ground. Theglaistig is only seen at night, and true daylight(not the spell) instantly slays her. A glaistig canuse none of her special abilities on a person whowears a blessed iron ring on each finger. All ofthese vulnerabilities are folklore that bardsmight be able to recall with a BardicKnowledge check against a DC of 20. Theglaistig’s greatest vulnerability, however, is tobards. A bard can use his Countersong ability togive a charmed victim of the glaistig anotherWill save (DC 16) to escape the glaistig’s influ-ence, using the bard’s Perform skill if it is betterthan the victim’s regular save. The AddictivePresence power of the glaistig still modifies thisWill save, however. Worse yet for the glaistig,bards and other musical performers easilyenrapture it. A glaistig suffers a –2 penalty toWill saves against any sort of bardic music abil-ity, including charm spells or similar mind-influencing magic cast by bards. A bard orother musician may also attempt to use hismusic to lure a dancing glaistig away from hervictim for an hour. This is treated as a Will savemade by the glaistig, with a DC equal to thebard’s Perform check total. The performermust make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1 perhour played) to keep playing at the end of eachhour. At the end of the hour, if the music still

plays, the glaistig must make another Willsave against the performer’s music (DC

equal to a new Perform checktotal), or keep dancing foranother hour. This contin-

ues until the performer failshis Fortitude save, or theglaistig succeeds at her Willsave, or the glaistig dances

until morning at which pointshe is slain by daylight.

Withering Dance (Su):Those who dance with the glaistigfind their life slips away fromthem. After dancing a completedance with the glaistig (2d6 min-utes, or GM’s determination),the glaistig’s dance partner gains

1 negative level due to energydrain. For each negative level suf-

fered, the glaistig’s victim suffers a –1penalty to all skill and ability checks,

attack rolls, and saving throws, –5 hitpoints, and whenever his level is used in a

die roll or calculation, reduce it by one foreach negative level. If the victim casts spells, heloses access to one spell as if he had cast hishighest-level, currently available spell. When henext prepares spells or regains spell slots, he getsone less spell slot at his highest spell level.Negative levels remain for 24 hours or untilremoved with a spell, such as restoration. After24 hours, the afflicted character must attempt aFortitude save (DC 16) or the negative levelbecomes permanent; the Addictive Presenceability of the glaistig modifies this saving throw,giving it a –2 penalty for every dance that thedancer has had with the glaistig. If the savingthrow succeeds, the negative level goes awaywith no harm to the glaistig’s partner. If the savefails, the negative level goes away, but his level isalso reduced by 1. The afflicted charactermakes a separate saving throw for each negativelevel. A character with negative levels at leastequal to his current level, or drained below 1stlevel, is instantly slain. He may rise the nextnight as a wight; apply the standard D20System wight template. The glaistig gains 5temporary hit points for each negative level itinflicts. If the dancer can somehow be removedfrom the dance before it ends, he will not sufferthis effect, though he will become violent andattempt to rejoin the glaistig if he was the victimof her Charming Gaze ability.

Glaistig

02 Eyak to Morrigan 4/29/03 4:02 PM Page 126

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