Elder Witchlights

These fey, when young, resemble caterpillars or worms 1/2 in. long with miniscule elven faces. Once they mature they resemble tiny elves no larger than a fat housefly, with moth-like wings on their backs. They emit a beautiful pastel glow, and when doing so at night they appear to be no more than bobbing globes of soft light.

Elder Witchlights (CR 1/4)

Fine Fey
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +4
Senses: Low-Light Vision; Perception +4

Speed: Fly 30 feet (perfect)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 21, touch 21, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +8 size)
Hit Points: 4 (1d6-2)
Saving Throws: Fort -2, Ref +5, Will +3

Offense

Melee: none
Reach: 5 feet

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st):

• At Will- Daze (DC 11), Ghost Sound (DC 11), Virtue (elder #1) Dancing Lights, Flare (DC 11), Purify Food and Drink (1/hour) (elder #2) Daze (DC 11), Light, Prestidigitation (elder #3)

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
1 (-5)	16 (+3)	6 (-2)	3 (-4)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)

Base Attack Bonus: +0
CMB -5
CMD 0

Feats: Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills: Acrobatics +7, Fly +19, Perception +8, Stealth +19

Languages: Sylvan (limited)

Special Abilities

Glimmer (Su)

Witchlights produce a luminance in their larval stage equal to a candle in brightness. In their adult and elder stage the light is up to half torchlight intensity (bright light in a 10 ft. radius). They can change the intensity or extinguish this light as a free action. The glimmer is a steady, soft glow, and may be silvery-white or just about any color, though the fey that raise them favor pastel shades. Each witchlight has its own unique color which it cannot change.

Ecology

Environment: Temperate Forest
Organization: solitary, pair or cloud (4-20), summer swarm (20-100)
Treasure: standard


Witchlights are a race of diminutive fey that are bred by pixies and other sylvan creatures to provide illumination and atmosphere to their events. They are born on midsummer in their larval state. In the autumn they spin cocoons for themselves in which they ride out the winter, hatching in early spring in their adult form. As adults, their beating wings release thousands of spores which, when it comes in contact with flower pollen and moonlight, germinate into eggs.

Adult witchlights are vulnerable to cold temperatures, and in all but the warmest climates they die in the fall when the weather turns chilly. However, favored witchlights may be cared for through the harsh winter months; those that survive become elder witchlights. They increase to 1 HD fey, and gain +1 hit point per year of life until they have reached the maximum possible for their hit dice. Elder witchlights have an Intelligence score of 2, which increases to 3 when they reach maximum hit points. The most intelligent witchlights have limited sentience, capable of understanding the sylvan language to a degree and even speaking a few words of it.

For every point of intelligence an elder witchlight possesses, it gains one of the following spell-like abilities usable at will: stabilize, dancing lights, daze, flare, ghost sound, light, prestidigitation, purify food and drink (1/hour only), or virtue. Larval and normal witchlights have no combat abilities, and are worth no XP. Elder witchlights may be worth ad-hoc experience (no more than CR 1/4) if they have spell-like abilities usable in combat.

Witchlight Familiars

A witchlight may be taken as a familiar through the Improved Familiar feat. The minimum level to acquire such a familiar is caster level 3. Elder witchlights do not gain additional spell-like abilities for having their intelligence raised due to being a familiar.

Credit

Originally appearing in Rappan Athuk Reloaded (© Necromancer Games, 2006)