Fihyr

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Fihyr • Great Fihyr

Fihyrs are the collected fears of humanity made corporeal. These creatures were once thought to be related to beholders, but in fact there is no connection between the two kinds of monsters aside from a superficial resemblance.

As the remnants of hundreds of people’s nightmares swirl through the ether, they somehow combine with leftover magical power and coalesce into these physical monsters. A few random dream images aren’t enough; it takes the strong emotional energy of a mass of people under duress to spawn a fihyr. The right combination of conditions is most often found in cities that are under siege, or being terrorized by monsters, or suffering from famine, civil war, or some other mass trauma.

Great fihyrs are larger, more intelligent, and much more dangerous than the smaller variety. A great fihyr forms when a number of small fihyrs combine.

All fihyrs have the same general appearance; the two kinds differ mainly in size. A fihyr is a roughly spherical blob of soft tissue and pulsating gray matter, much like a gigantic brain with a partial layer of skin stretched over it. The body of a fihyr is about 2 feet in diameter; that of a great fihyr is closer to 7 feet. Two large tentacles hang below the body and serve as the creature’s legs. A mass of much smaller, constantly writhing and twining tentacles projects from its body; these help it maintain its balance. Numerous mouths and eyes are placed at random along the “front” side of the creature’s body. The eyes are a startling gold color with horizontal black pupils, and the mouths are lined with needle-sharp teeth. The mottled skin of a fihyr runs the full spectrum of colors, but always in dull, sickly shades. An oily sheen covers the surface of the creature’s body.

Fihyrs rarely survive beyond the night of their formation, and they never leave the troubled area that spawned them. Great fihyrs, on the other hand, survive until slain. They have been known to wander for hundreds of miles, from one tormented spot to another, feeding on the fear and despair of the inhabitants.

Combat

Both kinds of fihyrs attack by biting. The real purpose of a fihyr’s bite is not to deal damage, but to spread fear in others.

Fihyr ⬆️

Fihyrs never hesitate to attack, but they prefer to do so in front of as many witnesses as possible, to make use of their frightful presence ability.

Frightful Presence (Ex): Any creature that witnesses a fihyr attacking becomes panicked if it fails a Will save (DC 10).

Vulnerable to Sunlight (Ex): Fihyrs die instantly when exposed to sunlight, hissing and bubbling away into acrid smoke. They have no fear of sunlight, however, and they don’t seek shelter to wait out the day. Magical sunlight can destroy a fihyr if it penetrates the creature’s spell resistance, though if the fihyr succeeds at any allowed saving throw, it avoids the instant death effect.

Great Fihyr ⬆️

Great fihyrs begin any conflict by using their emotion control ability to generate negative emotions on which they can feed. Once they decide to become visible, they immediately attack so as to use their frightful presence ability.

Great fihyrs are unaffected by sunlight, but they despise it. Thus, they prefer to lay low during the day in dark, secluded spots, such as caves, dungeons, abandoned buildings, and the like.

Emotion Control (Sp): At will, the great fihyr can produce despair, fear, or hate in creatures in a 15-foot radius up to 260 feet away. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level sorcerer spell and has a DC 16 Will save to negate. It is an enchantment, compulsion, mind-affecting effect. It lasts as long as the creature concentrates on it. The great fihyr can use this ability and remain invisible. The three emotions listed above have the following effects:

Despair: The enchanted creatures suffer a –⁠2 morale penalty to saving throws, attack rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls. This effect can be dispelled by good hope.

Fear: The enchanted creatures flee from the character whenever they are in sight of the character. This effect can be dispelled by any magic that normally removes fear effects. Creature with class abilities or special qualities that grant fear immunity are immune to this effect as well.

Hate: The enchanted creatures react more negatively toward others. Their attitude shifts to the next less favorable reaction (helpful to friendly, friendly to indifferent, indifferent to unfriendly, or unfriendly to hostile). See Influencing NPC Attitudes for more information.

Frightful Presence (Ex): Any creature that witnesses a great fihyr attacking becomes panicked if it fails a Will save (DC 20).

Invisibility (Ex): A great fihyr can become invisible at will. This effect is like that of the invisibility spell, except that the creature can remain invisible as long as it wishes, even while using its emotion control ability. Normally, a great fihyr is visible only immediately after delivering a melee attack.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 100. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II. Rewrote the emotion control special attack as it was based on emotion, a spell that no longer exists in D&D version 3.5.