Glaistig

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Glaistig • Glaistig Mindbender

Beautiful and enchanting, glaistigs are fey that lurk in and around pools, lakes, and streams. They have an insatiable craving for the blood of mortals, beguiling victims to come close to their lair in order to drain them. They are commonly mistaken for vampires because of their bloodsucking technique, but they are not undead.

Glaistigs resemble incredibly attractive female humans or half-elves, but instead of normal legs, they have goat legs with long, white fur. Most have snow-white hair and eyes that shimmer like water. When they smile, glaistigs try not to show their teeth, which are sharpened to cruel-looking fangs and revealed only when they are about to strike. Glaistigs wear long, fine robes and dresses that drape along the ground, which are used to hide their legs. Glaistigs loathe showing their legs to anyone, and will only reveal them to lash out in anger. If someone catches sight of a glaistig’s goat legs, it will become very angered and attack the offender.

Despite their single-minded lust for blood, glaistigs are unpredictable and capricious. If they have recently fed (say, within a month), then they are just as likely to help someone as they are to attack. More than a few people have been attacked by a glaistig, even if it has talked and been friendly to them in the past. Glaistigs also enjoy dancing, and some lure their victims to caper and dance for many hours before attacking them.

Glaistigs are solitary by nature and do not even like other fey all that much. While they gain no sustenance from the blood of sylvan creatures, glaistigs have been known to attack fey that come too close into their territory. Perhaps because of their similar nature, glaistigs in particular do not like dryads, and it is extremely rare to find the two beings in the same territory. An average glaistig is about 5 feet 2 in height and weighs about 90 pounds.

Glaistigs speak Common, Elven, and Sylvan.

A glaistig uses its beguiling song to lure victims close to the water, targeting specific individuals. If a large group comes close to its lair, it will lurk beneath the surface until only one or two targets remain. A glaistig is mystically bound to its watery lair and cannot move more than 300 yards away from it.

Once a victim is within striking distance, a glaistig will cease singing and grapple the opponent. If the grab is successful, it will drain blood for as long as possible. If reinforcements arrive, the glaistig will try to use suggestion, hypnotism, or fog cloud to cause a diversion and slip beneath the surface of its watery home.

Beguiling Song (Su): A glaistig can attempt to beguile creatures with its song. A glaistig sings, targeting a single creature it can see within 300 yards of the body of water to which it is linked (see Water Symbiosis, below). This is a sonic charm effect, and the creature must be able to hear the glaistig for it to take effect. The targeted creature must make a Will saving throw; the DC of this save is in Special Attacks in the creature’s statistics block. This and other saves shown here are Charisma-based. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same glaistig’s song for 24 hours.

Failure indicates the creature is beguiled and moves toward the glaistig, taking the most direct route available. If that path leads into a dangerous area (such as very deep or fast-moving water), the beguiled creature gets a second saving throw. If that save is successful, the beguiling effect is broken, and that creature cannot be affected by that glaistig’s song for 24 hours.

A glaistig that desires a companion often moves out of the water and bestows water breathing upon its beguiled victim so it can take him underwater. A beguiled creature takes no actions other than to defend himself. (Thus, a fighter cannot run away or attack, but takes no defensive penalties.) A beguiled victim that moves within 5 feet of the glaistig must make a Will saving throw or be charmed, as by the charm monster spell cast by an 8th-level sorcerer. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same glaistig’s song for 24 hours. The beguiling effect continues so long as the glaistig sings. A glaistig does not need to continue singing to keep a victim charmed.

A glaistig can use its beguiling song both above and below the water. Most glaistigs move into deep water, forcing a beguiled victim to move toward them. If these unlucky creatures fail their second saving throw, they usually drown (see Drowning).

Blood Drain (Ex): A glaistig can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will⁠—​dancing lights, fog cloud, hypnotism (DC 15), suggestion (DC 17); 1/day⁠—​water breathing. Caster level 8th.

Water Breathing (Ex): A glaistig can breath either water or air.

Water Symbiosis (Su): Each glaistig is mystically bound to a body of water or a waterway as small as a pond or as large as a lake or river. A glaistig cannot move more than 300 yards away from its body of water and still breathe normally. If a glaistig strays farther away, it must hold its breath or immediately start to suffocate (see Suffocation). Once a glaistig has moved beyond the boundary of its connection, it cannot breathe normally until it has immersed itself in its body of water.

Skills: Glaistigs have a +4 racial bonus on Bluff and Sense Motive checks. A glaistig has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Naturally inclined toward magic and enchantments of all kinds, many glaistigs become sorcerers that specialize in mind-bending magic. They use these abilities to enhance their chances of luring prey to their watery homes.

The glaistig sorcerer presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments and Hit Dice ability score increases: Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 15.

The save DCs for this glaistig sorcerer’s beguiling song and spell-like abilities are adjusted for its higher Charisma score.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will⁠—​dancing lights, fog cloud, hypnotism (DC 18), suggestion (DC 20); 1/day⁠—​water breathing. Caster level 8th.

Typical Sorcerer Spells Known: (6/8/6): 0⁠—​daze* (DC 18), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 17), prestidigitation, resistance, touch of fatigue (+5 melee touch; DC 17); 1st⁠—​charm person* (DC 19), disguise self, mage armor, magic missile; 2nd⁠—​daze monster* (DC 20), touch of idiocy (+5 melee touch; DC 19).

Glaistigs are found throughout Khorvaire. They haunt the rivers, lakes, and woodland streams of the Shadow Marches, Droaam, Breland, the Mror Holds (particularly near Mirror Lake), and Valenar. Valenar elf warriors often hunt glaistigs for sport, taking their hooves as trophies.

Source: Monster Manual III, page 60.