Weapons of Legacy

feet tall. Vhuuksssh controls the exact height, but itmust be at least 10 feet.Vhuuksssh’s movement while in vortex formdoes not provoke attacks of opportunity, even if itenters the space another creature occupies. Anothercreature might be caught in the vortex if it touchesor enters the vortex, or if Vhuuksssh moves into orthrough the creature’s space. Medium and smallercreatures might take damage when caught in thevortex and might be swept up by it. An affectedcreature must succeed on a DC 19 Reflex save whenit comes into contact with the vortex or take 2d6points of damage. It must also succeed on a secondDC 19 Reflex save or be picked up bodily and heldsuspended in the powerful currents, automaticallytaking 2d6 points of damage each round. An affectedcreature is allowed a Reflex save each round to escapethe vortex. The creature still takes damage, but canleave if the save is successful.Creatures trapped in the vortex cannot move exceptto go where Vhuuksssh carries them or to escape thevortex. Creatures caught in the vortex can otherwiseact normally, but must make a Concentration check(DC 10 + spell level) to cast a spell. Creatures caughtin the vortex take a –4 penalty to Dexterity and a –2penalty on attack rolls. Vhuuksssh can have only asmany creatures trapped inside the vortex at one timeas will fit inside its volume. Vhuuksssh can eject anycarried creatures whenever it wishes, depositing themwherever the vortex happens to be.If the vortex’s base touches the bottom, it creates a swirlingcloud of debris. This cloud is centered on Vhuukssshand has a diameter equal to half the vortex’s height.The cloud obscures all vision, including darkvision,beyond 5 feet. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment,while those farther away have total concealment. Thosecaught in the cloud must make a Concentration check(DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell.While in vortex form, Vhuuksssh cannot make slamattacks and does not threaten the area around it.Water Mastery (Ex): Vhuuksssh gains a +1 bonuson attack and damage rolls if both it and its opponentare touching water. If the opponent or Vhuuksssh istouching the ground, Vhuuksssh takes a –4 penaltyon attack and damage rolls. (These modifiers are notincluded in the statistics block.)Vhuuksssh can easily overturn craft up to 60 feetlong, stop larger vessels (up to 120 feet long), and slowlarge ships (up to 240 feet long) to half speed.Deflection: Vhuuksssh enjoys an inherent +1deflection bonus to its AC.Omen: Vhuuksssh flickers with fiery glints thatseem to run across its surface.Speed Enhancement (Su): Vhuuksssh’s land speedhas increased by 5 feet.Skills: Vhuuksssh has a +8 racial bonus on any Swimcheck to perform some special action or avoid a hazard.It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, evenif distracted or endangered. It can use the run actionwhile swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.CREATING AMONSTER OF LEGACY“Monster of legacy” is an acquired template that canbe added to any aberration, dragon, elemental, giant,magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, outsider, orundead (hereafter referred to as the base creature).The base creature must also have the following:• Intelligence 3 or more;• 5 or more HD;• At least one supernatural or spell-like ability.In addition, the monster must experience the samesort of dramatic event that paves the way for creatingan item of legacy.Monsters of legacy do not perform legacy rituals orpay for materials, nor do they incur any personal costsfor their legacy abilities. No legacy feat (such as LeastLegacy) is required to unlock their legacy abilities.A monster of legacy uses all the base creature’sstatistics and special abilities except as noted here.Special Attacks/Special Qualities: A monster oflegacy retains all the special attacks and special qualitiesof the base creature. It also gains legacy abilitiesas described here.To assign abilities, use the legacy ability menus inChapter 4: Founding Legacies. Treat the monster as bothan item of legacy and its wielder. It selects a number ofability choices determined by its total Hit Dice, as wellas a choice from the omen menu. Use the followingtable to determine which menus it can choose from.5–10 HD 11–16 HD 17+ HDMenu A Menu D Menu GMenu B Menu E Menu HMenu C Menu F Menu IIn one of the examples given above, Shuluth theillithid is an 8 Hit Die creature. Thus, it could choosethree abilities from Menu A, or one from Menu A andone from Menu B, or a single ability from Menu C. Itdoesn’t have enough Hit Dice to make any choices fromhigher menus. It selected a mental omen (the threateningCHAPTER 5OPTIONALRULES215