Numenera Discovery
Loud and horrible, the things called ithsyns appear to be the result of a genetic experiment gone awry. Possessing distinctive qualities of avians, reptiles, mammals, and fish, they seem difficult to categorize. In the end, however, they are unique in their own right.
Ithsyns are egg layers that live in large communal nests and fiercely defend them—even unto death. These carnivores hunt in packs, looking for prey of any size. Ithsyns do not see or hear particularly well and rely on their long, snakelike tongues for much of their sensing.
Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Ithsyns live in groups of three to six in any warm climate.
Health: 12
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (4 points)
Armor: 1
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 3. Resists mental attack as level 3.
Combat: When it attacks, an ithsyn charges forward in a burst of speed. In the same action, it can move up to a long distance and attack with either a savage kick or its weird, trifurcated mouth.
If struck in combat, an ithsyn releases a dark greenish gas from orifices throughout its body. Creatures within immediate range must make a Might defense roll right away, and those that fail are addled for one round. Releasing the gas is not an action on the ithsyn's part—just an immediate reaction to being hit.
Addled victims behave randomly on their next action. Roll d100 and consult the table below.
Interaction: Ithsyns are animals. They cannot be reasoned with, although in theory one could be tamed and trained. They react with fear to a show of overwhelming force, fleeing unless defending their nest.
Use: A pack of hunting ithsyns could be an interesting encounter for characters traveling through the wilderness. Worse, however, would be a pack that has a nest atop or in front of the entrance to an abandoned facility that the PCs must enter.
Loot: An ithsyn nest might have a cypher or 1d10 shins, but any such loot would be the coincidental leftovers of a prior victim.
GM Intrusion: The effects of the ithsyn gas last for 1d6 + 1 rounds (rather than one round) for an unfortunate victim.