Mesotemus 4 (12)

Jade Colossus

Mesotemi are strange, multi-limbed creatures that exhale puffs of emerald-hued mist with every breath. Lacking eyes, ears, mouths, or even nostrils, mesotemi sense and interact with the world via the green smoke they almost constantly emit from—and breathe back in through— nodules speckled across their bodies. Besides interaction and sensing, mesotemi rely on the emerald mist for nutrition. When they deem something is good to eat, their breath becomes digestive, so when they breathe back in, they can directly consume whatever lies around them.

Motive: Unknown

Environment: Anywhere, in groups of two to four

Health: 21

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (4 points)

Armor: 1

Movement: Short; short when climbing

Modifications: Tasks related to perception as level 8 in areas where their breath can reach.

Combat: A mesotemus may use its limbs to immediately batter a foe. As part of the same action, the mesotemus can breathe out digestive fumes that inflict a moderate wound (4 points) on all creatures within immediate range who fail a Might defense task. Even on a success, creatures in the area still suffer 1 point of damage. Unless a target in the area is wearing garments that completely protect it from the environment, including the ability to breathe from a protected source, this damage ignores Armor. Each round a mesotemus damages living creatures in this fashion, it regains 1 point of lost health.

Alternatively, a mesotemus can use its breath to cause the following effects:

• Vision: Targets must succeed on a Might defense task or hallucinate that they have become multi-limbed, acid-breathing mesotemi. This sensation is highly disorienting, and those who undergo it tend to flail and throw their body about, making strangled, gurgling noises as they try to make sense of what their senses are telling them. This effect lasts until victims succeed on a Might task.
• Calm: Targets must succeed on a Might defense task or fall into a state of surreal calm. Nothing seems worrisome, not even attacks from dangerous creatures or the advent of dangerous circumstances. Those in this calmed state never engage in any form of aggression. The effect lasts until victims succeed on a Might task.

Interaction: The only way to communicate with a mesotemus is by allowing the Vision mist to produce the hallucination of becoming a mesotemus. Spending several minutes in this state allows very simple communication to begin, but a nonmesotemus could never hope to master the intricacies of the scent-based language. The only thing that can be gleaned is that mesotemi seem to always be searching.

Use: Mesotemi are the perfect kind of creature to add to an encounter to make it weird. They are not automatically aggressive, but could become so if they are thwarted in getting to a location where they want to go, or if they are attacked.

GM Intrusion: While surrounded by emerald mist, the character makes a misstep. On a failed Intellect defense task, they enter an unknown area, fall from a height, become lost, and so on.