The Strange
Monitors are remnant Qephilim of Silence who went into hiding when the Incarnation of Silence disappeared. Now they exist like ghosts, haunting the world, watching in silence as they always have. They are disengaged from every other organization, waiting for a sign from the Incarnation of Silence, one that may never come.
Qephilim of the ancient orders did not all have the same visage, despite the similarities that qephilim of the Court of Coin, the Free Battalion, and the Court of Sleep share. Few survivors of those other orders remain visible in Ardeyn, and those that are seen are sometimes mistaken for something else entirely. Such is the case for the Qephilim of Silence. According to common wisdom, monitors haven't been seen in over a century. The truth is, they have been seen, just not recognized.
Motive: Information
Environment (Ardeyn | Magic): Anywhere
Health 30
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Movement: Short
Modifications: Stealth actions as level 8; perception as level 7.
Combat: A monitor is always stealthy; even in broad daylight it can call upon its mythlight to darken the area around it and provide a shadow into which it can slip.
If detected, a monitor prefers to evade an encounter rather than interacting or becoming embroiled in a conflict. Sometimes, though, what a monitor sees enrages it past its ability to remain an unprejudiced observer. When this happens, any creature within short distance must make an Intellect defense roll or be held in place for one round. This effect is the result of a psychic paralysis blast, which is not an action for themonitor. During the paralysis, themonitor slips away.
Alternatively, the blast could allow a monitor a significant edge if it chooses to attack, since its horns automatically hit a held target and inflict an additional minor wound (2 points). Once a creature is subject to themonitor's paralyzing psychic blast, a target can't be affected again for several hours.
A monitor can modify its psychic blast to deal damage instead. When it does, it attacks up to two separate targets within close range as an action, dealing 3 points of Intellect damage to each (which ignores Armor).
Interaction: Under normal circumstances, a monitor slips away if it realizes it has been noticed.
Especially charismatic PCs might induce a monitor to take an action other than merely watching. (And there is a rumor of at least one monitor that has gone insane waiting for the Incarnation of Silence to return—this one, called Kamud, works as a bounty hunter.)
Use: During a tense negotiation with a group of brigands, a sirrush, or another threat, one of the NPCs notices the shadow of a watching monitor. The NPC may leap to the assumption that the PCs are acting in bad faith and attack the characters, or themonitor, or both.
Loot: Most monitors carry special equipment to watch with, and at least a few carry an artifact known as a monitor's monocle. Many also usually carry one or two cyphers with them.
GM Intrusion: The monitor analyzes the weak spot of one PC, so that all attacks against that PC deal an additional minor wound (3 points).