The Strange
This 20-foot-long (6 m) lizardlike creature is protected by bright yellow scales. A hybrid creature, the sirrush's hind legs are like an eagle's with impressive talons, but its forelegs are leonine. Its tail is long and sinuous, just like its neck. A sirrush's head bears a brilliant crest that it unfurls to impress lesser creatures into reverence.
A sirrush is a sorcerous creature and derives an essential part of its diet from other creatures' feelings toward it. Depending on the particular sirrush, those feelings can be fear, friendship, or, best of all, worship.
Motive: Hungers for worship or other strong emotion
Environment (Ardeyn | Magic): Near medium and larger cities, either singly or as a pair
Health 28
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Armor: 1
Movement: Short
Modifications: Deceives as level 6; Speed defense as level 4 due to size.
Combat: When a sirrush raises its crest (an action), targets it selects within short range feel an overwhelming sense of awe, fear, or friendship—whichever the sirrush chooses—until the sirrush furls its crest again (another action). While a sirrush displays its feathered splendor, it can move only an immediate distance.
PCs affected by the crest must make an Intellect roll to attempt to attack the sirrush. Failure means that the character cannot attack the creature this round, and defending against the sirrush becomes two steps more difficult the next time the sirrush attacks.
The awe/fear/friend effect is a passive effect after the crest is unfurled, but the sirrush can choose to use its sorcerous crest more actively. In this case, the sirrush makes a psychic attack against a single character within long range, causing 4 points of Intellect damage (which ignores Armor) and stunning him for one round.
If the sirrush has an artifact, it likely uses the item in combat. A sirrush can also physically attack with its claws and bite.
Interaction: A sirrush that has some time to work its "minor deity" angle may actually come to believe in its own divinity. If the sirrush has been installed in a given location long enough, the temple or shrine it inhabits is likely also tended by priests, guards, and other functionaries who explain to PCs how they should interact with the god (respectfully and possibly bearing rich offerings). A sirrush that is worshiped as a god may prove helpful to PCs if they come to it with a question or petition, but if called out as a fake, it reacts violently.
Use: The PCs visit a new location and are invited to give their respects at a nearby shrine where a deity sometimes manifests to answer questions and, in return, accept offerings.
Loot: The inner sanctum of a defeated sirrush might contain several weeks' worth of food, 3d100 crowns, one or two cyphers, and possibly an artifact.
GM Intrusion: A character who is especially responsive to the psychic effect of a sirrush broadcasting awe or friendship becomes so confused that not only does she not attack the sirrush on her next turn, she attacks another PC instead.