Bestiary

Devil's Fog- by T.A. Saunders ©2010 v1.0

Description Devil's Fog is indiscernible from normal fog until it chooses the moment in which to strike. At this moment, the victim or victims can see the vague shapes of faces that represent those unfortunate enough to have fed the fog before. Along with this faces, often hands of mist can be seen reaching out of the moving fog bank, attempting to snare the victim within its spectral clutches

Lore There have been many legends surrounding the origin of the Devil's Fog, though the most popular one states that the fog was here much longer than Sundown itself, having been some foul brume of the Abyss let loose by the ancient Shar`Vaire in the Battle of Mithrys, against the invading Dragons. With half the city reduced to rubble and another sizable portion dropped deep into the ground, none remained to call back the spectral mist, so it lingered for thousands of years, feeding on the souls of those unfortunate enough to cross its path.

Little is actually known about the social behavior of the Devil's Fog. No one has seen a gathering of their kind, so it is assumed that they are solitary and avoid others of their ilk. There have been episodes where two or three banks of Devil's Fog have been encountered, but this has largely been out at sea and off the coast of Sundown, suggesting that perhaps like sharks, they will converge for a kill but never remain as a unit after that. Banks of Devil's Fog have never been known to fight amongst their own, though given the difficulty in finding them unless they reveal themselves, it is difficult to say whether they have any form of territorial dispute.

Typically, Devil's Fog will linger in a bank of normal fog during the night and lurk until it can find a victim that can be easily taken with minimal effort. It is here the fiendish mist reveals itself, moving against the wind or separating itself from the normal fog in which it lingers and attempts to quickly envelope its victim. Once enveloped, it will seek to fill the nose and mouth of its prey and attempt to use its Suffocation talent to snuff out its prey's life (a process of which takes only 3 rounds). When the victim falls into unconsciousness and death is all but assured, the Devil's Fog will then use its Enervation talent to devour its victim's life energy, until no bit of the person's soul remains. A person killed in this manner is easy to recognize, for the wide-eyed, horrific stare and the gray cast to the skin such victims have. Should it be necessary, Devil's Fog can engage up to five people at once in this way.

Because of its infernal origins, Devil's Fog can be turned back by a priest or a crusader in good standing with their deity, warded off by a seer, or banished (or possibly summoned) by an occultist. Furthermore, a particular crafty seer or occultist could actually bind a Devil's Fog into dark service, with the proper rites. Doing such an act however is employing an infernal power and seers of lawful persuasion will be punished in some way for calling upon such fiends. They are completely impervious to normal weapons of any kind, but can be struck with magical or blessed weapons with normal effect, despite the fact they are essentially insubstantial creatures.

On the rare occasion a Devil's Fog requires a means of escape, they are able to Shift Ethereal and appear to have dissipated entirely, when in fact they have simply become incorporeal and have moved to retreat across the Ether. Beings with the ability to see into the Ether may still pursue Devil's Fog in this state, but must become ethereal as well in order to do so. Such a chase is risky however, as the fiendish mist is triple its normal strength while lurking in the Ethereal Plane.