Hulean Correspondence 6
by Christian ConstantinKulnovo, Flaurmont 1, AC 1010
Dear old friend,
Now it is certitude, those strange cats are magical creatures, I've seen one emitting sparks at night! After a little questioning of the local population I've been able to establish that what they call an Ubour is, in fact, some kind of lesser vampire. They do not act as if they were aggressive in any ways though. People told me that as long as they are correctly nourished they do not attack human or drink blood, they seem to prefer table leftovers and milk! However, once upon a time an aggressive Ubour will rise and attack humans, and even organise the others against human. Then, as an old woman told me, the vampirdzhija (vampire hunter) will be asked to clean the streets from the Ubours. It seems that, normally, Ubours like their cat form and take pleasure from their new living conditions (what I can understand since the only thing they do is to sleep all day and eat the food given by the humans). People tend to both respect and fear the Ubour, they always keep a watchful eye on them and they never let them inside their homes. The easiest way to distinguish a Ubour is to watch them at night: if a cat emits electrical sparks, it's a Ubour. The really evil Ubours, or greater Ubours, are rarely seen and are supposed to be a really fearful encounter.
There are still a lot to see and to learn here in Kulnovo, however, the current political and military situation is too tense for me to stay here. Tomorrow, I'm taking a small shuttle boat toward the small village of Yablan where I could more easily conceal my true identity behind the disguise of a fortune-teller. I hope that I will later be able to cross the Olgar-Bulzan border without much trouble. The Huleans are everywhere and they are particularly paranoid in Olgar.
Your friend,
Zoran Dragovic
| Cat Ubour | Greater Ubour | |
| Armour Class: | 5 | 3 |
| Hit Dice: | 3** | 6** |
| Move: | 120' (40') | 90' (30') |
| Attacks: | 2 claws/1 bite or | 2 claws or |
| 1 spark | 1 spark | |
| Damage: | 1d4/1d4/1d6 +disease | 1d8/1d8 + energy drain |
| or 1d8 | or 1d12 | |
| No. Appearing: | 1d8 (2d6) | 1d4 (1d6) |
| Save As: | F3 | F6 |
| Morale: | 8 | 10 |
| Treasure Type: | None | F |
| Intelligence: | 5 | 9 |
| Alignment: | Neutral | Chaotic |
| XP Value: | 65 | 825 |
Ubours are the most common type of undead encountered in the converted lands. They harbour the soul of beings who have been killed suddenly or violently but unjustly. These souls are granted the permission to reincarnate in big fat cats and to live the peaceful life of those creatures. However, once upon a time, the spirit of the dead being may try to remain in the corpse by the sheer force of will and later come back to seek vengeance as a greater ubour.
The cat ubour looks like a bigger cat than the average, one that also look like being more intelligent than most of its brethren. This kind of ubour constantly emits small electrical sparks, so that they seem to glow at night. They aren't usually aggressive and live mainly on what the human community gives them. However, a hungry cat ubour may attack humans to drink their blood. In surplus of their natural manifestation attacks (claws and bites), when it is not in melee combat, the cat ubour may attack by projecting an electrical ark on a distance of 40' which does 1d8 damage unless the victim succeeds in doing a saving throw against dragon breath (which halves the damage). Wounds inflicted by direct contact with the cat ubour have 50% chance of transmitting a disease to the victim. This disease is similar to the one transmitted by mummies (prevents magical healing and slows normal healing to 10% of the normal rate) but can be either magically cured or cured after a full week of complete rest.
The greater ubour can both be seen
in its cat manifestation form (similar to the cat ubour) or as a
zombie like creature. The greater ubour can transform in 1 round
from one form to the other. In its humanoid form its gelatinous
flesh, its barbed tongue and its sole nostril help identify the
ubour; they also emit sparks and glow in the night as their cat
equivalent. The greater ubours have the same weaknesses as vampires
though; their reflection in mirrors only depicts the inner skeleton
of the Ubour. They normally attack with their claws-ended hands but
can also throw an electrical beam on a distance of 60' when they
aren't in melee combat. This beam does 1d12 damage unless the
victim succeeds a saving throw against dragon breath (which halves
the damage). Direct contact with a greater ubour results in the
drain of one experience level. A greater ubour may summon 3-18 cat
ubours if they are within 300 feet (300 yards outdoor). Greater
ubours control other kinds of undead as a non-spell using vampire of
7 or 8 Hit Dice.