The Sh'rai
by Andrew Theisen(Companion piece to Alphatia: The Lost Histories)
In the dark, twisted Ugly Woods of Blackheart roam the spirits of the undead left by Alphatian practices. Most feared among these are the Sh'rai- the undead spirits of Hamadryads killed by wizards seeking the secrets of long life. These terrible creatures hide amongst the husks of dead trees, singing their hauntingly beautiful songs, and bringing death to all intruders in their domains.
The Sh'rai should be treated as Visions (see Phantom, Vision in the Rules Cyclopaedia), with the following changes:
The Sh'rai appear as 2d4 creatures, evenly divided between hamadryads and trees (ie, a roll of 2 equals one dryad and one tree). When first viewed, the Sh'rai seems to be simply a number of withered, twisted trees. On the first round of combat, ghostly dryads will emerge from their trees and begin singing. Their singing causes all who fail their saving throws to be overtaken with blissful ecstasy and a lack of desire to fight. Otherwise, the effects of the singing are identical to that of the Vision's howl.
On the next round after singing, the trees will materialise and attack. Each tree can move at 30' round, and attacks twice per round, for 1d8 points of damage each. The dryads will remain immaterial, and continue to sing (thus necessitating a save vs. spells each round of combat). Like a Vision, damage any individual (tree or dryad) is counted towards the whole, and the Sh'rai lasts until completely destroyed.
Unlike Visions, Sh'rai are not
confined to one 500' area. They move around randomly, though always
remaining within the domains of the Ugly Wood.