Acherai: What are they? What is their culture and mating habits - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Acherai: What are they? What is their culture and mating habits

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Jan 10, 2006 20:23:04 This monster, which is basically entirely a planar monster, has almost nothing mentioned about it in the Monster Manual. I've heard they keep other monsters as pets, that they have a unique culture. There was no mention of how they propagate. What are Acherai?
#2
zombiegleemax
Jan 10, 2006 22:32:08 I take it that you are referring to the Achaierai, the four legged chicken things of Acheron.

Achaierai live primarily on Avalas, the first layer of Acheron, and sometimes migrate to Thuldanin or even as far as the Prime. They live in underground caves inside the metallic cubes in small flocks. Every now and then many flocks gather up and migrate, riding their rust dragons to another cube, or somewhere else. They mate for life and produce two eggs per year.

As you mentioned, they somehow tame rust dragons. They pick them up as cocoons and put great care to their hatching and well being, forming an extremely close relationship. Rust dragons can be expected to defend the Achaierai lairs to death.

It seems that they are “highly organized” and have various cultural traditions but not much is written on that. For example, from the little story in Planes of Law you can see that they cremate their dead and have a sort of tribal/public court system. Basically all this info is taken from Planes of Law, because in previous supplements they were listed as Chaotic Evil and not so planar - if my memory serves me.

I used them on my campaign recently and have this bit of info at hand, hope it was helpful.
#3
zombiegleemax
Jan 11, 2006 0:15:32 Thankyou so much for helping out Radamanthys. I will have to make an effort to do a more formal entry for the Achaierai for Planeswalker.

Rust Dragons have coccoons ?
#4
zombiegleemax
Jan 11, 2006 0:30:39
Rust Dragons have coccoons ?

If memory serves, Rust Monsters are said to grow into becoming Rust Dragons, and I believe the Achaierai associate with both kinds of monster (Planes of Law contains an adventure outline that details how the Achaierai mount an attack on the Mercykillers' Acheron stronghold Vorekhan using them to undermine its foundations).
#5
zombiegleemax
Jan 11, 2006 0:51:23 Yes, the rust monsters that live in Acheron (or the ones that find their way there) at some point of their venerable age enter a feeding frenzy for a year or so. After that they somehow spin metal around them and create this metallic cocoon, which they enter for several years of hibernation. It is then that they come out of their cocoons as rust dragon hatchlings.

All this is something that would indicate that they are not "true" dragons, epsecially if you take into consideration that they can't cast spells, have no interest in treasure hoards, gain no special abilities by aging and are rather dumb.
#6
joshdw4
Jan 11, 2006 7:47:40 An odd little side note about Achaierai:
There's an epic level spell in the epic handbook (pg84) that creates them. True breeding to boot. It says that the spell was taken from a fiendish epic level caster in Acheron.
#7
zombiegleemax
Jan 11, 2006 14:24:06 Does that mean the Achaierai are a created race?
#8
ripvanwormer
Jan 11, 2006 14:45:14 Could be!
#9
raymond_luxury_yacht
Jan 11, 2006 20:45:52
Could be!

Then who? (created them, that is)

Edit: It was sounding like the cookie jar song, for those who don't get it.
#10
joshdw4
Jan 12, 2006 7:20:06
Does that mean the Achaierai are a created race?

Well, it could just be an example spell to say that you can create races with epic spells. On the other hand, they are a race of demonic 4 legged chickens. That could easily be the imagination of some quirky fiendish caster.

Oh, and maybe someone could check on this, but weren't they in MM 2.0? I seem to remember a created race in there, but I can't remember if it was the same name.
#11
ripvanwormer
Jan 12, 2006 7:30:00
Oh, and maybe someone could check on this, but weren't they in MM 2.0? I seem to remember a created race in there, but I can't remember if it was the same name.

You mean the 3rd edition Monster Manual II? No, in 3rd edition they appeared in the Monster Manual I.
#12
joshdw4
Jan 12, 2006 7:50:23
You mean the 3rd edition Monster Manual II? No, in 3rd edition they appeared in the Monster Manual I.

No, I meant 2nd ed, sorry
#13
ripvanwormer
Jan 12, 2006 9:04:38 In 2nd edition they appeared in the Monstrous Compendium: Fiend Folio Appendix and in Planes of Law.

In the Fiend Folio Appendix they were chaotic evil and it was left vague what lower plane they were summoned from (though they were explicitly lower planar in origin). It said they were unable to breed on the Material Plane.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jan 10, 2006 20:23:04	This monster, which is basically entirely a planar monster, has almost nothing mentioned about it in the Monster Manual. I've heard they keep other monsters as pets, that they have a unique culture. There was no mention of how they propagate. What are Acherai?
#2 zombiegleemax Jan 10, 2006 22:32:08	I take it that you are referring to the Achaierai, the four legged chicken things of Acheron. Achaierai live primarily on Avalas, the first layer of Acheron, and sometimes migrate to Thuldanin or even as far as the Prime. They live in underground caves inside the metallic cubes in small flocks. Every now and then many flocks gather up and migrate, riding their rust dragons to another cube, or somewhere else. They mate for life and produce two eggs per year. As you mentioned, they somehow tame rust dragons. They pick them up as cocoons and put great care to their hatching and well being, forming an extremely close relationship. Rust dragons can be expected to defend the Achaierai lairs to death. It seems that they are “highly organized” and have various cultural traditions but not much is written on that. For example, from the little story in Planes of Law you can see that they cremate their dead and have a sort of tribal/public court system. Basically all this info is taken from Planes of Law, because in previous supplements they were listed as Chaotic Evil and not so planar - if my memory serves me. I used them on my campaign recently and have this bit of info at hand, hope it was helpful.
#3 zombiegleemax Jan 11, 2006 0:15:32	Thankyou so much for helping out Radamanthys. I will have to make an effort to do a more formal entry for the Achaierai for Planeswalker. Rust Dragons have coccoons ?
#4 zombiegleemax Jan 11, 2006 0:30:39	Rust Dragons have coccoons ? If memory serves, Rust Monsters are said to grow into becoming Rust Dragons, and I believe the Achaierai associate with both kinds of monster (Planes of Law contains an adventure outline that details how the Achaierai mount an attack on the Mercykillers' Acheron stronghold Vorekhan using them to undermine its foundations).
#5 zombiegleemax Jan 11, 2006 0:51:23	Yes, the rust monsters that live in Acheron (or the ones that find their way there) at some point of their venerable age enter a feeding frenzy for a year or so. After that they somehow spin metal around them and create this metallic cocoon, which they enter for several years of hibernation. It is then that they come out of their cocoons as rust dragon hatchlings. All this is something that would indicate that they are not "true" dragons, epsecially if you take into consideration that they can't cast spells, have no interest in treasure hoards, gain no special abilities by aging and are rather dumb.
#6 joshdw4 Jan 11, 2006 7:47:40	An odd little side note about Achaierai: There's an epic level spell in the epic handbook (pg84) that creates them. True breeding to boot. It says that the spell was taken from a fiendish epic level caster in Acheron.
#7 zombiegleemax Jan 11, 2006 14:24:06	Does that mean the Achaierai are a created race?
#8 ripvanwormer Jan 11, 2006 14:45:14	Could be!
#9 raymond_luxury_yacht Jan 11, 2006 20:45:52	Could be! Then who? (created them, that is) Edit: It was sounding like the cookie jar song, for those who don't get it.
#10 joshdw4 Jan 12, 2006 7:20:06	Does that mean the Achaierai are a created race? Well, it could just be an example spell to say that you can create races with epic spells. On the other hand, they are a race of demonic 4 legged chickens. That could easily be the imagination of some quirky fiendish caster. Oh, and maybe someone could check on this, but weren't they in MM 2.0? I seem to remember a created race in there, but I can't remember if it was the same name.
#11 ripvanwormer Jan 12, 2006 7:30:00	Oh, and maybe someone could check on this, but weren't they in MM 2.0? I seem to remember a created race in there, but I can't remember if it was the same name. You mean the 3rd edition Monster Manual II? No, in 3rd edition they appeared in the Monster Manual I.
#12 joshdw4 Jan 12, 2006 7:50:23	You mean the 3rd edition Monster Manual II? No, in 3rd edition they appeared in the Monster Manual I. No, I meant 2nd ed, sorry
#13 ripvanwormer Jan 12, 2006 9:04:38	In 2nd edition they appeared in the Monstrous Compendium: Fiend Folio Appendix and in Planes of Law. In the Fiend Folio Appendix they were chaotic evil and it was left vague what lower plane they were summoned from (though they were explicitly lower planar in origin). It said they were unable to breed on the Material Plane.