Trosip
by Jamie BatySCMC
Diminutive Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 1/8d10+1 (2 hp)
Initiative: +7 (+7 Dex)
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armour Class: 21 (+4 size, +7 Dex), touch 21, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: 0/-17
Attack: Suffocate
Full Attack: Suffocate
Space/Reach: 1 ft. /0 ft.
Special Attacks: Suffocate
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft., low-light vision, unnatural sprint, tremorsense 60ft
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +9, Will -2
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 25, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 6, Cha 5
Skills: Hide +30, Listen +4, Move Silently +26, Spot +4
Feats: Stealthy
Environment: Any land
Organisation: Cluster (2-5) or Nest (5-20)
Challenge Rating: 1/8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: ---
Level Adjustment: ---
Trosips look like dark grey dust bunnies. They blend in very well with ordinary cave, dungeon, or household dust. Trosips are attracted to the body heat of sleeping creatures. They snuggle up to these creatures to stay warm, suffocating the victim in the process. Babies, small children, and invalids are especially vulnerable to this menace.
Trosips always congregate in groups. Where one trosip is found, others will surely be nearby. Left to themselves, trosips multiply quickly. A single trosip invading a home can multiply into a horde of 24 or more within a matter of days. In addition to the energy that they draw from the body heat of their victims, trosips also feed on bits of dirt and refuse dropped on the floor. If they were less deadly, they would make highly effective household cleaners.
Trosips have had a profound effect on households throughout the Savage Coast region. Even the poorest Savage Coast hovel is kept spotlessly clean, lest it provide a habitat for these deadly creatures- the resultant Savage Coast obsession with cleanliness has had several side effects, most noticeably a drastic drop in the occurrence of disease.
Trosips were discovered by Tobin, a noted biologist-sage of the time. Tobin used an unknown magical means to mask his presence and observed these deadly creatures in action. Learned folk call these creatures' trosips, but common folk often call them "death dust" and "breath-stealers." Assassins have been known to use these creatures to kill their victims.
Combat
Trosips attack only sleeping creatures and will flee if the victims start to awake. Up to 12 trosips can attack a man-size creature, but usually no more than 4 will attack any one victim in a group.
Suffocate (Ex): As a full round action, a trosip may attempt to suffocate any creature that is unconscious, asleep or otherwise incapacitated. Each round, the victim is allowed a Fortitude save vs DC 18 (Dex based). If it succeeds, it awakens (albeit out of breath). If the save fails, the victim suffers 1d4 non-lethal damage.
Once the victim's non-lethal damage is greater than its hp, the victim must make a Constitution Check or immediately die. The victim receives a -2 penalty to the check for each trosip attacking him and for each round his non-lethal damage is greater than his hp total.
Unnatural Sprint (Ex): Once per hour, a trosip, as an immediate action, can move ten times its normal speed (100 feet).
Tremorsense (Ex): A trosip is sensitive to vibrations in the ground and can automatically pinpoint the location of anything that is in contact with the ground.
Skills: Trosips have a +4 racial bonus to all Spot and Listen checks. They have a +8 racial bonus to all Hide checks, and a +16 racial bonus to all Move Silently checks.
The Red Curse
Trosips are completely immune to the effects of the Red Curse.