Cleon
Legend
Yeah, I'm inclined towards Unique for all of the Seven Swords, since that's how they are in OA2.
Converting Oriental Adventures creatures
Yeah, I'm inclined towards Unique for all of the Seven Swords, since that's how they are in OA2.
Cleon
Legend
Checking the module again, I found the answer to the "Rejuvenation delay" question:
OA2 said:
I've updated the The Reaper Working Draft's Rejuvenation so it's "The following night" instead of "2d12 days later".
As for the background, how's this:
The gaunt figure of a man carrying a scythe. All you can see of his face is a mouth twisted into an evil leer, the rest is shadowed beneath a broad cane hat. Despite the peasant's hat and weapon, he carries himself proudly. His clothes are caked in blood and soil, but are once-noble garments of silk. What little skin you can see looks dirt-grey and wrinkled.
The Reaper is one of the Seven Swords, a group of seven weapon masters who were transformed into unique undead by an ancient curse that binds them to a castle they once guarded in life. If one of the Seven Swords is destroyed, the curse causes them to reform the following night and continue to haunt the castle.
The Reaper was once a nobleman who affected the habits of a peasant. He specialized in the scythe, with which he harvested men even more eagerly than he'd harvest wheat. Trapped in undeath, The Reaper still finds joy in bloodshed, and will whistle and grin evilly at the mere prospect of a fight.
The Reaper is 6 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. It can speak Common in an eerie whisper, but rarely does so.
Combat
The Reaper uses its burrowing and gravesight abilities to hide underground and await intruders, whereupon it leaps out of the ground to attack. The Reaper fights to the finish with no thought of retreat, trusting in its sword charm's power to restore it to unlife should it be destroyed.
In Kara-Tur
The Seven Swords were the leading members of the Ito clan and lived in Ito-Jo castle. Their malign influence of a krakentoa led to their rule becoming tyrannical and eventually brought down a dreadful curse upon the Swords and the entire castle, turning it into a haunted place of the damned. The Seven Swords of It-Jo cannot be destroyed simply by destroying their sword charms. The only way to permanently lay them to rest is to slay the krakentoa responsible for the curse.
Not even The Reaper can remember what its name was when he was alive, all that is known is he was a Kensei weapon master who lived in a stone gardener's hut next to the second gatehouse of the castle.
The Reaper's hut is surrounded by a rusting iron fence whose gate hangs loose and creaks in the wind. If anything touches the gate or fence it triggers a magical illusion of howling winds, flashing lightning and earth tremors that lasts for 1 round, which alerts The Reaper to erupt from the ground and "harvest" the intruders.
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Cleon
Legend
Updating the The Reaper Working Draft.
I did some minor editing to make the capitalization consistent, switching "The Reaper" to "the Reaper", since that's what the original adventure used.
That reminds me. While the text of OA2 consistently calls him "the Reaper", the adventure's stat blocks and encounter title list him as just "Reaper". I thought about changing its name to "Seven Swords, Reaper", but "Seven Swords, The Reaper" just reads better.
There was also an "a attack" that needed correcting to "an attack".
Assuming those minor corrections meet with you're approval I think we're done with him, and can move on to the next of the Swords...
Cleon
Legend
Veiled Maidens Original Stats
24. Veiled Courtyard
This is the haunt of the second weapon master of the Seven Swords, the Veiled Maidens. Touching any veil summons this spirit (carelessly walking through the entrances might have this effect). When the spirit is summoned, the wind suddenly dies and the night song of the insects takes on the sound of lyrical lutes.
These are all incarnations of Ito Kiku, devoted daughter to Ito Tadahiro. If the characters allow, the maidens separate and dance around each PC, brushing and gracefully sweeping their veils over the characters’ faces, arms, and necks. Suddenly, they attack.
The first round only, the maidens use a special strangulation attack if the characters accept the dance passively. The first round of the attack, a successful hit roll means an unwary victim must make a save vs. paralyzation. A victim who fails suffers 1d4 points. Each round thereafter, the victim suffers 1-4 points and must make a constitution save or die. Otherwise the maidens make more conventional attacks.
The Veiled Maidens: 3d level monk (AC 8; MV 17”; hp 18 each; #AT 2; THAC0 20; Dmg 1-4 or 1-6; S 15, 18, W 15, D 15, C 16, Ch 16; ki: save for no damage from magic. They have other special abilities with their veils.
Blinding Feint: A successful feint blinds the opponent for 1d2 rounds.
Entangle Weapon: This is normal entangle attack, but if successful the opponent cannot use his weapon unless he makes a strength save at a +5 penalty to pull it free.
These maidens know a soft martial arts skill using the hands and the following maneuvers: feint, stun touch, sticking touch, and steel cloth.
When the maidens are defeated there is a sound of tearing cloth. Each maiden leaves behind a pale golden pearl worth 50 tael each. If a pearl is swallowed, it bestows a magical bonus to the character of +1 to hit and damage which may be included when determining if a character can hit a creature struck only by magical weapons. This effect lasts 1 turn. A prayer box beside the door holds a brooch with a pin that appears to be a small katana that fits into the medallion.
The adventure's Statistics Appendix includes:
The adventure's Introduction includes:
Second is the daughter of death; her graceful touch is doom, her power a veil of deceit.
A special note for the DM: each of the seven swords possesses a special weakness. If the characters specifically attack the item or achieve the condition, the weapon master suffers double damage from hits scored and has a -2 on initiative for the next round. The weaknesses are:
Veiled Maidens: Their veil (AC 5).
24. Veiled Courtyard
| This flagstone courtyard is filled with the flutter of wind-whipped azure banners spaced around the courtyard, with one by each entrance. Each banner bears the graceful T-shaped character for hearth and home. |
| From the shadowed portico behind the banners step seven beautiful, identical women holding gauzy, azure veils. They speak not a word, but smile and begin to dance, whipping and tossing their veils and turning gracefully. |
The first round only, the maidens use a special strangulation attack if the characters accept the dance passively. The first round of the attack, a successful hit roll means an unwary victim must make a save vs. paralyzation. A victim who fails suffers 1d4 points. Each round thereafter, the victim suffers 1-4 points and must make a constitution save or die. Otherwise the maidens make more conventional attacks.
The Veiled Maidens: 3d level monk (AC 8; MV 17”; hp 18 each; #AT 2; THAC0 20; Dmg 1-4 or 1-6; S 15, 18, W 15, D 15, C 16, Ch 16; ki: save for no damage from magic. They have other special abilities with their veils.
Blinding Feint: A successful feint blinds the opponent for 1d2 rounds.
Entangle Weapon: This is normal entangle attack, but if successful the opponent cannot use his weapon unless he makes a strength save at a +5 penalty to pull it free.
These maidens know a soft martial arts skill using the hands and the following maneuvers: feint, stun touch, sticking touch, and steel cloth.
When the maidens are defeated there is a sound of tearing cloth. Each maiden leaves behind a pale golden pearl worth 50 tael each. If a pearl is swallowed, it bestows a magical bonus to the character of +1 to hit and damage which may be included when determining if a character can hit a creature struck only by magical weapons. This effect lasts 1 turn. A prayer box beside the door holds a brooch with a pin that appears to be a small katana that fits into the medallion.
The adventure's Statistics Appendix includes:
| NAME | AC | MV | HD | hp | THAC0 | Dmg | SA | SD | AL |
| Veiled Maidens | 8 | 17” | 3 | 18 | 20 | 1-4/1-6 | Garrotte | Ki save vs spell 1/2 | NE |
Second is the daughter of death; her graceful touch is doom, her power a veil of deceit.
A special note for the DM: each of the seven swords possesses a special weakness. If the characters specifically attack the item or achieve the condition, the weapon master suffers double damage from hits scored and has a -2 on initiative for the next round. The weaknesses are:
Veiled Maidens: Their veil (AC 5).
Cleon
Legend
OK, so basically this is one entity with seven bodies.
3 Hit Dice seems too low - I'd be inclined to make them higher HD and divide their hit points between their bodies somehow.
Hmm, the Reaper has 9 HD and 85 hit points, which'd be 12 hit points if divided between seven bodies. That's two-thirds as much as the original monster though, so we'd need to increase that. Maybe give them an ability that doubles hit points, for around 24 hps each?
Anyhow, I'll post a mostly blank working draft.
3 Hit Dice seems too low - I'd be inclined to make them higher HD and divide their hit points between their bodies somehow.
Hmm, the Reaper has 9 HD and 85 hit points, which'd be 12 hit points if divided between seven bodies. That's two-thirds as much as the original monster though, so we'd need to increase that. Maybe give them an ability that doubles hit points, for around 24 hps each?
Anyhow, I'll post a mostly blank working draft.
Cleon
Legend
Veiled Maidens Working Draft
Seven Swords, The Veiled Maidens
Medium Undead (Spirit)
Hit Dice: 8d12+32 (84 hp) [its seven multiple bodies have 24 hp each]
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares, with fast movement, base speed 30 ft.)
Armor Class: 18 (+4 Dex, +4 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+8
Attack: 7 veils +10 melee (1d6+2/19-20) or 7 unarmed strikes +10 melee (1d6+2)
Full Attack: 7 veils +10 melee (1d6+2/19-20) or 7 unarmed strikes +10 melee (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (15 ft. with veil)
Special Attacks: Blinding feint, entangle weapon, martial artistry, multiple actions, steel cloth, sticking touch, strangling veil, unarmed strike
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., evasion, fast movement, ghostform, immune to turning, multiple bodies, multiple perspectives, rejuvenation, silken protection, special weakness - veils, undead traits, unholy toughness
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +8
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 19, Con —, Int 18, Wis 15, Cha 18
Skills: Balance +17, Climb +2 (+4 with rope), Escape Artist +4 (+6 from ropes), Hide +15, Jump +19, Listen +13, Move Silently +15, Spot +13, Tumble +15, Use Rope +15
Feats: Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrowsᴮ˟, Improved Grappleᴮ˟, Improved Unarmed Strikeᴮ˟, Stunning Fistᴮ, Weapon Finesse
˟ Monk bonus feats
Environment: Ruins
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: —
Seven beautiful women dressed in sky blue silk, each gracefully holding a long veil of azure gauze. The women are uncannily identical to each other, as if they were one woman reflected in seven mirrors.
The Veiled Maidens is one of the Seven Swords, a group of seven weapon masters who were transformed into unique undead by an ancient curse that binds them to a castle they once guarded in life. If one of the Seven Swords is destroyed, the curse causes them to reform the following night and continue to haunt the castle.
In life, the Veiled Maidens was a young noblewoman expert in dancing and martial arts. In death, her spirit incarnated into seven identical bodies that move in perfect choreography to trap and destroy intruders. Her veils and graceful poses are now nothing but deceits to lure the careless to their doom.
Each of the Veiled Maidens' bodies is 5½ feet tall and weighs about 120 pounds. It can speak Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic and Elven.
Combat
A Veiled Maidens is an extremely clever enemy who can quickly devise cunning tactics to deal with its opponents. The Maidens uses its multiple bodies to flank opponents and make perfectly coordinated combination attacks. It tries to exploit its veils' 15 ft. reach to attack from outside the reach of its opponents' own weapons. Its preferred tactic is to entangle opponents in the veils of some of its bodies to limit or control their movements, while inflicting damage with the attacks of its other bodies.
The Veiled Maidens unarmed strikes and veil attacks count as magic for the purpose of penetrating damage reduction.
Blinding Feint (Ex): If a Veiled Maiden makes a successful feint against an opponent, that opponent is blinded for 1d2 rounds.
Entangle Weapon (Ex): A Veiled Maidens can ensnare an enemy of up to Large size by succeeding at a melee touch attack with its veil. The enemy becomes entangled and can only move within the limits of the veil's 15 ft. reach. If the entangled creature attempts to cast a spell, they must succeed at a Concentration check or the spell fails (DC 15, or DC 20 for spells with a Somatic component).
Furthermore, if the enemy is carrying a weapon (or similar implement, like an instrument or wand) the veil binds the weapon and prevents the enemy from attacking with it or otherwise using the object. If the enemy wields multiple implements, the Maidens can only entangle one of them for each veil they hit with, and must choose what weapon they entangle when making the attack.
An entangled enemy can escape a single Veiled Maidens' veil by making a DC 18 Escape Artist check (or DC 22 Strength check) as a full round action.
If the opponent is entangled in more than one veil, the enemy only needs to make a single Escape Artist or Strength check to escape, but the DC to escape is increased by +1 per additional veil (i.e. +2 DC for being entangled in three veils).
The enemy, or an ally of theirs, can also cut through a veil using a slashing or piercing weapon (AC 20, hardness 10*, hp 2). This frees the entangled enemy from that veil, but the veil immediately reforms.
*This hardness is due to the Maidens' steel cloth ability.
Ghostform (Su): A Seven Swords undead is normally invisible and intangible but senses its surroundings normally. Should the site it is haunting be disturbed, the spirit assumes a corporeal form as a swift action. The Veiled Maidens materialize by stepping out from behind hanging banners, accompanied by an eerie stillness in the air and flute music. Once materialized, the undead spirit can remain in solid form until the sun rises. It can resume ghostform as a full-round action.
Martial Artistry (Ex): The Veiled Maidens possesses the bonus feats, evasion, fast movement and unarmed strike abilities of a 3rd-level monk and the base attack bonus and base saving throw bonuses of an 8th-level monk. It adds its inherent monklike abilities to any monk levels it might acquire. Thus, a Veiled Maidens 4th-level monk possesses the bonus feats, evasion, fast movement and unarmed strike of a 7th-level monk.
Multiple Actions (Ex): Whenever the Veiled Maidens performs a physical action, it can perform that action up to seven times - once for each of its bodies. Thus, if it makes a standard attack action it will make up to seven attacks at no penalty, even if it moves or charges during the round. The number of multiple actions it can make is reduced by one whenever one of its bodies is destroyed (see Multiple Bodies). Multiple Actions does not allow a Veiled Maidens to multiply magical actions or gain additional usages of an action - a Veiled Maidens 1st-level wizard cannot cast the same magic missile seven times at once, and one with a 3/day ability is still limited to three usages per day (although if it's a mundane extraordinary power its bodies could perform multiple daily usages simultaneously).
The Veiled Maidens can perform an action fewer times than its Multiple Actions maximum. Non-participating bodies either pose artistically or make dance-like gestures that resemble the motions of the action.
When the Veiled Maidens performs an action, all participating bodies perform the same action (either against the same or different targets), with two exceptions.
Firstly, a Veiled Maidens' body can use the Aid Another action to aid one of its other bodies perform an action. Thus, if three bodies use Aid Another, they add three sets of +2 bonuses to the attacks (or other actions) of the Maidens' remaining four bodies, distributed between them however the Veiled Maidens desires.
Second, if the Veiled Maidens performs an attack action, not all attacks need to be of the same type. For example, four bodies may make standard attacks with veils or unarmed strikes, while the other three bodies make two Entangle Weapon special attacks and a Sticking Touch special attack.
Finally, if a body qualifies for an Opportunity Attack, that body gets a single opportunity attack - the other bodies do not get opportunity attacks too. The Veiled Maidens only gets multiple opportunity attacks if multiple bodies qualify separately. The Veiled Maidens can make up to seven opportunity attacks per round - once for each body - plus any bonus opportunity attacks it gains from Combat Reflexes or similar abilities.
Multiple Bodies (Ex): The Veiled Maidens is a single being with seven bodies. Each body has 24 hit points. Destroying a body does 10 points of damage to the Veiled Maidens. If the Veiled Maidens is reduced to a single body, damage to that body also damages the Veiled Maidens. The Veiled Maidens can only be damaged by attacks against its bodies or its veils (see Special Weakness - Veils). To destroy the Veiled Maidens, all seven of its bodies must be destroyed.
Attacks that affect a certain number of creatures usually treat a Veiled Maidens' bodies as if they were separate creatures. For example, a disintegrate or halt undead only affects the body or bodies targeted by the spell. However, attacks that target a creature's soul or being, such as trap the soul or control undead, treat the Veiled Maidens as a single creature, affecting all its bodies simultaneously.
The Veiled Maidens' bodies are mystically bound together and must remain within 100 ft. feet of all the other bodies. Any body that strays outside this limit immediately vanishes and reappears somewhere between the other Veiled Maidens' bodies. The body must reappear in a clear space that the Veiled Maidens has line-of-effect to.
Multiple Perspectives (Ex): So long as the Veiled Maidens has more than one body it cannot be flanked and gains a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks (this bonus is incorporated in the stats above). If one of the Veiled Maidens' bodies is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one body is not flat-footed, none of them are.
Rejuvenation (Ex): The Veiled Maidens cannot be destroyed through simple combat. If a Veiled Maidens' body is "destroyed" it vanishes with a sound like tearing silk, leaving behind a pale golden pearl worth 50 gp. The following night, the Veiled Maidens reappears at full strength at whatever place it haunted and any pearls it left vanish. If all seven bodies are destroyed, a small charm shaped like a sword appears in some nearby place intimately associated with the Maidens, such as inside their jewelry box. The Veiled Maidens can only be destroyed permanently if this sword charm is destroyed before the Maidens rejuvenate. A typical sword charm is a Fine sized object with 20 hp, hardness 12, and break DC 24.
Silken Protection (Ex): As long as a Veiled Maiden holds a piece of silk at least a yard long it gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its Charisma bonus.
Special Weakness - Veils (Ex): Each of the seven swords have a different special weakness. The Veiled Maidens' is that its existence is tied to its veils of azure silk.
Each Veiled Maidens' body is linked to an individual veil. Any damage done to the veil is also inflicted upon the body that veil is tied to; the veil and body always have the same number of hit points, and the body is destroyed whenever its veil is (and vice versa). The veils have AC 16 (carried), AC 8 (unattended), damage reduction 10/slashing and vulnerability to fire (+50% damage). They can be destroyed by ripping them to pieces (Break DC 20, requires a successful grapple check if veil in Maidens' possession). Whenever a Veiled Maidens' body is damaged through its special weakness it must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 plus damage inflicted) or be shaken for 1 round (only the body tied to the veil is affected).
A Veiled Maidens' body can have part of its veil removed by being disarmed, sundered (requires 5 or more damage in a single blow), stolen by Sleight of Hand, or ripped off by brute force (requires a successful grapple attack and a DC 16 Strength check). The Veiled Maidens can instantly regrow a broken veil and continue fighting without interruption. However, any damage done to a torn-off portion of veil is still inflicted upon the Veiled Maidens' body it was taken from no matter how far away it is. Veiled Maidens can "re-attach" lost veil fragments as a free action, simply by regaining possession of the veil piece(s) with any of its bodies.
Steel Cloth (Ex): A Veiled Maidens can wield a veil with such uncanny ability it turns a length of cloth into a deadly weapon. The steel cloth has the same properties as a whip, including the +2 bonus to disarm and being treated as a melee weapon with 15-foot reach, except it does 1d6 slashing damage with a 19-20 threat range and is able to damage armored creatures. Furthermore, the veil becomes as hard to break as a light steel blade (hardness 10, 2 hit points).
The veil is just an ordinary length of cloth imbued with deadly power by the Veiled Maidens' skill. It has no special properties when wielded by another creature.
Sticking Touch (Ex): As an attack action, a Veiled Maidens may make a touch attack with either an unarmed strike or veil that, if successful, forms a connection with its opponent that allows the Maidens to feel their opponent's every move. This connection grants the Veiled Maidens a +2 insight bonus to AC and attack rolls against that opponent. The connection can be broken if the opponent succeeds on a DC 22 Escape Artist, Jump or Tumble check; if the Veiled Maidens ends its turn with the opponent outside the reach of its veil (15 ft.); or if the Veiled Maidens chooses to release the connection.
Strangling Veil (Ex): A Veiled Maidens can make a special entangling attack against an opponent who is denied its Dex bonus to AC. This works like the Entangle Weapon ability (see above), except that if the attack succeeds, the veil wraps the opponent's throat instead of binding a weapon. The victim is unable to breathe, speak, or cast spells with verbal components while being strangled and takes 1d8+3 damage per round. The opponent can escape a Strangling Veil using the same procedure as escaping the Veiled Maidens' Entangle Weapon ability.
Unholy Toughness (Ex): The Veiled Maidens gain a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma modifier x its Hit Dice.
In Kara-Tur
The Seven Swords were the leading members of the Ito clan and lived in Ito-Jo castle. The malign influence of a krakentoa led to their rule becoming tyrannical and eventually brought down a dreadful curse upon the Swords and the entire castle, turning it into a haunted place of the damned. The Seven Swords of Ito-Jo cannot be destroyed simply by destroying their sword charms. The only way to permanently lay them to rest is to slay the krakentoa responsible for the curse.
The Veiled Maidens was once Ito Kiku, daughter of Ito Tadahiro. Nothing is remembered of her except for her loyalty to her father, a disgraced warrior so fearsome that Kiku became known as the "daughter of death".
Seven Swords, The Veiled Maidens
Medium Undead (Spirit)
Hit Dice: 8d12+32 (84 hp) [its seven multiple bodies have 24 hp each]
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares, with fast movement, base speed 30 ft.)
Armor Class: 18 (+4 Dex, +4 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+8
Attack: 7 veils +10 melee (1d6+2/19-20) or 7 unarmed strikes +10 melee (1d6+2)
Full Attack: 7 veils +10 melee (1d6+2/19-20) or 7 unarmed strikes +10 melee (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (15 ft. with veil)
Special Attacks: Blinding feint, entangle weapon, martial artistry, multiple actions, steel cloth, sticking touch, strangling veil, unarmed strike
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., evasion, fast movement, ghostform, immune to turning, multiple bodies, multiple perspectives, rejuvenation, silken protection, special weakness - veils, undead traits, unholy toughness
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +8
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 19, Con —, Int 18, Wis 15, Cha 18
Skills: Balance +17, Climb +2 (+4 with rope), Escape Artist +4 (+6 from ropes), Hide +15, Jump +19, Listen +13, Move Silently +15, Spot +13, Tumble +15, Use Rope +15
Feats: Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrowsᴮ˟, Improved Grappleᴮ˟, Improved Unarmed Strikeᴮ˟, Stunning Fistᴮ, Weapon Finesse
˟ Monk bonus feats
Environment: Ruins
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: —
Seven beautiful women dressed in sky blue silk, each gracefully holding a long veil of azure gauze. The women are uncannily identical to each other, as if they were one woman reflected in seven mirrors.
The Veiled Maidens is one of the Seven Swords, a group of seven weapon masters who were transformed into unique undead by an ancient curse that binds them to a castle they once guarded in life. If one of the Seven Swords is destroyed, the curse causes them to reform the following night and continue to haunt the castle.
In life, the Veiled Maidens was a young noblewoman expert in dancing and martial arts. In death, her spirit incarnated into seven identical bodies that move in perfect choreography to trap and destroy intruders. Her veils and graceful poses are now nothing but deceits to lure the careless to their doom.
Each of the Veiled Maidens' bodies is 5½ feet tall and weighs about 120 pounds. It can speak Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic and Elven.
Combat
A Veiled Maidens is an extremely clever enemy who can quickly devise cunning tactics to deal with its opponents. The Maidens uses its multiple bodies to flank opponents and make perfectly coordinated combination attacks. It tries to exploit its veils' 15 ft. reach to attack from outside the reach of its opponents' own weapons. Its preferred tactic is to entangle opponents in the veils of some of its bodies to limit or control their movements, while inflicting damage with the attacks of its other bodies.
The Veiled Maidens unarmed strikes and veil attacks count as magic for the purpose of penetrating damage reduction.
Blinding Feint (Ex): If a Veiled Maiden makes a successful feint against an opponent, that opponent is blinded for 1d2 rounds.
Entangle Weapon (Ex): A Veiled Maidens can ensnare an enemy of up to Large size by succeeding at a melee touch attack with its veil. The enemy becomes entangled and can only move within the limits of the veil's 15 ft. reach. If the entangled creature attempts to cast a spell, they must succeed at a Concentration check or the spell fails (DC 15, or DC 20 for spells with a Somatic component).
Furthermore, if the enemy is carrying a weapon (or similar implement, like an instrument or wand) the veil binds the weapon and prevents the enemy from attacking with it or otherwise using the object. If the enemy wields multiple implements, the Maidens can only entangle one of them for each veil they hit with, and must choose what weapon they entangle when making the attack.
An entangled enemy can escape a single Veiled Maidens' veil by making a DC 18 Escape Artist check (or DC 22 Strength check) as a full round action.
If the opponent is entangled in more than one veil, the enemy only needs to make a single Escape Artist or Strength check to escape, but the DC to escape is increased by +1 per additional veil (i.e. +2 DC for being entangled in three veils).
The enemy, or an ally of theirs, can also cut through a veil using a slashing or piercing weapon (AC 20, hardness 10*, hp 2). This frees the entangled enemy from that veil, but the veil immediately reforms.
*This hardness is due to the Maidens' steel cloth ability.
Ghostform (Su): A Seven Swords undead is normally invisible and intangible but senses its surroundings normally. Should the site it is haunting be disturbed, the spirit assumes a corporeal form as a swift action. The Veiled Maidens materialize by stepping out from behind hanging banners, accompanied by an eerie stillness in the air and flute music. Once materialized, the undead spirit can remain in solid form until the sun rises. It can resume ghostform as a full-round action.
Martial Artistry (Ex): The Veiled Maidens possesses the bonus feats, evasion, fast movement and unarmed strike abilities of a 3rd-level monk and the base attack bonus and base saving throw bonuses of an 8th-level monk. It adds its inherent monklike abilities to any monk levels it might acquire. Thus, a Veiled Maidens 4th-level monk possesses the bonus feats, evasion, fast movement and unarmed strike of a 7th-level monk.
Multiple Actions (Ex): Whenever the Veiled Maidens performs a physical action, it can perform that action up to seven times - once for each of its bodies. Thus, if it makes a standard attack action it will make up to seven attacks at no penalty, even if it moves or charges during the round. The number of multiple actions it can make is reduced by one whenever one of its bodies is destroyed (see Multiple Bodies). Multiple Actions does not allow a Veiled Maidens to multiply magical actions or gain additional usages of an action - a Veiled Maidens 1st-level wizard cannot cast the same magic missile seven times at once, and one with a 3/day ability is still limited to three usages per day (although if it's a mundane extraordinary power its bodies could perform multiple daily usages simultaneously).
The Veiled Maidens can perform an action fewer times than its Multiple Actions maximum. Non-participating bodies either pose artistically or make dance-like gestures that resemble the motions of the action.
When the Veiled Maidens performs an action, all participating bodies perform the same action (either against the same or different targets), with two exceptions.
Firstly, a Veiled Maidens' body can use the Aid Another action to aid one of its other bodies perform an action. Thus, if three bodies use Aid Another, they add three sets of +2 bonuses to the attacks (or other actions) of the Maidens' remaining four bodies, distributed between them however the Veiled Maidens desires.
Second, if the Veiled Maidens performs an attack action, not all attacks need to be of the same type. For example, four bodies may make standard attacks with veils or unarmed strikes, while the other three bodies make two Entangle Weapon special attacks and a Sticking Touch special attack.
Finally, if a body qualifies for an Opportunity Attack, that body gets a single opportunity attack - the other bodies do not get opportunity attacks too. The Veiled Maidens only gets multiple opportunity attacks if multiple bodies qualify separately. The Veiled Maidens can make up to seven opportunity attacks per round - once for each body - plus any bonus opportunity attacks it gains from Combat Reflexes or similar abilities.
Multiple Bodies (Ex): The Veiled Maidens is a single being with seven bodies. Each body has 24 hit points. Destroying a body does 10 points of damage to the Veiled Maidens. If the Veiled Maidens is reduced to a single body, damage to that body also damages the Veiled Maidens. The Veiled Maidens can only be damaged by attacks against its bodies or its veils (see Special Weakness - Veils). To destroy the Veiled Maidens, all seven of its bodies must be destroyed.
Attacks that affect a certain number of creatures usually treat a Veiled Maidens' bodies as if they were separate creatures. For example, a disintegrate or halt undead only affects the body or bodies targeted by the spell. However, attacks that target a creature's soul or being, such as trap the soul or control undead, treat the Veiled Maidens as a single creature, affecting all its bodies simultaneously.
The Veiled Maidens' bodies are mystically bound together and must remain within 100 ft. feet of all the other bodies. Any body that strays outside this limit immediately vanishes and reappears somewhere between the other Veiled Maidens' bodies. The body must reappear in a clear space that the Veiled Maidens has line-of-effect to.
Multiple Perspectives (Ex): So long as the Veiled Maidens has more than one body it cannot be flanked and gains a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks (this bonus is incorporated in the stats above). If one of the Veiled Maidens' bodies is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one body is not flat-footed, none of them are.
Rejuvenation (Ex): The Veiled Maidens cannot be destroyed through simple combat. If a Veiled Maidens' body is "destroyed" it vanishes with a sound like tearing silk, leaving behind a pale golden pearl worth 50 gp. The following night, the Veiled Maidens reappears at full strength at whatever place it haunted and any pearls it left vanish. If all seven bodies are destroyed, a small charm shaped like a sword appears in some nearby place intimately associated with the Maidens, such as inside their jewelry box. The Veiled Maidens can only be destroyed permanently if this sword charm is destroyed before the Maidens rejuvenate. A typical sword charm is a Fine sized object with 20 hp, hardness 12, and break DC 24.
Silken Protection (Ex): As long as a Veiled Maiden holds a piece of silk at least a yard long it gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its Charisma bonus.
Special Weakness - Veils (Ex): Each of the seven swords have a different special weakness. The Veiled Maidens' is that its existence is tied to its veils of azure silk.
Each Veiled Maidens' body is linked to an individual veil. Any damage done to the veil is also inflicted upon the body that veil is tied to; the veil and body always have the same number of hit points, and the body is destroyed whenever its veil is (and vice versa). The veils have AC 16 (carried), AC 8 (unattended), damage reduction 10/slashing and vulnerability to fire (+50% damage). They can be destroyed by ripping them to pieces (Break DC 20, requires a successful grapple check if veil in Maidens' possession). Whenever a Veiled Maidens' body is damaged through its special weakness it must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 plus damage inflicted) or be shaken for 1 round (only the body tied to the veil is affected).
A Veiled Maidens' body can have part of its veil removed by being disarmed, sundered (requires 5 or more damage in a single blow), stolen by Sleight of Hand, or ripped off by brute force (requires a successful grapple attack and a DC 16 Strength check). The Veiled Maidens can instantly regrow a broken veil and continue fighting without interruption. However, any damage done to a torn-off portion of veil is still inflicted upon the Veiled Maidens' body it was taken from no matter how far away it is. Veiled Maidens can "re-attach" lost veil fragments as a free action, simply by regaining possession of the veil piece(s) with any of its bodies.
Steel Cloth (Ex): A Veiled Maidens can wield a veil with such uncanny ability it turns a length of cloth into a deadly weapon. The steel cloth has the same properties as a whip, including the +2 bonus to disarm and being treated as a melee weapon with 15-foot reach, except it does 1d6 slashing damage with a 19-20 threat range and is able to damage armored creatures. Furthermore, the veil becomes as hard to break as a light steel blade (hardness 10, 2 hit points).
The veil is just an ordinary length of cloth imbued with deadly power by the Veiled Maidens' skill. It has no special properties when wielded by another creature.
Sticking Touch (Ex): As an attack action, a Veiled Maidens may make a touch attack with either an unarmed strike or veil that, if successful, forms a connection with its opponent that allows the Maidens to feel their opponent's every move. This connection grants the Veiled Maidens a +2 insight bonus to AC and attack rolls against that opponent. The connection can be broken if the opponent succeeds on a DC 22 Escape Artist, Jump or Tumble check; if the Veiled Maidens ends its turn with the opponent outside the reach of its veil (15 ft.); or if the Veiled Maidens chooses to release the connection.
Strangling Veil (Ex): A Veiled Maidens can make a special entangling attack against an opponent who is denied its Dex bonus to AC. This works like the Entangle Weapon ability (see above), except that if the attack succeeds, the veil wraps the opponent's throat instead of binding a weapon. The victim is unable to breathe, speak, or cast spells with verbal components while being strangled and takes 1d8+3 damage per round. The opponent can escape a Strangling Veil using the same procedure as escaping the Veiled Maidens' Entangle Weapon ability.
Unholy Toughness (Ex): The Veiled Maidens gain a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma modifier x its Hit Dice.
In Kara-Tur
The Seven Swords were the leading members of the Ito clan and lived in Ito-Jo castle. The malign influence of a krakentoa led to their rule becoming tyrannical and eventually brought down a dreadful curse upon the Swords and the entire castle, turning it into a haunted place of the damned. The Seven Swords of Ito-Jo cannot be destroyed simply by destroying their sword charms. The only way to permanently lay them to rest is to slay the krakentoa responsible for the curse.
The Veiled Maidens was once Ito Kiku, daughter of Ito Tadahiro. Nothing is remembered of her except for her loyalty to her father, a disgraced warrior so fearsome that Kiku became known as the "daughter of death".
Last edited:
Cleon
Legend
That'd work.
We could have it work like a monster with tentacles. Each body has 24 hit points, and as each is destroyed the Veiled Maiden's actual hit points take half damage (12 hit points), so its last body will have 13 hit points.
Or, once all seven bodies are destroyed it still has 1 hit point left in its veil, which can fly away or attack on its own?
Hmm, we could tweak the HD so all the bodies have more-or-less the same hit points. If we give it 8 Hit Dice and have the first six bodies represent a HD worth of hit points.
That'd be easier to work out.
Assuming we give it Charisma 18 and Unholy Toughness:
Hit Dice: 8d12+32 (84 hp)
Each of the Veiled Maidens' bodies has 24 hit points. Destroying a body deals 10 hit points of damage to the creature, while destroying the last of the bodies destroys the Veiled Maidens.
That way the hit points work out nice and neatly.
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