Fantasy Monster: Gvar

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Gvar

An incessant murmur of incomprehensible voices, cries, and other sounds of a crowd.

CR 4; XP 1,600

CE Fine Undead (incorporeal, swarm)

Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0

Defense
AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 18 (+8 size)
hp 33 (6d8+6)
Fort +3; Ref +2; Will +5

Defensive Qualities incorporeal, unseen crowd; Immune nonmagical damage, weapon damage, undead traits

Weakness vulnerable to sonic damage

Offense
Speed fly 20 ft. (perfect)

Melee swarm (4d6 nonlethal sonic plus maddening voices)

Space 10-30 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks incomprehensible voices (DC 14), maddening murmur

Statistics
Str —, Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 13
Base Atk +4; CMB —; CMD —

Skills Fly +16, Perception +0, Stealth +36 (+46 while standing still); Racial Modifiers +20/+40 Stealth from being invisible

Ecology
Environment urban, ruins
Organization solitary or crowd (2–10)
Treasure incidental

Incomprehensible Voices (Su) Anyone hearing the constant noise of gvar that has three or more ranks in Linguistics, knows six or more languages, or is under effects of comprehend language or tongues, or is otherwise deeply interested in languages, has to succeed a Will saving throw (DC 14) to avoid being fascinated, as they compulsively try to comprehend the mixed voices they hear. This fascination isn't ended by gvar's nonlethal damage, though other threats or actions of witnesses might break it, for a moment at least. This is a sonic, compulsion, language-dependent effect (even if it is caused by lack of comprehensible language). The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.

Maddening Murmur (Su) Gvar is an insidious threat, because victims suffering its nonlethal sonic damage perceive them as growing frustration and strain, not as actual damage. When the nonlethal damage caused by gvar should cause a victim to become unconscious, the victim goes on a vicious rampage for the next 1d4+1 rounds, lashing with their most dangerous attacks and abilities against anything they would perceive as annoying, threatening, or offensive, while often uttering incomprehensible gibberish (this does not impact their use of deadly spells). Afterwards, the victim drops unconscious unless her total nonlethal damage was lowered below their current hit points value.

Unseen Crowd (Su) Gvar is composed of deathless sounds themselves, invisible and formless, tangled together in an immaterial tapestry. It behaves as in incorporeal swarm, but it can't pass through the stolid walls, and it spills from 10-ft. square as the available space permits, covering up to a 30-ft. square of a colossal entity. Gvar can't enter areas of magical silence. If it enters consecrated, desecrated, hallowed, or unhallowed area, it becomes visible as a mass of vague and indistinct shapes in the air.

Gvar is the restless murmur of long dead people talking, arguing, crying, and peddling their wares, with all the accompanying sounds of living crowd, forever lingering behind in dead neighborhoods, fallen cities, and forgotten markets.

Gvar's constant babbling isn't lethal in itself, but its stress erodes sanity of listeners to the point where they unleash a quick burst of random violence, which occasionally causes a chain of violence as other nearby people either succumb to gvar's influence or simply resort to violent self-defense against those who did.