Sirine

SIRINE.gif

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
Temperate or tropical salt or fresh water, in wilderness
areas
FREQUENCY:
Rare (salt water) or very rare (fresh water)
ORGANIZATION:
Solitary or family
ACTIVITY CYCLE:
Any
DIET:
Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE:
High to genius (13-18)
TREASURE:
L, M, N, Q; X
ALIGNMENT:
Any
NO. APPEARING:
1 (2d4)
ARMOR CLASS:
3
MOVEMENT:
12, Sw 24
HIT DICE:
4-7
THAC0:
4 HD: 17

5-6 HD: 15

7 HD: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS:
1
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
By weapon type
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Song, spell powers
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
Spell powers, water-breathing
MAGIC RESISTANCE:
20%
SIZE:
M (5'-6' tall)
MORALE:
Steady (11-12)
XP VALUE:
4 HD: 2,000 (+1,000 for each additional Hit Die)

Sirines are beautiful, human-like females, at home in any aquatic environment. They have human skin tones ranging to a light yellow-green, and their hair can be almost any color, though silver and dark green are the most common. Sirines have beautiful figures and wear scanty clothing at best.

Most sirines are antisocial, so they try to drive intruders away, with evil sirines taking stronger measures. Other sirines are hungry for social interaction, and try to lure male humans or demihumans to join them for a time.

Sirines speak their own language and the language of the nearest intelligent races. They can breathe water and air, and they have infravision to a range of 120 feet.

Combat: A lone sirine will always have 6 or 7 HD; each member of a group has an equal chance for 4, 5, or 6 HD. All members of a group have the same basic alignment (all evil, all good, or all neutral in regards to good and evil). All sirines can defend their solitude with some skill.

Sirines have a Dexterity of 18; combined with their innate magic, this grants them an exceptional Armor Class. Most (90%) sirines carry a short sword or a dagger, and 30% carry missile weapons, javelins or slings, as well. Each weapon has a 10% chance of being magical, and javelins of lightning are common.

Sirines also have several spell-like abilities, each usable once per day as an 11th-level wizard: charm person, fog cloud, polymorph self, and improved invisibility. The charm ability is used through the sirine's song, and all people within 30 feet are subject to it, even if they are hostile or attacking.

If the sirine touches an opponent, the victim must make a saving throw vs. poison; those failing to save are reduced to an Intelligence of 2. The touch is automatic for charmed individuals, but requires a normal attack roll for others. A successful dispel magic (against 11th-level casting) will restore the victim's intelligence, as will a sirine's touch, if she so wills it. Any sirine can restore intelligence taken by another sirine.

Sirines make saving throws as 11th-level wizards, with a +2 bonus vs. poison. They are immune to all gas attacks.

Habitat/Society: Sirines are encountered only in lonely places that are otherwise uninhabited. Most live near rocky outcroppings or small islands in the sea. Some choose to live in fresh water, but tend to avoid these areas because they are usually populated and sometimes difficult to reach.

Young sirines often live with their sisters; these sirines are the more social type. As a sirine grows older, she becomes more reclusive and contemplative, however, and eventually looks for a home of her own where she can think and sing in solitude. Even then, they have a rare desire for companionship.

Sirines usually mate with male humans. Some sirines choose elves, tritons, or merfolk as mates, producing children with some of their parents' traits (pointed ears from elves, green skin from aquatic elves, scales and webbed fingers and toes from merfolk and tritons). Sirines never form lasting relationships, for the call of the sea is too great to bind them.

After a gestation period of nine months, they give birth to 1d4 baby sirines, which are cared for by their mother until they are five years old. After that, they fend for themselves, living on the bounty of the sea. Reaching adulthood at 10 years, they live for about 50 years, and yet their beauty never leaves them.

Sirines live to sing, and to think about the sea. If deprived of their voices, or confined away from water, they will slowly wither away until they die. Sirines often have great knowledge regarding the history of their area and any current events. They sometimes trade this knowledge for companionship.

Ecology: Sirines are not harmful to their environment in any manner. They kill only enough to eat, and never take too much from the sea. They have few natural enemies, and they are more than able of taking care of themselves. Though they make beautiful garments from sea shells, fish skin, and seaweed, they gain other belongings and treasure by scavenging shipwrecks.

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