2613
| Climate/Terrain: | Elysium |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Rare |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: | Any |
| Diet: | Omnivore |
| Intelligence: | Genius (17-18) |
| Treasure: | Incidental |
| Alignment: | Neutral good |
| No. Appearing: | 1 (1-2) |
| Armor Class: | -4 |
| Movement: | 12 |
| Hit Dice: | 10+5 |
| THAC0: | 11 |
| No. of Attacks: | 3 |
| Damage/Attack: | 2d6+7/2d6+7/1d10 |
| Special Attacks: | Spell-like powers |
| Special Defenses: | Struck only by silver weapons or those of +3 or better enchantment |
| Magic Resistance: | 45% |
| Size: | L (8� tall) |
| Morale: | Fanatic (17-18) |
| XP Value: | 14,000 |
The scholars and philosophers of the guardinals are the ursinals, benevolent beings who resemble huge men and women with distinctive bearlike attributes. They�re advisers to the leonals, and the record-keepers and magic-users of their race. Ursinals are open with their knowledge but love to digress endlessly and often free-associate through many iterations until they�re holding forth on a subject with no relation to the original topic.
Ursinals stand 8 feet tall, with thick-set bodies. They�re covered with light golden, red, or golden-brown fur that�s long on their forearms, backs, and lower legs and too fine to see on their torsos and faces. An ursinal�s face has a pronounced muzzle and high ear-tufts, but its expression is kindly. It�s very difficult to move an ursinal to anger, but the powers pity the poor sod who manages the trick � it�s said that a fighting-mad ursinal can tear his way through any three gehreleths.
Combat: Ursinals dislike combat and avoid physical confrontations until they become inevitable. However, a body�d be wise to watch out when the ursinal finally decides to stand his ground. An ursinal�s as strong as a hill giant (Strength 19) and can dish out terrible damage with his sharp-clawed paws. If an ursinal hits an enemy with both paws, he can automatically hug his victim for an additional 2d10 points of damage and gains a +4 bonus to his bite attack against the hugged victim.
Ursinals�re skillful mages and have the spell powers of a wizard of level 9 to 16 (d8+8). They prefer spells of enchantment, misdirection, or divination, and rarely memorize many heavy-damage spells. Of course, under the right circumstances, an ursinal�ll make use of any spell in his books. They�re also fond of magical items such as rings, rods, or wands, and miscellaneous magic that enhances their spell-casting ability.
Like the other guardinals, ursinals have several spell-like powers that can be used once per round: continual light, ESP, hold monster, know alignment, polymorph self, magic missile (5 missiles), sleep (4d6 Hit Dice worth, affects creatures up to 7 HD), or create solid fog. An ursinal can cure disease, heal, or neutralize poison three times per day, and once per day he can speak a holy word. Once per year the ursinal can grant alimited wish.
Ursinals can be hit only by silver weapons or those that have been enchanted to +3 or better. They�re never surprised in Elysium.
Habitat/Society: The advice of an ursinal is a much sought-after commodity. As librarians, scholars, and record-keepers, they carefully catalogue and sort all manner of information. They�re especially knowledgeable about magical matters and also have a keen interest in prime-material histories and linguistics. In Elysium it�s said that if an ursinal doesn�t know something, he knows where to go to find out.
Ursinals are solitary creatures, but almost all are linked by constant correspondence and magical communications. They�re also fond of the company of lesser guardinals or petitioners who can �benefit� from the ursinal�s wisdom. Some view ursinals as intrusive busybodies, but most of their advice is strikingly accurate and always well intended.
Last Modified: September 02, 2009, 12:55:00 GMT
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