NOCNITSA Medium-Size Aberration (Shadow) Hit Dice: 628+6 (33 hp) Initiative: +2 (+2 Dex) Speed: Fly 40 ft. (good) AC: 18 (42 Dex, +6 natural) Attacks: 2 claws +8 melee, bite +3 melee Damage: Claw Id4+4, bite 2d4+2 Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft,/5 ft Special Attacks: Gaze of slumber, blood drain Special Qualities: Alternate form, immunities, unnatural, damage reduction 10/+1, darkvision 60 Saves: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +8 Abilities: Str 19, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 15 Skills: Hide +9, Listen +10, Move Silently +9, Search +9, Spot +10 Climate? Terrain: Any temperate land and underground Organization: Solitary or pack (2-5) Challenge Rating: 3 Treasure: None Alignment: Always chaotic evil Advancement: 6-12 HD (Medium-size) Nocnitsas, or night terrors are eerie predators, not quite shadow but not quite flesh, Slinking under cover of ‘darkness, they seek living blood. Unlike the dreaded ‘cronc—alheit the height of a formidable man. Though » head and arms are easily discerned, the nocnitsa’s lower half trails off into wisps of darkness, like a tattered skirt. The creature's fingers end in wicked claws, and its only facial features are two white spots thal serve as eyes and a mouth filled with crooked fangs. Like vampires, nocnitsas survive on the blood of living creatures, swooping about the each night in search af such sustenance. They offen develop a taste for feeding fram the same creature each night, which makes their predations relatively casy to detect, The Vistani word for nocnitsa translates looscly as “visiting | and the gypsies are thought to be protected against the feedings of such creatures. The Vistani have been known to claim fram time to time that nocnitsas are born from giargios” fears of the dark and the night. ‘Nocnitsas speak Abyssal. They often cmit terrible, wheezing yowls when attacking. Combat ‘Though powerful and cunning, nocnitsas usually prefer to flee if they are facing more than one Barring this, they will use their gaze to climinate the strongest combatants, and then close in on physically weaker opponents to drain their blood, Gaze of Slumber (Su): Sleep for 1d4+4 minutes, 30 feet, Will save (DC 15). This ability can affect creatures with any number of Hit Dice. The nocnitsa’s blood drain ability (see helow) never awakens a creature affected by its gaze. The effects of this ability are otherwise as the sleep spell. Blood Drain (Ex): A nocnitsa can suck blood from a helpless living opponent asa full-round action, or from any living opponent by making a grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, inflicting 144 points of permanent Constitution drain cach round the pin is maintained. This blood drain does not awaken an opponent affected by a nocnitsa’s gaze of slumber ability (see above). Alternate Form (Su): A nocnitsa can assume the form of a raven as a standard action. This ability is similar to the spell polymorph self cast by a Tth-level sorcerer. The nocnitsa can remain in this form for as Jong as it wishes, and returning to its normal form is a standard action. Immunities (Ex): Nocnitsas are immune to poison, disease, sleep, paralysis, and stunning. They are not subject to critical hits or subdual damage. Unnatural (Ex): Nocnitsas can be turned (though not rebuked or commanded) as if their creature type was “undead”. They cannot attack a creature holding a cold iron dagger that is affected by the spell bless weapon; this effect is similar to the spell sanenuary. Noenitsas cannot cross a line of iron filings, and cannot act to break stich a line directly. Skills: Nocnitsas receive a +8 racial bonus to Hide checks in shadowy surroundings.