Merlif

These creatures at first resemble humans, but they are slightly taller. Their heads and faces are covered in shaggy red fur, while their upper bodies and torso are utterly bare, showing a slightly red tinged skin. They stand eight feet tall, but not because of girth. Their upper bodies are actually the size of a mans, but it is their abdomen and legs which make them tall. They stand upon three elephant like legs, which are each about a foot thick. Their body slowly turns into a thick red hide as it reaches their midsection, which then splits into these three trunk legs. They are wild creatures to look upon, and frequently rear up on their rear leg to cry wildly at the sky.

Combat: Merlif's use double ended halberds, which they are incredibly specialized in. They have an effective strength of 18(100), which increases their damage quite nicely. Their heavy specialization in these weapons does not give them more than the normal damage, but enables them to swing them with a weapon speed of only 3. They perform very daring moves during combat, including swinging the pole- arms around their bodies, twirling them above their heads, and sometimes plant one end of the 9' long weapon in the ground and leap up using it to deal a tremendous kick for 4d6 damage (save Vs death or be flung 5 feet and knocked over).

Also during combat, which is their primary past-time, Merlif's have a tendency to stand up on their rear leg, and throw their arms up to the sky while emitting a high pitched, undulating shriek, much like an Arab or similar warbands warcry. This causes fear in all who fear it of less than6 hit dice, causing a -2 to attacks until they have been in combat with the Merlif's for three rounds, at which time the fear is replaced by a much greater need, that of surviving the battle.

Merlif's have a tough hide all over, and regenerate at a rate of 5 hit points at the end of every day.

The maneuvers that the Merlif's perform have an uncanny knack for deflecting missiles hurled/fired at them, that are of less than small boulder size (i.e. arrows small stones etc). There is a 25% chance that any arrow will be deflected harmlessly for every Merlif in the way of it, cumulative. This means that there basically a 100% chance if there is a large group of the creatures, but 96-00 means a failure.

The Merlif's thick strong legs enable it to leap great distances very accurately. Typically this is used to leap in front of fleeing enemies, from ship to ship, or onto the back of their favorite food, blue dragons, in mid-flight. A Merlif can leap up to 150 foot in any direction, taking a round to hunker down and build up the power in their legs. During this time they begin their warcry, but in a more subdued manner, slowly building up to cry as they leap. This does not have the effect of the normal warcry, but rather helps them focus all their energy into the leap.

In wildspace, a Merlif can jump from one ship to the other accurately, using their large halberds as small ships use oars to maneuver through space. It takes a full round for them to cover one hex, their maximum jump distance being two hexes. If one hex is covered, there is a 15% chance they will miss their target. If two are covered, there is a 35% chance they will miss their target.

Note that Merlif's NEVER jump on someone (to do damage) with this attack.

Habitat/Society: Merlif's sometimes travel as clans or tribes, sometimes with a shaman leader (see below). They also sometimes hire themselves out as mercenaries, though they prefer to fight with those of their own kind (there is not actually reason for this apart from the fact they don't feel so out of place).

Ecology: Merlif's usually eat the bodies of their fallen opponents, but also eat giant scorpions and such desert creatures. They particularly like blue dragon flesh, and will ALWAYS stop whatever they are doing to kill a blue dragon. Merlif's also particularly like elven flesh, and will seek those opponents out if they are available in combat, as long as it isn't to stupid an idea to do so (unlike the aforementioned blue dragon, which they will run through a horde of beholders to get to if necessary).

All Merlif's share the same name, regardless of sex or gender. This name, strangely enough, is Merlif. The only Merlif's not called this are the Shaman and Warleader, who are called "Bashaka Merlif' for the shaman, and "Gookabaghraghd Merlif" for the Warleader. There is no secret, hidden meaning in these words, they are simply the Merlif words for the appropriate stations.

Variants: Recently Merlif shamans have begun to appear, though they can only rise as high as third level, and only have access to the spheres of all, combat, healing, weather, elemental fire and air, and sun (base 20% chance per wandering group). This is, however, useful, as the Merlif's love the various races in wildspace, and find its great to travel in the great void to find people to fight. They work well on ships, singing battle songs in their strange tongue, and leaping at the opportunity for combat (usually attacking other ships on sight). They prefer open ships, such as caravels and galleons, using interior portions of the ship only for rest, when needed. Ships with oars seem to be a great favorite of their race. They are slowly dwindling from planets as they travel into the spheres, to find people to triumph over and foes to eat. Merlif spelljamming ships always have a shaman onboard.

Merlif shamans are just normal Merlif's, using the same weapons etc. The only visible difference is the Merlif shaman has feathers, strips of hides, and other such things dangling from the end of his weapon. Normal Merlif's look almost exactly the same, however, so its easy to spot one in a crowd.

Each war-party of Merlif's contains one Warleader. Warleaders are similar to tribal chieftain's, leading their clan into battle. They typically have one or two more intelligence points than a typical Merlif, and up to 8 extra hit dice (base plus 2d4). Saving throws and Thac0's are adjusted appropriately for the new hit dice. Furthermore, they are effective high masters (see the players option, combat & tactics) with their halberds. This gives them a bonus to their weapon speed of 3, and increases their chance of scoring a critical hit (16 or up on a 20 instead of 80). For DM's not using the combat and tactics critical hit system, it is suggested that they score a critical on a natural 19 or 20.

Furthermore, a Warleader never drops his weapon in combat, and regenerates at a rate of 5 hit points EVERY TURN. They also have 3% magic resistance per hit dice. Their weapons are also +2, and they receive the +3/+3 attack/damage bonus from mastery (which they automatically have considering they are grand-masters). Warleaders may also leap 3 Hexes in spelljammer combat, and have only a 5% chance of missing regardless of the distance (this is to reflect their control over their weapon which gives them incredible maneuverability). They may leap 200 feet in normal circumstances, and have an effective strength of 20. They also receive 5/2 attacks instead of 2.

Warleaders are frequently the only Merlif's (apart from the occasional shaman) who speak other languages (apart from common) and read/write. Any Merlif not of Warleader status who learns another language is put to death if caught, similarly if they learn to read or write. Shaman sometimes bend these rules, and conceal their abilities with "spell-power". Warleaders have no knowledge of spells and their abilities, and thus these Shaman's frequently get away with it.

Warleader status is achieved in a ritual where several very tough opponents are brought before the appropriate Merlif, who must defeat them all. Typical opponents are small, young dragons, a horde of Umber Hulks, a pair of illithids, or sometimes even captured Golems. Human and/or Demihuman warriors are also common.

When this battle is completed and the Merlif is victorious, he goes through a magical ritual with the Shaman, while all the other Merlif in the tribe gather around and pray to the Merlif god (Garawasherangahard) to give them a strong and formidable leader. At the end of a full night of this, the Merlif emerges as a Warleader.

This battle is a rare occurrence as Warleaders rarely die. When it happens, however, it is frequent that many Merlif's die trying to achieve Warleader status. This is actually a great time within Merlif society, as it is felt that it weeds out the weak Merlif, and strengthens the Strong ones. Many Merlif die in these battles. The bodies of these Merlif's are thrown away with no respect, as they are obviously unworthy of even bearing the name Merlif. Those who survive but are wounded grievously (i.e. under half hit points) are not healed, but are ripped apart and eaten by the rest of the tribe (the first piece going to the next potential Warleader). This is to show that they are Merlif, and that they are strong, and still a part of their tribe. They did not, however, pass the test. The first Merlif to survive the battle(s), and retaining equal to or over half hit points, is the Warleader. It is not unknown for half a tribe to be lost during times or Warleader tests.

The appearance of a Warleader differs from the normal Merlif's about as much as the Shaman's (i.e. only slightly). They are obviously larger (about a foot), and their weapons are of fine craftsmanship and always kept sharpened (these weapons are normally forged by the Merlif but a Warleaders weapon is a gift from their god during the ritual). Their hair is usually a deeper red, and an enhanced intelligence can be seen in their eyes. Warleaders sometimes carry a trophy from their test battle, such as a skull of the enemy they destroyed, a necklace of the beings teeth etc.

Spelljamming: Merlif's usually use Viking style ships in wildspace, enabling them to leap from one ship to another, and these ships usually have enough room for larger beings of their size. Their shamans power helms, while the rest of the tribe man's the oars. They sometimes use Galleons and other such ships, but only if they are big enough to allow them to go below decks. Typical Merlif ships contained a random lair treasure type, a result of conquests upon other ships. The only reason this treasure is kept is to buy supplies (when enemies are low/unavailable), ships, and helms.

As stated previously, Merlif's are becoming more frequent in wildspace. They have been seen within Krynnspace, and close-by spheres. A group of Merlif's recently tried to assault the Rock of Bral (so many races to fight!), but of course they were unsuccessful. They would be good for quick, on the spot encounters, as they are not particularly plot orientated creatures, more-so the hack and slash type monster. Merlif's could, however, be hired to perform tasks (i.e. kill outposts/ships) for gold, as that helps them to purchase more ships and helms. On occasion Merlif's haev been hried by merchants to guard their ships through heavy pirate-infested areas, but unfortunately some of these merchants met a sticky end when the trip proved to be boring.