New Awnshegh: the Ifrit (long)

[Solmyr]

Here's what I developed after thinking about genies in Cerilia. I'd love to
hear your comments.

The Ifrit

"Tremble, o mortal cur, and choose what death shall befall you!"

The Ifrit is a strange awnshegh that occasionally crops up in the lands of
Khinasi. Little is known about his origins and early history, and there are
several theories presented by Khinasi sages:
1.The Ifrit was a powerful flame wizard who served Azrai at Deismaar.
2.The Ifrit actually came from Djapar, where such creatures are rumored to
be common. He then acquired his bloodline after slaying a scion of Azrai. A
variation on this theory holds that the Ifrit is the creation of the Magian,
which escaped to Cerilia, and which the Magian has come to retrieve.
However, this is unlikely as the Ifrit has been seen in Khinasi for
centuries, and the Magian came only recently.
3.The Ifrit is actually the illegitimate son of Azrai and Basaïa. He was
conceived by Basaïa who was secretly impregnated by Azrai, and she cast her
horrible child away in disgust. The connection with Basaïa seems to be
indicated by the Ifrit's affinity to fire and several blood abilities
derived from Basaïa.
4.An even wilder theory claims that the Ifrit was created when a scion of
Azrai was slain near a fire source. The blood of Azrai fell on the fire,
animating it and shaping it into a living creature.
Which of the above theories is correct, if any, nobody but the Ifrit knows,
and he isn't telling.

As said above, the early history of the Ifrit is shrouded in mystery. Only a
few ancient writings mention a terrible creature of destruction, which
burned whole towns to the ground. Some historians believe that the Ifrit had
some part in the destruction of the last remnants of the Masetian culture.
The first real mention of the Ifrit comes from the time of el-Arrasi. It is
said that the Khinasi liberator battled the Ifrit and almost killed it. In
return for its life, the creature agreed to grant el-Arrasi three wishes.
Since this was the time when el-Arrasi fought against Anuirean conquerors,
his first wish was to gain aid against the Anuireans. The Ifrit set upon the
foreigners' armies, devastating a large part of them, which allowed
el-Arrasi to drive them away easily. Knowing that the Ifrit would just as
eagerly devastate the Basarji army, el-Arrasi's second wish was "that the
Golden City of Ariya and its people be safe from thy ravages until the Star
of Basaïa falls." The Star of Basaïa, of course, means the sun, and the
Ifrit is bound to obey this wish to this day. El-Arrasi's third wish was
this: "That thee, foul spawn, be imprisoned in this bottle of iron to repent
for your sins until such time as thee be released from thy confinement by
opening the bottle." The Ifrit had no choice but to enter the presented iron
bottle, which immediately turned jet-black from his foul spirit.
El-Arrasi placed the bottle in the treasure chambers of Ariya, where it lay
for centuries, and none dared to approach it. But one night, a brave (and
foolish) thief stole into the chamber and made off with the bottle, thinking
it magical and valuable. When the thief opened the bottle, the Ifrit
immediately came out and slew his foolish savior. After that time, the
awnshegh has been wandering around the Plains States of Khinasi, especially
the Tarvan Waste, slaying all living creatures who happened in its path. He
cannot approach the city of Ariya due to el-Arrasi's wish, but tends to stay
away from most big cities in any case, as he fears blooded wizards (see
below). The Ifrit isn't interested in ruling a domain, as he only wishes to
slay mortals.

Climate/Terrain: The Plains States/Khinasi
Activity Cycle: Any, but prefers daylight so that he isn't so visible
Diet: None, but enjoys bathing in flames
Intelligence: 16
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Movement: 12, Fly 30 (B)
Size: L (15')
Armor Class: -1
Hit Dice: 16 (100 hit points)
Saves As: F16, W16
THAC0: 5
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 5d8/5d8
Special Att: Blood abilities, spells
Special Def: Immune to fire
Magic Resistance: 20%
Morale: 18
Blood: Azrai, great, 63
Blood Abilities: Alertness, Bloodform (great), Detect Life (minor),
Elemental Control (fire), Fear, Regeneration (only when immersed in fire),
Travel (as Basaïa)
Spells: Any the DM wishes, but most are fire-based; appropriate spells can
be found in Al-Qadim accessory Arabian Adventures. The Ifrit casts spells as
a 16th-level wizard.
Other Abilities: Wish (special condition, see below). The Ifrit also doesn't
show any signs of aging.

The Ifrit seeks targets to slay with his Detect Life ability. Once he spots
a suitable victim, the Ifrit appears before him in all his hideous glory,
and bellows, "Tremble, o mortal cur, and choose what death shall befall
you!" He then waits for the victim to choose the method of his death, and
applies it. Clever PCs may be able to trick the Ifrit by choosing a valid
method of death that is impossible for the awnshegh to apply. The Ifrit is
quite cunning, though, so few creatures can outwit him in his game. For
example, choosing to die of old age isn't going to work, since the Ifrit
probably has a spell that ages the character within minutes.
If the victim doesn't present a choice, or chooses to die in battle, the
Ifrit attacks and fights with his full ability, utilizing spells and fists
(he seldom uses weapons). And here comes the unusual part. If the characters
issue a challenge to the Ifrit and manage to subdue him, or otherwise reduce
him to a low hit point total, the Ifrit will offer to fulfill three wishes
if his life is spared. It is not known why he does this - perhaps it was a
geas placed on him by Basaïa in order to reduce the damage inflicted to the
world by her offspring (if you subscribe to that theory). Only if his offer
is refused will the Ifrit try to get away, either via teleportation spells,
or via his Travel ability (using another spell to create the necessary
fire). If the characters accept his offer, the Ifrit will grant them three
wishes (collectively), but will try to pervert any wish to evil ends.
And here comes the final unusual thing about the Ifrit. If a blooded wizard
presents a bottle made of pure iron, and uses a carefully worded wish to
order the Ifrit to enter the bottle, the awnshegh will be imprisoned in the
container until it is opened again. This was what el-Arrasi did with his
third wish. So the characters can save the land from the Ifrit's ravages if
they are willing to sacrifice one of their wishes. Note that this
information is not widely known, and the Ifrit certainly won't volunteer it.
Although the records of el-Arrasi's deeds (including his encounter with the
Ifrit) are available in any civilized Khinasi city, the characters might
still need to do some research before they find out that it is possible to
repeat el-Arrasi's deed, and especially that it requires a blooded wizard.

******************
Aleksei Andrievski
aka Solmyr, Archmage of the Azure Star
Visit the Archmage's Tower at
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/2198/index.html

[MANTA]

Congratulations. This Awnshegh is really nice!
Great story (the most important in my opinion for an NPC to work)

MANTA
ip209007@ip.pt

- ----------
From: Aleksei Andrievski
To: Birthright Mailing List
Subject: [BIRTHRIGHT] - New Awnshegh: the Ifrit (long)
Date: sexta-feira, 15 de maio de 1998 16:54

Here's what I developed after thinking about genies in Cerilia. I'd love to
hear your comments.

The Ifrit

"Tremble, o mortal cur, and choose what death shall befall you!"

The Ifrit is a strange awnshegh that occasionally crops up in the lands of
Khinasi. Little is known about his origins and early history, and there are
several theories presented by Khinasi sages:
1.The Ifrit was a powerful flame wizard who served Azrai at Deismaar.
2.The Ifrit actually came from Djapar, where such creatures are rumored to
be common. He then acquired his bloodline after slaying a scion of Azrai. A
variation on this theory holds that the Ifrit is the creation of the
Magian,
which escaped to Cerilia, and which the Magian has come to retrieve.
However, this is unlikely as the Ifrit has been seen in Khinasi for
centuries, and the Magian came only recently.
3.The Ifrit is actually the illegitimate son of Azrai and Basaïa. He was
conceived by Basaïa who was secretly impregnated by Azrai, and she cast her
horrible child away in disgust. The connection with Basaïa seems to be
indicated by the Ifrit's affinity to fire and several blood abilities
derived from Basaïa.
4.An even wilder theory claims that the Ifrit was created when a scion of
Azrai was slain near a fire source. The blood of Azrai fell on the fire,
animating it and shaping it into a living creature.
Which of the above theories is correct, if any, nobody but the Ifrit knows,
and he isn't telling.

As said above, the early history of the Ifrit is shrouded in mystery. Only
a
few ancient writings mention a terrible creature of destruction, which
burned whole towns to the ground. Some historians believe that the Ifrit
had
some part in the destruction of the last remnants of the Masetian culture.
The first real mention of the Ifrit comes from the time of el-Arrasi. It is
said that the Khinasi liberator battled the Ifrit and almost killed it. In
return for its life, the creature agreed to grant el-Arrasi three wishes.
Since this was the time when el-Arrasi fought against Anuirean conquerors,
his first wish was to gain aid against the Anuireans. The Ifrit set upon
the
foreigners' armies, devastating a large part of them, which allowed
el-Arrasi to drive them away easily. Knowing that the Ifrit would just as
eagerly devastate the Basarji army, el-Arrasi's second wish was "that the
Golden City of Ariya and its people be safe from thy ravages until the Star
of Basaïa falls." The Star of Basaïa, of course, means the sun, and the
Ifrit is bound to obey this wish to this day. El-Arrasi's third wish was
this: "That thee, foul spawn, be imprisoned in this bottle of iron to
repent
for your sins until such time as thee be released from thy confinement by
opening the bottle." The Ifrit had no choice but to enter the presented
iron
bottle, which immediately turned jet-black from his foul spirit.
El-Arrasi placed the bottle in the treasure chambers of Ariya, where it lay
for centuries, and none dared to approach it. But one night, a brave (and
foolish) thief stole into the chamber and made off with the bottle,
thinking
it magical and valuable. When the thief opened the bottle, the Ifrit
immediately came out and slew his foolish savior. After that time, the
awnshegh has been wandering around the Plains States of Khinasi, especially
the Tarvan Waste, slaying all living creatures who happened in its path. He
cannot approach the city of Ariya due to el-Arrasi's wish, but tends to
stay
away from most big cities in any case, as he fears blooded wizards (see
below). The Ifrit isn't interested in ruling a domain, as he only wishes to
slay mortals.

Climate/Terrain: The Plains States/Khinasi
Activity Cycle: Any, but prefers daylight so that he isn't so visible
Diet: None, but enjoys bathing in flames
Intelligence: 16
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Movement: 12, Fly 30 (B)
Size: L (15')
Armor Class: -1
Hit Dice: 16 (100 hit points)
Saves As: F16, W16
THAC0: 5
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 5d8/5d8
Special Att: Blood abilities, spells
Special Def: Immune to fire
Magic Resistance: 20%
Morale: 18
Blood: Azrai, great, 63
Blood Abilities: Alertness, Bloodform (great), Detect Life (minor),
Elemental Control (fire), Fear, Regeneration (only when immersed in fire),
Travel (as Basaïa)
Spells: Any the DM wishes, but most are fire-based; appropriate spells can
be found in Al-Qadim accessory Arabian Adventures. The Ifrit casts spells
as
a 16th-level wizard.
Other Abilities: Wish (special condition, see below). The Ifrit also
doesn't
show any signs of aging.

The Ifrit seeks targets to slay with his Detect Life ability. Once he spots
a suitable victim, the Ifrit appears before him in all his hideous glory,
and bellows, "Tremble, o mortal cur, and choose what death shall befall
you!" He then waits for the victim to choose the method of his death, and
applies it. Clever PCs may be able to trick the Ifrit by choosing a valid
method of death that is impossible for the awnshegh to apply. The Ifrit is
quite cunning, though, so few creatures can outwit him in his game. For
example, choosing to die of old age isn't going to work, since the Ifrit
probably has a spell that ages the character within minutes.
If the victim doesn't present a choice, or chooses to die in battle, the
Ifrit attacks and fights with his full ability, utilizing spells and fists
(he seldom uses weapons). And here comes the unusual part. If the
characters
issue a challenge to the Ifrit and manage to subdue him, or otherwise
reduce
him to a low hit point total, the Ifrit will offer to fulfill three wishes
if his life is spared. It is not known why he does this - perhaps it was a
geas placed on him by Basaïa in order to reduce the damage inflicted to the
world by her offspring (if you subscribe to that theory). Only if his offer
is refused will the Ifrit try to get away, either via teleportation spells,
or via his Travel ability (using another spell to create the necessary
fire). If the characters accept his offer, the Ifrit will grant them three
wishes (collectively), but will try to pervert any wish to evil ends.
And here comes the final unusual thing about the Ifrit. If a blooded wizard
presents a bottle made of pure iron, and uses a carefully worded wish to
order the Ifrit to enter the bottle, the awnshegh will be imprisoned in the
container until it is opened again. This was what el-Arrasi did with his
third wish. So the characters can save the land from the Ifrit's ravages if
they are willing to sacrifice one of their wishes. Note that this
information is not widely known, and the Ifrit certainly won't volunteer
it.
Although the records of el-Arrasi's deeds (including his encounter with the
Ifrit) are available in any civilized Khinasi city, the characters might
still need to do some research before they find out that it is possible to
repeat el-Arrasi's deed, and especially that it requires a blooded wizard.

******************
Aleksei Andrievski
aka Solmyr, Archmage of the Azure Star
Visit the Archmage's Tower at
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/2198/index.html

'unsubscribe birthright' as the body of the message.
- ----------