Al-Mi'raj

An al-mi'raj is a big, soft-furred rabbit with a single spiraled black horn of one to two feet jutting from its brow like a unicorn's. Yellow fur is common, though white, pink and pale green ones turn up. They are dim-witted but unpredictable. Their origin is unknown; one theory names them a botched project of tinker gnomes, who still keep them as pets, and the name supposedly means 'experiment seventy-two' in an old gnomish dialect. They are found on many worlds.

Nervous like any rabbit, an al-mi'raj turns vicious rather than fleeing, leaping to gore an intruder. Its short-range teleport earns it the name blink bunny: on 4 or more on 1d6 it blinks, reappearing about 3 feet from its foe and attacking at once. Roll 1d8 for where it lands: 1 straight ahead of the foe, then moving around its left side, 2 front-left, 3 left flank, 4 rear-left, 5 directly behind, then up the right, 6 rear-right, 7 right flank, 8 front-right. All are immune to poison.

About 10% of adults are psionic, and one that sits still instead of charging is surely such a one. It uses its powers in a set order: control light darkens the sky, control winds raises a wind, levitation lifts it, and molecular agitation heats items until they burn. Next comes telekinesis to hurl rocks, control flames to steer fire, and detonate to blow up arms and armor. Once aloft, it rides its winds with glowing red eyes, harassing foes and blinking away from melee. Psionic summary: all its powers fall under psychokinesis, the sciences being telekinesis and detonate, the devotions molecular agitation, levitation, and control of lights, flames and winds.

Left alone, they graze peacefully in woods and pastures, building clustered ground nests of grass, twigs and fur. In spring males joust with their horns for mates, and about two months later a female bears 2-12 kits with horn nubs, fully grown in a year. Psionic ones, called bunnies of the Abyss, gain their powers as adults and act normally unless the herd is threatened.

Fast breeders, they can strip crops and wild growth where predators are scarce, and a nesting ground becomes a thicket of twigs guarded by swarms of blinking defenders. The fur is warm, the meat tasty, and the horn used in poison cures. Some gnome homes still hang their lucky hind feet. Taken young, non-psionic ones train well into fearless companions; psionic ones tend to detonate their trainers' belongings.