Baku

A baku is an odd elephant with a lizard's tail. Its trunk rarely exceeds four feet (baku believe a longer trunk means greater ability, a mere superstition), and two tusks curve up from the lower jaw. The forefeet are elephantine, the hind feet clawed and padded like a lion's. Dragonlike scales run down its back and heavy tail, and over the back of the head on males; elsewhere its hide is as tough as a rhino's.

Despite its bulk it moves quickly, goring and stomping with both forelegs, though it stomps only foes of man size or under 6 feet tall. Its trunk can wield simple items, so rich or high-status baku may fight with magic weapons or wands. It can turn invisible by psionics at will, spending no PSPs and never failing the power check.

Every four rounds it can trumpet. A neutral good baku's blast harms only evil beings and a dark one's only good beings, while holy baku pick either or both. Vulnerable creatures within 40 feet take 1d8 damage and must save vs. paralyzation or flee as if under fear cast by a 12th-level wizard. Good baku are shy and gentle but fight evil monsters without flinching.

Psionics: telepathy (sciences superior invisibility and psionic crush; devotions truthear, mind thrust, invisibility, telepathic projection, contact, mind link, awe, and conceal thoughts), psychometabolism (sciences metamorphosis and animal affinity; devotions reduction, lend health, ectoplasmic form, cell adjustment, and absorb disease), clairvoyance (science aura sight; devotions danger sense and comprehend writing), and psychoportation (science probability travel; devotions astral projection and dream travel).

Baku come from the neutral planes. They avoid desolate places and prefer to walk unseen among people. About 80% are good and quietly serve humanity, favoring semitropical forest societies. Some 15% are evil, the Dark Ones, who work against their good kin and spread misery. The last 5% are true neutral, the Great Ones or Holy Ones, always of 18+ Intelligence; nothing visible sets them apart, yet other baku obey them reverently.

Evil merchants pay 200 gp per tusk. Good folk consider the trade an atrocity, and neutrals find it distasteful. Holy baku who hear of tusk dealers may journey far, physically or by astral projection, to warn them off, and if ignored they may hire local adventurers to steal the tusks and bury them properly.