Cloaker Lord

A cloaker lord is simply a bigger cloaker. Folded, it could pass for the black cloak of an ogre or a small giant. Spread open, it becomes a batlike thing with black wings tipped in ivory claws, a flat body with a pale belly, a horned face set with red eyes and needle fangs, and a thrashing tail.

The lord flies at its prey and, with a successful attack roll, folds itself around the target's body. The trapped victim can fight back only with weapons no longer than its own forearm, but those hit automatically, at -3 to damage. Every round the lord bites automatically for 2d4 plus the victim's unadjusted Armor Class, with shields ignored. It soaks blood in through its skin and keeps feeding until clean bones tumble out when it unwraps.

Strikes against a lord with a captive deal half their damage to it and half to the victim, while area spells such as fireball hurt both fully. As it feeds, the lord can whip its heavy, bone-spurred tail at anyone nearby for 2d6. The tail is AC 1 and comes off after more than 24 points of damage.

Its moan has four settings. Unease reaches 90 feet and imposes -2 on attack and damage rolls; anyone in range who hears it for six rounds in a row slips into a trance for as long as it continues, unable to attack, cast, or defend, and attacks against them gain +6. Fear affects all within 40 feet, who must save vs. spell or flee at top speed for 2 rounds. Nausea fills a cone 40 feet long and 30 feet wide at its end; a save vs. poison at -1 avoids 1d4+1 rounds of helpless sickness. The last setting works as hold monster on one creature within 50 feet for 6 rounds, though turning this moan on a new target releases the old one.

Shadow shifting lets the lord shroud itself in darkness for an effective AC 1, or more often spin off decoys as a mirror image spell creating 1d4+2 images. Only one shadow effect works per round, but the lord may moan, attack physically, and shadow shift in the same round. Biting is the exception: it cannot bite and moan together.

Their alien thinking lets cloaker lords slip past most psionics and spells that read or sway minds. Resolve each attempt case by case, with experienced foes who have practiced against lords succeeding more often.

Lords dominate ordinary cloakers by nature, and lately they have begun rounding up these usually solitary creatures into loose raiding packs. They also cow other monsters, such as deepspawn, into service by moaning at them until they submit.

When a lord grows old or nears death, it hunts down a cloaker and eats it. If it lives another 2d4 days, it bursts apart into a tiny new lord and 1d6 tiny cloakers. The hatchlings can moan from the start but deal only half damage and have no command of shadow shifting yet. Instinct scatters them in every direction to hunt and learn their powers alone.