Glitterman

A glitterman seems to be a wealthy, magnetic man, not especially handsome but blessed with twinkling eyes, a knowing smile, grace and charm. He always dresses in the richest fashion and flaunts money without need, a fine cigar in one hand and a beautiful companion on his arm. He speaks every common language of the region he haunts.

Glittermen avoid fighting and almost always flee, and their powers make them very slippery. At will, one per round, a glitterman can use blink, cantrip, suggestion and ventriloquism, and three times a day each blur and ESP, all as a 7th-level wizard. Only weapons of +1 or better can hit him. Trapped, he will fight with a dagger or short sword.

He is powerless to hurt, directly, anyone with no concept of wealth, such as small children or people from cultures with no private property. They can still suffer from his plots and his spell-like powers.

Behind the smile is pure evil. A glitterman lives to sow suspicion, hatred and violence through greed alone, designing intricate schemes that end in ruin. Their core is his fool's gold, a far stronger version of the spell. At will he makes any ordinary material look like whatever local wealth suits, as long as it is roughly the right size and has similar physical properties: iron bolts become gold coins, dry leaves become banknotes, perfect down to the local mint marks. Each illusion lasts up to twenty-four hours or until he ends it, and he can keep any number going at once. Disbelief, if players try, suffers -6. Those who know the truth automatically see through it, though the illusion itself persists, and they may help others disbelieve at the DM's discretion.

The crudest trick is to let a desperate family "find" an unattended fortune, then dissolve it mid-celebration and enjoy their crash into despair. Most glittermen find that too simple. They see themselves as artists of avarice and build elaborate tragedies: two feuding shopkeepers, say, each fed identical illusory riches and gentle suggestions until they come to blows. Many chase a masterpiece, a tangled plot of betrayal, theft and bloodshed involving dozens of people. Folk credit them with sensing greed, but it is simply sharp observation. To those unaware of what he is, a glitterman has Charisma 16.

They wander from town to town, frequenting the best inns, taverns, shops and restaurants to spend money that does not exist while starting a dozen disasters a night. No meeting between two has ever been recorded; they might ignore each other, prey on each other, or swap stories of their triumphs.

No female or young glitterman has ever been seen, and they do not seem to breed. They simply arise wherever people trade with money. The wandering fortune-tellers call them midasites and say they are the collected greed of outsiders made flesh. They breathe and live but need no food, though they love fine meals bought with their false coin, and they leave a trail of wreckage wherever they go.