Lhiannan Shee

When she chooses to be seen, the spirit called a lhiannan shee (said LAN-an SHE) appears as a breathtakingly lovely human, elf or half-elf woman, always freshly bathed, often trailing a floral scent. Her looks and clothes never change, and though she seems solid she casts no shadow and makes no sound. Legend calls her the ghost of a suicide, a woman who died for a gifted man who would not love her back.

She is naturally invisible yet can show herself to one chosen victim alone. Detection magic of any kind (detect invisibility, detect undead, detect evil and the like) has only a 1% chance per caster level each round of revealing her, and she senses any divination within 120 feet.

She hunts bards almost exclusively; where she dwells, each month a male bard runs a 1% chance per level of attracting one. She trails him unseen for at least a month, then appears when nobody can witness it and plays whatever role wins him over until he touches her. Her charming touch works once per night, dusk to dawn, with a -6 penalty to his save (Wisdom bonuses apply). A failed save makes her his only love. Breaking it takes remove curse or dispel magic from a caster of 10th level or above, or any wish.

Each night he slips off to meet her, and 95% of the time she claims one kiss he cannot refuse. Each kiss steals 1 hit point permanently from his maximum and adds it to hers (to her cap of 40), her sole means of healing. Only wish (2-5 points each) or heal (1 point each) restores the loss. He does not notice, though friends see him fade; his level and advancement are untouched, but a month or two usually kills him. At zero he dies, and only resurrection or a wish brings him back sane. The thrall resists any rescue, may attack his own friends, and fights her attackers at +1 to hit until she escapes or is destroyed, which ends the charm.

At night she handles objects with Strength 8; in daylight or continual light she cannot touch anything, though such light raises her Armor Class. She takes harm only from +1 or better weapons, and only while visible. Undead immunities cover paralysis, poison, cold, death magic, charm, hold, sleep, fear and insanity. Electricity deals half damage and drives her off for the night, holy water deals 1-4 per vial, and protection from undead works on her. She is turned as a wight, even when merely suspected, and her magic resistance does not hinder turning. A seen cleric's raise dead or resurrection cast on her destroys her.

Her thrall's art becomes uncanny. Listeners save vs. paralyzation at -1 per two bard levels; those who fail shift two reaction steps the way he wishes, those who pass shift two steps against him, unnerved. His rallying songs are doubled, giving allies +2 to attacks, +2 to saves or +4 to morale after three rounds of performance, even in melee, and he can sing a dirge that cuts Morale by 4. These reach 10 feet per level. Listeners also save at an extra -2 against musical magic items, while anyone within 60 feet of him is immune to magical song, harpy song included.

Lhiannan shee are wholly solitary, haunting springs, wild streams and unspoiled woods and entering towns only to follow prey. Their treasure is trinkets from dead lovers. One famous wandering bard calls them ghosts of obsession and says each forgets its past victims the moment it finds a new one. Bards rarely sing of them, and priests know little beyond calling them fit punishment for reckless poets.

They give nothing back to the living world and, preying only on bards, barely touch it, yet they are feared far beyond their numbers. They are known chiefly from one prime world, with recent sightings among the islands of the misty dread realm.