Shadevari

A shadevar walks upright on two legs and wears a hide of iron-gray reptile scales. Its face is a nightmare: two black tusks sweep from the mouth like scimitars, a single serrated onyx horn juts from the brow, and where eyes should be there are only shallow hollows. Barbs bristle from its chest, arms and head crest, and its hands and feet hide retractable talons.

A shadevar always acts first in the round, unless its foe has magical speed from a haste spell or a quickness blade. Only blades and missiles enchanted to +2 or more hurt it; wounds from lesser blades close almost at once. It can also knock missiles aside. Against a thrown dagger, spear or hand axe it needs a successful attack roll against AC 5, and against an arrow or quarrel one against AC 2. While not in melee, these deflections cost it nothing, up to three per round; once locked in melee, each attempt uses up one of its attacks.

Legend counts only 13 shadevari ever, ancient beasts that left or were driven from the world long ago. Their story is said to lie in an old tome of shadow lore now owned by a mage in a distant trading city. Recently a shadow-ruler called the Umbral King summoned several back as servants and loosed them on a group of heroes from a secret society of bards and rangers; at least four were destroyed in those events, and what that means for the rest is unknown.

Shadevari have no eyes and hunt by smell and hearing. Their keen ears catch the whistle of a missile in flight and fix its path, which explains their uncanny deflections. One sage believes they find their way with high-pitched cries, the way some bats do. If the DM adopts this idea, a magical silence effectively blinds a shadevar, worsening its AC by 4 and ending its ability to bat away missiles.