Wingless Wonder

Picture an egg that learned to walk. The alkada, nicknamed the wingless wonder, totters on two feeble, gummy-padded legs while endlessly flapping two stubby arms. It is blue-green above and purplish below, reddening when excited, and nine rubbery tentacles ring the mouth atop its head. Its only voice is a thin chitter. Its fuzzy skin heals poorly, so many wonders leave a trail of blood.

Nearsighted (10-foot sight and infravision) and fearless, a wonder explores by touch. Its tentacles stretch from 2 to 12 feet and their tacky tips cling to anything; Strength 13 or more, alcohol, or oil of slipperiness breaks free. Webs, sovereign glue and viscid globs never hold it, though entangle does.

Each free tentacle swings twice a round. The first swing rakes with a bony hook for 1 hp per tentacle that hits. The second is a grab: the victim rolls d20 against the wonder's d10 plus the tentacles it is using (those busy elsewhere do not count). Lose, and the victim is pulled to the mouth, bitten automatically for 2d4, and released. Tentacles dodge as AC 3 and are severed only by 7 or more points in one round, though such hits still count toward killing the wonder.

A permanent anti-magic shell stops spells at its skin, yet once a day the wonder can release a random minor effect like a wand of wonder, at a time it picks but with no say over the result. Only in that round, as the shell visibly flickers, can spells affect it.

It regenerates a hit point every 2 rounds and fire never harms it. A permanent mind bar (as the telepathic devotion) makes psionic combat fail, and mind-affecting spells slip off in a flash of colorful chaos. It cannot be stunned or subdued.

Slaying it unleashes a psychic death cry in a 60-foot cone that spreads from 5 feet across at the wonder to 20 at the far end. Those inside save vs. wands at -4 against confusion (as the spell) for 1d10+2 rounds, then make a second check, vs. breath weapon, to escape feeblemind. Failing both spares the mind but burns the body for 2d12 hp.

Easily killed by ordinary weapons, wonders are rare near settlements. They spend their days tasting their surroundings, drawn to red, purple and glitter, above all gems; their only treasure is swallowed stones. Each is both sexes, and two that meet twine tentacles and chitter for 2 rounds to mate. An egg grows inside for 6 or 7 months, making the shell glow faintly purple-white like faerie fire, then drops behind the wandering parent and hatches in 1d4 rounds into a clumsy youngster with 1+1 HD and adult abilities.

They eat fruit and vegetables plus worms, birds, carrion and small animals. Anyone who eats wonder flesh rolls a poison save at -1: failure deals 3d10 within 1d4 rounds, success only 1d4 and brief nausea. The anti-magic ends at death and severed parts keep no powers. Before rotting in 3+1d4 days, the hide works as a cloak against nonmagical fire (half damage, or none on a successful save).

Transformed wonders: 20% are transformed beings, usually human mages. Wizards of a proud magical empire of ages past fled its fall in this form, by a spell drow later rediscovered as wonderform; such voluntary wonders can talk, cast memorized spells and change back at will, with mind and alignment hidden. Drow tell of a matron who swatted one aside and died with most of her house under its meteor swarm.

Others are imprisoned by polymorph spells from surface wizards and drow priestesses that keep mages alive but harmless. These captives cannot speak or cast, only chitter or scratch words with sticks, and can trigger the random magic without steering it. Each year they must roll percentile dice above 50 minus Wisdom or go mad. Only during the wild magic round can dispel magic, remove curse, or a well-worded polymorph other free them, followed by a system shock roll.