Dark creeper

The dark creepers were a race of humanoids dwelling in the Underdark. They were natural rogues with powers of stealth and shadow. They were one of the two subraces of the dark ones.

Description
Although humanoid in form, dark creepers were stunted in build, being small and slight. Unusually, they had unguligrade legs (similar to a goat's), ending in small black hooves in place of feet. These hooves were soft, making no sound on stone. A dark creeper's skin was pallid, and it had a large nose, feral- or sinister-looking beady eyes, and bushy eyebrows. They only ever wore black, shrouding themselves all over in cloaks, wraps and turbans or hoods. They typically fought in leather armor and wielded a dagger or short sword and longbow suiting their size.

Powers
Thrice a day, a dark creeper could envelop itself in a cloak of shadows, concealing it from view even in bright light, aiding its defense. This darkness was magical, so a foe needed the ability to see in magical darkness to penetrate it.

A dark creeper could utilize all its acute senses—hearing and smell as well as sight—to discern its surroundings and locate beings. Even in absolute darkness, it had perfect sight out to 60 feet (18.3 meters).

However, when caught in daylight (natural or magical), a dark creeper was dazzled or badly demoralized in all ways.

A dark creeper also had an extraordinary ability to evade harm.

Personality
The dark creepers hated light of any kind, and would assault any being who carried a source of illumination, whether a lantern, a torch, or magic. They did not harass those who passed without the aid of an artificial light source.

Combat
Dark creepers were craven creatures, but highly skilled in stealth and in ambush. They usually surprised and picked off their foes from the shadows. They were natural backstabbers, most dangerous when making a sneak attack from flanking or surprise. Dark creepers fought in total darkness wherever possible, and beat a hasty retreat if they lost the upper hand. They fought in silence; even death would only elicit a gasp.

Society
Dark creepers were led into ambush and combat by dark stalkers, the leaders of the dark ones.

If not working alone, dark ones typically operated in bands of two to five dark creepers led by one dark stalker. Their tribes comprised less than a hundred members, with twenty to eighty dark creepers and two to five dark stalker leaders.

Homelands
Beyond the Prime Material plane, dark creepers could be found in the Domains of Dread.

Languages
Dark ones spoke their own tongue, called Dark One. They seemed to comprehend Undercommon, but no one ever heard them utter it. They also knew Common.

Relationships
The dark ones were an enigmatic people, even to other races in the Underdark. They usually only came into contact with outsiders when they stole some item from others or defended their lairs from their foes.

History
In the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR, a group of dark one mercenaries (a dark stalker and four dark creepers) were hired by clerics of Shar involved in the operations at the Temple of Mystra in Wheloon and the Lost Refuge in the Vast Swamp in Cormyr. By early Eleint, they'd taken up residence in the Tomb of Chonis to watch over the petitioners travelling between the two points. In particular, they watched for groups investigating these petitioners. Adventurers investigating the Temple of Mystra may have encountered them.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Dungeon #20, "The Ship Of Night" • Scepter Tower of Spellgard • Council of Spiders