Nyth (creature)

Nyths, otherwise known as wildfire by some barbarians of the North, were predatory aberrations that appeared as glowing balls of light. They were very similar to will-o'-wisps, and hence they were often mistaken for them.

Description
A nyth was little more than a sphere of light, in diameter, with hue and intensity both changing as it wished. They were completely silent unless they chose to speak, and most spoke Common..

Abilities
Nyths had a natural ability to shoot magic missiles from their bodies. They could fire one magic missile every dozen seconds or so, to a range of. They pulsed brightly when they did so. Moreover, magic missiles cast at them by other creatures were reflected back at their casters.

Rather than being harmed by fire or lightning energies, nyths instead absorbed them. Such energy healed a nyth of its injuries, and when a certain amount was absorbed, it would split into two separate, smaller nyths. This caused bursts of light and sent a multitude of magic missiles flying in random directions, enough that all living creatures up to away were hit by up to three.

Like a wisp, a nyth could extinguish its glow, becoming invisible for anywhere from 12 to 48 seconds. Firing a magic missile ended their invisibility.

Combat
They hunted for prey in daytime, preferring to hide in front of the sun to disguise their light. They attacked with their magic missiles and, if they got close enough, would bite their prey. They used their invisibility to get closer for a surprise attack, or else to escape unseen. They would deliberately fly into fires such as torches to heal any injuries they had.

Nyths were also immune to any effect that influenced the mind or morale, including charms, compulsions, and phantasms, owing to their alien thought processes.

Ecology
Being quite similar, nyths and will-o'-wisps could communicate and were known to ally with each other.

People in Faerun learned to avoid nyths, who would avoid them in turn. Some barbarians of the North believed them to be evil spirits. On occasion, nyths were employed as guardians, and defended their new homes against certain intruders with great pride.

Homelands
In northwest Faerûn, nyths were known to dwell within the Mere of Dead Men, the Rat Hills, and Ardeep Forest.

History
A nyth once haunted the western fringe of the Forest of Lethyr, until a cabal of wizards defeated it in a battle that ended with the deaths of all involved. The city of Nyth in Thesk took its name from this nyth.

In the, during the Rat Hills Conflagration of the Rat Hills garbage dump south of Waterdeep, Waterdhavian patrols spotted a group of will-o'-wisps and nyths amidst the fires and engaged them. Though two guards were slain, they drove off the wisps, but the nyths remained in the blaze. The fire caused the nyths to reproduce exponentially and explosively. They went on to populate the area, with four known in the Rat Hills and lots more in Ardeep Forest by 1372 DR.