Flying fingers

Flying fingers were flying and swarming contracts, stitched together out of severed hands.

"A rather hostile mage who raised his tower in the Pomarj -- his greatest mistake; it's gone now, of course -- had his claws fire magic missiles at intruders. "Flying fingers," he called them, and I've also heard the term in Faerûn, in Waterdeep; I believe the mages I overheard were speaking of their appearance in Undermountain."

- Mordenkainen

Description
Flying fingers were severed left hands of various species. Some appeared to be humanoidss, while others were clawed and monstrous. All individuals members of the swarms had eyes sewn unto their palms.

Abilities
A variant of flying fingers, known as necromancer knuckles were virtually the same as fingers but possessed a dangerous and potent ability of spell turning while forming larger swarms.

Some inventive spellcasters found a way to enhance flying fingers, giving each of the members of the swarm a singular ability to land touch-based magical attacks, such as burning hands, cause light wounds, chill touch, ghoul touch, faerie fire, and shocking grasp. Mordenkainen claimed that flying fingers could also be ensorcelled to discharge magic missiles spell, while Elminster Aumar wondered if the spell of finger of death was an option for the flying fingers.

Not being undead, flying fingers could not be turned and were unaffected by holy water and undead control. They were also immune to charm, sleep, hold, death magic, and could not be resurrected via raise dead spell. The resurrection spell only rendered flying fingers immovable for several seconds but did not affect them in any other way. Spells that inflicted cold damage, however, made flying fingers brittle and were affective in dealing with these flying swarms.

Behavior
Flying fingers possessed limited intelligence, more of a base instinct, which drew them to search, pursue, and dispatch the intruders after their creator tasked them to do so.

Combat
When flying fingers caught up with their targets, they swooped into battle without regard for their safety. They fought until destroyed—a swarm attempted to engulf their targets in the fingers' swift, erratic movements. When a creature was trapped inside a swarm, it became distracted and disoriented by the creatures, unable to concentrate on a spell or to land a successful attack. Flying fingers also posed a significant threat to prone combatants, pummeling them into the ground given the opportunity.

Ecology
These constructs were animated using dark magics to serve as guardians. Flying fingers always existed in overwhelming swarms, sometimes living in solitude or ovations of up to 6 swarms.

Flying fingers were created from the left hands and eyeballs of three hundred small or medium-sized humanoid creatures. The eyes were sewn onto the palms of severed hands; the stitching and mastery of the sewing skill mattered not. The next step was treating the sewn constructs with magical unguents that were worth 500 gp (1000 gp to create necromancer knuckles) and casting an evil spell. A competent crafter of constructed was able to bring these bing to life by casting animate dead, fly, cat's grace, owl's wisdom, andlesser geas spells (with additional spell of spell turning when creating necromancer knuckles).

History
Flying fingers and necromancer knuckles were first created by the Mad Mage Halaster Blackcloak of Undermountain. Most of these creatures were found in the mega-dungeon underneath the city of Waterdeep, serving and guarding Halaster. However, over the course of centuries, other wizards managed to discover the secret of flying fingers' creation. Most often, these swarming constructs saved evil spellcasters and liches all across the Realms.

In the mid 14 century DR, flying fingers were known to be used as guard and unleashed via traps within Uthtower, the ancestral seat of the Royal House of Myrmoran.

In 1371 DR, flying fingers were among many of the inhabitants of the Dungeon of the Crypt, located in the eastern Trades Ward of Waterdeep.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Dungeon #73, "Eye of Myrkul" &bull; Dungeon #127, "Vampires of Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Crypt"