Spirits of the air were a type of spirit that solely existed to serve the deities that commanded the wind[3][4] and air, most of whom were elemental in nature.[1][2]
Description[]
These spirits resembled monkeys, but stood 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) tall.[1][2][3][4] They had long, prehensile tails. Their fingers were elongated, forming the ribs of their wings,[1] which some likened to the wings of a bat. They also had clawed feet and sported two tusks[2][3][4][6] that curled up towards their nose, then out towards their cheeks. Their tusked mouths always had a merry expression.[1]
Spirits of the air were born into the world with a white coloration. During the day, as their bodies soaked in the rays of the sun they became very colorful,[2] sort of blond.[1] But during the night, under the light of the moon, their colors would wash away and leave them with a coloration that was either[2] black[2][3][4][6] or dark brown.[1]
They typically dressed in brilliant, shining fabric that was ever-shifting in hue and greater than most silk or spider thread.[2]
Personality[]
These spirits had an average level of intelligence.[2][3][4] They were fierce in their desire to serve and obey their masters,[2] incapable of refusing orders,[7]but were not by nature aggressive. When not serving deities they lived carefree, reveling in the sheer joy of flight.[2]
Abilities[]
Spirits of air were capable of seeing in areas of low-light and total darkness.[1] And they had a highly developed sense of smell.[8]
They radiated a 30 feet (9.1 meters) radius magical aura in which they could control winds at will. They could do so while performing nearly any activity, with the exception of combat. Finally, a spirit of air could only be harmed by weapons with a +1 or greater enchantment[2] and were immune to air-based effects as well as strong winds.[8]
Once per day a spirit of the air could transform itself into a whirlwind of air.[8]
Magic[]
Spirits of air possessed an array of spell-like abilities. At will they could cast call lightning and detect magic. Once per day they could cast confusion, control weather, whirlwind, and wind walk.[1]
In addition to their innate abilities, there were a number of divine spells of the Air and Luck domains that spirits of the air could cast. These included the following:[8]
- aid, animal messenger, command, comprehend languages, create water, cure minor wounds, cure moderate wounds, dispel magic, divine favor, enthrall, entropic shield, freedom of movement, invisibility purge, light, magic vestment, protection from elements, resistance, summon monster I, summon monster IV, virtue, and wind wall.[8]
Death[]
When a spirit of the air died their body released all the colors that it had built up in life as an array of arcing rainbows. Bright, merry and playful imp-like beings would also be released by their rainbows, whose existence would last for no more than an hour or two. These creatures could not be commanded or trapped by any means. They lacked knowledge of the world and spoke in a rapid, high-pitched gibbering manner.[7]
Combat[]
These creatures fought with their clawed feet,[1][2][3][4] teeth, and wings.[1] They also fought with wide range of weaponry that typically included darts, longbows, two-handed swords, and footman's maces,[2] and +1 heavy maces. They sometimes held these weapons with their tails.[1]
With the exception of the last one, the weapons they fought with were not enchanted, but rather imbued with the might of the deity they served. This allowed them to injure any creature that could only be harmed by +3 or greater enchanted weapons. When other creatures tried to wield their weapons they would function mundanely.[2]
When engaged in combat a spirit of the air almost never allowed its feet to touch the ground.[8][2] They always fought with their spell-like abilities before moving in for close quarters combat. They were also skilled at fighting against airborne enemies.[1]
History[]
In 1357 DR, some spirits of the air were being commanded by the evil sorcerer Opawang on behalf of their master in the Celestial Bureaucracy. During that time they resided within the mountains of Akari Island.[6]
Society[]
These creatures lived their whole lives in the air, never touching the ground.[2]
Diet[]
Homelands[]
Spirits of the air could be found throughout the Upper Planes, the neutral-aligned planes,[5] and the Elemental Plane of Air.[5][9] They claimed windy areas as their territories and were generally seen in the upper part of atmospheres, near windy mountaintops, or near the windswept plains of lowlands. Due to their remarkable mobility, the territory for spirits of air could sometimes stretch for hundreds of miles[1]
In Prime Material plane, these creatures were only commonly encountered in the land of Kara-Tur.[10]
Languages[]
Spirits of the air were capable of speaking Auran, the Draconic language, and the Giant language.[1]
Relationships[]
Spirits of the air served deities that commanded the air and wind regardless of their alignment.[1][2][7] They were particularly favored servants of the goddess Aerdrie Faenya.[11] In some cases they even served non-deific powers that dealt in those same areas,[1] such as the good archomental Chan, who had them keep an eye on the daily issues of her realm.[12]
Any god who could create and control the wind could create and control one of these creatures.[2] The deities that these spirits served were capable of summoning up to a hundred of them each day.[3][4] They served as either messengers of full-on proxies.[2]
Rumors & Legends[]
According to an ancient legend, when the gods first made the multiverse, they looked upon their work knowing that it was complete, yet incomplete. The only thing left for it was for it to be destroyed, the final inevitability that would mark it as "complete". Believing themselves to be omniscient, they regarded this fact with happiness and sadness, but their hubris proved the undoing of their work's "finished" state. Their speech had given life to the air around them, and before it could be stopped the words took shape, coalescing into small, silvery entities that mocked their parents' pride.[2]
Angered at their disrespect, the gods drew back in some of the life they had accidentally given, binding the spirits to their will. So it was that the spirits of the air, despite their generally free existence and adherence to no one deity, would forever hear the rhythmic breathing of the wind gods, forced to carry out the secret instructions given to them in a divine sigh lest the breath of creation that made them be re-inhaled.[2]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
Appearances[]
- Adventures
- Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior
- Card Games
- Blood Wars
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 160. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 David "Zeb" Cook (1994). Planescape Campaign Setting, Monstrous Supplement. Edited by David Wise. (TSR, Inc), p. 26. ISBN 978-1560768340.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 James Ward, Robert J. Kuntz (August 1980). Deities & Demigods. Edited by Lawrence Schick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 41. ISBN 0-935696-22-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 James Ward and Robert Kuntz (November 1984). Legends & Lore. (TSR, Inc), p. 41. ISBN 978-0880380508.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Allen Varney, ed. (June 1994). Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. (TSR, Inc.), p. 128. ISBN 978-1560768623.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jeff Grubb (1987). Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior. (TSR, Inc), p. 16. ISBN 0-88038-393-3.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 David "Zeb" Cook (1994). Planescape Campaign Setting, Monstrous Supplement. Edited by David Wise. (TSR, Inc), p. 27. ISBN 978-1560768340.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 161. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ Monte Cook and William W. Connors (December 7, 1998). The Inner Planes. Edited by Michele Carter and Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 24. ISBN 0-7869-0736-3.
- ↑ Gary Gygax, David Cook, and François Marcela-Froideval (1985). Oriental Adventures. (TSR, Inc), pp. 114–155. ISBN 0-8803-8099-3.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 94. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ Eric Jansing and Kevin Baase (March 2007). “Princes of Elemental Good: The Archomentals, Part II”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #353 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 47.