Divine Minion

Each divinity of the Mulhorandi pantheon has a number of magical servitors known as minions. Each minion is a fanatical follower of the deity and serves his or her ends at all costs.

Divine minions serve as messengers of the deities. They appear as great, well-muscled male or female warriors well over 6 feet tall and dress in bronze plate armor that is decorated with the symbol of their deity. They wield huge khopeshes, scimitars, or two-handed swords. Minions of Set also serve as assassins and provide military assistance for the Lord of Evil's mortal worshipers. Minions of Set favor khopeshes or broad swords and dress in black, scaly plate mail armor.

All divine minions are empowered with the ability to change into one or more animal forms. The specific forms allowed are specified in each deity description. The transformation is complete, including clothing and weapons, leaving no traces of their human guises behind.

Combat: The weapon of a divine minion counts as a weapon of+ 2 magical enchantment for the purposes of what sorts of creatures it can hit, but inflicts only 1d12 points of damage to all it strikes, no matter.what the apparent form of the weapon and no matter what the target's size.

A divine minion typically begins combat in human form, unless it is already in animal shape. Changing to animal form is normally done only when absolutely necessary. Most minions prefer not to disclose their shape-shifting abilities, since once these are discovered their usefulness to their deity is compromised. In human form, 25% of them use magical weapons fashioned in the Outer Planes, though none are greater than + 2 enchantment.

Should a battle go badly or the need be great, however, divine minions transform themselves into fearsome animal forms. The transformation takes less than a single round, having an initiative modifier of 5. When in animal form, Armor Class, Hit Dice, and hit points remain the same as the minion's human form, while it acquires the movement rate, attacks, and special attacks of the new form. (See the full entry for these animals in the Monstrous Manual tome for additional details.)

The minion's form also affects its tactics in coordination with other minions. Bears, hawks, scorpions, and snakes fight independently without coordinating their tactics. Crocodiles and ibises attack in swarms, while lions and jackals coordinate their attacks in complex strategies involving ambushes and other tactics.

Divine minions are utterly devoted to their power, never check morale, and are immune to magic that creates fear or doubt such as cause fear, scare, phantasmal killer, or doubt spells. All minions, regardless of form, have a 10% magic resistance and save as 10th-level fighters.

Habitat/Society: Divine minions are creatures touched by divine power. They serve the deities of the Mulhorandi pantheon; hundreds live in each deity's avatar's primary residence, whether it be a tower in Skuld, the Raurin desert, or on the Outer Planes. With the exception of those of Set, all minions are willing volunteers to divine service; they forfeit mortal life in return for the honor of working for their deity.throughout all eternity. All divine minions have the same alignment as their patron deity.

Set's minions usually are not volunteers to his service, as his touch can transform victims into minions of Set. However, once transformed, they serve him faithfully. Minions of Set are by far the most active divine minions, as the others prefer not to be noticed by mortals unless specially called by magic (such as the 7th-level priest spell summon divine minion).

Ecology: Divine minions are supernatural creatures. They need not eat or drink. Their armor and all their possessions disappear when slain, and they carry no treasure. Divine minions tend to radiate a faint field analogous to their alignment and the portfolio of their deity that affects the reactions of animals they encounter. For example, minions of Set produce instinctive dislike in most animals, which try to flee them. On the other hand, minions of Hathor produce inherent trust, and pregnant, hurt, or panicked animals seek them out and calm instantly at their touch. Divine minions killed in the Prime Material Plane are reformed by their deities in the Outer Planes.