Knight Terror

Knight terrors are once-human creatures that drain mental energy. Formed from knights whose fanaticism led them from the path of good, they live among their former companions, feeding on their wills and emotions. They appear as they did before their transformations, at least when they are well-fed.

Combat: Knight terrors have all the class abilities they possessed as humans, usually powerful warriors or priests. In addition, they gain the following abilities: cause fear 3/day, charm person 3/day, suggestion 2/day, phantasmal killer 1/day, and emotion 1/day. They can also use a special mental attack once per round, instead of a physical or magical attack. The knight terror unleashes a bolt of mental energy with a range of 10 feet, rolling against his normal THAC0. The target's Armor Class for purposes of this attack equals his Wisdom score subtracted from 20. If the attack is successful, the knight terror drains one point of Wisdom from the victim. Lost Wisdom returns at the rate of one point per day.

The drained Wisdom feeds a knight terror, improving its physical and psychic strength. A knight terror's Wisdom score is ordinarily 10-12. Drained Wisdom boosts this score, but every 12 hours the knight terror loses one point of Wisdom, causing the creature to grow "hungry" for more. A knight terror 's current Wisdom score affects its power in many ways, as shown on the table below. The knight terror's appearance also varies. When sated, it looks like a strong, healthy warrior; but when starving it is withered and pale. When hungry, the knight terror becomes increasingly fearful and paranoid, jumping at shadows and suspicious of everyone. When full, however, the knight terror is a model of courage, lending its morale to its followers as it leads them bravely into battle.

Habitat/Society: Knight terrors remain a part of the hierarchy to which they belonged before their transformation. They are generally leaders in their orders, as they are driven by ambition, and they gradually corrupt their followers while deriving strength from their mental fortitude. In this way, entire branches of knightly orders have been distracted from their original purposes and led down paths of evil.

Knight terrors continue to function as part of human society according to their normal roles. They do not reproduce.

Ecology: Knight terrors have been removed from the ecological system, much like undead. However, like vampires or ghouls, they must feed in order to maintain their existence. Sages theorize that their means of sustenance is a curse of divine justice. In their human lives, knight terrors were so lacking in willpower that they succumbed to of evil. In their transformed state, they must sap the wills of others to survive. They have no hesitation about feeding from allies if enemies are not available. If a knight terror's Wisdom score ever falls below 3 for lack of feeding, the creature is destroyed.