Tickler

This bizarre creature appears as a tiny ball of gray flesh from which projects a pair of featherlike white wings. It is under 2” long and can fly rapidly. It can be found anywhere, both above and below ground, except in the very hottest and coldest regions.

The tickler does not attack for damage. Instead, it attempts to slip under the clothes and armor of its victim and to tickle the character unmercifully. Victims are treated as AC 10 plus any dexterity adjustments and magical bonuses from rings of protection and the like. However, armor (magical or not) affords no protection against these creatures.

The victim's laughter prevents him from taking action of any sort and can also double the chances of wandering monster encounters, because of the noise. Furthermore, if the laughter is allowed to persist for more than six rounds, the victim must make a constitution check on 1d20 every subsequent round or suffer 1 hp damage.

It is theorized that these creatures feed off the laughter generated by their attacks. They will depart a dead or unconscious victim or any victim otherwise silenced, such as by a silence 15' radius spell.

While in flight, ticklers are difficult to see and to hit. Victims have a -6 penalty on surprise, until the ticklers enter their victim's clothing. Undetected ticklers get a +2 to hit. While in the victim's clothing, they may only be slapped at, and there is only a 10% chance of hitting and killing one regardless of the slapper's level, class, race, abilities, or attributes. Ticklers cannot be slapped through any form of plate armor.

Other methods of getting rid of these creatures include stripping the clothing off a victim, which results in the tickler going to a new victim. Fire kills them instantly, doing appropriate damage to the victim. Water is the best method, rendering the tickler helpless and immobile for 2-5 rounds, during which time they may be killed at leisure.

Created by: Erik Freske