Banshrae
Image by Izzy Medrano, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed through the Monster Manual V Art Gallery here
[Monster Manual V was the last big monster book of 3.5, and you can tell. Some of the mechanics are experimenting with stuff that will become much more common in 4th edition, like forced movement and multiphase monsters that get new abilities when they’re injured. The banshrae here even turned up in the core 4e Monster Manual. The 3.5 version is a bit busy, with lots of music and dart-based abilities. The 4e version focuses on the darts; I decided to focus on the music.]
Banshrae CR 8 CE Fey This lean humanoid has a willowy frame and long hands and feet. Their solid colored eyes peer out from an otherwise blank face. They wear finery and clutch a well made flute in their delicate fingers.
Banshraes are sinister musical tricksters, cursed by the powers of the First World to never speak or sing. They can communicate telepathically, as well as play their flutes using only the powers of their mind, and are spiteful and violent creatures. Many of them are solitary wanderers, but others serve in the courts of wicked fey as spies, minstrels and assassins. Regardless, all banshraes seek to first ruin and then end the lives of other creatures through cruel pranks, deceptions and murder.
A banshrae cannot eat or drink, but instead gains nutrition when it rests on unworked earth. As such, they are usually found in natural settings, but some store crates or coffins of the stuff to rest in when traveling into civilized areas. This may lead to their confusion for vampires, which banshraes find hilarious. Banshraes love finery of all kinds, and typically dress in elaborate robes, wear ostentatious jewelry, and weave their hair into imposing decorative forms.
Banshraes live to commit acts of violence, and delight in the feeling of bones breaking beneath their hands and feet. Their magical music acts to disrupt and distract enemies, forcing them to move or sing or merely filling their hearts with fear. If enemies resist these enchantments, they rely on their spell-like abilities, summoning clouds of vermin or dealing sonic damage. Banshraes are confident but not foolish, and will typically retreat if a combat turns against them.
Banshraes are small and lithe, standing about five feet high and weighing little more than 100 pounds.
Banshrae Boons and Banes (CL 13th, 7th level, DC 21) Banshraes delight in giving their banes freely, posing as benevolent creatures in order to “bless” unsuspecting victims. Their boons are less frequently given, but they occasionally will sponsor a mortal who shows a promising aptitude for trickery and violence.
Boon: You gain Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. If you already have this feat, you gain the unarmed damage bonus of a brawler with a level equal to your HD -3. This boon is permanent unless removed.
Bane: You fill other creatures with a terrible rage, and they find it easy to harm you. You suffer a -4 penalty to all Charisma based skill checks and Armor Class. This bane is permanent unless removed.
