Veldenar
Level 11Attacks
Abilities
This monster can see in all directions simultaneously and therefore can't be flanked.
Trigger A creature within the monster's reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it's using. Effect The monster attempts a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If the attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, the monster disrupts that action. This Strike doesn't count toward the monster's multiple attack penalty, and its multiple attack penalty doesn't apply to this Strike.
A veldenar is naturally Invisible and only becomes visible when using a hostile action. Creatures it has engulfed remain visible within it, albeit slightly blurred by the veldenar's translucent skin.
15 feet. The veldenar raises the viscosity of the surrounding air just by breathing it. Creatures who enter or start their turn within the emanation treat the area as difficult terrain and take a –2 status penalty to any non-magical physical attacks they attempt. This aura is suppressed whenever the veldenar has a creature engulfed.
Requirements The veldenar doesn't have a creature engulfed
The veldenar forcefully unlocks then expands its jaws to inhale the air in a 15-foot cone before it, pulling Large or smaller creatures into its cavernous maw. The veldenar Engulfs the creatures in the area (DC 27 reflex, (1d10+10) cold, Escape, Rupture 25).
Description
Some dangers lurking within the Endless Sky can doom prey before they even realize it; such are the ambush tactics of the 20-foot-tall elementals known as veldenars. Their inherent invisibility and pale, almost translucent forms make them among the most deadly creatures to call the Plane of Air home.
Veldenars resemble amphibians from the Universe, albeit with myriad red eyes and an affinity for cold. Hunting along the edges of eternal storms, the event horizons of dead zones, and the banks of sky streams, veldenars prey on the lesser denizens of their home plane. They can often be found using their natural buoyancy to drift among the large chunks of magical ice that crossed onto the Plane of Air from its former border with the Plane of Water. There, they extend their tongues to trap unwary flying insects or adventurers who might happen to float by. Their multiple eyes keep watch for their next meal even while devouring current prey.
The intense cold of a veldenar's stomach rapidly incapacitates its victims, allowing the predator to focus on returning to invisibility and finding a secluded spot to digest. Victims who escape the veldenar's stomach often feel chilled to the bone for days.
Veldenars aren't discerning about who or what they inhale. As a result, kinds of scrap can collect in their stomachs, especially inorganic material. Those hunting veldenars often wait until the elemental needs to regurgitate debris, as this is one of the few times a veldenar can be caught in a compromising position, unable to capture anything due to their clogged esophagus.
Paired Predators
Veldenars bond in partnership for life, which can be well over a century. Utilizing their ambush pack tactics, one veldenar will often drive potential prey into their partner's clutches. Visitors to the Plane of Air should keep in mind that if they happen to spot one veldenar, another is likely close by.