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OA BESTIARY: KIRIN

In this set of blog entries I aim to convert the original 1e Oriental Adventure monsters to 5e to provide some extra fodder for an OA campaign. I am using both the original 1e source and the updated 3e source as reference for the build.  Bit of a cheat monster as I combined the pegasus and unicorn into one creature as the kirin has traits of both. 

KIRIN

Large celestial (kami), lawful good

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 67 (9d10 + 18)
Speed 60 ft., fly 90 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 11 (+0) 17 (+3) 16 (+3)

Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Celestial, Sylvan, telepathy 100 ft.
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The kirin’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14). The kirin can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:

Charge. If the kirin moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a horn attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Magic Resistance. The kirin has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Magic Weapons. The kirin’s weapon attacks are magical.

Mind Reader.  A kirin can continuously detect thoughts as the spell.  It’s telepathy enables it to read conscious thoughts and are thus can not be surprised.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The kirin makes two attacks: one with its hooves and one with its horn.

HoovesMelee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

HornMelee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.

Healing Touch (3/Day). The kirin touches another creature with its horn. The target magically regains 11 (2d8 + 2) hit points.  In addition, the touch removes all diseases and neutralizes all poisons afflicting the target.

Astral and Ethereal Stride.  The kirin and up to three willing creatures within 5 feet of it magically enter the Astral or Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The kirin can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn.  The kirin regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

  • Hooves. The kirin makes one attack with its hooves.
  • Shimmering Shield (Costs 2 Actions). The kirin creates a shimmering, magical field around itself or another creature it can see within 60 feet of it.  The target gains a +2 bonus to AC until the end of the kirin’s next turn.
  • Heal Self (Costs 3 Actions). The kirin magically regains 11 (2d8 + 2) hit points.

DESCRIPTION
Kirins are noble creatures that roam the sky in search of good deeds to reward or malefactors to punish. A kirin superficially resembles a unicorn: It has the body of a stag, covered with luminous golden scales, a thick mane and tail of darker gold color, deep violet eyes, and a pinkish horn and hooves.  Kirins sometimes establish lairs on high mountains or plateaus, simple on the outside but with luxuriant interiors.  More often, however, they simply fly with the wind, never settling in any place for long.

Habitat/Society: The kirin are a race of aerial creatures that rarely set hoof on solid ground.  Only the males ever approach the ground.  No encounter with a female kirin has ever been recorded, although it is certain such beings exist. Likewise no young kirin has ever been encountered, thus details of their reproduction are unknown. Kirin are reticent about these topics.

Kirin come to the aid of humanoids if asked properly or if such beings are faced with a powerful, extremely evil being.  Kirin believe in self-improvement, though, and do not casually come to a humanoid’s aid except in the most dire of circumstances.

Kirin sustain themselves by creating their own food and drink. They are highly imaginative with their creations. They may establish a lair high atop a mountain or plateau. Such sites are virtually impossible to reach without resort to flight or climbing. The lairs may have an stony exterior crafted from local materials. It is enhanced by magically created wood and stout cloth. The interiors tend to be luxurious. The kirin are able to craft fine cloth, tapestries, pillows, and other comforts. An occupied lair is kept clean by carefully controlled winds that sweep out debris.

Although kirin are generous and not avaricious, they still tend to accumulate treasure. These may be their own creations, gifts from friends and allies, souvenirs of past travels and exploits, fines levied against malefactors, or booty taken from vanquished foes.

Ecology: Kirin spend most of their time pursuing their own affairs. They often monitor the activities of powerful evil creatures and beings. If such beings become too malevolent, the kirin act against them.  Kirin may reward allies or needy individuals by creating food and valuables.  The intact skin of a kirin is worth 25,000 gp. Possession of such a item is dangerous, due to the retribution that may be visited upon the possessor by other kirin, sympathetic humanoids, or intelligent lawful good monsters.

T’UEN-RIN

T’uen-rin are a powerful race of good servants that dwell in the peaceful skies and plains of Arcadia. They’re related to the ki-rin of the Prime Material Plane, but they’re even more intelligent, capable, and noble than their “lesser” kin. T’uen-rin keep their distance from prime-material affairs, concentrating on the task of battling evil around the Great Wheel. However, from time to time the requirements of their endless war on evil send them to the worlds of the prime.

T’uen-rin resemble their more common counterparts. Their bodies are horselike, but their coats are covered with fine golden scales that scintillate with impossible shades of color. Their thick manes and tails are deep, dark gold, and their hooves and horn are pinkish-ivory. The t’uen-rin’s face is wise and beautiful, and its eyes are liquid orbs of deep violet. Lots of berks say there’s no more beautiful sight in the multiverse than a t’uen-rin galloping across the sky at sunrise, and they might be right.

T’uen-rin can understand and speak any human tongue, and can also communicate by telepathy or empathy. No natural, nonevil animal’ll ever offer harm to a t’uen-rin. Flowers spring up where their hooves touch the earth.

Combat: Although t’uen-rin are peaceful and good, they’ll fearlessly attack evil wherever they encounter it.  A t’uen-rin’s a match for even a greater baatezu or true tanar’ri, and the noble creature’ll never hesitate to engage such an opponent.

The t’uen-rin attacks physically with two blows of its mighty hooves and a thrust of its great horn.  T’uen-rin enjoy dealing with evil opponents in a direct, physical approach and often choose this option over the use of spells or their awe power.

T’uen-rin can cast arcane spells as a sorcerer.  They’re especially fond of the schools of illusion and enchantment but won’t hesitate to use extremely powerful spells such as symbolswishes, or power words against very powerful evil entities.

The t’uen-rin’s telepathy ability enables them to monitor conscious thoughts nearby, making them impossible to surprise.  This also allows the t’uen-rin to know alignment and detect lie without error. Each day, the t’uen-rin can create nutritious food and beverage for 10d10 people, as well as 100 cubic feet of soft goods, 50 cubic feet of wood, and 20 cubic feet of stone or metal items. These creations are permanent.

T’uen-rin can assume gaseous form, become invisiblesummon weather, and call lightning at will. They can freely enter the Ethereal or Astral Planes. Creatures of elemental air don’t attack a t’uen-rin unless compelled by an evil force at least as powerful as the t’uen-rin.

Once per day, a t’uen-rin may create an aura of divine awe. Any being of a nondivine nature within sigbt must survive a saving throw versus spell at -6 or be awedAwed beings stand motionless for a number of rounds equal to 20 minus the creature’s Wisdom score. For example, a character with a Wisdom of 12 would be awed for 8 rounds. Awed creatures recover after a 1-round delay if attacked physically. If the t’uen-rin chooses, it may follow up the awe with a special suggestion or emotion spell that affects every awed creature. A t’uen-rin could use this power to inspire an entire army to courage, or put a legion of evil creatures to flight. Normally, t’uen-rin don’t attack creatures they’ve awed unless the creatures are evil and must be destroyed to deter them from their purpose.

Habitat/Society: T’uen-rin’re motivated purely by the pursuit of good. They often use their great powers to aid people of good heart wherever they find ’em. Naturally, a t’uen-rin’ll seek out and destroy evil if at all possible. T’uen-rin are superhumanly intelligent, and they’ve got a good idea of when it’s time to back off – they migbt consider a tanar’ri roaming the Astral to be fair game, but they won’t follow that same tanar’ri into the Abyss.

Although t’uen-rin travel widely, their true home’s the skies above Arcadia. They live among the clouds, and some t’uen-rin go centuries without setting foot on the ground. Unfortunately, this attitude’s rubbed off on the t’uen-rin; there’s a dark seed of arrogance and superiority in the hearts of many of these noble creatures, and there’s some bloods who say that the t’uen-rin may be headed for a fall if they keep distancing themselves from mortal concern.

Ecology: In some prime-material cultures, the t’uen-rin’re seen as the ultimate embodiment of good. ’Course, no planar’ll ever say that about a t’uen-rin. Any cutter with a clue knows that there are high-ups even more important than a t’uen-rin. All that aside, there’s no dark to the fact that t’uen-rin’re some of the most gifted creatures in the multiverse, and that nothing short of a power dares face them in a fair fight.

It’s said that all the t’uen-rin are female, that no males of the race exist. If this is the case, a body might wonder how more t’uen-rin show up. Some bloods say that there’s only a limited number of t’uen-rin – a couple of dozen, no more than that – and that each time one is slain, the universe loses something unique and irreplaceable. Others say that the male t‘uen-rin is actually the ki-rin (or vice-versa, depending on how a cutter looks at it), and that the two “races” are actually one divided species. The t’uen-rin themselves avoid questions of this nature.

Mechanically the T’uen-rin is a CR 18 version of the kirin with the abilities noted above as well as the capability of a 20th level sorcerer.  Text from the Planescape Compendium Entry.


Banner: Fire Kirin by sakimichan

Posted in 5e, Dungeons & Dragons, Monstrous Compendium, Oriental Adventures

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