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           V  

Documentation Area

Document Path: /doc/monsters/banshee

Name:
	Banshee/Groaning Spirit  (Undead Creature)

Stats:
	No. Appearing  : 1
	Climate/Terrain: Any
	Frequency      : Very rare
	Organization   : Solitary
	Activity Cycle : Night
	Diet           : Nil

Description:
	The banshee is the spirit of an evil female elf, a very rare thing in-
	deed. Banshees hate the living, finding their presence painful and seek
	to harm whoever they meet.

	Banshees appear as floating, luminous phantasms of their former selves,
	Their image glows brightly at night, but is translucent in sunlight.
	Most banhees are old and withered, but a few who died young retain
	their former beauty. The hair of a groaning spirit is wild and unkempt.
	Her dress is usually tattered rags. Her face is a mask of pain and an-
	guish, but hatred and ire burns brightly in her eyes. Banshees frequen-
	tly cry out in pain - hence their name.

Combat:
	Banshees are formidable opponents. The mere sight of one causes weaker
	creatures to flee for 10 rounds and are 50% likely to drop any items
	they were carrying in their hands.

	A banshee's most dreaded weapon is its wail or keen. Those who fail
	their saving throw against death magic die immediately, their face con-
	torted in horror. Fortunately, groaning spirits can keen just once per
	day, and then only at night. The tough of a groaning spirit can also
	cause damage.

	Banshees are noncorporeal and invulnerable to weapons without magical
	enchantment. In addition, groaning spirits are highly resistant to ma-
	gic (50%). They are fully immune to charm, sleep, and hold spells and
	to cold- and electricity-based attacks. Holy water causes 2-8 points of
	damage if broken upon them. A dispel evil spell will kill a groaning
	spirit. A banshee is turned as a 'special' undead.

	Banshees can sense the presence of living creatures up to five miles
	away. Any creature that remains within five miles of a groaning spirit
	lair is sure to be attacked when night falls. The nature of this attack
	varies with the victim. Beasts and less threatening characters are
	killed via touch. Adventurers or demihumans are attacked by keening.
	Creatures powerful enough to withstand the groaning spirit's keen are
	left alone.

	When attacking adventurers, the groaning spirit attacks at night with
	her wail. If any characters are not affected by it, she then retreats
	to her lair. Thereafter, each night, the groaning spirit returns to
	wail again. This routine is repeated until all of the victims are dead
	or have left the groaning spirit's domain, or until the groaning spirit
	is slain.

Habitat/Society:
	Banshees loathe all living things and thus make their homes in desolate
	countrysides or ancient ruins. There they hide by day, when they cannot
	keen, and wander the surrounding countryside by night. The land encirc-
	ling a groaning spirit's lair is strewn with the bones of beasts who
	heard the groaning spirit's cry. Once a groaning spirit establishes her
	lair she will remain there.

	The treasure of groaning spirits varies considerably and often reflects
	what they loved in life. Many hoard gold and fine gems. Other groaning
	spirits, particularly those that haunt their former homes, show finer
	tastes, preserving great works of art and sculptures, or powerful magi-
	cal items.

	It is nearly impossible to distinguish the cry of a groaning spirit
	from that of a human or elf woman in pain. Many a knight galant has
	mistaken the two sounds, and then paid for the mistake with his life.
	Banshees are exceptionally intelligent and speak numerous languages,
	including common, elvish, and other demihuman languages.

	Banshees occasionally use their destructive powers to seek revenge
	against their former adversaries in life.

Ecology:
	Banshees are blight upon wherever they settle. They kill without dis-
	cretion, and their only pleasure is the misfortune and misery of
	others. In addition to slaying both man and beast, a groaning spirit's
	keen has a powerful effect upon vegetation. Flowers and delicate plants
	wither and die and trees grow twisted and sickly, while hardier plants,
	thistles and the like, flourish. After a few years all that remains
	within five miles of a groaning spirit's lair is a desolate wilderness
	of warped trees and throns mixed with the bones of those creatures that
	dared to cross into the groaning spirit's domain.