The smell of ancient tomes is heady for one dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, and traversing the halls of an ancient library even more so. Dusty shelves, the smell of musty books in the dry air, dark halls lined with books… these are like ambrosia to the initiated. But the pursuit of knowledge can be fraught with peril, for hidden among these lost tomes a presence waits patiently in the dark. While the prey gently caresses the spines of arcane volumes, his stalker seeks to lure him closer.
A book falls to the floor, the startled explorer moves towards it to investigate. As he beds to pick up the book, he notices that one of the bookcases is actually a door and stands slightly ajar. The lure of hidden rooms in such a vast and amazing library is beyond temptation, and he slowly pushes open the door. Inside lies a circular room with book lined walls, and in the center stands a podium holding a massive and ornate tome.
As he opens the book, the sound of rustling paper and smell of musty books grows stronger. As he looks up, a monstrous creature places cold, dry hands against his face… its desiccated face stares down at him, it’s eyes sewn shut yet still seeming to see, words carved across its face. It seems to be hanging from the ceiling behind him, something like a cross between a man and a spider. The surface of its body covered in words and symbols, a vast torso that looks like the skin from several people had been sewn together and carved up like its face.
Before the scream can leave his throat, something hard and sharp pierces the back of his skull, and all that he was is drained away in an instant. As his companions search the halls for him, the sound of rustling pages and the smell of musty books follows them, searching for seekers of knowledge, searching for more.
The Proti Lexi, πρώτη λέξη (the First Word)
The Proti Lexi were created by some long forgotten wizard for the Ulada u Viedach. The sect had requested the wizard to aid them in creating the ultimate repository for knowledge. Something that would be able to seek out knowledge and preserve it. The first result was the Proti Lexi. Its first form was that of a human being, not unlike the Lexi Sakra that came later… its thirst for knowledge insatiable. As the Proti Lexi gained in power, the Ulada u Viedach began to fear it, for the creature had learned to assimilate the knowledge of others. With each victim, the creature’s body would shift and change, helping it to become ever more deadly.
Finally, the wizard who created it, along with several high level members of the Ulada U Viedach, lured the creature to a special chamber in the library. The chamber was magically sealed to prevent the creature from roaming while protecting it and the knowledge it held. All who aided in the capture of the creature had to be sealed inside the room with it and were eventually absorbed by the Proti Lexi.
Its current form is somewhat spider-like. The original body makes up the head of the creature, while each additional body has been incorporated in create the large spider like torso. Human limbs make up what are the creatures legs, and it has fashioned a stinger from the wizard’s femur that it now uses to help is siphon the knowledge and magic from its victims. As is gains new knowledge, the creature’s skin glows and new words appear to carve themselves across its skin.
Because the chamber is magically sealed to prevent its escape, the Proti Lexi and used its vast knowledge to manipulate the world outside. It has been able to corrupt some of the Lexi Sakra and use them as servants, luring the explorers and knowledge seekers into the catacomb like library of the Ulada u Viedach in the Dreamlands.
The Proti Lexi is able to feed somewhat from those dreaming their way into the library, but feeds best on those that have found their way physically into the Dreamlands.
Physical Stats
The Proti Lexi has the ability to shape shift to some degree. As such, it can take on some of the physical stats of the creature it chooses to mimic. In its current spider like form, it has the physical stats of the Lend Spiders. The manner of its attacks remain the same regardless of its form.
Grapple (use whatever stats fit the physical body it is using)
Siphon-upon a successful grapple, the Proti Lexi will begin to siphon knowledge and magic from its victim. The Proti Lexi drains 1d3 points of knowledge and 1d2 points of magic per round. During the Siphoning process, it cannot attack others without breaking the siphon.
The number of attacks available to the Proti Lexi will depend on the form it takes.
Magical Stats
The Proti Lexi will have a base POW of 25. It can replenish POW through its Siphon attack, and can use any Lexi Sakra nearby as magic batteries.
Sanity
Being a constructed creature, it has no sanity itself. Those viewing the Proti Lexi lose 1d6 SAN (additional if the base creature for its physical form would normally cost more SAN).
Seeing the creature Siphon the knowledge and life of another costs 1d8 SAN.
Spells
As the Proti Lexi has siphoned its knowledge from various sources, the Keeper should give it 2d4+2 spells from the Keeper’s manual. Feel free to include any home grown spells that fit your particular setting.
Call Lexi Sakra
The Proti Lexi can summon Lexi Sakra to itself at a cost of 1MP per Lexi Sakra. It can then siphon their knowledge ad power to aid itself. Most will try to aid the Proti Lexi as they were created to preserve knowledge.
Mimic
The Proti Lexi is able to shift it’s constructed body into various forms. It is limited in that it most have sufficient knowledge of the creature it wishes to mimic (by siphoning the information from an explorer ) and it most have enough raw materials to try to construct the appropriate size body. Since the Proti Lexi is essentially weaving together the tissue of its victims, it cannot change its form quickly. To mimic a creature, the Proti Lexi requires 1d2 days to finish the process. During this time it will attempt to hide and may call it’s constructs and Lexi Sakra to it as protectors.
Create construct
The creature has the ability to create constructs from the victims it doesn’t use in its own form. These constructs operate as zombies under the Proti Lexi’s control. They have no magic and have the base stats and attacks of an unarmed human or zombie.
Note:
The Proti Lexi is a constructed immortal creature and cannot be entirely destroyed. It’s body can be largely dismantled, but the smallest piece will seek to continue its search for knowledge.
