Pyth



Pyths are partly-immaterial creations that reside throughout the Phaeton Halo.

Background
Immense and only partly of material substance, active pyths are found mostly within the Phaeton Halo, especially within the object known as Nachant, though not exclusively. In Nachant, pyths seem intent on winning an aeons-long game that's inscrutable to other beings. No one knows their origin, but they're clearly the remains of a previous age. They're either survivors or exceptionally capable agents of the ancient people. Pyths retain both their motivation and purpose, despite their being scattered and, in some cases, reduced to mere scraps of information coded into an artifact or oddity (a so-called "inactive" pyth; a Nachant key would be an example).

The 30 ft. tall body of a pyth is composed of silvery strands of light, partly immaterial, and vaguely humanoid in shape but missing a head. A pyth's chest sometimes forms a transparent pane on which images or symbols are displayed.

Motive:
Dominate other pyths

Environment:
Active within the Phaeton Halo; inactive almost anywhere else.

Health:
90

Damage Inflicted:
10 points

Movement:
Long

Modifications:
Speed defense as level 7 due to size.

Combat:
Despite seeming to be constructed from immaterial light, a pyth an make straightforward physical attacks against an enemy, smashing foes with either its hands or feet. It can make two such attacks on two different foes (or on the same foe, if the target in question is big) as a single action. Simultaneously, the pyth can also call upon its impressive psychic abilities, attacking creatures within long range. Targets who fail an Intellect defense roll suffer 3 points of Intellect damage and must make a Might defense roll or move down one step on the damage track.

Alternatively, a pyth can physically target all creatures within immediate range. Any targets that fail an Intellect defense roll are teleported to a location chosen by the attacking pyth. The destination could be anywhere throughout the Phaeton Halo, or much farther away. Sometimes a pyth will choose this option to brush away annoying creatures, teleporting them just far enough so it can't perceive them. But a pyth may instead choose to be punitive and teleport creatures to particularly dangerous locales.

Using this same ability, a pyth can also teleport willing creatures to other locations on its behalf, if negotiations can lead to such an outcome.

Interaction:
PCs must usually do something dramatic in order to get the attention of a pyth, though that could lead to a conflict. However, sometimes a pyth will decide that characters could be useful for getting the better of a rival pyth, and it sets the PCs on a task in return for something they either want or need. Pyths communicate best by triggering relevant memories in characters in response to their questions - sometimes the memories the characters never had previously.

Use:
A pyth asks that the PCs bring it a functioning Mozck automaton (or a once-infected piece of such a being).

Miscellaneous
If a pyth is destroyed, all creatures within a radius of one mile are bathed in a flood of unfiltered memories so overwhelming that they must make an Intellect defense roll. On a success, a victim will take one point of Intellect damage but can recall one piece of information from the flood as if having connected to the datasphere. On a failure, a victim will take 4 points of Intellect damage and is stunned and unable to take actions for one round due to the intensity of the flood.