Bestiary: Thyad (Baccae Queen)

An empowered version of a nymph from Mediterranean Monsters.

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Thyad (Baccae Queen)

A wild gaze glows in this beautiful woman’s eyes while she dances on the grass, wine smeared on the animal hides she wears and blood on her hands.

Thyad CR 12

XP 19,200

CN Medium fey

Init +4; Senses low-light vision, Perception +26

Defense

AC 27, touch 14, flat-footed 23 (+6 armor, +4 Dex, +7 natural)

hp 150 (20d6+80)

Fort +9, Ref +16, Will +15; +4 Fort vs. nonlethal damage from hot or cold environments or to resist damage from suffocation (Endurance)

DR 10/cold iron; Immune calm emotions; SR 18

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee treekeeper’s staff +15/+13/+12/+10 (1d6+8) or 2 claws +15 (1d4+5), bite +16 (1d6+5)

Special Attacks beast form, confusing gaze, rage, rend (2 claws, 1d4+7)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th, concentration +24)

At will- create water (can also create honey, milk, or wine), endure elements, pick your poison, polypurpose panacea

3/day- summon nature’s ally III, unnatural lust (DC 16)

Skald Spells Known (CL 12, concentration +16)

4th (4/day)- bountiful banquet, complex hallucination (DC 19), mass daze (DC 19), summon monster IV

3rd (5/day)- confusion (DC 18), free spirit, inveigle person (DC 18), speak with animals

2nd (6/day)- allegro, blood rage, cure moderate wounds, detect desires (DC 17), mad hallucination (DC 17)

1st (7/day)- alarm, animate rope, hideous laughter (DC 16), lesser confusion (DC 16), intensify psyche (DC 16), tears to wine

0 (at will)- daze (DC 15), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 15), haunted fey aspect, lullaby (DC 15), message

Statistics

Str 21, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 19, Wis 17, Cha 20

Base Atk +10; CMB +15; CMD 19

Feats Die Hard, Double Slice, Endurance, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Quarterstaff Master, Toughness, Weapon Focus (bite), Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (quarterstaff), Weapon Specialization (quarterstaff)

Skills Bluff +28, Diplomacy +28, Escape Artist +27, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (planes, religion) +27,  Perform (act, sing) +28, Perception +26, Stealth +27

Languages Common, Sylvan

Ecology

Environment any forest and hills
Organization solitary, gang (1 plus 2–10 baccae), or thyasus (1 plus 21-30 baccae, 10-15 satyrs, 2-8 centaurs, 2-5 skalds of 3rd–6th level, and 1 cleric of 5th-8th level)
Treasure triple (treekeeper’s staff, +2 hide armor, cup of endless wine (as flask of endless sake)

Special Abilities

Beast Form (Su) When angered or intoxicated, a thyad takes on a beast-like visage, growing sharpened fangs and claws. This transformation cannot be ended voluntarily and lasts for up to 1 hour.

Confusing Gaze (Su) In human form, a thyad’s gaze can cause confusion in any creature meeting her gaze and within 30 feet. An affected creature can attempt a DC 25 Will save to resist the effects.

If the save fails, the opponent acts as if affected by a confusion spell (caster level equals the thyad’s HD). A thyad can suppress this ability as a free action. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Rage (Su) Once per day, a thyad either in human or beast form can fly into a berserk frenzy. This frenzy lasts for 1 minute (10 rounds). In this rage, she gains temporary bonuses to her ability scores: +4 Strength, +4 Constitution. She likewise gains a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, but takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The thyad can cast skald spells and use her spell-like abilities while in a rage. A thyad cannot voluntarily end her rage.

Spells A thyad casts spells as a 12th-level skald.

Thyads (“The Furious Ones”) are the leaders of a thyasus or bacchanal, leading baccae, satyrs, and other fey in the rituals of Dionysus. Often they were high priestesses or princesses who were granted immortality and transformed into fey after a life of service or as a reward for some great deed in favour of the faith.

Thyads lead the mysteric sacrifices where the animal to be offered is often rent to pieces by the intoxicated priestesses with their bare hands and then eaten raw (and the same death may be reserved to unwary outsiders who dare spying on the rite). Part of these ceremonies are recitals of the many stories about the god’s voyages through Asia. Thyads are expert in many areas of knowledge and can teach valuable notions and abilities to visitors who treat them with due respect.

It is a thyad’s duty also to extend the cult of Dionysus to new cities and villages, and to exact vengeance against those who use violence or insults against followers and priests of their god.

An elder thyad can be the consort of a seilenos. Together they rule on all the satyrs and baccae of a region.

Baccae, Thyads, and Maenads

Maenads are monstrous humanoids that share some traits of baccae and thyads, but are much more prone to evil and cruelty. Differently from baccae, maenads don’t worship Dionysus or any other deity, and mostly keep to themselves. They are thought to be descended from baccae and thyads who mated with monstrous humanoids like orcs or hobgoblins, or with evil humans. Maenads mostly lost their fey traits and now are believed to renew their numbers by mating with the humanoid victims of their magic charms, and then killing any male newborns. They are nonetheless still compelled to answer when Dionysus or one of his priests call.