.The Malafide
A Preview of Mindscapes: Beasts of the Id

In Mindscapes: Beasts of the Id by Bruce R. Cordell, 18 new psionic creatures await you, ready to challenge psionic characters -- or be summoned by them! Here is a sample creature from the book, along with the related rules for operant creatures and an associated new item: malafide chalkstone.

MALAFIDE
Medium Aberration
Hit Dice: 8d8+24 (60 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 feet
AC: 21 (+2 Dexterity, +5 natural, +4 Inertial Armor), touch 12, flat-footed 19
Attacks: 3 claws +9 melee
Damage: Claw 1d6+2
Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: Psionics* (mode check +6, resting mode mind insurgency +0)
Special Qualities: Astral jaunt, damage reduction 10/+1, darkvision 60 feet, operant creature**
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 12
Skills: Bluff +6, Concentration +8, Diplomacy +8, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (psionics) +7, Knowledge
(the planes) +7, Listen +7, Psicraft +8, Spot +6
Feats: Hide Power, Inertial Armor, Subconscious PowerÜ

Climate/Terrain: Astral Plane
Organization: Solitary or raid (3–6)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class

* The mode check and resting mode apply to the variant Mindscapes psionic combat system.

Malice on the Astral Plane has a new name: the malafide.

A malafide stands upright like a humanoid, but its flesh appears horribly wrinkled, as if steeped much too long in water, or like the surface of a prune or raisin dried in the sun. They have three arms equidistantly spaced around their upper torso, and they possess two legs. Their heads look lizardlike, with the same horribly wrinkled flesh that covers their bodies. Malafides enjoy dressing in grand robes of pure white, in which they have stitched various psionic diagrams and cortical pathways.

The malafides are a race of malicious alien psionic creatures that live on caravan-cities that ply the infinite Astral Plane. When their caravans come into close spatial proximities to worlds of the Material Plane, they fade into material existence in search of psionic lore and plunder. They consider themselves lords of the Astral Plane, and so they viciously hunt other astral denizens whenever they encounter them—so far, most remain unaware that the malafide caravans have begun to “arrive” from farther realities. While the caravans, each headed by a different malafide “tribe,” constantly roam the Astral Plane, once they find a new material world to loot (or trade with, in rare circumstances), a caravan may linger for 10 to 50 years.

Malafides speak their own language.

Combat
Malafides are psionic creatures first and are naturally operant—almost like psions (see below). Many of them take levels of psion to increase their might, but even untrained adults are fearsome psionic combatants.

Psionics (Sp): A malafide manifests as an operant creature (48 power points): astral construct IV, burning ray, conceal thoughts, concussion, cone of sound, control body, lesser concussion, mindblank, schism, sever the tie. Manifester level 8th; save Difficulty Class = key ability modifier + power level.

Astral Jaunt (Su): A malafide can shift from the Astral to the Material Plane as a free action, and it can shift back again as a move-equivalent action (or as part of a move-equivalent action) each time it pays a cost of 5 power points.

Operant (Ex): Operant creatures manifest powers by paying power points. See the “Operant Creatures” section below.

Operant Creatures**

Operant creatures do not freely manifest their psionic powers, but they instead pay power points to manifest powers like psionic characters. (If “operant” is added as a template, a creature may continue to freely manifest any power it could freely manifest as the base creature.) Operant creatures can manifest any power assigned to them, as long as they pay its cost. They can modify powers with metapsionic feats, as long as they do not exceed the power point limit of a given power based on their operant effective manifester level, which is equal to their Hit Dice. An operant creature’s primary discipline depends on its highest ability score. This never changes once set. Operant creatures do not normally gain secondary disciplines, unless they take up the psion class. However, unlike psionic classes, operant creatures can manifest powers from disciplines even if their ability score associated with that discipline is too low for a character to do so. Operant creatures do not gain power points for high ability scores.

Operant creatures can scale powers, as appropriate (see the power scaling variant rule in If Thoughts Could Kill or Mindscapes: A Psion’s Guide). Operant creatures have a number of daily power points available equal to their Hit Dice x 6. They regain depleted points all at once at a set time every 24 hours. If any operant creature is ever drained to 0 power points, it falls into a coma (or in the case of operant machines, becomes completely inoperative), until it regains its depleted power points. An operant creature is decidedly vulnerable at this time, but in areas of dead psionics, such as a null psionics field, operant creatures continue to function without falling into a coma or deactivating (though they can’t manifest their psionic powers).

An operant creature’s effective manifester level contributes to manifester levels gained by taking the psion class. Thus, an operant creature with eight effective manifester levels that takes a level of psion could be considered a 9th-level psion. However, an operant creature does not gain the knowledge and power points of the previous eight levels of psion. It gains the difference of powers learned and power points between 8th and 9th level only. However, it now manifests all its powers as if it were a psion. It can also gain secondary disciplines but may still manifest powers outside its disciplines that its associated ability scores are too low for it to normally manifest.

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"The Malafide" preview ©2003 Bruce R. Cordell. All rights reserved.