Dragon	-	Monsters	-	Dragon 109
-	-	Appendix	-	-

T h e   f o l l o w i n g   w a s   t a k e n   f r o m   t h e   l e c t u r e
n o t e s   o f   t h e   m a g e   a n d   n a t u r a l i s t   J e n - A h b ,
a f t e r   h e   w a s   m a u l e d   t o   d e a t h   b y   a   r o g u e
d i s p l a c e r   b e a s t   i n   t h e   b e s t i a r y   o f   t h e   U n i v e r s i t y   o f   S a r k a w a n .
 

T h e   d i s p l a c e r   b e a s t   i s   a   m a g i c a l   c r e a t u r e
t h a t   r e s e m b l e s   a   l a r g e   b l a c k   p a n t h e r ,   s a v e
f o r   i t s   s i x   l e g s   a n d   t h e   p a i r   o f   h o r n e d   t e n t a c l e s   s p r o u t i n g   f r o m   i t s   s h o u l d e r s .   I t s   n a m e
d e r i v e s   f r o m   i t s   a b i l i t y   t o   a p p e a r   u p   t o   a   f u l l
y a r d   a w a y   f r o m   i t s   a c t u a l   p o s i t i o n ,   c a u s e d
b y   s u b t l e   v i b r a t i o n s   e m i t t e d   f r o m   i t s   f l e s h
t h a t   a p p a r e n t l y   r e f r a c t   l i g h t   t o   d i s t o r t   t h e
b e a s t ? s   a p p a r e n t   l o c a t i o n .   T h i s   e n a b l e s   t h e
b e a s t   t o   a v o i d   m o s t   i n i t i a l   a t t a c k s ,   w h i c h
a r e   d i r e c t e d   a t   t h e   i l l u s i o n a r y   f o r m   w h i c h
u s u a l l y   a p p e a r s   c l o s e r   t o   t h e   a t t a c k e r .   F r o m
t h i s   p o w e r   a n d   f r o m   t h e i r   o w n   s t a m i n a ,
f e r o c i t y ,   a n d   l i g h t i n g   s k i l l ,   t h e y   a r e   a l s o
h i g h l y   r e s i s t a n t   t o   m a g i c a l   e f f e c t s ,   p o i s o n ,
a n d   a t t a c k s   t h a t   m a y   b e   d o d g e d   ( s u c h   a s   a
d r a g o n ? s   b r e a t h ) .   T h e y   a r e   d e v i l i s h l y   h a r d
t o   k i l l .

I n   o r d e r   t o   l e a r n   m o r e   a b o u t   t h e s e
s t r a n g e   c r e a t u r e s ,   I   h a d   t o   c a p t u r e   o n e   a l i v e
?   a   t a s k   m a d e   m o s t   d i f f i c u l t   b y   t h e i r   r a r i t y .
W h a t   f e w   d i s p l a c e r   b e a s t s   t h e r e   a r e   p r e f e r
t o   l i v e   i n   t h e   d e e p   w i l d e r n e s s   ?   i n   o l d
f o r e s t s ,   m o u n t a i n s   a n d   h i l l y   r e g i o n s ,   o n   v a s t
p l a i n s ,   a n d   e v e n   i n   t h e   d e s e r t .   O c c a s i o n a l l y
a   p a c k   o f   t h e m   i s   f o u n d   i n   a   s w a m p .   T h e
s w a m p   v a r i e t y   t e n d s   t o   b e   s o m e w h a t   l a r g e r
t h a n   o t h e r   s o r t s   a n d   s w i m s   v e r y   w e l l .   I t   i s
e s p e c i a l l y   d a n g e r o u s   b e c a u s e   o f   t h e s e   f a c t s ,
a n d   b e c a u s e   t h e   s w a m p   p r o v i d e s   e x c e l l e n t
c o v e r   f o r   a m b u s h e s.

I   w a s   a b l e   t o   o b t a i n   a   g r a n t   f r o m   o u r
l o r d s h i p   a n d   a   l e a v e   f r o m   t h i s   u n i v e r s i t y   t o
o b t a i n   a   s p e c i m e n   o f   t h i s   c r e a t u r e   f o r   s t u d y .
I   g a t h e r e d   a   f o r c e   o f   p o r t e r s   a n d   a r m e d   m e n
a n d   p r o c e e d e d   i n t o   t h e   B r o k e n   S p i r e   c o u n t r y ,   w h e r e   w e   s e a r c h e d   f o r   t h r e e   w e e k s .
F i n a l l y ,   w e   s i g h t e d   a   l a r g e   m a l e   d i s p l a c e r   o n
a   m o u n t a i n s i d e ,   a n d   o n e   o f   m y   m o r e   z e a l o u s   f o l l o w e r s   c a s t   a   n e t   a t   t h e   b e a s t   ?
m i s s i n g ,   o f   c o u r s e .   I t   t h e n   r a n   o f f   w i t h
i n c r e d i b l e   s p e e d ,   a p p a r e n t l y   w i t h o u t   u s i n g
i t s   f r o n t   l e g s   f o r   t r a v e l .   T h e   b e a s t   l o o k e d   f o r
a   f e w   m o m e n t s   l i k e   a   f e l i n e   c e n t a u r .

A f t e r   a   f e w   m o r e   l u c k l e s s   d a y s ,   w e   w e r e
b l e s s e d   t o   c o m e   a c r o s s   a   d i s p l a c e r   b e a s t
c a v e ,   w h i c h   I   i d e n t i f i e d   a t   o n c e   b y   t h e
a b r a s i o n s   l e f t   o n   t h e   c a v e   m o u t h   f r o m   t h e
b e a s t ? s   h a b i t   o f   s h a r p e n i n g   i t s   c l a w s   a n d
t e n t a c l e s   o n   b a r e   r o c k .   R e a l i z i n g   o u r   d a n g e r   a s   w e l l   a s   o u r   f o r t u n e ,   I   d e p l o y e d   t h e
t w e l v e   m e r c e n a r i e s   w i t h   u s   a b o u t   t h e   c a v e
i n   p a i r s ,   a r m i n g   t h e m   w i t h   s h o r t   s w o r d s   a s
w e l l   a s   t h e i r   n e t s .   T w o   o f   m y   a s s i s t a n t s
c a r r i e d   l o n g   d a r t s ,   e s p e c i a l l y   p r e p a r e d   w i t h
a   s l e e p i n g   v e n o m   a p p r o v e d   b y   t h e   C o u n c i l
o f   S c h o l a r s   a n d   o u r   l o r d s h i p   f o r   u s e   a g a i n s t
r o g u e   c r e a t u r e s   w h o   s h a r e   n o   h u m a n i t y .

H a v i n g   p r e p a r e d   m y   s p e l l s   a n d   s a i d   m y
p r a y e r s   t o   t h e   g o d s   a n d   t h e   u n i v e r s i t y ? s
a l c h e m i c a l   s t a f f   ( w h o   h a d   m i x e d   t h e   s l e e p i n g   v e n o m ) ,   I   g a v e   a   s i g n a l   a n d   e v e r y   m a n
p r e s e n t   g a v e   o u t   a   r o a r i n g   s h o u t .   W e
a b r u p t l y   d i s c o v e r e d ,   a s   t h e   d i s p l a c e r s   e m e r g e d ,   t h a t   w e   h a d   f o u n d   a   f a m i l y   l a i r .   A n
e n o r m o u s   m a l e ,   p u r p l e - b l a c k   i n   c o l o r ,   a
s m a l l e r   f e m a l e   o f   b l u e   t o n e ,   a n d   t w o   c u b s
r u s h e d   f o r t h .   M y   a m a z e m e n t   c o u l d   o n l y   b e
i m a g i n e d ,   a s   n o   y o u n g   d i s p l a c e r   b e a s t s   h a d
e v e r   b e e n   k n o w n   i n   t h e s e   l a n d s ,   a n d   i t   h a d
b e e n   a s s u m e d   t h a t   s u c h   c r e a t u r e s   w e r e
s o m e h o w   g e n e r a t e d   f u l l - g r o w n .   I   w a s   b a r e l y
a b l e   t o   r e c o v e r   m y s e l f   t o   r a i s e   t h e   i r o n   n a i l
i n   m y   h a n d s   a n d   s p e a k   t h e   w o r d s   t o   t h e
s p e l l   o f   h o l d i n g .   T h e   m e r c e n a r i e s   h u r l e d
t h e i r   n e t s   a t   t h e   m a l e ,   a l m o s t   f o r g e t t i n g
a b o u t   t h e   r e s t   o f   t h e   p a c k   i n   t h e i r   h a s t e   t o
b r i n g   d o w n  t h e   g r e a t e r   t h r e a t ,   a n d   c h a o s
r e i g n e d   f o r   t h e   s p a c e   o f   p e r h a p s   a   m i n u t e

M e r c i f u l   a r e   t h e   g o d s   o f   t h e   u n i v e r s i t y ,
a n d   w i s e   a r e   t h e   o l d   m e n   i n   t h e   a l c h e m i c a l
d e p a r t m e n t !   A t   o u r   m o m e n t   o f   g r e a t e s t
p e r i l ,   t h e   m a l e   b e a s t ? s   n a t u r a l   r e s i s t a n c e s
f a i l e d   h i m   a s   t h e   i r o n   n a i l   v a n i s h e d   f r o m   m y
h a n d s   a n d   t h e   m a l e   d i s p l a c e r   v a n i s h e d   ?
o n l y   t o   r e a p p e a r   s e v e r a l   f e e t   a w a y ,   f l a t   o n
t h e   g r o u n d ,   p a r a l y z e d !   O n l y   o n e   o f   t h e
m a n y   n e t s   h u r l e d   h a d   e v e n   s t r u c k   h i m ,
e n t a n g l i n g   h i s   h o r n e d   t e n t a c l e s   a n d   p e r h a p s
s p a r i n g   t h e   l i f e   o f   a   s o l d i e r   t h a t   t h e   b e a s t
h a d   b e g u n   t o   m a u l .   T h e   s o l d i e r   h i m s e l f   w a s
c a u g h t   b y   t h e   s p e l l ,   b u t   w a s   n o   w o r s e   f o r
t h e   e x p e r i e n c e   a n d   w a s   q u i c k l y   t r e a t e d   b y
B r o t h e r   S y n o n   o f   S a i n t   A r d a n ? s ,   w h o   a c c o m p a n i e d   u s .   T h e   b l u e - b l a c k   f e m a l e   s u c c u m b e d   t o   a   d a r t   f r o m   o n e   o f   m y   a i d e s ,   a n d
t h e   c u b s   w e r e   q u i c k l y   n e t t e d   a s   t h e y   t r i e d   t o
e s c a p e.

A   m a r v e l o u s   f i n d ,   I   m u s t   a d m i t .   T h e
m a l e   w a s   h u g e ,   m e a s u r i n g   1 1 ?   f r o m   n o s e   t o
t a i l ,   w i t h   7 ?   t e n t a c l e s .   I t   w e i g h e d   i n   a t
a b o u t   6 0 0   l b s .   T h e   f e m a l e   w a s   q u i t e   a   b i t
smaller, only about 8' long and 450 lbs.,
about the size of a large housecat, but
lacked the characteristic tentacles, having
only knobby growths instead. In captivity
here at the university, the cubs quickly
developed their adult size and appearance
within a matter of weeks. Their growth rate
was astonishing. It appears that they
reached full maturity at the ripe old age of
four months.

The displacer beast's claim to fame is, of
course, it's power to appear 3' away from its
actual location. The sage Dunmeyer has
written extensively of displacers, though he
had not studied live ones, and he once
conjectured that his remarkable effect was
somehow caused by molecular vibrations.
Until I was able to shed new light on this
mystery, anyone else could do nothing but
guess, though my research is far from complete
itself. It seems now that the molecular
vibrations, stimulated by a specialized
group of nerves, occur only in the outer
layers of the beast's skin cells. Where as the
vibrational movement is too minute to be
normally noticed, it is sufficient to bend and
redirect the rays of colored light. The refracted
light rays form the illusionary image
while the true form is masked, virtually
invisible. This magical power is automatic,
but it may be consciously directed by the
beast itself.

It is still unknown, even to me, precisely
how the light rays are deflected by the vibrations.
Due to the beast's magical nature,
I would not be at all surprised if the supernatural
had a fair hand in the origin of the
talent. Interestingly enough, displacer
beasts are able to see each other's true forms
and are not deceived by displacing -- in fact
confirmed by watching them in captivity.

    Although only full-grown displacer beasts
are found in packs outside the lair, obviously
there are young. They never leave the
lair until they are full-grown or the family
moves to another locale. It seems as if the
beasts do not want the young to be out
before their displacing talent has been
acquired. As violently disposed as they are to
other creatures, they do not fight among
their own species and exhibit no sense of
rivalry among themselves, except for the
play of young cubs. This playful behavior
vanishes with adulthood. I am currently
attempting to familiarize one of the grown
displacers in the bestiary to my presence,
though without much success.

Given the observations of other explorers
who have recently visited the Broken Spires
on other quests, we have a more complete
picture of the life of the average displacer
beast. Lairs contain two adult displacer
beasts ? male and female, of course ? and
perhaps as many as four cubs, though usually only one or two are produced. The
birth rate among displacers appears to be
quite low, given their small numbers. Little
is known about their mating or birthing
procedures. Unlike most carnivorous mammals, displacer cubs are born with their
eyes open and a set of usable teeth for eating
meat right away. Adult females have
mammary glands and nurse their cubs until
they leave the lair at the age of four months.
Newborn kittens have no tentacles and are
about the size of small housecats, though
after the first eight weeks their tentacles
sprout and grow at the rate of an inch or so
a day until after about 30 days more have
passed. At this time, the cubs will measure
close to 4 1/2' feet long, weigh near 90 lbs, and
generally be the same size as a large lynx.
At the end of the first year, length and
weight will be approximately 7 1/2' and
350 lbs, respectively.

    From then on, the length of the tail will
be around one-third of the overall body
length, and tentacles will typically equal
half the total length. When the beast
reaches full maturity after two years, 10' is
average length for the male, with 9' being the
norm for females. Weight is about 500 lbs.
for males, females 450. The extremely fast
growth is even more impressive when one
stops to consider that the beast's average
lifespan is perhaps close to 100 years.

Distantly related to the true cats, the
displacer beasts hunt in a similar fashion
but often for more powerful game, such as
giant deer, boars, cattle, buffalo, bears, and
(as every child knows) blink dogs. They
move silently until within striking distance
for a lightning-fast attack made by several
adults at once. They generally use only
their tentacles, but their fangs and talons
may be brought into play in close combat.
Though they walk at a quick pace on all six
legs when fighting or running, they raise
their forelegs to claw at victims if they so
desire and can run on their rear four legs
without difficulty.

Displacer beasts can leap 20' straight up,
25' across on a standing jump, and double
that on a running jump, and double
that on a running jump. Unlike many other
creatures with more than four legs that have
slow metabolisms, the displacer beast can
move with great speed and with high dexterity
despite the extra pair of legs that
might get in the way.

I regret to say it, but a great many of
those who have followed my work care little
about my discoveries on how the displacer
beast hides its form and creates an illusionary one, being more interested in the creature?s violent temperament. ?Why are they
so vicious around blink dogs?? is the most
often-asked question that comes from visitors to the university bestiary. Indeed, the
murderous fury of a displacer beast is fit
only for nightmares, of which I had several
after our successful hunting expedition. Not
being especially intelligent or cunning,
displacers are not subtle when they burst
into attack. They have been seen to maul
any beast that comes within striking range
of them, from humans to small dragons,
and rumors abound of howling battles
between some large carnivore and a hungry
pack of displacers, shrieking and screaming
their fury as they savagely tear their prey to
shreds.

I know of few things to compare such
madness to in the animal kingdom, not
even excepting the behavior of certain berserkers and were-beasts. I have evidence
that some process connected to their maturation, likely a growth hormone, affects
their minds as they go from amiable kitten
to adult killer. From the moment that the
tentacles of the two kittens we had captured
began to grow, the kittens became irascible
and violent. I have scars on my left arm
from wounds caused by Emerald Fire, the
larger of the pair, that have only recently
healed. This terrible nature only grows
worse over time, though, as I?ve said before, they will not attack their own kind.
Perhaps the scent of one another is the key
element in preventing these attacks; I cannot say, though I have further experiments
planned.

As foul-tempered as it is, the displacer
beast reserves its most intense hatred for
blink dogs. There seems to be a particular
reason for this, as my research has shown,
but the explanation was hard to come by.
The two species both prefer temperate
climates, but the displacer beast usually
lives in the forests and mountains, whereas
the blink dog is generally a creature of the
open plains, so there are no territorial disputes or fights over prey on a species-wide
basis. The ?dog-and-cat? hypothesis holds
no water here, as you might guess, since
cats and dogs are not enemies by nature.

My explanation is based upon prolonged
experimentation (and the deaths of several
blink dogs). The very actions of displacement and blinking seem to interfere with
the nervous and mental systems of the
opposing creatures. I have seen a blindfolded displacer beast jump and yowl when
a blink dog was allowed to teleport itself
within several feet of the former?s cage. The
blink dog, in turn, began to snarl and bark
in the direction of the displacer even though
it, too , was blindfolded, had its sensitive
nose covered, and was within the area of a
spell of silence. Detection of the other is
automatic for each, and appears to trigger
hate, ferocity, and violence in both animals,
especially the displacer beast, whose special
nerves are spread throughout its entire
body. This occurs whenever the creatures
are within 150? of one another.

Even if the blink dogs are not using their
power or if the displacer beasts are asleep
and not using theirs, both have learned to
identify the other by scent and sight, provoking automatic flight or attack, depending upon the circumstances. Both species
can also detect the approximate location of
their enemy should their respective special
powers be brought into play, and some
rather sophisticated wild blink dogs have
learned to not use their powers when preparing ambushes for the displacers. Blink
dogs get a general feeling for the direction
in which a displacer beast lies, but the
displacers can find a blink dog as soon as it
blinks in with unfailing accuracy.

As a side note, I would be curious to
learn the effect upon a blink dog of wearing
one of those remarkable displacing cloaks
that adventurers talk about. I would wager
that being caught by a pack of the creatures
would not be a pleasant experience!

A truly unique and interesting creature,
the displacer beast. I am more than happy
to spend the rest of my life studying it.

Appendix
1. To determine the orientation of a displacer beast and its illusionary form, roll
d10. On a result of 1-5, the illusion is in
front of the creature (positioned between the
creature and an opponent it is facing). On a
roll of 6-7, the illusion is to the creature’s
left; 8-9, to the creature’s right; and on a
roll of 0 (10), the illusion is behind the
creature’s actual position.

2. A lone opponent facing a displacer
beast has a - 2 penalty “to hit” on any
occasion except when the displacer beast has
scored a hit earlier in the current round of
combat. If more than one opponent is involved against a single beast, additional foes
have their “to hit” penalties reduced by 1
for each extra foe involved: the second
opponent hits at - 1, and the third and all
subsequent opponents have normal chances
to hit. (This assumes that the multiple
opponents have arranged themselves so as
to partially or entirely surround the creature.) If a beast is hit by any attack against
it in a given round and it does not move,
then all opponents who viewed the successful hit can attack at no penalty in the following round. Infravision will reveal the actual
location of a displacer beast, as will true
seeing or other similar magical means.

3. Displacers rarely use their claws and
teeth unless near death or fighting a very
large opponent. Each claw attack does 1-6
hp damage, and each bite 2-12 hp damage.
Such an attack routine involves two tentacles, two claws, and a bite, though it can
claw with the middle and rear pairs of feet
as well if it can leap down upon an opponent or attack a prone one. Very large
beasts will also be attacked with all available
clawed feet.

4. When it is running on four legs, the
beast’s movement rate is doubled (30”) for
3-12 rounds.

5. Attacks for immature displacer beasts
are as follows: Treat those 1-4 weeks in age
as a normal cat (Monster Manual II, and
those 5-8 weeks old as a wild cat. The
growth spurt begins here, so those kittens
from 9-12 weeks old attack as a lynx (with
the middle set of claws doing 1-2/1-2 on
rakes), but cannot use their tentacles effectively (1-4/1-4 for attacks in the 11th and
12th weeks). Attacks between claws, teeth,
and tentacles are evenly divided at this
stage. As the cub grows older, it comes to
rely heavily upon its tentacle attacks, using
them as whips. Displacers 13-16 weeks old
attack as adults, using their tentacles to
cause 1-6/1-6 damage. Attacks are normal
at the end of the first year. Those kittens
under one week old have no effective attacks.

6. Although listed as neutral in alignment
ment, some displacers have truly evil natures, and this will show up in detect alignment spells.

7. Blink dogs will attack anyone wearing
a cloak of displacement with great ferocity.
Displacer beasts, however, are not bothered
by those who cast the spell blink upon themselves. The cause for the latter’s distress lies
in the magical biology of the blink dog, not
in the nature of the spell itself.

8. A displacer beast’s illusionary form is
not like a regular illusion, in that it is not
dispelled upon contact and it cannot be
“disbelieved” out of existence. Striking the
illusionary form will not reveal the actual
location of the beast, but will of course
reveal the illusion for what it is.