ORPSU
by Ed Greenwood
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 4- 12 (usually 6 or 7)
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: /12? (MC: D)
HIT DICE: 1 + 6
% IN LAIR: 15%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 horn and 1 fang
slash
DAMAGE/ATTACK; 4-7/1-3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell use, bleeding
wounds, blood drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Spell and psionic
immunities
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT Neutral evil
SIZE: S (up to 2? ?hornspan,? 3? overall
length)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: See below
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III / 52 +2/hp
Orpsu (singular and plural forms are the
same) are predators found in temperate
wastelands. They are nocturnal creatures
which inhabit rocky places (such as caverns
or ruins) and tall trees, and hunt in open,
rolling country (scrubland or plains). They
prey upon sheep, cattle!, woodland creatures
of all types (having a particular fondness for
badgers, foxes, and otters), large birds, and
men.
They have ultravision out to a 20? range
and infravision to 15?, both of which are
useful in their nighttime hunting. Their
greatest threat to prey is the ability of each
orpsu to use, once per day, a weak form of
hold monster (as the
5th-level magic-user
spell, against any single living target within
6?; target saves at +2, success indicating
the target is affected as if by a slow spell).
This hold effect (or slow, if save is made)
lasts for 2-5 rounds, and is the means by
which orpsu catch and overcome most of
their prey.
The coloration of orpsu ranges from
crimson through mauve. They are hairless
and have mottled, veined, leathery skin, a
prehensile tail (too weak to hold struggling
prey or wield any sort of weapon, but able
to drag small objects or coil around a tree
limb when the creature is at rest), and four
unusual ?horns.? These razor-sharp, blade-
like bony appendages project out of an
orpsu?s body like two back-to-back pairs of
crescents, one pair curling forward on either
side of its raking fangs and the other point-
ing backward like wings on either side of its
tail. (The orpsu has a row of 4 or more
fangs, pointing downward, but no lower
jaw, and thus it cannot attack by biting in
the normal fashion.)
Orpsu can fly by some form of natural
levitation combined with propulsion pro-
vided by the flailing of their tails. However,
they are relatively slow and clumsy in the
air, and generally only try to swoop down
on prey after it has been held or slowed. A
slash or stab from an orpsu horn does 4-7
hp damage, and its fangs can inflict an
additional 1-3 hp damage. (Separate ?to
hit? rolls are required for horns and fangs;
a swooping orpsu may not strike a victim
with more than one of its horns on a single
attack.) Any wound inflicted by an orpsu
horn will continue to bleed (the victim
losing 1 hp per round thereafter) until the
wound is bound or some form of curative
magic is applied.
Orpsu feed upon the blood of mammals,
drawing it through a cluster of white, flexi-
ble, tubelike tentacles located on the under-
side of the creature. Unlike the more
common stirge, the orpsu (which is some-
times mistakenly called a ?night stirge?
because of its diet; the two creatures are not
related) has no barbs or claws with which to
grip a victim securely. Orpsu will not at-
tempt to drain blood unless a victim is held
or until it collapses from wounds and blood
loss. Its tentacles can penetrate a victim?s
skin and provide some holding power, and
the orpsu can also affix itself to a victim by
coiling its tail around the body or an ex-
tremity of the prey. (The creatures have no
legs or feet, and cannot move across solid
surfaces.)
The blood drain of an orpsu will sap 1-2
hp per round from a victim until the victim
dies or the orpsu is knocked or rubbed off
? not difficult to do but requiring con-
scious effort (and the ability to move) on the
part of the victim.
Orpsu can communicate only with others
of their kind, employing a sort of limited
telepathy (2" range) which is incomprehens-
ible and confusing to others who may try to
?overhear.? The creatures are immune to
charm, suggestion, domination, and hold
magic, and psionic powers of similar nat-
ure, but otherwise have standard magic
resistance.