THENDAR
by Douglas Lent


 
 

FREQUENCY:  Rare on Astral Plane;
very rare elsewhere
NO. APPEARING: 1 (5%  chance of 2-8)
ARMOR CLASS: See  below
MOVE:  17" to 20" on Astral Plane;
12" elsewhere
HIT DICE: 5 + 5
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: See  below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1  weapon
DAMAGE/ATTACK:  By weapon type
SPECIAL ATTACKS:  Spell use
SPECIAL DEFENSES:  Spell use, spell
immunities
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%
INTELLIGENCE:  Genius to supra-genius
ALIGNMENT:  Neutral good
SIZE: M (6?  to 6½? tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY:  Nil
Attack/Defense Modes:  Immune to
psionic attack
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE:  VI/550 + 6/hp

Thendar are native to the Astral Plane,
though they may be found on any of the
known planes. They are a wandering race,
seldom remaining in one place for very
long. Thendar are generally peaceful and
have a great thirst for knowledge of all
sorts. They have life spans ranging in the
thousands of years, and seek out new expe-
riences to relieve the monotony of their
existence.

Thendar appear to be tall, slender hu-
mans with golden skin, silvery hair, and
glowing white eyes. They prefer to wear
hooded robes of durable gray or blue mate-
rial. Thendar do not usually collect treasure
but may carry a memento or two picked up
during their travels. Ornate jewelry, magi-
cal staffs, walking sticks, and other such
items are typical examples. Such items will
not usually have any great magical power
but may have some value as antiques on the
worlds where they were acquired, as they
are liable to be several centuries old. Weap-
ons are rarely carried or used.

Thendar possess natural true  seeing  and
communicate by an innate ability to under-
stand all spoken languages, as per  tongues.
They have normal ultravision. They may
use the following spell-like powers, one at a
time, one per round, at the 12th level of
ability:  change self, dimension door, light,
magic missile  (5 times/day),  plane shift (2/
day),  project image  (l/day),  sunburst  (as
per  wand of light,  S/day), wall  of force  (1/
day). Thendar have excellent memories,
never forgetting anything that they have
experienced. They are immune to the ef-
fects of  feeblemind  or  forget  spells as well as
all psionic attacks or powers.

Because of their long lives and far travels,
thendar are great sources of information.
They may answer questions as sages, with
special categories in the inner and outer
planes and major fields in humankind,
demi-humankind, humanoids, and
giantkind. The prices asked to provide such
knowledge to other races are often unusual.
Minor questions have been answered for no
more than a demonstration of a simple knot
or the telling of an old folktale. More exact-
ing information has been gained simply by
allowing the thendar to accompany the
party and observe their actions for a time (if
the thendar found the journey interesting)
or in exchange for an equally arcane bit of
knowledge. Thendar are only interested in
lore that they do not already possess.

The githyanki hold a particular hatred for
the thendar, who respond with only an
indifferent annoyance. The thendar are on
good terms with astral devas and star levia-
thans (see DRAGON issue #89, Creature
Catalog I).
 
Dragon magazine - Monster Manual III - Dragon #101

AC answer
Dear Dragon,
I have a question pertaining to the thendar
(issue #101, Creature Catalog, p. 54). Under
armor class it says "see below," but nothing is
mentioned in the text about armor class. What is
it supposed to be?
    David Korson
    Louisville, Ky.
    (Dragon #106)

We neglected to note that because of their
magical and extraplanar nature, thendar have
a natural armor class of 7; however, high dexterity
and magic devices such as rings of protection
may improve this figure considerably -- RM