Lamia (Dungeons and Dragons)

For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).

For the mythological being, see Lamia.


This entry is in the SuccuWiki for the sake of completeness with the Dungeons and Dragons universe.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lamia is a magical beast.

Artwork of a Lamia from the Wizards.com website

Stats

The following are for the pre-4E Edition D&D Rulesets

• Lamia
• Large Magical Beast Hit Dice: 9d10+9 (58 hp) Initiative: +2 Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares) Armor Class: 18 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+17 Attack: Touch +12 melee (1d4 Wisdom drain) or dagger +12 melee (1d6+4/19–20) or claw +12 melee (1d4+4)
• Full Attack: Touch +12 melee (1d4 Wisdom drain); or dagger +12/+7 melee (1d6+4/19–20) and 2 claws +7 melee (1d4+2) Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
• Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, Wisdom drain Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision Saves: Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +7
• Abilities: Str 18, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12 Skills: Bluff +14, Concentration +10, Diplomacy +3, Disguise +1 (+3 acting), Hide +11, Intimidate +3, Spot +11 Feats: Dodge, Iron Will, Mobility, Spring Attack
• Environment: Temperate deserts
• Organization: Solitary, pair, or gang (3–4)
• Challenge Rating: 6
• Treasure: Standard
• Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
• Advancement: 10–13 HD (Large); 14–27 HD (Huge)
• Level Adjustment: +4

• A typical lamia is about 8 feet long and weighs about 700 pounds.

Combat

Though a lamia is powerful and dangerous in close combat, it has no stomach for a fair fight. It uses its illusion abilities to lure heroes into perilous situations, and then uses its Spring Attack feat to bound out of the shadows and drain Wisdom from its opponents. When it has sapped the will of its victim, it uses its enchantment abilities to beguile and ensnare the unfortunate soul. A lamia forced into physical combat attacks with a dagger in one of its human hands and a pair of lion-like claws.

Spell-Like Abilities

• Caster level 9th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

• At will - disguise self, ventriloquism;

• 3/day - charm monster (DC 15), major image (DC 14), mirror image, suggestion (DC 14);

• 1/day - deep slumber (DC 14).

• Wisdom Drain (Su): A lamia drains 1d4 points of Wisdom each time it hits with its melee touch attack. (Unlike with other kinds of ability drain attacks, a lamia does not heal any damage when it uses its Wisdom drain.) Lamias try to use this power early in an encounter to make foes more susceptible to charm monster and suggestion.

Skills

• Lamias have a +4 racial bonus on Bluff and Hide checks.

Publication history

The lamia was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The lamia appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as having the upper torso, arms, and head of a human female, and the lower body of a beast, whose touch drains a creature's wisdom.

The lamia noble first appeared in the Fiend Folio (1981).

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the lamia, known as the lamara, in Creature Catalogue (1986), and the Creature Catalog (1993).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The lamia and lamia noble appear first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), and are reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).

The lamia was detailed in Dragon #192 (April 1993), in the "Ecology (Love-Life) of the Lamia". This article also described a relative of the lamia, the sa'ir.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The lamia appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The lamia appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The lamia noble appears again in Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The lamia appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008). In this book, the lamia is a swarm of insects that inhabits the dead bodies of eladrin (a race of elves), devouring their internal organs and using the hollowed-out bodies as a disguise.

Description

Lamia are centaur-like creatures, resembling animals such as lions, goats and deer, with a human torso and head coming up from where the animal's head would usually be. The upper body is fully humanoid, however, not bearing animalistic features such as scales, horns or fur.

Characteristics and habits

Lamias are evil creatures who live in desert ruins. They sustain themselves by eating human flesh. To bring prey to them, they use a variety of abilities, including seduction, disguise, ventriloquism, illusions, mirages, mirror images and other such things, to lure, entice and confuse those who wander into their midst into dangerous situations. When they have secured their victim, they carve a feast out of them with curved daggers. Lamias do not wear any form of clothing or adornment. They seem devoted to chaos and destruction in their native habitats. They never venture more than 10 miles from their lairs. Lamias also have the ability to drain wisdom with their touch.

One type of rarer lamia is the lamia noble. These beings rule over other lamias and the locations they inhabit. Unlike normal lamias, they have the lower bodies of serpents. Males fight with curved swords and magic, while females only with magic. Lamia nobles are also capable of venturing further from their lairs than other lamias, and prefer to go into urbanized areas in the guise of a human to infiltrate human and demihuman societies. Lamia nobles are given to outbursts of senseless violence. They can speak all forms of human and demihuman language.

Lamias are chaotic evil in alignment.

External Links

• The original source of this article at Wikipedia