Spire Butterfly Swarm

The insects surrounding you look much like normal monarch butterflies except they're of a much more vivid color scheme – pink, yellow, cyan, and turquoise green, every one of them changing color as the mood suits it. They're dancing about the Spire's skies like giant multicolored clouds.

One of the more perplexing mysteries of the Multiverse, the Spire butterflies have long defied explanation by sages, mages and Guvner zoologists. Simply, their very existence seems to thumb its nose at one of the great constants: Magic Does Not Work at the Spire. For the butterflies, it most certainly does.Spire butterflies are slightly more intelligent than most insects. They're naturally curious, so when a swarm spots a new arrival to the Spire, it's more than likely they'll flit over en masse to inspect the cutter. Except the rilmani, that is; for some reason, butterflies always flee at first sight of one of these. But unless you've got rilmani blood, expect to be liberally visited by Spire butterflies if you ever make the long trek to the Center of the Outlands.A single Spire butterfly can have a wingspan of up to 6 inches. It does not communicate, neither individually nor as part of a swarm.

A Spire butterfly swarm typically attacks creatures with the greatest magical potential of those encountered. They swarm over them and drain magic, dealing nonlethal damage inadvertently. However, if roused to anger, they can sacrifice the lives of several individual insects each round to deal lethal force damage instead. Multiple swarms sometimes instinctively team up; half of them dance to fascinate the opponents while the other half approaches to feed on their magic.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a spire butterfly swarm in its square must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Hypnotic Pattern (Su): Spire butterflies bob and weave (rilmani call it the prancing) in a strangely hypnotic way, if they so desire. Treat this as a gaze attack that resembles the hypnotic pattern spell, fascinating all creatures that see the swarm if they fail a DC 19 Will save, transfixed by the beauty of the dance for as long as the butterflies keep dancing and 2 more rounds after they stop. A successful saving throw renders a creature immune to that swarm’s hypnotic pattern ability for 24 hours.

Magic Drain (Su): Any spellcaster that begins his turn with a Spire butterfly swarm in his square must succeed on a DC 19 Will save or lose access to one spell as if he had cast his highest-level, currently available spell. (If he has more than one spell at his highest level, he chooses which she loses.) In addition, the next time he prepares spells or regains spell slots, he gets one less spell slot at his highest spell level (but the time after that, the drain has no effect and he prepares or regains spells normally). Creatures with spell-like abilities are affected in the same way, their powers temporarily suppressed.Also, any creature in possession of a charged magic item beginning its turn with a Spire butterfly swarm in its square must succeed on a DC 19 Will save or all such items lose 1d4 charges permanently, as if expended normally. Even a single Spire butterfly can drain magic this way, although the Will save DC is reduced to 13. The save DCs are Charisma-based.Note that this ability works in spite of the fact that spells and magic items are already suppressed near the Spire, and effectively “stacks” with it. That is, if a 18th-level wizard has access only to 2nd-level spells due to the Spire’s nullifying effect, than the touch of a Spire butterfly drains his 2nd-level spells, not his (currently unavailable) 9th-level spells.

Magic Immunity (Su): A Spire butterfly swarm is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. The same immunity also applies to a single Spire butterfly.

Swarm Traits: A spire butterfly swarm has a single pool of Hit Dice and hit points, a single initiative modifier, a single speed, and a single Armor Class. It makes saving throws as a single creature. It can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey, but remains a creature with a 10-foot space. Unlike other creatures with a 10-foot space, a swarm is shapeable. It can occupy any nine contiguous squares, and it can squeeze through any space large enough to contain one of its component creatures.

"Of all the creatures that infest the planes, none can use their magical powers dead-centre in the Outlands, save the Spire Butterflies. How, you wonder? Berk, that's just the way things are..." - Magnum Opus, curator of Sigil's Musée Arcane

Spire butterflies are found almost exclusively around and on the Great Spire of the Outlands, and out as far as the second or third ring. They live as most butterflies, drinking the nectar of plants, but no matter how many flowers they visit, without magical energy, they fade away. Spire butterflies appear to be semi-intelligent, and berks have told stories about being getting lost near the Spire and then led to safety by Spire butterflies.

Spire butterflies serve the same purpose as butterflies everywhere – they pollinate plants. Due to their small size and reliance on nectar as their only mundane source of food, they pose little threat to others. The Spire butterflies have been the subject of much wild speculation by sages, mages, and Guvner zoologists. Like all good conspiracy theories, these rumors are based on nothing more solid than fancy… but what if they were true? Some examples include: - The dabus of Sigil are actually larval stages of the Spire butterflies, parented by the Lady herself.- The Spire butterflies are a rilmani creation, used to fine-tune the magic around the Spire.- The rilmani have discovered a concoction of crushed butterfly that they can drink to temporarily regain the use of their own magical powers at the Spire.- A pit fiend was defeated by a huge swarm of Spire butterflies a while back. Apparently he was so ashamed he fled back to Baator and has not been heard of since. - There are black butterflies living inside the Spire. Far more intelligent than the surface 'flies, they formed their own bizarre civilization.

Originally by Jon Winter, Eric Jackson, Ian Watson, Simmo, and Eliav Eini, art by Jeremiah Golden.Converted to 3E by Nemui.