Mora

A wispy, pale butterfly flits silently through the air. When it comes to rest on your chest, you suddenly feel it as if it weighed as much as a horse! you can’t draw breath!

Originally Posted by MythMage of the Dicefreaks forums.

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Moras are ruthless assassins whose primary clientele are Unseelie Court members. They also act as the police of dreams. They hunt down those with dreams of considerable potential and crush them before those dreams can come to fruition and stave off the decay of the Unseelie. They efficiently and silently seek out their targets, crush them to death while they sleep, and slip away. Their victims are often mistaken for having died of natural causes. Moras live off of the crushed dreams of these slain sleepers, and are most satisfied by the most hopeful and potential-laden dreams.

Mora culture can best be described as a type of assassin’s guild. The moras form themselves into clans which compete for jobs and the choicest dreamers. All of these clans send their leaders together to discuss business and issues that involve the whole race at least annually, and this summit serves as their racial court, with the most influential patriarch or matriarch as its temporary ruler. These meetings are usually timed to take advantage of the times of Unseelie gatherings. Their leaders are usually rogues and assassins.

Moras can spawn spontaneously from the rotting brains of creatures who died while in the throes of horrible nightmares. They can also reproduce physically, laying eggs in dreamers they killed themselves. The sight of moths escaping the bodies of the dead have led to many superstitions of moths as spirits of the dead.

Much like imps, they often serve as familiars to mortal spellcasters in the hopes of spreading their own causes through their masters.

Moras look like ordinary butterflies, usually with a lacy white pattern on their grey wings. They are seen only at night, and are eerily quiet.

Moras speak Sylvan.

Mora
Diminutive fey
Hit Dice	1/4d6-2 (1hp)
Initiative	+5
Speed	5 ft., Fly 40 ft. (average)
Armor Class	19 (+5 Dexterity, +4 size), touch 19, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple	+0/+4
Attack	Crushing touch +9 melee (4)
Full Attack	Crushing touch +9 melee (4)
Space/Reach	1 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks	Crushing touch, improved grab, opportunistic wrestler, spell-like abilities, steal breath
Special Qualities	Damage reduction 10/cold iron, dream sense, Low-Light Vision
Saves	Fort -2, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities	Strength 1, Dexterity 20, Constitution 7, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 16, Charisma 18
Skills	Bluff +9, Hide +21, Listen +7, Move Silently +17, Search +5, Spot +7, Survival +7
Feats	Great Fortitude, Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment	Any land and underground
Organization	Solitary
Challenge Rating	3
Treasure	Standard
Alignment	Usually lawful evil
Advancement	1-3 HD (Diminutive)
Level Adjustment	+5 (Improved Familiar CL 7th)

COMBAT

When pursuing an assigned target, a mora will wait until the quarry falls asleep, and then silently drift toward the victim. At the first opportunity, it will land on the target’s
chest and crush him with its gravity crush ability. If forced into combat, it will use steal breath and silence to hinder spellcasters and try to stay out of range of melee fighters. As soon as possible, it will flee.

Crushing Touch (Su) As an attack action, a mora may alter the force of gravity on the air near it. The mora can then attempt a melee touch attack which deals damage equal to the mora’s Charisma bonus. This ability makes no noise.

This ability also allows the mora to gain enough leverage to grapple as if it were a Medium creature, using its Charisma modifier in place of its Strength modifier on grapple checks. A mora’s crushing touch deals triple damage against pinned or helpless creatures.

Dream Sense (Ex) A mora can smell dreams and dreamers from up to a mile away. It can determine if the dream is hopeful, creative, destructive, or nightmarish. With greater study, it can determine more details about the dream. It can locate dreaming creatures as if with the Scent special quality.

Improved Grab (Su) In order to use this ability, a mora must first hit with a crushing touch attack.

Opportunistic Wrestler (Ex) A mora receives a +4 racial bonus on grapple checks against prone opponents.

Spell-like Abilities

• At will – whispering wind;
• 3/day – sleep (DC 15);
• 1/day – silence.

Caster level 5th. Save DCs are Charisma-based.

Steal Breath (Su) As a standard action once per day, a mora can steal a creature’s breath. By making a melee touch attack, the mora empties its target’s lungs of air. The victim must make a Fortitude save (DC 14) or suffer nonlethal damage equal to its remaining hit points. This ability sounds only like a deep exhalation, and a listener who hears (Listen DC 14) must succeed on a Heal or Knowledge (nature) check against DC 14 to discern that the breath is unnatural. A successful save does not alert the victim to any threat. The save and check DCs are Charisma-based.

Skills A mora receives a +8 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.