. . . s h i m m e r . . .

SHIMMERA (#25/30, #269/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 9

STAMINA: 10

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Heat Blast (as per Sword)

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Dungeons, Ruins, Caves, Desert, Wilderness, Plains, Volcanic Areas, Magical Planes

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-2

TYPE: Magical

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: High

"Sometimes, in a lonely place, an adventurer will have the distinct feeling that someone, or something, is following them. After a while they will hear shuffling steps; they begin to run and the steps speed up.  Out of the corner of their eye, the adventurer see a shadowy glimmer chasing themselves. There is a slicing sound and they look at a cut in their cloak. Turning around, they see an indistinct figure that shimmers in a dark haze. The adventurer cannot see their adversary's weapon but can only hear it cutting through the air, air that is changing around them and appearing to get warmer, for the adventurer faces a SHIMMERA!"

- From Treatise on the Kingdoms of South-west Khul by Ignatius Pommfritte

Weird strange things lurk at the confluences of the different Elemental Planes, entities that while they may barely appear to be alive or even there, are instead actual sentient beings with their own inexplicable goals and purposes. For example, where the Magical Plane of Fire intersects with that of Air, we find the flickering creature known as the SHIMMERA.

This is a hazy, vaguely humanoid figure that materializes in dry, desolate or dark places, existing only to strip all excess moisture from its surroundings. The Shimmera attacks with a concentrated blast of hot air that does damage as per a sword. Anyone who survives an attack by a Shimmera will feel physically drained and dehydrated, and must reduce their STAMINA score by 2. The Shimmera is immune to heat or fire damage. All opponents must reduce their SKILL by 2 for this battle, due to the difficulty in hitting the Shimmera's indistinct form, and only inflict 1 STAMINA damage per successful hit. Anything wet that is struck by a Shimmera, such as the contents of a water bottle or potion flask will instantly evaporate.

The Shimmera is generally a denizen of the distant magical planes but is sometimes summoned to Titan to act as a guardian entity. For example, they are known to wander the Dark Chasms beneath the Kingdom of Gorak, and the Djaratians often used them as silent sentinels bound to ancient crypts and tombs beneath what is now the Desert of Skulls. Typically anyone who is not designated as ritually chosen, or consecrated to a specific deity, will be instantly attacked, however, the Shimmera can be appeased by offerings that create or produce heat, such as a torch, candle, lantern, Yokka Egg, and so on.

Potion of Vaporous Essence (#26/30, #270/365) [EA:V2] (Potion) 

This is a very rare and valuable potion  that appears as a small phial containing a ruby-coloured liquid. When drunk, the imbiber's body, clothing and all possessions will turn into a thin mist that can float through the smallest crack. It works both on land and underwater. Someone in vaporous form cannot attack, but they cannot be wounded by non-magical weapons. After 3-18 minutes they will become solid again, hopefully in a space that can contain their full size otherwise the results could be disastrous! 

This particular type of potion was known to be brewed by the wizard Greylock, who some claim lived within a magic air bubble among the ruins of Atlantis, and would exchange examples of this potion or others in exchange for rare trinkets such as the Silver Pearl. Interestingly, Corianthus the Storm Giant tells the story of a nameless adventurer who used the giant's Triplex Potion Concoctor to brew a similar potion with a much longer duration, though it only transformed the imbiber and not all their accoutrements.

Price 70GP