Cloudkin Atlas

CLOUDKIN (#16/30, #321/365) [OOTP IV]

                Adult     Young     Stormkin

 

SKILL:         7            4             10

STAMINA:    7            3             10

ATTACKS:    2           1              2

WEAPON:

Adult - Storm Energy (as per Large Claw and see below)

Young - Storm Energy (as per Small Claw)

Stormkin - Storm Energy (as per Large Claw and see below)

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Elemental Plane of Air, Mountains, Hills, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-6

TYPE: Magical Creature

REACTION: Neutral

INTELLIGENCE: Average

Thought to be related to the Cloud of Chaos, the CLOUDKIN are a race of sentient clouds, typically native to the Elemental Plane of Air, particularly along its borders with the Elemental Plane of Water. They can also be found in the skies of Titan, in mountainous or isolated areas, and have been domesticated by the inhabitants of the floating islands of Pangaria. Here they are farmed; born and raised when young on the water island of Altos, before they are let out to roam in the skies above, the Zephyrus Tempest preventing them from drifting too far away. There they grow fat with rain and are cared for at ground level by Altos' many Cloudkin Herders, and in the air by Canidors - winged, dog-like creatures.

Any Pangarian island that needs rain or shade can request a herd of Cloudkin, which will come to their island and deposit the rain before returning to Altos to be fattened up again. Cloudkin are usually gentle and passive, and will scatter like frightened sheep when surprised, some of them shedding a little water as they float speedily away from whatever has startled them.

However, if six Cloudkin are encountered then they will be a mother Cloudkin with five young (scores for both above), and the mother will be very protective of her brood if disturbed. While the young Cloudkin flee to their mother in fright and fold themselves into her fluffy, cloudy depths, she will angrily lash out at whatever whatever the cause of the shock was, with a blast of electrical storm energy. As part of the Cloudkin's attack is electrical in nature, anyone who is wearing metal armour and is wounded by a Cloudkin must suffer an additional point of STAMINA damage due to minor electrocution. This also applies to anyone who hits a Cloudkin with a metal weapon in combat; the Cloudkin is wounded as normal and their assailant also loses 1 STAMINA point of damage from being shocked.

Sometimes a Cloudkin becomes corrupted by rogue surges in elemental energy and warps into a STORMKIN! If a single Cloudkin is encountered, roll a die; on a six the Cloudkin is actually a Stormkin and their Reaction is Hostile. A Stormkin is an enormous black cloud-like creature with lightning sparking from within its dark depths, and a nebulous horned face with flashing eyes. Accompanied by a series of thunderous growls, this angry ball of storm energy attacks with alternating blasts of wind and electrical sparks. This is identical to the typical Cloudkin attack as described above. Unfortunately, and unlike other denizens of Pangaria such as the Canidor, this corruption is a one-way process and the Stormkin cannot revert back to its gentler Cloudkin nature as it is too far gone! If slain however, the Stormkin dissipates into thin air...