Sphinx (Gynosphinx)
Celestial · no Crown (Sacred)
T3d8Minor
Enigmatic lion-women, gynosphinxes divine truths, teleporting to challenge seekers of knowledge.
Tier 3 · Role Minor · Pool Vigor 3 (+3 overflow) · AC 13 · ATK +5 · Save DC 15 · Dmg 3 (flat)
| Stat | Score | Mod | Die |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | 16 | - | - |
| Mind | 16 | - | - |
| Sense | 16 | - | - |
| Heart | 8 | - | - |
| Cunning | 16 | - | - |
| Fate | 18 | - | - |
A Minor has no attribute mechanics: the scores describe the creature, they do not roll.
Passives
Spellcasting (riddle-lore divination)
The gynosphinx reads the threads of fate and speaks its answers into being; its riddles and shifts are divination magic worked in verse out to 60 ft. Immune to thought-reading and has advantage on saves against spells.
Maneuvers
Slow
Snarls a riddle that thickens the flow of time around a foe. One creature within 30 ft makes a Mind save (DC 15) or is slowed for 1 round.
Temporal Riddle
One creature within 60 ft must pass a Mind save (DC 15) or be shunted a moment out of time, vanishing until the start of its next turn and losing its actions that round.
Reactions
Phase Step
Once per round, when targeted by an attack, the sphinx vanishes and reappears 30 ft away, and the attack misses.
Tactics
GM tactics
Poses riddles and uses Temporal Riddle to remove the most dangerous combatant. Phase Steps constantly to avoid melee and Slows whatever closes anyway. Prefers to test rather than destroy.
Running it
Rules
- Vigor equal to Tier, with an overflow of the same size behind it: 3, then 3 more. Neither half regenerates.
- A hit deals a flat 3, no roll. A crit (natural 20 only) rolls d8 and never lands below 3.
- Crits on a natural 20 only.
- Minor: no stat modifiers or dice in play; its scores describe the creature, they do not roll.
- At 0 Vigor it breaks and flees, out of the fight but alive; Fanatics fight on into the overflow instead.
- Total damage reaching 6 kills it outright, and a single blow of 6 or more kills it on the spot.
- Vigor damage is simply damage against a Minor: its whole pool is Vigor.
- Two attacks in a normal turn: Tier 3+ Minors get a second.
- Group morale: when its group loses half its number, fled or dead, the rest check morale.
- NPCs never take wounds.