The relativity salmon closes out the third week of Frightful Fridays! A-Z! Theodric passed this image on to me with the subtle challenge of designing a creature that differed from the goliath etherfish. I hope I managed to succeed at the challenge with the salmon, which is not quite as aggressive as its Ethereal cousin and more widely traveled. As an extra feature, the druid spell summon relativity salmon allows a druid to gain access to planar travel, but it requires a little finesse with the summoned creature.
I'll be back on Monday for the start of the final full week of the A-Z challenge with "S." In the meantime, Flash will have a new shield for you tomorrow!
A large speckled fish appears out of thin air, and it swims through the air as if it were water; a large sphere of extraplanar material surrounds the creature.
Relativity Salmon CR 9
XP 6,400
N Large Outsider (extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +22
Defense
AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 17 (+6 Dex, -1 size, +8 natural)
hp 114 (12d10+48)
Fort +8, Ref +14, Will +11
AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 17 (+6 Dex, -1 size, +8 natural)
hp 114 (12d10+48)
Fort +8, Ref +14, Will +11
DR 10/magic and unaligned; Resist acid 20, cold 20, electricity 20, fire 20, negative energy 20, positive energy 20; SR 20
Offense
Speed burrow 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (perfect), swim 40 ft.
Melee Tail slap +13 (3d6+3 plus planar strike)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks planar corona, planar strike
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +16)
At Will—dimension door
3/day—plane shift
Statistics
Str 15, Dex 22, Con 19, Int 24, Wis 17, Cha 18
Base Atk +12; CMB +19; CMD 31 (can't be tripped)
Feats Acrobatic, Agile Maneuvers, Alertness, Combat Expertise, Dimensional Agility, Skill Focus (Knowledge [planes])
Skills Acrobatics +22, Bluff +19, Diplomacy +19, Escape Artist +18, Fly +31, Knowledge (arcana) +22, Knowledge (planes) +28, Knowledge (religion) +22, Perception +22, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +19, Stealth +2, Survival +15, Swim +25
Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Common, Ignan, Infernal, Terran; telepathy 120 ft.
SQ omniplanar native
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or school (3–6)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Damage Reduction (Su) Aligned weapons and creatures with an alignment subtype do not bypass a relativity salmon's damage reduction.
Omniplanar Native (Su) A relativity salmon suffers no ill effects from planar traits, with the exception of major negative-dominant or major positive-dominant planes. Additionally, a relativity salmon ages normally regardless of the passage of time in a plane, and it treats gravity on any plane as normal (including the ability to move through a plane with no gravity as if gravity were normal).
Planar Corona (Su) When a relativity salmon manifests on a new plane, it drags along planar essence with it. A 60-foot radius around the salmon takes on random planar traits (or chosen, at the GMs discretion); these traits fade after 10 rounds. All creatures within the radius are affected by the temporary planar traits.
Planar Strike (Su) A relativity salmon has built up charges of energy from the various planes it has visited and can add that energy to its tail slaps. When the salmon hits a target, it chooses an energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, negative or positive) and adds 4d6 points of damage of that energy type to its attack. If the target succeeds at a DC 20 Fortitude save, it reduces the damage to half; this ability also affects objects. The save DC is Constitution-based. The salmon may not choose the same energy type for two attacks in succession (for example, if it chooses fire, it cannot choose fire for its next tail slap, but for the subsequent attack it can choose fire again).
Swimming with or against interplanar currents, a relativity salmon travels the multiverse no longer led by instinctual imperatives, but instead by a desire to learn about every corner of the multiverse. While the creature has no sinister intent, it can wreak considerable havoc when it travels from plane to plane and incidentally interjects planar material from a previously visited plane to the newly visited one. Thus, a relativity salmon’s appearance is met with a mixture of awe and fear...and predation from those who wish to exploit the salmon’s plane-traversing abilities. A relativity salmon is 8 feet in length and weighs 400 pounds.
Legend holds that the first relativity salmon were ordinary salmon from a Material Plane that swam upstream into a portal leading to the Plane of Water. The creatures absorbed the energy that fueled the portal and shifted out again in an instinctual attempt to return home. The fish travelled together and spawned, passing on the planar travel ability to their young. Each successive generation grew ever more intelligent and inquisitive and spread throughout the multiverse. Every 10 years, relativity salmon make the journey to a safe demi-plane they discovered with pristine waterways where they spawn the next generation of salmon. A relativity salmon has a nearly 100-year lifespan, extended from its original stock’s lifespan due to exposure to planar energy fields.
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Summon Relativity Salmon
School conjuration (summoning); Level druid 7
Casting Time 10 minutes
Components V, S, DF
Range 30 ft.
Effect summoned relativity salmon
Duration 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw no; Spell Resistance no
This spell summons a relativity salmon from somewhere in the multiverse. You can select the planar traits that the salmon pulls with it per the creature’s planar corona ability. If you succeed at a DC 20 Charisma check, the salmon arrives from a plane that matches those traits; otherwise, the salmon arrives from a random plane. You can then negotiate with the salmon to plane shift you and five others to a plane you designate. A DC 40 Diplomacy check convinces the salmon to travel where you wish, but the creature also values new knowledge and will take you and your companions for a piece of knowledge. You can make a check from any Knowledge skill to convince the salmon to carry you; the DC for the check is the maximum of 20 or 10 + the salmon’s Knowledge skill bonus (reflecting the difficulty of imparting information in areas the salmon already has knowledge). As long as you or your companions do not threaten the salmon, it will remain with you for the duration of the spell. It will not attack on your behalf, but it will defend itself against opponents or flee if the situation gets overwhelming.
