Castles In The Sky

Cloud of Flame Butterfly
Diminutive Insect (Swarm)

Hit Dice: 1d10 (5)
Initiative: +5 (Individual) -4 (Swarm)
Speed: 10 ft (2 squares), fly 40 ft (good)
Armor Class: 20 (10 + 8 size + 2 Dex) , touch 17, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-11
Attack: Wing Buffet (See below)
Full Attack:  Wing Buffet, Swarm
Space/Reach:  5′ by 5′ (Individual) 2d20 (Swarm)
Special Attacks:  Spell-like abilites, Distraction
Special Qualities: Vermin Traits, Bioluminescence, darkvision 60 ft, immunity to electricity and fire, low-light vision, Immune to weapon damage
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +1
Abilities: Str 3, Dex 21, Con 10, Int – (Individual) 6 (Swarm), Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +10, Listen +3, Spot +3
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Whirlwind Attack
Environment: Temperate mountains, marsh, and plains
Organization: Solitary,flicker (2-10), blaze (10+)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 4-5 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: +0 (Cohort)

The crackle of flames becomes louder as a burning cloud of fire approaches. As the shifting mass of brilliant orange, white-hot and yellow draws near, it becomes apparent that the cloud is in fact a swarm of butterflies drifting slowly around each other as they fly. In the heart of the fluttering forms are a scattering of pale blue and blue-white individuals forming the heart of the living conflagration.

Cloud of Flame butterflies are rarely seen alone. Individually they are colored in the hues of flame; usually an almost molten yellow or bright red with a touch of blue-white and pale blue. It has a wingspan of 12-14 inches wide.

These butterflies are normally found in groups of 10 to 10,000 individuals. From a distance the butterflies resemble a flickering cloud of flames as they move together in swarm that can block the sun temporarily.

Combat: The Cloud of Flame butterfly is a weak individual. It can create a weak flame once per three hours that acts like a Burning Hands spell (except it only has a range of 5 feet and does 1d3 damage).

In a swarm the Cloud of Flame butterflies become a Cloud of Flame with a sentient intelligence and a Hive Mind. The butterflies must stay within 3 feet of their fellows (no butterfly may be further away than 3 feet from the nearest butterfly). If more than 60% of the swarm is scattered or killed they loose this intelligence and must reform into a swarm. Re-forming takes 1d4 rounds before they gain intelligence.

The Cloud of Flame can see in every direction that the individual butterflies can. However analyzing the individual perspectives can be disorientating, reducing its initiative and delaying its actions. A single butterfly can move out as a spy, reporting all that it sees and hears back to the swarm as long as it remains within 3 feet of the swarm.

The swarm can buffet its opponents with the multitude of wings which becomes in effect a wing buffet attack. The size of the Cloud of Flame determines the damage it does.

Wing Buffet:  Size Damage
Large 1d4
Huge 1d6
Colossal 1d8
Gargantuan 2d6

Spell-like Abilities: The Cloud of Flame can cast several fire-based spells as if it was a 3^rd Level Sorcerer.

At will: Dancing Lights
At will: Faerie Fire
1/hour Burning Hands (DC 14)
1/hour Affect Normal Fires (Must be touching the fire or in it)
1/hour Incendiary Cloud  (DC 14)
1/hour Pyrotechnics  (DC 14) 

Cast as if a 10^th Level Sorcerer
1//day Heat Metal         (DC 14)
1/day Fire Door
1/day Flame Walk

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with this swarm in its space must succeed on a DC11 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution based

Immunity to Fire (Ex): The butterflies are immune to fire and never take fire damage. It has vulnerability to cold, which means it takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from cold, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

Immunity to Electricity (Ex): The butterflies are immune to electricity  and never take electrical damage.

Immunity  to Weapon Damage (Ex): Because of their size, the swarm takes no damage from weapons.  

Flame Wrap (Sp): Similar to the Whirlwind of Fire, this ability requires a swarm. The butterflies catch fire but the effects of their flames are focused on their bodies. Though they generate the heat of a fire, no object touching them will actually catch fire.

Whirlwind of Fire (Sp): The butterflies in the swarm temporarily catch fire (1d4 rounds). They then attack with a whirlwind attack that buffets the opponent with a wing buffet as if one size larger than itself.

Opponents suffer as if attacked by a swarm plus fire damage from the burning bodies. The opponents must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex save or catch fire. The flame lasts for 1d4 rounds and takes a move action to extinguish. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Beings hitting the Cloud of Flame during this attack, either with weapons or unarmed, take fire damage as though hit by the swarm. They will then catch on fire unless they save on a Reflex save.

Society: Cloud of Flame butterflies were created by a Transmuter Veri Soulturner with the help of a Fire Elementalist Drevid Burntwig and the horticulturist Neri Chyvens. The butterflies were originally created to tackle the thick drifts of brush that accumulated around Neri’s gardens.

The Cloud of Flame butterfly has a complex life-cycle. It remains a caterpillar long after it has reached adult size. Each caterpillar seems painted with orange and yellow hues underneath a fine layer of sensitive hairs.

The caterpillars graze on brush shrubs and various weeds after hatching. They only eat the leaves of the plant they first eat, which causes many gardeners to collect their jewel-like eggs to incubate on net-swathed specimens of common weeds or nuisance plants.

 The caterpillar is capable of fasting for several days from accumulated body weight in the event its favorite plant is destroyed. It will then seek out a new plant and begin to eat voraciously. In the event it encounters dry or dead vegetation, the caterpillar spins a cocoon to begin its metamorphic change into an adult.

Changing from into an adult takes about a month. The silken cocoons are immune to fire and electrical damage (making them quite valuable for the production of pyresilk). Upon emergence as an adult, the new Cloud of Flame butterfly emits a pheromone that strongly attracts its fellows for up to 10 miles.

Cloud of Flame butterflies gather into dense swarms usually numbering no more than 10,000 or so individuals. They seek out the nectar of ‘fire-followers’: plants that grow immediately after the devastation of a grassfire. If they fail to find such plants, they begin to set fires of their own.

The swarm’s sentience allows it to plan the pattern of fires for the maximum effectiveness while avoid out-of-control conflagrations. Though they normally avoid woodlands, the butterflies are drawn to several species of trees that require the intensity of fire in order to spur their own reproductive cycles. The Cloud of Flame hibernates on these trees for the winter, protected by their Flame Wrap ability.

The Cloud of Flame butterfly requires two years to reach sexual maturity.  In the second summer of their adult lives their swarm seeks a suitable area, choked with scrub-like vegetation to commence their mating displays and lay their eggs.

Cloud of Flame butterflies live for 20-25 years while part of a swarm. During this long lifetime, they maintain a specific habitat during the summer and migrate to hibernate during the winter. They bred every summer.

Cloud of Flame butterflies are highly prized as living components of several magical and mundane objects. They are used as spell components. Their eggs are collected for private and public use in weed eradication. Their cocoons are harvested to be spun into pyresilk.

Cloud of Flame swarms are intelligent enough to be negotiated with and can be hired to be guardians of an area, place, person or even object.