Neogi

The statistics block below contains details for more than one shape, size, or type of neogi. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.

Adult Neogi • Great Old Master • Neogi Spawn

The sly, spiderlike neogi are strangers wherever they go. They travel far and wide in shallow-draft ships that are equally at home on rivers or oceans. Their caravans cross deserts and mountains and traverse the dark labyrinth of the underworld. In their graceful but terrifying ships, they even ply the skies and venture beyond to visit unimaginably distant worlds.

The appearance of neogi vessels or caravans in a land is seldom taken as a good event. Neogi are great traders and merchants, but they are even greater raiders and despoilers. They trade if they must, but they prefer to fill their holds with treasure and slaves by simply taking what they want and leaving ruin in their wake. With small armies of umber hulks and mentally enslaved minions, their far-ranging raids have made neogi the scourge of many worlds and planes.

The neogi are a great mystery to humans and their kind. No one knows where they come from; their origins lie in the Material Plane, but on an unknown world. Some sages speculate that the neogi world doesn’t exist anymore, and that the spiderlike creatures no longer have a true home. That might account for their endless wandering.

On other levels, the neogi are perfectly easy to understand. They are rapacious plunderers, greedy merchants, gleeful murderers, and slave hunters of the worst kind. They view everything, including their own lives, as something to be owned, and anything that can be owned is worth taking by any means.

Neogi are vicious, spiderlike scavengers, raiders, and slavers that sometimes disguise their predatory practices beneath a guise of mercantile dealings. No commodity or business is too sordid for the neogi, and any creatures dealing with the monsters would be wise to take steps to make sure they were not cheated⁠—​or simply decide that murder and robbery are better business.

Neogi undergo three distinct stages in their lives: spawn, adult, and great old master. Spawn are small, hungry hunters, barely sentient. Adults are the most commonly encountered neogi—voracious, cruel, and brilliant monsters consumed with lust for gold and power. Great old masters are huge, bloated neogi approaching the end of their life spans, serving as living incubators for the next generation of neogi spawn.

Neogi lairs are laced with pits, chasms, narrow bridges, and precarious ledges. With their excellent balance and jumping skills, and their ability to dash around enemies, neogi can move through these hazardous areas more quickly and safely than most attackers can.

All neogi speak Common and Undercommon, and a large number of them also speak Terran.

Neogi Traits: The tactics of these monsters vary according to the kind of neogi involved. No neogi is particularly brave, but all of them are ruthless. They all share the following abilities.

Poison (Ex): Neogi poison is exceptionally virulent, considering that the creature itself is so frail. A neogi delivers its poison with each successful bite attack. The initial damage is 1d4 points of Dexterity damage, and the secondary damage is 1d4 points of Wisdom damage. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +3 racial bonus.

Immunity to Mind-Affecting Spells and Abilities (Ex): Neogi are immune to all mind-affecting spells and abilities.

Skills: Adult and spawn neogi use their Dexterity score instead of their Strength score for Climb and Jump checks. Neogi have a +8 bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks even if rushed or threatened.

Adult Neogi ⬆️

This spiderlike monster has a long, flexible neck and an eel-like head with tiny, needle-sharp teeth. Its body is covered with stiff hair, dyed in complex designs, and it wears a light leather harness for carrying pouches and weapons. Its small black eyes glitter with intelligence.

Adult neogi are the backbone of the community. They spend most of their time trying to acquire as much wealth and power as possible.

A neogi’s eight-legged body is covered with stiff hair, which makes it look something like a giant wolf spider. Instead of a spider’s head, however, the neogi has a long, flexible neck that extends upward and backward, then bends toward the front again in a large S-curve. Atop that sleek neck sits a small, narrow head, like that of an eel. Its jaws are lined with tiny, needle-sharp teeth, and small, black eyes are pushed well forward on the face. An occasional individual has a narrow beard growing from the front edge of its chin. A typical neogi dyes its naturally tan fur in one of a multitude of different hues and patterns. Some of these patterns signify family or rank; others are just for decoration. A neogi wears simple articles of decorative clothing and a belt or bandoleer with pouches for carrying its valuables.

Combat

Adult neogi are frail fighters, and they know it. Wherever possible, they have their umber hulk slaves (see Neogi Society) fight for them while they linger nearby looking for opportunities to use their enslave ability. Adult neogi try to make foes more vulnerable to enslavement by using their poison first, delivered via a crossbow bolt (see below). These creatures are nimble and difficult to corner.

Adult neogi are proficient with simple weapons.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 14, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 1d4 Wis. As a standard action, an adult neogi can coat a weapon with poison from its fangs. The poison remains active for 1 minute after application and functions as it does when delivered by means of a bite.

Enslave (Su): Three times a day, a neogi can try to enslave any one living creature within 30 feet. This ability functions similarly to a dominate monster spell (caster level 16th; Will DC 15). An enslaved creature obeys the neogi’s telepathic commands to the letter. The subject can attempt a new DC 15 Will save every 24 hours to break free. Otherwise, the neogi’s control is broken only by the death of the neogi or the enslaved creature, by a remove curse or dispel magic effect, or if the neogi travels more than 1 mile from the enslaved creature. At any given time, a neogi can have a number of creatures enslaved by means of this ability equal to 1 + its Cha modifier (but neogi also keep additional slaves in the normal, nonmagical manner). The save DC is Charisma-based.

Neogi do not need to use this ability to control their umber hulk slaves (see Neogi Society).

Great Old Master ⬆️

This huge, bloated, spiderlike monster has a large, eel-like head atop a long neck. Its mouth is filled with sharp fangs, and its eyes burn with ravenous hunger. Its abdomen is huge and distended, and seems to crawl and pulsate horribly.

Neogi employ a peculiarly horrible means of reproducing their race. When an adult neogi grows old and weak, its fellows turn on it, injecting it with a special venom that initiates terrible changes in the old neogi’s body. This venom causes the subject’s body to swell into a great, bloated sack 10 feet in diameter. Upon becoming a great old master, a neogi’s intellect dims to the verge of nonsentience, and it loses most of its memories, feats, magical abilities, and skills. In place of its cruelty and cunning, there is only a ravenous hunger.

When the transformation is complete, adult neogi lay their eggs in the great old master’s abdomen. Thereafter, the adult neogi provide the great old master with food⁠—​alive but immobilized⁠—​to sustain it and nourish the young that are devouring their host from the inside out. Eventually, twenty to forty neogi spawn chew their way out of the dying master. Most of these are in turn eaten by their voracious newborn brothers, but a few survive to become the next generation of adult neogi.

Combat

A great old master attempts to eat anything it encounters, biting ferociously and spewing forth spawn.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 20, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 1d4 Wis.

Spit Spawn (Ex): As a standard action, a great old master can spit out 2d4 neogi spawn, which can attack the moment they land. The great old master can place the spawn anywhere within a range of 30 feet, but no two spawn can land more than 10 feet apart.

Also, when a great old master takes damage, it can release 2d4 spawn. This version of the spit spawn ability is usable once per round as a free action.

Neogi Spawn ⬆️

This small, scuttling horror seems to be a spider the size of a cat, but it has an eellike head on a long, sinuous neck. Its mouth is full of tiny, sharp fangs.

These foul and dangerous pests usually are found only in the vicinity of a great old master. Sometimes adult neogi let large numbers of spawn loose on the outskirts of their community and leave them to fend for themselves.

Unlike the monstrous vermin they seem to be at first glance, neogi spawn are sentient and self-aware. They are quite cunning and cooperate to bring down larger prey⁠—​or to turn on their weaker siblings if other prey is not available.

Combat

Neogi spawn hunt each other, but if they notice other prey, they charge toward it. In combat, they flood over a single creature, biting until it succumbs to their poison. These little horrors then devour the victim.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 11, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 1d4 Wis.

Neogi Society

There’s nothing to admire about neogi culture. These creatures are vicious murderers, plunderers, and slavers that only occasionally attempt to disguise their bottomless avarice as mercantile interest. Their rapacity has made them the rivals of every thinking race in the world. Neogi traders lie, steal, cheat, and deceive at every opportunity, but they have the ability to travel in places where humanoids would meet a swift and terrible death, and they can deal with creatures that would be absolutely inimical to any human trader. This means that neogi can get their claws on all sorts of unwholesome goods and commodities, and greedy humans always hope to profit by commerce with the neogi and their clients.

Of all the races that neogi enslave, umber hulks are their favorites. Every adult neogi possesses at least one umber hulk, raised from birth to a life of slavery and conditioned to accept that situation as the natural order. These umber hulk slaves take orders from any neogi without question or thought. Umber hulk guards keep less compliant slaves (those under the effect of the neogi’s enslave ability) under control and also act as soldiers in neogi armies and slave raids.

In the neogi worldview, ownership is what fuels the universe. Everything belongs to the neogi as a whole—if not now, then it did in the past or it will in the future. Even a neogi can be owned as a slave by another neogi, and the slaves can own property and slaves, and those slaves can own property and other slaves, and so on.

Neogi and Umber Hulks

Neogi have bred umber hulks as slaves for generations. Neogi are rarely encountered without their powerful slaves at their side. A single neogi with one umber hulk slave is an EL 8 encounter.

Neogi are perfectly content to allow their umber hulks to do the fighting for them, sniping at their foes from behind the safety of their allies. If possible, a neogi uses its climbing ability to stay well above any possible danger. If not, the neogi remains close to its slave, so that anyone attempting to attack the neogi in melee must enter within range of the umber hulk’s confusing gaze and melee attacks.

Neogi are willing to sacrifice their slaves to escape from a dangerous situation, and do so at the slightest provocation.

Neogi Characters

Neogi spawn and great old masters are not suitable as characters. An adult neogi possesses the following racial traits.

• –⁠4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, –⁠2 Constitution, +4 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +6 Charisma.
• Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, –⁠4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
• A neogi’s base land speed is 30 feet, with a climb speed of 20 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Racial Hit Dice: A neogi begins with five levels of aberration, which provide 5d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +1, and Will +4.
• Racial Skills: A neogi’s aberration levels give it skill points equal to 8 × (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Appraise, Balance, Climb, Disable Device, Intimidate, Jump, Search, and Spot. Neogi use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks, and their Climb speed gives them a +8 bonus on Climb checks. A neogi can always take 10 while climbing, even if rushed or threatened.
• Racial Feats: A neogi’s aberration levels give it two feats. Neogi gain Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat.
• Weapon Proficiency: Neogi are proficient with simple weapons.
• +3 natural armor bonus.
• Natural Weapons: Bite (1d4 plus poison), 2 claws (1d3).
• Special Attacks: Enslave, poison.
• Special Qualities: Immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Any other than secret languages.
• Favored Class: Wizard.
• Level Adjustment: +3.

Neogi Anatomy

Neogi have been likened to gigantic wolf spiders. With eight limbs supporting a flattened, barrel-shaped abdomen, the similarity is undeniable. It is also misleading, because neogi are not arachnids. They are warm-blooded creatures similar to mammals, but with a unique, asexual method for reproduction.

A neogi’s eight limbs have two joints in addition to the shoulder joint. Each “knee” joint hinges the leg in an opposite direction so that it can fold up flat against the underside of the body when the creature is at rest, or when it’s slung in a special carrying harness on the back of an umber hulk slave. The front pair of limbs serves both as legs and arms. These forelegs have no hands, but they do have clawlike, vestigial thumbs that are surprisingly deft at fine manipulation. They are the equal of human hands for most tasks but don’t have as strong a grip as a human.

The body of a neogi departs radically from that of a spider in the structure of the neck and head. The neck is long and sinuous. It extends from the front of the body, curves upward and gracefully back, and then curves forward again in an S shape. At the end of the neck is a small head suggestive of an eel’s head. Two small, dark eyes are positioned so far forward on the face that they can be mistaken for nostrils. A neogi has excellent vision forward, but it must turn its neck to see much to the side. It can easily rotate its neck through 270 degrees for all-around vision.

Below the eyes is a large mouth so wide that it seems almost as if the entire bottom portion of the head is hinged to swing downward. The jaws are lined with hundreds of tiny, needlelike teeth. A few of these teeth are actually hollow, like a snake’s fangs, and serve the same purpose⁠—​they deliver poison through a bite.

The abdomen of a neogi is covered with coarse, light brown fur. Neogi are vain about this fur. They dye it in various bright colors and patterns that have social and fashion significance to other neogi. Beneath the fur, and on the neck and head where fur does not grow, a neogi’s skin is smooth, slick, and tight, ranging from pale off-white to tan to splotchy, charcoal black. Neogi sometimes apply dyes to their skin, too. A well-appointed neogi can appear as a blaze of yellow, red, blue, purple, mauve, and other colors in swirling and banded patterns.

Neogi fur is not heavy enough to provide much warmth in cold weather, and they are quite sensitive to temperature. They prefer temperate climates: not too hot and certainly not too cold. The ships in which they travel from realm to realm rely on magic to protect against extremes of climate. Where they build outposts, they search for a surface location that offers a good combination of climate and security. If one can’t be found, they build below ground, where they can more easily manage both of those factors through engineering.

Neogi do wear clothing of sorts, but in everyday use, its function is entirely decorative. Their dress consists of what could be considered (for lack of better labels) aprons, scarves, and shawls. Like the neogi themselves, these tend to be dyed in bright primary colors or muted but unusual colors. Intricate stitching, fringe, tassels, beadwork, and quilting are common. A typical article of neogi clothing would be little more than a kerchief to a human-sized creature, so they can well afford the best.

In extreme cases, they don heavy furs and cloaks to protect themselves against the cold, but they always have problems protecting their legs. These limbs are so thin that they lose heat rapidly even when insulated with furs. If a neogi is forced to venture outside in frigid conditions, it is likely to keep the trip short and to bundle itself up with its legs folded inside an insulated bag that can be strapped to an umber hulk’s back.

Reproduction and Development

Neogi spawn grow to adulthood in about a year. They can expect to live 60 to 80 years as adults before their minds begin to lose their grip on reality. At that point, a neogi becomes a danger to itself and others because it cannot maintain control over its slaves. When this happens, one of two fates awaits a neogi. Most commonly, it is set upon suddenly by other neogi and devoured on the spot.

In some cases, other neogi attack and poison the victim. A massive dose of neogi poison causes the victim’s body to swell to over ten times its original volume. Within days, the victim becomes a bloated, insane, nearly helpless blob of tissue—a “great old master,” in the hypocritical terminology of the neogi. Other neogi then deposit eggs into the immobilized creature. After a short period of incubation, the eggs hatch. The spawn devour the great old master and scatter into the dark corners of the neogi community, where they live by scavenging and preying upon one another until some few reach adulthood.

Neogi Variants

Neogi do not possess any specialized subraces or variants that live apart from the rest of the race. However, rare neogi are born with a mutation that results in an adult of smaller size but greater magical power than others of their kind. These are known as dwarf neogi. Neogi defi lers, slavemasters, and sorcerers represent typical neogi variations.

Dwarf Neogi

A dwarf neogi is the most extreme of the regularly appearing birth mutations. It is indistinguishable from other neogi spawn at birth, but the difference becomes apparent before long. While other spawn gain size and strength quickly, a dwarf neogi grows very slowly, if at all. By the time it is full grown, it still stands no more than 2 feet tall and weighs 10 pounds or fewer, due to its spindliness.

The creature’s diminutive size is no indication of its power. A dwarf neogi is among the most dangerous of all its kind. What it lacks in physical size, it makes up for in enhanced mental powers. A dwarf neogi can crush the spirit and sap the will of most creatures from a safe distance. It always strikes from the shadows or while safely ensconced behind a protective wall of umber hulks.

A dwarf neogi is a prized possession among neogi. Few of them live as free creatures; they are usually slaves of other neogi. In some cases, dwarf neogi have been mistaken for an unknown kind of homunculus familiar.

Dwarf neogi are also widely considered to be the worst of a bad lot. They are, as a rule, crueler, more ruthless, and more evil than the average neogi. Perhaps because they have more tools at their disposal for capturing slaves, dwarf neogi are known to sometimes murder captives outright, without even preserving them for food—something no other neogi would do.

Dwarf neogi are quite rare. Fewer than one in a hundred neogi is a dwarf.

Dwarf Neogi: CR 4; Tiny aberration; HD 3d8–3; hp 10; Init +4; Spd 20 ft., climb 20 ft.; AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +2; Grp –⁠9; Atk or Full Atk +8 melee (1d3–3 plus poison, bite); Space/Reach 2-1/2 ft./0 ft.; SA enslave, poison, spell-like abilities; SQ darkvision 60 ft., neogi traits; AL LE; SV Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +5; Str 4, Dex 19, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 16.

Skills and Feats: Balance +8, Climb +12, Disable Device +8, Hide +15, Intimidate +7, Jump +3, Move Silently +8, Search +7, Spot +6; Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse [bonus].

Languages: Common, Undercommon, Terran, Infernal, Goblin.

Enslave (Su): Three times a day, a dwarf neogi can try to enslave any one living creature within 30 feet. This ability functions similarly to a dominate monster spell (caster level 16th; Will DC 14). For more details, see the enslave ability description for adult neogi.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 13, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 1d4 Wis.

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day⁠—​crushing despair, daze monster, deep slumber, suggestion; 1/day⁠—​charm monster, fear, feeblemind. Caster level 12th.

Neogi Defiler

Certain neogi develop a more virulent poison and learn to spit this poison as a ranged attack. These neogi gain levels as rogues and are called neogi defilers. Visually, nothing distinguishes these neogi from their ordinary kin. Within neogi society, defilers are valued for their capability, but they are not held in the high regard that is reserved for sorcerers and slavemasters. In fact, they are rather mistrusted. Along with their more potent poison and spitting ability, they have strong chaotic tendencies. This unpredictability makes defilers seem unbalanced to other neogi and frightens them.

The sample neogi defiler shown below has applied the Ability Focus feat to its poison, which increases its poison save DC from 14 (normal for a neogi with its Constitution score) to 16.

Neogi Defiler: Neogi rogue 1; CR 4; Small aberration; HD 5d8+5 plus 1d6+1; hp 31; Init +8; Spd 30 ft., climb 20 ft.; AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +3; Grp –⁠1; Atk +8 melee (1d4 plus poison, bite), or +8 ranged touch (0, spit poison), or +9 ranged (1d6+1/19–20, +1 light crossbow); Full Atk +8 melee (1d4 plus poison, bite) and +3/+3 melee (1d3, 2 claws), or +8 ranged touch (0, spit poison), or +9 ranged (1d6+1/19–20, +1 light crossbow); SA enslave, poison, sneak attack +1d6; SQ darkvision 60 ft., neogi traits, trapfinding; AL CE; SV Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +7; Str 10, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 14.

Skills and Feats: Appraise +6, Balance +8, Climb +12, Disable Device +8, Hide +12, Intimidate +6, Jump +8, Move Silently +10, Search +6, Spot +7, Tumble +8; Ability Focus (poison), Improved Initiative, Spit Poison, Weapon Finesse [bonus].

Languages: Common, Undercommon, Terran, Abyssal.

Enslave (Su): Three times a day, a neogi defiler can try to enslave any one living creature within 30 feet. This ability functions similarly to a dominate monster spell (caster level 16th; Will DC 14). For more details, see the enslave ability description for the adult neogi.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 16 (14 when spit), initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 1d4 Wis.

Sneak Attack (Ex): A neogi defiler deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on any successful attack against flat-footed or flanked targets, or against a target that has been denied its Dexterity bonus for any reason. This damage also applies to ranged attacks against targets up to 30 feet away. Creatures with concealment, creatures without discernible anatomies, and creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits are all immune to sneak attacks. The defiler can choose to deliver nonlethal damage with its sneak attack, but only when using a weapon designed for that purpose, such as a sap (blackjack).

Trapfinding (Ex): A neogi defiler can find, disarm, or bypass traps with a DC of 20 or higher. It can use the Search skill to find, and the Disable Device skill to disarm, magic traps (DC 25 + the level of the spell used to create it). If its Disable Device result exceeds the trap’s DC by 10 or more, the defiler discovers how to bypass the trap without triggering or disarming it.

Possessions: bracers of armor +2, +1 light crossbow with 20 bolts, potion of cure moderate wounds.

Neogi Slavemaster

Like a defiler, a neogi slavemaster has learned to enhance its natural abilities. Neogi slavemasters enjoy a greater ability to enslave others. Slave raiding parties include a slavemaster whenever possible. With its increased ability to dominate, a slavemaster can capture more slaves and pass off their control to other neogi after the raid.

Most slavemasters own other neogi as slaves, in addition to the usual umber hulks and servant races. Because of their wealth, slavemasters rise to positions of dominance in neogi society.

Neogi slavemasters are adult neogi that have the Ability Focus (enslave) feat. Their Charisma scores are also higher than average for neogi, which further increases the save DC for their enslave ability and allows them to control more slaves.

Enslave (Su): Five times per day, a neogi slavemaster can try to enslave any one living creature within 60 feet (caster level 16th; Will DC 17). An enslaved creature obeys the neogi’s telepathic commands to the letter. The subject can attempt a new Will save every 24 hours to break free. Otherwise, the neogi’s control is broken only by the death of the neogi or the enslaved creature, by a remove curse or dispel magic effect, or if the neogi slavemaster travels more than 10 miles from the enslaved creature. At any given time, a neogi can have a number of creatures enslaved by means of this ability equal to 3 + its Cha modifier (but neogi also keep additional slaves in the normal, nonmagical manner). The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Challenge Rating: 4.

Neogi Sorcerer

While wealth is the ultimate arbiter of power in neogi society, magical aptitude can make the acquisition and defense of wealth significantly easier. The wealthiest neogi demonstrate a surprising affinity for magic.

Neogi sorcerers are accorded great respect within their communities. Sorcerers are unique within neogi society in that they alone cannot be slaves of other neogi, other than the leader of a tribe. Should a neogi sorcerer become indebted to another neogi, the leader is obligated to “buy off” the sorcerer’s debt.

Neogi with skill at sorcery do not advertise this to members of other races, and reserve their special talents as a surprise for unsuspecting enemies. Weasels are the most common familiars of neogi sorcerers, with snakes a close second.

Neogi Sorcerer: Neogi sorcerer 6; CR 8; Small aberration; HD 5d8+5 plus 6d4+6; hp 48; Init +9; Spd 30 ft., climb 20 ft.; AC 24, touch 17, flat-footed 19; Base Atk +6; Grp +1; Atk +12 melee (1d4–1 plus poison, bite) or +13 ranged (1d6/19–20, masterwork light crossbow); Full Atk +12 melee (1d4–1 plus poison, bite) and +7/+7 melee (1d3–1, claws), or +13 ranged (1d6/19–20, masterwork light crossbow); SA enslave, poison, spells; SQ darkvision 60 ft., familiar, familiar benefits, neogi traits; AL NE; SV Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +10; Str 8, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 21.

Skills and Feats: Appraise +6, Balance +9, Climb +13, Concentration +11 (+15 casting defensively), Disable Device +7, Intimidate +9, Jump +9, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Move Silently +9, Search +6, Spellcraft +12, Spot +7; Alertness (if familiar is within arm’s reach), Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Initiative, Spell Penetration, Weapon Finesse [bonus].

Languages: Common, Undercommon, Terran, Draconic.

Enslave (Su): Three times a day, a neogi sorcerer can try to enslave any one living creature within 30 feet. This ability functions similarly to a dominate monster spell (caster level 16th; Will DC 17). For more details, see the enslave ability description of the adult neogi.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 16, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 1d4 Wis.

Familiar: The neogi sorcerer’s familiar is a rat. The familiar uses the better of its own and the neogi’s base save bonuses. The creature’s abilities and characteristics are summarized below.

Familiar Benefits: The neogi sorcerer gains special benefits from having a familiar. This creature grants it a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves (included in the above statistics).

Alertness (Ex): The familiar grants its master Alertness as long as it is within 5 feet.

Empathic Link (Su): The neogi sorcerer can communicate telepathically with its familiar at a distance of up to 1 mile. The master has the same connection to an item or a place that the familiar does.

Share Spells (Su): The neogi sorcerer can have any spell it casts on itself also affect its familiar if the latter is within 5 feet at the time. It can also cast a spell with a target of “You” on its familiar.

Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/6/4 per day; caster level 6th): 0⁠—​acid splash (+12 ranged touch), daze (DC 15), detect magic, light, mage hand, read magic, touch of fatigue (+12 melee touch; DC 15); 1st⁠—​color spray (DC 16), expeditious retreat, mage armor (already cast), magic missile; 2nd⁠—​invisibility, web (DC 17); 3rd⁠—​fireball (DC 18).

Possessions: masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts, ring of protection +1, wand of scorching ray (30 charges), potion of cure moderate wounds.

Rat Familiar: CR —; Tiny animal; HD 6; hp 24; Init +2; Spd 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft; AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +6; Grp –⁠6; Atk or Full Atk +10 melee (1d3–4, bite); SA deliver touch spells; SQ improved evasion, low-light vision, scent, speak with master; AL NE; SV Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +10; Str 2, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 2.

Skills and Feats: Balance +14, Climb +12, Hide +14, Move Silently +10, Swim +10; Weapon Finesse.

Deliver Touch Spells (Su): The familiar can deliver touch spells for its master (see Familiars).

Improved Evasion (Ex): If the familiar is exposed to any effect that normally allows it to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, it takes no damage with a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

Speak with Master (Ex): The familiar can communicate verbally with its master. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

Neogi Life

The glue that binds neogi society together is commercial trade⁠—​at least, that’s what the neogi call it. In fact, their “trade” is a three-cornered platform supported by traditional mercantilism, slavery (buying, selling, raiding, and owning), and out-and-out piracy.

All neogi, regardless of their class or their interests, are traders at their core. They have carved a niche for themselves over eons as middlemen who acquire goods cheaply where they’re plentiful, transport them to where they’re rare, and then sell them at high prices. The neogi see themselves as the ultimate merchants. The fact that they sometimes steal the goods rather than buy them, or that the goods themselves are sometimes sentient beings who would rather not be bought and sold, is of no concern to the neogi. To call them amoral would be too generous. They are unprincipled, unethical, ruthless marauders that care nothing for the lives or property of anyone but themselves. The fact that they are tolerated or even welcomed (cautiously) rather than attacked when they arrive at a market or port is a testament to greed everywhere.

Neogi trade in anything that offers the potential for profit, whether it is furniture, food, wine, art, magical items, exotic animals, or rare manuscripts. Without question, the merchandise that earned them their infamous reputation is slaves.

Leaders and Slavery

Leadership within the neogi community is rigidly structured. Because they have no means of tracing parentage, it cannot be hereditary. Neogi have no mechanism for dynastic inheritance of rulership or property. All neogi spawn within a tribe spring from the same source. One might suppose that this would lead to widespread feelings of equality within the community, but that assumption would be wrong.

The heavily stratified nature of neogi society is built around ownership of slaves. Although neogi are essentially tribal, the question of leadership is more complex than it appears. In its simplest iteration, the tribe member that owns the most slaves is the leader, also called the administrarch. Neogi-style slavery is a question of degrees. The neogi recognize four tiers of slaves.

The First Tier

Lowest on the scale are slaves the neogi consider little more than livestock. They have been captured and penned up but not enslaved by the neogi’s mental power. These unfortunate creatures are fed just enough to keep them alive but weak. They serve three purposes: as meat on the hoof, as merchandise to be sold, and as a resource pool from which to fill the ranks of the second tier.

These slaves, with very few exceptions, are communal property⁠—​no one neogi owns them—because acquiring them probably involved a communal effort in the form of an organized raid. Arranging for the (minimal) care of these slaves and managing their use is one of the administrarch’s chief responsibilities.

The neogi keep adding to their pool of captives as long as they have somewhere to confine them and enough umber hulk minions to keep them from escaping.

The Second Tier

The second tier of slavery consists of creatures that have been actively enslaved from the pool of captives or captured and enslaved directly by a neogi acting on its own behalf.

In keeping with their high level of paranoia, neogi fear their slaves more than almost anything else. This is because a neogi’s mind-controlling enslavement can be fought. A slave can break free of those mental bonds, and when it does, it’s likely to be murderously angry. For this reason, neogi don’t like to have more than three creatures under their personal enslavement at any given time, even if their Charisma scores would allow them to keep more. With more than that, they run an ever-greater risk of losing control over one or several and being murdered in their homes.

The Third Tier

The third tier of slavery is the cadre of umber hulks that serve the neogi. These are born and bred to slavery, and through lifelong conditioning, they accept their position as part of the natural order. Each neogi, upon reaching adulthood, is presented with an umber hulk slave by the administrarch. An additional umber hulk might be awarded in recognition of a great deed or great service to the tribe. In this way, individual neogi can accumulate two, three, four, or even more umber hulk slaves. Having more than two is considered a significant honor.

The Fourth Tier

The fourth tier of slave ownership is, of course, owning other neogi. This state comes about most commonly through nonpayment of debts. Neogi take debts very seriously. They loan money freely but at high rates of interest. Missing a single repayment is sufficient cause to become enslaved, and so is damaging someone’s property to an extent that exceeds a neogi’s ability to pay. A neogi owing more than it can pay for any reason, in fact, leads to its enslavement. Gambling debts are the leading culprits here; neogi are compulsive gamblers.

Neogi-to-neogi slavery functions differently from the other tiers. They do not use their mental enslavement power on one another; the rigidity of their society is enough to force compliance. This type of slavery has as much kinship with feudalism as with a more traditional definition of slavery. A neogi slave is more than property, but less than subject.

More important, a neogi that becomes a slave does not lose its own slaves. Those slaves still belong to it, but they also belong to the neogi’s owner. If that neogi is, in turn, owned by another, then all of its slaves are tallied as possessions of the third neogi. In this way, neogi can amass large numbers of slaves without overtaxing their ability to keep them all enslaved.

The most unusual situation occurs in what the neogi term “the great wheel of ownership.” Consider a situation in which neogi A belongs to neogi B, B belongs to C, and C belongs to D. It is conceivable that through the vagaries of misfortune, neogi D could become the property of neogi A, creating a circular ring of ownership with no neogi at its head as the undisputed owner. In this case, all neogi involved become the property of the administrarch, retaining individual control over only their personally held slaves and umber hulks. The neogi seek to avoid this situation because it strips them of hard-won wealth.

Another important question of ownership arises when a neogi dies or becomes a great old master. What becomes of its slaves? Its personal, second-tier slaves are returned to the first-tier pool. This needs to be done quickly, because their mental enslavement ends at the moment the neogi dies or becomes a master. Many don’t live long enough to be returned to the slave quarters; they react to their freedom by trying to escape. Umber hulks, never the most thoughtful or gentle of guardians, respond by killing the would-be escapees. A dead neogi’s umber hulk servants can be reassigned to another neogi. Barring that, they become the property of the administrarch, at least temporarily.

Neogi that were owned by the recently deceased become free. Their obligation is complete. This has a remarkable effect on leadership within the neogi tribe. The administrarch is, by definition, the largest single slaveholder in the tribe. Leadership can change as the balance of slave ownership changes. This is rare because of the way wealth begets more wealth. It’s not uncommon for the largest slave owner—the administrarch—to own the second-largest slave owner as one of its slaves. On the passing of the administrarch, one of its slaves becomes the new administrarch in a smooth transition of power. Being the slave of another neogi does not make a neogi unworthy, though it does reduce the creature’s status.

Language

Neogi long ago abandoned or forgot their own language, adopting instead the languages of their “customers”. Neogi speak Common, even among themselves. Since they make use of subterranean lairs and bases and deal with creatures such as mind flayers and other deep-dwelling monsters, they also master Undercommon early on. Many also speak Terran.

Religion

With religion, as with most things, neogi are opportunists. No matter what god they consider their primary deity, they at least pay lip service to others, if only to cover all bets. Consequently, neogi are indifferent to specific deities, professing worship in whichever power strikes them as most convenient at the time. They have even been known to profess veneration for human deities, such as Fharlanghn or St. Cuthbert, but this is almost always a negotiating ploy of some kind.

When not seeking advantage from some power or another, the most commonly worshiped god among neogi is Tharizdun. In the darkness and entropy of Tharizdun, the neogi see a sort of divine rapacity that merits their respect. Although Tharizdun rarely rewards his worshipers with spells or divine favor, neogi that follow him believe that taking wealth and property from others and hoarding it for themselves is a metaphor for consuming the world around them.

Less philosophical neogi sometimes venerate the terrible being known as the Patient One. Neogi of this stripe tend to be physically gluttonous creatures that relish the act of devouring intelligent victims. Destroying a being for one’s personal sustenance is the most complete form of dominion one creature can exert over another. Neogi followers of the Patient One ritually devour their less-useful slaves as an expression of religious fervor.

The cult of Vecna has a small but slowly growing following among neogi. The Maimed Lord appeals strongly to all the worst traits in neogi psychology: their penchant for evil, secrecy, the exploitation of weakness, and the flaunting of strength. Worship of Vecna doesn’t exactly constitute an underground movement within neogi society, but it is not practiced openly. Other neogi disapprove, resisting the notion of venerating a human deity, no matter how evil. As long as Vecna’s followers conduct their rites in secrecy, they suffer no undue consequences at the hands of their fellows. Where’s the profit in pointless religious debates, after all?

Information about Tharizdun and the Patient One is presented in Lords of Madness, Chapter 9: The Aberration Hunter.

Relations with Other Races

The only creatures that trust neogi are those that have nothing to fear from them, and few races fit that description. Undead, because they are immune to mind control, cannot be enslaved by neogi. Illithids are not entirely immune, but their mental power is so much greater than the neogi’s that they might as well be. Besides, the illithids never allow themselves to be placed in a position where neogi could gain an advantage over them.

The combination of the neogi’s predatory tendencies and their utterly evil outlook prevents most humans, dwarves, and elves from forming permanent treaties with them. Neogi caravans and trading vessels sometimes call at human, dwarf, or elf towns, but they are not welcome, and their stay is short. It’s likely that some mutually beneficial trades can be worked out during a short stay, but there’s always a chance that at least a few townspeople will turn up missing after the neogi depart.

Races and societies that make use of slaves are more likely to have dealings with neogi. These far-roving traders have the advantage of bringing slaves from points so distant that there’s little chance of their kin or countrymen coming to set them free.

When faced with well-defended, savvy customers, the neogi can actually be good trading partners. They recognize value and because of their lawful natures, they honor agreements once they’re finalized. The only way to be secure when dealing with neogi is to operate from a position of strength. Intimations of weakness invite subterfuge and double-dealing, and possibly even trigger an attack. The neogi need to keep their slave pens filled somehow, and raiding is the most direct method.

While slaves and mercantilism are the backbone of neogi enterprise, they have another area of expertise that is less recognized but sometimes even more valuable: navigation. Neogi travel more widely than nearly any other race, across continents, oceans, entire worlds, and even planes of existence. They know where to find almost anything, and there are few places they cannot reach, if they’re paid well enough. Taking passage on a neogi vessel or with a neogi caravan is risky business for desperate customers. Those tempted, or forced by necessity, to travel this way are advised to work out an iron-bound contract ahead of time, to travel in strength, to keep their business secret, and to sleep with one eye open.

Neogi Magic

Unlike many of the other sentient aberration races, neogi are not very innovative with their magic. Instead, they are the ultimate scavengers, freely stealing from any interesting magical tradition they come across, taking what they find useful, and discarding the rest. A neogi wizard might know spells originating on a half-dozen different worlds, some of them created by fearsome beholder mages, others by ancient human necromancer-liches, and still others by elf enchanters.

The anatomy of the neogi imposes restrictions on which magic items they can use and how the creatures use them. A neogi can wear:

• One headband, hat, helmet, or phylactery on the head.
• One pair of lenses or goggles over the eyes.
• One amulet, brooch, medallion, necklace, periapt, or scarab around the neck.
• One cape, cloak, or mantle around the shoulders.
• Two pairs of bracers or bracelets on its two uppermost pairs of limbs.
• One glove, pair of gloves, or pair of gauntlets on its foreclaws.
• One ring on each claw (total of two rings).

Neogi cannot wear vests, vestments, shirts, robes, belts, boots, or shoes.

Neogi Goals

In the neogi’s view of the universe, all things are, were, or will eventually be owned by the neogi. At that point, they will fulfi ll their racial destiny and the universe will achieve its perfect form⁠—​in effect, the living world will transform into the neogi image of paradise. A key factor in this view is that it concerns not just material things, but all things. All living creatures will also be owned by neogi, and all other neogi will be owned by the almighty leader of the race, the administrarch.

In the short term, neogi goals are simple. Each wants to become as rich as possible and to own the longest chain of slaves it can assemble, eventually working its way up to the position of administrarch.

Slaves

Even more than trade, slaves are the cornerstone of neogi life. Without slaves, neogi could not operate their ships, build their nests, move their goods, or even feed and clothe themselves. Neogi have lost the will and the knowledge to perform such tasks because those matters are the work of slaves. A typical neogi knows how to do just two things, and it does them exceedingly well: strike a hard bargain and manage slaves.

Every adult neogi owns at least one slave. Many neogi own more than one, but because of the limitations of their enslave power, few use more than three on a daily basis. Excess slaves are kept penned up until they are sold, brought out of confinement as replacements, or relegated to become food.

The most common slaves are umber hulks. An adult neogi is never seen outside its stronghold without at least one umber hulk slave in tow. Most of the time, the neogi is carried in a special sling high on the umber hulk’s shoulders.

Neogi breed their own umber hulk slaves, rather than capturing them or buying them. The relationship between neogi and enslaved umber hulks is almost symbiotic. The umber hulks do not need to be subjected to mental enslavement every day. To an outside observer, they seem to serve willingly, but this is not really the case. The umber hulks are conditioned from birth to believe that servitude is the highest aspiration. They are treated surprisingly well, far better than other neogi slaves. They don’t serve the neogi for rewards or as mercenaries. Because of their conditioning, they genuinely fear and respect the neogi. Observers have been amazed to see a neogi physically punishing an umber hulk with a whip or rod while the umber hulk, far larger and many times more powerful than its abuser, meekly accepts the beating from its acknowledged master. Other slaves have revolted against neogi overlords, but umber hulks have never risen against them.

Free umber hulks have no objections to this arrangement. Fierce and barbaric, they have no sympathy for those of their kind that have been domesticated. Free umber hulks sometimes serve neogi as mercenaries for pay. They are safe from enslavement because the neogi know that umber hulks born to freedom make intractable slaves. Likewise, the mercenaries know that umber hulks born to slavery cannot adjust to life as free barbarians, so they are happy with the status quo.

Trade and Piracy

Most people distinguish between trade and piracy, but to the neogi, it is a semantic nicety and little more. Piracy is simply one more method for acquiring trade goods at the lowest possible price.

That attitude is wrapped up in the underlying neogi philosophy that everything did, does, or at some point will belong to the neogi. Goods are like water⁠—​they flow from one place to another, always moving downhill from surplus to deficit. The neogi are like the waterwheel that draws work and energy (profit) from the water without interrupting its flow.

This appears to be a pretty philosophy, but it is typical, self-serving neogi claptrap. The neogi are predators, not benign facilitators. They buy merchandise only when the price of purchasing is less than the price of stealing or having to fight for it. No one who deals with the neogi does so casually. Caution and a large measure of self-protection are absolutely necessary.

Under the right conditions, trading with the neogi can be profitable. “The right conditions” means having the strength to protect what’s yours. It’s certainly possible to bluff the neogi, because they tend to be cautious in their dealings with unknown quantities. It is, after all, safer to pay a little more than to get into a fight you might lose. It’s smart to remember, however, that the neogi have ways of making people do things they wouldn’t normally do, and of making people more agreeable than they might otherwise want to be.

Trading with Neogi

At some point, player characters might be forced into buying or selling with neogi. They might seek a particular magic item, a scroll containing an answer to an ancient riddle, or the return of a companion who has been enslaved.

The best way to handle such negotiations is through roleplaying, but it helps if the DM has a yardstick to measure value. When dealing with the neogi, the “going rate” isn’t always what the book says it is⁠—​it’s what the neogi thinks it is, especially where slaves are concerned. A neogi might know of a distant market or have plans for a creature that substantially increases the price at which it will sell. Also, so many of the neogi’s goods are from alien or inaccessible places that they simply aren’t available from anyone else. In that case, there is no competition and the neogi can set its price; the only obstacle is finding an interested buyer with sufficient cash.

When setting values, begin with the values given for the same or similar items in Chapter 7: Equipment of the Player’s Handbook. Neogi seldom deal in shoddy items, and much of what they carry is of above average to masterwork quality, so they seldom sell anything for less than its book value and seek 20 to 50 percent more than that. If the item comes from far away (more than 500 miles) and it’s not available locally, double its price. If the item comes from another world or another plane of existence, the sky’s the limit—five to ten times the book price is a good target.

The value of slaves is a different matter. Multiple factors go into the value of a slave, and the interest shown by the potential buyer is not the least. The basic method for determining the value of a slave is based on the creature’s CR, using the following formula:

Cost = (CR, minimum 1)² × 100 gp

An unskilled dwarf, for example, with CR ½, costs 100 gp (CR ½ rounds up to 1; 1 squared = 1; 1 times 100 gp = 100 gp). A troll slave, on the other hand, costs 2,500 gp (CR 5 squared = 25, times 100 gp = 2,500 gp).

Unusual or marketable qualities in a slave, such as great strength, great beauty, valuable skill, or exotic origin, can multiply the price by two, three, or four. A skilled miner dwarf might bring 200 gp if sold at a mine. If that same dwarf were exceptionally strong, he could cost 400 gp. If that dwarf was an 8th-level rogue and the buyer was the head of a thieves’ guild, the slave could cost between 12,800 and 25,600 gp. The DM has considerable leeway when setting these prices, of course. When dealing with high-level characters, there’s always a possibility that the neogi don’t know how valuable or how skilled a particular captive is, leading them to undervalue the slave.

Several skills come into play when haggling with neogi.

Appraise is valuable for obvious reasons, but it’s less useful when dealing with unfamiliar or alien goods.

Diplomacy is another handy skill. Long years of trading with some of the most unsavory creatures imaginable have made the neogi difficult to offend, but they respond uncharacteristically well to politeness.

Sense Motive is essential; neogi lie about anything if they expect to get away with it.

Pertinent Craft and Knowledge skills can provide essential synergy bonuses to relevant Appraise checks.

Travel

Among the most impressive achievements of the neogi are their spider-shaped flying ships. Spiderships not only fly rapidly from point to point on a world, but they are said to be able to travel from one world to another. When neogi arrive with exotic goods, the items might not be simply from far away⁠—​they might be literally from another world.

In practical terms, most neogi are bound to the world where they live and tied to more mundane methods of travel. Like most merchants, they favor caravans for protection. Their caravans tend to be small, but with umber hulks acting as guards, they travel most regions with confidence. In fact, they probably present a greater danger to those they meet on the road than vice versa.

Source: Lords of Madness, page 89. This creature originally appeared in the Monster Manual II.