Ethereal filcher

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Ethereal filcher
First appearance Monster Manual (2000)
Information
TypeAberration

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the ethereal filcher is a bizarre aberration.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> Fantasy role-playing game

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997. It was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry.

Fantasy Genre of literature, film, television and other artforms

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction set in a fictional universe, often inspired by real world myth and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became literature and drama. From the twentieth century it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga and video games.

Role-playing game Game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.

Contents

Publication history

The ethereal filcher appeared in the third edition Monster Manual (2000), [1] and in the 3.5 revised Monster Manual (2003).

<i>Monster Manual</i> series of core books for D&D

The Monster Manual (MM) is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. It includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. It describes each with game-specific statistics, and a brief description of its habits and habitats. Most of the entries also have an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, it is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. Several editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. It was the first hardcover book of the D&D series. Due to the level of detail and illustration included, it was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.

Description

The ethereal filcher's appearance is of a creature with a central body, a face with four eyes and a big mouth in the front of it, a bauble-like limb coming from the top of the central body sporting another face with two eyes and a round mouth, a single leg ending in 4 toes, and four arms with scraggy hands. Its color is white, with a dark green back and hands. Like many aberrations, it supposedly lives underground. Sometimes it can be found in other environments.

Characteristics and habits

The ethereal filcher is a kleptomaniacal creature. It has an unrelenting urge to snatch trinkets from passersby with its long arms. It has the ability to teleport quickly between the Ethereal Plane and Material Plane, giving it an excellent means of escape. It makes a lair in the Ethereal Plane, then searches (by using its ethereal jaunt ability, it can travel unseen through solid objects) for a place where it suspects there will be a victim. It then goes to the Material Plane, right in front of the unsuspecting traveler, and then snatches an item, sometimes using trickery or biting the victim first as a distraction. It then goes back to its lair in the Ethereal Plane to admire its prize. Ethereal filchers do not like fighting, preferring instead to merely run and hide.

Kleptomania impulse control disorder that involves the repeated impulse to steal for no great gain, when he or she has sufficient money to pay for the item and no need for what is stolen

Kleptomania is the inability to refrain from the urge for stealing items and is usually done for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main characteristics of the disorder suggest that kleptomania could be an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder, but also share similarities with addictive and mood disorders.

The Prime Material Plane is the central plane of existence in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The Prime Material Plane is the primary location of most Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings, with the exceptions of Ravenloft and Planescape. The inhabitants of each Material Plane always refer to their own plane as the Prime Material Plane.

Ethereal filchers do not speak.

They are neutral in alignment.

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References


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