Nuno
CR: 1/4 XP: 100
NE Tiny fey
Init: +2 Senses: tremorsense 30 ft. Perception: +6
Defense
AC: 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
hp: 3 (1d6)
Fort: +0 Ref: +4 Will: +4
Defensive Abilities: ant affinity
DR: 2/cold iron
Offense
Speed: 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.
Melee: slam +0 (1d2–2)
Space: 2-1/2 ft. Reach: 0 ft.
Special Attacks: nuno’s curse
Statistics
Str: 6 Dex: 15 Con: 10 Int: 13 Wis: 14 Cha: 15
Base Atk: +0 CMB: +0 CMD: 8
Feats: Ability Focus (nuno’s curse)
Skills: Bluff +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (nature) +5, Perception +6, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +14, Survival +3, Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (dungeoneering)
SQ: wax locator
Languages: Aklo, Sylvan, Terran
Ecology
Environment: any warm land or underground
Organization: solitary
Treasure: standard
Description
Ant Affinity (Su) Ants will never attack a nuno. A nuno can control ants and ant swarms as a druid’s wild empathy, with a +4 racial bonus on their checks. While ants are normally mindless, the nuno imparts to them a modicum of implanted intelligence, allowing nunos to train ants to perform tasks as necessary to suit the nunos’ fancies.
Nuno’s Curse (Su) A nuno can curse any creature it touches unless the creature succeeds at a DC 14 Will save. A creature that harms the nuno, damages the nuno’s home, or steals the nuno’s belongings must also save against the curse with a –2 penalty. A creature that succeeds at its save is immune to that nuno’s curse for 24 hours. A creature under the effects of the nuno’s curse experiences horrific swelling and hair growth in a location the nuno touched or that was associated with harming the nuno (for instance, a creature’s foot if that creature kicked over the nuno’s anthill). This swelling imparts a –2 penalty to Dexterity and causes the affected area to occasionally ooze or expel black pus. The DC to remove a nuno’s curse with spells and abilities like remove curse is 10 higher than normal (24 for a typical nuno). A nuno can remove its curse as a standard action, and when a nuno dies, all its active curses end immediately. The effects of multiple nuno’s curses don’t stack. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Wax Locator (Su) Any creature cursed by a nuno can spend 1 minute pouring molten wax into a spoon and then into a container of water, causing the wax to run in the direction of the nuno. This allows the accursed creature to find the nuno no matter where it hides and attempt to put an end to the curse. Nunos are fungus gremlins that live in anthills. Even young nunos appear as wizened old men, and the creatures are solitary hermits, living among ants in anthills and burrows in tropical regions. Though nunos are as spiteful as any other gremlins, they tend to keep to themselves and reserve their enmity for those who bother them—especially those who dare to harm a nuno’s anthill home.
Due to the relative difficulty of removing a nuno’s curse via magic, the best options for a creature cursed by a nuno are to slay the nuno or parley with the creature.
Since the curse could have triggered while the nuno wasn’t present, both approaches are made easier by the nuno’s wax locator ability. Though inherently grumpy, nunos are easily bribed with offerings of fruit or valuable objects, and can at times be swayed by a particularly well-constructed argument. They can also usually be persuaded by humanoids and fey they find beautiful, though a nuno’s predilections are unpredictable at best, and they tend to loathe conventional beauty.
NUNO ASCETIC Rarely, a nuno’s isolated existence allows it to unlock secrets of reality unknown to others. These nuno ascetics still value their privacy, but they are sometimes willing to accept lavish bribes from pilgrims in exchange for sharing their wisdom. Nuno ascetics advance by class level, usually either as either monks or occult classes. They each develop a unique variation on the basic nuno’s curse, which acts as a signature of sorts. Unlike most monsters with class levels, nuno ascetics add half their class level to the DC of their nuno’s curse ability.