Travel across the Ethereal plane is often quite a tranquil experience, if you happen to be an immortal flying at tremendous speed through the endless drifting mists for hours at a time, it gives a lot of time to ponder things, such as why the residents of Toril, a world not that long removed from being home to three major magic, artifice and psychic powered empires, the people there seem to no longer know anything about the beings who live within the Entereal plane, even the planet Earth has got statues of the Lamassu, found in the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 700 BC, but, not so the Forgotten Realms. I've talked about the Lamassu and Shedu before, but today there is a far more rare and unusual creature you may encounter one day, investigating some dry old ruin in the deep desert of Anuaroch, if you don't happen to run across a Sphinx, Griffon, Jacklewere, Lamia or irate form of well-preserved undead, you may find an Opnincus.
Like most of the Ethereal species, they are not humanoids, not even close, they have an ape-like head, and prehensile forepaws, but, their body and tail is more like a lion, with a camel hump and pelt and they have functional feathered wings.
Opinicus are desert-dwelling creatures of good will that have the innate powers of a 7th-level cleric and also a number of psionic abilities they use to engage in light-hearted pranks and practical jokes. When on the material plane, they prefer to habitat old ruins, such as a deserted city, palace, or temple. Although well known for their friendly attitude, Opinicus are also staunch enemies of evil, coming to the aid of other creatures in defence against the undead and creatures of the lower planes. Most people sense the innate holy goodness of the Opinicus and wouldn't think of turning down their offers to help. They have very keen senses, never seeming to get ambushed or caught unawares, they move quickly and lash out with their claws. But at close range, they have a sparkling gaze attack that hits undead and creatures native to the lower planes like a ton of bricks, the Opinicus also has a number of magical abilities, such as the use of a potent Holy word once per day, dimension door twice per day and heal three times per day.
On the world of Toril, well away from the Anauroch desert are the lands of Zakhara, the Land of Fate. These far flung arid regions are dense with ancient ruins and isolated oasies where you can find Opinicus a bit more often than to the far north. Opinicus stand about as tall as a human, so you can look them in the eye as they talk to you, they hunch on their back legs to use their forepaws with the opposable thumbs to use tools just like you or I, they are at home on the ethereal plane and don't really need those 12 foot wide wings, but they flap them majestically as they move anyway, out of habit I think.
Their psychic powers include probability travel, teleportation, astral projection, dimension door, dream travel, telekinesis, dimensional anchor, animate objects, control winds, inertial barrier and levitation, so they are easily able to navigate the immatterial realms of Ether, Astral and Dream realms, perhaps one of them turned up in a dream of yours once, you never know.
When in the material realm they like to eat a variety of foods, not very fussy eaters, they still prefer delicious meals and can live for centuries, particularly if they spend a lot of time in the Astral realm.
Opinicus enjoy healing, helping out lost travellers and maintaining watch over key ruins and locations in remote regions, they are known to keep their ruins pretty clean and tidy if they are there for a while and may even restore or decorate the ruins with new stone sculptures they craft with meticulous care and simple tools.
Like all intelligent beings, the Opinicus is capable of good and evil, the vast majority of them are of the Chaotic good alignment, they are clever pranksters who enjoy the company of good hearted beings of all kinds, they loathe the undead and attack these mesmeric winged tricksters called Al-Jahar on sight, which is quite handy but often alarming as stop what they are doing and leap into the air to do battle with whatever horror they can sense a lot better than you can.
You won't find a better guide to the immaterial realms than the Opinicus, they get along great with Barriur whenever they meet in the outer planes, but the Opinicus much prefers to hang out in a nice desert oasis, eating dried dates and drinking wine, right here in the prime material plane, the heroic terrain and daily adventures of Ysgard, home of the goat centaur Barriurs is a bit hectic for the more playful Opinicus.
Oh, I will tell you this in confidence, knowing you won't take advantage of the situation, but Opinicus tend not to use a lot of magic items, even though happen across them quite often as they investigate old ruins, and they will sell them quite cheap, or just give away information on where to find some pretty valuable finds, so, try to compensate them fairly.
You can find the original listing for the Opinicus in the Monster Manual II published for first edition Dungeons and Dragons, way back in 1993, they also get a mention when sourcebooks are talking about the divine and heavenly realms, as the Opinicus serves an important role as a genuinely helpful guide for player characters new to the ethereal realm or lost out in a desert somewhere.
I will slowly be bringing you monster ecologies and lore for all the creatures found in the Monster Manual II, my name is AJ Pickett, thanks for listening and as always, I will be back with more for you, very soon.
Opinicus
Large celestial, chaotic good
Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 84 (8d10 + 40)
Speed 30 ft., fly 70 ft.
STR 17 (+3) | DEX 14 (+2) | CON 20 (+5) | INT 18 (+4) | WIS 18 (+4) | CHA 19 (+4)
Saving Throws Wis +8, Cha +8
Skills Insight +8, Perception +8, Religion +8
Damage Resistances Radiant; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses Truesight 60 Ft., passive Perception 18
Languages Celestial, Common, Telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Innate Spellcasting (Cleric). The Opinicus' spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast cleric spells up to 4th level, with a focus on healing and protection.
Psionic Powers. Reflecting its vast psionic abilities, the Opinicus can use telepathy to communicate, teleport for quick movement, and levitate objects or itself at will. It can also cast dimension door and telekinesis, among other abilities that showcase its control over space and mind.
Actions
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 3) slashing damage.
Healing Touch (3/Day). The Opinicus can heal a creature it touches, reflecting its benevolent nature.
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