Asteray

Medium fey, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 17
Hit Points 170 (20d8+80)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover) ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	20 (+5)	18 (+4)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	24 (+7)

Skills Stealth +9
Damage Vulnerabilities cold, fire
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Innate Spellcasting. The asteray’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14). The asteray can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • At will: detect magic, major image, spider climb
  • 3/day: charm monster, nondetection
  • 1/day: confusion
• Sensor Song. An asteray can “sing” signals that mask or mimic sensor perceptions. When an asteray would cast any illusion spell, the effect only affects magical or technological sensors such as those created by divination spells, or remote viewing devices, but not simple tools such as spyglasses, spectacles, or hearing trumpets.

ACTIONS

• Tail Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, 10 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 21 (2d8 + 12) slashing damage.
• Electrical Blast. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 80-320 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (2d8 + 13) lightning damage.

ABOUT

Delicate and angelic looking in zero gravity, asterays are a race of vacuum-dwelling fey that ride the solar winds between space debris, asteroid belts, and planetary rings, playing in the dust, dancing in microgravity, and seeking new and beautiful sights. Their bodies consist of little beyond lightweight, flexible bones and the powerful sinews that bind them together, creating a vaguely humanoid upper body and a lower body consisting of a large appendage that absorbs cosmic radiation and grants the fey the ability to propel itself through space.

With elegant forms and diaphanous tails, they appear gentle and welcoming.

Starship Sirens. Often called “deep angels” for their habit of following ships through the vastness of space to scavenge any discarded treats and pick hulls clean of organic stowaways, asterays can also become menaces.

The electronic signals they produce to communicate with one another mimic the sensor signals emitted by most starships, and in the eons that planet-bound creatures have explored their territory, asterays have learned to “sing” false sensor signals, mimicking ships’ distress signals or cloaking navigational hazards such as high-density debris fields. Individual asterays are a danger only to smaller spacefaring vessels, but several working in tandem can lure even well-equipped warships to their doom thanks to their inherent magic. While few of these fey are cruel enough to hunt humanoids for food, they hold few qualms about eating whatever remains after a frightened crew ejects from a incapacitated starship, including the corpses of any fallen.