Magic Item: The Jade Mantis
A beautiful figurine of a praying mantis made of a greenish metal with a soft sheen and inlays of jade in the thorax, abdomen, and the front pincers. The eyes are emeralds with hundreds of tiny facets. The forewings pivot forward away from the long slender abdomen. It is about five inches long.
The mantis is part of a set of four insect figurines (the others being a jade beetle, a jade scorpion and a jade spider) made by the female artisan/alchemist Artesia Gogoloria, a Dyar Elf who reputedly still resides in Skystone City in NW Emer. All the items included a curse that made them perilous for men to use.
Powers of the Jade Mantis
1. When the forewings are rotated forward, the mantis transforms into a real giant praying mantis over twelve feet long. It is semi-intelligent, will obey whoever opened the wings, and will bear one rider at up to fifty mph airborne. The mantis can be activated once per week, and can remain in its live form for up to one hour before changing back.
2. The mantis will not attack (except in the curse as noted below), but will defend itself if attacked. If it goes over maximum hits, it transforms back to its figurine form and cannot be used for one month (70 days Kulthean calendar).
3. Curse: each time the Mantis’ time runs out or it is commanded to return to its statuette form, there is a 20% chance that it will attack whoever activated it, but only if he is male. If it successfully grasps its prey in its powerful forelegs, it will bite his neck, and if it gets an “E” critical on the pincher attack, his head is severed. It will then suck the blood out of the body. The mantis must feed periodically or it will revert permanently to its figurine state (feeding needs GM discretion). This is not a removable curse; it is part of the nature of the item. However, a successful Remove Curse will cancel the mantis’ attack for this one instance and cause it to revert to figurine form without any ill effects.
Stats of the Mantis:
Lvl: 15
Max Pace/Mnvr: Fspt/20
Hits: 150
AT(DB): 11 (60)
Attack: 100Gr/90Pi/60sl
