Sponsored by Soluman Blevins. The fractine first appeared in the D&D 2e Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium, and was updated for a free PDF of the same name WoTC released alongside the 5e Spelljammer boxed set. The appearance of the fractine is clearly a riff on the Phantom Zone as it appeared in the Superman movies, but by giving it its own motivations and abilities distinguishes itself nicely from its inspiration. As 5e monsters tend to be, the current fractine is much simpler than the 2e version, which has a d20 table of random effects its touch generates and splits based on a percentage roll. The sponsor wanted me to add some of that randomness back in.
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Fractine
CR 9 N Aberration
This shimmering ripple in space unfolds like a piece of paper, revealing itself to be a trapezoidal mirror larger than a man is tall. Although reflections are visible in it, something else is visible deep within, the distorted image of something trapped inside.
Fractines are living dimensional anomalies, a two dimensional creature living in three dimensional space. They are typically found wandering the Astral Plane or the depths of space, but can be found almost anywhere. Fractines feed on light and magic, and are attracted to sources of both. If they find a sufficiently strong source of magic, they may remain in place for weeks or months, sometimes causing them to be mistaken for mundane mirrors. Although they cannot speak, fractines understand Aklo, and if given the opportunity can communicate by reflecting light in signaling patterns or by scratching words in Aklo onto a surface. Fractines are happy to allow themselves to be used as a scrying mirror, which feeds them much faster than being exposed to ambient magical auras, but will fight if they are attacked or offended.
A fractine fights by passing its “edge” into a target, which not only disrupts their flesh but their dimensional stability as well. Creatures struck by a fractine may be teleported short distances, shunted into the Ethereal Plane, or have their proportions warped and distorted as if in a funhouse mirror. They can “reflect” damage back at its source at a distance, and some foes give up the attack when they find themselves taking more damage from a blow than the fractine does. The most feared ability of a fractine is its ability to imprison enemies—they can envelop a creature in order to shunt them into a small prison plane, something of an echo of the volume they are “supposed” to occupy. A fractine can only hold one prisoner at a time, and if they elect to absorb an enemy, it will simultaneously shunt its current occupant into the thick of combat, often with dire consequences.
Despite their reflective surfaces, fractines do not see as such. They sense the world through a combination of vibrations, chemical cues, and the ripples they leave in reality reflecting off of objects and bouncing back to them. Fractines reproduce through binary fission once they have absorbed enormous amounts of energy. This fission can also occur if a fractine takes a lucky blow, effectively breaking it in two—these two smaller fractines typically go their separate ways after resolving whatever problem caused them to split in the first place. A fractine kept in total darkness, without access to magical auras, slowly withers away, dying of “starvation” in about 10 days. When a fractine dies, its body crumples in on itself with a sound like breaking glass.
Fractine CR 9
XP 6,400
N Large aberration
Init +3; Senses blindsight 360 ft., blind, detect magic, Perception +18
Defense
AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural)
hp 110 (13d8+52)
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +12
Immune disease, exhaustion, fatigue, freedom of movement, mind-influencing effects, non-magical weapons, poison, stunning, visual spells and effects; SR 20
Defensive Abilities critical split, spell healing, two dimensional; Weakness vulnerable to sonic
Offense
Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Melee anomalous touch +12 touch (8d6 force plus anomaly)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Abilities imprison, mirror damage
Statistics
Str 1, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 18
Base Atk +9; CMB +5; CMD 19
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Fly +23, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Perception +18, Spellcraft +15, Stealth +13
Languages Aklo (cannot speak)
SQ no breath, scrying focus
Ecology
Environment any (Astral Plane)
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Anomalous Touch (Su) A creature struck by a fractine’s touch attack takes 8d6 points of force damage and must succeed a DC 20 Fortitude save or be affected in one of the following ways, determined randomly
blink—subject is under the effect of a blink spell for 1d4+1 rounds
dimension door—subject is teleported 1d4x10 feet in a random direction. Roll 1d10. On a roll of 9, they are teleported straight up. On a roll of 10, they are teleported straight down (and shunted back to the surface as per dimension door if that would place them inside a solid object)
distort—subject’s proportions are warped for 1d4+1 rounds; treat as if exhausted
ethereal jaunt—subject is shifted to the Ethereal Plane for 1d4+1 rounds, as per ethereal jaunt spell.
Creatures under the effects of a dimensional anchor spell, within the area of a dimension lock, or affected by a similar spell or effect, are immune to the secondary effect of anomalous touch but can still take damage. The save DC is Charisma based.
Critical Split (Ex) When a fractine is struck by a critical hit, it splits, forming two Medium sized fractines that appear in the fractine’s previous space. Each fractine has ½ the hit points of the original fractine. If the fractine had a creature imprisoned inside of it, that creature is released into the Large fractine’s space if possible, and adjacent to it if not. A fractine that has split once cannot split again, and a fractine cannot split if it’s below 10 hp.
Detect Magic (Su) A fractine can detect magic, as the spell, at will.
Imprison (Su) As a standard action, a fractine can attempt to imprison a creature it shares a space with. A creature affected must succeed a DC 20 Will save or be trapped in a demiplane “inside” the fractine. This demiplane is a 30 foot cube with opaque walls, except for the fractine’s surface, which acts as a “window”. A creature imprisoned can see and be seen through the window, but not hear or be heard. The creature inside the fractine’s demiplane does not need to eat, drink or breathe while inside. A fractine can only have one creature imprisoned in its demiplane at a time; if it successfully imprisons a creature, the previous creature appears in a space adjacent to the fractine. A fractine can also release an imprisoned creature at will as a swift action. When a fractine dies, the creature it has imprisoned is automatically released. Creatures under the effects of a dimensional anchor spell, within the area of a dimension lock, or affected by a similar spell or effect, are immune to this ability. The save DC is Charisma based.
Mirror Damage (Su) When a fractine takes damage from a creature within 120 feet, it can deal 8d6 points of force damage to that creature (Fortitude DC 20 halves) by expending an attack of opportunity.
Scrying Focus (Ex) A fractine’s mirrored surface can be used as the spell focus for a scrying or greater scrying spell, as long as the caster remains adjacent to the fractine. When the fractine is used in such a way, it heals as per its spell healing ability.
Spell Healing (Ex) Whenever a spell fails to overcome a fractine’s spell resistance, it heals damage equal to the spell’s caster level.
Two Dimensional (Ex) A fractine is a two dimensional creature. It is immune to damage from mundane weapons, although it takes full damage from magical weapons. It is treated as being under a permanent, non-magical freedom of movement effect. A fractine can share a space with a creature without penalty, although moving into or out of another creature’s space provokes an attack of opportunity as normal. A fractine can move through solid objects, although it treats these as difficult terrain, and takes 1d10 damage whenever it ends its turn inside a solid object.
Ok, follow me here. This is a creature is an extremely intelligent giant flat crystal that's constantly folding in on itself like origami, but turns itself into a ~10 ft (~3m) trapezoidal mirror when it sees others. They survive off magic and light, and can do so harmlessly. Its main gimmick is being able to trap a creature it touches inside itself. you're stuck in a space just big enough to contain you, never getting thirsty or hungry. So if it like you it might just keep you for a while! Up to you whether that's a good thing.
