Weird, Lesser — Earth

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Weird, Lesser — Earth

DESCRIPTION: These lesser weirds are natives of the Plane of Earth, but can also be encountered on the Prime. It’s thought that they are the immature larval form of the oracular true weird, although it took graybeards a long time to tumble to this dark as they appear so different. Lesser earth weirds manifest as curious serpentine creatures formed from soil and pebbles, with shiny black eyes and grass growing on their rocky hides. They can be as large at ten feet long—but they are also masters of camouflage. They are able to earth glide, which means they can effectively merge into soil or stone without leaving a trace, or a tunnel. They use this ability to hide, to surprise, or to ambush.

PREFERRED HABITAT: Earth weirds tend to be solitary and territorial. They tend to dwell in mountainous areas, gorges and deserts, preferring dry terrain. They can also be a general nuisance to tunneling creatures and cultures. Earth weirds on the Plane of Earth itself tend to be more begrudgingly accepting of tunneling creatures like shad, pech and geonids but they tend to attack miners. Fortunately, if a planewalker’s goal is to just dig their way from one place to another, earth weirds will likely agree to leave them alone—such damage will be healed by the Anvil fairly quickly, in the grand scheme of things.

PHILOSOPHY / SOCIETY: While the true weirds act as gatekeepers of the vortices from the Prime to the Inner Planes, the lesser weirds aren’t quite so easy to pin down. Like teenage humans, lesser earth weirds are unpredictable, and planewalkers report very different experiences interacting with them. Some earth weirds are intrigued by mortals and will watch them intently from invisible vantage points. Others are more territorial, and may threaten creatures they believe are impinging on their patch. Some are downright aggressive, ambushing travellers unprovoked. It seems they draw nourishment from decaying matter in the earth, and it seems some of the more violent weirds have got a taste for decaying corpses.

ECOLOGY: Graybeards believe that lesser weirds are the immature form of the true weird, although how long one of these creatures remains in this larval stage isn’t known. They tend to be solitary, unless in the company of a true weird; a cluster of lesser weirds can often be found nearby weird pools, where they gather to commune with the elder true weird, perhaps to learn from them, perhaps to defend them.

COMBAT: A lesser weird’s primary method of attacking is to meld with the earth and wait there invisible until their victim gets within range. They then emerge from the earth to surprise and then slam into their target, using their tails to whack opponents at short ranges. At longer range, the weird can blast a damaging hail of sharp stones. Against more threatening enemies weirds can try another tactic—enveloping them. Sometimes multiple weirds will attempt to envelop a giant creature together. Once enveloped, the victim is slowly suffocated, or even petrified, according to some reports. Lesser earth weirds always seem to be subservient to true weirds, so there’s a possibility of negotiating with them. Conversely, weirds are able to command other kinds of elemental, and although they can’t summon them, once a weird encounters an elemental they may adopt it in a similar way that humans do with dogs.

Some planewalkers claim that earth weirds are vulnerable to water and air attacks, and that plant based magic can paralyse an earth weird. Others claim they are killed by the passwall or move earth spells. Weirds can also be hard to kill; they are able to crumble to dust and reform again after an hour.

VARIANTS: The oracular true earth weird is said to be the mature form of the lesser weird.

Sources

Full Statistics For: [ AD&D 2e | D&D 3e ]

Canonical Sources: Monstrous Compendium Volume 1, Annual 1994 (as elemental, earth weird); Dragon Magazine #347 p66-69 ‘the ecology of the elemental weird’ (as lesser elemental weird)

Source: Margarita and Jon Winter-Holt. Canonwatch: These creatures are based on the elemental weirds from AD&D 2e. They weren’t called “lesser weirds” there, since the oracular weirds weren’t introduced until 3e. Since in other editions and in fandom as a whole elemental weirds are associated with a hiding elemental being rather than with a prophetic lady, we chose to swap some terms around. The 2e and 3e weirds have very different abilities and weaknesses; this writeup uses a mixture of both.