Eidolon
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The eidolon is a nightmarish vision of pure evil, appearing from the shadows like a disconcerting fragment of thought that haunts you relentlessly. The eidolon's eyes shine out of its ephemeral silhouette like twin coals, radiating hatred and hunger. The monstrous apparition is as big as it is misshapen, towering over a tall giantman as it moves in rapid spurts that defy the eye's ability to follow its progress. As it conjures and strikes, its extremities contort and blur through each other, amplifying its grotesque demeanor.
Hunting strategies
Eidolon will sometimes be "bound by some unseen force" and become "frozen in place." They will cast Torment (718) at you, which is a back-and-forth until either of you is dead spell, except the eidolon are immune to unbalancing. It will sometimes hit them and end the spell early. Stance offensive will boost TD and maximize the backlash of Torment on the eidolon, so it is wise to avoid fighting them when other creatures are in the room if they can ward you. Waern grapples will cause stuns. Incanting Wall of Force (140) mitigates the DS loss.
When hunting waern and dybbuks the eidolon are an environmental hazard, while when hunting eidolon the waern are a nuisance creature. When the eidolon cast the hex curse there is no warding, which will cause a 25 TD pushdown. This will be blocked by unused acuity flares. Bonespear Tower is a relatively popular hunting place, so be cautious with area of effect spells. Swarms can pile up inside rooms with doorways. The eidolons in any number are especially vulnerable to an open implosion-dispel cycle from becoming stun locked.
Other information
They cast the itching Curse which will disarm you. This is dangerous in the tower because weapons can be lost. When you are dead they claw your body, which makes you hidden from sight. The spectral shades do the same thing in Foggy Valley. Teleportation magic does not work for entering Bonespear Tower, and parts of the surrounding region are overtly anti-magical, making spell casting impossible.
Eidolon are seven levels higher than waerns and dybbuks. The roof is an eidolon only area, but it is only one room. It is open to the sky so it is possible to use Call Lightning (125) there to blast open boxes without having to leave the premises. The tower shakes causing knock downs.
Behind the Scenes
Eidolon was the name of a city in the I.C.E. Age history that floated above sea level using what we now call veniom. It would have been located on the continent of Emer, which was changed to Finnia, and does not exist in modern Elanthian history. While Eidolon was shifted to "Veilmor" in the Elanthian Herald glossary, it was probably the root word for Idolone. Idolone was used by the town guard Quin Telaren as a proposed "run away with me" fantasy with Helga, whose family was even older, originating in GemStone II. Eidolon was the capital of the city-state Sel-Kai, the largest merchant center of Shadow World, likely the root of Kai-Toka. These were retconned to be cities in what is now the Turamzzyrian Empire.
What eventually became the airship called the Ilyan Cloud was originally intended to be a skyship that would have traveled to the floating city of Eidolon. It was later converted into a Loenthran merchant ship, named for the Ilya family, after the conversion from the I.C.E. Age ending.
The word "eidolon" itself as a deceased spirit comes from ancient Greek literature. "The Dark Eidolon" by Clark Ashton Smith may have influenced Shadow Valley and had "titanic skeletons" like Maleskari, the demon lord trapped in the walls of Bonespear Tower. The "dark eidolon" itself was a huge statue of a demon surrounded by horse skull shaped lamps, which may be relevant to the statue of Marlu in The Broken Lands, as well as his "The Devotee of Evil". His "The Colossus of Ylourgne" unambiguously influenced Bonespear Tower and Castle Anwyn. The word "misshapen" is used often in the Bonespear story. This is a signature adjective for Clark Ashton Smith when describing horrors.
References
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