Phaerimm
Encyclopedia
The phaerimm are a fictional species of creatures in the Forgotten Realms
setting, in the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
. They are malevolent and highly intelligent creatures who are natural spellcasters.
setting in Anauroch
(1991). The phaerimm also appeared in Netheril: Empire of Magic (1996), Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (1996), and the Villains' Lorebook
(1998).
The phaerimm appeared in third edition for the Forgotten Realms setting in Monsters of Faerûn
(2001). The hatchling phaerimm, the juvenile phaerimm, the young adult phaerimm, the adult phaerimm, the mature adult phaerimm, the elder phaerimm, and the revered elder phaerimm appeared in Lost Empires of Faerûn
(2005).
. They are naturally resistant to enemies’ spells (with the exception of the Shadow Weave
) and, unlike most arcane spellcasters, do not require spell components or incantations for spells. They are magically oriented and need to absorb magical energy from the Weave
in order to survive. Their innate magical ability develops with age. Phaerimm can live for several centuries. They communicate with each other by changing the speed of the wind around their bodies. In order to communicate with other races, they use telepathy
, often following it through by spell charming or dominating their victims and making them mind slaves. They enjoy making friends and allies hack each other to death.
Phaerimm are usually solitary creatures, living near their own kind but not socializing much. In times of war, however, they are commanded by an elite council of elders called a WarGather. The punishment for disobeying the WarGather is usually a merciless death.
. The widest part, the mouth, is located at the very top of the body. Its body tapers down and ends in a barbed stinger. The top of its head resembles the body of a sea anemone
, save for the center being ringed by rows of sharp teeth. The ovoid head is surrounded by four spindly arms, each four-fingered hand ending in sharp claws. When it hatches, a phaerimm is about a foot long, but it can grow to be thirty feet long in old age.
Phaerimm have no eyes or ears, but they can still see and hear, as well as sense and detect magic. Their spiked, slug-shaped body is a greenish color covered by a rough, scaly, and leathery hide. They prefer to float upright in the air rather than slither along the ground.
Phaerimm can stab victims with their stinger, injecting poison that paralyzes them and causes them to float in the air. Phaerimm reproduce asexually
by injecting eggs through their stingers into paralyzed victims. Once the eggs hatch, the hatchlings devour their victims from the inside.
The phaerimm are known to have indirectly caused the collapse of at least two empires down the ages. The sarrukh
empire of Isstosseffifil fell around −33,800 DR
during a war with the phaerimm. During this war, the leaders of Isstosseffifil re-routed the Narrow Sea, causing it to flood the Underdark (where the phaerimms resided) but also precipitating major climatological changes that doomed their own realm.
The second and most well-known of the empires to fall was Netheril, the great Empire of Magic. Unbeknownst to the Netherese, their enormous usage of magic was destroying the underground home of the entire phaerimm race, which depended on the inherent magic of nature to survive. In retaliation and for their own survival, the phaerimm developed a powerful spell that drained the life from Netherese lands. They first put the spells to use in −461 DR (the Year of Bold Pioneers).This was the focal point of the short story First Flight
,published in Realms of the Dragons I. This eventually would transform the fertile lands of Low Netheril into the desert of Anauroch. As the empire found it more difficult to feed its people, the stress led a series of wars, some fought to keep the restless populace entertained, while others were fought to claim more arable land. Circa −450 DR, large-scale Netherese migration into the Savage Frontier began when the effects of the phaerimms’ lifedrain dweomers became apparent. In −427 DR (the Year of Breaking Storms), the phaerimm used spells to bring down the floating cities of Lhaoda and Tith Tilendrothael, resulting in the other Netherese enclaves setting wards against this type of attack. In −354 DR, the Year of Many Maws, the arcanist Melathlar fled Netheril to Illusk. He sacrificed his life to power the spell that raised a great stone tower, walls, and powerful spellwards around the Netherese settlement of Illusk in order to protect it from the phaerimm. During that same year, the first recorded clash between the mysterious sharn race and the phaerimm occurred. In −339 DR, Karsus
stole the divinity from Mystryl
, the goddess of magic, and the floating cities of High Netheril plummeted to the ground. Due to the lifedraining spells of the phaerimm, the Netheril region became known as the Great Desert of Anauroch in 10 DR, the Year of Dreams. In 329 DR, the Year of the Closed Scroll, Hlondath was abandoned when its fields began to be destroyed by the encroachment of Anauroch; therefore, its citizens migrated east to the Moonsea and south into the Dalelands
. That same year, the sharn defeated the phaerimm and imprisoned them beneath Anauroch, constructing a magical underground barrier that came to be called the Sharn Wall. Due to the phaerimms’ imprisonment, Anauroch ceased to spread.
On 20 Nightal, 1371 DR (the Year of the Unstrung Harp), the Sharn Wall was unintentionally punctured by the elf
Galaeron Nihmedu and the Shadovar prince Melegaunt Tanthul, allowing many of the phaerimm to escape. Attracted by Evereska’s mythal
, the phaerimm led an army of enthralled beholder
s, illithid
s, bugbears
, and gnoll
s against Evereska. Several phaerimm also took up residence in the ruins of Myth Drannor and others conquered the beholder city of Ootul. On 1 Hammer, 1372 DR (the Year of Wild Magic), Galaeron brought Thultanthar, the City of Shade, back into Faerûn
from the Demiplane of Shadow, hoping the Shadovar would aid Evereska. Before his death, Melegaunt was spying on the phaerimm, and it was he who was assigned to bring Shade back into Faerûn. The Shadovar explained that after Shade had arrived, they planned to open the Sharn Wall in Hartsvale and destroy the phaerimm there. Later, Galaeron and many others came to suspect that the Shadovar had planned for the phaerimm to be released near Evereska all along due to Shade’s complete disregard of the damage it was causing by melting the High Ice glaciers. The Shadovar and an alliance of many peoples including Waterdeep
, Silverymoon
, Cormyr
, the Uthgar
dt barbarians, Dalesmen, Evermeet
, and Evereska managed to defeat the phaerimm attacking Evereska and their armies, although the Faerûnians and the Shadovar came into conflict when Shade decided to flood Anauroch by melting the High Ice, causing massive meteorological changes throughout northwest Faerûn. Cormyr and Shade also came to war when they had a battle in Tilverton, which caused the town to be completely destroyed in the process, and Tilverton is now engulfed by a patch of the Shadow Plane.
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
setting, in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. They are malevolent and highly intelligent creatures who are natural spellcasters.
Publication history
The phaerimm first appeared in second edition for the Forgotten RealmsForgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
setting in Anauroch
Anauroch (accessory)
Anauroch is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book, with product code TSR 9320, was published in 1991, and was written by Ed Greenwood, with cover art by Brom and interior art by...
(1991). The phaerimm also appeared in Netheril: Empire of Magic (1996), Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (1996), and the Villains' Lorebook
Villains' Lorebook
Villains' Lorebook is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
(1998).
The phaerimm appeared in third edition for the Forgotten Realms setting in Monsters of Faerûn
Monsters of Faerûn
Monstrous Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn is a supplement for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.-Contents:It features about 150 pages of monsters unique to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting...
(2001). The hatchling phaerimm, the juvenile phaerimm, the young adult phaerimm, the adult phaerimm, the mature adult phaerimm, the elder phaerimm, and the revered elder phaerimm appeared in Lost Empires of Faerûn
Lost Empires of Faerûn (accessory)
Lost Empires of Faerûn is a campaign supplement for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:...
(2005).
Description
Phaerimm are native to the UnderdarkUnderdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
. They are naturally resistant to enemies’ spells (with the exception of the Shadow Weave
Shadow Weave
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Shadow Weave is a force of magic that is the inverse and opposite of the Weave. The Shadow Weave does not originate from Mystra, but from the dark goddess Shar. A spellcaster who wants to manipulate the...
) and, unlike most arcane spellcasters, do not require spell components or incantations for spells. They are magically oriented and need to absorb magical energy from the Weave
Weave (Forgotten Realms)
In the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms, the Weave is the fundamental force of both arcane magic and divine magic, from which spellcasters draw their strength. It permeates the world, comparable to aether, the mystical substance....
in order to survive. Their innate magical ability develops with age. Phaerimm can live for several centuries. They communicate with each other by changing the speed of the wind around their bodies. In order to communicate with other races, they use telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, often following it through by spell charming or dominating their victims and making them mind slaves. They enjoy making friends and allies hack each other to death.
Phaerimm are usually solitary creatures, living near their own kind but not socializing much. In times of war, however, they are commanded by an elite council of elders called a WarGather. The punishment for disobeying the WarGather is usually a merciless death.
Physical description
A phaerimm has a conical body that is shaped like a windsockWindsock
A windsock is a conical textile tube designed to indicate wind direction and relative wind speed. Windsocks typically are used at airports and at chemical plants where there is risk of gaseous leakage...
. The widest part, the mouth, is located at the very top of the body. Its body tapers down and ends in a barbed stinger. The top of its head resembles the body of a sea anemone
Sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
, save for the center being ringed by rows of sharp teeth. The ovoid head is surrounded by four spindly arms, each four-fingered hand ending in sharp claws. When it hatches, a phaerimm is about a foot long, but it can grow to be thirty feet long in old age.
Phaerimm have no eyes or ears, but they can still see and hear, as well as sense and detect magic. Their spiked, slug-shaped body is a greenish color covered by a rough, scaly, and leathery hide. They prefer to float upright in the air rather than slither along the ground.
Phaerimm can stab victims with their stinger, injecting poison that paralyzes them and causes them to float in the air. Phaerimm reproduce asexually
Asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction is a mode of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single parent, and inherit the genes of that parent only, it is reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. A more stringent definition is agamogenesis which is reproduction without...
by injecting eggs through their stingers into paralyzed victims. Once the eggs hatch, the hatchlings devour their victims from the inside.
History
Phaerimms are ambitious and malicious creatures that work only for their own individual causes. They delight in bringing pain to others and would gladly erase all other beings from existence, save for the fact that they would lack slaves to torture for sport if they did so.The phaerimm are known to have indirectly caused the collapse of at least two empires down the ages. The sarrukh
Sarrukh
Within the Forgotten Realms setting of the game Dungeons & Dragons, the sarrukh are a race of reptilian humanoids. They are one of the five progenitor races, or Creator Races, of Faerûn. Eons prior to the current storyline of Dungeons & Dragons, they built and maintained empires across most of the...
empire of Isstosseffifil fell around −33,800 DR
Calendars in the Forgotten Realms
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, years are referred to by names, each name is not consistent across the Realms. This helps alleviate any confusion from multiple writers using different names for the same year...
during a war with the phaerimm. During this war, the leaders of Isstosseffifil re-routed the Narrow Sea, causing it to flood the Underdark (where the phaerimms resided) but also precipitating major climatological changes that doomed their own realm.
The second and most well-known of the empires to fall was Netheril, the great Empire of Magic. Unbeknownst to the Netherese, their enormous usage of magic was destroying the underground home of the entire phaerimm race, which depended on the inherent magic of nature to survive. In retaliation and for their own survival, the phaerimm developed a powerful spell that drained the life from Netherese lands. They first put the spells to use in −461 DR (the Year of Bold Pioneers).This was the focal point of the short story First Flight
First Flight
First Flight may refer to:* "First Flight" * First Flight , an animated short film* First Flight Airport, in North Carolina, United States* First Flight Handicap, a horse race...
,published in Realms of the Dragons I. This eventually would transform the fertile lands of Low Netheril into the desert of Anauroch. As the empire found it more difficult to feed its people, the stress led a series of wars, some fought to keep the restless populace entertained, while others were fought to claim more arable land. Circa −450 DR, large-scale Netherese migration into the Savage Frontier began when the effects of the phaerimms’ lifedrain dweomers became apparent. In −427 DR (the Year of Breaking Storms), the phaerimm used spells to bring down the floating cities of Lhaoda and Tith Tilendrothael, resulting in the other Netherese enclaves setting wards against this type of attack. In −354 DR, the Year of Many Maws, the arcanist Melathlar fled Netheril to Illusk. He sacrificed his life to power the spell that raised a great stone tower, walls, and powerful spellwards around the Netherese settlement of Illusk in order to protect it from the phaerimm. During that same year, the first recorded clash between the mysterious sharn race and the phaerimm occurred. In −339 DR, Karsus
Karsus
Lord Karsus is an arcanist in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. He was the Netherese creator and caster of the Karsus's Avatar spell that triggered the Fall of Netheril.-Early life:...
stole the divinity from Mystryl
Mystra (goddess)
Mystra is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.She is the Mistress of Magic and Mother of Mysteries who guides the Weave of magic that envelops the world. She tends to the weave constantly, making possible all the...
, the goddess of magic, and the floating cities of High Netheril plummeted to the ground. Due to the lifedraining spells of the phaerimm, the Netheril region became known as the Great Desert of Anauroch in 10 DR, the Year of Dreams. In 329 DR, the Year of the Closed Scroll, Hlondath was abandoned when its fields began to be destroyed by the encroachment of Anauroch; therefore, its citizens migrated east to the Moonsea and south into the Dalelands
Dalelands
The Dalelands is a region in the fictional setting of the Forgotten Realms, for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the setting, the Dalelands is set on the continent of Faerûn, somewhat influenced by rural England, and most famous for hosting the famous wizard and sage, Elminster...
. That same year, the sharn defeated the phaerimm and imprisoned them beneath Anauroch, constructing a magical underground barrier that came to be called the Sharn Wall. Due to the phaerimms’ imprisonment, Anauroch ceased to spread.
On 20 Nightal, 1371 DR (the Year of the Unstrung Harp), the Sharn Wall was unintentionally punctured by the elf
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
Galaeron Nihmedu and the Shadovar prince Melegaunt Tanthul, allowing many of the phaerimm to escape. Attracted by Evereska’s mythal
Mythal
In the Forgotten Realms setting in the continent of Faerûn, a mythal is a powerful epic level magical effect.-Description:A mythal is created by a circle of elven High Mages to protect and ward a large area with numerous powerful enchantments...
, the phaerimm led an army of enthralled beholder
Beholder
The beholder is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It resembles a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth, single central eye, and lots of smaller eyestalks on top with deadly magical powers....
s, illithid
Illithid
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark...
s, bugbears
Bugbear (Dungeons & Dragons)
The bugbear is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.A bugbear is depicted as a massive humanoid distantly related to goblins and hobgoblins...
, and gnoll
Gnoll
A gnoll or gnole is a fictional humanoid creature - a cross between a gnome and a troll. They first appeared in Lord Dunsany's story in The Book of Wonder: How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art upon the Gnoles and subsequently reappeared in Margaret St. Clair's, The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles...
s against Evereska. Several phaerimm also took up residence in the ruins of Myth Drannor and others conquered the beholder city of Ootul. On 1 Hammer, 1372 DR (the Year of Wild Magic), Galaeron brought Thultanthar, the City of Shade, back into Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
from the Demiplane of Shadow, hoping the Shadovar would aid Evereska. Before his death, Melegaunt was spying on the phaerimm, and it was he who was assigned to bring Shade back into Faerûn. The Shadovar explained that after Shade had arrived, they planned to open the Sharn Wall in Hartsvale and destroy the phaerimm there. Later, Galaeron and many others came to suspect that the Shadovar had planned for the phaerimm to be released near Evereska all along due to Shade’s complete disregard of the damage it was causing by melting the High Ice glaciers. The Shadovar and an alliance of many peoples including Waterdeep
Waterdeep (city)
Waterdeep is a fictional city-state that forms part of a popular Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game campaign setting called the Forgotten Realms. It is a port city that is located along the western coast of the Faerûn sub-continent...
, Silverymoon
Silverymoon
In the fictional world of the Forgotten Realms, Silverymoon is the prime signatory state of the Confederation of the Silver Marches...
, Cormyr
Cormyr
Cormyr is a fictional country in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting published first by TSR, Inc. and subsequently by Wizards of the Coast for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy Role Playing Game...
, the Uthgar
Uthgar
Uthgar is a fictional Faerûnian minor deity of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons. He is a demipower deity of barbarians and physical strength.-Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition :...
dt barbarians, Dalesmen, Evermeet
Evermeet
Evermeet is an island in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game, located far west of the continent of Faerûn...
, and Evereska managed to defeat the phaerimm attacking Evereska and their armies, although the Faerûnians and the Shadovar came into conflict when Shade decided to flood Anauroch by melting the High Ice, causing massive meteorological changes throughout northwest Faerûn. Cormyr and Shade also came to war when they had a battle in Tilverton, which caused the town to be completely destroyed in the process, and Tilverton is now engulfed by a patch of the Shadow Plane.
Additional reading
- Boyd, Eric L. Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark, 1999 TSR, Inc.TSR, Inc.Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
- Greenwood, EdEd GreenwoodEd Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
; Sean K. ReynoldsSean K. ReynoldsSean K Reynolds is a professional game designer who has worked on and co-written a number of D&D supplements for Wizards of the Coast, as well as material for other companies. He does not put a period after his middle initial.-Background:...
; Skip WilliamsSkip WilliamsRalph Williams, almost always referred to as Skip Williams, is an American game designer. He is married to Penny Williams, who is also involved with the games industry...
; and Rob HeinsooRob HeinsooRob Heinsoo is an American tabletop game designer. He has been designing and contributing to professional roleplaying games, card games, and board games since 1994. He has also designed and contributed to miniatures games and a computer game.-Career:...
. Forgotten Realms Campaign SettingForgotten Realms Campaign SettingThe Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is a role-playing game sourcebook first published in 1987, detailing the Forgotten Realms setting, containing information on characters, locations, and history as well as setting-specific rules for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game...
, 2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. - The Return of the Archwizards trilogy by Troy DenningTroy DenningTroy Denning is a fantasy and science fiction author and game designer.-Career:Denning joined TSR as a game designer in 1981, and was promoted a year later to Manager of Designers, before he moved to the book department...
:- The Summoning (2001)
- The Siege (2001)
- The Sorcerer (2002)
Images
- Two phaerimm, illustrated by Thomas M. BaxaThomas Baxa-Biography:Tom Baxa grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He enrolled at Northern Illinois University, where he studied under comic and fantasy artist Mark Nelson.-Works:...
and displayed in Lost Empires of Faerûn - A phaerimm, displayed in Monsters of Faerûn
