30 creatures for November

I know I've started late. Sorry all!

Here are the first two, which are stats for the creatures given in ep 205 of the podcast. My next two will be the Final Victim herself, and the Mercenary Parrot.
Transcript for podcast here: https://timothyferguson.wordpress.com/2019/08/08/the-outlandish-knight-a-faerie-serial-killer/

##The Outlandish Knight

The Outlandish Knight is simpler version of the Glanconer (Realms of Power : Faerie p 74-75). He doesn’t kill by draining life energy along an arcane connection: he just whisks girls away to murder them in a river. He might also be seen as a very complicated version of the kelpie.

Faerie Might: 10
Characteristics
: Int +1, Per +1, Pre +3, Com +3, Str +1, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik 0
Size : 0
Virtues and Flaws : Greater Faerie Powers; External Vis (minor), Faerie Sight, Faerie Speech, Human Form, 3x Improved Characteristic, Increased Faerie Might; Traditional Ward (laws of chivalry); Incognizant.
Personality Traits : Predatory +4
Combat : (Shortsword) Init +1, Atk +9, Dfn +7, Dmg +6
Soak : +3, although the creature is a knight, like most knights he doesn’t ride about in full combat gear constantly. He has fine, durable clothes which provide some protection.
Wound Penalties: –1 (1-5), –3 (6-10), –5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20) Dead (21+)
Pretenses : Athletics 3 (climbing walls), Awareness 3 (at night), Carouse 2 (alone with young woman), Charm 3 (young women), Folk Ken 5 (courtship), Guile (women) 5, Faerie Speech 5 (flattery), Single Weapon 6 (women), Stealth 2 (stalking)
Powers :
Allure: 0 points, Init –1 Mentem (1 intricacy point on cost)
Steal Judgement, 0 points, Init –2, Mentem, (2 intricacy points on cost). Equipment : Appears to be a prosperous knight, but does not have a faerie horse.
Vis : 2 pawns, his knife.
Appearance : A handsome man, of a culture nearby to, but not the same as, the victim.

The Bones That Will Not Lie In The River

The Final Victim, assuming the Outlandish Knight really has killed a handful of women, might have a possessing spirit, like the Red Maid of Sark that was described in Tales of Power . Much as the Red Maid may provide a Virtue by lying asleep inside a person with a potentially dramatic life, so this spirit, The Bones That Will Not Lie In The River, may grant a Virtue to the Final Victim, as a dormant possessor. This creature gently pushes the Final Victim into dangerous professions, like the service of the covenant.

Faerie Might : 15 (Corpus)
Characteristics : Int +2, Per +1, Pre 0, Com +1, Str 0*, Sta 0*, Dex 0*, Qik 0*. *
These statistics are provided by the faerie’s host.
Size : (as host)
Virtues and Flaws : Final Victim, Focus Faerie Powers (Possession, see later); 2 x Increased Might, Loosely Material*; Incognizant. * Modified to a Minor Virtue: may only take forms using possession power.
Personality Traits : Brave +3. Enjoys killing +2, Compassionate towards host +1
Combat : Domestic implement (as knife): Init +0, Attack +9*, Defense +7, Damage +3

  • These scores do not include the physical Characteristics of the host.
  • When near the corpses of her attacker’s victim, her scores increase.
    Soak : 0* * Once near her attacker’s trophies, this increases. See Final Girl Virtue.
    Wound Penalties : OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious.
    Pretenses : Brawl 5 (prey), but may use the Pretenses or abilities of the host. Powers: Possession, 1 or more points, Init +2, Mentem: If this power Penetrates, the victim is possessed is under the faerie’s direct control. Any attempt to force the victim to act contrary to her nature, or to use any of the host’s own magical powers requires that the faerie spends Might. A supernatural power (including spell-casting) requires 1 Might point per magnitude to produce. A questionable action that is contrary to the nature of the host requires the faerie exceed the possessed being’s Personality Trait roll on a stress die + Might points spent. The storyguide may give a modifier to the Personality Trait roll based on the nature of the command (see the Entrancement power, ArM5, page 65, for suggestions). Both Might costs must be met if the use of a supernatural power is also contrary to the victim’s nature. If the faerie is in direct control of the host’s actions, the host acquires Magic Resistance, but is also affected by wards that would normally exclude the faerie. If the host is acting under her own free will, then she does not benefit from the faeries Magic Resistance, but may also walk through wards with impunity. This power’s costs are not based on the Hermetic system of magic: it is based on material in Realms of Power: Magic.
    Equipment : Someone else’s body, all of their material goods.
    Vis : 3 Corpus, in the skull of the possessed victim.
    Appearance : The Bones Which Will Not Lie In The River does not have a material body, but if seen with Faerie Sight, or Second Sight outside a body, it’s a skeleton made of broken bones. Its left hand appears to have improvised claws, which are made from human femurs, cut and sharpened into knives.

This is a revenge faerie, so it needs to seek out conflict to feed. Once the host’s story concludes, it may hitch a ride in the body of one of the grogs or companions so that it can be near the magi, whom it senses are beacons for trouble. The Final Victim often retains a sliver of the faerie’s glamour after the story concludes. This allows the creature to continue feeding from the vitality of her host’s life, should it become dramatic. This sliver of glamour provides often provides a Virtue. Characters who survive as the host provide grogs or companions with an unusual background.

Note: The Bones Which Will Not Lie In The River is not suited for use as a player character. The Final Victim Virtue is not intended for use by player characters.

Final Victim Virtue

The Final Victim Virtue allows the faerie to select up to six people and mark them with its glamour. These people are termed “victims.” The presence of the corpses of victims, killed by the faerie’s prey, provides a store of energy which the faerie uses until the story ends. For every victim whose corpse is nearby the host gains +1 to her Attack, Damage and Soak.

The Bones Which Will Not Lie In The River and the Red Maid of Sark differ, in that the Red Maid needs to mark the victims before death, and gains the bonus if stained with their blood. The Bones Which Will Not Lie In The River can mark victims after death, but cannot carry away small traces of the victims to maintain power.

The Mercenary Parrot

The Mercenary Parrot lives as a pet for the Final Victim, but it’s not a normal animal. It wants a gold birdcage with an ivory door. It can speak, and deceive. It might be suitable as a familiar, a sort of Beast of Virtue, but, as an alternative, it might be a banished Bird from Nephelococcygia. (See Realms of Power: Magic, page 68)

Magic Might: 11 (Auram)
Characteristics : Int –2, Per +2, Pre +2, Com +1, Str –8, Sta 0, Dex +2, Qik +4
Size : –4
Virtues and Flaws : Magical Animal; Magical Champion; Greater Power, Greater Power, Homing Instinct, Keen Vision, Lightning Reflexes; Avaricious.
Personality Traits: Bird +3, Scheming +1
Reputations : Gossip (local) 2
Combat :
Dodge: Init +4, Attack n/a, Defense +7, Damage n/a
Beak: Init +4, Attack +7, Defense +7, Damage –7
Soak : 0
Fatigue Levels : OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1), –3 (2), –5 (3), Incapacitated (4), Dead (5+)
Abilities : Athletics 5 (flying), Awareness 4 (food), Brawl 2 (dodging), Guile (humans) 3, Music 1 (morning song), Survival 2 (home terrain).
Powers :
Air for Flying , 1 Point, Init: 0, Auram
R: Sight, D: Conc, T: Group
While the parrot swear mighty oaths at the weather, it becomes calm and temperate. This also negates any magically created inclement weather where the magnitude of the effect that caused the inclement weather
is less than 3. This power has a duration of concentration.
ReAu 35 (Base 5, +3 Sight, +1 Concentration, +2 Group): Greater Power (35 levels, –3 cost)
Command the Flock : 1 Point, Init: 0, Animal
R: Voice, D: Sun, T: Group
The character can trill commands to a group of up to 100 birds. The birds will try to obey any command that they can understand (mundane birds can understand commands equivalently to a dog), but they will not do anything obviously suicidal and if the birds have a Magic Resistance this power must Penetrate. The power lasts for a duration of Sun, and after this period the birds will act on their own initiative. The parrot often uses this to get chickens to pull amusing pranks, and he knows a particularly viscous swan.
(ReAn 35 (Base 5, +2 Voice, +2 Sun, +2 Group): Greater Power (35 levels, –3 cost)
Vis : Auram vis in feathers.

The Siren of the Pier and the Revener of Ben Battle

I’ve added statistics to the episode transcript discussing these creatures, but here they are, for easy access.

The Siren of the Pier

Faerie Might: 15

Characteristics:
(human form) Int +1, Per +1, Pre +0, Com +1, Str 0*, Sta 0* , Dex 0*, Qik 0*.
*These scores are provided by the host body.

Size: 0* (*as host)

Virtues and Flaws: . Focus Faerie Powers (possession, as below), 2 x Increased Might, Loosely material*, Incognizant.

  • modified to a Minor Virtue: may only have form via possession power.

Personality Traits: Cruel +5.

Combat: Knife*: Initiative 0*, Attack +8*, Defense +6*, Damage +1**

  • Modified by host statistics.

Soak: 0 (as host)

Wound Penalties : –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+) (*as host)

Pretenses : May use the abilities of the host. Guile (victim) +5.

Powers:

Pine Away : 3 points, Init -3*, Corpus. *adjusted by host’s characteristics.
Causes the victim to lose the will to live, so that they eventually commit suicide. Treated as a Major disease with ease Factor 9 that causes a light wound, but Faerie Lore or Medicine can be used to treat the effect. The Siren’s melancholy seems to be stronger than other forms of this power, but it may be that she just chooses particularly vulnerable victims (who already have negative Personality traits or long term Fatigue levels due to their journeys.)
(as RoP:F p59.)

Possession : 1 or more points, Init. +2, Mentem: If this power penetrates, the victim is under the direct control of the Siren, becoming her host. If the Siren forces the host to act against her true nature, she must spend 1 might point and win a contested roll (Cruel vs whatever trait the host has which opposes the action). The Siren does not have the Mormo to trigger supernatural powers. Like the Mormo it can, however, pass through magical wards while possessing a human, so long as this is not forced by the possession power.

Equipment: As host.

Vis: 3 pawns, fingernails of host.

Appearance: As host: to second sight the creature looks like a scaly or barnacled growth on the host’s skin.

Ben Battle’s Revener

Ben Battle was staked as a suicide, so presumably they thought he’d come back as a revenant if not treated this way. That’s a bit odd: in some places cutting off a leg was considered sufficent to stop the dead walking.

Order: Vessel of Iniquity

Infernal Might: 5

Characteristics:
(human form) Int 0, Per +1, Pre +1, Com 0, Str -1*, Sta -3 , Dex 0, Qik -3**.
*Ben regenerates when he feeds. This raises his Strength score by +1 for every minor wound inflicted, up to a maximum +2. The score returns to -1 at daybreak.
** This score rises to +2 if Ben is using stolen legs, via the Mile in His Shoes power.

Size: -1, 0 if using stolen legs.

Virtues and Flaws: . Many

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Personality Traits: Pride +3

Reputations: Jilted +1 (Infernal)

Combat:

Bite : Initiative 0*, Attack 5#, Defense 5#, Damage +4**
Knife : Initiative 0
, Attack +2#, Defense 5#, Damage +3**
Javelin : Initiative 0
, Attack +7#, Defense 5*#, Damage +4**

  • If Ben is using stolen legs his Qik score is 5 points higher. This is not included in these scores.
    ** Ben regenerates when she feeds. This raises his Strength score, and his Damage bonus.
    Statistics do not include ambush specialisation

Soak: -2 (bloated corpse)
Ben regenerates when he feeds. This raises his Strength score, and thus his Soak bonus.

Wound Penalties : –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13-16), Dead (17+)

Abilities: All suitable for story. Often creates a makeshift javelin to attack while legless (Thrown 5 (ambush)), Brawl 5 (ambush)

Powers:

Envisioning , 1 point, Init 0, Mentem: For 1 point, allows the demon to enter and twist dreams. If used to terrify, the victim can ignore it with a Brave Personality trait roll against an Ease factor of 9 or more. Failure to resist leads to a profound physical reaction, like a seizure. This allows Ben, when legless, to attack a thrashing victim.

Mile in His Shoes : 0 points, Init. -1 (but requires severed legs, which slows him down)., Corpus: Allows Ben to steal and reanimate legs, which he attaches to his stumps. The legs rot at the usual human rate, so he needs to replace them regularly.

Weakness: Cannot find his way at a crossroads -generally lacks any sense of direction and can be trapped in loops of travel.

Vis: 1 pawn, heart.

Appearance: A corpse of a double amputee in military uniform.

A pair for an upcoming episode: I'm working on a Dickens story for Christmas.

Kallikantzaroi (original)

Faerie Might : 5 (Corpus)
Characteristics : Int –1, Per +1, Pre –2, Com 0, Str –6, Sta +1, Dex +3, Qik +3
Size : –3
Virtues and Flaws : Faerie Sight, Faerie Speech, Feast of the Fae, Hybrid Form, 2 x Personal Faerie Powers; Little, Sovereign Ward (Religion*), Incognizant, Traditional Wards (fire, counting games**, burning shoes in some places)

  • Religion doesn’t work in this story. They have a very narrow victim group. Sunlight works.
    ** They can be stopped by counting the holes in colanders or spilled grains.
    Personality Traits : Destructive +3
    Combat :
    Brawl (bite): Init +3, Attack +10, Defense +9, Damage –1
    Brawl (talons): Init+2, Attack +11, Defense +9, Damage –2
    Soak : +3
    Wound Penalties : –1 (1-2), –3 (3-4), –5 (5- 6), Incapacitated (7-8), Dead (9+)
    Abilities : Athletics 1 (climbing)*, Awareness 1 (shiny things), Brawl 3** (each other), Faerie Speech 5.
  • Has virtue allowing supernatural athletics.
    ** Some of the king’s subjects pin the sexton. He’s very drunk, but they might have a higher Brawl score, specialised in their victims.
    Powers :
    Silent Motion : 1 point, constant, Imaginem.
    These faeries are capable of silent motion, but make noise by damaging things in the excitement of their revels.
    Supernatural Agility : 0 points, constant, Animal (3 intricacy points spent on cost).
    Vis : 1 pawn (Animal)
    Appearance : Kallikantzaroi have different appearances in different areas, but they are generally small faeries that have mixed human and animal characteristics. They are usually black and furred, with glowing, red eyes and extended tongues. They often have the ears of donkeys or goats, and
    many have animal feet. They may have tusks and have sharp, curved claws.

King of the Kallikantzaroi

Faerie Might: 25 (Corpus)
Characteristics : Int +2, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str +2, Sta +1, Dex +1, Qik +1
Size : –1
Virtues and Flaws : Faerie Sight, Faerie Speech, Feast of the Fae, Greater Faerie Powers, Hybrid Form, 2 x Personal Faerie Powers; Little, Sovereign Ward (Sunlight), Incognizant, Traditional Wards (fire, counting games, burning shoes in some places)
Personality Traits : Spirit of the Season +6
Combat :
Brawl (talons): Init+5, Attack +16, Defense +14, Damage +9
Soak : +3
Wound Penalties : –1 (1-4), –3 (5-8), –5 (9-12), Incapacitated (13-16), Dead (17+)
Abilities : Athletics 3 (climbing)*, Awareness 5 (victims), Brawl 3 (each other), Faerie Speech 5.

  • Has virtue allowing supernatural athletics.
    Powers :
    Oppression : 1 point, Sun, Imaginem
    Can create a dream state (expressed as a cloud in which the person sees visions) that forces Personality Trait checks against Spirit of the Season 6. Using this power, over and over in the warped time of his cave, allows the King to grind down the vices of the people he kidnaps.
    Silent Motion : 1 point, constant, Imaginem.
    These faeries are capable of silent motion, but make noise by damaging things in the excitement of their revels.
    Spirit Away : 2 points, weird and special, Corpus
    Lets the Goblin King drag people into his cavern, where time travles at a different rate.
    Supernatural Agility: 0 points, constant, Animal (3 intricacy points spent on cost).
    Vis : 5 pawns (Rego)
    Appearance : There’s an image above.
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I started late, so I'm going to finish late...two more coming tonight. 8)

And now and eighth. Eight out of 30 seems woeful, but its eight more than I'd done, so, silver lining.

The Walker of the Snow is hard to classify: it doesn’t lead people astray, like the will o the wisp, and nor is it a an opportunistic psychopomp, because its victims do not die. They are instead “snow blighted”, which seems to be, mechanically, a sort of Ageing crisis. It’s vampiric of life energy, and seems to effect those who break the taboo of entering its land at night, or who speak to it.

When I wrote up the statistics for this creature I made a mistake. it is described as having a grey capuchon. That’s a hat, or a removable hood. These were worn by the capuchin monks, and so, mentally, I thought it looked like a monk in a grey habit. This led me to rework some demonic monks I used in Tales of Power. Really, it could like any fur trapper.

Faerie Might: 10 (Ignem)
Characteristics : Int +2, Per +1, Pre +1, Com -5, Str +2, Sta Tireless, Dex +3, Qik +3
Size : 0
Virtues and Flaws : Greater Faerie Powers; External Vis (minor), Faerie Sight, Faerie Speech, Human Form, 3x Improved Characteristic, Increased Faerie Might; Traditional Ward (laws of chivalry); Incognizant. : Soverreign Ward (daylight)
Combat :
Touch: Init +1, Attack +14, Defense +11, Damage +5*

  • The creature’s touch is its least favoured weapon. It is, however, so cold that it requires a Fatigue roll. (Exposure rules).
    Soak : +3
    Wound Penalties : –1 (1–5), –2 (6–10), –3 (11–15), Inc (16–20), Dead (21+)
    Pretenses : Many, including Area Lore 10 (snowy valley) and Brawl 7 (humans)
    Powers :
    Allure : 0 points, Init +2 Mentem (1 intricacy point on cost)
    Snow blight : 3 points, Init +1, Mentem. Causes the character to have snow blight which is modelled as aging the target 5 years
    (Modelled as Bane of the Decrepit Body. as per ArM5 p.133)
    Equipment : Grey hood, snow shoes are not known in Mythic Europe.
    Vis : 1 pawn, hat
    Appearance : A grey and distant figure, leading you deeper into the snows.