Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Eclipse Lich to EoNian Wyrm' ECLIPSE LICH

Yeah, these are kind of long.  I think short stat blocks are cool,  but for monster manual style entries,  you'd want the whole cloth. Plus, 5e has these little kinks in the system (legendary actions, lair actions), that i really like. Anyway,  the Eclipse Lich is one of my favourites.  Two more coming later this eve and then it's time for a new, arbitrary letter.  

Black Star to get you in the mood.

Eclipse-Lich

OLD SCHOOL

Armour as plate and shield, Move 5', 19 Hit Dice, HP 121 , 1d3 dam (Feeble Appendage), Morale 12.

Corpse Rays: Save vs Magic -3, failure means imprisonment within a Corpse Ray and replacement by a superior duplicate. 100 ft range. Double has maximum HP for its level and =+2 to all ability scores. Its abilities are reversed and/or perverted. Wizards gain knowledge of all necromantic spells that their level qualifies them for. Clerics lose knowledge of all spells but necromantic ones but their Turn Undead ability (or spell), becomes Turn Living. Rogues and fighters remain unchanged, though any magic weapons wielded by a transformed character become reversed cursed weapons if picked up by anybody else.

Spell Casting:  Knows all necromantic spells available to a 20th level wizard or cleric. However, it cannot cast them, since the Captains are their means of interacting with the petty world.  Eclipse Liches are concerned only with pure death and chaos; its Corpse Rays express its fury in a concentrated, single minded fashion.

Eat Light: No matter the illumination, light in the area becomes dim until the next round.

Crimson Flare: The  Eclipse-Lich burst into a brief crimson flash of flame. Save vs Rods & Wands to avoid 1d3 rounds of blindness. 

Shattering Memories:  The  Eclipse-Lich   fixes  its  attention on one  creature  it  can  sense  within  10  feet  of  it. A sudden telepathic  influx of infinitely bitter, celestial half-truths, flood the creature's mind. The  target  must succeed  on  a  Save vs Magic magic or  become  confused (As the spell)  for  1  minute.  The  confused  target  can repeat  the  saving  throw  at  the  end  of each  of its  turns,  ending the  effect  on  itself  on  a  success.  If  a  target's  saving  throw  is successful  or  the  effect  ends  for  it,  the  target  is  immune  to the  Eclipse-Lich's ranting for  the  next  24  hours.

Vile Inferno:  Each  living  creature  within  20 feet  of  the  Eclipse-Lich  must  make  a Save vs Death, (6d6)  fire  damage  on  a failed  save,  or  half  as  much  damage  on  a  successful  one. Victim is on fire on a roll of 1-2 on a d6.

Corpse Ray Regeneration: Any previously destroyed Captain, is immediately brought back to life at full hit points.

Glimpse the Black Sun: Anything dead within 50 feet rises as an undead creature.

Empower Captain: Target Captain receives +2 on its next attack and does double damage on a hit.

5E

Eclipse Lich - AC 19, HP 185, Spd. 5ft +8, 1d4 dam (Feeble Appendage),    XP 100,000 CR 26

S+0/D-3/C+5/I+6/W+6/C-3

Corpse Rays: The Eclipse Lich is not hugely effective in and of itself. The doubles it produces from its rays, serve as its best means of interacting with the world. Any individual within 100 ft of the Eclipse Lich is subject to this power. It may use its Corpse Rays as a normal action or a reaction. Victim makes a DC-20 Int save or is imprisoned within the Corpse Ray and replaced by a superior double.
The double has maximum HP per level, +1 Proficiency bonus and +2 all of its abilities scores. It is more correctly considered a 'dark reflection' than a 'double' since the new mirror being's powers become reversed and/or perverted. Lay On Hands, for example, might do an equivalent level of harm instead of healing. This is must be considered by the DM, but some examples as guidelines:

Fighters, Rogues, Rangers: Remains largely the same. Sadism and cruelty become the primary characteristics. However, any magic weapons carried have powers reversed. Anyone picking up a reversed magic weapon will discover that it functions as an equivalent cursed item in their hands. Animal Companions are not reversed unless the Eclipse-Lich chooses to utilise a Corpse Ray...in which case, Cujo. Ranger's Chosen Enemy becomes his own friends and family.
Barbarians: Transform into implacable, slasher film style psychopaths. They do not rage. Instead they howl;  the very sound of which weakens, sickens and demoralises. DC-8+barbarian's Con bonus+ barbarian's proficiency bonus to save. Victims suffer disadvantage on Strength checks and gain vulnerability to cutting, piercing and bludgeoning attacks until the next round.
Wizards: Spell damage type becomes necrotic. Knows all necromantic spells from each spell level the original caster qualified for (the Eclipse-Lich's wisdom is embodied in its captains and in matters of undeath, it is essentially peerless). Able to manifest spell at +3 caster level. Often used as the Eclipse Lich's primary agents in the world at large.
Clerics: Are essentially conduits of the Eclipse-Lich's necromantic energy. Since they no longer possess a connection to the original victim's patron deity, they lose the ability to cast their original spells and instead become capable of casting only the listed divine necromantic spells of the qualified level. However, they are manifested at +3 to the caster level.Turn Undead ability becomes Turn Living.
Paladins: Obvious reversals such as Smite Evil becoming Smite Good and Lay On Hands inflicting wounds as mentioned above. Mount is not subject to imprisonment unless Eclipse-Lich utilises a Corpse Ray. Turn Undead as Clerics above. Horribly cruel and sadistic.

Spell Casting: Knows all necromantic spells available to a 20th level wizard or cleric. However, it cannot cast them, since the Captains are their means of interacting with the petty world.  Eclipse Liches are concerned only with pure death and chaos; its Corpse Rays express its fury in a concentrated, single minded fashion.

Legendary Actions:

Eat Light (1 Action). No matter the illumination, light in the area becomes dim until the next round.

Crimson Flare  (Costs  2  Actions).  The  Eclipse-Lich burst into a brief crimson flash of flame. DC-19 Wisdom save to avoid 1d3 rounds of blindness.

Shattering Memories  (Costs  2  Actions).  The  Eclipse-Lich   fixes  its  attention on one  creature  it  can  sense  within  10  feet  of  it. A sudden telepathic  influx of infinitely bitter, celestial half-truths, flood the creature's mind. The  target  must succeed  on  a  DC -20  Wisdom  saving  throw  against  this  magic or  become  confused (As the spell)  for  1  minute.  The  confused  target  can repeat  the  saving  throw  at  the  end  of each  of its  turns,  ending the  effect  on  itself  on  a  success.  If  a  target's  saving  throw  is successful  or  the  effect  ends  for  it,  the  target  is  immune  to the  Eclipse-Lich's ranting for  the  next  24  hours.

Vile Inferno  (Costs  3  Actions).  Each  living  creature  within  20 feet  of  the  Eclipse-Lich  must  make  a  DC -19  Dexterity  saving  throw against  this  magic,  taking  21  (6d6)  fire  damage  on  a failed  save,  or  half  as  much  damage  on  a  successful  one. Victim is on fire on a roll of 1-2 on a d6.

Lair Actions

Corpse Ray Regeneration: Any previously destroyed Captain, is immediately brought back to life at full hit points.

Glimpse the Black Sun: Anything dead within 50 feet rises as an undead creature.

Empower Captain: Captain within 50 feet gains advantage on its next roll and deals double damage on a melee hit.

Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Capitulator to Curselings' CURSELINGS

CURSELINGS

OLD SCHOOL

Armour as chain, Move 30', 6 Hit Dice, 33 hp, claw d6+1 damage (but will prefer other, cleverer means of murder), Morale 8.

Treasure- Curselings lair where there exists great amounts of lost treasure (of all kinds). These places are often dangerous in their own right. Decide who or what owned the hoard previous to the Curseling and generate (or place) suggested treasure types.

Invisible in the Dark - When in darkness, surprises on a 1-5 on a d6. -1 to hit the Curseling.

Sense of the Lost - As well as being able to discern the location of any lost object or person, the Curseling gains a +2 on all rolls whenever it deals with the lost or the truly alone.  Being in a Curseling lair counts as 'lost and alone'.

Tireless - Curselings never become fatigued .

Whisperer in the Darkness - Can perfectly mimic any sound it hears and throw its voice unerringly.

Curseling Shadow Thane - Armour as chain and shield, HP 60, Move 30', 8 Hit Dice, 1d8+2 (Claw, though as above. Likely to have access to some manner of magical weapon)

Abilities as above. Will have the unwavering loyalty of any number of Curselings.

5E

Curselings - AC 16, HP 60, Spd. 30ft, +6, 1d8+2 dm (Claw or by weapon, though a Curseling will rarely resort to such methods, preferring to utilise the cruelest, most cunning means of slaughter they can devise.),    XP 1,800 CR 5

S+2/D+1/C+2/I+3/W+2/C+2

Invisible in the Dark - When in darkness, gains advantage on stealth rolls. Those trying to hit it, are at disadvantage.

Sense of the Lost - As well as being able to discern the location of any lost object or person, the Curseling gains advantage on all rolls whenever it deals with the lost or the truly alone. Being in a Curseling lair counts as 'lost and alone'.

Tireless - Curselings never become exhausted.

Whisperer in the Darkness - Can perfectly mimic any sound it hears and throw its voice unerringly.

Curseling Shadow Thane - AC 17, HP 104, Spd. 30ft, +8, 1d10+3 (Claw, though as above. Likely to have access to some manner of magical weapon) XP 2,900 CR 7

S+3/D+1/C+3/I+3/W+2/C+3

Abilities as above. Will have the unwavering loyalty of any number of Curselings.

Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Capitualator to Curselings' CRYPTOSPIDER

CRYPTOSPIDER

OLD SCHOOL
Armour as unarmoured, Move 10', 1 Hit Dice, 2 hp, bite 1 damage, Morale 5

5E

Cryptospider - AC 10, HP 3, Spd. 10ft,  +2, 1 damage (Bite),    XP  10 CR 0

S-4/D 0/C-2/I+2/W 0/C+1

Crypto-Web - The cryptospider's web captures  (per night) 1d3 memories/ideas. Roll on the  table below:

1. Birthing memory.
2. Childhood event/trauma.
3. Idea you had for a book.
4. Location of a friend's hidey hole.
5. A dance move.
6. The taste of exceptional/horrible food.
7. The time you heard your mother fucking, when dad wasn't home/dead.
8. The words to a dead minstrel's song.
9. How to spell something in Elven.
10. A joke that definitely made people laugh.
11. The eyes of the man outside your window.
12. Recipe for an eastern stew.
13. What you did on your last blank night.
14. A dog's pained howl.
15. The time you dreamt a demon's true name.
16. The time a local wizard made you forget.
17. The bard you buried on the hill when you were in a trance.
18. A good business idea.
19. A weird image from a dream that would make decent art.
20. A weird tune nobody has heard. You're not sure if it's good.
21. Your colleague's decent suggestion about your hair.
22. The way through the woods/caves/etc
23. A woman pacing out 29 steps from a monkey puzzle tree.
24. The best sex you ever had.
25. The most tired you'd ever been.
26. The time you made all the wrong moves.
27. When you were humiliated by a rival.
28. The worst pain you ever knew.
29. The time when everybody agreed you were right.
30. When you contemplated the unthinkable.
31. A city in darkness.
32. The grief of a father as his son died in his arms.
33. The name of the man who betrayed you.
34. The smell of the imprisoned girl's hair.
35. Having second thoughts about burning the house.
36. The words of power that form a spell.
37. Your first kiss.
38. The route you took yesterday.
39. A nightmare about playing a ball game with a Neanderthal.
40. The sequence, green, green, blue, green.
41. A series of facts about local history.
42. How to make a quality candle.
43. Under torture, you will not reveal the importance of the Runciple Spoon!
44. Chores for the week.
45. Father's last words to you.
46. What was that shape in your room?
47. How her skin felt under water.
48. The time you saw Alice Craggs howling beneath the moon.
49. Digging for a lead box whilst a man with a wooden hand sneers.
50. Your body warps,  terrible pain,  The hunger of a wolf.
51. Watching the man's fake limp.
52. How funny she looked in the hat.
53. You'd do anything to not be constipated.
54. You're not sure how your parents will react.
55. You're sure the priest was asleep during temple.
56. Jump right now!
57. You know exactly how to get his attention. Fruit.
58. Woah, those shrooms are back.
59. The perfect play in chess/cards/etc.
60. Cleaning a pig.
61. You put the letter down. Can war be avoided?
62. Staring into space,  you hear a bell ring from the woods.
63. There is a person that is not you in the mirror.  You faint in shock.
64. You recall page 29.
65. The fact that there were TWO voices coming from the inn room.
66. The most terrifying moment from the last d20 years.
67. You only saw the map for a second,  but you see it now as clear as day.
68. The colour of the flowers last summer.
69. He threw a rock in the pond and something emerged.
70. A tiny voice from the well, calls you over.
71. Ahh, to be a bird. But how to change back?
72. The dog bit you. But you can keep it a secret.
73. A genius piece of music. Genius!
74. Slowly burning your brother's books.

75-85. A mundane memory from yesterday.
86-96. The memory of your last success.
97-99. The sting of your last failure.
  00. Important campaign clue.

Replace these as they are rolled, apart from those you could sensibly re-use. Usual effect might be to grant inspiration or forbid it for a day.  DM's call on this and any other effect. Obviously, Cryptospiders are amazing for passing out leads and hooks.

Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Capitulator to Curselings' CONTRARODON

CONTRARODON

This definitely could use a 'Contrarodon Trip Out' table for the 'High as Fuck' category. I'll get there eventually if one of you doesn't first. As previous, you are absolutely encouraged to critique and offer changes, whatever. I won't be the final arbiter of any such judgements, but this is the place to keep a record.


OLD SCHOOL


Armour as chain, Move 30', Hit Dice 14, 70 hp, bite 5d6 damage/ claw 4d6 damage, Morale 10 (or fearless if one with the universe).


Crimson Chameleon - Surprises on a roll of 1-4 on a d6.

Contradicting Reports - No-one is certain as to the true capabilities of the Crimson Contrarodon. It would be remiss of this scholar to assign truth to any of them.  Instead,  here is a table from which one can cherry pick, roll randomly, abuse or ignore depending upon one's opinion of the Crimson Contrarodon (and its opinion of itself).

1. Consume Wisdom:  If a creature eaten possesses a higher Wis score than the monster,  the Contrarodon's own Wis rises by 1.
2. Mind Reading:  save vs magic or she reads your mind.
3. Sky High: Perspective is from high above. Knows where you are in her field. -2 on stealth checks. Cannot be surprised.
4. Hear the Wind: Can communicate with gods and spirits of the air.
5. Quantum Inhabitation: Due to simultaneously occupying every point in her lifespan, the Contrarodon knows exactly what you're going to do next. She gains an extra action that she may use whenever she pleases.  Even interrupting you.
6. All is One: Immune to any effects which target the mind,  affect perception or affect emotions. Also, won't hurt you today. Maybe.

 High as Fuck: There's a 60% chance the Contrarodon is utterly, utterly wasted. The Contrarodon counts as being under a permanent Confusion effect (like the one in LL). However, due to her primal tolerance levels,  she rolls a d20 on the table instead of a d10.
Alternatively, roll on something like Yoon Suin's opium effects table.

5E

Contrarodon - AC 13, HP 130, Spd. 30ft,  +9, 4d10+6 dm (Bite), 2d12+6 (Claw) XP 3,900/5,000/5,900 CR 8-10 (depending upon how deluded or otherwise you want the Contrarodon to be)

S+6/D+0/C+3/+1/W -1/C 0

Multi-Attack - The Contrarodon makes two attacks, one with her bite and one with her misshapen claws.

Crimson Chameleon - The Contrarodon possesses advantage on stealth checks to hide.

Contradicting Reports - No-one is certain as to the true capabilities of the Crimson Contrarodon. It would be remiss of this scholar to assign truth to any of them.  Instead,  here is a table from which one can cherry pick, roll randomly, abuse or ignore depending upon one's opinion of the Crimson Contrarodon (and its opinion of itself).

1. Consume Wisdom:  If a creature eaten possesses a higher Wis score than the monster,  the Contrarodon's own Wis rises by 1.
2. Mind Reading: DC-15 Wis save or she reads your mind.
3. Sky High: Perspective is from high above. Knows where you are in her field.  Disadvantage on stealth checks for you. Cannot be surprised.
4. Hear the Wind: Knows Auran.
5. Quantum Inhabitation: Due to simultaneously occupying every point in her lifespan, the Contrarodon knows exactly what you're going to do next. She gains a bonus reaction, which she may use as she pleases.
6. All is One: Immune to any effects which target the mind,  affect perception or affect emotions. Also, won't hurt you today.

High as Fuck: 60% chance when encountered, that she is extremely fucked. The Contrarodon counts as being under a permanent Confusion effect. However,  due to her primal tolerance levels,  she rolls a d20 on the table instead of a d10.
Alternatively, roll on something like Yoon Suin's opium effects table.

Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Capitulator to Curseling' CORBEAU

CORBEAU

OLD SCHOOL

Armour as chain, Move 40', 4 Hit Dice, 20 hp, bite d6+1 damage, Morale 7


Selective Toxin -Any man bitten by the Corbeau must make a save vs poison. Failure means the victim is at -3 to all ability and combat rolls. Success results in -1 to all ability and combat rolls. Sperm count drops to effectively zero. Any woman bitten must make a poison save. Failure results in the -1 penalty mentioned above. Success and the poisoned shakes off the effects of the toxin.


Deceptive Grace-When in dim light or less, the Corbeau can appear to be a voluptuous female human, albeit crawling on all fours. In environments and situations where this might be considered normal, it automatically gains surprise.


Mirror Walk-The Corbeau can automatically ( as part of a move) enter any mirror surface. This mirror instantaneously connects to any other mirror surface the Corbeau has previously inhabited.






5E


Corbeau - AC 14, HP 39, Spd. 40ft,  +7, 1d6+2 dm (Bite),    XP 1,100 CR 4

5E

Corbeau - AC 14, HP 39, Spd. 40ft,  +7, 1d6+2 dm (Bite),    XP 1,100 CR 4

S+2/D+4/C+1/I-1/W 0/C+1

Selective Toxin -Any man bitten by the Corbeau must make a DC-15 Con save. Failure means the poisoned takes three levels of exhaustion. Success results in one level of exhaustion. Sperm count drops to effectively zero. Any woman bitten must make a DC-15 Con save. Failure results in one level of exhaustion. Success and the poisoned shakes off the effects of the toxin.

Deceptive Grace-When in dim light or less, the Corbeau can appear to be a voluptuous female human, albeit crawling on all fours. In environments and situations where this might be considered normal, it automatically gains surprise. 

Mirror Walk-The Corbeau can automatically ( as part of a move action) enter any mirror surface. This mirror instantaneously connects to any other mirror surface the Corbeau has previously inhabited.

Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Capitualtor to Curseling' COLOUR MONSTER OR PIGMENT EATER

COLOUR MONSTER OR PIGMENT EATER

OLD SCHOOL

Armour as chain & shield, Move 50' (Flying) 50' , 1 Hit Dice, 4 HP, Tongue 1d4, Morale 7).

Pigment Leech- Body part struck, essentially, becomes permanently invisible. Roll a d100 to determine % of large body part that 'disappears'. Unless the target has particularly vivid skin (DM's decision),  there exists an 80% chance that the Colour Monster will attack the target's eyes.

Blinding Lick - Colour Monster takes a -4 to hit target's eyes. It only attacks one eye at a time. If damage is dealt, target must make a save vs death,  or lose the sight in that eye. There is no requirement to roll for percentage of the eye affected. It's small enough for the colour to be gone in a single slurp.

Partially Visible - The Colour Monster is difficult to see, identified only by its glowing eyes and fluorescent wings.  Difficulty in striking at the creature is subliminated into AC.   Colour Monsters surprise on a roll of 1-3 on a d6.

5E

Colour Monster - AC 14, HP 8, Spd. 50 ft (Flying) +6, 1d4 (Tongue),    XP 1,100 CR 4 (This seems high to me. I perhaps made a couple of errors in my DMG-fu. Let me know, whomever you are)

S-3/D+4/C 0/I -3/W 0/C 0

Pigment Leech- Body part struck essentially becomes permanently invisible. Roll a d100 to determine % of large body part that 'disappears'. Unless the target has particularly vivid skin (DM's decision),  there exists an 80% chance that the Colour Monster will attack the target's eyes.

Blinding Lick- Colour Monster is at disadvantage when it attacks a target's eyes. It only attacks one eye at a time. If damage is dealt, target must make DC 20 Con save,  or lose the sight in that eye. There is no requirement to roll for percentage of the eye affected. It's small enough for the colour to be gone in a single slurp.

Partially Visible- The Colour Monster is difficult to see, identified only by its glowing eyes and fluorescent wings. Attempting to strike it is at a disadvantage.  However,  unlike normal invisibility,  the Colour Monster does not gain advantage on its strikes. 

Fire on the Velvet Horizon, 'Capitulator to Curseling' CAPITULATOR

CAPITULATOR

OLD SCHOOL

Armour as chain, Move 30' (upright) 40' (all fours), 6 Hit Dice, 40 hp, claw swipe d6+2 damage, Morale 12 (fearless).

Treasure- Object d'art, casually strewn about their hives. Find a good table and generate some stuff or assume there's 0-3 pieces of art in any given hive chamber, each worth between 100 and 1000 GP.

Head Mandibles - These mandibles are slow to close. Any attack with them is always at -3 to the roll. However, they clamp shut decisively for  2d6+2 damage. Usually, they prefer to grab an opponent and lift them helpless into the waiting mandibles.


Grab- The creature attempts to pin the arms of an opponent by their sides in preparation for a lift and bite. Resolve this as a wrestling attack (free attack for the target), the victim rolls a d20 and  adding their Str+Hit bonus. The Capitulator rolls d20 +7. Creature thus pinned takes no damage,  but must use their next action to escape if they intend to use their arms .  On the Captulator's next action, it will attempt to use its mandibles as described above, but hits automatically

Ride the Eye- As soon as the Capitulator is seen, it may invade the vision of the perceiver. There is no save against this unstoppable power. It may leave the eye at any time, unless the host is blind or without sight in some fashion. This surprises on a roll of 1-4 on a d6. Whilst present in the eye, the host must make a save vs magic roll each week of inhabitance to avoid picking up a -1 to all saves due to the disturbing presence of the Capitulator. 


Expelling the Capitulator: The monster can sometimes be forced to leave a host, but only if the host can make the Capitulator care about something or other. The best way of going about this, is to engage in some manner of elaborate game (Ref's decision as to what constitues 'elaborate' or a 'game'). Another option is to capture its interest with a game of chance (though only extended play will be sufficient to grab its attention). The Capitulator must make a save vs magic; failiure means it is immediately forced to manifest and it can never use Ride the Eye again. -2 if the stakes of the game are very high. +2 if they are low. A game without stakes will not be sufficiently interesting to be rid of the Capitulator.




5E

Capitulator - AC 16, HP 54, Spd. 30ft (Upright)/40 ft (All fours) +5, 1d6+3 dm (Claw Swipe),    XP 1800 CR 5

S+3/D+1/C+1/I+2/W+2/C-2

Head Mandibles - These mandibles are slow to close. Any attack with them is always at disadvantage. However, they close shut decisively for 2d10+3 damage. Usually, they prefer to grab an opponent and lift them helpless  into the waiting mandibles.

Grab- The creature attempts to pin the arms of an opponent by their sides in preparation for a lift and bite. Attack bonus as above. Creature thus pinned takes no damage,  but must use their next action to escape if they intend to use their arms.  On the Captulator's next action, it will attempt to use its mandibles as described above, but gains advantage.

Ride the Eye- As soon as the Capitulator is seen, it may invade the vision of the perceiver. There is no save against this unstoppable power. It may leave the eye at any time, unless the host is blind or without sight in some fashion. Whilst present in the Eye, the host must make a DC 10 roll each week of inhabitance to avoid gaining a level of exhaustion. Host may gain no more than one level of exhaustion this way.

Expelling the Capitulator: The monster can sometimes be forced to leave a host, but only if the host can make the Capitulator care about something. The best way of going about this, is to engage in some manner of elaborate game (DM's decision as to what constitues 'elaborate' or a 'game'). Another option is to capture its interest with a game of chance (though only extended play will be sufficient to grab its attention). The Capitulator must make a DC 12 Wis save; failiure means it is immediately forced to manifest and it can never use Ride the Eye again. The D.C. rises to 14 if the stakes of the game are very high. It lowers to D.C. 8 if they are low. It gains advantage on the roll if the stakes are non-existent.bles - These mandibles are slow to close. Any attack with them is always at -3 to the roll. 

Fire on the Velvet Horizon - Statistics

There's a title for a blog that's almost oxymoronic.

In case anybody doesn't know what Fire on the Velvet Horizon is (which is unlikely, considering the tiny sum of you that have read my bumbling shit are more than likely drawn from the OSR blog crowd), let me enlighten you: it's a book of monsters rendered in both prose and visual terms as a fever dream.

 Imagine William Burroughs was a medium, as in a human conduit between worlds. Cool. Now imagine he visits one of these worlds during an opium excursion.
 He wakes up. Shaking, he tries to recall the wonder and horror of it all. He enters trance state.
 He begins scribbling. He's a medium, see? Automatic writing is his thing.  Automatic drawing in fact.  Austin Osman Spare style. And they come through.

Later, when the hard grey light cuts through the kitchen space, as he lifts his face from the cold table top, as he rises, as he drinks metallic tasting water from the heaving tap; he remembers. He partly remembers. He sits back down and carefully, methodically stacks the drawings.

 His typewriter,(not now insectile). In studied bursts of flashback-memory, he recalls and writes.

In some ways he is now two people; a twin engaged with...SNIP

Fire on the Velvet Horizon was created by two people, Patrick Stuart (writer of the dense image fest that is False Machine and Scrap Princess, she of the automatic art exorcism (and creator of the Monster Manual Sewn From Pants blog). Off the top of my head, I don't think I can recall seeing a book where the art and writing were so beautifully, symbiotically entwined. It's truly remarkable, transcending its suggested utility, projected well beyond the 'is it art' solar system and into an ovoid galaxy wherein dwells Borges, Focault and erm, Burroughs.

Anyway, I'm going to give everything in it D&D stats and then you can fucking deplete the HP of the Eonian Wyrm like it was no thang.



I must admit, I feel a certain trepidation concerning the task; not because of the work entailed, but because the book does float within the imagination, suspended in the gaseous cloud of its own pellucid impenetrability. Stating it up almost feels like an experiment in sacrilege. Or an entirely superficial, trivialising none-activity.

But I'm going on anyway because I want to play with these creatures. I want to meet them. I want more people to meet them, even the ones who would probably prefer it in a WOTC style gloss, digital art package. I mean, how are you supposed to read this thing?

Patrick expressed a desire on his blog to give some tabletop time to his work and produced, for me, highly serviceable versions of the Abhorrer and the Aeskithete from his and Scrap Princess' book. I offered to throw in some time trying to put numbers and rules to it all and he very kindly accepted. Indeed, the vibe is 'Living Document', so with time, play testing, the work of others and their own interpretations, we can maybe have something that'll be quite useful to the Philistine in us all.

Not that I think RPGs are shallow. And yes, I think they are definitely art.

But then so is tying one's shoe.

In one's opinion.

Anyway, Patrick will correct my work and add his own definitions. And I encourage you to do the same. And remember, you can ignore all of this if you want. They're just interpretations.

The Book of Interpretations.

Anyway.

 Update: I'm looking at this and I can't figure out who wrote it. Aparrently it was me. It reads like a sixth form essay on writing, except the writer hasn't done enough revision on writing, so he's making it up, padding, desperate for a C grade. Oh well.


It was quite an eye opener for me, discovering all these beautiful OSR blogs. Essentially, after years of comparing my imagination to the lukewarm talents/idea-by-committee-camel-fluff fests of the major publishers, I thought I was perhaps in a higher imagination tier than many. How wrong I was. Without going on record like a gushing fan boy, I saw a constellation of greats. Some more successful than others, but all undeniably brilliant in their own way.

A surplus of raw idea stuff suggesting minds tapping a flow, a source, that in the main, remained plugged for me.

I'm a musician...in general...most of the time. That source I was talking about? Let's capitalise it...let's call it 'The Source'. I'm of the shakeable opinion that the brain is a kind of radio, picking up on signals that are kind of bouncing around the aether in some unfathomable fashion. To me (TO ME) it's possible to orbit 'The Source' from an infinite number of positions, some nearer, some further, some forever locked apart. I'm good with melody. I can take something and make it feel like you haven't heard it before. Lyrics come eventually. They're usually good. Not always though. Sometimes they're the worst kind of banal posturing and so with songs of that ilk, I keep them mutable, struggling to find the right phrase. But it comes. The melody is my river, is my way of orbitting The Source.

And yet, the imagination and its castles...that is my playground and my arena. I see things...and I have the fierce desire to document them. To make other people see. To give them a taste of my own happiness. And yet... that goal remains unreached. I can't really write in the way I'd like to be able to write. I think part of it is to do with patience. I enjoy reading...but given the option, I'll reach for an RPG product, something I can immediately put to use, rather than the enriching prose of say, Baudelaire. And I believe that depth of reading gives sanctity to both the written word and definition to the vistas of the imagination. Before I paint myself a Philistine, I've delved deeper than many of my peers into various literary catacombs; but recent times seem to stave this occurrence from happening with any frequency. In fact, more often than reading, I'll feel the compulsion to create music RIGHT NOW. Even when perhaps I'd be best served fuelling my mind in some other fashion.

And yet, my greatest suspicion, is that I am not seeing the wonders and horrors of 'the other' in the way many of the OSR writers I laud, see wonders and horrors. There is a boiling prismatic sea of incoherence. A hand gripping a sword I'd seen pictured in a book; a thousand faces, so many as to be all and one; imagined companions, striving, suffering, victory; all of it...as soon as I close my eyes. What kind of fisherman would I have to be to reach into that chaos and withdraw something I could bring to the table and say "Here is a fish. Please enjoy my fish?" Evidently, the kind of fisherman that I see writing with ease and assurance as I flick from blog to blog (and not just in the OSRverse).

I think I'm doing it wrong. How can I translate the natural flow of melody, into written word? Never mind faculty with the English language...I'm competent enough to bury meaning, that much is certain. But ideas...how can one ride close enough to The Source and feel the ebb that inspires one to create in a certain fashion...and let it flow out via a different medium? Am I fighting a losing battle?

We shall see.

Old Man of the Womb

Old Man of the Womb

When a pregnant woman is murdered and her body buried in rude earth, sacred to the bleak god of futile gestures, Kalak Mar, predictably the results are horrific. 

The body so recently gestating within the womb, becomes a vessel of rage for both unborn infant and slain mother. For a year and a day, it remains curled within the mother corpse, festering and withering, like a beetle grub in a rotten stump. The terrible energies at play mummify both the unborn child and mother. By the end of this period, the creature within resembles nothing so much as a grotesque and wrinkled old man, a foetid grey prune for a head, its body unnaturally bent into a permanent foetal posture, rigid with hate, its face etched with a malignant loathing for a life it never had the chance to lead. 

Still attached via the umbilical cord, the thing finds egress from the cold earth and slowly, obscenely floats from its shared grave to feast upon others that remind it of what it never had (by feasting, I mean it enjoys finding its way into cribs and leaving horrifically aged infant corpses to be found by shrieking mothers, the shock enough to kill them). It remains at all times connected to the body of its mother via the umbilical cord, though this is able to stretch up to seven whole leagues in length. The cord cannot be severed unless one uses silver shears. Upon this occurrence, the Old Man drops to the earth and shrivels to dust within minutes. However, this is not the end of the monster. The cord is moved to seek out another child to replace the one destroyed. It will strangle the chosen babe and drag its poor little body back to the ghastly womb of the dead mother, where after a year and a day, it will have fully fused to the umbilical cord and birthed another Old Man. That said, during this period without a true 'Old Man', the mother host can be destroyed with flame.

The simplest (and most deadly) way to end the monster, is to track it back to the grave from whence it came. This can be done by chasing the retreating Old Man using magical means (it retreats swiftly, as fast as a bird) or by bribing local owls who are known to see all in the night (their price often involves weird geasa...some scholars speculate that Owls are the keepers of reality, but that, is of course, a different tale). Other means may work and would rely upon the ingenuity of the hunter. What is important, is that the grave is found. It is said, that if the body is dug up at this point, only moldering bones will be discovered. But if the hunters can make the creature jealous of the childhood it never had...perhaps by playing a game or reciting an account of a parent's love, then the Old Man of the Womb will not be able to contain its fury.

At this point, the host mother rises, piloted in blasphemous fashion by the wizened Man of the Womb, clearly visible through a tattered aperture in the mother's stomach. She cannot be stopped short of destroying the Old Man. This can only be accomplished with a piercing weapon of silver or magical origin. The shriveled operator must be pinned to the earth, whereby it will finally disintegrate. 

Whilst the Old Man is within the mother host, the mother's body grows taller and thinner and her eyes begin to emit a withering white beam that ages those caught within its shocking deadlight glare. 

These horrors are created by cultists of Kalak Mar whose purposes are often inscrutable and nihilistic. At the very least, they represent abominations which must be destroyed for the sake of sanity and good reason.

Old Man of the Womb sans Mother Host

Characteristics -------------Attributes ------------------------1d20 Location AP/HP

STR: (8/28 body/cord)------Action Points 3 ----------------------------------1-2 R.Leg 4

CON: (15) ---------------- Damage Modifier -1d4/+1d4-----------------------3-4 L.Leg 4

SIZ: (3) ------------------ Magic Points 14----------------------------------5-6 Abdomen 5

DEX: (16)----------------- Movement 18(Flying)-----------------------------7-8 Chest 6

INT: (10) ---------------- Strike Rank 13------------------------------------9-15 Umbilical Cord 6

POW: (14)---------------- Armour None-------------------------------------16-17 R.Arm 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------18-19 L.Arm 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 Head 4

Abilities: Dark Sight, Immunity (None magic or silver weapons), Life Sense, Flight, Undead, Grapple

Skills: Endurance 96%, Evade 70%, Perception 80%, Willpower 90%, Brawn 60%

Combat Style: Ghastly Floating Strangler (Umbilical Cord, Toothless Kiss) 86% 

Damage: Umbilical Cord 1d8+1d4, large ,reach VL

-------- Toothless Kiss no damage, special effect only on successful grapple. Causes withering effect; Endurance check vs attack roll. Failure indicates a roll on the ageing table and the loss of 1d3 characteristic points. Critical failure indicates two rolls on the table. Ageing appears more like a kind of grey mummification...an ashen shriveling, rather than standard wrinkles and sagging skin, etc.

Notes: Silver shears can be used to sever the umbilical cord. The passage of the Old Man is marked by the hoot of owls, offended by its passage through the gloapy night air which belongs to them. Upon tracking the thing back to its grave lair, a second even more horrible fight begins...

Old Man of the Womb in Mother Host exoskeleton

Characteristics -------------Attributes ------------------------1d20 Location AP/HP

STR: (28)--------------------------Action Points 3 ----------------------------1-3 R.Leg 2/6

CON: (15) ------------------------ Damage Modifier +1d8-----------------------4-6 L.Leg 2/6

SIZ: (2d6+6/13) ------------------ Magic Points 14-----------------------------7-9 Abdomen 2/7

DEX: (16)--------------------------Movement 6--------------------------------10-12 Chest 2/8

INT: (10) ------------------------- Strike Rank 13------------------------------13-15 R.Arm 2/5

POW: (14)------------------------ Armour Mummified Flesh---------------------16-18 L.Arm 2/5

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------19-20 Head 2/6

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abilities: Dark Sight, Immunity (None magic or silver weapons), Life Sense, Flight, Undead, Grapple, Regeneration 3HP every location/round, including lost limbs and even when apparently destroyed (Excepting abdominal blows), Terrifying, Formidable Natural Weapons

Skills: Endurance 96%, Evade 50%, Perception 80%, Willpower 90%, Brawn 80%

Combat Styles: Relentless Exo-Mother (Rending Claws) 86% 

---------------------Deadlight Beams 70%

Rending Claws 1d8+1d8 bleed/plus whatever hideous grave disease you care to infect its rank claws with. Large, Long Reach

Deadlight Beam: see below Range 50/200/300

Notes: Deadlight beams act exactly like the Toothless Kiss, only they're ranged and thus much, MUCH worse. 

In the write up above, I mention that the creature seems to stretch and grow. Personally, I make this effect cosmetic...I think I have the (possibly false) memory of a wicked queen stretching and growing; menacing some Prince Charming type: the end result being to bewilder and cause fear...hence the 'Terrifying' attribute. So not entirely cosmetic after all. 

Only by impaling the Old Man and pinning it to the earth can the creature be finally stopped. Naturally, this requires an Impale effect and enough damage to cause a serious wound.

If the body is discovered without an Old Man, then it may be safely burnt and the ashes scattered. That will be enough to end the nightmare.

Another Monster...

 Hello again. My quest to string together three words in a vaguely entertaining fashion continues with this Runequest monster. If you want to convert it to D&D, then it should be a breeze, unlike the opposite proposition (I'll probably get round to it eventually). Please enjoy. As usual, credit to the people who are good at this and whose example pushes me into ever more embarrassing arenas (Zak S, False Patrick, Noisms, Scrap Princess, etc...)


                                       Fractal Optimiser

In the far wastes of Zhar, there is a space inhabited not by men, but by information. Living fractals that are able to occupy this plane of existence , not because they belong here, but because of the horrible damage wrought to reality when the moon fell from her place in the sky.

These creatures ...they are not to be understood on our terms. The environment they inhabit is at once, arid desert and mathematical euqation. To wander there is to risk dissolution and madness...yet some do, for the fractal beings seem never less than pleased to communicate and welcome pilgrims. This welcome of theirs, might take the form of an implanted bliss; a blasting, uncommunicable truth; assimilation into their number or the discovery of the pilgrim's bleached bones upon the steps of their mother's home a thousand miles away. Somehow they know to weep for their foolish children.

And yet these beings, these anomalous guests, are not the focus of the words before you. They do not, afterall, leave the desert. Their purpose is private enough and unfathomable enough to the princes of men, that they are considered no more dangerous than a shark. A shark will never eat you in your bedroom.

Recall I told you that these beings are not to be understood on our terms? I did not lie to you. But they possess some of the qualities we might associate with life...seeming consciousness, purpose and emotional weight. There is an ecology at work. They even produce excrement... waste matter. Except this substance is not matter, for the beings that produce it are, or subsist on ideas and information. Indeed, their shit lives. Ahh, now you raise an eyebrow! It is this defecation that proves of the greatest danger to men.

Waste ideas, a violent, coruscating storm of mobile waste information, imploding into itself (the concept of 'self' having lost all meaning), a mandala that cannot find satisfaction in the undulations of its own presence, but must violently pull in other information, other data in order for it to cease to exist. Or at least this is how it seems in dully remembered, incohate dreams...memories of when these miasmic, chaos blurs/mobile, possibly living shit storms came the way of men.
Fortunately they destroy themselves after a certain amount of information has been collected, as if a balance had been re-asserted. Furthermore, though capable of moving as fast as a good horse, they rarely make it as far as civilised lands without first discovering a tribe of nomads or a cave of primitives. They are drawn to the thoughts of sentient beings in order to erase the problem of their being.

Their touch invites assimilation...one's very substance (also a kind of idea) and consciousness becomes fused with the über mass of semi-alive information. Those with a strong will can resist. likewise they can be fought with the weapons of will; certainty of purpose serving to act as surely as hapless absorption when it comes to satiating their needs. If one trusts hard enough in the steel they wield or the magics they utter, then that individual might prevail...but this is rare indeed.

After drawing a certain amount of conscious reality into their core, a critical juncture is reached and they wink out of existence. It is possible to escape from the Fractal Optimiser (as they were dubbed by the Order of the 66 Archons), requiring the consumed to face a riot of insane pre-consumed sentiences. This battle occurs purely in the realm of thought and it is a struggle of ego vs conceptual annihilation.

Curiously, adamant bottles have appeared in certain bazaars in Vornheim, Jukai, Marlinko and Syrone. Within, is contained the raging essence of a Fractal Optimiser. They change hands for thousands of silver; weapons of considerable power.



Characteristics -------------Attributes ------------------------1d20 Location AP/HP
STR: (-) ------ ------ Action Points 3 --------------------- 1–20 Incohate Form 0/11
CON: (15) ------ ----- Damage Modifier 0
SIZ: 6d6+20 (40) ------ Magic Points 18
DEX: (14)------ ----- Movement 12
INS: (15) ------ ------ Strike Rank 15
POW: (18)------ ----- Armour None
Abilities: Dark Sight, Immunity (Any attack made wthout an accompanying wilpower roll better than the attack it supports and better than the Fractal Optimiser's own Willpower resistance roll), Regeneration (1 HP/Round), Terrifying, Life Sense, Engulf, Flight
Skills: Endurance 52%, Evade 64%, Perception 75%, Willpower 70%
Combat Style: Absrobing Undulation(Fractal Pseudo Appendage) 60%

Damage: Special

Notes:

If a character is engulfed by the Fractal Optimiser, then they must roll Willpower vs Willpower. Failure indicates that they have been absorbed into the Optimiser. Within, the consumed finds themselves in a fractured, shifting dreamscape, composed from the memories of its previously absorbed victims. Here they will be forced into something resembling spirit combat with their own identity.
The affected character may choose to use either his Willpower or a Passion in an extended test against either their own Willpower stat or another Passion, GM's choice. Success leads to escape, although magic points will be drained consumate with the utimate degree of success at a rate of 3 MP per Fractal Optimiser success level (maximum loss of 12 mp) . Any degree of failiure results in the victim remaining trapped in the Fractal Optimiser with the same loss of MP. Reduction to zero MP, means the characer has been forever lost.

The Optimiser vanishes after it absorbs MP equal to its SIZ.

Its HP are an abstraction, not really representing anything material so much as its remaining reality. If its HP are reduced to zero, it transforms into a random mundane object drawn from the consumed information within its form. This could be literally anything.

Obviously there's some fluff from my own campaign mixed in with the description of the Fractal Optimiser. It's really up to you why the beings that produce these things exist. I leave that to the GM as an exercise in RPG imagination powerz.

Dream Whistler (Runequest Version)

The Dream Whistler 

Sometimes, the membrane between the realms of wakefulness and sleep grows threadbare. That untenable things of both beauty and madness sometimes find their way into the waking world, is beyond dispute. That those inhabitants of dream are violently forced to conform with the physical laws of our own bleak cosmos, is fuel enough for a thousand nightmares of horrors born afresh to a hunger, which must now feed.

One such horror is the Dream Whistler. 

Arising from the chimera of amour which most often assails youth, in slumber they are amorphous clouds of half forgotten loves and desires. In flesh, they are cruelly rendered as obscene mollusc things as big as hippos (although no bigger than mice when first conceived, upon taking a lair, they quickly and unnaturally grow in size... a process which leaves them ravenously hungry). Their heads are always different: generally idealised representations of people the Whistler's original host once dreamt of. If that love was true and reserved for one person alone, then only one head will be present and near perfect. If that host longed for more than one person, then multiple faces will develop, with imperfections in their features growing with the number present. These slack jawed, drooling countenances are all sculpted from flesh, hair included, so as to resemble awful, glistening statuary. The creature has one functioning mouth set into it's upper trunk. Beneath this horrible lamprey like orifice are arrayed row upon row of pendulous mammary sacs. 

Their means of locomotion are extremely limited, having to rely only upon long spindly arms and barely obedient cephalopodium. Ultimately they bind themselves to surfaces wherever they find themselves lairing, in a fashion akin grotesque barnacles. The lair is of particular significance to the Dream Whistler, being in a sense, a part of it's body (and hunting routine). They secrete themselves in lonely places of beauty...beneath crumbled bridges, in the dark of mossy forgotten crypts, at the bottom of crumbling wells, in the hollows of great dead oaks. Places where lovers might wander and carve their names into wood or stone and perhaps leave a little of themselves behind. 

How do they get there? Some say that they are born from the death anguish of suicidal unrequited love. The monster manifests near a place where someone has taken their own life out of despair (this is partly true). Others suggest that (and these scholars are perhaps more accurate in their assessment), the Whistler gestates within dreams and whilst still tiny, manifest physically within the cerebellum, ultimately exiting the host via the nasal cavity. This can be the result of grotesque magics, but the spectre of spontaneous creation is also postulated as viable. If this be so, could our very dreams be merely incubators for monstrosities? If so, what then of our true natures?

The Dream Whistler, once created, secretes itself in the aforementioned lair and waits. A kind of hidden antennae set within the creatures' head area, picks up electromagnetic signals from nearby psyches. These are nearly always the minds of romantics, given to wandering and contemplation in places of serenity: poets, artists and lovers--- the forlorn, the lost, the pining and the mad. Once it has detected such a mind, it makes an imprint of the brains waveform and then 'pings' this waveform on a frequency only detectable in deep sleep.

The chosen, wherever he is, receives this waveform and it alters the very fabric of his dreaming. Any loved one that appear in the dreamers' sleeping worlds, can be replaced by an illusionary puppet under the control of the Dream Whistler. This puppet looks, speaks and acts exactly as the dreamer would expect of the loved one being replaced. It then attempts to lure the dreamer back to the place of serenity. This manifests beyond mere reverie. The suggestion or 'whistle' is strong enough to induce somnambulism. The poor slumbering victim will rise from his place of rest and make his way physically to the lair of the Dream Whistler. This may take several attempts over a number of nights and/or weeks. Sometimes the whistle is lost (lead blocks it as do more exotic, magical materials) and the victim awakens to find themselves miles from civilisation in the darkness of the countryside. In terror they flee home, but the process will only repeat itself, night after night.

Upon arrival at the lair of the Dream Whistler, the victim remains asleep, perceiving the image of the dreamt loved one waiting with open arms, drawing the sleep walker to fall into their loving embrace. In reality, the Dream Whistler's physical manifestation enjoys or needs to consume a certain amount of fatty tissue and compels it's victims to suckle at it's grotesque teats. These mammary glands produce something akin to an opiate/glucose/milk. The Dream Whistler will then nurture the victim for weeks. Throughout that time the poor dreamer never awakens, sucking greedily at the things narcotic breasts, insensible to the straining of their flesh and skin, the weird milk coursing through their bodies. In a short period of time, victims are flabby, oily mockeries of their former selves and ready to be plucked like gross fruit.

The ultimate fate of the Whistler's victims is to be messily devoured, lifted with ropey arms and stuffed into the waiting maw. This process is surprisingly swift, considering the measured pace of the Dream Whistler's hunting and fattening ritual; the victim is only barely aware of their own grisly demise as their somnolent bliss is ended.

Hunting the Dream Whistler is not impossible and upon discovery, it can be destroyed with flame and steel. The fact that it is largely stationary works against it. However, it is more than capable of defending itself and is able to use it's milk gorged victims as loyal and suicidal bodyguards (for their part, they perceive attackers as monsters invading their dreaming or threatening their beloved). The creature is dangerously psionic and is capable of employing surges of brain cooking energy waves. Finally, it's long, ropey arms clutch and grasp spasmodically and unpredictably, attempting to grab and then eat brave adventurers.

The final tragedy, is that upon the Dream Whistlers death, it's former victims are never able to truly forget their experience. They pine for that long dream wherein they were glutted upon ambrosia in the arms of their beloved. Following a period wallowing in a wasteland of cakes, pastries and other fattening foods (which they crave following the cessation of the Dream Whistler's milk), they are eventually found, having taken their own lives, at or near the old lair of the Dream Whistler. But before that moment comes, there is yet a worse horror: a freshly incarnated Dream Whistler (the same one?) crawls from the victims nasal cavity to nest anew... to whistle once more into the darkness for prey.

I'm going to forego the dice roll required to get a species variant. I figure you'll only use the Dream Whistler once. Plus I'm lazy. Also...yeah, I'm lazy.

Characteristics Attributes.                         Location AP/HP

STR: (20) AP  2 (+3 for heads)------   1-6 Cephalapodium 2/13

CON: (19) Damage Modifier +2d6 -- 7– 9 Abdomen 2/13

SIZ: (44) Magic Points 17 ------------    10-12 Chest 2/14

DEX: (6) Movement Immobile ---------13-15 Right Arm 2/11

INT: (10) Strike Rank 8 ------------         16-18 Left Arm 2/11

POW: (17) Armour : 'Almost-flesh'. --19-20 Head 2/12

CHA: (9) 

Abilities: Dark Sight, Grappler, Multi-Headed (3), Terrifying, Swallow (After successful grab), Psychic Emanations

Skills: Athletics19% Brawn 90% Endurance 80% Perception 70% Sing (Whistle) 95% Willpower 88% 

Combat Style: Clutching Horror

Weapon Size/Force Reach Damage AP/HP

Bite M T 1d6+2d6 As for Head

Claw H VL 1d6+2d6 As for Arm (victims grabbed , will be moved towards the mouth for biting and swallowing)

Special Notes: 

An immature Dream Whistler has only 2hp per location and no armour, but possesses a Movement speed of 6.

The Dream Whistler's Psychic Emanations can be detected only in sleep and only if the dreamer has passed close to the lair of the Dream Whistler. The Dream Whistler first attempts a psychic 'mark' which grants it a long range connection. This attempt is imperceptible to the victim. A Resisted Willpower roll is required, with failure indicating that the Dream Whistler has established a connection. From that point on, the Whistler will enter the dreams of the victim night after night...each night requiring another Willpower roll to resist sleep walking towards its lair. Whilst the Dream Whistler is present inside the mind of the victim, normal sleep is impossible, the victim being rendered Weary for the duration of the psychic onslaught. The victim, upon arriving at the lair of the Dream Whistler, does not awake and immediately nestles into the creatures blubber to glut itself on the creatures milk.

The Dream Whistler's milk is a POT 95 toxin (resisted by Willpower) that induces blissful hallucinations and subservience to the monster. For each week of suckling, the victim gains a point of SIZ and loses a point of CON.

As mentioned above, the Whistler is capable of using its psychic power to do more than merely lure the weak to their deaths. It is capable of launching a Psychic Wrack (see Luther Arkwright p.62) which damages the body of the target. It may spend 1 MP+1MP per target and, if it succeeds in a Willpower vs target's Willpower, deals an intensity 5 psychic burn to the victim. This manifests as d8 damage right to the head, bypassing any armour unless head gear is made of lead. For the purposes of magical protection, consider the psychic wrack to possess a magnitude of 3.

Note: Obviously the Dream Whistler makes an eerie whistling sound...like a fragment of a tune. This whistling sounds quite disarming and out of place.