325 RPG Geek Fans - Five More New Creatures

As the 325 RPGGeek fans goal, here are five plants for The Fantasy Trip . . .

Visit the Kickstarter page today to support the campaign and unlock more stretch goals!

Maulers

A mauler is a dirty-white, human-height cylinder with three “arms” that end in rounded, fingerless “fists.”  It has no head as such – the whole round-pointed top of its body is a multi-pupiled eye. They have wide bases and move on three stubby but agile legs, and the toothy grinding mouth, with triple tongues, is located on the bottom between the legs.

Maulers are found singly or in small groups, usually underground. They scavenge, but can also eat their own fresh kills, and sometimes they seem to be rooting themselves into the ground.

Some think they are a type of carnivorous plant, but the majority opinion is that they are related to nothing else on Cidri.

In combat, they can strike with two arms per turn – the third one is used for balance. All their hexes count as front hexes. They do not fall over in combat.

The mauler’s weak point is its huge eye (-3 to hit). Do more than 3 points of damage to the eye, and the mauler’s blows will become unaimed (-4 DX).

Maulers are unintelligent, hostile, and have no treasure unless a recent victim did. The Wizard’s Guild will usually give $200 for a complete mauler body, or $50 if the eye is destroyed, but they will not say what part(s) they want. Perhaps experiments are under way.

ST 16, DX 13, IQ 6, MA 4. Each fist blow does 1d-1 damage.

Head Flies

Of all the creations of all the mad mages who ever were, the Head Fly is probably the most pointless and disturbing.

A Head Fly is a normal-sized green-bodied fly with all the habits and abilities of a standard housefly. It has one added trick . . .

When a Head Fly is sitting still, it will often cast an Image about itself: a severed, well-aged humanoid head, eyes glazed and tongue lolling. Every Head Fly’s head is different. If an area is infested with Head Flies, it will look as though a maniac has been at work!

When the fly moves, the image vanishes.

Living or dead Head Flies can be useful in image and illusion magic, but most civilized places consider it a gross public nuisance to breed them.

Chupacabra

The “goatsucker” is a medium-sized canine. They have been described as “mangy, red-eyed coyotes.”

Chupacabra are solitary and territorial. They will keep company only to mate, and the young leave their mother’s territory as soon as they are weaned.

The Chupacabra feeds on mammalian blood. Its saliva, like that of a vampire bat, is mildly anesthetic and contains an anti-clotting agent. A Chupacabra can bite a victim carefully and then lick the wound to keep the blood flowing. Some creatures never notice they’re being drained, and one meal taken by the “goatsucker” is not enough to  badly weaken a cow or big deer. Smaller creatures, like goats, may not survive a visit if the Chupacabra is hungry. Chupacabra attacks on humans are very rare, but might do 1d+2 damage if the creature succeeds in biting stealthily and drinking its fill. To notice you are being bitten in your sleep, make a 4/IQ roll.

Chupacabra are almost never seen, let alone captured or killed. The reason is . . . they are smarter than we are! A typical Chupacabra might have ST 5, DX 12, and IQ 12! It is only animal intelligence; they will not communicate. But they understand some speech and can read our body language better than we can. They are also nasty, vindictive creatures. A party that troubles a Chupacabra may find itself harassed in very clever and creative ways. And, of course, someone lying wounded might be an easy mark for the bloodsucking little horror.

The Chupacabra has MA 12; its fur is too thin to stop any attacks. Its jaws are weak, and its normal bite would do only 1d-2 damage.

Long Lankin

This striding horror is only found singly. It favors dark, wet places . . . caverns, swamps, and moors. It moves silently, although it is half again as tall as a human, and climbs with great speed and skill.

Long Lankin has ST 16, DX 14, IQ 9, and MA 12. Its ripping claws do 1d+3 damage. The horrible jaws do not attack, but they will crack open a victim's ribcage very quickly. Its horny skin and plated scutes stop 2 hits from any attack. As mages have learned to their sorrow, Long Lankin does not perceive illusions at all, can see perfectly in darkness, and can see invisible things and creatures.

Its lair will be marked by scattered bones, growing thicker as one approaches. Long Lankin eats its victims, feasting first on the eyes and organs, and later on the decaying flesh. If it slays multiple victims, it will cache some of them high in trees for later.

It fears flame; the fire does no special damage to it, but Long Lankin might retreat from a torch even in the hands of a child. But it would follow . . . and woe if the torch should go out.

Nothing is known of its origins or how it might breed. It is said that a mage cast Possession on Long Lankin, and immediately went mad.

This creature is too rare and dangerous for mages to have found any use for it, but any local ruler troubled by Long Lankin would be overjoyed to pay a genereous bounty for its hideous head.

Based on the new Melee/Wizard cover art by Liz Danforth.

Bloody Rider

     This creature definitely exists, but is not well known. It is most often seen after someone dies, when it eats its way out of the torso and tries to flow away from the light and toward a hiding place. Often they don’t even come out till dark.

A rider is dark red, the color of liver, and is usually dripping with the blood of its former host. It is the size of a fist or perhaps two fists.

There are reports of their attacking three ways. Take these with a grain of salt . . . people see strange things after battles.

• A rider might eat its way out of a corpse and then flow into a living but unconscious person nearby through nose, mouth, or an open wound.

• Several riders might flow together under a body or into another dark place, and then attack a person – treat as a single Green Slime.

• Creepiest of all, some report that a rider molded itself into a miniature human or animal shape before running away.

It is not known what effect a Bloody Rider has on a host, or how they normally spread. Further study is needed!

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