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Woodland Creatures
Woodland Creatures
W
CREATURES
OODLAND
W
CREATURES
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the first of our Chronicle System releases,
Woodland Creatures.
The Chronicle System is the name weve given to the mechanics engine that runs A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying.
While the rules of this system were designed specifically
for George R.R. Martins Westeros, they will work just as
well for any other setting.
In order to facilitate such game play, we are developing a series of modules under the Chronicle System name,
providing new elements and ideas for use with the system
that might not always fit into the established world of A
Song of Ice and Fire. We feel this will give Narrators more
choices and plenty of flexibility to make their games truly
their own, whether they are adapting the system to a setting of their own, or simply providing their players with
a Westeros that diverges in some way from the accepted
canon. Please keep an eye out for new Chronicle System
products!
Woodland Creatures
Woodland
Creatures
This product is a bestiary for the Chronicle System, divided
into four sections, focusing on some of the creatures one
might find living in and around woodland areas.
The Animals section expands the game stats for normal
animals, with an emphasis on forest-dwelling creatures.
These animals are perfectly suited for the Animal Cohort
Benefit, as well as those instances where they might be
encountered, such as on hunting trips. This section also expands on the rules for training animals.
The Beasts section focuses on creatures of roughly animal
intelligence and capability, although they are not found in
our modern real world. Creatures of dire size, strange (but
plausible) physiology, and weird niches in their environment all fall into this category.
Introduction
Beast-Haunted
Domains
Because of the scale the Chronicle System operates on,
the terrors in this book might not just threaten individual
characters that encounter them, but also entire domains
unfortunate enough to be near or even within the woodlands that the creatures call home.
With the Narrators permission, players may purchase
the following Domain Drawbacks.
Woodland Domain
Drawbacks
Purchasing a Domain Drawback grants a small pool of
points that may be directly added as bonus points to other
Resources at domain generation. These points may not be
added to any Resources that are penalized by the Drawbacks, however.
Beast-Infested
2 points
4 points
6 points
Tales are told of your woodlands, and the mystical, accursed thing therein, chosen from the Legends chapter
of this or other Chronicle System Bestiary works. Your
smallfolk have generations of tales about it, and probably
a handful of superstitious protections supposed to protect
against it. So fearful are those tales, and widely spoken of,
that many merchants refuse to enter your domain.
Gain a -2 to House Fortunes rolls. Population, Power
and Wealth Resources decreases due to a House Fortunes
roll are increased by 1.
Woodland Creatures
Expanded
Training Rules
Dogs, Horses
The animal is trained to bear a rider, with or without saddle. The rider must be of a size and weight that the animal
could reasonably bear. No roll is necessary to have the animal perform this function, although all commands given
while in the saddle use the Ride Specialty.
Will 1
Will 2
Routine (6)
Challenging (9)
Will 3
Formidable (12)
Will 5
Will 4
Hard (15)
Tricks
These individual Tricks can often be learned by a variety of
animals, each performing them somewhat differently from
one another. Commanding an animal to use one of these
Tricks is an Animal Handling test, with the Charm Specialty, unless otherwise noted in the Trick.
Woodland Creatures
Bear a Rider
Bear a Burden
Dogs, Horses
Dogs, Horses
music, and animals with both this trick and the Agility Tests
Trick can perform quite advanced dances.
Come
Dogs, Ravens
Dogs, Horses
Dogs, Raptors
Some animals can be trained to harry an opponent, distracting them from their tasks. Hounds will bark and snap,
sometimes even grabbing onto limbs and pulling, while
raptors flap in a targets face with wings and talons. An opponent who is harried is -1D on all tests until the animal
is recalled or stopped.
Heel & Stay
Woodland Creatures
Silence
Horses
Dogs, Horses
The animal is trained to bear armor that is sized and fitted for its shape. There are no rolls involved in the use of
this kind of training, which becomes second nature to the
animal.
Roles
Unlike other Tricks, these are a specific function for the
animal, rather than an individual limited command. These
are jobs, as it were, training the animal to the numerous
Woodland Creatures
Horses.
The animal is trained as a farm animal, for the myriad purposes to which horses are put on the farm. The animal is assumed to know the Bear a Rider and Bear a Burden Tricks.
Dogs
Trained as guardians, these dogs are often used as household defense, and are ssumed to have the Attack, Come,
Guard, and Heel & Stay Tricks.
Herder (+3 Difficulty)
Dogs
Dogs
Dogs with this training are taught to be hunting companions, remaining near the master until they are given word
to flush out the prey. They range outward, barking to drive
larger prey back towards the hunting party. The animal is
assumed to have the Attack, Fetch, Heel & Stay, and Track
Tricks.
Warrior (+6 Difficulty)
Animal Traits
The following creatures are considered normal animals,
and adhere to the rules for such creatures from Chapter
11: The Narrator, in the SIFRP core book.
BB
BB
BB
Dogs, Horses
Animal
Trainer Benefits
The following Benefits are for characters with a notable
talent for training animals. Such individuals may find a
place in any lords retinue as a Master of Horse or Master of Kennels, or may undertake their skills for their own
benefit and profit.
Dogs
Badger
Badgers can be aggressively territorial, and are equal adept
at scavenging and killing their own prey.
Woodland Creatures
Badger
Catamount/Puma
3D
2 Damage
Combat Defense: 13
Natural Armor: AR 0
Bite
3D
2 Damage
Vicious
Claws
3D
3 Damage
Fast
Bobcat, Lynx
A mid-sized hunting cat, bobcats are short-tailed with
pointed and tufted ears. They are between 2-4 feet in
length but will attack a human in self-defense.
Catamount, Puma
Health 9
Movement: 8 yards
Bite
4D
4 Damage
Vicious
Claws
4D
6 Damage
Powerful
2D
2 Damage
Elk
Agility 3 (Dodge 2B), Athletics 4 ( Jump 2B, Run 2B,
Strength 2B), Awareness 3 (Notice 2B), Cunning 1,
Endurance 3, Fighting 3, Will 3
Combat Defense: 10 (8) Health 9
3D
4 Damage
Stomp
3D
6 Damage
Deer
Elk
Falcon
1D
1 Damage
Larger and more likely to fight back than deer, elk antlers
have been known to gore a hunter.
Falcon
Fox
Extremely smart and easy to train, falcons are one of the preferred hunting birds for nobility. They are known for their
Woodland Creatures
Fox
Moose/Red Elk
2D
2 Damage
Escape Artist: If a fox breaks out of combat, it does not trigger a free
action attack.
Hawk
Agility 3 (Quickness 2B), Athletics 2 (Strength 1B),
Awareness 4 ( (Notice 2B), Cunning 1, Survival 3 (Hunt 2B)
Combat Defense: 9 (11) Health 6
2D
2 Damage
Talons
2D
2 Damage
Retrieve: Because of their size and hunting style, hawks can be easily
trained to retrieve certain objects, whether its prey or a key ring.
Hawks can carry an item of up to 5 pounds without difficulty. Larger
prey and items (up to 10 pounds) can be borne for a round, but not
longer.
2 Damage
Hawk
Hawks, are easy to train and favored by nobility for hunting
small ground animals. While not as smart as a falcon, they
are still possessed of a high intellect and keen eyesight.
Antlers
4D
5 Damage
Stomp
4D
8 Damage
Monitor Lizard
Bite
Beak
2D
2 Damage
Talons
2D
3 Damage
Owl
Seldom trained, owls are easy to identify by their barrel shapes and wide eyes. Adaptations to their wing and
feather structure allow them to fly silently and sneak up
on their prey.
Snake, Venomous
Venomous snakes are common in the woodlands, but
seldom attack humans unless threatened. These statistics
can be applied to a wide variety of poisonous serpants.
Vulture
The largest of the birds of prey, vultures are primarily scavengers with a sense of smell as keen as their eyesight. They
Woodland Creatures
Snake
Vulture
2D
2 Damage
Venomous
Frequency: 1/hour
Snake venoms affect the blood and central nervous system of the
victim, causing bleeding and in the most deadly cases, respiratory
paralysis. On a successful attack, the victim takes 1 Wound as the
toxin spreads and cripples the victim.
Recovery: Wounds can be recovered normally, once the toxin has
run its course.
have tremendous endurance, gliding and flying long distances to find fresh carrion to consume.
Weasel
Weasels are small, clever predators that can be trained to
perform simple tricks. These statistics can also represent
stoats and ferrets.
Wildcat
The smallest of the hunting cats, this can also be used to
represent a domestic cat.
Wolverine
The largest natural member of the weasel family, wolverines are aggressive, foul-tempered and nearly fearless. They
regularly drive wolves and even bears off of kills to claim
the meat for themselves.
Woodland Creatures
2 Damage
Weasel
Agility 2 (Contortions 2B), Cunning 1,
Endurance 2 (Resilience 1B), Fighting 2,
Survival 2 (Forage 1B, Hunt 1B)
Injected
Virulence: 3 (normal)
4 (deadly)
1D
2D
2 Damage
Trainable: Weasels are very clever and take training easily. Treat
them as Will 1 for the purpose of Animal Handling (Training)
tests.
Wildcat
Agility 3 (Balance 2B, Dodge 1B, Athletics 2
(Climb 1B, Jump 1B, Run 1B), Awareness 4 (Notice 2B),
Cunning 1, Stealth 5 (Sneak 3B), Survival 3 (Hunt 2B)
Combat Defense: 9 (11) Health: 6
2D
1 Damage
Wolverine
Agility 3 (Contortions 1B, Dodge 1B, Quickness 1B),
Athletics 3 (Climb 1B, Run 1B, Strength 1B), Awareness 3
(Notice 1B), Cunning 1, Endurance 3 (Resilience 2B,
Stamina 1B), Fighting 4, Survival 3 (Forage 1B, Hunt 1B),
Will 3 (Courage 2B)
Combat Defense: 9 (11) Health 9
4D
3 Damage
Claws
4D
4 Damage
Powerful
Training Beasts
Because they are so similar to animals, beasts may be
trained using the Expanded Training Rules (see the Animals of the Woodlands chapter). They are considered to
have a Will of one rank higher than their actual statistics
for the purpose of such training.
Ant, Giant
The size of large cats, giant ants roam widely through the
forest from great burrows foraging for food. Wise hunters
know to stay away from the game trails that grow wider as
they near an ant burrow. Farmers see giant ants as a bane
because they can clear a field of crops and carry away small
animals and children.
Ant, Rounder
Also called cutter ants or scoop swarms, there is no universally agreed upon name for these large, vicious insects.
Individually, they do not seem to present much of a menace: large for an insect, rounders average between 3 and 4
inches in length, with a third of their size being a set of
enormous, lopsided, and razor-sharp mandibles. It is these
mandibles that earn the creature its variety of nicknames:
when employed against larger creatures, the result is a
hemispherical divot roughly an inch across. The removed
gobbet of meat is taken back to the rounder nest, where
the colony can feed on the mold and bacteria that grow on
the slowly putrefying flesh.
Despite their savage mandibles and noisome feeding habits, rounders only present a real threat in the wake of spring
rains that flood their burrows, driving the entire colony into
the open. It is under these circumstances that the insects have
been known to swarm, creating dense clouds composed of
hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of rounders. These
rounder swarms ravage vast swaths of land as they search for
a new place to house the colony, and have been known to
bring down dogs, horses and even humans beneath the tide
of hopping, flying chitinous horrors.
Rounder fighting, where a single rounder is placed in a
box to try and kill another large insect (or in some instances a small mammal) constitutes a common pastime for
peasants. Exceedingly rural taverns, as well as seedy dives
sometimes encourage wagering on these fights and may
have a small fighting area purpose built for such matches.
When the swarm swells to a significant size, it acts as a
single entity, rather than thousands of individuals. They are
so densely packed that hitting any one insect is a simple
task, but they are so numerous that it is difficult to make a
dent in the swarms capabilities. It is impossible to kill them
all, but a spirited defense will cause the swarm to disperse.
Battlehorn
The battlehorn is a creature of much debate. These massive
creatures are often found among caribou and reindeer herds
but never seem to form herds of their own. Instead they apportion themselves to one per herd of their lesser kin, coming together only during the spring mating season. Calves
tend to remain by the sides of their mothers until they reach
maturity, at which point the herd splits off into two smaller
herds, each with its own battlehorn.
10
Woodland Creatures
Giant Ant
Battlehorn
2D
2 damage
Grab
Rounder Ant
Athletics 1 (Climb 1B), Cunning 1, Endurance 1,
Survival 2 (Forage 1B)
Combat Defense: 5 (7) Health 3
2D
1 damage
Piercing 2
Rounder Swarm
Athletics 4 (Climb 1B), Cunning 1, Endurance 6
(Resilience 3B), Fighting 4, Survival 3 (Forage 2B)
Combat Defense: 6 (4) Health: 18
4D
4 Damage
Piercing 3
Swarm Body: The body of the swarm is easy to hit but difficult
to injure. Piercing and slashing weapons lose three degrees of
success for the purpose of inflicting damage. Bludgeoning weapons
lose two degrees of success for the purpose of inflicting damage.
Additionally, the swarm can take both Injuries and Wounds as part
of normal combat, representing the loss in effectiveness that comes
of individual rounders dying.
Vulnerable to Fire: Like all swarms, the tightly packed rounders in a
swarm are exceedingly vulnerable to fire. Flaming oil and other firebased attacks score an automatic additional degree of success.
Disfiguring Marks: The victim of a rounder swarm is lucky to survive
the experience, and those who do are often left permanently scarred
by the encounter. A character that takes 2 or more Wounds from a
Rounder swarm also receives the drawback Marked to represent the
myriad circular divots that scar his or her face and arms.
Woodland Creatures
4D
7 damage
Powerful
5D
5 damage
Powerful, Grab
Bite
5D
4 damage
Vicious
Attack From Above: If a bone ape is at least 3 yards higher than its
target, it may leap down and make a strike attack, gaining a +2B to
its attack roll and +2 damage. Regardless of whether the attack hits,
the bone ape takes regular falling damage but can reduce it with an
Agility (Acrobatics) test as normal.
Camouflage: A bone ape gains +2D on Stealth tests made in snowy
terrain.
Bone Ape
Bone apes are massive creatures, standing nearly nine feet
tall when upright. Their appearance is much like that of a
silverback gorilla, only larger and covered in white or gray
fur. Bone apes can stand on their legs, but when running
tend to use their arms for support. They are far more at
home in the trees than on the ground, and can brachiate
easily among the branches of large, old-growth trees. They
are also quite skilled at navigating the straight lengths of
coniferous tree trunks.
11
Butcher Bird
A grisly display of severed limbs and bloody meat is often
the first and last indicator that another victim has walked
into a region of woods claimed by a butcher bird. Standing
over nine feet tall, these flightless birds boast a heavy, curved
beak that is ideally suited for slicing through meat and bone.
This lends itself well to the creatures primary method of
food storage. Rather than risk that food might not be available for its mate or chicks, the butcher bird will aggressively
attack anything it considers prey. What it cannot eat immediately is cut into pieces and carried back to the nesting area,
where it hangs the remains in tree forks and on sharp limbs
as a kind of larder to which it can return when prey is scarce.
The beak is only one part of this birds arsenal. Its strong,
hardened legs can deliver a powerful defensive kick to anyone foolish enough to get too close. Butcher birds primarily hunt in the daytime, relying on their keen eyesight to
locate targets. Despite their size and (in the spring at least)
flamboyant color patterns, these giant birds can remain
hidden by standing extremely still. In the dappled leaves
of the forest, the patterns of black, green, and yellow blend
into their surroundings, allowing the bird to ambush prey
when they find it.
Butcher birds do not rely solely on stealth when hunting, however. Rather it allows them to get close to a target,
after which they burst out of the growth in a tremendous
display of speed. Butcher birds have been recorded chasing
down horses and deer over short distances, and have no
difficulty running down human prey.
Butcher Bird
Agility 3 (Dodge 2B, Quickness 2B), Athletics 5
(Run 2B, Strength 2B), Awareness 3 (Notice 2B),
Cunning 1, Endurance 3, Fighting 5, Stealth 3
(Blend-In 2B), Survival 4 (Hunt 3B)
Combat Defense: 11 (9) Health: 9
5D
7 Damage
Powerful, Vicious
Kick
5D
5 Damage
Staggering
12
Woodland Creatures
Claw-Wing Lizard
Found primarily in more southern climes, claw-wing lizards are hound-sized reptillian carnivores that roam in
flocks that number up to dozens. These cold-blooded creatures are eating machines, constantly on the hunt to keep
their hunger satiated. Claw-wing lizards will attack any
prey, but fear fire and avoid large groups of humans. They
Claw Wing Lizard
Agility 5 (Acrobatics 1B, Balance 1B, Dodge 1B,
Quickness 1B), Athletics 3 (Climb 2B, Jump 1B),
Awareness 4 (Notice 1B), Cunning 1 , Fighting 3,
Stealth 3 (Sneak 2B), Survival 4 (Hunt 2B)
Combat Defense: 12 Health: 6
3D
3 damage
Vicious
Corpse Owl
Corpse owls are most commonly found in northern forested areas, but they can also be found in low-lying forests near water where heavy fog is a common condition.
Corpse owls are large, reaching a wingspan of up to 10
feet, with a white, gray, and black coloration scheme. This
coloration allows them to easily blend in during snowy or
foggy conditions, but also gives them the appearance of
a skeletal face and limbs. Often in particularly dense fog
or snow corpse owls look to be flying skeletons, hunting
Corpse Owl
Agility 4 (Dodge 2B, Quickness 2B), Athletics 3,
Awareness 4 (Notice 2B), Cunning 1, Endurance 3, Fighting
3, Stealth 4 (Sneak 1B), Survival 4 (Hunt 2B, Track 2B)
Combat Defense: 11 Health: 9
3D
3 damage
Vicious
Corpse Cry: The cry of a corpse owl sounds much like that of a
wounded person. It requires a Challenging (9) Survival (Hunt) test
to tell a corpse owl cry from that of a wounded person.
Hidden Attack: As a greater action, the corpse owl may make move
up to half its Fly movement, attack a target, and move at least half its
Fly movement again before making a Stealth check. This can only be
performed when visibility is at least Shadowy and in forested terrain.
Woodland Creatures
13
Devourer
Agility 3 (Quickness 1B), Athletics 5 (Strength 1B),
Awareness 3 (Notice 2B), Cunning 1, Endurance 4
(Resilience 2B, Stamina 2B), Fighting 4, Stealth 4,
Survival 5 (Forage 3B, Hunt 2B)
Combat Defense: 11 (9) Health: 12
4D
5 damage
Powerful
Claws
4D
4 damage
Piercing 1
Devourer
A large, short-tailed weasel than can grow to be as big
as an ox. Devourers hunt anything and everything that
cross their path, even clawing their way into stone barns
in search of prey. Devourers have brown hair with darker
hair around their faces and paws. Often they have pale
markings in white or tan around their faces and along
their sides. They have a strong scent that can cause panic
in other animals.
14
Woodland Creatures
Dire Wolverine
Agility 4 (Balance 1B, Contortions 2B, Dodge 1B, Quickness
1B), Athletics 4 (Climb 2B, Run 2B, Strength 2B, Swim 1B),
Awareness 4 (Notice 2B), Cunning 1, Endurance 4 (Resilience
3B, Stamina 1B), Fighting 5, Survival 4 (Forage 2B, Hunt 2B,
Track 1B), Will 4 (Courage 2B)
Combat Defense: 12 (10) Health: 12
5D
6 damage
Powerful
Claws
5D
4 damage
Fast
Large Spider
3D
4 Damage
Hooves
2D
4 Damage
Piercing 1
Emperor Stag
Also known as the lord of the forest, the emperor stag is a
majestic white hart that stands taller than a palfrey. It is said
that there can be only one emperor stag in a forest at a time
and that it is crowned by magnificent antlers that are as hard
as iron and as sharp as swords. When born, an emperor stag
resembles other fawns. As it grows, though, instead of losing
its spots, its spots grow until its coat is almost completely
white. The hide of an emperor stag is highly prized.
Large Spider
The smallest of the great spiders are still quite large,
with an average size of 2-3 feet across. They prey primarily on small vertebrates, but are not above attacking
larger prey if they have the advantage, or are defending
their territory.
Woodland Creatures
2D
3 damage
Injected
Virulence:
(Spiders Athletics)+1
Toxicity: 2
Frequency: 1/round
Failure to resist the toxins effects cause the victim to suffer -1D
on Athletics and Endurance for each failure. If either attribute is
reduced to 0, the victim dies.
The toxin breaks down quickly in air, but can be stored in glass
jars for up to a week. In this case, the typical method of delivery
is coating the point of a weapon, as the toxin must reach the
bloodstream to be effective.
Recovery: The victim recovers 1 point of Endurance per day after
the toxin has run its course.
15
Spiders
In the deep woodlands, things can sometimes grow beyond all expectation. The diminutive spider is a common example of this, and tales are often spread to warn children that if they go too deep into the forest, then the
spiders will get them. While they never approach the monstrous size reported in some fables, these arachnids
can still grow to be much larger than most people prefer.
The default spider presented hunts through prowling its territory for prey. These are far from the only types
of spiders, however. The next most common type of spider in the woodlands is the weaver, which stretches its
web between two trees and waits patiently for prey to come to it. To create a weaver from the example, replace
the Sneak Specialty of Stealth with an equal amount of Blend-in. These spiders use their webs first, to trap their
prey, then attack once it is entangled.
Ambush spiders create a burrow for themselves, capped with a piece of webbing coated with dirt and sticks.
Extremely sensitive to vibration, this predator charges out of its burrow and drags its prey back down with it.
As a result, it preys on smaller animals than its more ambitious cousins. To create an ambush spider from the
base example, replace the Sneak specialty of Stealth with an equal amount of Blend-in, and increase Awareness
by 1. Remove Dodge, as these spiders tend to be tightly packed in their burrow and dont move well.
The final spider type, and perhaps the most fearless, are the jumping spiders. These aggressive predators will
attack nearly anything, and have the ability to take down most prey they encounter. Their standard hunting
tactic is to sneak within pouncing distance of their prey, then leap and drag the target to the ground while injecting it with venom. To create a jumping spider from the template, add the Athletics specialty of Jump equal
to half the spiders Agility (round up); to represent their tenacity, jumping spiders can take injuries to reduce
damage to Health.
16
Woodland Creatures
Harvesting Poisons
Many of the creatures that inhabit this book wield poisons as part of their deadly prowess. A character looking to take advantage of that in a defeated creature might look to harvest poison from the creature itself. This is a
three-step process: Understanding the Creature, Harvesting the Remains, Preserving the Venom.
BB
BB
BB
Understanding the Creature: To understand what must be done in order to harvest the venom, a character
must succeed at a Knowledge test. This is a Routine (6) test for Animals, Challenging (9) test for Beasts,
Formidable (12) test for Horrors and Hard (15) for Legends. A character may use the Research Specialty if
she manages to find a good library or other written works that could help reveal such lore.
Harvesting the Remains: Cutting into the creature and retrieving the poison sacs, venom glands or whatever
else it is that generates the toxin in question requires either a Healing or Survival test. This is a Formidable
(12) test, but the Difficulty is reduced by one step for each degree of success past the first on the Understanding the Creature test.
Preserving the Venom: With a Challenging (9) Knowledge or Healing test, and ingredients costing 20 silver, a
character can preserve the venom for use on weapons and the like later. Alternately, a character may bring the harvested material back to an apothecary or other similarly learned individual, and have them preserve it for 50 silver.
Enormous Spider
Giant Spider
3D
4 Damage
Bite
5D
5 Damage
Web
3D
0 Damage
Entangling
Web
5D
0 Damage
Entangling
Enormous Spider
Enormous spiders can reach 5 feet across, though most
are in the 3-4 foot range. Easily capable of bringing down
foxes and other medium to small vertebrates, they have
little fear of man. They are also the first with webs strong
enough to hold up a person.
Giant Spider
Masters of the forest, giant spiders can reach 7 or 8 feet
across, and view anything they can catch as prey.
Wasp, Giant
Large pests that can have a wingspan of a foot or more.
They dwell in towers of mud built against cliffs and large
trees. Giant wasps dislike direct sunlight and are more often found in the dark of the woods.
Woodland Creatures
3B
1 Damage
Poison
Injected
Virulence: 4
Toxicity: 2
Frequency: 1/round
Failure to resist the toxins effects cause the victim to suffer -1D on
Agility and Athletics for each failure. If either attribute is reduced
to 0, the victim falls down paralyzed.
Recovery: The victim recovers 1 point of Agility and Athletics per
day after the toxin has run its course.
17
Training Horrors
Though many horrors are of animal intelligence, their instincts and reactions are not like normal creatures. They tend
to be driven by urges that men cannot anticipate or curb,
making them impossible to train.
Barghest
These large black dogs are the subject of much legend
and gossip, lurking on the edges of the territory man has
claimed for himself. Barghests are reported mostly near
roads through dark forests or bogs, menacing travelers
on particularly foggy or dark nights. They usually stalk
lone travelers or small groups, avoiding large, well-armed
Black Web
The black web is a fungus that lives in the earth, sending dark strands up through nearby plants, slowly corrupting them and taking them over. An area infested by black
web is covered by dark strands of fungus, absorbing the
light and stilling the life of all within the area. A beast
Barghest
Agility 4 (Dodge 1B, Quickness 1B), Athletics 3
(Climb 1B, Jump 2B, Run 3B, Strength 1B), Awareness 4
(Notice 1B), Cunning 1, Endurance 4 (Resilience 2B,
Stamina 2B), Fighting 4, Persuasion 2 (Intimidate 2B),
Stealth 3 (Blend In 1B, Sneak 2B), Survival 3, Will 4
Combat Defense: 11 Health: 12
4D
3 damage
Vicious
Bite
4D
4 damage
Vicious, Slow
18
Woodland Creatures
Cocoon Tree
Cocoon trees, sometimes called hangmans tree or
snakevine (incorrectly) is a large, deciduous tree, with
thick, ropy aerial roots that hang down from the canopy,
and five-lobed leaves that vary from soft yellow-green to a
brilliant orange. They represent the opposite strategy from
plants like Skullwort (page 23)rather than wait for prey
to succumb nearby, cocoon trees actively prey on creatures
that come too close.
The trees various names arise from how it kills its
victims. Creatures who come within reach of, or worse,
brush up against one of the trees aerial roots prompt a
rapid, surprising response from the plant. The roots will
twist about rapidly in an attempt to wind around the
target. If the victim is grabbed in these early stages, the
tree will retract its roots into the canopy, pulling the victim off the ground, reducing the victims ability to fight
back. Other, nearby roots will also loop about the helpless
target, and reflexively, the tree will begin to constrict its
victim. Each time its prey exhales, the roots get tighter,
until the victim can no longer inhale and the pressure on
the heart and organs becomes fatal. A typical cocoon tree
can hold and consume 3 victims at a time. A cocooned
victim can be freed from outside by attacking the roots
that hold them, which is often easier than attempting to
kill the whole tree.
Once it has subdued its target, the root-encased victim hangs within the canopy, while feeder systems from
the aerial roots penetrate the flesh and extract the nutrients. When nearly all usable material has been absorbed, the roots relax and the desiccated remains drop
to the base of the tree, where they finish decaying, and
nourish the broader ecosystem at the trees base. This
habit makes the trees a tempting target for overconfident cutpurses, as coins and other metals often end
up around the base of the tree. Most are not prepared
for how quickly the tree can move when it attacks, and
quickly meet the same fate as those whose possessions
they came to collect.
Woodland Creatures
Black Web
The black web does not have Abilities, per se.
Instead it reacts to those who blunder into areas it
infests. As such, it does possess derived Combat statistics.
Combat Defense: 6 Health: 6
Inhaled
Virulence: 5
Toxicity: 3
Diagnosis:
Routine (6)
Frequency:
1/round and 1/day
Once the spores begin to grow, the spores kill by growing rapidly
in the victims body and consuming him for nutrients. Each day,
the spores make an attack. This inflicts 1 Wound on a successful
attack, plus another for each degree. When the victim takes a
Wound, he must also immediately resolve an attack on his Will
and Cunning, as above.
Recovery: Will and Cunning return at a rate of one of each per
day of bed rest. Only once all Will and Cunning damage has been
healed can Wounds sustained from spore consumption be healed,
as normal.
Hard to Kill: The black web is deeply rooted in the earth and the
wood of trees. It may be subdued, but to truly kill it, the ground must
be turned over and sterilized so that it does not return.
Vulnerable to Fire: Only fire attacks cause any damage to black web.
All other attacks simply result in clouds of spores, subjecting those
making the attacks to inhalation.
Cocoon Tree
Athletics 3 (Strength 2B), Awareness 4 (Notice 2B),
Cunning 1, Endurance 6, Fighting 4
Combat Defense: 9
4D
3 Damage
Grab
19
Corpsecaller
Corpsecaller is the generic name for a broad variety of
carnivorous animals that thrive in the dark, marshy undergrowth and deep woodlands. Other names include
ghostlamps, falsefire, and Child-in-the-Dark, all of
which describe the different methods by which the creatures lure victims within range of their more lethal attacks.
Ghostlamps are the most common, and are recognizable
by the bright glowing ball of tissue that is suspended near
the creatures mouth. This lamp appears to be hovering
without support in the dark of night, and the creature will
bob and move the extended lure in such a way that mimics
a lantern or other distant source of light. Falsefires have a
similar strategy, though they forgo the suspended lure in
favor of a small set of glowing organs that flicker and dim
in a passing impersonation of firelight. In both cases, the
light is used to draw prey closer, so that it can attack from
surprise with its vicious jaws.
Corpsecaller
Athletics 2 (Strength 1B), Awareness 3
(Notice 1B), Cunning 1, Fighting 3, Stealth 4
(Blend-In 2B), Survival 2 (Hunt 1B)
Combat Defense: 7 Health: 6
3D
3 Damage
3D
4 Damage
Piercing 5
Flash: With this attack, all creatures within 2 yards of the forest
lantern must succeed on a Challenging (9) Agility test or be blinded
for 1d3+1 rounds. Characters that succeed on the test are blinded
for only one round. After flashing, a forest lantern must succeed on a
Challenging (9) Endurance test before it may flash again. For each
minute that passes, the difficulty of this Endurance test is reduced
by one rank.
Shine Forth: While they are known for blinking on and off, it is
difficult for a forest lantern to remain unlit for long. To go dark,
a forest lantern must succeed on an Easy (3) Will test. However,
the difficulty increases by 1 for each additional round the lantern
remains dark.
20
Forest Lanterns
These creatures appear as lantern-like lights seen in the
forest at night. Travelers tempted into following them
Ghost Taker
Agility 5 (Balance 1B, Dodge 1B, Quickness 3B), Athletics 4
(Climb 1B, Jump 2B, Run 3B, Strength 2B), Awareness 5
(Notice 2B), Cunning 1, Endurance 4 (Resilience 1B,
Stamina 2B), Fighting 4, Stealth 4 (Sneak 1B), Survival 5
(Hunt 3B, Track 2B), Will 4 (Dedication 2B)
Combat Defense: 14 Health: 12
4D
4 damage
Vicious
Bite
4D
5 damage
Vicious
Ghost Sight: Ghost takers can see spirits, ghosts, and other
insubstantial beings that may be concealed from the mortal eye. Their
claws can damage such creatures as if they were flesh and blood.
Pounce: If attacking from surprise, such as from hiding, the ghost
taker gains +1D to its Fighting and can make two claw and one bite
attacks as a greater action.
Spectral Form: When out of sight from mortal eyes, such as when
hidden on a successful Stealth check, the ghost taker shifts to a
partially spectral form. It gains +2D to Stealth checks and can pass
through sold objects no more than a yard thick, but cannot pass
through living things or iron. If seen, the ghost taker immediately
shifts back to normal; if in the middle of a physical object while doing
so the ghost taker takes a wound, and is immediately moved out of the
object in the direction it was traveling when spotted, leaving a splash
of blood on the surface of the object.
Spirit Collector: Any being killed by a ghost taker cannot be turned
into any manner of ghost or undead.
Woodland Creatures
Ghost Taker
A rare breed of forest cat, ghost takers look much like
gray-furred pumas. These creatures are seen by many primitive tribes as holy creatures that are to be honoredand
avoided. According to these tribes, the ghost takers are the
guardians against the spirit world, working to keep it from
intruding in the world of mortals. In the legends of these
tribes, ghost takers are gifts from the gods or agents of the
forest, able to track and slay those spirits of the dead who
somehow return to the land of the living. Unfortunately
for the living, this does not make the ghost takers any more
well inclined towards them.
Ghost takers are hunters and are more than happy to
hunt humans when the opportunity presents itself, though
they do not seek humans out and will avoid large groups
or fire. Among the tribes that honor them, those killed
by ghost takers are seen as being possessed and rightfully
killed by the ghost taker, but more civilized folk rarely accept such explanations. Ghost takers have shown a particular hatred for magicians, especially those who traffic in or
with the dead. To slay such individuals, ghost takers have
Gryphon
Majestic beasts with the head and forelimbs of a bird and
the torso and hindquarters of a lion. They are relentless
hunters. The smallest and only nocturnal gryphon is the
forest gryphon, which has the head of an owl and the body
of lynx. Slightly larger is the brown gryphon, which has the
head of a hawk and the body of a panther. Brown gryphons
are found in a variety of areas including plains, hills, and
mountains.
Gryphon, Greater
Larger even than the brown gryphons are the two greater
gryphons. The sea gryphons have the head and forelimbs
of an osprey and the torso and hindquarters of a lion. Sea
gryphons are found along coasts and tidal rivers. Largest
of all are the mountain gryphons, which have the head and
forelimbs of an eagle and the torso and hindquarters of a
lion. The greater gryphons can range far from their nests
while hunting for food. Mountain gryphons are known for
being partial to horseflesh.
Scavengers Rot
Scavengers rot is a disease that breaks out among the
wildlife in deeper parts of the forest, sometimes surviving
Gryphon
Greater Gryphon
4D
2 Damage
Fore Talons
4D
4 Damage
Rear Claws
4D
4 Damage
Beak
4D
3 Damage
Piercing 1
Fore Talons
4D
5 Damage
Grab
Rear Claws
4D
5 Damage
Woodland Creatures
21
long enough to be transmitted to human hosts. While superstitious folk blame the rot on a legendarily capricious
forest spirit, some more forward-thinking alchemists and
sages believe it is instead the result of the consumption of
certain mushroom and fungi found only in certain portions of the forest. Whatever the cause, scavengers rot is
a terrible, deadly disease that incites fear any time it appears. Luckily it can only be transmitted by bodily fluids,
but not everyone is cognizant of that. Any time a creature
infected with scavengers rot is discovered, panic is likely
to follow, possibly including a witch hunt to find who has
offended the forest spirit.
The early stages of scavengers rot is little more than a
fever, confusion, and blood blisters forming on the victims skin after a few days. The later stages are horrific
though, as the victim does not die quickly but instead
slowly suffers through their body being shut down over
several weeks. During this time the victim loses their
mind, becoming focused only on finding sustenance to
try and shore up their crumbling organs. Such poor souls
prefer meat of any variety, with a wide outbreak of scavengers rot leading to shambling, mindless people willing
to do anything to fill their continually empty stomachs.
22
BB
Health: 9
2D
2 damage
Grab
Woodland Creatures
BB
BB
BB
BB
Creatures gain the Horde ability. When multiple rotters attack the same target, for each additional rotter
they all gain +1 to their attack rolls.
BB
BB
Rotter Swarms
Rotters congregate into large groups of shambling horrors.
They can be reflected best using the presented statistics.
Rotter Horde
Power: 2 Discipline: Easy (3)
Armor Rating: 0 Armor Penalty: 0
Defense: 4 Health: 9 Fighting Damage: 2
Endurance 3, Athletics 2, Fighting 2
Mindless Horde: Rotter hordes only carry out a single order each
round, which must be selected from Attack, Charge, and Move. The
unit must attack or move towards the closest non-rotter unit. Rotters
will never move away from their attacker when routed. Any unit
damaged by a Rotter horde suffers a -1 penalty to the Casualty roll
after the battle.
Woodland Creatures
Skullwort
Plants evolve numerous ways to survive, especially in the
often nutrient-challenged soil of marshy woodlands. The
skullwort, sometimes called sleepwort, is one extreme to
which some plants will go to enrich their soil, while the
cocoon tree (page 19) represents the opposite extreme.
Skullwort is a low plant, with broad, slightly swollen leaves that surround several cup-shaped flowers. The
flowers bloom from spring through first frost, when
the plant goes dormant for the winter, and produce a
delicate smell that has been compared to freshly baked
bread or various other appealing scents. While the flowers contain the pollen that earns the plant its name, it
is the leaves that seal its deadly reputation. If any significant weight is placed on one of the leaves, the plant
will reflexively release a cloud of pollen from one of the
flowers, affecting everyone within 1 yard. As the victim
stumbles and falls, however, they are likely to hit more
leaves, increasing the dosage of the pollen and quickly
overwhelming even large prey. (See the statistics for
more information.)
Once the prey has succumbed to the toxin, the leaves
slowly cover the body. The underside of each leaf releases
a cocktail of digestive enzymes that accelerate the breakdown of the body and allowing the waiting roots to gather
up the nutrients as they are released.
Skullwort
All Abilities at 1 (or 0 where sentience is required)
Combat Defense: 3 Health: 3
Inhaled
Virulence: 4
Toxicity: 1
Should the poison overwhelm the target, the victim suffers -1D to
Agility and -1D to Cunning. If Cunning is reduced to 0, the target
falls unconscious, where it may yet be exposed to the poison. If the
targets Cunning falls below 0, he or she dies.
23
Weirdlings
Deep in the heart of the forest are primal places where
man was not meant to tread nor disturb. These are places where civilization means nothing and the untouched
power of the wilds reigns supreme. Most mortals know
instinctively to avoid such places, feeling them holy or
terrifying, but not everyone is so alert. If by accident or
conscious effort mortals spend too long in such places,
24
Woodland Creatures
BB
BB
BB
Increase Agility, Animal Handling, Athletics, Endurance, Stealth, and Survival by 1 rank.
BB
BB
Reduce Status to 0.
BB
Woodland Creatures
Human Weirdling
Agility 3 (Dodge 1B, Quickness 1B), Animal Handling 3
(Charm 2B), Athletics 4 (Climb 1B, Jump 1B, Run 2B,
Strength 1B, Swim 1B), Awareness 3 (Notice 1B),
Cunning 1, Deception 1, Endurance 4 (Stamina 1B),
Fighting 3 (Bludgeons 2B, Brawling 1B, Spears 1B),
Healing 1, Language 1, Knowledge 1, Marksmanship 1,
Persuasion 1, Status 0, Stealth 3 (Sneak 1B),
Survival 3 (Hunt 2B, Track 1B), Thievery 1, Warfare 1
Combat Defense: 9 Health: 12
3D+2B
4 damage
Fast, Two-Handed
Club
3D+2B
3 damage
Off-Hand +1
Thrown Rock
4D
3 damage
Close Range
Spear
3D+1B
4 damage
Fast, Fragile
Weirdling Mob
Power: 6 Discipline: Routine (6) Armor Rating: 2
Defense: 9 Health: 9 Armor Penalty: -1
Fighting Damage: 3 Marksmanship Damage: 3 (Close)
Endurance 3, Athletics 3, Fighting 3
Weirdling Mobs
Long-standing places of power in the forests can sometimes have dozens of weirdlings who will die to defend the
place. The statistics presented can be used to simulate that
using the Warfare rules.
25
Corpsehorse
Crossroads Guardian
BB
BB
Corpsehorse
Agility 3 (Quickness 2B), Athletics 5 (Run 2B, Strength 2B,
Swim 2B), Cunning 1, Endurance 4 (Resilience 2B,
Stamina 2B), Fighting 4, Stealth 4 (Blend-In 3B), Will 3
Combat Defense: 10 Health: 12
4D
6 Damage
26
Woodland Creatures
Crossroads Guardian
Agility 4 (Dodge 2B, Quickness 2B), Awareness 4
(Empathy 2B), Cunning 6 (Logic 2B), Deception 6 (Bluff 2B,
Cheat 1B), Endurance 4, Fighting 4, Knowledge 4,
Persuasion 5 (Bargain 2B, Charm 1B, Convince 1B,
Seduce 1B), Status 6, Stealth 4, Thievery 4
(Sleight of Hand 2B), Will 4
Combat Defense: 9 Intrigue Defense: 16
4D
2 Damage
Fast, Two-handed
the form a general answer to a question from the character, providing the character with information that was
not otherwise readily available or easily obtainable. The
prophecy can describe where something or someone may
be found or it may describe the motivations and alliances
of those working against the character. A prophecy will
always be open to interpretation, such as what you seek
lies a week to the north in a tower of fish among the reeds.
The character will also receive 2 bonus dice that may be
applied to one or more specialties relevant to the subject of
the prophecy. The character will enjoy the benefit of those
bonus dice until she fulfills the prophecy by obtaining the
sought after person or object.
Woodland Creatures
27
Spear
3D+1B, 3 damage
Hunting Bow
3D+1B, 3 damage
Fast, Two-Handed
Long Range, TwoHanded
Call of the Hunt: When ritually prepared for the hunt, a process that
takes an hour of chanting, eating strange herbs, and painting oneself
with blood, the Huntsman gains +1D to Agility, Athletics, Awareness,
Endurance, and Survival. This also increases the Huntsmans damage,
defenses, and Health appropriately. These bonuses last until the next
sunrise, at which point the Huntsman suffers a -1D penalty to the
same abilities until he has a good nights rest. This weakness is often
a giveaway to others on the morning after a hunt that the exhausted
person is a cult follower.
Huntmaster
Agility 4 (Dodge 1B, Quickness 1B), Animal Handling 5
(Charm 2B, Ride 1B, Train 1B), Athletics 4 (Climb 1B,
Run 2B, Strength 1B, Swim 1B), Awareness 4 (Notice
2B), Endurance 3 (Stamina 2B), Fighting 4 (Spear 2B),
Marksmanship 4 (Bow 3B), Stealth 4 (Sneak 1B),
Survival 5 (Hunt 3B), Will 3 (Dedication 2B)
Combat Defense: 10 Health: 12
4D+2B
6 damage
Impale, Powerful,
Slow, Two-Handed
Longbow
4D+3B
6 damage
Call of the Hunt: When ritually prepared for the hunt, a process
that takes an hour of chanting, eating strange herbs, and painting
oneself with blood, the Huntmaster gains +1D to Agility, Athletics,
Awareness, Endurance, and Survival. This does increase the
Huntsmasters damage, defenses, and Health appropriately. These
bonuses last until the next sunrise, at his point the Huntsmaster
suffers a -1D penalty to the same abilities until he has a good nights
rest. This weakness is often a giveaway to others on the morning after
a hunt that the exhausted person is a cult follower.
Master of the Pack: The Huntmaster gains +1B when engaged in
intrigues against followers of the cult he leads, and to Willpower
(Coordination) checks made in support of the cults activities.
When ritually prepared and hunting with cult followers, both the
Huntmaster and the Huntsmen gain +1B to Survival, Fighting,
Stealth, and Marksmanship checks.
28
Drowning Lady
Stray too close to the watery blue,
And the drowning lady will come for you.
-Traditional Rhyme
A subject of countless warnings given to children across
the land, the things known as drowning ladies have preyed
upon the unwary since time for mankind began. These
aquatic spirits live beneath the surface of still ponds and
lakes across the countryside. While called by different
names throughout the world, descriptions of them are the
same: their hair entangled with duckweed and algae, their
blank white eyes covered with a cloudy film, with impossibly long, bony arms that end in terrible claws, and a wide,
gaping mouth filled with needle-sharp teeth. Their rubbery
skin turns away even the surest of blows, and the grasp of
their skeletal arms is inhumanly strong.
In their most traditional role, a drowning lady lurks beneath the surface close to shore, waiting for those to come
near, whether to fill a waterskin or, especially, gaze upon
their reflection in the still waterindeed, many of the oldest poems caution against indulging ones vanity at the waters edge. Some children tell of talking with the woman
beneath the water, though the words of children are usually not trusted. Regardless of the prelude, once she has
chosen a victim, her arms lash out to ensnare them, dragging them beneath the waves, where the lack of air and the
ladys vicious teeth make short work of the unfortunate.
These malevolent spirits engage in other sinister traps to
lure their prey. One might masquerade as a washer-woman, kneeling in the water near the shore, whiling away at
her chores. When approached by any looking to ask her
a question or even offering to help, her disguise drops as
Woodland Creatures
Drowning Lady
4D
4D
3 Damage
Grab
5 Damage
she reaches out to drag the hapless victim into the water
to their doom. Most insidious and gruesome of all, instead of eating their catch, some ladies rest in the middle
of the waters, manipulating their most recent victim like
an grisly puppet, flailing them about as someone in the
throes of drowning. Whoever jumps in to save them usually find themselves in the ladys underwater larder as her
next meal, once she devours her original catch.
Drowning ladies have been known to grant boons to
those who aid them, and in some rural communities, the
spirit is the subject of worship rather than fear. Strangers,
or a child determined by the drawing of lots, are taken to
the lakeside and drowned, and left for the spirit to find.
In return, the drowning lady agrees to not prey on the
villages children, and/or villagers to take water for their
needs. These degenerate villages invariably frame this unholy bargain in terms of the greater good, rather than see
it as the evil deal it truly is.
Woodland Creatures
Dagger
3D
1 damage
Quarterstaff
3D
2 damage
Fast, Two-Handed
Goodly Neighbor: While the Hag of the Dark Woods has been
twisted by the blood power she has absorbed, she still retains
many of the powers of her otherworldly kin. The Hag does not
age and gains +2B to resist all mortal forms of disease or poison.
All attacks made with iron weapons that hit the Hag gain one
additional degree of success, or she takes one point of Health
damage if she comes into contact with any iron object. If the Hag
takes damage in excess of her Health from an iron weapon she is
immediately slain.
Hags Curse: The Hag can lay a terrible curse on others, but only
in certain circumstances. She must either have been insulted or
injured by the target of the curse, or a supplicant must have
offered a sacrifice of blood or other object of symbolic power
in exchange for the curse. Placing the curse requires the Hag
to either put a physical item on the target, or gets the target
to eat some sort of offered food, such as an apple or a loaf of
bread. Assuming the curse is delivered, the target suffers either
a specific penalty, such as all the targets cows giving nothing
but spoiled milk, or a general -1D penalty to all skill checks.
The curse can only be removed by the will of the Hag or upon
her death.
Forest Home: The Hag can move in forested treacherous terrain,
or from branch to branch, as if it were normal terrain. The Hag
gains +2D to Stealth in forested terrain.
Blood-Tree Bond: The Hag is a forest spirit, bound to a massive
tree at the heart of the forest, twisted by centuries of blood
sacrifice. If the Hag is slain, she grows a new body at her tree over
the course of the next month. She can only be permanently slain
by cutting down and burning the tree to which she is bound.
Blood Oath: The Hag can empower oaths sworn in her presence
if made with an offering of blood, inflicting one point of Health
damage on all involved. If any party breaks the word of the oath,
they immediately suffer one wound. Alternatively, breaking the
oath may activate the Hags Curse (see above).
Poisons: The Hag has ready access to a wide array of poisons,
herbal remedies, and other alchemical products.
Shapechanging: The Hag can change her form into any mundane
animal commonly found in a forest. Changing form takes one
round, during which she is considered a helpless target. She does
take any clothes or equipment with her when changing form.
29
Head-Hunter
Head-hunter
Agility 3 ( Dodge 1B), Athletics 4, Awareness 3
(Empathy 1B, Notice 2B), Cunning 3, Endurance 3,
Fighting 4, (Axes 2B, Bludgeons 2B), Stealth 4 (Blend-In 2B)
Combat Defense: 10 (9) Health: 9 (3)
Axe
4D+2B
5 damage
Two-handed
Club
4D+2B
3 damage
Off-Hand +1
Bite
2D
1 damage
30
A hideous undead monstrosity, head-hunters are not creatures that hunt for heads, but rather unnatural horrors that
are heads, hunting for bodies in which to dwell, moving
from one to another in much the same way as a hermit
crab changes its shell.
When attached onto a body, the head-hunter looks like a
normal person, though the attentive observer might notice
an unusual stiffness in the neck or a difference in skin color
between hands and face. Because of this, head-hunters prefer
to stay in remote or out-of-the-way places, replacing woodsmen and crofters, those with whom others have little contact.
Upon finding a prospective new host, the head-hunter
will attempt to smother or poison the victim. If driven to
violence, it will strike for the head, rather than risk harming a body that it desires. After overcoming its victim, the
head-hunter removes the head and neck, then reaches into
the opening and removes any viscera. Once the new host
is prepared, the head-hunter detaches from its old host, its
natural form simply that of a head, on four spindly legs,
trailing a gore-soaked mass of its own viscera. It carefully
inserts itself into the new host body through the opening,
settling itself on the stump of the neck at last. After the
exhausting effort, it replenishes its strength by consuming
the brain and organs of its new host.
Woodland Creatures
Headless Knight
There are tales of a knight found riding along lonely forest
paths or guarding a bridge. The knight wears dark armor,
rides a dark horse, and carries a black shield with a skull in
red as his coat-of-arms. Some say that the knight himself
has no head. Others say that his helmet appears empty or
tell of knocking off his helmet only to find nothing beneath.
There are even tales of how he frightens travelers by removing his head and hurling it at them. Bards sing of how the
knight travels the roads seeking his betrothed, who left him
at the altar to run away with another knight. The loss of
his head has not impaired the headless knights ability to
sense and strike at his foes. The legends never agree why the
knight is missing his head. The exact story changes from
place to place, depending on that places own history.
Jumping Jack
The tall, gangly creature known as Jumping Jack is a mischievous fellow. Standing taller than a mounted knight, he
bounds through the forest on long legs with great springing steps, covering several leagues a day. It is said that he
can jump over cottages and small trees with ease. He is
fond of stealing things from farmers: pumpkins, pigs, pies,
and kisses (or more) from their daughters.
Exactly what the arrival of the Jumping Jack portends for
a settlement is largely unknown, although any with a history
of having seen them each have their legends. The Jumping
Jack almost never appears alone, thoughhis appearance is
always a bad portent: whether disastrous weather, great tragedy, or a warning of something truly terrible to come.
River Warden
A giant turtle with a back as large as a lords dining table,
the river warden spends much of its time sunning along
Woodland Creatures
Headless Knight
Agility 3 (Quickness 1B), Animal Handling 3
(Ride 2B), Athletics 3, Awareness 3 (Notice 1B), Endurance
4, Fighting 5 (Long Blades 2B, Shields 1B), Stealth 3 (Sneak
1B), Survival 2 (Track 2B)
Combat Defense: 9 (5 in Armor, +2 w/ shield) Health: 12
5D+2B
4 Damage
Piercing 3
Aura of Fear: The sight of the knight without his head can strike fear
in even the bravest. All living creatures that start their turn within
10 yards of the headless knight must succeed on a Challenging (9)
Will test or take -1D on all tests. Those who fail must flee each round
until they succeed on another Will save. Animals that fail their tests
become panicked and flee.
Courser: The headless knight usually appears mounted on a black
courser. If the headless knight is defeated, the courser will run away
into the forest or otherwise disappear.
Jumping Jack
Agility 4 (Acrobatics 1B, Balance 2B, Dodge 1B,
Quickness 1B), Athletics 4 ( Jump 3B, Run 1B),
Awareness 3 (Notice 1B), Cunning 3, Deception 3
(Bluff 1B), Endurance 4 (Stamina 1B), Fighting 3,
Persuasion 3 (Charm 2B, Convince 1B, Seduce 2B,
Taunt 1B), Stealth 4 (Sneak 2B), Thievery 3 (Steal 1B)
Combat Defense: 11 (10 w/armor) Intrigue Defense: 8
Health: 12 Composure: 6
3D
4 Damage
Fast, Two-handed
Bite
6D
18 damage
Powerful, Vicious
Long Neck: A river warden has a long neck it uses to rapidly lunge
out at its prey, extending to the surface of the water while it rests on
the bottom. Its neck can extend out almost as far as its shell is long,
about 3-5 yards, but with AR 0.
31
Rock Giant
Creatures of a time before man walked the earth, rock giants are from an age where magic was a major force in the
world. At some point, the rock giants who survived the ancient conflicts and cataclysms found they tended to sleep
longer and more, as the magic in the world faded. Soon
they found a suitable place and laid down their huge bodies to sleep for countless millenia. In time, their sleeping
forms became rocky outcroppings and hills, holy places,
and some were even mined for their high quality stone,
slowly killing the rock giant without men ever knowing what they did. The rock giants slept through all this
nonetheless, nothing able to stir them from the deepest of
slumbers.
Occasionally some unusual magical event, such as a solstice, planetary alignment, or a ley line convergence will
focus enough magical power around or at a rock giant to
awaken it. This happens only once every few centuries
but the destruction that follows is enough to ensure the
tale is remembered from one waking to the next. Rock giants that awake are confused by all these tiny, fast-moving
beings around their feet who cannot speak intelligibly , reacting with shouting and fear.
Rock giants tend to react violently to this, striking
out at anything below their feet or in their path. Due to
their strength and size, they are capable of leveling entire villages. It often takes siege engines or a small army
to stop a rock giant, though if someone could somehow
drain the magic that woke it might also prove a feasible
means to return it to slumber. These wakeful periods usually only last a few days before the rock giant returns to
sleep, wherever it originally awoke or wherever it might
be taken down.
32
Woodland Creatures
Rock Giant
Tall Man
Combat Defense: 8
Armor Rating: 10
Slam
4D
Health: 24
Movement: 6 yards
5 damage
Grab
Staggering,
Powerful, Slow
Club
4D+2B
10 damage
Thrown Rock
5D+2B
4 damage
Trample
5D
5 damage
Grab: A human-sized target hit by the giants slam attack and grabbed
is picked up. The target cannot move at all without succeeding in a
Very Hard (18) Athletics (Strength) or Agility (Contortionist) test.
While the victim is grabbed, the giants grab damage against that
charavter increases to 20. A giant may have up to two victims grabbed
at the same time, but doing so means it can make no attacks other
than trample attacks, unless it releases one of the grabbed victims.
Heavy: Due to their immense weight, rock giants cannot cross
bridges, stand on buildings without crushing them, and so on. Mud
or swampy environments are considered treacherous terrain for them.
Huge: Stone giants are at least 10 yards tall. Any attacks against
them gain +1D. They treat most treacherous terrain as normal,
passing over any obstruction less than 5 yards tall without difficulty.
Stone Heart: Rock giants are immune to all mortal forms of disease
and poison.
Trample: Any creature less than 3 yards tall in the path of the giant
is automatically targeted by a trample attack as a free action, if the
giant wishes.
Valuable Minerals: The body of a rock giant has numerous valuable
minerals inside it. If a house were to claim these it would boost the
houses Wealth rating by 5.
Warfare: Rock giants stats are the same for warfare-level conflict.
Tall Man
The Tall Man is a rare form of restless spirit, spoken of in
whispers and bedside tales passed on to warn the young of
the folly of rushing to judgment. The legends say only one
Tall Man walks the mortal world at a time, but that may just
be wishful thinking given the judgmental nature of man.
A Tall Man is created when an man or woman is executed, by hanging from a tree, for a crime they did not
commit. The angry spirit of such individual often cannot
pass on due to such injustice, and it is these spirits that
form a Tall Man: from the wood of the tree that ended
their life, these spirits stride the earth, seeking vengeance
for their undeserved death.
Woodland Creatures
Combat Defense: 11
Armor Rating: 6
Health: 18
Movement: 6 yards
Claws
4D
5 damage
Vicious, Grab
Noose
4D+2B
2 damage
Reach, Entangling,
Strangling (see below)
As to a Tree: The long, branch like body of the Tall Man looks much
like that of a spindly tree. It gains +2D Stealth when in forested
terrain.
Creature of the Night: Tall Men suffer -1D to all actions in Lit
conditions, but suffer no penalties in Shadowy or Darkness conditions.
Scent of the Guilty: The Tall Man gains +2D to any Awareness
checks made to detect those guilty souls it hunts.
Strangling: Any target hit by the Tall Mans noose with two
degrees of success is grabbed and slowly strangled. Until the target
escapes from being entangled by the noose, the nooses damage
increases to 10.
Unstoppable: If destroyed, the Tall Man will regrow each sunset
at the tree where its former human self was was hung, as long as
any of those guilty still live. The only ways to permanently destroy
the Tall Man are to punish all the guilty parties, or to destroy the
tree that spawns the tall man. Attempts to destroy the tree will
cause it to immediately spawn a Tall Man to defend itself, if the
attempt is made at night. Destroying the tree will not destroy any
Tall Man already spawned, but punishing all the guilty parties will
immediately dispel any active Tall Man.
Vulnerable to Fire: All fire attacks that hit a Tall Man gain one
additional degree of success. A Tall Man that takes damage in excess
of its Health from fire is immediately slain.
A Tall Man resmebles a gaunt version of the spirit motivating it, only taller, thinner, and made of twisted, gnarled
wood. A Tall Man usually stands 10 to 12 feet high, with
eerily thin arms that can reach up to 8 feet. The Tall Mans
appearance is horrific, all the more so for the ease with
which it can conceal itself among trees, easily blending in
with other gnarled silhouettes shaking in the breeze. The
only sure way to find it is to look for the noose that remains
toed around it, the same noose that ended its human life.
A Tall Man is intelligent, cunning, devious, cruel, and
unrelenting. It cares nothing for collateral damage, or for
any who may suffer as it seeks its vengeance. Even if destroyed, it will regrow and stride again unless the guilty are
finally punished, or the tree that birthed the Tall Man is
destroyed.
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