New "Things" sighted!

[sniderman]

Those who have picked up and thumbed through CRYPTWORLD will see that we tried to encompass all of the major iconic creatures, monsters, and things from books, movies, and television. The classic creatures are in there, as well as several modern additions to the Monster Mythos. However, it's brainstorming time: What thing would you like to see tormenting your victims....er, players?

To keep this thread on track, you are not allowed to come up with a thing out of your own imagination ("a 14-foot-tall, undead, rabid barracuda with chainsaws for teeth"). You must, instead, take your inspiration from some kind of horror-based entertainment -- books, comics, TV, movies, whatever. Try to come up with something "iconic," where the thing has appeared more than once in any kind of medium, where it's become a sort of "archetype". If you think you can, try to stat it up for CRYPTWORLD! I'll start:


SCARECROW
STR: 3 (45) WPR: 5 (75)
DEX: 3 (45) PER: 1 (15)
AGL: 4 (60) PCN: 4 (60)
STA: 3 (45) PWR: NA
ATT: 1/53% WND: 12
MV: L 75†

Experience: 600

Scarecrows are mindless, soulless, killing machines created for the purpose of doling out revenge against an entire family line. Scarecrows can be considered one of The Created (page 56), as they can only be brought to life through arcane magics and evil desires. The usual motive of a Scarecrow's creator is to wipe out everyone descended from a single person. The creator, whether wronged by this person or motivated by other reasons, wishes to ensure the family line is ended. Scarecrows have been created during feuds to destroy the enemies of one side, as well as by greedy in-laws to ensure sole possession of future inheritances.

To create the Scarecrow, the creator must construct the Scarecrow out of clothes belonging to the person to be targeted by the creature. Once stuffed with straw and thistle nettles, the creator then adds a head to the construct, usually a stuffed burlap sack, although a jack-o-lantern has been used. To bring the creature to life requires a demonic ritual performed under the light of a full moon. At the end of the ceremony, the creator must add a single drop of blood from the targeted person to the "lips" of the Scarecrow. Once activated, the Scarecrow will get up and lumber off to fulfill its mission of familocide. The Scarecrow will first target and kill the victim whose clothes and blood brought it to life. Once that person is dead, the Scarecrow will begin working its way through any and all descendants of that person until everyone is killed.

Scarecrows attack with pitchforks, scythes, and other farming tools per their usual rural creation. Scarecrows are particularly susceptible to fire, and any fire-based attacks should shift one column to the left when determining the effect of such an attack. If destroyed, the Scarecrow will just reform again during the next full moon at the site of its original creation. The only way to end a Scarecrow's rampage before the family line is wiped out is to place a drop of its creator's blood onto its "lips." The Scarecrow's straw will then crumble into dust, leaving behind a set of empty clothes and a burlap sack. However, its a sure bet the creator will not give up a drop of blood easily!

If PCs determine that a series of murders is sweeping through a family line, it's a sure bet a Scarecrow is enacting its unholy mission of murder.

[Blood axe]

Awesome idea for a thread!! Lots of horror flix on scifi channels.

[sniderman]

BRUNDLE
STR: 4 (60) WPR: 1 (15)
DEX: 6 (90) PER: 2 (30)
AGL: 6 (90) PCN: 5 (75)
STA: 3 (45) PWR: NA
ATT: 1/75% WND: 12
MV: L 75† F 75 (if winged)

Experience: 800

Brundles are a grotesque hybrid of human and insect. They are usually the result of scientific experimentation gone horribly wrong, although some Brundles are actually mutants whose insectoid deformities didn't surface until the creature reached adulthood. They often appear as humanoids with several insect-like appendages in place of human ones, i.e., a fly's head with multi-faceted eyes, a mantis' hooked claw, a mosquito's blood-draining proboscis, a spider's multiple legs or spinnerets, etc. If a Brundle has a set of insect wings, it can fly as fast as it can move on land. The multiple variations a Brundle may take are numerous. It is left to the Crypt Master to determine the nature of the Brundle's insect-half and how that half manifests itself in the creature's physiology.

Brundles are all incredibly agile and dexterous, as well as having a heightened perception due to their insect-like senses (360-degree vision, vibration-sensing hairs, etc.) All Brundles are capable of climbing sheer surfaces and ceilings at MV 20. They have a low willpower, as they are creatures of insectoid instincts at this stage -- eating, mating, and defending its territory are the primary driving forces behind its behavior. (In fact, if a Brundle mates with a human, there is a 75% chance of the offspring being a new Brundle.) Brundles cannot be cured or rehabilitated, as what remnants remained of their humanity has long since been absorbed by its monstrous insect half. It's a mercy to put the monster out of its misery.

[DavetheLost]

The Scarecrow is perfect for the Halloween one shot I am planning! You stole my idea. Now I have to breakaway from playing Guess-the-Move to come up with something...

The classic Bodysnatchers seem covered by Dopplegangers with a slightly different origin. Bruce was just a really big, but otherwise normal, shark. Hmm, this may be tougher than I thought.

[sniderman]

Hint: The whiteboard from Cabin in the Woods has a great rundown of horror archetypes. And if you watch the "shifting cubes scene" and the "slaughter in the complex scene," you'll catch even more!

[seneschal]

Los Marcianos

http://revistacinefagia.com/wp-content/ ... nos-11.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cITgEX1BQr4/R ... 239322.jpg

There are ill-informed people who think of interplanetary invaders as blood-drinking tentacled horrors or as little green men with bulging craniums and cat-like eyes, motivated by hunger or dreams of conquest. In reality they are paragons of humanoid moral, physical and mental perfection who have come to Earth to promote world peace. In fact, they insist on it, or else. In order to end man's savagery toward his own kind, they'll be willing to vaporize a stadium full of unsuspecting soccer fans, just to show that they mean business. Yes, they possess the requisite gear: flying saucers, disintegration rays, teleportation belts. But their chief weapon is their sheer testosterone-soaked superiority. Males are handsome giants with herculean physiques, skilled in the art of lucha libre. Females possess an alluring beauty that is literally hypnotic, easily bending terrestrial men to their will. Both sexes wear gaudy wigs and tight clothing that accentuates their figures. Los Marcianos are smarter, stronger, and more agile than their Earth counterparts. (Just ask them, they'll tell you.) They tend to adopt Earth names, usually choosing to call themselves after a local deity. Their English may be a bit sketchy, but they speak Spanish fluently. Their main weakness is their need to hourly ingest a pill that enables them to breathe Earth's air and endure its (to them) torrid temperatures.

[daddystabz]

What are the numbers before the parenthesis? Example: Str: 4 (63).

I thought you just have a percentage.

[sniderman]

What are the numbers before the parenthesis? Example: Str: 4 (63).

I thought you just have a percentage.

Page 52, first paragraph under Descriptions, explains the X (XX) formatting of Animals/Things stats boxes.

Each animal or thing has a block of descriptive characteristics. Standard ability abbreviations are used, but the number presentations are somewhat different from those of PCs. Some abilities will have two numbers listed, one number followed by another in parentheses. The first number is used if the CM wants to customize a creature or animal. The number corresponds to the same number on the defense column of the Action Table. Each defense column has a range of numbers associated with it. For example, column 3 has 31-45 listed. The CM takes the lowest number in the range, in this case 31, and adds 2d10. The sum is the ability score. If the CM prefers to save time or there is no need to customize the ability scores, the number in parentheses corresponds to the highest number in the column range, in this case 45, and that number is used for the ability score.

So STR 4 (60) means you can just use 60 (as the default) or customize your creature by going to defense column 4, take the low number of that column's range (40) and add 2d10.

[daddystabz]

Oh, that explains it. I haven't gotten to that page yet in my reading. I am currently on pg 45.

Thanks!

[sniderman]

HARVESTER
STR: 4 (60) WPR: 2 (30)
DEX: 4 (60) PER: 3 (45)
AGL: 4 (60) PCN: 5 (75)
STA: 3 (45) PWR: NA
ATT: 1/60% WND: 12
MV: L 75†

Experience: 800

Harvesters are a form of Psycho Killer (page 66), but whereas the former kills as a primary drive, Harvesters kill only as a means to an end. Harvesters collect body parts that they covet or find some warped sense of value to. If a string of murders has occurred and each victim is missing the same part, there's a Harvester at work.

Harvesters are smaller and weaker than their full-sized Psycho Killer counterparts, but Harvesters have an uncanny ability of track their victims due to their well-honed perception. Once they're spotted a victim with a "flawless" item they wish to possess, the Harvester will begin relentlessly tracking that victim, biding their time until they can trap them and drag them back to their "Collection Room." There, the Harvester will take his time, carefully "harvesting" his coveted items with tools and blades he's developed especially for this purpose. Once removed, he'll store them with the rest of his collection in jars lining the walls or large chests (for any larger items the Harvester may be collecting). A Harvester's Collection Room is always well-hidden and filled with booby-traps to keep his valuables safe.

What the Harvester covets, removes, and collects from his victims can be chosen specifically by the CM or rolled randomly on the following table:

Roll d10 and divide by 2
1. Eyes - They're windows to the soul. And they come in so many different colors, like pretty, pretty marbles.
2. Teeth - The hardest substance in the human body. They're like diamonds crossed with pearls.
3. Hearts - The muscular engine of the body. Courage, bravery, and the soul is stores in this magnificent muscle.
4. Blood - The ruby-red liquid is "lifeforce given form." But it's so easily spilled, so you should have plenty stored away.
5. Skulls - The skull holds thoughts, memories, identity, and other important secrets. It's the Vault of the Mind.