Critters of the October Country

[michaelcurtis]

I've been doing a little preliminary work on a different sort of setting/campaign for 2011 that uses GORE (and a little bit of BRP) rules. Originally it started as a historical horror campaign similiar to Call of Cthulhu, but as design has gone on, it has become its own unique beast that rolls all my favorite subjects into one burrito of coolness. I've been documenting the design process over at the blog, Secret Antiquities.

I'm still getting the hang of building monsters and other beasties for GORE from scratch, but here are two of my initial efforts, the slinker and the aigamuxa.

Aigamuxa
This odd beast is based on one from African mythology and fills the “giant, grotesque, human-like monster” niche so often occupied by ogres and trolls. I’m trying to populate the weird lands of the October Country and its neighbors with creatures relatively free of traditional Western mythological baggage whenever possible. As with all my efforts to gain complete fluency with GORE and BRP, please feel free to comment if I’ve gone astray here with the mechanics. The following is designated Open Game Content.

STR: 3d6+10 (20-21)
CON: 3d6+10 (20-21)
SIZ: 3d6+10 (20-21)
INT: 2d6 (7)
POW: 2d6 (7)
DEX: 3d6 (10-11)

Average hit points: 21
Move: 7

Other skills: Dodge-25%, Notice-20%, Survival-50%, Wrestle-75%

Damage Modifier: +1d8

Attacks
Rend: 65% --2d8 damage
Bite: 50%--1d6 damage

Aigamuxa (singular: aigamuxab) are one of the many species of ogre-like creatures vomited forth from the pits of Nightmare. Appearing as hulking, bestial humans, the faces of aigamuxa are devoid of eyes, bearing only a pair of flaring nostrils and a hideous mouth studded with jagged tusks. The eyes of an aigamuxab are located on the beast’s feet, usually on the heel or instep, making it necessary for the creature to pause often and lift a foot aloft in order to determine its whereabouts and direction of travel. Despite this handicap, once an aigamuxab gets his massive hands upon his victim, that poor soul is quickly torn to pieces and devoured by the monster. Aigamuxa are the preferred shock troops of the Cruels, who usually pair these brutes with a handler/rider to direct them in battle.


Slinker
I wanted something in the vein of Gollum, a horrid little humanoid who skulks at the edge of villages in the October Country stealing food and occasionally murdering small animals and children. An escapee from the nightmare lands in other words. The following is designated Open Game Content.

STR: 3d6
CON: 3d6
SIZ: 2d6
INT: 3d6
POW: 2d6
DEX: 3d6

Average hit points: 9
Move: 7

Other skills: Climb-50%, Dodge-30%, Hide-60%, Swim-50%

Damage Modifier: -1d2

Attacks
Bite: 40% --1d6
Thrown rock: 60%--1d4-1 damage
Wrestle (strangle): 55%--suffocate (see GORE p. 27)

Slinkers are short humanoids that resemble bald, wizened men. Usually grimy and smelling of offal or fish, slinkers live on the outskirts of settlements, dwelling in old culverts, under bridges, abandoned buildings, or in caves. They emerge from hiding at dawn and dusk to steal food, kill chickens, and occasionally carry off small children. Although more prone to flee than fight, slinkers are adept rock throwers and, when they hit, tend to do more damage than normal. Additionally, if they have a store of rocks ready, they may hurl one such missile each round rather than one every two.

[The Venomous Pao]

Nice stuff, amigo! I'm not an expert (though I play one on the internet), but everything looks copacetic in BRP terms. I'd consider upping the Dodge for the Aigamuxa just a tad (maybe to 35%) just to make them slightly less likely to go down quickly, but that's entirely a matter of taste.

Thanks for sharing these!

[michaelcurtis]

Thanks for the suggestion about upping the Dodge. I'm still feeling my way around the referee's side of the rules and I tend to err on the side of caution by keeping skill percentages low. I'm trying to be fair but firm. Maybe it's the guilt from the constant sting of deaths in my LL campaign...

[The Venomous Pao]

Thanks for the suggestion about upping the Dodge. I'm still feeling my way around the referee's side of the rules and I tend to err on the side of caution by keeping skill percentages low. I'm trying to be fair but firm. Maybe it's the guilt from the constant sting of deaths in my LL campaign...

No problem, Michael. Always glad to help. The main reason I suggest bumping it is to give the poor monsters a fighting chance against Critical hits. HP are generally so low in GORE & BRP (even for this beefy fellow) that one Crit can throw off an entire encounter. Then again, that's what Crits are for. So again, it's a matter of taste.

Don't feel guilty about killing characters in LL, man. They're so easily replaceable they're practically disposable

[seneschal]

It's good to see GORE getting some loving attention. While it has been eclipesed by Dan's other offerings, GORE was what originally drew me to Goblinoid Games.

[michaelcurtis]

After having so much fun working within the structure of Labyrinth Lord, I wanted to take GORE, the neglected stepchild of GG, out from under the stairs and see what could be done with it. I think it's overshadowed by the other BRP retro-clones that out, but I prefer that GORE is so bare bones and, let's face it, a little clunky--all the more room there to make it one's own. And that exactly what I'm going to do with it in the next year.

[michaelcurtis]

Here's a new one. I'm playing with noncoporeal critters now to get a hang of the possibilities outside of just STR, CON, and SIZ. Inspired by the legend of La Llorona in the American Southwest, here's my own take on her:

La Llorona
STR: --
CON: --
DEX: --
SIZ: --
INT: 3d6 (10-11)
POW: 3d6+10 (20-21)
CHA: 3d6 (10-11)

Move: 9
Armor: None, but La Llorona is only harmed by certain substances and special weapons (as determined by the referee). Attacks from these weapons reduce the spirit’s POW. If reduced to zero POW, La Llorona cannot manifest for 1d3 days. Certain rites and substances have the ability to permanently destroy the spirit.

Skills: Influence—55%, Oratory—70%, Scare the Bejeezus Out of People—75%

Attacks

Wail: La Llorona “attacks” by unleashing a piteous cry that affects all within hearing range. The spirit makes a Scare roll against all targets and, if successful, that target is allowed a Luck roll to avoid the effects of her cry. Any victim who fails his or her Luck check is shaken by the spirit’s wail and suffers a -20% penalty to all their actions while able to hear her cries.

Emotional Drain: La Llorona can single out one target to suffer the brunt of her weeping. That target and La Llorona engage in an Opposed POW Test each round. If the victim is overcome by the spirit, he suffers a loss of 1d3 points of POW. If successful, he suffers no harm. If brought to zero POW, the victim falls unconscious. He must make a CONx5 test to avoid dying from fright. It is rare that La Llorona takes the attack this far. Usually the spirit uses this drain to prepare the victim for possession (see below).

Possession: By spending 3 MP, La Llorona may attempt to possesses a living creature, allowing it to use their body as a proxy. After spending the required MP, the spirit and its target engage in an Opposed POW test. If the spirit is successful, it takes control over the victim for a number of rounds equal to its CHA minus the victim’s current POW. La Llorona usually uses its victim to plead for assistance from others or to perform some physical action relating to her condition.

La Llorona (“The Weeping Woman”) is one of the classic wailing spirits found in folklore around the world. She is a damned spirit, cursed to endure forever for a crime she committed during her lifetime. The most common reason for the creation of La Llorona is the drowning (wittingly or unwittingly) of her own children. La Llorona appear a pale white, transparent woman with a haggard, tear-stained face. She is usually clad in a stark white dress and haunts riverbanks, bridges, or other places where her children drowned. La Llorona can be either malicious (seeking to drown others) or benign (looking for atonement for her crimes). Unfortunately, there is no easy way to tell the disposition of a particular spirit.

[The Venomous Pao]

I like her, Michael. She's the right kind of creepy and you've definitely got your head wrapped around GORE. I think the only thing I might change is to make the Possession contest of wills based on current MP:MP (which would include the MP La Lllorna is spending to make the attempt) rather than POW:POW. This way it gets progressively harder for her to possess people as she goes along. Just a thought, and one that can easily be dismissed at that

Everything else looks top notch. Keep on giving us the good stuff, captain!

[michaelcurtis]

I think the only thing I might change is to make the Possession contest of wills based on current MP:MP (which would include the MP La Lllorna is spending to make the attempt) rather than POW:POW. This way it gets progressively harder for her to possess people as she goes along. Just a thought, and one that can easily be dismissed at that

Believe it or not, that was my intent--at least in my own head anyway. I suppose I could have worded that better. Nevertheless, I wanted La Llorona to become weaker with each failed possession attempt and would have used her current MP (minus the points for the possession attempt) against the victim's current POW (or MP reduced from her emotional drain attack). I guess in my own head, POW and MP is sometimes synonomous.

[The Venomous Pao]

Right on! And good thinking, too

Yeah, it can be a little hard to separate POW from MP conceptually, but they are actually separate entities. Having things that are POW:POW and MP:MP is a great way to represent things that are more consistent versus things that are more ablative. It also helps to give a sense of power to the players in facing off against things that are otherwise really difficult to deal with.

Cheers!