New "Things" sighted!

[The Venomous Pao]

Might be fun to publish a book of new THINGS...

Would people here want to contribute to something like that?

I could probably bring myself to add one or two. Heck, I'll throw this one in the ring right away.

[DavetheLost]

In response to the suggestion of a book of new Things, how about a PaceSetter Bestiary? This could collect all of the natural and unnatural creatures currently published as well as new ones.

I note a request for dinosaurs for TimeMaster and was thinking about stating some up for CryptWorld as well. They have been popular fodder for B-Movies since 1 million years BC at least.

Orson Welles ended the Mercury Theartre's broadcast of Dracula with the observation that "There are bats and there are wolves, such things do exist." Rats, snakes, guard dogs, wolves, mountain lions, sharks, alligators, lions, bears, horses, pre-mutilation cattle...

[kmelion]

So, in Fulci's "Gates of Hell" trilogy you had a situation where someone had died in an unnatural way which set in motion a spreading corruption. City of the Living Dead had a priest who had hanged himself in the Dunwich cemetery and the Beyond had the artist Sweick get crucified in the basement of the hotel he was staying in. House by the Cemetery had the crazy Dr. Fruedenstein (yep, this is Fulci, after all) lurking in the basement. Would this be an adaptation of the poltergeist? Some of the powers/abilities are storm of maggots, raise dead, domination, immolate other, etc. Thoughts, comments?

[seneschal]

Re: a Pacesetter bestiary. It would make sense for TimeMasters' evil Demoreans to make an appearance in Cryptworld. They're time-traveling shape-shifting aliens, after all, who even made a cameo in Pacesetter's sci-fi game Star Ace. Why wouldn't they be mucking around on Cryptworld's 21st century Earth? Call the Doctor, quick!

[sniderman]

MOTHMAN
STR: 5 (75) --- WPR: 6 (90)
DEX: 4 (60) --- PER: 4 (60)
AGL: 4 (60) --- PCN: 7 (105)
STA: 5 (75) --- PWR: NA
ATT: 1/68% --- WND: 15
MV: L 100† F 150

Experience: 1,000

The Mothman is a legendary creature that is viewed as a harbinger of doom. Whenever the Mothman appears in a community, a great disaster will occur in that town within 2 weeks. A bridge collapse, a great fire, a train derailment, and other calamities claiming many lives have all been "foretold" when the citizens catch a fleeting glimpse of the creature in the days leading up to the disaster. However, some have concluded that the Mothman may, in fact, be responsible for these disasters. They are correct... The Mothman will loosen several bolts in a bridge, plant oily rags next to an electrical short, twist the rail of a railroad track, etc. The creature delights in the suffering of others, not only in their deaths but also in watching the sadness and grief of their survivors. So it will devise, plan, and carry out the largest act of carnage it can just to satisfy its desire for mayhem. The only way to stop the disaster from happening is to find and stop the Mothman before it can carry out its plan.

A Mothman appears as a silent, vaguely humanoid figure with a large set of bat-like wings. The most notable feature are its saucer-shaped red eyes that shine like twin scarlet embers. The sight of the Mothman's eyes shakes most viewers to their very soul. It's said that meeting the unholy gaze of the Mothman will reveal to you the method and way in which you will one day die. (Anyone who looks into a Mothman's eyes should roll a Column 2 Fear check.) The Mothman can easily grasp someone and carry them up to lofty heights before dropping them so they fall to their deaths. Fortunately if a Mothman is stopped, it will leave the community, never to return again as it looks for a new target to bring misery and suffering to.

[sniderman]

NOTE: I'm so very sorry for this. I just couldn't help myself


VAMPIRE, CHOCOLATE
STR: 4 (60) --- WPR: 6 (90)
DEX: 4 (60) --- PER: 7 (105)
AGL: 4 (60) --- PCN: 3 (45)
STA: 5 (75) --- NIACIN: 4.5 mg
ATT: 1/68% --- RIBOFLAVIN: 0.4 mg
MV: L 80†

Experience: 500 Proof of Purchase Points

Hiding in plain sight on your supermarket shelves, the Chocolate Vampire is one of the most diabolical things players may encounter in their investigations. Viewed by most as nothing more than a harmless, comical cereal company mascot, the Chocolate Vampire is actually something much more sinister.

The Chocolate Vampire does indeed “feed” on chocolate. The lair of a Chocolate Vampire is often filled to the rafters with horded candies, cocoas, powders, and other chocolate-flavored foodstuffs. It’s said that smell of the Chocolate Vampire’s lair can be detected a 1/2-mile away. To combat this, the Chocolate Vampire will set up his lair in a location where such a smell is undetectable – the basement of a chocolatier, the attic of a bakery, or in the heart of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

However, the Chocolate Vampire’s need for chocolate goes far beyond that of mere candies. The Chocolate Vampire must also feed on human blood as well, just as a normal vampire. But due to its craving for all things chocolate, the Chocolate Vampire has developed an unsettling ability to convert human bone marrow into spongy chocolate-flavored bits. These “marsh-marrows” are often sprinkled over its chocolate-laden foodstuffs – including breakfast cereals. Due to his seemingly innocuous, bumbling demeanor, he lulls his victims into a sense of false safety, luring them into his sweet-smelling lair where he begins his unholy marrow extraction-and-conversion process.

The Chocolate Vampire is often accompanied by two minions -- a strawberry-scented Conglomerate Man and a blueberry-scented Ghost. He used to be served by a cherry-scented Werewolf and a fruit-scented Mummy as well, until public opinion polls revealed these were kind of lame.

[seneschal]

Chocolate Vampire is warded off by holy relics ... and by assorted dental instruments, since he typically hasn't had a checkup in several hundred years. Will flee in panic from an actual dentist or dental hygienist.

[Agrippa]

Are requests okay, because I don't have a copy of Cryptworld myself?

[sniderman]

SLENDER MAN
STR: 5 (75) --- WPR: 5 (75)
DEX: 7 (105) --- PER: 5 (75)
AGL: 7 (105) --- PCN: 6 (90)
STA: 5 (75) --- PWR: 150
ATT: 1/90% --- WND: 15
MV: L 125†

Experience: 900

The Slender Man is an other-dimensional abductor of people -- to what ends is not yet determined, however. The Slender Man appears to be a faceless, voiceless, incredibly tall (well over 8 feet), thin humanoid. Some claim to see writhing tentacles growing from its shoulders as well. The Slender Man always to be dressed in a black suit and tie.

The Slender Man is often the cause of unexplained disappearances. Because children are its preferred target, the Slender Man will lurk near playgrounds, public parks, neighborhoods where many children reside, etc. Oddly enough, adults have a difficult time seeing the Slender Man, as its tall, thin, colorless frame often blends into the background. Instead, adults usually first catch a glimpse of a Slender Man when its image is noticed in the background of photos and/or video recordings. Once this realization is reached, adults are then "attuned" to the presence of the Slender Man and will always be able to see it from that point on. Children will always be able to see a Slender Man, though. It's thought that a child's mind is somehow always attuned to the Slender Man's appearance. However, children do not fear the Slender Man, which makes it all the more dangerous.

The Slender Man has the ability to Shadow Walk, allowing it to step into one shadow and out of another. It is thought that this ability somehow ties into the "other world" where the Slender Man resides, and it is this Shadow Plane where the Slender Man takes its victims. Again, for what purpose, it is unknown, but no one who has entered the Slender Man's realm has ever returned. One theory is that victims are themselves converted into new Slender Men. Another theory is that the Slender Man only consumes those who have seen it, so children are a primary target, whereas adults are ignored -- until they become aware of the Slender Man's presence.

Slender Man Powers
Shadow Walk: The Slender Man can enter one shadow, stepping into it like a doorway, and step out of any other shadow within 5 miles. The Slender Man uses this ability as a means of rapidly travelling from point-to-point within a certain area it is stalking. It can also use this as a means of escape. The shadows used for Shadow Walking must be outdoors, as a Slender Man will never enter or appear within a building of any sort. Each Shadow Walk costs the Slender Man 40 PWR. Dragging a victim into a shadow and back to its home dimension costs the Slender Man 80 PWR. If the Slender Man is escaping to its home dimension alone through the use of Shadow Walking, there is no PWR cost. However, he will be unable to return to our dimension for 48 hours.

[jaerdaph]

Might be fun to publish a book of new THINGS...

Would people here want to contribute to something like that?

That would be awesome! I'd love to see these new things here collected in a book, and I'd be willing to contribute too.