The ring and clatter of metal on metal precedes the arrival of a chain demon. Lengths of rusted chains wrap this humanoid figure like funerary linens wrap a mummy. Chain, barbed and hooked, unfolds like ungainly wings from the demon’s back. Additional lengths extend from both its forearms, giving the creature a greatly extended reach with claws of animate, hooked iron links.
Chain demons are denizens of Hell (or similar realms, depending on the setting). A chain demon is usually created from a human soul of such wretched evil that, upon reaching the afterlife, it is promoted to become a bleak angel of its new environment. Chain demons are great at torturing those already trapped in the demon’s native hellscape, but even better at catching fresh targets and pulling them down with molten chains.
Motive: Delight in causing anguish
Environment: Any hellscape, but sometimes they escape Health: 27
Damage Inflicted: 10 points Armor: 3
Movement: Short; long when being lowered, raised, or pulled by animate chain wings
Combat: A chain demon can animate its chains to attack up to three targets within short range as a single action. If the demon desires, one creature damaged by its attack must succeed on a Might defense roll or be snared by a chain hook. The snagged target is drawn into the demon’s embrace if it fails a second Might defense task on its next turn (on a success, the victim breaks free). A victim drawn into the embrace takes 10 points of damage each round if the
chain demon wishes to inflict it (no defense roll allowed), and the difficulty of the Might defense roll to break free is increased by one step. Interaction: A chain demon is diabolically
motivated to inflict anguish, and it may engage in drawn-out negotiations only to betray its target at a time guaranteed to inflict the most spiritual pain.
Use: An influential occult researcher without a moral compass sends a chain demon to kidnap a target. Loot: Most chain demons string trophies of victims on their
chains, including expensive amulets, some of which could be cyphers or even artifacts.
GM Intrusion: Instead
of being drawn into the demon’s embrace, the character is wrapped in animate chains where they stand, which threaten to completely cocoon them. Meanwhile, the chain demon turns its attention to other victims. Chain demons are just one variety of demon. Many more exist, including those able to possess the bodies of others.
DEVOLVED
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Military experiments to create a super-soldier produced hundreds of dead ends, literally, plus a few dangerous failures. The devolved are one of those failures. These malformed, hideous brutes share a common heritage but display a wide array of maladies and
mutations in the flesh, including limbs withered or elephantine patches of thick, scaly skin, misplaced body parts, and mental abnormalities. Simple-minded and afflicted with pain from their twisted, broken forms, the devolved vent all their hatred and wrath against all others, including other mutants, cannibals, and marauders.
Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Groups of three to five that roam the ruins, raiding for fresh meat Health: 21
Damage Inflicted: 4 to 8 points; see Combat Movement: Short
Modifications: All tasks related to intimidation as level 6; Intellect defense and Speed defense as level 2 due to malformed nature.
Combat: Devolved attack with a claw, a bite, or some other body part. They throw themselves at their enemies with mindless ferocity and little regard for their own safety. Easily frustrated, a devolved grows stronger as its fury builds. Each time it misses with an attack, the damage it inflicts increases by 1 point (to a maximum of
8 points). Once the devolved successfully inflicts damage, the amount of damage it inflicts returns to normal. Then the cycle starts anew.
Interaction: Devolved speak when they must, punctuating their statements with growls and barks. Their
understanding seems limited to what they can immediately perceive, and they have a difficult time with abstract concepts. If plied with gifts, they might be convinced to share what they know about the lands around their camps. Use: An expedition to an old
government facility uncovers a cyst of devolved that live within its sheltering bunkers.
Loot: For every three or so devolved, one is likely to carry a cypher.
GM Intrusion: A
devolved that is damaged by a character takes only half damage from that character for the next minute as its body adapts to whatever the PC used to make the attack.
Mutant, page 43 Cannibal, page 153 Marauder, page 156
ERLKING
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This vaguely humanoid creature is an animated accumulation of woodland debris—bark, lost teeth, matted weeds, and dirt. It wears a crown of oak leaves and a cloak of mist. Its eyes are knotholes, and its hands are sharpened twigs. An erlking is a greedy spirit of hunger deemed Unseelie by the faerie nobility of that wild and wicked realm. Erlkings love to hunt and eat children, who are particularly susceptible to the promises and glamours that erlkings spin.
Motive: Hungers for flesh and to reclaim stripped titles Environment: Almost anywhere wooded at night Health: 27
Damage Inflicted: 6 points Armor: 4
Movement: Short, immediate when burrowing Modifications: Level 7 for stealth tasks.
Combat: An erlking prefers to attack from hiding, and whisper a child or other target within short distance from its bed out into the night if the target fails an Intellect defense task. An affected target remains under the erlking’s spell for up to an hour or until attacked or otherwise harmed.
When it physically attacks, an erlking can attack with three root tendrils divided any way it chooses against targets within immediate range. A target hit by a tendril must also succeed on a Speed defense roll or become grabbed until it escapes. Each round, the erlking automatically inflicts 6 points of damage on each grabbed target until the victim succeeds on a Might-based task to escape.
Silvered and cold iron weapons ignore an erlking’s Armor. If an erlking’s remains are not burned or otherwise destroyed, it will sprout and grow a new body from the corpse within a day.
Interaction: An erlking may negotiate if creatures have something it wants, or if targets are armed with silvered or cold iron weapons.
Use: An erlking is active only by night; by day, it hides beneath a mound of weedy earth indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain.
GM Intrusion: Being
surprised by an erlking in the darkness requires that the character succeed on an Intellect defense task or lose their next action as they faint in terror, run screaming, or stand paralyzed in terror. An erlking is a former noble stripped of title, lands, and even form, and exiled into the night for crimes unimaginable in their cruelty. An erlking’s victims are found in the cold sunlight, pale and bloodless, with their vital organs nibbled out.
FAERIE
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Faeries are magic creatures of music, mirth, tricks, and taunts. Seeing one is an omen. Hopefully, an omen of a silly song or the first appearance of an annoying new road companion (the very faerie sighted) flitting around, asking the questions of a curious four-year-old hyped up on sugar water and ice cream. Some faeries are crueler and delight in stealing clothing, equipment, or prized objects. And a few are malicious and, under the guise of a helpful guide or a pretty light in the distance, lure lost travelers to various dooms.
Motive: Unpredictable
Environment: A faerie can be encountered alone or in a flutter of three to twelve Health: 12
Damage Inflicted: 4 points
Movement: Immediate; long when flying
Modifications: Tasks related to performance and deception as level 5; Speed defense as level 5 due to size and quickness.
Combat: A faerie hurls sparkling magic dust at a target within short range to inflict damage. In addition, if a faerie is touched or struck by a melee weapon, more magic dust puffs away from the faerie and clouds the attacker, who must succeed on a Speed defense task or suffer the same amount of damage they just dealt to the faerie. Sometimes faeries wield tiny weapons, such as bows, spears, or swords; treat these as light weapons.
A faerie can see in the dark, but it can also emit bright light (often colored) and appear as a glowing humanoid or an
illuminated sphere.
Faeries regain 1 point of health per round while their health is above 0 unless they’ve been damaged with a silvered or cold iron weapon.
Interaction: Faeries are mercurial creatures, but except for the malicious ones, they can be negotiated with, especially if offered sweets, wine, or other gifts. That said, faerie attention spans are limited, so even one that means well could end up leaving the PCs in the lurch at just the wrong moment.
Use: The dancing light in the distance, leading curious PCs deeper and deeper into the dark woods, is a faerie.
Loot: The tiny pouches faeries carry are stuffed with forest bric-a-brac, but some of those pouches are ten times larger on the inside and could contain expensive items or cyphers.
GM Intrusion: Another
faerie appears, and if the character fails a Speed defense roll, it flies off with their weapon or another important possession. Some faeries can attempt
to use a song or light display to charm others within short range. The target must succeed on an Intellect defense task or fall into a suggestible state for one hour. During this period, the target can be led by the faerie until attacked, damaged, or shaken from their glamour.
Many people believe that a fusion hound has no head hidden beneath their halos of seething radiation; they think the halo is their head.
FUSION HOUND
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In the radiation-scoured wastelands, creatures either adapt to the deadly energies of their environment, or they die. Fusion hounds are mutant canines able to absorb unbelievable amounts of radiation and thrive on it. They roam in packs, killing and devouring everything they come upon.
A fusion hound’s entire head appears to be a blast of flame, and gouts of dangerous radiation flare from its body.
Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Packs of three to eight can be found almost anywhere Health: 10
Damage Inflicted: 5 points Armor: 1
Movement: Long
Modifications: Speed defense as level 4; stealth and climbing as level 2.
Combat: Fusion hounds move very fast and use that speed to their advantage in combat. A hound can move a long distance and still attack as a single action. It can also use its action to run about in random patterns, increasing the difficulty to attack it by two steps.
A fusion hound’s head is completely haloed in a seething mass of radioactive energy for a head, so unlike traditional canines, it has no bite attack. Instead, it pounces on prey with its clawed forelimbs, which causes a burst of radiation to flare from its body, burning whatever it touches.
Anyone within close distance of a fusion hound for more than one round suffers 1 point of damage in each round after the first.
Interaction: Fusion hounds are animals. Creatures immune to radiation sometimes train the hounds to become guardians or hunting dogs, but such creatures are rare. Use: An NPC delivering something the characters need never made it to the rendezvous.
If they backtrack to where the NPC should have come from, the PCs are attacked by a pack of fusion hounds on the road. Clearly, the courier was attacked by the pack as well, and the characters must discover if the NPC is dead or merely injured, and where the package now lies.
GM Intrusion: The
hound flares with energy and the character must succeed on a Might defense task or go blind for ten minutes.