Role Aids - 724 - Monsters of Myth & Legend

bbreviations in Monster Outline

How To Use T h is Book

AC: Annor Class. Describes the monster's protection, or the difficulty to Hit.

Entries Monsters o f Myth and Legen d is grouped by cultur es. W ithin each culture, the monsters are lis ted alph abetically to provide easy ac­ cess to each monster. The listings

give an outline of each monster's sta tistics for use in game p lay, a nd a descrip tion of the monster. In add ition, most of the monster list­ ings in the book have a section called

Legend. The legend is provided to help th e GM develop th e mons ter for encounter situa tion s. All the abbreviations used in the book are covered on these pages.

LevellExp: Level to summon a monster/Experience gained when a character kills it.

M: Movem.ent speed per melee

TK: Hits to Kill, expressed llher as the number and type die to roll (rolll eight-sided "''''), or as a total number ded to kill, i.e. 25.

round. If the monster can tra­ vel in two different mediums, this will be indicated by the following symbols: / #" flying speed / / #" swimming speed (#") bUTTowing speed *#" speed in web.

My: Monster's magic resis­ ance expressed as a percent. nt: Intellect. Align: A lignment of monster 01' character.

LevellExp: VIII/600+5/HTK

Conventions T h is book uses standard rul book form for m ost conventions, excep t we include a p ercen tage rating for so me statistics as well. The " D" abbreviation is used to indicate a die. ID20 means roll one 20-sided die. 1D 100 (or a percen tage number) means ro ll one ten-sided die twice or two ten-sided d ice sequentially. The n u mb er thus generated represen ts a p ercentag number between 0 1 an d 00 (read as 100) , fo r example a r oll o f 2, followed by a roll of 5, translates

'nto 25%. 3D6 means roll three 6­ sided dice and add the results to get a sum, which is then used as the number of the roll. Characteristics (or Attributes o r Ability scores) are deri ved from 3D6, with 3 being the lowest score possible, and with 18 being the normal human maximum. Attri­ butes often exceed these h uman norms and corresponding increases in die rolls have been included. he exception to this is a mon­ ster's intelligence which, while

based on human standards, is nol rated. The intelligence levels go as foll ows, from the lowes t to the highest: Non- (intelligent) Very Animal H ighly Semi. Exceptional Low Genuis In general, monsters with animal or Jow in telligence would be 0-6 in a 3D6 rating system, while those wi th Excep tional or Genuis intel­ ligence would be 17 -18. Inanimate objects have non-intelligence.

ThiiCii:HTo Hit Armor Class 0". Subtract the target's Ar­ mor Class from the Thaco to get the number required fOT a successful Hit with a ID20. FOT example, if a character's Thaco is 14, and the target is wearing chain mail without a shield (Ae 5), the character will need to roll a 9 on a 1D20 (14 -5 = 9).

6 IDS 1 19 1-3

Freq:

lJo: \ 6-60 S (4 ')

Special: Control Weather spell. 0 • will, create thunder and druid for as long as st,

Size: Size of the creature. The average height is shown in parentheses. No: Number appearing.

Special: Attacks or defences peculiar to the monster i.e. Dragon breath or Chann spell.

Abbreviations Used in Text

8

Ft: Foot or feel.

ART: Ar tistry.

q.v: Also listed in the text.

Except: Exceptional.

I N : Insigh t.

c:

C: Common.

D : Dexteri ty.

L: L awful.

Var: Variable, or varies.

A: Appeal.

N: Neutral.

Rds: Rounds.

EP: Experience Points.

G: Good.

ST: Strength.

g.p: go ld p ieces.

E: Evil.

SM: Stamina.

s. p: silver p ieces.

Chaoti~.

Uncommon

\

Freq: Frequency, or likelihood of encountering the monster. Very rare means th at there is about a 4% chance of an en­ counter, whereas com mon indicates about a 65% chance.

Din: Damage per monster's attack.

9

""hite Buffalo AC: HTK:

Att: THA.CO:

Dm:

7 5D8 2 15 1-8/1-8

M: M R:

l nt: Align:

LevellExp: IVI27;+6/HTK

18" Freq: Very Rare Standard No: 1-4 SemiSize: Large Neutral

Special: Aura of Bad Luck (see below)

During the winttl', I he spirits were farlessacliveanddwt'lt willI their own kind, leaving the lndian~ frt'l' for story telling The GM should use Ihe following table as a guideline for spirit appear­ ance when stories abouL them are be­ ing told. Season

Percentage Chance of Appearance

Spcing ..... . ....... . ..... . .. .. 10%

Summer .............. ...... .. 25%

Fall .. . .. ..... ... ... ..... ... .. 10% Wimer .... . ....... . .......... Never

If the story is truly insults a spiril, increase the chance of the spirit's ap­ pearance by + 10%. This bonus is not applied in the winter. •

Ram

American Indian is a term which represents an agglomeration of different peoples embracing a variety of myths. For reasons of space and consistency of myth, a decision was made to concentrate on a subgroup of the American Indians. Another choice was to select more myths from a hunting peoples' tradition than those of a planting peoples, as the hunters' creatures and legends seemed more appropriate for most fantasy role playing seSSIons. 10

Fox

A white buffa lo is the spirit of a rare, large wh ite bull buffalo. Itappears asa live white buffalo, with a slight shimmering, that is visible o nly in complete darkness. Even tho ugh classified as spirits, whiLe buffa lo are flesh. There are other clues to its true nature, however, as the white buffalo is most often seen emerging from beneath the waters of a lake. White buffalo are unliving in the sense that they do not need foo d, water, or air to con tinue existing. but they are not truly undead. Clerics may not turn white buffalo. The creatures are malicious in minor ways, but will very seldom attack a party directly. T heir most p otent weapon is their Aura of Bad Luck. Any sentient within 120" of a white buffalo will suffer from this aura. The aura affects a game as follows: Die Modifier

On one allempl the herd panicked and tried to escape by crossing the frozen lake. T he lake could not bear the weight of the buffalo and the cracking of the ice compet­ ed with the bellows of lhe herd as they sank into the lake. The white bull went down last, roaring in defiance as the cold water defeated him .

His roar is sLill heard, coming from the depths of the lake. Ever since, the lake has been known as "The Lake That Roars." Two men in the area of the same lake had had no luck in hunting, not even catching a squirrel. As they became desperate, two white buffalo emerged from the lake.

The hunters sneaked up and kilJed one of them. They prepared the buffalo and ate well for the first time in days. But as soon as they finished the meat, the hunters began [0 feel strange. Their limbs began to thicken and to become numb. The change continued as the pair stumbled away from the lake. Tails and horns appeared on their bo­ dies, and before they got 10 paces away from the lake, each of the hunters had be­ come a buffalo. The pair quietly turned and walked into the lake. •

D4, D6 .. .... .. . . .. . ... 1 08, DI0 •• • •••••••••.••. 2 0 12 ••• . •••••••• •. . •••. 3

D20 •.•.. . .. . .•••. • •.• . 4 Dl OO ••••••••••••• • •• • • 20 The modifier is applied to all die rolls used to resol ve actions taken by the charac­ ters. To H it rolls, damage, saving throws, and C limbing are included. Any roll to determine the success of a character action is affected by the aura. The modifier is applied in whichever direction is least beneficial to the character, subtract­ ing it from a saving roll and adding it to a Climbing a ttempt. T he Aura of Bad Luck will become per­ manent for a character who eats the flesh of a wh ite buffalo. There are other unfor­ tuna te effects suggested in the legend sec­ tion below. If a character has a permanent Aura of Bad L uck affecting him, it requires a Res­ tora tion spell to return him to his prior stale. A character affected by a permanent Aura of Bad L uck is the only character affected by the permanent aura. LEGEN D: T here once was a large herd of buffalo which lived in the area surrounding a lake. One win ter, a band of huntecs was de­ termined to kill the white bull which led the herd. T hey tracked the herd for days, killing many buffalo, but each time the white bull escaped..

Wh ite Buffalo

11

Coyote AC:

5

HTK:

65 1 9 1-10

Att: lUCO:

Dm:

Levell Exp: VIlli3300 M: 24" MR: 15% Int: Genius A lign: Chaotic

Unique No: 1 Size: Medium N eutral req:

special: Shape changes. Raises dead as skill 20 cleric. Power Song: Full Wish (use at will as skill 20 mage). Coyote is one of the most active figures in Indian myth . H e is the most p rominent of the animal spiri ts, which were created by the gods before they created men. He is a guardian of all Indians. He is intelligen t hut occasionally fool­ ish, and he often displays too much pride. H e is the hero-trickster of the Indian myth­ os, but he is someti mes defeated by his own cleverness. In the time before the com ing of the hu­ man race, Coyote cou ld assume any form he wished, even beco ming the sun on one occasion. H is powers began to dim with the ap­

oyote .1

pearance o( humankind, perhaps because of all the spiritual energy which he infused into the new people. Coyote can still assu me the shape of any person or animal at will. H is usual appear­ ance is that of a coyote. H e can Raise Dead at will as a skill 20 cleric. In order to raise a p erson it is necessary (or Coyote to step over the person's body three times. The spell takes effect imme­ diately as soon as the third step is com­ pleted. Coyote has a Power Song, which he can use at will as a Full Wish as a skill 20 magic-user. Coyote will use the Power

Song to transform something unimportant into something which he needs desperate­ ly, or to return a friend who has been com­ pletely destroyed. A Wish made by COYOlC will not weaken him in any way. r l(' will never u~e a Wish to destroy or harm anything llirectly, but he may wish for a tool or weapon necessary to destroy a particular character or thing. Coyote's Power Song requires one turn to perform. If COyOle is engaged in another activity while singing the Power Song, the Song will fail 95% of the lime. There will be no adverse effect other than failure to ob­ tain the desired result. Coyote is often seen in confrontation with Grizzly Bear. This is usually a conlest of will and intelligence rather than a clash of brute force. LEGEND: Coyote was the chief o[ the animal peo­ ple. He had long prophesied the coming of the human race. When Coyote could teU that the time of humankind was near, he summoned the animal people together and said: "The New People are coming. We must prepare for them . Today we must decide how we are to live, what we will be, and where we are to live when the New People come to us. We must choose our names." "What win you be?" the other animal people asked Coyote. "r shall be buffalo, " replied Coyote. He transformed himself into a buffalo, but he stil] ran as would Coyote and his roar sounded too much like his own yelp. The animal people were not impressed. Still Coyote wished to be buffalo. Finally Fox, who was second chief, spoke. "Coyote is not suited to be buffalo. He shall have to be coyOle. I think Buffalo should be buffalo." Buffalo transformed himself into a buffalo, andso it was decided that he was to be called Buffalo. Each of the animal people, after a few trials, found a (orm and a name which suit­ ed him. Last to choose was Meadow Lark. She wished to be eagle, she wished to be hawk, she wished to be aU of the birds. "You cannot be all birds, Meadow Lark," said Coyote. "My power, however, is gTeat enough to give you this." He pres­ ented Meadow Lark with an arrow bracelet which allowed her to speak any language. The next day the ground rolled and shook with mysterious power, and thou ­ sands of shapes appeared. The New People had come to the world. Soon they l-.pread all over the earth. The appearance of the humans caused all of the animal people LO lJt·( ollie quiet. They relinquished the POW( I o{ "peech on that day. Some animal Pf'opit:slilJ IClllcmlJcr how to speak, but tlwy di ... cI;lill In ~pt·.Ik with humankind un less IIll ) 11 ;1,'c: 11 \'t'l) 'ipecific reason for ~ ee king (lHlI II~ I . •

Fox

/ ,('V('i f.x/J: JIll 12S()

AC: 5 HTK: 40 Att: 1 TIII W.

Dm:

1'11: Align:

Excpt. Neutral

Siu:

M:

10 1-10

Special:

18" 10%

Freq:

MR:

No:

Unique I Small

Spells(use al will as skill III magr): Clairaudence & Cia inoyan very cold outside. I came to warm myself by your great magjc." "Very well . You may warm yourself if you pick the lice out of my fur," said Griz7­ ly Bear. Meadow Lark began to pick the lice from Bear's fur, gently picking at the string at­ taching the fire-stone pouch to Grizzly

em of gia nts encoun­ tered will be Natli­ skcliguten . Despite their size AC: M: 18 :> and bu lk, giants can IITK: 9D8 MR: Standard NQ:

move as silently as a

It: 1 bit: Var.ies Size: skill 8 thief (62%). Tlw;o 12 Align: Neutral Such stealth is mag­ Dm: 1-20 ica l in origin and requires some concen­ Special: Moves Silently ( (encration . tration, for the Nat­ liskel i guten only Giants which roamed the lands of the move silently like a skill 3 thief (27%). Indians are more timid than others of lheir Giants are reputed to be stealers of fish kind. Even though they are very large and from nets and are known to raid camps for immensely strong, they never caused the food. Many giants are curio us aboul the destruction of which they were capable. "small ones" and will investigate small The average giant is taller than the taJI­ ampsites. est tipi and has a black [ace, which many They move quietly to a £ipi, rise up to say is just painted black. They wear bear­ their full height, and peer down the smoke skins, and pre[er to dwell alone in caves or hole to see what is happening inside. T hey similar underground shelter. may occasionally be bribed with fish. Giants have a unique odor. smelling as bitter and acrid as burnt horn . LEGEND: There are some giants known as "Nal­ A smal l hunting party came upon a liskeliguten," an ancient phrase which giant, asleep in the forest. Not knowing means "killers of men. "These Giantshunt whether or not he was sane, the party tied human beings and are fond of destruction. him up with ropes of buffalo hair. Several It is thought that these giants are insane pinioned his arms and legs while others sat versions of their shyer kin, a derangement on his chest. perhaps induced by some plant. Ten per-

G iant

Bear 's belt. As soon as the string was se­ vered, Meadow Lark grabbed the po uch and flew ou t of the camp. Grizzly Bear's roar broke the spell which bound the camp, and they a ll set o u t in p u rsuit o f the thieves. " H ere! H erel H ere/ " said Meadow Lark as she dropped the pouch to Coyote and then flew as high as she could. T wice Coyote hid and twice he was dis­ covered Exhausted, Coyote rea lized the enemy would soon ca tch him. "Herel" shouted Coyote, throwin g the pouch to Jack Rab bi t. Rabbit ra n for the pass in the mountains wh ich led to Coy­ o te's camp. Grizzly Bear ca ugh t Coyote and ki lled him in a fury, skin ning him a Jive in an ttempt to find the pouch. Then the Bear's fo llowers pointed to J ack Rabbit. Grizzly leaped and landed in front of J ack Rabbit. Grizzly Bear roared fero­ ciously and J ack Rabbit froze. Bea.r ad­ vanced toward the Rabbit. " Give me the pouchl" barked Fox. Fox grabbed the pouch and began to run for the pass. Nimbly avoiding the claws of Grizzly Bear, Fox left a n obvious trail. Grizzly Bear guessed the destination and leaped for the pass. As soon as Fox saw Grizzly Bear leap, he changed course and stealthily began to ru n up the side of the mountain. Grizzly Bear, now tired and confused , could not catch Fox before he reached the summit of the mountain. T here Fox broke apart the fire-stone a nd hurled pieces of the magic everywhere. Thus, fire can now be found in every part of the world. • The giant awakened. Upon seeing the Indians, he gave a high pitched cackling which rolled into a thunderous laugh. The gia nt broke his bonds and tossed the Indians as ide. He seized one of the unfor­ tunate hunters and lossed him in to a river a half-mile away. He pursued lheothers, but his thrashing and laughing gave th e men a mp le time to h ide. Coyote has hu nted and killed many of the insane giants, and there are some who say lhar. he has killed man y benign giants as well.

I.

Giant

13

Grizzly Bear AC: TK:

A tt: TRACO:

Dm:

0 150

2 7 3-36/3-36

L evellE xp: Vlll15100

15" Freq: Uniqu

M R: 15% No: 1

lnt: Average Size: L (10' Align : N eutral Evil M:

SPecial: R oar (lasts 3 m elee rounds, use a t will as skill 20

mage): creates Fear and Dispel Magic spells. Leap

(up to 100' p er j u m p). Begins to tire after third

j ump in a row. Grizzly Bear is power wilhout thought. He is suonger than any other animal per­ son, and his courage is great. He is a tyrant with his followers, and a terror in battle. His only weakness is his incredible temper, which often has him acting blindly and stupidly. While his alignmentis Neu­ tral Evil, there are aspects of Chaotic Evil in his nature. Grizzly Bear appears as a bear, although he can walk and fight in an upright posi­ tion more readily than a normal bear. The frightful damage he does while at­ tacking is not al1 he can do in battle. He can Roar twice per turn, with each roar lasting 3 melee rounds. A Roar acts as a Fear spell

flzzly Bear

and as a Dispel Magic spell caSlas a skill 20 magic-user. The range of a Roar varies for the powel. All within earshot arc affect by the Fear spell, but the Dispell Magic power of the Roar has a 240' range. If a character has made his save versus the Fear ability, he will not be affected by the Fear for the remainder of the encounter. The Dispel Magic is special. IL acts to aneel any spell which is being cast during the period of the Roar. Grizzly Bear may Roar at will. The Dis­ pel Magic ability works each time Griuly Bear uses it. Grinly Bear may also leap a distance up to 100 feet and a height of 50 feet in one jump. He may do this once per round for as many rounds as he w1s11('s; bu t if he leaps more than two consecutjve rounds, he be­ ames tiled. When he is tired, Grinly Bear slrik('~ and make!> all ~aving throws at -2. It takes a full lurn of rest for Grillly Beat to lun r ­ lion normall y again. For every consecutive leap beyond the third, modify Grizz­ ly Bear's to Hit and saving throw rolls further by -l. LEGEND: Grizzly Bear called a meeting of the animal people. He had hoped to take control of the animal people, so he tried to make sure Coyote did not hear of the gathering. Unfortunately for the bear, Golden Eagle flew over Coyote's sleeping place while on the way to the gathering, and warned COyOle. Grizzly Bear cowed alJ of the assembled animal people. He became chief, took the best of everything, and went to his lipi. The animal people were so afraid of Grizzly Bear that they did not ~dnrta... resist his cruel whims. Coyote finally found the meet­ ing place (a piec-e of informa­ tion which Golden Eagk Jl(;'g­

lected to mention) , and !>nc:ak('d in to one of the tipis. In the upi sal an o ld grandmother. "Go ask Grizzly Bear {or some food, Grandmother," COYOle instructed . " Tell him you have a hungry vi::.iIOr." "I cannot, for he is likely t o kill me l" she lamented. "You must, GrandmOlheJ. Do not fear, I have a plan. " T he grandmother went to the tipi of rizzly Bear and came back wi th an old piece of d ried meat. Coyote threw it to the ground and said, "Go tell Grizzly Bear that the mea l was satisfactory, but thal your visitor is sur­ p rised that dried meat is the best food a great chief can offer... The trembling grandmother did as she was instructed. Grizzly Bear roared, bu t in­ stead of striking the grandmother, h e gave her some of his best food. When the grandmother came back, Coyote ate the food. He then instructed the grandmother to get him a drum fro m Grizzly Bear. The grandmother returned with a sm all hand drum which sounded Iikea sq u irrel's cough. Coyote contemptuously threw it to the ground. "Grandmother, go and thank Grizzly Bear for the drum. Tell him it is alm ost a good as the one Coyote gave your visitor last year." Grandmother went to the tipi of Grizzly Bear. Abashed, Grizzly Bear accidenta lly broke one of the poles of the tipi. He grabbed his personal hand drum. "Give this to your visitor," he said, " Ask him if Coyote gave him a drum as good as thisl" So Grandmother returned with the dru m . Coyote went outside of Grandmother's tip i and began his power song. H e asked fo r rain, and it began to rain . H e made the song stronger. Coyote asked his powers to send him a biller cold. Coyote sa ng as the cold came. He asked that Griuly Bear fear the dogs' howling in the camp. When he finished his song, he said, "Grandmother, now go tell Grizzly Bear that only a fool stays in a broken tipi w hen it is so cold out." Grandmother went to the tipi and to ld Grizzly Bear. Grizzly Bear, who was hold­ ing together the pieces of the broken tipi poJe, snapped them when Grandmother told him what Coyote had said. "Grandmother, who is this visi to r?" shouted Grizzly Bear. "Who so in sults Chief Grizzly Bear?" Grandmother responded- "( ;oyOle. " Grizzly Bear roared and tOlC' III lO ugh the side of his tipi. H iSfOaf fti~hlc·lI(d the dogs in the camp and thty IWl!rtll to howl.

magic-user spell, cast by a skill 10 magic-user. Finally, the whistle may be used to resur­ Ae: 5 M: 30" Frcq: Unique rect a being when the BTl(: 40 MR: 10 /0 No: I remains of the deceased Au: 2 Int: High Size: SmalJ are struck with the THAW­ 10 Align: Neutral whistle. The resurrec­ tion functions as a Re­ Dm: 1'~6/ 1-6 surrecuon spell from a 1 '1 Special: Magic invisible whistleskill 16 cleric. Sleep (use 3 times per day, see table below), The Sleep power of thewrustle may be used Confusion (use Iwil'e prr day as skill 10 mage), three times per day, Resurrection (use once per day as skiH 16 derk). while the Confusion power may be used two J ack Rabbit appears as an ordinary rab­ times a day., The Resurrection ability may bit, alth ough he took other forms before be used once per day on normal people, and the appearance of humankind. His speed is without limit on the animal people. h is primary defense, but he also has a mag­ Jack RabbiL will rarely inleract with ic whistle that is visible only to those who humans. If he is seen, he will seek to avoid can see objects on the Astral Plane. contact, using his whistle if necessary. This whistle has three abilities, depend­ ing on how Jack Rabbit employs it. A droning tone will induce sleep in all beings of Jack Rabbit's choosing within 15 Number Affected feel of the whistle. Creature HTK by Sleep Whistle T his power works as a double-power up to ID8 . . . _.... _... 4D8 Sleep spell; it will have up to twice the ID8+] to 4D8 . . .••...• 2D8 regular maximum HTK for creatures nor­ mally ailecled by a Sleep spell, as well as 4D8+1 to 608 •....... . 2D1 abou t twice the usual number. See the table 6D8+] to 808 . . . •..... ID4 below . 8D8+ 1 to IOD 10 •.•••••• I or 2 T he whistle may also be blown shrilly, which produces confusion as per the

Jack Rabbit

Li ttle People c: BTl(:

All: THMO

Om:

6 3D8 1 16 1-6

LevellExp: VII IOOO

Level/Exp: 11l1l2;'+4/ HTK

M:

Freq:

MR:

No:

12" Standard Int: Varies Align: Neutral

Size:

Uncommon 1-6 Small

Some little people will not bother a per­ son who has "killed" them four times. They have few pow­ ers themselves. They can climb any surface, and will often walk upside down on the underside of branches. They are very agile, and never lose their balance regardless of the situation. They can land in any posi­ tion, after a fall of more than 5 feet. The liule people can also cause halluci­ nations in any person within 6 feet of them. These hallucinations will disorient charac­ ters unless they save vs. magic, in which case they shake off the disorienting effect. If the character does not save, he will come to his senses in an embarrassing posi­ tion, perhaps leaning upside down against a tree or boulder. A character under the effect of a hall ucination may not cast spells or use devices which have spell -like effects, and will fight with a -4 to Hit modifier. The little people are petty thieves, but they always return what they take. Howev­ er, they tend to leave the ilems in a visible,

5pecial:Only killed with special stone or wood weapons (see below). Climb any surface, even upside down , and never lose balance. Cause haHucinations within 6" of them. Bond with humans (see bflow ).

The little people, who favor mountains a nd the craters for their homes, are a very dark-skinned race standing 3 feet tall. They wear brown or red caps and garments. T hey herd jet black miniature horses, wh ich are raised to be eaten in lhe winter. T he little people are known to be cannibal­ istic, but they also befriend humans on occasion. H ostilities between the little people and humans are mosllikely to occur in the win­ ter, when food is scarce. Oddly, the little people can only be seen between dusk and dawn because they die ach morning. They sink into the ground 10 emerge, alive, lhe following sunset. T hey are not considered to be undead, since they are neither alive nor dead, but simply go through a perpetual cycle. Kil­ ling a little person is a temporary measure.

Unless he is killed with an weapon made from SLOne or wood taken from the ground on which he most re­ cently died, lhe little person will come back [0 life.

LEGEND: Jack Rabbit used to accompany the Coyote people on raids and special h unts. He would bring Coyote people back to life by hitting (hem with his whistle. Jack Rabbit brought Coyote back to life after Grizzly Bear killed him during the theft of fire (See Legend under Fox),. •

Jack Rabbit but inaccessible location like an oUlcrop­ ping just before a raging waterfall. A character who attacks a little person before he himself is attacked has put him ­ self on the menu for a future feast. The lillIe people will cominue to auack until all of the little people involved have been slain a( least four Limes, the character is consumed, or there is a successful parley with the little folk (bribe with something of value). Little people deal with other people be­ ause the power of a little person and a human can be much greater combined than separate. There is a 1% chance per little person and player character that a bond may be made. Oncea bond between a little person and a human is established, a cumulative power springs (rom Lhe inter­ action of Lhe two. For every three months that the pair spends together, the human or the little person "obtains" one skill level as a druid. Either member of the learn may cast spells but both are drawing from the same pool of mystic energy, i.e. rogether they have the spell capacity of a single druid. If they have spent more than three and a half years logether (enough time to give them the capabilities of a skill 14:druid, the maximum obtainable), they are perman­ emly bonded in spirit. They may be separated by any distance and still use their joint power. By calling the name of the other team member, either

15

one may be in instant telepathic contact with the other. If one character is in trouble, the other may transport to him as if by Word of Re­ call once telepathic contact has been estab lished.

Little People

LEGEND: A young Kalispel man fasted for many days in preparation for his vigil to find a personal spiril. He then ascended to the peak of the tallest mountain near his peo­ ple, where he hoped to find his spirit. Inside a cave at the summit he saw a group of little people preparing to dance. He went down into the cave to observe the dance, but none of the lillIe people paid any atlention to him. All the preparations were soon finished. The chief of the little people then invited the young man to dance with them. The dance lasted al1 night. In the morning the chief uttered a brief epithet. AU the dancing lillie people col­ lapsed, dead. Their bodies began to sink into the ground. Feeling that his vigil was not yet finished, the young man waited. Night returned and so did the lillie peo­ ple. They danced [or four nights. On the fifth night the Kal ispel knew it was lime to leave. As he ~taned to leave, a little person grabbed him. The young Indian grabbed [he small one in turn, and started down the mountain with him. The lillIe person escaped. The [ndian returned the next night, and once again captured the little person.

Meadow Dancers 8

D8 1 Dm:

16 1-4

M: MR: lnt: Align:

12"

LevellExp: 1113o+2/HTK

Fteq: No:

Standard S· High Neu tral

Uncommon

4-16 Medium

Special: Voices charm. Touch paralyzes. Vulnerable onlv to fire based attacks. A meadow dancer is a spirit which ap­ pears in the form of a beautiful woman. They have compelling voices and they dance a circle dance which is literally enchanting, Any character who hears their singing must save versus magic (+3 on Lhe saving roll) or be charmed. A charmed character will join the dance, clasping hands with LWO of the meadow dancers. Any character who joins the dance voluntarily must save versus magic nor­ mally or be charmed. After the dance the meadow dancers will use their power to paralyze the characters. Each meadow dancer touching a character is allowed one paralyzation attack, and a character must save versus paralyzation or be so affected. The actions of the meadow dancers to­ ward the characters are then determined by

16

a 0100 roll. A roll of 01-40 indicates the meadow dancers take a hostile, possibly fatal action, 41-70 means a neutral action, and 7] -00 indicates a positive action. Characters who are druids or are of Law­ ful Neutral alignment receive a +10 modi­ fier to the roll, those of Lawful Good alignment receive a +5 modifier to the roll, and ALL others recei ve a -15 modifier. Roll for each character involved in the dance. A hostile action will put the character in some danger or kill him immediately. A neutral action will usually be the conclu­ sion of the dance, a chorus of laughter, and the disappearance of the meadow dancers. A positive action may bea minor healing of existing wounds, or granting food (ID6 meals) which will never spoil and which will grant the eater the energy of a full eight hours sleep. Dancers may relay.information through

When he wa~ h.t1tw:lY down Ihe mountain, the dwarflik(' Ilt',tltlIt' 1'~(..IPt'(1. He tried twice more, and limtlly "U«(t'l'tieu in bring­ ing Lht Ii ule pt'l ... un v. i I h II 1111 to h is village on Lhe CifLh try, "If you keep 1lH' ;111

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Murgah Muggui 31

ifestation of her evil nature. If she is killed, the poison becomes that of an ordinary giant spider. Murgah muggui likes to see her victims suffer. She knows that the virulence of her poison is infamous, so she will only bite victims who are trapped in her web. In addition to her poison, murgah mug­ gui has an ability which functions as a Spectral Force. It may be used three times per day. She wil1 often create a person or object which auracts adventurers to her webs. There is virtually no redeeming feature to murgah muggui. Any adventurer who rids the world of her should feel proud.

LEGEND: Murgah muggui was a witch during the Dream lime. She enjoyed the flavor of hu­ man meat, and would try to trap hunters. She would assume the guise of a beauti­ ful woman to approach a young humer. and would ask him where he was going. She would then propose to accompany him, as she "just happened to be going that way." When it grew late she would say, "You should make a camp. It is getling very dark." "I have to get back to my camp with this food," the hunter usually would say in objection.

Najara AC: S M: HTK: 40 (6DS) MR: 1 tt: Int: THACO; 13 Align: Dm:

"Alright, but let me cook just a small meal for you before you leave," murgah muggui would say. The meal would be delicious, but poi­ soned. It would induce a lethargy which the hunter could not overcome. Murgah muggui would suggest that the hunter spend the night with her. The poi­ son and her charms would succeed in dis­ pelling any apprehension the hunter may have felt. Once the hunter was asleep, the witch would steal away, recover her enchanted yams tick, and return to the man. When she awakened him, he would set her in her hideous true form, but he would be unable to move. She would pin the hunter to the ground with her yamstick, laughing as she watched him die.

12" Freq: Unique Standard No: I Average Size: Medium Neutra

1-8

Special: Whistle acts as Charm Person or Mamma] speU (use twice per day). +1 or better to hit. Cannot be turned as undead. AU those who travel with him forget their past lives (see below).

day.

32

LEGEND:

=*' =*' =*' There was a young hunter named Mul­ lyan . He was strong, but there were strong­ er hunters in the tribe. He was dever, how­ ever, the most clever in the tribe. While hunting he met Murgah Muggui, and she approached him as she had the res t. He agreed to dine, but became suspicious as dinner time drew near. "I would really like some wallaby, " he said. "Bul I am almost done with this meal,"

LevellExp: VII50o+8/HTK

Najara is the spirit of an abOligine hun­ ter wh o was killed on a lengthy hunt. Naja­ ra's :,piril now wanders the land, seeking other hunters or wanderers who mighljoin him. Naj ara has an ability which acts as a Charm P erson or Mammal spell. Whenev­ er the spirit whistles, any being within hear­ ing range must save versus magic o r b charmed. Such saving throws are modified by a +2. Najara will always wish for the charmed character to travel with him, but wi ll never take more than three characters. N ajara may whistle [or the Charm effe(·t twice a

Characters will continue to wander with Najara until they break his C harm on them. Once the Charm is broken , Najara may not charm the same character until an interval of one moon has p a ssed. A character will regain the memories he lost while wandering at the same rate a t which he losllhem. He may roll for specific knowledge at any time, but he may roll only once per day per fact or skill. At the end of a time eq ual to the time spent wandering, all forgotten knowledge is returned, regardless of the player's die rolls. Najara may not be turned as an u ndead .

When the wandelerdecides LO travel with Najara, he will vanish for weeks at a time. D uring this time Najara will always be able to find game and other food for the wanderer. Najara has the abililY to make those trav­ eling with him (orget much of what they know. They wi 11 begi n to forget from the moment they met Najara, and they wi]] forget according to the following table. If a skill or fact has been remembered, there is no need to roll again unless th unfortunate adventurer continues for a longenough time to increase the Forgotten Interval. In that case he must roll again. Any skill which is remembered when lhe

be checked haracter' s memory _ Example: QItUIl ~l Ihe Thief has been wandering lor ~ t'\~11 wt~(: ks . He meets his other IOUI pally lTlf'mht,~ after this time. H{' roll~ ~2, flH.llt), :11111 II 101 I emembering the indiviUII:d p:llly ltH'tllbl'r'). Quoll.l '( ~ "Il~ lTIh(~ ,s Ilw third character, has no idta whn tllI ~ ri''ol ,Illulourth mem ­ ber:, an', and rJlol)!!hl), fillds the second L be maUdl! lIifl~lr lall1il1i11 nUL still u n ­ known to hilII. Time .'orgotten Wandering Interval Percentage less

Ih~n

1 ~ ( ';11 S H ~l ;tlS Ih }t-ar'l

207f) 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

... 1 yea,

95%

1 w('ek

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1-2 wcd.. ,> 5-6 wt'(·k-, 7-8 wt"t'k'i 9-10 wi.,'cks 11-20 wl'l:ks pel i.,'xtra w(,t'k

. \ IIlC)IIII1 .'I

I ),I.'al 2 Yl:ill...,

Time Wandering i.., Ih, .Ilnount of lime spent Ilavt'lin~ willi N.ljal:J. Forgotten Interval 1'0 t he pOI lion of the wandeler'" lifto, '>ti!fling hom the firs t day 01 wamit'Jllig U,H kwauh, which might be iOlglllll·'1. Percentage i" th(, nUl1ltH'1 above which a wandeler mw,l ,oll on a 11>100 in order to rt.'memb('1 ;t specifi( fau or skill which he It>alJlt'd dUI illg tht Forgotten Interval.

(ill us.

p. 22)

A tribesman named Najara was hunting emu when he saw a dingo and decided to hum it instead . Najara's spear fou nd its mark, but the wounded dingo did not die. Its cries brought many other dingoes. Najara killed many of t.he wild dogs with his club, but there were several more. The dingoes LOre at Najara and killed him. The moon-man, who was called Deen, saw that Najara was dead. lie buried the tribesman. Three nights later Najara came out from the ground. "How did you do that?" asked the aston­ ished Deert. "1 did not like the ground. The ground did not like me," said Najara. "I am going to find a new land in which I can be at peace. I think I will start with the desert. Would you care to come with me moon­ man?" "1 am afraid I cannot," reI ied Deerl. "I shall find someone else," said the spir­ it as he walked away. A boy from the tribe was walking over the plains near h is camp. From the tall grass he heard the sound of whistling. In ­ trigued, he approached the tall grass. "Who are you?" the boy asked of the shadowy figure in the grass. "I am Najara. I am going to find a good country. Wou ld you care to come with me?" asked Najara. At first the boy refused, but Najara's whistling confused and enraptured him. He went with the spirit. The boy and the man-spirit went on a walkabout which lasted many months. After a long lime they returned to the plains . Hunters from the boy's tribe saw the boy and Najara. The hunters sneaked up on the boy and grabbed h im. The boy called out to Najara, but all he could hear in response was the receding whistle in the distance. The boy was like a wild animal. The hunters had to tie him up until he would eat as a human eats. They took him back to camp where he was kept tied up until he could remem ber his language. It was weeks before he recog­ nized his relatives. The spirit of Najara still travels the country. •

The Seven Sisters 9 (3) AC: HTK: 4D8+4 1 Att: TllA co: 15

Dm:

12" Freq: Very Rare MR: 25% No: 2­ Int: Varies Size: Medium A lign: Neutral Good M:

1-6

LeveiI Exp: VIHI I I 0O+5/ HTK Special: Each is skill 7 druid. Use 1 cleric, druid, or magic­ user spell of any level per day. Each has vamstick: Permanent Chant Be AC 3.

The seven sisters are women of the Bun­ jalung tribe. They are sorceresses, each of them capable of spells as a skill 7 druid. In addition, each sister ma y u seonespeU from a n y of the clerical, druidic, or magic­ user list of spells. T hese m a y be spells of any level. T hey may use one such spell per day. Each o f the seven sisters possesses a yam­ stick. In the hands of each o f the women , th is yamstick acts as p erman ent Cham, Protection from Evil , Protection from Normal Missiles, Resis t Cold, and Res ist Fire spells. T he yamsticks also the gram sis ters an Armor Class of 3. In the hands of a nyone but the sisters, the yamsticks will retain only their Chant ability. The sisters are very 10yaiLO one another. Any threats or hostile action will be paid back i n kind, and harming o ne of them is a guarantee of th e enmity of the others. T he sisters roam the lan d doing neu tra l or small good deeds. Upon encountering adventurers they will be cordial but distanl. T hey will not act on beha1f of the charac­ ters u n less doing so would help their tri be, or failure to do so would help a great evil. T hey wo u ld never joi n an adventuring party.

storm which would uproot all the trees and bring them crashing down upon Karam­ bal. Another wanted to summon a]] the dingoes in the land to harry and finally rip Karambal aparl. When each of these plam was proposed, anoth er sister would mention the uncon­ trollable nature of the solution. Their cap­ tive sister might be hun. In the end it was decided to seek out the p ower known as Winter and command him to descend on the camp or Karambal. · ~.J"III

•

L EGEND: Every day th e seven sisters would hu nt the carpet snakes which were overrunning their tribe's land. They would remind each other to carry their yamsticks, b ut one day one of them decid ed it w as to o h ot to carry the h eavy stick for the entire hu n t. A man named Ka rambal wanted to m ar ­ ry one o t the seven sisters. He was ne ither p articuLar a bout which one nor concerned that marrying any of them was forbidden since they we re the wrong kin to h im . W h en he saw th e sister wi tho ut h er yam­ stick, he wa ited for the sisters to sep ara te in their p u rsui t o f snakes. Then he carried o ff the stickless sis ter to h is camp. The remainin g sisters were incensed. They d iscussed ways o f getting thei r sister back. O ne sister fa vored conj u ring a great

T h e Seven Sisters They sem a magical yamstick to their sister, by the winds which they com­ manded . With this yamstick the sister was safe from the cold. The free sisters then went to Karambal and asked for their relative's release. The man was quite happy to return the girl in exchange for the end of the cold. T he seven sisters decided to leave the re­ gion, that they might not be bothered by the likes of Karambal again. They buill a ca mp in the heavens, where they now dwell. The sisters relurn to earth wh(>n they feel the n eed to put something right, 01 when they see too many carpet snakes. •

33

Spirit Children AC: HTK:

Att: TBACO:

Dm:

8 (var.) I D8 (var.) I

M: MR:

LevellExp: IIIJO+I/HTK

9"

Freq:

5%

No:

Varies Size: 19 N eutral 1-6 or by weapon type lnt: .A lign:

Common 1-4 Medium

Sb ecial: Have special abilities (see below) with skill 10 profi­ ciency. Work only 60% of the time GM NOTE: It is possible La haw' an other­ wise normal human non-player character be a spirit child. In thalcase, grant him one

special ability. and one-half of an ex traor­ dinary abiliLY {Ol the purposes of calculat­ ing hi~ worth in experience poims.

Ful1 y hu man in appearance, spirit child­ ren are the result of a spirit transfer between a nimals and humans (see table below). Spirit children occasionally have special abil ities as a result of their parentage. % Chance o( Having Attribute Attribute Sp eak Animal Parent T ongut· . . . . . . . . . . .. . Infravision ........ .. .......• Speak With Animals .. .... . . .. ESP . . . .. .... ..... .. ...... .. Cla iraudience .. ...... .. . ..... Clairvoyance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... Telekinesis .... .. ............

45 15 10 10 05 05 01

Monsters of

Chinese Myth and Leg

% Chance of H aving Attribute is the number which a D100 roll must be equal to or less than in order for the spirit child to have the allribute. Speak Animal Parent Tongue is the ability to communicate verbally with animals which are the :,ame as that from wh ich the spirit child was released. Infravision is as described in the stan­ dard ru les. T he other abilities function like the spells. Assume p roficiency as a skill 10 magic-user when determining the effects of attribute use. All attributes of the spirit children work 60% of the time. On a roll of 60 or less the attribute functions full y. If the roll is greater than 60, the attribute does not work a t all, and no further at­ tempts may be made with that attribute until 24 hours has passed. Spirit children are well accepted by the aborigine commun ity. They have none of the stigma which other cu ltures attach to children not en tirely of human parentage. Spirit ch ildren choose the parents they are born to. T he paren ts must be kind and gentle and o f G ood align ment. Only 5% of food animals have spirit hildren in them (see Legend).

Sp irit Children 34

LEG END: A great spirit called the Rainbow-Snake lived in a regio n kn own as Nimaluk. The Rai n bow-S na ke created a dearing i n wh ich he se t sm all, polished stones. T hen he willed spirits to come into exis­ tence, placing each spirit into a stone. These were the spirits of men , women , wild a n imals, and certain gam(' animals. The last group he called "spirit children. " W hen a hun ter kills a goanna lizard, tor­ toise, goose, or other animal for food, he sha lters the stone whi< h (olltains the spirit child. When he.: lake!:> tht' animal back La camp, the spirit child chooses a mother there. The physical condlLion of the animal can alter the condition of the child at birth. A child named Moina was born with a crooked arm because his blother had bro­ ken the wing of a goose he had speared. For this reason aborigines take care of their captures until they gel to camp •

Lion Demon

The rich and varied Chinese mythos represents more than 2,000 years of accumulated myth and three distinct religious philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Each religion contributed a different facet to the mythos, but the tales can be read as parts of a whole. The Chinese view of the world was extremely orderl y. A divine bureaucracy ruled in heaven, an d an efficien t counterpart adminisLered the 100 hells which could claim the less devou t. 35

The gods would notice ever y action. One could be sure of a precise final judgment, if not more prompt divine intervention.

ANIMAL SPIR ITS The mythos holds that animals had spirits which were more powerful than the flesh which contained them. Such spiri LS could assume the form 01 a hu­ man, living for years undetected among true humans. Their lifespans often ran to centuries, and their tempers were often evil. Even those spirits which were not striClly evil were viewed with suspi­ cion or haued since an animal mas­ querading as a human violated the natural order of thing~.

ST ANDARD ANIMAL SPIRIT C HARACTER ISTICS nless otherwise stated the lollow­ ing ho lds true [or all animal spirits. Animal spirits will always beclolhed in g'drmenLS which reflect their animal coloration. A 100ster spiri I will probably appear with a red cap. the spirit of a whi te python wil1 be clothed in a flowing white robe, and a lion spirit may wear a tawny colored jack