Shadows of Esteren The Tri-Kazelian Bestiary PDF [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

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Shadows of Esteren is a role-playing game imagined and conceived by the ForgeSonges collective

Blake Rottinger Adam Morrow

Adam Morrow

Adam Morrow

Adam Morrow

Korphen Vincent Proce Lisa Steinberg Andreas Rocha Jason Chan Aaron-Radney Brenoch Adams Velinov Kevin Pun Pascal Quidault

Nelyhann

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Forgesonges is a collective of authors and illustrators, gathered under the form of an association, whose goal is to create quality game material. Check for news and the latest publications of the collective on http://www.forgesonges.org

Copyright © 2012 Agate RPG Agate RPG is a brand of Agate Editions Agate Editions, 84 rue du president Wilson 92300 Levallois-Perret, France Contact, questions, distribution: [email protected]

Illustrations, text, and logo are copyright © Agate Editions. November 2012 This is a fan-made supplement and is not created with intent to sell, and other illustrations belong to their respective artists. -2-

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8 Natural Denizens Influenced Denizens

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16 Non-Player Characters

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22 Kelpie Leszy Croaking One Trench Spider

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resented here in this book should be most of what you need once your players get into trouble; whether it be animal, feondas, or worse; their fellow man. It is said that it is not the destination that counts, but the journey, and a journey without conflict would be a bore to experience. Presenting situations where your players step into the domain of a territorial creature, simply hunt for food or find themselves engaged with other travelers truly helps spice up an adventure, especially in Shadows of Esteren where a character could feel the effects of having been bitten by a wolf on their way to the village, even days after the event had occurred. Keep in mind that not every creature in the peninsula is just out to kill, these are living things with motives and self preservation instincts. The deer has its routine it follows daily, doesn’t go into certain areas of its own woods even, and when impacted with a weapon bolts to get away. It may defend itself when backed into a corner, but many animals know when enough is enough and fight or flight kicks in. For the most part, it’s just common sense. When the bear is nearly dead, it likely flees, it doesn’t just tear into a player for the sake of you being able to land another blow before the encounter is over. And if it does the players now ask the question of “why did it fight to the death?” Admittedly there are times for this, and not every creature presented here has the same instincts or tactics, but bottom line is just run it as believable as possible. And in the aftermath, once the dice rolling has come to a close, allow your players to inspect the creature, revealing its gender. That alone may have a story to be spawned in the player’s minds. Was it a female, does that mean it has a

mate around, does it have young, are they nearby? And of course, where did it come from, did it have a lair? Did it leave a trail? And just perhaps a player may think to ask (and their character be capable of) about harvesting its remains. Suddenly your bear not only inflicted some wounds that will last for days, but has also provided a pelt to assist with the cold environment or to sell for some daols, has potentially also provided meat to be cooked and or sold as well, and may have a trail that if followed could lead back to a cave for shelter for the night. Tri-Kazel can be a scary place, what with factions that wander the roads exchanging looks with players that don’t share their ideals and the horrid feondas lurking in the depths of the wilds, emerging to prey upon human folk, but don’t forget the normal animals. Especially when in Esteren getting to your destination should be an obstacle. Keep in mind, not all encounters exist to be overcome as well, and engaging some, or too many of some of the following creatures can easily lead to deadly encounters. Make sure to play up the fact that not everything wants to fight to the death, and make sure your players are aware that there’s no shame in fleeing to live another day as well.

he Tri-Kazelian Bestiary is a labor of love, from myself, Adam Morrow, hoping to provide many Game Leaders with a great collection of natural animals, and NPC stats that should roughly fit or adapt to what you need for most scenarios, as well as a handful of new feondas. This is not meant to be a ‘feondas collection’ or an attempt to compile all feondas from official Shadows of Esteren books such as those that appear in Book 2 Travels, Occultism, or the Dearg Campaign. I am not affiliated with the Shadows of Esteren team, Forgesonges Collective, or Agate RPG, nor am I affiliated with any of the artists whose pieces have ended up here but I have tried to credit the artists if possible.

I do not own any of these images, or ownership over any copyrighted terms or names, or for that matter the fonts. I have just worked with what I could to create this as close to the official products as I could. I am just a loving fan of Shadows of Esteren like you, for many years I longed for a gritty low-fantasy all-human RPG and was thrilled upon discovering Shadows of Esteren as it fit all the bills and was the most beautiful collection of RPG books I’ve ever seen to boot. Without further ado, please enjoy “The Tri-Kazelian Bestiary.” -

e following listed creatures are those players may happen across while adventuring through the peninsula. Some are naturally hostile, or have reasons to hunt, while others are typically harmless or could be given specific scenarios. The naturally non-hostile caernide may in fact become hostile, if it became corned, perhaps diseased, influenced by accursed grounds, possessed, or infected by something worse. Perhaps the scenario calls for hunting some deer, or a fabled elk in the nearby woods. The following should hopefully present the statistics you need to help your players engage the creatures they share their world with.

While not every breed of dog, or every type of corvid is given separate stats, the stats that are given should roughly be able to stand in for whatever variant of that creature it needs to be. Also listed are three primary domains that might come into play as your players interact with them; Perception, Stealth, and Feats. When it comes to selecting an attitude during combat rounds, unless otherwise noted, assume every combatant has a Potential of 2.

These creatures are naturally occurring in the wilds and the mere sight of them wouldn’t normally lead any individual down any crazy thoughts of why they have happened across it.

These monstrous cattle bear resemblance to

oxen with shaggy fur to help them through Tri-Kazel’s terrible winters. Found mostly in remove valleys, they are quite docile unless the herd is threatened, in which case they become deadly defenders. Unless a lone one is separated due to sickness or being cut off, Aurochs are usually found in a herd of 1d10+1, either out in the wilds in the depths of remote valleys or corralled on a farmer’s land.

Rage - If a female bear is guarding her cubs or is defending its territory, bears become enraged. In this case, the game leader rolls 1d10. A result of 3 or higher indicates a state of rage. This induces the bear to fight to the death, ignoring its own pain (no injury penalties), and will always select the Offensive attitude. This also means the bear’s Attack increases by +2. Bears are more likely to be encountered during the spring or fall months in Tri-Kazel, and hardly ever in winter, unless something has stirred them from their slumber.

Mountain Traveler - a character riding a Caernide gains a +1 bonus on Travel rolls made through mountainous regions. A caernide is an antelope-like creature that expertly traverses mountainous terrain. Horses are useful in Tri-Kazel, when traveling the few established roads, but when it comes to a woodland path off roads through the mountains where no horse will go, travelers opt for a caernide, which can be purchased for 2Fd▲.

Charge - If the Deer or Elk selected Move as it’s previous turn’s attitude, any attack made the current turn increases the damage by +3 to Damage 5. This bonus only applies if during the Move the Deer or Elk moved at least 3 yd.

Dogs may be encountered as wild dogs, stray hounds roaming the streets, or perhaps as watchdogs for people up to nefarious plots. However, most dogs’ trust can be won over by passing a Complicated (14) Empathy check and tossing the beast some meat.

Consider using crows (or any other corvid, such as Ravens or Magpies) to instill a sense of being watched, or perhaps followed. Encounters may simply come from hunting, but don’t forget of their attraction to shiny untended objects carried by the players. When a crow swoops down, it can attempt a contested Close Combat roll (Close Combat 2) to snatch a held shiny tiny object, such as a ring or pendant, or even a daol. They then either return it to their nest, or if they are influenced by or have been trained by a human, to their master.

Climbing - The spider can climb difficult surfaces, and upside down even without having to make any Feats checks. Venom - Mild - Upon receiving at least 1 damage, the character must make a Complicated (14) Stamina check or be affected by the Gigantic Spider’s venom 1d10 rounds later. The affected character feels incredibly woozy, and suffers 5 poison points and the skin where the bite was taken begins to rot away by the end of the day. If left untreated, after two nights the appendage must be removed or else the process begins again in the torso and the limb dies. While the torso is affected, the character falls into a deep sleep and doesn’t awaken until the disease is treated. After two days untreated in the torso, the character dies.

Horses can be purchased for 3Fd▲

Poison - Mild - Upon receiving at least 1 damage, the character must make a Complicated (14) Stamina check or be affected by the poison 1d10 minutes later. The character then feels sick to his stomach and begins vomiting and has a hard time keeping food down until treated, and suffers 5 poison points. While most snakes the players encounter are smaller ones crossing their path, simple garter snakes and those just out to hunt for rodents of the woods, occasionally they may bump into a larger species of snake that is a bit more threatening to those who cross its path, regardless of size. These snakes are often poisonous and are exactly the species of snake varigals often warn travelers of.

Distract - If this attack hits (even if it deals no damage), the character also becomes blinded until the Murder of Crow’s next turn, unless the character moves away. Swarm - A swarm only takes half as much damage as normal, unless by fire or some effect that covers an area.

Distract - If this attack hits (even if it deals no damage), the character also becomes blinded until the Swarm of Insects’ next turn, unless the character moves away. Swarm - A swarm only takes half as much damage as normal, unless by fire or some effect that covers an area. A swarm of insects can move through any opening large enough for a tiny insect, and may be able to fly, climb, or burrow depending on what insect this is a swarm of.

Disease - Mild Stomach Flu (1 Universe, pg. 242). Upon receiving at least 1 damage, the character must make a Complicated (14) Stamina check or contract the disease, which will present itself 3d10 days later. Swarm - A swarm only takes half as much damage as normal, unless by fire or some effect that covers an area.

Wolves are often encountered as a pack of 1d10, and if so are usually out on the hunt for meat. It is typical for the pack to stalk the players first for 1d10 hours before springing an attack. And even then not all of the pack hops into the encounter, watching from the sidelines unless needed. Wolves favor guerrilla tactics and if nearing defeat will retreat only to stalk again; until half or more of the pack has been defeated.

These creatures don’t merely exist and are not naturally occurring. They owe their existence to the tampering of demorthen and magientists, whether directly or indirectly or have been twisted by disease, or living proximity to terrible evil. In a way, they are “lesser feondas,” things a villager would definitely race back home in fear from and alert locals (whether they believed him or not), but not so exclusive and powerful or intelligent as a real feondas like those found in Chapter 3: Feondas.

While motionless this tree is indistinguishable from normal trees. Rooted - An awoken tree cannot select the Move attitude. Fire Weakness - The Awoken Tree takes 2 times as much damage from fire effects. An Awoken Tree has been given a semblance of sentience by a demorthen in the past through some ritual or proximity to some evil or chemicals.

While motionless this bush is indistinguishable from other bushes. Slow - When selecting the Move attitude, the Awoken Bush can only move a total of 1 yd. An Awoken Bush has been given a semblance of sentience by a demorthen in the past through some ritual or proximity to some evil or chemicals.

These are creatures others would have once called friend or family, or human. Through proximity to evil, resorting to acts of cannibalism and losing their humanity in the process, or a strange drug that has made them no longer human, these creatures thirst for blood and flesh. Never satiated, they hunt relentlessly, seemingly for the thrill of the hunt and to appease their gluttonous appetites. They no longer speak, only grunt and issue curiously complex hand signals to each other.

Grab - After initially hitting a character, they must make an opposed Close Combat roll to avoid being grabbed by the Creeper. If the character is already grabbed, instead of making an attack, the character must make another opposed Close Combat roll or be pulled 10 yd. closer to the Heart of the Plant. A carnivorous plant may have mutated from magientist experiments, been altered by demorthen, or may have become a twisted creature of evil due to its proximity to a cursed location. Source: 0 - Prologue, pg. 43

Witnessing the crawling horror of a Gigantic Centipede calls for a Complicated (14) Mental Resistance roll as it emerges for the first time from it’s location. Source: 0 - Prologue, pg. 52

Charge - If the Giant Elk selected Move as it’s previous turn’s attitude, any attack made the current turn increases the damage by +3 to Damage 10. This bonus only applies if during the Move the Giant Elk moved at least 3 yd. Rooted - The carnivorous plant cannot select the Move attitude; the plant must draw the victim adjacent with one of its creeper vines to be able to attack with its mouth.

A Gigantic Elk stands as tall as you deem and occupies just as much space at it’s base. At a point in its past, this animal was either augmented in it’s growth by demorthen rituals or was affected by its territory if it had magical properties. Giant Elks are incredibly rare, but people have claimed to see them, however each one’s existence is due to their own personal experiences and are not a true ‘species’ that just happens naturally. Depending on the region, hunting of elk,

like deer, may be poaching if the hunter is not of royal blood. If this is the case, the execution of a giant elk in royal woods may face the most severe of punishments. That is, if they are caught or if the royal family is aware of its existence.

These huge reptiles are the size of a monitor lizard with an orange hue, with disturbing eyes and a hypertrophied jaw. These creatures only exist as a result of magientist experiments or the poisoning of their water source from magientist locations. Source 0 - Prologue, pg. 69

These creatures may be summoned as a ritual by demorthen in swampy terrain to do their bidding, they are misshapen creatures made of mud, branches, and stones, attacking with long swampy tendrils. Source: 0 - Prologue, pg. 52

hile the wildlife may very well come into play, engaging your players in various ways, it goes without saying that at some point weapons will be drawn when negotiations go sour or someone gets just a bit too hot-headed. While keeping in mind that animals have survival instincts and often will not fight to the death, humans too will not often fight to the death either; some things are worth dying for, but not most things. It’s not uncommon for any of the following to know when they’ve been bested, outnumbered, or worse having sustained injuries they may not recover from for days, even weeks. In any case, whether it’s a fight to the death, or just showing someone ‘who is in charge around these parts,’ the following NPC characters will, with any luck, be able to portray enemies you may need on the fly while running your Shadows of Esteren© game. They are not meant to portray a fleshed out individual like those found in Book 2 - Travels or other supplements.

The Blade Knight is a very competent fighter, but never resorts to gratuitous violence. He abides by his ordinances and if a Sigire is around will obey orders.

Wise, usually older in age, and full of hatred for magientists, Demorthen could be encountered everywhere, sometimes with an Ionnthen under their tutelage. When encountered a Demorthen has 2 ogham stones of your choosing.

Ionnthen are idealistic and sometimes conflict is unavoidable. When encountered, an Ionnthen has an ogham stone of your choosing.If their Demorthen master is around they will abide by their wishes.

Experienced magientists are often encountered alongside magientist scholars, working on a project or just being taught. At times players may encounter an experienced magientist who is away by himself seeking to scope out a track of land or to sneak beyond Reizh’s borders to obtain flux from a newly learned of deposit. In any case, with the tension between magientists and the natives of the peninsula it is likely that at some point a fight could occur with one. If there are any magientist scholars around they likely do as told unless given a reason not to.

… It’s inevitable, once a human foe is defeated, given the players have time to, their remains will be rifled through for the taking. The enemies here in this chapter always have the armor they are wearing, the weapons listed that they use, and in addition they carry 1d10 ember daols with them, and a unique item as follows by rolling 2d10. On a result of a 20, roll twice and they carried both. The value of the item follows the result, in case the players would like to sell it. A collection of pine bark

1d10 cocoons of silk 4Ed▲

A bottle of cheap ale 1Ed▲ A patch of hemp cloth1Ed▲

A piece of iron ore 3Ad▲

Healing Balm 4Ed▲ A square of leather hide (1/4th enough to make a Leather Tunic) 5Ed▲

A four-leaf clover (+1 luck rolls)

A handful of bird feathers. 3Ed▲

Two pieces of bread 4Ed▲ A small bag of tea leaves or drugs (value varies) Giant spider silk wrapped around wood. 1Ad▲ Hollowed out goat horn that smells like beer 2Ed▲

An apple 4Ed▲ A piece of cheese 1Ed▲ A foot-long sharpened stick

Tanned rabbit hide 4Ed▲

Two pints of oil in a flask 4Ed▲

When encountered, they have two canisters of a flux type of your choosing.

Gang members aren’t uncommon in any of Tri-Kazel’s larger cities, but not all members wear a uniform or an insignia claiming themselves as such; you never know if the butcher down the street, or the messenger boy could be a part of organized crime. In any case, gang members usually back down after being reduced to half health, after all the crime isn’t worth dying for, and they’re just following another person’s orders most likely. When being interrogated, they may speak up about secrets, given that they’re promised some kind of sanctuary or passage to leave from those who may harm them from within the organization.

The Members of the watch are well-trained, disciplined me, numbering about 1 per 50 inhabitants of a settlement. As reflected by their stats, they have also improved their Defense and Speed, being familiar as they are with uncooperative rabble.

Scholars are often out doing research, scoping out lands, or part of an away team from Reizh. They are budding academics, and at times are

found traveling with an Experienced Magientist they are working under. Typically when encountered, they carry a canister of flux of a type of your choosing based on their recent activities.

Osag warriors adhere to the clan-like lifestyles of the oldest of Taol-Kaer tradition. They fight with brute strength, and with honor. It is unlikely to see any true warriors north of Taol-Kaer, but those you do are typically on a personal quest.

Peasants make up the majority of people in Tri-Kazel, from children, to town drunk, to the baker, to the blacksmith. Rather than stat each of these professions or types of individuals, simply pick one skill they have focused in so far in life and give them a 5 in that skill. For example, a blacksmith would use the above

stats, but would in addition have Craft: 5, or Craft: 5 (Smithing 7) for a more experienced individual in their area of focus.

Sigires are never just ‘around’ they are always somewhere with a purpose,sent by the Temple to deal with the highest of matters, and many of the common folk feel the area is very tense around them and avoid them. A Blade Knight obeys any task handed to them by a Sigire. They believe men are imperfect by nature and that the One can offer them the possibility of correcting their mistakes, by force then so be it.

Soldiers are different from guards; soldiers are often stationed in keeps or fortresses, or are traveling in large groups en-route to their destination. They all answer to a captain, and work to spread the law from where they hail under direct orders. Their allegiance is typically displayed either by the color and patterns of their armor, or through insignia upon their shields or banners.

Well-traveled, and wise in regards of nature, most Varigals have come close to death plenty of times and those of older age are marked to show it by plenty of scars, fingers lost to frostbite and so on. As for attitude, some tend to let their experiences to have gotten the best of them, turning them cynical, others haven’t spent enough time traveling to experience enough hardships and come off as oddly positive.

Lurking in barren crags, hidden in the depths of the darkest woods, and remote places many don’t dare to venture, feondas call home. While the end of Book 2 - Travels introduces some sample feondas to insert into your stories, the following creatures may too perhaps find their way into your world if you so need them to be.

The Kelpie is a shape-changing feondas that lurks alongside rivers, swamps, or along a coastal body of water such as a bay or inlet. It appears in its natural form as a combination of an emaciated horse and a sickly human with slimy skin and long stringy black hair. It’s face is that of a horse with a mouth filled with jagged teeth. However many do not see it in its true form, usually finding the feondas in the guise of a beautiful woman or normal horse. The Kelpie lives on only hearts and livers of humans, and its goal is to get people to attempt to save it, or ride it where they become adhered to it’s skin where they can drown the rider.

Amphibious - The Kelpie can breath both air and water. Adhesive Skin - Whenever a character touches the Kelpie, their skin immediately bonds with the feondas, and remains bonded until death of either the character or the Kelpie. Only skin however bonds, not gloves, or pants for example. Fire Resist - The Kelpie takes only half as much damage from fire, rounded down.

Hypnotizing Gaze - Once per 24 hrs the Kelpie can attempt to lure a single creature within 20 yards. The target must pass a Complicated (14) Mental Resistance roll or become captivated. While captivated, they perceive the Kelpie as a beautiful woman in mortal danger or a valuable steed, they only select the Move attitude and advance towards the kelpie by all means possible even if it means advancing into a dangerous area. Once adjacent, if the Kelpie wishes it to do so, the captivated character mounts the Kelpie and adheres where the kelpie can now ride beneath the water where the victim drowns. This bond lasts for as long as the Kelpie is alive and the victim is within 1 mile. Shape-change - Once per day the Kelpie can transform itself to look like any humanoid or animal it so desires. It still cannot speak, and still can communicate telepathically, and can still use its hypnotizing gaze while in its new form.

At the heart of a designated woodland territory lies a secret. The feondas known as the Leszy is nature’s own way of protecting the forest and animals from the threat humans impose when tampering with the land such as logging or more invasive threats such as mining for flux. Leszys are ancient powerful forest spirits given form, possessing a deer skull as a head and tree-like

limbs. Many who have lived to claim to see the creature do so only by leaving the woods upon seeing it. As characters venture into the territory of the Leszy they find the borders of it marked with totems made of roots, stone, plants and animal bones, hanging from trees or stacked on woodland mounds. These totems are the eyes and ears of the Leszy, and crossing them or destroying one is to declare war on the feondas. A complicated (17) Travel check lets a character learn of stories of the Leszy, and that these totems either keep the creature in, or out, no one’s ever quite found out and cases of these feondas popping up are slim to none. A Leszy might perhaps be revered by local demorthen, viewed as a herald of nature, and are knowledgeable about the fact that an injured animal left near the totems will be taken by the Leszy and cared for elsewhere in the territory (likely the Leszy’s lair). Leszy revered by local demorthen are typically more lenient on trespassers, giving them more of a chance to leave before becoming hostile.

totems it has created in the area. These effects fade away after 1d10 days following the death of the Leszy.

Fire Weakness - The Leszy takes 2 times as much damage from fire effects. Totem Stride - The Leszy can use its MOV to enter an adjacent totem and emerge from another totem elsewhere within it’s territory. Call Primal Beasts - The Leszy calls out to the wilds and one round later its choice of either a murder of crows or a wolf appears and remains until an hour passes or until the Leszy is destroyed.

As opposed to the natural Leszy, you may have a corrupted one. This variant strays away from its territory, trying to lead travelers astray to slaughter them inside its land, and to abduct children. This type of Leszy has been created by a person who steals a child from a nearby village, traps it inside the Leszy’s lair in a tree trunk and letting it starve to death within. This causes the Leszy to grow into a more blackened and twisted version of itself and the surrounding woods. The region containing a Leszy lair is empowered by the creature’s presence, creating the following effects: - Woodland creatures appear slightly larger than usual and require a Standard (14) Empathy check to not become hostile. - The Leszy controls and can change all weather in this 6-mile radius of the lair. - The Leszy can see and hear through any

Grab/Pull - After initially hitting a character, they must make an opposed Close Combat roll to avoid being grabbed by the Root. If the character is already grabbed, instead of making an attack, the character must make another opposed Close Combat roll or be pulled 3 yd. closer to the Leszy. When encountered, for using Sigil Rann the feondas acts as though it had an animal and a plant ogham stone of your choosing.

The Croaking One is, simply put, a toad corrupted. It has grown to a massive size, nearly twenty feet wide and tall, lairs in a swampy region with a cult in reverence to it. The cult of the Croaking One starts small, usually with a random fisherman or

woman traveling the swamp seeking fish or herbs, or perhaps a magientist scoping the land for flux or alchemical ingredients. The individual falls victim to its hypnotic gaze upon the feondas emerging from the brackish waters. And before long a cult exists, of anyone existing cult members bring to their new master, save for the ones it eats. At any given time the Croaking One has 1d10 cultists alive in reverence to it, likely in nearby homesteads and villages. Beneath the brackish waters of the swamp, a “u” shaped submerged tunnel goes deeper and rises up to an air-filled cavernous room with walls of densely packed mud that isn’t overly stable. Damaging the walls here would be incredibly detrimental to all those in the room, bringing the ceiling and walls down violently on them all and water submerging the cave, likely leaving those inside trapped under

the debris and drowning. The walls and floor are soaked with moisture and the place smells foul. Each round, before any combatants take their turns,

Amphibious - The Croaking One can breathe both air and water Leap - The creature can use it’s Move attitude to leap as far as 6 yd. and up to 4 yd. high. Swallow - The Croaking One may also substitute its normal bite by swallowing someone who is still wrapped in its tongue; the

character is pulled into the mouth of the feondas and can no longer select the Move attitude, and is blinded (-2 attack) while inside. The character can still attack while inside, and can be cut out by companions. Every turn the character starts inside the mouth they take 4 damage from the acidic insides. Hypnotic Gaze (one use per character) - The Croaking One targets one character it can see within 10 yd. that has not already been attempted on yet. The character must make a Complicated (14) Mental Resistance roll or become charmed by the Croaking One. While charmed, they feel compelled to find the nearest humanoid creature to feed to it as a sacrifice. Each time the character takes damage they can repeat the Mental Resistance roll to snap out of it. Otherwise, the effect lasts for 24 hrs. When this effect ends, the character must make a Difficult (17) Mental Resistance roll, failure gives the character 3 trauma and a success gives 1 trauma. Tongue - In addition to the Croaking One rolling for its own Speed, its tongue has its own turn order as well in addition.

Grab/Pull- Instead of just biting, the Croaking One can attack up to 5 yd. Away with it’s tongue. After initially hitting a character, they must make an opposed Close Combat roll to avoid being grabbed by the Tongue. If the character is already grabbed, instead of making an attack, the character must make another opposed Close Combat roll or be pulled adjacent to the Croaking One.

The Trench Spider lurks in deep ravines, beneath a bridge, or within rocky gorges where the sunlight struggles to reach. It’s lair a mess of sticky webs, bones and odds and ends that used to belong to victims, none dare enter. Typically the Trench Spider is a feondas that is to blame for disappearance along a path. The trench spider has come into being by simply being a giant spider left alive by travelers for far too long, and perhaps in conjugation with terrible rituals or evil presences in the area as well.

Regeneration - When the Masks Robber is slain, another mask on its body comes to life. This restores it back to 5 health points, and the Masks Robber has 3 masks at the time of the confrontation. This takes 1 full round, but it attempts to feign death while waiting. Poison - Upon successfully inflicting at least 1 damage, the poison of the spider shuts down a limb: 1-2: Right Arm. 3-4: Left Arm. 5-6: Right Leg. 7-8: Left Leg. 9-10: Player’s choice. At the end of a turn while poisoned, a character must pass a (18) Stamina check or the poison spreads to an adjacent limb. If a character has a numbed leg they move only have the distance each Move attitude, and two numbed legs means she cannot move but can be moved by others. If a character has an arm become numbed they drop anything in that hand, and can’t use it. A character affected by the poison feels its effect wear off after 3 hours. Source: Daniel Ray Hughes II

This feondas is an evil entity that is spawned from the hatred and remorse of those buried. It it confined to it’s tomb, or catacombs from which it was spawned, but exists to wander the halls collecting the death masks from those buried within for an unknown purpose. It resembles some kind of Drein, looking like a walking corpse with a collection of death masks collected. It wanders tunnels slowly and hides, preferring to assault those caught off guard, tracking would-be tomb-looters if need be.

Rage - When its last mask us destroyed the Masks Robber performs a final attack after his death in a state of rage. It ignores wound penalties, and is in offensive attitude.

Source: Canvas - Goldwern, by Deorman