Monsters die differently. Their vitality stat depletes when they are wounded, losing points equal to wound severity—1, 2, or 3 vitality per hit. At 0 vitality, they die. People never have a vitality stat. They die complexly, as cutters do.
6-damage wounds kill most monsters instantly.
Monsters use unique hit location charts. Charted body areas feature their armor and the effects caused by hitting them, listed in italics. Wound effects include:
daze
robs the monster of its next action. 2 daze = knockout
stagger
grants an edge to attackers. 2 stagger = knockdown
knockdown
monster falls down.
knockout
monster falls unconscious, rolls Fortitude every turn to wake
A monster’s foe type determines when location hit effects transpire and how they react to attacks and vitality loss.
simple foes do not suffer malus, react to attacks, or roll to resist wounds. They suffer hit location effects from all wounds.
cunning foes react to attacks and intentionally exploit edges but do not roll to resist wounds. When maimed—at ½ vitality—they suffer 2 malus. They suffer hit location effects from sev. 3 wounds.
mortal foes react to attacks; suffer malus every X vitality lost (per their malus stat,) abuse edges, and roll Fortitude to resist wounds. They suffer hit location effects only from non-resisted severity-3 wounds.
on statblocks
The more inhuman or exceptional an enemy is, the more it breaks the rules. These divergences makes them faster for you to run and more unpredictable to the cutters facing them. Some monsters:
Don’t roll to hit. “no roll” attacks can’t be aimed at body areas.
React differently to your defenses, forcing wise reactions. Some defenses are more effective than others. Others less so.
Act unpredictably and more often in the initiative order.
Guide for reading statblocks:
“✓” means “success”
Everything after the “:” describes an attack’s hit effect
[Bracketed] text described how defenses interact with an attack.
Reach matters. Opponents with superior reach get an edge when defending.
Enemies can block, dodge, and counterattack like cutters. Their block stat equals their main weapon’s damage stat.
Monocellular slimes. A common subterranean nuisance. Amoebas advance blindly, attempting to subsume life, dangerous in their singlemindedness and incidental stealth. Easily evaded, but easily stumbled upon. Most amoeba species ambush at close range, preferring to drop on targets’ heads.
Topic: Monsters -2: Griseatic amoebas, AKA grey slimes. Common in climes naturally rich in grisodate salt, namely around the Bay of Grey. These slimes absorb nutrients from other lifeforms by partially or fully engulfing them in their cellular membrane.
engulfreach 1no roll [dodge✓ avoids] → Hit: Grabs target [grabs weapon vs block.] While grabbed: +1 Drain stress/rnd. Might −2 to escape grab. Escape penalty doubles every rnd until −8. Then: target begins drowning.
hit locations — 1d4
1–3. membrane
4. nucleusinstant death
loot blob carcass (distills into common salts and grisodate;)
Topic: Monsters −2: Chalkstone amoebas, AKA colloid amoebas or smotherstone. Infamous adversary of subterranean explorers. Filled with minerals eaten off cave walls, they exhibit shear thickening, hardening, imperious to damage when struck. They are attracted to movement, especially to breathing, which they can sense at distance, attempting to envelope the source. Infamous for suffocating sleepers in deep caves.
Knee-high blob of milky stone. Controlled sheer-thickening allows it to flow at will but harden when struck.
tacticsOozes towards foes, attempting to digest. Does not defend.
actions
1
vitality
6
skill
2
speed
4
traits
Barometric senseblind; senses spatial changes within 20 m.
Sheer thickeningarmor deactivates when salted.
blob anatomyimmune to knockdown and stagger.
attacks
subsumereach 0Occurs during movement, no roll [Dodge✓ avoids] → Hit: Grabs [grabs weapon vs block/counter.] Might −2 to escape. Penalty increases by 2/turn. At −8, engulfed target begins drowning.
hit locations — 1d4
1–4. membrane / 8|6
lootnone—collapses into milky thin white mud when killed.
lurchoccurs in course of movement, No attack roll → Hit: 2–3 body areas burn at intensity 1d6 (saturating burn.) [+1 weapon wear on block/counter]
hit locations — 1d4
1–3. membrane
4. nucleusinstant death
loot 1d4 units amoeba acid if killed with bludgeoning and harvested with Dissection.
beastman
Properly known as ekheinum, beastmen are the territorial sorcerer-minions of Idra. They are robust humanoid brutes with deer or elk-like heads full of human teeth. Their yellow eyes gleam with a vulgar approximation of sapience driven by dominance, the rut, and appalling displays of territorial violence.
Number appearing: 2d4+2 beastmen, if organized. Equal parts does and stags. If found on patrol: 1d6+2.
An antlered wildman. Eyes wet and rolling in a deer’s head. Gory incisors bared in an insane grimace unbelonging a stag. Six-point rack rusty with gore. Nude flesh tanned and anointed with daubed swirls. Stinking of eager musk.
tacticsEager to charge. Wrestles if maimed, attempting to bite foe to death or throw them. Dodges or blocks. Counterattacks weakened foes.
thrown javelinRange 14+6 to hit [dodge @ −2] → Hit: 1d4+3 S + 2 speed penalty if embedded in target or their shield .
uppercut swingReach 1no roll [block @ −2] → Hit: 1d4 + 2 B.
wide swingReach 1no roll [dodge @ −2] → Hit: 1d4 + 2 B.
grabReach 0+6 to hit, → Hit: Grab [dodge✓ avoids.]
biteReach 0only vs grabbed target, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 s.
goreReach 1no roll [dodge @ −2] → Hit: 1d4 + 2 P + 1 impale stress [defense✓ avoids.]
1d8 hit locations
1. antlermax 1 vitality loss
2. headdaze or stagger
3. neck
4. armdisarm or release grab
5. chest
6. abdomenstagger
7. legstagger
8. weapondestroys weapon
lootjavelin, warclub
bat
Large bat species are a common nuisance in abandoned castles and mountain valleys. They are a reservoir of diseases, which they are immune to but readily spread to other mammals. Gully bats in particular—AKA Baltese mountain bats—are territorially aggressive and carry a battery of sicknesses.
A gibbon-faced brown megabat with seashell ears and a prodigious 2-meter wingspan. Silent wings betrayed by frequent echoic clicks.
tacticsTerritorial. Attempts to shove opponents off ledges. Dodges readily. Breaks off attack if opponents flee territory.
actions
2
vitality
4
skill
4
speed
10
traits
animalinflicts dirty wounds.
airbornecan move in three dimensions.
echolocationperfect spatial senses within 100 m.
wingedif staggered, falls prone and drops to ground.
attacks
flybyReach .5only while airborne, occurs during movement, no roll [defend @ −2] → Hit: 1d4 + 2 S [1d4 + 1 vs counter] + shove 1 m [dodge✓ avoids] + exposure to disease.
biteReach 0only on ground, +4 to hit→ Hit: 1d4 + 1 P [1d4 if counter] + exposure to 1 disease.
hit locations — 1d4
1. headstun
2. body
3. wing armstagger
4. wing patagiummax 1 vitality loss
lootbat spleen w/ 1d8 trace salts (extractible with Dissection.)
centipede
All centipede species are poisonous. Large species are heat sensitive, a trait they use to hunt down substantially larger prey.
Topic: Monsters -2: False-carmine centipedes are common arthopods found in sandy areas. Their brilliant red color indicates maturity and corresponds with the full development of their venom glands. Despite their color, the centipedes are not a source of carmine dye. the red fades in their tissues shortly after death. Their poison, however, while not potent, keeps indefinitely.
A meter-long hook-fanged arthropod with sixty seething legs. Its carapace stark red, striped with fleshy grey-yellow joints.
tacticsAmbushes predator. Bites and leaves, hoping for the poison to do its work. Braver in groups, biting repeatedly.
actions
2
vitality
4
Base skill
4
speed
7
traits
animalinflicts dirty wounds.
sticky feettraverses walls and ceilings.
attacks
poison biteReach 0no roll → Hit: 1d4 P + 1 Poison stress per danger round until resisted with Immunity −4. 1 resist roll per round. [dodge✓ or block✓ avoids poison.]
1d4 hit locations
1. Head / 2|1instant death
2. Body / 2|1
3. Legs / 2|1max 1 vitality loss
4. legs / 2|1
armorcarapace (2|1 everywhere)
lootx2 venomous forcipules (extractable with dissection @ +2.)
crab
Large species of crab are endemic Coast-wide, and nearly all of the are edible.
A prodigious red-orange spider crab held offensively aloft on slender legs, its bulbous eye stalks nearly head-high. Two shear-like claws pinch pensively at the air on quick, lengthy arms.
tacticsPicks apart opponents, grabbing then pinching. Blocks with claws.
actions
2
reactions
2
vitality
8
maimed at
4
Base skill
4
agility
5
speed 7
perception
3
subtlety
6
traits
animalinflicts dirty wounds.
dual circulationbreathes in water or air.
attacks
snipReach 1.5no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 1 S [1d4 vs counter, grabs weapon vs block.]
pinchReach 1.5+4 to hit → Hit: 1d4 B + grab [dodge✓ avoids, grabs weapon vs block.]
1d8 hit locations
1. Cephalothorax / 2|2instant death
2. Carapace / 2|2
3. Arm / 2|2releases 1 grab
4. Arm / 2|2releases 1 grab
5. Pleon / 2|2
6. Legs / 2|2stagger
armorcarapace (2|2 everywhere.)
loot3d4 units crab meat extractible with butchery.
lemure
Spirits, they say. Lemures shirk sunlight, preferring seacaves, abbattoirs, and moonlight fishmarkets. They are scavengers, but may attack opportunistically if pestered.
A heap of innards redolent of raw blood. Kidneys, pancreases, stomachs, and other offal assembled into a lurching, moaning corpus. Crawls on arms of large bowel and strikes with tentacles of darting intestine, their ends ringed in lamprey teeth.
tacticsSimplistic. Gangs up on targets, trying to wriggle inside their rib cages and abdomens, aiming to puncture the aorta or heart.
actions
2
vitality
9
skill
4
Speed
4
traits
boneless50% bludgeoning damage resistance.
spoilinginflicts dirty wounds.
wetnot easily set on fire.
attacks
strikeReach 1no roll → Hit: 1d4 gut−tentacles grab target [1d4 − 1 vs counter. dodge✓ avoids.]
burrowReach 0only vs tentacle-grabbed target, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 P per grabbing tentacle + exposure to fat rot or ague.
stomach acidRange 6+4 to hit [dodge @ −2] → Hit: 2 contiguous body areas begin burning (d8) [dodge✓ avoids.]
1d4 hit locations
1. corpus / 2|1
2. gut tentacles / 2|1releases 1 grab
3. corpus / 2|1
4. bowel legs / 2|1instant death
armorlayered offal (2|1)
lootlemure cartilage (extractable with Dissection)
Rare, healthy lemures acquire the ability to cobble skeletal muscle into their borrowed physiques, making them larger, more structurally distinct, and vastly strong. These “carnous” lemures are not squeamish like their lesser brethren: They brachiate about on crude arms, willfully attacking livestock—and people—for their inferiors to scavenge.
A gigantic torso and clubbed arms assembled from entrails and massive sides of meat. Marbled with spoiling fat, undulating with a clotted pulse, wriggling with biting intestinal cilia.
tacticsUninhibited. Tramples opponents massed in front, tentacle bursts those behind. Counterattacks. Will die to protect smaller lemures.
actions
3
reactions
0
vitality
12
maimed at
6
Base skill
8
agility
2
Speed 4
Perception
4
Subtlety
1
traits
boneless50% bludgeoning damage resistance.
largerepresented by a 2x2 m square if on grid.
ultradurablecannot die instantly.
unconcernedcannot block or dodge.
spoilinginflicts dirty wounds.
wetnot easily set on fire.
attacks
slamReach 2no roll [defend @ −2] → Hit: 1d4 + 3 B [1d4 + 4 vs counter.]
tentacle burstReach 2vs everyone behind the lemure, no roll, → Hit: 1d6 gut−tentacles grab target [1d6 − 2 vs counter. dodge✓ avoids.]
trampleReach 0occurs during movement, vs all in path, no roll [defend @ −2] → Hit: 1d4 + 3 B [1d4 + 4 vs block or counter] + knockdown [stagger if dodge✓] + grabbed targets are dragged along.
burrowSpecialfree each turn, only vs tentacle-grabbed target, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 P per grabbing tentacle + exposure to fat rot or ague.
1d6 hit locations
1. corpus / 3|2
2. corpus / 3|3
3. gut tentacles / 3|3releases 1 grab
4. arm / 3|2
5. arm / 3|2
6. innards / 3|2
armorlayered musculature (3|2.)
loot2d4 lemure cartilage extractable with Dissection
mandrake
A humano-assumptive, protocarnivorous, parasitical plant piloting the corpse in pursuit of fertilizing flesh. It weilds an a ultrasonic cry, lethal at close range.
Defending against the mandrake’s cry
Simple hearing protection (wax or corks in ears) lets you ignore the first effect of each cry. Advanced hearing protection (isolation suit, shooting muffs, deafness) ignores the first 2.
A corpse pale and dirty as a turnip. Its fingers tattered from digging, its ruined cranium home to a broad-leaf plant with thick, waving stems. Roots curl through the eyes and mouth like potato sprouts.
tacticsAdvances, crying repeatedly, attempting to disable a target before executing them with a point-blank cry or physical blow.
actions
2
1 attack
reactions
0
vitality
8
maimed at
4
Base skill
5
agility
2
Speed 4
fortitude
6
subtlety
5
traits
mechanosensitive“sees” within 20 m by vibrational sense.
weaknesssev 3 blows to head.
attacks
ultrasonic cryspecial hits all targets within 30 m. within 30: Succeed Fort. −2 or suffer 1 effect from d4 cry effects list. within 20: 1 cry effect + Succeed Fort. −4 or suffer another within 10: 1 cry effect + Succeed Fort. −4 or suffer 2 more 1 target w/in 2 m: 2 cry effects + Succeed Fort. −6 or suffer 1d4 + 1 b to skull. Bypasses armor. Dodgeable. Requires line of sight.
bludgeononly vs staggered target, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 1 B
A soil-encrusted black skeleton, oddly upright. From its fragmented skull bursts a hairy tuber crawling with pale sprouts and a shock of dark broad leaves like burdock.
tacticsAdvances, crying repeatedly, attempting to disable a target before executing them with a point-blank cry or a physical blow. Counters, only dodging longer weapons.
actions
3
1 cry
reactions
2
vitality
6
maimed at
3
Base skill
5
agility
4
Speed 6
perception
9
subtlety
6
traits
gruesomecauses 1 distress in human onlookers.
mechanosensitive“sees” within 20 m by vibrational sense.
plagueSuffers 1d4 vitality loss from grisodate.
skeletalsuffers vitality loss only from unresisted sev. 3 wounds.
weaknesssev. 3 blows to head disable cry.
attacks
ultrasonic cryspecial Hits all targets within 30 m. within 30: Succeed Fort. −2 or suffer 1 effect from d4 cry effects list. within 20: 1 cry effect + Succeed Fort. −4 or suffer another within 10: 1 cry effect + Succeed Fort. −4 or suffer 2 more 1 target w/in 2 m: 2 cry effects + Succeed Fort. −6 or suffer 1d4 + 1 b to skull. Bypasses armor. Dodgeable. Requires line of sight.
bludgeononly vs staggered target, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 1 B.
Sorcerous terror units. Sustained by sorcerous half-life, but infamous for a habit of devouring human prey. Hunger drives them. Hunger unreal, incapable of satiation. Heraldic myths confuse lions with manticores, attributing to the big cats a deliberate viciousness and hateful demeanor unearned.
A maneater. Moon-faced head heavy on a bulging neck. Shark-teeth bright in a crescent mandible gaping wide as a human skull. Lionine body hollow-bellied and hyperplasic, muscled, starved, and armored in a mane and low coat of dense metallic spines. Tail vertebral, corded, tapered to a pom-pom tuft of steel quills. Affect miserable, hungry. A xanthic gaze leaden with hate.
tacticsOutrageous shock troop. Eagerly finishes downed opponents with bites (abusing edges.) Launches quills prolifically, hoping to slow foes with poison. Only counterattacks. Fights to the death.
actions
3
[1/turn]
reactions
3
vitality
12
malus
EVERY 4
Base skill
8
agility
8
Speed 10
Perception
6
Subtlety
6
traits
biometal hideignores first 3 burns.
durablesuffers death and dismemberment at 8 damage, not 6.
powerfulmovement unconstrained by grabs or grabbing.
seethinggets a turn on initiative 9, 6, and 3.
attacks
swipeReach 1no roll [defend @ −4] → Hit: 1d4 + 4 S [1d4 + 2 vs block] + stagger [avoid if dodge✓.]
biteReach .5only vs staggered target, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 4 P + extra Impale stress [avoid if dodge✓.]
throw quillsRange 8+8 to hit, 1 free/turn [defend @ −4] → Hit: x2 1d4 + 2 P + manticore poison.
tail maceReach 3vs 1–2 behind the manticore, no roll [defend @ −4] → Hit: 1d4 + 4 P + manticore poison.
Manticore poison
Roll Immunity −4 to resist. Failure: 1 Poison stress, lose 1 Agility level.
1d8 hit locations
1. face / 3|2stun
2. maned head / 4|31d4 damage to atkr if reach 1 m
2. maned neck / 4|31d4 damage to atkr if reach 1 m
3. foreleg / 4|3
5. torso / 4|3
6. abdomen / 4|3stagger
7. leg / 4|3stagger
8. spine tail / 4|3disables throw quills for 1 round
armorcauldron-cured skin (3|2 face,) iron bristles (4|3 elsewhere.)
loot1d6 units manticore poison (extractible with Dissection.)
White teeth in a black leather face. A body fetid and leaking. swollen and bruised, gushing liquefaction. The flesh splits under blows, extraneous. Putrid armor for the plague within.
tacticsStrike, grab, then bite humans. Strike all others. Counterattacks, only dodging longer weapons.
actions
3
2 attacks
reactions
2
vitality
6
maimed at
3
Base skill
5
agility
3
Speed 5
Perception
4
subtlety
2
traits
diseasedinflicts dirty wounds.
gruesomecauses 1 distress in human onlookers.
plagueSuffers 1d4 vitality loss from grisodate.
skeletalsuffers vitality loss only from unresisted sev. 3 wounds
scuttlingno differentiation or penalty for prone vs standing.
vital bone50% piercing and slashing damage resistance.
attacks
strikeReach 0no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 B [1d4 + 1 vs counter.]
biteReach 0no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 P [1d4 + 3 vs counter.]
grabReach 0+5 to hit → Hit: Grab [dodge✓ avoids.]
grave water vomitrange 1free on grab → Hit: Exposure to disease.
Two red pinpricks in the dark. Wet shining fangs. A killer with spindly horns swaddled in filthy shredded cloth matted with dirt and dead skin. Lean and hungry, its belly sunken, its claws groping and eager.
tacticsEager for the fray. Apt to loose a single arrow before Reach. Dodges gleefully, counterattacking when it senses an advantage.
actions
2
reactions
2
vitality
10
maimed at
5
Base skill
4
agility
6
speed 8
perception
6
subtlety
8
traits
filthyinflicts dirty wounds.
infravisionmonochrome night vision. highlights warm life.
keen nosecan smell targets through walls.
photophobiabright light causes 1 malus.
attacks
biteReach 0only when grabbed, +4 to hit → Hit: [−2 to defend] 1d4 + 2 P
shankReach 1no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 3 P [1d4 + 2 vs block]
swipeReach 1no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 S [1d4 + 3 vs dodge]
A human skeleton stained and driven to mindless violence by black plague. Bereft of life’s flesh, reduced to twitching gristle and bones connected by the wiry ligaments of plague.
tacticsGrabs, then bite humans. Strike all others, or when lacking a head. Counterattacks, only dodging longer weapons.
actions
3
2 attacks
reactions
2
vitality
6
maimed at
3
Base skill
5
agility
5
Speed 7
fortitude
2
might
6
perception
6
subtlety
7
traits
diseasedinflicts dirty wounds.
gruesomecauses 1 distress in human onlookers.
plagueSuffers 1d4 vitality loss from grisodate.
skeletalsuffers vitality loss only from unresisted sev. 3 wounds
scuttlingno differentiation or penalty for prone vs standing.
vital bone50% piercing and slashing damage resistance.
attacks
strikeReach 0no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 B [1d4 + 1 vs counter.]
biteReach 0no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 P [1d4 + 3 vs counter.]
A broad, stooped bird-thing cloaked in quills of split bone. Within the haystack of shards clicks a hooked beak under a mask of stolen bone. Loth to fight, but capable of great violence.
tacticsRushes from ambush, hoping to secure a fast kill and retreat with it.
large presencerepresented as a 2x2 m square on the grid.
motion unrelentinggets turn on initiative 10 and 6.
pricklyattackers striking with reach < 1.5 m suffer 1d4 + 1 P.
ultradurablecannot die instantly.
attacks
biteReach 1move ≤2 m, +6 to hit → Hit: 1d6 + 3 P [+1 weapon wear vs block/counter]
fling shardsvs all targets within a nearby 3x3 m area, no roll [dodge @ −4, counter/block ineffective] → Hit: x2 1d4 + 4. 1 adjacent target struck by arm [dodge @ −4] → Hit: 1d6 + 2 B
puff shardsrange 4vs everyone around rattleshake, no roll [dodge @ −4] → Hit: 1d4 + 4 P.)
1d6 hit locations
1: Beak / 6|3
2: Face / 5|4flees if hit by unresisted sev.3 twice
3: Torso / 4|3
4–5: Arm / 6|4
6: Front talons / 4|3
7–8: Hump / 4|3
9: Legs / 4|3stagger
10: Foot talons / 4|3stagger
armorboneshard cloak (4|3 everywhere but head,) dense shards (6|4 arms,) beak (6|3,) bone mask (5|4 face.)
loot50% chance of an item from this list. Additionally, rattleshake meat provides ample phosphate salts.
A monstrous owl-thing atop four great legs. Its body high in the trees, camouflaged. Banded, dark, concealed on high. Its legs: Scaly, lichened. Indistinguishable from pine trunks.
tacticsStrides into Reach, shrieking. Exploits of edges from charging and attacking from above. Kicks and stomps until over a foe, then bikes. Legs dodge. Does not counterattack. Retreats at 3 malus, sprinting.
actions
4
2/turn
reactions
2
vitality
25
malus
every 5
Base skill
7
agility
8
speed 10
perception
11
subtlety
12
traits
animalinflicts dirty wounds.
anosmicno practical sense of smell.
durablesuffers death and dismemberment at 9 damage., not 6.
motion unrelentinggets a turn on initiative 11 and 4.
night visionperfect night vision ≤ 2 km.
well-supported4 stagger required to suffer knockdown.
massive quadrupodrepresented as four 0.5 m legs on the grid. Body unreachable by weapons shorter than 4 m. Per turn, each leg moves, remaining within 4 m of others. Suffers stagger per leg forced farther apart. Legs stagger individually, contributing to knockdown.
attacks
biteReach 3+7 to hit, only vs target between legs: [defend @ −4] 1d6 + 3 P [+1 weapon wear on block/counter]
stompReach 3no roll [defend @ −4] 1d6 + 2 B + knockdown [or staggered if dodge/block✓]
kickReach 3no roll [defend @ −2, counter @ −4] 1d6 + 2 S + knockdown and thrown 1d6 m [or staggered if block✓]
An insectile gremlim. Roughly spherical, soot-colored. Its limbs and beetle-body assembled from hair, fingernails, skin cells, and the detritus of dustbins, crawlspaces, sofa cushions, and rats’ nests. Two feet tall, at most. To dissect it would yield lint, filth, and a jumble of uncannily powerful bug-arms.
tacticsloth to fight openly, but viciously opportunistic. Utilizes furniture, height advantage, and stealth greedily.
actions
2
vitality
3
skill
2
speed
4
traits
filthyinflicts dirty wounds.
seismic eavesdropperimmune to surprise.
sticky feettraverses walls and ceilings.
tinderboxburn damage kills the topple.
attacks
shoveReach 1no roll → Hit: target shoved 1 m + knocked down [or staggered if dodge✓]
toppleSpecialno roll → Knocks over a furniture item [block/counter ineffective]
nipReach 0no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 P [1d4+1 vs counter]
1d4 hit locations
1. Mouthparts
2. Thorax
3. Carapace
4. Armsstagger
armorcrust (2|1 everywhere.)
lootlint
wag
The folk of the countryside fear and despise the wag, called also the gangrel or the fairy-dog. It is a militant force of the otherworld: While spriggans are a reminder that the other is near and working subtly to expand, the appearance of a wag (or wags, for they always come in packs) is notice of active colonization. The cackle of the wag—their constant, seemingly-meaningless expression of glee, yapped continually to each other while at play or at mischief—is a hated sound in the nighttime woods, for it marks the wreaking of misdeeds. Heard but unseen, simultaneously hidden and confidently gleeful in their rascality.
A pack of wags wreaks no direct violence on humankind: They will not hunt or willingly kill people. Instead, they embark on elaborate missions of terror and nuisance, targeting crops, livestock, and property. They craft and wield simple tools—such as self bows, in which they are frustratingly proficient—and raid sparodically. They steal chickens, bespoil crops, murder farm dogs, block up outhouses, and—most notably—assemble traps in woodlands. They do it all unseen, if not unheard, dispersing immediately when confronted. If found in their territory, in the wilds, they hold no confidence whatsoever: They play skittish and guilty, or behave as if prosecuted. They will tell as much, for gangrels, in their limited cognition, can speak human words—though they do so nonsensically and with no regard for the truth, comprehending only the present tense.
Topic: Monsters/Otherworld −2: As in all real fairies, black blood runs in the veins of wags. Iron hurts them. Fear of it fuels their guilty and avoidant nature. Additionally, wag anatomy makes them unable to truly stand erect: When at archery, they shoot from a low, hunched posture with a reversed grip. When mobile, they hold weapons or tools in their mouths and dash low over the ground. For this postural quirk, they avoid engagment within reach of larger combatants.
An impish wolf-thing. A pointed face with cat-teeth, furtive orange eyes, and triangle ears apt to rise in glee or droop sidelong in miserable caution. Its lank skeleton, stretched with grey pelt, converts readily between a slimline slink and a hunched monkey-squat—the better to use its clutching, clawed hands. Black stains its bushy tail, as if used to clean a smoking pipe, and hangs dolorously, as if denied sufficient mischief.
tacticscagey and avoidant. Will flee before committing to Reach combat. Prefers ambushes or parlay to a fight.
actions
2
reactions
2
vitality
8
maimed at
4
Base skill
5
agility
7
speed 9
perception
7
subtlety
7
traits
black bloodloses 1 vitality on contact with iron.
slouchedin Reach, can’t hit higher than the abdomen vs human-sized targets without height advantage.
attacks
self bowRange 12requires 2 actions, +5 to hit → Hit: d4 + 2 P
flint knifereach .5no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 1 P [knife breaks vs block✓]
1d6 hit locations
1. headdaze
2. neck
3. armdisarm
4. chest
5. abdomenstagger
6. legstagger
loot bow and knife, 1-in-4 chance of small bag with local berries or firestarting material. Grey pelt extractable with Butchery
wolf
130 years ago, the last grey wolves were shot in eastern Leah. These were the world’s own wolves, who hunted long before humans ever named it Nôren. Hated for all history as maneaters and sheep-stealers, they were viciously and finally extirpated come the Industrial Enlightenment. Only pelts remain of them.
What wolves stalk the hinterlands now do not belong there. The remotest echo of their song portends as much: Deeper, sincerer in slaughterous intent than ever the grey wolves sang. The mere glimpse of one a valley over spells a ravishment of the heart and senses, a long instant of terror difficult to escape. They are a shape and an affect unmeant for the Coast, thoroughly disturbing: The long cross-step lope. The lowered venatic skull. The atramentous eyes vivid with intellect.
The black wolves of the Otherworld. Long checked by the late autochthonic greys and contained to the Eastern reaches, they prey now upon the wider Coast. Their depredations do not stop at sheep. They do not respect the territories of man or beast. They claim travelers from the forest paths with candor and hardly shirk at gunshots or fire. They bleed black as fairies do, but unlike them gorge on the red flesh of Coastal folk and animals unburned by the iron. They devour hundreds, yearly.
Named for their jet coats and eyes, black wolves are clever, powerful, and ruthless. Their ears are long and keen. Their skin tough and reluctant to spill its black blood. Their pelts often adorned with woven embellishments bestowed by fairies, who love them dearly. Standing bounties still pay for black pelts, just as they did long ago for the endemic greys. None can tally the pelts redeemed against the wolves’ kills, though—the wolves consume them bones and all.
Black wolves always appear in packs of 2d6 members.
Most packs threaten a while before attacking, daring prey to exchange a sacrifice for peace. They work in concert, striking and disengaging, swapping injured wolves for fresh. A pack retreats after stealing a kill. 1-in-4 chance a pack retreats per wolf maimed.
Achromatic lupine horror. Slinking, slouching, seething in equal parts. The shoulders broad and maned. The ears pointed and well-back on a muscled head. The void-eyes level and low. The fangs white round a dark and steaming tongue. Its confidence is absolute, its brethren many. Its tactics sound.
tacticsDodges attacks. Disarms foes weilding superior reach. Counterattacks weakened foes. Grabs only when convinced of a kill.
black bloodloses 1 vitality on contact with iron.
coordinatedpack members benefit from cohesion.
swiftextra +2 m traversed when dodging and moving.
terrifyingcauses 1 distress in onlookers.
attacks
tearreach 1no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 3 S [1d4 + 2 vs block] + wolf moves ≤ 2 m away from target.
seizereach 1+7 to hit → Hit: 1d4 + 2 p + grab [grabs weapon vs block.]
shakespecialonly vs grabbed target or item, no roll → Hit: 1d4 + 2 S + stagger or disarms grabbed weapon [Might −4 to resist disarm.]
hit locations — 1d8
1. mawreleases grab
2. headdaze
3. neck
4. forelegstagger
5. chest
6. chest
7. abdomen
8. rear leg stagger
lootroll Butchery to claim achromatic pelt
Some black wolves turn titanium-white in winter and never turn black again. These white wolves are closer to the otherworld than their kin: They turn invisible as älves do. Typically, white wolves rapidly assume the role of pack leader and spawn lethal packs of invisible children.
1-in-6 chance for any wolfpack to contain 1–2 white leaders.
An eddy of fog. A drip of eager slaver. A nearing trail of pawprints. Traces of the predator-ace, potent and bold.
tacticsConfident leader. Attacks the strongest foe. Aware of invisibility’s limits, preferring an attack from above or out of darkness. Breaks from its target to support flagging or injured packmates.