OCTOBER MONSTERS FOR RIGHTEOUS BLOOD, RUTHLESS BLADES
In the spirit of October I am converting monster entries from Strange Tales of Songling for Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades. These are supernatural creatures inspired by Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. I will be doing a few monsters each post and not including every monster as Jeremy and I have been developing certain creatures for an intended expansion.
These conversations are all preliminary. I am still on the fence with my max wounds adjustment. I ultimately settled on +1 from the base creature because wound scales for PCs in RBRB are higher than Strange Tales of Songling characters (but more than +1 created problems). I encourage GMs to experiment using different modifiers or no modifiers at all. For example the Bears of Intelligence in the Strange Tales book have Max Wounds 5, so I raised them to 6 here (originally raised this to 10 but that was too high, even though I think it might be a better reflection of an actual bear). If you think this is too low, try a higher number. For wounding I simply added a +1 Extra wound and in some cases opted to make monsters use open damage instead of closed damage. As I do more of these, I might adjust the numbers in this entry.
A note on Resist: A monster’s resist is unaffected by and not reliant on Level. It always is in effect no matter the level of the character attacking them.
BEARS OF INTELLIGENCE
These look like normal bears but have the intelligence of humans. Not only are they capable of thought and human-emotion, but they organize themselves into hierarchies and can engage in simple craftsmanship. Some groups have magistrates or kings. When dealing with other creatures they can be very civil, but with humans they are ferocious and cruel. It is possible for a person to reason with them. Some Bears of Intelligence can speak, some cannot.
These look like normal bears but have the intelligence of humans. Not only are they capable of thought and human-emotion, but they organize themselves into hierarchies and can engage in simple craftsmanship. Some groups have magistrates or kings. When dealing with other creatures they can be very civil, but with humans they are ferocious and cruel. It is possible for a person to reason with them. Some Bears of Intelligence can speak, some cannot.
Defenses: Hardiness 8, Evade 6, Wits 7
Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (damage 4d10 plus 1 extra wound), Claw: 3d10 (Damage 3d10), Speed: 2d10, Muscle: 4d10, Detect: 3d10, Trade: 1d10, Survival: 3d10, Athletics: 1d10, Drinking: 2d10, Institutions: 1d10
Max Wounds: 6
Type: Creature
Resist: 1
BUCKWHEAT BEAST
These creatures feast on farmers, stalking through their fields at night, surprising them when they harvest. They have thick red hair and bristly beards that provide camouflage amid ripened buckwheat stems and flowers. Tall, Buckwheat Beasts reach heights of ten feet. But they are natural cowards, fleeing when cut or harmed. Despite this, they are persistent, lingering in the shadows to strike again hours later. They have been known to fall in love with humans.
Defenses: Hardiness 9, Evade 7, Wits 4
Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (damage 4d10 damage plus 2 Extra Wounds), Slam: 3d10 (4d10 Damage), Speed: 3d10, Muscle: 4d10, Detect: 3d10
Max Wounds: 8
Type: Creature
Resist: 0
Type: Creature
Resist: 0
POWERS
Chomp: Their sharp teeth cut easily through bone, imposing a -3 penalty to Hardiness for the purposes of rolling damage when they make a bite attack. The bite does 4d10 plus 2 Extra Wounds.
Blend: Though enormous, the Buckwheat Beast can remain still and hide in fields. When they are hiding in a field of unripened buckwheat it is a Detect TN 8 to see them, and a TN 10 to see them in a ripe field.
Cowardly: Anyone who does damage to a Buckwheat Beast, should make a Command Roll against its Wits. On a Success the Beast flees and returns in 1d10 minutes. On a Total Success they flee and return in 1d10 hours.
DOG SPIRIT
These are the spirits of dogs who were loyal to their master in life and have returned to continue serving them. Such creatures can possess the body of any dog in the area and use them to harm their master’s enemies. In rare cases they inhabit the bodies of other creatures, even humans. The following stats are for a typical Dog Spirit that has possession of a dog’s body.
Defenses: Hardiness 3, Evade 5, Wits 4
Key Skills: Bite: 1d10 (1d10 Damage), Speed: 2d10, Muscle: 1d10, Detect: 4d10, Command: 2d10
Max Wounds: 1
Type: Ghost
Resist: 0
Type: Ghost
Resist: 0
POWERS
Possess Creature: Dog Spirits have no form until they find a body to possess. When a potential vessel is in the area, they roll Command against its Wits. On a Success, they possess the target provided it is a dog. On a Total Success they can possess the target regardless of what type of creature it is. Possession lasts for 1 hour.
Immunities: Dog Spirits will continue to return until suppressed or contained by magic. However they ca be compelled to destroy themselves if their master commands them to do so.
