Possessed by Unholy Fire

Hi people! Thanks for using the rating-poll! It gives me some idea of what works... for you! I'm updating earlier than I expected, so the rating is now for the Myraclion. Have a nice weekend, and stay out of trouble. GHOST!!!



≡MYRACLION≡




------GENERAL-----------------------------------------
CATEGORY: Undead
TERRAIN: Catacombs and crypts
FOOD: Spirits and souls
AGGRESSION: High
SIZE: 13 feet (390 cm) long with tail
NUMBERS: 1


------CHARACTERISTICS-----------------------------
STRENGTH: 12-18
AGILITY: 12-18
ENDURANCE: - (see 'Powers')
INTELLIGENCE: 3-6
MENTAL RESILIENCE: 3-18
CHARM: 2-4
(If stats of a human ranges from 3 to 18)

SPEED: Flying (eagle x 0,1)
(Multiple is times human speed)

MAGIC POWER: 3-18
(Ranges from 0-100)

HIT POINTS: 18-24
(If a human commoner has about 11 hit points)


------PROTECTION-------------------------------------
AVERAGE: 1
BODY: 2
BACK: 0
HEAD: 2
TAIL: 1
TENTACLES: 2
(If Full Plate Armour is 10)

When in material form, the Myraclion is covered in an amphibian-like skin, which is highly flexible and gives only minor protection. Its back is softer still and very vulnerable to injury. Enchanted weapons or arms forged from silver are required to cause harm to the Myraclion. The creature can turn from ethereal to material form in a single round, but once a physical revelation it needs at least ten rounds to return to a fully spectral state.


------ATTACKS/DAMAGE---------------------------
1 FLAMING TAIL: 1–6 (+ unholy flame, see 'Powers')
8-12 TENTACLES: 1–3 (+ unholy flame, see 'Powers')
(If a Long Sword causes 1-8 points of damage)

The Myraclioin favours its tail when attacking, and uses the many short tentacles only when it deals with unarmed prey, or defending itself against several opponents at once.


------POWERS/EFFECT-------------------------------
UNHOLY FLAME: The searing fire of the Myraclion, which burns red at the end of every tentacle, can cause great physical harm, but also bites into the soul energy of those touched by its evil. The unholy fire is twice as hot as any normal flame, and causes 2-12 points of fire damage at touch. In addition to this it drains the victim of energy. The drainage causes a temporary 1-4 point reduction in Strength, Endurance, and Mental resilience, lasting 6-12 rounds. Half of these points are immediately added to the Myraclion hit points (but not beyond its maximum). The rest goes to energize its fire. The victim must complete a successful saving throw for each of these characteristics, or the loss will last another 1-2 weeks. Each following touch will cause additional harm and require new saving throws. A severe failure (5% chance) with these throws causes a permanent 1 point reduction in the respective characteristic. Good clerics, rangers, druids, and similar character classes are less prone to the Unholy Flame and should be offered a bonus to these throws depending on level/experience. Holy robes, magical armors, and spells may offer various degrees of protection, but typical charms vs fire are insufficient. When fully saturated, the Myraclion can stay in physical form for about forty-two hours, before the flame fades. As long as the flame burns, it doesn't get tired.

POSSESSION: If any characteristic is drained completely by the burning touch of the Myraclion, the victim collapses. When that happens the unholy force of the ghost gains access to the soul of the victim and possesses it. As the afflicted person regains consciousness nothing special can be sensed or noticed, but henceforth whenever on the brink of death, such a possessed being will start glowing with a ghostly fire, and by touching other life-forms he or she may use the power of drainage to regain lost energy and hit points. By fueling the flame the possessed being may be fully restored. The flame will burn until the person calms down, and it will not return until the possessed one is once more acutely weakened and faces the risk of dying. Every time this flame is revived the carrier risks losing control to it. A simple saving throw vs mental resilience should be performed each time the flame flares into power, with a penalty of 1-2 points added for every time the fire is awakened. At first failure the victim is completely lost to the flame, and is no longer in control of the body. He or she is now fully a slave to the unholy fire and - unless a serious high-level exorcism is performed - a permanent tool and extension of the Myraclion ego.



------DESCRIPTION------------------------------------
The Myraclion is a Ghost – the soul of a dead being trapped in the material plane. In a warped body, reflecting its sorry state, it feeds on the life force of the living to energize short periods of materialization. The Myraclion transforms the soul energy of its victims into an unholy flame which upholds its physical body and grants it the power of drainage. The flame of the Myraclion is the source of its existence. When the flame is extinguished, the Myraclion is destroyed.

The back of the creature is flat, like the slimy belly of a slug. It attaches itself to the roofs or misty floors of crypts and catacombs. There it can remain in spectral form, for decades of stillness, to preserve energy. The flame is kept a tiny spark as the Myraclion hopes for new careless victims to move within range. With every fresh kill, new unholy vigor is added to the flame and power of the ghost.

The only way to release a Myraclion from its spiritual entrapment is to starve or kill it. Only silver or magic will cause it harm. Weapons of steel enter the undead flesh of the creature, but cannot touch the reddish fire – its blood. Severed tentacles swiftly grow out anew and the physical body will re-materialize as long as the flame remains.

A Myraclion keeps underground, but when food is scarce the ghost may embark on night-time hunts, to find fresh souls to deplete of energy. On such raids it seeks civilization and easy victims, but may be tempted to attack big, when restored to power. Inns, brothels, and other places of late hour activity have been known to attract undesired attention. Though able to fly, Myraclions always keep a low altitude, fearful of soaring into the immaterial heights. The unholy fire cannot be quenched by rain or water, but the ghosts still avoid it.

No one really knows why some souls end up in the odd and twisted form of the Myraclion. Other ghosts seem to shy away from them. Theories say that extremely self-centered individuals, who thrive on a leach-like exploitation of others, are doomed to this form. When left to themselves at death, they are unable to handle the situation, and throw out spiritual tentacles to connect to some sort of source which can keep them together, prolonging their self-celebration and manifestation.

The Myraclion have lost most of its intelligence and is a highly automated form of hunger and dark rage. It may still moan out its despair and glow with fierce self-proclamation, but the skill to interact intelligibly with the surrounding world is altogether forgotten. Abandoned in the morbid state of undead existence it cares for naught but its own continuation.

© Copyright 2011 - Nicholas Cloister

The Strength of a Beast

Hi again! If you read this, you didn't ditch the blog due to the long wait since the last creature, which means you probably enjoy fantasy beasts to some extent. This time I present a non-exotic kind of creation, where by small means I have tried to come up with something interesting. I am very attracted to the forest creatures of the northern temperate zone (moose, deer, rabbits, wolves, squirrels etc). They have something mysterious in common, I think. Watching them on a misty field in the morning, in their grey-brown attire, just infuses that fantasy vibe in me. It is easy to picture small differences in their natural anatomy, and turn the entire scene into a fantasy world right there. Just some minor tweaks to what you are used to, and that could be it. Of course, on a still digital picture, this magic is a lot harder to bring about. I'm not sure I have succeeded at all here, but in any case I like the Nothnock.




≡NOTHNOCK≡




------GENERAL-----------------------------------------
CATEGORY: Mammal
TERRAIN: Mountains and highlands
FOOD: Omnivore
AGGRESSION: High
SIZE: 5’ 4” (160 cm)
NUMBERS: 1-10


------CHARACTERISTICS-----------------------------
STRENGTH: 25-30
AGILITY: 10-15
ENDURANCE: 18-22
INTELLIGENCE: 2
MENTAL RESILIENCE: 2-6
CHARM: 1-2
(If stats of a human ranges from 3 to 18)

SPEED: Running x 2, Climbing x 5
(Multiple is times human speed)

MAGIC POWER: 0
(Ranges from 0-100)

HIT POINTS: 25-30
(If a human commoner has about 11 hit points)


------PROTECTION-------------------------------------
AVERAGE: 3
BODY: 3
HEAD: 2
(If Full Plate Armour is 10)

The hide of the Nothnock is unusually thick and hardy, and the creature is extremely insensitive to pain.


------ATTACKS/DAMAGE---------------------------
2 CLAWS: 1–3
1 BITE or TUSK ATTACK: 1–6
(If a Long Sword causes 1-8 points of damage)

The Nothnocks prefer to come charging down the mountainsides, or to jump down upon their prey from higher grounds. Though very strong from a firm position, they try to benefit from their great mass when charging. They are good climbers but take advantage of their rock-like bodies, for camouflage, when hunting quick and agile animals like mountain goats and monkeys.


------POWERS/EFFECT-------------------------------
MUSCULAR GROWTH VIRUS: All Nothnocks are born with a potent virus which disrupts the hormonal balance and causes severe growth of muscle. This virus halves their natural life span, but has been part of their biology for countless generations. Their bodies are hard and resistant, which suits their violent life-style and the tough terrain of the mountains. The Nothnock's teeth, tusks, and claws may cause infection and result in uncontrolled muscle growth. During a couple of weeks the strength of the victim is increased by 2-5 points. With this change of physique follows a greater tendency for violence and weakened mental resilience (-2). All effects are permanent, and to all knowledge incurable. The virus seem to have no contagious power in other life forms.
Some barbarian mountain tribes has been known to seek out and fight Nothnock beasts in rites of initiation The men of these tribes usually die young or return physically stronger.


------DESCRIPTION------------------------------------
In Nothnock groups and families fights are regular events. Both males and females resolve even the smallest of conflicts through bloody battles. Often entire groups engage in King of the Hill-like brawls. These are fierce and may end in the death of several group members. Though powerful creatures of the mountains, Nothnock groups rarely grow beyond ten members.

The creatures are omnivores but prefer freshly killed meat to cadavers, mushrooms, roots, and vegetables. They hunt in teams when possible and can plan and synchronise attacks well, despite their short-tempered violent nature. During the sun of day they tend to rest in great caves, and like to move about and seek out food from dusk to the early hours of morning. Nothnocks are territorial creatures and rarely move further than 12 miles (19 km) from their main lair.

Young Nothnocks grow up quickly, and reach full maturity in less than two years. Attempts have been made to tame them, but few have succeeded. The foul smell and loud growls of these creatures make their company undesirable, even when they're not attacking.

The Nothnocks recover quickly from injuries. This might have something to do with the virus, but no increase in the rate of healing have been spotted among other infected life forms. Some Nothnock specimens are said to have regenerated lost limbs – a rumour which has made the species interesting to physicians and other healers. Many of these creatures are more or less dressed in scars, and must have some powerful resistance to infections. With all the battles among themselves, more Nothnocks should be seen limping or disabled, but such creatures are only rarely reported.

The cold air of northern highlands suit the Nothnocks perfectly. They stay out of forests and they can't swim. Like bears, they can still be found catching fat salmon from the rivers, and looting eggs from the nests of birds. They chase the agile foxes down the slopes, and they terrorize the goblins, when they emerge from their tunnels in the mountainsides.

Nothocks live to be 25 years old. They are grey to brown in colour, and partly furred. Their hands and feet are dexterous tools, and their bodies are pure strength. They move about in a gorilla-like fashion, but are more closely related to boars.

© Copyright 2011 - Nicholas Cloister