Sunday, March 17, 2024

Beauty and the Beastman!

BEASTMAN (#18/31, #78/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA: 7

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Scimitar, Spear, Battle Axe

ARMOUR: Chainmail Hauberk

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Hills, Mountains, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-6 or 3-18

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Neutral-Unfriendly

INTELLIGENCE: Average-High

Not to be confused with the goat-headed Chaos Beast Men described in the tome Return to the Pit (see pp. 40-42), the BEASTMEN of Kakhabad are an obscure race of subhuman chaotics. Thought to be related to the Klattamen of the lowlands, the Beastmen dwell in the deep valleys between the Zanzunu Peaks, their tiny villages clustering around waterways such as the Tinpang, Ilklala and Vischlami Rivers. They are brutish, brawny, shaggy-haired creatures, with narrow eyes, broad noses, high sloping foreheads and black hair growing over their dark-skinned faces and hands. Beastmen villages, which are largely concerned with mining, contain around three to eighteen inhabitants with the same number again of women and children. Each village will be led by a Beastman champion, with SKILL 8 STAMINA 8. 

Some Beastmen leave their villages and become guards and mercenaries; these will usually be encountered in a group of one to six warriors. They are sought after as fighters owing to the quality of weapons that they forge themselves. Beastmen usually wear chainmail hauberks along with horned and spiked helmets, and arm themselves with cruel-bladed scimitars, long barbed spears and battle-axes. The Archmage of Mampang, for example, is known to have recruited a large battalion of them to watch over his fortress in High Xamen. More disquieting are the rumours that weird cults are known to kidnap young Beastmen, who are then trained to become the frenzied killing machines that are Chaos Warriors!

If you wish to determine an individual Beastman type, roll one die:

1 Miner: Armed with a War Pick and wearing a Leather Cuirass.

2 Smith: Armed with a Greathammer. No armour.

3 Guard: Armed with a Spear and Large Shield, and wearing a Chainmail Hauberk.

4 Mercenary: Armed with a Scimitar and Large Shield and wearing a Chainmail Hauberk

5 Chaos Thug: Armed with a Battle Axe and wearing a Chainmail Hauberk and a Great Helm

6 Trader: Armed with a Scimitar and wearing a Leather Cuirass. Carries 2-7 of the following for trade in a leather bag (roll one die): 1 Gold nuggets 2 Bluestone nuggets 3 Copper nuggets 4 Silver nuggets 5 Copperstone nuggets 6 Green Metal nuggets.

Beastmen follow various gods such as Osmani, God of Mercenaries, Verlang the Forge God, and Trabaten, Demigod of Exenteration. A priest of one of these gods will be present in a Beastman village, along with a simple shrine dedicated to the chosen deity in question. Beastwomen have identical scores to their menfolk, and will have a likely similar occupation that can be rolled on the above table. Beastchildren are SKILL 5 STAMINA 5 and usually armed with a Dagger or Sling; they are often tasked with hunting and preparing food, obtained from the hills and valleys surrounding the village.

(See also Return to the Pit, pp. 27-28)

The true elixir lies within us...

Elixir of Life (#17/31, #77/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a small potion-bottle has to be drunk while freshly brewed, and has the pungent aroma of wild Garlic (see The Titan Herbal, p. 35), which is one of its ingredients. Drinking it will leave the imbiber feeling invigorated and they may increase their Initial STAMINA score by 2 points and restore their current STAMINA score to this new maximum. This new lease of life is temporary however, and will only last for seven days, after which their Initial STAMINA will return to its normal score, as well as their current STAMINA if it is higher too. If consumed more than seven days after being brewed, the Elixir of Life has lost its potency and will have no effect. 

12gp 

How does It feel to feel?

BLACK FEELER BEAST (#16/31, #76/365) [OOTP IV]

                Adult     Young

SKILL:        12          6

STAMINA:   24          6

ATTACKS: 4

WEAPON: 

    Adult - Tentacle (as per Very Large Claw) 

    Young - Tentacle (as per Small Claw)

ARMOUR: Light

DAMAGE MODIFIER: 

    Adult - +2 to Damage Roll

    Young - None

HABITAT: Caves, Dungeons, Ruins

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Monster

REACTION: Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: Low

Possibly thought to be related to other similar terrestrial non-aquatic cephalopods, such as the Salt Sucker and the Sand Squid, the BLACK FEELER BEAST eschews the surface of Titan and instead lives a subterranean lifestyle, preying on whatever it can find in the tunnels and caverns that burrow beneath the planet. Its body is spherical and mostly comprised of mouth and stomach, while sprouting numerous black hairy tentacle-like feelers with which it attempts to subdue its victims. Should a Black Feeler Beast score two successive hits in a row, without taking any hits in return, it will have grasped its opponent tightly and flung them into its gaping maw, where they will take Large Bite damage (or Very Large Bite damage if from an adult creature) until the victim or the Black Feeler Beast is dead.

Recent work by the wizard Geronicus of the Mage Order has revealed that the majority of Black Feeler Beasts encountered by adventurers and others, in places such as the Dark Chasms or the Homrath Caves, are actually only the younger versions of the creature. Adults are enormous, very dangerous, and rarely met by chance. The most infamous adult Black Feeler Beast of recent times was the much-dreaded Beast of the Fellscar Crags, who preyed on unfortunates subjected to "The Chase", a sacred ceremony of the Xokusai Orcs run according to the rules laid down in the Prophecy of Mukinahdun.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Who's going to eat your wild parsnips?

WILD PARSNIP (#15/31, #75/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: This is a tall herbaceous plant with rosettes of rough hairy leaves, umbrella-like yellow flowers and a large cream-coloured edible taproot.
 
Distribution: Forests, woods, hills and plains across Titan.
 
Effects: A bag of Wild Parsnips is equal to one provision. Sap from Wild Parsnips can be used to brew a Potion of Blindness, but it requires at least ten bags of the vegetables to provide enough useable sap. Whoever drinks a Potion of Blindness will be temporarily blinded (-4 to their SKILL) for up to 2-7 days.

Cost: City 2gp, Town 1gp, Village 1gp (per bag)
 
Availability: Common
 
Notes: Wild Parsnip is related to carrots, parsley and Hogweed (see The Titan Herbal, p. 40).

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

More battles for the Battle Mage!

BATTLE MAGE (#14/31, #74/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA: 14

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Dagger or Staff

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Dungeons, Ruins, Plains, Anywhere their employer is

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Neutral

INTELLIGENCE: High

The BATTLE MAGE is a rare but powerful wizard, skilled in the art of using Battle Magic when engaged in mass combat. They may be a hired mercenary, sharing their arcane skills with whoever can afford their services, or a court spellcaster, engaged by a king or lord to defend their domain against invaders. The Battle Mage has a MAGIC score of 10, a Magic-Wizardry Special Skill of 5 (with 30 Magic Points worth of Wizardry spells), and a Magic-Battle Magic Special Skill of 1-3 (with 22-26 Magic Points worth of Battle Magic spells). These eldritch warrior-magi are often accompanied by 0-5 assistant wizards to help them cast their spells (and hopefully learn some Battle Magic on the side); each assistant counts as a SPELL-FOR-HIRE (SKILL 6 STAMINA 9 MAGIC 5 Magic Wizardry 2, and 14 Magic Points worth of Wizardry spells).

Battle Magic originated in the Old World, developed by rival kingdoms such as Gallantaria and Brice as they each attempted to gain an advantage over the other nation in their long and interminable wars. Since then its use has spread haphazardly across Titan, for it is powerful if exhausting magic to employ, and its practitioners guard their arcane secrets jealously. Balthus Dire, for example, continually pestered his resident Ganjees with requests to learn the secret of Battle Magic but to no avail. One well-known Battle Mage was the evil sorcerer Manadrax, who employed Orcs of the Bone Breaker Tribe against the Dwarfs of Grey Rock, in a bid to obtain access to a seam of magical Truestone. Manadrax allegedly lost both the Battle of Grey Rock and his life however, and it is not known what happened to his spellbook full of Battle Magic rituals...

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

I Ain't No Fortunate Luckstone...

Fortunate Luckstone (#13/31, #73/365) [EA:V2] (Enchanted Item)

This is a polished gem, usually made of agate or chalcedony, and an opaque yellowish-orange in appearance. It is similar in ability to a Lucky Charm (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 128). When held, the power of the Fortunate Luckstone is immediately apparent. Whoever holds a Fortunate Luckstone in their hand can increase their LUCK score by 1 point, but not over their Initial score. 

10gp 

Monday, March 11, 2024

The thing that should not be...

THE THING (#12/31, #72/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 5

STAMINA: 9

ATTACKS: 2

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: Medium

DAMAGE MODIFIER: +2 to Damage Roll

HABITAT: Ruins, Dungeons, Caves, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Monster

REACTION: Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: Low

Yet another large furry humanoid from the wilds of Khul, the THING is a vast horrible creature, covered in hair, grunting incomprehensibly and usually clutching a large, two-handed weapon of some sort. Their origins are somewhat obscure, possibly being some sort of Chaos-warped variant of a Yeti, Ice Hulk or Snow Beast, yet dwelling in the lowlands and menacing serfs and peasants by stealing their livestock via force of arms.

To determine the Thing's weaponry, roll on the table below:

1-2 Cleaver

3-4 Battleaxe

5-6 Greathammer

The Thing tends to acquire their weapons randomly from whoever they may have previously slain, but, historically, they were often used as gladiatorial foes in the arena of the Kabeshian Empire. This practice still endures, and it is not uncommon to find a Thing employed as a pit-fighter or colosseum-monster in places across Khul, such as Ashkyos or Calah, stalking across the blood-stained sands of the arena, snarling in defiance and clutching a large iron two-handed weapon, ready to fight!