Little Encounters Along the Way...

And here are some little encounters to go with the map of the are surrounding the farmstead. This is a supplement to the Wandering Monsters previously posted. Each of these Little Encounters are intended to help flesh-out each of the regions...

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A Few Little Encounters...

The Enclave. The oldest section was built into the hillside and connects to at least six small, zig-zaggy tunnels that run out to the old hop yard, the Still Shack, the Old Owl's tree, the edge of the Pastures and one or two other well-hidden and trapped exits. The second-story protrudes out over the ground floor forming a flagstone-paved porch area where a series of heavy old manlets and shutters can be pinned into place before the first hard frost. Around the main manor-structure are a number of apiaries, trellises, herb gardens, a pumpkin patch, some out buildings and roofed-over wood-piles--all the things you'd expect on a working farmstead. The main well is located at the base of the three-story stone-and-timber square tower set to the back of the main structure. The family have managed to defend this place through many a hard winter.

1. Geese (2d6)
2. Scarecrow
3. Scrabbling Hand
4. Bats (3d6) [only at night] or Croaker-Crows (1d4)
5. Mousefolk (2d6) [Trying to be very, very quiet]
6. Mandrake (Lesser)

Briar-Lands. A natural barrier of dense black thorns, nettles, brambles and purplish-black, yellow-green, and red roses. The family have a pact with the roses and the plants form a tough barrier every autumn that both hinders travel and makes the main Farmstead more difficult to locate.

1. Roselettes (2d4)
2. Mossfolk (3d4)
3. Thornlim (1d4)
4. Bramblemanter
5. Borogrove skeleton
6. Pink-Banded Slugs (2d4)

No-Go Mound. Joy's mother told her to never-ever go near the old mound for fear the Moundfolk might take her.

1. Bandits (2d4)
2. Moundfolk (1d4)
3. Morlock Elder
4. Screechers (2d4)
5. Refugees (1d6)
6. Pack of wild bush-pigs

Cave. Joy discovered this cave just this Summer and she has been thinking about exploring the place one of these days...

1. Bats (1d4) [only at night] or Red-Crested Hawk
2. Mud Crabs (1d4)
3. Jentil Children (1d4)
4. Standing Stone [Wasn't there before...]
5. Centipede (Green-speckled)
6. Bone-Foam or Biting Snails (1d4)

Bear Hill. A Medium-Sized Bear dwells somewhere under this hill. The Bear used to trade old books and other things it brought with it from its time in the city for honey, molasses and grampa's hootch in the Summer time. Joy's father always set aside a portion of maple candy for the Bear each Spring as a special treat.

1. Medium-Sized Bear
2. Giant Bees (2d4)
3. Mad Wasp
4. Lost Peddlar
5. Mossfolk (1d4)
6. Black Woods Dog [solitary and badly wounded]

Rubezahl. Sometimes a small group of the very tall folk from the Southern Mountains would come this far north in search of their favorite mushrooms. They also engaged in a little extortion or banditry along the Trade-Road if they thought they could away with it. One of Joy's grandparents drove them off more than thirty years ago and they still won't go any closer to the farmstead.

1. Bandits (2d4)
2. Rubezahl
3. Spitball Fungi
4. Voormis (2d4) [They are on a pilgrimage to the Mound, but they won't admit it...]
5. Refugees (1d6)
6. Pack of Black Woods Dogs (2d4)

Black Trees. There are some gnarly old trees toward the South who spend their days complaining and grumbling about the good old days when thieves were hung from their branches and the crows came round to gossip. A few of them are so old and venerable that they still have a shield or some piece of armor embedded in their trunks from the times when knights and nobles were ambushed by peasant-gangs and their corpses were bound into the trees to hide the evidence from the sheriffs.

1. Fighting Trees (1d4)
2. Black Tree
3. Shade-Tree
4. Twiglins (2d4)
5. Stickmin (1d4)
6. Pack of Black Woods Dogs (3d4)

Spiderwood. Huge spiders and their kin have held dominion over a small, but very fiercely defended copse ceded to them by ancient kings no one remembers any more. Over a hundred years ago all the wolves were driven into this copse and the spiders finished them off, hence the absence of wolves in this area until just recently. The Spiders eagerly hope to receive a petition from the local land-holders proposing another wolf-hunt.

1. Large Red Spiders (2d4)
2. Little Green Spiders (3d4)
3. Blue-Banded Spider
4. Spidertaur Knight
5. Drained Husks (1d4)
6. Web-Trap

Feral Orchards. Twisted old apple and pear trees that have been left to grow wild ever since Vizri ran off to Wermspittle quite a long time ago. The apples can be bitter or sweet, depending on the time of the year and how well you bribe the tree. There are some very strange purplish apples in the orchard, but they only seem to be found during the dark of the moon. The Western edge of the orchard has been overgrown by thorns and roses, so there are some strange fruits in there as well.

1. Jub-Jub Bird [70% chance it's drunk on sour apples]
2. Werm-Fruit
3. Gnarled Grabber
4. Poison Apples
5. Deer (1d4)
6. Feral Pigs (1d4)

Old Owl's Tree. A majestic oak older than anyone can rightly say. This tree was old before the Farmstead was first settled and there has always been an owl in this tree. If you know how to make friends with it, the owl can teach you a spell or two.

1. Unwise Owls (1d4)
2. Old Owl
3. Thrash-Brambles
4. Sinkhole
5. Small Cache of Shiny-Bits [roll on a Trinkets & Trash table]
6. Grinkitty

Some-times Bridge. There is a low stone bridge that crosses the stream here, but it can only be seen or used during certain times, like during a Full Moon in Autumn or high noon in Summer. Some-times the bridge leads to somewhere other than just across the stream.

1. Bandits (2d4)
2. Deserters (1d4)
3. Iarlei
4. Putti (1d4)
5. Refugees (1d6)
6. Blupes (2d4)

Lamiak's Stream. A small family of Lamiak have lived near this stream for longer than anyone else has been here. They were nearly exterminated by vigilantes who blamed them for the crimes of a Iaralei that drove people mad with its singing, but one of Joy's ancestors intervened and protected the duck-footed marsh-folk. they are reclusive, shy people, but they still feel gratitude toward the family and will help anyone descended from Good Steven to safely cross the stream.

1. Lamiak
2. Deserters (3d4)
3. Blue Coach
4. Ometto-driven Little Coach
5. Refugees (2d6)
6. Pack of wild dogs

Tartulo's Cave. Amidst many massive, overgrown megaliths and standing stones is a cave that leads deep under a hill where an old one-eyed Tartulo resides. He has been a shepherd and something of a hermit living peacefully here on the northern edge of the Pastures for many decades. He raises several varieties of sheep and has traded wool and mutton to Joy's family ever since he settled in this area. He is very fond of Joy's mother's knitting, especially her socks and mittens and the extra-long scarf she made for him. Joy's family have a Pact with the Tartulo and he helps defend the Farmstead by re-directing travelers, misdirecting officials and scaring off nosey-types. He also fought beside the family a few years back when a large group of bandits passed through the area looting, pillaging and burning as they went. He hand-crafts excellent pipes and other household objects from bone and horn.

1. Tartulo
2. Lost Sheep (1d4)
3. Goats (2d4) [Unhappily penned-up in side cavern]
4. Thumblings (2d4) [On secret mission]
5. Refugees (1d6) [They hope to negotiate some sort of arrangement with the Tartulo.]
6. Sheep (2d6)

Pastures. Gently rolling hills and meadows mostly given-over to the Tartulo's flocks. Bitter-clover and a few other herbs grow here that can't easily be found elsewhere, so children were often sent here to gather such things as they came into season.

1. Sheep (2d6)
2. Poachers (1d4) or Tartulo
3. Meadow Clam
4. Weak Point
5. Hexcat
6. More Sheep (3d6)

Hop Yard. Always a fragrant green place in the Summer, everyone always had to pitch-in to collect the hops once they were at their peak. Then the old-timers could get to work brewing fresh batches of beer for later in the year.

1. Dead Bandersnatch
2. Swarm of Stabbing Moths
3. Greenkin (1d2)
4. Mossfolk (1d4)
5. Greenfinch
6. Fuzzy Green Bees

Jentil's Lands. A tribe of Jentils, large hairy folk who raised spiral-carved dolmen and standing stones very different from those set-up by the Tartulo whom they avoided and distrusted because he killed and ate sheep. The Jentil know a great deal about the local herbs, plants and growing things and have taught various members of joy's family quite a number of secrets, recipes and lore. The family have a Pact with the Jentil who have long come to their aid and defense in times of trouble, and like the Tartulo, they misdirect and scare off would be trespassers to the best of their ability. They are very gifted wood-workers and vine-crafters and are quite fond of the family's hootch which has attained a legendary status among the Jentil who zealously guard and defend the old still as though it were a holy relic...which...to them, it might well be.

1. Jentil Foragers (2d4)
2. Jentil Children (1d4)
3. Vinebinder
4. Fighting Tree
5. Thornkinder (1d4)
6. Babes in the Woods

And Along the Trade-Roads...

Trade-Road to the West. This heavily-rutted and poorly maintained track leads past the  No-Go Mound through Jentil territory and on towards the Desolate Western Hills. It doesn't get used much any more but lately there have been sightings of Tripods and Refugees using it as they head South, though a few groups of desperate people have left the Trade-Road to cut cross country through the Briars, Black Trees and Spiderwoods to try and reach the Trade-Road that leads to Wermspittle. A few of them make it. The road splits just before it reaches the foot of the old Bear Hill. No one uses the road leading South-West.

1. Waste Walkers (2d8)
2. Gauntlim Raiding Party (2d6)
3. Tomtir Spider-Riders (2d4)
4. Gravel Gulper
5. Refugees (1d6)
6. Tripod

Trade-Road South. This rocky, steep-sloping trail leads off to the Southern Mountains. It cuts through very dense woods and crosses at least two other Trade-Roads and passes by an abandoned trading post before reaching the banks of a great river. nomads and merchants use this route to go to the West until that road connects with another route that leads towards Wermspittle far to the North. It is a long detour, but it is easier than cutting through the dense woodlands and many of them prefer not to take the more Southerly route but tend not to say why.

1. Bandits (2d4)
2. Rubezahl
3. Spore-Cloud
4. Stranded Cart
5. Refugees (2d6)
6. Pack of Black Woods Dogs (2d4)

Trade-Road East.  This route leads East though a vast forested region that is dotted with marshes, small lakes and criss-crossed with streams and creeks. The way gets very twisty and splits several times before finally reaching the Eastern Reaches and the campsites of the various would-be settlers looking to claim and establish new farmsteads.

1. Bandits (2d4)
2. Deserters (1d4)
3. Farm Family enroute to Eastlands
4. Ometto-driven Little Coach
5. Refugees (2d6)
6. Takers

Trade-Road North. This way leads to Wermspittle, eventually. It is the direction all Joy's older siblings and cousins have used, as well as most of the rest of her family who have had to make the trip before her. Few of them came back that way. There is a coach that travels along this route from time to time, but it is not reliable and the driver always seems to be in a great hurry as though fleeing pursuit.

1. Bandits (2d4)
2. Wolves (2d4)
3. Blue Coach
4. Ometto-driven Little Coach
5. Refugees (2d6)
6. Pack of wild dogs (Plague-carriers)

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Joy in Wermspittle

Wandering Monsters & A Few Encounters Around the Farm

After finding a Golden Ticket on her pillow, Joy must decide what to do next and whether or not to stay down on her parents' mostly abandoned Farmstead, run off into the Tulgey Woods, or hit the road either to Wermspittle or off into the wider world beyond.

Whatever she decides, whichever way she goes, here are some encounters she might run into (or that might cross her path) as she's just starting out...

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Wandering Monsters (1d30)

1. Ragamuffins (2d6) have destroyed three scarecrows in the nearby fields and now they're heading this way. They horrid little things are starving and will pursue anything that they think has bones they can chew.
2. Fighting Trees (1d4) Guard the rusty gate to an ancient orchard that was walled-off centuries ago. They do not remember why it was done, only that it is so and it is their duty to guard it from trespassers.
3. Dodoes (1d4) waddle along the nearest road or trail in search of suitable accomodations for the night. They each carry 4d40 silver coins in their bulging purses. They absolutely refuse to stay anywhere penguins might be kept. Each of them wields a sword disguised as a walking stick and they each wear a differently tinted monocle.
4. Bandit Marmosets (2d4) in chain-mail and wielding crossbows. They are interested in finding some camels to ride into battle, but have not had any luck locating any. Their leader Huudrin was lost beneath the Purple Glow of an especially large patch of Red Weeds in Wermspittle.
5. Meat-Moths (1d4) dangle from a willow tree in glistening cocoons. They'll be ready to tear themselves loose in another 1d4 days, if the weather stays warm.
6. Green Monkey (1). It really is a Prince trapped in this shape by a wicked spell. He speaks fluent Aklo, but nothing else. His manners are impeccable.
7. Alraune (1). She is headed back to Wermspittle after carrying out a secret mission on behalf of her mistress.
8. Refugees (2d6) or possibly an Arriviste. (Refugee Table nearly ready)
9. Monikins (2d4). They have left the service of their former masters and they are not going back.
10. Feral Children (3d4) prowl the area looking for things to eat, torment and kill. The leader carries an undead rotting boar-head impaled upon a glaive that speaks to them in blasphemous whispers urging them on to wicked things.
11. Bush Tribe Hunters (2d4). Fierce illiterates, they have been quietly stalking the book-buying Borogove with the intent to burn any books she might discover.
12. Moss-Folk (1d4). They are very shy and try to avoid most big people. Their pet mole was injured by some Feral children who pelted it with stones for no good reason.
13. Glimmerpedes (1d6+2) are moving along through the leaf-litter in search of anything they can eat. They are driven to gorge themselves now, in preparation for hibernating through the winter, making them incredibly dangerous right now.
14. Screechers (2d6). Bestial Winged Monkeys hunting for grubs, slugs or other easy-meat.
15. Vinksers (2d4). The survivors of a hunting party that was ambushed by a Jabberwock.
16. Borogove (1). Wounded and disheveled after having been plundered by a band of roving mercenaries, she is in search of rustic books and scrolls of the sort best found among the Farmsteads...but she no longer has the means to pay for such things, unless one is willing to accept a promissory note or perhaps accompany her back to Wermspittle.
17. Stixin (14). Owl-folk hunting after a wounded Bandersnatch.
18. Kalidah (1d4+1). A mother and her cub(s) looking for a suitable new place to set-up a fresh den after having escaped a band of Feral Children who smoked her and her mate out of their den. Her mate was killed. She hates bipedal children.
19. Spirks (1d6). Lost and looking for a way back to the garden from which they escaped on a dare by their play-mates. 
20. Wanderers (3d4). Mama Rudta's Band on their way back to the mountains. 
21. Eloi Sharecroppers. (2d4) One of them might be a Pretty Young Thing.
22. Peddlar (1) on his or her way to or from Wermspittle.
23. Murkim Fungi-Gatherers (2d4) collecting seasonal mushrooms and other edible things they intend to take back to sell in the Low Markets. They wield quill-darts lobbed from light prod-bows. They have no intention of spending the night out in the open, but have not yet located a suitable camp-site.
24. Nomads (1d4+1) mounted on goats; they 'acquired' six barrels of brandy and a few hundred pounds of salt, spices and herbs. They intend to sell it in Wermspittle, but something has been following them ever since the ambush and they are growing less certain of their chances of reaching the city, let alone realizing any profit from their ill-gotten loot.
25. Weirdlight (1) flickers across the lower places in-between the trees and hedges. These things draw off the essence of those they lead into traps like quicksand or pits.
26. Voormis (3d4). Out hunting dogs.
27. Takers. Run!
28. Moonshadow (1). Can only survive in the dark-spaces during day-light hours, it moans and calls plaintively into the evening breeze as it searches for a willing host.
29. Red Weeds have taken-root in the area, raising a formidable hedge-maze made-up of randomly grown sections interspersed with dead trees and toppled ruins, including a fallen shack that used to house someone's still.
30. Giant Owl (1). Her mate was killed by a pair of grave-diggers. She took care of them both.

Unusual Things (1d20)

1. There's a large, but mostly stagnant Scabrous Froth trapped in the pit beneath one of the old out-houses.
2. Mousefolk (3d6) are out flying kites hung with small chimes and bits of tinsel in an effort to figure out a suitable defense against hawks and owls that have been preying upon them ever since they came to these woods. Their singer was injured recently, and they are growing desperate.
3. That Heap is moving.
4. A Quack in their wagon is stuck in the mud. They were making their usual rounds of the local farmsteads when they ran afoul of the recent wet weather.
5. A large, very pregnant Unseen Beast sow is noisily rooting around in the nearby marsh.
6. That's not a stump...
7. Blue Zoogs (3d4) have taken-up residence within a very large, old oak tree. They've staked-out a dead cat as a warning to all trespassers.
8. Interesting Weather we're having...
9. A semi-pickled Gloomswallow trapped in a jar of high-grade hootch. It's a small specimen, left-over from some old farmer's youthfully indiscreet days as a traveling side-show barker.
10. Greediguts (1d4+1) are prowling the woods in search of the Zoogs who killed their mentor, a plump tabby cat with one purple eye. (see 7. above)
11. There is a clump of Dreaming Nettle-Jellies in the marsh.
12. A patch of not-quite-mature Stranglemass has taken root nearby.
13. Something has disturbed the Plow-Grubs that ought to be sleeping packed in sand in their boxes in the rafters.
14. There's a Frume out by one of the sheds. You can smell its stench, even in day-light, so you know it is close.
15. You were always told to avoid Zeb's Shack on account of his damn fool use of Yellow Wallpaper in the upstairs bedroom. Everyone thought they had burned all the Yellow Creepers in that place, but it turns out that there might be one still left in there.
16. Watch your step: there's some Vicious Slime over there. Good thing you spotted it. This time.
17. There's some kind of Swarm down in the holler, near the little creek. It wasn't there last week. Maybe it has not had time to build a full nest yet.
18. You were always told to watch out for Tunnel-Rats along the South Ridge. Well, now they're keeping an eye on you.
19. Why would a Rothaube steal your kitchen herbs? Maybe one of them is ill?
20. Grozt (2d4) Hunchback spell-casters are making a survey of the area with the intention of locating one of the last remaining hidden graves of the vampire Karlessi or any other such revenant they might discover. They are licensed and sanctioned by a notary back in Wermspittle, so it is all proper and legal.

Special Encounters (1d10)

1. Alzik the Dead Dreamer lies restlessly in a half-exposed bronze-and-lead casket that was supposed to have been buried near a crossroads before the Equinox. The Barrow-Men hired to perform this duty took his money and left the job only partly done. To be fair, they were driven-off by a pair of giant owls that they disturbed with their constant bickering.
2. Moundfolk (1d4) have just discovered a cache of Gunpowder Grubs in the old root-cellar under an abandoned farm house.
3. A vivid teal-blue Irrlicht trapped in a bone-and-horn lanthorn. The Luxer who trapped it fell down a poorly covered well-shaft with their neck broken. The luminous nasty-thing whispers venomously to you, demanding to be released. It is furious at having been captured by so clumsy an oaf.
4. A huge, old Tripod stops to examine one of the local Roadside Attractions then moves on. It is heavily damaged and leaking copious amounts of green smoke.
5. (3d6) Cans of White Wash covered-over by a rotting tarpaulin. One is leaking.
6. A Weak Point that opens into a dead realm of flat gray dust and crumbling ruins where only a few leathery flat-leeches lie in wait for prey that never comes. A pair of enterprising Ractur have been digging-out dry bones to sell in the city. They are greedy, but increasingly nervous, especially since they started telling one another ghost stories around their little camp-fire last night. A terrible idea.
7. Beware the Babes in the Woods.
8. Curdle-Milk (1d4) are seeping into the hay stored in the barn.
9. Paldrim the Precise, an Octoscholar with extensive experience in the greater metropolises of various and sundry Slumberlands, Dreamlands and similar such Oneiric Realms has been beaten, stripped, robbed of all his possessions and left dangling from a dead tree by a trio of grotesque black-and-green-striped spiders who've decided to become highwaymen. He is exceptionally erudite and well-versed in twenty-seven languages and a wide range of spells, charms and formulae that he will gladly trade for some assistance in his current difficulties.
10. Koponu (1d4) are looking for a place to settle after having fled captivity. They are being pursued by a one-eyed Lurm who intends to regain his 'property' and sell the Koponu as living light-sources in Wermspittle.

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Joy in Wermspittle

Six Altogether Ooksome Things

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The theme for this month's  RPG Blog Carnival is Things That Go Bump in the Night, so here are six unsubtle prowlers from Wermspittle...

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1. Relish Tray Jambertan. A defrocked monk from a burned-out monastery (he denies any culpability in the arson), Jambertan wears a smooth ivory death mask that was carved in the likeness of his defunct order's Master. His heavy fur-trimmed habit drips blood from around the collar, just below the mask and he leaves a faint trail of quickly evaporating ectoplasmic slime behind him everywhere he goes. His also wears a pair of mis-matched children's mittens all the time, both of them filthy and crusted with blood and disgusting bits of rotting flesh. He carries an ornate silver relish tray and continually asks everyone he meets if they've seen the sign for a traveling galvanic extravaganza that visited Wermspittle over three hundred years ago...
   

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   Relish Tray Jambertan (unique) [Abdead Servant of the Cerulean Sign; AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 5/14, HD 4*, #AT 1, DG 1d4 (relish tray) or 1d4+2 (flensing knife), SV F4, ML 6, Special: Any blue object presented forcefully causes Jambertan to re-roll his Initiative and Morale; Immune to Charm or Sleep, All non-galvanic weapons only do half damage, Regains 1 hit point for every 4 hit points of living flesh he can consume from still-living victims, can be Turned as an 8 HD monster (those who specifically oppose Phantoms treat him as 4HD); Jambertan can acquire 1d4 random spells if given enough time alone with a dead spell-caster so he can cut-out grisly little gobbets from their brain and by consuming them. This would be a bad idea. Please don't feed the weirdo.]

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2. Fingers Calhoun. A severed thieve's hand that didn't quite work out as a hand of glory. Reeking of foul rites and worse hygiene, this gangrenous thing flutters about like a far too soft spider in all the most disconcerting ways...
   

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   Abdead Hand (unique) [AL Evil, MV 60' (20'), AC 7/12, HD 4, #AT 1, DG 1d4, SV F2, ML 7, Special: Gets one chance to sucker punch one victim per encounter (+4 to hit, double damage: Anyone that has met the thing before is immune), Upon losing more than 50% of its hit points the hand will make an obscene necromantic gesture that will call forth the rest of the dead thief's mutilated cadaver to fight for it. If the hand is destroyed the shambling cadaver is rendered defunct.If the hand escapes, it will regain hit points at the rate of 1 point per full night spent in a defiled or unhallowed graveyard or crypt.]
   
   Calhoun's Cadaver [AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 7/12, HD 6, #AT 1, DG 1d4+2 (serrated short-sword), SV F2, Special: Can be Turned as an 8 HD monster during first 4 rounds, then decreases to 7 HD for next 4 rounds, then 6HD the next four, and so on until reaching 0HD at which point the cadaver collapses into a grotesque mess and slowly dribbles and drips back into the darksome interstitial realm the hand called it from originally. The HD value for Turning purposes is completely separate from the things actual HD/hit points. If the cadaver is reduced to 0-hp, it collapses back into oblivion as though successfully Turned. The serrated short-sword it carries is cursed so that all forms of normal healing inflict half damage on the wielder and all damage sustained is tallied until such time as it equals double their normal hit points, at which point they must make a Save or become Abdead for 1 hour each night. The damage tally continues, and each time they reach double their hit points in accumulated damage, they must Save to avoid adding another hour to their nocturnal Abdead state.]

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3. Hans Gretarm. Tall, morose and extremely calloused over three-quarters of his asymmetrically-distorted body, Hans was held-back from going into town by his parents who believed in the patent cures of a charlatan posing as a travelling side-show priest. He barely survived puberty, suffering terrible deformities as the result of the lingering things in the soil of the Low-Lands. Finally, after throttling the preening potion peddler, Hans was sent off to the city. He desperately wishes to have a friend. He'd do anything for a friend...
   

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   Hans Gretarrm (unique) [Huge, Unfortunate Adolescent; AL N, MV 90' (30'), AC 4, HD 3, #AT 2, DG 2d4/2d4 (fists) or by weapon (+3 STR bonus), SV F3, ML 12 (fearless), Special: Hans ignores the first 2 points of all melee attacks due to the heavy callousing of his skin; He gets a second re-roll on all failed Saves; and he regenerates 1 hit point per hour unless wounded with salt, acid or spells. He requires twice the normal amount of time to recover from damage inflicted by spells. He also gains a +2 to hit and +4 to damage bonus against all priests, peddlers and all purveyors of patent medicines. A good surgeon might be able to help him with some of the worst of his deformities, but for the most part he was kept down on the farm too long and there's little that can be really done for him, other than to prescribe some laudanum or other pain-killer. If someone does manage to befriend this huge boy, he will be loyal unto death.]

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4. zZooglik. They only speak Zirsk, an obscure language few in this place know, but that is the least of their problems. She is completely covered in a glossy coat of luxurious golden hair that they can manipulate like a shimmering aura of prehensile tendrils that extends across a 12' radius and can lift up to 10 pounds. zZooglik was summoned from the bower-tower of her ancestors by some unwary apprentice who meant to call up a minor demon. zZooglik wants to go home before she delivers her babies in this bad-bad place...
   

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   zZooglik (unique) [Rapunzik; AL C, MV 180' (60'), AC 4, HD 2, #AT 1, DG 1d4 (braided hair-whip) or 1d6+1 (glass scimitar), SV F4, ML 12 (fearless), Special: Commands all vines/thorns in a 30' radius (including Red Weeds); Imbue with Fertility/Sterility on touch three times per day; all curative spells cast by her cause small tendrils and shoots to grow out of the repaired flesh (Save or slowly transform into a demi-plant hybrid); Has spell-casting abilities of a 4th level Cleric/Druid with focus on healing and living things (plants). ]

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5. Pask. Sharp-dressed and immaculately groomed, Pask's manners are impeccable, which is quite an accomplishment for a Strange-Pig wearing a man-suit...
   

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   Outer-Pask (unique) [Man-Suit Flesh-Construct; AL C, MV 180' (60'), AC 6/13, HD 3, #AT 1, DG 1d4 (Glove-slap) or 1d4+4 (+2 pig-bonded sword-cane), SV F2, ML 3 (squealing coward), Special: Monocle over left-eye gives Pask ability to Spot Hidden/Detect Secret Doors/Discern Ley-lines/Detect Magic; Pask's sword-cane will attack all non-porcine-types who attempt to wield it and will never willingly serve whomever kills Pask (they are most excellent friends); the Man-suit cannot function apart from Pask.]
   
   Inner-Pask (unique) [Strange-Pig; AL C, MV 120' (60'), AC 9/10, HD 3, #AT 1, DG 1d4 (bite) or by weapon, SV F2, ML 3 (squealing coward), Special: Pask takes no damage until the man-suit is completely destroyed first; Once per week Pask must wallow and gorge on filth or suffer a loss of 1 HD; It requires two weeks and over a hundred pounds of fresh meat and leather to construct a new man-suit during which time Pask must not be disturbed. He has hired the same group of street-kids to watch over his basement shop the last couple of times this was necessary...they are getting suspicious...and greedy. Pask is a great fan of trains and the Unterrail especially, collecting every bit of ephemera related to such things as he can get his piggy hands on. Pask recently met and became infatuated with a torch-singer who has made him re-examine his motivations and his life; he is seriously considering dropping his one-pig vendetta against the Butchers...]

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6. Tidlin Mur. She's either a ratty-haired hag, a svelte songstress from one of the smoky dives along the High and Dry Wharf where the airships used to moor, or something else...something very hungry...
   

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   Tidlin Mur (unique) [Arachnoganger; AL C, MV 180' (60'), AC 8/11, HD 4, #AT 2, DG 1d4 (hair-pins) or 1d4+2 (needle-knife) or strangulation (silk garrotte: +4 to hit by surprise, Save or suffer 1d4 temporary CON loss; upon reaching zero-CON the victim is rendered paralyzed in a death-like coma for 1 hour and is incapable of physically defending themselves), SV F6, ML 9 (will attempt to parley before fleeing), Special: Immune to Charm or Illusion spells; uses ESP at will; Can shapechange into hag-form, temptress-form, or spiderish-form only when unobserved; if killed she will rise within 1d4 hours in one of the other remaining forms and no longer be able to assume the former shape. She can only digest blood, and prefers to arrange things so that the local authorities suspect nosferatu-types and vampire-cultists, which has attracted the notice and enmity of certain parties. She has fallen in love with Pask, but does not know the truth about him yet...when she does, things might get messy...]

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Six Things...An Index to the Series

Red Bestiary Index

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This month's RPG blog Carnival is being hosted by the Of Dice and Dragons, so go click over to their blog and check out what other horrid things people have been posting as part of this festival of frightfulness.

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Six Headless and Heedless Things

Whatever you do, don't lose your head...especially not here...

 Graffiti in Irving's Alley

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The Guillotine never caught-on in Wermspittle, even after hanging was banned in response to the proliferation of Alraunes and Mandrakes and worse things spawned from the spilled seed of executed criminals. But even so, there are plenty of people and other things who have lost their heads, or more...

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1. Bruno. Nine feet tall at the shoulders, perhaps slightly less on the left with the slight curvature of the spine he gained through lingering overlong in the Low-Lands as a child. Bruno was always an unlucky child. Not finding much in the way of prospects and failing his Entrance Exams, he ran with some Gutter Urchins and Feral Children for a time before he ran afoul of Lucius Pennyroyal. The serum did wonders for the boy's physique, but the brain damage had been extreme, so Lucius removed his head and replaced it with a globe of reinforced Plattnerized greenglass that was originally intended to only hold the boy's soul in place in order to keep his body alive and useful...but the glass globe has turned out to be a much more powerful Geist-Trap than Lucius expected and now poor Bruno shares the globe--and control over the hulking monstrosity of a body--with other spirits and poor Bruno is having a hard time coping...
   

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   Host-Body (unique) [Huge, Possessed Headless Hulk; AL C, MV 180' (60'), AC 5/14, HD 12, #AT 2, DG 2d6/2d6 (fists), SV F12, ML (2d6: randomly determined every time he takes damage), Special: The Greenglass Globe containing Bruno's geist, as well as 1d4 random minor spirits, tends to shift out of phase until the host-body sustains over 50% damage. The host-body is immune to all mind-influencing, Charm, hypnosis and related effects while under control by the spirits in the Globe.]
   
   Geist-Globe (unique) [Modified Magic Jar receptacle; AC 3/16, HD 6, SV MU 8. Special: If destroyed, the geists trapped inside this globe will be set loose for good or ill, but Bruno's spirit will remain bound to his drastically altered body unless suitably exorcized. Shards of the globe can be used as +1 weapons against geists and spirits, or to form a geist-trap, if one knows how to craft such things.
   
   Bruno's Geist (unique) [Bound spirit; AC 0/19 (requires special weapon to hit), HD 4, #AT 1, DG 2d4 (Vitality-drain), SV T4, ML (2d6: randomly determined each time host-body takes damage, upon failing Morale check, another spirit takes over for 1d6 Turns. Special: Since Pennyroyal's incarceration in the Gormenstille, only Bruno knows where the bad doktor's last remaining samples of his serum can be found... ]

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2. Lirg. They took his skull and left his geist trapped in an old lantern that they clamped into place within his rib cage. Try as he might, he cannot recall who did this to him or why. The Chapel Guard discharged him as unfit for duty, otherwise he's pretty much a typical reanimated skeleton...one with a lantern holding a blue flame where his heart used to be...
   

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   Lirg (unique) [Skeleton; AL N, MV 60' (20'), AC 4/15, HD 6, #AT 1, DG 1d6 (short sword), SV F6, ML 12 (fearless), Special: Lirg can perceive everything within a 20' radius as though using a True Seeing spell. He can only communicate with Mediums, Geist-talkers or spirit-touched. He desperately wants to know who did this to him and why... ]

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3. Tazger Yalg. Accursed and bereft of all flesh, Tazger must endure the humiliation of only being able to occupy hollow squash, gourds or pumpkins as part of his punishment at the hands of a vengeful Midwife. Always a conniver and a barracks lawyer during his brief stint in the Sewer Militia, he was able to convince, cajole and con some of his former comrades to turn over a Pruztian Sturmgraben Construct damaged during the brief period in-between Occupations. So now Tazger has a body, of sorts, but no matter what he tries, he can't seem to keep his pumpkin-head attached to it...
   

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   Tazger's Body (unique) [Sturmgraben War-Construct; AL N, MV 180' (60'), AC 6/13, HD 3, #AT 1, DG 1d4+2 (Militia-Issue dagger), SV F6, ML 12 (fearless), Special: Until he discovers a reliable way to attach his head to this body, it must carry the pumpkin-head in one of its arms. Sturmgraben are manufactured from wood, canvas, discarded ammunition cannisters, and similar battle-field debris and as such they are very flammable, taking double damage from all fire attacks. As an Unliving Construct, the body takes only half damage from normal melee attacks or bullets. Tazger can attempt to repair damage to the body when out of combat with a 40% chance of regaining 1d4 hit points if there is suitable debris at hand.]
   
   Tazger's Head (unique) [bound spirit; AL C, MV 0 (must be carried), AC 9/10, HD 6, #AT 1, DG 1d4 + Confusion, SV F6, ML 6. Special: The pumpkin used as Tazger's head is very susceptible to rotting, decay, or corruption effects taking double damage from all such effects or attacks. Once the head is reduced to zero hit points, Tazger must devote all his attention and efforts to acquiring another organic vessel for his spirit. If he fails to do so within 3 hours, he collapses into a foul-smelling blue flame that completely consumes whatever host-body he was using and once the flame goes out he is lost forever. Unless the Midwife who cursed him chooses to relent...which she might do if he has anything interesting to barter...]

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4. Subject 3. The victim of Headtaker Beetles, this decapitated corpse was discovered by a team of Foragers who notified the Red Watch. Since the body was never adequately identified, they eventually surrendered the corpse to the municipal morgue, as per standard procedure. An enterprising intern on the night shift sold the unidentified cadaver to an unlicensed reanimator who quickly lost control over the thing. It wanders the alleys now, randomly, mindlessly attacking anyone or anything it runs into...
   

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   Subject 3 (unique) [Huge Headless Reanimant; AL C, MV 90' (30'), AC 9/10, HD 8, #AT 2 (fists), DG 2d8/2d8, SV F8, ML 12 (fearless), Special: Electrical effects Slow this creature. All normal healing spells instead inflict damage. It recovers 1 hit point for every 10 it inflicts.Upon being reduced to zero hit points, this thing goes dormant for 1d4 Turns after which it rises again at half its normal hit points. If again reduced to zero hp, it goes dormant for 1d4 weeks. It can only be completely destroyed by acid, according to Pennyroyal's confiscated notes. SPECIAL: The Street Patrol offers a substantial reward for the capture of this thing, while the Red Watch has posted a reward for its verified destruction.]

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5. Old Wobbly Kraz. A heavy metal statue of some former champion of the oppressed and hero of several important yet forgotten battles lost its head during the aerial bombardments. Now it lurches along the old parade route waving a tattered flag, its hollow interior sloshing with a bizarre mixture of liquor and other substances dumped through the gaping hole in its neck by revelers, drunkards, petitioners and others. Some say it brings good luck, others claim it might shorten the next winter; no one knows if it does anything more than add to the noxious fluids gurgling away inside this mindless automaton. Street Urchins, Feral Children and others often dare one another to sample the strange brew that slops and spills from Old Wobbly Kraz...the effects can be extreme but more often they are merely loathsome...
   

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   Old Wobbly Kraz (unique) [Huge, Hollow Bronze Memorial-Golem; AL N, MV 30' (10'), AC 3/16, HD 18, #AT 1, DG 2d4 (trample), SV F18, ML 12 (mindless), Special: Kraz rarely deviates from its route and stops for 1d100 minutes every 30 feet. The only people who've ever been harmed by Kraz were those who stole liquor from his hollow interior, or those that were immobilized and stranded in the path of his clomping feet. The fluids sloshing about inside old Kraz might be something found in the Weird Drafts pdf found at Gorgonmilk's blog, or perhaps we'll put together a special random table for this down the road... ]

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6. Meowlik. Large black cats who've lost their heads...but they'll gladly take yours...
   

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   Meowliks (1d4) [Large, Abdead Alley-Cats; AL C, MV 210' (70'), AC 46/13, HD 4, #AT 2, DG 1d4/1d4 (claws), SV F2, ML 5, Special: Can be Turned as 6 HD monsters. Immune to all visual-stimuli-style effects. Anyone killed by these feline terrors has their head taken and used by the Meowlik as their own, making it impossible to resurrect the victim. The Meowlik that gains a head in this fashion progresses as a Magic User from that point onward, gaining the ability to cast spells, learn languages, and use whatever magical implements they can manipulate with their paws.]

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Six Things...An Index to the series

Red Bestiary Index

Index: Six Things

A Series of 1d6 Encounters in Wermspittle with...

Altogether Ooksome Things
Boneless Nuisances (Minor)

Bears

Biting Dolls

Golemic Chassis
Headless and Heedless Things

Lions

Oval Paintings

Pillows
Shunned Houses

Skulls

Things From the Black Zones

Tigers

Traps (I)

Wandering Monster Matrix: The Gormenstille (New Chillon)

"This is a place of bastards and illegitimate bloodlines, cast-offs and caitiffs, criminals and deposed heirs alike, all sent here in secret and left to rot, only they didn't all rot. They have their own lineages here, as well established and documented as any in the outer regions of the known worlds; only they are Ignobles in New Chillon, within the walls of the Gormenstille; all of them vying for power or prestige and squabbling among one another over obscure points of genealogy, precedence or their personal entry in the Red Book."

Hedrard's description of the Gormenstille in Bujilli: Episode 102

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(1d20) Wandering Monsters in the Upper North East Calotte-Passage of the Gormenstille...

1. Varn-spiders. (3d4) Dim, gray spiders that have associated with vampires for far too long...
2. Skeletons. (2d4) They have been tasked to collect and carry all plague victims down to the coroners and plague doctors working in the lower levels. There's a 40% chance that any one of them is carrying a plague ravaged corpse. The rest carry spears. Each one bears the insignia of a red square on their prison-issue tabard.
3. Ordrang. It is not interested in inedible, living things...however the Squirmy Gurgle that is hiding behind it is...
4. Gobbling Grout:  1d4: 1) Type I, 2) Type II, 3) Type III, 4) Type IV.
5. Poppers. (4d6) Squiggly little leeches that explode from guzzling their victim's blood faster than they can process it.
6. Drab Jelly.
7. Ceiling Scorpions. (4d4) Huge mottled ochre and black-striped scorpions scuttle across the ceiling, seeking to attack from above by surprise. They never willingly leave the ceiling.
8. Purple Wisp.
9. Stranglemass. (1d4) of the things are floating free and on the hunt for fresh victims.
10. Ourang. (3d6) Recently-escaped, they are headed towards the highest point in the main tower in the hopes of finding (and possibly hijacking) an airship.
11. Gloomshadow. (30% chance it is trapped within a Binding Geometry).
12. Yelg Froth.
13. Screechers. (2d6) Bestial Winged Monkeys hunting for grubs, slugs or other easy-meat.
14. Orbiculate. It's rolling along the wall, completely absorbed in hunting a pack of green-eyed wolf puppies, after having already consumed their parents. [This means that there are (2d4) wolf pups somewhere nearby.]
15. Roll 1d20 to determine which random Vicious Slime has crossed your path.
16. Shrieking White Moths. (3d4) Fluttering, flapping, clamorous winged-things with all too human faces shriek and scream in an effort to escape...only to attract something else in their stead.
17. Flidder.
18. Aethyric Eels. (2d4) are swarming around the recently deceased corpse of a Morlock Shaman that summoned them to aid her escape, but did so too late after being stung by a swarm of huge hornets.
19. Escapees. [See Escapees Table]
20. Bats. (3d100) of the filthy, diseased plague-bearing things--they were released into the passage by Baron Bannerworth's minions.

(1d20) Special Encounters in the Upper North East Calotte-Passage of the Gormenstille...

1. (2d4) corpses. Each one has a 50% chance to be infested with Gore Worms.
2.  A Zahj watches from its position upon the near wall. It may toy with those who pass it by, mostly out of boredom.
3. Three adolescent Yellow Creepers have broken free of their cells and are desperately looking for the way back to Yellowholm. Their constant bickering alerts you to their presence long before they realize they are not alone.
4. A Horla has begun to follow you...
5. Weird whistling noises echo through the passage; there is a Saiitii Manifestation nearby...
6. The passage is heavily covered and obstructed by a massive build-up of guano from either a huge flock of passenger pigeons or bats.
7. Thaddeus, a Lesser Nosferatus, who claims that he was cast out of Baron Bannerworth's service over a minor impropriety. In truth, Thaddeus is a scout for Bannerworth's forces and hopes to lure gullible victims into a trap in order to gain a reward.
8. They did not get very far before collapsing into a Loathsome Mass...
9. Giant Blue-Speckled Hornets are building a massive hive in this section of the passage. They gained entry through a broken window and have been working away undisturbed until you showed up.
10. A patch of Philosophic Mold has taken-up a cozy spot along the far wall where it contemplates intensely obscure matters of an esoteric nature. It is inclined to ignore anything that does not expose it to harm.
11. A larval-stage Irradiant prowls this section of the passage, endlessly spiraling along the same twenty-two foot area again and again.
12. Rubble. Someone has wrecked a section of the wall. Upon taking a closer look, the wall has buckled out from the constant over-tunneling of things working within it...a colony of Thumblings...
13. Roll 1d20 to determine which sort of Unsightly Stain you've just discovered.
14. You find a scabrous amulet on the floor. It bears the sigil of a powerful Sanguinovore. They will attempt to make a psychic connection with whomever picks up the amulet. They are trapped behind a walled-in section of the attic-maze of the Secondary Tower claimed by Baron Bannerworth, whom they consider their most dire personal nemesis.
15. Suzraal is a Fantomist, recently arrived from the bombed-out ruins of her Nulgarian estates. She has a Black Pass from the Warden allowing her free passage through the Gormenstille for services rendered.
16. Roof Whale. The massive thing is stuck in a hole it has bashed through the wall. The plaintive fog-horn-like groans of the thing make the walls and floor shudder.
17. Gudivak is a one-legged Lurm who will gladly teach you a few handy variations on Gloomlight if you agree to help them escape from this place.
18. A sad, broken and (thankfully) inert Biting Doll lies in a congealed puddle of blood. Somewhere nearby, possibly in a niche behind one of the wall-supports are a small band of Todtenhilzig who keep a vigilant watch over whomever passes this way. They are unsure how to get out of this place and might be inclined to attempt to parley with a suitably impressive-looking group. All others they will seek to avoid.
19. A chunk of Purple Amber. It was dropped by an Oneirist whose plague-infected body lies only a few feet past the shiny bit. They were able to leave their body before it expired, but now they are trapped in a dreamlike state and only someone holding the piece of Purple Amber can see or communicate with them.
20. A cat. Yes, it is mostly black. No, it is not interested in you...unless you offer it fresh meat, milk or cat-nip. If treated favorably, the cat has the ability to lead anyone it selects across the temporal threshold of this place to some other place by walking through a wall. Certain walls work better than others and the cat has a liking for the musically-gifted mousefolk that occupy certain choice interstices behind the walls of particular museums on the campus of the Academy at Wermspittle. The cat would be most pleased if you would break through the spell-warded walls protecting the singing mice so it can satisfy its current craving.

Bujilli and Leeja are currently adventuring within the upper reaches of the Gormenstille upon New Chillon, having arrived there at the end of Episode 100 in an effort to rescue their friends Hedrard and Lemuel. Now they are in the process of making their escape from this place...

New Chillon

Six Oval Portraits

The portrait, I have already said, was that of a young girl. It was a mere head and shoulders, done in what is technically termed a vignette manner; much in the style of the favorite heads of Sully. The arms, the bosom, and even the ends of the radiant hair melted imperceptibly into the vague yet deep shadow which formed the back-ground of the whole. The frame was oval, richly gilded and filigreed in Moresque. As a thing of art nothing could be more admirable than the painting itself. But it could have been neither the execution of the work, nor the immortal beauty of the countenance, which had so suddenly and so vehemently moved me. Least of all, could it have been that my fancy, shaken from its half slumber, had mistaken the head for that of a living person...

 The Oval Portrait,
by Edgar Allen Poe

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Neither living nor undead things, there are cursed objects, haunted relics and malevolent fixtures that retain some partial impression of a particular spirit, or that bind the tattered vestiges of some unfortunate geist, or that contain the fragile last ectoplasmic remains of some venerated or reviled ancestor. Most such things are destroyed as a matter of course, especially since the passing of the hygiene laws under the Pruztians. But there are those who collect such sordid treasures. There is money to be made. Especially if one is not afraid to deal with those from Nagrothea who have a deep and abiding desire to possess such items.

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1. Ruthilda Krozenrante. A bitter matron in lace-mail glares out from her portrait with a look of utter contempt that took her more than four decades and three failed marriages to perfect...
   

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   Everyone within line-of-sight of this grizzled old harridan's portrait must Save at +2 or suffer a penalty of -2 to Initiative and -2 to Saves versus mind-influencing/morale damaging effects for the next 1d4 hours due to their being distracted by a nagging sense of self doubt. Victims are also prone to taking double damage from Gloomshadows, Gloomswallows and related things that prey upon pointless angst, personal insecurities, lingering doubts and inner turmoil.

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2. Amfeldtrig Dushmallian. Once a gloriously beautiful trapeze-artist in a Worlds Renowned travelling circus that toured the Adjacent Worlds by airship, her career was cut tragically short when she was crippled in a lover's quarrel once it was revealed that she was not an albino hermaphroditic Tsalalian princess after all...but was in fact a legless dwarf in a hoopskirt golem-chassis. This portrait was commissioned by her loving children.
   

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   The frame is heavier than expected and the enamel on it is scratched-up, making it look tacky and cheap. A closer look will show that the frame is actually worth a considerable sum since one of the smarter children melted-down all the ugliest of their mother's medals, trinkets and curios and fashioned the frame from all that gold in order to keep it safe for some rainy day. The family was rounded-up as suspected agitators during the First Pruztian Occupation and the oval portrait was reluctantly left behind by the ones that escaped.

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3. Count Zaleskaniv. The hereditary ruler of an obscure principality in the S-K region of Outer Ruritalia, this blue-blooded Noble is notorious for sealing his enemies within cruel ceramic pots he acquired from his dealings with the Comprachicos. He was eventually deposed and died in exile in Wermspittle after serving out a fifty year sentence in the Tower.
   

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   All images of this vile tyrant have been destroyed by the decree of his successors, making this last remaining oval portrait quite a collector's item...or a possible source of danger from any of the aging and mostly forgotten agents of the crown who were sent here long ago to keep an eye on the bad old king. If you look closely at the oval portrait, especially in moonlight and at a certain angle, you can see the iron mask they forced him to wear for half a century in his cell. Other than that weird little quirk, the painting is pretty normal, though the pigments used were heavily mixed with White Powder, as was the style in certain circles at the time it was done.

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4. Niggliv. One of the Tongueless Warlords who ruled in silence over the Third Avenue Free Zone during the siege by Franzik forces that led to the three year effort by the Red Watch to ban and summarily execute everyone connected with the Butchers and their underground abattoirs. When the Franzikaners were driven out, Niggliv led the reprisals against the Red Watch and is considered by many to be responsible for re-instituting the ancient and accepted Winter Rites of the Butchers.
   

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   This is a very dangerous bit of degenerate art to hold onto, not the least since it will almost certainly attract the attention of the Butchers and what remains of the Red Watch as well as certain other, interested third parties that are not inclined to accept no for an answer. Anyone having this oval portrait in their possession suffers a -2 penalty to all Reaction Rolls due to the reeking stink of rotten blood that rolls of the thing as well as the paranoia it seems to instill within the minds of anyone who looks at it for very long. All Random Encounter/Wandering Monster checks that indicate 'no encounter' get re-rolled, just in case the dice were wrong the first time.

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5. Hermindra Radcliffe-Southanger. Prim, proper and well-armored, as one would expect from a daughter of executioners and blood-scribes, this Grand Abbess fought valiantly against the Zurks during the Battle of Six Fingers where the ancestral estate of the Radcliffes was cast down and became the wrecked and ruined pile now known as The Jumbles.
   

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   Anyone of Zurkish descent must Save or suffer the effects of a Cause Light Wounds spell. In the old days, they would have been struck dead or blind, but time has diminished the effect, if not the virulence of Hermindra's lingering hatred. Close examination of the back of this oval portrait will reveal a glyphic-map that once activated will open the way to an isolated shrine constructed along one of the overhanging shelves of white basalt in the Polar Wastes of Judrang. Unfortunately there are no clear instructions for how one is supposed to active the glyphic-map. Perhaps one of the cartographic specialists at the Academy or one of the acolytes at the well of Saint Krevlisia might be able to help you with that...for a price. Or you could go consult with one of the Yellow Phantoms. They seem to know a lot about the old days and they are bound to the blasted ruins that make up The Jumbles.

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6. Murthiford Lao-Besk. No one knows anything about this Non-Person. But whomever they may have been, their portrait's unblinking eyes seem to be keenly interested in everything that goes on around it...
   

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   This isn't technically an oval portrait as it is an oval mirror that has been heavily painted-over with lead-based and White Powder pigments to bind a six hundred year old Simulacrum within the frame. They can see out, but cannot speak, cannot move, and cannot hear...but they do feel everything that happens within 30' of the front surface of their image thanks to a twisted form of a Clairvoyance spell deeply imprinted within the paints by a group of meddling kids with artistic pretensions whose Movement died with them when they all burned to death during a salon exhibition that featured a juggling dog (either an art-golem or canunculus) formed entirely of black velvet that got too near an open flame.

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Six Lions  |  Six Tigers  |  Six Bears

Six Pillows  |  Six Biting Dolls  |  Six Golemic Chassis
Six Traps

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The Red Watch have issued a reward for any information that leads to the apprehension of a party or parties unknown that have absconded with a prohibited piece of degenerate art recently identified by Mrs. Cave at Schroedinger & Cave Dealers in Discrete Curiosities. Three competing Freikorps Units have offered sanctuary to any and all unfairly persecuted art lovers with a preference for old fashioned portraiture of historically significant figures...

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Oneiric Web

Some spells are more of a nuisance than they are worth. Others tend to take on a life of their own after being cast forth into the world. Reworking the underpinnings of reality, revising Nature itself to suit one's whims or fancies is at the very heart of fiction, art and sorcery.

But the heat of the moment passes. The dire, immediate need for some sort of intervention comes and goes, leaving behind the remains of hastily scripted, urgently empowered expressions of the imagination that most often are then abandoned. Left behind. So much debris and psychic after-birth, to be ignored and forgotten.

But not all such vestiges of such dramatic reworkings of WhatIs into WhatOughtToBe dissipate quietly into oblivion. Some things linger.

Oneiric Web is a modified form of a fairly common, even standard spell most every sorcerer or spell-caster has run across even if they don't include it in their personal repertoire. Where the more basic, preliminary form creates a barrier composed of sticky strands of non-silk, the Oneiric Web is made-up of coagulated dream-stuff. It can, and often does cling to the physical realm, at least for a short while, but it really and truly comes into its own as a defense or hindrance within the Dreamspaces and Oneiric Realms where it adheres to the vague outlines of half-formed shadows, entangles the ambivalent lineaments of dream-things, and serves the caster as a bulwark against the intrusion of figments, nightmares and grue-ful things.

But unlike the more mundane webs cast within the physical realms, Oneiric Webs persist on the peripheries of consciousness, slowly fading in and out of the personal dream-regions of their casters, to drift over into the vast underworld of the collective unconscious where they get tangled up with nameless and unknown things, forming weird connectors and strange attractors deep below the horizon of consciousness.

To those who've ventured deep enough to observe these irrational structures they appear to form some sort of loosely defined region of some indefinable sort.

Perhaps there is something to the wild claims that this is where the Veilsects originate?