Need Help with Some Villain "Lackeys"

[Pegasus]

Re: Need Help with Some Villain "Lackeys"

 

Now I can think of (pseudo-)scientific reasons behind most of the monstrous effects. However, there are a few I can't, like:

[*]Why a werewolf would be caused to change only during a full-moon

[*]Any way that vampires could be repulsed by holy items.

Naturally, I'm going to have to take some liberties with some of these legends, if for no other reason that to spring some surprises on the players ("What do you mean wooden stakes don't kill them???").

 

Also, if any one wants to suggest Eastern European folkloric monsters other than the run-of-the-mill vampires, werewolves, etc. that'd be great.

 

I remember reading an article a long time ago which stated that the magnetic field of the Earth shifts ever so slightly during a full moon. This subtle shift is capable of altering brain function to a very slight degree, which the article suggests was the cause for full moon madness. In other words, they were looking for the causality for the increase in abnormal behavior and crime during the full moon. Taken to it’s logical conclusion, this could be an origin for the werewolf transformation myth. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the source of the article (Discover? OMNI? …Mad?), and I never really followed up. But there it is.

 

As for the vampires and crosses thing, wouldn’t it make much more sense for them to be vulnerable to anything yellow?

 

But seriously…how about the Banshee? There are a ton of undead variants, of course.

 

For non-undead monsters…the golem leaps to mind. Either the clay golem of Prague of Kabala legend, or the flesh golem/Frankenstein’s monster variant.

[Supreme]

Re: Need Help with Some Villain "Lackeys"

 

...As for the vampires and crosses thing, wouldn’t it make much more sense for them to be vulnerable to anything yellow?

Don't dis the Lantern, dude. That's thin ice you're skatin' on, buster.

But seriously…how about the Banshee? There are a ton of undead variants, of course.

 

For non-undead monsters…the golem leaps to mind. Either the clay golem of Prague of Kabala legend, or the flesh golem/Frankenstein’s monster variant.

Interesting stuff. The banshee is a good one, except I was hoping to keep this to Eastern European legends, the idea being that the Kirbanian UFO is actually the source of these myths. The golem is an interesting one, though golems are supposed to be protectors. Of course it could be that the Kirbanian UFO created one or more golems, which various Kabalah mystics discovered and bent to their will. Hurm...