Shadowsoul's Monster Corner

[BlueCloud2k2]

The Butcher was a demon from the games Diablo and Diablo III.

 

I think you nailed it in one. I can't give you rep but I can 'like' the post.

[GhostDancer]

Some butchers use chain mail gloves- titanium or stainless steel.

[Christopher R Taylor]

I like the Dandy Lion

[Shadowsoul]

The moons are in alignment once again so it is time for me to rise up from the depths and post a new creature to Shadowsoul's Monster Corner.

 

Flayed One

 

Background/History.

 

A Flayed One is the result of murder by Blood Magic.  Blood Mages wield the power of slaughter but also the power of life at its most vital and savage, those ‘killed’ by Blood Magic do not always die in the truest sense of the word but are infected by it and condemned to a living purgatory; the final moment of their violent demise stretched out for days or even years. 

 

The resulting creature is slick with blood, boiling with rage and mad with agony, it cannot be reasoned with and it is unnaturally hard to stop.  The only way for a Flayed One to dull the pain of its existence is to bathe in the blood of living beings.  Unless somehow controlled it will be a force of mayhem and destruction until it is put down.

 

Blood Mages have learned to cause this effect intentionally and so create minions to do their bidding.  Even a ‘wild’ Flayed One is susceptible to control by the practitioners of the magic which created it.

 

Personality/Motivation.

 

To all intents and purposes the Flayed One is a berserker.  While, theoretically, sentient the Flayed One exists in a world of pain and it is quite incapable of rational thought.  The raw Blood Magic tearing through its veins acts like a powerful combat drug, forcing the monster to remain awake and murderous even if the original creature would have just curled up into a ball or collapsed into unconsciousness to escape the pain. 

 

Sheer battle-madness will drive the Flayed One to attack every living thing in sight and it will quickly learn that their blood can act as a balm to its own tormented flesh, giving it fresh motivation to kill them in the most violent ways its demented brain can devise.

Flayed Ones will not usually attack each other, perhaps recognising a fellow soul in torment.

If controlled by a Blood Mage the Flayed One will follow orders, it lacks the mental capacity for deception, but it will take any opportunity it can to inflict violence while carrying out its duties.

 

Powers/Tactics.

 

The Flayed One is a frenzied maniac with little or no interest in tricks and tactics.  It reaches its chosen victim as quickly as possible and attacks them fearlessly and without mercy until it or they are destroyed.  If multiple Flayed Ones are fighting in the same area they will usually pick different targets if they can reach them easily.

 

For all their lack of subtlety Flayed Ones are dangerous opponents.  No matter how blameless a life the original creature led they will gain a basic knowledge of wielding edged weapons when they rise again.  The Blood Magic that courses through a Flayed One makes it faster and considerably stronger than an average human and while it has no particular skill with weapons it can overwhelm opponents with sheer aggression.  Being a creature of blood the Flayed One is able to ignore the limits of its own flesh and bones to a certain extent, moving much like a skilled contortionist which only serves to make it more disturbing to face in battle.

 

A Flayed One attacks relentlessly; wounds which would cause a mortal to black out are ignored as mere white noise against the cacophony of pain the monster endures every second of its tortured existence.  Furthermore the Blood Magic which animates the Flayed One actively holds its body together, clotting almost instantaneously to seal holes and forcibly reset fractured bones.  It is very difficult to kill a Flayed One with blunt trauma.  Spilling or burning the unnatural blood within the monster is the most effective way to destroy it.

 

Though it is not Undead the Flayed One is animated by magic and so does not suffer from mortal afflictions such as disease, hunger, cold or the need to breathe.  Its reserves of energy are not inexhaustible but it can fight on for a long time without rest.

 

Campaign Use.

 

Flayed Ones foot soldiers and are most likely to be minions for a Blood Mage.  They may also be encountered in the wake of a rampaging Blood Mage, with the players having to split their time between hunting down the magic user and killing off the murderous creatures he leaves behind him.

 

Flayed One’s also present an interesting quandary for player controlled Blood Mages, (assuming they aren’t downright evil themselves), is it worth using this form of magic if it sometimes generates new enemies from the corpses of old ones?  Is it morally justified to extend the suffering of an opponent into unlife if doing so creates a useful servant which will help you defeat other evils, do the wicked acts the victim committed in life mean that it is less wrong to torment him or her in this way?

 

While Flayed Ones as written are too violent and insane to be left, like zombies, to guard some ancient crypt they could be bound into a magical prison of some sort and unleashed when a ward or trap-glyph is triggered. 

If the PCs are travelling with a large group then sorcerous traps could kill some of their companions and ‘raise’ them as Flayed Ones.  Or the trap could kill their horses and pack animals and raise them, which will really inconvenience the players even before true battle is joined.

 

I have written up all of the stat increases as powers to make it easier to convert this monster into a template which could be applied to any creature killed by Blood Magic; a Flayed Ogre or Troll would be truly terrifying.

 

Appearance.

 

Blood-soaked, skinless humanoid with a grinning mouth and eyes that roll wildly in its skull.

 

Skills.

 

Contortionist 13-

 

Killer:  WF:  Blades

 

Total Skills Cost = 6

 

Talents.

 

Fearless

 

Total Talents Cost = 14

 

Powers.

 

Furious:  +10 STR

 

Hungry For Blood:  +1 OCV

 

Fast:  +1 SPD

 

Swift:  Running +10m (22m total)

 

Blood For Bones 1:  +4 DEX

 

Blood For Bones 2:  Resistant Protection (3 PD) (6 Active Points); Limited Power Only protects against blunt trauma (-1)

 

Lost In Pain:  +8 EGO (8 Active Points); Conditional Power Does not protect against Blood Magic (-1/4)

 

Clotting:  Does Not Bleed

 

Gore Smeared Nightmare:  +10 PRE (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Only to make hostile Presence Attacks (-1/2)

 

Creature Of Blood Magic 1:  +10 CON

 

Creature Of Blood Magic 2:  +2 BODY

 

Pain's Companion 1:  +4 PD

 

Pain's Companion 2:  +4 ED

 

Undying:  Life Support  (Eating: Character does not eat; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat;

Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep)

 

Unrelenting 1:  +20 STUN

 

Unrelenting 2:  +20 CON (20 Active Points); Limited Power Only to prevent character from being Stunned (-1)

 

Unrelenting 3:  +10 REC

 

Unrelenting 4:  +30 END

 

Total Powers Cost = 155

 

Complications.

 

Psychological Complication:  Insane With Agony (Very Common; Total). 25

 

Psychological Complication:  Soothed By The Blood Of Others (Common; Total). 20

 

Physical Complication:  Easily Affected By Blood Magic (Add 3d6 to all effects) (Infrequently; Greatly Impairing). 15

 

Physical Complication:  Takes Damage From Healing Magic (Infrequently; Greatly Impairing). 15

 

Total Complications Points = 75

 

 

Flayed One.hdc