The Beast of Brynmor Farm

Made using the Monster-Making d666 by Louis Garamondia and Loch Nothic's Eye.

***

Brynmor Farm is located at the center of a hex of farmland. Surrounded by acres of untended wheat fields, the farm is the only notable feature in the hex.

As long as it lives, replace all encounters within the hex with The Worg.

Samantha Mash

The Worg is a horrible, horse-sized wolf with shaggy dark fur and teeth too big for its mouth. It stalks the fields, hiding in the wheat, looking for an opportunity to ambush all who dare to trespass.

Right before the ambush, the beast will hurl curses at its victims in a human voice. 

Three days before the party enters the hex for the first time, it snuck onto the farm and killed everyone in it, tearing most of them apart with its claws and devouring the rest. The beast turned the ruined farmhouse into its lair, and will retreat there after prowling the fields.

Most of the farmhouse's walls are broken, bashed in as if by a stampeding bull. Furniture is overturned and splintered, the floors are covered in straw mixed with dirt and blood. The torn body of old man Brynmor is splayed next to the fireplace, still clutching a bloodied scythe.  

The remaining animals, consisting mostly of chickens, pigs, and a small herd of cows, are scattered around the farm, hiding in dilapidated barns and sheds in terror. The Worg is aware of where they are, but tries to pace its hunger, as it does not know how much longer it will have to stay on the farm.

***

The Queen of Fangs rules from a small and ancient keep deep in the woods. Once known as the Wolf-Mother, she is a powerful presence, as old as the forest itself, if not older. All wolves (or at least, the more reasonable ones) swear fealty to her, but none serve her more loyally than her Fanged Knights.

Any man bold enough to seek out the Queen earns the right to stand audience before her. If he passes the trials and proves his worth, the Queen grants him a singular offer to join the ranks of the Fanged Knights. If he agrees to the pact, he stays in the keep, never returning to civilization and his old life ever again.

Then, the new knight is granted a wolf's pelt by the Queen herself, and is bound to it, free to exist as both man and beast, but never fully either, forevermore.

However, there is a cost to be paid. Upon joining, the Fanged Knight forswears all material possessions except those granted by his order. To bind this vow beyond the knight's will, the Queen's pact ensures that all gold becomes anathema to her knights, burning their skin in excruciating pain on the slightest contact.

Moreover, the knights are forbidden from ever consuming flesh both human and canine, as doing so means turning one's fangs against kin. No other transgression or act of treachery will bring as much of the Queen's ire as this.

All of the above are common knowledge to anyone who has heard of the Queen of Fangs.

***

Dafydd was once a Fanged Knight, but fell victim to a dark hunger and consumed the flesh of his kin. As punishment, the Queen of Fangs cursed him to become one with his pelt, a creature stuck between man and beast, but lower than either.

Once banished, Dafydd grew to enjoy his new form, in a way. No longer bound by arbitrary laws of civilization or his old order, the cursed knight fully gave into his unsavory instincts. Now known as The Worg, Dafydd spends his existence maiming, torturing, and killing all unlucky enough to encounter him not for sustenance, but for sport.

Despite his current appearance, Dafydd is still perfectly capable of speech, and will put this ability to great use by taunting his opponents with a constant stream of curses and vulgarities. He does it for no reason other than to derive a twisted sense of pleasure from the process.

 

babezord

THE WORG, Cursed Knight Dafydd
HD 6 AC chain Move 2x normal
Attacks 1d10/1d10 claws OR 2d6 bite + devour (see below) Morale 10
Intelligence wicked cunning, unraveling at the edges Disposition horrible bastard

• Pact-bound - Dafydd's pact with the Queen of Fangs still holds sway over him. Gold in all forms burns him like molten metal, and golden weapons deal double damage (preferably actual weapons, but improvised ones like a golden candelabra or gold coins stuffed into a sock will do in a pinch).
• Devour - The target hit by The Worg's bite attack must save or be swallowed whole, taking 1d4 acid damage per round. The Worg must take 8+ damage in a single instance to be forced to spit out what it swallowed.
• Regurgitate - Instead of making an attack, The Worg may vomit out the corpse of a random creature it previously devoured, which then reanimates and joins the fight. By the time the party encounters the beast, it has already eaten three farmhands, two pigs, and a single guard dog.

Inside the beast's gullet is a gloved hand of a nun clutching a golden holy symbol. The sharper edge of the symbol is tightly embedded into the flesh, and it's slowly working its way deeper. 

In a month, it will pierce the monster's heart and kill it. The Worg is vaguely aware of this impending doom, and will grow more reckless and violent as the day approaches.

If killed, the beast may be skinned for its pelt, which grants its wearer the ability to shapeshift into a 4 HD dire wolf once per day. This is a rare opportunity to obtain such a pelt without invoking the wrath of the Queen of Fangs or joining the ranks of the Fanged Knights.

Alternatively, the pelt may be brought back to the Queen. She will offer no material reward for it, but instead will grant a single favor from her and her knights.

After skinning, all that remains of The Worg is a beaten, haggard corpse of a man.

*** 

d666 Results:
FORM - WOLF
DANGER - BEING EATEN 
MIEN - REPUGNANT
HABITAT - FARM CROPS
DRIVE - TERMS OF CONTRACT
WEAKNESS - GOLD

Balefrogs

Inspired by a somewhat recent conversation on the GLOG server.

*** 

Demon-worshiping is a pastime not limited only to those who stand on two legs. It is not unknown to find such practice among wolf packs, and sometimes, a wolf will willingly invite a demon into its body to become a worg, a creature much stronger, smarter, and much, much more wicked.

It is less known that toads have a similar tradition.

Toads are much simpler creatures than wolves, and rarely a toad would on its own think of cavorting with demons. Usually, this knowledge is passed between generations, all starting from a single witch's familiar that was parted from its mistress, using whatever scraps of knowledge remained in its head to regain the beautiful and horrible power it once had. While the exact details of the ritual may vary, in the best case scenario the foolish toad grabs the attention of some minor gluttonous demon, and the unholy spirit enters the warty flesh, transforming it into a balefrog*.

* the name was given to them by humans, which they personally despise, as they are toads and not frogs.

Nils Hamm

 

Like worgs, balefrogs can grow to monstrous proportions, the simple act of possession engorging the amphibian body to the size of a bear. Soon after, the hungers follow.

Each balefrog is plagued by two hungers: the hunger of body and the hunger of soul. The first one is purely mundane in nature, as the suddenly larger body requires more nutrients to function. Overcome by it, a newly-formed balefrog would usually start consuming its fellow toads, before moving onto larger prey, and, eventually, man-eating.

The hunger of soul is different. To sate the demon residing inside, the balefrog must consume knowledge. Unlike worgs, which learn everything their prey knows, balefrogs lack such sophisticated methods of extracting knowledge, and must, quite literally, eat written word instead: letters, journals, books, scrolls, anything that has writing on it. Naturally, the balefrog instantly learns everything that it consumes.

In this regard, balefrogs tend to form tastes, preferring personal secrets written in hopes that no-one will read them (the more scandalous the better), but also magical formulae, making spellbooks a special delicacy. For each consumed spellbook, a balefrog gains +1 HD, while also learning every single spell contained within. Unfortunately for everyone, the demonic nature of the balefrog also grants it the ability to cast these spells.

In most cases, balefrogs manifest far away from civilization, in deep forests and swamps, where literacy is rare even in settlements. A lucky balefrog might catch and eat a traveling postman, or stumble into a ruined chapel where it might find some discarded prayer books (although consecrated ground repels it like the unholy creature it is). However, if a balefrog happens upon a library or a wizard's tower, it might become a much more significant presence in the region.

Once enough knowledge is accumulated within a balefrog, it becomes smart enough to seek food through alternative ways. Using speech (like worgs, all balefrogs know how to speak, but prefer not to unless they find it necessary), they will start asking for favors from those who pass by, promising riches (a lie), power (usually a lie), and knowledge (the one thing they can always provide). With time, whole cults tend to form around a single balefrog, as it continues to teach those willing to satisfy its appetites.

What balefrogs don't want anyone to know is that knowledge changes them. A balefrog that feeds on romance novels and correspondence between lovers becomes a bit of a romantic in its own twisted way, its plans suddenly involving playing matchmaker between usually unwilling parties, while one that consumes religious texts might gain a habit of making long sermon-like speeches and musing on its own unholy nature.

Marek Madej

BALEFROG
HD 4 AC leather (immune to non-magical damage) Move normal, leap normal, swim 2x normal
Attacks 1d8/1d8 claws, 1d10 tongue (20 feet) + devour (see below) Morale 9
Intelligence alternates between dim and genius Disposition Jabba the Hutt

• Unholy - As creatures possessed by demons, balefrogs share their immunities (mundane weapons etc.) and weaknesses (consecrated ground, holy water etc.).
• Spellcaster - A balefrog has 2 MD to cast spells with, but does not innately know any spells until it consumes a spellbook or spell scroll.
• Devour - The balefrog can shoot its tongue at a single target within 20 feet. On a hit, the target must save or be swallowed, taking 1d4 acid damage per round. The balefrog must take 6+ damage in a single instance to be forced to spit out what it swallowed.
• Logophage - Balefrogs can instantly absorb information by consuming it in written form. A balefrog has expert-level knowledge in 1d4 topics, plus 2 per every HD it has above 4.

1d6 Balefrog Markings:
1. Horn-like protrusions all over the body
2. Eyes glowing with sickly pale light like lanterns
3. Smoking demonic glyphs and runes on warty skin 
4. Devoured corpses partially fused into its belly
5. Acid green vapor pouring out of its orifices
6. Useless unevenly placed extra limbs