Saturday, May 24, 2014

Six Tigers (Wermspittle)

Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given it wings...
 Karnadic Proverb


There are only six tigers in Wermspittle. Two are with one or another of the Circus Camps who continually squabble over the things. One has made a lair in the public aviary on Dunforthe Street. Another has been reported prowling the Burned Over District near the Funicular rail. Two remain unaccounted for and may have taken to making their lairs within disused attics or cellars...



  1. Rushakkim. Majestic and powerfully-built, Rushakkim Half-Tail is every bit what one would expect to see in a tiger. He is a consummate performer, however his former master was killed in a tavern brawl and the apprentices who took over the act were stupid and abusive, so he killed them and escaped. There is a jagged scar along Rushakkim's left flank that healed badly due to the kill-paste (a form of salve-like achromic powder) that had been on the rakes and hooks wielded by his former tormentors. If anyone had bothered to go over Malajam's journals and papers, they would have learned that he was administering a 2% solution of White Powder filtered through a glass-tank of moth-larvae to Rushakkim to keep the beast fit and healthy, despite being over a hundred years old...

    Rushakkim Half-Tail (unique) [Large, Ancient Male Tiger; AL N, MV 150' (50'), AC 5, HD 10 (regenerates 1 hit point per hour), #AT 3 (2 claws, 1 bite), DG 1d6/1d6/2d6, SV F12, ML 10, Special: Rushakkim escaped from the Big Top and prefers to hunt-down anyone connected or related to one of the Circus Camps over any other prey. He lost a portion of his tail escaping from a mechanical trap and has since become wary of entering enclosed spaces or sticking around anything that makes mechanical clicking noises (-4 on Morale).]

  2. Louise. Her coat is a rich, mahogany color, with wide black stripes. Her belly and underside is almost khaki in appearance. Her eyes are a smoldering green only the dead can forget. She is The Queen of the Circus and knows it.

    Louise (unique) [Medium-sized, Old Female Tiger; AL N, MV 150' (50'), AC 6, HD 7, #AT 3, DG 1d6/1d6/2d6, SV F9, ML 11, Special: Louise has no interest in what happens outside the Big Top. Show business is her life. She is fluent in seventeen languages and likes to read poetry, however lacking thumbs, she employs several trained winged-monkeys to handle her books, brush out her coat and otherwise tend to her needs, as befits royalty. She adores mirrors of all kinds and anyone presenting her with a mirror as a gift or token of admiration gains a +4 bonus to Reaction Rolls. She never forgets, nor forgives a slight. Louise has done everything in her power to hide the fact that she is sterile, a consequence of her troupe having spent too long in the Low Lands after their train was bombed and they became lost and had to winter-over in an abandoned Farm Enclave. The mere sight of a map drives her into a berserk rage.]

  3. Little Tess. Massive and sluggish, this She-Tiger appears distracted or confused, until she leaps upon her prey and tears them to bits with her exceptionally long claws. She is larger than most plow-horses and has a few scattered patches of scaliness around her arm-pits, groin and belly that came about as some form of taint caused by the gestating hybrid young she was forced to carry after being bred with a Chimera from Troz. Her saliva is now toxic as well. Once the cubs were born, she killed her handlers and escaped into the streets and alleys of Wermspittle. The frequent use of galvanic prods by her former handlers has resulted in sustained memory-loss; Little Tess cannot remember anything from five minutes ago, not even her cubs. She does, however, have an instinctive hatred of all galvanic weapons and will always attack anyone carrying a prod over anyone else...

    Little Tess (unique) [Huge, Female Tiger; AL C, MV 150' (50'), AC 6, HD 8, #AT 3, DG 1d8/1d8/2d6+Poison, SV F8, ML 11. Special: Little Tess has a poison bite that forces the victim to Save or suffer 2d4 damage from fever that also acts as a Confusion spell for 1d4 turns. She gains a +2 bonus to initiative and to hit against anyone wielding galvanic weapons or prods. Little Tess may be pregnant again, but what will the cubs be like this time?]

  4. Morigoth. His stripes are slightly spirally, and the fur in-between is tinted mauve and purple, with a lighter shade of purple along his underside. Morigoth's claws are translucent like sharp ice and slash geists and apparitions as easily as they part flesh. He wanders through the ruins of bombed-out buildings, half in trance, half in dream, but always and perpetually hungry...

    Morigoth (unique) [Huge, Male Dreamtiger; AL N, MV 150' (50'), AC 4, HD 7, #AT 3, DG 1d6+1/1d6+1/2d6 (Ignores non-magical armor). Special: Can use Passwall up to 3 times per night. Morigoth was born from the mating of an oneiric tiger and a fleshly one. He has since become far more substantial than oneiric, but can shift into the closer, more easily accessed dreamspaces when the situation merits it...]

  5. Pidro-Peeto. Tangerine and cream, with sharply-tapering sable stripes boldly splashed across his fur, Pidro-Peeto is a striking, imposing figure of malice and magnificence.

    Pidro-Peeto (unique) [Large, Adult Male Tiger; AL N, MV 150' (50'), AC 5, HD 10, #AT 3, DG 2d4/2d4/3d4, SV F12, ML 9, Special: Despite his impressive appearance, this big cat is an incredibly good ambusher, gaining a +2 bonus to initiative and to hit when striking from a concealed position. This big cat is playful, likes to listen to live music and will drink itself silly if offered liquor of any sort, but has a massive tolerance, as its keepers were career alcoholics...]

  6. Barnum Street Mauler. The black stripes of this huge cat have a distinctive greenish tinge to them according to the jumbled accounts gathered from those who have 'survived' any of its attacks...

    Barnum Street Mauler (unique) [Huge, Adult, Male War-Tiger; AL N, MV 180' (60'), AC 4, HD 12, #AT 3, DG 2d4/2d4/4d4, SV F14, ML 12 (fearless), Special: The last survivor of an experiment meant to produce a 'war cat' for the Pruztian Jungle Korps. This beast has been fitted with a special armored vest/barding, and subjected to several invasive surgical modifications, including a derangement of its healing process that allows it to regain 2d4 hit points whenever it makes a successful Save against some exotic attack. Its senses have been augmented, and it Sees Invisible, Detects Magic and has darkvision to 300' range. It was originally trained to hunt and kill spell-casters, but has since taken to killing anything that crosses its path--the control mechanism patched into its skull has become faulty and the beast is now a mindless killing machine on the loose...]

Lions | Tigers | Bears
Lesser Beasts
Red Bestiary Index

Several Refugees from Yultranza were found torn limb from limb amid the wreckage of a shanty camp in the alleys behind the Athenaeum. Eye-witness accounts and evidence gathered at the scene indicate that there were no fewer than eleven men, women and children struck down in the middle of the night by the so-called 'Barnum Street Mauler.' Luckily, a team of volunteer surgeons from the recently demilitarized Tactical Experimental Medicine Cadre was able to recover three survivors, more or less. After they recover from the extensive reconstructive surgical procedures, as well as the usual trauma associated with dismemberment and being partly devoured, the three Wretched survivors are expected to work-off their medical indenturement by serving in the Wall Guard or Sewer Militia...

5 comments:

  1. excellent stuff once again - more like this please!

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    1. Thanks. I have a few more of things along these lines in the pile on my desk. Lions, Bears and Tell-Tale Hearts are nearly ready to go, so you should be seeing a few more posts like this shortly. Thanks for the comment--it helps to know what readers like you find useful or interesting.

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks! I've been writing more stuff, just not posting to the blog so much these days. Moving a bit slower than I'd prefer, but at least I am still alive, so there's that to consider. Getting some art done as well, but not quickly; my hands start to shake after a while and I tend to tire much more easily than I'm used to, so it gets a bit frustrating, but I plug along as best as I can and eventually stuff will get done. Really like what you guys are doing with your 'Zine! Congrats on a really wonderful first issue! Looking forward to seeing more from you guys!

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    2. ...and Yes, I only just now spotted this buried under a ton of spam. Sorry for the delay. Like I said, things are moving a bit slower than I'd like, but at least progress is being made...

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