Robert Parker, author of the Rogues and Reavers blog, said nice things about the collection of Tekumel monsters I had in Fight On! Issue 3 and asked me to stick them on my blog. So here they are.
In the original Empire of the Petal Throne the Creatures spell summons one hit dice monsters from the original rules. They are a fun collection of beasties, but you can meet them by the dozen in the underworld and this spell is supposed to be bringing allies of the sorcerer's deity from other planes. I have also added some special abilities to these creatures so it can double as a utility spell. Stats are for EPT, but will work for any old school D&D style RPG.
Hnálla
The Radiant Ones
NA: Special, HD: 1, AC
4, T: nil, M -/24”, L: 0
The radiant ones are
levitating glowing ovoids some 50 cm tall devoid of any surface
feature. They talk in a melodious unemotional version of the native
language of the summoner and can manipulate objects using
telekinesis, punching their foes with invisible bolts of raw force
which are very hard to parry, ignoring any bonus to AC due to a
shield. They defend themselves with electricity in a similar manner
to Ru’ún, and anyone striking them with a steel weapon takes 1
dice damage from an electric shock.
They will serve for
longer periods in return for clear crystals, especially diamonds, and
will be very keen to acquire any ancient technological items or power
cells.
They have considerable
knowledge of such devices, and can aid a summoner in researching
their use and even help repair them if suitable materials are
available. They can also use their fine telekinetic manipulation to
open modern locks and disable traps, usually commenting on the
crudity of such devices and the ease of the task, disparaging the
current fallen state of Tékumeli humanity.
Any resemblance to
the Drone class robots from Iain Banks’ Culture novels is purely
intentional.
Drá
The Flautists of the
Mighty Orchestra
NA: Special, HD: 1, AC
6, T: nil, M -/18”, L: 0
These creatures are
only ever partly corporeal on Tékumel’s plane, and consist of a
levitating vaguely spherical body made up of gelatinous tubes and
peculiarly formed orifices. They continually emit melodious chords
vaguely reminiscent of a clarinet, flute or organ, backed by angelic
singing or chanting. They cannot be attacked physically except by
steel or enchanted weapons or by magic, and they in turn cannot
physically assault any solid creature. They can however use their
eerie song to hypnotise and immobilise a foe who fails to save vs
Eyes; the person does fight back if attacked however, or they can use
the Group I spell Fear to cause an enemy to flee in panic. In any
case their stirring music will give +1 to attack rolls of any
worshippers of the gods of stability within 30 feet, and -1 to the
attacks of any change worshippers.
They cannot talk as
such, only communicating by parroting anything said to them in the
form of a musical phrase, but can be persuaded to take spoken
messages to a named person anywhere on Tékumel, or sometimes even on
a plane beyond, in return for being sung or played to on an
instrument. Being incorporeal they can move through any solid object
and are unhindered by the majority of foes, and though slow for a
flying creature they will always get through eventually.
With thanks to HP
Lovecraft, Cthulhu and Azathoth.
Thúmis and Keténgku
The Dwellers in the
Mist
NA: Special, HD: 1, AC
6, T: nil, M 9”, L: 0
These tall, thin
humanoid beings appear wreathed in mist as if in a garment and are
only visible as dark patches with the impression of large sorrowful
eyes looking through a veil. When they fight this mist expands,
confusing friend and foes alike – any attack made within the mist
has a 15% chance of fumbling and being accidentally directed at an
ally, in addition to the base chance of fumbling for those with low
Dex, and any bonus to hit or damage gained from Intelligence is
nullified as people flail about at random at fleeting shapes.
The Dwellers themselves
are perfectly able to see, and reach out languidly with long clawed
hands to tap their foes. Each tap leaves a wound of 1 dice -1 damage.
The Dwellers never
speak, they merely nod and point towards things they want with gaunt
hands, and hold their palms up in admonition when they are presented
with an unfair deal. In return for magic scrolls the Dwellers can
assist in a number of other ways. They can become partly immaterial
and merge with a summoner, surrounding him in a pearly grey nimbus of
cloud which gives +2 AC. +2 on all saves, +4 vs Illusions or magic
directed at his mind. Any hits against the summoner do damage to the
Dweller first however, and when the Dweller reaches 0 HP the mist
fades and the bonuses are lost.
The Dwellers can also
cast Cure Minor Wounds on 1d6 people at once, Cure Serious Wounds on
one person, and Cure Disease and Neutralise Poison, but will only do
so in return for scrolls of spells of equivalent power.
Avánthe
The Gnomes of Dedé
NA: Special, HD: 1, AC
4, T: nil, M 12”/6” tunnelling, L: 0
Servitors of Dedé the
Lord of Earth, these brown-skinned creatures are a mere meter fall,
with four thickly muscled arms, huge hands, four legs, a pot bellied
body and a round bald head with one wide yellow eye, no nose and a
wide mouth. They are immensely strong and they punch, kick and
headbutt foes into submission doing 1dice +1 damage, and have +1 to
attack.
They are always hungry
and in return for large amounts of food, which must always be
strictly vegetarian and accompanied by copious quantities of héngka
beer, they will help the summoner dig tunnels and demolish doors or
buildings, or hold back foes by building earthworks or walls if the
stone is available.
Dilinála
Daughters of the Sea
NA:
Special, HD: 1-1, AC 2, T: nil, M 12”/12” swimming, L: 0
Appear as Aridáni
warriors with delicately scaled pale green skin dressed in highly
decorated blue armour made of giant sea shells, wielding elegantly
designed polearms with speed and grace. They can walk on water, or
swim beneath it as easily as they can run, and fight at +2 to hit and
+2 damage.
In return for blue gems
and blue tinted glass coral they will lend one item of their
equipment for a short time. Their helmets confer the ability to
breathe under water, their sandals enable water walking and they will
lend their polearms for one formal combat against a male only. These
do +2 damage and can be used by any female character as if she was
skilled in the weapon and with the same potential for multi-dice
damage as a Warrior of the same level.
Belkhánu and Qón
The Áspisai
NA:
Special, HD: 1-1, AC 4, T: nil, M 3”/30”, L: 0
Gold and iridescent
green dragonflies with a 1.3 meter wingspan, these beautiful and
delicate creatures strike at blinding speed with the razor sharp
edges of their wings. In addition to doing half a dice damage each
attack also drains one use of any spell or magical ability known by
the target, starting with professional skills and ending with Group
III enchantments. If the target is an apparition or a summoned
creature it is immediately dispelled or dismissed, though creatures
of 3 dice or more get a save vs magic. Undead attacked by Áspisai
must also save vs magic or be immediately de-animated.
In return for gold leaf
to burnish their carapaces the Áspisai will guide the summoner to
safety from wherever he may be in the multiverse via a series of
nexus points. Some these transits across different planes may be
fairly hazardous, but there is never any danger of accidentally
walking into a plane devoid of breathable air or with an unsurvivable
temperature or pressure. Ones sanity might be at risk when traversing
two or four dimensional planes (five dimensions are a no-no for
humans and most other sentient species, though Pé Chói can just
about cope, six plus are too weird for all but the Mihálli), but you
will probably arrive back at your home plane and time physically
intact.
Áspisai will also act
as magical bodyguards, hanging around the summoner in an invisible
and incorporeal state. They will then appear to intercept any hostile
spell directed at him, taking it through the nearest nexus point for
disposal. Only one spell can be taken care of in this fashion per
Áspisai guardian.
Karakán
Lightning Bugs
NA:
Special, HD: 1+1, AC 2, T: nil, M 9”, L: 0
These are giant
stag-beetle like insects with shiny silver carapaces and glowing
lamps for eyes. Between the tips of their metallic mandibles is a
constant electric arc which gives foes a nasty 1 dice+1 shock.
Against foes with metal armour this is doubled, and anyone using a
metal weapon against them who misses has a 50% chance of being
parried by the spark and receiving a 2 dice shock in the arm. A
fumble against a Lightning Bug automatically hits the arc.
Two bugs can create a
bigger spark between them, stretching up to 3 meters and doing 1
dice+3 damage to anyone who touches it. It is only about 60cm off the
floor so brave souls can jump over it if they make a Dexterity roll.
In return for spools of
silver wire wound round amber rods the lightning bugs will also
permanently magnetise any metal object, giving it anti-magic
properties, or they will ‘spot-weld’ any two metal objects
together.
The usual bug is a
meter long and 40 cm high, but larger versions have been encountered
with correspondingly larger sparks. The very biggest are five or more
meters long and comparable to a Lightning Bringer siege engine in
their damage.
Chegárra
The Legion of the Red
Axe of Contingent Justice
NA:
Special, HD: 1+1, AC 4, T: nil, M 9”, L: 0
These are handsome
bearded warriors dressed in red lacquered antique Salarvyáni style
armour and wielding red two-handed battle axes at +1 to hit and +3
damage. Legend has it that they were a crack unit in the service of
the Fisherman Kings dedicated to wiping out corruption among the
nobility, who fell foul of the Black Priesthood of Ksárul which was
growing in power at the time. This is nonsense according to the
Ksárulites, as Chegárra was not contacted by Pavár until several
millennia after the Fisherman Kings were no more, but it is a fact
that the Legion speak an ultra-archaic dialect of Bednálljan and
wear armour of that period.
They are not very
reliable servants however, and will inevitably involve any summoner
in a debate (in Bednálljan) about the honour and justice of his
actions in bringing them to this plane and requiring them to slay his
foes. If they decide they are not following a just cause they may
turn on the summoner. If however the summoner is eloquent enough in
his pleas and can make sufficient citations of legal precedent they
will serve without further payment, and may provide assistance over
and above that asked for. Any law code will do, but that of the
Fisherman Kings (unfortunately only known in fragmentary form) has
greatest weight, and summoners must be aware that the Legion’s
enthusiastic pursuit of their own version of justice may lead to a
mini-crusade that violates the Concordat or breaks Imperial law.
Their usual help other
than fighting is to advise the summoner when someone is telling a lie
in his presence (and offering to decapitate him on the spot), leading
a military unit in a forced march at double speed (though any
slackers will be decapitated), dispelling illusions and enabling
anyone near them to save vs Illusion at +2 (and insisting on hunting
down and decapitating the lying illusionist who cast the spell).
They are also prone to
sexism, a vice of their apparent historical age, and any female
summoners will have even greater trouble controlling them and they
will fight at -2 to hit against female foes for fear of hurting the
dear ladies. This does not apply to their hereditary enemies, the
followers of Ksárul and The Daughters of the Sea who follow
Dilinála.
Hrü’ü and Wurú
Notules
NA:
Special, HD: 1+1, AC 6, T: nil, M 3”/10”+2” per hit point, L: 0
The Notules are
fluttering scraps of unreflective darkness, like a piece of the night
sky given animation and a desire to kill. They are extremely hard to
hit in the dark, gaining +2AC in twilight or in shadowy areas, +6AC
in darkness. If slain with a slashing weapon like a sword or axe they
rise again as two Notules, each with (original HP-1)/2 hit points, and are immune to damage from blunt weapons (though they will take damage
from any magical bonuses such a weapon may have), and take half
damage from piercing weapons.
Their attack is to
drain heat energy. They do 1 damage per hp they have, gaining 1HP per
5 damage they inflict. A save vs magic halves this damage. In
addition they drain 2x damage inflicted from the targets Strength,
which can only be regained by magical healing.
On a critical hit they
plaster themselves across the target’s face, blinding him and
suffocating him in 3 rounds, in addition to any damage they may do by
draining his body heat. Any attacks against the notule will also harm
their victim at half damage.
They dislike bright
light however and attack at -2 within the confines of a Light spell
or in open sunlight. They will by preference attack the source of any
Light spell in the hopes of dousing it.
They have no other
functions and do not bargain or negotiate. Some more powerful
sorcerers do have spells to keep them trapped in little metal boxes
as surprises for their enemies, and others can direct them to seek
out and assassinate named vicitms.
Blatantly stolen from The Book
of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
Ksárul
Those Who Stand Aside
NA:
Special, HD: 1, AC 4, T: nil, M 15”, L: 0
These creatures are
never actually seen, their presence being announced by their thin
whispery voices and the hair raising feeling that one is not so much
being watched as quietly appraised for nutritional potential. At best
they are seen as a shadow cast from behind the observer, a flickering
indistinct shadow that tells nothing of their shape or size. They do
reveal themselves fully to those they attack, but those who survive
remember nothing clearly and describe fur, feathers, slime, claws,
tentacles, eel-like bodies and avian demeanours each victim saying
something different.
They do not attack
physically, but deploy magical terror and shifting shadows. Each
round they can terrify a victim, as per the Fear spell. They roll to
attack as per AC9, their mere touch being enough to create the
effect. Anyone who fails a save vs Magic must lose 1d20 Intelligence
as well as flee in abject terror, and those reaching 0 intelligence
have gone permanently insane.
Those who fail their magic save must make second
save vs Eyes must be made or the person takes 2d6 damage from an
immediate heart seizure, losing another 1d20 Intelligence, and if
they survive that they must make a third save or lose yet another
1d20 Intelligence and be paralysed with fear.
They do not ask for
payment, they just quietly steal what they like from a summoners’
goods and depart, usually taking magic scrolls, talismans and
amulets, but sometimes they will take the summoners’ child or
spouse.
They can be called upon
to help translate difficult writing. They do not know Thu’úsa or
the Tongue of the Lord of Worms, but do know Sunúz and Mihálli, as
well as the writing systems of other non-humans.
They can also guide a
party to their nearest nexus point, but there is no guarantee that
the point will be safe to use; it may lead to an airless void or the
heart of a sun, or a plane infested with vicious inimical demons,
they cannot tell.
Finally they can also
follow the summoner in incorporeal form and materialise to push him
aside when he is about to take a blow that will take him to 0 HP or
below. They will do this once only for any given payment however.
Grugánu
The People of the
Monolith
NA:
Special, HD: 1, AC 4, T: nil, M 0”/special, L: 0
These really are
monoliths, 2.5 meters tall, 1 meter wide and 25cm thick, made of some
very dark almost opaque glassy substance. They do not move as such
but can teleport themselves into position near their targets (usually
surprising them) or to wherever the summoner would like them to
deploy.
They are masters of
density and substance, and have a number of peculiar forms of
assault. They can make themselves as hard as diamond and heavier then
lead, giving themselves AC 0, but are unable to attack while in this
state. They can also make a target semi-solid, making it impossible
for them to attack physically as their weapons just pass through
solid objects without causing harm. A target can only be harmed by
steel weapons or magic while in such a state, and is in danger of
being blown away by any psychic winds that may be blowing into or out
of nearby nexus points. They may also make a person and their weapons
very heavy and dense, slowing their movement and rate of attack by
half, but increasing their AC by 2. All of these attacks are
automatic requiring no throw to hit, have no saving throw and have a
range of 20 feet.
They also increase the
chances of spell casting success of any worshippers of Grugánu or
Ksárul within 20 feet by 15%, and reduce the saving throw against
their magic by 2.
They communicate by
producing pale blue writing on their dark glassy surfaces, and know
Sunúz, Ai Chè, Duruób, N’lüssá and Llyáni. They demand human
sacrifices in return for their services. These are made in a
particularly unpleasant manner; the sacrifice is bound and placed in
a magical square ten feet in front of the Monolith. A tiny spot of
light appears on the monolith which then sucks up the victim,
stretching his physical being out like piece of screaming spaghetti.
A typical use of such a
demon is to temporarily block a corridor or hold up a collapsing
tunnel, though canny magicians have summoned them while they are
falling into very deep chasms and had the monolith make them
temporarily incorporeal, or had them make heavy golden treasures
lighter and more portable. These demons can also act as a kind
of transplanar webchat panel. A summoner may ask one of a pair of
demons to teleport to a friend’s location and then speak to the one
that remains. It translates his message, telepathically sends it to
its mate, who then projects the message in the form of writing on its
surface, sending back any reply made by the summoner’s colleague in
the same fashion. The only drawback is the comparative obscurity of
the languages known by the Monoliths.
Sárku
Mrúr
As EPT p. 68
The priests of Sárku
summon the relatively prosaic Mrúr as other priests summon demons.
These Mrúr arrive equipped with armour and weapons from all periods
of Tékumel’s history (including some yet to happen), though in a
dilapidated state. The Mrúr cannot do anything other than fight and
eat brains.
Durritlámish
The Voices of the
Unwilling Dead
NA: Special, HD: 1, AC
6, T: nil, M 0”, L: 0
These peculiar demons
manifest as maces made of spinal columns with attached skulls. They
cannot move of themselves, and teleport into the hands of the
summoner and his allies, causing them to drop their currently held
weapons.
Despite having no vocal
chords and lungs these maces keep up a very lively screaming and
gibbering, reducing enemy morale and their chances to hit by -1. The
Voices give +1 to hit and do +1 damage. Each hit there is a 20%
chance that the skull will manage to sink its teeth into an enemy,
causing an extra 1d3 damage and passing on a terrible wasting
disease. This disease immediately reduces Constitution by 1d20, and
then by another 1d10 per week until it is cured. Starting with the
fingers and toes the person begins to rot, losing the use of their
hands and feet after a week, then their arms, knees, shoulders and so
on, until nothing is left working except the torso, and even that
goes mostly putrid. All that is left in the end is a screaming skull
and a spinal chord.
The disease can be
cured by the Temple of Durritlámish, but only in its early stages
and the price they charge is steep. They will offer to care for the
victim of the infection and ease their pain, on the understanding
that they will be required to serve as an undead weapon from time to
time.
The Voice can be
deliberately targeted by an enemy, blows being directed at the weapon
during combat rather than the wielder, but this requires some
expertise in combat and can only be done on a successful % roll under
Dex +10% per level , and only by a Warrior using a weapon he has
some skill in.
In return for being
allowed to infect a human sacrifice with their awful curse Voices
will consent to serve as guards in the tombs of the faithful of Sárku
and Durritlámish, usually sitting in a niche near a sarcophagus and
raising a blood curdling scream to summon Mrúr and Shédra should it
be opened.
Dlamélish
The Everbabies
NA: Special, HD: 1+1,
AC 4, T: nil, M 9”, L: 0
The Everbabies look
like pale skinned toddlers of 2-3 years old, with chubby cheeks, wide
blue eyes and fine curly blond hair, but expanded to about seven feet
tall, and wearing body suits of chainmail with pot shaped metal helms
adorned with pom-poms. They are armed with great bronze maces with
little silver bells attached, and shields painted with brightly
coloured designs depicting demonic beasts unfamiliar to people on
Tékumel (teddy bears and fluffy ducklings).
They find great
pleasure in violence, and once unleashed on an enemy they giggle and
gurgle at the sight of blood and find screams of pain utterly
hilarious, dancing happily in pools of gore as real babies do in rain
puddles and stomping their enemies to meat paste. Their weapons do +2
damage on the first round, and if they hit they gain a further +1 to
hit and +1 damage as the Everbaby works itself into a killing frenzy.
They must save vs Eyes at the end of a combat or they will fail to
disappear back to their own gruesome playpen of a plane and continue
attacking any living thing in sight. A sorcerer or priest can attempt
to dismiss any Everbabies he himself summoned, but needs to roll a
successful spell casting roll to make it work.
They speak a simple
lisped form of Tsolyáni, as well as their own gurgling tongue. They
will offer to stay and ‘play’ with the summoner in return for all
kinds of random and sometimes outrageous demands; flowers, a glass of
milk, a crate of strong beer, the skull of a Sró, a pet Chnéhl, a
moon on a stick, ten thousand káitars cash, all have been recorded
in the annals of the Temple. The summoner should have the words of
dismissal handy though, if the Everbabies are angered in the course
of their bargaining they will throw a homicidal tantrum.
Their usual use by the
temple is as assassins. Spells known to the highest circle sorcerers
of the Temple will temporarily shrink the demons down to normal
toddler size, and with a bit of hair dye and make up they will pass
for a normal Tsolyáni child. Once smuggled into their enemy’s home
in this innocuous guise, the spells are dispelled and the great
infant thug gets to work.
They have a special
animus towards Sárku and his more worm-like followers, taking great
delight in throttling them with their bare hands and eating them.
They are immune to all the poisons used by such creatures.
With thanks to my
nieces.
Vimúhla
The Bruvverhoud of the
Dyslexicon
NA: Special, HD: 1+1,
AC 4, T: nil, M 9”, L: 0
The Brothers are short
humans about five feet tall clad in heavy red and orange sackcloth
robes that cover their entire bodies. They wear rubber masks with
glass eyepieces and strange cylindrical attachments on the front
(gasmasks) and thick rubber gloves and boots. They wield shortswords
for 1 dice damage and also have an unusual missile weapon, a three
foot long tube with a flexible attachment that connects to a backpack
made up of two glyph covered red and yellow cylinders (a
flamethrower). This tube has various handles and attachments, and
spews a gout of burning oil out to a distance of 30 feet. This does
1dice damage, plus 1 further dice per turn from burning until the
target saves vs Eyes or has the fire extinguished by a friend. This
is not so easy, mere water does not douse the oil and the flame must
be smothered. They can also create pools of burning oil as a barrier.
The Brothers hate the
written word, magic and intelligent non-humans, which they regard as
evil in the eyes of their aspect of Vimúhla. They will accept that
the God has sent them to aid a fellow worshipper by dint of a holy
prayer, but if they witness any other magic of any kind being
practised they will become angry and hostile. If they see any written
words, or any hieroglyphs that look as though they might be words
they will immediately try and seize and destroy the offending
material. If they see a non-human organism behaving in a sentient
fashion such as talking, using a tool, wearing clothes etc. they will
attack them without mercy. They sometimes carry books with large
brightly coloured pictures (never any words) of things that they say
their deity has commanded them to burn, which they will consult if in
doubt. Their robes are fireproof and they take no damage from
flame-based attacks, though explosions such as Doomkill will still do
concussion damage. Their masks make them immune to gas attacks as
well.
They do not speak any
language known to the scholars of the Five Empires and can only be
communicated with via telepathy – which of course involves use of
magic and immediately raises their suspicions. They can be persuaded
to aid worshippers of Vimúhla in missions to destroy libraries,
non-humans and spell casters, and with a sufficiently glib negotiator
can be convinced that the use of magic by Vimúhla’s loyal priests
and sorcerers can be tolerated if it is done in a holy cause. They
can never accept non-humans as anything other than fuel for the holy
fire however. If sufficiently impressed by the fervour and fighting
ability of their Tékumeli allies they may also ask if the summoner
can find a way to come to their aid in their endless crusade in their
own universe. Those that have found the appropriate nexus points have
not returned to tell any tales of the Brothers fiery war.
Their weapons are much
coveted by the warriors of Vimúhla, but unfortunately they disappear
when the demonic owner returns to his own plane or is slain.
Any resemblance to
the Temple Avesti from the Fading Suns RPG is again intentional.
Hriháyal and Chiténg
The Dichotomanes
NA: Special, HD: 1+1,
AC 9, T: nil, M 9”/18”, L: 0
These are more or less
humanoid, but with some major differences from the standard human
body plan; firstly they have decidedly confused sexual identities,
sporting both large breasts and a penis, they have hands equipped
with sharp claws, their feet have talons and they have bat-like
wings. They have no body hair and are a pale grey colour, and wear no
clothes, but do have needles stuck into their flesh at approximately
one inch intervals, all over their bodies, and have heavy brass rings
piercing their nipples, lips, noses, ears and various parts of their
sexual organs.
They make two attacks
per round, one using a long whip studded with bits of broken glass
which does 1dice -1 damage, and anyone hit must save vs Eyes at +4 or
lose a turn writhing in agony, the second using a barbed rod which
injects a drug into the victim causing hallucinations and extreme
ecstasy unless they save vs poison. This likewise makes them lose one
turn, and they must save vs poison at +2 per turn there after to
return to the fray, unless rudely awoken by a blow from the whip.
Pain and pleasure are
all one to the Dichotomanes, and will demand to be tortured or
allowed to take part in one or more of the 32 Unspeakable Acts as
part of their payment. They have an uncanny ability to locate lost
objects, as long as they are on the same plane as the Dichotomane,
and will direct the summoner to the nearest hoard of emeralds, rubies
or silver, though they cannot say how much the hoard is worth or what
is guarding it.
Unallied demons
Not all demons worship
one of the 20 Pavárian deities; some worship only the greater
demons, some follow a Livyáni Shadow God, and certain documents hint
at the awful servants of the Pariah Deities. Others worship no known
deity at all, and act as trans-planar mercenaries, serving anyone who knows the spell to call them and meet their price.
Ürghk
NA: Special, HD: 1+1,
AC 4, T: nil, M 9”, L: 0
The summoning spell for
the Ürghk is contained in the epic poem ‘The War of the One Eyed
God’, copies of which are found in several temple libraries. The
priesthoods vigorously discourage the summoning of these demons, as
they are far from easy to control, and summoning even a couple of
them carries a risk of eventual invasion of the entire planet (see
below). The Priesthood of Dlamélish have tried to convert them,
since their behaviour suggest they are kindred spirits to the Green
Lady’s followers, and have been eaten for their trouble.
They appear as humans
with horrible snouted and tusked heads, slightly larger and stronger
than the average man. They have thick hides, wear crude leather
armour and wield stone axes and wooden shields. They stink and
express themselves in the crudest and most guttural version of
Tsolyáni imaginable. They appear in twice the usual numbers for
minor demons (ie a Type I creatures spell will call 2d3), 80% of them
being male and 20% female, and they will demand human captives to
torture to death and eat before they will even consider fighting.
They sometimes settle for sexually abusing their captives though,
leaving them severely battered and often mutilated but alive (and
unfortunately pregnant, see below).
They fight well enough
once placated, but are very unwilling to return to their home planes
and will flee from their summoner given half a chance. The males will
attempt to mate with anything that moves out in the Tékumeli wilds,
usually leading to their deaths, while the females will have litters
of Ürghklings that will run wild and die trying to fend for
themselves.
Any creature, male or
female, that has mated with an Ürghk become pregnant, the foetus
being parasitic on the intestine of any male victim and killing him
by eventually eating his liver and bursting from the abdomen. The
offspring of these unions are half-Ürghk, bizarre looking and often
semi-intelligent beasts, but with the same insatiable sexual urge,
and the ability to produce viable offspring, no matter how different
their parents were. The products of mating with half Ürghk are of
course quarter Ürghk, and so the Ürghk character becomes diluted –
but eventually two organisms carrying Urghk genes will mate,
producing an Ürghk with sufficient native characteristics to survive
in Tékumel’s unforgiving environment.
Interplanar explorers
have claimed to have found worlds where Ürghk have become endemic,
breeding out in the wilds in such numbers as to be unextinguishable
by the most determined attempts at genocide, and yet others where the
Ürghk have managed to take over completely, savage planes full of
interminable tribal warfare, rape and cannibalism.
The Ürghk are capable
of gaining levels in professions as humans are, and it may prove very
difficult to eliminate a high level Ürghk Warrior before they lead
their demonic band to colonise the wild, and Ürghk Priests are the
most dangerous of all, as they may be able to summon yet more of
their brethren to this plane.
The Nebísh, aka The
Screaming Pink Midgets aka The Blemmyae
NA: Special, HD: 1 hp
each, AC 7, T: nil, M 12”, L: 0
There are demons
greater than humans, and there are some, like the Nebísh, who are
definitely lesser. The summoning spell is said to have been
discovered by accident by the wizard Metállja, who ended up being
captured by these creatures.
They are 6-9 inches
high, humanoid but with no head, their faces are on their torsos.
They use tiny bronze spears and polearms doing 1HP damage each,
attacking at -2, but wear no clothing or armour. One Type I summoning
spell will bring 3d6, for what it is worth. They will do whatever
their caster asks of them to the best of their very limited
abilities, but are utter cowards and will run away and hide if too
many of them are getting killed.
They will ask that the
caster or one of his servants accompany them back to their home plane
to assist them in their wars; this is not usually possible as the
spell to create a nexus point to this world is not now known.
Sometimes a Nebísh priest will be among the horde summoned and he
will know how to open such a gate. If the summoner disagrees he will
find himself being kidnapped and dragged through against his will.
Those who have ended up
in this peculiar situation (like Metállja), will be worshipped as a
manifestation of the Nebísh wargod, and will be required to sit in a
throne while his worshippers caper round him doing wardances, banging
tiny cymbals and sacrificing endless processions of screaming victims
to him. Every now and again he will be asked to smite enemy tribes of
Nebísh, a gruesome and pathetic task involving much blood and
suffering.
