Bogeymen Ideas

[The Giamarga]

So is there any connection to Lord Balfour de Casteelle's "Path of the Owl" Corruption Path?

[catlord]

One time I made a creature based off the SPiderman, from the Cure song Lullaby. I ended up turning him into a boogeyman. Unfortunately, I'm not good at making monsters.

[LouisVendredi]

Great song. Very Ravenloftian.

[A G Thing]

Hey this is actually what I couldnt find on the WotC boards!

I love the Bogeymen type for villians and have had great success with it in my Ravenloft DM time.

So before I get to far my name on those WotC boards is Cap-G and I had before joining this board posted on the WotC Ravenloft forum, my own developed statistics for the named but not used Bogeymen in Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends and how they reflected to my idea from the little information in the book. It is in a thread called Bogeymen and other Resources.

This includes Fanton Griswold, The Gentlemen, The Voice in the Storm, The Locolico, and Der Kinderstod!
With two stories each, one is the tale that is told and the other is the True Story which are both to help the DM some what in developing some Idea's and are not meant to be set in stone.

I have them on there but if anyone wants I could publish them here as well unless it is against policy. I also made some of Mister Fox's Items and I did not post it but I have made an encounter for the his house at the end of The White Road, that was quite successful in making my PC's shake in thier boot's when I ran the Han's Gleam type adventure.

Of note on Der Kinderstod is that while I did realise that he was similar to the Buffy villian I decided to be somewhat original and figured that it would be acceptable and very creepy.

I also have a couple of new Bogeymen I am working on and I have a friend who has made one that would definitely be appropriate if I can convince him to post it.

Anyways if you want it and it is not sold or such I do not see why I cannot place it here and I would like some feed back because while it gets minor view traffic there I wait in vain I fear for some post to help me in improving or fixing any problem other than the font and size of the text used to write them.

[Hazgarn]

I remember seeing the Locolico are in one of the Kargatane netbooks... Sacrafices I think.

I mentioned this in the dream ideas thread, but I've got an idea for a bogey called the Red Mother:

She would have been a woman who lost her children at sea, and in her despair she tried to join them, walking into the sea until the salt and sand of the waves wore the flesh off of her bones.

Now she lurks at the water's edge, sometimes visible in the cresting waves: a blood-red, rag-draped skeleton ready to snatch any child she catches near the water. Sometimes she abducts them bodily, but any child who visits the sea might hear her singing soft, sweet songs luring them in the night. Children she catches often walk right into her arms, feeling protected and safe as they do as though walking to their own mothers...only to be dragged away to a cave deep in the blackest depths of the ocean to replace the children she lost.

In some stories the children stay with her in the darkness, in others they just drown, but most say that the children the Red Mother takes are turned into crabs...and that the reason crabs are so often found on the shore is that they are trying to escape her.

Adults believe that the myth was started by worried parents to warn their children away from the treacherous surf. To any adult seeing her sees only flotsam brought close to the shore by the current: her bones driftwood, her hair seaweed.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

That sounds like a great Dread Possibility for the fey chapter of the sea-monster netbook! Care to contribute?

[Hazgarn]

Ooh, I'd love to. I even have a picture of her drawn...

Too new here to know just exactly what else the idea would need, though.

[The Giamarga]

Anyways if you want it and it is not sold or such I do not see why I cannot place it here and I would like some feed back because while it gets minor view traffic there I wait in vain I fear for some post to help me in improving or fixing any problem other than the font and size of the text used to write them.

AGT, i just wanted to post a link to your excellent thread on WotC, but i can't access those boards now. Feel free to repost them in this thread or create a new one for them.

If you want to publish them in one of the netbooks that would great too. All the FoS netbooks are available for free, check them out in the Library.

[A G Thing]

Do such tommarrow.... To tired to keep.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Thank you.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[A G Thing]

Of note is that while these are mostly the same as on the WotC boards I have made some changes and edits and formated them slightly differently so the story section is last but the combat discriptions follow the main discription and now I have renamed the ones that had already been spelled out in an official listing of sorts.

Subject 1: On the topic of Bogeymen!

In Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends or DT&DL. There are several Bogeymen not accounted for but are named. As such I had decided to write them out and post them and a small Legend and True Story for each one in order to flesh them out. After I discovered their already designed state I changed their names and the small details within I don't pretend to understand the author/creator of these creatures intent but I wanted to share them with you as I see them and now they are original but inspired works.

Of Note:All Bogeymen have a +2 Deflection bonus to thier AC, and have the vulnerabilities of not harming any individual protected by a bless spell, or the relevent protection from magic circle spells. They all take 2d4 damage from holy water and can be turned by clerics of good deities as undead although not by clerics of neutral deities who can turn undead.
As an observation I have notice that Bogeymen seem to have a number of skills and skill points not determined by thier Type, Int, or Hit Die but as a reflection of thier character and necessaties of the individual creature. If the skills are wrong I will correct them if someone can prove it to me.

First is The Lame Man

The Lame Man
Medium Fey(Bogeyman)
Hit Dice: 6d6+12 (38 hp)
Inititive: +6
Speed: 30ft
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 Deflection) Touch 14, Flatfooted 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+6
Attack: Rusted Bastard Sword +7 (1d10+3)
Full Attack: Rusted Bastard Sword +7 (1d10+3)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, Curse of Rust & Dust
Special Qualities: Empathically Disrupting Aura, DR:15/Guiltless, Eyes of Innocence, Vulnerabilities
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6,
Abillities: Str 16, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Climb +12, Diplomacy +9, Bluff +9, Jump +12, Spot +10, Listen +10, MoveSilently +11, Intimidate +9, Profession (Panhandleing) +10, Sense Motive +10,
Feats: Improved Inititive, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Bastard Sword)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: 1/8 Coins,
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Advancement: 7-8 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
Discription: On the busy street you start to come across a frazeled and dirty man. He is covered in rags and filth with a small metal cup rattling some coins. Saying only "One mercy sir?" in near a pathetic whisper he tiredly watches through his dirty hair as you pass, and seems shut down as few give him more than a passing glance.
The Lame Man or The Forgotten Soldier, is a very poor looking middle aged man. He is very shabby and tired looking and he seems very pale. His face is smugged and dirty and his eyes are red. His leg appears injured while sometimes it is his arm in other stories but this does not truly hinder him in any fashion he still acts out a limp or some sort of condition. His stained clothes are rags and he always smells as if unbathed and of alcohol. A rusted pitiful looking bastard sword is used as a crutch in a tattered sheath. He sits on busy streets and beg's for coins from those children who either look well off or are simply carring noticable money about. He appears friendly even if a little crude and down in spirit. If asked he will tell stories for the coin and encourages slight lie's saying that the child can give him a coin and say he lost it if the child fear's his parents anger. The coin is not important other than that he want's it. He will beg once and depending upon the child's response (Liars and thieves or those lose with others coin) he may deem that child worthy of his attention that night. Once the child is choosen The Lame Man will not change his mind no matter what is brought before him. He will chase the child and scare them hoping for one of two results. The first is that the child will look back three times each time allowing him to get closer and on the third time he will be close enough to strike. The second is that the child will touch his or her door knob. After he see's this he will come to that house in the every night until he catches the child. If however the child touches another door knob he will visit that house and will find that he has been tricked. He will then leave and not visit that village for a year's time at which he will target that same child every time he visits after that, even if the child grows older. If the child leaves the village or dies he selects a new target until he can find the child that he missed else where. Every time he take's a child from the home he lives in, the door is conspicusly missing and a trail of dirt at the door leading in. The Lame Man travels from place to place by entering at any bar at sundown buying one drink he can not drink, then leaving after the sun has set, disappearing as the door swings shut behind him. When not active he simply dissapears.
Combat: The Lame Man does not fight until he has a target for his ire at which he will still be as direct against that target as neccessary. He will stalk and harass his prey until he think's it is defenseless. He likes to take his victims away to be killed and disposed of otherwise he retreats till he can strike again.
Spell-like abilities: Suggestion 3/day,Expedius Retreat 2/day on self only duration 5minutes, Silence 1/day on self and 15ft radius around. Abillities are cast as a 6th lvl sorcerer and the DC's where appropriate for each is 10+spell lvl.
Curse of Rust & Dust: The Lame Man may once per day desolve a single door on a structure no matter the size or construction if his target has touched it and he has witnessed it. All that will remain is either rust or dust that will scatter somewhat as he passes. The actual desolving takes one round to take effect but it is a free action for him to initiate as he only needs to think of the door.
Empathically Disrupting Aura: Anyone within 30ft of The Lame Man becomes unable to raise emotion very well against him other than polite or impolite indifference or fear effects. Within that 30 feet Any bonus that effects emotions such as a paladins Divine Grace abillity or a barbarians Rage is either negated or not able to activate unless the character makes a DC 14 will save. Magical effects from an item are automatically suppressed and magic spells cast on a character are negated while within the field but thier durations still continue to expire if applicable. If a character moves outside of the 30ft radius then the effects are considered resumed if they have the durations available but a negated Rage is lost and the durration wasted and that does count toward the uses per day and penalties for combat. Any associated penalties are not negated in the 30ft. This effect does not affect animals, beasts, or any creature with an intelligence of 3 or less. Paladins are still immune to magical fear in the aura.
Damage Reduction Guiltless: Anyone that is truly guilty of wronging The Lame Man, meaning anyone he has ever targeted or that attacks him while he is not known to be persuing a target is subject to this damage reduction, while anyone who is not subject automaticly ignores this feature. Since usually he targets children this does not affect the PC's too much unless one has been targeted in the past or they attack him without provocation. Innocence cannot protect a target as they are seen as guilty by The Lame Man and Innocence would be lost if the subject just goes attacking homeless people with no proof.
Eyes of Innocence: To most of the world The Lame Man appears to be a humble soldier or guard of thier relm that has fallen on hard time's defending them. No one ever remembers his name even if he shouts it out unless they can see him for what he is. To the Innocent and the Insane, The Lame Man appears to be darkly shaded even when in direct sunlight as if he was under a cloudy sky and more so than normal if in the darkness. Also it is of note that they may notice that even if they have dropped several coins in just a moment before, there is always just enough in his cup to buy a cheap ale when they look back.
Vulnerabilities: The Lame Man is unable to harm anyone in a town until he has picked a target and then is only able to harm others to get to that target. If ever forced to drink any alcohol he falls asleep as the spell sleep, (No Save). If his Sword is ever sundered he runs away as a coward but is not dispersed and will return the next night with his sword intact once more. If he is fooled when a child touches another knob he is not dispersed but is still subject to wait for one year. Finally should The Lame Man ever be the target of an attonement spell he is automatically dispersed for twenty years.

The Story Told: Once there were two young boys working with thier father. The father was a wood cutter and he made deliveries to all the folk in town so he made his son's do half of the deliveries each. One boy Rolf worked hard and was honest while the other Fran'k was lazy and greedy. Soon the father noticed that the money that his son's delivered was short and was puzzling over what to do. He asked his son's "Which of you is taking our coin boy's?" but the answer from both was always. "Not I father! I swear!" He wished to believe them but he was torn as he suspected that one was lying.
Then one night his wife noticing his concern over the issue said, "Do not worry dear. I will fix the problem." The next night while the boy's sat by the fire she asked if they wanted to be told a story that she had heard her mother tell. Rolf loved his mothers tales and sat enraptured, but Fran'k was only paying half attention as he was tired and seemed distracted. "A boy of about ten years, who had worked with his family in the fields was given several coins by his father to go and buy food for the family, but noticed that there was more than enough to do so. His father was forgetful and tired at times so this had happend before. The boy smile as he thought to himself, 'I will buy myself a treat again today. Father never remembers and mother never suspects me.' Infront of the market entrance he noticed a scraggally and dirty veteran soldier begging for coin. 'Oh I will try and avoid the man's notice so I won't be harassed.' But even in the crowded street as he tried to be quick as he walked past, distinctly the forgotten soldier asked him, "Dear lad. Yes you! Could but that coin buy this old soldier one mercy?" The lad politely smiled and said, "Tis not my coin sir but my family. Sorry."
"Ah not your's eh. Well don't want ya stealing then. Perhaps you might drop one on accident? Your kin would not be too sore with ya." The begger man smiled and let the boy think it out.
"I'm sorry but perhaps next time we pass and I have the coin?" The boy said trying to get out of the situation.
"Very well. Next time lad." The man settled back calmly but watched intently as the boy left.
The boy thinking back felt little for the lie as the promise of a delicious snack lay before him. The day getting quiet as the crowd's went home to dinner the boy finished his shopping with a few coins left even. Then the boy remebered the man and the lingering guilt hung on him as the sweet taste of his ill gotten snacks.
'I will go the long way home to avoid the man. Then I will be able to avoid his look.' And as he did such, at the different exit to the market he took, was the same man looking at him.
'He must have moved while I shopped! Curse my luck!' Trying to look innocent he walked past but the man just stared at him again nodding at him with a slight smile on his face. The boy just waved shrugged and walked faster feeling the darkness coming to the evening. The town had gone in and as he turned onto the road home he looked back. He saw a shadow running toward him and with an instinctive fright he ran. He looked back once more and it had gained. It was the begger clutching a blood rusted sword and limping toward him but unnaturally so. So he dropped his burden in full flight hoping to reach his house too frighted and breathing hard to scream. His door in sight he tried to yell as he grasped the door handel beating the door as he did, and he looked back once more.
He saw no shadow behind, no man there, and opened the door.
"Boy you are home at last your mother went to look for you and... Where is the food?" His father greeted him but was disappointed. He would hear none of the boy's excuses as he believed the boy to be lying. For the father had known the boy was stealing the extra coin for snacks and saw the few crumbs the boy had forgot to wipe off his vest. He sent the boy to bed with no supper and promising a punishment when he returned, as he went to gather the food dashed on the road and find his wife.
When the father and mother returned home they found the door was gone as well as thier son. They searched for weeks but no one ever found any sign of the boy.
The mother looked both boy's in the eye's as she said this final line. Ralf looked nervous but excited in the way that the story had affected her when she had first heard it. Fran'k however had a look of true fear about him and was looking as if the door should burst at any second. Just the way her older brother had looked the night he disappeared. Just the way...
The True Story: Jheric of no last name at the time, was the name of a very promising young Falkovian soldier. Raised as a squire, for a nobel soldier his lust for battle and calculated cruelty was an asset. Unlike most of the other squires he was only given the hardships his training made neccessary. He became convinced of some reason he was seen as superior and for a while he assumed it was his talent at his martial craft. He soon held the attitude of some one who is convinced of thier superiority as every victory raised his pride. He was not suprised only entitled to be called before his Lord and proud to go by Jheric Drakov once told of his true heritage and he was now the favored son of the Kingsfuhrer. For a while his carrier was promising and he would prove his right to his blood line with victory after victory. But then durring a raid on a small disedent town, the Freemen of Falkovnia ambushed, repulsed, and utterly defeated him while dealing an injury that brought him low. While his leg recovered his position was replaced by another sibling, and he was stripped in dishonor and dismissed of any claim of royal blood. He was thrown out with no money, title, or even connection to the people of his land. He tried to work, but found no way to dismiss the images, lust, and thrill of combat and his rightful place above the pesantry, but with drink, which to excess caused him to be unproductive and violent. When he couldn't hold a job he fell low and soon killed a soldier so that he could have the tools for a job he was familiar with. He began begging for coin and fighting on the streets, becoming a thug and petty murderer. He was known for killing the young pickpockets and waifs if they had coin with them and would tirelessly push past his limp to chase them if he was lost in the moment, dragging them off never to be seen again. The people of the town began calling him Der Mittellos Kingsfuhrer or The Penniless Kingsfuhrer, as he never gave his name to any who asked only his lineage. As soon as he heard the mock name and saw the distain that he was looked upon with, he began snapping and tormenting any who even dared to slight him while proclaming his old name with pride. Some of these disrespectors he killed when ever he got a chance to do such without attracting too much attenton. But eventually he had to run on to the next town and the next, until his name spread once more on the peoples lips, but this time as Der Lahm Mann or The Lame Man! He over the course of three month's working out of a cave outside of Silbervas kidnapped all the soldiers families children and the few Freemen's children that he could, and through notes demanded they quietly contact him and give him 100 Falconheads per child or they would die. Few could pay the cost and he never kept his word claiming that he never recieved payment. When finally the patrols closed in, he managed to kidnap the Captain of the Guard's daughter and left a note saying that he would trade the girl for 10,000 gold Falconheads and passage out into Richemulot. Durring the exchange he found no deal waiting and while he threatened the child he was shot through the neck. He slaughtered her there and then ingnoring the many arrows that peirced him. He was dragged back into Falkovnian soil alive and and screaming of injustice. Burned while impaled by the villagers raging at the last with cries of rage and vengence. The Storys of his rages against the young were blown up to thier current state and he is remembered for his petty crimes and wanton acts of vengence as the nameless forgotten soldier but any mention of his connection to Vlad Drakov was viciously quelled and lost, like the ashes of the pyre.

As an extra possibility for the PC's this Item is perhaps something the DM may use and also discribe the benifit it provides both the bogeyman and the PC's who may use it once taken.

The Lame Man's Cup: The Lame Man's little metal cup is capable of producing each time it is tipped over, the exact amount for one drink in the currency of the town it is in. This gold is real and it is from all the coins that The Lame Man has collected in all his years. Money may be placed within the cup and it will automatically disappear only to be transported to The Lame Man's Sinkhole some say. Should the cup ever run dry it will not produce until it has equivilent currency placed inside it as it transports the money and doesnt create it. The DM should decide the amounts of each currency from the places he thinks The Lame Man visits before giving it to the party. Radiates minor conjuration.

Next time I will post The Fine Pair!

[A G Thing]

Next The Fine Pair

The Fine Pair: Sir. Tainman and Sir. Reginald

Medium Fey(Bogeymen)
Hit Dice: 4d6 (15 hp) for Sir. Tainman and 6d6 +18 +6 (50 hp) for Sir. Reginald
Inititive: +4 for Sir. Tainman and -1 for Sir. Reginald
Speed: 30ft for both Sir. Tainman and Sir. Reginald
Armor Class: 16 (+4 Dex, +2 Deflection) 16 Touch 12 Flatfooted for Sir. Tainman and 12 (+2 Deflection) 12 Touch 12 Flatfooted for Sir. Reginald
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5 for Sir. Tainman and +3/+4 for Sir. Reginald
Attack: +2 MW Ornate Wounding Rapier +9 melee (1d6+6 plus wounding) for Sir. Tainman and Slam +2 melee (1d4+1) and or Bite +4 melee (1d6+1) for Sir. Reginald
Full Attack: +2 MW Ornate Wounding Rapier +9 melee (1d6+6 plus wounding) for Sir. Tainman and 2 Slams +2 melee (1d4+1) and or Bite +4 melee (1d6+1) for Sir. Reginald
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft. for both Sir. Tainman and Sir. Reginald
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities for Sir. Tainman and Rage, and Spell-like abilities for Sir. Reginald
Special Qualities: Eyes of innocence, vulnerabilities, for Sir. Tainman and Eyes of innocence, vulnerabilities, for Sir. Reginald
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +8, Will +6, for Sir. Tainman and Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +3, for Sir. Reginald
Abillities: Str 14, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16, for Sir. Tainman and Str 12, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 16, for Sir. Reginald
Skills: Bluff +10, Diplomacy +10, Ride +11,Knowledge (Nobility) +9, Knowledge (Local) +9, Sense Motive +9, Spot +9, Listen +9, for Sir. Tainman and Bluff +12, Diplomacy +12, Ride +9, Knowledge (Nobility) +11, Knowledge (Local) +11, Sense Motive +10, Spot +10, Listen +10, for Sir. Reginald
Feats: Weapon Focus (Rapier), Weapon Finess (Rapier), Combat Expertise, and Weapon Specialization (Rapier),for Sir. Tainman and Dodge, Extended Rage, and Improved Toughness for Sir. Reginald
Environment: Any
Organization: Always Together
Challenge Rating: 4 for Sir. Tainman and 5 for Sir. Reginald
Treasure: His +2 MW Ornate Rapier of Wounding (Value equal to enhancement bonus in DMG +2,000 Gp for quality!) and Coin's for Sir. Tainman and Coin's for Sir. Reginald
Alignment: Lawful Evil for both Sir. Tainman and for Sir. Reginald
Advancement: 5-6 HD (Medium) for Sir. Tainman and 7-8 HD (Medium) for Sir. Reginald
Level Adjustment: -
Discription: Two men one incredably tall and the other stout and pleasently plump arrive at the gathering in the most fasionable outfits that seem to perfectly accent the evening. They begin commenting on everything and seem even to your eyes to be deservedly superior.
The Fine Pair are without a doubt the most proper villians that one could meet. Sir. Tainman Markimzy Talerman the 4th is the height of fashion and noble bearing and even though he is at 7ft. in height he is always graceful and never lopes about. He is quick of wit and somewhat of a snob as he judges all that he see's as dated or beneath him. Sir. Reginald Mortmire Esquire is however a jolly and cheerful man with a pleasent man of lesiure's physique. He is always a peace maker and attempts to explain Sir. Tainman's words so as not to offend. As the life of the party they keep every step going higher as the night will be spectacular fun for all. They believe in utmost ettiquite and never behave other wise and expect others to at least have a modicum of the same. They are perfectly groomed and they refuse to appear otherwise in any situation. This perfectly crafted venear is so convincing that they are hard to notice as otherwise even from the innocent. To the eyes of those able to percieve Sir. Tainman never blinks or smiles and while he might laugh it is never with any true joy. Sir. Reginald is harder to gleen the truth from as under his well trimmed mustach is a hidden row of razor sharp teeth that are just barely visable to those innocents who look hard enough. The last sign that is odd is that they never touch children in anyway excusing themselves as it is considered rude as they were taught. They always arrive exactly when requested on the card and they are never late unless it is requested that they be fashionably so. They remain in the minds of those at the party as unfortunatly unnameable, but ever so wonderful pair of delightful guests, even years afterward. They soon bring up a rather profitable bussiness venture to a family of thier choosing that they determine is the right kind of people to handle it if they would but invite them to dine over the details. Naturally they are invited and arrive. Of course they comment on every aspect of the house and begin to suggest things that would make it more fashionable. Invariably the conversation leads to how children are so unfashionable and that they should be gotten rid of. Once that is done The Fine Pair say that they are most pleased and they will have to do such together once again. They depart in a ready coach or horses and the two parents wave as they go. In the morning they turn themselves in not fully able to remember the previous nights events except for killing thier own children as clear as day, and blaming themselves as the memories stay. No one in town ever remembers if they went to the party or not.
Combat: The Fine Pair prefer never to get thier hand's dirty unless it is a matter of honor. In which case Sir. Tainman will accept either a duel with a Rapier or Pistol though he favor's the Rapier. Sir. Reginald will decline as he will try to convince the challenger to surrender without a fight.
Sir. Tainman
Spell-like abilities: Haste 1/day self only 5 round's, Suggestion 3/day, Charm Person 2/day, Dominate 1/day 12 hours, Sanctuary 1/day 5/rounds, Cast as a 4th lvl Sorcerer and save DC's are 13 +Spell lvl.
Eyes of Innocence: To the any who see past the glamour Sir. Tainman seems to be an unblinking and towering figure with eyes and a face that seem completely devoid of emotion. Also his skin tends to look like tarnished silver at the edges of his clothes. Sir. Tainman will never touch or speak to a child.
Vulnerabilities: Must accept direct and legitamate challenges to his honor and status. The rest are listed with Sir. Reginald's as they have the same vulnerabilities beyond that.
Sir. Reginald
Rage: If ever struck in combat by anyone Sir. Reginald flys foaming mad and begins to strike his opponent biting and punching with suprising ferocity. He gains the effect of a 1st lvl barbarian Rage and his Str becomes 16, Con 20, and it lasts 15 rounds due to his Extended Rage Feat. He usually combines this with his Bulls Strength abillity raising his strength to 20 for the first five rounds. He still suffers all associated penalties of the rage.
Spell-like abilities: Bulls Strength 1/day self only 5 round's, Mass Suggestion 3/day, Mass Charm Person 2/day, Dominate 1/day 12 hours, Sanctuary At will 5/rounds, Cast as a 4th lvl Sorcerer and save DC's 13 +Spell lvl.
Eyes of Innocence: To those who see past the jolly demenor Sir. Reginald has an odd effect of everything being blurry as if focus is pulled to him as he talks. There is also the row of what appear to be pointed teeth under his moustach that are usually only noticed by short children. Sir. Reginald will never touch or speak directly to a child.
Vulnerabilities: Both Sir. Tainman and Sir. Reginald are unable to touch children of any sort. If they are forced to they lose 1d6+1 points of constitution every round they remain in contact. If either of them is ever dismissed by the host of a party they must leave and may never enter that home while that person lives there. If ever embarassed socially or proven out of style or impolite both immediately suffer a heart attack and disapate for a generation.

The Story Told: "...now Lord Jacob's sir. May I ask how the party faired last night?" The gruff man said, while sitting across from a rather well dressed man who looked relieved at the change of topic.
"Oh the party was divine and I remember most of it even if the wine has glossed it over." He smiled fanning himself with a very demure fan and sipping some tea from the highly ornate tray and set between the two.
"For a while I had believed that no one of class would show but yet after one hour on the hour, which at first I found odd." A puzzled look crossing his eyes.
"Yes, yes Lord Jacob's please do continue." The gruff man was seeming to be board but focused his attention to the fopish man who taking his cue began to compose himself back to the story.
"Well as I said on the hour, a charming pair of sophisticates walked in making the most regal of entrences." (sip) "I have had the Royal's of most the lands come and make less of an impression." (sip) "They claimed to have recieved an invitation to arrive fashionably late of all things and while I never thought to check the register I will have to have the clerk note to invite them to all my future events." (sip)
"So what were the two men's names Lord Jacob's?" The Gruff man's interest was peeked for the detail.
"I can't seem to remeber at the moment. But I'm sure I shall remember with further telling!" (sip) "Well I found them soon to be charming everyone around and with some very deserved critique, I knew my house soon needed to be redecorated I mean the Borcan drapes have become practically antique." (sip) "But oh the band played ever so much grander and the room came alive with the sound as dancing and merryment was had by all. Of course to my suprise as the party wound down those wonderful men were chatting with Marcel Carewright and his Wife... Felicia I think is her name sir?"
"Yes Sir. Jacob's."
"Yes Felicia. Well they despite there lower status had some how garnered the two men's attention. Something about a bussiness deal of such. Then the mention of dinner. Do you believe it?" (sip) Lord Jacob's looks rather closed off as if bitting his tounge.
"My Lord is something the matter?" The Gruff man once more got his hope's up in anticipation over the next utterence that the man said might be important.
Fanning himself as if he was over heating he held his other hand up to signal for a slight pause. "Sigh... I am fine Constable. I am just appaled that I invited those two in the first place. I mean after what they have done it doesnt seem that will be a concern again. I mean why have children and then kill them while they slept?" (sip) "Highly uncivilized if you ask me."
The Constable Finally frustrated at the idiocy of the fop Lord Jacob's. "But Sir. Jacob's did you remember the name's of the two men?"
"Well now that you mention sir..." (sip) "No. But we shall check the guest registry and I am sure you will find them there."
True Story: The Fine Pair were based off of two men in the back history of Paridon, Jerome Bandimore a tall and thin man and Carson Wellburn round and talkative sort. The two had met in a prestigious boarding school and with like mind's in bussiness and their expensive tastes, set out to set the higher class scene aflame while becoming rich in there own right.
Sufice it to say that they soon found it hard to establish thriving bussiness in Paridon and keep there expensive tastes sated. When adult workers became too expensive they turned to child labor in thier leather working hall. They adopted near 45 orphans and forced them to work terrible hours to meet quota's at prices just undercutting thier competition. As bussiness expanded they gathered children through any means neccessary and bribed the right people to hide thier slavery. Durring the night they were the toast of the town and were invited to the best parties. They set fashion's and ruined careers if it pleased them. And it seemed as if it would only be a matter of time before they would run for office. However a depression hit and while not bankrupt they soon found that they had to many mouths eating into thier life style and thus they effectively killed two bird's with one stone. When the poor unemployed began to riot, they used it to cover as they burned several of thier own buildings with high insurance policies on them and thier excess children inside them. However they were eventually found out when one of the children escaped and reported the fraud. The fare weather friends and corrupt connections in politics could not help them as the sudden turn provided them as a scapegoat. It is said that Jerome wept like a babe and the rounder Carson screamed himself into a heart attack when the nose slipped round thier necks.

As an extra possibility for the PC's this Item is perhaps something the DM may use and also discribe the benifit it provides both the bogeyman and the PC's who may use it once taken.

The Talerman Family Blade: Sir. Tainmans +2 Ornate Rapier of Wounding as he says was a family heirloom and mark of status. But other storys say the blade has a legend that it was given to the tall man as a gift from a grateful King who was convinced to kill his only heir that very night with the sword. The King of this mist forgotten land only remembering the sword, in his madness soon cursed the blade so that no mortal who wieldes it will ever forget the pain that had wounded him so. This is said to have been discribed in a Journal shortly before he wasted into death dispairing the loss of his line. The tradgedy was so sweet that Sir Tainman has carried it with him so that he can feel the curse tied to the blade. Any time any creature that can be killed touches the blade it will feel and see the murder of the dead king's son. This inspires a DC 16 Fear save each time the blade is grasped. This does not affect Sir. Tainman other than to make him remember his enjoyed kill. In addition to What a +2 Wounding weapon would radiate the blade also radiates strong enchantment from the curse. Only by destroying the sword will the King ever find peace and to do so perminently The Fine Pair must be destroyed perminently as well.


Another one down... I will continue with The Voice in the Storm.

[A G Thing]

Now here's The Voice in the Storm!

The Voice in the Storm
Medium Fey(Bogeyman)
Hit Dice: 8d6 (34 hp)
Inititive: +2
Speed: 30ft
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 Deflection) 14 Touch , 12 Flatfooted
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+4
Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d4 +1d6 electric dam)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +4 melee (1d4 +1d6 electric dam)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, Lightining Bolt Control, Drench,
Special Qualities: Voice of the Storm, Immunity to Electric & Cold, Lightining Travel, Eyes of Innocence, Vulnerabilities
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +11,
Abillities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 14
Skills: Diplomacy +13, Bluff +13, Spot +14, Listen +14, MoveSilently +13, Hide +13, Intimidate +15, Profession (Salesman) +14, Sense Motive +14, Disguise +15,
Feats: Mimicry, Skill Focus (Disguise), Lightining Reflexes, Iron Will, Willbreaker,
Environment: Any Outdoors
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Coins and Equipment
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Advancement: 9-10 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
Discription: A very strong storm rolls in as your caravan is trying to push through the muddy road. You flinch to the side as a voice whispers into your ear. The lightining flashes overhead and next to you is a drenched traveling merchant. His round glasses reflect your face for just an instant and in the next flash he is gone.
Perhaps the second most deadly of the Bogeymen in the Relm of Dread. The Voice in the Storm is very unique in that he stalks where ever a storm is and follow's it's path and not a select victim. Any time a traveler or some one is found dead from a possible storm the Voice is usually brought up. He is the personification of peoples fear of exposure to the elements. He is dressed as a traveler and a salesman. He is always drenched to the bone but he appears to be unaffected by it. He is wearing round framed glasses that seem to reflect the image of what ever he is looking at. This is what is gathered by those who have said to have seen the Voice. Most times he only appears at a distance and is seen only in the brief gap between lightining strikes. His voice will carry over any distance as a clear whisper in the ear of whom ever he chooses. He usually offers waylayed travelers aid if they promise to abandon the one they love most to him. If they do not he makes the storm rise to coerce them promising that it will abate if they abandon thier loved one. If still no he will attempt to destroy them with all the power he can level while staying as far away as he can. If the deal is ever accepted then the loved one is surely doomed. The Voice also targets those in towns if the storm passes over head. Other tactics include mimicry of a loved ones voice out in the weather calling for help and attempting to destroy structures with his power over the weather. Some speculate that he can appear in blizzards or even sand storms but if any tales exist of this then they are not well know. The Voice is known by his methods but should you ever see a pale man who while drenched but for his reflective circular glasses have not a speck of water upon them then chances are good you have seen the voice. It is also rumored that the voice bleeds water from his viens though if that is rumor alone none truly know.
Combat: The Voice in the Storm never initiates physical combat except when left with no options. It has so many supernatural powers that it does not even blink to use them. It is fond of targeting those that need help or are going to give help and it is capriecious enough to change targets if it believes it will cause more pain. It enjoy's putting other's into situations in which they will suffer.
Spell-like abilities: Ghost Sound at will range 100ft, Ball Lightining 1/day, Chain Lightining 1/day, Cone of Cold 3/day, Wind Wall at will directly in front of the Voice only. All Spell-like abilities are cast as an 8th lvl Sorcerer and the DC's where applicable are 12 +Spell lvl.
Voice of the Storm: Any target that is out under the storm that the voice chooses may hear it no matter the distance as a faint and directionally specific whisper or drowned out but still clear shout. The voice may also hear any spoken word and hears it as directionaly specific from anyone out under the storm that speaks. Neither the target or the Voice may determine distance from each others voices but they know the direction the speaker is away from them. The Voice is also treated as if a normal human in daylight as long as he is under the storm for vision purposes.
Lightining Travel: As a bolt of lightining strikes The Voice in the Storm may as a free action travel up to 100ft to any point that the storm covers as long as he is under the storm.
Lightining Bolt Control: The voice in the storm may call a single bolt of lightining from the sky as if using call lightining at the lowest possible caster lvl. It must wait one round after each use before it may do such again. He may use both this and Lightining Travel in the same round.
Drench: Once per round any flame of campfire size is automatically extinguished on a ranged touch DC of 15. This may be brought into affect against any flame based light source that is out in the storm if the voice can see it as an Immediate Action.
Immunity to Electric & Cold: The Voice in the Storm is immune to all electric & cold based damage and affects and does not have to save vs them as long as he is under the storm.
Eyes of Innocence: The few Innocents who have seen the Voice in the Storms true form would discribe him as pale with his lips being a bluish purple. His teeth are not seen, as even when he speaks his mouth does not move. The reflection in his glasses is always ever so slightly delayed. And even in a light drizzle all of his clothes appear sogged. No matter how he moves he never disturbs snowdrifts, puddles, or leave a foot print nor does the wind move his clothes.
Vulnerabilities: Any lightining rod even a sword plunged in the ground that is under the storm and within 100ft of the Voice automatically forces him to come to that point if he attempts to use his lightining travel abillity but also deals the lightining damage to the lightining rod. The Voice in the Storm may never set foot within any structure that does not have the sky open over head. If a control weather spell beats a caster lvl check of 20 then the caster may force the storm to end and The Voice will travel in another storm elsewhere. If forced inside a roofed structure he becomes mute and cannot use any powers except physical movement. He will begin to spit up water and if after five rounds he is still inside he will disapate into water for a generation.

The Story Told: The wagon rolled through the mud, as the violent storm continued to rock it back and forth. The wind seemed to be pushing through the tree's and yet the Man sat stunned. The Vardo's ahead of the man and his family had accepted his trade, for help in thier travels to get to the next town and he was glad for it. He could hardly see through the down pour but the Vistani seemed to be having no trouble. As did his wife and son who were sleeping through this malestrom in the back.
Suddenly the Vardo's ahead stopped and a horse riding vistani came back with his hand sheltering his eyes. "We are stopping here for now. We suggest you stay in your wagon and close it to the Voice in the Storm. No matter what you hear, for no reason should you come out until the storm has passed!" His low yet firm voice made his message a warning. He turned without acknowledgement and rode back the way he came.
"But the wheels will sink in this mire!" He shouted at the man but accompanying thunder with a flash drown it out.
He covered his horses and with some regret glanced at the vardos with lights still shining. He had hoped that with them he could have made the trade season in Richemulot so that his glass works he carried would set them well with money to start thier new life away from Borca. He turned his gaze down the road and heard in his left ear a faint womans voice. "Help me!!!"
He turned only to find an empty space as far as he could see. "Who is there? Dearest? Is that you?" Looking around for some sign of someone and fearing it was his wife he walked toward the tree line. Glancing back he thought to check the wagon and be sure then once more.
"Help Me! Please help me!" The whisper of his wife's voice called from the wood's and he bolted forward. Running haphazardly through the tree's Shouting "Stay there! I'm coming!" Behind him he heard the sounds of shouts from others. But still the clearest voice was the whispering shout of his wife.
However soon he realised that the whisper had gotten no closer. Soon after that he heard a laugh on the wind. He glanced for the noise only to see two reflections on a black mass then lightining struck so near he could feel it in his chest before he was blasted to the ground. Dazed he picked himself up and ran hoping to have picked the correct direction and reach the wagon and shelter.
When he returned to camp the next day, the storm having just passed during his wandering last night, he discovered the Vistani quickly packing his thing's with his wife rapidly helping put them out into one of thier Vardo's from his wagon tipped on its side with his horses lying dead on thier sides charred and still smoking.
He shouted releavedly but was shocked as she jerked her gaze up and ran forward collapsing in tearless sob's. She kept desperately repeating. "It's on him! It's on him, and he's so scared! He..He stopped crying and its on him!"
The Man who had warned him the night before came to him. He spoke over the destraught woman. He told how when he had left, his son had leaned out to yell for him to stop. How the boy had only just stepped but a few feet and how they that could see him yelled for him to return. How the wagon flipped when a gust of wind tipped the thing over onto the boy. He accepted the mans yells of how the Vistani were only now helping to get it off his body as he was over come. Then that Man's yells were cut short. I looked him square in the eyes little ones. And I said that I had warned him of the Voice in the Storm. I had warned him and he had failed to heed it.
The True Story: The Voice in the Storm is originally based upon a man who inspired in Marais d'Tarascon cries of panic. A man at the edge of town in a rustic hut was considered a warlock and sorcerer for his practices in what the town's people considered alchemy.
He always wore glasses that were reflective, while his pale skin still showed some sort of skin color that had faded. He never spoke, but durring the stormy weather a chant in a reverberating voice could be heard from his door as he seemed to pray to the foul weather. He would set up a stall in front and would not speak but would trade for items. He would leave and return with new wares and trade those as well. Few of the town's people would even look to him but when the need was evident one could expect to pay a hefty price but find the thing they needed.
He was at times called as a medicine man and despite the unknown methods and concoctions he used those he treated did improve at the least.
But one night when the rain fell and his chant filled the dark a young child dissapeared. The towns people searched as far as they dared to tred in the swamps and found the boy. Burned and broken as if the lightining had struck him. The town accused the man of consorting with devils, and the darkest loa. They openly cursed at him and soon began threatening him. The man did not speak, and did not stop his normal way of things.
Of course when the next storm came and another child was missing the town did not wait. They dragged the man to the swamp, and not once did he say any word or show the slightest concern. Even when they chained him to an old building cornerstone and dropped him into the deepest part of the marsh as he sank into the black his mouth did not open. When the next stormy night came and a chant called once more another child had disappeared none could understand why. The killer was dead as they had seen to it themselves.
In actuallity the killer had been a Voodan servent of the Lord of the Dead who had been sent to stop the silent medicine man from disrupting the many diseases he had been using to try and add some interesting souls in the town to his purposes. The killings of these children happend in the basement of the towns general store. The real culpret was never caught and stopped once his lord was pleased but was soon found dead one stormy night crushed under a tree. His shops foundation is buried in the swamp it is thought as the building appeared to have sank with only fetted water covering the ground it once was on.

As an extra possibility for the PC's this Item is perhaps something the DM may use and also discribe the benifit it provides both the bogeyman and the PC's who may use it once taken.


The Voice's Eyes: These string tied round framed lens glasses, while mundane in appearence allow one of three powers once per round. The first is to detect innocence as a free action in a 60ft cone. This appears as if the person becomes a completely Red shape while non innocents are normal in appearence. The next power allows the user to detect any change in the weather and ignore any vision imparement from such continuously as long as the wearer uses a free action to do so. Lastly the wearer can recieve a continuous +1 to dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves as long as he takes a free action to do so. The Voice's Eyes radiate Enchantment moderate, Divination minor, and Transmutation minor.

Next time The Hill Family!

[A G Thing]

This time The Hill Family!

The Hill Family
Fey (Bogeymen) 1 Small (The Runt) 3 Medium (The Favored Son, The Dishonored Daughter, The Precious One) and 2 Large (The Dire Grandmarm, The Provider)
Hit Dice:
3d6 +6 for The Runt (19 hp)
4d6 +12 for The Favored Son (29 hp)
4d6 +12 +7 for The Dishonored Daughter (36 hp)
4d6 +12 +4 for The Precious One (33 hp)
5d6 for The Dire Grandmarm (35 hp)
6d6 +18 for The Provider (44 hp)
Inititive:
+3 for The Runt
+2 for The Favored Son
+3 for The Dishonored Daughter
-1 for The Precious One
+1 for The Dire Grandmarm
+2 for The Provider
Speed:
40ft for The Runt
30ft for The Favored Son
30ft for The Dishonored Daughter
20ft for The Precious One
15ft land and 40ft fly (Poor) for The Dire Grandmarm
30ft for The Provider
Armor Class:
16 (+3 Dex, +2 Deflection, +1 Size) 16 Touch , 13 Flatfooted for The Runt
16 (+2 Dex, +2 Leather, +2 Deflection) 14 Touch , 14 Flatfooted for The Favored Son
15 (+3 Dex, +2 Deflection) 15 Touch, 12 Flatfooted for The Dishonored Daughter
18 (-1 Dex, +3 Hide, +4 Natural, +2 Deflection) 11 Touch , 18 Flatfooted for The Precious One
15 (+1 Dex, +3 Natural, +2 Deflection, -1 Size) 13 Touch , 14 Flatfooted for The Dire Grandmarm
19 (+2 Dex, +2 Natural, +4 Chain Shirt, +2 Deflection, -1 Size) 13 Touch , 17 Flatfooted for The Provider
Base Attack/Grapple:
+2/+6 or +0 when resisting a grapple for The Runt
+2/+4 for The Favored Son
+2/+2 for The Dishonored Daughter
+2/+6 for The Precious One
+3/+8 for The Dire Grandmarm
+3/+12 for The Provider
Attack:
Claw +3 melee (1d3 +1), Bite +1 melee (1d3 +1), Rake +1 melee (1d3 +1), for The Runt
Dead Wolf (+1 Returning Throwing Hand Axe) +4 melee or ranged melee (1d6 +3), for The Favored Son
Slam +2 melee (1d4), for The Dishonored Daughter
Slam +6 melee (1d6 +4), for The Precious One
Hand of the Frost Hag (+1 Frost Claw Gauntlet) +5 melee (1d8 +2 +1d6 cold), for The Dire Grandmarm
Life Bane (+2 Vile Great Axe) +11 melee (2d6 +7 +2 vile), for The Provider
Full Attack:
2 Claw's +3 melee (1d3 +1), 1 Bite +1 melee (1d3 +1), and if pounce 2 Rake's +1 melee (1d3 +1), for The Runt
Dead Wolf (+1 Returning Throwing Hand Axe) +4 melee or ranged melee (1d6 +3), for The Favored Son
Slam +2 melee (1d4), for The Dishonored Daughter
Slam +6 melee (1d6 +4), for The Precious One
Hand of the Frost Hag (+1 Frost Claw Gauntlet) +6 melee (1d8 +2 +1d6 cold), for The Dire Grandmarm
Life Bane (+2 Vile Great Axe) +11 melee (2d6 +7 +2 vile), for The Provider
Space/Reach:
5ft./5ft. for The Runt
5ft./5ft for The Favored Son
5ft./5ft for The Dishonored Daughter
5ft./5ft for The Precious One
10ft./5ft for The Dire Grandmarm
10ft./5ft for The Provider
Special Attacks:
Frenzied Charge, Pounce, Rake, Dragging Chain, for The Runt,
Set the Table, Sneak Attack +2d6, for The Favored Son,
Beaten but not Broken, Broken Gaze, for The Dishonored Daughter,
Dire Hareld, Rage, for The Precious One,
Spell-like abilities, Tend to the Wicked, for The Dire Grandmarm,
Glory of the Kill, Taste of Blood, for The Provider
Special Qualities:
Sadist, Scent, for The Runt
Sadist, Insane Tennacity, for The Favored Son
Submissive, for The Dishonored Daughter
Ignorant of Death, for The Precious One
Crone of Bone, +4 vs cold and cold resistance 5, for The Dire Grandmarm
DR 5/Innocent, for The Provider
Eaters of Man, Eyes of Innocence, Vulnerabilities for all of them
Saves:
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +5, for The Runt
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3, for The Favored Son
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +3, for The Dishonored Daughter
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2, for The Precious One
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7, for The Dire Grandmarm
Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +7, for The Provider
Abillities:
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 6, for The Runt
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 13, for The Favored Son
Str 10, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14 for The Dishonored Daughter
Str 18, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 6, Cha 6, for The Precious One
Str 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 16 for The Dire Grandmarm
Str 20, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16, for The Provider
Skills:
Climb +7, Jump +7, Spot +8, Listen +8, Search +8, MoveSilently +10, Hide +13, for The Runt
Climb +9, Jump +9, Spot +6, Listen +6, MoveSilently +9, Intimidate +8, for The Favored Son
Spot +6, Listen +6, Hide +10, MoveSilently +10, Bluff +9, for The Dishonored Daughter
Climb +11, Jump +11, Spot +5, Listen +5, Intimidate +11 Str, for The Precious One
Climb +9, Jump +9, Spot +11, Listen +11, Concentration +8, Spellcraft +13, Use Magic Device +13, MoveSilently +9, Intimidate +11, Bluff +11, for The Dire Grandmarm
Climb +14, Jump +14, Spot +11, Listen +11, Search +11, Hide +9, MoveSilently +9, Intimidate +12, for The Provider
Feats:
Track, Unwholesome Ichor, for The Runt
Weapon Focus (Hand Axe), Improved Critical (Hand Axe) for The Favored Son
Improved Toughness, Toughness, for The Dishonored Daughter
Destructive Rage, Improved Toughness, for The Precious One
Commanding Gaze, Blood Spell, Violate Spell-like Abillity, for The Dire Grandmarm
Track, Vile Martial Strike (Great Axe), Weapon Focus (Great Axe), for The Provider
Environment: Any
Organization: group of 2-6
Challenge Rating:
4 for The Runt
5 for The Favored Son
5 for The Dishonored Daughter
5 for The Precious One
6 for The Dire Grandmarm
7 for The Provider
Treasure:
Neck Chain only and See Discription Below, for The Runt
Dead Wolf (+1 Returning Throwing Hand Axe) and See Discription Below, for The Favored Son
None, for The Dishonored Daughter
None, for The Precious One
Hand of the Frost Hag (+1 Frost Claw Gauntlet) and See Discription Below, for The Dire Grandmarm
Life' Bane (+2 Vile Great Axe) and See Discription Below, for The Provider
Alignment:
Chaotic Evil for The Runt
Chaotic Evil for The Favored Son
Neutral Evil for The Dishonored Daughter
Chaotic Evil for The Precious One
Lawful Evil for The Dire Grandmarm
Lawful Evil for The Provider
Advancement:
4-5 (Small) for The Runt
5-6 (Medium) for The Favored Son
5-6 (Medium) for The Dishonored Daughter
5-6 (Medium) for The Precious One
6-7 (Large) for The Dire Grandmarm
7-8 (Large) for The Provider
Level Adjustment: -
Discription: You all hear the rattling of a chain that seems to be circling in the misty wood's around you. The dog's are barking and dragging to get away. A wolf howl is cut short as the man next to you dies a gurgling death. An axe in his throat that vanishes as if the night jerks it back into nothing-ness. The rattling gets faster trailing after one of the losed hounds, as the sound of giants comes through the trees. You feel a chill as you see a shadow pass over the moon just over head just missing what ever had went above, while off in the dark that unfortunate animal yelps in pain. Suddenly all sound stops, until after a painfully long moment, a maiden's mournful sob is the only thing that carries through the night in the last few seconds of calm. Then all these noises seem to rapidly approach at once...
The Hill Family is one of the most numerous of the known bogeymen group's to hunt together. They are The Clan of Blood and Bone and are a very dread tale that few will ever forget and fewer still will ever wish to hear. They are blood thirsty and savage beyond even most Falkovian soldiers and they are very deserving of thier status. They are numbered in the stories told to be at six members.
The Runt is the youngest of the family and the small but malnurished naked boy lies chained at the foot of the table as if the dog of the family chewing bones with pointed teeth and begging for scraps.
The Favored Son savagely feasts at the table, his scar covered limbs cleaving his share of the kill with his dirty gore stained hatchet with a viciously wide smile with intense gleems in his eye that flash blood red.
The Dishonored Daughter sits to the side, dirty and bruised, but the most normal looking, shielding her slightly protruding belly, she eats tentatively and disgustedly, twitching fearfully at even the slightest movement of her kith and kin as if about to be struck.
The Precious One sits being fed into his rot toothed dullards smile as if a babe's mind sat behind the hulking mispreportioned, seven foot frame. He is dressed in patchwork hides that seem to be made of multiple leather peices and animal fur's.
The one feeding is The Dire Grandmarm and her face is a pale bluish white mass of wrinkels as she laughs with a croaking voice and it shakes her massive yet haunched frame. She feeds with her right while her left stays to her side, covered under her cloak which is a stained grey wolf fur. Her eyes are milky white as if cataracts have taken her sight but she still see's fine.
There at the head of the family table sit's The Provider who's nine foot vantage point lets him watch keenly with his cold gaze, as his family eat's the meal the hunt has brought before them.
The corpse before them had been canny and smart in life but now this man was not more that meat at the table. The Hill Family as said before hunt together and are used as tales to stay out of the wild land's on the boarders of civilization and to not trust those who live there from fear of inbred blood and dark works. They rarely enter civilization unless it is to inspire someone to be foolish enough to come to thier playground. This is done by killing the live stock of the boardering farms or causing some misfortune of magical or mundane kinds that forces a search party. Occasionally The Dishonored Daughter being the most normal looking of the group will invite a boy who she is fond of to take her away to marry away from her disapproving family. When they do leave though this journey is inevetably cut short as her family drags both her and the young suiter home for "dinner.".
The Hill Family travel's through thier home which appears one mile out of town in a wooded or otherwise hard to reach location. The home usually stays there until one of the hunts is concluded then as the family sleep's inside the house burns rapidly to the ground and they scream as they are burned alive. Only a blackened patch of earth remains as the sun rises and the house re-appears outside of another town. Some would be hunters have believed they have seen them destroyed because of this but as they find no remains at all, most are never sure.
Combat: Each member of The Hill Family has thier own insane reasons for the hunt. They always initiate in suprise and will only force the conflict if they believe they can win easily. The families methods are listed below.

The Runt: The Runt always begins the battle by circling the enemy in the trees focusing any dog's or small children in that order as his targets ignoring any target that does not hit him till the dog or child is dead. He will only spring once the other's have started the battle usually harelded by the sound of Dead Wolf taking it's first flight. The Runt act's out of instinct and ingraned command's as if a dog. If instructed to flee he will do so but if suffering half of his Hp in damage he will flee as well.
Frenzied Charge: At the end of any move The Runt make's on it's own turn in the inititive order, totaling less than double his speed but greater than 10ft The Runt is always considered to have been charging no matter the circumstances of the move and gains all the benifits of such. This means that The Runt may move and make several turns even going around to avoid attacks of oppertunity and get to the target and be considered charging.
Pounce: As long as The Runt Charges or even Jump's down on a target he may make a full attack with all his natural weapons. If he strikes with both claw attacks he may make 2 Rake attacks against his foe that round.
Rake: If The Runt manages to strike with both claw's on a full attack he may make 2 Rake attacks. These deal 1d3 +1 slashing damage and they are listed above in the statistics block.
Dragging Chain: The chain wrapped around The Runt's neck will aid in his grapple attempts. As long as the opponent is alive The Runt will continue to automatically grapple them after the first time. After a success The Runt may do other thing's such as run dragging any opponent of Medium size or smaller behind him. This slow's his speed by 10ft and he may only run at X3 his speed, but otherwise dose not hinder The Runt. Victims being dragged are considered to be prone and are considered to be directly behind The Runt. They may either attack as if grappled with a light weapon or make a DC 15 Str check to stop being pulled, each round on thier turn, or take 1 point of subdual for every ten feat pulled. If after stopping the pull the victim can immediately make an opposed grapple check to get free. Should The Runt be killed the chain comes lose as his corpse disapates.
Sadist: As long as The Runt deal's 3+ damage to a target in a single round he gains a +1 to all attack, damage, skill check, and saving throw rolls the next round. But if The Runt is threatend with physical pain the Intimidate roll gains a +1 bonus against The Runt.

The Favored Son: The Favored Son always targets the most distracted or weakest looking target to make use of his sneak attack and his Set the Table abillity. He will throw from hidding and then find another spot to suprise his victims and keep them guessing. He usually picks a target that is talking so that he interupts the words. The Favored Son will only fight hand to hand if he thinks his opponent too weak to resist or if forced and will run if his Hp is reduced to below half.
Set the Table: As long as the first attack of the combat is made by The Favored Son and is a sneak attack any who witness the attack if it is successful must make a DC 16 Fear Save. If the favored son misses with this attack he must wait until another combat to use it. Any who save successfully against it are immune to other uses of the abillity in other combats until 24 hours have passed since the first success.
Insane Tenacity: The Favored Son may make a will save when reduced to negative hp with a DC equal to the negative hp total, and if successful he automatically stablizes and may function normally. If damaged again then he must make another save at the new negative total or fall. This may keep The Favored Son standing with some lucky roll's all the way to -23 with an unenhanced will save. If he fails beyond -10 he falls to the dust and disapates into the mist.
Sadist: As long as The Favored Son deal's 4+ damage to a target in a single round he gains a +1 to all attack, damage, skill check, and saving throw rolls the next round. But if The Favored Son is threatend with physical pain the Intimidate roll gains a +1 bonus against The Favored Son.

The Dishonored Daughter: The Dishonored Daughter appears to be a non combatant. She will weep and will beg her family to stop but will by appearences be unintentionally there. She is so broken she will do what anyone who threatens her says. She will often time's try to charm the most handsome of the parties male characters to wisk her away. Since The Provider is usually close at hand this leads most often to a very painful death. She is evil in the way that a seemingly good person will do nothing to stop an attrocity.
Beaten not Broken: When ever The Provider see's any of The Hill Family get injured including himself but excluding The Dishonored Daughter, He may strike The Dishonored Daughter with his open hand dealing 1d4 +5 damage and healing a like amount to one of the members he chooses that he has seen injured within 100ft. This ability may be used once per round and it may never be used if it would drop The Dishonored Daughter to below 1 hp.
Broken Gaze: Once per day any one male that The Dishonored Daughter chooses that meets her pleading gaze must make a DC 15 will save or be forced to run the most direct route to her no matter the danger, and defend her until the both of them may escape. He will attack anyone who physically threatens her and him and will believe she is his true love. This effect end's after 24hr's of the character being out of The Dishonored Daughter's presence or if remove curse is cast. If The Dishonored Daughter is slain while he is defending her then the character must make an immediate DC 18 Madness save.
Submissive: Any command that The Hill Family tells The Dishonored Daughter to preform she does in a slow and unwilling submission. If protected by a male under her Broken Gaze she will follow his commands over any other. She is treated to have no will save for any effect that would force her to preform any action the caster commands with automatic failure.

The Precious One: The Precious One acts as if a spoiled child in combat. He goes in smilingly playing with these new toys. The moment he is hurt he activates his Rage to crush said toy using his Destructive Rage Feat on anything that gets between him and his toy. When reduced to half Hp he uses his Dire Hareld abillity to call for his mommy. If reduced to 1/4th Hp he retreats crying for his mother.
Dire Hareld: When reduced to half Hp The Precious One can howl for his mother in an inhuman tone. No matter the distance The Dire Grandmarm will appear next to him in the closest possible space available at the start of next round and may not ignore the call unless slain. She may act on this round. This howl causes a DC 16 Horror save to all who hear it the first time. Every time after that those that heard the call must make a DC 16 Fear save. Those that fail the first save have the DC of the fear save increased by 2. If The Dire Grandmarm fails to arrive then at the end of his Rage The Precious One must retreat.
Ignorent of Death: The Precious One is considered to have the Diehard feat for free and does not Disipate from wounds until he reaches -20 Hp.
Rage: 2/day as a 4th lvl Barbarian.

The Dire Grandmarm: This horrible creature usually fly's into combat and begins using violated spell like abilities, on those that are below. When in hand to hand she will use her left hand in its claw gauntlet only if she has no spells and prefers to be next to The Precious One. She prefers to leave the target's alive long enough for one of her children to get to them but will kill if they threaten any of The Hill Family except The Dishonored Daughter. She will always help The Precious One over any other member first.
Spell-like abilities: Hailstones 2/day, Cold Orb Lesser 3/day, Love's Pain 1/day, Boneblade 1/day, Bone Blast 3/day, Shriveling 1/day. These spells are cast as if by a Wizard of 5th lvl and the DC's where appropriate equal 15 + spell lvl.. She may also use any spell out of any spell book she has access to that a wizard of 5th lvl could use by using her Blood Spell feat.
Crone of Bone & Blood: The Dire Grandmarm may for each medium victim, make one 1st lvl wand minimum caster lvl with 25 charges, 3 Cure light wounds potions all minimum caster lvl, from one medium corpse, or finally she may make 1 scroll of a 1st lvl spell out of the skin and blood of a medium body. Using the body in one of these ways prevents it from being used for any other purpose. Only potions can be made with smaller or larger creatures and for every size catagory up or down decrease or increase by one the number of potions. All of these things take 24hr's of uninterupted work, to prepare.
Tend to the Wicked: Every member of The Hill Family that The Dire Grandmarm touches recovers 1d8 +5 Hp once each per day. This ability does not work on The Dishonored Daughter nor may The Dire Grandmarm use it upon herself.

The Provider: The Provider charges and uses his reach to swipe his axe at any foe that continues to fight. He prefers his targets to fight or run and if they are still and unarmed, he shuns them. He will try to intimidate targets into fighting him and will only retreat from a truly superior foe. He enjoys the kill and reveles in the blood always preforming the killing blow to any foe he drops. He loves death over all of his family and lives as only the strongest, quickest, and most cunning deserve to survive. He will make attacks of oppertunity at fleeing foes but will not chase directly prefering to hunt them after they have a good lead.
Glory of the Kill: When ever The Provider strikes the blow that kills a living creature he gains a +1 to hit and damage until the end of combat. These bonuses are cumulative up to a +3 maximum on both attack and damage.
Taste of Blood: By tasting the blood of an opponent The Provider automatically learns thier name and recieves a +10 on all Survival checks to track that person perminently.
Damage Reduction / Innocent: Only those who are innocent may ignore this damage reduction when fighting The Provider.

All The Hill Family:
Eaters of Man: After a corpse is brought to thier cabin and prepared for 3hours plus or minus 30 minutes for each size catagory lower The Hill Family may as a group devour it taking 20 minutes of undisturbed eating and recieve the benifit of a Mass Cure Critical Wounds spell as cast as if Maximised at the lowest possible caster lvl. This 20 minutes must be consecutive or the meal is ruined. They may gain this benifit once per corpse but must prepare them one at a time as above. The size of the corpse does not affect this abillity from small to larger, but anything below small simply does not have enough to function. Any corpse eaten in such a way is not fit for any raise attempts or any other abillity and is considered destroyed. Only True Ressurection, Wish or Miracle may be used to attempt to bring back a person who's body has been devoured.

Eyes of Innocence: Unlike other's of the bogeymen type The Hill Family seem monsterous and repulsive all the time. They rarely enter town and are treated as if Calibans by all and are offensive enough to inspire violence if they stay too long, except for The Dishonored Daughter who looks like a sad dirty pregnant young woman. They hide in a mundane fashion as well when wishing to not be seen. The Innocent and the Insane see them as all having pointed teeth and covered in soot and burn marks on thier clothes but The Dishonored Daughter look's to be covered in one huge bruise and cuts beyond reason.

Vulnerabilities: Each of The Hill Family have vulnerabilities unique to them and some are tied to other's in the group. Smart PC's who read the legends carefuly may be able to cripple them as they defeat them.
The Runt: The Runt cannot tolerate strong smells and must stay 30ft from anyone bearing something that can disrupt a dog's sense of smell. He also cannot enter water of any kind. If he does he struggles on the surface for three rounds and then sinks disapating for a generation. No matter how it happens The Dishonored Daughter is stunned for 1d4 +1 round's with no save should she see him fall.
The Favored Son: The Favored Son will not attack those that keep thier eye's closed. He must see their eyes to see them. Anyone who closes their eye's to where they cannot see him he cannot percieve until they open thier eye's and ignores them. To him they do not exist. If slain within sight of The Provider all members of The Hill Family must retreat until 24hr's have passed.
The Dishonored Daughter: Genrally submissive she will retreat unless threatend to do other wise. If however The Dishonored Daughter is rescued and married by the one under her charming gaze she will become paranoid of the other family. The Hill Family will attempt to reclaim her as soon as possible and will never relent. If the other family members are slain then for twenty years she will become the same alignment as her rescuer and a loving wife and only six months later give birth to a baby boy. If however after that 20 years The Hill Family is not perminently destroyed then both her and the child will be pulled back to the family that night and the now grown child is eaten. If they are destroyed within the time limit then she will become mortal perminently. Her death does not affect The Hill Family in any way.
The Precious One: The Precious One is prone to tantrums and while in a rage if sleep is cast on him he automatically fails. True babies toys and objects of comfort cause him pain and he stays 20ft from anyone who presents one threateningly. If slain The Dire Grandmarm may take no action except to sob and scream curses hysterically.
The Dire Grandmarm: The Dire Grandmarm is a creature of cold and thus she takes 1.5X any fire damage directed at her. Should a weapon be made of a humaniod bone be used she may be staked like a vampire and may not move until it is removed. If slain every member of The Hill Family except The Dishonored Daughter is stunned for 1 round and then retreats.
The Provider: The Provider will not fight those that are not moving. If his target stays still he must ignore it but is still aware of it. Any Innocent that attempts to turn him will gain +5 bonus but may not destroy him. Should The Provider ever be killed all those of The Hill Family that see except for The Dishonored Daughter are stunned for 2 rounds and have a -3 penalty to all rolls. They most likely retreat as well.

The Story Told: "I tell you Grosken that the wolves are not the cause... I hear there howl's in the wood's all night and I have sat up and stood guard my self but the wound's on my sheep, they are from a blade."
Grosken Volkoul sat at the table in the lodge and shook his head. Roale had been known to be a bit indulgent in the drink at night, but the man seemed sober as he stood before him now. He was the third this winter to report of something a miss in the western boarder of town.
First had Elishka Doelcheck who had said that chain rattling had been heard on the night and had kept her awake but when she had gotten up to check she found that her Boar Hound Tolen, had been savaged and torn near to pieces. The bite's and claw's had seemed near human but incredably small. He had worried about the legendary wolves that walked but thought perhaps that he had seen flawed sign through superstition. He had seen larger hounds killed by wolves and some of the bites had been flawed by the other bites and claws and a pack could surely have taken dear Tolen down.
He and his men went out for wolves but over the week's found little to no sign and heard not a one out at the night as was very odd for the season. Normally the wolves needed hunting in the town as the snow drove more of the game away.
Then when the second came it was from his fellow huntsman and friend Deliosh Parickobe. His prize steed of his stable had died of the frost. This was not odd but that it had not killed the lesser horses stabled the same and that from all who could recall the night had not been that chill. Seeing this he set out to see if someone had came and wet the horse down in vengence. But that had not found a soul and he did not think he would.
After this event Grosken had listened to the many stories and legend's that ran about town as the small village of a hundered souls was quick to spread any news within. Many spoke of The Fryst Hag and her dread lover and son The Giant and how he held the horse down while her cold left hand frose the beast. Other's mentoned of the savage Dog Child and that it was clearing the field of it's rivals.
He reassured Roale that he and his hunting men would question the village and check for sign of the one who killed his herd. He escorted him to the door and called his companions to the table as he went into the main room. The many grissled and young face's of these strong men looked to him for guidence. "I will ask that you fine men go and talk to your wive's and children. Your neighbors and kin and ask them if any can speak of witnessing these men who did these crimes. Roale insisted it was a blade and thus I see that we might have a grudge hiding in town against him."
"I ain callen ya wrong on any point but what of the stories Grosken? The sign keeps pointin toward the mystic, and I can only stretch so far in ignoren the wives tale's!" Deliosh was looking to the others with a slight bit of eyeing for approval. The men seemed to agree as they listned to the tale. "Now with the story so matchen the Hatchet Boy of the story you want us to look for em in town?"
Grosken looked at the men and laughed. "The whole town know's the tale's. We keep them so that we can scare the young one's to stay in from the wood's til it is time to teach the hunters trade. I want to think that it is perhaps one who was not fit for hunting, as only relatives of the lodge have been made victim to the crime's. I don't see no one that's been eaten yet Deliosh? Unless you have some bites your covering?" He smiled and the men all seemed a little bristled at being made to seem the fool but had a merry laugh at themselves.
Deliosh said otherwise however. "Jus promise me my brother that you will keep the tale in mind. My horse had thick skin but it was near hard as three day's freeze when I found her."
"We will find the person Deliosh and they will be held to account and recompense. I swear it!" Grosken then went about the business as he had for he needed to handel his home after.
His son Lansce had been showing the sign of having a woman in mind. He kept disappearing in the day and would say little but blush about the maid in question. He had however become more firm and he thought he saw the eye of one who ment to leave the town. He would speak words and make the boy stay till spring.
That was not how it went though. The boy had been packed as he had arrived and had gathered all but the horses. He and his son had woke the town as they marched arguing some of the huntsmen stared in shock as the boy spoke of his love and thier need for leaving. "I will not be told who I will and will not love father. I will marry her away so neither her nor my kin can object."
"Boy listen to you! You speak of madness. None live out in the western wood. I have taken you there myself and we know it true." Grosken yelled as his son began to start trotting his horse away.
"Forgive me father I will send word once we are man and wife." He yelled back as he began riding harder out of town...
Grosken was stunned but Deliosh spun him round... "Now Brother. Your boy rides not to the rescue, but into death! He is bewitched as in the stories and we must go to save him!"
Grosken was only hesisitent at first but let his reason slip within seconds. He and his son were in the legend as it seemed and now he could not delay. He and his men quickly set out into the night after the boy.
They came upon him on the road after a few minutes hard ride, attempting to set the girl upon the horse before him. "Lansce! Wait and listen to me son!" Grosken yelled at him and the boy, trying to get past the baying of the hounds that had accompanied with them as they road. "She is part of the story boy... Look and see it!"
The sad looking girl hid behind as Lansce, drew his knife. "I'll hear none of..." then "Hooooowwwwooooooollllll...(Whump)" the boy jerked straight "You..r..." (Thump) then fell over dead a flash of metal on the other side.
The girl began to scream horribly and wail falling to her knee's looked into the wood's in terror.
The Grosken did not remember the next moments as he walked toward his son to kneel at his body. He did not see a small boy with a fang filled mouth slaughter trained hunting dog's dragging one behind as he chased the animal's into the night. He did not here Deliosh's plea of aid or the cracking of his skull as hail took many of the huntsmen to the ground. He did not feel as his son's now broken necked horse fell to his left leg and crushed it at the ankel down. He did see a massive hand jerk the supposed lover of his boy away as she begged for aid. He looked up and the last thing he remembered was that cold face that looked upon him. When the shock had cleared he had dragged himself back to the village on that broken leg. The winter was hard with few hunters but the village has endured.
"So children that is the tale I tell you. And like elder's before I leave you to decide on what you believe..." The old man rose with his cane and remembered the pain of that night. He hoped the new hunters would take the tale to heart quicker then he.
The True Story: The Hill Family as stated below originated in Vorostokov. The original families Surname was Zemlicoff and they lived on the outskirts of a near by village. The Zemlicoff family was known for thier proud streak and were great hunters. They supplied the villagers with fur and meat through out most of the year, and out preformed any other village hunting clan.
Some say the line was cursed by it's pride and it seeped in to thier blood. They had suddenly had every child from one generation and on, produced in the blood line be a Caliban, and that caused much strife as they were all forced out. The village had refused to allow thier blood to mingle in and thus the family was cast out and moved to the western hills. While they were refused to live in the town they had once been a part of, the towns people still accepted limited trade with the Zemlicoff family as the married in relatives could not just abandon thier kin. As the years went by the once proud family that stayed within the wilderness, became more and more imbred with fewer and fewer of the young surviving the harsh cold. By the fourth generation of the imbreeding, the son's and daughters possibly had common blood with all the families in thier forsaken little community. Mental disorder's and deformity were prevailent and the pride of thier line became an unreasonable distain and anger at being forced to live so. The little contact with the village they had began to sour. Soon a grudge developed in the family against any outside of thier own kin.
They began to starve as thier diet was severly deficent and hard weather and fewer able hunters meant less food for all. It is said that if it was not for corrupt magic of the hags and thier want of human flesh, that the line would have perished much sooner. They were soon said to have begun eating thier dead and killing those who were weakest, to stay the chill of winter and to have consorted with all sort of dark beings and creatures. Though these rumors were as of then unconfirmed, none ventured into the woods that were wise, and very rarely those that did were foolish children that never returned. When ever asked of the disappearences the family all claimed to know nothing of the incident's every time.
By the seventh generation only one family of five members remained of the cursed Zemlicoff blood line were still living in the wild lands to the west.
The oldest was Olga Zemlicoff, who born on the fourth generation, had lived to the uncommon age of 85 years, and was a mother of three. Any who saw her claimed that she was a witch or a hag that had power over the cold in her left hand that she covered with some unknown shiny material. She was often guided as her eyes were whitening with cataracts by one of her children but she could see. Several bone's were used as decoration on her clothes and she was always considered to be darkly facinated by magic by all that spoke of her.
The father of two had been her son and lover, Jyorsk Zemlicoff, who stood close to 8ft in height and was 41. The giant of a man spoke only in anger and hefted a blackend Great Axe. It had been the same axe that he had used to slay his father so that he could be with his mother uncontested. Any who saw him fled from him with haste but few ever survived long after to speak of it since he never ventured from the woods and considered it to be his families by right of power and blood.
Thier two children together were Yuri Zemlicoff and Gregor Zemlicoff, at 21 and 19 respectively. Yuri was an active and lanky lean young man who standing at 6ft 3in was very disturbingly passionate about the hunt and remarkably good with his wood axe. His large brow belied a vicious cunning and his eyes were redish in hue as those of albino cast. He would leave dead wolves on the porch of those who angered him always with only the skull split. He entered town only to trade fur's and left when he felt there was no fun to be had in scaring the towns people.
Gregor had been born with the oft in the line slowness but a very healthy body. He was like a small child but his body would one day rival his fathers in build for height and power as he was now 7ft 6in. Once a young man had thought to mock him while he had wandered lost near the village. He broke him like he was a sapling and ran crying for his mother the whole time. The man lived unable to walk, but died only a year after from infection brought on by bed sore's.
At age 18 was the freshest blood found in Naylee Zemlicoff, who was found by Jyorsk when but a babe as he had slain the parents who had lost thier way in travels. When she was old enough she saw only work or beating's as her day in, day out routeen. To avoid the pain she began just agreeing with most of the painful commands and surrendering to anyone who threatend her. She knew she was not related to her supposed kin, as they looked nothing like her, but she knew she was stuck within thier reach as they kept careful watch of her.
When she came of age her adoptive father took her for himself. She had at age 12 birthed a boy that she wanted to name Jeriic but due to his weak frame he was ostricised and treated badly as she. He was treated like a dog and left on a chain. She stood up for him as often as possible but she found that courage was not enough as she was beaten to near death. Jyorsk believed that she was weak in blood and thus religated her to cleaning and insignifigant tasks, while Olga beat her and warned her to stay from her beloved's side.
This prevented her from trying to rescue her poor child as he was taught to behave as a hunting dog and any kindness or human behavior was quickly beaten out of him. This came close to completely destroying the poor girls psyche as she could not defend her son. The son however became more a member of the family then she did and reacted as taught, to be rewarded as such an animal should expect.
Her adoptive brother Yuri began taking her to the village when he was sent to trade so that he might use her to carry the burden. She was not allowed to talk and was treated as just another of the family by most anyway. Yuri was a show off and a bully, who would challenge the men of the village in contest's of axe throwing or even duel's but few were foolish enough to accept. He made violent threats and would play games with any opponent to heighten the fear of the poor victim. He marked his shoulder with each kill of the hunt and bragged with it openly. Every throw of his axe was accompanied by a mimic of a wolf howl from his lips, that was so close to genuine it chilled the bones of those that heard it. The few who had ever accepted his challenges found themselves actually bested by his suprising skill, and fearful of the threat of his hatchet if they angered him.
But once Naylee found more was outside of her world of beatings and abuse she tried to sneak out. Some times she would be stared at and made fun of but some of the people were very kind. She told little of her family for fear of punishment and was lucky enough to catch the eye of a local boy named Balen Kosenrae. For near of six months they tried to be together as often as possible, carefully secretive, with a young love burning inside. He was enraptured with the shy and fragile creature and could not sleep for thought of her. She became like wise enamored and was planning to leave to be with him always.
But then a sudden blizzard came to the land. Hunting became a fruitless trip as less game was around. The blizzard continued for near three months with few gap's in the fall, and food began to run out. The village turned to it's hunters and while some were able to catch a small prize, most of them came back empty handed. If they came back at all...
For as people began to starve, Jyorsk would not let the line die out, and began hunting the hunter's in the woods. His son's and dog child, would join him on the hunts and they soon found a new challenge as the hunters made great sport.
The family was so hungry, and all but Naylee ate what was put before them. She was appalled by this new low, but she did unwillingly relent eventually to prevent a beating and to protect the child inside, as her brother had taken her again durring the long months she had feared it was his, but of the few time's they had been together before the snow, she had hoped, and believed it to be her's and Balen's.
She only waited until the weather cleared so she could sneak to him one last time. She waited till the next partial thaw and when with Yuri delivering the fur to the village, Naylee told Balen of her being with child and the horror of her family and thier crime's. She begged for him to take her away and the boy could not refuse her, but also demanded justice be done. He took her to his home and his father named Hosick gathered the remaining men together. They found Yuri in the village center yelling that Naylee be returned or the he would find her by force.
When Yuri saw the mob assembled with weapons and rope surround him, he began cursing them. When his crimes were listed off he only laughed at thier faces spitting and threatening worse should they not obey his demands and send the "Whore!" of a sister out to him. Hosick held firm against the man's accusations and insults fighting down his ire and choosing to trust his son. Yuri now became paranoid like the animals that he tormented, and miss judged as the mob accidentally pushed a man infront to stumble forward. His hand axe went end over end to enter the unfortunate man's skull. The mob was spurned to action at the man's sheer viciousness and the revolting implication of truth to the tales. With only his skinning knife he could not hold off the many hands that bound him with rope. Only as the mob beat him did he cry out in fear. He begged and pleaded but mercy was not to be had and his own axe was pulled lose of it's former victim and it took numerous savage blows to finally quiet him once and for all.
Balen brought her forth and to the village she began reporting what Jyorsk and the other's were doing and that she wanted to be free. She pleaded her innocence and claimed no blood from them, but found few but Balen and his kin believed her. The mob wanted blood and while she was taken into his home and given a promise of safety, for a while the village was active, now that murders needed to be avenged. Balen's father with concern for his son took charge of the lynching party so as to leave him to protect this girl who perhaps had his granchild within, and went to capture or kill, the vile family that night.
After a hard ride, they soon found a series of bear traps just off the road, as one of the group had his leg snapped at the ankle. Suddenly the dog's began baying, howling and they shook loose, but when they failed to return the men pulled thier blades and followed, leaving two behind to tend to the injured man.
They came across an old hunched over but large crone standing in a patch of land that had bone's all about it in gruesome display. She had been scraped and hurt but had managed to mangle the dog's viciously as if she had beat them with a tree limb. The rumored cold silver colored, left hand was seen to be covered with metal plates that were coated with already freezing dog blood that near glowed in the moon light. Hosick threatend death and demanded surrender but as they did such some were bowled over on the right by a massive howling form that had a dull low voiced child's laughter. On the left a horrible shreiking of frenzied activity as a wild boy began savaging one mans leg shaking the chain furiously. Through the combat and panic he heard the Crone screachingly pointing at him, yelling words of a curse at him... "As you would do, you to shall lose what you held most dear!" As a black shadow flew toward him from her hand, he fell forward with sudden bizzare fatigue and grasping a nearby rib in the clearing of bone's, charged and skewered the witch, Olga through her heart. With her last strength she scratched and drew a line of blood from his face while they were in that death embrace whispering... "He will know... My son will know!" She fell dead, and suddenly the wailling massive hide covered form threw him from her as if he was a small thing. He and his few men fled back to the road and thier horses.
Jyorsk had managed to arrive from his evening hunt to find the scene from the noise on the wind and through the tree's. His most precious Gregor had been mortally wounded and now weeped over the sight of both their mother's body. He saw the blood on her nail of her generally unused right hand and knew she had marked her killer. His fury mounted and as his axe laid to rest his destraught dying boy, and he found his mongrel child waiting with minor wounds, to be brought back to the hunt. He heard them fleeing back to where he knew to find them. With his massive form trembling with rage he called after the running coward's. He caught up to thier departing form's and took one rider from his horse. The man died quickly after, having his throat torn open by the jaws of the dog child. He mounted the horse and ran it at a mad pace, pushing and beating it to make the town soon.
The men looked back over to see the giant of a man and his odd offspring coming with screams of death and vengence lent volume to carry by some nightly force. Hosick ran to his home to gather all his kin to fight but found his son lying near death in the crying arm's of this girl he loved. The witches damage was done as he had feared and almost ignoring his son's gasping protests and plea's, he did as asked and attempted to get her out of danger. He dragged the girl to the fore of his door as she begged to be left with his son, only to see his men causing and recieving fatal wounds to the raging giant.
Jyorsk saw them over the throng and began to push his way through but his mongrel son was quick to give chase. He charged the man and forced them on to the ice of the nearby lake as his chain was grabbed by the man's left hand. Both Hosick and Naylee's mad child colided and fell through the ice and though the man had sense enough to cling to the icy shore, the wild boy gasped struggled in panic until he went under once more, never to find the surface. Only the edge of the chain was left above the break, and it's shaking soon stilled, as it was wrapped round Hosick's arm. He told her to run, but even though she had not though a bond existed she cried for a while shocked at her crazed son's death. Jyorsk came soon after, sword in his chest, arrows in his body, and blood covering most every part of him. He raised his axe on high over the man who had the mark of his wifes killer and his harlot daughter who sat motionlessly sobbing at the hole of icy water. He however did not strike... He had all the time to do it as they waited unmoving for the blow to fall, but he cast his axe to the side.
He grabbed the chain to pull the corpse of his son out with it. Tossing Hosick aside easily as his other hand grasped his betraying daughter and he dragged them toward the cabin, as he watched her horrified and pleading eyes. He tried to stand as she began to call out... He tried to stand but the cold would not shake from his limbs.
She screamed to which Jyorsk with no sign of notice or malice, beat her into unconciousness. Jyorsk the opposite of his rage of emotion had become ice cold as he gathered the corpses of his family. None stopped the man as he picked up Yuri's corpse, or came near him as those that could have, lie dead, dying, or were too frightend of what they saw. The grissly wound's would have dropped a lesser man and they feared that his spirit was black enough to have made him one of the walking dead as he left the village. Hosick soon stumbled out to see the man carry the three bodies as if weightless back toward his cabin.
He stumbled to his home and found his son still looking almost dead with not a single wound upon him. He kept asking for Naylee and when told of her current situation demanded to attempt a rescue. He attempted to rise but was too weakend to do so, as he once more pleaded with his father. Once more Hosick road out with the frost threatening to take his limb's and the cold chill being nothing compared to the fear of losing his son.
The village had survived but the Zemlicoff family had slain near 27 soul's that night and wounded many others. Any who had battled Jyorsk were dead as he made sure to slay those who challenged him. On that night however as Jyorsk wandered back and gathered the corpses within thier cabin, he lit the place a flame and the family alive and dead burned to ash that night. Naylee had awakend and unable to escape had screamed and pleaded beyond reason for Balen to come, despair taking hold as all hope faded under the burning fire and choking smoke. Jyorsk just laughed madly. By the time Hosick had made it there in his weakend state, it was to late to save her from the flame.
The next day Balen simply died near one hour after hearing the news. His father mourned while he too died, but a slow death over the course of three month's from the cold blackening his limbs with frost bite that seemed to wrack his body with chill no matter how he was warmed. His last demand was that this story never be forgotten and taught to avoid the peril the town's past prejeduce had brought and the dangers that lie outside the civilized land. His surviving relatives did such and as they traveled they spread the story with them to any and all that would listen. Some details were lost while other's were exaggerated but the tale is told mostly the same in any land it is told.
In the end when the ashes were searched the mass of bone's that was found could not be confirmed to be the families. The fire had consumed all but the Zemlicoff family legacy...



Facts of note!

Note Loco translates to Madman in spanish!

Origin & Meaning of Lico
Origin: Roots from Russian/Ukranian word for "earth" or "ground"
Alternatively may be derived from Russian word for kinsman
Surnames: Zemlicoff
Therefore a lose translation of the Name Locolico comes to mean Mad Kinsmen or Mad Ground but since in DT&DL they are refered to as a group it seems more to be the first. Since they were originally based around the Locolico and the official Locolico do not appear to use the Surname of Zemlicoff I have decided for now to keep it with the newly renamed Hill Family
Domain Language equivilents for Locolico would be Voros (Vorostokov) – Russian. Will probably be the least problematic since none of the languages Im aware of in Ravenloft use Spanish for the equivilent and so The Hill Family are based around this area.

Items of The Hill Family: These are some equipment that The Hill Family may have at the DM's choosing.

Minor Items: These include Large size non magical MW Chain Shirt on The Provider, Medium Hide armor on The Precious One, Medium MW Chain Shirt on The Favored Son, and 3-5 cure light wounds potions, 0-2 1st lvl spell scrolls, and a spell book containing: 1d3+1 3rd lvl, 2d3+1 2nd lvl, and 2d4+1 1st lvl spells, and provides a +2 bonus to Knowledge Arcana and Spellcraft checks on evil rituals and practices is on The Dire Grandmarm. These items relate to the profile above and are listed here for reference.

Major Items: DM's should look at the list below if he wishes to allow the PC's to recover these items from the defeated Hill Family members...

Neck Chain: The Runt is always running wild with this chain dragging behind him. The chain is actually cursed three fold. The chain is worn as a necklace but several links trail as if a leash. The chain may not be removed except with a successful remove curse and only on the round after. The chain automatically add's +3 to all grapple check's made by the wearer but this is a -3 penalty when resisting a grapple. The wearer lastly suffers -3 to all move silently check's as the chain rattles with every movement. The chain has a hardness of double that of a standard Iron chain and a +5 to it's burst Str check DC. It radiates moderate enchantment. These factors are figured into The Runt's statistics above.

Dead Wolf (+1 Returning Throwing Hand Axe): The Favored Son's weapon is one for which is said that he split the skull of a wolves with for fun. It is a marvelously light Iron and bone handled axe that is covered in bloody stains. It make's a howl of similar sound to that of a wolf's howl, as it is thrown and gives the wielder a -2 circumstance penalty on any skill check's with creatures physically connected with wolves in any fashion including were wolves and wolf were's.

Hand of the Frost Hag (+1 Frost Claw Gauntlet): The Dire Grandmarm's reputed cold left hand is actually wrapped in a very ornate gauntlet that while bloodied appears to be made of a very shiny silver like metal. One ice blue gem looking to be a cats eye by the slit down the middle of the stone rests in the back of the palm. To all normal inspection the claw gauntlet appears to be simply a +1 frost weapon that resizes to fit it's wielder though it stays large enough to increase the damage by one step up in size of it's current wielder. The gauntlet lock's fast to the new arm and causes it to go numb giving the wielder a -5 to all fine manipulation with that arm on skill checks. The gauntlet does however give the user a +4 bonus on all saves vs cold damage and cold resistance 5. The gauntlet however cannot be removed except by three methods. The first is a wish or miracle that will remove the gauntlet but the arm underneath will be blackened and useless as if frostbitten until a greater restoration, then heal is cast in that order. The second is to sever the arm but doing so causes the gauntlet to vanish and regenerate will not work until greater restoration, and then heal is cast in that order. The third is that when the wielder dies the gauntlet will dissappear from thier arm and above methods must be used to restore said arm if the person is revied. The above +4 vs cold and cold resistance 5 have been added to The Dire Grandmarm's statistics above.

Life' Bane (+2 Vile Great Axe): The Provider's great axe is small in his towering hands. It always appears to be a blood stained double bladed black iron woodsmans axe that has been wrapped on the handle with bloodied leather strips. It is a corrupt weapon that has killed more people then can be counted. When wielded by anyone other than The Provider, Life Bane weighs twice as much as normal and Life Bane must kill a living creature of at least Int 6 every week or it deals it's damage to the wielder every hour until it is sated.

The Hill Family use resources from: Dark Tales & Disturbing Legends, Legacies of Blood, Champion's of Darkness, Savage Species, Book of Vile Darkness, Miniatures Handbook, The Libris Mortis, Complete Warrior, and the Players Handbook. Other information from The Ravenloft Campaign Setting.

Now Also as an added bonus, the Item's of the Published Bogeyman Mister Fox, from Dark Tale's & Disturbing Legends...

Huntsman Dagger: His dagger is a beautifully crafted +1, dagger with some functions that are not easy to observe. It has the picture of a fox running circle's round a young girl his jaws open when behind her. For anyone other than Mister Fox the blade is cursed to strike the wielder in the back on a roll of natural one on an attack. He uses this weapon in all his murders and it radiates evil as if unholy decreasing a good characters lvl if he or she carry's it in any fashion by 1 until discarded.

Mister Fox's Bag: The black leather bone clasp bag still behave's as if something is inside it and faint scream's are heard as it opens, but when taken from Mister Fox it function's as a bizzare but empty bag of holding IV only.

Next is Der Kinderstod!

[A G Thing]

Der Kinderstod!


Note that Der Kinderstod directly translates from German into The Child Death.
Relm language equivilent's are Falkovnia – German & Dwarven – German as I know and though I have already come up with a Bogeyman from Falkovnia I think that for purposes of the story below Falkovnia will once more be the place of origin, for at least the name.

Der Kinderstod
Medium Fey(Bogeyman)
Hit Dice: 5d6 +10 (28 hp)
Inititive: +4
Speed: 30ft special below
Armor Class: 16 (+4 Dex, +2 Deflection) Touch 16, Flatfooted 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: Incorporeal Touch +7 (5 +1 vile)
Full Attack: Incorporeal Touch +7 (5 +1 vile)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, Death Mask, Surgical Precision, House Call
Special Qualities: Incorporeal, Eyes of Innocence, Vulnerabilities
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +5,
Abillities: Str -, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 10
Skills: Diplomacy +8, Bluff +8, Spot +18, Listen +18, Search +18, Hide +20, MoveSilently +20, Intimidate +8, Heal +10, Sense Motive +10, Profession (Herbalist) +10,
Feats: Vile Martial Strike, Weapon Finess (Touch Attack),
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Coins and Equipment
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: 6-17 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
Discription: The old doctor is examining the child as you enter. The boy is tossing and turning his delusional condition seeming to have turned for the worse. The doctor seems to be mumbling something angrily under his breath and you try to catch the mans speech from a closer position. It is then that you see his hand's deep within the boy's chest as if nothng seperated the two. You reach to grasp him but feel not but unearthly cold air as your hand passes through...
Der Kinderstod literally translates to "The Child Death..." and it is well suited to such a name. It is not the usual appearence of a herald of death for a child as it appears to be a rather well dressed and old doctor of some education. He usually is dressed as a very prepared and groomed man of healing. He will come having heard of the child's illness in order to treat the poor boy or girl. Once he is left unattended however his examinations will take on his true motives.
Der Kinderstod hate's children beyond all reason, as he see's them as lazy, lying, horrible, filthy, little demon spawn and many more horrible and discriptive terms. He only act's the part of the kindly doctor to get to the child alone, at which point his true self emerges for his captive audience. He frightens the child beyond thier ability to cope and then when the stage is set begins treatment. Sometime's this can be maintained as the child is either in no condition to argue, intimidated and threatend to keep quiet the truth after the painful "Treatment" while his parents are convinced of regular visits being required. Over the many nightly visits Der Kinderstod will slowly bring the child lower and lower until the poor creature that is left is crippled, and insane or simply dead.
Those that do not survive his attentions are said to be disposed of with flame to destroy the contagion. Should the body be examined under modern Lamordian forensic method however, a greater mystery is to be found. Small wounds that have necrotised are in random area's. The cause of death by disease is questionable when compared to the diagnosis the parents heard and must be ruled out by then, but the treating physician cannot be found.
Der Kinderstod is rumored to be a malovolent disease and a dire doctor that drag's it to every town that targets the young and usually those who appear sick. His method of travel is that he infects a wandering person with himself as a full round and then they catch a non fatal cold. Once that person enters the next town the cold vanishes by the next morning and Der Kinderstod walk's in on the same road that sunrise. He look's for a sick child or such and travels as much as needed. He only goes inactive in a town that he has not killed anyone recently because he must reappear in that town or the nearest town that still knows his story. He is assumed to vanish when inactive as no tale's tell of any place he goes.
Combat: Der Kinderstod does not fight fair in any sense. He uses his invisible and incorporeal nature to the utmost by striking out of object's or standing within someone and preforming his grizzly treatments on thier insides. Against agressive oppenents he deals his max damage but with helpless targets he only does one point of vile damage each strike. However he always retreats if he thinks someone can percieve him for his true self or could hurt him.
Death Mask: Der Kinderstod can reveal his true appearence to his victims which causes them to make a DC 16 Madness save. Those that fail become so delirious that they cannot speak other than jibbering, and screams as long as Der Kinderstod is visable. Any who do succede at the save are immune to the effect for the rest of thier live's.
House Call: Once per day Der Kinderstod may call forth the etheral resonance visably on to the place he is in to create the effects of Telekinesis once per round, Cruel Disappointment once per round, and Reality Bind once per round. Each of these abillities is a free action though only one can be used per round. If this is used in conjunction with the abillity of Death Mask the DC of the Madness save increases by +4. This effect can be centered on one room in a building that Der Kinderstod is currently in and if he departs the effects are terminated prematurely and the use is wasted. House Call lasts for 10 minute's that cannot be used in seperate durrations. The DC of these abillities is 10 + spell lvl and each are cast as if the lowest possible caster lvl.
Spell-like abilities: Ghost Sound at will, Silence 1/day, Sleep 1/day, and Invisibility 1/day as a 5th lvl Sorcerer DC = 10 + spell lvl where neccessary.
Incorporeal: Der Kinderstod is always incorporeal and thus has no strength score. He may not manipulate any object that does not have the ghost touch quality. When he does he must use his Str as though at 10 for all purposes. His clothes and other possesions are part of his incorporeal substance and are thus as insubstantial as him. He may still harm the living with his touch attack and may lower the regular damage to 0 if wished, but the vile damage must be at a minimum of 1, but they get a will save to avoid the damage completely each time. The DC is 15 and this negates all damage. He may only be harmed by magic weapons or other incorporeal creatures, spell's and spell-like abilities. He has a 50% chance to ignore damage from any corporeal source, except force effects or ghost touch weapons He may pass through solid objects and living flesh but not force effects at will. His attacks ignore natural armor, armor and shields but deflection bonuses and force effects work normally. He is always considered to move silently as the special note above relates to him being able to float an inch above any surface. He is always considered Manifested and only becomes invisible through the above spell-like ability. While within a body he is not possesing the person so he cannot be banished and gains that person as a +4 cover bonus on all hits against him. If an attack misses him because of this there is a 50% chance it strikes the person he is sharing the space with.
Surgical Precision: When wishing to torment a helpless subject Der Kinderstod can deal one point of vile damage to a specific area and cause certain conditions. Each condition causes a number of points of vile damage to achieve and lasts until the vile damage is healed. Blind 1 point per eye, Deaf 1 point per ear, Mute 1 point, Anosmia or loss of smell is 2 points, Nausiated 2 points, Fatigued 2 points, upgrade to Exhaustion +1 points, and lastly is Paralyisis which affects one limb and is 3 point's.
Eyes of Innocence: Horrid beyond repair the viewing of Der Kinderstod is simply devistating to a young or innocent person. His true form causes the same Madness check as his Death Mask ability and the majority of innocent's who see him fail to maintain that status. The insane with hallucination's may percieve Der Kinderstod but do not usually know if he is real or not. His face becomes a distorted swirl of features that combine mix and seperate in malevolent and angered combinations. His speech is without a stable tone and randomly rises and falls with disgust and rage always laced within. The only sign that is hard to percieve is that his gloves have a gap of empty space between them and his arms which when later revealed show's that no arm's exist. The Der Kinderstod however is still completely insubstancial and there for cannot enter or exit a room without notice if someone will not open it for him. He refuses to hang up his coat or hat, and will never touch or accept anything from anybody. He also never accept's payment for his "services" as he has no way to hold it. He is always a wandering doctor and healer and never give's a place where he might be reached.
Vulnerabilities: Der Kinderstod is Vulnerable to a great number of things. He cannot move through a person or damage them if they have bathed with soap in the last 8 hours and must not touch them or take 1 constitution point of damage each time or round of contact. He takes damage as an undead from recovery spell's. Remove Curse negates his abilities for 24 rounds and Remove Disease automatically banishes him from town for 24 hours, while Remove Curse and then Remove Disease banishes him from town for 10 years. On consecrated ground such as affected by a hollow spell he suffers one damage a round and flees as fast as he can. Nothing outrightly destroys Der Kinderstod but he is kept at bay from these affects or is damaged.

The Story Told:

"Der Kinderstod is coming yes, is coming round the bend!!
Is coming yes, is coming with the handshake of a friend!
Der Kinderstod claims young not old, on that you can depend!
Those that knew you soon will morn, they cry by mid day's end!
Der Kinderstod is coming yes, is coming round the bend!"

Terrisa thought some what of the old rhyme that she had heard her uncle tell long ago. She did not remember all of the chilling tale that went with the verse, as it had been near four year's since and she did not care for those stories. But for her that verse and part of the tale had come to her this cold spell and given her an idea for some relief.
Terrisa coughed as her mother brought her the soup. She had been confined to bed for the last few days and had only gotten slightly better. Her mother had been serving her meal's here and bathed her as well with a damp cloth. Terrisa had enjoyed the brake as her schooling had been rather dull as of late and she was only exaggerating the condition to extend it some. Of course her brother having to tend to her chores was a small bonus.
Then her mother had said that if she had not recovered yesterday that she would see about a doctor today. She had decided to try and alay the fears of her mother but she had not succeded without telling that she was well enough to return to her studies. There for when the tall stately dressed old man walked through the door, with a bag and top hat in his hands she began to become nervous. The gray haired gentleman had a smile across his kindly looking face. His mutton chops and curving hair circled the balding top of his head.
"Now Terrisa dear... This man is Doctor Weisgreif Taberc. He says that he was passing through to visit a colleague and heard of your illness. I want you to tell him everything you are feeling and be truthful dear." Terrisa almost flinched at the last request but kept her self looking quite innocent.
"Yes mother.... cough..." Terrisa shook slightly and the Doctor still smiling approached her bed side.
When he spoke his voice was the voice of the old and soft in tone... "Do not worry Mrs. Obelena! I believe that I know the ailment your daughter has. I will be quite dilligent in determining if I am right. Now then if you do not mind I must ask young Terrisa some questions and I will come to you when I am done for it may be awhile." He looked to the mother as if waiting for her confirmation.
"Very well Dr. Taberc. But before I go are you sure you don't want me to take your coat?" Terrisa knew her mother wished to stay by her side as she was overprotective. She was a young woman of 11 and despite her current state she felt far to grown for her mother to do such.
"No Thank you Mrs. Olbelena. I am quite fond having my clothing be at hand. I tend to catch chill easier as I've aged and prefer not to bother my patients to wait as I hobble for it." He only smiled and kept the smile wide as he turned and looked the young girl in the eye. "Now then little miss. If you would tell me what the trouble is?"
Terrisa sat and looked at the Man now paying very directly and piercingly at her with the same smile on his face. She began listing off all of her symptoms one by one and by the third he held his hand up to stop her.
"Wrong! You are not sick are you!" It was a statement more than a question, his voice having deepend to a low outraged tremor. "You have played a selfish game and made both your family and I to suffer your lies!"
Shocked and angered Terrisa began to feel unfairly treated. "I am so sick!" she spoke back at her accuser not understanding the man's sudden ire. She was ill and only had slightly been exaggerating.
"You will not speak you vile wastrel!" At which he stood straight and the room became very dark and what was illuminated turned a shade of putrid green. A strange force blew through like wind and upset her soup onto her. She looked through the liquid and saw him look down with utmost contempt. His face began twisting and turning as if his features were stirred stew ingrediants jostling each other. "How DarE yOu liE tO ME yoU GutTer TrAsh!" His voice rose and fell beyond what the frame should have made possible.
She backed away screaming and screaming but she was breathless and she could not go higher. She kept staring at the thing as his eyes suddenly reached out and snapped at her with a sudden opening filled with teeth.
He began unfingering his glove on the right hand but nothing existed beyond to support it. "I haTe You WOrtHleSSsss SacKs oF LieS! You WANt tooooO PreTEnd TO Be DiSEaseD. I WiLl shoW You HOw to DO IT!" At which this thing reached into his bag in his still gloved hand. He pulled forth a scalpel in the invisable appendage and with malice held it before the girl.
Terrisa stared mouth gaped and wide as her hands reached to stop the forward moving blade. But only felt a chill as the arm passed through her hand's as though they did not exist physically. She heard a scream come forth from her and it suddenly ended as she felt a sharp pain in her throat.
Silently her mouth kept opening as if to try and force the tones but her voice had left her. "Oh IT iS DelicIOUs to SEe yOu Now! CuReD Of thE LiEs Of bEFOre. Now YouR FIrsT ComPlaiNt waS BReaTHinG TrOUBle RiGht." She kept trying to speak shaking her head and sobbing silently as all the room seemed swelled with green toned darkness that left that terrifying thing before her eyes. "Don't wORRy fiLThY GiRL... I CAn fiX thAT LiE! ThEN We CaN gET TO thE StoMACH pAin's!"
Only a half hour had chimed on the clock but Terrisa's mother had decided to check in. She had not heard anything for the time and had just entered the door to find the Doctor reseting his hat with her pale daughter fast asleep but covered in soup. He glanced over and smiled her way. "Ah Mrs. Obelena... I must say that I am afraid I noticed a turn for the worse. I think the girl may have a serious case of infection in the throat and lung's. She has just spit up in her sleep Im afraid and she was quite raspy before that."
"Oh my but she seemed so much better before... Do you think it is serious?" She looked past him bringing her hand to her mouth in shock.
"Yes and no my dear lady... I have seen symptom's like this before and while it start's out slow it is often time's very severe when it strike's. Perhaps I am wrong but to be safe you should, make the girl rest and give her visit's only at meal's. We don't want this to spread through the family. I will delay my journey till this crisis is taken care of Mrs. Obelena so do not fear." He said in carefully sympathetic tones.
"Oh thank you Doctor. I can't thank you enough! I don't know how we will ever repay you!" She attempted to reach him but he stepped back out of reach of the womans hand.
"I am sorry but I fear I must wash first before you may thank me such. She and I both need cleaning and I will return to check up on her early in the morning." going around respectfully he turned at the door way and looked back at the woman as she cleaned the child.
"Don't fret about the cost madam. I assure you that helping her is all the payment I need on your families behalf." He turned and left with a smile on his lips.
The True Story: A Barovian native by the name of Radreg Moulkeld was a vastly intelligent young boy. Born in the year of 674 BC he felt broken and cowed under the web of superstition in his native soil. So when struck with disease and bedridden for his younger years he begging that something should take this plight from him. Town wise women and cleric's of many faith's all failed to do more than leech money from his relations as they fed him concoctions and preformed rituals.
At age 10 he found that his hope's were fading until a traveling man heeded his parent's plea for aid. The learned man of the odd dress of the northwest, was well studied and questioned the boy and intrigued him about many subjects as they talked of his condition. The man's name was Dr. Olan Vouser and he offered to take Radreg to his homeland to try and save the boy with the treatment's they had there. When asked of price Olan simply refused to accept. He said... "What I try is desperate and complex... I will not make you pay when I may fail to return your son to you!"
All the village warned of what this would do. That it was a fool's errand and the boy should accept his fate. His parent's had asked him what he wished for and he choose to go with the man and to return to them should he survive.
That had been what was intended but fate had other desires, that had affected the course of his life durring this time. He never planned to stay with the fine Dr. Vouser but found that his family had been arrested durring his time away. He was told by the relative's who could write not to journey back to thier ancestral home at this time.
Still weakend and somewhat frail, Radreg became facinated by literature that spoke of something he had taken to heart. Medicine and the men who had advanced it from herbal remedies to the new surgical procedures that his unintended guardian and savior would be researching. He became Olan's unofficial protoge as he devoured medical text's and theory. When old enough at age 15 in the year 689 BC he was sent to the finest school's and was found quite a genius and favored pupil. Some where jealous and other's envious of his natural talent. He felt he had little talent and was overly critical of himself as he stayed up late cramming and learning as much as he could.
At the age of 25 in the year of 698 BC he left his university as one of it's younger graduates and an expectedly bright future was predicted by all of his teachers and the students who had followed his example. He went back to his mentor to have found him to have settled on a calm life of town work, with research as a hobby. He had come for advice on how to procede in the world that lay before him. Olan looked him up and down and simply said that "...travel and experience are what make a doctor be forced to deal with both the realities and hardship's that face one who fought death. Answers were not meant to be found by the the careful man but the one who sought them at any cost to himself."
After one year of preperation Dr. Moulkeld left to find his answer's to his driving goal in life. He would find and destroy any illness that he could, and learn how to combat the filth and germs that so much knowledge had brought to light. He headed back to his village just in time to find that a rash of disease had infested the lower end, spreading a chilling disease that had caused spasms that lead to paralyisis and eventual death. The town's folk muttered of curses and spirits and all the while there remedies and tinticures where just inefficent compositions of what modern medicine had studied and learned the correct formula. It took him only 3 day's to identify that it was a fungal spore from the area and how to trace and eliminate the menace. He also gave out several ointments and treatment regimens. Those that had followed had recovered and those that had not at first quickly followed.
The estimated death count would have been at least 50 out of 200 villagers on his average figures. His family recognised him and praised him though news of his parent's suggested that they had perished with in what ever jail they had been sent to in the land. He was sorry to hear of it as he had hoped to have shown them his accomplishment's and possibly take them with him to start a new life.
From then on forth he thought that he would meet similar success but soon found many problems and illnesses that he had no reasonable explanation. He still bested many of the known illnesses and conditions and while he had been hoping to test his mind against something that's solution was still unknown. In the year of 704 BC at the age of 30 he found that he had gotten what he had begged for. Darkon had proved hospitable for a time and he learned and aided some in the suffering of those under the Crimson Death. It had been there that he had seen much advancement in theory and treatments and had worked on vaccine's to some degree. He left to find other thing's that would garner him knowledge against the disease as it was something he felt important to his work. Many of his collegues got supplies and gave warning of where he would soon enter.
He left as part of a caravan traveling through Falkovnia became part of the growing conflict as the Free Men of Falkovnia battled with the town guardsmen. He and his group were caught in the middle of the action. He was captured by the Free Men and forced to treat many wounded and dying. Some of his light died in that place and he never forgot the images or the people that he had to work with. Eventually disease began to spread through out the camp and reports of it being in the town as well were not exaggerated.
He began looking for the ilness that caused the symptoms of the disease. The symptom's while familar to many diseases however were no help as they were completely random and had no basic progression. The disease only struck children between the age's of one to fifteen, and that it's transmission seemed a mystery. He began treatment method's and regime's designed by what he did know and soon found that each and every case was unique.
He left the safety of the camp and went out to the people to cure what ever seemed the cause of the contagion. He traveled all through Falkovnia and found cases that had come to far or cases that trailed behind. Over three year's he walked the suffering land living with paupers and the suffering of these people began to rot at him. The people began to speak of him as an ill omen, as where ever this "Doctor" trod the as they called it, Der Kinderstod followed swiftly behind. The most he ever was able to do was to ease those who's passing looked horridly painful. He began to resent his gift of knowledge and in the year of 708 BC he was frustrated of tracking the isolated child killing disease, and he decided to leave for fear of death.
He traveled back through his wandering's, feeling as though guilt followed him still, but he heard no report of Der Kinderstod durring these wanderings. After a long series of trips that had given him little time of peace he had stopped his travel's short when he recieved a short notice of a canclation of funding for his research by the man he had considered his second father. After sending word of his coming, he quickly found his way to Lamordia but was detained at the boarder, after his eight more years of travel after leaving Falkovnia, he did not wish a moment's delay, but was being treated as though a prisoner. Dr. Olan Vouser road in to the small house in a carrage within two days accompanied with men who seemed the part of soldiers of fortune.
He was told of the many who had accused him of the spread of a new disease, and that through much discussion and gathering of fact's that Olan had found what had been behind it. He found that his work on vaccine's in Darkon while being inspired had also been what some called the catalyst for the thing. The microbe was birth of his many experiments and he had unwittingly carried it with him. Moulkeld was shown proof of outbreak in Darkon after he had left and of how after it had entered the country of Falkovnia had both spread somewhat before him but mostly left a delayed back tracking trail of death behind him in every town he visited. The disease had been on him the whole time as he tried to understand how this was possible. He was told of how he would be held to account on this unforseen circumstance and how he was being tracked that last five years but had somehow avoided capture.
Even in Lamordia with Dr. Vousers support and the few remaining testament's of his good work little shined of his reputation as he stodd before the jury. After a three year debated trial and the many damning statement's brought against him Dr. Radreg Moulkeld was found to have been guilty of 234 counts of confirmed child murder and gross misconduct of his medical oath, with counts numbering 15 for causing international incident. By trial's end at year 719 BC at age 35, he had been driven quite beyond any point of sane copeability and writing a small suicide letter in which he begged for his mentor to at least believe that he had good intent, he was found dead by his own hand but three day's from execution. He was silently buried and his school's for maintanence of thier good name spoke of the disease and him as a rogue practicioner, but not that he had been expunged quite thourghly from thier records.
Dr. Vouser died in the year of 730 at the age of 66 from a resperatory ailement.
The creator of the disease whether Dr. Moulkeld or another is unknown and to all but in truth Dr. Moulkeld only acted as transport for the pathogen. Some have speculated that the little remebered doctor was part of a Kargat plot to destroy the young of Falkovnia to prevent further invasion's and he was a pawn whether knowning or ignorent. The real villian in all of this had been the disease which was now a myth used to discribe when ever a child died of ilness, and was usually atributed to the doctor that came to treat the young boy or girl after the fact by the desraught parents who where usually of a superstisious bent. It was used also as a warning of being honest and good clean children or when they finally caught ill Der Kinderstod would come and if they did not be truthful then they would pay for it later. Both the myth and the disease have life in the world today and the legend of Der Kinderstod feed's off this dark legacy.


Der Kinderstod uses rules from Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends, the Book of Vile Darkness, The Monster Manual, and the Players Handbook.

Now then please tell me what you think and give any comments on edit suggestions or changes or praise or even scorn. I can take it!

[A G Thing]

The last four entries were my ideas on the Bogeymen that I mentioned and I hope to get some feed back so If you could tell me anything to motivate or critique my work on these I would love to hear from anyone and will promise to both respond and accept all such critical analysis or opinions positive or negative as aid in improving.

Suggestions on a seperate thread for this or other requests are definitely something I will look at and if need demands it I will move the posts too another thread.

So please tell me what you think in any form you wish of E-mail, PM, or even posts and let me know. I only wish to get better at this!

Sincerely: A G Thing