Greetings, brethern.

Disclaimer for my group:
Dominik, Katja, Flo: Es ist euer SL-K der hier schreibt. In eurem eigenen Interesse, verfolgt dieses Topic nicht weiter. Danke!

My adventure on Dusk is still running. So far, I was able to entertain my group and make up a good story (some of it base on input/ideas gathered here. Thanks so far, especially to Ethel).

Their is only one thing where I (as a GM) is found wanting by my players (to the point where they start mocking me!): the design of the creatures & monsterous beasts that made their life miserable so far. Somehow, the majority of the beasts I harassed them with have always been "insectoid".

My only none-citinous opponents so far have been:
"Greatwolves" (wolves half the size of a lion, hunting lone or in packs of 3 to 8)
"Treedevils" (child-sized aggressive ape-like creatures using ambushes, pac-tactics and "decoys" while attacking from trees)
"Norgharts" (fiendish and nightmarish imps encountered at night in "family groups" near their underground nests).
"Dusk Stalker" (see core rules)
A not really developed large wildcat which lurked in a tree.

Now, a long journey through a swamp is ahead of them and I am seeking for some inspiration for encounters (flora, faune, environment) I could throw at them. Especially in the "nightmarish mammals" department I could use some hints that push me into the right direction (do not want to use Stalkers again and want to save the Nightwings for later).

Thanks in advance for every hint & idea!

You could use the creature creation thing from the GM kit. It would give you a starting point to expand from if your really stuck.

As for ideas I tend to go for the crazy stuff we see in nature:

Giant Armadillo type animal - territorial animal, will only attack if territory is threatened or is attacked itself. Give it very high armour/toughness/wounds and a medium/low damage attack. After fighting one the PCs should see fit to leave it alone next time they see one.

A jellyfish type creature that suspends itself between trees and conceals itself leaving long tentacles that look like vines dangling down to catch prey unawares. Can't move much but has very powerful attack/poisons to anything that walks into it.

Giant snakes both venemous and constricting.

Exploding toads.

Giant predatory fish creatures that lie just under the water and attack with surprise.

I think the key is to think about what the animal does normally on the planet then adopt it into the adventure. It could be as simple as an angry male feral Grox or as complex as a giant predatory hawk.

thraxar said:

Giant Armadillo type animal - territorial animal, will only attack if territory is threatened or is attacked itself. Give it very high armour/toughness/wounds and a medium/low damage attack. After fighting one the PCs should see fit to leave it alone next time they see one.

A jellyfish type creature that suspends itself between trees and conceals itself leaving long tentacles that look like vines dangling down to catch prey unawares. Can't move much but has very powerful attack/poisons to anything that walks into it.

Giant snakes both venemous and constricting.

Exploding toads.

I think the key is to think about what the animal does normally on the planet then adopt it into the adventure.

So, the PC's are on the Planet of Horror about to go into a Swamp of Horror... dear god's man, if you stick to insects, you'll be doing dusk a grave disservice.

This swamp horror, all the legends that originate around bogs and swamps, old stories, as well as setting. Heavy fog and mist is a must as well as things that use the fog and mist. When i think swamp, i think ghosts, death, and good old fashioned swamp-witches. So, along those lines, some random idea seeds:

A Swamp-Witch with hints or flavors of Nurgle (perhaps complete with a diseased hog that suffers not from it's pustules, and a black rooster... it is a swamp on a cursed world after all, Nurgle's got to have some crazy love for that place). She could give them a bed for the night or be taking children who were naughty in the next village for a mid-night snack. She could be the source of information and a villages woes, or a kindly lady that they stumble across while lost.

Willow-the-Whisp: which sounds like or resembles a baby crying in distress hidden in the fog. It's really a part of an odd fungus which makes such a sound (and perhaps has parts that superficially resemble human infants in dim light through the fog if you're squinting) as a part of it's natural life cycle. This lures lone unwary travelers to thick hidden bogs and quicksand pits, trapping the unwary and feeding off of their decomposing bodies as all good fungus dose.

The Fanged Fog: The mist gets a bit thicker in parts, sounds become highly distorted and it's incredibly easy for the group to lose one anouther and their hand in front to their face. This is due to a strange creature which is, somehow, more of a thick gas then anything. It hides in fog banks and is able to shape it's self and the fog into vague shapes. It's favored hunting technique, visibility around groups of travelers until they become separated then make silhouettes that look something like their traveling companions in front of them, leading them further away from the others until it's solidifying tendrils can get into the character and... um... do something nasty to him or her.

Inbred Cannibal Mutants: No matter the location, no matter the reason, you can never go wrong with Inbred Cannibal Mutants. They work in desolate valleys, long forgotten towns of cursed repute, in trailer parks, and, of course, in Swamps of Horror. Inbred Cannibal Mutants, for all your horror needs.

Edit: and it would seem that trying to get facy with your quote blocks broke your thread and hid my message. If you didn't ant to see my replay that badly, you could have told me not to type it in the first place... ;-p

Hi Graver!

... dear god's man

@A Swamp-Witch with hints or flavors of Nurgle:

Thanks, but in fact the "major villian" of this story is such a kind of which. Plus, another "minor" one in a swamp village that has a link to her. "Three is one to much", for me .

@The Trap-Fungus:
Good concept, but baby-cries will not work on my pc again. Already used this as "hunting tool" of some pack hunting wolf-sized scorpions. I will change it into a "psychic" fungus-group that formed a "gestalt" and know uses powers of mind control to lure in life forms. Once the "prey" steps into the fungus field, it "kicks lose" a cloud of spores which is deadly-poisonous. The decaying bodies are meant to be good soil for the fungus. Many thanks for the inspiration!

@The Fanged Fog:
While the idea is great, I already have one daemonic fog in my game (forces fear upon the travellers... if enough fear checks are screwed, Dispayrers appear and attack).

@Inbred Cannibal Mutants:
Already on my slate: the group is around to check five villages for mutants in the populace. Found out that a band of roving mutants (demon-worshipping kind) was "drawn" to this region and "somehow" slaugthered one settlement (help from the witch). Found the camp of the survivors of the battle and killed them to the filthy last one of them. But I think having some other strole around in the swamps can´t be wrong..after all, some of them are with the witch at them moment *hrhrhr*

@Edit: I am sooooooooo sorry and very thankfull for the Trap-Fungus idea!

You simply must include leeches. A swamp without this pest would be like a desert without sand - it only remains how large they would be! The thought of PCs having to extract leeches from soft, squishy locations will be enough to make even the most hardened role-player feel queasy (there is that scene in 'Stand By Me' for inspiration here).

Given the conditions on this Deathworld, why not have poisonous chem clouds or perhaps acidic miasma that eats into protective gear, armour, equipment and flesh? Drifting clouds of this vapour could be recognised, identified and avoided by a cautious party on the surface, or one pre-prepared, but would still be a significant hazard. This accompanies Graver's idea above...

Flies and insect life does not need to be human sized to be deadly - pursuit or evasion of a swarm menace could be equally fearsome, with the PCs having to dive beneath the bubbling surface of tea-coloured swamp soup to evade these flies buzzing into crevices in the armour, into ears, mouths, eyes even. These flies could even succeed in laying their eggs somewhere or injecting some insidious toxin or agent that necrofies flesh and breeds a swarm of slippery maggots.

What swamp life would not be complete without a large reptilian monstrosity as well? Green eyes breaking the surface balefully, a 20' long sinuous reptile with needle like fangs and a powerful prehensile tail could sweep by under the surface of the water and attack with little sound.

Using the local conditions, triangulating cogitator equipment could fail spectacularly, clothes get clotted in acidic sludge, gun breeches jam or corrode. The dark would be fraught with the sounds of slithering, squelching and the baying of ferocious creatures, and be so total as to almost burn the retina for many minutes.

And that's just in addition to everything already mentioned!

Hello RedMike!

@Leeches
Of course you are right & the idea came to me once Any inspiration for the rules for this?

@Chem Clouds
Thanks, but sounds a little to "chemical" for me... but I remember old 50s Horrorfilms talking about "swamp gases". For sure a nice side effect to ask for cheks on Toughness to avoid a point of fatigue. "Corrosive sludge" is to much "chemical waste" for my taste as well... but something amorph and amoebea like could infact be waiting to dissolve some tissue... wearing down the armour having horrible effect on the skin...drawn to warmth...perhaps creeping in at night...unseen.... yes, that´s a very nice one. Thanks for the inspiration! And be assured that I will ensure that they´ll have to check for their guns.

@Small Flies and Insect
Your flies are a very good idea. An opponent they cannot fight and their armour will not stop (have a PDF-Trooper running round in guard flak and a sister of battle running round in mesh.. most predators are not much harm to them by now). But you are right, "normal insects" will do the trick as well...Mosquitos, for instance, will suck a lot of blood and might infect some-one (more Toughness Roles...perhaps resulting in a swamp fever...)

@Giant reptiles
I try to be sparse with "giant predators" since in order to explain them, one needs plenty of giant prey animals , but having a good sized croc around is for sure the right thing. Just have to make sure it does no look to much like our everday Alligator. Any ideas here? Thought about replacing the maw with a beak, but then again, croc-things are all about teeth...

Thanks for the helpfull input!

from france

you should not forget plants of all kind. water can be very bad for the body if ingested. wound can be infected more easely in a swamp environement. before moving to weirds "creatures" i sugest you to simply learn of natural swamp environement. sometimes natural reality are unbelivable but true. from that pont i agree tthe games master kit can help you.

the 8 spider said:

Hi 8th Spider

as already stated, the GM Kit isn´t much help to me at the moment. My problem ist not coming up with stats or basic typs (predator, bird, herbivore) but with "concept". This is something the Kit istn´t providing (not the Kit´s fault, whatsoever ).

Do you have a good "link" for swamplife? As far, I only found Alligators, Crocodiles and stuff.

Target the minds of the players themselves!

Gruesome things. Not to fight in combat, but to fight on every level of existance!

Soul-worms. Faintly psychic tapeworms which also contribute to malignancy/corruption points. Trying to remove them induces psychic phenomena. Remember to reinforce the description as being altogether exactly like a tapeworm. Provided no-one has detailed knowledge about internal biology, hint that one of your afflicted players can feel something 'scratching at the back of its eye' or something equally implausible-yet-gruesome. Or something entirely plausible and gruesome.

Those possibly mythical Amazon-dwelling fish. You know the ones, the ones that swim up streams of urine and embed themselves within someone's urinal tract. Myth or reality, there's nothing like targetting your players with horrific medical violation of their private bits.

Germs, bacteria and diseases etc. Look up a few of the more exotic/horrific/disgusting diseases which actually exist here on earth. Medical textbooks or websites (which I heard recently overtookk sex-industry websites as making up the bulk of 'pages' on the internet...apocryphal? Possibly...) should furnish you with a wealth of horrible, mildly niggling diseases and afflictions. Rashes, rots, spasms and such are all fine such things. Really play up the importance of folks: armour (and anti-swamp protection, like waterproofs), hygiene, Medicae talents whilst threatening permanent losses to Fel, not-a-bonus traits (Chronic Diahorrea?) and so forth.

Under the skin. Burrowing creatures, implanted eggs, parasites...all these 'little' sorts of things. You don't need to go into detail, just a quick mention of 'you notice a tiny bulge on your forearm', 'I poke it', 'it bursts and lots of spider-worms slither out, chewing on the splayed flesh'. <Player vomits>. This is especially helpful if you intake food or drinks during the session!

I hope that's of some help. We can't have the players laughing at you for your ideas, you should make them laugh at each other. "Who cares if I had to burn a fate-point, at least I didn't develop chronic diahorrea after that swamp-slug bit me..."

Hi Xisor!

@My Players
Perhaps I used the wrong word with "mock" (engl. is not my native language). They are not actually laughing at me (and seem to enjoy the game in general), but they make "fun" of it that "eveythings her seems to have facetta eyes". Anyway, I am happy that you are eager to help me out of the situation

@Soul-worms.
Nice concept. But I think I will not let them add to CP points. My players are very afraid of them, and are not found of "dooming my figure by anything I didn´t myself". But the concept is nice. I will re-label them to "Frightleeches". The tiny beast attach to and while attached are able to induce halocinations which cause fear. They either feed on the fear or gain additional norishment from the adrenalin in the bloodstream. Thanks for this idea!

@Those possibly mythical Amazon-dwelling fish.
As far as I know, this isn´t myth. Found it mentioned in more serious publications on the internet. Anyway, I like to keep the primary sexual organs of my players out of game as much as possible.

@Germs, bacteria and diseases etc.
Perhaps some kind of rot. Their feed will be in god-nows-what for days. I remember the catachan-codex mentioned something. I think I can mild it down and build up on it. And of course, I will play up on some fevers...

@Under the skin.
Perhaps just as a "gimmick" with a possibility for getting an infection. Depending on the quality of a survival-check, they might be warned to check their bodies each night. It will have no "game mechannic effect", but regular burning of portions of the skin surface with a flame-heated knifeblade should be a good roleplay-reminder that this place is unpleasent. Thanks for that idea!

@Chronic diahorrea
Xisor, this is brilliant! It will both slow down the travell, embarress a player (the void-born group psyker is a likely target for me right now) and will put a penalty for Toughness checks against other diseases.

All in all, I get the feeling that they will remember Dusk. They actually think they know that it IS a hellhole.
But with your help, I can show them that they ain´t seen nothing yet.

Thanks for all your contributions!

Reading through the Creatures Anathema I found something in the forbidden science section that may be of use to you. Its down as a vore weapon. However, after reading the actual entry it could make a nice little ambush burrowing type creature. Only 5 wounds but hard for the players to hit and if it lands on someone you could have the hilarity of the other players trying to shoot it off someones chest.

Always when I read about Dust Stalkers I remember about Vile Mothers and Vile Childs ( http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Vile_Mother and http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Vile_Child ) from Diablo II Act IV, Hell. Add spider in place of worm attributes and you have mysterious, sick and disgusting Dusk Mothers and Dusk Offspring. Stalkers and their origins are mysterious on their own and I play with idea of them being just a parts in wider, planet-wide hive-mind.

from france

alright i should have more excplicite about the kit i understand that you are not looking for mere stats. i made a topics about the kit. i should have said that when i lack ideas about creatures i roll dice and after that i compare what i get from that point i let my imagination work. sometimes i have to change a dice to fit the idea i get.

for the link they are plenty my first choice will be the national geographic. don't understestimate wikipedia too. i think also about the medical books it s described natsy think like virus, bacteria, parasites... i will also use psycologique book because character who do not hail from swamp environement will be at best uncomfortable it might surprise you but in swamp a urban character will tend to interprete a lot of ign sound smell sight and les importantly stastes and touch as alarming sight where there is nothing to fear; if the body is not touch or just touch by something and the mind is disturbed than the body wil get in trouble.

also read if you can find it describtion of colonial expedition in swam like environements you will notice that everything look deadly in the first encounter.

i hope it will be useful to you and i appologies for not have been clear .

Hi Spider!

the 8 spider said:

@Wiki
Didn´t worked, but startet to use "plain search machine" (will not name brand here). Worked much better.

@Apologizies
Not needed. Any constructively intended input is welcome, thank you!

from france

i completely forgot theses sides notes:

aditional source of inspiration.: the comics the swamp thing.

several scenario for chtulu or ohter games who happens to be in the everglades.

a old article about differents environements for duids from dragon magazine.

the swamp beast from warhammmer batle campaign of albion which was for the bordgame like this. m 6 inches ws 3 bs none strength 5 thougness 5 wounds 4 (40 in dh i think) iniative 2 number of attacks 3 will 10.

in the game they are said to be mindless and need a sorcer to awake and control them you can chose this option or say that they are free wiled.

they can regenerate wounds in their swamp environment but not in clear water or salt water. they are vulnerable to fire and magic in dh from psy power i think. the sorcer is decribed ha having the capacity to restore wounds to the feast even outside their swamp (1d3 wounds in the game);

so i think tjan it s differents enough from the swamp beast described in creatures anathema to be interesting and more than a match for a groupe of accolytes.

hope it might help you.

from france

other idea:

good old catachan.

the hound of the baskerville there is a gound description of land and swamp.

domains of souragne from ravenloft.

the clasical lictor.

the lustrie book from warhammer fantasy batlle.

the 8 spider said:

Hi Spider

@Catachan
The only things known to me are the Catachan Devil (only by name, No description) and this exploding toad. Can you tell me about other creatures? With a description?

@The Hound of Baskerville
Thanks, but reading a whole book is a little much Otherwise, the Hound was just a big hound, right? Those I already have in my "Greatwolves"

@The Classical Lictor
..is a classical Lictor. I try to refrain my self from "Nids" till much later in other session. In addition, Lictor (as by CA) would tear my group to shreds (Rank 3 to 4, but no good equipment at hand yet).

@The Lustrie Book
Do not own it

Do you have any concrete idea for a creature, like those given by the others? This would be very helpfull.

The Armaboar (thanks to Thraxar for Inspiration!)

The Armaboar is a creature similar to an Armadillo, but with the short and broader “face” and snot of a Warthog, sporting similar sized tuskers. Adult specimen have a height of about four to five feet (head and shoulders) and a length of six to seven feet (tail not included). The short but powerfull legs and that in broad, showel like fleshy paws with huge claws fit for burrowing (not fighting).

The creature is native to swamps and marshes. It´s active both day and night, known to spend about six hours active followed by four hours of inactivity. It creates burrows to sleep but isn´t limiting itself to only one burrow. In fact it is alternating between 3 to 5 burrows, frequently changing those and leaving some of it unoccupied for a long period of time.

The Armaboar is solidary and highly territorial creature, to the point that they even dot not tolerate their own kind and clash heavly in contest of strength and mass (trying to push each other over). Only during the mating season grows a female more tolerant to the presents of males. And even in this cases, females are known to harass a male (which is assumed to ensure that only strong specimen are allowed to breed).

The Armaboar is an Omnivore. It feeds both on plants, mushrooms and roots that it digs up from the soft underground but only from smaller insects, reptiles and mammals. Those are either quickly snatched while startled from the ground from the pondering of creature or dug up from their burrows. It is also known to chase lizards and birds away from their nest and smaller predators from their prey. The thick skin of the Armaboar and it´s formidable tusks and storming power come into use hear. Carrion is another common food source and it is digging up the burrows of smaller creatures.

Due to it size and ferocious temperament, only creatures with bigger size or very sharp natural arment count the Armadillo as prey. In cause, the Armadillo tends to see even small groups of human travellers as something to chase rather then to flee fro (unless receiving serious harm). Never the less, they are often hunted by natives. Both to keep them away from settlements and for their usefull “armour” and the huge amount of body fat and flesh.

WS:33 BS:- ST:38 T:38(6) AG: 22 INT:10 PER:38 WP:28 FEL:- Wounds: 18
Move: 4/8/12/25* Damage: 1d10+1 (Primitive) Head (4) Body (3) Limbs (2)

Skills: Awareness; Tracking; Intimidation;

Talents: Sprint; Resistence (Poison); Keen Senses (Smell)

Traits: Quadruped; Sturdy; Brutal Charge; Hulking; Unnatural Toughness(2x); Darksight; Bestial; ; Burrow (slowly); DarkSight; NaturalArmour(*); Natural Weapons (Tusks; 1d10+1; Prim); Cumbersome*; Aggressive Non-Predator**; Build to resist****

Trait: Cumbersome
The creature is very heavy and can keep up it “full speed” for now longer then it´s TB in combat round. Afterwards, it either slows down to halve it speed or must check for Toughness (in this case: without the unnatural bonus). On success, it can keep up the pace for another number of rounds equal to TB. Otherwise, this leaves it with a point of fatigue.

Trait: Aggressive Non-Predator
The creature will not have to test for Bestiality but will attack. It will start to check for bestiality after the first wounds and then after every combat round it receives further round

Trait: Build to resist
The creatures weaker spots (in this case: the legs) are protected by the rest of the body and much harder to hit. If a reverse of the numbers would turn the hit into a hit to a different location, a this different location is hit (unless the attacker has a benefit that allows him to decide where a hit goes). If the limbs are aimed at, the penalty is -30 instead of -20.

Gregorius21778 said:

"Then there's these tiny little bugs. We call 'em heretic ants, on account of the fact that they go for your feet, after your soles so to speak! One bite from them and you'll be in the infirmary for a month.Two of 'em and you've got about a day to get treatment. Three bites and you'd better get ready to say hello to the Emperor!"

-Codex: Catachans, no idea what page number since it doesn't appear to have page numbers.

The Hobo Hunter said:

Thank you, Hobo-Hunter! So basically, we are talking about soldierants/fireants with mandibles strong enough to get through a catachans boot....or to crawl in...yep...this could become nice...

In the same paragraph, Captain Stone also makes note of wormlikie creatures which lay eggs in the target's bloodstream in order for the larvae to feed on all the important vital organs (brain, heart, etc), and something called Blood Wasps which, according to him, "Don't wait until you're dead", if it's of any use

The Hobo Hunter said:

Thanks, but I think that I´ve already developed something similiar with my "Scorasp" (Scorpion Wasps; wasp-like creatures the size of your underarm with a scorpion-like stinger tail. They are encountered in "brood groups" of 3 to 8 an paralzye with their sting before they start feeding on the still living prey ...or lay eggs).

All in all, I have to refrain myself from further "insect/arachnid entries" since I already have to many of this kind.

Anyway, I think I have enough for the next week of travelling and will start to put down rules for what you inspired over the course of the next days.

Look at caves and deep sea creatures. Blind giant centipdes that lay their eggs in the hollowed out torsos of still-living PCs, eyeless, blooduscking ticks as big as dogs, parasitic worms that hatch and chew their way out through the victim's eyes, poisonous fish in the shallows with long needle noses, softly glowing, phosphorescent. Think reptiles with exoskeletons who come out of the darkness, who spit venom that eats skin...

Locque said:

Hi Locque!

Why giant centipedes do me no good (as mentioned in the opening post; I already had to many insectile beasties ) I find your advise about "caves and the deep sea" quiet handy. A lot of strange creatures dwell there, I remember some of them. Thank you alot!