Greetings, brethern,

I am toying with the idea of starting a little series of games involving the "Beast House" [DotdG]

My basic idea so far:

One of the creatures the BeastHouse uses in an illegal arena escapes into the hive. The creature winds up in a downtrodden section housing a REALLY LARGE waste refinery. Think about lots of pipes and canals from diverse waste systems from other parts of the hive ending up here. While smelly and disease ridden, still some poor people try to make a living here, since the guild running the waste refinery (and an "attached" food ration manufactorum..you catch the drift) often need some unskilled extra hands to do the work. So, a small desperate slum has grown home to some thousand people.
Here, the creature lurks and starts to kill. First, no-one cares. But later, rumours spread about the strange killings (no corpses found, but spots of blood). The acoltythes are sent in to investigate. The =I= expects some kind of new "death cult", but is prepared for everything.

My idea for this first game is for the pc to investigate the murder sights and find clues that point towards the lair and/or mode of attack. Afterwards, they shall confront the creature and kill it...to find a small, malefunctioned device implanted to its neck/head (the drug device for combat/poisen infusion...well, poison failed!).

My first idea for the creature was a big spider-like xenos dropping from a spider-thread from above, snatching its victim and snaping back into the darkness between the pipes and the ceiling (like a bungjee-attack). Self-pregnating and already having hatched four to six "youth" which where hunting independt. While I liked the concept for the "attack", such a creature wasn´t making any sense as an "arena combat beast". So, I discarded it.

What I need now is an idea for a xenos creature that would be a likely feature in an arena but stealthy and smart enough to "hide" in a hive slum settlement . The only "no go" is a creature actually lurking in "the sewers". This is much to obivous and I would really like to use the sewers as a "red harring" in this adventure.

Any suggestions? THANK YOU!

A Genestealer could work

A genestealer would be too hard for most pcs to deal with, so it might be okay depending on level of players and equipment. Statistically they are nearly unmatched in close combat.

Perhaps something like a warp beast from the dark eldar? Most tyranids are just a bit too powerful I think. A genestealer who has established a cult might be more achievable, as the cultists would not be that strong.

The sample Beast of Solomon in DotDG could do nicely. The Beast House has operations in Solomon and, should they have caught such a thing, it'd certainly be a crowd pleaser. Stick it in a pitch-black labyrinthe and send in unfortunates with torches as the spectators watch through night-sight pict-casters. And then it escapes into the underhive and begins it's slaughter.

Personally, I'm fond of spider like beasts, so I second that idea. Perhaps, rather than laying eggs, though, it injects a victim with a seed which - on its own planet would transform the host into the creature but reacts different in human physiology, creating a thing half spider, half man: completely mad.

As for whether such a thing could work as a arena beast, consider that it has poison, some spiders can leap a very long ways, it might lay traps in an arena lair area, can walk on walls and ceilings quite quickly, etc. Remember that it doesn't have to be a real spider, so you can give it something traumatizing, like blade tipped legs and a thrusting feeding tube capable of puncturing bone and sucking out organs.

If you need a good source for other monsters, consider altering creatures from other games and utilizing those. I've used DnD monsters more than once, merely changing them enough to make them less recognizable. My party had one hell of a time trying to kill a lizardlike displacer beast.

I like the adventure idea. I initially wanted to say Carnodon, but with what you had imagined, it wouldnt work.

Stay away from using nids, as that takes the adventure from "a few bums being consumed" to "oh ****, there goes the planet" all too quickly.

I think I have to agree, some sort of agressive spider xeno would be best. Its scary, it has strange physiology, it would be hard to match it properly with a control poison/collar, and who knows how the hell the thing breeds?

Let us see the stats you set upon.

It could always be a captured aspect warrior, or exarch. Don't striking scorpions look a lot like the predator?

My two copper pieces.

First I think you could add some sense of mystery. When you say that no one cares about some corpses in the underhive why should the holy inquisition? Maybe this xenos predator has been an experiment by the imperium. Some kind of near illegal experiment. So where to test this kind of new weapon? Let's give it to the them who run an arena and let it fight there.

But oops it managed to escape.

So when the acolytes begin their investigation they could find two directions. On the one hand they might ask where it comes from. Maybe they find the clues to trace it back to the arena. And there it is somehow hard to find any evidence that it has been there. Because forces of the imperium and interested that no one can find any connection back to the illegal group of experimentators.

In the other direction there could be some kind of death cult. But not with a charismatic leader who wants to spread his evil believes but rahter with a group of pragmatic people. They started to discover that they have to somehow feed the beast and sacrifice people to it. The acolytes may find out that there is less religios believe behind it but rather bloody pragmatism.

And for the hunting: I would try something like Aliens or Resident Evil. Not only does the Xenos predator kill its victims, but the corpses stand up to fight for their own. Or just guarding the territory.

Cheers,

TechVoid.

Crimsonsphinx said:

Thats why I said A Genestealer. It is very Aliens. Also it need not be a true nid, it could be a third or fourth generation hybrid. That would weaken it enough for most parties but let it keep the look and feel of the nasties. although very cliche it was my first thought.

Check out wiki for life cycles and genereations of these great monsters

Crimsonsphinx said:

Yes they do. And they are all about stealth. They are from massive citys so they would be right at home in the filth human hive.

Dagda Like

Dagda said:

Thats why I said A Genestealer. It is very Aliens. Also it need not be a true nid, it could be a third or fourth generation hybrid. That would weaken it enough for most parties but let it keep the look and feel of the nasties. although very cliche it was my first thought.

Check out wiki for life cycles and genereations of these great monsters

Thanks for the input, but I will stay away from using tyranids. In my opinion, these beast call for a lot of =I= attention once their is only one ofthem exposed.

An eldar when captured by humans will generally bite off his tongue and choke to death on it.

A dark eldar on the other hand would do anything to survive.

I am personally a fan of the genestealer one, yes. They are deadly smart, nasty enough to pose a challange, but not nasty enough to wipe a prepared party (Toughness of 40 some with armor of maybe 4. Don't let the Toughness 4 of tabletop intimidate you, they aren't space marines. An Agility of 60 though, cause they are that fast). I'd have it damaged in some way that prevents it from spreading its genetic code, effectively neutering it.

But there are other monsters out there. The... ah bugger... lxctl.. the lizard things from the Ghaunt's Ghosts. They're nasty, smart, but can easily be mistaken for beasts by someone who's unaccustomed to one.

There's also any number of catachin creatures that fit the smart, sneaky, and deadly catagory.

I ran a similar game where teh best house was smuggling in a 4th generation gene stealer and it escaped mid flight and crashed on a agricultural planet where grox were raised in abundance. The grass the grox grazed on was a natural sedative for the beasts and so they were calm and more "cow" like in attitude. This gene stealer hung around, ate some grox cattle and the grox mutilations drew the attention of the =][= who in turn sent in a bunch of 1st level acolytes to deal with it.

Of course the campaign will lead toa full scale investigation of the beast house.

Stratigo said:

I think I remember the Ixctl. Never read the novel, but there was an article in a "WhiteDwarf" about the Bloodpact which was somehow allied with these strange xenos. While I will not use an Ixctl, the general concept (big intelligent commodo varan with colour changing skin and the ability to cling to surfaces) is a good one. THANKS!

Talking about Catachan Creatures: can you describe some? Everyone knows (from fluff) that Catachan is home to those creatures, but besides the (huge!) Catachan Devil and this "exploding toad" thing I do not know about any creature in detail. Do you know any other beast in particular from some source? Or one you made up yourself?

honestly, nothing comes to mind. Nor has my google fu served me in this. Lots of snakes on Catachan though....

Well hmmm.... since my gribblies from 40k is exausted (Unless you want squigs hunting you acolytes) I'll be going to other sources to aid you in inspiration.

A particularly good fit for you comes in the form of the tavi. Slightly smaller then a man and vaugly manshaped. It has 4 inch sharpened claws, is covered in short fur and has a mouth full of fangs. It is considered impossible to hunt alone (Albiet pre gunpowder society. Made up of wolf men who might reach SM strength) they set traps and move about as fast as I figure a Genestealer would.

Gregorius21778 said:

There's the Catachan Face Eater, a wait & bait type predetor that resembles a cloth, was also imported into Necromunda and possibly other hives to keep the ventalation systems vermin free but they became a problem. The wait for prey to get close then leap (spasm) onto the prey and sufocate/disolve the face. There's also the Catachan Brain Leaf -- which I think is already in the Dark Heresy beastiary.

TechVoid said:

Well...

There are no corpses...at first
I plan for "no corpse left", at least for the beginning. The creature somehow "snatches" them away. The only "tell tale signs" of killings is spilled blood and perhabs a lost boot or other personal item. Perhabs some other traces, but as long as I am not sure about my little predator, I am not sure about further traces..

No one cares....at first
I expecpt the killings to go on without too much attention for about a month. Their are always some kind of violent killing in those places, me supposes. On a rate of one or three a month, if their isn´t some kind of gang war going on.
But after a month, it becomes clear that two or three "mysterious killings" happen every week over the course of the last month. This is where the rumours start and some people start to get curious.

==============================================================================================================

The Inquisitor expects some kind of new "death cult" or "blood cult" and sends his rather fresh cell to investigate the killings.If it turns out to be a mundane serial killer...well, at last the new cell got something to work on.

The local enforcers couldn´t care less... but the leader of the patrol responsibel for this sector does not like the rumours to spread to his superior, so he and his crew decided it is time to kick up **** and break some bones until they found out something or this killings stopped. Just like "ruffing up and shooting down supsects until this killing stops".

The beast house knows it is missing one of it´s little nasties. And it knows very well that his little beasti is still wearing one of its infuser units. So it hired some local "Beast Hunters" it normally employs to ****** some of the "native" critters (like chemwaste rats and steam duct spiders) to have an eye out for "strange, aggressive beasts" and "put them down discretly" for a nice bounty.

The Beast Hunters (or Verminers) are self-employed locals hunting down the more obnoxious or dangerous vermin in the hive. I expect that the authorities pay "prize money" for head or tails of the more dangerous beast. Not like rats, but more like mutated giant rats or stranger things. The legal fighting pits also employ those hunters to gather "animals" for the more mundane (and legal) attractions. So, I expect that some of them might also be working for the beast house (knowing or not) to do some of the more dirty deeds
One of them going by the name of Makahel will be on the trail of "the predator" as well...while proclaiming that he expects the killer to be a mutated giant rat coming out of the sewers as nightcycle...misguiding the competition and the authorities. He does not know what he is hunting, but he knows that it is an illegal xenos predator that escaped from an illegal arena and that he will be paid a fine sum if he puts it down without any fuzz or attention from outsiders.
If the pc managed to look through his guise and interrogate him, they only know that they are up against an escaped xenos and the contact the will pay Makahel if he brings proof for a killing...

I finally made up my mind about the predator.

It is going to be a huge (Hulking) varan-like thing called a "Raubtyr ". The Raubtyr is similiar in build to our earth comodo varan, but about 3,50 meters long from nosetipp to the end of the 1m wide torso & a 1,5m strong and muscular tail. It´s head is huge and eyeless and sports wide, gaping maw with double-raws of sharp, shark-like teeth. While it looks a lot like a reptile, it is not.

The creature is quadrubed and each of its leg is strong&thick, ending in a three "fingered" hand-like manipulater with incredible strong suckers, allowing it to cling to most surfaces. The legs are in additon double-jointed, and is has no "soft underside". In fact, it seems to have no problem "re-orientating" it´s "up/down" position. The leathery hide is able to adapt colour to match it´s surrounding and it´s prefered method of hunting is lurking in a high position, waiting for suitable prey. Althoug cable of moving up&down on vertical surface, it can´t "cling" to them for a longer period of time due to its own body weight.

If prey shows up, the Raubtyr jumps or drops on its victim and tries to kill it with bites to the neck or the belly while grappling. Once the kill is done, the Raubtyr dislocks its jaws and swallows the prey whole. Afterward, it returns to a lair (mostly a high spot), vomits the prey out again and starts feeding. Since the Raubtyr is comparable slow and sluggish once it gorged a bigger (man sized) victim, it tends to attack large prey only when the prey is encountered alone (by instinct). A suitable hungry Raubtyr will (never the less) attack small groups of prey, trying to maim one of them (attacks to the legs) and scare away the rest with vicious bite attacks. While not the apex predator on its world, the Raubtyr does not seem to fear creatures up to its own size. It neither showed fear to gun/las fire, but tended to shy away flames (but not to the extend of panic). Once seriously wounded (more then 10 wounds) it is likely to try and flee (70%), unless it is cornered. If cornered (or not fleeing) it will enter a death frenzy (like Frenzy Talent).

Stats for the Raubtyr

WS: 54 BS:- S:62 T:53 AG:50(10) INT:18 PER:43 WP:35 FEL:-

Wounds: 20 Armour: 3(Prim//Very Tough Skin) Dmg: 1w10+6 Pen:2 (Prim/Impaling//Bite); 1w10+3 (Prim/Impact// Lashing Tail)

Traits: Bestial, Quadruped; Unnatural Agility; Unnatural Senses (12m); Natural Weapons; Natural Armour; Massiv&Slow*; Hulking; Fear(1); Chameleon*; Gorging*

Skills: Awareness, Silent Move, Tracking, Concealment, Dodge

Talents: Sprint

Chameleon: The creature gains a +20 bonus on all concealment checks
Massiv&Slow: Due to its massive size, the creature only beneftis from "Quadruped" in speed calculation for a number of rounds equal to it´s TB+1w5. This reflects its ability to explode into a short sprint, but over a long distance it loses speed.
Gorging: The creature can (and will) swallow prey up to "normal" size whole. After doing so, it´s Agility and Weapon Skill is halved. It takes 2 to 3 rounds to swallow prey and another 2 to 3 rounds to "vomit it out" again.

The creature in combat:
It it is able to ambush it´s victim, it will drop/jump on it and start to grabble. While grappling, it gets a normal attack with its bite. If it grapples its victim successfully, it will achieve automatic success on bite attacks against the head/neck of the victim.

If face by more then one opponent, the creature will not try to grapple. Instead, it will attack with biting while being able to attack with it´s tail against attackers from behind (-20 to WS). It will try dodge attacks by roling("tumbling") sideways, gaining benefit from its rapid re-orientation. (Unnatural agility bonus applies to dodge roll).

I like the idea, but the name had me chuckling. Raubtyr almost reads like (and would definitely sound like) the German word "Raubtier", which means Predator in English.

HeirofNagash said:

I know. I am german. Actually, the name was created by a fumbled spelling of the word "Raubtier" (Predator), which lead me to use the name "Raubtyr". Just like some other terms are just a "re-spelling". Ttake the japanese "ruksaku" for what we call "Rucksack" (backpack) or the engl. "Abseiling" for descending a rope in a certain way.

But I have to agree that it does sound funny. Any suggestions for me?

Regarding the name or the creature in general?

Regarding the name of the creature

How about a xeno war seveter that has been hacked in the arena an now is killing out to right and left?

Like a praetorian battle-sevitor, give it some ekstra limbs like arms and tails (like tails on monsters), a cameleoline cloak for som stealth and a follower, a litle boy or girl that the seveter likes and protects (yes like a Big Daddy )