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The player characters are on a road somewhere between Here and There. Suddenly, they round a bend of a hill, and there, squatting obscenely, is a Horror. Big one, too. It looks like a combination of a thundra beast and a toad, and large, pustulent sores creep over its skin, breaking and hissing and releasing a cloud of acidic gas all over its vast form. Rheumy eyes blink down under a makeshift hat of treetrunks and river mud, while one long arm slowly fans itself with the unfortunate remains of a large oak. Muttered spells and hungry weapons are momentarily paused when the Horror blinks slowly in surprise, smiles (perhaps, if you can call that a smile), and says "Passions blessings to you on this fine day, my friends!" What could this monstrosity be?
It's Brazt'ul-char, the Horror, that's who. Brazt'ul-char knows all too well what nasty, annoying adepts do to hard-working Horrors such as himself: chop them into little pieces. Brazt'ul-char has no particular desire to be chopped into pieces of any size. He also has a very slow metabolism and needs a while to digest the most recent village he's devoured -- usually a few months. During those times he wanders slowly across Barsaive, moaning about his upset tummy and complaining bitterly about the ungodly heat in this inhospitable dimension. In his home, as he's happy to tell anyone who spends the time to sit down and listen to the Horror, there's none of this annoying thawing which Barsaive seems to be subject to. If it wasn't for his fragile constitution (pause for dramatic, phlegmy cough), why, he'd have packed up centuries ago and returned to his home. Really, he has no idea why he stays here (he says as he gnaws on a troll leg he saved for just such a scorching afternoon), but, well, there you have it.
Players may be shocked at being cordially addressed by a Horror. They certainly will be surprised when the Horror shows no sign of wanting to corrupt, consume, control, or confuse them. Brazt'ul-char, you see, is the epitome of polite society. Sure, he's evil, calculating, murderous, disgusting, vile, utterly without a soul, and dedicated to the eradication of all earthly life. Who isn't? It's just he sees no reason why he has to be impolite about it. Brazt'ul-char has combined his apprehension of meeting a large group of adepts he cannot handle with his slow and cautious nature to come up with a really bizarre idea in the boiling depths of his fevered brain: If he's polite to everyone, they won't attack him, and leave him to digest his meals in peace.
As such, Brazt'ul-char can act as a very unusual (and different) role-playing opportunity for an Earthdawn campaign. The GM should make sure that their players aren't dedicated Horror-stompers bloodsworn to strangle Verjigorm with their own intestines to save Barsaive if they must; such spoilsports will miss the true oddness of an encounter with Brazt'ul-char, and, besides, they're tedious and crude, not of interest to as refined a conversationalist as Brazzy, who will probably thwap such offensive beasts on the head soundly with his 30' foot tree trunk a few times to get them to settle down. Most players will probably appreciate a few rounds to gather their wits when they encounter a large Horror, during which Brazt'ul-char will open up in conversation. If the players follow up on that, they're hooked.
Brazt'ul-char is a polite and decent, if not exactly witty, conversationalist. After a large binge of innocent souls, he really isn't in the mood to fight, and will keep the players talking as long as possible. He's also a very physical Horror; the Scourge was good to him, but he's dined on too many Name-Givers, and now if he is forced to retreat to astral space he'll lose his grip on the real world entirely, and will have to return to his home dimension. Gamemasters should play him as a very worldly, polite, but grumpy older uncle who is constantly griping about his war wounds, the weather, the politics, the taste of salt-water t'skrang, and so on.
Brazt'ul-char is quick to defuse hostile situations. If the players attack him straight out, he says "Wait? What is the meaning of this? What harm have I done you?" If pressed on his record as a Horror (which he never denies; after all, he's quite proud of his work), Brazt'ul-char will regale players with endless, sickening tales of the terrible crimes he's perpetrated on humanity; for years, if they'll allow him. "Certainly, I have raped and pillaged entire countrysides! But is that any reason to attack me? I think not; how many people have you slain for no good reason, my good adepts? At least I am sustaining my life through my activities; what good came of your slaughter, eh?" Brazt'ul-char knows very well how blood-checkered the past of most of Barsaive's adepts is, and will use that as a leveraging point to his own activities.
Brazt'ul-char knows other things, too. He's more than happy to trade information, intelligence, and outright lies about his fellow Horrors to save his own miserable hide. He's not stupid, though, and doesn't rat on Horrors who are capable of reducing him to sludge in retribution (such as Ristul or Verjigorm). Brazt'ul-char also knows the location of a magical trident lost somewhere in the Caucavik Mountains that he may trade to get annoying characters off his back; that it's located in a lost valley filled with giant undead spiders is just the least of the details he leaves out in his enthusiastic gushing about the weapon.
Players who begin to annoy him may find themselves Horror Marked just out of exasperation, and then Cursed Lucked and Corrupted Karma into oblivion when they're busy fighting some other foe. And of course, if attacked, Brazt'ul-char will fight to defend himself. He will always be looking for a way to escape combat, though with his very slow movement that will frequently be impossible for him. He frequently leaves opponents that he defeats alone, hoping they'll learn from their mistakes and never attack another Horror again (Brazt'ul-char is a bizarre form of optimist in his own way, and considers himself an unthanked leader among his kind in public relations efforts with the Name-Givers). Note that Brazt'ul-char is not insulted by effective argumentation from the Name-Giver's side; indeed, he enjoys a good debate immensely (helps as a digestive aide, you know). The players won't be able to convince him of the error of his ways, of course.
Players may, after a few encounters, decide Brazt'ul-char is a "friendly" Horror that they can safely mine for information on more active, dangerous Horrors. If so, they're already trapped in Brazt'ul-char's world of deceit: good for you, GM! He may be lazy, he may be slow, he probably has more etiquette than the PC's put together, but he's still a Horror. The gamemaster knows Brazzy is being played right when the players are bemused, confused, or even charmed by him. Brazt'ul-char has no supernatural powers to sway people to his side, unlike other Horrors such as Bone Crown; the gamemaster has to pull out the stops to make this shambling, festering pile of evil charming and eloquent.
You know you're doing OK if the players decide to talk a while with Brazt'ul-char (truthfully, his sheer size will probably inhibit most parties from attacking); you know you've got them where it hurts if they actually take a liking to him. Play up their "friendship" as much as you can. Brazt'ul-char is not the sort of Horror to Mark everyone he meets and then use them as pawns across Barsaive; no, his taint is much more subtle. Instead of Marking heroes, he makes them rethink one of their most deeply held positions, that Horrors are uncaring, unreasonable beings that slay only because they must. Once they realize that, they may start questioning their own role in fighting such creatures. Then they start noticing how their very own Name-Giver governments sacrifice hundreds of people in useless wars, how thieves and murderers take things from their own species without regard to kindness; indeed, all the crimes of humanity against humanity itself. Once they are doing that, and under Brazt'ul-char's subtle guidance, they may lay down their arms forever against the Horrors. Doing such would certainly require quite the lengthy campaign of manipulation, but it's certainly far more in Brazzy's style than just telling the players "OK, you've been Horror Marked. Now you're under his control." That's not using the finesse that Brazt'ul-char exudes.
Another option for an adventure with Brazt'ul-char can happen much later in a campaign where he is a recurring character. The players can come across him, finally with an empty stomach, plotting to annihilate a sleepy hamlet of 2,000 or so overnight in one huge munchfest. Brazt'ul-char will invite any "friends" he has to come along and join him, and will loudly bemoan any of his "friends" who turn against him. Couldn't they at least wait until the dinner hour has passed for this conversation? Savages. And then he would beat them on the head with his tree trunk, complaining "Why can't we discuss this like civilized beings?" Rip. Tear. Consume. Burp.
Brazt'ul-char
The "Friendly" Horror
| DEX: 5 STR: 23 TOU: 26
PER: 18 WIL: 28 CHA: 23 |
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| Initiative: 4 | Physical Defense: 23 |
| Number of Attacks: 5 | Spell Defense: 32 |
| Attack: 20 | Social Defense: 20 |
| Damage: 26 | Armor: 25 |
| Number of Spells: (1) | Mystic Armor: 35 |
| Spellcasting: 15 | Knockdown: 28 |
| Effect: Varies | Recovery Tests: 15 |
| Death Rating: 195 | Combat Movement: 15 |
| Wound Threshold: 24 | Full Movement: 30 |
| Unconsciousness Rating: 150 | Legend Points: 105,000 |
| Karma Points: 30 | Karma Step: 9 |
| Powers: Acid Cloud 12, Corrupt Karma 25, Cursed Luck 30, Horror Mark 23, Invisibility 35, Thought Worm 23, Spells (see below) | |
| Equipment: None | |
| Loot: Tree trunk, classy hat (if you're into lean-tos) | |
Brazt'ul-char is a Horror dedicated to the unusual belief that good manners will get you anywhere; in Brazt'ul-char's case, into the good graces of your Name-Giver prey. The size of two or three large bull elephants, Brazt'ul-char resembles a sore-pocked, six-legged rhinoceros with front legs that double as prehensile arms. Acidic poison vents and steams from the abcesses on his skin, and he's frequently found wearing a makeshift lean-to on his head (to keep out the cruel sun) and fanning himself with a thirty foot tree, which he'll happily turn around to beat uncouth barbarians into the ground with.
Brazt'ul-char is a slow-moving, mainly physically-based Horror, who relies on guile and charm to keep nasty Name-Giver swords away from his baby-smooth hide (as he describes it, at least). He only usually uses his magic in the rare times he's engaging in a despoiling of a town; otherwise, it's used only in desperation or out of a deep abiding aesthetic dislike for a target. For physical attacks, Brazt'ul-char relies on his massive limbs, although if he has a tree trunk fan, he'll use that as a club instead. The tree trunk will raise his Damage Step to 36. Alternatively, he will make a wide sweep of the trunk to try and knock down opponents. Such a sweep uses up four of his physical attacks, and can affect as many opponents as he can reach in a thirty-degree angle in front of his body up to thirty feet away or so. To sweep attack, Brazt'ul-char rolls an Attack Test as normal against the Physical Defense of all the opponents in the arc. Those he hits have to make resist a Knockdown Test with a target number generated by his Step 36 Damage Test. Sweep attacks also cause Step 26 Damage to those caught in the branches of the tree.
Brazt'ul-char is surrounded by a cloud of acidic poison that seeps into the ground beneath his claws and forms a yellowish mist a foot or so around him at all times. This acid has little effect against organic substances (plants, dirt, flesh, and so on), causing damage only after prolonged minutes of exposure. Against metal, however, it is a fast-acting corrosive agent. Any metal object that pierces Brazt'ul-char's acidic cloud automatically takes damage. The GM should adjust the results of the acid as the encounter seems fit; the cloud doesn't reduce even a normal sword to a puddle with one pass, although it will scar it and pit it, and successive hits against Brazt'ul-char's tough hide will certainly break it. Use Step 12 for any Tests the acid cloud should take against metal objects or magical metal things (or creatures!) that may come up. Brazt'ul-char may add Karma to his acid tests, like normal Horror Karma.
Brazt'ul-char comes from a very cold climate, and finds the temperate weather of Barsaive quite repressive. He takes an additional +6 Steps of damage from any sort of fire attack, but will be unaffected by cold/ice attacks most players will be capable of generating (GM can adjudicate for very powerful Elementalist ice spells).
Brazt'ul-char has access to a number of unspecified Illusionist spells and abilities, which vary as the GM sees fit. He knows no combat illusions, and mainly uses his illusions to escape combat or to scope out a town before he attacks it. He has the ability to mentally inspect an area from afar (much like the Thoughtful Expression Talent), and always uses that to formulate a plan before attacking a new village. Brazt'ul-char can also turn invisible once per hour. Doing so costs him 10 Strain, and he rolls his Invisibility Test to generate the target number for any form of sensing to find him. If Brazt'ul-char does not move from the spot where he turned invisible, he may remain invisible indefinitely (useful for hiding or extended scouting). If he does move, the invisibility will end after an hour (and he must wait an hour before turning it on again). Characters who cannot see Brazt'ul-char when attacking him are at -5 Steps to all their tests to affect him if in close combat (he is a big target, after all, and somewhat tough to miss). The penalty for long-range sniping or spell combat against him should be adjusted by the GM for the situation; even a big target can be missed if the archer is facing the wrong direction entirely. The -5 Steps should be the minimum penalty, however. For spell attacks, Brazt'ul-char can use the higher of either his Spell Defense or the result of his Invisibility Test. Brazt'ul-char can take all his normal actions while invisible.
Note that Brazt'ul-char's invisibility actually covers a lot more than just sight; it also cloaks him astrally, makes him silent, and so on. However, his effects on the physical world are still obvious (like the side of a building crashing in). Also, the slow yellowing and corruption of the plants around him from his acid will give away a position that he's held for a long time. He cannot turn his hat and fan invisible with him, a source of great personal disappointment. A player character Illusionist who can come up with a way to manage such a feat will gain a (crafty, sinister, unspeakably evil, and loathsomely hideous) friend for life.
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