A HUNTER OF THE VERGE AND WASTE
At the heart of all violence, atrocity, and suffering is fear, and a mortal's greatest fear is death. Some will do anything to avoid it, face any indignity, make any compromise, or commit any crime. The metamorphosis of the Mantichora requires all three: transformation into the ungainly and bestial, a pact with the foulest of demons, and crimes unending.
This is why the Mantichora is shunned, why he hunts the waste, desolation, and the verge ... and why he preys on man. The cursed diet of the Mantichora is pain, fear, suffering, and panic. He laps it in with the blood and flesh of his victims to thrive, heal, and endure - immortal unless murdered. It takes an evil heart to become a Mantichora, and the size and ferocity of its monstrous form is in proportion to the malice of the man who becomes one. Past crimes and cruelties offer the initial sustenance to the demon who shares and changes the Mantichora's human body to monstrous mien. A passionate murderer will only grow to the size and shape of a wolf, while the true Mantichora, winged, spike tailed, or spitting fire rise from souls so vile no mere catalogue of crimes can plumb the depth of their wickedness and spite.
Mantichora are thus of two kinds in proportion to the crimes of the men who become them. The lesser of the foul breed is subservient to the greater. Both retain the twisted minds of twisted heartless men, though all human desire is subsumed by the demon’s hunger for the flesh and pain of others. The distinction between lesser and greater is one of size and pussiance not mind or demeanor.
In strength and appearance, Pards, the lesser Mantichora are like predatory beasts while the greater I are akin to demons: winged, gigantic and enhanced by foul sorcerous features. All Mantichora share the head of a man, swollen or shrunken to fit their beast’s body, with features recognizable beneath usually unkempt beards and manes. However, the bodies of Mantichoras differ dramatically, always that of a quadrupedal predator or scavenger, but beyond that there is no pattern. The Mantichora’s form is stolen from whatever creature devoured the host’s dying, demon wracked body, the scavenger corrupted and subsumed to become the basis of the Mantichora’s new flesh. The lizard, the dog, the lion, the wolf, the rat, and the pig all lend their forms to the Mantichora, but even among the lesser Pards further transformation is common as the demon within shapes the animal and man after its own perverse whims. These demon boons are more common and dramatic in the greater beasts, and they begin with the creature’s wings and enormous size, but include numerous other horrific and dangerous transformations, with each greater Mantichora’s form warped in some significant way by its demonic symbiote.
BASE STATISTICS Beyond the basic arrangement of a human head fused with a beast’s body Mantichora vary greatly in appearance and powers, but share a base set of statistics that are modified by the aspects of their form and the specific nature of their demon. Below are the basic statistics and tables that modify them for specific Mantichora. Lesser Mantichora will each be modified by: Appearance and Demon Boon. Greater Mantichora will have: Appearance, Wings, Demon Boon, and Demon Form. The referee should pick whatever works best or on each sub-table/column for every creature or group of creatures (for Lesser Mantichora if one is creating a larger group).
Pard (Lesser Manitchora*): AC 7 (14), HD 1+1 (6), Att 1 x bite (1D6) 1x claw (1d6/2), THACO 18 [+1], MV 120’ (40’), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16, ML 6*.
* Demon Warped: Lesser Mantichora vary, their forms twisted by their creation and their stats and abilities are modified by a roll on the Appearance table for all Pards and on the Demon Boon table below for exceptional ones, pack leaders, or close confidants of greater Mantichora.
**Sycophantic Bravery: Lesser Mantichora are cowardly skulking creatures, on their own they quickly run from combat and danger. When under the tyranny (and within 100’) of a Greater Mantichora, their fear of the great beast is greater than their other fears and they fight with a Morale of 9)
Greater Mantichora*: AC 4 (15), HD 6+1 (28), Att 1xBite (1d6), 2x Claw (1d6), Special* THACO 13 [+6], MV 90’ (30’)/Fly*, SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14, ML 12.
*Demon Warped: The demon ridden bestial form of the greater Mantichora is always huge - as big or bigger than a bullock and almost all can fly. Roll on each of the tables below.
Mantichora gather on the lawless Crystal Frontier as it has few prepared to hunt them for their depredations, while being full of humanity and its pain. It is also the closest wasteland to the Bull Kingdom, where demonic pact sorcery is practiced. Perhaps more then practiced as rumors from Warlock King’s smoking iron capital of Fountain have it that in the winding carcels hewn from the old silver mines, the King’s warders compel the most depraved enemies of the state to perform the Mantichora ritual. The Warlock King’s under sorcerers bind the resulting horrors to the King’s service as torturers, war engines, gladiatorial beasts, and prison overlords - however, Mantichora are cunning and most escape eventually.
In the wild Mantichora resemble the worst house cats, lazy, mercurial, and cruel, they torment their prey, sometimes even forgetting about it and letting it crawl away broken to die. This leads them to often interact with humans - their favored food. Wracked by the knowledge that they were once human as well, sometimes full of regret, but hungry for the flesh and pain of sentients, Mantichora will talk at length with their victims and keep them alive for days or weeks, even while maiming and devouring them. Most of the vile creatures desperately attempt to brag, prove their superiority, and justify themselves, even seeking sympathy and compassion before they eat their victims. This also pleases their demons, as pain and terror are precisely the food they need. Despite their predatory brutality, demon-borne madness, and pathetic nature, Mantichora are cunning, capable of planning, and full of self-regard usually to the point of megalomania.
A well fed monster may seek out human catspaws and agents, promising either wealth or the secret of the Mantichora transformation in exchange for service. This rarely goes well for the humans involved, but may continue for as long as it remains beneficial to the Mantichora.
The beast Shaggy Ast worked for over a decade with the pirate of Vain Charles, scouting and attacking ships in the Bay of Fallen Stars or Bight de Estrellas, but abruptly ended the relationship by devouring Vain in a dispute over a noble hostage. Many other Manyivhora have small gangs of the worst sort of sadistic bandits as followers. These bandits act as scouts and connections to society - buying the luxuries that many Mantichora crave. Other Mantichora, preferring subterfuge and corrupting over destruction and violence will extort settlements, farmsteads ,and ranches for victims, livestock ,and wealth -- eventually driving their desperate victims to waylay travellers or neighbors as feed for the Mantichora’s appetite.
The relationship between Mantichora is little better than their relations with humans. Mantichora can only barely tolerate their own kind and most are solitary hunters who prey on small parties of travelers. However, a greater beast with a more charismatic and manipulative personality can master other Mantichora and swats of the creatures are a considerable threat. Likewise, Lesser Mantichora sometimes gather in packs where prey is rich or travelers and lone farmsteads are well armed. These groups will frequently offer to transform the worst of the men they capture into Lesser Mantichora, who they then use as disposable underlings and spies. A swat of Mantichora (up to 5 or 6 of the greater beasts, with a swarm of the lesser) are a serious danger and can annihilate large trade caravans, homesteads, ranches, and small towns. Luckily these groups rarely last long as they quickly become too large to feed their numbers. Infighting over food and treasure breaks them up, usually in an orgy of blood and resentment.
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| PARDS |
Hunting down Mantichora can pay well as the beasts disrupt trade, terrorize outlying settlements, and often collect treasure, but monster hunting is an even more dangerous profession than delving the crystal tombs for occulith. Unlike much other monstrous prey, Mantichora are intelligent and will often turn on their hunters in unexpected ways.
Despite their wiles, Mantichora are best hunted like other large fel beasts; isolated, and shot or speared down by large numbers of hunters. The special difficultly is that Mantichoras’ particular paranoid intelligence recognizes this threat, and plans for it. The Mantichora tends to lair in isolated places that offer them excellent views of the surrounding area and access to lonely stretches of road where they can hunt. Mantichora also retain something of human nature and greatly prefer to make homes in human structures, though they cannot or choose not to build. Ruined towers, windmills and temple spires are their favorite lairs, and even pards, will seek out the most humble of ruins in preference to a cave or scrape.
Mantichora’s paranoia means that they will be well prepared for hunters in other ways, trapping access to their lair with deadfalls, pits and whatever else they can build or force their victims and human accomplices to construct. Mantichora will fight fiercely to protect their lairs, prisoners and treasure, but they are fundamentally cowardly and care only about themselves. Even long time allies and servants are betrayed by a threatened Mantichora as soon as doing so will benefit them. They are also likely to have planned escape routes and backup lairs to flee to and plot revenge from - because Mantichora are vengeful and have long memories for even tiny slights.
Thus hunting Mantichora is as much a psychological exercise as one of tracking and concealment. The creatures are too intelligent for a hunter to count on typical methods, such as spring and line traps, while ambushing Mantichora with arbalests or heavier weapons near their lairs or hunting grounds can prove difficult once the creatures become suspicious. Boldness is likewise risky due to the traps and allies that Mantichora use to defend their lair. Some of the best ways to hunt Mantichora are through interception, decoys, and playing to the creatures’ vast self regard or malice.
Great stuff!
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