The Sixth Ring is here! The Sixth Ring is a Trophy discussion podcast hosted by @Judd and myself, with production by @RichRogers. It can be found in the Trophy podcast feed.
The monsters we created in the fourth segment are below. If you have an idea for your own “monster that was there at the birth of the world,” post them in the comments here by August 1. Judd and I will pick the one we like best and send the winner a $10 DriveThru Gift Card.
Monster Name: Entropic Larva
Endurance: SPECIAL (See Below)
Defenses:
One with Entropy: The first time the Entropic Larva is encountered, it is the size of a short, fat garden snake, with a lamprey-like mouth and slimy skin the color of pond scum. Its Endurance is 1. When ‘destroyed’ it will imprint upon the character who killed it and thereafter seek out that character to ensure its inevitable decay and return to the stuff of which the world was made. Each subsequent time it is encountered, increase its Endurance by 1 and add a detail that reflects its increased danger (size, appearance, movement, etc). If a different PC then ‘destroys’ the Larva, it will imprint on that PC as well, and so on. It can never be permanently destroyed, only beat back for a time. If the PCs can find a way to permanently alter their Spirit(s) in a manner that renders it unrecognizable to the Larva, it will cease its relentless pursuit and gradually decay back to its original form as it searches for a new victim.
Omega Kiss: If the Larva fastens it orifice upon the skin of a PC, it will consume their future; instead of taking Ruin from a failed Combat roll against the Larva, a PC may instead elect to add 1 Burden, permanently, to reflect the years they have lost that could have been spent pursuing their Drive.
Weakness: If a PC allows the creature to feed upon them without resisting (treat as an automatic Weak Point roll, but the PC’s white die does not count towards the Combat Roll), the distracted Larva will be vulnerable to the blades of the PC’s companions.
That Which Opposes
A monster there at the birth of the universe
When all was formless chaos and void, the void’s first thought was “I am”. In defining itself, it birthed not-itself: That Which Opposes, the first child of the universe.
That Which Opposes is everything the void is not: finite, luminous, destructive. Where the void brings new things into being with its every mindless thought, That Which Opposes desires only to be one with the void and bring everything back into its cold embrace. The actions of That Which Opposes are futile, and yet it continues to dismantle, to dissolve, to flow everything like drops of water into the ocean of void.
Endurance: 1 (see Defenses)
Description: That Which Opposes looks however it wants, assuming the appearance most suitable for its aims. It could be a seductive cult leader, a lonely child, a gentle fawn, or your best friend.
Habits:
Defense:
Unity — When attacked by a group, it feeds on their unity and raises its Endurance to 13
Death Wish — When attacked by an individual, it will beg for the release of death
Eternal — If destroyed, its destroyer will assume the mantle of That Which Opposes, inheriting its identity, personality, and desires
Weakness: Names — Destroying it while speaking its True Name—the name of the individual before they turned into That Which Opposes—allows that individual to be rebirthed from the void. Whoever last held the mantle of That Which Opposes before the now-reborn individual is ripped from the void’s embrace and thrust back into the mantle.
You couldn’t be satisfied with a monster there at the birth of the world, rather you had to go for the whole UNIVERSE.
(Inspired by the myth, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter)
Moon Maiden
An amnesiac avatar of the moon
Endurance: 3 (see Defenses, Hunted)
Behavior:
Description: The moon has seen much during its eons, its sole entertainment a fixed view of our skies. At times it spoils itself and births an avatar to immerse and play in our sad, sick, world. This time she was reborn in the gazing pool of a seemingly kind family, but has since run away.
Defenses:
Hunted: Assailants have been dispatched to seize the girl. As long as she is with you they will follow and attack when you are weakest and least prepared.
Graceful: Beauty is not merely how you seem. The girl has inhuman grace, having undergone long practice in most of the arts in her past lives.
Confused: She recognizes you as someone she feels she knows. As you travel together she recalls increasingly more memories of the times you shared. The present circumstances are a déjà-vu of small dramas building up to the moment she remembers she killed you.
Weaknesses: If you demand she leave your group, she will. You will hear her cries as she is captured.
Based on a Fellowship campaign I’m playing right now:
The Earth Weavers
Description: A monstrous being of a hundred arms and a hundred hands, The Weaver alone could sense and control the ley-lines of magic beneath the surface. He pulled and shaped, raising mountains and carving rivers. He wove the great tapestry of the planet and in doing so, sacrificed most of his power to maintain the structure he had so painstakingly created. Now he appears as four floating, conjoined arms, withered but each twice the size of a man. One holds the eye, one the mouth, one the ear, and one the blade. They never separate and will speak, work, and fight in unison.
Endurance: 13
Behaviors:
Defenses:
Sacrifice: The Weavers are well equipped to imbue their magic with world-bending power at incredible cost. Whenever the Weavers deal Ruin, they deal twice as much ruin as normal. Each round that they deal ruin in this way (even if it was absorbed by armor), reduce their Endurance by 1. Each round that they do not deal Ruin, increase their Endurance by 1.
Connected: The four arms are mentally linked and act as a single entity. Targeting any one Weaver leaves you open to attack by the other three.
Weaknesses
Ley-lines: Most of the Weaver’s power comes from connection to the fabric of magic. Cutting them off from this source of power reduces their endurance by 2.
Silence the Voices: The weavers rely on communicating with each other. Managing to mentally separate any one of them causes it to lash out wildly, desperate to reconnect with its brothers.
The Primordial Blades: Any blade older than the Weavers themselves can pierce the Weavers’ magical defenses.
Just a note that we have already picked a winner, so no more entries needed (unless you just want to for fun).
