OCTOBER MONSTERS FOR RIGHTEOUS BLOOD RUTHLESS BLADES III

In the spirit of October I am converting monster entries from Strange Tales of Songling for Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades. These are supernatural creatures inspired by Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. I will be doing a few monsters each post and not including every monster as Jeremy and I have been developing certain creatures for an intended expansion. Today will get into Spirited Beasts but I am just including the Snake Demon and Tree Spirit from that list as we had a pretty extensive treatment of these kinds of creatures in our expansion. I am also including Fox Spirits here (which appear later in the Strange Tales of Songling monster section). This is for ease of use. 

Art by Jackie Musto 

SPIRITED BEAST: SNAKE DEMON
Snake Demons usually appear as beautiful women, though they can be any sex. They can also take other forms such as a giant serpent, a small snake or human-snake hybrid. Most began life as snakes and intentionally or accidentally used external alchemy to become more human over time. They cultivate faster by drawing on human life force and can become fully human if they conceive and give birth to a child. 

Defenses: Hardiness 6, Evade 6, Wits 7

Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (2d10 Plus poison and drain), External Arts: 2d10, Muscle: 1d10, Speed: 3d10, Muscle: 4d10, Detect: 3d10, Medicine & Alchemy: 3d10, Persuade: 3d10, Empathy: 1d10, Talent: 1d10, Survival: 3d10

Max Wounds: 8
Type: Demon (Spirited Beasts)
Resist: 1 (only against non-magic)

POWERS

Captivation: Anyone who looks into a snake demon's eyes is subject to its captivation ability. Roll 2d10 against Wits. On a Success the target is helpless and can't move for 1 round. On a Total Success the target falls in love for 1d10 months. 

Immunities: Snake Demons are immune to mundane attacks and have 1 Resist against any attack that isn't magic based. 

Drain and Poison: On a successful bite, a Snake Demon does 2d10 damage and drains one Hardiness. It can choose to deliver venom as well. Roll 3d10 against the Hardiness of anyone exposed to its venom. On a Success the target dies in 1d10 days unless they obtain an antidote. 

Shape Change: Snake Demons can change into many forms, including: human, a giant serpent or a small snake (as well as any shape in between the three). 

TREE SPIRIT

These wicked creatures are shape shifting trees that feed on humanity and control ghosts. They can take human form and attack with roots that suck the fluids from a person's body. If they plant a person's bones beneath their roots, they can command that persons spirit. At night they can move freely and take human form, but during the day, a tree spirit must return to its tree form in a specific location. 

Defenses: Hardiness 3, Evade 8, Wits 9

Key Skills: Roots: 3d10 (3d10 open damage), External Arts: 3d10, Speed: 3d10, Fly: 4d10, Muscle: 3d10, Detect: 4d10

Max Wounds: 13
Type: Demon (Spirited Beasts)
Resist: 2

POWERS

Immunities: Tree spirits are immune to Mundane attacks and have Resist 2 against all other attacks. Fire overrides their resist. 

Roots: Tree spirits can launch roots at up to 4 targets in their immediate area. These impale and drain fluids. Roll 3d10 against Evade. On a Success they do 3d10 Open Damage and Drain 1 point of Hardiness. On a Total Success, one of the roots is able to go down the targets mouth to drain their body directly doing 4d10 Open Damage and draining 2 points of Hardiness. 

Bone Masters:  If the bones of a ghost or a recently deceased person are placed near the tree spirit's roots, then the ghost must obey the tree spirit in all things. 

Shapechange: Tree spirits can take human form at night, but always look uncanny. They can also take their tree form and the form of a human-tree hybrid. During the day they are trapped in their tree form and cannot act. 

FOX SPIRITS

There are many types of Fox Spirits. Here are listed two: The Enchanting Fox Spirit and the Hungry Fox Spirit. 

ENCHANTING FOX SPIRIT

Enchanting Fox Spirits look like beautiful women but can take the form of a fox. They drain men of their essence by sleeping with them, using their energy to cultivate. The more they drain, the more powerful they become as well. Some even achieve status as great martial artist or enlightened sages. 

Male Enchanting Fox Spirits exist but are more rare. 

Defenses: Hardiness 3, Evade 6, Wits 10

Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (2d10 damage plus 1 extra Wound), External Arts: 2d10: (1d10 damage plus 1 Extra wound), Speed: 4d10, Muscle: 1d10, Detect: 5d10, Persuade: 4d10, Empathy: 3d10, Talent: 3d10, Theft: 2d10, Survival: 3d10, People and Places: 2d10

Max Wounds: 7+1 per person killed. 
Type: Demon (Spirited Beasts)
Resist: 1

POWERS

Enervation: Enchanting Foxes cultivate by draining men of their vital essence as they sleep with them. Every time they do this, they gain 1 point of Hardiness for a day (which the target loses) and if they kill that person, their Max Wounds increase by 1. If they reach Max Wounds 10, their Resist goes up by 1 (and up by one again if they reach Max Wounds 13). 

Enchanting Form: The true form of an Enchanting Fox is a fox, but to most people they look like beautiful women. The wise person can occasionally see through this veneer, catching a small glimpse of their real nature. Anytime a person first sees the Enchanting Fox, roll 4d10 against their Wits. On a Success the target simply sees a beautiful woman. On a Total Success they see a beautiful woman and are instantly smitten. On a failure, the person sees a trace of the fox's real form (a bushy tail, yellow eyes, whiskers, etc). This is very brief, as the Enchanting Fox can immediately roll 4d10 against Wits again to restore the perception of a beautiful woman. One an Enchanting Fox succeeds against a target, that person will always perceive them as the fox desires (unless the target actively seeks evidence to the contrary: and if they find evidence, they can roll again). 

Signature Abilities: When they reach 10 Max Wounds, Enchanting Fox Spirits can learn 1 Signature Ability each time their Max Wounds increase by 1 (to a maximum of 3 Signature Abilities). 

Incense Vulnerability: Incense disturbs Enchanting Fox Spirits greatly, imposing a -1d10 to all their skills and causing them 2d10 damage each round they inhale incense smoke. 

Immunities: Enchanting Fox Spirits are immune to mundane attacks. 

HUNGRY FOX SPIRIT 

These Fox Spirits must eat human hearts to survive, otherwise their bodies waste away until they die. They can into human form, often choosing to look menacing. 

Defenses: Hardiness 5, Evade 7, Wits 8

Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (Damage 3d10 plus 1 Extra Wound), Claw: 3d10 (4d10 Open Damage), Speed: 4d10, Muscle: 4d10, Detect: 3d10, Athletics: 2d10, Persuade: 2d10, Talent: 2d10, Survival: 2d10

Max Wounds: 6
Type: Demon (Spirited Beasts)
Resist: 2

POWERS

Change Form: Hungry Foxes can assume human form and change their appearance to look more or less attractive. 

Feed: Hungry Foxes must eat a human heart each day or lose 1 point of Hardiness (which returns each time they consume a heart). 

Claw: If a Hungry Fox attacks with its claws and kills, it can rip out the heart to consume it. 

Immunities: Hungry Foxes are immune to mundane attacks.