Creature of Darkness Sneak Peek #3: Serial Killer, Feral Blighted (Cypher Edition)

Starting the new year off right with more free goodies from the upcoming Moralinth Core Rulebook, this time we're looking at a Human that has succumbed to the Blight and has become corrupted into an inhuman creature barely clinging onto their faculties.

This version is for the Cypher Edition of Moralinth, and represents the application of the Feral Blighted Template onto the Serial Killer non-player character (another NPC to be found in the Core Rulebook). (As with almost all artwork on these blogs, the image below is not the image that will be used in the final book, but represents the subject matter of the blog nonetheless.)

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Serial Killer, Feral Blighted 8 (24)

This hunched-over, spindly humanoid moves from shadow to shadow, occasionally turning toward you with red eyes and bright yellow teeth flashing in the shadows. It is hard to make out much more due to its speed and insistence on staying in the shadows, but you think it is human…. or was, at least.

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Motive: Seek and devour unblighted flesh.

Environment: Any non-water in The Known World (only)

Health: 27

Damage Inflicted: 8 points

Armour: 2

Movement: Short

Modifications: Persuasion and Stealth at level 9. Medicine at level 8. Perception as level 10.

Combat: Feral Blighted restrict their attacks to clawing or biting, entirely ignoring any other natural attacks that might be prudent to their host form. Any strike done by a Feral Blighted that results in damage once all other modifiers (such as armour) have been removed carries the chance of infection. A Character struck immediately makes a Might Defense check at a difficulty of 6 (18).

Success means the character does not contract The Taint, but failure means they do contract it, and are able to pass it to others. As part of this attack the (whether or not in infects), the Feral Blighted gains back 1 Health as it devours the flesh and continues its attack. Any individual infected is immediately ignored by the Feral Blighted next round as it disengages to look for more unblighted flesh.

Special – Frenzy: Once per combat, a Feral Blighted can enter a blood frenzy for a number of rounds equal to half their level. During this frenzy they focus on a single target until it is either unconscious or dead, and do an increased +4 damage with attacks, and have a Speed Defense equal to their level versus that specific target. Against all other attackers it is oblivious until the rage ends, reducing the difficulty to hit them by 3 steps.

Special – Slave to Darkness: a Feral Blighted can be controlled by a Dark Blighted when within Short Range. This control is permanent until either the Dark Blighted moves out of short range or wills it ended.

Interaction: Feral Blighted are obsessed with the taste of unblighted flesh and will home in on it from over a mile away, with the more sources of unblighted flesh being an even bigger lure.

Use: Feral Blighted can be found literally anywhere in the Wilderness of The Known World, except for in water. Some also operate in the Enclaves as well, but often not for long before discovered.

Loot: None, Feral Blighted have no use for mundane items and take none with them after an attack. They are usually naked or wearing the last vestiges of clothes if humanoid.

Intrusion:

Feral Blighted as so unpredictable that Narrators are encouraged to come up with chaotic, nonsensical intrusions to make each fight with Feral Blighted disorganised, urgent and panic-fuelled.

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The Feral Blighted Template can be added to just about any humanoid or animal, and represents the final stage of contagion for The Blight; the civilisation-shattering epidemic that forced what remains of civilisation into the massive Enclave communities. When a player or NPC becomes infected with The Blight, when they reach 10 Corruption Points they gain the Feral Blighted Template and, if a player character becomes unplayable.

There is currently no known cure for The Blight.

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Hopefully you've enjoyed this look at another of our Creatures of Darkness found in the Moralinth Gothic Horror RPG.

More to come!

Until then though, Happy Gaming!

- Adam