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| Onibaba, Kaneto Shindo, 1964 |
The Beast of Yelenin
The town of Yelenin sits secluded in the vast sea of reeds that makes up the delta of the Jabberwock. The people there fish, farm eels, and sell meagre goods and services to the adventurers and bandits who pass through the region. The local inn, The Lilly of the Waters, is also an infamous gambling house, and the family who run it are known murderers, extortionists, and kidnappers. They control local muscle in Yelenin, and the other villagers fear them with good reason.
Over the last eight months, the town has been terrorised something that emerges from the surrounding reeds and tears people to pieces, before retreating again. It screams and screams. The sounds cannot be human.
The Beast of Yelenin has, to date, killed just shy of 200 people. A bounty of 5000s has been posted for its destruction by the increasingly desperate villagers, with most of that money coming from The Lilly.
For every night that you spend in town, there is a 4 in 6 chance the Beast kills again. 19 in 20 that this is d6 random villagers, 1 in 20 this is a named person this write-up, chosen at random. You will hear its hideous shrieking, and if you investigate, find the bodies, awful, torn-up and unrecognisable.
After two weeks of this the town will be completely depopulated and the bounty rescinded as the Family move on.
The Lilly of the Waters
Uniquely in Yelenin, built on stone foundations. The ground floor is dedicated to gambling (use your favourite elfgame rules), the second floor has rented rooms. The Family live on the third floor. The place is weirdly cheerful most of the time, brightly painted, with lots of coloured paper lanterns and a functioning private bathhouse for highroller guests. They make good money from gambling bandits and adventurers, and make just slightly-less-good money murdering well equipped travellers just out of town and re-selling their weapons and armour.
Security is 35 bandits, armed with light armour, shields, and light and medium weapons. They have 5 working muskets, and 5 heavy weapons. They work in eight hour shifts, so 10 - 12 will be on duty in the Lilly at any one time. It would only take a couple of minutes at most for the rest to arrive, fully armed, if the alarm were raised. They are the only fighting force in the region.
The Family run everything in town.
The Father is HD3, attacks twice with his spear, and owns a terrifying, magical Demon Mask that rids him of pain, fear, and mercy, and lets him roll attacks with advantage, when wearing it. He is homicidally jealous of his son's wife, and also cheerful, casually cruel, and drunk most of the time.
The Mother is HD3, attacks twice with her greatsword, and owns the only set of heavy armour in town. She will get geared up quickly if she hears a ruckus. Religious, calculating, exact, careful, merciless.
The Son is HD2, fights with a pistol and a broadsword, and considers himself an honourable young man. He has lead two failed expeditions into the reeds to kill the monster, and is planning a third. Genuinely fearless and protective of the town, but doesn't care about anyone he doesn't personally like.
The Son's Wife is HD2, and doesn't fight, if she can help it. She owns a blunderbuss and carries knives on her person; she also has two vials of deadly poison on her person, and can make more with reagents from the marsh. Plain-featured but extremely attractive. Plans to have the Father kill the Son, and then the Mother kill the Father, and to swoop into the resulting power vacuum. She will also settle for stealing large sums of money from the Lilly and disappearing. Horrified to find herself growing more attached to the Son day by day.
The Steamboat
Arrived in town two days ago to hunt the Beast. Crewed by the noble Bentham, his man Tuesday, and his retainers. Has a deck gun on board that could, in theory, handily demolish any building in town (or kill a monster, it hits for 4d12, but -5 to hit anything smaller than a building).
Bentham, HD3, saber +1, fine clothing (+1 to reactions with people who care, which is everyone in town), 10 doses of stimulants on his person, 5000s in spending money aboard the ship. Calm, a bit ditzy, and focused on the hunt. Could easily be persuaded not to take the money. Addicted to stimulants.
Tuesday, HD3, two pistols, two knives, fine clothing (as above), 10 doses of stimulants on 'his' person. Actually a woman, but the deception is convincing until you get close. Extremely pretty, androgynous, loyal to Bentham (they are in love, he is married to someone else), addicted to stimulants. Wears pearl earrings worth 200s as a flex, rolls grappling checks with advantage.
There are 8 retainers on the boat, all as men-at-arms. They have swords but no armour, and know how to operate the boat and the cannon.
The Hunters
The bounty has attracted n'er do wells, all currently staying in the Lilly.
Ella the Rose, a sharpshooter and drunk fleeing debts in the capital. HD2, rifled musket (as musket with a +2 to hit and crit range if you spend a turn aiming. In anyone else's hands these are +1s), hanger sword. Iron spectacles and rumpled clothing. Nearly suicidally miserable at this point.
Bellum, a old poacher and bandit. HD3, two attacks, when in town only carries his boot knife, which he can use to parry with, once per turn. If he goes hunting he will take a heavy bear spear with him. Doesn't like armour; he's seen too many people drown in the marsh. Takes -1 damage from physical attacks.
Giles the Kid, baby-faced but in his early twenties. HD2, carries a rapier and a bullwhip, which he can use at 15ft to disarm people (and deal d3 slashing damage). Charismatic and very good with his weapons, gets +1 to hit with both. Out to make a name for himself, will sacrifice anything in pursuit of this. Terrified of sexual contact and will kill anyone who puts their hands on him.
Dame the Vivisector, an actual knight in actual shining armour (as plate). HD4, fights with a set of Vorpal Shears (heavy +1, crits take off the head, or slay any monster or questing beaft). She is mad, and often speaks in nonsense. She is definitely here to slay the beast, but no one can get a read on where her estates are.
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| Onibaba, Kaneto Shindo, 1964 |
The Field of Reeds
It stretches out in every direction. The reeds are taller than a human, and movement through them is difficult and slow. The ground is soft, waterlogged, often treacherous. Islands of silt move each day as the Jabberwock floods and wends its way down towards to coast.
Making forays out into the reeds comes with risks of getting lost, unless you have a compass (there are two in town, one with Bentham and one with Dame the Vivisector) or are accompanied by a local (anyone from town). This risk is an INT check in the day, with disadvantage at night. If you get lost, you have to spend the night out in the reeds. You can try to find Yelenin again the next day, but each successive night you spend lost gives your check a -1.
It is impossible to rest for the night in the reeds - the ground is soggy and shifts under your weight, the insects are shrill and awful, and the damp gets into your bones and your skull.
Each day out allows you to make a tracking roll, a d20. Bonuses for the following (all cumulative):
- +10 the beast killed someone that day and you are following its trail.
- +5 the beast killed someone yesterday and you are tracking it.
- +3 you know thew cardinal direction (from the village) that the beast nests in.
- +2 you know the track and spoor of the beast.
In addition, each day and each night you spend in the reeds provoke rolls on the appropriate table:
Daytime Encounters
- 1 - 12: Nothing. Wind on the reeds and baking sun that glints in the water and hurts your eyes. The smells of mud, the sounds of cicadas.
- 13-15: 2 fishermen, on their way back to Yelenin. You can follow them back if you are lost.
- 16-17: 3d4 bandits, they don't want to fight but they will if you insult or disrespect them. Tempers run hot in the swamp.
- 18: d3 Hunter-Killers. Horrible otters the size of horses. They will tail you for a few hours, and attack if you get into difficulty or seem weak. HD2, bite d8!, armour as leather, disposition as predators (will retreat if seriously threatened).
- 19: an Assassin Bug! Feared above all things by marsh-dwellers, these enormous insects are nearly invisible in the reeds that they hunt in. Always gets a surprise round. HD4, 2x mantis claws (d8), armour as chain, speed: slower than a human, disposition: will fight to the death, but will also eat its victims rather than pursue those that flee.
- 20: The shrieks and howls of the Beast of Yelenin! Faint on the breeze, but unmistakeable. Your next roll to find the Lair is at +5.
Nighttime Encounters
- 1-10: Nothing. The moon is large, and the lapping sounds of water soothe you. It will be a long night, without sleep.
- 10 - 12: Marsh Fires. d3 members of the party must save WIS or follow them out into the reeds. If they are not restrained, they will be lost forever on a 1 in 6. Otherwise they take d3 damage getting back to the camp over broken ground.
- 13 - 14: d4 Frightened Bandits. They are running from something awful. They want to stay with you for the night. If you refuse they will flee back into the reeds crying. If you let them stay, 18 in 20 it's fine, 1 in 20 they attack you in your sleep, 1 in 20 you are attacked instead by the Beast (see below).
- 15 - 16: 2d6 Ant Lobsters. Weird, carnivorous, pale white lobster things that hunt in packs. 1HP, d4 claws, unarmoured, slow. Easily distracted with raw meat.
- 17-18: d6 Hunter-Killers: as above. Their eyes flash red in torch and fire-light.
- 19: The Terrible Thing. The Beast walks calmly into the firelight and sits with the party. It vibrates with barely concealed emotion. After several minutes it will say, in the most unnerved and aggressive voice you have ever heard, that it only wants HIM only wants its FACE back. If you attack it it will begin screaming and a combat encounter will ensue. If you don't attack it, it will walk back off into the black night after delivering this message. You see which way it goes, and get a permanent +5 to your rolls to find the Lair.
- 20: The Beast, the Terrible Beast: it screams as it crashes into the camp and starts tearing people to ribbons. After it kills one person it will attempt to flee back into the night with the body. You see which way it goes, and get a permanent +5 to your rolls to find the Lair.
If you give it the Demon Mask it will make a strange, formal bow, and gift you with its heart (it pulls it out of its chest), then bound of into the reeds. The heart is full of hatred, melancholy, and madness: if you can bottle the blood in it, it counts as 10 doses of deadly poison. The blood can also be used to dissolve and destroy holy relics and symbols, and to deconsecrate sacred ground.
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| Onibaba, Kaneto Shindo, 1964. |
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