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 Post subject: The Balefire Wretch...
PostPosted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:19 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:25 am
Posts: 573
Location: Dallas, TX
While all the creatures that cross over from the Invisible World are abominations contrary to God's plan, not all are as cruel or malicious as we might assume.

How the balefire wretch passed from the Inner Kingdoms of the Invisible World to our own is unknown. However it managed, it has made a den for itself in the caves near a small rural village in a mountainous region. There it subsisted mainly on game that was plentiful in the region. It largely avoided the people of the region until a chance encounter with a young girl from the nearby village.

This innocent was not frightened by the savage and deformed beast, but rather took pity on it, sharing sweets with it. After that, she visited the beast when she could, bringing it small gifts of sweets. Stories began to circle among the village children of a mysterious forest creature the girl had befriended.

One day, in the early winter, the girl ventured into the wilderness and never returned. The villagers searched, but found no sign of the child. Shortly after her disappearance, the incidents began. People began disappearing at an alarming rate. The recovered bodies were charred, blackened and burned. Gradually, the attacks moved closer and closer to the village. And as the first snows began to fall, the villagers hunkered and fortified their homes, praying in the firelight that whatever horror had been visited on them would soon pass.

Now, whatever stalks the village has grown bolder. Charred remains of unwary drunks have been found in the village streets. One farmer tells of a great hunched behemoth feasting on his goats. But no one has confronted the beast and lived.

Then, one evening, a group of strangers arrived on the outskirts of the village...

––––

The Balefire Wretch is an Ogre (see Rawhead, GToA pg 106), but of mild temperament and disposition. He is hunched and disfigured, but no less strong for his kind. His friendship with the girl was genuine. When angered, the skin of the beast erupts with a greenish-blue flame. In this state, it's touch burns. It can also breathe fire.

The girl is indeed dead, but not by the wretch's hand. The cruel son of the local lord and his friends followed her into the forest to learn the truth of her "friend" and killed her when she would not lead them to it. They hastily hid the body and returned to the village. The wretch found the body and secreted it away in a site near its den. It has turned its anger on the villagers, remorselessly hunting the girl's murderers. The wretch does not know who killed its friend, but he knows their smell. Trouble is, he has to get pretty close to his quarry to identify their smell – too close for comfort for most.

The wretch's Powers include Jumping (Movement) and Hellfire (Sorcerous). The prices are Lair (Movement) and Focus Bound (Sorcerous). It must return to its lair each day to rest. At dusk it emerges to search for the girl's killers. During the day, the beast will not venture more than 50 yards from its den. It has no aversion to sunlight. Otherwise, it adheres to the standard ogre package of available abilities.

Tom

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