Creature: Khysothemis

[Susano]

KHYSOTHEMIS

 

[b]Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes[/b]
33	STR	23	16-	Lift 2425.1 kg; 6 1/2d6 HTH Damage [7]
15	DEX	15	12-	OCV:  5/DCV:  5
23	CON	26	14-
17	BODY	14	12-
13	INT	3	12-	PER Roll 12-
13	EGO	6	12-	ECV:  4
20	PRE	10	13-	PRE Attack:  4d6
2	COM	-4	9-

11/14	PD	4		Total:  11/14 PD (3/6 rPD)
8/11	ED	3		Total:  8/11 ED (3/6 rED)
4	SPD	15		Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
12	REC	0
46	END	0
46	STUN	0		[b]Total Characteristics Cost:  115

Movement:[/b]	Running:	10"/20"
	Leaping:	0"/0"
	Swimming:	5"/10"

[b]Cost	Powers & Skills[/b]
4	[b]Rattle:[/b]  +10 PRE; Only For Fear-Based Presence Attacks (-1), Gestures, Requires 
Gestures throughout (-1/2)
93	[b]Petrifying Gaze:[/b]  Major Transform 8d6 (living flesh to stone, restorative magics), 
Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); All Or Nothing (-1/2), 
Eye Contact Required (-1/2), Limited Target (living things; -1/4)
5	[b]Serpentine Hair:[/b]  HKA 1 point (1/2d6 w/STR), END 1
33	[b]Serpentine Hair Venom:[/b]  Drain CON 3d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Delayed Return 
Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Hour; +1), NND (defense is appropriate LS 
[immunity]; +1); Extra Time (onset time begins 5 Minutes after victim is bitten, -2), 4 
Charges (-1), Gradual Effect (15 Minutes; 1d6/5 Minutes; -3/4), HKA Must Do 
BODY (-1/2) [b]plus[/b] RKA 2d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), NND (defense is appropriate 
LS [immunity]; +1), Does BODY (+1); Extra Time (onset time begins 5 Minutes after 
victim is bitten, -2), 4 Charges (-1), Gradual Effect (15 Minutes; 1d6/5 Minutes; -3/4), 
HKA Must Do BODY (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Linked (Drain; -1/2), [4]
8	[b]Clawed Fingers:[/b]  HKA 1/2d6 (1d6+1 w/STR); Reduced Penetration (-1/4), END 1
10	[b]Fangs:[/b]  HKA 1/2d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), END 1
3	[b]Tough Skin:[/b]  Damage Resistance (3 PD/3 ED)
4	[b]Scaled Tail:[/b]  Armor (3 PD/3 ED); Activation Roll 11- (locations 13-18; -1)
6	[b]Heavy:[/b]  Knockback Resistance -3"
8	[b]Slithering:[/b]  Running +4" (10" total), END 1
3	[b]Slithering:[/b]  Swimming +3" (5" total), END 1
10	[b]Serpentine Hair:[/b]  Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) with Sight Group

[b]Skills[/b]
8	+1 with All Combat
6	+2 with Bow
8	Penalty Skill Levels:  +4 vs. Range Modifier with Bow

2	AK: Zante Wastes 11-
3	Climbing 12-
3	Concealment 12-
3	Shadowing 12-
3	Stealth 12-
3	Survival (Desert, Temperate/Subtropical Plains) 12-
3	Tracking 12-
4	WF:  Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons
2	Weaponsmith (Muscle-Powered Ranged) 12-
[b]235	Total Powers & Skills Cost
350	Total Character Cost

75+	Disadvantages[/b]
5	Physical Limitation:  Cannot Leap (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
5	Physical Limitation:  Large (roughly 16 feet long; -2 DCV, +2 PER Rolls to perceive 
(Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
15	Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Elven Kind (Common, Strong)
20	Psychological Limitation:  Wicked And Cruel (Very Common, Strong)
15	Reputation:  terror of the Zante Wastes, 11- (Extreme)
215	[b]Experience Points
350	Total Disadvantage Points[/b]

[b]Equipment[/b]
[b]Great Bow:[/b] RKA 2 1/2d6, 24 Recoverable Charges (+1/4); STR Minimum 28 (STR Min. 
Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1 1/2), OAF (bow and arrows; -1), Required Hands Two-
Handed (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) [b]plus[/b] 
Penalty Skill Levels:  +1 vs. Range Modifier with All Attacks; OAF (bow and 
arrows; -1), Real Weapon (-1/4), [24 rc]

 

Background/History: The Zante Wastes are known haunts of a number of nightmarish creatures, such as brassy-scaled lion-dragons, voracious vulture-lions, skulking hyenas, and innumerable snakes, lizards, and scorpions. But the worst inhabitant of the wastes is no mere animal, but Khysothemis the Gorgon.

 

Khysothemis, like most gorgons, is a solitary being, who keeps far away from others of her kind. She makes her home on the edge of Zante Wastes, near the routes taken by the merchant caravans. From there she preys upon those foolish to travel alone through the wastes, or any caravans that are small enough for her to attack and also have something she might want (such as slaves, food, or luxurious trade goods). Once she's successfully defeated the caravan's defenders, she'll have the survivors bring back anything she wants to her lair, storing the goods in a series of interconnected caverns. Khysothemis will eventually feed on most of her captives, but has been known to trade some of her slaves (or some of her captured goods) to other dwellers of the wastes in exchange for items she has need of (raw material for arrows are a popular choice).

 

Personality/Motivation: As with most gorgons, Khysothemis is cruel, uncaring, and malevolent. She finds humans (and other such races) to be weak, suitable only for exploitation (which in her case means making them into slaves and/or dinner). She also has a strong hatred for elves, and any elf who falls alive into her clutches won't stay that way for long, usually meeting their end due to some horrific form of torture. Some have theorized that fair-featured elves serve only remind Khysothemis of the beauty she will never have, and she does seem to take great pleasure in destroying anything that is comely and fair.

 

Quote: "Humans? Humans are soft, weak, and worthless. Only the strong can survive out here in the Wastes, and they presume much when they venture into my domain."

 

Powers/Tactics: Khysothemis likes to attack from ambush, often positioning herself in a spot where she has a clear view of her target, but can easily duck out of sight. She will use her powerful bow to fire arrows from long range, relying on her great strength to send her shafts to her targets with sufficient killing power, while remaining out of range of any return fire. Once she's brought down sufficient numbers of the enemy, she'll then close, using her Gaze to eliminate the most heavily armed (or armored targets), and Grabbing anyone else and bringing them in close so snakes that make up her hair can savage them. Although powerful enough to defeat most warriors in hand-to-hand combat, Khysothemis isn't so overconfident to stay in a fight going against her, and will retreat from any battle where she is obviously outnumbered, wounded, or otherwise at a disadvantage.

 

Appearance: Khysothemis is a hideous combination of humanoid female and a giant snake. She has the head, torso, and arms of a human (or elven) woman, with ridged and scaled white skin. Her hair is a mass of writhing snakes, colored white at her scalp and progressing to dark red near the head of each serpent. Khysothemis's lower body is that of a great rattlesnake, the bellyscales white, while the back is pale yellow-tan, with a black and red diamond pattern. At the end of her tail is a large rattle.

 

Designer's Notes: Khysothemis is taken from a Gorgon miniature created by Reaper Miniatures (and obviously inspired by the Medusa seen in the film Clash of the Titans). I liked the look of the figure, since it seemed to be more than just a generic "Medusa" miniature, so I worked up some ideas for a personality and developed the character sheet. The bulk of the character is taken from the Hero System Bestiary Gorgon, with the rest taken from the Giant Snake character sheet. Thus, Khysothemis proves one can easily create new creatures simply splicing together elements of two separate character sheets.

 

(Character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)

 

[Old Man]

Re: Creature: Khysothemis

 

Nice!

[Susano]

Re: Creature: Khysothemis

 

Nice!

 

Thankies!

 

I have more on the way.

[Markdoc]

Re: Creature: Khysothemis

 

That's kind of freaky, since one the adventures for my current game is "the isle of the Gorgon" which features a bow-totin' half-snake medusa. Not quite as pumped as your version, but otherwise, very, very similar!

 

cheers, Mark

[MordeanGrey]

Re: Creature: Khysothemis

 

The evil, game-master side of me applauds your horrifying creation!

 

The player character side of me just wants to avoid her all together!

 

Nice write-up. A little character history goes a long way toward making memorable villains.

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: Creature: Khysothemis

 

I always find it interesting to see creatures that are obviously reptillian, and at the same time, so obviously mammalian.