This is one of those creatures that has been haunting my hard drive for a number of years, games and editions. It was the seeing them again in White Dwarf that made me dust them off and put on a fresh coat of paint for Monday.
Enjoy!
Rusalka
Armor Class: 6 [13] / 2 [17] when incoporeal
Hit Dice: 4d8* (20 hp)
No. of Attacks: 1 (physical)
Damage: 1d6
Special: Charm, drowning
Movement: 30’ (90')
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Witch 4
Morale: 9
Treasure: None / See below
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 360
Rusalka is often used, and confused, for a lot of different water creatures. But the true Rusalka is a fearful undead creature. In all cases the Rusalka is the undead spirit of a young woman that had drown. The circumstances of her death vary; some say she drowned with out being baptized first, others again say she died while drowning her own children (which will sometime result in a Navky or Utburd). But most say the surest way to become a Rusalka is to be a witch.
The Rusalka is most often found near the area where she died. Often hiding near a tree close to the water where she died. She can wander away during night, but she must return before sunrise or face complete destruction. She can move about during the day, but she can't attack. Also during the light of day she can be seen for what she is; an undead creature.
They may become incorporeal at will, but are forced into it at sunrise. In anycase she can only be hit with weapons of +1 or better.
The Rusalka will attempt to charm her victim into an embrace. She will then attempt lure the victim into her watery grave to drown them as they had been drowned. The victim she chooses is often tied to her reason for dying. If she comited suicide over love or was spurned by a lover she will go after victims that remind her of her former love. If she curse for drowning a child, then she preys on children or mothers with small children. Rusalkas that were drowned for witchcraft will seek out victims that remind her of her captors; men of religion, war or other magic-using characters.
The Rusalka may be turned as a Wraith, but the only way to truly destroy one is to find her corpse and give it a proper funereal. A pyre is usually the preferred choice.
The Rusalka has no need for treasure so she never keeps any. There will be treasure left over from her victims. Typically this will be a few gems, 2-20 (2d10) of 5 to 20 (1d4 x5) gp each.
OGL Section 15 Rusalka Copyright 2012 Timothy S. Brannan.
All text is Open under the terms of the OGL. Art is in the Public Domain.
Links are not considered part of this entry and are not under the OGL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka
Monday, October 8, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Don't Forget! MONSTROUS MONDAY
Don't forget, MONSTROUS MONDAY is coming up.
The LinkyList is now fixed and working, so sign-ups may resume!
Please link back to http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/
You can sign up here now.
You can sign up here now.
October Challenge: Blade (1998)
Blade (1998)
So my son wanted to watch a horror movie, but he is not a fan of horror films. But he does like action and Marvel. So we decided on Blade.
I have seen this one before and it is stupid fun. Vampires killing each other. Ancient vampire gods. Good times.
Blade is one of the few Marvel characters I still like. Maybe because he created by Marv Wolfman who would also be responsible for the New Teen Titans.
A couple of points of interest.
This is one of the very first "Cinematic Marvel Universe" movies, though I am not sure if it fits into it proper.
Udo Kier is in this as the head of the vampire council. I think you can do a horror movie fest just on movies he was in. I might have to do that sometime.
Tally: Watched 7, New 5
What are you watching?
So my son wanted to watch a horror movie, but he is not a fan of horror films. But he does like action and Marvel. So we decided on Blade.
I have seen this one before and it is stupid fun. Vampires killing each other. Ancient vampire gods. Good times.
Blade is one of the few Marvel characters I still like. Maybe because he created by Marv Wolfman who would also be responsible for the New Teen Titans.
A couple of points of interest.
This is one of the very first "Cinematic Marvel Universe" movies, though I am not sure if it fits into it proper.
Udo Kier is in this as the head of the vampire council. I think you can do a horror movie fest just on movies he was in. I might have to do that sometime.
Tally: Watched 7, New 5
What are you watching?
Saturday, October 6, 2012
October Challenge: The Omen (2006)
The Omen (2006)
Generally speaking remakes of horror movies are not very good. Every so often you get one that is better than the original. The Omen (2006) is not really any better, but it looks better and it is certainly better acted.
The original Omen I watched as a kid and it was goofy fun with the Anti-Christ. But a lot of the movie was very stiff. The new Omen is a better movie, even if the story is exactly the same (give or take).
Famously released on 06-06-06, I remember the ads for this one well. Fitting for my 6th movie.
The best I can say about this is that I like Julia Stiles a lot better in this one. Pete Postlethwaite did a good job as Brennan and did (I'll admit) a better job than Patrick Troughton who I have said before was the best actor in the Original Omen.
If you know the original story you know this one. Thankfully we were spared the sequels that followed.
Tally: Watched 6, New 5
What are you watching?
Generally speaking remakes of horror movies are not very good. Every so often you get one that is better than the original. The Omen (2006) is not really any better, but it looks better and it is certainly better acted.
The original Omen I watched as a kid and it was goofy fun with the Anti-Christ. But a lot of the movie was very stiff. The new Omen is a better movie, even if the story is exactly the same (give or take).
Famously released on 06-06-06, I remember the ads for this one well. Fitting for my 6th movie.
The best I can say about this is that I like Julia Stiles a lot better in this one. Pete Postlethwaite did a good job as Brennan and did (I'll admit) a better job than Patrick Troughton who I have said before was the best actor in the Original Omen.
If you know the original story you know this one. Thankfully we were spared the sequels that followed.
Tally: Watched 6, New 5
What are you watching?
Zatannurday: Deviant Art
I was out looking for artists that might be interested in submitted art to my new books. No luck in that department, but a lot in the looking for awesome pics of Zatanna one.
Here are some artists. Make sure you go to their DA page as well and tell them how good they are.
Commission: Zatanna by *Offworldtrooper on deviantART
Zatanna Con Commission by *olivernome on deviantART
Zatanna by *shoot-o on deviantART
Zatanna by *SeanE on deviantART
Zatanna and Constantine commission detail by *MarcLaming on deviantART
July 20 - Top hat by *CallMePo on deviantART
Zatanna Motor City Con 2012 by *ComfortLove on deviantART
Zatanna - Comic Con Paris 2012 by *MahmudAsrar on deviantART
Zatanna bust by *MichaelDooney on deviantART
Zatanna by ~Klatte on deviantART
zatanna by *crisdelarastudio on deviantART
Zatanna by =ExoroDesigns on deviantART
Here are some artists. Make sure you go to their DA page as well and tell them how good they are.
Commission: Zatanna by *Offworldtrooper on deviantART
Zatanna Con Commission by *olivernome on deviantART
Zatanna by *shoot-o on deviantART
Zatanna by *SeanE on deviantART
Zatanna and Constantine commission detail by *MarcLaming on deviantART
July 20 - Top hat by *CallMePo on deviantART
Zatanna Motor City Con 2012 by *ComfortLove on deviantART
Zatanna - Comic Con Paris 2012 by *MahmudAsrar on deviantART
Zatanna bust by *MichaelDooney on deviantART
Zatanna by ~Klatte on deviantART
zatanna by *crisdelarastudio on deviantART
Zatanna by =ExoroDesigns on deviantART
Friday, October 5, 2012
October Challenge: Solomon Kane (2009)
Solomon Kane (2009)
Pity poor Robert E. Howard. Considered one of the best of the pulp writers of the age, the movies made from his works, Conan and Solomon Kane, have languished. In the case of Conan, three movies across two franchises and not a one is considered true to the character. Then there is Solomon Kane. His movie is out in theaters now despite being filmed over three years ago.
Now I have just started reading some Solomon Kane, so I will say this. The movie is brutal but it holds close to the books at least as far as I can tell.
While this could have descended into the pits of hell know only as "made for the SciFi channel" this is actually a very good movie. James Purefoy is almost Hugh Jackman like in his portrayal of Kane.
The build up to the end is slow, but it starts with a very bloody fight, so it does pull you right in.
While it could be classified as horror, dark fantasy might be a better term for it.
Tally: Watched 5, New 4
What are you watching?
Pity poor Robert E. Howard. Considered one of the best of the pulp writers of the age, the movies made from his works, Conan and Solomon Kane, have languished. In the case of Conan, three movies across two franchises and not a one is considered true to the character. Then there is Solomon Kane. His movie is out in theaters now despite being filmed over three years ago.
Now I have just started reading some Solomon Kane, so I will say this. The movie is brutal but it holds close to the books at least as far as I can tell.
While this could have descended into the pits of hell know only as "made for the SciFi channel" this is actually a very good movie. James Purefoy is almost Hugh Jackman like in his portrayal of Kane.
The build up to the end is slow, but it starts with a very bloody fight, so it does pull you right in.
While it could be classified as horror, dark fantasy might be a better term for it.
Tally: Watched 5, New 4
What are you watching?
Review: Doctor Who Defending the Earth (2012)
The latest Doctor Who source book is out for the "Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Game".
This book is the UNIT source book, "Defending the Earth".
Like all the Who books this one is full color. While it skews more to the new Who series, there in a lot of Classic Who material here including stats for the 3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee).
The UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) is tasked by the UN with protecting the Earth from Alien threats. This book allows you to create UNIT bases, personal and comes with two sample adventures.
In many ways a UNIT based game can be more interesting that a Doctor-based one. In this everyone can have a nicely defined role. You have field scientists, soldiers of all sorts and even civilians.
Among the features of this book are the expanded firearms and mass combat rules. The History of UNIT. Personnel, which includes plenty of new traits for military, science and civilians. And two UNIT based adventures.
This is one of my favorite sourcebooks for DW so far. Not just because of the limitless possibilities, but also because there is more attention paid to the older series than other books (note I am not saying this is a flaw of the other books, but it is a nice feature of this one).
I also see this as one of the more flexible books. You can set up a small UNIT command base and let the wackiness ensue. In fact, my own playtests adventures with DW could easily be converted into a UNIT game. Think back to the 3rd Doctor's adventures, these were mostly Earth based with UNIT. All of those are great ideas for a game. Or even the Sarah Jane Adventures.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out the cross-game compatibility with this and Primeval. While such a thing is never stated in either book and I am certain that it was not design consideration, there is nothing the ARC can't do that UNIT can't also do and visa-versa. By adding them together you get something very cool AND adventures to last for a couple of campaigns.
As with all books in this line, it is full color, well laid out and full of stills from the show.
A great addition to the collections of gamers or Who fans.
This book is the UNIT source book, "Defending the Earth".
Like all the Who books this one is full color. While it skews more to the new Who series, there in a lot of Classic Who material here including stats for the 3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee).
The UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) is tasked by the UN with protecting the Earth from Alien threats. This book allows you to create UNIT bases, personal and comes with two sample adventures.
In many ways a UNIT based game can be more interesting that a Doctor-based one. In this everyone can have a nicely defined role. You have field scientists, soldiers of all sorts and even civilians.
Among the features of this book are the expanded firearms and mass combat rules. The History of UNIT. Personnel, which includes plenty of new traits for military, science and civilians. And two UNIT based adventures.
This is one of my favorite sourcebooks for DW so far. Not just because of the limitless possibilities, but also because there is more attention paid to the older series than other books (note I am not saying this is a flaw of the other books, but it is a nice feature of this one).
I also see this as one of the more flexible books. You can set up a small UNIT command base and let the wackiness ensue. In fact, my own playtests adventures with DW could easily be converted into a UNIT game. Think back to the 3rd Doctor's adventures, these were mostly Earth based with UNIT. All of those are great ideas for a game. Or even the Sarah Jane Adventures.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out the cross-game compatibility with this and Primeval. While such a thing is never stated in either book and I am certain that it was not design consideration, there is nothing the ARC can't do that UNIT can't also do and visa-versa. By adding them together you get something very cool AND adventures to last for a couple of campaigns.
As with all books in this line, it is full color, well laid out and full of stills from the show.
A great addition to the collections of gamers or Who fans.
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