My latest obsession is my Jackson, IL campaign for NIGHT SHIFT®. I have been doing a lot of research, and many creatures keep coming up, but none more fun than the giant cats of the area where I grew up.
Opinions vary. Are there cougars in the middle of the state of Illinois? Large bobcats? Panthers? Well, there is a "Panther Creek" conservation area nearby, but no actual panthers. But were there? Well, in Jackson, there certainly was. Maybe there still is.
The Crimson Cougar
Every school has a mascot. Some have teeth.
In Jackson, Illinois, the teams of Jackson Public High are the Crimson Cougars. The name is on jackets, painted across gym walls, and shouted from the bleachers every fall. Officially, it is a solid school mascot. Strong animal. Local color. Nothing more.
Ask around long enough, and the older stories surface.
Long before the school took the name, farmers and hunters spoke of a great red cat seen along fence rows, creek beds, and field edges at dusk. Some said it was a cougar caught in strange light. Others swore it was too large, too lean, and too quiet to be natural. A few claimed it appeared before storms, accidents, sudden deaths, and other runs of bad luck. When Holmwood Hall on MacAlister campus burned down in the 1940s, some students claimed to have seen it roaming around. It was seen prior to the great train crash of the 1860s that killed dozens. And when the Cholera epidemic killed scores, it was seen roaming outside the city limits.
The stories never matched in every detail. They agreed on one point. Seeing it meant something.
Years passed. Then the town did what small towns often do. It took something feared and turned it into a symbol. It painted the monster on helmets and pennants. It gave it school colors and a grin.
Some people in Jackson still say it is out there, waiting to foretell another disaster.
Frequency: Very rare/Unique
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 4
Move: 18
Hit Dice: 7+2
% in Lair: 0%* (no lair has been found)
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1-4/1-4/2-6
Special Attacks: Surprise, pounce, fear gaze
Special Defenses: Hit only by silver or magical weapons at night or in darkness
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to Semi-
Alignment: Neutral
Size: L
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/X.P. Value: VI / 825 + 10 per hit point
Crimson Cougar (NIGHT SHIFT)
No. Appearing: 1
DV: 4
Move: 45 ft.
Vitality Dice: 7
Special: 3 attacks (2 claws and bite), move silently, silver or magical weapons to hit, cause fear.
XP Value: 1,400
Crimson Cougar is a large, mountain-lion-like creature with fur in a dark reddish, even blood-like, color. Some people think it is only an illusion formed by the sunset, but others have claimed to have seen it at night. The eyes are said to be gold, although scared eyewitnesses claim they glow red.
This being is extremely quiet and catches other creatures off guard on a roll of 1-4 on a d6 when found in forests, cornfields, creeks, or at twilight. If Crimson Cougar attacks by jumping out of hiding, it gains a +2 bonus to hit with both claw attacks in the first round. If both claw attacks hit one target, the being can bite the creature for 2-6 points of damage.
When looking at the creature in the eye within 30 feet, a creature must make a saving throw vs spells or flee for 1-4 rounds. If retreat is possible, creatures with at least 5 Hit Dice get +2 to their saving throw, as they find it harder to be intimidated by an unnatural creature such as the Crimson Cougar. A successful save grants immunity to this cougar's gaze attack for 24 hours.
If it is twilight, storm-dark, or nighttime, only silver or magic weapons will hurt this being; however, normal weapons may harm it in full daylight, although they offer little relief to someone under attack by the being's claw strikes.
Although the creature is known to be fearsome, it is not normally malevolent to humans. It does not hunt them for pleasure and does not kill livestock without cause. The crimson cougar usually appears where the ancient boundaries have been violated, where blood is about to be spilled, or when the land has become angry. It can be an omen, a protective spirit, a ghost, or any supernatural animal.
Despite many hunts over the last two centuries, no lair of the Crimson Cougar has even been discovered. No cubs or mated pairs have ever been seen, leading many to speculate that there is only one Crimson Cougar, if it is a living creature, or a manifestation of the land.
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