| From: | Doctor Doom <JCH8169@*****.TAMU.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | From the Archives... Redcaps |
| Date: | Sat, 15 Jan 1994 00:31:06 -0600 |
This is a posting from two years ago...previous to the publishing of
"Paranormal Animals of Europe," in which FASA finally revealed exactly
what happened to dwarves should they contract HMHVV. What follows was
my own solution to the problem, and may serve as an another sub-set of
the species, much as Humans have both Vampires and Nosferatu, and Trolls
have Dzoo-No-Qua and Fomorians.
In either case, it saw its advent previous to the "official" Goblin species,
and some may consider it to be an acceptable, if not intriguing, addition to
their campaign:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REDCAPS
_Cruentuspileus caledoniae_
IDENTIFICATION
Redcaps show a marked similarity with dwarves, with most obvious
exception being their emaciated physique. They have long, talon-like
fingernails, and their skin has a gray pallor, similar to vampires in that
respect. Most paranaturalist agree that the Redcap is the result of HMHVV
retrovirus in dwarves.
Like vampires, they are not a species in the true sense, as they have
been infected with a virus for the vampiric condition. It is true that dwarves
do not normally resurrect after being killed by a HMHVV creature, in that their
natural resistance to disease manages to prevent HMHVV infection; however,
there is the rare case of the virus managing to succeed in re-animating the
dwarf's body. Hence, Redcaps are extremely rare, compared to other vampiric
species.
MAGICAL ABILITY
Latent, although there are rumors of magically active individuals.
HABITS
They are nocturnal, but they do not seem to have the vampires apparent
limitation of the necessity to be dormant during the day, and hence can be
active at all hours, just out of the sunlight.
Redcaps are solitary beings, and this isolationist attitude extends to
other members of their own species. It is rare for there to be more than one
in any given area. Their diet is composed almost exclusively of human flesh,
and there are indications that they, like wendigo and vampires, also receive
some manner of psychic nourishment from drained victims.
They prefer to live in old, abandoned buildings in sparsely populated
areas. The redcaps of legend lived in old, ruined fortresses, usually ones
where there evil acts had been performed or the scenes of great battles.
RANGE
To date, there have been no confirmed sightings of redcaps outside of
the British Isles, with the majority of reports placing them in Scotland.
Redcaps appear to have a preference for cooler climes, as that is where most
of them have been encountered. Such evidence is hardly unequivocal, but it
has held up to scrutiny thus far. They have been scattered reports of
individuals in northern areas of North America; however, the details are
sketchy, and thus these reports should be considered unsubstantiated.
COMMENTARY
Although it has been widely agreed among paranaturalists that Redcaps
are HMHVV dwarves, there is great dissent in the dwarven community over this
proposition. They claim that Redcaps are nothing more than another critter
species, similar to the Man of the Woods, or Munchkins. Such protests can
easily be likened to the elven authorities hotly denying that Banshees are
vampiric elves. From this one could say that the motivation lies not so much
with a true believe, but a desire on the part of the 'parent' species to deny
any connection to its rather unsavory 'offspring.'
Redcaps share their dwarven cousin's thermographic vision capability
as well as exhibit many of the commonly-known vampiric powers of advanced
senses of smell and hearing, great strength, and regeneration. They are also
noticeably faster than normal dwarves, but this is hardly surprising when one
notes that all vampiric species are faster than their 'parent' race. The life
expectancy of these creatures is not known.
There is some evidence to suggest that the transformation to a HMHVV
creature has adverse effects on the victim's intelligence, as in the case of
trolls to dzoo-noo-qua. It is not certain whether this derives from stresses
innate to the disease with which the dwarf cannot cope, which could be
compared with the frequency of psychopathic disorders among vampires from
their rebirth as a 'hunting creature', or if it is a result of the virus'
interaction with the dwarven physiology. Whatever the case, Redcaps do indeed
show very animalistic and instinctual reactions to stimuli, but no scientist
has ventured so far as to class them as 'non-sentient' as of yet.
Redcaps almost always attack on sight, unless the odds are strongly
against them--they seem to prefer one-on-one confrontations. Also, they
usually destroy the body of their victims once they have finished feeding,
which would effectively prevent a new vampiric being from taking up its new
life. So, the chances of being infected by one of them are almost nil.
Another bizarre tendency of the Redcap's psychology is a ritual
involving the remains of their victims, similar to the cannibalistic feast
that Wendigo engage in with their victims to corrupt them) Before destroying
or otherwise maiming the corpse, the Redcap will usually dip an object,
usually an article of clothing, into the still warm blood of its prey. This
object is kept as some sort of talisman, and will not be parted with. It is
from this tendency that the Redcap gets its name, as it is remarkably similar
to the Redcaps of Scottish legend.
Individuals have shown a marked preference for armed combat (with an
emphasis on edged weapons, and, at least according to mythos, axes) that
results in an almost total disregard for more 'modern' implements. This has
been attributed to the fact that it permits them to bring their superior
strength to bear without having so hard demands on skill, but researchers find
a more likely cause to be a physiological in nature. Redcaps show a definite
intelligence deficit in comparison to stock dwarves; therefore,
researchers suggest that the 'modern' weapons are tools may be beyond the
scope of the rather limited cognizance of Redcaps, and thus they use simpler,
more direct implements.
Despite this widely-accepted conventional wisdom, there have been
intermittent reports of late describing subjects using firearms, as well as
acting in concert with one another. Further research is certainly warranted.
There are rumors and a few unsubstantiated sightings of Redcap
magicians. They seem to follow the shamanic tradition almost exclusively, and
they have tendencies towards the predatory totems. This fact alone has raised
the issue of the Redcap's questionable sentience yet again among those in the
scientific community.
POWERS
Enhanced Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses (hearing and smell)
Essence Drain, Regeneration, Thermographic Vision, Immunity to Age, Pathogens,
and Poisons.
WEAKNESSES
Essence Loss, Allergies (Sunlight: Severe, Holy Symbols: Severe),
Vulnerability: Silver
As mentioned above, Redcaps are usually nocturnal, but they can still
be active during the day, despite their allergy. When presented with a
crucifix or other Holy symbol, the Redcap will usually cringe and immediately
withdraw. [ The Redcaps of legends would immediately disappear, leaving behind
only a solitary talon-like fingernail. ]
SHADOWTALK -----------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>[ Come on, guys, you're pullin' my leg on this one...
]<<<<<
-- Mr. Fantastic <21:10:01/12-1-53>
>>>>>[ Those guys know what they're talking about; I've seen one of them,
and
they are MEAN!!! When I saw it, I was in the Scottish Highlands, though. I
don't know if there are any in America. But if they are, have a Crucifix
handy, okay? ]<<<<<
-- Fiona Cochraine <21:11:13/1-DEC-53>
>>>>>[ Cripes! Whaddaya mean, I can turn into one of these bleeders???
]<<<<<
-- Stompy, the Fixer <21:14:22/12-1-53>
>>>>>[ Quite. Although, in all probability, you will DIE from being
attacked
by a vampire. ]<<<<<
-- Darkwatch <21:16:10/12-1-53>
>>>>>[ Gee, what an improvement. ]<<<<<
-- Stompy, the Fixer <21:16:40/12-1-53>
>>>>>[ Darkwatch, why in Heaven's name did you post this?
]<<<<<
-- Blinder <21:17:04/12-1-53>
>>>>>[ The informational post was not exclusively compiled by Darkwatch; I
lend a considerable amount of assistance in information gathering. ]<<<<<
-- Doctor Doom <21:20:00/1-DEC-53>
>>>>>[ Miss Cochraine is right, me lads, they are mean. Swift, silent, and
deadly. About the only way you can hear these blighters is sound of their
constant bloody sharpening of their weapons...imagine 'em with Dikote
*shudder* ]<<<<<
-- O'Reilly <21:28:25/1-DEC-53>
GAME INFORMATION
B Q S C I W E R Attacks
Redcap 4 2x4 5+E 2 2/4 5 2D6 3* Humanoid
[ NOTE: These stats were derived from average dwarven statistics. ]
Powers: Enhanced Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses (hearing and smell)
Essence Drain, Regeneration, Thermographic Vision, Immunity
to Age, Pathogens, and Poisons.
Weaknesses: Essence Loss, Allergies (Sunlight: Severe, Holy Symbols: Severe)
Vulnerability: Silver
Copyright 1994, Doctor Doom -- Doom Technologies & Weapon Systems
Colonel Count von Hohenzollern und von Doom, DMSc, DSc, PhD.
Doom Technologies & Weapon Systems -- Dark Thought Publications
>>> Working on solutions best left in the dark.
<<<
[ Doctor Doom : jch8169@********.tamu.edu ]
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
"If you can't take a little bloody nose maybe you ought to go back home and
crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures
to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
-- Q
