Dreamlands Creatures

The Dreamlands spawn a tremendous variety of fiends who lurk in our nightmares, products of the cavernous human subconscious. More frightening is the fact that certain prehistoric fiends can literally stalk the very dimensions of our dreams and that the foul remnants of ancient species have oft removed themselves to these realms as a last refuge from our harsh world.

Ogres
". . . but I do fault mine eyes, for such cannot be. I had spied a gypsy on watch eating some exotic form of pie possessed of an odd pork odor not to be found anywhere on the earth, when I realized that his teeth were quite nearly as sharp as needles. . ." Conrad Hubbard, "
The Sculptor"

It is said by Dreamlands scholars that long ago, the ogres walked the earth, passing amongst humans unrecognized, but that as they were discovered they were gradually destroyed in reaction to the horror caused by the revelation that they had a taste for human flesh. They are thought to have been a tribe of particularly degenerate humans who gained their subtle corruption due to cannibalistic rituals and reputed inbreeding with the sinister ghouls. There may be some truth to this, as they apparently learned the secret of the Dreamlands and managed to escape persecution to slip forever into the forgotten kingdoms. 

The ogres are quite rare in the Dreamlands, and no longer exist anywhere else. It is rumored that a last great shaman of their race who somehow remained uncorrupted still can be found on the earth, and she is reputed to be named Baba Yaga. (See the Horror on the Orient Express by Chaosium Games) Unable to return to the earth, and unable to bear their own children, the ogres seek out children to steal, and dreamers to abduct. A child or dreamer who spends too long with the ogres may find himself becoming one of them, gaining the taste for human flesh, and slowly becoming a new member of the horrific race. In many ways the ogrish culture resembles a nightmarish caricature of the fictional gypsy lifestyle. 

Ogres are quite strong and possess razor sharp teeth. They can easily pass as humans, though they usually appear rather exotic due to their outlandish mode of dress and vagabond habits. They can even appear quite handsome or beautiful unless one examines their smile too closely. Of course, they rarely allow their lips to bare their teeth when dealing with common folk in civilized places. As new ogres only come about due to kidnapping, they are often on the prowl for new children, but it is actually very rarely that they find a suitable adoptee. Due to their dreamlands nature, they never die of old age, though certainly they often become ancient and withered before being slain. Beware the power of an old man with predatorial fangs.

OGRES, nightmarish vagabonds

Characteristics	Rolls	Averages
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP	2d6+12 2d6+6 3d6 3d6 2d6+6 3d6 3d6	19 13 10-11 10-11 13 10-11 10-11

Move:8Hit Points:12
Av. Damage Bonus: +1d4
Weapon: Bite 50%, damage 1d3+dmg bonus
Fighting Knife 50%, damage 1d4+2+dmg bonus
Armor: none, unless worn
Spells: often manage to learn a few spells over the years
Skills: Move Quietly 50%, Speak various human languages 5-25%
Sanity Loss: Unless discovered, there is no sanity loss. A person discovering that someone is an ogre is likely to lose 0/1d4 Sanity.

Gargoyles
"The grisly statue of one of his gargoyles fell from the heights of the bell tower above and through the trap door above. Oddly, it did not shatter upon striking the ground and instead fell forward into me. In my deranged state I must have struggled with it and cut myself badly upon its carven claws. . ." Conrad Hubbard, "The Sculptor"

There are certain sorcerors of foul nature who reside at least part of the time in the Dreamlands whose creations are both frightful in their ubiquitous appearance and their savage madness. The horrid ritual which transforms normal people into the fearsome blasphemies which lurk upon stone fortresses of strange abandoned sort is known to few, but their tales are whispered in taverns across the Six Kingdoms.

Gargoyles are the result of Dreamlands sorceries which render poor souls into gruesome beasts. As the name implies, these strange creatures are seemingly made of stone. When resting they are indistinguishable from statues and can be treated as such. However when they awaken to their master's dark biddings, they can be deadly and heartless. Usually the innocent victim of evil magic, the gargoyle sometimes seems to display momentary remembrance of a life gone past and barely remembered. Their silent screams of madness are very unsettling to the psychically aware.

It should be noted that gargoyles are always at least a little smaller than a person, but they are very heavy and dense which accounts for their great strength and mass. They are also suprisingly agile for a statue.

GARGOYLES, stone guardians

Characteristics	Rolls	Averages
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX	3d6+12 3d6 4d6+6 1d6 1 3d6	22-23 10-11 20 3-4 1 10-11

Move:5/9 Hit Points:15-16
Av. Damage Bonus: +2d6
Weapon: Claw 35%, damage 1d6+dmg bonus
Armor: 6 point armor skin
Spells: gargoyles are usually no longer bright enough to understand spells
Skills: Pounce 50%, Masquerade as Statue 99%
Sanity Loss: Unless discovered, there is no sanity loss. A person discovering a gargoyle is likely to lose 0/1d8 Sanity.

Cockatrice
". . . somehow it reminded me of drawings of geologists findings of early avians fossils, covered both in scales and feathers yet all the more frightening that its cry seemed to reach into some ancient mammalian memory buried within me and nearly paralyzed me with terror." Conrad Hubbard, "The Sculptor"

These strange Dreamlands creatures bear great resemblance to the Basilisk, and some mutter that they are the product of a hen's egg and a Basilisk's poison. They even appear similar to the basilisk, except that they bear more feathers, and those feathers are black. Their hides are likewise much darker and the cockatrice is a stealthier creature.

Fear of the cockatrice is especially virulent due to the stories that their victims are not slain, but instead forever immortalized as stone. Indeed, the peck of a cockatrice injects a vicious magical venom which acts as a catalyst to petrify the entire body of its prey. It is thought that they then slowly devour the new statue, and that a meal can last for a very long time as the poor soul gradually feels ground away. Despite usually having small wings, the cockatrice thankfully cannot fly.

COCKATRICE, fearsome mythic creature

Characteristics	Rolls	Averages
STR CON SIZ POW DEX	2d6 3d6 2d6 1d6+12 2d6+6	7 10-11 7 15-16 13

Move:8 Hit Points:9
Weapon: Peck 30%, damage 1d6+petrification
Armor: 2 point armor skin
Spells: none, but anyone who takes damage from a peck must resist POW vs POW or be turned into stone
Skills: Squawk Annoyingly 50%, Devour Stone 50%
Sanity Loss: A person discovering a cockatrice is likely to lose 1/1d8 Sanity points.

All Material is © 1997 Conrad Hubbard.
References to products created by Chaosium or other
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