Denizens of the Bog - a bestiary for Troika!
I'm currently writing a little dungeon placed inside a bog.
I think this could be located anywhere near some big swamp or coastal area, somewhere where the low waters of the marshes give way to larger bodies of water and big trees obscuring the view, where clusters of mosquitoes will not let you pass unharmed and where the lights you see at night under the restless waters are not always the reflections of Moon and stars.
Anyway, while the dungeon needs to be designed still, here are some creatures and enemies you may find while treading these perilous waters!
(and here's the link to buy the PDF version with some drawings I made!
Denizens of the Bog on itch.io )
Denizens of the Bog
MARSHCAPS
Small fungi humanoids, living in little tribes that are basically large families.
They revel in the daily life of the bog, but could attack using their hat when threatened.
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | laughing |
| 2 | family gathering |
| 3 | celebrating |
| 4 | playful |
| 5 | caring for friends |
| 6 | spreading spores |
SKILL: 5
STAMINA: 5
INITIATIVE: 1
ARMOUR: 1
DAMAGE as HAMMER
SPECIAL: When startled, they secrete spores covering a 3 meters radius. These spores, if inhaled, have 1 chance out of 3 to put a man to sleep for some time.
METHAMPHETAMPHIBIANS
little and mischievous amphibians, roaming the cloudy waters in groups of 3 or 4.
If bored, a band of methamphetamphibinas will do everything in their power to bring mayhem and confusion around them.
Some may look frog-like, others could be more or less salamanderous in nature, but all of them are always super-high on their own suppurating skins.
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | murder |
| 2 | secreting drugs |
| 3 | psycho murder |
| 4 | screaming |
| 5 | roaming |
| 6 | in search for fun |
SKILL: 4
STAMINA: 4
INITIATIVE: 3
ARMOUR: 0
DAMAGE as SMALL BEAST
SPECIAL: highly trippy skin: it takes a little more than a single brush to be sent for 1d6 minutes in a world of psychedelic horrors and wonders!
BARK MONGREL
These canine predators are born with a wooden epidermis. The harder and more textured it gets with aging, the higher is the respect a member is given among their pack.
Travelers must beware every floating and innocuous-looking log while traversing the swamp!
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | famished |
| 2 | playful |
| 3 | on the hunt |
| 4 | shunned beta male |
| 5 | aggressive |
| 6 | photosynthesizing |
SKILL: 7
STAMINA: 10
INITIATIVE: 2
ARMOUR: 2
DAMAGE: as MODEST BEAST
PILLAGERS OF DROSS
Mysterious community that stalks the bog, ever searching for wreckages to pillage or metal hulks to scavenge.
Are they of human-folk? Are they beast?
What eyes are following your movements from under those dreadful masks of reeds they wear?
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | scavenging |
| 2 | praying |
| 3 | pillaging |
| 4 | hiding |
| 5 | admiring the shallows |
| 6 | stalking |
SKILL: 9
STAMINA: 12
INITIATIVE: 2
ARMOUR: 2
DAMAGE as Weapon
FILTH-WITCH
these old hags can be spotted only under a full moon, when they hunt the shallow waters for small prey and unsuspecting campers with their spears.
Treading the foul waters, the reeds and bones they gather upon their body grants them a squishy layer of protection.
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | seething |
| 2 | cultivating |
| 3 | studying |
| 4 | cruel |
| 5 | hospitable |
| 6 | unpretentious |
SKILL: 7
STAMINA: 14
INITIATIVE: 2
ARMOUR: 1
DAMAGE as SPEAR
SPECIAL: they are not to be found under daylight, and are driven away by any fire source. If a filth-witch feels threatened or followed, their hut will be rigged with traps and Gatherbogs, while the witch will fly to a new abode.
Filth-witches have 2 spells rolled randomly.
GATHERBOG
These ghastly sentient traps are basically lumps of old bones and rotting meat, spawned near burial grounds and killing fields of the marshes.
They can only float slowly and usually mindlessly, but will assail without hesitation any living thing that's too close with their hewn organs.
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | floating |
| 2 | vibing |
| 3 | disinterested |
| 4 | spaced out |
| 5 | dazed |
| 6 | confused |
SKILL: 5
STAMINA: 6
INITIATIVE: 1
ARMOUR: 0
DAMAGE as MODEST BEAST
MOULDMARSHALS
Military contingent on a mission. They seem to be scrupulously searching for something amongst the wetlands and the marshes, and will not be misled or deceived from their path. They know how to use violence in order to get what they want.
The wild fauna soon learned to keep their distance from these soldiers, while the local fungi tribes dread encountering them.
Luckily, lately they seem to be only interested in the ancient buried ruins that the bog often reveals...
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | proud |
| 2 | angry |
| 3 | pompous |
| 4 | smug |
| 5 | bloodthirsty |
| 6 | unruly |
SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 11
INITIATIVE: 3
ARMOUR: 3
DAMAGE as WEAPON (melee or ranged)
SPECIAL: Mouldmarshals are always patrolling the land in couples: if one of them is killed or incapacitated, the other one will try to disengage and contact the nearest colleagues to raise an alarm. On the result of 1 on a d6 throw while disengaging, the Mouldmarshall will also throw a grenade amongst the enemies, which explodes and causes DAMAGE as JOLT in a 9 meters radius.
GOLEM OF THE TROVE
These colossal guardians of sticks and stones guard the entrance and the first floor of the Trove: a sprawling, hidden cluster of ruins that sunk centuries back to the bottom of the bog.
Every golem has a magical rune carved on stone somewhere, probably under different layers of moss. Try defacing it, and maybe the coloss will stop. Or maybe not.
| d6 | MIEN |
|---|---|
| 1 | guarding |
| 2 | guarding |
| 3 | bored |
| 4 | catatonic |
| 5 | stiff |
| 6 | suspicious |
SKILL: 9
STAMINA: 20
INITIATIVE: 3
ARMOUR: 4
DAMAGE as LARGE BEAST
SPECIAL: On the result of 1 or 2 on a d6, the golem will be concealing a methamphetamphibian's nest in its body, containing 1 or 2 eggs that can be sold for their weight in gold to the right merchants. Beware the parent's rage!