Hi everyone! I would like to thank Jeff D for his excellent donation. It will keep tzg.com up and running for about 4 months! If you feel so inclined, please feel free to click on that donation link to help keep the lights on. Much appreciated!


Post Reply 
 
Thread Rating:
  • 0 Votes - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
New Villain Idea - The Wild Hunt
08-22-2019, 05:38 PM (This post was last modified: 08-23-2019 01:20 PM by Cheshirekat72a.)
Post: #1
New Villain Idea - The Wild Hunt
[Image: 70365_1000.jpg]

"Many men both saw and heard a great number of huntsmen hunting. The huntsmen were black, huge, and hideous, and rode on black horses and on black he-goats, and their hounds were jet black, with eyes like saucers, and horrible. This was seen in the very deer park of the town of Peterborough, and in all the woods that stretch from that same town to Stamford, and in the night the monks heard them sounding and winding their horns."

Henry d'Angely, in 1127

Hello all! I am new to these boards and am spoiling to create my first custom villain for ATOE. While I have a number of ideas kicking about, my favorite for the moment is the Lord of the Wild Hunt from pagan European folklore (referenced above).

I don't really have much in the way of stats for this guy yet, but here is the Minion Table I am thinking of:

D6 Encounter
1-2
Apoplexic Fear - The entire town is gripped with terror as distant sounds braying hounds, winding horns, and thunderous hooves signal the hunt draws closer!
Advance the Darkness Track by 1

3
Hunting Hounds *Ghost* Horde*
The spectral hounds are out in force, relentlessly sniffing out their quarry.
Dice: 3 Wounds: 2

4-5
Rider of the Hunt - A foray by an outrider of the Hunt can only mean ill for the fate of Shadowbrook....
Dice: 4 Wounds: 3
Advance the Darkness Track by 1

6
The Lord of the Hunt
Dice: 5 Wounds: 5
Fight one round with the Lord of the Hunt. If his wounds are not reduced by 3 or more, he continues on his way, and a Village Elder is killed.

In the scenario I am imagining....

A stranger stumbles into town, wide-eyed with fear and babbling incoherently. He speaks gibberish about relentless pursuit by spectral huntsmen, but passers-by assume he has just been too much in the cups. That night, a great cacophony of horns, hooves, and hunting dogs are heard in the woods and meadows surrounding Shadowbrook, stirring a great fright among the town folk. In the morning, the broken, torn, and trampled body of the stranger is found near the Bridge. Those who see the body pray the in death the Stranger has taken the great evil he brought with him.

But the evil has only begun to be felt, for the Hunt must always have its quarry to pursue. And the Lord of the Hunt has chosen one of Shadowbrooks' own town elders for his prey...


This villain would be a bit different from the other ATOE villains I have seen, in that it cannot be defeated. Nope. Never. He can only be thwarted and offered a more desirable prey. As the darkenss draws closer and the Lord of the Hunt's minions strike, the town elders will be killed (that is, any who are not in league with the huntsman) one by one.

In the final showdown, the Investigators can only temporarily incapacitate the huntsman, they cannot kill him. If they reduce his wounds to zero, they have one opportunity to perform a conjuring ritual that will summon from the Abyss a much worthier prey for the Wild Hunt to pursue. I haven't worked out the details of the ritual yet, but I imagine it will be a pretty challenging Spirit Test. Because of its dark occult nature, no Holy Investigators may participate. On success, the Ritual brings forth a fell creature from the Abyss that the Lord of the Hunt immediately fixates upon. The creature flees in terror, and the Hunt pursues...all the way out of Shadowbrook, forever. Possibly. Insane20 If they fail to complete the Ritual, the Lord of the Hunt regains his strength (heals all wounds) and the battle continues. The ritual may be attempted again if the Villain can be laid low again. And so on.

I know it is really rough and requires a lot more work, but any thoughts from the group would be most appreciated!

One matter on which I would appreciate input: I am trying to decide whether the huntsman, hounds, and lord should be spectral (like the ghost soldiers) or corporeal undead (like zombies or skeletons). It would make some sense for them to be ghostly, but most accounts of the Hunt (such as the one quoted at the outset) make it sound like its members have corporeal form. I personally don't think the Hunt should be entirely ghostly: I sort of imagine them loving battle and conflict so much that they animate the remains of ancient warriors and their mounts so that they can again ride and wield weapons and against their prey. Any thoughts?

Cheers!
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
08-23-2019, 02:15 PM
Post: #2
RE: New Villain Idea - The Wild Hunt
Wow, this sounds great!
I can already picture the components... Zombie17

How about these thoughts?
From what i've read, it would make sense for the Huntsman, Hounds, and Lord to be corporeal for most of the time, but perhaps initially (upon first appearance) be spectral.
Maybe if the summoning fails, they turn spectral again for a turn while they 'recover'.

During their time spectral, only magic or magic-enhanced weapons would work.
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
08-23-2019, 08:26 PM (This post was last modified: 08-23-2019 08:27 PM by Old Dwarf.)
Post: #3
RE: New Villain Idea - The Wild Hunt
BDY you got ahead of me. I also thought that the first encounter with all the creatures would be spectral & starting the 2nd round on would be
corporeal. This seem in line with most of the Wild Hunt tales they are spirits but also can physically attack.

I'd like a bit of background of what the Wild Hunt is doing in post AWI America as it's strongly tied to Europe. I also think the Ritual is overkill
& just creates another set of rules. I guess you could have a die roll for the showdown to determine if the Huntsman is in corporeal or spirit form
when encountered.

In any case the Wild Hunt is a cool idea well worth working on.

OD

Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,—
Wailing for the lost one that comes not again:
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
08-27-2019, 03:02 AM
Post: #4
RE: New Villain Idea - The Wild Hunt
It's been a while since I played AToE and this has inspired me to give it another go. Great idea and an excellent theme.

+1 rep
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 


Forum Jump:


User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)