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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 7104560" data-attributes="member: 2209">Imperial Age Victorian Monstrosities<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/50829/The-Imperial-Age-Victorian-Monstrosities?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Imperial Age Victorian Monstrosities</a>d20 ModernThe Beggarwoman: An elderly disabled woman begs for a night’s rest at a castle. Although the Marquise accommodates her, the Marquis comes home and makes her move behind a stove. The woman accidentally slips and fatally injures herself. Years later, the spirit of the Beggarwoman returns to haunt the castle. One of the most disturbing elements of this story is the excessive nature of the vengeance for the harm caused. While the Marquis was a bit inhospitable, he did allow a stranger to stay in his house. His insistence on her moving caused her to fall, but it was an accident. He did not realise the extent of her injury and he certainly didn’t intend for her to die. In return, the Beggarwoman’s spirit returns several years later.The Scorned Woman: Reginald Hempworth was a young gentleman that fell in love with a country girl while keeping an eye on his investments in the wool industry. Although of a different class and station, Reginald assured the young Clarissa that they would be together. He planned on moving to France or possibly America, where only their money, not their breeding would matter.Unfortunately, Reginald was not very good at management and he incurred a large gambling debt. Fortunately, he was offered another woman’s hand in marriage, one with a dowry large enough to pay off Reginald’s debt and get his investments back on their feet. While he loved Clarissa dearly, he could not afford to pass up this opportunity. With a heavy heart, he told Clarissa of his engagement while they were in his carriage.Clarissa did not take well to the news. Angry and hysterical, she flung open the carriage door and fled into the rain. Reginald tried to stop her, but to his horror she had flung herself over a cliff. Luckily for Reginald, a passerby saw Clarissa leap over the edge unaided which kept Reginald out of official trouble.Reginald married and enjoyed two decades with his wife and their children before the Scorned Woman first appeared. She was the spitting image of Clarissa, although in ghostly form. Brunhilda, Vampiric Charismatic Ordinary 4: Brunhilda dies at an early age. Her husband, Lord Walter, never gets over her death, even though he remarried and had two children with his new wife. Walter spends a lot of time at her gravesite and one day encounters a sorcerer (more likely a necromancer) while grieving there. The sorcerer hears his wish for her to return, but although he warns Walter that Brunhilda would not be happy he consents to resurrect her.The Black Widow, Vampire Dedicated Ordinary 4: Unfortunately, Viola had another suitor, Arturo, a local man that had just returned from army service. Arturo demanded that Vittorio annul the marriage. When Vittorio refused, Arturo drew his revolver and demanded satisfaction. Viola tried to intervene and Arturo’s revolver fired, killing Viola on the spot. Arturo fled while Vittorio grieved for his dead bride.Vittorio was inconsolable and refused to sculpt. His patron, upset that Vittorio was leaving much of his promised work unfinished, employed a sorcerer for assistance. The sorcerer confronted Vittorio and told him that he could raise Viola from the dead and that she would remain beautiful forever. She would also remain very much in love with Vittorio. In disbelief, Vittorio agreed to allow the sorcerer to summon her. To his delightful surprise, Vittorio was reunited with his beloved Viola.Demon of the Night, Lich Smart Hero 3/Mage 6: While considered a lich, the Demon of the Night was cursed into its current form rather than achieved it through study. The story contains a strange character, Canon Alberic, who lived in the late seventeenth century. He seems to be an astrologist (or hermetic disciple) and he apparently tore up Church books in order to make a scrapbook. The Demon of the Night appeared at this time and Canon Alberic died in his bed under mysterious circumstances. The Demon is interested in keeping the scrapbook and haunts the current owner of the tome (one can surmise that the church guardian took the book from the church, which caused the Demon to come after him).The statistics below presume that Canon Alberic has been transformed into the Demon of the Night. He is cursed to watch over his scrapbook and ensure that it never leaves the shadow of the old church for long. The Tattered Storyteller, Revenant Charismatic Ordinary 8: ?Human Zombie: A night mail coach accident nine years previous that ended with the death of all passengers. Carmilla, Vampire Charismatic Hero 6: She died at a young age, herself the victim of an unidentified vampire. Vampire: While most women she feeds on die within a week, Carmilla is also known to fall in love with some of her prey and keeps them around much longer. They will eventually succumb, however, and turn into a vampire like Carmilla (the novella insinuates that those killed quickly do not raise as vampires, but this is never explicitly stated).Sir Nicolas Rathbane, Vampire Smart Hero 3/Charismatic Hero 3: ?Dracula, Vampire Charismatic Hero 8/Strong Hero 4/Dedicated Hero 4: The Transylvanian Count was a sorcerer that used black magick to become a vampire. Katerina, The Baroness, Vampire Charismatic Hero 10/Personality 10: The Baroness’ origins are shrouded in mystery. Lord Ruthven, Vampire Charismatic Hero 8: ?Varney, Vampire Fast Hero 3/Swashbuckler 5/Charismatic Hero 2: Sir Francis Varney began life as Mr. Mortimer, a Crown supporter that helped members of English royalty escape to Holland during the English Civil War. He was shot and killed by one of Cromwell’s soldiers just after he’d accidentally killed his own son in a fit of rage. As he was dying, he heard a voice that told him he would be cursed for killing his son. Two years later, Mr. Mortimer rose from his grave as a vampire.Lich: A lich is an undead magickal practitioner (such as a Hermetic Disciple or Medium) that has used magick to unnaturally extend its life. The process of becoming a lich is unspeakably evil and can be undertaken only by a willing character. “Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature, provided it can create the required phylactery; see The Lich’s Phylactery, below.The Lich's PhylacteryAn integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic phylactery in which the character stores its life force. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.Each lich must make its own phylactery, normally through a powerful, secret Incantation. The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.</blockquote>

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