| Notes | The Yelping Beast has the head of a serpent, the neck of a giraffe, and
the body of an immense leopard. Its hooves are those of a stag although
it has the legs and tail of a lion. When it is hun- gry it lets forth
the cry of a hundred yelping hounds, which causes its neck to pulse and
glow. The neck shimmers with every colour under the sun, blending light
vibrantly in a dazzling display. These colours actually hide the
creature from sight, all that people see is a show of multi-coloured
lights. Some people instead see visions of dancing maidens and feasting
lords, or else glimpses of the future. These pulsating colours entrance
birds, beasts, and humans alike trapping them to do nothing but stand
and gaze entranced.
A favoured tactic of the beast is to run away once
its prey is entranced; the victim is forced to follow until it is
exhausted, which is when it pounces. The Yelping Beast grasps prey with
its mouth and then throttles it; and as it begins to feed the noise and
the colours fade. This presents a second peril—those dangerous creatures
who have gathered around it are now freed, and immediately revert to
type. The Yelping Beast’s Gaze attack affects all who look at it, with-
out needing the beast to spend an Action Point to activate it. If the
creature is doing nothing threatening, then the viewer must make an
opposed Willpower roll to avoid being entranced, but the Yelping Beast
is assumed to have rolled a result equal to its Willpower Skill (i.e.
the highest non-critical roll it can make). If the beast acts in a
threatening manner then it is a standard opposed Willpower roll. It
prefers to attack with Surprise with a Leap Attack, using either Deceit
or Stealth (as appropriate) to avoid appearing to take an aggressive
action. Its cry redoubles in volume as it manoeuvres to attack; alerting
others who are not entranced of its intentions. Characters trying to
avoid looking at the beast in combat can fight blindfolded (a Herculean
penalty) or else avert their gaze. The latter requires a Hard Willpower
roll every round, which, if failed, causes the character to be
immediately entranced. Using a reflective sur- face to fight the Beste
Glatissant is ineffective since the entrancing patterns are still seen
in the mirror.
Source: Perceforest |
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