Thursday, February 5, 2015

Jeepers Creepers: The Creeper (Eternal Hunger for OSR Gaming)


The villain of two excellent horror movie is an ancient creature with unclear origins; it could be an ancient demon, a mutated sorcerer, or perhaps a victim of a curse. A psychic once gained insight on the Creeper; it can only live for 23 days every 23 years in the Springtime. During this 23 day rampage it feeds, gorging itself on the flesh and bone and blood of man. Then it curls up into a withered husk for another 23 years.

It is built for killing: massive strength, incredibly fast wings, talon hands and feet, and needled teeth.  It can easily rip a man apart.

The Creeper is a clever opponent, often much smarter than his prey. He is a brilliant hunter. He wears clothing, hats and long coats to help disguise his true nature. He can drive. He sets up lairs, listens to old music, makes traps and weapons, and decorates with artwork made from corpses and body parts. Although he does not speak he is not a dumb brute. There is method to his mayhem.

The Creeper possesses a wicked sense of humor. He will use corpses, body parts, and other means to scare his victims and amuse himself. He drove an old truck with a license plate that reads BEATNGU, which is first mis-interpreted as "beating you." The error is corrected later as the heroes realize it says "be eating you".


In the first movie the Creeper and his victims destinies revolve around various recordings of the tune "Jeepers Creepers."

It is unknown if the Creeper can truly be destroyed. Even in it's mummy-like hibernation state it may be difficult to destroy. Fire, acid, perhaps none of these will truly eradicate the Creeper. I would hazard a guess that if any part is left intact the Creeper will be able to regenerate itself somehow when the 23 year cycle begins again. Perhaps it is a spirit that inhabits a corpse, transforming it into the Creeper's form. Who can truly tell as so little information about the thing is known. Perhaps it can even be awakened early by spell or science. The opportunities for DM's are rich.
The Creeper
No. Enc.:  Unique
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')/ 240' (80') Flight
Armor Class: 14 (Tough Hide)
HD: 8
Hit pts: 48
Attacks:  2 claws and a bite (1d6 each) or by weapon (see below)
Save: F8
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XX
XP:  3100

Darkvision
The Creeper can see in the blackest pits as if it were daylight.

Massive Strength
The Creeper is strong enough that melee and thrown weaponry does damage at one dice step higher. He can punch through wood, cinder block, and tear apart light steel bare-handed. He can easily subdue a human and fly away with them by grabbing them with his taloned feet. He has been shown to lift up the rear of and drag a large truck while attached to it via harpoon and cable. He can jump a distance of 30' easily.

Prey Scent
Not everyone is compatible with the Creeper for regeneration. There is a 1-2/1d6 chance that a person has usable body part for regeneration.

To find his proper prey the Creeper possesses a third nostril on the bridge of his nose which allows him to locate viable prey. This nostril can only detect proper donors when the person is in a state of fear. Most are afraid by his mere presence and the situation they are caught in. They are at -2 to all actions until  the Creeper departs.

Those victims who try to be brave can be intimidated by a display from the Creeper.
Those who see the Creeper's display must Save (Paralyzation) at -4 or be afraid with the -2 penalty as above. A new Fear roll must be made each time the Creeper attempts to scare victims, although the second and subsequent attempts have no penalty to the Saving Throw.
Regeneration
Each time the Creeper is hit make sure to track how much damage each hit does individually as the Creeper regenerates by replacing damaged body parts with fresh ones gained from victims. If the players make a called shot (-4) to his wing he will be able to fly only at half speed. If both are damaged he can no longer fly until the wings are healed. If a leg is hit his land movement is halved. If both are hit he can only move by crawling or throwing himself along the ground 10' per round with his massive strength. DM's will need to use their judgement here. Roll with it.

To regenerate damage the victim's donor part is removed and swallowed whole; the damaged Creeper part is then usually ripped off, allowing the new part to move into position and regenerate all hit points lost on that wound as the new part takes on the features of the Creeper's lost body part. Lost movement will be partially or fully restored based on what was damaged and what was healed. This process takes 1d6 rounds + 1 round for each wound healed. He may have to do this a few times if there are not enough available body parts to swallow.

While regenerating the Creeper is vulnerable. His enemies gain a +4 bonus to attack him and he can only defend not attack. He often holes up to regenerate for his own safety, only healing out in the open as a last ditch effort to save himself.

When the Creeper is dropped to 0 to -9 hit points he is massively damaged and passes out for 1d6 minutes before reawakening and continuing his pursuit of prey. At this point he is so damaged he can no longer fly and can only move at a rate of 60' (30').

When dropped to -10 or lower he curls up into a mummified state. His 23 day rampage is done and he must await another 23 years to feed.

Spider Climb
The Creeper can scuttle up walls and hang from ceilings. He is shown standing on a speeding cop car, feet locked in place, keeping him from being swept off of the car.

Stealth
The Creeper is a master of stealth, especially at night. After dark his chance to surprise foes increases to a 1-4 on a 1d6. It will often do this to abduct potential body part donors or kill those in his way with a backstab (x2 dmg.)



Weapons 
The Creeper utilizes weapons and can even make them from the corpses of his victims; bones, flesh, and melted down fillings: shuriken (1d3/1d4 for the Creeper), knife (1d4/1d6 for the Creeper), and short spear (1d6/1d8 for the Creeper).

He has also been seen to use a battle-axe (1d8/1d10 for the Creeper). It could have others at its disposal.

He has also possessed a magic dagger (+2) which was somehow bound to him and tries to return to the Creeper by some sort of magical magnetic attraction; flying through the air and embedding itself into objects between it and the Creeper. It was used as the tip of a home-made harpoon and fired at the Creeper with a homemade harpoon gun,










3 comments:

  1. this is very cool! Love the movies, they scared the shit out of me as a kid. Can't wait to throw this guy into a fight with my party.

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