The Giant of Malvern
Yesterday I mused that the covenant I will be loosely exploring throughout August might be located in the Malvern Hills. Day 2's theme is Stature, so I'll embrace that and create a resident for a real life feature of the hills: Giant's Cave. Also known as Clutter's Cave, it is apparently thought to be a post-medieval man-made cave - but in Mythic Europe I prefer the more fantastical idea of a giant who makes the Malvern Hills his home.
Giants in Ars Magica are inherently magical beings, similar to humans except for their incredible size and whatever magical powers they might possess. The giants in British folklore also tend to be quite stupid, but despite his dim wits the Giant of Malvern is a kind hearted soul. He has lived in the Hills since before recorded history, and refers to them as his mother. Driven by a supernatural hunger to consume living flesh on the new moon, but wishing to avoid harming humans, he hides himself in a small cave. Here he is left sheep by local shepherds when the new moon is close, to satisfy his hunger.
Despite his relative harmlessness, an overzealous priest or knight might hear about this giant - and the "idolatrous sacrifices" the shepherds provide - and declare it an enemy of God. Or the magi might learn of the Terram vis that can be found within the cave - but only on the new moon, when the giant cannot control his carnivorous hunger.
I have designed Cluta (imagining that "Clutter's Cave" is derived from this) using the rules for Magic Humans in Realms of Power: Magic. He should be suitable as a magus-equivalent PC in a medium-power saga. I'm not too familiar with those specific rules, but hopefully my maths isn't totally off!
The Giant
Name: Cluta
Character type: NPC (Magic Human)
Magic Might: 24 (Terram)
Season: Summer
Size: +4 (~15' tall)
Soak: +8
Qualities: Gigantic (x3), Improved Might (x4), Improved Soak (x2), Lesser Power (x4), Terram Resistance
Inferiorities: Monstrous Appearance ("free", as a Magic Human)
Virtues: Magic Human; Ways of the Hills; Cave Regio Network, Puissant Terram Resistance, Tough, Warrior
Flaws: Greater Malediction (hunger wanes as the moon waxes, and vice versa - on the new moon he is like a starving man, and will gorge himself on living flesh until satiated); Anchored to the Hills, Clumsy, Simple-Minded, Weakness (sheepflesh)
Characteristics: Str +10, Sta +1, Dex +0, Qik -4, Int -3, Per +2, Pre +1, Com -1
Personality Traits: Hungry +(var.), Thick-Headed +3, Good-Hearted +2
Abilities:
Area Lore: Malvern Hills (caves) 6
Athletics (climbing) 2
Awareness (sheep) 3
Brawl (kick) 3
Craft: Stonecarving (faces) 3
English (begging) 2
Hunt (sheep) 2
Magic Lore (regiones) 2
Single Weapon (club) 3
Survival (hills) 4
Terram Resistance 2+3
Thrown Weapon (rock) 2
Powers:
Cloak of Impenetrable Mist: Cluta can summon a mist to shroud the hilltop, allowing him to travel unseen. Cost: 2 pts, Init: -9, Duration: Sun
Wall of Sealing Stone: By making a motion like drawing a curtain, Cluta can seal the entrance to his cave with solid rock. He can do this with any cave, but he's never tried. Cost: 5 pts, Init: -15, Duration: Sun
Crest of the Earth Wave: As the spell of the same name - when Cluta is enraged he can stamp his foot, from which the wave emanates. Cost: 4 pts, Init: -7.
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum: Cluta can locate the blood of living animals and humans by scent, though he must take in a long, deep sniff of air to do so; Cost: 0 pts, Init: -11
Appearance: a 15 foot tall human-like figure, with mottled granite-grey skin and patches of grass-green hair all over his body. He can often be found wandering the hills, though usually shrouded in mist, and occasionally pinching sheep when the moon is a crescent.
The Cave Regio
Naturally, the cave appears far too small for a giant of Cluta's size. In fact, when Cluta enters (on his hands and knees), he opens the way to a regio with a Magic Aura of 6, a far larger cave than what is usually seen in the mundane world. Unless he seals the entrance with his Wall of Sealing Stone power, the regio can be freely entered so long as he is present within. There is a deeper regio level, which connects many magical caves across the British Isles, but this is currently known only to Cluta, who rarely travels by them.
No comments:
Post a Comment