“The lake has been a placed of comfort, and death, since time began. On nights when there is no moon a lone traveler can go there to meet with the ghosts of their past. If they are lucky, or unlucky, they are met by the specter they seek. Final good byes can be given, apologies made, or confessions delivered. Many come from the lake with a sense of closure and resolution, but some who go there are never seen again. What happens to them remains a mystery” – Translated from the original German, excerpt from the diary of Deitrick Jaeger.
In prehistoric times a meteor shower rained down upon the Earth carrying deadly alien organisms. Most fragments burned up in the atmosphere, crashed into the surface of the Earth or landed in the ocean and caused no serious harm. A few landed in large bodies of fresh water, the perfect conditions for the alien spores within these objects to find purchase upon our world.
These spoors grew into entities called Siren Weeds, although some called them Memory Moss, or Ghost Muck. They appear as large mats of slimy green plants just below the surface of the water. These beings never exit the water as they cannot survive long on land. In water they move about by slowly creeping along the bottom as they are incapable of actual swimming. Siren Weeds are solitary living, sentient entities which possesses immense psychic ability. They can psychically sense the presence of any creature within 50 yards, making them extremely difficult to surprise. These creatures feed on the emotions of living creatures, although sometimes this hunger includes a victim’s physical bodies as well. The lakes and ponds these creatures call home gain a very dark reputation as places where ghosts are seen and people vanish.
Feeding – These creatures only attack lone figures, although Siren Weed are blind to any being more than fifty yards away. They also only hunt on the nights of the New Moon, limiting their activities to three consecutive nights per month. Once the creature detects a solitary mind they try to dominate it by winning a POW vs. POW contest. Only a single consciousness can be dominated by a Siren Weed at a time, which is why the limit their attacks to lone individuals. If the victim resists they lose 1/1D8 Sanity points as they sense that a powerful supernatural entity who means them harm is somewhere nearby, unseen. They have no idea where, only that it is “Out there somewhere, and hungry”. Most at this point flee and escape.
Once a mind is dominated its contents are quickly read by the Siren Weed. The creature then grants its target a vision projected directly into their mind which only they can see. Targets typically see the image of departed loved ones and attempt to engage them in way which brings about the greatest emotional response. For each victim this is completely unique, one person sees their deceased spouse while another encounters the ghost of someone they murdered and wish to apologize to. Whatever image which gains the greatest emotional response is who the victim sees. Over the course of an hour the victim is drained of 2D3 POW, which is absorbed by the Siren Weed as nourishment. Most of the time this is all that happens and the victims are released usually with a sense of emotional closure and spiritual peace. Victims then have no desire to return to the lake, as whatever they needed to resolve is complete.
However, on some months, these creatures need more than just emotional energy. Typically victims have a 1 in 6 chance of encountering a Siren Weed that is in need of physical substance. When this happens the Siren Weed makes two consecutive psychic attacks (POW vs. POW), to dominate both their conscious intellect and lower instinctual minds. If either attack fails the victim loses 1/1D8 Sanity points and is free to act. If both levels of consciousness are dominated the Siren Weed the victim slowly enters the water where they allow themselves to drown. Their bodies are then absorbed over several weeks by the Siren Weed.
In Combat – Destroying a Siren Weed is difficult. The creatures are timid, reclusive, and difficult to spot. The only time they come near the shoreline is when they feed and even then seldom closer than three feet. Un-dominated individuals can roll a Spot Hidden check to locate something in the water if they are within 20 feet of where a Siren Weed is lurking. Otherwise these creatures have an 85% Hide and Sneak score. The surest way to locate a Siren Weed is to search for it while it feeds using their victim as a focal point.
Siren Weeds flee for deep water as soon as it detects multiple individuals. However they are slow moving, typically giving investigators 5-10 minutes to locate a Siren Weed after spooking it. One the creature is found it can be attacked. Siren Weeds are immune to all physical attacks, which pass harmlessly through their gelatinous form. Enchanted weapons cause 1 point of damage per successful attack but they take full damage from spells.
The porous nature of these creatures makes them particularly susceptible to both fire (takes double damage) and chemical attacks. Contact with alcohol, bleach, acid, salt, peroxide, and all similar substances inflict 1D6 points of damage per liter to a Siren Weed. However fire and chemical attacks are only effective if the Siren Weed is pulled onto dry land.
To haul a Siren Weed out of the water it must be netted (only nets designed to catch smaller fish are effective) or grappled and then pulled onto shore. The creature resists these efforts, trying to slip away from being grappled (Grapple score of 40%) or pull away (STR vs. STR 14) after being netted. Simply being out of the water causes these creatures 1 HP of damage per 10 minutes. If someone is grappling with a Siren Weed in at least three feet of water the creature may attempt to drown them. It pulls the victim into deeper water while covering their airways with its slimy, viscos bulk. This doubles the rate and damage caused by typical drowning.
char – rolls – avg
STR 5d6 14
CON 4d6 12
SIZ 6d6 20
INT 4d6 12-14
POW 6d6 20
DEX 1d4 +1 10-11
Mov 1 / 3 in water HP 16
Av. Damage Bonus: 0
Weapons: Grapple 40% (may double the rate of drowning)
Armor: None, but immune to normal weapons. Magical weapons do 1 HP of damage.
Spell: None.
Skills: Hide 85%, Sneak 85%,
Sanity Loss: 1/1d6 to see a Siren Weed
