Zuvembi, Lesser Independent Race
“…he saw a vague figure…it looked like a woman, but no human woman ever had that face of horror, that leering yellow blur of lunacy – yet he tried to scream at the sight of that face, at the flint of keen steel in the uplifted claw-life hand – but his tongue was frozen.” – Robert E. Howard, Pigeons from Hell
Zuvembi are women “ripe” with hatred who have ingested the so-called “Black Brew.” The Black Brew is created by certain voodoo-priests who serve the Big-Snake, an avatar of Yig, worshipped as a voodoo Loa. These priests of the Big Snake do what they can to protect the creation of both the Zuvembi and the Black Brew, on pain of death.
Unliving creatures, the Zuvembi are like zombies, but much more powerful. Like zombies, they are mindless, but retain their independence. They serve no master, and exist only to hunt the living. They are completely driven by their hatred, transformed after death into a hatred of all living things, specifically men. Only women are known to become Zuvembi. Though one may willingly take the Black Brew, it is also been employed as a form of punishment. In the antebellum South, slaves with access to priests of the Big Snake would trick particularly cruel masters into become Zuvembi.
Though mindless, the Zuvembi retain some sense of their former lives. The monster prefers to remain in the home where it died, doing whatever necessary to hide from prying eyes. Though mindless, they are not stupid creatures; a Zuvembi finding itself in danger may hide or flee. It is not an active hunter, and will instead stalk those who come through the Zuvembi’s domain by chance. When hunting, a Zuvembi prefers to wield a nasty weapon, such as an old axe. The Zuvembi is a near complete master of its territory, knowing almost all that happens within through its animal servants. As such, a Zuvembi is rarely surprised by intruders.
Mesmerize: A Zuvembi is capable of a haunting, melodic humming, which can hypnotize a man. Typically, a Zuvembi will use this against a sleeping, target, and draw him near. The target must roll a successful POW vs. POW on the Resistance Table to break the spell. Horribly, despite being hypnotized, the victim is completely conscious of what is happening.
Control the Dead: Anyone the Zuvembi has killed in under control of the monster until the body cools. The deceased is effectively a zombie. (In game terms, the Zuvembi retains control for two rounds per SIZ point).
Control Animals: A Zuvembi can control all owls, snakes, wolves, and bats with POW miles of the monster. She can see through their eyes, and through them can know all that is happening in her territory. By spending 1 MP per round, the Zuvembi may also control any werewolves that are in her domain.
Zuvembi, Undead and Hate-Ripened
Char. Roll. Avg
STR 3d6 10-11
DEX 3d6 10-11
INT 1d6 3-4
CON 3d6 10-11
POW 4d6 15
SIZ 2d6+6 13
MOV 6 HP 12
Avg DB: 0
Weapons: Axe 60%, damage 1d8+2+db
Claw 40%, damage 1d4
Armor: None, but immune to nearly all attacks, be they magical or mundane. Only weapons made of lead or steel affect the monster; any successful attack with such weapons automatically kill a Zuvembi.
Spells: None
Sanity Loss: 1/1d8 to see a Zuvembi.
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast
