artist unknown,
From “Them and Us”
(Author’s Note: This is intended as an alternative from the Sasquatch found in Malleus Monstorum)
“I was laying in the tent trying to sleep when I kept hearing strange almost owl like high pitch noises at the bottom of the hill. After hearing my son and husband comment about hearing “an owl”, I decided that must be it. About 20 minutes later, my son had gone into his tent with his siblings, and my husband had come into our tent. He was trying to settle in and I was too, when we heard the most horrible, loud, blood curdling scream…and then a loud grunt. The scream…lasted about 3-5 seconds and then immediately was the loud grunt at the same pitch. It sounded like it was coming from the same area as the owl like sounds from a short time earlier. My husband sat up about the same time as me and we asked each other if we knew what it was. I told him, “I have NEVER heard anything like that!” He said he had never heard anything like that either. We could also hear something moving in the woods, and by that time after the scream, we were very freaked out. So we immediately got the kids up and in the car…” – Witness encounter, Taylorsville Lake State Park, Kentucky, August 2014.
Bigfoot is only but the most common name for this creature, different regions of North American have local variants. Almost every region of the continent has reported encounters with the monster, including all fifty states save Hawaii. Many countries across the globe have similar creatures prowling their wild places. Any place where the forests are still thick and the terrain inhospitable to mankind may be home to a tribe of Bigfoot.
Bigfoot are a distant relative of humanity, stronger, faster, and almost as intelligent. Despite their ferocity and superior strength, Bigfoot were unable to compete with early man, driven by their large numbers and tools into the darkest of the wilds. There the Bigfoot have remained.
Every year, hundreds of people go missing in the national and state parks of the US. More go missing from private land. Though most are lost due to misadventure, a significant portion meet a dire fate at the claws of Bigfoot. Though considered a myth by humans, the Bigfoot have not forgotten mankind. Reclusive beings, they are still aggressive and will defend their territory against human incursion, first through harassment, using howls, rock throwing, or producing a stomach-churning musk. If that does not dissuade trespassers, Bigfoot will not shy from violence. On occasion, perhaps due to a perceived threat or rites incomprehensible to humans, Bigfoot will venture out of the territories to hunt humans. When the bodies of Bigfoot victims are found, they are always male. Some bear wound consistent with having been eaten – skeptical authorities, and those perpetuating a cover-up, will write these off as mundane animal predation. What happens to the females taken by Bigfoot is unknown, though the implications are disturbing. In the latter part of the twentieth century, the federal governments of the US and Canada became aware of the beings. For the most part, the governments are content to cover-up their existence, so as not to panic the public, and not to disrupt industries dependent on the nations forests and mountains. However, special forces will be deployed to eliminate dangerous tribes.
Though witnesses will most often report seeing one Bigfoot, the beings are rarely alone. Chances are the Bigfoot allowed itself to be seen as a distraction, while others flanked the witness. Bigfoot live in tribes of ten to twenty interrelated members, and will hunt and patrol their territory in groups of four or five.
Sometimes, in those darkest of the wilds the Bigfoot were driven to, they came into contact with even darker beings. Corrupted tribes will worship the Great Old Ones, though they will have little concept of meaning behind the rites they conduct. Some mythos races will capture Bigfoot, using them as servants or guards.
Special Abilities:
Howl: Bigfoot howl as a means of communication and intimidation. The vocalizations range from an ape-like series of hoots, to a bloodcurdling scream. Humans hearing the scream may not understand what the sound is, but base instinct remembers it as the call of a predator. Anyone hearing the sound must make a sanity roll. Failure means they are either frozen in fear or will flee in a terrified panic for 1d4 rounds.
Infrasound: Bigfoot are able to produce a burst of sound below that while well below the range of human hearing, humans can still feel. It causes confusion and panic – stronger bursts can cause minor damage to internal organs. Bigfoot use this much the same way dolphins or tigers, to stun prey and as a weapon against threats. Anyone hit with a wave of infrasound must make a CON x 5 roll. On failure they take 1d4 points of damage and are stunned for 1d4 rounds.
Bigfoot, Haunter of the Forests
char – rolls – avg
STR 4d6+6 20
CON 4d6+6 20
SIZ 4d6+6 20
INT 2d6 9
POW 3d6 10-11
DEX 3d6+6 16-17
Mov 8 – HP 20
Av. Damage Bonus: +2d6
Weapons: Slam 50%, damage 2d6 + db
Bite 50%, damage 1d6 + db
Rock Throw 80%, damage 1d4 if harassing, 1d4 + db otherwise.
Howl 100%, see above
Infrasound 100%, damage see above.
Armor: 4 points of thick hide and muscle.
Spell: At keeper’s discretion, particularly intelligent Bigfoot may know primitive rituals and spells of minor power.
Skills: Hide 80%, Listen 75%, Sneak 80%, Spot Hidden 60%
Sanity Loss: 1/1d8 to see a Bigfoot, 1/1d4 to hear its screams.
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast
