Alpe, Alpen, Drudge, Mara
—Münchener Nachtsegen, a prayer to be said at night.
alp, or also little alp,
you shall remain no longer
alp’s sister and father,
you shall go out over the gate;
alp’s mother, trute and mare,
you shall go out to the roof-ridge!
Let the mare not oppress me,
let the trute not pinch me,
let the mare not ride me,
let the mare not mount me!
alp with your crooked nose,
I forbid you to blow on
A lesser abomination from central Europe, the Alp is a semi-corporeal entity that feeds off suffering and fear. It is known for its cruel tricks such as knotting children’s hair while they sleep, souring milk, and soiling fresh diapers as they’re being put on an infant. The alp also possesses an evil eye, which can inflict bad luck on the victim. Removing or destroying the eye can break the curse upon the victim. The Alp often likes to go with the old trick of sitting on the chest of sleeping people, often using this position for the weaving of nightmares and night terrors. It has a “sweet tooth” for fresh breast milk.
It is a shapeshifter, often causing it to be confused for a werewolf. I may change into a cat, pig, dog, snake, or any form it desires. It can also fly and has been known to ride horses. The only constant regardless of the form it takes is an odd, almost comical, hat of some kind known as a Tarnkappe. The hat is always visible regardless of the form the Alp takes, and grants the Alp its power as well as its ability to turn invisible. If lost, the alp will offer a great reward for its safe return.
A simple, craven creature an alp can often be pointed in the direction of a victim by a human ritualist, however, this seldom ends in death but possibly ruin. If a san check fails, the afflicted experience all the terror of the alp, as it torments and terrifies the player, should it pass. The alp can be talked to, it could be sternly told to come back in the morning with coffee. There is a chance that it will oblige, arriving in its true form. They are almost sentient things.
The Alp’s true form is that of a small goblinish, bestial humanoid. It is muscular, hunched, and grotesquely unbathed. Usually nude save for their garish hat.
SPECIAL POWERS
RIP AND TEAR: After a successful Claw attempt made by The Alp it will proceed to rip and tear into its victim, inflicting 1D6 – 1 damage on their subsequent turns without rolling. They may also attempt another action other than inflicting damage if they choose to. The victim may attempt an opposed STRx5 / Unarmed Combat to escape.
EVIL EYE: The Alp may choose to give a victim bad luck through the use of its evil eye. The percent chance listed for the attack is the odds of the attacker to make direct eye contact with the evil eye itself. If successful , it inflicts a -20% penalty to their victim’s LUCK checks for 1D6 days. If the eye is destroyed then the bad luck is lifted.
PARLOR TRICKS: The Alp may choose to perform one of many different “parlor tricks” as a form of attack when desired. If successful the parlor trick can range from rapidly aging milk, telekinetically moving items, messing with bodily functions, and more. The more elaborate the trick enforces a –20% / –40% penalty to the attempt in the first place. Spending one turn to “focus itself” provides a flat +20% to the attempt.
SHAPESHIFTER: The Alp can shapeshift into multiple different types of animals, or humanoid creatures, with each one maintaining the identifying hat in between each form. A shapeshifted Alp may have enhanced stats, or even some armor, as such it is suggested to look at the stats of the creature it is morphing into for reference. Those with 40% OCCULT or 10% UNNATURAL may recognize the hat as a sign to identify The Alp. (With the former only relying on unreliable folklore, and the later relying on first hand accounts of exactly what the creature is.)
INVISIBILITY: The Alp can fully hide themselves at will, or with a successful roll if under pressure, and becomes imperceivable to the naked eye. Only those using a supernatural effect may locate an invisible Alp, or face a -40% penalty to attack one that is invisible. (It does physically still exist, so crafty protagonists may splatter something on the invisible form to negate the penalty.)
OBEDIENT MIND: The Alp may be spoken too sternly to convince it to go elsewhere. This requires a successful Persuade attempt, with a 20% Bonus granted to those with 8 CHA or less, due to their natural abrasiveness. If successful The Alp will obey the command, typically morphing into their true form, however a penalty may be enforced if the order given is increasingly outlandish.
RESOURCEFUL: The Alp may provide riches to those offering help to it, typically helping it recover from getting lost. If this is done The Alp provides enough riches to provide +1 PERMANENT RESOURCE to the helper.
The Alp, The Tiny Trickster
STR: 8
CON: 8
DEX: 10
INT: 5
POW: 13
CHA: N/A
HP: 8
Damage Bonus/Lethality: -1 DB
Willpower Points: 13
ATTACKS
Attacks per round: 1
Fighting attacks:
Claw: 40%,1d6 – 1 (see RIP AND TEAR above)
Evil Eye: 55%, special (See EVIL EYE above)
Parlor Tricks: 60%, special (See PARLOR TRICKS above)
Shapeshift: 45%, special (See SHAPESHIFT above)
Invisibility: 30%, special (See INVISIBILITY above)
Dodge: 25%
Armor: none
Skills: Alertness 40%, Athletics 40%,
Rituals: NoneSanity Loss: 0/1D4
