Roadside Encounter: “A Goose in the Gloaming”

The group is traveling a long, fog-choked country lane, flanked by withered hedgerows and stone mile-markers worn smooth with age. As the adventurers travel, they hear the soft ringing of a bell and the sound of… lullabies?

What They See:

In the middle of the road stands a rocking chair.
Sitting in it is a shriveled, humanoid-sized form of a goose in a black lace bonnet, gently rocking back and forth by unseen force. On its lap: a storybook titled “Cursery Rhymes”, opened to an ink-drenched page that reads itself aloud in a raspy voice. Next to the chair is a crooked shepherd’s crook thrust into the dirt, surrounded by a spiral of tiny, bare footprints.

Disturbingly Random Table (d6):

1. The Book Bleeds: The storybook’s pages are dripping black ichor. Anyone who listens for more than 1 round must make a Willpower roll or gain a temporary phobia of birds.
2. She Watches: In the fog behind them, a massive silhouette of a goose-shaped woman can be seen for a heartbeat. The rocking stops. The bell falls silent.
3. The Crook Moves: The shepherd’s crook yanks itself free and draws a hex symbol in the dirt. Any magic cast nearby misfires unless an INT (Casting Skill) is made to counter it.
4. The Doll Stares: A child’s voice calls out from the effigy: “She’s coming to pluck the pretty ones…” Anyone who fails a Spot Hidden test won’t see the figure now standing behind the last PC in marching order.
5. Featherstorm: A sudden gust of wind scatters scorched feathers everywhere. Anyone who breathes during the event starts coughing up feather down for 1d6 hours.
6. MOTHER KNOWS: The Krone herself arrives, not to fight, but to offer advice. She’ll answer one question truthfully… but only if the asker willingly gives her their Memento or some other very meaningful item they carry every day.

If anyone should be foolish enough to engage Krone in combat, they will discover why she is the mother of all hags. The withered form levitates a meter or two into the air, staff raised, book floating open in front of her, all surrounded by a dark violet glow as she begins chanting and casting.

Description: Legendary Mother (Goose) of all hags. Force of evil and darkness, truly a sight to behold.  Towering in silhouette like a nightmare birthed from a scorched nursery rhyme, The Krone is an upright goose-shaped horror swathed in rot and ritual. Her warped avian head juts from a nest of ragged feathers, eyes glittering with a cold, inhuman cunning. The cruel hook of her beak is chipped and yellowed but serrated with unnatural teeth,  the kind meant for whispering curses just before they bite.

Her wings hang like broken arms beneath a cloak of tattered mourning cloth, stitched together from the bedtime prayers of children who were never tucked in again. Around her long, serpentine neck dangle cracked skulls painted like doll heads, tiny shoes, and rusted bells, a grisly rosary of forgotten offspring and old sins.

She walks on clawed, raptor-like feet that scratch runes into the dirt with every step. Her crooked staff, shaped like a question mark, is carved from gallows wood and oozes a quiet malevolence. Smoke sometimes coils from beneath her robe, and wherever she goes, the world hushes, as though the woods themselves remember her lullabies and fear them still.

The Krone is not merely a monster. She is the folkloric mother goose of monsters: the twisted matron who nursed the first hags, who whispered tales of blood and fire to demons in their cribs, who penned cursed fables for dead children to read by moonlight.

She is considered a demon and as such is vulnerable to any/all attacks affecting demons.

Ferocity: 3               Size: M
Movement: 10 (unaffected by terrain while levitating. Armor: 3 (Magic)                  HP: 64

MONSTER ATTACKS

1d8 Attacks:

1: Cursery Rhyme. Krone spits words in an ancient forbidden tongue from her book. Every character within 20 meters must pass a Fear test.

2: Hell Blast: Krone shrieks and throws an unholy ball of fire up to 30 meters that explodes in a 2 meter radius from the initial impact. Successful EVADE puts characters on the nearest edge of the explosion. Does 3d6 unholy fire damage, sets fire to any flammable objects in the target area, and burns all affected for another 1d6 unholy fire damage on their next turn unless dispelled or extinguished.

3: Rhyming Curse: Krone reads aloud in an unholy voice cursing one target within 10 meters.
Roll 1d6:
                  1. Feathers on Your Tongue: All activities that involve speaking, including spellcasting, are made with a Bane on the roll. Wears off after a full Shift rest or dispelled.
                  2. Every Every Thing Thing Twice Twice: Victim literally doubles all of their words until a full Shift rest or dispelled. Spellcasting rolls are made with a Bane.
                  3. Rhyme Time: The character must now rhyme all of their words until a full Shift rest is completed, or the curse is dispelled. GMs may wish to reward a player who can do this.
                  4. Sounds like “Honk:” The cursed character is only capable of honking like a goose until the curse is dispelled or a full Shift rest is completed. The good news is that spellcasting can be completed in any “language.”
                  5. Feather Face: Every part of the character’s face sprouts long, fluffy feathers that obscure vision giving a Bane on all actions involving sight, smell, or speech until a full Shift rest is completed, the curse is dispelled, or someone painfully plucks all of the feather’s from the afflicted character’s face.
                  6. Oh To Be Young Again: The afflicted character is reduced to Child in age and takes on/loses any Ability bonuses accordingly. Skills, etc remain unchanged. The character’s clothes/armor no longer fit unless the character was already a Child. The characters who are already children are unaffected, but it might still be unsettling when “nothing happens.” This effect is permanent unless dispelled within 24 hours for better or worse.

4: A Pox Upon Thee! Up to two characters within 20 meters are afflicted with a Virulence 12 disease with massive itching boils, difficulty breathing, and a fever. Can be healed naturally via HEALING, removing it as a curse, or by other magical means. It is highly contagious and deadly as per the Disease rules in the Dragonbane Core Rulebook.

5: Draining: Krone unleashes a beam of black energy from her hand at one target within 20 meters that inflicts 1d6 WP damage. If WP are at zero, the damage carried over to HP.

6:  Summon “the Children:”  Summons 1d6 Skeletons that act on her initiative. At the end of the encounter they fall to dust. They can be destroyed with Dispel, Banish, or Purge spells or by physical means. Use the Skeletons listed in the Dragonbane Core Rulebook. They also turn to dust instantly if Krone is destroyed or disappears.

7: Gate: Krone gates in a Demon. It acts on her initiative. This effect can only be used once per encounter. Use the Demon stats from the Dragonbane Core Rulebook. It is a demon and has all of the abilities and weaknesses of such. If Krone is destroyed or disappears, the demon is instantly destroyed.

8: POOF! The Krone disappears in a huge puff of smoke, ash, and feathers taking all of her items and gear except the book of Cursery Rhymes. (See Below.) She does not reappear for at least 2d6 days. When she reappears, she has a new book and all of her regular gear/items.

If the group is capable and/or fortunate enough to destroy The Krone in combat, she leaves behind a plethora of (mostly cursed) magic items.

The Krone’s Robes: Despite looking old, ratty, and smelling of sulfur, these robes convey 3 armor and actually aren’t cursed except their smell and appearance which is nothing a good scrubbing won’t cure.

The Krone’s Staff: Contains 6 WP per full Shift accessible by any caster. Grants a Boon once per Stretch on casting any ONE Demonology, Necromancy, or Witchcraft spell. Curse: The presence of the staff may attract occasional (Roll 1d8) wandering 1-7. 1d6 skeletons or  8. a demon. Use the Dragonbane Core Rulebook for their statistics. They will automatically attack the staff’s wielder unless they want to hand it over.

The Krone’s Necklace: Animal skulls (painted to look like dolls,) strung together with tiny shoes, and rusted bells. When worn around the neck provides 6 additional WP per Day (4 Shifts)  and the ability to summon 1d6 Skeletons (as per the Dragonbane Core Rulebook) for free once per Day (4 Shifts.) However, the wearer is also cursed with a Ghost who will follow them around constantly saying foul and hideous things that persists even if the necklace itself is discarded. Dispelling the curse automatically destroys the necklace.

The Krone’s Kris: This dagger grants a Boon to hit any living creature ONCE per Stretch. If it hits successfully on any attack, regardless if the Boon was used, it inflicts normal damage plus a Potency 10 Paralyzing Poison AND does 1d8 damage to the wielder. Unlike many cursed items, the Kris can be discarded without any further consequences to its owner.

The Krone’s Cloak: This oddly shaped cloak has two slots cut out of it for the Krone’s wings. It acts as a full cloak to protect its wearer from the elements. Additionally, it provides the wearer with a temporary 1d10 per Shift which can be used at will, rested or not. Curses: The clasp allows The Krone to see/hear everything the wearer sees/hears at any time. Also, the cloak gives off a dark, demonic aura that repels friendly spirits and shows brightly to any demon within line of sight to it. How the demon chooses to react is completely up to the GM. Removing the curse completely destroys the cloak except for the clasp which loses its scrying feature.

The Big Bad Book of Cursery Rhymes: This large tome is bound in flesh and inked in blood. It may ooze blood from between its pages from time to time (1 on 1d8 per Shift at the GMs discretion.) When found this Grimoire contains 1d6 of the following spells: 1-3: Demonology, 4-5: Necromancy, 6-7: General, 8: Elemental. The level and specific spell are up to the GM. It also provides the owner with 1d10 additional temporary WP per turn. But there’s a catch- Reading this book comes with dire consequences to the reader’s mental and physical health.

Each time the owner reads the book, it begins to take them over. Any time the owner tries to learn a new spell or borrow WP from the book, they must make a WIL roll. If successful, nothing noticeable happens (See the Curse.) If unsuccessful, the reader becomes Scared and loses 1 point of INT, WIL, and CHA until magically healed and the curse is removed.

Curse: The book’s owner radiates a bright aura of demonic magic to those capable of seeing it. As with the cloak, any demon within line of sight may react to the book’s presence. (Reaction to be chosen by the GM.) additionally, each time the owner reads from the book regardless of the WIL save mentioned above, the curse progresses. After 8 progressions, the book will transform the owner into the new Krone. All items will reform on them and the character must be turned over to the GM.

Curse goes as follows in character:
1-2 The character’s voice begins to sound odd. Voices begin emanating from the book that only the owner can hear, usually at night after everyone has gone to sleep.
3-4: The character’s back begins to ache constantly, and their posture begins to slouch. Feathers begin to grow on the character (If not a Mallard.)
5: The book begins to grow louder and speaks more frequently in maddening voices that only the owner can hear. The character must roll WIL in order to sleep a full Shift rest.
6: The character’s face begins to deform and shrivel, becoming beaklike. Sharp teeth replace whatever the character had previously. The character’s voice changes more dramatically, sounding more and more like The Krone every day.
7: Unbearable pain wracks the owner, and sickly wings sprout from the character’s back overnight. The voices become even louder and force a Bane on the WIL roll to sleep a full Shift rest. Their form begins to shrink down into a warped, withered shell of what it once was. The character’s mind begins to shift to a selfish attitude. Animals avoid the character, horses panic in their presence, and even small children recoil in the owner’s presence.
8: Transformation complete. The character has become The Krone personified. All artifacts reform on The Krone. The character’s spirit is now another ghost, capable of haunting the new Krone and/or the group. Unfortunately this newly formed ghost can’t affect anything physically but can communicate with the living if a successful WIL roll is made once per Stretch.