Quoth the Raven Issue 19: Other Articles

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Hi All,
With so much emphasis on Blaustein, and with Dave’s Paka article on its own thread, I thought we should have a thread for the other articles from Quoth the Raven 19.
The Friend:
This was an interesting take on possession. The introductory text gave it some much needed creepiness.
Cute Enough to Kill: The Fensha
This was another article with good introduction text. The journal excerpt gives a great plan for an encounter with one such creature. I liked the Fensha. Even with their low hit dice, the fensha is an extremely deadly trap suitable for high level characters. Given the creature’s ability drain, its intelligence, and the ability to create spawn, it is an extreme hazard. I wouldn’t throw it at any party that couldn’t kill it outright in one round – because that will be all the time to be had before the fiend does its damage and escapes. The Fensha could be extremely deadly in an environment with a supply of house cats. Intelligent enemies are always the deadliest, and none more so than the ones who can fake their own death. The most frightening part is that a party could never really be sure if they really killed the Fensha.
The Vampire Cat
This was a very detailed article on a particularly nasty type of creature. Like with the Fensha, the prime weapon of the creature is intelligence and tenacity. Time plays an incredible factor in fighting a vampire cat. Given that it takes 9 kills to destroy a VC, and given that it takes 9 years for a vampire cat to reform, the permanent destruction of one such beast requires a minimum commitment of 72 years. This made far worse by the fact that the creature reforms at a location of its own choosing. I’d say that the VCs are less suitable as enemies of PCs than enemies of Darklords.
A Helping Hand: White and Grey Cats
Good monsters are a trickier proposition in Ravenloft, and celestial ones even more so than most. White and grey have reality wrinkles and a mind to use them to disrupt the plans of darklords. Together, those are a dangerous combination to the mood and feel of the setting. A DM would have to use them very carefully, to avoid making the two cats into a plot railroad. Fortunately the madness affect of the reality wrinkle will keep PCs from riding the cat’s tails for too long.

ScS

[Hazgarn]

One idea for the Vampire Cat, if you really want to see its complete destruction during the campaign might be to get the Zarovan involved. Maybe party kills it the final time the first time they encounter it, only to learn that if they want it to stick they must enter the past eight more times to kill it again...

(Might be an interesting way to spend time in domains your players might not otherwise wind up seeing.)

I liked the White and Grey Cat and the Fensha. I really want to wind up using one or the other in my game.

[alhoon]

As far as the celestials go, they're meant to be used mainly as ... a bit of help; a helping hand.

-Your players are stuck and need a clue about that ghost they investigate?
A couple of really big cats may be found staring the painting that depicts the now-ghost along with her dead daughter.
- The players miracously haven't thought to search for secret rooms in the cellar to finally find that burned out journal that happens to detail the ritual to get rid of the mummy? They may discover two really big cats scratching the wall like cats do when they want to get out.
- Things got a bit worse than expected and the main fighter lost 2 saves vs the str sapping poison and now has str 5? Instead of wasting days waiting for the 3rd lvl cleric to heal him one lesser restoration at a time, once he goes to sleep, he wakes up with two really big cats licking his wound (restoration) and he discovers his strength is back as the cats run away.
- The PCs desided to use a cure disease on the sick NPC old lady that accomodates them and now they don't have circle of protection from evil before they delve in the lair of evil? Before they get in the cavern, two really big cats lazily get out of the bushes, rub themselves to their legs pooring like... cats, and leave. Now the PCs have protection from evil for an hour.

That kind of thing.