Expanded Worlds
The guardian of the land of the dead appears at every opening into the underworld. The three-headed hound is 16 feet (5 m) high and a vision of terror. The heads represent the past (youth), the present (adulthood), and the future (old age), and victims bitten by a particular head suffer an associated chronological affect. Voracious for living flesh, the beast can also eat spirits should any draw too close and attempt to escape their undead land.
In a game using power shifts (or divine shifts), GMs should provide the same advantage to Cerberus.
Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Anywhere paths lead to the land of the dead
Health: 99
Damage Inflicted: Major wound (10 points)
Armor: 3
Movement: Short, immediate when burrowing
Modifications: Speed defense as level 6 due to size.
Combat: Cerberus can bite three times as a single action. Each bite inflicts 10 points of damage to corporeal and insubstantial foes alike. A bite from the head representing the past also restores 10 points of damage to Cerberus. A bite from the head representing the present means the victim must also succeed on a Might defense roll or be held fast by the maw and automatically suffer 10 points of damage each round until they can escape. A bite from the head representing the future also requires that the victim succeeds on an Intellect defense roll or lose access to all their special abilities granted by foci and type for one round.
Interaction: Cerberus is a bound guardian, but chafes under the weight of its responsibility. It may allow creatures to slip in or out of the underworld if presented with a worthy gift. An intelligent beast, it can speak all the languages known by souls languishing in the underworld.
Use: The characters must retrieve a rare ore found only in the underworld, but must contend with Cerebus before entering or leaving.
GM Intrusion: On a failed Intellect defense task, the damaged PC’s soul is also bitten (or bitten instead), and they suffer 8 points of Intellect damage.