[Index]
Cypher Bestiary
Serial killers carefully select and stalk their subjects. Their cunning allows them to trick and track subjects, elude authorities, and horrify communities where their atrocities come to light.
Health: 13
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound
Armor: 1
Movement: Short
Modifications: Deception and charm as level 7; stealth and puzzle-solving/craft as level 6
Combat: A serial killer attacks twice with a long knife, hammer, or other bladed or blunt weapon. Alternatively, or in addition, they might use a a signature attack.
Serial killers in your game, which exist in small numbers, thankfully in the real world, could be an issue for some players.
GM Intrusion: The character, briefly out of sight of the others, is sedated by a serial killer's syringe.
GM Intrusion: The defeated serial killer suddenly jerks back to life, not dead after all but filled with malicious vigor.
GM Intrusion: The serial killer, supposedly restrained or caged, reveals they're free by attacking the character.
A serial killer comes to public attention for their specific signature kill or telltale method of posing their subjects. That's when they gain a nom de guerre, like "Jack the Ripper," that distinguishes them from others but has the additional unfortunate effect of further terrifying locals.
A serial killer poses as a friendly stranger such as a repair person, a delivery driver, an insurance salesperson, or someone passing out religious literature.
Many serial killers are given a name. Others keep out of the public eye but may still give themselves a name to go with their alter-ego, such as any of the following: Headhunter, The Critic, Book Collector, Seattle Strangler, Son of Jack, Merciful Death, Snake River Killer, Bastard of Cairo, The Optometrist, Bogeyman, The Doctor, Fingerpainter, Kissing Killer, Altar Boy, The Mindhunter, Snake of Phoenix, The Tallyman, The Tattooed Lady, Alcatraz, The Chess Master
Some serial killers attack to incapacitate a potential subject but not kill them. That's because they hope to apply their "signature" later.
| d6 | Attack |
|---|---|
| 1 | Syringes filled with a fast-acting sedative. A target of a successful syringe attack (ignores armor) takes no damage but must succeed on a difficulty 4 Might defense roll or slip into anesthetized slumber that lasts until they use a one-hour or longer non-rest recovery. |
| 2 | Serrated blade designed to inflict trauma-inducing cuts. A target of a successful blade attack takes a major wound. |
| 3 | Garotte hidden in a kerchief or scarf fitted with extendable blades. A target of a successful garotte attack takes damage and bleeds for 4 Might damage (ignores armor) each round until they can escape the strangling garrote with a successful difficulty 4 Might roll. |
| 4 | Needles dipped in poison. A target of a successful needle attack takes damage from poison and on a failed difficulty 4 Might defense roll takes 4 Speed damage (ignores armor) each round until they succeed on a Might task or an antidote is used. |
| 5 | Maul, heavy and huge. A target of a successful maul attack takes damage and on a failed Might defense roll is stunned, unable to take their next turn. |
| 6 | Silenced pistol. The serial killer makes two short-range attacks, inflicting damage with each with almost no sound. |
Adventure Seed: A medium hosts a séance to speak with the dear departed, but it's all fake. Unless it isn't all fake... However, the medium is secretly a serial killer who chooses targets using information gained from past clients, sometimes even choosing the clients themselves.
A serial killer usually only uses their preferred, ritualized method of dispatching a subject that is already subdued, helpless, or trapped in particular location. Or, once dispatched, treats the body in a specific, terrible fashion.
| d10 | Method |
|---|---|
| 1 | Head removal via guillotine, axe, or (purposefully inefficient) dull blades. |
| 2 | Application of a plastic bag taped around subject's head causing asphyxiation. |
| 3 | Operate on a conscious but restrained subject, removing organs until death occurs. |
| 4 | Subject trying to escape must solve elaborate puzzles that maim and kill if solved incorrectly. |
| 5 | A specific combination of poisons that turns the subject's skin a particularly bright color. |
| 6 | Knifed subject is seeded with fungal spores so that when body is found it is covered in odd growths. |
| 7 | Dispatched subject is posed in a horrific diorama depicting scenes from previous day's newspapers. |
| 8 | Dispatched subject is disassembled, then reassembled to create horrific doll. |
| 9 | Subject is dispatched via a particular medieval torture device, such as an iron�maiden. |
| 10 | Portions of the subject's skin sewn to colorful fabric to create a macabre quilt. |
Besides trophies, sometimes a serial killer collects a subject's valuables and currency, stashing it around their homes/lairs in an amount equal to three or four expensive items.
Some serial killers collect trophies from their subjects, either taken from their subject's body or from the subject's possessions. Options include the following.
| Heads | Tongues | Books | Fingernails |
| Skin | Hair | Doorknobs | Teeth |
| Eyes | Feet | Hearts/organs | Fingers |
| Lips | Crosses/rosaries | Pets | Thumbs |
| Genitalia | Inked skin | Noses | Game pieces |