The Veen

Although the horrors of the Crawling Deeps are deadly threats, they are mostly mindless, without strategy or direction. But the creatures calling themselves the Veen are different. They have clever intellects and insidious perception. Armed with devious plots, the Veen enter into worlds such as Sancara, surrounded by hordes of monstrous beings, unleashing them with coordinated skill the lesser things cannot muster on their own.

The origins of the Veen are utterly unknown. They seem to be native to some part of the Crawling Deeps, and they live among the horrors, wielding sorcery unknown elsewhere and possessed of vampiric, resilient physical forms. As the tacticians and leaders of the hordes, they present the greatest challenge that he Gunslinger Knights have ever faced.

There are three "courts" of Veen, generally working together, but each with their own nature, schemes, and abilities:

• Veen Alix: Feasting upon the very life essence of their victims, these—the most prevalent of the three courts—get stronger the more they kill.
• Veen Jalith: The Veen of this court present themselves as brutal warriors that seemingly delight in pain and the crushing physical defeat of their foes.
• Veen Morund: These Veen call upon the spirits of those they've slain to form their incorporeal coteries.

Some of the scholars of The Commandry of Lythia fear that there could be more courts deeper still within the Crawling Deeps.

The Veen have no consistent shape other than being vaguely humanoid and usually bipedal. They are not a single species of creature but things of multiple places within the Crawling Deeps who have adapted or evolved into similar forms to represent their courts, but still maintain their individuality.

One might have boneless tentacled arms nding in humanoid hands, another could have multijointed insect arms with delicate fingerlike pincers, and a third have shaggy muscular arms and claws like a werewolf.

Likewise, their legs, heads, and torsos come in different shapes, although these are usually hidden under clothing, armor, or semi-living symbiotic creatures. Veen of the same court usually have one identifiable feature: the glowing veins of the Veen Alix, the exposed yellow bones of the Veen Jalith, or the soul haze of the Veen Morund.

All Veen encountered so far, regardless of their court, have the following abilities in common: Chaotic Terrain: A Veen's chaos sorcery subtly and automatically alters the very land, water, and air in the vicinity, creating bizarre, hideous structures of stone, glass, crystal, wax, or other unexpected materials.

If the Veen remains in the area, they and the horde may use these structures strategically for concealment, as cover, or (if large enough) as a fortification. These collapse and putrefy after the Veen departs, often leaving a long-term taint or corruption that causes harm long after the Veen is gone.

• Mysterious Sorcery: Each type of Veen's individual entry lists various necromantic abilities they can perform. Most of these are combat-oriented, but the Veen can also work other effects appropriate to the theme of their power. For example, it's reasonable that a Veen Alix could use its blood sorcery to filter a poison out of its blood, and a Veen Jalith could use its bone sorcery to cover itself in spikes to harm creatures that ouch it. These other abilities usually require more time and are less reliable than the listed combat magic.

Veen Alix 5 (15)

Gunslinger Knights

The Veen Alix are human-sized and covered in large glowing veins on the surface of their bodies, with the glow increasing as their necromantic powers become stronger. They absorb and feed upon the life essence of their victims, gaining strength the more they kill, and are known for chasing down weakened prey in the middle of battle just to suck out another soul. The veins of a very well-fed Veen Alix sometimes burst open, leaking glowing fluid on the creature like a bizarre sweat, but this doesn't seem to bother it or diminish its abilities.

Veen Alix are the most prevalent of the three Veen courts. Most large hordes of horrors have at least one present o direct them, and they often act as lieutenants for more powerful Veen.

The chaotic terrain created by the presence of a Veen Alix usually incorporates glowing veinlike features or similar biological aspects.

Motive: Conquest, slaughter, chaos

Environment: In, near, and after Fundament Storms; alone or in mixed groups of Veen and/or other creatures of the Crawling Deeps

Health: 25

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)

Armor: 2

Movement: Long

Modifications: Perception, Speed defense, and Might-based tasks as level 6

Combat: A Veen Alix attacks twice per round, using bites, punches, or claws.

In place of one melee attack each round, they can fire a short-range blast of sticky violet necromantic energy. They also have the following abilities:

• Blood Sorcery: As part of a successful attack with a necromantic blast, the Veen Alix can add one of the following magical effects: inflict 2 additional points of damage (ignores Armor) and heal the Veen for 1 point, shift the foe one step down the damage track (Might defense to resist), move the foe a short distance horizontally (Might defense to resist), or necromantically hinder the foe by two steps for the next round (Might defense to resist). When a Veen's sorcery moves a foe, the victim feels like the power is pulling directly on their heart and blood rather than externally. A mounted Knight who is moved by the Veen's sorcery must succeed on a riding task to bring their steed with them; otherwise, they are pulled free of the steed.
• Necromantic Trap: A Veen Alix can spend several minutes creating a magical trap in a long area. Triggered by the first human to enter the area, the trap creates a burst of sorcerous nergy that inflicts a moderate wound (6 points) in an immediate area (or 2 points of damage on a successful Might defense roll). Any creature killed by the trap rises as a zombie a few minutes later. The trap can be detected just like a mechanical trap (by carefully searching or using magic), and the GM can unexpectedly spring one on the PCs with a GM Intrusion.
• Vampiric Feasting: If a Veen Alix kills a living creature of level 2 or higher within short range, a magically infused spray of the victim's blood wends through the air and is absorbed by the Veen, increasing their health by 2 (even if this goes over their maximum health) and easing their tasks for the next round. Any excess health goes away after about an hour.

Interaction: Veen Alix are known to take prisoners—or bribes in the form of prisoners—for later consumption. They otherwise are unpredictable and may try to confuse or fool people with their words and actions.

Use: A group of horrors is using intelligent actics, controlled by a hidden Veen Alix. An entire village has been slaughtered, each corpse drained of blood.

GM Intrusion: The character is incapacitated by necromantic energy for about a minute if they fail a Might defense roll. Each turn, as an action, they can attempt another Might defense roll to break free.
GM Intrusion: The character's body (but not heir head) falls under the Veen's necromantic control for a minute if they fail an Intellect defense roll. Each turn, as an action, they can attempt another Intellect defense roll to break free. A controlled character attacks allies, wanders off, or follows the Veen.

Veen Jalith 6 (18)

Gunslinger Knights

Veen Jalith are the largest and most physically impressive of the Veen, typically standing a foot taller than Veen from other courts, covered in huge muscles attached in strange configurations, and sprouting ridges and spikes made of yellow bone on their heads, backs, and major joints. They often impale creatures on these spikes, or fuse foes' bones onto their own bodies to turn themselves into monuments of their past victories. They delight in inflicting pain, and often leave some foes alive and incapacitated as witnesses.

Veen Jalith are somewhat rarer than Veen Alix. They may command horrors on their own, or team up with or serve members of other courts. Horrors in their presence tend to be especially violent and destructive, even if the Veen doesn't command them to be.

The chaotic terrain created by the presence of a Veen Jalith usually incorporates jagged structures that resemble Veen bones.

Motive: Inflicting pain, conquest, chaos

Environment: Near or after Fundament Storms (Crawling Deeps)

Health: 32

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (7 points)

Armor: 2

Movement: Short; short when climbing or jumping

Modifications: Perception, Might defense, and Might-based tasks as level 7

Combat: A Veen Jalith attacks twice per round using fists, bony ornaments, or heavy iron weapons. In place of one melee attack each round, they can fire a short-range ray of jagged yellow necromantic energy. They also have the following abilities:

• Bone Sorcery: As part of a successful attack with a necromantic ray, the Veen Jalith can add one of the following magical effects: infect the foe with an animate bone sliver that inflicts 1 point of damage each round (Might defense to resist, healing task as an action to remove), give the foe a broken bone in their leg or arm (Might defense to resist), or impale an adjacent foe on the Veen's body spikes to create a necromantic trophy (see below, Speed defense to resist).
• Corpse Detonation: A Veen Jalith can spend several minutes corrupting all corpses and debilitated creatures in a long area. Touching or spending a few rounds near the corrupted target makes it explode in a burst of bone shards, inflicting a moderate wound (7 points) in an immediate area (or 2 points of damage on a successful Might defense roll). Veen Jalith (and their trophies) are unharmed by the bone shards. Any creature killed by the shards becomes a new corrupted corpse.
• Necromantic Trophy: Any living creature impaled on the Veen's bony spikes is a "trophy." The Veen recovers 1 point of health per trophy at the start of their turn (inflicting 1 point of damage to the trophy). The only way to stop a trophy from healing the Veen is to pull the trophy off the spikes (a Might-based task, hindered if the trophy is attempting it) or kill the trophy.

Interaction: Veen Jalith are direct, brutal, and uninterested in diplomacy. They may bargain if offered interesting trophies (especially allies of their foes).

Use: The unburied corpses on a battlefield, crossroads, farm, or outpost explode when approached. A still-living person from the village is being worn as a Veen's cruel trophy.

GM Intrusion: The Veen's attack includes a disruptive wave of necromantic energy through the character's body, weakening their bones. Any physical attack against he fragile character inflicts 4 additional damage. Magical healing or a recovery roll ends this effect.
GM Intrusion: The Veen's attack also injects a bone splinter whose vibrations cause the character intense pain, hindering them by two steps until removed (healing task as an action).

Veen Morund 7 (21)

Gunslinger Knights

Veen Morund are the slightest and most fey-like of the Veen, with long limbs and necks that bend in odd ways, more like a mantis than a vertebrate.

They are constantly surrounded by a bluish haze made of dozens of souls they have harvested and forged into a power source they use as both weapon and armor. They and their plans are all but inscrutable; they might command a horde to charge and watch them get cut down by Knights, or single out a specific foe to kill before retreating to the Crawling Deeps.

The chaotic terrain created by the presence of a Veen Morund resembles translucent blue ice or hardened slime.

Motive: Stealing souls, conquest, chaos

Environment: In, near, and after Fundament Storms; alone or in mixed groups of Veen and/or other creatures of the Crawling Deeps

Health: 25

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (7 points)

Armor: 3

Movement: Short; immediate when levitating

Modifications: Intellect defense and perception as level 8

Combat: A Veen Morund attacks by bludgeoning a foe with a short-range extrusion of its soul haze. Any creature killed by this attack has some of its soul ripped out and added to the haze. The Veen also has the following abilities:

• Create Horror: Once per hour, the Veen can use their soul haze to animate the corpse of a creature as any horror from the Crawling Deeps (level equal to the level of the dead creature, up to level 4).
• Graveyard's Lament: The Veen draws upon the souls of recently slain creatures nearby and releases them in a destructive burst, inflicting 7 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) in a short area centered on the Veen (or 2 points on a successful Might defense roll).
• Regeneration: A slain Veen Morund automatically revives on their next turn at full health. This diminishes the Veen's soul haze; until it is replenished, the Veen can't use this ability again, their Armor decreases to 1, and their abilities are hindered by two steps.
• Soul Poison: A Veen Morund can spend several minutes poisoning a short area. Any living creature within the area takes 1 point of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) each round. The more creatures this area kills, the more damage it begins to inflict (maximum 10 points per round).
• Soul Sorcery: As part of a successful attack with their soul haze, the Veen can add one of the following magical effects: inflict 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor), move the foe one step down the damage track (Intellect defense to resist), or learn a weakness or vulnerability about the foe (Intellect defense to resist). Replenishing the soul haze requires actively killing several creatures of level 2 or higher, or spending a few minutes draining soul fragments from a few dozen recently killed human-sized corpses.

Interaction: A Veen Morund may consider any offer or arrangement (especially one that saves their life or that of another Veen), but they cannot be trusted and will go back on their word as soon as it is convenient for them. Souls and magic are the only currency they value.

Use: A sacred or respected site now sickens anyone who approaches. The Veen calls for a truce to parley for an artifact or powerful cypher.

GM Intrusion: The Veen uses its action to rip out the character's soul, moving them three steps down the damage track (or only one step on a successful Intellect defense task).
GM Intrusion: The Veen revives a fallen horror within short range, and the horror's actions are eased for the rest of the combat.