Vulture Spirit 3 (9)

It's Only Magic

Vulture spirits look like tall humans with bald heads and horrible, hunched posture. They blend in, and they like it that way. Vulture spirits subsist on other people's pain and misery, which has led to a bad reputation that's hard to shake.

Despite prevalent misconceptions, vulture spirits generally prefer not to cause pain and misery—they just feed on what's already present, providing relief in the process. They're gentle and reserved, with soft, scratchy voices. The most well-known and well-respected vulture spirits work in medical professions and form symbiotic relationships with their patients.

Motive: Consume anguish

Environment: Anywhere pain and misery can be found

Health: 10

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (4 points)

Movement: Short

Modifications: Intellect defense, perception, and stealth as level 5

Combat: Vulture spirits are rarely violent; they attack when threatened, to defend chosen allies, or out of desperation. A dying vulture spirit may use their last strength to pounce on a creature they judge to be an easy target, subsequently using the pain they inflict to restore their own health.

Vulture spirits gain 1 point of health for every minute spent in physical contact with someone (other than a vulture spirit) experiencing pain or suffering, such as a creature below half its normal health or Pool points, a debilitated PC, or someone with a chronic illness. Recovery rolls made while in contact with a vulture spirit are increased by 3 points.

A vulture spirit can use the following magical abilities.

• Recalling the Worst. Open their mouth and emit a short-distance blast of energy. If the foe fails an Intellect defense roll, they take 4 points of damage and lose their next action as they relive their worst memory.
• Remote Draining. If a creature within short range is experiencing pain or suffering, the vulture spirit can use their action to drain it from that creature. The spirit gains 1 point of health and the creature's affliction is alleviated for one round.

Interaction: Vulture spirits are clever and shy. They can speak human languages but revert to bird sounds such as screeching, clicking, and trilling when stressed. Though they forage for pain to consume alone, they prefer to live in large groups.

Use: Vulture spirits are good for creating eerie encounters about sickness and pain, especially if the player characters mistake the spirit as the cause of the trouble rather than incidental to it.

Loot: A vulture spirit's pockets are full of feathers, altogether which function as a curative cypher.

GM Intrusion: A vulture spirit has gorged themself and discharges the excess energy in an explosion that fills an immediate area and inflicts Intellect damage (ignores Armor).