FrivYeti/Chickenja
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Description
These deadly creatures lurk near the borders of civilization, scattered in towns throughout the Northeast. Few know of them, and those that hear of the usually do not take the rumours seriously – the mere concept is, after all, completely absurd. Everything about these subtle warriors is calculated to strike not fear, but laughter into the hearts of enemies. Thus taken off-guard, they can strike unimpeded.
The chickenja (the 'ja' is an old barbarian dialect for shadow, meaning that the literal translation of the word is 'shadowed chicken') appear to be simple chickens at first glance. In fact, although their claws might seem a bit sharp, and their feathers usually have a grey or black tint to them, very few people bother to look twice at the hen clucking near the fence, or the rooster tottling its way across the yard. Chickenja are also masters of slipping themselves into a herd of their unaugmented brethern, and thus spend much of their time disguised as simple birds. The truth is something more ominous.
The chickenja were originally created by a vengeful Lunar Exalt in the late days of the Shogunate. The Lunar intended for his weapon to be a test, after which he planned to create many other shadowed creatures to harass the Dragon-Blooded, tear apart their agriculture, and ruin their lands. However, his plans were left uncompleted. Althoughs thousands of chickenja were released as part of his first test run, he himself fell to the Contagion soon afterwards, leaving his projects unfinished. Bereft of plans or goals, those chickenja who survived the Contagion and the Balorian Crusade spread through the world. They knew their desire for death, and their talent for the same, and many of them quietly contacted the strange folk of the world – beastmen, elementals, god-bloods and the like, finding places where they could become subtle assassins. As their children with one another bred true – as did a few of their eggs with unintelligent chickens – they managed to survive the centuries that passed, forming their own quiet order.
In modern times, the chickenja rarely reveal themselves to their clients, instead trusting in their brokers to cover their tracks and avoid notice. They have little sense of fear, and are fully capable of killing an unprepared Exalt, although they research such carefully before striking. It is unknown who the latest incarnation of their deceased master is, or whether he could command their obediance, but his experiment can only be judged a success.
Chickenja prefer to bite or scratch their target once or twice, then flee. The target, rarely realizing what has happened, will then gradually sicken and die with nothing to connect him to his killer. Occasionally, a particularly cunning killer will spread poison eggs throughout a town, killing many targets at once in a manner that can never be traced back to deliberate intent.
Stats
Motivation: Be paid to kill.
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2, Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 4
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, Valor 3
Abilities: Awareness 3, Athletics 3, Dodge 4, Larceny 3, Integrity 3, Investigation 3, Martial Arts 4 (Surprise Attacks +2), Resistance 2, Socialize 3 (Disguise Intellect +2), Stealth 5 (Appear Innocuous +3), Survival 2
Supernatural Powers: The claws of a chickenja secret a deadly and very slow-acting venom, which is usually misdiagnosed as a disease. It has the following statistics:
Damage: 8L/1 day, Toxicity 3L, Tolerance --, Penalty -2
Unlike normal poisons, a chickenja's poison does not begin to act for a full day after contraction. Furthermore, these poisons lurk in the chickenja itself. Anyone fool enough to kill, cook, and eat one of the creatures suffers from a double dose of poison. Worse, the children of a chickenja retain this poisonous quality regardless of whether they inherit their parent's intellect. An egg or chick delivers a dose of only 6L, while an adult delivers a dose of 10L.
In addition, chickenja can wrap the shadows around themselves, applying a -3 die penalty to all Awareness or Investigation rolls made against them. They use this to come and go as they please.
Join Battle: 7
Attacks:
Peck: Speed 4, Accuracy 9, Damage 3L + poison, Defense --, Rate 1
Scratch: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 2L + poison, Defense --, Rate 2
Soak: 5B/3L (Shadowy feathers +2BFrivYeti/L), Health Levels: OK, -1, -2, -4, Inc
Dodge DV: 5, Willpower: 5
Essence: 2
Other Notes: None
