The Rudraprayag Leopard - Part 6

I‘ve deliberately left this narrative somewhat nebulous so that the Keeper can work the elements around whatever plot points their campaign story has determined. Given what has gone before however, the referee can stage any number of attacks and confrontations for the Investigators to disentangle in an attempt to thwart the evil intentions of the Leopard Cult. There are only a few things left to add to the mix and these are outlined below.

Kali’s Vengeance

If the Keeper has the opportunity to run the sub-plot where the vain Investigator learns their lesson about being overly concerned with their appearance whilst on-mission, this is the result of that scenario.

First, the keeper needs to find an opportunity to abduct the character in question. This can be effected as a standard Leopard Cult attack (minus the disembowelling) or during the heat of a confrontation with Leopard Cultists. Spearheading the kidnap attempt is the fakir, who has all sorts of twisted revenge scenarios in his head and the wherewithal to carry them out. (NB: that the character in question could also be an NPC associate of the party, which makes their abduction even easier.)

The kidnapped character awakens deep in the jungle, trapped inside a rude cage of stout design. The floor of the cage is littered with a mess of crushed flowers and sticky fruit, reeking with a sickly sweet aroma. The character has a vile taste in their mouth and will discover that light and sound seem abnormally exaggerated, almost painful to experience. Along with this aural- and photosensitivity, their sense of touch has become quite acute.

As soon as they’ve noted their new surrounds, they suddenly hear the sound of sharp blades scraping together. The fakir squats to one side near a small fire of burning Cannabis sativa, rasping two large knives together. As the character starts to move within the cage, hundreds of butterflies, attracted by the sweet mess on which the character has been laid, rise up around them. Given the suggestion of the scraping knives, along with the hypersensitivity induced by the bhang which the fakir has administered, the character starts to think that the brushing of the butterfly wings against their skin is causing dangerous slashes to appear on their flesh. They will see (hallucinatory) blood running down their skin and feel the slicing of the wings against their body. The experience necessitates a SAN Roll (1d4/1d8) which, if they fail, will cause them to pass out due to perceived – if not actual – blood loss.

The fakir will enjoy playing with this new toy for as long as the character has Sanity points to spare. Each period of unconsciousness lasts 20-CON hours (minimum 1 hour), and the infusion of bhang lasts for a 12 hour duration, after which it must be administered again. The rest of the party should hurry to rescue their friend before his mind is permanently damaged.

Things in the party’s favour are the fact that the scene of this horrible vengeance is not too far removed from where the abduction took place; also, the small stupefying fire upon which the fakir brews his various potions produces a lot of smoke, which could lead the rest of the party to him with successful Tracking Rolls. As the party approaches, the fakir will be notified by Leopard Cult sentries and he will abandon his revenge and flee. Nonetheless though, he has something else, even more deadly up his (metaphorical) sleeve...

Were-Leopards!

The Leopard Cultists are trophy-takers and they are enjoined to souvenir the blood and intestines of those whom they kill. With these disgusting keepsakes, the fakir is able to cast a secret spell which allows the recipient to transform into a human-leopard hybrid, the better to undertake their evil cultish business.

New Spell: Brew Borfima

This spell has a number of requirements that need to ticked off before it can be cast. First, the spell only works on those who have drunk a bottle of blood taken from a victim whom they have killed whilst working to serve the ends of the Leopard Cult. Traditionally, every Leopard Cult member who goes out on a raid, must return to the hidden Cult shrine with a bottle of their victims’ blood and drink it as part of the concluding ritual for that night’s events.

Secondly, the concoction must be brewed from the intestines of a human being killed by a member of a Leopard Cult. These are cooked in a broth of oats, wheat or barley and left to ferment for a period of a week. While cooking, the Bati Yeli chants over the brew and infuses it with all of their Magic Points. After fermenting, the brew is strained and bottled at night; once this is accomplished, the bottles must never be exposed to sunlight or they will lose their efficacy.

Armed with their bottle of borfima, a Leopard Cultist need only drain the bottle and they will transform into a were-leopard. This transformation lasts until the following sunrise, at which time the drinker will return to normal (with the exception of any injuries which they may have sustained while transformed) with only dim and fragmentary memories of what occurred whilst they were changed.

Alternatively, if sprayed with the enchanted sacred waters of Udar Kund, the were-leopard will revert back to their human form, suffering enormous pain as they do so. In this case, their minds return to human normalcy first, and they retain all knowledge of their acts whilst transformed. This painful alteration takes 3D4 minutes and causes the one so affected to lose 1D6/1D10 points of SAN.

Mystical Cat Warriors of the Punjab!

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	6D6 (21)	POW	2D6+6 (13)	Move	12
CON	2D6+6 (13)	DEX	2D6+6 (13)	HP	12
SIZ	3D6 (10-11)	APP	N/A	Magic Points	0
INT	3D6 (10-11)	EDU	N/A	SAN	0

Damage Bonus: +1D4 or 1D6

Weapon:         Bite 30% (1D8); Claw 50% (1D6+db); Rake 80% (2D6+db)

Armour:          1 point Hide + 1 hit point Regeneration per round

Skills:                Hide 60%; Stalk Prey 60%; Track by Smell 90%

Spells:               None

SAN Loss:       0/1D8 to see a Wereleopard; 0/1D3 to see one transforming

A Were-Leopard attacks with two Claws and a Bite each round. If both Claw attacks are successful, the Were-Leopard may opt to hang on, automatically Biting the next round or attempting to Rake with both hide feet. Like most Leopards, they tend to attack from ambush after sizing up their enemies. They will try to split up groups and force the weaker party members to become separated if possible. Note that, while these cultists lose their memories of being were-creatures once transformed back to human beings, while they are in their cat forms, they have access to all their human intelligence and understanding in order to co-ordinate their attacks.

Were-Leopards are able to become full leopards, or can adopt a half-human arrangement granting them the use of hands. To this end they can use any weapon with which they are normally proficient while fully human at their standard level of ability. While transformed though, their greatly enlarged teeth prevent them from using any spells.

Resolution

This all depends upon what the Keeper has in mind. In real life encounters with Leopard Cults, it was sufficient to prove to the locals that the cultists have no real “magic” and that they are simply ruthless individuals ready to prey of their fellow-creatures by means of fear and extortion. A satisfying conclusion to this tale would likely be the throwing of the wicked fakir to the mob to enact their own vengeance.

If the Keeper decides that the Leopard Cult is not a complete scübidüberism, then things get a tad trickier. In this case, the presence of Pandit Chandra becomes crucial to the players’ getting the upper hand over the Cult. As you recall, Chandra is on his own mission to rid the area of the Leopard curse, travelling to a mystical spring called Udar Kund near the small pilgrim town of Guptkashi. Chandra has an Enchanted Conch Shell which enables him to carry holy water from the spring and magically activate it for the purpose of un-transforming Were-Leopards.

The waters of Udar Kund are believed to come from all the oceans of the world and are spiritually pure. While many pilgrims believe that bathing with these waters conveys a blessing and removes sin, in actual fact the waters are not inherently magical – they need to be ‘activated’ by means of a spell and the magic container which Chandra carries. Chandra has a magical text, a strip of cloth painted with images and Sanskrit words in the Devanagari script. These allow him to take water from the spring and Enchant it. This water, if a dose of it is Thrown successfully at a Were-Leopard, will turn it back into a human being; the Conch Shell contains 1D3+1 such doses before needing to be refilled.

New Spell: Enchant Waters of Udar Kund

To cast the spell, the caster must meditate for at least an hour before the spring at Udar Kund, burning incense and reciting the holy sutras recorded on the strip of cloth with the Enchanted Conch Shell before him. Once completed, the caster may approach the spring and fill the Conch with water: such water will thereafter become mystically activated and may be transported from the area of the spring and used as outlined above. The casting of the spell costs 5 Magic Points. Note that this spell can be cast only once per day.

Other Statistics

The Leopard

The Leopard is a skilled hunter relying on stealth and ambush to catch its prey. More than this however, the Leopard often tries to dupe its victims, feigning illness or incapacity in order to get closer to them. The Leopard also is known to ignore attacks from superior foes in order to close distance and inflict harm: this willingness to walk into danger has earned the cat a respectful reputation among the peoples of Asia.

The Leopard of Rudraprayag, once killed by Jim Corbett, proved to be an elderly male and afflicted by a painful gum disease and tooth loss. Unable to chase and catch its normal prey it was forced to turn its attentions to easier kills, mainly humans. To this end it clawed its way through walls and doors and broke through roofs in order to snatch women, children and invalids before dragging them away to eat. A healthy Leopard is unlikely to attack humans unless cornered, in extremis, or if they threaten its young. The place where the Leopard of Rudraprayag was killed is commemorated to this day with a sign and the town holds an annual fair in remembrance as well. These days, Leopards are a protected species, in India and elsewhere.

When attacking, the Leopard is only able to bring its Rake attack to bear if it makes two successful Claw attacks or one Bite and one Claw attack – the Rake attack follows directly after, clinging to its prey in order to more quickly subdue it. In the subsequent round, if still holding its prey, the Leopard may choose to forego all attacks in order to perform another Rake.

Indian Maneater (Panthera pardus fusca)

char.	rolls	averages	char.	rolls	averages
STR	3d6+6	16-17	DEX	2d6+12	19
CON	3d6	10-11	Move	12
SIZ	2d6+8	15	HP	13
POW	3d6	10-11

Av. Damage Bonus: +1d6

Weapon:       Bite 30%, 1d10; Claw 50%, 1d6+db; Rake 80%, 2d6+db

Armour:        1 point of fur

Skills:             Climb 80%; Hide 80%; Jump 40%; Sneak 90%

Habitat          Northern India & Central Asia through to Western China

Jim Corbett

"The wound that has caused a particular tiger to take to man-eating might be the result of a carelessly fired shot and failure to follow up and recover the wounded animal, or be the result of the tiger having lost his temper while killing a porcupine".

Edward James "Jim" Corbett (1875–1955) was a legendary British hunter and tracker-turned-conservationist, author and naturalist, famous for hunting a large number of man-eating tigers and leopards in India.

Corbett held the rank of colonel in the British Indian Army and was frequently called upon by the government of the United Provinces, now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to kill man-eating tigers and leopards that were preying on people in the nearby villages of the Garhwal and Kumaon regions. His hunting successes earned him longstanding respect and fame in Kumaon. Some even claim the locals considered him a sadhu, or saint.

Corbett was an avid photographer and after his retirement authored Man-Eaters of Kumaon, Jungle Lore, and other books recounting his hunts and experiences, which enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success. Later on in life, Corbett spoke out for the need to protect India's wildlife from extermination and played a key role in creating a national reserve for the endangered Bengal tiger by using his influence to persuade the provincial government to establish it. In 1957 the national park was renamed Jim Corbett National Park in his honour.

Rewards:

For each Were-Leopard eliminated: +1D8 SAN Points

For meeting Jim Corbett: 1D4 SAN Points

For breaking the back of the Leopard Cult: +1D20 SAN Points

For helping bring down the Leopard of Rudraprayag: +1D6 SAN Points

For each villager/associate killed by the Cultists: -1D4 SAN Points

The Bati Yeli/evil fakir is brought to justice: +1D10 SAN Points

Pandit Chandra dies: -1D10 SAN Points

Escaping the Butterfly Trap: +1D8 SAN Points

As usual there are other less tangible benefits to success. First, the party will be the recipients of the gratitude of the local villagers, if they help eliminate the threat which the Cult imposes. Second, if the party has involved the assistance of Pandit Chandra, he will be happy to pass on his lore concerning the waters of Udar Kund; if the party members have sat with him and studied the scroll which he carries, they will receive the skills Read Devanagari Script at 10%, and Speak Sanskrit at 15%. And, again as usual, the Keeper is free to add any other benefits they like to reward the party for having quelled this insidious outbreak

If anyone takes this scenario out for ride and sees what happens, I’d appreciate hearing back any thoughts or comments you might have. Enjoy!