Some monsters from french folklore

[Tizun Thane]

In my campaign, I created a few monsters from French folklore for KAP. These are typically the kind of monsters you can slip in when the PKs venture to France for a change of scenery. First, an iconic monster, the Tarasque of Tarasquon. The wikipedia link in English is rather well done to learn more about this folk dragon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarasque

 

The Tarasque

Tai 50 Dex 10 For 50 Con 35, Speed 6, Dmg 10d6, Healing Special (1d6 HP/rd), Armor 25, HP 85, Valorous -15, glory to defeat 500

Bite 15 and scorpion’s tail 15 (+ poison, Potency 20, If Con roll failed, instant death, if partial success, 3d6 HP)

Special : can be tamed by a saint (all christian virtues at 16+) with a prayer, and a spiritual roll.

Lair : In Provence, France, the creature inhabited the forested banks of the Rhône between Arles and Avignon, around what is now the town Tarascon (then called Nerluc or 'black place'), but lurked in the river and attacked the men trying to cross it, sinking boats, and terrorizing the countryside.

Appearance :

It is a massive creature with a body 6 meters long, covered with a turtle shell, provided with 6 short legs and a scaly tail ending in a scorpion stinger. His mouth is misshapen, set with the mane of a lion, with donkey's ears, and forming a face looking strangely human.

[Voord 99]

Nice to see the real Tarrasque...

[Morien]

The Tarascon Castle is really cool, too. I had the pleasure of touring it a few years back.

[Tizun Thane]

On 2/9/2021 at 4:01 PM, Morien said:

The Tarascon Castle is really cool, too.

It is said that the castle is built on the same site as the old lair of Tarasque. It is a magnificent castle and I envy you for having been able to visit it ...

***

Magical horses in french folklore

We can distinguish the Blanque Jument(white mare) in the north, Cheval Mallet (Mallet Horse) in the west, and the drapé in the south of France. A link (in french) about the Blanque Jument:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevaux_légendaires_du_Pas-de-Calais

A link (in english) about the Drapé:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drapé_(legend)

Basically, the Blanque Jument is a beautiful white horse with all harnesses that seems peaceful and lost. If anyone climbs on it, the animal becomes enraged and rushes at an unearthly speed to throw itself into the nearest body of water to drown its rider.

The same is true for the Drapé except that it is all black and has a preference for children.

Sincere prayer may be enough to dispel them. In the folklore, they're more or less devilish, so only a christian prayer may work. In KAP, I suppose a pagan prayer to Rhiannon can do the trick as well.

For the characteristics, we could take the kelpie of the GPC (^^)

Edit: Thank you Morien ^^

Edited February 10, 2021 by Tizun Thane

[Morien]

4 hours ago, Tizun Thane said:

For the characteristics, we can take the selkie of the GPC (^^)

You mean Kelpie, GPC p. 387.

[Tizun Thane]

Lou Carcolh, or the Carcolh, is a mythical beast from French folklore. It's described as a large, slimy, snail-like serpent with hairy tentacles and a large shell. It is said to live in a cavern beneath Hastingues, a town in the Les Landes region in southwestern France.

The carcolh's slime could sometimes be seen long before the creature itself arrived. Nobody dared to approach the creature, as unwary persons would be grabbed by its tentacles, dragged into its cave and devoured whole.

So, it’s a giant serpent with the shell of a snail and a few tentacles. What’s not to like ?

Tai 50 Dex 05 Str 25 Con 40, Speed 3, Dmg 7d6, Healing Special (1d6 HP/rd), Armor 25/10, HP 90, Valorous -10, glory to defeat 500

Bite 18, 2 tentacles* 16 (dmg+grappled. A PK can free himself by winning a test of Str vs Str. If the PK loses, he takes full dommage)

The Carcolh can project its tentacles up to 30 meters (100 feet)  away.

Special: You can aim for the less protected part of the beast (ie not the shell), taking a -5 on the attack roll.