Gaunt Tribe: The Hadeans

The Hadeans were the last and hardest of the Tribes to write. I knew I wanted an inherently superior tribe, to replicate the Unliving “Zomb” tribe, one that was inherently better than all the other tribes. But what else could they be? I slowly settled on the idea of a “merchant” tribe that might swap antiquities with Mithna Zatharos, and a servant tribe that would represent Mithna Adivasta. This last was especially important to me: I wanted a tight representation of Mithna Adivasta among the tribes, which likely meant some adaption to the cold, given the arctic fortress from which Mithna Adivasta ruled.

The problem was all these different pieces didn’t want to come together. Why did they swap antiquities? That might imply they are sorcerers, but the Getics felt better as sorcerers for a variety of reasons. Did I want two sorcerer-tribes? Not really. They could be stealthy and assassin-like, but eventually, that got pushed to the Abertach. There were a few elements I knew I wanted for sure:

• Ghoulish Memories: One of the purposes of the tribes was to break up the Gaunt power-ups and give them a home, and the Hadeans would be the ones dining on brains to gain deep insights. It would also explain what sort of things they liked to trade for.
• Better Than You: I wanted to give them some sort of Higher Purpose that let them win all contests or competitions against other Gaunt, and act as a sort of elite among elites.

But that wasn’t enough, so I settled on a few other things: where the Wasters were the “hot” Gaunt, I wanted someone to be a “cold” Gaunt. I had another (discarded) tribe that was “bony” because Bone Knights are popular and I wanted to explore it. Then I realized they might be interesting if they had skull faces or ornate, bony armor. Truly, a magnificent set of villains. And if they were “better than you,” perhaps they could occupy a place of “discount True Tarvathim.” Many Highborn Tribes vibe like “cheap” Tarvathim: the Getics are beautiful, the Legionnaires competent, the Hadeans could be cunning. But perhaps they could also be, lightly, immortal? I borrowed and dumbed down True Tarvathim immortality and grafted it onto them.

This informed their talents: Antiquary to represent how they operated as merchants and Thanatologist to reflect their skill with removing brains. Truth Seeker was grafted on, because investigation suited the talents of a clever Gaunt with the ability to read the mind of the dead by noshing on neurons. If they were going to be merchants, though, they needed some sort of reaction improvements, so I went with an imposing sort of Charisma and, for fun, an improved appearance that applied only to Gaunt. The result, I think, is more darkly villainous than I had expected. They make a magnificent sort of Skeletor, or a high priest for Domen Tarvagant.

Some people seem to have noticed the tossed together nature of the Hadeans, and it’s true: they had less vision than the rest, but I’m still fairly happy with the results. The arbitrary nature of the Gaunt Tribes means it works fine for them to be a bit of a grab-bag, but I hope they still appeal to people as an interesting PC possibility. I think they’ll make reasonable PC options, but mostly in games that focus in on the Gaunt as Gaunt (which, hopefully, the existence of the tribes will encourage) or that benefit from higher IQ and investigation, as they suffer from the same combat problems as “vanilla” Gaunt do with few of the compensating factors that other “combat” oriented Gaunt, like Wasters, Getics, Legionnaires or Horlocks get.

• The Hadean Tribe

Gaunt Tribe: the Abertach

The Abertach were a late addition, and competed with the Hadean for narrative themes. I realized I needed a servant Gaunt for groups like Mithna Adivasta, and I had built up a collection of small, childish Gaunt, and I noticed I tended to want to put Craftiness on all of my various Gaunt tribes, so I created a group that was focused on stealth primarily. From this was born the Abertach.

Mithna Adivasta plays a pretty big role in Wanderers of Dhim, which made me think about them a lot. They are one of the only Mithna to retain control of a world (though Khalli is similarly pronounced, just not in direct control), and as naturally talented Necrocrafters, they would have a close relationship with the Gaunt, and with Moros having such a focus on Gaunt, it seemed fitting to tie some Gaunt tribes directly to Mithna Adivasta. What were they making in their vast, arctic vatting facilities? Well, one thing would be servants, elegant, slender and mysterious: their spies and inconspicuous manservants.

I drew a lot of inspiration from the Sluagh from Changeling the Dreaming: Silence, toothless, slipping through cracks and lurking in the shadows, creatures of shadows. So, I gave them hair and I should probably go ahead and give them the option to buy off their appearance penalty, the option to remove their fangs, and since Sluagh cannot speak above a whisper, I gave them the option for failing vocal chords, as another Gaunt deficiency. Their shadow manipulation was covered with some umbrakinesis abilities and variants. I represented their ability to slip through cracks as Double Jointed and the option to add more Disintegration Degradations, which means they have a secret set of power-ups as they degrade:

• Engulfing Flesh: Constriction Attack (Engulfing +60%) [25]; Cotton Stomach [1]; Degradation 5 [-5]; 21 points.
• Flesh Tentacle: Extra Arm (Flexible +50%) [15]; Gaunt Degradation 3 [-3]; The Gaunt may take this multiple times. 12 points per tentacle.
• Sloughing Flesh: Slippery 5 [10]; Gaunt Degradation 2 [-2]; 8 points.
• Tenuous Flesh: Basic Move +2 [10]; Double-Jointed [15]; Gaunt Degradation 6 [-6]; Stretching 1 [6]; 25 points. (Though note this one would only cost an Abertach 4 points)
• Degraded Baleful Gaze: Replace Night Vision 2 with Infravision [10] for 8 points; Intimidation Gaze [1]; Bright (+1 to see; Glowing Eyes) [-1]; Gaunt Degradation 1 [-1]; 6 points.
• Degraded Bonelessness: Compact Form [1]; Double Jointed [10]; Gaunt Degradation 2 [-2]; 9 points.
• Degraded Rubber Neck: Double Jointed (Neck Only -80%) [3]; Gaunt Degradation 1 [-1]; Stretching 2 (Neck only -80%) [4]; 5 points
• Degraded Scuttler: Clinging [20];Enhanced Ground Move 0.5 (Only when character has 4+ legs, -10%) [9]; Extra Legs (4 legs; Temporary Disadvantage, No Fine Manipulators -40%) [3]; Gaunt Degradation 7 [-7]; 25 points.

I added some of these as natural power-ups too.

In Ballad in the Blasted Land, I introduced two Gaunt, Sinister and Dexter, who were child-sized Gaunt “twins” who would creepily complete one another’s sentences. I had wondered what might happen when not all Gaunt would “finish growing.” This isn’t necessarily to say they were children, just that they were too small, unfinished products. I had Hulking Gaunt, what about especially small Gaunt? It also seemed likely that mitosis might occur in the vat, creating two beings that were closely associated with one another. I gave both of these to the Abertach, and added some

All of this fit great for spooky assassins, but what else could they be? What would their second talent be? Well, I settled on a strange choice that felt cheeky, but the more I ponder it, the more I like it: Talker. This is a GURPS Mysteries Talent that, of course, does make them good at talking, but it mostly makes them good at understanding people: It offers Detect Lies and Psychology and Savoir-Faire, all useful even if you do not speak, so you can notice facts about others or comport yourself properly. For those that can speak and do not suffer from Shyness, Fast-Talk or Diplomacy might be handy and I gave them Soft-Spoken to reflect a subtle menace about them.

I tend to describe them as Assassins, but I think the Spy template suits them better. They can fade into the background and observe others, sharing their thoughts with a twin and then vanishing into shadows, though their stink may give them away. Where most of the other Gaunt, to me, feel more tragic or monstrous, the Abertach feel creepy, which is something the Gaunt really need: they are a spooky sort of people. As far as PCs go, they’re quite tolerable. They have more than enough options to compensate for their reduced DX and IQ to make them competent at PC-focused tasks like stealth and social perception, and they have some built in narrative hooks. But at the same time, they work fine as disposable background NPCs: of course the Adivasta are surrounded by spooky servants who mumble and then vanish when you’re not looking, and one or two might be especially dangerous. I think they offer a good contrast to the Warstock as an alternative take on a “minor tribe.”

• The Abertach