Chupacabra and Luchacabra

Here's the little troublemakers that, well, made so much trouble in my game a few weeks ago...

Chupacabra
The Chupacabra are a minor Minion race in servitude to the Titans. It is still unclear how or why they were created, but they first appeared in central america around the time of the Titan's escape from Tarterus.

In appearance, a Chupacabra is strange blend of kangaroo, lizard, rat and coyote, with spines running down their backs. They have large hypnotic eyes, capable of holding a human captivated and unable to scream. If confronted, Chupacabra make a horrible droning screech, much worse than anything every unleashed upon the world by a bagpipe. If cornered, they leap impressively away to safety. Beyond that, eye witness accounts are very different, so there may be multiple breeds of Chupacabra. A quick google search or visit to wikipedia will provide pictures and further documentation for those who need it.

Chupacabra Statistics

Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4 +Epic Dexterity 1, Stamina 3, Charisma 1, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3 +Epic Appearance (Ugliness) 1, Perception 3, Intelligence 1, Wits 3

Abilities: Animal Ken 3, Athletics 2, Awareness 1, Brawl 3, Command 1, Fortitude 1, Larceny 1, Medicine 1, Occult 2, Presence 3, Stealth 4, Survival 3

Knacks:
Serpent's Gaze,
Holy Bound (normally, Holy Bound is a Strength knack, but Chupacabra get it as a Dexterity knack instead)

Other Powers
Made You Look. A chupacabra may spend a legend to interrupt themselves whenever someone is spying on them or taking an Aim action. They may only interrupt their action this way to use their Serpent's Gaze power. All other normal restrictions of Serpent's Gaze apply, including the restriction of only being able to use it on one victim at a time.

Hiss & Screech: Anyone who hears at least 1 chupacabra screeching, gets a penalty of -2 to thier DV and all their dice pools. This lasts as long as at least one chupacabra is actively screeching, or until the victim can no longer hear it. Screeching is a Speed:5 miscellaneous action. It does not break the Serpent's Gaze of a chupacabra. Chupacabra are immune to this power from themselves or other chupacabra.

Suck: Treat the exsanguination of the target as an environmental hazard. Damage is lethal, and amounts to dice per action equal to the Chupacabra's Stamina. The Trauma rating is equal to the Chupacabra's Strength + Stamina. This is a speed 5 action, and the Chupacabra may only drain the blood of one foe at a time. This power can only be used on an Inactive Foe. It doesn’t break Serpent’s Gaze. A chupacabra's bite includes a natural anesthetic that makes it painless.

Claw or Bite. A chupacabra may also use fang or nail to attack more conventionally. Treat these as standard unarmed attacks, but with +2 dice of Lethal damage added.


Legend: 2

Willpower: 4, Rapacity: 4

Health Levels: 0 -1 -1 -2 -2 -4 Inc

Trophy: Spines from it’s back can be hollowed out and made into a dreadful-sounding panpipe. This gives a -2 Penalty to anyone hearing it, as if a live Chupacabra were using their hiss & screech power.

Purpose: Chupacabra are quirky and fun. They do a good job of illustrating the point that myth is not dead in the modern world. They're a decent mystery element, possibly making your players suspect vampires or nemean bats.

They can be a very dangerous challenge to individual low-Legend scions. Be careful with this, as players rarely enjoy being rendered inactive by Serpent's Gaze. But as long as you don't overdo it, their powers are very good at forcing players to find a way to deal with them that doesn't involve direct assault.

However, they are little more than extras to be slaughtered when facing Scions of Legend 4+. So, you could use a small number of chupacabra to devestating effect early in a chronicle, then bring them back in mass when the PCs are high enough legend to be immune to their gaze. Your players will get a good rush from wiping the floor with badguys who used to be so dangerous and annoying.

Luchacabra
It is unclear whether the Luchacabra is a distinct sub-breed of Chupacabra, or merely a social or societal role. Luchacabra serve as leaders and heroes to their smaller chupacabra brethren. They can be identified amidst chupacabra by their slightly larger size, as well as the colorful Lucha Libre masks they wear.

Luchacabra are always at least Legend 3. They may have increased Epic Attributes due to this, and may also have Epic Strength and/or Epic Stamina.

They are very good wrestlers, and gain +1 die on all grapple-related rolls they make, including damage. In addition, they often have higher ratings in Strength, Stamina, Athletics and Brawl then the average chupacabra.

Trophy: Each luchacabra wears a magical wrestling mask. A PC who takes the mask from a Luchacabra may don it, gaining +1 die on all grappling rolls they make. It also adds +1 to their static value derived from Strength+Athletics for determining how much they can lift.

Purpose: Luchacabra serve much the same role as their smaller cousins. They are simultaneously more dangerous, and more humorous.