I Wasn T Intending on Posting This Creature

Will o’ the Wisp

Ignis fatuus

Picture Credit: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17582/17582-h/17582-h.htm

Also Known As Corpse Candles; Dwaallicht

Description A Will o’ the Wisp is a special form of ghost which frequent swamps, marshes, bogs, fens etc. Some ancient cultures threw the bodies of executed criminals or sacrificial victims into swamps. It is not unknown for murderers to do the same. Sometimes, the spirit of such a person remains tied to that swamp and over time develops into a malignant type of ghost known as a Will o’ the Wisp.

Only ever seen at night, a Will o’ the Wisp manifests itself on the mundane plane as a distant light, seeking to lure unwary travellers to a watery doom in the depths of the swamp.

Legends claim that Will o’ the Wisps guard lost treasure of the ancients and that if you follow one into the swamp until it stops moving it will be above where the treasure is buried. Ancient sacrificial victims sometimes did wear precious jewellery, but this legend has led many fool hardy adventurers to their death.

Eshmarn Bestiary Page 1 of 4 Written by Mechashef Ecology Being spirits, Will o’ the Wisps are not part natural ecology of an area. Their presence can be dimly sensed by many animals and the area of the swamp where the Will o’ the Wisp spends most time tends to be avoided by most animals. These malignant ghosts exist only to kill the living and hopefully extract revenge on those responsible for its death.

Statistics Characteristics Average Attributes INT 2D6+6 13 Move: 5 POW 3D6+6 16-17 MP: 4D6+6

Notes: Though they have POW, Will o’ the Wisps cannot regain MP like normal creatures and instead use their Soul Snare supernatural ability. Thus it is quite likely that one will be encountered with less than maximum MPs. Roll POW using 3D6+6. That is the maximum MP that the Will o’ the Wisp can have. To determine its current MP roll 4D6 +6. If that value is equal to or less than the value for POW then the rolled value is used for MP. If the rolled value is greater than POW then use the POW value for MP (i.e. the Will o’ the Wisp has its full MP).

Supernatural Abilities Note: Supernatural Abilities are not part of standard RuneQuest but are inspired by the poorly documented “Magic Powers” that many creatures from the RQ3 supplement “Land of Ninja” have.

Marsh Light MP Cost: 2 Ranged: MPm Duration: 1 hour Type: Active This ability confuses the target and leads them astray. If the Will o’ the Wisp overcomes the target in a MP vs MP contest then the target will follow it further into the swamp. Eventually the Will o’ the Wisp will lead the target into the murky water of the swamp.

This will allow the target an attempt to break free of the Will o’ the Wisp. If this is successful then it is immune to the Marsh Light ability of that Will o’ the Wisp for the rest of the night. Assuming that the target can escape the water they may attempt to find their way out of the swamp.

If the target fails the attempt they just lie in the water and drown, though any nearby friends who are not affected by Marsh Light may attempt to rescue them.

This ability can dispelled as if it was a 4 point Spirit Magic spell, but the Will o’ the Wisp must also be defeated in a MP vs MP contest.

Eshmarn Bestiary Page 2 of 4 Written by Mechashef Soul Snare MP Cost: 0 Ranged: Touch Duration: Varies Type: Active

This may only be used against sentient beings that drown in a swamp/marsh/bog etc in the presence of the Will o’ the Wisp. As the creature dies and its soul begins whatever journey it is fated to make, the Will o’ the Wisp may attempt a MP vs MP contest on the Resistance Table. If it succeeds, it has managed to snare the victim’s soul and can delay it on the Spirit Plane for 1D6 rounds.

In each of those rounds the Will o’ the Wisp can attempt another MP vs MP contest with the following results:

Fumble The soul is released and escapes the Will o’ the Wisp. Failure Nothing happens. Success The Will o’ the Wisp steals 1 point of POW (not MP) from the soul. This POW adds to the Will o’ the Wisp’s current MP. The Will o’ the Wisp’s MP cannot exceed its POW value. Special As per Success. The value rolled on the D6 is also increased by one round. Critical As per Special except the point of POW stolen from the soul also increased the Will o’ the Wisps maximum POW by one. This is the only way Will o’ the Wisps can increase their POW value.

This effect cannot be dispelled.

Fighting a Will o’ the Wisp These ghosts can be difficult for many characters to fight. Their Soul Snare is a form of Spirit Combat but can only be initiated by the Will o’ the Wisp against a recently dead soul and while a character can resist it they cannot remove MP or POW from the ghost and thus can’t destroy it.

Characters that can enter the Spirit Plane (a Shaman for example) could track down the Will o’ the Wisp there and engage it in combat seeking to destroy it.

Another possibility is to dig into the swamp, locate the Will o’ the Wisp’s body and then bury it in a proper sanctified location outside the swamp, using suitable burial rituals. This can be very difficult for a few reasons:  Though they are intelligent, Will o’ the Wisps cannot be communicated with and thus will try to drown any “rescuers”.  The body may have sunk very deep into the swamp, especially if the Will o’ the Wisp is hundreds of years of (or even older).  The bodies of many of its victims will also be in the same area, so identifying the correct one could be difficult.

Will o’ the Wisps do act intelligently and when their victim has friends who are following along to attempt a rescue they been known to use their Marsh Light ability

Eshmarn Bestiary Page 3 of 4 Written by Mechashef to lead a victim to the lair of a dangerous swamp monster hoping it will reduce the group down to a more manageable number.

Game Usage A Will o’ the Wisp will probably not be much of a threat to most adventuring parties. Their usual targets are solitary travellers, hunters etc. Unless they are searching for the treasure rumoured to be guarded by a Will o’ the Wisp, characters are more likely to deal with one that has plaguing a small community, a task that can prove difficult. Of course a very old Will o’ the Wisp could have built up a very high POW (adjust the MP dice to be rolled in this case) and be quite willing to take on a several people at once.

References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_o%27_the_Wisp

Eshmarn Bestiary Page 4 of 4 Written by Mechashef