Scrappler Noah Stevens Special Thanks to Doug Kovacs Since the time of the Old Ones, Man has always needed assistance to survive. Wolves, Horses, Cows, Imps, Mudmen, Crow Spirits. Many creatures have been lashed and yolked by Man in his grim and voracious history. When the state of magic was sufficiently advanced, Wizards took the urges for companionship and nourishment and fashioned Golems, summoned Spirits and Daemons, and plumbed the deepest mysteries. Sometimes, this involved venturing into dangerous places, and stopping to eat was often neither viable nor prudent.
Weapon Training: None. Scrapplers use no weapons and prefer pankration and bludgeoning. Rarely, a club or tree may be taken up to fight much larger creatures that may be undamaged by the Scrappler’s pummeling and subdual attacks. Improvised clubs impose no penalty to hit or damage for Scrapplers. They do 1d8 plus their Strength bonus in damage for punching and kicking attacks, and the same amount for unarmed subdual damage. Alignment: Scrapplers are generally Neutral. Lawful Tofukin (containing no animal proteins) are fastidiously ethical and moral creatures. Chaotic Scrapplers usually suffer from madness imposed by spoilage and unwholesome additives.
During the Age of the Brownie Lords, Scrapplers were devised to accompany Wizards into dungeons and other dangerous places. Composed of ground bits of tasty protein and boiled cereal grains, and held together and motivated by rudimentary dweomers, Scrapplers represent friendly and emotionally supportive means of protection and nourishment for a certain variety of enchantment-focused hedgewizard. A knowledgeable runepriest can make one with a few carcasses, a sack of grains, a dash of potash and a vial of essential saltes.
Immunities: Scrapplers and Tofukin are immune to the effects sleep deprivation and hunger, as well as being magically impervious to sleep spells. They half damage from piercing weapons and attacks, rounded down, having no internal organs that are differentiated from their meaty or proteinaceous masses. Blunt weapons do an reduced die of damage to them.
It has oft been observed that they are prone to become selfaware and independent owing to spoilage, ludicrous levels of curiosity, and generally friendly dispositions. They rarely start fisticuffs and often press opponents to solve disagreements in less injurious fashion, but once a fight is begun they tend to get stuck in and ultra-violent. The sacking of the city of North Rendask in 547 QR was prompted by a minor dispute between city officials and the Butcher-Sorcerers’ Guild over tariffs on lambchops, causing many casualties and the simultaneous independence of a whole race of meat golems that learned to self-propagate through violence and charcuterie.
Sensitvities: Scrapplers and Tofukin are especially susceptible to fire- and cold-based attacks and take an increased die of damage from these kinds of effects. They also take an increased die of damage from slashing and cutting attacks – they are made to be easily carved up and portioned. Luck: Scrapplers apply their Luck modifiers to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. Luck may be burned to avoid the effects of Spoilage (see below) Meaty Deeds: Scrapplers and Tofukin have a Deed Die modifier to add to attack rolls. If the attack is declared to cause subdual damage or is intended to initiate grappling, then the Scrappler may reroll the Deed Die but must accept the second roll regardless of the result.
Hit Points: Scrapplers gain 1d14 hit points per level, in addition to any Stamina bonuses that might apply.
1
Vitamin Fortified: In desperate times, the Scrappler may give of him- or herself to those in need. The magic that courses through their meaty forms can supply vim and vigor to those who ingest the fleshy substance of the Scrappler, if it is freely given in good faith. A Scrappler may burn a point of Strength or Stamina to provide 1d4 points of healing to a comrade, that may only be healed by adding protein back into the loafy form of the golem. (see below)
Spoilage: If the Scrappler absorbs Chaotic creatures, or any formerly sentient carcasses, then spoilage is likely to set in. Each time this occurs, the Neutral Scrappler must make a Will saving throw - with the Luck modifier applied – at a DC that starts at 10, but is incremented each time such an event occurs. If failed, then the Scrappler must change alignment to Chaotic, “goes off”, and further begins to draw flies and vermin (losing 3 points of Personality in interpersonal exchanges and skill checks). Meat-eating wandering monsters are likely to approach and attack the Scrappler preferentially (a purpose for which they were actually intended). A Tofukin always immediately becomes a Scrappler in these cases, and cannot revert without assistance. The clerical spell Food of the Gods (page 262 of the core rulebook) will heal a Scrappler or Tofukin and allow it to revert to its previous uncontaminated state if desired, or else heal it of damage depending upon the result of the spell roll. At this point, the Saving Throw to avoid Spoilage will revert to the base DC of 10.
Grist for the Mill: The primary components of Scrapplers are magic, protein, and grains. Should times become desperate and the Scrappler sustain injury or too-often selfsacrifice for companions, then (since natural healing is impossible) single points of Strength or Stamina, or alternately hit points, may be recovered by adding back flesh - or in the case of Tofukin, vegetable matter of plantlike creatures. For any carcass absorbed by the Scrappler, the Scrappler recovers a point of Strength or Stamina for each Hit Die absorbed, or is healed by the number of Hit Dice the creature had while living. Carcasses may be absorbed above and beyond the normal limit temporarily; in any given day the Scrappler’s level in Strength points may be temporarily added above his or her normal limit, which reverts again to the base Strength score the next day. Level
Attack Bonus
Action Die
1
0
1d20
2
+1
3
Crit Die/Table
Reflex
Fortitude
Will
1d8/II
-1
+1
+2
1d20
1d8/II
-1
+1
+2
+1
1d20
1d10/II
-1
+3
+3
4
+1
1d20
1d10/II
-1
+3
+3
5
+2
1d20
1d10/II
0
+3
+3
6
+2
1d20+1d14
1d20/II
+1
+5
+4
7
+2
1d20+1d16
1d20/II
+1
+5
+4
8
+3
1d20+1d20
1d20/II
+1
+7
+4
9
+3
1d20+1d24
1d20/II
+2
+7
+5
10
+3
1d20+1d30
1d20/II
+2
+7
+5
2
