Hruggha Concept Test

Hruggha Theorized by Jadeborn savants to have been designed as a biological weapon by the First Age Copper Spiders, hruggha begin their lifecycles as colonies of phosphorescent green mold that grow within demesnes, upon whose Essence they feed. If an infected demesne is capped by a manse, the hruggha mold begins to disrupt and dissolve the structure in order to release the site’s raw energies. (This process requires one week per manse level—each level lost counts as Power Failure due to damage; see p. 62 of The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III: Oadenol’s Codex, with identical results.) Demesnes infected by hruggha spores quickly transform into vast spawning pits from which adult hruggha eventually arise at a rate of one per level of demesne per week. To speed up the process, however, hruggha throw captive humans into the pits (usually underpeople, but occasionally surface dwellers), where the sticky hruggha mold holds them fast while it breaks down their flesh, transforming the poor wretches into adult hruggha. Breaking free from the mold without aid requires a (Strength + Athletics) total of 7, though the pits are generally guarded by hruggha, who do their best to return an escapee to the spawning pit. Hruggha infection is treated as a disease with Virulence 5, Difficulty to Treat 5, Morbidity 5, and Treated Morbidity 4. Adult hruggha are compact, albino humanoids that stand between four and five feet tall and are uniformly caked in filth. They often wear equally filthy scraps of clothing or mismatched pieces of armor they exhumed from graves, dredged from the spawning pits, or scavenged from victims. Hruggha visages are hideous caricatures of the human form, with enormous ink-black eyes and slit mouths dominated by sharp teeth. Hruggha hands possess only three digits, and their feet only three toes, one of which is just a vestigial dewclaw located at the rear of the foot near the ankle. Hruggha craft simple tools and weapons, coating them in excrement or rotten flesh to promote infection. Hruggha often attack in huge numbers, seeking to capture prisoners for their spawning pits or to spread their infection to new demesnes. Hruggha spores live on in the adults’ blood, so it is a simple matter for them to contaminate demesnes or manses they assault. Having battled this Darkbrood for centuries, the Mountain Folk have developed decontamination procedures their Warriors undergo after battling the hruggha, as well as methods of cleansing hruggha infection from demesnes. Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3; Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 1; Perception 2, Intelligence 1, Wits 2 Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 2, Temperance 1, Valor 2 Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 1, Dodge 1, Larceny 1, Martial Arts 1, Melee 2, Survival 1 (Underground +2), War 1 Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap Willpower: 4 Essence: 1 Other Notes: Direct sunlight obliterates hruggha spores and inflicts one health level of aggravated damage per minute a hruggha is exposed to it. Hruggha are considered creatures of darkness (see Exalted, p. 192) and are typically extras.