Holiday Interlude 2018 #3 - Candy Caine

Image Source: https://www.deviantart.com/leagueof1/art/EVIL-DEAD-FAIRY-TALES-GINGERBREAD-MAN-370551895

At last the true villain of Holidayland is revealed!

Previous Holiday Interludes

• 2014
• #1 - Gingerbread Dragon
• #2 - Gingerbread Ninjas
• 2015 
• #1 - Octoclaus the Santapus
• #2 - The Ginger-mech Man
• #3 - Krampus
• 2016
• #1 - Frostborn Snowmen
• #2 - Reindeer
• 2017
• #1 - Turkeysaurus Rex
• #2 - Father Time
• 2018
• #1 - Headless Horsemen
• #2 - Gobbler Golem

Candy Caine 

Candy Caine is the first of the candy-based residents of Holidayland to kill another. He and and his brother Chew Able were the last two cookies left in the tin, and Candy Caine knew that they were both going stale. Unwilling to accept that one of them might get eaten and enjoyed while the other, too stale to be consumed, might be thrown away (or worse, fed to the dog) Candy Caine slew his brother in what he saw as a mercy killing. This clearly evil act committed with ostensibly charitable intent broke Candy Caine's mind, and in his insanity he fled into the bitter cold of Holidayland's wintery night. There he became frosted and bitter, soon forming plans to throw down the Holidayland leaders, and especially Santa himself.

DCC/MCC

Init +5; Atk Peppermint Nunchaku +5 melee (1d8+3), Marzipan Shuriken +4 ranged (1d4+3); AC 16; HD 5d10; MV 40’; Act 3d20; SP vulnerable to milk; Immune to Good Cheer; SV Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +3; AL C.

Cypher System

Level: 7 (TN 21)
Health: 30 • Armor: 2
Damage: 8 (get it?)
Movement: Short
Modifications: Level 8 speed defense due to confectionary ninjutsu. Level 8 for stealth tasks for all senses but smell; level 5 to detect by smell. Candy Caine is especially weak against milk based attacks, and is level 5 to defend against them. His overall leave will also be decreased by 1 after each time he is successfully attacked with a milk based attack.
Combat: In combat Candy Caine deals 8 damage from unarmed and weapon attacks.  Alternately he can grapple with a target and hold them (giving the target an inability in speed defense) and inflicting 8 damage per round. Targets can break free with an action and a successful might based roll to escape.
Interaction: Candy Caine is a bitter and crusty old gingerbread man. He hates the holidays and the Holidayland "Patriarchy" (specifically Santa, though he claims the Easter Bunny is a "monster" as well). If convinced that the players are looking out for the betterment of the gingerbread masses he may entreat with them.
Use:  Candy Caine routinely leads legions of his faithful gingerbread ninjas to attack Santa during his yearly voyage; the PCs may find Jolly Ol' St. Nick in dire need of some defense from their sweet assassination attempts.
Loot: If slaine, Candy Caine will leave behind only crumbs. Bah, Humbug!
GM Intrusion: Candy Caine may summon up to his level in gingerbread ninjas to his aid, and even has the ability to call upon Krampus, Frostborn Snowmen, and Ginger-Mech Men.

The Alphabet of Outer Beings - V is for Vengeance

V is for Vengeance

Vengeance, the desire for a heaping bowl of revenge, best served cold and precise, like a good gazpacho. Vengeance, and revenge, can be either good or evil, lawful or chaotic. A paladin may seek vengeance by bringing the perpetrator to justice and, or they may fall from grace and descend into evil and chaos in order to exact their revenge. Revenge by itself is a neutral concept; a desire to balance an action (often an action perceived as wrong or harmful) with another.

Table V1: "Vengeance will be mine!" (roll 1d20)

1. Said the Lord of Eternal Darkness to the God of the Blazing Sun at the birth of creation; and thus shall end the world. 
2. Cried the holy champion after the razing of their deity's temple at the hands of the infidels.
3. Exclaimed the child wielding the wooden toy sword.
4. Screamed the sorcerer after his patron withdrew support at a crucial moment.
5. Whispered the assassin as she removed another name from her list.
6. Cried the king as he cursed the deity whose clerics failed to save his child.
7. Said the master of the Guild of Larcenists after finding his safe open and empty. 
8. Thought the captain of the merchant ship as he watched his cargo loaded onto a pirate vessel.
9. Said the Wizard of the Red Tower as they recovered from a recently lost spell-duel.
10. Proclaimed the King as he set his lords to ready for war.
11. Groaned the necromancer as he felt his life ebb from his body.
12. Swore the child of the chief amid the corpses of his tribe.
13. Exclaimed the priest of dread Cthulhu as they fled the destruction of their temple. 
14. Gibbered the goblin shaman as they set upon the killers of their tribe. 
15. Growled the dragon upon finding its favorite bauble stolen.
16. Proclaimed the Queen of the Winter Faerie upon learning of the death of her Winter Knight.
17. Promised the immortal while cradling her lover's body.
18. Thought the soul of the wizard as it observed its rival taking over its sanctum.
19. Whispered the librarian after finding the stacks disorganized.
20. Dreamed the Old One in its prison of eternal slumber.

The Alphabet of Outer Beings - K is for Knowledge

K is for Knowledge

Deities and patrons are immensely powerful beings, but they often have more than raw power to use to influence events to their liking and as trade for favors. This kind of knowledge can come from many sources and is often received in trade for other secrets. Some creatures even make the collection of secret knowledge their purpose, gathering it for safekeeping or for their own power.

Table K1: Things Known About ... (roll 1d4)

1. Objects (proceed to table K5)
2. Locations (proceed to table K4)
3. Beings (proceed to table K2)
4. Other (proceed to table K6)

Table K2: Things known about a being ... (roll 1d6, then roll on table K3)

1. The true name of a...
2. The location of the secret sanctum of a...
3. The true weakness of a...
4. The source of power for a...
5. The location of a book of knowledge about a...
6. The secret true identity of a...

Table K3: 1d8 Beings

1. Deity
2. Demon
3. Wizard
4. Lich
5. Dragon
6. Warlord
7. Immortal
8. Fey/Faerie

Table K4: Things known about a location... (roll 1d6)

1. The location of hidden vault of a treasure. 
2. The secret passcode to enter the library of the knowledge spirits.
3. The location of portal between the mortal plain and the underworld.
4. The true purpose of an ancient obelisk.
5. The source of power within the fountain of youth.
6. The purpose of the world.

Table K5: Things Known about an object... (roll 1d6)

1. The location of the phylactery of a powerful lich.
2. The identity of the soul contained within a powerful artifact.
3. The identity of the next wielder of the sovereign sword.
4. The contents of the Vault of Ages
5. The reason why the Rod of Power was broken into pieces and hidden throughout the world. 
6. The actual purpose of an artifact currently being used for completely different reasons.

Table K6: Other Knowledge... (roll 1d6)

1. A long forgotten form of magic
2. The truth behind the creation of the mortal races
3. The techniques to alter fate.
4. Detailed knowledge of the future.
5. The secrets to immortality. 
6. The being who holds the knowledge of (roll again from the beginning).