Let’s Convert the Hawkmoon Bestiary: Baragoon and Bloodseeker

Hawkmoon was published by Chaosium in 1986, and was a sister game to Stormbringer in bringing Michael Moorcock’s “Eternal Champion” series to tabletop gaming. Many of the creatures in Hawkmoon either appear in the Dungeon Crawl Classics Cyclopedia of Creatures, are normal animals (and thus either already do or will appear in the Cyclopedia of Common Animals, which is a current project on my Patreon), or both. I am not going to convert these separately. The goal here is to provide the setting-specific beings that will both aid in converting material and offer an opportunity to add a bit more Moorcock into any DCC campaign.

These statistics are based almost entirely on Hawkmoon, which means that there might be some differences between them and the original Tragic Millennium stories. If a creature appears in Hawkmoon (or Stormbringer, when I get to it) that also appears in the Deities & Demigods tome, I will either do a separate conversion, or note that the source material doesn’t differ enough to make a separate conversion worthwhile.

Baragoon

Baragoon: Init +0; Atk talon +6 melee (1d4+4) or bite +4 melee (1d6+4); AC 15; HD 2d8; MV 30’ or swim 30’; Act 2d20; SP camouflage +10, gibbering; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +6; AL C.

Also known as marsh gibberers, there were once many of these creatures in the Kamarg swamps, although Count Brass and his men have reduced their numbers significantly. Baragoon are ambush predators, which rise gibbering from the wetlands, flailing their talons. Those who fail a DC 15 Will save are frozen in horror, and unable to act on the first non-surprise round of combat.

These creatures were once human, transformed into their monstrous shapes by hideous magic and/or blasphemous science. They are 8 feet high and very broad, with bile-colored flesh. They can slither along at their full Move so as to remain hidden until ready to leap onto their prey. These sadistic creatures will consume the limbs of a still-living victim if they are given the chance. Their talons are as hard as steel.

(As an aside, it very much seems to me that the Babbler from the 1st Edition Fiend Folio was directly inspired by this monster.)

Bloodseeker

Bloodseeker: Init +2; Atk bite +0 melee (1d3 plus blood drain and mutant rabies); AC 8; HD 1d3; MV 30’ or burrow 10’; Act 1d20; SP surprise, latch, blood drain, mutant rabies; SV Fort -2; Ref +0; Will -4; AL C.

Inhabiting ancient ruins, cave systems, and gullies, these creatures lie in wait, burrowing upward to attack victims. Those who fail a DC 15 Intelligence check in the first round of combat are surprised (elves gain a +4 bonus to this check due to their heightened senses).

When a bloodseeker successfully bites a victim, it latches on and begins to drain blood at a rate of 1d3 Strength damage per round. It can be removed with an opposed Strength check (vs. +2), a successful Mighty Deed, or by killing the creature. Bloodseekers carry a mutated form of rabies. Victims of their bite attacks must succeed on a DC 12 Fort save or die in 1d4 weeks if not otherwise cured.

The monsters themselves have lean, sinewy bodies, naked leathery hides, and huge bony claws. Their faces resemble a cross between a pug dog’s and a bat’s, with razor-sharp chisel-like teeth. Although nocturnal by choice, they are in no way harmed or impaired by sunlight. Bloodseeker colonies number 2d100 creatures on average, making them a serious threat wherever they are found.