Centuries ago, a eunuch mercenary-turned-warlord called Po Fe had the archmage Gulvedra take the soul from his body and put into a ruby as big as a large man's fist. Through this, Po Fe thought he could cheat death - Gulvedra would later remove Po Fe's soul from the ruby and put it into a younger, fitter, more virile body than Po Fe's original ageing and genital-less form.
But Gulvedra did not keep his side of the bargain, and he planned to use the ruby containing Po Fe's soul for other, more nefarious ends. Po Fe's followers managed to rescue the ruby but, lacking Gulvedra's skill, they were unable to transpose Po Fe's soul to another human body. Eventually, they constructed a giant puppet, 20' high, and placed the ruby within it, and thus Po Fe finally did achieve an immortality of a kind.
Po Fe can control his puppet to a point, though he cannot speak. He communicates with crude sign language and by writing in sand. This saps his energy and quickly exhausts him, at which point his helpers use cranes and pulleys to help his movements. His followers later constructed for him a companion - a giant wooden puppet dog called Xolo. Seven of these followers volunteered to have their souls imbued into this creature, and they have animated it ever since. Since they are seven in number they do not tire in the same way that Po Fe does, and they will protect him to the death if he is attacked.
Po Fe
Armour Class: 3
Hit Dice: 8+4
Move: 60' (20')
Attacks: 2 fists
Damage: 2d8/2d8
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: F8
Morale: 7
Treasure: Nil
Intelligence: 12
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 775
Special: Po Fe quickly tires. After d6 rounds he will be exhausted and be unable to fight.
Xolo
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 8+8
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: 1 bite, 2 paws
Damage: 2d8/1d6/1d6
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: F8
Morale: 7
Treasure: Nil
Intelligence: 12
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 775
*thumbs up*
ReplyDeleteCreepy picture, and a very cool concept. I'm liking this blog!
ReplyDeleteGoogle "The Sultan's Elephant", watch the videos, and be awed.
DeleteThanks. I think these puppets were supposed to be cute...but they're not.
DeleteThat's really lovely, thank you. There should be more encounters that inspire pathos or empathy, dammit.
Delete...this week I came THIS CLOSE to visiting the giant puppet workshop in Nantes. I'll go back soon and take photos, promise.
They're doing the Titanic celebration in Belfast and then... I dunno, but they seem pretty busy.
Oh wow, I didn't realize this was a new production. And I thought you'd Photoshopped the dog into a picture from the Sultan's Elephant.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a new thing very tenuously related to the anniversary of the Titanic disaster. I wasn't all that much wowed by it, to be honest - if anything it struck me as a bit creepy but mostly a fuss over nothing. But I liked the elephant, and the one they did of the giant spider.
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