Animus
Vengeful, murderous household objects. A construct.
Imagine any object. Any one. Some have absorbed the negative emotions surrounding them, and over time, have become sentient. All an animus wants is to protect the sad, bitter person that involuntarily created it. In the most twisted, petty way.
Suspiciously immobile, viciously possessive, easily offended.
The animus’s stats depend on its size : # = 4 (tiny), 6 (small), 8 (medium), 10 (large). For animi bigger than large, create each part of it as a separate, smaller animus.
| HD: #/2 | Armor: as plate |
| Hit it: easy | Dodge it: normal |
| Move: special |
It is immune to immune to fatigue, fear, poison and diseases (because it’s an object). Also, its wickedness causes any creature attempting to mentally communicate with it to be charmed if they fail a saving throw. However, anti-magic zones and dispel effects paralyze it.
Attacks (1/round)
Motive Force (recharge 2/6). The animus animates itself, doing 1 action that would be realistic if it was handled by a human. This is the only way the animus can do a physical attack (1D#).
Spellcasting. Thaumaturgy, +# spell words
D10 Animus Spell Words
The animus knows a certain amount of spell words which it can combine in pairs to create spells. You can add other words to match the nature of the object, like fire for an oven, music for a piano, or blood for a knife.
| 1. Animate | 6. Wind |
| 2. Dead | 7. Fear |
| 3. Object | 8. Insect |
| 4. Control | 9. Giant |
| 5. Weather | 10. Plague |
Random Encounter
- Monster: 1 animus & 1 commoner.
- Lair: The house of a bitter person, half abandoned and isolated.
OR
Omen: “I sense a lot of hatred in this room” - Spoor: A recent victim, seemingly killed by an impossible accident.
- Tracks: A bitter diary page hinting at a location.
- Trace: Gossip about how everybody hates the person who lives/lived here.
- Trace: The funeral of a recent victim.
Crafting Instructions
Creating an Animus requires # Spell Dice and a deeply bitter person attached to the object you want to transform. Roll 1D6 to know the result. Add 1 to your roll for each extra Spell Die spent.
- You trap your own soul in the object. Your dexterity becomes 0.
- You kill the bitter person. It becomes a ghost.
- You attract 1D6 shadows. 4-5. The animus considers you a threat to the bitter person. 6+ The animus cannot attack you.
Credits
I fucking love Ravenloft’s animators, just not their name. How fun is it to run a murder mystery where the weapon is the actual murderer. What is the motive? the negative emotions of a bitter person. It just runs itself. In extreme cases, a whole house and all its furniture can be made an animus, creating a quick, funhouse dungeon. — SaltyGoo