by Thom Marrion

These are the Unisystem write-ups of four classical monsters. They were all done y Thom Marrion and, with the exception of King Kong and Godzilla, have been posted before at RPGAction.

VLAD TEPES "Draculea" (aka Count Dracula)
Type: Vampyre Solitaire
Born: 1431, turned 1476

Life Points: 64
Endurance: -
Speed: 30
Essence: 223
Qualities: Age (569 years old, 5 levels), Increased Essence Pool +150, Nerves of Steel, Resources (Rich, 4 levels)
Drawbacks: Honorable -1, Cruel -2, Attractiveness -1, Delusion (Prejudice vs. Muslims) -3; also Secret -2 and Adversary -3 because of the age quality.
Skills: Acting 3, Bureaucracy 2, Climbing 4, Disguise 3, Handweapon (Sword 3, Bow 2, Lance 2, Whip 2), Humanities (History 1, Theology 1), Intimidation 4, , Occult Knowledge (Vampyres) 4, Riding (Horse) 3, Questioning 3, Smooth Talking 3, Stealth 3, Swimming 2, Tracking 3.
Language: Rumanian (Native) 5, English 1, French 1, German 1, Italian 1, Latin 1, Hungarian 1, Old Church Slavonic 1, Turkish 1
Metaphysics: Vampyre quality, Bloodthirst drawback, Greater Shifting (Wolf), Greater Shifting (Bat), Manipulate Emotions, Mirage.
History: Vlad Tepes was the son of Vlad Dracul, Prince of Wallachia. He spent his childhood as a hostage in the Turkish court with his brother Radu. At age fourteen he fled to Moldavia, and by the time he was twenty-five, he was made prince of Wallachia by Matthias I of Hungary. He was a cruel leader and a fierce warrior. He earned the nickname Vlad the Impaler after his favorite method of execution. The people also called him "Draculea," the Son of the Dragon. The name has been corrupted to Dracula, the epitaph by which he is more commonly known. He fought a fierce campaign against the Turks, but he also managed to get on the bad side of a lot of people. In 1476 his headless body was found in a marsh after one of his battles. Vampyres are created when the soul refuses to move on, and Draculea’s thirst for revenge against his murderers and his lust for the destruction of the Turks was enough to keep him from passing on. He became a nosferatu, one of the undead. He found his murderers and brutally tortured them to death. He then proceeded to terrorize the locals for the next four hundred years.
      By the 1880s, Vlad grew tired of his familiar surroundings and decided to move to the thriving metropolis of Victorian London. He had started to develop a base of power for himself under the alias of Count Dracula when his plans were ruined by Dr. Van Helsing and a mismatched band of amateur vampyre hunters. They cornered him in his old castle where they slit his throat and sliced open his heart. Van Helsing and his allies left the count for dead. Unfortunately, vampyres cannot be slain by conventional weapons. Only extreme Essence damage (from sunlight or holy rituals) is capable of truly killing the undead. A century later, Dracula still lives and feeds on the blood of the living.
      In appearance Dracula looks about thirty years old, is 5"8", and weighs 165lbs. He has long black hair and a mustache, an aquiline nose, and green eyes. Contrary to popular belief, he does not always wear an opera cape. He does carry a dragon medallion with him at all times. Since vampyres are capable of manipulating their own flesh, Dracula usually alters his appearance to a taller more handsome version of himself. In this form he appears 6’ tall and has an appearance modifier of +4.
Quote: "Look into my eyes."

ADAM DIPPEL (aka The Frankenstein Monster)
Type: Zombie Lord

Dead Points: 85
Endurance: -
Speed: 4
Essence: 75
Attack: D4 x 9 (18) from fists
The Weak Spot: Brain, Fire
Getting Around: Life-like
Strength: Monstrous Strength, Damage Resistant
Senses: Like the Living
Sustenance: Who Needs Food?, All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Language, Long-Term Memory, Problem Solving
Spreading the Love: Miracle of Science
Qualities: Hard to Kill 5, Nerves of Steel, Age 2, Increased Essence Pool +40
Drawbacks: Attractiveness -5, Cruel -1, Emotional Problem (Fear of Rejection).
Skills: Brawling 4, Climbing 2, Craft (Taxidermy) 5, Disguise 3, Humanities (Philosophy) 3, Occult Knowledge (Alchemy) 5, Science (Biology) 3, Survival (Arctic) 3, Survival (Mountains) 3, Track 3, Unconventional Medicine (Reanimation Process) 5.
Language : German (Native) 5, English 3, Latin 2, French 2, Greek 1,
Metaphysics: None.

Miracle of Science (-3)
      In order for the zombie to create more of it’s kind, it must stitch together the parts of various corpses and reanimate them by weird science, alchemical experimentation, lost necromantic arts of Thule, or another strange scientific art. Whether it involves soaking the corpse in the Elixer Vitae, running a few thousand volts through bolts in its neck, or pumping the corpse full of nanobots, the zombie will only arise if the appropriate skill roll is made. This can be Unconventional Medicine (Reanimation), Rituals (Thulian Necromantic Stitchery), Science (Nanotechnology), or whatever the ZM deems appropriate. The only zombies who are able to create more of their kind this way are ones with Problem Solving Intelligence.
      Adam creates zombies through his Unconventional Medicine and Occult Knowledge skills. He must first roll versus Occult Knowledge (Alchemy) to prepare the creation. The parts of twenty-three corpses must be ritually attached to each other, the Elixer Vitae must be prepared (certain exotic fruits, silver, gold, and ritually prepared blood must all be boiled together), and a Philosopher’s Stone must be created (mercury, gold, copper, and, silver are melted together, and then crystals are added to the mix). There is a lot more to creating the Elixer Vitae and the Philosopher’s Stone, but this should give the ZM an idea of how expensive it is based on the components.

Creatures of the Creature
      The Frankenstein Monster has the ability to create life, but the resulting zombies are not as powerful as he is. They also lack the ability to make more of their kind. Only the Frankenstein Monster possesses that gift.

Str: 4 Dex: 2 Con: 2 Int: 2 Per: 2 Wil: 2
Dead Points: 15
Endurance: -
Speed: 4
Essence: 14
Attack: D4 x 4 (8) from fists
The Weak Spot: Brain, Fire
Getting Around: Life-like
Strength: Strong Like a Bull
Senses: Like the Living
Sustenance: Who Needs Food?, All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence: Language, Tool Use (Level 2)
Spreading the Love: Nobody Loves Me

History: The story of Doctor Frankenstein and his creation are well known because of the novel by Mary Shelly. She claims that the entire book came to her in a dream. This is a bit of an exaggeration because she already knew the story of the mad scientist and his creature. The idea to base a novel on this story is what the dream inspired her to do.
      The mad scientist in question was named Johann Konrad Dippel. He was born in the early 1700s in Castle Frankenstein (which was used as a hospital in those days). It was from his birthplace that Dippel began referring to himself as "Frankenstein." He traveled all over Europe studying alchemy, natural philosophy, and theology. Dippel had quite an interesting life during this period. He was a classmate with Adam Weishaupt (founder of the Bavarian Illuminati), he discovered a lost alchemical text by Paracelsus, and eventually the doctor managed to create the Elixer Vitae and the Philosopher’s Stone.
      It was this alchemical breakthrough that allowed Frankenstein to attempt the creation of life from unlife. He wasn’t content with merely prolonging life; he wished for true immortality. Frankenstein stitched together the body parts of twenty-three corpses, soaked them in the Elixer Vitae, and on a particularly stormy night managed to get lightning to pass through the Philosopher’s Stone into his creation. The creature came to life, and the doctor named him Adam.
      Frankenstein soon found that he had no control over the monster. Adam felt lonely and rejected, horrified by his own monstrous condition. He struck back at his creator by killing the doctor’s loved ones. Adam forced Dr. Frankenstein to teach him the art of reanimation, and their first subject was the doctor’s own wife, whom Adam had recently slain. Her unlife was a rather short one.
      Fleeing from the disaster he had created, Dippel traveled north in search of the lost civilization of Thule. He hoped to find a means of controlling Adam and a way to improve the reanimation process. He never had the chance. Adam followed him and finally caught up to him in the frozen Arctic. The creature watched his creator die, and then spent the next few decades trying to follow in the doctor’s footsteps. Adam is still trying to create companions for himself, but none of them have been his equal so far.
      But this doesn’t stop the monster from trying.
Quote: "Why are you afraid? This is not personal; it is for the greater good of science. Now hold still while I remove your brain."

GOJIRA (Godzilla)
Concept: King of the Kaiju

Life Points: 220
Endurance Points: n/a
Speed: 39
Essence: 150
Qualities and Drawbacks: Animal Communication, Animal Intelligence, Hard to Kill +10
Skills: Brawling 3, Notice 1, Swimming 4, Tracking 2
Attacks: Trample for D4 x 50 (100) points of damage, Bite for D6 x 50 (150) points of damage.
Powers: Armor (AV 20), Bolt of Destruction (D10 points of damage per Essence spent), Immortal, Regenerate 6 LP/turn, Regenerate 10 Essence/minute, Supernatural Senses
History: The creature known as Gojira was carnosaur genetically manipulated by one of the Elder Kingdoms (some say Mu while others say Lemuria) as a bioweapon. The Gojirasaurus beast was three times larger than other carnosaurs and was amphibious. It was also immortal and could regenerate from any injury. After the fall of the Elder Kingdoms, Gojira entered a state of hibernation for thousands of years until awakening in 1954. Gojira started to go on a destructive rampage, but he didn't get far before he was somehow consummed with Taint and transformed into something even worse.
      This initial version of Gojira resembled a large carnosaur with a bumpy gray hide. It was 135 ' long, stood 36' tall at the hips, and weighed 120 tons. Though the movies portray Gojira as standing fully erect and dragging its tail, the real creature ran with its tail in the air like other dinosaurs. What the movies did get right was the fact that Gojira was designed with opposable thumbs. Gojira had an Essence attack that appeared as a white hot blast of energy and is often described as "atomic breath". Because of Gojira's enormous size, it had a -4 on attempts to dodge while foes had a +2 to hit it. Gojira is an immortal creature that can only be killed through a combination of physical and essence damage.

Life Points: 420
Endurance Points: n/a
Speed: 35
Taint: 300
Qualities and Drawbacks: Animal Communication, Animal Intelligence, Hard to Kill +10
Skills: Brawling 5, Notice 3, Swimming 5, Tracking 3
Attacks: Trample for D4 x 100 (200) points of damage, Bite for D6 x 100 (300) points of damage.
Powers: Armor (AV 75), Blast of Taint (D10 points of damage per Taint spent), Immortal, Regenerate 6 LP/turn, Supernatural Senses
History: Somehow, the Gojirasaurus bioweapon was transformed into something similar to a Greater Shaitan. This version of Gojira was larger and more destructive; weighing 480 tons and standing 66' tall at the hip. This Tainted monster was 225' long, which gave it a -6 to dodge rolls while others had a +4 to attack it because of its size. The only way to destroy this version of Gojira was to reduce its Taint Pool to -20 from Essence based attacks. Conventional attacks just won't do the trick.

KING KONG, The Eigth Wonder of the World

Life Points: 192
Endurance Points: 113
Speed: 8/44
Essence: 45
Qualities and Drawbacks: Animal Communication, Animal Intelligence, Hard to Kill +10, Knuckle Walking, Negative Buoyancy
Skills: Brawling 3, Climbing 2, Intimidation 2, Survival (Jungle) 4
Attacks: Bite for 25 points slashing damage, Punch for D4 x 25 (50)
History: King Kong is one of the many improbably large prehistoric creatures dwelling on the south Pacific island of Pulua Tengkorak, "the island of the skull". Kong was the object of veneration for the native inhabitants of that island, part of a pre-Hindu cult that flourished ages ago. The giant ape came to the attention of the west when a film-maker named Denham heard about the island and decided to bring a film crew there. All he expected was an island full of superstitious natives, he was completely unprepared for the revelation that there actually was a giant ape living on Skull Island.
      Denham had brought a struggling actress with him named Ann Darrow. The Pulua Tengkorak people thought that Darrow was the perfect sacrificial victim for their god. The blond American woman was offered to Kong, and the giant ape became infatuated. Kong took Darrow back to his lair, fighting other large prehistoric beasts along the way. Denham led a small crew inland to rescue Darrow, but apart from him the only other person to survive the mission was a man named Jack Driscoll. Driscoll managed to get Darrow out of Kong's lair and back to the ship. When Kong came after them, Denham knocked the giant ape out with a powerful gas grenade.
      King Kong was taken back to New York, where he was put on display as "The Eighth Wonder of the World". Denham hoped to make millions from his discovery, but the show only lasted one night. When Kong saw the reporters flashing pictures, he thought that they were attacking Ann Darrow. The giant ape broke free of his chains, grabbed Darrow, and climbed to the top of the Empire State Building (killing a few New Yorkers and derailing a subway car along the way). King Kong made a last stand on top of the Empire State Building against a squadron of biplanes, but they eventually managed to wound the giant ape to the point that he fell off the top of the building and plummeted to his death. Denham was heard to remark that it was beauty that killed the beast and not the planes.
      King Kong is a member of a species that has been classified as Gigantopithicus Rex, a rare subspecies of the prehistoric Asian ape Gigantopithicus. While Gigantopithicus stood anywhere from 10 to 15 feet high according to paleontologists, Kong was measured 19' 8'' tall at his death. The stats below represent the specimen that Denham found on Pulua Tengkorak. It is assumed that there must have been some kind of breeding population, perhaps the island was linked to some lost world like Pelucidor through a series of deep tunnels. If that is the case, then there are more apes like Kong waiting to be discovered. Some might feel that Kong should also have the Aggressive and Carnivore Drawbacks based on his behavior during the unfortunate incidents of his capture and rampage through New York, but Kong was in an extremely agitated state at this times. His behavior towards Miss Darrow shows that he did have a gentler social side.

TEENAGE WEREWOLF
(New Archetype)
Type: Lesser Supernatural

Life Points: 45/65
Endurance: 26/41
Speed: 12/22
Essence: 15/24

*the numbers after the slash represent stats while in wolf form. In addition, he has an Armor Value of 1 and does D4 x 5 (10) slashing damage with his bite and claw attacks.

Qualities: Acute Hearing , Acute Smell , Attractive +1 , Fast Reaction Time , Hard to Kill , Nerves of Steel
Drawbacks: Secret (He’s a Werewolf), Recurring Nightmares, Emotional Problem (Fear of Rejection).
Skills: Brawling 3, Climbing 2, Dodge 3, Driving (Car) 1, Escapism 2, First Aid 1, Intimidation 2, Occult Knowledge (Ferals) 2, Smooth Talk 2, Snares 2, Stealth 3, Streetwise 2, Tracking 3.
Metaphysics: Wolf Feral, Inborn Feral, Moon Slave, Strength of the Beast.

*Inborn Feral means the lyncathropy was inherited; Moon Slave means he is -2 to control his actions while feral or to keep from changing during a full moon or other time of power; Strength of the Beast lets him use his feral attributes (but not claws or fangs) while in human form for a cost of 5 Essence points. Changing into feral form costs 10 points of Essence per hour.

Gear: A used Toyota Corolla which is filled with some spare clothing, some ripped and torn rags that used to be clothing, some mixed tapes, two liters of cola, some beef jerky, bags of chips, an almanac which lists phases of the moon for the current year, and a rabbit foot that was actually taken from the first rabbit he ever ate.
Personality: I was actually kind of glad when the dead started rising. Before that, I thought I was the only monster. See dude, there are things about me that are different. I’m not quite normal. It all started when I hit puberty and the changes started.
      Stop laughing, man. I’m not talking about that.
      I mean real changes. Sprouting fur and fangs kind of changes. It was like all those old movies, only it didn’t hurt or anything. I just shifted into wolf. One minute I’m staring out the window at the moon and the next thing I know I’m on four legs looking for something to kill and eat. It totally freaked me out. My dad found me in the woods down the road from our house. I was passed out, naked, and clutching what was left of a rabbit.
      Dad had brought some spare clothes for me. He knew. He explained that this was like some kind of family curse that started generations ago in the old country. Grandma had it when she was alive; Dad didn’t. He was hoping I wouldn’t have it either, but you see how that turned out.
      After that, I had to always be careful. If I let myself get upset or pissed, I risked turning into the wolf. Plus I had to look out for full moons and solstices and things like that. High school is hard enough as it is, without having to worry about ripping out the school quarterback’s lungs during third bell because he was being a jerk again. I felt isolated and alone.
      Then the dead started rising. They killed half the town that first day, and my family was one of the first hit. I made it through because the wolf was more than the zombies could handle. So I grabbed the car and booked out of there. Now I am even more alone than before, but at least I know I am not the only monster.
      Quote: "Don’t worry, we’ll be safe in here. Oh no, not now! Aah aah AAOOOWWWOOOOOHHHHH!!!!"

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