Cryptanthopoids the hidden people A new race for GURPS Fantasy & Horror by S.D. Anderson Cryptanthropoids are a mongrel-species of Ghouls and other sentient races, magically able to interbreed with just about any species able to provide Ghouls the nutrition they need. Most "Crypt People" or "Hidden Ones" look like the non-ghoul side of the family after a few generations, meaning they blend in well in whatever race they're inflitrating. For the most part. Ghouls may or may not be a form of undead in any given campaign, since the material in Fantasy Folk leaves that as a background option for GMs. This article assumes they are a living species, or at least an undead one capable of normal reproduction. Campaigns where these assumptions don't apply should alter the following material accordingly. "Alk the Blessedly Cursed" could well have been a grave robber or madman. The curse on him and his descendants would still apply. ADVANTAGES and DISADVANTAGES Cryptanthropoids should be built on the guidelines of their non-ghoul ancestral line (a family of hidden folk living with ghouls will have ghoul stats plus the *Crossbreeder* advantage) hereafter known as the host family or host race or simply host. Generally ST will be 2 higher than the host's racial average, (20 pts) Alertness +2 (10 pts) Immunity to Disease (10 pts) Night Vision (10 pts), Double Jointed (5 pts) Silence (5 pts) and the new advantage of Crossbreeder (10 pts). They have the disadvantages of Odious Racial Habit: Eat Carrion (-15 pts) Secret: Ghoul kin, [death sentence in most cases if revealed](-30 pts) It costs 25 points to be a Hidden One. PSYCHOLOGY The Hidden Ones have many of the same outlooks as their more clandestine cousins. Most races would gladly exterminate them without a second's hesitation. They know that they are NOT a part of their host's culture, no matter how easily they can blend in. An orphan Cryptanthropoid infant might be adopted by a host family, and raised "normally". But rotted meat will appeal to it, and fresh sentient brains, should they ever be eaten by the orphan, are irresistably delicious. The Cryptanthropoids do not need the nutrients found in sentient brains (unless the host race has the dependency too) since their ancestor's genes produce them. But the ghoulish instinct for brains is still strong in the make up of the Hidden Folk. At a high enough tech level genetic surgery should be able to remove this unnecessary craving without losing the benefits brought by their ghoulish ancestry. Though apart from the host society, they will do what they can to act like they are a part of it. Probably *overdo* it if anything. Relations between the hidden folk and ghouls vary. Sometimes the two have cozy relationships, mutual aid etc. Other times there is the fiercest of animosity, usually generated by the cryptanthopoids. The ghouls are both compettion for the desired brains and potentially a source of investigations that might expose the hidden folk!. They fit their names to the locale, a Hidden Folk family from Germany wouldn't hesitate to anglicize it's name once they moved to America. Both to blend in and make being traced more difficult. ECOLOGY Like Ghouls, the Hidden folk prefer aged meats, but can tolerate fresher meats and even digest cooked foods without difficulty, though with a little distaste. The taste buds of the Crypt Men are definitely those of their ghoulish ancestors. Eating Sentient Brains is not an Odious Racial Habit, but it is a VERY common Odious *Personal* Habit. It might be more accurate to treat it as an addiction, should a Hidden One eat a fresh sentient brain. The Hidden Ones do not generally divulge information about themselves, but if it can be acquired anyway, they consider themselves all descended from a single ghoul known as `Alk the blessedly cursed'. There is a minor bit of corroborating evidence for this: The ghoulish name for the Hidden folk translates to "the Blessed". Alk was a normal ghoul, who was nearly caught when he tried to steal the body of a freshly buried Duke from the family crypt. He wouldn't have been able to carry the body and escape, but managed to sever the head and steal away through the family graveyard. The old Duke's guards were too armor laden to catch up with him. But one soldier thoroughly cursed Alk as he ran, mostly attributing Alk with copulating with a variety of nouns, usually animal in nature. Alk had a reasonably long life by ghoul standards and a large family. One of Alk's granddaughters was captured by drunken brigands, who were more interested in sex than in killing the girl, though the beating they gave her afterwards almost did that. She lived, and made her way back to her family. And gave birth to the first Cryptanthropoid. The baby had hair, proving it's father was human. The cause of this was a complete mystery to the family. Alk, had he lived, would hardly have remembered a cursing soldier 40 years before. After a long discussion, it was decided to allow the boy to live, and see what advantage could be wrought from his life. A pair of Ghoul sorcerors were called in, and discovered that the ducal family plot was a high mana area. Since many of the family meals came from this spot, it was worth investgating. In human guise, they asked a few questions about mysterious events connected with the graveyard, and heard the story about the Duke's head. The tale included a song about the incident, and the soldiers curses had been metered & rhymed. This made both sorcerers suspect a cantrip (see M. 86) had been cast. After summoning the soldier's spirit, they questioned it. No poetry in his speech patterns, but he told his tale and the curses he remembered yelling explained what probably happened. It's believed the soldier somehow managed to unwittingly use improvised magic in the high mana region, and effectively cast a *Great Wish* or something of an equivalent which put the curses he shouted on Alk and Alk's descendants. As Alk's descendants reproduced, they moved among the humans (and other races). Whether the tale is true or false, the crossbreeding advantage gives an interesting side effect. It allows genes to cross species barriers. However, since a child can only hold enough genetic material for one person, and the parents have enough genetic material for 2 people (amazing, isn't it!), the Cryptanthropoid genes (including the crossbreeder advantage) can be bred out of a family if enough generations within the host race are spent. Thus, for example, a human could test negative for any ghoul genes and still have a Reptile Man chromozone. Which would make for an interesting modern or near future Horror adventure, where the PCs are a medical team looking for an explanation as to why a genetic disease only found in Horses turned up in the children of an NPC. After the players stop with the giggles & vulgar comments, their characters will begin looking into the family history of these children, and find a few suspicious gaps, and relatives inexplicably uncooperative to help the children. (Admittedly you'd have to account for the existance of one or more "Exalted Horses" in your gameworld, or at least one who could travel to the gameworld.) CULTURE Hidden Folk adapt to the culture they live in quite well. They may know they aren't really Humans, or Gnomes, but this is kept to themselves. They are ghouls to an extent, particularly those who deal with Ghoul communities, and may well have a few "family" customs that seem macabre. Those with the wealth and power to have "eccentricities" overlooked may become a bit too overt in these practices. The *Addams Family* [tm Paramount Pictures] should be considered an old, powerful, and decadent Cryptanthropoid clan, perhaps with a few non Hidden People retainers. Uncle Fester clearly retains ghoulish features, Morticia seems to have some relation to sentient vegetation, Lurch might be a Flesh Golem, or have giants among his ancestors, Thing is likely a critical failure(?) result of an instant restoration spell that turned a severed hand into a living, sentient organism and I'm not sure I even want to *think* about the nature of Cousin Itt's host family. Many of the allies found in literature for monsters might be human looking Hidden Folk. Dracula must have had many foreign visitors over the centuries. Why pick on Renfeld? Perhaps the Count Dracula recognized him as a Cryptanthropoid. The adventure seed for Ghouls in Fantasy Folk notes a priest who helps a family of ghouls. Perhaps the priest is only partly human... POLITICS As allies of ghouls, they make superb spies and in Horror and Fantasy settings dangerous opponents. This doesn't change very much in places where they are enemies or neutral to the ghouls either. They are under the same death sentence as ghouls, albeit safer from it's execution. They have good reason to keep their ghoul hating host race(s) from becoming too powerful. Outcast Crypt people are safer from persecution from their fellows if they resemble a common race in the region. Because they can blend in, they only have to worry about ghoul and/or Cryptanthropoid dangers. They react as their host race to other races for the most part, ghouls excepted if they know their ghoulish origins. *SIDEBARS* Cryptanthropoids in the Campaign The Hidden Ones are most likely to be discovered as such if used as Ghoul substitutes, along the lines of: "This clan of Crypt Men live in sewers and raid graves food". At this level, the game looks like GM: "You see a group of ghoul like people lurking in their subterranian lair!" PCs: "We draw our weapons and attack!" However with only a slight bit of subtleness the hidden folk become ordinary seeming homeless. "GM: You see a family of people who have taken residence in the sewers." PCs: a couple of us stay back and get ready to go for our weapons, while the others go forward and investigate." A good acting job on the cryptmen's part can defuse the PCs entirely. However, the Crypt people can be far more useful in the campaign. The catch is, most of the time, the players *will not know* the npcs they encounter are Hidden Ones. It would and should take a substantial amount of luck and investigation for the PCs to uncover any family secrets. The Cryptmen are conspirators almost by definition. Whether their conspiracy is for, against or indifferent to the cause(s) of the PCs is up to the game master. However, the webs of intrigue these people have woven over the centuries are spread wide and very intricately. PCs who stumble through the darker sides of things are bound to trip over many of the strands. Cryptanthropoid Character Example *Diana Throgmorton* Diana can be played in a Medieval to Renaisance setting or (Modern day if noted in for She is a talented dressmaker (fashion designer) much in demand by the aristocracy (or modern day trendsetters). She is a spy, and a bit of a charlatan, well versed in the occult and willing to ply her knowledge to the superstitions and fears of her friends and clients. Her primary goal is to protect her family and her ghoulish allies, but in the process of getting information for them, has made contact with foriegn agents and made arrangements with the local authorities to feed them false information. She has managed to frame a couple of ghoul hunters as enemy agents. She is not currently associated with any official covert operations. She is a skilled seductress, actress and interrogater who can innocently talk to someone and extract all manner of information without her victim realizing he's talked! Diana is NOT the sort of person who'd go out and steal a treaty from the embassy, but she could arrange for the characters to meet such a person, or someone pretending to be such a person very easily. _Attributes_ ST: 11 DX: 13 IQ: 14 HT: 11 Speed: 6 Move: 6 Dodge: 6 _Advantages_ Alertness - 2; Attractive Appearance; Crossbreeder; Double Jointed, Immunity from Disease; Literacy (High Pain Threshold in modern setting); Night Vision; Silence; _Disadvantages_ Eats Carrion, Overconfidence. Secret: Cryptman, Secret: Double Agent Sense of Duty to Ghoulkin _Quirks_ Enjoys seducing priests Kitchen smells of rotting food _Skills_ Sex Appeal 12- [4] Interrogation 15- [4] Artist: Dress design 15- [6] Tailor 14- [2] Savoir-Faire 14- [2] Appropriate P/A weapon skill for period 13- [2] Detect Lies 14- [4] Lip Reading 13- [1] Occultism 14- [2]