Hob-Dizz, der Verderber - Ein Schrecken für Earthdawn

Seit nunmehr einem Jahr ergeht nun der Aufruf an die deutschen Rollenspielblogger, zu einem monatlichen Thema beizutragen, und in diesem Dezember ist dies somit auch passend dazu der Karneval selbst. Betrachtet man dazu einmal die historischen Ursprünge der fünften Jahreszeit, so findet man erstaunlich viele Motive, die man mit nur wenigen Mitteln grimmiger uminterpretieren kann. Passend zu meiner eigenen derzeitigen Spielrunde wird daraus die perfekte Grundlage für Hob-Dizz, einen Schrecken für Earthdawn.


Historische Grundlagen
Der Karneval als kurze Periode des Frohsinns und ausgelassenen Überschwangs vor der österlichen Fastenzeit diente laut Wikipedia unter anderem dazu, noch rechtzeitig die verbliebenen verderbliche Lebensmittel aufzubrauchen.

Auch die Figur des Narren galt im Mittelalter weniger als Spassmacher, denn als Unweiser, der den weisen König David verhöhnt und durch seine Gottesferne eher mit dem Teufel asoziiert wird. Tatsächlich wurde im althochdeutschen das Wort "Schelm" gemäß seiner ursprünglichen Bedeutung Aas, Pest oder Seuche als Schimpfwort für Schufte und Betrüger genutzt. Erst in der frühen Neuzeit wurde bei Hofe die Position des Hofnarren geschaffen, die ihren Herrn nicht belustigen, sondern ungestraft auf dessen mögliche Torheiten hinweist - daher etwa der Begriff der "Narrenfreiheit".

Der Düsseldorfer Karneval kennt zudem eine besondere Inkarnation des Narren: Den Hoppeditz, einen Erzschelm, der pünktlich am 11.11. wieder erwacht und die Ereignisse des vergangenen Jahres humorvoll bekrittelt. Am Aschermittwoch wird er dann unter grossem Jammern und Wehklagen als Strohpuppe zu Grabe getragen und verbrannt.

Wie eingangs schon erwähnt, bietet sich aufgrund meiner aktuellen Earthdawn-Runde an, diese Figur in Form eines Schrecken zu pervertieren: Entsprechend der österlichen Fastenzeit lässt diese Kreatur seine Opfer im Winter verhungern und weidet sich mit spitzer Zunge an ihrer Verzweiflung. Das Düsseldorfer Vorbild gibt dem Schrecken auch seinen Namen: Hob-Dizz.

Passend zur nur auf englisch erschienenen dritten Edition von Earthdawn (die missratenen Adaptionen für Pathfinder und Savage Worlds zählen nicht) belasse ich Beschreibung und Regelteil zwecks bestehender Begrifflichkeiten ebenfalls im Englischen.


Hob-Dizz, the Despoiler
The horror Hob-Dizz has been the bane of many secluded villages and settlements in Barsaive.

During spring and summer, he resides inside an artefact known as the Mocking Mirror; and by late fall he will transform the mirror's owner into a new host body.  Hob-Dizz then wanders through Barsaive, seeking out remote hamlets to corrupt.

Hob-Dizz appears as a gaunt namegiver, usually dressing in a wide tattered cowl that hides his unnaturaly elongated head and the four horns sprouting from his head. Posing as a starved beggar, the horror is admitted into the abode of even the most suspicious townspeople using his vile powers. Once inside, he demoralizes his hosts with poisened words, only to use his most devious power to spoil the provisions they prepared for winter. Hob-Dizz then savours on their despair as his victims slowly starve to death, moving on when the hamlet is devoid of life.

As much as he thrives on the harshness of the cold seasons, Hob-Dizz can't abide the nourishing and live-giving months of spring and summer. Usually his host body is burnt up by the strengthening sun in early spring, retreating to the Mocking Mirror again to wait for a new victim in the coming fall.

Attributes

DEX: 5
STR: 5
TOU: 4
PER: 9
WIL: 8
CHA: 9

Initiative: 6
Actions: 2
Attack (5): 10
Damage:
Unarmed (3): 8

Physical Defense: 4
Spell Defense: 11
Social Defense: 11
Physical Armor: 4
Mystic Armor: 8

Death: 72
Unconsciousness: 57
Wound Threshold: 7

Recovery Tests: 5
Knockdown: 5
Movement: 6

Legend Award: Sixth Circle (Group)
Karma Points: 15
Karma Step: 6

Powers
Despoil (8) 16, Durability (6), Energy Drain (Despair) (5) 14, Horror Mark (6) 15, Inspire Pity (8) 17, Scathing Remark (7) 15

Rules
Hob-Dizz avoids physical combat and prefers to convince others that he is harmless with its Inspire Pity power.

Despoil: The very presence of Hob-Dizz spoils consumables. Once per day Hob-Dizz may use this power against food within its Despoil step x2 yards (1 hex) by making a Despoil test against TN 10. On an Average result, fresh food (e.g. fruit, vegetables, eggs) starts to spoil. On a Good Result, the power also affects stored (e.g. cooled) goods, an Excellent result preserved goods (e.g. hardtack, salted meat) as well.
Affected consumables will be inedible within a day. Once the spoiling has set in, it will continue even if Hob-Dizz leaves. Living beings are unaffected by this power.

Inspire Pity: Hob-Dizz lures strangers into welcoming him into their home by disguising himself as a famished wayfarer. To use this power, the Horror makes an Inspire Pity Test as a Standard Action against the highest Social Defense among all targets. The range of this power is the Horror’s line of sight. The result level achieved determines the Attitude of the target. On a Poor result, the target adopts a Neutral attitude toward the Horror. On an Average result, the target adopts a Friendly attitude. On a Good result, the power affects two more targets, on an Excellent result four more.
The effect lasts while Hob-Dizz is within the presence of the targets and starts to fade one hour after he has left, vanishing complety after another hour. It also vanishes if directly or otherwise obviously injures the target, which he usually tries to avoid. When a player character is affected by Inspire Pity, the gamemaster may secretly instruct the player to run the character appropriately or may temporarily take over decisions for the player until the power ends or is dispelled.

Scathing Remark: Hob-Dizz can probe the mind of any one person present for feelings of doubt and insecurity, to then intensify these emotions by making a casual but biting remark that might seem reassuring at first, but reveals itself as devastating as the true meaning of the words sinks in.
To use this power, the Horror makes an Scathing Remark test against the target's Spell defense. On an Average reslut, the victim's Social Defense is raised by 2 for 1 hour, but after this bonus expires, it is lowered by 2 for the next 23 hours. On a Good result, the target's Social Defense will be lowered by 3 instead and its Willpower Step by 1; on an Excellent result, Social Defense is lowered by 4, the Willpower step by 2 and Spell Defense by 1.
Hob-Dizz can use its Scathing Remark power once per day per victim.

Seasonal Vulnerability: While Hob-Dizz thrives during the harsh cold seasons, the warming and nourishing sun of spring quickly burns his host body. Starting 4 weeks before the beginning of spring, the horror's takes step 2 physical damage once every two hours. No armor protects him against this. The damage step increases by 2 every day, so usually the Hob-Dizz body is burnt to ash by the beginning of spring. The horror's astral essence then retreats back into the Mocking Mirror.


The Mocking Mirror
This slender silver hand mirror is adorned with restrained ornaments of smiling and grinning faces. It feels unusually heavy considering its size, and the glass proves resiliant against any use of force.

During spring and summer, the spirit of the Horror Hob-Dizz resides inside the Mocking Mirror. Anyone who looks into the mirror during this time will be targeted by the Horror's Scathing Remark power; and the seemingly reassuring voice coming from the artefact often makes its victims return to it. To withstand looking into the mirror, its bearer needs to succeed at a Willpower (10) test - all the harder once the victim becomes subjected to its demoralizing effects.

In mid-fall Hob-Dizz also uses its influence on the mirror's owner to gain access to a new host body. During this time of the year, after a week of constant usage, the owner becomes increasingly cynical and starts making as biting remarks to his peers as the mirror does, alienating friends and family. After another week, the bearer becomes thinner and thinner, continually minimizing eat and drink to a bare minimum. When three weeks have passed, four horns start to sprout from his head, not unlike those of a troll and in form akin to a jester's cap. At the end of the fourth week, the mirror's owner dies of starvation and the Horror takes over the remaining body - Hob-Dizz has awoken again!

Dieser Artikel ist Teil des Karnevals der Rollenspielblogs im Monat Dezember über Karneval, der mit diesem Thema auch sein einjähriges Bestehen feiert. Die Moderation liegt bei d6ideas, alle Beiträge des Monats werden zudem in diesem Thread des Forums der Rollenspielblogs aufgelistet.
Passend zum Jahrestag dieser blogübergreifenden Idee geht auch an alle fleissigen Leser der Karnevalsartikel der Aufruf von Jan beim Malspöler, in einer kleinen Umfrage kundzutun, wie viel denn von den ganzen Karnevalsartikeln auf den diversen Blogs überhaupt gelesen wird.


Bildnachweise
Mbdortmund: "Hoppeditz am Haus des Karnevals", GNU Free Documentation License 1.2
Klaus Westerhoff: "Hob-Dizz der Verderber", Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 3.0