CRYPTIDS or UMAs (UNIDENTIFIED MYSTERIOUS ANIMALS)

Based on Trevor Henderson’s Top 10 Cryptids post.

Written by Goblin Archives For use with Liminal Horror TTRPG: liminalhorrorrpg.com/

FLATWOODS MONSTER

Location: Braxton County, West Virginia STR: 15 DEX: 10 CTRL: 15 HP: 7 Armor: 3 Burning Eyes (d4, internal damage), Crushing Grip (d6)

  • Levitation: The Flatwoods Monster floats. smoothly gliding through the air. It distinctly never touches the ground.
  • Unknown Language: It emits a high, sharp, penetrating hissing noise. THis is the only form of audible communication.
  • Not of This World: Animals within a 2 mile radius cower and flee. Any within its presence receive 1d4 Stress.
  • Noxious Mist: There is a palpable aura that emanates off of the Flatwoods Monster, leaving a sickening metallic, burnt odor lingers well after an encounter. The scent is acrid enough to burn the eyes and mouths of witnesses (1d6 damage). Prolonged exposure will result in a Wound that requires extended rest in a medical facility.

A being of unknown origin (typically assumed to have exited an unidentified spacecraft). Wearing a robotic suit and standing at 10 feet tall, the Flatwoods Monster’s exact purpose is unknown. Sporting a spade shaped cowl behind a red head with large glowing eyes. The metallic structure of its suit (which looks as if a metal dress lined with thick vertical piping) does not hinder its ability to glide through the air with ease.

Variant: Some report seeing a 9ft tall reptilian humanoid dawning a similar metallic-skirt upon its lower half, as if a mechanical suit. With thin arms bearing two fingers per hand, this reptilian being floats through the air, also being preceded by a noxious mist similar to the original Flatwoods Monster. Of note this appeared in the nearby town of Frametown, West Virginia.

PASCAGOULA HUMANOID

Location: Pascagoula, Mississippi STR: 15 DEX: 10 CTRL: 15 HP: 7 Armor: 3 Pinscher Grip (d6), Examination Tools (d6 Stress, d4 damage)

  • Paralysis Ray: The Pascagoula Humanoids are able to emit a targeted beam that overrides bodily functions. The target must make a CTRL save, on a failure they are paralyzed (but conscious) for 1d20 minutes. On a success they take 1d6 Stress.
  • Mechanical Movement: They move unlike any organic being, more akin to a robot than a living-being.
  • Proximity Telekinesis: They are able to make other living beings in close proximity float, moving them at will. Tall humanoid creatures with gray, wrinkled skin (elephant like).. They lack eyes and have slits for mouths. There is no discernable neck and they have cone-like extrusions from their head (where their nose and ears would be).

Their arms are longer than their legs, ending in claw-like hands. Their legs seem fused together, making a single appendage ending in elephant-like feet.

SANDOWN CLOWN

Location: Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK STR: 17 DEX: 11 CTRL: 13 HP: 9 Armor: 3 Pinch (d8)

  • Eating: Sam likes to share a meal whenever possible. Offering berries to its guests, it will rub them upon its eyes, smearing the berries back and forth over its eyes then down to its mouth.
  • Illusion: Sam is able to shift how things appear. Take the berries it shares with its guests for instance. An unclouded mind will be able to see that the berries are in fact eyeballs it has harvested from friends past.
  • You Know: While conversing, Sam will often answer questions about what it is with the solemn “You Know.”
  • Interdimensional Hut: Sam’s hope is a metallic two-floor shack. Within are free-standing doors that lead to other planes. None of the objects within seem quite right.
  • Materially Unbound: Sam is able to move around without really walking, sometimes even floating as if gravity has no hold upon him. Sam can reach through solid objects (even across far spaces), pulling things through. This is used for simple magic tricks to entertain, but can also be used to harm, removing eyes from a head simply by reaching into his pocket.

This shy but seemingly-friendly being is also known as Sam the Sandown Ghost Clown or All Colors Sam. With a round head, its skin is white with the consistency of paper. Its face is crudely painted on (Triangular eyes, square nose and yellow lips), it looks as though it is a cross between clown, robot, and alien. With three fingered hands it carries a book as it hops around, searching for new “friends.”

It uses a microphone system to speak (despite it’s painted on lips never moving). The box emits a siren-like call that attracts children to it. It presents itself as kind and shy, desiring to entertain its visitors, writing its new friends into the sprawling story within the book it carries.

LOVELAND FROGMEN

Location: Loveland, Ohio STR: 13 DEX: 12 CTRL: 10 HP: 4 Scratch (d6), Electric Wand (d6, blast)

  • Wands: Brandishing stick-like tools, Frogmen are able to use them to emit sparks, manipulating electricity.

Bipedal frog. While similar in stature to Scaphiopods, these are distinctly different creatures. With webbed hands and feed, these creatures have frog-like heads, building eyes, and stand 3-4 feet tall.

ENFIELD HORROR

Location: Enfield, Illinois STR: 15 DEX: 14 CTRL: 7 HP: 7 Armor: 2 Scratch (d6), stomp (d6)

  • Jumps: Able to leap up to 20 feet in a single bound.
  • Smashed: Numerous animal deaths and mutilations have occurred within the region. The crushed and mangled bodies are left strewn about.
  • “I Know I Hit It” : Bullets are unable to cause mortal injury, only causing it to flee instead of truly harming it. Projectiles are Impaired against the Enfield Horror.
  • Communication: While it can’t speak, some speculate it attempts to communicate through screeching banshee-like sounds as well as scratching.
  • Eyewitness Account: “It had three legs on it, a short body, two little short arms coming out of its breast area and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half feet tall and was grayish-colored… it was trying to get into the house!” - Henry McDaniel, April 25th, 1973

FRESNO NIGHTCRAWLER

Note: We adapted this cryptid for Liminal Horror (see Creepers, p.165) Location: Fresno, California STR: 5 DEX: 16 CTRL: 10 HP: 2 Stomp (d4) Creepers are pale, vaguely humanoid creatures with a small head atop a set of spindly legs. Only around four feet tall, those who catch a glimpse of these curious creatures often compare them to “a ghostly pair of pants”. Their faces are featureless beyond a pair of small, voidlike eyes.

What Are They? Creepers are the subject of debate among cryptid hunters and Investigators. Some think they’re ghosts, while others are convinced that they’re some form of extraterrestrial insect. But no one has been able to successfully capture one, or even get convincing film evidence, so none of the theories have ever been confirmed.

Temperment: Creepers are skittish little creatures. It appears that their goal is just to observe, but the reasons why are unclear. They’re quick to disperse when humans come around and are rarely violent, but they’re strangely vindictive creatures, suddenly appearing in large groups to attack individuals who bother or harm them.

d6 WHAT’S IT LOOKING AT?

  1. Studying the intricacies of feral cat colonies.
  2. They’re curious about what lies inside a particular building and have been trying to find a way in without being noticed.
  3. Attracted by the resonant energies of a dimensional tear.
  4. Here to witness the emergence of a strange or horrid creature.
  5. A Resonant Artifact is nearby.
  6. Observing the process of constructing a building.

HOPKINSVILLE GOBLINS

Location: Christian County, Kentucky STR: 8 DEX: 12 CTRL: 9 HP 4 Bite (d6)

  • Jumpscare: While cannot enter a home occupied by a human being, they do pop up in windows and doorways at inopportune times in hopes of scaring those inside, drawing them out of the home.
  • Wonton Destruction: The Hopkinsville Goblins love to destroy property,
  • Unload Your Magazine: Bullets are unable to cause harm to the Goblins.
  • We Are Legion: There is never only one Goblin lurking about.
  • Treasures: It is only once a home is empty that the Goblins can go in and ransack the place in order to bring treasures back to their horde.

A silver-blue hue, the Hopkinsville Goblins stand at only three feet tall with pointed ears and thin limbs, long arms and talon-like claws for hands. Despite having legs, they barely use them as the Goblins defy gravity, swimming through the air as if wading in water.

SKUNK APE

STR: 16 DEX: 14 CTRL: 14 HP: 8 Armor: 2 Claws (d6+d6)

  • Stench: There is a palpable stench that emanates off of the Skunk Ape (rotten eggs, rotting flesh, skunk-like smell).
  • Camouflage: Years of hiding within its natural habitat allow it to seamlessly blend into its environment. Some believe it can magically vanish from human perception.
  • Klepto: Given the shrinking natural habitat, the Skunk Ape has had to adapt to the encroachment of humanity onto its lands. Skunk Ape sightings often correspond to small-scale theft, breaking into homes, buildings, and construction sites in search of food, tools, and other trinkets.
  • Vehicular Aggression: The Skunk Ape has something against cars, often destroying them when given the opportunity. THere have been reported instances of it even grabbing onto a moving vehicle, jumping onto the roof as it was moving. Some theorize this targeting is the result of associating cars with being hurt (there have been multiple reports of Skunk Apes being hit by cars).
  • Omnivore: The Skunk Ape has been known to eat all types of foods. Primarily stealing from homes, it has been known to kill and consume parts of livestock (even a horse and a bull).

Note: This is not Bigfoot. Repeat, this is not Bigfoot.

Large, hairy, bipedal humanoid creature (~6 feet tall) with glowing red eyes. Primarily inhabits the forests and swamplands of the southeastern United States. Covered in mottled reddish-brown hair, its name comes from its distinctly foul odor, often likened to that of a skunk.

MOTHMAN

Location: Point Pleasant, West Virgina STR: 15 DEX: 14 CTRL: 14 HP: 12 Armor: 4 Claws (d8+d8)

  • Hypnotic Eyes: Looking upon the eyes of the Mothman for an extended period of time leaves a lasting metaphysical scar. Take d8 Stress.
  • Harbinger: Appearances of the Mothman typically precede major events (major disasters, tragedies, high death tolls, etc.). It has not yet been determined if it is the cause of these things or if it comes to act as a witness.
  • Flight: It is able to fly at extremely fast speeds, moving unlike any other recorded organism (takes off vertically, does not flap wings).
  • It Has Always Been Here: Its coloring and camouflage allow it to seamlessly disappear into shadow, helping it avoid detection.

Humanoid with avian creatures, most sightings agree it is a bipedal, winged humanoid: “Couples See Man-Sized Bird … Creature … Something” (Newspaper report, November 16th, 1966). Approximately 7 feet tall with a wingspan of over 13 feet, it can fly at astounding speeds despite its size (it doesn’t flap its wings while “flying”).

Some reports have it lacking a defined head, and instead having glowing red eyes in its chest (do they glow or are they reflecting light?). Regardless of the account, no one has gotten a good look at its “face.”

MICHIGAN DOGMAN

Location: Wexford County, Michigan STR: 13 DEX: 15 CTRL: 6 HP: 7 Armor: 1 Bite (d8) or Maul (d6+d6)

  • Regeneration: The Michigan Dogman can heal both HP and STR damage with a few moments of rest.
  • Dogpack: Can sometimes be seen leading a pack of ravenous dogs (STR: 4 DEX: 12 CTRL: 8 HP: 3, bite d6)
  • Howl: Sounds like a human scream, d6 Stress.

Similar to a Therianthrope or a werewolf, the Michigan Dogman has the torso of a man and the head of a dog. Standing at seven feet tall with blue eyes its hands end in claws.

“There were cuts around the doors that could only been made by very sharp teeth and claws. / He didn’t wear shoes cuz he didn’t have feet. He walked on just two paws. / So far this year, no stories have appeared. / Have the dogmen gone away? Have they disappeared? / Soon enough I guess we’ll know, cuz this is the time to fear, / for another ten years has come around, the seventh year / is here and somewhere in the north-woods darkness, a creature walks upright. / And the best advice you may ever get is never to go out….at night.” - Steve Cook’s The Legend (April 1, 1987 at WTCM-FM in Traverse City, Michigan)

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