SPECIAL ABILITIES

Accreditation: These abilities were originally adapted from Yochai Gal’s Cairn 2e Bestiary (CC-BY-SA-4.0). They have been rewritten to fit the Liminal Horror system and have an open license to use in your games and publications.

Below is a catalog of special abilities and unique critical damage triggers. These are used to make Horrors unique and pose interesting challenges for Investigators. They can be used when creating your own Horrors, or added to existing creatures to create unique challenges.

Special Abilities: Entities may also have abilities that trigger when dealing Critical Damage to an Investigator. While these will often be particular types of Wounds that are inflicted, they may also be additional actions taken by the Horror to leverage their advantage. The horrors may also have special abilities that trigger when they take Critical Damage, causing a physical or behavioral change instead of falling out of combat.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

1. (Adjective) Gas: Nearby targets must make a DEX save to avoid the (adjective) cloud. On a failure, lose 1d4 STR and gain Deprived.
2. Blink: Can instantaneously phase in/out of reality.
3. Bloody Roar: Anything that can hear the roar must make a CTRL save or flee in fear.
4. Bound: Their essence is bound to ____. They are unable to travel far from it.
5. Charm: Target obeys ____’s command. CTRL save once per round (or if they take damage) to break free.
6. Electric Charge: Deals 4 damage against a single target. Targets who have metal in their Inventory take double damage.
7. Flesh Merchant: Will exchange rare items for fresh bodies.
8. Harpy’s Song: Anything nearby that can hear the song must make a CTRL save or be charmed as long as they hear the song. Those charmed will follow and defend the source from threats.
9. Healing Properties: Produces (type of bodily byproduct) that can heal 1d6 STR. 1d4 uses.
10. Hideous Visage: Target is filled with dread, dropping HP to 0. CTRL save required to break the enthrallment (returning lost HP).
11. Hypnotic Gaze: Target looking into ____’s eyes becomes hypnotized. While they are under ___’s will, they cannot be driven to violence they would not normally commit.
12. Interdimensional Will: They have the ability to fly, shape shift, and shape matter.
13. Obfuscate: Target becomes confused, slowly moving further from _____. Target makes a CTRL save once per round to break free.
14. Perceptive: Cannot be surprised.
15. Phoenix: When STR reaches 0, they erupt in a fiery explosion (d8, blast). From the ashes they arise after 3 days.
16. Piercing: Attack damage applied directly to STR (ignoring HP).
17. Psychic Blast: Living targets in the vicinity must make a CTRL save or take 1d4 Stress and lock-up until they make a successful CTRL save.
18. Resonant Resilience: Their body must be destroyed thoroughly (flame, dismemberment, acid, crushed to a pulp, pulverized, etc) or else they will continue to fulfill their primal drive, regaining 1 STR.
19. Resonant: Can cast the following Rituals at will: _, _, _.
20. Revenant: Is able to continue despite devastating bodily harm. They will only stop when STR hits 0. If their heart is not completely destroyed with flame, acid, or powerful Rituals, they will fully reform in 1d4 days.
21. Sensory Overload: Anything nearby that can hear the Wail must make a CTRL save or fall unconscious.
22. Short Range Phasing: Can teleport short distances.
23. Slumber: Can cast Sleep at will.
24. Soul Conduit: ____ can survive material and metaphysical destruction, rebuilding anew, due to their binding their soul to an inanimate object. As long as that remains intact their essence will persist.
25. Spatial Mastery: Can teleport a target in eyesight to a nearby location.
26. Stony Gaze: Target, who remains in the eyesight of ____, slowly turns to stone over three rounds (first legs, then torso, then arms and head). Blood directly from ____ heart is required to reverse the petrification.
27. Team Training: When they attack act as a squad, dealing Enhanced damage and attacks against them are Impaired.
28. Trickster: The ___ can teleport, become invisible, shape shift, and bring inanimate objects to life.
29. Troll-like: They will slowly regain STR (1d4 per day) even after being “killed” unless their body is burned in a forested clearing.
30. Vampiric Regeneration: Can regain 6 HP if it drinks the blood of a living being.
31. Warded (Mundane): Mundane attacks are Impaired against them.
32. Warded (Resonant): Resonant Energies (such as rituals or Resonant Artifacts) require a successful CTRL save or it will dissipate.

CRITICAL DAMAGE TRIGGERS

These special abilities trigger when they deal Critical Damage. This is in addition to the resulting Wound.

1. Amputate: Critical Damage caused by ___ results in an amputated limb (Wound). Any who sees this takes 1d4 Stress.
2. Brainless: If Critical Damage is triggered, ___ will create an opening in the target’s skull. If an additional instance of Critical Damage occurs, ___ will rip the brain out of the opening, swallowing it whole.
3. Constrict: Upon dealing Critical Damage, __ entrangles the target, pulling them up as they choke them. Suffocation will occur in a matter of minutes.
4. Devastation: If ___ deals Critical Damage to a target, all STR lost become permanent.
5. Devour: If __ deals Critical Damage they will begin to eat the target alive (target loses an additional d4 STR).
6. Drained: If Critical Damage is triggered, the target becomes Deprived until they get restful sleep.
7. Eaten Whole: If Critical Damage is triggered, __ will swallow the target whole, dealing an additional d6 STR damage from its stomach acid.
8. Engulfed in Flame: If Critical Damage is triggered, the resulting wound erupts in flame, causing d6 damage per round until it is stopped or they are consumed.
9. Gore: Critical Damage caused by ___ results in the Disemboweled (Wound). The target will die in 1d2 hours unless they receive medical attention. Any who sees this takes 1d4 Stress.
10. Liquify: If Critical Damage is triggered ___ will inject a caustic venom, liquifying the target’s insides, resulting in a permanent d6 STR loss.
11. Necrosis: When _ deals Critical Damage, all of the target’s Wounds become necrotic. They are Deprived and will die in d4 days unless it is treated. The body must be burned to prevent it from becoming undead.
12. Oxidization: If Critical Damage is triggered, all metal on the target’s person rusts, becoming useless.
13. Possession: If Critical Damage is triggered the target must also make a CTRL save or become possessed by the ___.
14. Return to Nature: When ___ deals Critical Damage, the target begins to have plants grow out of their Wounds.
15. Soul Leech: Upon dealing Critical Damage, the resulting wound also severs a part of the target’s soul. They lose an additional 1d4 CTRL.
16. Spirit Drain: If Critical Damage is triggered, the target loses an additional d6 CTRL as their soul is slowly consumed by the ___.
17. Spraying Blood: When __ deals Critical Damage, the Wound erupts in a geyser of blood, restoring any lost HP or STR by the ____.
18. Toxic: Upon dealing Critical Damage, the target also becomes Poisoned. They will die in 1d12 hours if they do not receive a cure.
19. Undoing: Attacks by ___ sever the binds of reality. Upon dealing Critical Damage, the target loses an additional d4 STR. If the target’s STR reaches 0, they untether from the material plan, becoming a ___.
20. Vector: Upon taking Critical Damage, the target becomes infected with _.

---

Next Section: Resonant Artifacts
Previous Section: Horrors

back to Table of Contents