Sunday, April 12, 2020

Secret Jackalope 2020 - Gnarly Swamp and Deep Jungle Witches

I took part in the OSR Discord's Secret Jackalope event! It's uh, like Secret Santa (which I also did!) but in March, I guess! 

My prompt comes from TROPICAWL, who wanted...
...A table or list of some gnarly swamp and/or deep jungle witches...
 Sounds fun! And turns out - it was! 

d6 Famous Deep Jungle Witches

Image from Old Book Illustrations
1. Elder Bogli Pagli - An old, decrepit lady with a deep hunch that acts as a shelf for the home she carries on her back. A large nest that houses several very colorful (and loud) birds and holds trinkets, alchemy tools, and various medicinal herbs and remedies. With a closer look, the old lady's mouth is sewn completely shut and frozen in a crusted smile. The birds whisper in the voices of those lost deep in the jungles. If you pay some sort of tithe, you can take an egg from the nest. 
2. The Cravens of the Crooked Hill - 4 witches, each a Fey spirit cursed long ago to rule over a pathetic patch of land. Each witch's emotions and appearance represent the four seasons, like they were exposed to the harshest elements of each season. The Summer sister has hot-pink, blistering skin that oozes pus with each movement, the Winter sister is completely frostbitten and stutters in both speech and motor skills, etc. Each sister wants the same thing, but they refuse to compromise on how to get it.
3. Mestel & Porter - Two old sister crones that travel in a mortar, using a pestle as an oar. Giggle furiously between sentences, which they usually finish for each other. They enjoy torturing people with obscure and obtuse riddles. Usually the riddles they give don't even have an answer - they just love watching people sweat under the pressure. If someone solves a riddle with a clever answer, they are often quite upset that someone thinks they're smarter than them. This tends to lead to a fight. Villagers that know about the couple might warn travelers that the right course of action is ignoring the riddle and complimenting their sick ride.
4. Barkback - A lady with brittle, bark-like skin. Crawls along trees, nearly invisible. Eats like a crocodile. Rather than torturing people, Barkback takes pleasure in torturing animals - especially human's pets, mounts, and familiars. Can usually be seen stalking the waters like a crocodile barely out of water, or clinging to a tree, watching from afar.
5. Spoontooth Mooneye - A gaunt, bony ghoul of a person that is covered in metal pots and pans. Cursed long ago, and now all they want is to find a spoon big enough to eat a tree. Signs of being near her lair includes scratchings against tree bark, trees missing chunks of wood like a creature bit off a piece, and randomly finding smooth, wooden sticks (spoons half-made and abandoned). Just wants to share a nice dinner with good company - it's a shame that not a lot of good company enjoys eating lost villagers.
6. The Moldy Princess - An old woman covered from head to toe in various fungi. Cursed by some deity/being of rot, she watches over the undergrowth of the jungles, taming and tending to the mushrooms that litter the deep depths of the jungles. Just wants to find a nice bride/groom to settle down with. Unfortunately, her curse makes "settling down" be more like "be slowly consumed by mushrooms over the span of a couple decades". 

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