Friday, August 25, 2017

Haunted Doll

Haunted dolls are children’s dolls, puppet or other effigies into which an (inevitably omnicidal) inhabiting spirit has been bound. The possession renders the doll itself animate and indestructible. They might be found in the backs of neglected toy shops, mixed in with the effects of dead relatives or abandoned, rotting, under porches. 


The haunted doll murders children, adults, pets indiscriminately but will only begin to move when alone or in the presence of a lone victim it intends to kill, though if the victim resists other witnesses may walk in on it moving in the middle of the struggle. At that point its primary motive will be to kill all witnesses immediately so that it can remain undetected and continue to crawl its murderous path.

Exorcism is never an option with a haunted doll—the spirit they house was trapped in the doll specifically because it was too troublesome to deal with otherwise. Likewise, the spirit is too monomaniacal to satisfy by any earthly action.

Some are haunted by suicidal souls and weep when alone.
Demon City Stats:

Calm: n/a—unshakeable
Agility: 3
Toughness: 6 (indestructible)
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 3

Calm Check: 7
D&D Stats:

AC: 15
Dex: 14
Strength: 19
+5 to hit damage by weapon
Indestructible
 Special Abilities:

Invulnerable: The doll cannot be physically harmed in any way. Damage can be innocently inflicted while the doll appears to be inert (for example: a child giving the doll a haircut or a dog ripping an arm off) but it will repair itself completely as soon as it is unobserved.

Aura effects: Even when not moving, haunted dolls have strange effects on the outside world. Roll d10, pick one, or invent your own:

1 Pictures will not hang straight in the same room as the doll
2 It begins to rain whenever the doll is taken outside
3 Animals attack the doll instinctively
4 Each observer is sure the doll has a different expression
5 Water becomes saltwater in its presence
6 Some sharp detail of the wood or plastic regularly pricks anyone who touches the doll
7 Doll falls over whenever propped in a sitting or standing position
8 Observers lose all appetite
9 Babies cry in doll’s presence
10 Flies attracted to doll as if it were fruit

Unnatural Balance: When animate, haunted dolls can manipulate objects in ways that would be difficult for a living being of their size and weight—so while a straw-stuffed doll might weigh less than a pound, it could lift a bread knife without overbalancing.

Subtle Movement: If totally unobserved, a haunted doll can escape nearly (see below) any attempt to entrap it.

 Weaknesses:

Although it cannot be destroyed, a haunted doll can be immobilized if it is placed in a box with a silver lock engraved with the doll’s name—however, this only works so long as the key to the lock is never destroyed. The doll can also simply be trapped in any construction too strong for it to escape and constantly observed.

Help out making Demon City happen here

1 comment:

FM Geist said...

Yes!!! I remember seeing (2nd ed monster manual?) doll golems and thinking it was genius and then they reduced it to a hook that becomes standard combat and fuck yes!

Also the hello kitty face is a nice touch & makes me (dark) think of the whole ritual murder and severed head in a hello kitty lunchbox that became such a PR nightmare for Saranio (or something like that too tired to google)