Lore Spotlight: The Vetturion

Happy Halloween! This week, we’re taking a closer look at one of the more terrifying creatures in War and Aether. A creature whose creation came to me in a nightmare! Read on to learn more about the Vetturion!

[A Vetturion wanders proudly through the winter fields. Art generated using Adobe Firefly]

The Vetturion is a huge beast, standing between 15 and 20ft tall, and is as wide as it stands. The creature appears like a mix between a deer, a rat, and a man. It has two great hooves that serve as its hind-legs, and two man-like hands with great claws to use as graspers. While it can stand on two legs to appear more intimidating, it often runs on all fours flawlessly through snow-covered landscapes. It is a creature of the winter, with a never-ending coldness that surrounds and envelops them. Huge swaths of white fur around the torso keep the creature warm, getting much thicker on its backside, while oddly remaining thin-to-nonexistent around the arms. Among its white-grey skin it has downward pointed ears, a snouted face like a rat, with sharpened fangs protruding from the top and bottom, as well as a set of deer-like antlers adorning the top of its head, shoulders, and back. And in the dark of night, three glowing blue eyes.

The Vetturion is animalistic and instinctual by nature, but is classified as a Demon Beast for both its fierce intelligence and its ability to perfectly mimic the voice of any human it has encountered. Using this perfect mimicry to lure in unsuspecting victims with the sounds of voices, screams, or cries for help in the night. Even going so far as to use the voices of loved ones if they can recognize a relationship between the people they’re hunting. While the mimicry of voices is perfect, the creature doesn’t understand the sounds it makes, only repeating what it once heard - allowing for the only give-away of the mimicry to be words or sentences that don’t quite make sense in context.

But once a victim has been lured in too close, the Vetturion ambushes their victim, biting hard and swift with their grabbing teeth, then dragging the victim away in the blink of an eye. Assuming the victim survived the initial dragging bite, they don’t have long before they are taken to the creature’s den and eaten alive. The Vetturion is a rare creature, ever hunted for how powerful and dangerous of a threat it is. These days, the Vetturion is found most commonly in the northlands of Skjörvunn. Hibernating in cool, dark caves during the summer, and revealing itself to claim victim-after-victim during the Winter.

This creature is one of my personal favorites. It appeared to me in a nightmare wherein I, and a handful of people, were struggling to survive and escape this creature while it tore into an apartment complex. It was a surreal and terrifying experience, one that needed to be properly introduced into War and Aether!

The Vetturion is a high level Demon Beast, one that would pose a threat for even experienced monster hunters. It’s Frigid Aura chills those caught too close, causing them to slow down from the intense cold or even freeze in place. Its perfect mimicry is impossible to decipher from a normal human voice, only revealing itself in the context of the words it repeats. It is a winter hunter, and gains stealth bonuses when lurking around winter nights or during blizzards. And while a powerful ambush predator, the Vetturion is capable of holding its own in a one-to-one fight, capable of using its shredding claws, or crushing bite to get through armor - both with the ability to Stun those who are hit too severely.

For all of these strengths, the creature is also fiercely intelligent. There are more than just stories of the Vetturion luring victims. There are stories including the Vetturion recognizing familial connections and using those connections to its advantage, recognizing greater or lesser threats in combat, and even being offered human sacrifices to leave the smaller Skjörvish villages alone. But the creature has two grave weaknesses. For one, the creature is deeply offended when attacked. No matter how injured or broken, the creature will fight to the death - ensuring monster hunters the chance to kill the creature, or be killed themselves. For two, the creature has a vulnerability towards Time Magic - those who possess access to this rare magical ability will find an easier battle against the deadly Vetturion.

The Vetturion makes for a deadly fight even for an experienced tabletop party. But throw the Vetturion at an under-leveled party? Now it's no longer a matter of defeating the monster, but surviving it - perfect for a horror setting to your next session in War and Aether: The Roleplaying Game!