Ice Age Stalker

Horror From The Dawn Of Time

by Andrea Sfiligoi
"Ice Age Stalker" is a short GURPS Horror adventure for 4 to 6 characters, built on 100
points each. It introduces a new (but very old) type of vampire. The Stalker lacks most
of the typical vampire weaknesses . . . and while it has vulnerabilities of its own, the
adventurers won't know about these during the first encounters!
The Adventure Begins
The PCs are hired as consultants and (for some unexplained reason) bodyguards by
the well-known paleontologist and anthropologist, Dr. Albert Notting. Notting is working
with his wife, Fiala, at an excavation site near Monrovia, in the African republic of
Liberia. He tells the adventurers that he is about to announce an important
paleontological discovery to the scientific community. The excavation camp is on a dry
plain near Careysburg, a desolate area, home only to a few shepherds and their flocks
of livestock.
Arrival
The flight to Liberia is uneventful, and the party is driven by open truck to the camp. Half
a mile from the camp, the group encounters a skinny, ancient-looking native, dressed in
what appears to be leopard fur. He stands in the road, blocking their way.
A successful Anthropology or Occultism-3 roll reveals him to be a shaman of the Anioto,
a cult of leopard worshippers. The old man neither speaks nor responds to any attempt
to communicate; he dramatically unsheathes an obsidian blade, his eyes ablaze with
divine inspiration, points it at his chest and collapses. If anyone examines the man, a
Quick Contest of Skills between the examiner's IQ and the man's Acting skill of 11 will
indicate the he is merely feigning unconsciousness. If unmolested, the man rises after
30 seconds and walks quickly away. He walks a mile into Careysburg (a medium-sized
African town), and blends into the crowd at the market place. He will not respond to any
attempt at communication (he's deaf and mute). Regardless of how the PCs pursue the
shaman, he eventually loses them.
The old man's act superficially hints at suicide, but a successful Gesture-3 or
Anthropology roll will let the group realize that it was more suggestive of a ritualized
killing . . .
At the Camp
Upon arrival, the hirelings find a gruesome scene: Dr. Notting's still-bleeding corpse,
crumpled against a wall of the excavated dig, his clothes torn and matted with blood.
His neck is broken, and there are two large stab wounds into its side, where the jugular
vein has been opened. At first glance, it appears that the holes could have been made
by a tool like the shaman's blade. However, a successful Forensics or Surgery roll
rejects this theory.
Further inspection of the body reveals several vertical slashes on the paleontologist's
chest. Rolling against Naturalist, Zoology or Survival (Jungle)-2 allows a PC to deduce
that these are wounds made by a great cat, at least as large as a panther or puma, but
probably bigger. In Albert's right hand is an obsidian blade, virtually identical to the
shaman's; small digging tools and the nearly-unreadable remnants of the doctor's
notebook are scattered about his corpse. If someone examines the dirt around the dig
and makes a successful Tracking roll, he makes a startling discovery there are lion
tracks inside the dig and leading away from the camp. But anyone who is actually
familiar with lion tracks will say "No, that's a big cat, but it's not a lion!" However, anyone
who makes a Naturalist or Zoology roll will know that tigers do not live anywhere in
Africa. (And, to deepen the mystery, if anyone in the party happens to be familiar with
tigers, they'll know that these are not tiger tracks either. Making plaster castings of the
tracks would be a very intelligent precaution, and one which will later confuse any
scientific examiner . . . the tracks are of no known species!)
There is surprisingly little blood around the corpse. Anyone with Forensics skill, or
anyone who has ever participated in a vampire investigation, will notice this
automatically. Others may notice it on an IQ-2 roll. (If all PCs miss this clue, tomorrow's
events will call it to their attention.)
The Notebook
Not much of the notebook is readable much of it has been intentionally shredded, and
many pages are blood-soaked and illegible. Only one still-intact page proves useful; on
it is pasted a photograph of a skeleton lying in the bottom of the dig, recognized with an
IQ roll as a saber-toothed tiger (Smilodon). Embedded in the ribcage of the skeleton is
what appears to be the same blade that Dr. Notting holds in his dead hand. Taking a
minute to compare the photograph and the blade verifies this. A small note is included
under the photo:
. . . . and this very well-preserved skeleton demonstrates the desperate struggle that
must have taken place here, confirming my interpretation of the cave drawings. It can
also be supposed that the primitives thought obsidian to be . . .
The remainder of the note is unreadable.
A successful Paleontology skill roll indicates that no saber-toothed tiger skeletons have
been found anywhere near this site! No roll is required to draw the obvious conclusion
that the tracks might have something to do with a saber-toothed tiger, but a roll at
Paleontology-1 will give the information that the tracks are "not inconsistent with" the
skeletal structure of the Smilodon . . .
The group may want to immediately head out to follow the tracks, or they may want to
search the rest of the excavation site. If they choose the latter, skip to In the Tent.
At some point, of course, the party will want to notify the authorities of the murder! If
they choose not to, one of the workers at the dig will run for the police that same night.
The party can easily alienate the official investigators if they fail to cooperate, or if they
have obviously interfered with evidence. The local investigative team, led by Detective
Sergeant Lafayette Johnson Jones, seem quite competent.
The Dagger
The obsidian blade, like others which will soon be encountered, is a slender flake of
black glass. It holds an incredibly fine edge. Treat it as an ordinary small knife, not
balanced for throwing, doing +1 damage because of its sharpness. However, all these
knives were designed to have their handles wrapped with leather, which has long since
rotted away. A successful Armourer or Survival roll will suggest that new hilt-wrappings
should be made. If this is not done, all attacks with these knives are at -2 because they
are hard to hold.
The glass is brittle. Treat obsidian knives as Cheap for the purpose of determining
whether they break in combat. There is a 1 in 3 chance that an obsidian knife will break
if simply dropped on a hard surface, and it cannot be used for prying, opening cans, or
any of the other purposes to which a steel camp knife might be put.
Nothing about any of these knives is magical in any way. Although they have power
against the stalker from the past, this is a vulnerability of the creature, not a magic
property of the knives. Any obsidian blades would have the same effect.
Following the Tracks
After five minutes and an additional Tracking roll, the investigators encounter a cold,
eerie mist blocking their way. Anyone who has had previous experience with vampires
can make an Occultism roll at -3 to recognize it as similar to a vampire's Body of Air
mist form. Seconds later, a deep, feral growl emanates from the mist itself. Roll a Fright
Check at -1. Anyone who fails the roll and has Epilepsy, Split Personality, Danger
Sense or other ESP or empathetic power will have seizures accompanied by visions: a
mental image of primitive men and something huge and threatening moving through
dense African foliage . . .
The mist abruptly disappears, and there are no more tracks to follow.
In the Tent
Fiala is here, suffering from extreme shock. She's armed with a machete and attacks
the first person to enter the tent. Treat this as a Wild Swing, All-Out Attack, with +2 to
damage (1d-1 cutting). If someone restrains her, she calms down, going semi-catatonic,
sobbing and babbling incoherently about ". . . dangerous dust . . . the ancient dust of the
old world . . . those who unearth the secrets of the old world shall all be buried . . ." and
so on.
Fiala is 35 years old, with long, curly red hair, green eyes, a pale complexion and a
round, freckled face. She is Attractive, with ST 9, DX 11, IQ 13, HT 10. She has Mild
Shyness, a Sense of Duty to the scientific community and a recently-acquired Phobia of
dust and dusty places. Her relevant skills include History-13, Archaeology-13,
Anthropology-13, Paleontology-14 and Writing-12. She speaks in a childish voice and
won't be much use to the party because of her extreme terror and her limited knowledge
of her husband's theories. She wants to get as far from the camp as possible. She
agrees to drive Albert's body to the authorities, as long as she doesn't have to look at it;
she gives the PCs the address of a hostel in town where she'll be staying.
The explorers can discover a paleontological treasure-trove in the tent: ten obsidian
knives, a Neanderthal skull with signs of a saber-toothed tiger attack and several other
insignificant Neanderthal tools. Also in the tent is a map, drawn by Albert, showing the
entrance to a cave some 5 miles from the camp.
The Cave
There are four wall paintings in the cave, spaced regularly along one wall. An Artist or
IQ-4 roll reveals that they are meant to be read as a story, one panel at a time, from left
to right.
Panel One. Four hairy, primitive men are attacking a Smilodon with spears.
Panel Two. The beast falls with two spears protruding from its back.
Panel Three. The tiger, standing now, assaults a man who has moved closer.
Panel Four. The animal is absent; several men are fighting each other.
The Next Step
However the explorers choose to spend the evening, there is a rash of killings that night
in the town nearby. At least seven people are murdered in a manner that matches the
death of Dr. Notting. The party will be called in for questioning in the early afternoon.
The tone of the questioning will depend on the way the party behaved toward the
authorities yesterday. If the murder was reported immediately and the party members
were helpful toward the investigators, the questions will be short and formal. If the party
went off after cat tracks before calling the local police, trampled all over the evidence,
and so on, the interrogation will be more serious, and Detective Sergeant Jones will
warn them not to leave the country without his permission.
In the end, the PCs are released, but in the course of the interview, the group can find
out some vital information.
Local authorities blame the Anioto, believing the murders to be ritual cult killings.
However, there are no leads, and the police are stymied in their search for the source of
the "leopard" killings. So far the autopsies have revealed that the hair and tissue
samples found on the body do not come from a leopard, but some other big cat.
However, the police technicians have not been able to identify the species. The bodies
were almost completely drained of blood, which is the primary clue pointing to ritualistic
killings. It is definitely a human act, ruling out in the authorities' minds the possibility of
true animal attacks.
A successful Streetwise-3 roll allows the party to contact the Anioto. The meeting takes
place in an abandoned shepherd's cottage, a mile outside of town. The cultists are
intolerant of strangers and act rudely and snobbishly; the encounter could easily turn
violent. They refuse to speak English (Liberia's official language), but will provide an
interpreter who understands Sudanese (skill 14 failed rolls produce an interpretation
problem and will distort information received). The party member with the highest skill
level should make four rolls against either Diplomacy or Savoir-Faire skill. Each
successful roll reveals one of the following facts. A failed roll reveals nothing. Any
critical failure, or two successive failures, causes the Anioto leader to request that the
party leave. If the group stays or tries further communication, the leader gathers the
cultists and vanishes into the night.
The following information can be gathered from a successful talk with the Anioto.
1. An ancient evil has been released from a million-year-long slumber.
2. The shaman's mime-display on the road was an act of benevolence, meant to
alert the visitors of great danger awaiting them.
3. Obsidian weapons are the only way to defeat the creature, but someone must
issue a direct challenge to the demon, or it will remain hidden and slaughter
innocents.
4. The cult does not know how to issue the challenge, and the shaman (who might
know) is nowhere to be found.
If the interview goes well and the PCs have done nothing to offend the Anioto, the cult
promises to assist the party by sending two Anioto warriors to help them face the beast.
This is the warriors' only function.
The fighters have the following stats: ST 14, DX 12, IQ 10, HT 12, Move 6, PD 1, DR 1
from leopard skins. Their pertinent skills are Knife-15, Stealth-15 and Shadowing-12.
They possess claw-hooks which do Swing+2 cutting damage, but in a fight against the
stalker, they will use obsidian knives. (The party will have to provide these knives; the
Anioto know that the party has them.)
Note that if the Anioto meeting leads to violence, it will come to the attention of the
police. In that case, the party is likely to be jailed or expelled from the country, either on
suspicion of murder, for being Anioto sympathizers, for being general troublemakers, or
all of the above.
The Following Night
Whether the adventurers realize it or not, they are facing an ice age vampire. Albert and
the other corpses will reanimate in the town morgue. These "stalkers" are a special form
of vampire see p. 8.
Not all the new vampires will be monsters. Those who were good people will retain
some of their original conscience; they will avoid taking the animal form. Their lust for
blood is lessened, and they can resist the temptation to drink life force from living
creatures. They cannot be saved until the creature that began the vampire plague is
killed. While incorporeal, they roam the places they once lived and try to repeat
everyday actions of course, they can't unless they take on physical form, in which they
are dependent on blood . . .
However, those who were not good people will become clever, gleeful killers. They will
also return to their old haunts, but they will seek to destroy the people they knew. They
will have the power to become beasts . . . and they will use it.
The PCs should, during the course of their investigation, find out that the corpses have
risen and that they are returning to familiar places and people. This should lead them to
either the excavation site or the hostel where Mrs. Notting is staying.
The professor, dead though he is, still loves Fiala. He returns to the camp, and seeing
that she is not there, he finds her at the hostel (they had stayed there several times
since the dig began). He tries to remain incorporeal, but it is horribly frustrating since he
cannot touch his wife. She doesn't know whether to be terrified, heartbroken or both. It
is only a matter of time before he gives in to his blood-hunger. Before this happens, the
investigators must find a way to communicate with him. The best method is to play upon
his guilt and sense of failure: "Look at yourself! You parody of a man, you walking
blasphemy how dare you appear like this in front of your wife who loves you so much,
and after you failed so badly to protect her." If the PCs roleplay this well, Albert will be
totally subdued and tell the whole story. He must become solid to talk, and resisting the
blood-hunger is difficult, making his story confused and choppy.
"I had my own theory about Smilodon . . . just too crazy to tell . . . what do you think the
great fangs were for? Slicing through the jugular! They couldn't eat normally no meat
. . . no normal diet, just blood! Blood, do you hear me, blood! A whole race of vampire-
tigers declared war on mankind . . . and lost, or so I thought until I found that well-
preserved skeleton and took the blade out of its ribcage . . . the dust . . . the dust in the
dig filled it, reconstructing every single cell . . . and now an ice age demon stalks the
earth, searching for more victims . . ."
A critical success on Fast-Talk or Diplomacy will talk Albert into committing suicide with
one of the knives. If this happens, he takes a blade, plunges it into his chest and
collapses; the onlookers get a momentary sense of dj vu as the stabbing and his
collapse are exactly like the Anioto shaman's act. His body will remain normal and solid.
If the blade is removed, nothing will happen until after dark; they he will rise again.
Otherwise, Notting's blood-thirst will eventually prevail, and the party has to deal with
him the hard way. He can only be killed on a successful hit to the vitals (A) with the
obsidian blade; only one point of damage needs to get through Albert's DR, which is 1
from his clothes.
The Climax
The investigators should finally realize that they must attack and kill the source of the
vampiric curse, the saber-toothed vampire itself. Fiala cannot help; she is in shock
again from seeing her husband die a second time. She merely pleads desperately,
"Please, end this curse save my husband's soul."
To summon the Smilodon, the explorers merely have to issue a firm challenge, like "I
challenge you, vampire," or "come out and fight, Smilodon." Anything remotely like this
will draw out the creature. Each combatant should wield an obsidian blade; all other
weapons are useless. A creative character might suggest making obsidian-tipped
arrows or loading a shotgun with obsidian shot. These will harm the vampire, but only
as much as a normal weapon of the type would harm a normal creature. The final blow
must be struck by a knife, wielded or thrown by hand.
The details of the encounter will depend on the party's tactics and the GM's sense of
balance. The stronger the group, the stronger the tiger should be, up to the maximum
stats for the saber-toothed tiger (see p. 8).
If the PCs are non-combat types, the GM may want to have the Anioto fighters do all the
work, or rule that any hit to the chest or stomach that lets at least 1 point of damage
through instantly kills the vampire, crumbling it to a dusty skeleton. But remember . . . it
can always be revived.
The Exorcisms
Within an hour of the beast's death, the Anioto shaman reappears and performs ritual
exorcisms on any remaining vampires, including Albert. He will make no attempt to
explain where he has been or why hew took no part in the battle; on an Occultism-3 roll,
the party may realize that the combat against the stalker was purely physical, and the
old man was simply being prudent! He made sure they had the tools and the knowledge
. . . then he got out of the way.
Amazingly, a happy ending is possible. Not only can the shaman cure the victims of
vampirism . . . when they're cured, they remain alive! The shaman also exorcises the
dusty skeleton of the original stalker. It does not become a living cat; it falls to pieces
entirely! This will upset Dr. Notting, if he is present.
Albert and Fiala are reunited, and Albert decides to pursue that teaching career the
university has been offering. The couple pays the party their previously agreed-upon
sum, plus a $10,000 bonus for all the trouble they went through.
The PCs may want to hold on to the obsidian knives a good plan, as Dr. Notting
cautions them before leaving: "The world may not have seen the last of the ice age
stalker."
Aftermath
If Dr. Notting continues his researches, he may loose more stalkers. By now, of course,
he knows what to expect, and he might have the sense to call for backup before he's
killed again. But he wants a skeleton to study, and if exorcism will destroy his scientific
evidence, well, he'll just have to have an unexorcised skeleton!
Of course, it's also possible that the professor harbors some lingering taint of
vampirism. It's also possible that Fiala was touched in some way by the vampire curse.
In either case, the professor or his wife might suffer from a compulsion to find and
revive more stalkers, without taking precautions.
Or someone else on the scene may have figured out what is going on, and have a use
for an "instant vampire kit." Perhaps the Cabal would have a use for a stalker . . . could
an experienced human vampire control the undead animal?

The Anioto
Not much is known about this animistic cult; they seem to have a mafia-like structure,
protected by a conspiracy of silence and local superstition. Members are often required
to eat human flesh as part of initiatory rites. They also use vegetable hallucinogenic
drugs and dress in leopard skins. Enemies of the cult are killed in ritualistic fashion
their torsos and necks are slashed with steel "leopard claws," and occasionally, their
blood is drained and consumed by the cult members. Some Anioto, especially the most
respected shamans, are rumored to be true shapeshifters, able to become leopards at
will. The cultists are intolerant of strangers and are not opposed to slashing first and
asking questions later.
Though leopard-men are found only in Liberia and the Republic of Sierra Leone, similar
animistic cults can be encountered all across Africa. The totem animals are different
lion-men in Tanganyika, hyena-men in the Cote-d'Ivoire and even chimpanzee-men and
were-alligators in some regions but the arrogant, intolerant structure of the cult is
always the same. Currently, these cults are slowly disappearing, or changing losing
much of their ritualistic behavior and mutating into political lobby groups, fighting for the
rights of natives. Of course, in a magical campaign, all these cults might possess old
secrets, either good or evil.

New Skill: Paleontology
Paleontology (Mental/Hard) . . . . . Defaults vary
This is the science of fossil study. A Paleontology roll is required to recognize fossils
and make hypotheses about the original creature's habitat, diet, body structure, etc. A
successful roll (+4 if laboratory facilities are available) may also identify the approximate
age of the object.
A paleontologist may specialize in one of the following fields, each with its own default.
Each field also defaults to the others at -2.
Paleozoology (defaults to Zoology-4) is the study of prehistoric animals from their
fossilized bones, footmarks, remains of food and feces, etc.
Paleobotany (defaults to Botany-3) is the study of vegetable fossils.
Paleoanthropology (defaults to Anthropology-2) is the study of human fossils and tools,
and the relation of primitive tribes to their habitats.
Micropaleontology (defaults to Botany-4 or Biochemistry-3) is the study of fossils too
small to be seen by the naked eye. This skill cannot be used outside of a lab.
General Paleontology defaults to one of the above specialized skills-2 or Anthropology-
5.
The Stalkers
The ice age stalker is a vampire, with some differences. It must drink blood, exactly like
a normal vampire, or it will weaken and die. It has three forms: human, mist and saber-
toothed tiger. It may move freely between the forms.
The original stalker is very powerful. Its victims may rise as stalkers, but their abilities
will be less; only after hundreds of years would a new stalker gain the powers of an
original one. Of course, there may be other old stalkers hidden around the world!
Advantages: Stalkers do not age. Their human form gains no extra ST, HT or DX, but
they have the ability to become a sabertooth tiger, as described below. They gain Night
Vision, Immunity to Disease, and Immunity to Poison. Magic affects them normally,
except that no spell can actually kill a stalker; the best that a spell can do is reduce a
Stalker to HT 0 dust which will re-form in a few days, as described below. No weapon
(even ray guns, etc.) will affect them at all . . . with the exception of obsidian.
Magic Powers: Stalkers have the Shapeshifting spell (to sabertooth form only) and the
Body of Air form (but sunlight does not kill their mist form). Otherwise, these spells work
just as they do for a normal vampire. The Steal Health ability of a Stalker works exactly
as for a normal vampire. Stalkers do not have Mammal Control or Charm abilities.
Weaknesses: Stalkers have fewer weaknesses than ordinary vampires. They lose 1 HT
every day at noon, but do not have to have a coffin full of their native earth. They will
crumble to dust if their HT is reduced to 0, but this dust will re-form into the fully healthy
Stalker in 1d days, exactly at midnight!
Stalkers are immune to injury from any physical attack except obsidian. They suffer no
ill effects from sunlight, holy items, running water, garlic and other vampire weaknesses.
New stalkers are not under the psychic control of their creator . . . though they will be
weaker, and may obey an old stalker out of fear!
Stalkers, like normal vampires, lose 1 HT per turn in a no-mana area, crumbling to dust
when their HT reaches 0. But if that dust is ever taken to an area with mana, the Stalker
will live again.
One significant weakness, which led to the disappearance of the stalkers: they cannot
resist a formal challenge to battle, and will hear such a challenge if it is spoken aloud
within a mile of their location. The challenge must seem fair, though! A Stalker would
not appear to face a challenger who was surrounded by an army of obsidian-wielding
guards but it would visit that person later . . .
Stalkers tend to be overcome by their animal nature. A Will roll is required whenever a
stalker wants to avoid making a bloody feast of the humans it sees . . . an evil stalker
won't try to resist temptation, and may slay many times a night. Most old stalkers have
very little humanity left.
New Stalkers: A stalker's victims will become new stalkers if the original stalker wills it;
they usually do. Each victim will rise the night after his death unless an obsidian blade is
driven into the heart of the body. If the victim has not yet risen, the blade need stay only
through the first night. But if the victim has already risen as a stalker, he can only be put
down again by an obsidian blade through the heart. . . and the blade must stay there . . .
even a million years is not enough to end the curse. Dr. Notting raised the original
vampire by moving the protective blade from the fossilized dust of its body!
Destroying a Stalker: A stalker can only be harmed by obsidian, and can only be "killed"
by an obsidian blade in the heart. But this is not true death; if the blade is ever removed,
the remains of the stalker will re-animate. An old stalker will rise immediately; a new
stalker would rise the following midnight. In either case, the stalker rises with all wounds
healed.
True death can only come to a stalker if it is "killed" with obsidian and then exorcised.
There are two forms of this exorcism. One destroys the stalker utterly. The other is
usable only on a very new stalker one which has been under the curse for less than a
week. This will remove the vampire taint and restore the victim to life! Both exorcisms
are known to the Anioto shaman and his brotherhood, but probably to almost no one
else.
Old stalker
Tiger Form: An old stalker has the same physical stats as an adult Smilodon, but may
have a much higher IQ.
ST: 26-32 Move/Dodge: 8/6 Size: 2
DX: 12 PD/DR: 1/1 Wt: 400-600 lbs.
IQ: 4-9 Damage: 2d+1 imp Origin: Ice
HT: 14/20-24 Reach: C Habitats: any
Human Form: The old stalker encountered in Liberia was once a Neanderthal man (Dr.
Notting's theories about a separate race aren't entirely correct). Its stats in human form
would be ST 12, DX 11, HT 13, IQ 8. However, it is not likely to use this form.
New Stalker
Tiger Form: A new stalker's tiger form will be less powerful than that of an old one.
Gradually, the tiger form will become more dangerous, but this takes decades.
ST: 14-18 Move/Dodge: 8/6 Size: 2
DX: 10 PD/DR: 1/1 Wt: 300-350 lbs.
IQ: 4-9 Damage: 2d-1 imp Origin: Ice
HT: 13/16-20 Reach: C Habitats: any
Human Form: A new stalker in human form will have the same stats that it did while
alive. It may spend a lot of time in human form, especially before it realizes that it is now
an undead monster.