AUTHOR’S NOTE: This series looks at the various North American Cryptids as if they were real, tangible beings that have managed to elude scientific observation. Many of the creatures I will be featuring have appeared in other Savage Worlds products. Often times they have been altered and tweaked to fit that particular setting or to make them more interesting or challenging. My interpretation tries to stay closer to the available lore I could find on each.
I hope you enjoy this series and like my interpretations of these wonderfully imaginative creatures!
NOTE#2: This write up uses the new Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Rules (SWADE).
This post, I head to California to showcase a more obscure cryptid, and one which could, in theory, really exist.
Just a side note, I have been a bit quiet on my blog lately and I am sorry for that. But I have a halfway decent reason! I am researching various cryptids and working on compiling all the ones I’ve done so far along with another dozen or so to put them all into a SWAG booklet I’d like to release in the near future. I will not give any hopeful release date, because I honestly have no idea just how long this is going to take! I will try to keep posting here with new articles and ramblings as I work on this.
I just want to give a great big thank you to everyone who keeps visiting my blog and enjoying what I put out!
Now on to this posts cryptid!!
The first recorded account of this cryptid was in 1920. Described as a salamander like creature of enormous size, reaching up to nine feet in length according to some accounts. Sighted along the New River found within the Trinity Alps of Northern California.
The 1920 account came from Frank Griffith who came across five large salamanders in and along the shores of a lake while he was out hunting. There have been many additional sightings of similar large salamanders throughout the Trinity Alps region and even several serious expeditions by biologists through the years. No concrete evidence has yet been found. There have been some circumstantial evidence, such as large slime spots where it is believed one of these cryptids had stopped to rest on land. This viscous substance has proven to be quite a potent skin irritant, likely a defensive mechanism.
These cryptids average five feet in length. They have the typical spotted pattern to their skin that most salamanders have, with their coloration being more in the greens and browns rather than the brighter colors of some of their smaller cousins. While normally very passive, they will attack if they are cornered or are defending their nests or young.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4(a), Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics: d4, Fighting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8
Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Aquatic: These cryptids can freely travel on land, but are susceptible to heat and dehydration. They take an additional d6 damage from any fire source. While in water, they have a pace of 8.
Bite: Str +d4
Defensive Excretion: They exude a secretion all over their bodies that help protect them from drying out. This also makes them hard to grab onto, and acts as a natural irritant to other animals. Anyone trying to grapple with them suffers a -2 penalty to the check. Anyone making physical contact with them must make a vigor check or suffer a level of fatigue as they have a nasty rash-like reaction to the secretion.
I hope you enjoyed this entry into the Savage Cryptids of North America,
Patrick “ShadowDad” Greenlaw