By Kevin Kulp

This is the 11th in our series on non-human heroes which has so far covered the spider-like Arakene, the Considerata (humans whose souls are contractually linked to gods), Constructs, the fungal Drowned, fey Hidden Folk, Intelligent Animals, Merfolk, Unsleeping Advisors (secret undead), and the actual Serpentine. This month’s Ancestry is inspired by Lovecraft’s deep ones as seen through the lens of Eversink’s swamps. Be sure to read the previously published rules on Non-Human Heroes if you haven’t already. 

Chuggut

Ancestry abilities: Ancestry (Chuggut), Leechcraft, Spirit Sight, Wilderness Mastery

• Ancestry (Chuggut) reflects your culture’s heritage, knowledge, and any special abilities
• Leechcraft represents secret knowledge of healing herbs, bizarrely effective poultices, swamp fevers, and herbal poisons 
• Spirit Sight represents your shamanistic tendency to talk to (or command) ghosts and nature spirits 
• Wilderness Mastery reflects chuggut mastery of the swamp and marshland 

You are a chuggut, one of the toad-like half-human swamp-dwellers who live in the fens near Eversink. It’s up to you how human you appear; chuggut sent into Eversink as spies are usually chosen from those who appear more human and less toadlike, although most chuggut consider these spies tremendously ugly and often exile them so that the community doesn’t need to see something so disturbingly human-like on a daily basis. Becoming a spy against the humans is a role of honor in the community, and a spy’s family back in the marshes gains stature and importance if information sent home is useful. 

Chuggut tend to be highly territorial (a survival trait when Eversink tries to exterminate you every generation or so) and remain close to their extended families. They keep a rich tradition of music, song, and story. Most chuggut have been taught the patient art of the stealthy hunt, the lore of natural poisons and medicines, the ability to create deadfalls, and how to call upon and command both ghosts and nature spirits.   

Play a chuggut if you want to be a distrusted outsider within the city, if you want to be more focused on nature and swamps than the people around you, and if you want to surreptitiously work against Eversink’s interests.

Designer Notes: Local Legends and the Chuggut

The biggest challenge we see in playing a chuggut is avoiding fantasy racism. In the core Eversink setting chuggut are intended to be ancient and culturally rich swamp dwellers who have deeply different values from city-dwelling humans. That has made them Eversink’s boogeymen and traditional enemy, but the chuggut aren’t written to be evil, just suspicious and terrifying to intruders. Most Supporting characters in Eversink will initially react to an identifiable chuggut with fear and distrust. Talk to your GM and give some thought as to how you want to handle this in your own game, making sure your ideas for your Hero mesh with the GM’s fiction.

Investigative ability: Ancestry (Chuggut)

You are a child of the great swamp and the marshes hold few fears for you. You have knowledge of chuggut culture, behavior, history, superstitions, music, art, tactics, and territory.  You know the location of at least a few ancient, abandoned stone ruins within chuggut territory. You speak the chuggut language of croaks and fluting calls as well as the local human language of Coinish. 

You can use your sticky tongue as a ranged weapon (+0 dmg) within Close range. You can use your tongue with Warfare maneuvers such as Drag, Trip, or Disarm. 

This Investigative ability allows you to notice leads and clues that are linked to the chuggut as a people or community. You will need to rely on other Investigative abilities to gain leads from specific chuggut. 

Sample spend: Make a chuggut supporting character particularly like, trust, or accept you as one of their own. If you and your group are unmoving and hiding in natural surroundings (whether to spring an ambush or to avoid those tracking you), raise your Stealth modifiers by +3. Do an extra die of damage on a Warfare attack by leaping into combat or attacking with your tongue. Survive in a swamp, as if having a rank of Wilderness Mastery. For the scene, use your tongue instead of your hands for a Burglary attempt to pick pockets.

Character Creation Advice

• Chuggut are Eversink’s swamp-dwelling equivalent of Lovecraft’s deep ones: insular, isolated, strong family ties, terrifying secret gods, and an appearance that tends to set them apart from outsiders. Lean into this if it’s fun to do so.
• Most people in Eversink heard childhood “boogeyman” stories about chuggut while growing up. Take at least one rank of Intimidate if you want to perpetuate this stereotype.
• To avoid some hostility from the locals, give your chuggut Hero ranks of Servile, Trustworthy or a rank of Ally: Triskadane, representing this by making your Hero a diplomat or envoy who is in Eversink with official permission. You have the paperwork and social clout to prove it!
• Leechcraft is more flexible than you think; it can be spent on emergency healing, and can also be spent on poisoning your foes.
• Use Spirit Sight actively. In addition to gathering leads from ghosts and nature spirits, spend those pool points to describe terrifying insect or swamp spirits inflicting damage at your command.
• Chuggut can be masters of ambush in natural settings. Read the rules on Surprise so that you can take your enemies wholly unaware.
• If you create a Hero with Corruption, consider choosing the sphere Swamps; it’s surprisingly flexible when you’re in and around Eversink. 
• If the GM added them as a possible Allegiance, consider taking 1 or 2 ranks of Ally: Chuggut. It’s handy to be able to summon your people as a gratuitous show of strength. If not, you can represent this with one or more ranks of Ally: Monstrosities.

Sample Hero – Chuggut

Gr’roaq (or “Groak” in Coinish), exiled chuggut swamp warlock

Lonely, curious, fanatical, superstitious, toadlike, kind 

Drives (what is best in life?): The failure of a foe; the preservation of a friend; appeasement of the Slithering God

Defenses – Health: Health Threshold 3, Armor 1 (eel-hide), Health 8 

Defenses – Morale: Morale Threshold 4, Grit 1 (fanaticism), Morale 10 

Offense – Sorcery: Sorcery 8 vs Health: Damage Modifier +1 (Insects, Swamp) 

Offense – Sway: Sway 5: Damage Modifier +1 (certainty) 

Investigative abilities: Servility 1, Trustworthy 1; Ancestry (Chuggut) 1, Corruption 2, Forgotten Lore 1, Leechcraft 1, Prophecy 1, Spirit Sight 1, Wilderness Mastery 1

Allegiances: Ally: Monstrosities 1, Ally: Thieves’ Guilds 1; Enemy: Outlanders 1

General abilities: Athletics 5, Bind Wounds 5, Preparedness 3, Sorcery 8 (Blast), Stealth 4, Sway 5 

Gear: Hand-stitched eel-hide armor (Armor 1), a small sack of delicious insects, sharpened stone sacrificial knife dedicated to the Slithering God, thank you note from grateful smugglers, scars from the Ceremony of Exile, an inexhaustible curiosity about humans, nostalgic memories of home. 

Sample Adversary – Chuggut

Chuggut Spy

Subtle, observant, treasonous

Defense — Health: Health Threshold 4 or 5 (shield), Health 8

Defense — Morale: Morale Threshold 4, Morale 15

Offense — Warfare: +1; Damage Modifier +1 (spear) or +0 (sticky tongue)

Offense — Sway: +1; Damage Modifier +1

Abilities: Malus 12

Special Abilities: Disguise (cost varies – 1 or 3), Persuasive (cost 3)

Misc: Alertness Modifier +1, Stealth Modifier +2

Refresh Tokens: 3

Description: Chuggut spies are infiltrators within Eversink trying to keep a low profile while they study the city’s defenses. Hideously human-looking chuggut are typically selected for this important and dangerous role. Getting caught likely means execution or imprisonment.

Sample Allegiances

Establishing chuggut as a unique faction implies that the swamp folk have gained political power within Eversink. This might be due to a powerful new leader, because they are substantially more powerful than previously assumed, because they are affecting trade in and around Eversink, or because the chuggut have integrated themselves within Eversink’s city limits.

Having the chuggut as Allies means that they trust or respect you, that you have helped them in the past, or that you have family ties with them. Use your relationship to learn about the secrets of the swamp, to learn about human smuggling near Eversink, or to take advantage of swamp magic. 

Having chuggut as Enemies means that entering their territory in the swamp is akin to declaring war against them. They’ll go out of their way to thwart you, inconvenience you, or humble you. They’d rather humiliate a foe and let them live than execute one – but honestly, they’re not that picky.

Kevin Kulp (@kevinkulp) and Emily Dresner (@multiplexer) are the co-authors of Swords of the Serpentine, out now in hardback and PDF. Kevin previously helped create TimeWatch and Owl Hoot Trail for Pelgrane Press. When he’s not writing games he’s either smoking BBQ, watching dubious shark movies, or helping 24-hour companies with shiftwork, sleep, and alertness.