Someday all the various scholars in the wastelands will finally come together and pool their resources in order to determine the ‘unknown’ origins of many of the creatures that inhabit the wastelands.

Until that point in time, many of the various mutants that have appeared will be a mystery. Many will still be classified as ‘aliens’, others as genegineered monsters, and even more as the product of radiation and toxins.

If the various legends and rumors are to be believed, this particular creature is supposed to have its origins in the early 21^st century. Supposedly one night off the Emerald Isles something fell from the heavens and landed in the ocean. A few days later strange occurrences began to take shape in a tiny fishing village on one of the remote islands off Ireland. But once again this is nothing more than legend and myth that was created to explain the origin of this particular creature.

Our co-publishers at Skirmisher Publishing LLC have just released Lives of Kos, the latest sourcebook for the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting. Lives of Kos details 115 swords & sorcery NPCs. Following are two bonus characters, Old Aspasia and Fother the Mucker, that you can incorporate into your games — and which will hopefully want to make you check out the other Lives of Kos!.

Daughter to the river god Achelous and the muse Melpomene, Aspasia is one of a race of immortal sirens who sustain themselves on the flesh of sailors. During the Titanomachia, Aspasia committed a wicked deed that so angered Poseidon that the god of the sea robbed her of her enchanting beauty and beguiling voice. Aged, ugly, and mute, Aspasia’s sisters drove her from the reef that was her home. In time, Aspasia found her way to Kos City and its harbor district.

Now lairing in a hovel made from discarded crab pots and other jetsam beneath the docks, Old Aspasia drowns those sailors too drunk or aged to escape her frail arms, consuming their remains at her leisure. Aspasia makes a point to avoid attacking members of the Guild of Beggars, Guides, Locksmiths, & Exterminators, as this particular group does has the courtesy to disposing of bodies in the harbor and occasionally delivers a fresh, struggling meal weighted down with chains.

Old Aspasia is wise in the ways of the sea and for the price of a young sailor or beauteous maid she will share the Aegean’s secrets, be it the route to a lost island, the location of sunken treasure, or a kraken’s fatal weakness. 

Fother the Mucker

There is an old saying in Kos, “Behind every contented horse you’ll find Fother the Mucker.” A stunted humanoid of unknown origin — Dwarves insist he’s Human, Humans insist he’s a Dwarf – Fother has the unenviable job of clearing away the leavings of horses, oxen, and other beasts of burden that befoul the streets of Kos City with their feculence. Neither city government or Carter’s Guild claims to be Fother’s employer, yet every day the bent, homely man can be found shoveling manure and hauling it away from the city.

Those who can tolerate Fother’s odor still prefer to avoid him, as his luck is so bad most fear it will rub off. When Fother gambles, everyone looses. Where he drinks, the wine sours. When he makes eye contact, something always gets in one’s eye.

Fother is neither Human nor Dwarf. He was born a demigod, the son of a Titan who’s temples are rubble and a woman who’s bones are dust. During the Titanomachia Fother stole one of Poseidon’s own horses, a steed so swift only Hermes could outrun it. The messenger of the Gods pursued, and through trickery captured both rider and horse, returning both to Poseidon. In his wrath, the god of the sea stripped Fother of his divinity, turned his beauty into ugliness, and banished him to what would become Kos City.

Now cursed to sweep up after Poseidon’s favored animals in a city dedicated to Hermes, Fother nurses a festering grudge against both Gods. Fother knows many secrets lost during the Titanomachia — after all, he was there — and would gladly share his knowledge with anyone who could stand his presence for more than a moment and strike out against the priests and temples of his two divine nemeses.

No. Enc: 4d6
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement: 120’ (40’)
AC: 5
HD: 8
Attacks: 1 bite and two claws
Damage: 2d4+3 / 2d6+3 / 2d6+3
Save: L8
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: None

No. Enc: 1 or 3d20
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement: 240’ (80’) or 90’ (30’) (note the second set of stats are for newly hatched)
AC: 6 or 2
HD: 20-30 or 1
Attacks: 10-15 tentacles, or 1 harpoon or bite / 1 harpoon or bite
Damage: 10-15 2d6 or 4d4 plus blood drain or 5d6 / 1d4 plus blood drain or 1d6+1
Save: L20 or 1
Morale: 11 or 5
Hoard Class: None