THE HELLCOW 

by Keith Baker

Encounter Level: 2 
Setting: A country road 
Summary: After a strange encounter with an old man and a cow, the party has to deal with a troublesome spirit that possesses animals. 

Krogar charged over the crest of the hill, his axe gleaming in the sunlight. But instead of the foe he expected to find, he saw an old man leaning against a complacent cow. As he drew to a halt, the elderly farmer feebly struck the cow with a walking stick „ creating the thwack of wood-on-flesh that had drawn Krogar's attention to begin with. Turning, the old man saw the warrior descending the hill; instead of surprise or fear, he showed only impatience. "Hurry up now!" he cried in a cracked, reedy voice. "Help me slay the beast before it kills us all!" The cow continued to chew its cud. 

Random En-cow-ter 
This encounter is best suited to rural environments, but it can occur on any road. It is intended to spice up an otherwise dull trip between two locations. For full effect, the party should have some sort of animal companions „ horses, trained animals, or other non-magical beasts traveling with them. 

The set-up for "The Hellcow" is simple. The adventurers are traveling along a quiet road. All of nature seems at rest. But then danger rears its ugly head! 

Have each character make a Listen roll against a DC of 12; anyone that makes it will hear sounds of a struggle just ahead, over a slight hill. 

Specifically, they hear the sounds of a club striking flesh and the grunts of a man in pain. If they wait, these sounds will continue „ sporadic thwacks accompanied by pained moans and grunts. 

If the characters charge over the hill expecting a battle, they find something else entirely. An old man in his early sixties stands in the middle of the road. His skin is wrinkled and tanned from exposure to the sun, and he is wearing the mud-stained clothes of a simple farmer. In one shaking hand he holds a gnarled walking stick, which he is waving in the air; he is supporting himself with his other arm, which rests on the back of a rather pathetic-looking brown cow. Given a moment, he will smack the cow with his cane, crying out with the effort, thus revealing the source of the sounds of 'struggle'. For her part, the cow doesn't seem to mind; it's hard to say if she is even aware of the farmer's feeble efforts. 

If the adventurers approach the unlikely pair, the farmer turns towards them. He reacts with great impatience, as if the characters were late for an appointment. His voice is thin and cracked, and as he yells, alert players will note that most of his teeth are missing. "Hurry up now!" he cries out. "Help me slay the beast before it's too late!" If the adventurers ask questions, or hesitate to help the old man, he reacts with a rising level of hysteria. "There's no time! We've got to kill it now, before it can harm anyone else! Can't you see? Just look at it! LOOK AT IT!" He continues in this vein for a time, deflecting any questions with crazed ranting. Meanwhile, the cow chews her cud and swats at flies with her tail. 

Eventually, one of three things will occur: _ If the adventurers continue to try to talk to the old man, or begin to leave, he flies into a rage: "You're working with the beast, aren't you!?! Well, you won't get past me! No, I'll put a stop to the evil right now!" He charges at one of the characters with his stick and promptly dies of a heart attack. Any attempt to raise or resurrect the farmer fails; his soul is weary and has no desire to return to the world. _ If anyone attempts to use magic to restrain or calm the man, he likewise collapses and dies „ the only thing keeping him going was pure adrenaline and hysteria. _ If someone decides to humor the old man and kill the cow, she doesn't put up much of a fight. After the battle is finished, the farmer claps his hands with glee, shouts "It's over! At last it's over!" and dies of a heart attack. 

The Hellcow 

CR1; SZ L (animal); HD 3d8; hp 15; Init -1; Speed 30 ft.; AC: 10 (-1 Dex, -1 Size, +2 natural); Atk: melee +2 (1d6+3, 2 hooves); Face 5 ft. x 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; AL CN; SQ Supernatural Sustenance, SR 22 (speng); SV Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +10; Str 16, Dex 9, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 17 

All right, thereÍs nothing remotely infernal about this cow. SheÍs an old, rather saggy cow with matted brown fur and a bad case of flies. If she is attacked, she will just sit there and put up with it, looking at her assailant with big innocent brown eyes. Note that the cowÍs alignment and mental statistics are actually those of the speng, and that its host benefits from the following of its special qualities: 

Supernatural Sustenance (Ex): The speng sustains its host with mystical energy. A creature possessed by the speng does not need to eat or sleep, although it may eat or pretend to sleep if the speng chooses to. 

Magic Resistance (Ex): The speng transfers its natural spell resistance to its current host (SR 22). In addition, the speng is completely immune to any sort of enchantment spell. For purposes of holy word or dismissal, the speng is considered to be a 10 HD creature. 

So sooner or later the party will find itself with a dead old man and a cow (which may be dead as well). If anyone searches the corpse, the farmer's only possessions were his clothes, his stick, and three copper pieces sewn into his shirt. If the cow is still alive, she will continue to chew her cud and ignore the characters. And so the encounter is over, right? The party encountered a crazy old man and his cow, the old man died, end of story. Right? 

Wrong. 

As it turns out, the old man wasn't crazy. A mischievous spirit known as the speng has possessed the cow. Shortly before the party encounters the farmer, the speng killed his family and destroyed his farm by kicking over a carelessly untended lantern. This incident unhinged the old man, and when the characters encounter him he is wild and hysterical. His shoulder-length gray hair is tangled and matted, and there are twigs and flecks of saliva in his beard. His eyes are a startling blue brought out by his bloodshot whites. He is dressed in a loose shirt and baggy breeches, which are torn and covered with mud. Needless to say, his statistics are irrelevant, as he will die before he gets a chance to do anything. 

The Speng 

CR 2; SZ „ (outsider); HD „ ; hp „ ; Init +1; Speed „ ; AC „ ; Atk: as for animal host; Face „ ; Reach „ ; SQ SR 22; AL CN; SV Fort „ , Ref „ , Will +10; Str „ , Dex „ , Con „ , Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 17 Skills: Bluff +8, Listen +7, Sense Motive +8, Spot +7 

The speng has no physical characteristics; it is a creature of pure spirit that can only manifest in this world by possessing other creatures. It possesses a handful of useful powers: 

Animal Possession (Ex): The speng can take complete mental control of any animal with an Intelligence of 5 or less. Once it has attached to a host, the speng can only leave if its host dies or if the spirit chooses to returns to its home plane (which it is loath to do, as it can only come to the material plane under special circumstances). If the host dies, the speng can take control of any suitable subject within 1000 feet. The only way to detect the speng when it is possessing a creature is through use of analyze dweomer, legend lore, or through use of other magical effects with a similar level of power. Supernatural Sustenance (Ex): The speng sustains its host with mystical energy. A creature possessed by the speng does not need to eat or sleep, although it may eat or pretend to sleep if it chooses to. 

Magic Resistance (Ex): The speng transfers its natural spell resistance to its current host (SR 22). In addition, the speng is completely immune to any sort of enchantment spell. For purposes of holy word or dismissal, the speng is considered to be a 10 HD creature. 

Telepathy (Su): The speng can detect thoughts at will; it uses this ability to anticipate the plans of the party and to come up with ways to annoy them. 

If the characters leave the cow alone, she will start to follow them around. If they are traveling swiftly, she appears whenever they set up camp: Chakkas is on first watch. He hears the sound of something heavy moving through the bushes. He draws his blade from its scabbard and kicks Raindrop to stir her from her sleep. And then a dark shape bursts into the firelight. It's „ a cow. 

If someone killed the cow at the farmerÍs request „ or kills her later on „ things simply get more complicated. The speng will move into a new host, preferably an animal that has some value to the players. It cannot possess an intelligent or mystical creature like a familiar or a Paladin's warhorse, but any other beast is fair game. 

So? 

So. Either the cow is following the party around, or the speng has taken up residence in another beast. What's the big deal? Well, the speng will try to find ways to cause trouble for the party. It is sly and will try to keep the characters guessing „ did the cow mean to do that, or are they just imagining things? Possible tricks include: 

*	Stepping on a character's toes, giving the victim a Ü2 to all Dexterity skill checks and combat rolls for 1d6 minutes.
*	'Accidentally' kicking supplies into a campfire
*	Sitting on fragile objects
*	Eating inappropriate things
*	Acting spooked when a character is on watch 
*	"That cow sure seems to think there's something over yonder, Burt."
*	Making noise when characters are trying to be stealthy.
*	Chewing or defecating on prized possessions.

Other tricks will depend on the nature of the speng's current host. A formerly trusty hound might lead the party on a wild goose chase, while a carrier pigeon could deliver messages to the wrong people and return with strange responses. Initially it should be possible to dismiss these incidents as accidents „ but sooner or later it should become clear that something just ain't right with that critter. 

Dealing with the Speng 

Eventually the party will determine that the creature „ be it the cow or the speng's next host „ is up to no good. The first beast will go down without a fight, but the spirit will simply move on to a new host; in time, the cycle will start all over again. So what can the characters do? Any one of the following methods might work as a way to stop the predations of the spirit: 

*	The party could sell the beast to an unsuspecting person. Of course, the speng will do its best to make itself unattractive to a would-be buyer „ kicking shins, limping and so on „ and if it is sold, the buyer may later return seeking vengeance. 
*	There may be a way to trap the beast without killing it, and leave it behind. Of course, if there is any reasonable way for the creature to escape, it can always turn up again later; "Is this your cow? I found it chained to that fence, but I got it loose and it led me straight to you! Lucky break, huh?"
*	A clever character might be able to convince the spirit to leave voluntarily „ probably by presenting it with some sort of greater opportunity to cause trouble elsewhere; "Look, cow, if we gave you to the king, think of all the fun you could have." 
*	Dismissal or holy word will force the spirit to leave, but the spell will have to get past the spengÍs spell resistance and it will get a normal saving throw against the effect. 
*	Finally, the speng hates the sound of the violin. If someone is playing the violin, the speng must roll a Will saving throw with a DC of 20 every three rounds; if it fails it must flee to its home plane. How will anyone figure this out? Well, once the party is taking the idea of a possessing spirit seriously, a bard or a loremaster could remember the tale of the speng with a Lore roll against a DC of 25. Alternately, a spellcaster could find out the spiritÍs nature and weakness by using legend lore. And if worst comes to the worst, the party could always be saved by a traveling minstrel 

Rewards 

The reward for getting rid of the speng should be based on the challenge that it presents to the party. Assuming it takes the PCs some time to get rid of the spirit, they should be given the full 600 experience points for the speng’s CR 2 (for 1st- through 4th-level characters). If the characters manage to dispose of it quickly or without much trouble, halve this reward. 	 

En Route
AG3207 • ISBN: 1-58978-004-3 • $20.95
 	
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Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

D20 System Rules & Content Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by Dave Arneson and E. Gary Gygax. 

Open game content from "The Hellcow" Copyright 2001, Trident Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games.