Bashmu
Base Cost: ranges from 40 (normal) to 60 (colossal)
| Strength 7x |
Agility 4x |
Intellect 2x |
Willpower 2x |
| Hand Size: Edge: |
2 (10) 0 |
Origin:
Bashmu are not the creation of natural evolutionary processes, their ancestor being a divine chimera Tiamat fabricated on a whim. With Teshub recreating bashmu after slaying the original, these legendary beasts can be found in almost any arid climate.
Powers:
Battle Tail (s): while on the ground, bashmu may use their serpentine bodies as can any snake: for locomotion. However, while held aloft with their arms or their wings, bashmu may inflict their Strength +2 in bashing damage with their lower body in melee combat (2 points).
Body Armor (s): thanks to their scaly bodies, bashmu possess a modicum of protection from injury, having this power at intensity 1. This isn't much, at least where standard bashmu are concerned, but the larger they get, the more these scales render assaults impotent (1 point).
Emotion Control (w): perhaps their most dangerous weapon, bashmu have the intensity 8 ability to overwhelm everyone within near missile distance of their person with soul-chilling fear. This power is both strongly limited (fear only) and strongly enhanced (wide broadcast) (8 points).
Fangs (s): notoriously venomous, the deadly bite of the bashmu is legendary. They can use their fangs to inflict their Strength +2 in slashing damage, which helps them to either shred their meals or trap them while swallowing them whole. And that's before the poison (4 points).
Growth (a): while a young adult starts out approximately human sized, bashmu inevitably swell as they grow older. Starting at Shift 0, this power can increase from that level all the way to intensity 20, depending on how ancient a given bashmu is (from 0 to 20 points).
Poison (s): at their leisure, bashmu may inject a deadly poison into their foes upon biting them, adding intenstiy 10, 2x SD Metabolic damage to the harm inflicted. This power is both strongly limited (injected poison) and weakly enhanced (doubled Metabolic slider) (9 points).
At the same time, the chaotic power of Tiamat flows through her monsters. Their very blood is poisonous, which inflicts intensity 8 SD Deionic damage on contact. This divine trait is both weakly limited (contact poison) and extremely enhanced (Deionic damage) (11 points).
Wings (a): magically delicious creatures that should not exist whatsoever, bashmu possess powerfully large, feathery wings. These magnificent appendages allow them to fly unaided with intensity 2 ability, moving at up to sixty miles per hour through the air (4 points).
Hindrances / Augmentations:
(none)
Equipment:
Generally none. However, bashmu are capable of manipulating tools with their hands as can any human, and are distressingly clever. Sure, they probably couldn't operate a can opener, but should a given bashmu have success with a given item, they may retain it for later use.
Skills:
(none)
Contacts:
(none)
Calling:
Animal Nature: despite possessing divine abilities originally instilled within their forebear by Tiamat herself, bashmu are merely animals. Lacking self-awareness, they simply act on whatever ostensibly natural impulses drive such unnatural creatures, however sadistic they may seem.
Characteristics:
Relentless hunters possessed of an insatiable hunger, bashmu stalk anything within their territory that moves. They are not evil, lacking self-awareness as a general rule, but sure enjoy toying with their meals. And whenever possible, bashmu consume those meals whole.
Appearance:
Bashmu are large horned serpents, about eighteen feet long. Of course, most serpents lack fully functional humanoid arms, not to mention large, feathery wings. Bashmu typically assume a pose with the front third of their body raised upright, allowing them to bring all limbs to bear.
Ecological Niche:
The artificial creation of Tiamat, bashmu belong to no rational evolutionary process. Nonetheless, bashmu are a powerful and invasive magical species, spreading far and wide from their initial home on the Serpent's Mouth to all manner of arid climates across reality.
Labbu
Labbu was the original bashmu, created by Tiamat herself! Though humbled by Marduk during Tiamat's war against the Anunnaki, Labbu survived the conflict relatively unscathed. As created by Tiamat, Labbu was the largest possible bashmu, possessing intensity 20 growth.
Upon deciding to destroy humanity a second time, Enlil enlisted Labbu as his weapon of choice. Somehow engorging Labbu to intensity 30 size, Enlil then set the six mile long flying serpent upon the fertile crescent, at least until it was slain by Enlil's own son and brother, Teshub.
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