Krampus

Krampus
(Creature)
Unique NE Large Humanoid Level 21 Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Source: Bestiary 3 (Second Edition), pg(s). 154 Type Monstrous humanoid CR 21 Environment Any Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Source: Bestiary 6, pg(s). 178

Krampus is a cruel harbinger of punishment that haunts cold lands during their winter celebrations.

Appearance

Krampus is a dark brown goat-resembling humanoid with a pointed nose, swept-back horns, hoofed feet, and a long, greasy tongue that sometimes licks spittle from his fur. He wields a set of iron chains and always carries a blood-stained wicker basket over a shoulder. Krampus is a little more than 14 feet tall and weighs nearly 1,000 pounds.

Ecology

Krampus needs to eat, drink, and sleep but does not age. If he is killed, another Krampus forms elsewhere after a year, keeps the old Krampus' memories, and likely holds a grudge against his previous incarnation's killer. No one has yet attempted to find a way to kill him permanently, if such a thing is even possible.

Krampus particularly delights in putting his victims into his basket and transforming them into petulant children before killing them.

Habitat

Krampus is said to live in the deep crevasses of ice somewhere within the Winterwall Glacier in the far north of Avistan.

History

The people living in northern Irrisen, where Krampus terrorises, believe that he has always existed and tell many stories of his origin. The most popular of them tells of several mountain towns, whose residents began to doubt the druids who protected them after a series of harsh winters. Under the light of a blue moon, the druids took drastic action and opened a portal to the First World to bring forth the most powerful essence they could, a figure to lead people in winter celebrations. However, the druids failed to realise that the villagers' resentment and doubt had corrupted the portal. For a time, Krampus served his intended purpose, before turning into a monster that only sought to punish those who had behaved selfishly, and he sees everyone as selfish.

The druids, seeing their error, tracked down Krampus and bound him with cold iron chains when he was sleeping, hoping to force him to return to the First World. However, cold iron is powerless against non-fey creatures like Krampus; when he awoke, he claimed the chains as his own and tracked down the druids. Since then, Krampus has had no desire other than to punish the wicked and selfish.