Unseen Beasts (Wermspittle)

Unseen Beasts
(Damned Things)
No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 6+
Attacks: 1
Damage: 2d6 (30% chance of additional 1d6 with Trample)
Save: F6
Morale: 10

Huge, hulking things, Unseen Beasts stomp their ponderous way through the tall grasses of plains, steppes and prairies. They enjoy the smell of freshly trampled wild oats and have a tendency to plod through cultivated lands with total disregard for walls or barriers, usually just knocking over anything that gets in their way.

Unseen Beasts are fairly docile, when not threatened and outside of mating season when the males go berserk and attack anything that moves around them. This is why most people living near the range of these creatures tend to avoid going out alone during the last two weeks of July, when the mating season hits its peak.

Hunters have learned to track the curious spoor of these creatures and the hide is much sought after for creating a thick style of parchment and for use in a variety of ingenious products, not the least being the braided rope said to have the ability to drive off the unwanted attentions of a Horla, at least some of the time.

The meat of Unseen Beasts is edible, if quite gamey. When properly prepared it can fetch a good price, and during the lean times of winter it can be hard to come by as the beasts tend to hunker down and not react to the usual bait.

It is considered to be safer to go into a bear's den than to follow an Unseen Beast into its lair.

Source: Unseen Beasts were inspired by the classic short story The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce. First published in 1893, this story introduced a dangerous wild creature who was invisible to the human eye because of the specific coloration it had. It literally is outside the human range of visual perception. You can download and read the original story via Project Gutenberg.