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Chupacabra

Chupacabra

AX.GHW.13.03.02

Type: Cryptid, Standard

Power Package: Standard (5D)

Veil Risk: High, livestock deaths in patterns attract agricultural media, law enforcement, and amateur investigators quickly

Size: Medium (roughly coyote-sized, bipedal or quadrupedal depending on substrate)
Attributes: Body 2D · Speed 3D · Wit 1D
Talents: Athletics 2D · Notice 1D · Stealth 2D
Health: 32 (20 + 2 + 10)
Defense: 2 (1 + (3+0)÷3)
Saves: Body 3D · Speed 4D · Wit 2D

Attacks

  • Spine Discharge (Primary Action): Speed + Athletics vs Speed Save, 2 damage; target is Slowed (movement halved, -1D to Speed Saves) until end of their next turn. Range: Close.
  • Drain Bite (Primary Action): Body + Athletics vs Defense, 3 damage; the Chupacabra heals 1 health on a successful bite (metabolic feed)
  • Skitter (Free Action): The Chupacabra moves up to Close range without triggering opportunity attacks or reactions

Special Abilities

  • Thermal Sensing: The Chupacabra detects warm-blooded creatures within Near range regardless of light conditions. It cannot be ambushed by characters who are not actively using cold suppression (GM discretion for extreme cold environments).
  • Spine Row: The dorsal spines are a territorial and threat-display mechanism. When the Chupacabra enters combat or is startled, it raises its spines; all characters in Close range make Wit Saves (Threshold 2) or take -1D to their first attack or action against it (instinctive recoil). Subsequent rounds are not affected.
  • Blood-Feed Requirement: The Chupacabra feeds by draining blood rather than consuming flesh. It requires a successful Drain Bite each combat encounter to maintain behavioral stability. A Chupacabra that has not fed successfully becomes increasingly aggressive; after 2 rounds without a Drain Bite, it gains +1D to all Body and Speed rolls from desperation.

Tactics

Chupacabras are ambush predators that prefer livestock and small animals but will attack humans if their normal prey is unavailable or if cornered. They are fast rather than strong, using Spine Discharge to slow targets before closing for Drain Bite. They do not fight extended combats, hit, feed, disengage. In groups, they take turns on the same target to ensure feeding.

Lore & Ecology

The Chupacabra (Puerto Rico, 1990s; spreading through Central and North America since) is a relatively recent documented cryptid, one of the few with a traceable emergence point rather than centuries of recorded folklore. Its actual biological origin is unknown. Some Network researchers believe it is a displaced cryptid from a different region whose normal territory was disrupted; others believe it is a novel species produced by Liminal boundary instability during a specific event in the 1990s. The BUA has a classified file.

Destruction/Banishment

Conventional firearms are effective, Chupacabras are fast but not especially durable. The primary challenge is catching one: Thermal Sensing makes stealth approaches difficult, and Skitter means they can disengage before a fight finishes. High-speed threats (Speed + Precision at Near range) are more effective than trying to corner one.

Scene Materials

Investigation: livestock found drained of blood with small puncture wounds, no flesh consumed, no tracks initially visible (Chupacabras' toe structure leaves unusual marks, Notice + Survival vs Threshold 3 to identify). Evidence management: multiple drained livestock attract attention immediately, clock is ticking on media coverage.