Redcap

AX.GHW.13.05.03

Type: Fae, Standard

Power Package: Standard (6D)

Size: Medium (appears human-sized but stocky)
Attributes: Body 3D · Speed 2D · Wit 1D
Talents: Athletics 2D · Brawl 1D · Intimidate 1D · Stealth 1D
Health: 33 (20 + 3 + 10)
Defense: 2 (1 + (2+0)÷3)
Saves: Body 5D · Speed 3D · Wit 2D

Attacks

Iron-Shod Pike (Primary Action): Body + Athletics vs Defense, 4 damage on hit; counts as iron (not cold iron, see note)
Gore Splash (Reaction, 1×/scene): When Redcap kills a target, all characters in Close range make Wit Saves (Threshold 2) or gain the Shaken condition until they leave the scene

Category Traits

Cold Iron Vulnerability: +2 damage from cold iron; suppressed for 1 round on hit. Note: Redcap's own pike is iron-shod (standard iron), which provides the cold iron bonus against other fae but not against a Redcap itself.
Rowan Aversion: Must spend Primary Action to cross rowan barriers
Blood Soaking: Redcap's cap must be kept wet with blood or it weakens. A Redcap that has not killed within the current scene takes -1D to all rolls.

Special Abilities

Relentless Advance: The Redcap cannot be knocked prone or pushed back by attacks. Knockback and prone conditions simply fail against it.
Terror Presence: Any character who has not previously encountered a Redcap (GM discretion) must succeed on a Wit Save (Threshold 2) at first sight or lose their Free Action on the first round of combat, frozen by the sight of the gore-drenched creature.

Tactics

Redcaps are direct and brutal. They close to melee range as fast as possible, target the most physically formidable opponent first, and do not retreat. They are not intelligent strategists; they are berserkers with supernatural strength. Their primary danger is sheer physical power and the psychological impact of their appearance (blood-soaked cap, iron pike, gleaming eyes in a compact powerful frame). Groups should focus-fire and avoid letting one character be isolated with the Redcap.

Lore & Ecology

Redcaps haunt sites of historical violence, battlefields, execution grounds, massacre sites. They are territorial predators who maintain a physical anchor (often a well, threshold stone, or iron gate at the site) and kill anyone who enters their territory. The blood-soaking requirement is not metaphorical. Redcaps visibly weaken away from killing. This is their primary exploitable vulnerability outside of cold iron.

Destruction/Banishment

Cold iron weapons or a Bible verse spoken directly at the Redcap (any tradition practitioner with Resonance access can use this as an improvised banishment, Wit + Resonance vs Threshold 3). Destroying the Redcap's physical anchor (the site object it is bound to) while the Redcap has not fed (Blood Soaking penalty active) reduces the threshold for banishment to 2. Permanent destruction requires cold iron.

Scene Materials

Investigation: historical research into site violence, territorial boundary markers (inexplicable iron objects, disturbed grave markers), consistent pattern of violent deaths at one location. Combat: confined historic site (ruin, old building, cemetery).