Wednesday Werk: Sanguinovore

In this week's Wednesday Werk, we'll look at the Sanguinovore.

The Sanguinovore is culled from the ranks of the restless dead, an angry spirit whose life was ended by vampiric attack.  As such, the Sanguinovore is an apex predator that hunts vampires and other undead.

Baron Lee van Hook has compiled a few anecdotes regarding Sanguinovores, as they are a prey species of the Ordrang (see also the Wednesday Werk entry).  The creatures seem to fear and flee from the Ordrang, which treat Sanguinovores as any other source of ectoplasm.  They will attempt to flee, and if that is not possible, they will attempt to destroy the Ordrang at any cost before being devoured.

Sanguinovores typically do not attack living creatures, instead focusing on vampires and other undead.  However, if they are starving, they have been known to kill living creatures to harvest their essence.  However, some corrupted Sanguinovores have been encountered; these creatures will prey upon anything they encounter.  Also, some necromancers have been known to enslave the creatures with magic and force them to attack their enemies.

The following Sanguinovore is a typical, uncorrupted specimen.  In combat, it will focus on vampires first, then undead, and then (maybe) living creatures (again, if corrupted or commanded by a wizard, all bets are off).  The creature will frequently attempt to enter combat under the cover of Invisibility, and will frequently begin by hitting a vampiric opponent with Terror, spending an Action Point, and attacking the same target with Energy Drain.  The creature will then cycle between using Invisibility and attacking, favoring Flame Blast and Furious Disruption.  It will use Energy Drain whenever a target presents itself, and Terror to subdue a particularly dangerous opponent (or to set an opponent up for Energy Drain, if it wishes to attack a particularly dangerous opponent).

Astute observers will no doubt note that Terror lacks the "Fear" keyword.  That's intentional; Sanguinovores' Terror ability cuts through those with Fear resistance.  Some scholars theorize that it acts as a rudimentary form of domination, triggering the mechanical fear response in creatures without actually instilling fear.  Whatever the case, very few creatures can resist it.