Other Magic Races
Other intelligent races mentioned, but not described in sufficient detail to allow a full racial template, include Dwarves Hags, Ogres, Wood Nymphs and Vampires.
Dwarves: Professor Lockhart uses Dwarves as mock-cherubic singing messengers on Valentines Day. Use the appropriate template from GURPS Fantasy Folk, but in the world of Harry Potter, Dwarves might not all have the stereotypical long hair and beard, and they might not be quite as tall as the standard Fantasy Dwarf. The dwarf described in the Book 2 seemed have the disadvantages of Bad Temper, Odious Personal Habit (Rude and Violent), and Vow (Complete the job at all costs). Whether all Dwarves share these disadvantages is debatable, given that the circumstances in which they are described.
Hags: Hags are presumably extremely ugly (since they must cover their faces to mingle with wizarding society) and have the Odious Racial Habit (Eats other sentients, especially Children). Presumably they have the Sharp Teeth advantage and Magery as well.
Ogres: This race is never described, but they can, apparently, mingle with wizarding society. Use the appropriate template from GURPS Fantasy Folk.
Vampires: This race is never described; they presumably use the vampire template from either GURPS Magic or GURPS Undead.
Wood Nymphs: This race is never described either, they presumably use the appropriate racial templates from either GURPS Spirits or GURPS Greece.
Other Races: Trolls, gnomes and fairies are not fully sentient and can’t interact usefully with the intelligent races.
All of these creatures are described under Magical Beasts. Given the highly magical nature of the wizarding world, the GM is justified in adding any fantastic race from GURPS Fantasy Folk or other supplement.
Magic Beasts
Nearly two-dozen beasts are mentioned in the novels, and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” lists over 70 more. Given that some creatures mentioned in the books are not mentioned in “Fantastic Beasts,” and that new magic beasts are constantly being discovered, the GM should feel free to add any beast from Fantasy Bestiary or similar supplement as he sees fit. GURPS statistics for known magic beasts are given below. General descriptions of magic beasts that appear in “Fantastic Beasts” are not given here. Buy the book instead - it’s cheap and the money goes to charity.
Wizards classify any creature as a “beast” if it is incapable of understanding and following wizarding laws, regardless of its intelligence. In GURPS terms, this means any creature with the Bestial disadvantage.
The Ministry of Magic rates beasts on a scale of one to five X’s, with one “X” meaning that the beast is “boring”
and “XXXXX” meaning that the beast is extremely dangerous, cannot be domesticated and should be avoided at all costs. The MoM also regulates trade in certain beasts, as well as the trade in the eggs of dangerous creatures and the body parts of rare or endangered creatures. Dangerous creatures or their eggs (generally, anything with a rating of XXXX or greater) are generally classed as “Class A Non-Tradable Goods,” meaning that their possession, sale or importation is banned by the MoM and there are severe penalties for violating the law. Body parts from rare or threatened animals, or dangerous materials are considered “Class B Tradable Goods,” meaning that their possession, sale or importation is strictly regulated by the MoM. There are penalties for smuggling Class B goods, but it is possible to get them for legitimate purposes if one can tolerate the MoM bureaucracy.
The MoM has also imposed bans on the breeding of dangerous creatures. A ban on Dragon Breeding was passed by the Warlocks Convention of 1709 and a law against breeding new magical hybrid creatures was passed in 1965.
Acromantula
ST: 12-40 Move/Dodge: 4-12/7 Size: 3-7 hexes
DX: 12-15 PD/DR: 2/4 Weight: 50-700 lbs.
IQ: 7-9 Damage: 1d-2 to 1d* thr/cut Origin: F (Harry Potter)
HT: 14/6-35 Reach: C, 1 Habitat: F, J
Fright Check: 0
*add 1d damage from Type A venom.
The Acromantula is a fast-breeding, intelligent, communal species of nocturnal giant spider native to Indonesia. The largest specimens can reach 7 hexes in width and 700 lbs. in weight, although younger individuals are much smaller.
While they have near-human intelligence, they do not use tools and their social organization seems to be instinctive, so they have the Bestial disadvantage. Acromantulas are mostly driven by hunger, while they might respect and trust a few rare humans; they generally consider humans to be just another meal. Acromantulas have been classified as dangerous beasts by the MoM.
Acromantulas spin dome-shaped webs, mostly for shelter from the elements rather than to capture prey. When hunting, the leap on their prey, grappling it with their two prehensile front legs before delivering their venomous bite. If the wish to capture a victim, they grapple but do not bite.
Because they prefer dark forest or jungle environments, Acromantulas are nocturnal and dislike intense light.
Acromantulas exposed to sudden, bright light must roll vs. IQ or be Mentally Stunned. Those that are stunned must also make a Fright Check.
Ashwinder: This is a magical snake produced by magical fire. Treat it as a normal snake (use the statistics for the rattlesnake on p. B143, but without the venom), but its eggs are red hot and can set fire to flammable materials they touch. Its eggs can be frozen using any spell that produces extreme cold or ice, preventing them from doing damage.
Frozen ashwinder eggs are used in love potions or, if eaten whole, can cure certain diseases.
Augury: This is a skinny greenish-black bird that inhabits the British Isles. Its mournful cry was taken as a death portent; any superstitious, magically-aware person hearing the noise must make a Fright check. In reality, it just cries when it is going to rain. An augury can accurately predict rain (or other wet weather) up to 12 hours in advance. Use the statistics for the Falcon on p. B142.
Banshee: Banshees are described as skeletal female figures with a green-tinged face and waist length black hair.
Their scream is unearthly has presumably has frightening, stunning or even killing effects. Use the statistics found in GURPS Horror, 2nd edition, p. 41.
Basilisk, Harry Potter
ST: 15-75 Move/Dodge: 6/6 Size: 17 hexes
DX: 15 PD/DR: 2/3 Weight: 5,000 lbs.
IQ: 10 Damage: 1d cut* Origin: ML
HT: 15/30 Reach: C Habitat: Any
Fright Check: -2
*Basilisks also have Venom Type A that does 1d points of damage per minute.
The basilisk is a powerful magic creature produced by Dark Magic. It resembles a huge bright green snake with large glowing yellow eyes. Males have a bright red crest. The largest specimens are up to 50’ long and can live for up to 900 years. Basilisks are extremely powerful, deadly beasts; not only do they have vicious fangs that inject a lethal poison, their gaze is also deadly.
When anyone within 20 yards of a basilisk looks at it, they must roll vs. HT-6 to avoid immediate death. Creatures that are farther away might also have to roll if they catch the basilisk’s gaze, but they need only roll vs. HT to avoid dying. Creatures who see the basilisk’s gaze indirectly (e.g., reflected in a mirror or in a pool of water, through a camera lens or through a semi-opaque object) are not killed, but are instead permanently paralyzed, as if someone cast the Flesh to Stone spell on them. Normal magic or counterspells will not cure this paralysis, only the Mandrake Restorative Draught (see Potions) will do.
Characters can try to avoid the basilisk’s gaze by closing their eyes. If there is any doubt as to whether a character closes his eyes in time, roll a contest of DX between the basilisk and the character. Ties go to the defender.
Characters who try to fight or flee from a basilisk while blind move at half speed and are at -10 to hit with melee weapons.
The basilisk’s gaze can be defeated if both of its eyes are blinded. Its eyes can be targeted at -3 to -1 depending on the size of the beast, but the attacker must somehow avoid the monster’s gaze. Characters who meet the gaze of a one-eyed basilisk must roll vs. HT-2 or HT+4 to avoid its effects.
Basilisks are extremely dangerous, even to their creators. All Animal Handling (Magic) skill rolls are at -4 to deal with a basilisk. Parseltongues (mages who can speak with serpents) have an easier time of it; they roll vs. their normal skill and get a +2 bonus because they can communicate with the serpent directly.
Bat, Blood-Sucking Vampire: Use the statistics for either the bat Swarm or Horde from p. BE8 or p. BE42.
Billywig: This magical insect is native to Australia. Its sting causes levitation, as if the victim had cast that spell on himself. However, the subject must roll vs. HT every time he is stung. On a failure by 4 or more, the spell lasts for 1d days! On a critical failure, the spell lasts permanently, until it is canceled by the appropriate potion or
counterspell.
Blast-Ended Skrewts
ST: 5-25 Move/Dodge: 3 or 6*/5 Size: 1-2
DX: 9 PD/DR: 1-3/1-5 Weight: 5-500 lbs.
IQ: 3 Damage: 1d-4 to 1d+2 thr/cut** Origin: F (Harry Potter)
HT: 12/3-20 Reach: C, 1 Habitat: Any
Fright Check: 0
* The second number is the fire-assisted blast.
** Males also have Venom Type A. Females may automatically do 1 point of damage each turn after a successful hit.
These are experimental magical beasts that Hagrid bred at the beginning of Book 4, presumably for use in the Triwizard tournament, but more likely as an illegal experiment. They are a magic fire crab-manticore hybrid.
When they are young they look like deformed, headless, shell-less lobsters, pale and slimy-looking with legs sticking out in odd places and smell like rotten fish. The males have scorpion like stingers, the females have blood-sucking suckers on their bellies. They grow at a fantastic rate, reaching full maturity within a few months. When they are mature, they are 6’ long with thick, grayish, shiny armor and look like a cross between a scorpion and an elongated crab.
Very Young skrewts have ST: 5, HP: 3, PD: 1, DR: 1 and do 1d-4 thrust/cutting damage at C range. HT rolls to resist the venom are at +2.
Immature skrewts have ST: 6-20, HP: 4-12, PD: 2, DR 2-4 and do anywhere from 1d-3 to 1d+1 damage. HT rolls to resist the venom are at +1.
Mature skrewts have ST: 20-25, HP: 13-20, PD: 3, DR: 5 and do 1d+2 damage.
While they are not particularly vicious towards humans, they are cannibalistic and their very nature makes them dangerous, especially as they are mature. Skrewts move by crawling, but when threatened or angered, they can blast themselves several yards forward by shooting fire from their rear ends. This does 1d-4 fire damage to anyone in the rear hex of a young skrewt or 1d-1 fire damage to anyone in the rear hex of a mature skrewt.
A skrewt’s PD and DR is reduced on its belly. If an attacker can target the skrewt’s underbelly, reduce the skrewt’s PD by 1 and halve its DR.
Blood Sucking Bugbear - Insufficient description for a full write-up. It apparently will kill chickens.
Boggart
ST: 5 Move/Dodge: 4/5 Size: 1
DX: 10 PD/DR: 0/0 Weight: 0 lbs.
IQ: 7 Damage: Special Origin: ML (UK)
HT: 10 Reach: 1 Habitat: Any
Fright Check: Special
Boggarts are magic spirits that haunt dark, lonely places, from isolated moors to closets. They are timid beasts, but their method of self-protection make them dangerous because they have the power to instantly sense the thing that the observer is most afraid of. When a boggart encounters something it considers to be a threat, quickly reads the mind nearest to it and takes the form of whatever it will thinks will frighten the viewer the most. It can also project simple mental messages into the viewer’s head and make the viewer recall details of a terrifying scene from his past.
In game terms, this means that the viewer must make a Fright Check based on the scariest, most traumatic experience of his life. For people who have lived relatively sheltered lives, the Boggart plays on their fearful fantasies and social anxieties, forcing them to roll the Fright Check at -2 to -4. For example, a bullied child might see the boggart in the form of his tormentor, giving him -4 to Fright Check rolls.
People who have experienced real trauma and terror have a much harder time dealing with boggarts. They must relive the worst experience of their life - either the most severe Fright Check they ever had to take or the greatest tragedy they have ever experienced. This forces them to roll their Fright Check at -5 to -10. For example, a boy who saw his parents murdered before his eyes would roll his Fright Check at -10.
While the boggart’s power is physically harmless, the fear it engenders can make the viewer harm himself and the shock might even kill him. Presumably, the boggart somehow feeds on fear and/or the victim’s fleeing life energy.
Because it is insubstantial, a boggart cannot be harmed with normal weapons or spells that rely on physical effects.
Instead, the simplest way to deal with a boggart is to resist its fear attack. Since the best antidote to fear is usually laughter, spells that make the boggart look ridiculous give the viewer a +4 bonus to Fright Checks! If there are multiple observers, the presence of so many minds can also confuse the boggart, so penalties to the observer’s Fright Check are reduced by 1 for each additional person within 3 hexes of he boggart.
If the subject makes his Fright Check, the Boggart must roll vs. IQ or be mentally stunned for 1d turns. While stunned, it might change shape randomly or assume an incongruous shape. During this time it is extremely vulnerable to being “disbelieved;” any spell that cancels fear or causes laughter cast on the boggart while it is stunned forces it to roll vs. HT to avoid bursting into a thousand pieces.
Bowtruckle
ST: 1-2 Move/Dodge: 2/8 Size: ¼ hex
DX: 12 PD/DR: 0/0 Weight: 1 lb.
IQ: 6 Damage: 1d-4 thr/crushing Origin: F (Harry Potter)
HT: 12/2 Reach: C Habitat: F
Fright Check: No
This is a shy insectivorous European tree guardian. It looks like a clump of twigs with two brown eyes. When its tree is threatened by a woodcutter or tree surgeon, it will attack, clawing at the target’s eyes with its claws. A magically-unaware person might assume that he just got a stick in his eye from a piece of falling debris.
Bowtruckle-inhabited trees are preferred sources of wood for wands. A successful roll vs. Naturalist (Magic) will allow a wizard to distract a bowtruckle long enough to magically cut a tree branch.
Bundimun
ST: 1-10 Move/Dodge: 2/5 Size: ¼ hex
DX: 10 PD/DR: 0/0 Weight: 1 lb.
IQ: 3 Damage: Special Origin: F (Harry Potter)
HT: 12/5-15 Reach: C Habitat: Houses
Fright Check: No
A bundimun looks like a patch of fungus supported by numerous tiny legs. It creeps into houses and fills them with the stench of decay (as if the Perfume spell had been cast on the area) while eating away at the foundations. Every week a bundimun is allowed to feed undisturbed, it removes points of DR or HP equal to its ST from inanimate objects such as wood or stone. The more it eats, the larger it grows. They have no effect on living creatures.
Bundimuns can be killed by casting spells such as Clean or Sterilize on them. A Clean spell (or something similar) will do 1d damage. A Sterilize spell will do double normal damage.
Chimera: Use the statistics from p. FB18.
Chizpurfles: These magical insect infests magic items and electronic devices, causing them to malfunction. They also infest the fur or feathers of magical creatures. Every week that a Chizpurfle infestation is allowed to go unchecked, reduce the item’s basic HT by 1. When HT is reduced by half, the item loses HP instead. When the item’s HP is reduced to 0, it is ruined.
For every 10 HP of magic items a chizpurfle swarm eats, they gain 1 level of Magic Resistance, to a maximum of 10 levels. Every day that they do not get something magical to eat, however, they lose a level of resistance until they are back at their normal HT.
Chizpurfles can be removed with the Cleaning or Sterilize spell. These spells kill the chizpurfles automatically if they fail a resistance roll vs. HT 9, plus any levels of Magic Resistance.
Clabbert: This is a magic creature native to the Southern U.S. that resembles a cross between a frog and a monkey.
It has a brightly glowing pustule in the middle of its head that gives light equivalent to that produced by the first level of the Light spell which flashes when the Clabbert senses danger. Wizards keep clabberts as pets or guard animals. Use the statistics for the Chimpanzee from p. B141.
Crup: A crup looks like a Jack Russell Terrier, but with a forked tail. It can eat any organic material - from rubber to gnomes. It reacts at +2 to wizards and -4 towards muggles. Use the Dog statistics from p. B142, but with ST and HP at the low end of the scale. They can be domesticated, but wizards need a special license and need to pass a test to show that they can handle a Crup in muggle-inhabited areas.
Dementors
ST: 15 Move/Dodge: 5/6 Size: 1
DX: 11 PD/DR: 1/3 Weight: 0 lbs.
IQ: 8 Damage: Special Origin: F (Harry Potter)
HT: 12/20 Reach: C, 1 Habitat: Any
Fright Check: Special
A Dementor is a spirit that creates and feeds on despair and misery. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, glory in decay and despair and drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them. They love prisons, insane asylums and other places where people are trapped and miserable. Dementors can sense human emotions and are instinctively drawn to any group of people who are experiencing strong feelings.
To people who are not magically-aware, dementors are invisible, though muggles can feel the presence of a dementor in the form of fear, frustration and depression. Mages can see the dementor for what it is - a tall (8-9’) wraith- like creature clad in a dirty black cloak that hides its face and most of its body. The only visible part of the dementor is its hands, which are glistening, grayish, scabbed and slimy-looking. They keep their heads hidden except to feed (see below), but their breath is audible as a fearful deep, rattling.
While dementors are somewhat corporeal, they are mostly intangible spirits. Physical attacks and spells that rely on physical effects will not affect dementors, although they can be defeated in spirit combat. A dementor’s normal attack is a powerful Fright Check. It can either produce a depressing, soul-deadening chill in those who see it, forcing the to make a Fright Check at -4, or it can make the subject vividly recall the most fearful or painful event of their life - either the most severe Fright Check they ever had to take or the greatest tragedy they have ever
experienced. This forces them to roll their Fright Check at -5 to -10. For example, a man imprisoned for a crime of passion he immediately regretted might have to make a Fright Check at -10. If the victim fails his Fright Check, he might acquire quirks and disadvantages associated with anger, despair, frustration or grief. Disadvantages such as Chronic Depression, Bad Temper, Cowardice or Guilt Complex are all appropriate disadvantages.
experienced. This forces them to roll their Fright Check at -5 to -10. For example, a man imprisoned for a crime of passion he immediately regretted might have to make a Fright Check at -10. If the victim fails his Fright Check, he might acquire quirks and disadvantages associated with anger, despair, frustration or grief. Disadvantages such as Chronic Depression, Bad Temper, Cowardice or Guilt Complex are all appropriate disadvantages.