The redcap, after some difficulty, has been recently identified as the apparent standard expression of the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV) in Ogres, a European metavariant of Ork (homo sapiens robustus). While they retain the Ogre skeletal stucture, which is almost as tall as an Ork's and slightly stockier, the viral infection makes them much leaner, resulting in a wiry, gangly appearance.
The redcap averages 1.8 meters in height and weighs approximately 85 kilograms. The skin is a more pallid, greyish tone of the original ethic stock's coloration. The teeth are not obviously changed, but develop signifigantly sharper points, allowing them to tear flesh much more easily; even the molars develop sharp serrations for chewing grisle. Their enhanced strength also makes their jaws strong enough to bite through bone with ease. Their posture is usually hunched, or rather slightly crouched, with their arms hanging downward; while not actually longer, this position makes the arms appear so. The nails become thick and hard, and are typically cracked on the ends or deliberately sharpened, making them effective claw-like weapons. The eyes lose all pigmentation, making the irises a bright red as with albinos; they appear larger due to the skin around the eyes being stretched away, and the eyelids being reshaped to expose more of the eyeball when opened.
Most distinctive, however, is the mane of vivid red hair which grow on the head. This mane shows some variation between individuals, but is always curly. It can vary from bright scarlet to a dark wine color, and can be loosely wavy or tightly curled. The looser curls can resemble a rippled lion's mane, while the tighter curls look more like a red skullcap. The mane never grows very long, and even if shaved, grows back very rapidly. The overall visage is one of a wild-eyed beast, ready to leap into action at any moment. From a distance, the mane can be easily mistaken for a cloth or knit cap.
Innate. Most observed redcaps seem to be mundane aside from the powers bestowed by the virus, but individual mages and shamans have been identified. Shamanic redcaps typically follow a particularly violent, savage, or cruel totem, such as Shark, or another predatory totem with the violent aspects exaggerated in the shaman. The virus does not seem to cause or select for magical ability in the case of redcaps, much like with goblins.
Redcaps are strictly carnivorous creatures. They prefer fresh or still-living meat; they will typically cripple or immobilize their prey, and devour the nonessential body parts (like arms and legs) first. The prey will usually die of blood loss or shock before the redcap gets to any vital organs. They prefer sentient beings over wild prey, but will usually take what they can get.
They are nocturnal creatures, due partly to hypersensitive eyes and an aversion to sunlight, but are not harmed by it. They tend to live in rural or undeveloped areas, making use of caves and abandoned buildings as shelters. Some have also been known to dig burrows around their shelters. Some have been found in urban settings, living in abandoned tunnels and sewers.
Redcaps are usually solitary, but a few groups of no more than half a dozen have been observed. They have some territorial behaviors, but are quite informal about it. Groups have an extremely harsh system of dominance, with the strongest, cruelest, or most cunning leading the pack. Dominance can be asserted over other redcaps by direct combat, subtle backstabbing or assassination.
Redcaps are very clearly sentient, and can show incredible levels of cunning and imaginative cruelty. They seem to retain the memories, skills, and personalities they had before their infection, but unlike vampires, no redcaps have been observed attempting to retain their former morality. It is unknown whether the virus prevents this, or if the redcap social structure weeds out such "weak" individuals. Sometimes redcaps will torture a victim for an extended period for pure pleasure; some magician redcaps will even use Health spells to prolong their victims' suffering. Since they gain their true sustenance from their victims' Essence rather than their flesh, they may sometimes leave much of the body intact, sometimes "sculpted", arranged, and displayed in a grotesquely artistic manner. On some occasions, simply the sight of a redcap's victim, especially a loved one, had left the person horribly traumatized and emotionally scarred for life.
The clothing worn by redcaps varies greatly. Some individuals or packs are known to wear only a loincloth or even nothing, while others may wear the same kinds of clothes they wore before their infection, or may adopt a new style. Some will wear complete self-made leather garments, and many packs have a distinctive "style" to their dress. Typically, they either steal the clothes from their victims, or make leather from their skins.
The redcap of Scottish myth was a type of malicious faerie that would lurk in abandoned towers, and devour people who wandered too close. They were named for their practice of dyeing their wool caps in the blood of their victims. they were also said to wear boots of iron to flaunt the fact that, unlike most faeries, they were unharmed by it. Modern redcaps are sometimes known to engage in the practice of dyeing their caps, although not all bother.
A surprising quirk of the redcap vampiric expression is that the regenerative powers bestowed by the virus actual heal the damage to the forebrain common in almost all Orks and Ork metavariants, restoring the small amount of higher brain functions that had been lost. This extra capacity appears to serve primarily as an enhancement to the Ogres' natural cunning and practical intellect.
The debate continues over the relationship between Orks and Ogres as compared to wendigoes and redcaps. Some parabiologists find it curious that the two very similar metaspecies produce such different vampiric expressions. Others note the similarities between them. Both are extremely cunning, and engage in sadistic and cannibalistic practices. Both also cause an increase in hair growth; the naturally hairy Orks grow thick white fur upon becoming wendigoes, and the almost entirely bald Ogres grow a head of hair upon becoming redcaps.
Also, redcaps seem to have a knack for corrupting others into their practices. While they usually don't bother with non-Ogres, it is suspected that the majority of new redcaps are first seduced into the lifestyle while still Ogres, and then infected when the pack alpha is satisfied with them. A disturbing trend has recently developed of small groups of Ogres deciding that redcaps are the superior species, and aspiring to become them. Fortunately, this is a very small fraction of an uncommon metavariant.
Some wonder if redcaps are capable of assuming a normal metahuman identity, like vampires are, and thus conceal themselves in plain sight. It would require some effort, such as dyeing or shaving the mane, and perhaps sunglasses to conceal the wide, staring eyes, and walking with a normal posture rather that their natural crouch would be difficult. However, while it seems unlikely from what is known that they would be interested in trying, no one is willing to say that is would be impossible.
HMHVV is a rare infection, and Ogres are also uncommon. As a result, redcaps are probably the rarest of all vampiric expressions; as near as can be told, most other metavariants, when infected, become the standard version of vampire for their general metaspecies. Redcaps are only known to exist in Western Europe, particularly the British Isles, but some suspect they may spread to the rest of the world any time, or perhaps already have and are simply well concealed.
Legislation is currently pending in Great Britain to put a bounty on redcaps; the debate is still raging about the ethics of it, but redcaps are seen in about the same light as wendigoes. Due to their rarity, no other countries have yet made any legal issue over them.
Essence Drain, Enhanced Senses (Low-light vision, enhanced vision and smell), Enhanced Physical Attributes, Immunity (Age, Disease, Poisons) Regeneration, Infection.
Essence Loss, Allergy (Sunlight, Mild).
>>>>>[What's this drek about "damage to the forebrain" on Orks? I
thought all that talk about Orks and Trolls being stupider was just Humanis
propaganda.]<<<<<
- Corbie (18:23:57/9-12-58)
>>>>>[You're faith in my species' intellect is gratifying [display_grin], but Paterson has the medical facts straight. The areas of the frontal lobe dealing with many pure logic functions and abstract reasoning gradually develop small lesions over the Ork or Troll's lifetime. Also, a Troll's larger body requires more brain to control it, and the brainpan isn't much larger than a human's. So some of the mass that would be part of the frontal lobes instead joins ranks with the lower brain functions. However, while abstract reasoning is slightly diminished, real-world stuff can be dealt with by an Ork or Troll as easily as by a human in most cases. We score lower on IQ tests, but the School of Reality grades us as high as the rest.
What Paterson's talking about is, their virally-bestowed regeneration doesn't just
heal their bodies; it heals their own racial brain damage as well. But the weird part
is that, for the most part, this restored capacity isn't used for as much abstract
reasoning as you'd expect, but instead enhances the real-world reasoning I
mentioned earlier. This makes them no more intellectually inclined than normal Orks
or Ogres, but instead makes them more naturally cunning on than most other
metahumans.]<<<<<
- Hunter (23:43:12/9-12-58)
>>>>>[I have a hard time believing this drek. "Displayed in a grotesquely
artistic manner"? Yeah, right. These things sound about as sophisticated as a deequa
or a goblin, and I'll lay odds the same methods that work on them work against redcaps:
heavy weaponry.]<<<<<
- Calvin (16:08:46/9-13-58)
>>>>>[Sounds like you haven't dealt with alot of Awakened beasties. If anything, Ol' Paterson has more of a knack for understatement than exaggeration. In my career, I've generally tried to interpret his descriptions in whatever way would mean the most trouble for me. This pessimism has served to keep me alive for some time.
Think of it this way, kid: The behavior of the wendigo is fairly well documented,
and we know those things are just deliberately fraggin' evil. And they get creative.
Those things have been able to turn a total goody two shoes into an insane cannibal
slave. Now think of the redcap as an offshoot of the wendigo. And instead of
corruption of the innocent, it goes in for cruelty towards its victims.]<<<<<
- Corbie (19:33:32/9-13-58)
>>>>>[I still don't buy it.]<<<<<
- Calvin (02:40:19/9-14-58)
>>>>>[Buy it, kid. I've seen these things, and I've seen their handiwork. I'm warning all readers now, DO NOT READ THIS unless you're sure you can handle some pretty sick drek.
On a run in Scotland, before people knew what these buggers were, me and my team had to hide out in some farm country. Fritz, our Ork sammy, and Diedre, an adept, volunteered to check out an apparently abandoned farmhouse we spotted around sunset. Me and Virgil, the mage, stayed in the truck and waited.
After too long a wait, Virgil went astral to check on them. He woke up a minute later, ranting about some dual critters that almost killed him. We tore through the pasture, and got to the house in time to see Diedre, beat to hell and bleeding badly, hobbling towards us as fast as she could. She looked like she was holding her stomach, but when she got closer, we saw she was holding the stump of her arm, severed at the elbow. Now Diedre wasn't just an adept, but a pretty high Initiate; anything that could do that to her had to be nasty. She told us Fritz was done for, and the best we could do was to get out.
Just as I'm ready to throw the truck into reverse and floor it, this thing that looked like a starving Ork in gang colors with red hair, red eyes, and teeth like a shark leaps outta nowhere onto the hood. The thing starts trying to beat the windshield in, using the bone of Diedre's severed arm! It was using the sharp point where it was broken to punch through. That windshield was armored, and I could see the end of the bone get smashed flatter with each blow, but the damn monster broke through. Not a big hole, but big enough for it to reach its fingers through and rip is wider. And wide enough for me to shoot through. I planted a clip of AP exlosive rounds into it, about the same time Virgil smacked it with a homebrew combat spell he calls "Power Word: Smite". We knocked it off the hood, but it landed on its feet and we watched the wounds patch in moments. We got outta there as fast as we could, which was barely fast enough.
The next morning, the media was hollerin' about a mass murder of a local farm family. They'd been dead for days, but our firefight alerted the neighbors, who called the cops. They lost alot of men that night, but the redcaps scattered when they brought in the RPGs and combat mages. They didn't die, just didn't feel like fighting that kind of artillery. We wanted to know what happened to Fritz, but the cops weren't talking about the case, so I cracked into their system. I found one of their virtual crime scenes, made from the holopics they took inside the house. Biggest mistake of my life; I should've just let the mystery lie. The family, with a mom, dad, and two daughters, teenage and preteen, were arranged in the dining room. The scene looked like a Rockwell painting on bad acid. And there was Fritz, on the table, layed out and carved like a turkey. The parents were eaten from the waist down, so their torsos could be propped up up the chairs, holding pieces of their leg bones like a knife and fork. But as for the daughters, they took the legs from mid-thigh down, and left the rest intact so they could... entertain themselves.
For those who wanna know, Diedre only recently gotten back into the biz. She got herself a cloned arm replacement, but that one monster had sucked so much of her life force out when it bit off her arm, hardly any of her powers worked anymore. But she didn't want to give up and go cyber; instead she joined a Druidic circle a cousin of hers works with, and spent the next couple of years meditating, training, and re-Initiating herself. That only took her back up to about her starting level. I've worked with her since then, but however much fun she may seem to be having, you can see the pain in her eyes. She told me once she couldn't sleep for the longest time, since every time she closed her eyes she saw that family, the pack working on Fritz with the kitchen knives, and the one redcap chewing on her severed arm like it was a leg of lamb. She still does, actually; she's just learned to live with it.
If you're still not convinced, kiddo, go to the Scotland Yard
criminal database. They got a file on redcap attacks. Just look for the entry on
the MacLeod murders. They got the same VR crime scene I saw. Since they don't hold
anything on current cases there, it's pretty low security; you should get in with no
trouble.]<<<<<
- Chip Monk (20:54:35/9-14-58)
>>>>>[Madre de Dios... Makes me damn glad I'm from the UCAS and not
Scotland.]<<<<<
- Hunter (03:41:49/9-15-58)
>>>>>[I think you scared the kid off Shadowland, Chip. Yo, Cal,
where are ya?]<<<<<
- Corbie (11:12:18/9-20-58)
>>>>>[I just found these messages posted in a general discussion area.
I thought those in the Paterson's board might find these interesting.]<<<<<
- Captain Chaos (01:28:54/9-24-58)
>>>>>[Anyone out there know what's up with Calvin? He hasn't posted in over
a week, or replied to my email. I usually can't get the guy to shut up.]<<<<<
- Miyu (13:44:51/9-21-58)
>>>>>[I just saw Calvin this afternoon. About a week ago he went on
some personal run that he won't talk about, except that he downloaded some data
and viewed it, and punched right out. His deck is set up so that, if it's shut off
unexpectedly, it'll autoload what was being worked on, in this case, the data that
scared him. He couldn't deal with that, so he pulled out the storage chip and smashed
it. He's trying to scrounge up the cash for a new one.]<<<<<
- Boris Badinov (09:24:17/9-23-58)
>>>>>[What the hell did he d/l? Any ideas?]<<<<<
- Miyu (15:32:10/9-23-58)
>>>>>[Nope. And honestly, I don't want to know.]<<<<<
- Boris Badinov (23:43:11/9-23-58)
| B | Q | S | C | I | W | E | R | Attacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3+E | 5+E | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2D6 | 4+(E/2)* | Humanoid or (Str)M |
Powers: Essence Drain, Enhanced Senses (Low-light vision, enhanced vision and smell), Enhanced Physical Attributes, Immunity (Age, Disease, Poisons) Regeneration, Infection.
Weaknesses: Essence Loss, Allergy (Sunlight, Mild).