Redcap

A new, fearsome fey for the AD&D 2nd edition game

Redcap

illustration by Alan Lee

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Temperate / Moorlands and ruins
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary (usually)
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-9)
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil

N° APPEARING: 1
AC: 6 (14)
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 4+4
THAC0 17 (+3)
N° OF ATTACKS: 3 or 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: claw (1d6) / claw (1d6) / bite (1d4+1); thown rock (2d6); or per weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: None
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Climb Walls 70%, Regeneration
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Nightvision 30 m
MAGIC RESISTANCE: None
SIZE: L (2,10 m)
MORALE: Elite (14)
EXPERIENCE: 650

ORIGIN: Scottish folklore

Appearance: Gnarled, hideous old man, with warty grey skin and dark hair, protruding yellowish teeth, sharp claws and bloodshot eyes, always wearing a red cap which gives the creature its the name.

Combat: Redcaps attack opponents directly and without fear, especially when defending their lairs. Redcaps usually employ their claws and bite in a fight, but they will use large weapons such as halberds, falchions, claymores or war clubs if they can get a hold of them. They are also fond of throwing large rocks at their opponents from above. Despite not being too bright, Redcaps can be very sly, and if outnumbered they often try to lure enemies into the deadly booby-traps that permeate its lair (such as falling boulders or hidden pitfalls). If the creature’s cap is soaked in human blood the Redcap will regenerate 2/hp per level; however, if their cap ever runs dry or is lost, they lose this ability and become stricken by weakness (-1 to attack rolls and armor class, movement is reduced to 6). Holy water burns them for 2d4 hit points per vial.

Habitat/Society: Redcaps are solitary creatures and will avoid the company of other creatures, even other Redcaps. In some rare occasions, however, a Redcap will ally itself with an evil mage or an annis hag for a short time if they share similar goals. They prefer to live in abandoned ruins or old castles in moorlands and heathlands, and will murder and eat anyone who trespasses into their lairs.

Ecology: These evil fey live to kill and eat, and are interested in little else. Humans are their favorite food, and children and Halflings are particular delicacies. Blood is also important to Redcaps because of their regenerative abilities (see above); unsurprisingly, a Redcap who is separated from its hat will try to get it back by any means possible. Redcaps’ teeth are an important ingredient of some magical potions; some sages say that people who carry these teeth are afflicted by a curse until they get rid of them. It is not know how Recaps are born, since female Redcaps have never been seen.
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