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Also Known As: Corocotta, Crocuta, Kynolykos, Leucrocotta, Yena
Description: The crocotta has the body of an extremely large dog, sometimes as large as a mule. Its head resembles that of a hyena and it has cloven hooves, a horse-like mane, and a tail that resembles that of a lion. Its fur ranges in color from orangish-yellow to brownish-black and can include spots or stripes resembling a hyena or tiger.
BMA Classification: The Bureau of Monster Affairs classifies the crocotta as a monster.
Powers: The crocotta has the ability to mimic human speech and uses this power to lure its victims to it, usually by pretending to be someone in trouble. The creature often uses a voice that the victim recognizes and sometimes calls the victim by name or includes other personal information in it’s cry for help.
Vulnerabilities: The crocotta has no unusual vulnerabilities or powers. Although resilient to damage, it can be overcome by conventional weapons.
Biology and Habitat: Crocotta can survive in any type of climate or terrain as long as there is plenty of food available, but are most often found in areas where herd animals like sheep, cattle, or deer are plentiful. They often make their lairs in caves or abandoned buildings. Because they are so rarely encountered in modern-day America, M-Force has not been able to determine very much specific information about the creature’s life-cycle and habits.
Crocotta appear to have animal-level intelligence, and their mimicry seem to be similar to that of a parrot. However, their ability to mimic voices known to the victim and in some cases use the victim’s name or other personal information leads researchers to believe that the creatures have some rudimentary form of telepathic ability.
While crocotta will and do eat humans, they seem equally satisfied with other forms of meat and do not go to unusual lengths to find human prey.
Sightings: Crocotta are mentioned in the works of Strabo, Pliny, and other ancient scholars, where they are typically reported as originating in Ethiopia. The creature also appears in a number of medieval bestiaries. Most crocotta sightings in the U.S. have been in western states, especially Texas and Oklahoma.
Additional Information: None
Body: 15
Brain: 5
Nerve: 12
Job: Predator (13)
Gimmick: Mimicry (13); Danger Sense (13)–The crocotta’s limited telepathic ability allows it to sense whether a potential victim is dangerous (which in the case of humans usually means “armed”) by making a successful Gimmick roll. If the potential victim is actively hunting the crocotta, the creature gets +3 to the roll. Crocotta will not attempt to lure in or attack victims who are determined to be dangerous (though they will defend themselves if attacked).
Weakness: None
Skills: None
Armor Rating: 2
Damage Bonus: +2 (bite)
HP: 20
Yum Yums: 0
Additional game information: Dogs are terrified by crocotta. If a dog encounters the creature, it must make a resisted Nerve roll against the crocotta. If the crocotta wins, the dog is paralyzed with fear and cannot defend itself, fun away or bark (including growls, yelps, and other vocalizations) for a number of rounds equal to the difference in the rolls.
