The Christmas Cat (Jólakötturinn)

[Anders]

This is a gigantic monster from Icelandic folklore. It appears during the month before Christmas and eats (or tries to eat) anyone who has not received any new clothes in that period. Even if it is killed, it always returns in time for the next post-Christmas season. It's not entirely clear what it does in the meantime, but since it's a cat it's probably sleeping.

ST 25 DX 13 IQ 4 HT 11

Basic Lift 62.5 kg HP 25 FP 9 Will 10 Per 12

Weight 500 kg SM 2

Basic Speed: 6.25
Basic Move: 12
Land Move: 12 (14 sprint)
Climb Move: 2

Attacks
Attack Damage Reach
Bite 2d+3 cut 1
Claw 2d+3 cut 1

DR:
1 Tough Skin

Advantages: Acute Hearing 2; Catfall; Clinging (Requires claw-holds); Combat Reflexes; Detect (Clothes); Discriminatory Smell; Flexibility; Night Vision 6; Parabolic Hearing 2; Perfect Balance; Perk (fur); Sharp Claws; Sharp Teeth; Temperature Tolerance 2 (cold); Terrain Adaptation (snow, uneven); Ultrahearing; Vibration Sense (air; based on hearing); Unaging; Unkillable 3

Disadvantages: Callous; Careful; Quirk (eats only people who didn't receive new clothes that year); Laziness; Intolerance; Nosy; Quadruped; Restricted Diet (carnivore); sleepy (11/12 of the time); Uncongenial; Wild Animal

Features: Born Biter 2; Tail; Purr

Skills: Brawling - 15; Climbing - 17; Intimidation - 11; Jumping - 13; Stealth - 15; Survival - 12; Wrestling - 15

The write-up is more inspired by Icelandic folklore than aiming at a clear representation of it.

Merry Christmas, and I hope you all received new clothes this year...

[Icelander]

How does he know whether the clothes you are wearing are new?

I think he needs a supernatural Detect trait or at the very least advanced Connoisseur (Sartorial) skill. And I can't imagine that red-green colourblindness is anything but an infernal nuisance when he has to instantly determine the age of any clothing he encounters, as the vividness of colours is an important clue that clothing is new and red and green are traditionally festive Christmas colours.

[adm]

Perhaps a scent based roll, instead of visual cues?

[Anders]

Incorporated Icelander's suggestions.

[Icelander]

Here's a news article from Christmas Day this year speculating that the loss of a digital camera by young parents may be attributed to the Christmas Cat, as they had focused on clothing their fresh offspring in new clothes and neglected updating their own.

[Buzzardo]

I received a gift card for L. L. Bean. Will it give me a pass until the package arrives? ;)

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Buzzardo

I received a gift card for L. L. Bean. Will it give me a pass until the package arrives? ;)

Of course not.

It's a demon. It doesn't interprent rules in your favour, it looks for loopsholes to justify eating you.

Welcome to Icelandic Christmas, by the way. We also have the Yule Lads. Thirteen small-time criminals and ne'er-do-wells dispatched by their child-eating mother to bring holiday cheer to deserving children and bring her any less exemplary specimens for the pot.

When my three-year-old-niece was informed that three Yule Lads were espied heading for the Christmas Party at her grandparents were she had her festive lunch, she immediately threw her tablet under a table to hide it. Her reasoning was that a group of 13 small-time criminals probably couldn't resist a free tablet lying around, no matter what they ostensibly came for.

Solid logic, kiddo. How are you going to trust people who live with an acknowledged cannibal proudly raising them as their mother, keep a carnivorous child-eater as a pet and make their living mostly by thievery and rape?

[todd7416]

I like the Björk song of the same name.

[SteampengMK-1]

This should've been the thing that the line editor given for the first day of GURPSmas