03 Of 05 - Modern Compendium: Deity Family, Part 3 - Jaki Jersey Devil

03 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Deity Family, Part 3 - Jaki Jersey Devil

One of the few demons from the official Demonic Compendium to make its way into this project, the Jersey Devil is a shoe-in for the Modern Compendium. Modern America has thoroughly embraced this demon, to the point where there is actually a hockey team called the Jersey Devils. It is deeply ingrained in popular culture, sitting amongst such figures as Bigfoot and Nessie in the collective consciousness.

The myths around the Jersey Devil have a few significant permutations, but the basic story goes like this; In the mid-18th century, the Leeds family lived in the back woods of New Jersey. Mother Leeds gave birth to twelve healthy children, but by the 13th child, she was fed up. As the 13th was born, she shouted, “This one shall belong to the Devil!” The child transformed into a hideous monster, killed Mother Leeds and the midwife, and flew up the chimney and out into the night.

Some variations of the story cast Mother Leeds as a witch who slept with the Devil, while others tell stories of clergymen who exorcised the Jersey Devil, sealing it for hundreds of years. My favorite versions of this story are the ones that include random famous people from history, like the version of the Bell Witch myth that have her tormenting Andrew Jackson. The Jersey Devil is said to have shocked the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, amongst others, which is just awesome.

These days, the Jersey Devil has been largely recast as a Cryptid, a real, but undiscovered, animal, rather than the spawn of Satan. Which is just another example of people using pseudoscience to fill the mythological gaps left in modern life by scientific advancement. It may seem silly for modern man to believe in a horse-headed, bat-winged demon living in the pine barrens of the East Coast, but an undiscovered six-limbed animal with no precedent in the fossil record? No problem.

At any rate, the Jersey Devil has always occupied a rather moderate place in the Demonic Compendium, and he returns to pretty much the same place here. He fits perfectly in the Jaki family, which in the Modern Compendium represents man-eating monsters who are tied to a specific place.

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our extensive and expanding Data File, right over (here)!

05 of 05 - Modern Compendium; Kishin Family, Part 3 - Kishin Holger Danske

A symbol of national pride and resilience, Holger Danske, also called Ogier the Dane, is about as pure a Kishin as you can find for the people of Denmark. He first entered the mythological lexicon of northern Europe in the 11th century, in the epic poem The Song of Roland. Holger appears as one of Charlemagne’s knights, leading a column of men against the enemy. Though he rarely stood out from other characters in the poems and stories he appeared in, Holger Danske quickly became a fan favorite of the Dutch people, leading him to appear in numerous stories up until the present day.

The most significant of these, at least for our purposes, is an opera called Holger Danske. The opera tells the story of yet another quarrel between Titania and Oberon, one so bad that Titania will only return if Oberon can find a human who exhibits all the qualities of loyalty and faithfulness that she says he lacks. Oberon happens upon Holger, who is on his way to the middle east to serve a penance for killing one of Charlemagne’s sons, and the two begin to work together. Anyway, long story short, Holger tricks a Sultan and defies burning at the stake to win the hand of his daughter in marriage.

Holger Danske was actually a fairly unpopular opera for its time, but the thematic elements of its music, which rejected German influence in Dutch culture, found a chord with the public during the Nazi occupation in 1941. Holger Danske became something of a rallying cry for the Dutch Resistance, to the point where one of the larger Resistance groups – about 350 veteran soldiers – actually called themselves the Holger Danske. 

Anyway, Holger hangs around the middle of the Kishin family, but he’s really an exemplar of the group. He’s tough, offensive, and packs a very useful Physical resistance despite his low level. Definitely a solid choice for an early-mid game tank. ^^b

For more information on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our Data File, right over (here).

OUR ARRIVAL HAS BEEN ORDAINED

OURS IS THE FIRST SIGN, THE HERALD AND THE BLASPHEMY

THOSE WHO SEEK OUR COMING SHALL SEE US IN EVERY LORD

THEY SHALL SAY, “THIS MAN IS AN OUTSIDER, THIS WOMAN IS THE HARLOT”

THEY SHALL SEEK OUR SACRED NUMBER, AND TWIST TRUTH TO FIND IT WHERE IT IS NOT

YET OUR POWER EXISTS IN ALL PLACES WHERE MEN SEPARATE INTO “WE” AND “THEY”

WE ARE THE CONFLICT, AND THE PREDJUDICE, AND THE FEAR OF THE OTHER

YET ALL SHALL BEND TO THE WILL OF THE BEAST

EVEN YOU, HUMAN

01 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Kishin Family, Part 3 - Drake Nucker

The Nucker is a myth on the verge of extinction. See, a long time ago, people thought every stream and lake had its own attendant serpent, and the early Anglo-Saxon people called these critters Nicor. They were said to hide at the bottom of pools of water, guarding fabulous treasure. The beast evolved over time to become a general water serpent, known in modern times as the Nucker.

These days, the Nucker is actually kind of obscure. This actually struck me as kind of weird at first; after all, it seems like every pond and lake in modern times has become home to weird cryptid snake critters, or at least sightings of them. But it occurs to me that most serpents that have surfaced in the last hundred years or so have been named beasts, with a strong connection to the area around them. They serve as a strong identifier of local culture, which isn’t something a more general jack-of-all-trades serpent can do. After all, what kind of sign would a sideshow make for a Nucker? “Come see OUR Nucker, it’s cooler than the Nucker they’ve got over in the next town!”?

Incidentally, a little further back in etymological history the word “nicor” was the Anglo-Saxon word for both “water spirit” and, for some reason, “hippopotamus.”

The Nucker is one of the lowest-leveled demons in the Modern Compendium, and one of the first demons you’re likely to ever encounter. It’s a bulky demon for its level, and actually offers some nice recovery magic for the early game, making it a decent critter to chat up for low level players. It’s also one of the few demons with an evolution, which we’ll be covering later.

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our Data File, right over (here).

05 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Kishin Family, Part 4 - Night Owlman

First off, a bit of a confession; when I scheduled Owlman for this ALL AMERICAN FIREWORK DEMONFEST, I, uh, thought Owlman had been reported in the United States. I figured hey, we already did Thunderbird, we need an avian to stand in for the Bald Eagle, let’s do Owlman. Imagine my shock when I went back to my research and realized he’s an English critter. Whoops. ^^;

Oh well. Press ahead anyway! Owlman is a Cryptid first sighted in Cornwall, specifically in the village of Mawnan. The first reports painted a picture of a winged man with huge glowing eyes and clawed feet, hovering above the church steeple. Since then, there have been multiple sightings of the beast, all following along similar lines.

Many different solutions to the mystery of the Owlman have been suggested. Some say that the village church lies on a major leyline, and that the Owlman may be an embodiment of the spirit of the land, wreaking vengeance on humankind. Others point out that there are in fact colonies of Eagle Owls nearby, which have a wingspan of something like six feet and whose eyes are enormous and reflect light quite well in the dark. Or, given that the first person to seriously write about the Owlman was a well-known hoaxer named Tony Shiels, it’s entirely possible that the whole thing is just a joke that got out of hand.

At any rate, many people have compared the Owlman to North America’s Mothman, a fact which has always confused me. The Mothman is widely regarded as a sort of latter-day Banshee, bringing warning of disaster along with its menacing fly-bys, but the Owlman has never been seen to do anything but chase folks around and screech a fair bit.

Because of the general shakiness of its base of belief, and because it’s not generally considered actually dangerous or powerful at all, the Owlman sits very low in the Night family. Right at the bottom, as a matter of fact.

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our Data File, right over (here).

03 of 05 - Modern Compendium: Kishin Family, Part 3 - UMA Trunko

A Cryptid first sighted off the coast of South Africa in 1924, Trunko is an enduringly popular critter, despite very few modern sightings. Perhaps its that ugly-cute coat of fur or the sheer bizarre appeal of an underwater polar bear/elephant/whale hybrid, but either way, this creature is regularly near the top of the list of famous Cryptids.

First seen being attacked by a pair of Killer Whales who battered the animal for three whole hours, Trunko later washed up on the shores of Margate Beach, where it drew a crowd. Beach-goers measured it at 14 feet long, but for some reason, no one managed to get an actual sample of the beast. Heck, to this day there exists only four actual photos of the corpse. 

Science, as with so many heavily disfigured Globsters that wash up on shores all over the Earth, is decidedly unimpressed with Trunko. The corpse could easily have been a partially decayed and dismembered whale, especially given the way that tough whale protein “shreds” as it decays, resembling white fur.

Trunko is one of the weaker UMAs, thanks largely to the easy explanations for its appearance and the fact that, despite its popularity, it just doesn’t get seen very much. Its also one of the last UMAs I’ll be designing - there’s only one more to go before this enormous family is done! :o

For more info on this and every other demon in the Modern Compendium, have a look at our Data File, right over (here).