Legends and folklore live all over the world. Some of the truly interesting tales are the local legends. While cryptids of all kinds like bigfoot and the chupacabra are said to be found in varying regions, sometimes a cryptid might be lurking in your own back yard. This week we take a look at the goatman of the lick, a creature inspired by a monster that is close to home for a fellow Know Direction colleague.

Covered in thick fur, this creature resembles a man with a goat’s head. The creature weilds a bloody axe and sports a wicked grimace across its human-like face.

Goatman of the Lick         CR 6
XP 2,400
NE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Peception +14
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +2 shield)
hp 66 (8d10+30)
Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +7
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee goatman’s axe +13 (1d8+11/x3), gore +7 (2d4+2) or
slam +12 (1d6+4), gore +12 (2d4+4)
Special Attacks bleating lure, enchanting gaze
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Atk +8; CMB +12; CMD 25
Feats Alertness, Improved Initiative, Stealthy, Step Up
Skills Climb +12, Escape Artist +5, Perception +14, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +16, Survival +12
Languages Common (cannot speak)
ECOLOGY
Environment Any forest, plain, or swamp
Organization solitary
Treasure NPC Gear (goatman’s axe)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bleating Lure (Ex): A goatman’s bleat sound eerily familiar, captivating those who hear it. At any point that a goatman’s targets are unaware of it (for example, if the goatman is hiding or concealed in darkness), the goatman can call out to the targets, who must be in line of sight and within 60 feet. When the goatman calls out, the targets must make a DC 15 Will save or fall under the effects of a suggestion to approach the sound of the goatman’s bleats. This effect functions identically to a mass suggestion spell with a caster level equal to the goatman’s Hit Dice. A creature that saves cannot be affected again by the same goatman’s lure for 24 hours. This is a sonic mind-affecting charm effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Enchanting Gaze (Su):  As a free action once per day, a goatman can activate its enchanting gaze for a full round. All living creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Fortitude save or become paralyzed, only able to stare at the goatman for 1d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

The various streams and brooks of the world are homes to terrible creatures known as goatmen. These savage beasts resemble a mix of human and goat and are only found near these small waterways, colloquially known as licks. Local legends offer differing origins for the goatmen. Some say that they are monstrous hybrids born of encounters with satyrs or schir demons, abandoned by their human parents. Others believe them to be cursed druids forced to guard the simplest of brooks due to some affront to nature. A rare few even believe them to be normal humans with a heart for murder, twisted by their terrible actions. Regardless, the goatmen are a not uncommon threat to frontier villages. Their cursed bleats draw people to the licks where they are cut down by the goatmen’s vile axe. There are rare reports of goatmen calling people into open fields where the goatmen startle large bison or cattle. The entranced person can only watch the goatman’s wicked glee as it waits for the stampeding animal to trample the poor victim.

Goatman’s Axe
Aura moderate necromancy; CL 8th
Slot none; Price 11,310 gp; Weight 6 lbs.
This +1 human bane battleaxe is constantly coated in thick blood. When wielded by a goatman of the lick, it gains a +2 shield bonus and applies twice its Strength modifier to damage with the axe. A character attempting to raise a creature slain by a goatman’s axe via raise dead or similar effects must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the attempt is unsuccessful and the effect is wasted.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, death knell; Price 5,655 GP

In Your Game

Secret of the Lick
Locals always go missing at the lick just a few miles away. When the PCs investigate the latest disappearance, they learn that the goatman isn’t the worst threat to the area. It is merely a servant for something far more sinister, something that needs the goatman’s aid to feed.

The Axeman
A quiet country village is disturbed by a sudden string of murders. Locals claim the goatman is responsible, but the PCs investigation determines that a local managed to acquire a goatman’s axe. It’s up to the PCs to put an end to the murderer and return the axe before the goatman claims the whole village.

The Captive Goat
The swamp has grown more restless since the capture of the goatman. Terrible beast stalk the marsh, threatening the nearby locals. The PCs must sneak into the traveling circus which holds the goatman captive. Without their help, the swamp’s guardian may not return in time to keep the beasts in check.

Monstrous Origins

The goatman of the lick is directly inspired by the Pope Lick Monster. This urban legend hails from the Louisville, Kentucky area, a location that I’m sure is very familiar to our own Perram. Like any local legend, it’s really hard to say where the legend really began. The story goes that a goat man of varying urban legend appropriate origin, lives beneath a tall train trestle bridge. The creature is claimed to be able to hypnotize its victims, standing them in the path of oncoming trains where the victims regains their senses all to late. The Pope Lick trestle bridge is a real place anyone can visit, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Many people have lost their lives trying to brave the bridge or search for the monster. I did my best to recreate the feel of the legend by granting it a compulsion ability stolen from the leucrotta and the paralyzing gaze. Some variants of the tale even say the monster has an axe, which allowed me to make the neat little magical axe presented here.

That’s it for this week! Please let me know if you have a local legend or cryptid that you would like to see brought to life here. I always like learning about local folklore! If you end up adding the goatman into your game or you have any request for a future Monstrous Physique, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com.