Monster - Aarni

”A spirit or dragon, which is believed to be lying atop buried treasure. Aarni is seen cleaning and polishing his mouldy treasures in forests and on hill-slopes; often he is heard clinking his gold crowns when he is favourable to some melancholic worshipper of money. [Aarni’s] temple was a room in an ash-grove, where trees never sprouted leaves…birds did not sing on the branches; only a few ravens built their nests there. In the grove magpies cackled, wolves howled and owls hooted. Shepherds did not bring their flocks there, for the ground was unwholesome. The air was heavy in the grove’s vicinity. At night strange apparitions were seen there.”

– Christfrid Ganander, Mythologia Fennica (1789 CE)

This comprises my first entry in a series of DCC RPG monsters derived from Finnish folklore: in the Finnish language “aarni” is likely a loan from the Old Norse word ǫrn (Eng. “eagle”) albeit with some confusion as to meaning; likely a griffin or some other nebulous supernatural being is originally intended. But we will not let facts get in the way of fun…

Summa summarum: this immune-to-mundane-attacks entity can be found guarding piles of treasure in e.g. dungeons. Check out the rules below!

Cheers,

MM

DCC monster – Aarni

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