H.P. Lovecraft’s
RICHARD UPTON PICKMAN (King of the Ghouls)
9th level fighter with special magical ability

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral
HIT POINTS: 77
ARMOR CLASS: -3
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3/2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 (+4
or +1)
HIT BONUS: +4 or + 1
MOVE: 6”
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
STRENGTH: 14
INTELLIGENCE: 18 (00%)
WISDOM: 11
DEXTERITY: 17
CONSTITUTION: 15
CHARISMA: 15 (to humans, 19 to ghouls)

Richard Upton Pickman was a Boston painter who disappeared in
1927. His family was of old Salem stock, and one ancestor was hung as
a witch in 1692. Pickman was a noted genius who specialized in painting
the morbid and bizarre. His most famous painting was “Ghoul
Feeding.” Its disgusting realism was the main reason that the Boston Art
Club and all respectable galleries shunned Pickman and his paintings,
Richard Upton Pickman’s paintings were realistic for a good reason—
they were copied from photographs.

When Pickman grew weary of this world, he disappeared through
one of the many tunnels the ghouls had dug under New England.
Journeying deeper and deeper into the black, dank burrow, Pickman
eventually crossed through the Gate of Deeper Slumber, into the Realm
of Dream. He joined the ghouls in their lairs, slowly devolving into a
ghoul himself, though he retains more human features and mannerisms
than is normal among ghouls.

Perhaps the remnants of his humanity impressed the ghouls, or
maybe it was his talent for leadership or his artistic genius. For whatever
reason, Richard Upton Pickman first became a noted ghoulish advisor,
when was chosen as king by one large band of ghouls. He is always
accompanied by a bodyguard of 8 ghouls and 4 ghasts. He wears +3
plate armor (no shield) and carries a +1 sword which is +4versus ghoul
enemies (most living creatures).

Pickman has acted as a civilizing and restraining influence on his
ghoul band, hence the change from evil to neutral in alignment While
somewhat temperamental, particularly when he regresses into his more
ghoulish personality, Pickman is still impressed by Victorian and Edwardian
manners. He may befriend a player character who acts like a
“gentleman.” Richard Upton Pickman will not take it kindly if members
of his bodyguard are turned away. An evil Cleric can only befriend the
ghouls if his charisma (toward ghouls) is greater than Pickman’s.
Before his devolution grew too extreme, Richard Upton Pickman
painted seven magical paintings which he carries with him in a backpack.
Each painting is one foot square and has a save versus fire of 10.
Player characters who gaze upon a painting are liable to suffer the
magical effect of that painting. Only ghouls from Pickman’s band are
immune, having admired the paintings countless times. Pickman may
display one painting per round, even if he is under attack. He may use a
painting as a shield, flashing it in the eyes of an attacker while slashing
with his own sword.

Richard Upton Pickman’s paintings are:
1. “The Lesson” (“A circle of nameless dog-like things in a churchyard
teach a small child how to feed like themselves.“) Unless a save
versus spells is made, the player character is changed into a ghoul.
2. “Ghoul Feeding” (description self-evident from title). Treat as a
Fear spell.
3. “Subway Accident” (“A flock of vile ghouls and witches clamber
up from some unknown catacomb”). Treat as a Confusion spell.
4. “Welcome to Innsmouth” (A smiling, ichthyic humanoid holds
out a tentacle, as if to shake hands.) A devolution spell. If save versus
polymorph is not made, roll % to determine degree of devolution. For a
normal human, an approximate devolution scale would be 01-25 =
half-(sea) orc, 26-50 = lizard man, 51-75 = troglodyte, 76-90 =
sahuagin, 91-00 = lacedon (sea-ghoul). Modify at DM’s discretion for
character race. The DM may wish to give the character a second save
(versus spells at -4 on die roll) to determine whether or not the
character’s personality is intact (i.e. whether or not he remains a player
character). The character may be restored to normal by a Remove
Curse spell cast by at least a 10th-level Cleric or an 11th-level Magic-
User.
5. “The Silver Key” (a massive silver key engraved with cryptical
arabesques).- Treat as a Maze spell with the victim cast into an astral
realm. Roll for possible encounters (20 on 1d20) each round spent on
the astral plane using the Astral Encounter Table (pg. 181, Dungeon
Masters Guide)
6. “The Colour out of Space” (a stone well covered with graying
iridescent fungus). Unless a save versus spells is made, the character will
become covered with the fungus in the picture. Death will occur in 10
rounds unless a Cure Disease spell is cast upon the victim by at least a
10th-level Cleric.
 

by Lawrence Schick & Tom Moldvay
 
 
Giants in the Earth - - - Dragon 36