Ssu

The Ssú are the Enemies of Man, and they aren’t too keen on many other species either. They live in caves and tunnels near Pechano, and have fought many wars with their kings. They are afraid of the sun and only come out at night, raiding small villages and killing travellers then fleeing before armies can be brought against them. They eat Ssúmani, which is deadly poisonous to man, and wherever they go they spread this poison. They smell like sweet spices, but in fact their very breath is poisonous, and it is perilous to look one in the face lest you be paralysed with fear at their horror.

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What Scholars Know

The Pechani have written many fine treatises on the Ssú and their never ending wars with them, most notably Nganjjá pa Ssú! (Flee Ye Ssú!) by Dráka Gíllpa, but also many others, including tomes of what can be gleaned of their biology and culture.

The Ssú use dim blue lamps to light their way in the dark and they do appear to have far better night vision than humans, but full sunlight does not actually seem to do them any harm or seriously hamper their activities. They use a lot of bronze and have even been seen with iron! The mountains of Pechano are rich in minerals and presumably these deposits extend to the Ssúyal side of the border.

Sex among the Ssú is a mystery. They all appear to be neuters, though it is postulated that there must be breeding females somewhere by analogy with the Hluss.

They do appear to have military ranks and priests; analysis of accoutrements and equipment of fallen Ssú suggests a complex hierarchy of ranks each with different uniforms, and they do have many sorcerers present in their armies. It is suggested that all Ssú may be sorcerers; the incidence of Domination-type spells is very wide indeed, and apparently ordinary Ssú warriors have been known to use it.

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GM information

See T:EPT p183

Ssú do not have any Chlen and use only bronze and brass for their equipment.

The typical Ssú sword is a jagged lump of bronze on a wood and leather handle.

Long Sword - Initiative +4, Acc 0, Dam x4 + 1, Min Str 5, Dex 4; Heft, Poor Defence -1, -1 to Attack Weapon, Cautious Attack, Deceptive and Opportunistic Fight Manoeuvres

Large Shield – made of a light woody material, either oblong and used like a pavis in conjunction with a crossbow or a triple circle with horns. Either way the material is not as tough as wood (Fragile 1) but lighter (Dex 3 Str 3 to use)

Armour is a combination of partial Medium and Light; leather limb protection, a bronze helm and a leather brigandine cum breastplate riveted with bronze plates and studs. (%roll 01-50 hit medium armour, 51-80 hit light armour, 81-00 hit no armour.)

The Ssú hypnotism ability does not interact with metal and can be used by any Ssú, but Ssú magicians have the same feedback problems as any other magus, and thus wear only a few boiled leather plates and carry wooden clubs studded with stone as weapons. The Pechani can recognise them easily and target them with as much missile fire and battlefield magic as they can muster.

15% of a Ssú party will be ‘sergeant’ magicians, equipped with crossbows, clubs and shields, while 4% will be ‘lieutenants’ and 1% ‘captains’

Ssú Magician Sergeant

Str 6 Dex 5 Int 6 Psy 4 Will 7 Cha 0

CV 6, Initiative 12, Health 65 Shock 13 MR 5 Pedhetl 6 Power 35

Attributes: Ugly 2, High Pedhetl 2, Psychic Magic (3), Strange Behaviour 2, Multiple Limbs 3, Good Eyesight (+4 for vision), Limited Eyesight (only see better at night), Reduced Dex (Middle limbs -2 Dex)

Skills: Psychic Magic 1, Observation 1, Teamwork 2, Wilderness Survival 1, Club 1, Xbow 1, Command 2

Spells:

Hypnosis (Level 3, Improved, Debilitating) – Pow 6

Enhanced version of the native Ssú ability - + 2 to will power check to cast it, -2 to Str roll to avoid exhaustion, but still needs -4 initiative to concentrate.

Ascertainment (Level 2, Inc Area of Effect 5, Communicate, Involving) Pow 8

Telepathy to all Ssú in 55m – involves mental maps and images and commands; usually used to summon help and alert nearby units

Comprehension (Level 2, Involving, Spoken, Written, Non-Ssú) Pow 4

Terrorisation (Level 3, Loud, Involving) Pow 2

Basic version, but usually used by a group of magi in coordination.

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Ssú Magician Lieutenant

Str 5 Dex 6 Int 6 Psy 4 Will 7 Cha 0

CV 6, Initiative 12, Health 65 Shock 13 MR 5 Pedhetl 7 Power 40

Attributes: Ugly 2, High Pedhetl 3, Psychic Magic (3), Ritual magic (3), Strange Behaviour 2, Multiple Limbs 3, Good Eyesight (+4 for vision), Limited Eyesight (only see better at night), Reduced Dex (Middle limbs -2 Dex)

Skills: Psychic Magic 2, Observation 1, Teamwork 2, Wilderness Survival 1, Club 1, Xbow 1, Command 2, Planning 1

Spells:

Hypnosis (Level 3, Improved 2, Debilitating) – Pow 8

Enhanced version of the native Ssú ability - + 4 to will power check to cast it, -4 to Str roll to avoid exhaustion, but still needs -4 initiative to concentrate.

Ascertainment (Level 2, Inc Area of Effect 5, Communicate, Involving) Pow 8

Telepathy to all Ssú in 55m – involves mental maps and images and commands; usually used to summon help and alert nearby units.

Ascertainment (Level 2, Inc Area of Effect 5, Communicate, Involving, Telepathy)

Telepathy used to maintain contact and coordination with large units of Ssú on night patrol.

Comprehension (Level 2, Involving, Spoken, Written, Non-Ssú) Pow 4

Terrorisation (Level 3, Loud, Inc Area) Pow 8

Elicitation (Level 2, Loud, See Magical Aura, See Prowess, Detect, Perceive Workings)

Used to spot enemy magi for targeting.

Excellence (Level 3, Loud, Involving, Inc Range, Inc Area, Inc Duration, Inc Effect, Reverse Effect) Pow 6

+2 to combat skills to allies near user, can be used to slow enemy with -2 combat.

Ice-Rime Level 6, Range 15m Area 5m radius Pow 12

A weaker version of the Hru’u spell Congelation. The spell does 2d10 damage to all within the area of effect, and causes -1 to hit. Can cause frostbite.

Inc range +15m, max 3 levels

Inc Effect +1d10 damage, max 2 levels.

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The sheer numbers of Ssú magi make a huge difference to enemy morale, especially when a coordinated terrorisation is used – not that most opponents need encouragement to run away. ‘Captain’ type Ssú will command expeditions to the underworld – these are very dangerous with all the above magic, plus a few ritual spells, including Web of Kriyag, Blessing of the Planes, Disenchantment, and Darkness but their favourite spell is a version of Vapour of Death that creates a nauseating gas that blinds as well as kills.

Ssú have very fragile morale; while all their officers live they will fight fiercely and well, each individual fighting until they have taken 3xSV damage before retiring. Once their officers start dying off their performance plummets. When assessing morale count each ordinary Ssu as 1, each warrior as 1.5, each sergeant as 5, lieutenants as 25 and captains as 150. If a unit loses 20% of this strength, each individual will fight only until they have taken 2xSV, if it loses 40% each will fight until 1xSV and if it loses 60% all Ssú will flee. Taking out relatively few leaders will make the Ssú crumble, as each individual has a far more limited ability to think for itself, and none of the concepts such as individual excellence, honour and heroism that hold regiments of human soldiers together in adverse conditions.

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Secrets of the Ssú

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

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The Grey Ssú have a good knowledge of the ancient tubeways and have taken over one of the major marshalling yards (see Flamesong), and have deciphered and use a number of gold destination discs. They have not found a reliable route between the realms of the Grey Ssú and the Black Ssú, but the two subspecies have met accidentally and there are a few Black Ssú ambassadors in Ssúyal.

The Grey Ssú have also recovered one of the ancient tunnelling devices used to create the network. This is a cylindrical device 5m wide fitted with five Eyes of Advancing Through Portals and a subsidiary power storage device. It has been used to make a system of tunnels under Ssúyal connecting the cities and settlements, and is being used to extend the reach of the Ssú into Chaigari, Pechano and Kilalammu. The Ssú have not managed to reactivate the devices computer, nor do they have any of the subsidiary devices that line the tunnels and install power lines, air pumps and other devices. They have nearly lost the thing several times by tunnelling into unsuitable rock formations and having the tunnel collapse, but are learning. The major disadvantage of the tunneler is that it needs frequent recharging from the power plant in the engineering depot it was recovered from, a process that involves hauling the thing miles, as the self-propulsion system does not work. The Ssú have detached many Eyes of Advancing Through Portals from even more defunct models of the same machine, and have ‘tunnel magicians’ slowly creating a network of smaller tunnels by hand.

The lowlands of Ssúyal are a rich agricultural area and are covered in fields and gardens of Ssúmani. There are no roads and no visible settlements, only the occasional black stone tetrahedron with a gateway to the labyrinths below.

There are a number of copper and tin mines, and even silver and iron mines in the area. These can be recognised by the large number of chimneys from smelters projecting out of the ground near the pyramidal gateways.

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Deep Secrets of the Ssú

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

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The Ssú eat human flesh, not just for nutrition, but also as a ritual of detestation for this hated species. This is however not wise – human flesh is somewhat toxic to the Ssú metabolism and actually reduces their fertility, not that they realise this.

Deep beneath the Ssú cities lie farms where humans are kept and bred for meat. This has been going on for millennia and the domesticated human now differs markedly from the norm. They are about a 1.2m tall, universally pallid and rather flabby and tend to an ape-like four footed gait. They are not at all bright and have a very low Will, making them very easy for the Ssú to control through hypnosis. These humans are somewhat resistant to Ssúmani toxin and eat a small amount of such fodder, but subsist mainly on deep underground fungi. The Ssú are always keen to capture more breeding stock and take human food stores to feed these unfortunates, who are eaten by the upper caste members of Ssú society.

No humans are aware of this practice; the odd rumour emerges, but there are so many strange things lurking in Tekumel’s underworld a tale about cave dwelling white midgets is nothing spectacular.

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