Cryptid Bestiary

01 / CRYPTID ENCOUNTER

Resolve a cryptid encounter

Neither player controls a cryptid. Follow these steps in order when one enters the battle; use the behaviour table to determine how it moves and attacks.

1. 01

   Round two: choose the event

   Roll one D20. On 1–10, a cryptid appears; on 11–20, a radiation storm appears instead. Only one event is introduced in a standard battle.

2. 02

   Creature and entry point

   Use the battlefield province to find its three possible cryptids. Roll D6: 1–2 selects the first creature, 3–4 the second, and 5–6 the third. Place it at the scenario’s specified entry point. If none is specified, roll D6: 1–2 centre, 3–4 left edge, 5–6 right edge.

3. 03

   Players roll off

   Both players roll D6. The player with the lower result becomes the target army; reroll any tie. Roll the creature’s behaviour D6. The cryptid moves and attacks as directed before the first player activation.

4. 04

   While unengaged

   At the start of each later round while the cryptid is unengaged, both players reroll to determine its target army. Roll its behaviour D6 and resolve its action before player activations.

5. 05

   Once in combat

   Do not reroll its target while it is engaged in melee. It attacks first in the existing combat. It becomes unengaged when no enemy remains within 1 inch.

6. 06

   Wound and remove

   Most cryptids have 15 Wounds; Boss-class Nuckelavee and Tarasque have 20 Wounds. At half health the creature becomes Enraged (+1 melee Attack). They can fight neutral mutants as well as either player. Record actual Wounds dealt by each attacking squad: every five earns a campaign Cryptid Die, usable once to reroll an eligible failed Hit, Wound or Save against a future cryptid, but never natural 1. Every squad dealing damage becomes a Cryptid Veteran. In Cryptid Hunt missions, a player scores 1 VP per full five Wounds inflicted. A killed creature drops its particular trophy at the corpse marker; it goes to whoever secures the marker, not automatically to the last hitter. Each trophy may be used once in the battle or banked.

Behaviour D6

When locked in combat, skip the behaviour roll and simply make the creature's listed number of attacks first. All distances and which model is actually in contact are determined using the miniatures on the physical table.

03 / PROVINCE TABLES

Province encounter tables

A battlefield province determines the three creatures available on a cryptid result. Each pair of D6 faces has an equal chance of appearing.