Cortez de la Sombra

Mid-level horror · 1920s

A grim monster for Call of Cthulhu.

The trees whisper the names of those they have taken.

Abilities

  • STR: 55
  • CON: 60
  • SIZ: 70
  • DEX: 45
  • POW: 75

Stats

  • Hit Points: 45
  • Damage Bonus: +1D4
  • Build: -1
  • Move: 6
  • Magic Points: 10
  • Sanity Loss: 1/1d6

Description

A twisted orchard of gnarled trees grows on the outskirts of an old mining town, their bark slick with mineral water and the acrid scent of sulphur. In the hour of twilight, the fruit on the branches swells and cracks, each yielding a pale, contorted face that mirrors a missing villager. Survivors who flee speak of a shifting grove where each clearing seems a different room—one moment a cellar, the next a sunlit hall—yet no one can draw the orchard accurately, as the layout rewrites itself with each step.

Attacks & Special Powers

**Ripe Faces.** 30%: When a victim reaches for the fruit at twilight, it bursts, striking for 1D6+2 damage and inflicting 1d4 Sanity loss. **Sulphur Mist.** 10%: The trees exhale a choking cloud of sulphuric vapor; targets within 10 feet suffer 1D4 damage and lose 1d6 Sanity. **Hall of Shifting Rooms.** 15%: The orchard warps space, forcing the victim to make a Spot Hidden check at -20% for 1d6 hours or become hopelessly lost.

Behavior

Cortez lies dormant through daylight, its roots drinking the mineral springs that seep beneath the soil. As the sun wanes, it awakens, coaxing the fruit to ripen into the faces of the disappeared. It lures the curious with the promise of reunion, then uses the fruit and mist to incapacitate and consume their sanity, feeding the orchard’s ever‑changing maze.

Tags: 1920s, orchard, nightmare, facefruit

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