The Kothoga from 'The Relic' (1997)

Never thought there'd be a worse way to die than a shark attack. Having my head ripped off never occurred to me.

Brought to life as the Mbwun in the very excellent novel The Relic, the movie counterpart in the form of the Kothoga was an amalgamation of nature gone wrong,  that was a chimera in the best sense of the word. While the Mbwun had a very different look and the movie did not follow the excellent pacing or revelations that The Relic and the follow-up Reliquary did, the look of the Kothoga for the movie has replaced in many minds how the Mbwun should have looked.

For those not familiar, I strong recommend the novel and as a curiosity the movie. While the movie is a good B-movie, the characters and sprawling feel of the New York Natural History museum are lost, and that is part of what makes the modern monster very dangerous indeed: Knowledge of the museum as it was once one of the scientists.

For the purposes of this write-up, I'm focusing on the novel's aspects of the Mbwun with a liberal interpretation of the Kothoga.

The Kothoga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Julian Whittlesey

F: Ex (20)
A: Ex (20)
S: In (40)
E: Am (50)
R: Pr (4)
I: Am (50)
P: Pr (4)


Health: 130
Karma: 58
Popularity: As the Museum Murder: -15, as a creature of myth, -10.
Resources: Fe (2)


Talents:
Area Knowledge: New York Museum of Natural History

Powers:
Blessed by Kothoga: By undergoing the ritual of Kothoga, Dr. Whittlesey ingested rare leaves which included a retrovirus capable of massive mutations. The retrovirus was filled with reptilian, mammalian, and amphibian DNA, which altered Dr. Whittlesey permanently into the Kothoga, a creature worshiped by distant aboriginal tribes in South America. The leaves also provide a source of nourishment for the Kothoga, which is essential for its continued existence (See Limitations). As such, the Kothoga has the following attributes:

- Armor Skin: Ex (20), requiring machine guns to truly slow it down, explosives to do harm to it.
- Heightened Senses: Rm (30), with the exception of In (40) sense of smell
-Tracking: Rm (30)
- Darkvision: Rm (30)
- Stealth: Despite it's size (9' with enough mass to be described as a small rhino in the novel), the Kothoga is extraordinary stealthy, granting it an Ex (20) stealth
- Natural Weaponry: Claws: Rm (30)
- Natural Weaponry: Bite: Capable of severing bone and steel easily with In (40) ability.
- Recovery: Gd (10)
- Regeneration: Ex (20)
- Hyper Running: Gd (10), capable of charging for 1 area with no build-up.

Contacts:
None

Limitations:

• Need to Feed: The Kothoga's natural diet includes the leaves which caused its transformation. Denied this, the Kothoga's next source is the human hypothalamus gland, making it a dangerous and unpredictable opponent. The Kothoga begins to weaken without a food source at a rate of -1cs a day to start, then after 2 days -2cs, etc until it either feeds or dies. The Kothoga must consume upward of two persons a day to start, but as the need grows, the body count increases.
• Unusual Looks: The Kothoga looks nothing like human, and must use the shadows to hunt.
• Nocturnal: The Kothoga is mostly a night hunter, suffering -2cs for actions while in bright daylight.
• Animal Intellect: There is nothing of Dr. Whittlesey left within the Kothoga, outside of the knowledge to return to the museum for the leaves and knowledge of it. The Kothoga is not mindless, but has an animal instinct and cunning.

Note:
Read The Relic if you have not, it truly is a great book and the science isn't bad.