“On the other hand, as a Violentist I am quite fond of violenting and the many applications of violence.”

It should be obvious straight off the bat that something is not right with the Wicker Man. For though he his physical appearance and dress-sense is nothing short of dashing his mannerisms are those of a simpleton or an inbred. Sometimes it takes him a few seconds to actually catch on to what someone has said and normal human subtlety seems wasted on him… almost like he has just woken from a deepen slumber or is lost in a foggy haze.

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Willy’s Origins

The Fire Breathing Drakin!
Adventure Notes from Rifts®: Between Disaster & Atrocity, The Shadow of Xy

With their convictions galvanized and their destinations set the party should have bonded. They have seen each other at their worst and now they see each other at their best. Hopefully by this point their humanity gleamed through and they have the halos heroes about them. For it is this glow (or perhaps tragic desperation) that draws the attention of the Luck Bird! (as per page 142 of Rifts®: Conversion Book 1 (revised). With a burst of flame that cuts off their path (but is not close enough to harm anyone) the party is stopped by a small winged creature that swoops down and perches on one of their vehicles (or on a branch before them). Unfolding its wings it like a proud cape, the creature is obviously a small Drakin with bright crimson wings wearing light golden plate armor (including a little stylized Dragon helmet that is cuter than it is menacing).

“Wait! I have come far to this place. Come far but not fast enough! So I come to you—to you—to find heroes! I am not sting with disappoint. You are free of The Wickerman’s power. Free of Willy! Please help Drakin!”

Talking with the Drakin
If the players attack the Drakin it will complain and say their efforts are misplaced (or die if they do enough damage—but he is impervious to all fire and energy weapons). If the players question the Drakin it will reveal the following information:

What the hell is going on here?!
“Drakin fear the time comes to your world now… The Old Time. The time when the Old Ones live. Willy makes it so! Willy uses Master’s notes and books of the Old Ways—books that Drakin did fail to protect…”

Who are you?
“Drakin is Drakin! Once Drakin was a family-ah to a wizard on world away from here a long, long time ago on world of Palladium! Like your world but better. Made more sense!” (If there is a ‘Borg or Crazy in the party Drakin will add) “Where if you get metal in your head you die—not like here!”

Where is Palladium World?
“Beyond the veil. Beyond your world where Magic is king and justice is for everyone and the Cattleberries dance with the Belshores and where Master’s grave lies. I return there soon to sleep. But first we stop the Wickerman! Must stop the Wickerman or there will be no Palladium World!”

You’re not a normal Drakin!
“You’re no normal man. Kahaha! Not to escape the demon sea! Not to survive a scrap with Willy’s assistants! Khahaha” The Drakin wobbles its head proudly for a moment and then puffs out its chest. “But you are correct in your assertion. When Master help trick Xy’s minions from returning him to Palladium World during Elf-Dwarf War Master’s first apprentice, master’s son, died. Became beyond death. Beyond the reach of magic! So as reward Prometheus give Master Fire and Master put Fire in me!” the Drakin proudly breaths a torrent of fire and then slumps its shoulders and grows sad. “And the rest he put in Willy to make a boy that never go beyond death again…”

How do you know Wickerman/Willy?
“I play with Willy! I teach Willy!” the Drakin grows sad and wipes its beak with its wing. “When Master’s first son go beyond death because of Xy, Master no want to go on adventures and fight evil monsters anymore. I no like, but Master always knew best. So thankful and sad was Prometheus-man that he give Master magic fire as a reward.” The Drakin lifts up his head and releases a tiny torrent of flame from its beak. “Master put some in me,” the Drakin bows its head with grief and pauses a moment. _“He put the rest in new son. New son that he make with his hands and alchemy so that he sure it never go beyond death like old son, nope.”

If Willy is Immortal/How can we kill him!?
“Master made Willy alive with Prometheus fire so he would never die! Not even Gods can kill Willy, now he burn longer than the sun!”

Does he have any weaknesses?
“Nope. Not like Werewolves with silver. Willy can’t be made to go to death or beyond it. Willy live forever—forever! Only one thing maybe.” The Drakin will stop and scratch its beak with its wing as if thinking. “Willy not supposed to be man. Willy Wykl little boy. Not made to make more and this makes Willy angry. Makes him do dumb things. Always wants what Willy can’t have—always has!” the Drakin will circle the party and sit in a tree and covertly peer in the direction of the Harm House (Willy’s Farm House). “That is why he take the lonely girls and make them monsters for Xy like Wicker Man too.” The Drakin turns its head and cocks it horizontally as it looks at the party “Also… Willy can just not be made to die. He can still be taken apart. Just won’t die. Kahahaha! One time Master take away Willy’s hands for a whole week for stealing! Kahahah! Put them in a metal box! Willy can sense bits of Willy but with no hands Willy could not open lock! Khahaha!”

What do we do?
“You heroes! My time supposed to be over but so is Old Time. Help stop Willy before he bring back Xy and all the world tremble!”

How can you help us?
“I no help you. You heroes. You help Drakin! But Drakin knows Willy. Raised Willy…” The Drakin grows sad. “But Willy too strong for Drakin. Drakin do whatever hero-men want. Even die. Please help Drakin stop Willy.”

How can you help us? (If a Player Character died in the adventure previously):
**_“Drakin found another. They near here. Help us stop Willy! Hurry! Hurry! There is no time! Old Time quickly approaches!”_

Who or what is Willy/The Wicker Man?
_"Master adventurer and wizard-man. He fight many big battle in long history of Palladium World, Drankin’s home. The Master marry and have wife Bubble-Butt and son Donald. Donald he make into a Wizard-man like him and when he too old Drankin serve Donald as he serve Wizard-man. All good. Good times. Master retire to be father. But Dolon Awensheigh come to him with message from old friends and say Xy might return. A cult! A cult! Drakin hates cults of Xy, they’re the worst!" The Drakin flaps its wings frantically a moment and then gives the impression it is trying to impersonate someone. “Cranky old bubble-butt say No take our son!” but Master just laugh and give Donald Wizard hat anyways. Off we go to fight Xy’s shadow on the world and we win…“_ the tiny creature is lost to lamentation for a brief moment before finally adding, _”But at terrible cost. Donald killed and sent to place beyond death from which no return. Master give up adventuring for good then. No more fight evil. Just Bubble-Butt. But she blame Master. I say No! Cultist kill Donald! but she stubborn and hateful and leave Master… then Master hate himself.”_ The Drakin gets a far-off look in its eyes as it continues. “Then Master make an alchemy and it made Prometheus-man come from the sky and Master demand son return. But Prometheus-man say cannot make son return and is sad for Master so give him the Magic Fire. Master then make son from straw and wicker, he make a new boy, and in that boy he put the forever-fire and in me so I always be there for him.” The Drakin sighs and is overtaken by shame. “Willy always naughty boy and make fires but kind heart and for first time in long time Master happy. We all happy. Then Dolon come. Dolon say one Cultist escape! Sez they know his location! Master can have revenge for Donald!” The Drakin spreads its leathery wings. “Master, Willy and Drankin go with Dolon and Xander and others and they travel many days! Then we find giant cyclopean monolith and rifts into unknown vistas of reality. And so we all FIGHT to make Xy gone from the land forever and never return!! Willy burn up cultists and fight good! Master proud! But I worried Willy like making people burn like the wax too much! Then, after much death we win!” the Drakin grows even more miserable, falling on its face and lying flat, “But Master cannot stop rift! Rift go crazy! In we go… 1,2,3… gobble, gobble, gobble, all gone and then in bad place called ’Lantis on this world and made as slave by eye-monsters! Dolon purchased by Amazons for loving, Xander by Dragon for food, and Willy by Federal Magic Magus-man. Says to Willy Master poison his mind. Say he lie to Willy about sanctity of life. Say it all lies. Master tell Willy he love him. Master tell Willy to choose Federal Magic Magus-man or Master. Willy whisper to me that he come back. Rescue Master and then went with Federal Magic Magus-man. But Willy never came back and no one want Master or old Drakin. So Master escapes and we find a way back home to wait for Willy there, but Palladium World different. Hundreds of years different! All know gone away! No more Willy, no more Bubble-Butt! No more home! And Master, master he die of broken heart. I not have hands so cannot bury Master, so burned him. And when he burn… in his fire, I see Willy as a man… not a boy… as a man! But Willy not made to grow. Must have been Federal Magic Magus-man. Then Willy sees me through the fire and he smile but it not Willy’s smile. Still I call him through fire and he comes to me. But Elf and Dwarf war over, all friends gone, Master gone, and Willy goes mad! Willy goes mad and beats me! Beats me so I quake with fear for the fists of friends fall the heaviest! Then—then he tells me I stupid Drakin! That I kill Master by wanting to go home!” The Drakin begins to weep softly as it speaks. “Willy take forbidden tomes of cultists. Says with forbidden magic he can cheat time like time cheat us. Says he can make it Old Time again. Says he will wait for Master to be born again. Says he will raise Master like Master and Drakin raised him…” The Drakin dries its tears and looks up at the adventuring party, “Says he will raise Master… better than Master and Drakin raised him.” The Drakin bows its head as it picks itself up off the ground. “We must stop Wicker Man. Master never would have wanted this. You must be heroes! There is no one else who will listen to Drakin and no time! We must save your world!”

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Willy’s Fate Beyond Rifts®: Between Disaster & Atrocity
Although the servants of light could not defeat Willy in the end and he completed his ritual, everyone was stunned when his hellish ritual failed to summon Xy as he had intended and instead summoned the god Thoth. Bewildered and fearful of an unknown magic and an enigmatic practitioner of magic with power enough to rip him through time and space, Thoth banished Willy acted quickly and banished the frenzied scarecrow to the heart of the sun where he could do no harm to anyone. Until at last after what seemed like an eternity of repeating the relentless cycle of healing and being crushed by extreme gravity; Willie was freed from his solar prison, ported back to the safety of the farm at the exact point of departure.
The passage of time made it obvious that his ordeal wasn’t some horrible nightmare but a fact based in hellish reality. Willie himself has no knowledge of who the barbarous entity was that imprisoned him, nor the noble savior that secured his release.
Unknown to Willie, the length of his imprisonment and eventually his release, were decided by a court case of cosmic proportions. The powers that be spent the entire duration of Willie’s imprisonment in heated debate in an effort to determine the legality of Thoth’s actions. On one side the Forces of Light, declaring Thoth’s actions justified as he was an innocent bystander, summoned against his will and free to act in his own defense. On the other, the Forces of Darkness taking the stance that under no circumstances can a God of Light interfere with the plight of humanity. Ultimately, the decision fell in favor of the Forces of Darkness, as such Willie was returned to the realm of man and Dale Williams was stripped of his divinity, allowing the ravages of time to reclaim his power.

NPC Statistics
Archetype: Despicable villain/sympathetic villain
Alignment: Diabolic (Evil)
Motivation: To reunite with his long dead father
Disposition: Insane. He seeks a reunion with his father and is willing to do everything and anything imaginable to attain that goal. He believes that any deed he commits will be reversed after his success, so is capable of doing anything regardless of morality or expense.
Race/R.C.C.: Scarecrow
Sex: Male
Age: 38
Height: 6.7 feet; unnaturally tall, gaunt, and lanky.
Weight: 53 lbs.
Appearance: A tall and horrifyingly gaunt mannequin composed entirely of burning coals and nails, contained by a sack. Willy typically wears a wide-brimmed hat and a raggedy, brown leather jacket, and matching pants.
O.C.C.: Witch
Level of Experience: 6th level Burster, and 4th level Witch (current)
Current Experience: 16,962
Affiliations/Factions: Shadow of Xy
Attributes: I.Q. 13, M.E. 14, M.A. 10, P.S. 19, P.P. 14, P.E. 22, P.B. 8, Spd. 11 (7.5 mph; 11 meters per action)
Attribute Bonuses: (if any) Damage + 4, Save vs Coma/Death + 14%, Save vs Poison/Magic + 4
Hit Points: 42 (S.D.C. worlds only)
S.D.C.: 290 A.R.: 6 (S.D.C. worlds only)
M.D.C.: 540 plus 40 MD from armor and possible use of the Armor Bizarre spell Regenerate: 1D4x10 every 5 minutes
Horror Factor: 15
P.P.E.: 251 Recovery: 5 per hour of rest or sleep, 10 per hour of meditation
I.S.P.: 90 Recovery: 2 per hour of activity, 12 per hour of meditation or sleep
Attacks/Actions per Melee: 5
Combat Bonuses: Initiative + 4, damage + 8, strike + 5, parry + 5, dodge + 5, entangle + 2, pull punch + 5, roll with punch + 5, critical strike on 18, 19 or 20
Resistance/Saving Throw Bonuses: Perception + 1, save vs magic + 10, save vs poison + 4 save vs possession + 3, save vs mind control + 3 save vs horror + 10, save vs coma/death + 14%
Natural Abilities: Impervious to cold, heat, drugs, gases and poison. Normal weapons do no damage. Likewise, he is impervious to magic that affects the human body, such as clouds and gases, paralysis, blind, mute, age, sickness, and even life drain. Only forceful magic attacks, such as Call Lightning, Fire Ball, Wind Rush, Magic Net, walls/barriers, all the fire spells, etc., can inflict damage or impair movement. Supernatural regeneration restores 1D4X10 M.D.C. at a rate of once every five minutes (20 melees). When blown into dust particles, Willy will completely reform, at full M.D.C, and full memory, in 12 hours. Dismemberment requires seven hours, while being smashed or losing one or two limbs (including the head) will take one hour to regenerate. Willy can fight without a head, but all combat bonuses are at half and initiative is completely lost. He doesn’t breathe either and can survive in a vacuum, underwater, or in a toxic gas cloud.
Special O.C.C. Abilities – Burster
1. Impervious to Fire and Heat
2. Extinguish Fires. Range: 160’, Area: 1200’, I.S.P. Cost: 4
3. Flame Burst (SDC). Duration: 12 minutes, Damage: 6D6 SD, Protection: 66 MDC with 3D6 MD per melee regeneration, I.S.P. Cost: 4
4. Flame Burst (MDC). Duration: 6 melees, Damage: 1D6 MD, Protection: 66 MDC with 3D6 MD per melee regeneration, all physical attacks require two actions to complete, I.S.P. Cost: 12
5. Fire Bolt. Range: 320’, Damage, 2D6 SD, 4D6 SD, 6D6 SD or 2D6 MD, I.S.P. Cost: 2 or 4 for a MD blast
6. Fire Eruption (SDC). Range: 220’, Duration: 10 minutes, Proficiency: 72%, Damage: 1D4 SD, 4D6 SD, 1D4x10 SD or 2D4x10 SD per melee depending on the size, Maximum Size: 50’ area, I.S.P. Cost: 10
7. Fire Eruption (MDC). Range: 220’, Duration: 10 minutes, Proficiency: 72%, Damage: 2D6 MD, 4D6 MD, or 6D6 MD per melee depending on the size, Maximum Size: 50’ area, I.S.P. Cost: 20
8. Sense Fire. Range: 1400’, Duration: 4 minutes, I.S.P. Cost: 2
9. Super Fuel Flame. Range: 600’, Area: 120’, I.S.P. Cost: 8
Special O.C.C. Abilities – Shifter
1. Communication Rift. Cost: 50+ P.P.E. Duration: Four minutes.
2. Dimensional Sense. Base Skill: 55%.
3. Dimensional Teleport Home. Cost: 75 P.P.E.
4. Dimensional Travel. Cost: 125+ P.P.E.
5. Familiar Link. Current Familiar: None. Special Endurance: + 6 Hit Points, + 1 to save vs. poison and + 1 to save vs. mind control (not applicable).
6. Link to the Supernatural. Current Link: The Shadow of Xy
7. Sense Rifts. Range: 130 miles
8. Summoning.
9. Animate and Control Dead. 3x per day, as per the spell
10. Supernatural PS and + 6 , + 2 to all saves when Willie is benefiting from the Shadow of Xy’s favor
Skills of Note: Languages: Palladium, Eastern Dialect and American 98, Languages: Demongogian, Gobbley and Faerie 83%, Literacy: Palladium, Eastern Dialect 98%, Literacy: American 70%, Lore: Demons and Monsters 65%, Lore: Dimensions 55%, Lore: Faerie 60%, Lore: Magic 60%, W.P.: Pole Arm (+ 3 strike and parry, + 2 damage)
Hand to Hand: Martial Arts
Magical Knowledge: Calling (8), Call Lightning (15), Compulsion (20), Constrain Being (20), Dimensional Portal (1000), Energy Bolt (5), Energy Field (10), Exorcism (30), Repel Animals (7), Re-Open Gateway (180), Sense Evil (2), Sense Magic (4), Trance (10), Shadow Meld (10), Summon and Control Canines (50), Summon and Control Rodents (70), Sustain (12), Time Slip (20), Turn Dead (6), Tongues (10), Magic Pigeon (20), Domination (10), Dispel Magic Barriers (20), Cloak of Darkness (6), Heavy Breathing (5), Magic Net (7), Armor Bizarre (15), World Bizarre (40), Apparition (20)
Spell Strength: 13
Psionic Powers: Psychic Body Field (30), Telekinesis (Varies), Deaden Pain (4), Suppress Fear (8)
Vulnerabilities/Insanities: Psychotic, obsessed with sex, obsessed with his own impotence, prone to fits of rage and temper tantrums, reckless/careless
Weapons:
●Magic Scythe: 5D6 MD
●Melee Attacks: Restrained Punch: 4D6+8 SD, Full Strength Punch: 1D6 MD, Power Punch: 2D6 MD, Kick: 2D4 MD
Equipment: Light Armor: 40 MDC, 4 small sacks, 6 rusty knives
Money: 3,500 credits, 17,000 in Black Market goods

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