The archetypal RuneQuest villains were the broos, vile creatures of chaos that appeared as humanoids with horned, animal heads. The following d20 conversion draws on information from the RuneQuest Rules Book, Copyright © 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984 by Chaosium, Inc.
Broos are foul chaos hybrids, humanoid creatures with the heads of deer, antelope, or goats. They rub dung in their hair, worship spirits of disease, and engage in other repulsive practices.
At least 90% of all broos are male. They can hybridize with almost any other creature, so there is no standard broo shape -- all are mongrels.
Broos roam wastes, deserts, swamps, and mountains in small gangs. They are not builders, though they may inhabit ruined buildings or caverns. They use other beings as targets for their frequent raids, and carry away victims to be used as objects of sadistic pleasure. A common broo trick is to infect coins or jewelry with disease, then leave the stash where humans can find it.
The following example broo uses a human warrior 1 as the base creature.
This twisted creature reeks of a barnyard. Its form is like that of a man, but with bandy legs, cloven hooves, and a crazed, goatlike head.
Broo human warrior 1
CE Medium monstrous humanoid (chaotic)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages Common
AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13
(+0 Dex, +1 natural, +2 leather armor)
hp 10 (1 HD)
Immune disease, poison
Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +0
Spd 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee* shortspear +2 (1d6+3 plus disease) and gore -3 (1d6+2 plus disease)
Ranged shortspear +1 (1d6+2 plus disease)
Base Atk +1; Grp +3
Atk Options aligned strike (chaotic), disease
*1-point Power Attack
Abilities Str 15, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 9, Wis 11, Cha 6
Feats Power Attack, Toughness b
Skills Climb +5, Jump +5, Intimidate +2
Environment any temperate
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3-12)
Treasure standard
Advancement by character class
Level Adjustment +3
Disease (Ex) Any creature damaged by the broo must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or contract filth fever. Incubation period 1d3 days, damage 1d3 Dex and 1d3 Con. The save DC is Constitution based.
The broo warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 11, Cha 8.
"Broo" is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
A broo uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.
Alignment: Always chaotic evil.
Size and Type: The creature's type changes to monstrous humanoid (chaotic). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.
Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor bonus improves by +1.
Immune: A broo is immune to all diseases and poisons.
Melee: A broo retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a gore attack if it didn't already have one. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the broo's size. Otherwise, use the values below or the base creature’s damage values, whichever are greater.
| Size | Damage |
|---|---|
| Fine | 1 |
| Diminutive | 1d2 |
| Tiny | 1d3 |
| Small | 1d4 |
| Medium | 1d6 |
| Large | 1d8 |
| Huge | 2d6 |
| Gargantuan | 2d8 |
| Colossal | 4d6 |
If the base creature can use weapons, the broo retains this ability. A broo fighting without weapons uses either its gore attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a gore or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack.
Attack Options: A broo retains all the attack optionsof the base creature and gains those described below.
Aligned Strike (Su) The broo overcomes damage reduction as if its natural weapons and any weapons it wields were chaotic-aligned.
Disease (Ex) Any creature damaged by a broo's attack must make a Fortitude save or contract filth fever. The DC is 10 + 1/2 the broo's HD + the broo's Constitution modifier. Incubation period 1d3 days, damage 1d3 Dex and 1d3 Con.
Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Con +4, Cha -2 (minimum of 2).
Organization: Solitary, pair, or gang (3-18).
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +3.