#willawaw

Scooby-Doo Villains Moodboards // Willawaw

Image © @tredlocity​

[Commissioned by @crazytrain48​, again from Arduin. In the original text, vords are said to be enemies of the “great golden owls” or “great white owls” (the name differs between editions). The commissioner thought that would be a good fit for the willawaw I did a few years ago, and I agreed. The biggest change I made from the original has to do with its reproduction; the original was also a parasitoid, but injected blood which turned into eggs (weird, more like an aberration), the eggs took months to hatch (realistic, but never going to come up at the game table) and hatched dozens of them at a time (how small are baby vords?)]

Vord CR 8 CN Magical Beast This enormous bird appears like a black falcon with luminous green streaks in its feathers. Its claws and beak are like emerald crystal.

Vords are capricious magical avians with a strange parasitoid life cycle. Their reproduction involves paralyzing other creatures and laying their eggs inside, which hatch in a matter of hours as voracious chicks, which then burst from the host. All vords are hermaphroditic, but not self-fertilizing. The similarity in reproductive strategies has led some scholars to link vord to the similarly avian parasitoids the gryph, but vords are much stronger and semi-intelligent.

Unlike many birds of prey, vords are social hunters, and travel in small flocks. These flocks typically consist of a group of siblings, mates, or some of each. They attack with hit and run tactics combined with their Great Cleave feat, attempting to claw multiple foes at once and inject them with their paralytic toxin. When all enemies are paralyzed, they descend to lay their eggs. If some foes still fight back, they land in order to buffet them with full attacks, and then lay eggs in any victim still paralyzed when they are finished.

Because of their strength, size and speed, some humanoids attempt to tame vords to use as mounts. This is a foolish errand, and the strong willed creatures will usually attempt to overthrow and parasitize such exploiters at the first opportunity. Vords resent structure or rules of any kind, and especially dislike other avian creatures that attempt to control them. Their most bitter enemies are the willawaws, which try to curb their predations. Williwaws are intelligent and have magical gifts, but their isolationist attitude can prove fatal to them when confronted with a gang of vords.

A vord’s wingspan is between thirty and forty feet. They prefer to hunt in open spaces and nest in crags and cliffs.

Still from “Watch Out! The Willawaw!”, accessed at Scoobypedia here

[Commissioned by @glarnboudin When I was a kid in the 90s, I thought of The Scooby-Doo Show as “the last good Scooby-Doo”. Even at seven, I hated Scrappy Doo with a passion. Through adult eyes, The Scooby-Doo Show is a decidedly mixed bag. The humor is even broader and more slapstick than the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, and Fred, Velma and Daphne are even flatter characters. On the other hand, the character animation is more fluid, and the creature design more ambitious, than the original series. There’s more monsters that are non-humanoid, like the Willawaw here, which is a rocket-powered balloon.]

Willawaw CR 9 LN Magical Beast This great bird appears to be a silver-feathered, horse sized owl, with luminous eyes and an aura of sparks surrounding it. It emits a horrible screech.

A willawaw is a spiritual owl-like creature that considers itself the guardian of wild places. Each willawaw has an expansive territory which they happily share with animals, plants and fey, but they reject the trappings of civilization. They are not inherently hostile to humanoids, but do distrust them unless they pay proper respect. Humanoids intending to exploit their homelands for resources are driven away or even killed.

A willawaw is able to attune its senses with those of birds in their territory, and they can spy on their lands from afar whenever they choose. A willawaw’s lair is typically well hidden and guarded for this purpose, as the creature is comatose and vulnerable while riding inside another bird. They are frequently friendly with giant owls, who see them as smaller but more powerful cousins. They do not typically get along with thunderbirds; willawaws consider thunderbirds vain and glory-seeking, and thunderbirds see willawaws as stodgy and conservative.

In combat, a willawaw opens with its horrible shriek, scattering enemies in a panic and then targeting those who resist. Creatures that get too close to a willawaw are electrified and illuminated, as plasma from the willawaw’s body expands and covers them. A willawaw’s favorite tactic is simply to pick up an enemy, carry them far away and leave them elsewhere—dropping them from a high height if they especially annoy the beast. Against those that seek to despoil a willawaw’s land, however, it is merciless, striking with magically created thunder and lightning.

A willawaw has a wingspan of twenty feet and stands seven feet tall. They can live for centuries if not slain in combat.

That… is… wonderful.

Since this was sent in non-anonymously, though, and privacy clearly isn’t a concern… I’m guessing there’s some plan for when this post goes live?

“Wait, is that about us?”

“Yup!”

“That guy and his cat are friendship co-conspirators?”

“Yyyup!”

SDM: bringing the world together, one riff at a time. 

Surgeon General’s Warning: eating is not advised when viewing SDM posts, as one is either likely to–

–get too hungry from seeing all those sandwiches made entirely of bread and lettuce…

…or do a gorgeous-frame-induced spit take.

Huge thanks as always, though, for the nice messages,  

–and for those who seem to worry they’re somehow being a nuisance, I love nothing more than hearing that SDM’s makin’ people happy!

I’m still filling up the folder of nice things said to practice focusing on positives, so fun stories and the like are always welcome.