Joesky Tax #72 (Rail Screamer)

Recently, Dan released a set of blog post prompts. Since my plan of "one post per week, every week" has been going... badly, I've decided to use some just to fill space.

Prompt
#72. Cryptids! Make some cryptids.

Cryptids are always attached to a location. Luckily, I live in a small Midwestern town on the edge of nowhere - the second-best location (after Oregonian forests) for cryptids. The town's built next to a pretty busy railroad, and every day I can hear trains passing.

At least, I think they're trains. I've never seen one. The rails are always empty when I look.

The Rail Screamer

A bent, gray creature covered in metallic plates, with a pair of floodlight eyes on stalks protruding from its front. The Rail Screamer crawls down train tracks, emanating long howls from the dozens of spiracles running along its back.

In all ways except for appearance, the Rail Screamer is a train. If it passes by you, a tremendous wind follows it. If it steps over you, you are crushed by its tremendous force. The Rail Screamer never stops moving, constantly turning its spotlights on everything around it like it's searching for something.

Using the Rail Screamer

The best use for the Rail Screamer is for a little self-contained mystery in a Delta Green (or similar supernatural mystery) game - someone was killed when their car was hit by a train, but the line's been closed for years. There's also the mystery of its search - what is it looking for? What happens if the Rail Screamer finds it?

You could also pull it out of its context and use it as just a monster. Perhaps their speed makes them the backbone of a nomadic people, or an important piece of modern cavalry tactics. Or, of course, their could just be one in a pit somewhere, sending its cry up into the air.

Stats

I know I namedropped Delta Green up there, but I know my audience, so these are more generic OSR-style stats.

HP: 20

AC: 16

Speed: 528 ft. (60 miles per hour)

Overrun: When the Rail Screamer moves over someone, they must make a Dex save or take 3d8 damage and be thrown 100 feet backwards as they are hit by a train. Overrun also triggers on obstacles like walls. When Overrun is triggered, the Rail Screamer cannot move on its next turn.

Mind the Gap: When the Rail Screamer moves, everyone within 30 feet is pulled along with it by extreme winds, taking 2d6 damage as they are dragged across the ground.

This is an incredibly lethal statblock, with very high damage output and utterly preposterous speed. Ranged attacks might help the players for a short time, but the sheer speed of the Rail Screamer will make that a dangerous plan.

However, as long as your players have some warning that they are fighting a train, they should be fine.

Probably.