The Heecho
- At August 17, 2020
- By Great Quail
- In Bestiary, Deadlands
0
Whosoever performeth this Rite with
true understanding shall pass beyond ye
Gates of Creation and enter ye Ultimate
Abyss wherein dwelleth ye vapourous
Lord S’ngac who eternally pondereth ye
Mystery of Chaos.Open up the Abyss Gate by the ninefold affirmation:
Zenoxese, Pioth, Oxas Zaegos, Mavoc Nigorsus, Bayar!
Heecho! Yog-Sothoth! Yog-Sothoth! Yog-Sothoth!
—The Necronomicon
Statistics
AGL d12, SMT d6, SPR d10, STR d12, VIG d12, PAR 6, TGH 6, Wounds: 12/B*. Skills: Fighting d12, Notice d12. Special Abilities: Confusion, Demonic Immunity. Weaknesses: Physical Anchor, Right Angles. Attack: Multifold Peril
Description
The Heecho is an extradimensional being summoned by a powerful sorcerer. Because humans only perceive its physical form through the limitations of three spatial dimensions, the Heecho is difficult to describe, and accounts quickly devolve into Borgesian lists populated by contradictory details. Many speak of a moiling, violet-colored smoke or whirlwind, often illuminated by a disorienting twinkling radiance. This “smoke” can change size and shape instantaneously, and attacks by manifesting random physical appendages—claws, talons, pinchers, stingers, tentacles, teeth; even arms bearing maces and swords. These appendages strike suddenly from the cloud, retreat, and are never seen again. Less lethal apparitions have also been glimpsed within the writhing chaos—clusters of eyes, forked tongues, flapping wings, engorged sexual organs, human faces. According to Victorian occultist Moina Mathers, the Heecho is accompanied by “an ungodly calliope of sounds,” including barking dogs, the buzzing of locusts, a crystalline humming, cacophonous music, and “a heavenly choir of castrati!” Obeying the commands of its summoner, the Heecho displays no signs of possessing higher intelligence or freewill, and generally serves as guardian, messenger, or avenger.
Origins & History
The precise origin of the Heecho is unknown, and beings matching its chaotic description are found in disparate sources unconnected by culture or geography, from the Ancestral Puebloans of pre-Colombian America to the proto-Euphrateans who pressed records into the pottery of Tell al-‘Ubaid. Elizabethan alchemist John Dee connects the Heecho to Ezekiel 1 and Hebrew stories of angelic visitations, while both Ludwig Prinn and the Comte d’Erlette point to Middle-Eastern tales of sorcerers torn asunder by invisible whirlwinds. The similarity the creature shares with accounts of Yog-Sothoth is difficult to overlook, and Prinn himself conjectured that the Heecho is the “Opener of the Gate” through which Yog-Sothoth materializes. A further Mythos relationship is seen in the “violet smoke” reported by Randolph Carter in connection to S’ngac and the so-called Dreamlands.
The Name
Although there is nothing unique about a mythical being with diverse cultural parallels—for instance, think of vampires, ghosts, and dragons—what’s particularly fascinating about the Heecho is its name, which always appears as a linguistic cognate. The name makes its first appearance in the Kitab al-Azif, better known as the Necronomicon. In his notes, the original Greek translator Theodoros Philetos suggests the Heecho incantation is Assyrian in origin, an ancient spell to placate the “guard dogs of the Abyss.” However, the name “Heecho” appears in numerous texts that should be theoretically uncontaminated by Mesopotamian sources. Asamatsu Ken’s transliteration of the famous Pnakotic Manuscripts of prehistoric Australia describes a “purple, shape-shifting cloud” named “Hyē Tchō,” while in the Himalayas, The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan recount “Le conte du sorcier et du Xíyo”—translated by the Lama Dordji Ram from the more elliptical Chinese rendering, “The Incautious Sorcerer and the Flickering Dog.” The fact this “flickering dog” takes the form of a “many-petalled flower of violet swords” lends credence to the belief that the Heecho is a “guard dog” only in the metaphorical sense.
Mesoamerica
In a mystery certain to please students of Thor Heyerdahl, the most recent legends of the Heecho are found in pre-contact America. The infamous Flor Morada heretics of Uaxactun were accused of summoning the “Whirling Zoo” to protect their temple, while the Yucatán’s Chicxulub Codex depicts a purple cloud destroying an army with fanciful saurian appendages. In the earliest version (MS374) of the Crónica Mexicayotl, Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin suggested that “naguals,” or shapeshifting sorcerers, gained their ability by making pacts with Tezcatlipoca, whose terrestrial emissary was a literal “smoking mirror.” While most scholars understand this as a poetic formulation for obsidian, Chimalpahin’s notes refer to a “purple-colored smoke” that “replaced the features of the nagual with those of a jaguar.” To move farther north, Gabriel Mesa’s controversial translation of the so-called “Quivira Codex” gives us the “Heëchö.” A monstrous servant of the Quiviran prophet Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, the unpronounceable name means “Dog with Many Skins.” While Mesa’s work may be comfortably relegated to the fringes of cryptoarcheology, he claims to be previously unaware of the Heecho’s appearance in traditional occult literature.
Niemand’s Study
The most reliable contemporary study of the Heecho was made by Julius Niemand, one of the founding members of Himmler’s Ahnenerbe. Obtaining access to Fragment II-B of the Codex Beltrán-Escavy through his contacts in Mexico, and claiming to possess Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc’s copy of the semi-mythical Aztec history now referred to as Crónica X, Niemand devoted an entire chapter to the “Hiezo” in his 1936 study of magical guardians, Drachen und Schatz. Niemand contends that the Heecho lacks physical form, and attacks through the “haphazard alienation and displacement of violent moments from history, from the jaws of a beetle made monstrous to the fatal swing of a headsman’s scimitar.” Niemand claimed the “smoke” associated with the Heecho’s appearance is not vapor at all, but an optical illusion created by “tithonic rays” spilling from the creature’s native dimension—i.e., ultraviolet light, its shifting frequencies refracted by the warping of Einsteinian space-time. Niemand believed there was only one Heecho, but it could appear in multiple places simultaneously, and was likely related to the so-called “Hounds of Tindalos” described by American occultist Halpin Chalmers.
Niemand’s library was supposedly destroyed by the Russians after the fall of Berlin, but rumors persist that the comrades who “liberated” his estate were later executed by Russian authorities to prevent them raving about “invisible demons.”
Special Abilities
Demonic Immunity
The Heecho cannot be Shaken, and is immune to Fear, Intimidation, and all poisons and disease.
Confusion
Anyone laying eyes upon the Heecho for the first time is subject to Confusion, and must make a Smarts roll vs. TN-8 or be Shaken.
Special Attacks
The Heecho may use “Multifold Peril” to attack any and all opponents in a 10-yard radius of its manifestation point. Each attack gets its own Action card, with the type of card reflecting the nature of the attack:
Numbered Cards
The numbered cards represent four types of action, each linked to the card’s suit and value, with Aces counting as 11.
Clubs
A club signals an attack involving bludgeoning, beating, bashing, or battering. This is usually enacted by a fist, tail, fluke, or club-like pseudopod. The attack is rolled against the target’s Parry, and inflicts a base 1d12 STR+1 DAM per value of the card. Therefore, a Six of Clubs might manifest the head of a ram, butting into the target for 1d12+6 DAM.
Spades
A spade signals an attack involving cutting, piercing, stabbing, or slashing. This is usually enacted by a barb or stinger, a pair of tusks, or a flurry of spines; but could be a human arm wielding a spear, sword, macuahuitl, or other such weapon. The attack is rolled against the target’s Parry, and inflicts a base 1d12 STR+1 DAM per value of the card. Therefore, a Six of Spades might manifest the spiked tail of a manticore, inflicting 1d12+6 DAM.
Diamonds
A diamond signals a venomous attack involving biting, puffing, or injection. This is usually enacted by a fanged jaw, a stinger, or cloud of spores. The attack is rolled against the target’s Parry, and does 1d12 DAM. If any DAM gets through the victim’s Toughness, he is poisoned, and must make a Vigor roll against a Target Number equal to the value of the card. A raise or Critical Success negates the poison, a success inflicts an additional 1d8 DAM against Toughness, a failure inflicts an automatic Wound level, and a Critical Failure brings immediate Incapacitation. Therefore, a Six of Diamonds might manifest a swarm of wasps, stinging for 1d12 DAM. If any damage gets through, the target rolls Vigor vs. TN-6 to determine the effects of the venom.
Hearts
A heart card triggers a round of regeneration. The target is ignored, and the Heecho regenerates one Wound Level. The Ace of Hearts regenerates 1d4 Wound Levels. If the Heecho is currently unwounded, the Marshal may declare the target ignored this round, or simply deal another Action card.
Face Cards
Face cards denote Special Attacks. The suit is irrelevant.
Jack
A jack signals a grapple attack. This is usually enacted by a pincher, claw, or tentacle. The attack is rolled against the target’s Parry. A success grapples the target, who must make an immediate Strength roll vs. TN-12 to break the grapple. If the roll fails, the target is held fast. His Parry is reduced to 2, and all non-verbal actions are made at a –6 penalty. The target is immobilized until his can break the grapple, which costs an Action card. (Of course, the target may divide his Action, receiving a –2 on his Strength roll and any subsequent attack.)
Queen
A queen signals a psychic attack. This attack is made by contesting the Heecho’s d10 Spirit against its opponent’s Spirit. If the attack succeeds, the victim is drawn into the violet chaos and exposed to a disorienting whirlwind of higher dimensions. The target must make a Smarts roll vs. TN-6 or experience a +2 Fright on the Savage Worlds Fright Table. She is then ejected from the cloud.
King
A king signals a teleportation attack. This attack is made by contesting the Heecho’s d10 Spirit against its opponent’s Vigor. If the attack succeeds, the victim is drawn into the moiling light and teleported according to the following 2d4 roll:
| Roll (2d4) | Teleportation Effects |
| 2 | Target is partially embedded in stone 10 yards away! Victim is Shaken, and takes 1d20 DAM each round until a Dispel Arcana is cast. |
| 3 | Target is teleported 50 yards away. Victim is Shaken, and takes 5 Action rounds to return to battle. |
| 4-6 | Target is teleported 10 yards away. Victim is Shaken, and takes 1 Action round to return to battle. |
| 7 | Target is teleported 20 feet into the air! Victim is Shaken, and falls for 2d6 DAM. |
| 8 | Target is teleported 80 feet into the air! Victim is Shaken, and falls for 8d6 DAM. |
Joker
If the Heecho draws a joker, it cannot attack that particular target; but gets a +2 bonus to all other Action cards that round! If the Heecho draws a second joker during the same round, it is now permitted to attack both joker targets as well, drawing additional Action cards to determine the type of attack and applying a +4 bonus to all Actions!
Weaknesses
Physical Anchor
The Heecho may only appear when summoned, whether deliberately conjured by a sorcerer or conditionally linked to a fetish object. Destroying this “physical anchor” immediately banishes the Heecho. Although this usually means killing the sorcerer who invoked the Heecho, in the case of a physical fetish, the object itself must be located and destroyed. For this reason, the fetish is usually well-concealed and made from durable materials. Ludwig Prinn relates the tale of Armenian sorcerer who protected himself through a pact with the Heecho. The pact was sealed into an amethyst the sorcerer had sewn into his own abdomen; if anyone violated the sorcerer’s body, the Heecho would be summoned for vengeance. The only way to banish the Heecho was to pry out and destroy the amethyst!
Right Angles
For unknown reasons, the Heecho tends to avoid right angles, and prefers to manifest in open spaces or enclosures lacking clearly-defined angles. If a defender manages to place herself in a corner or positions herself within a rectangular structure like a doorframe, a +2 bonus is applied to her Parry score and all Trait rolls, including Soak.
Combat Notes
An armed encounter with the Heecho is a challenging role-playing scenario, and requires careful tracking of Action cards, grappled characters, teleported characters, and Wound Levels. A very powerful opponent, the Heecho may only be defeated through perseverance and coordination.
Damaging the Appendages
The Heecho’s appendages are physical, and may be damaged by normal weapons—but only when they appear during their corresponding Action rounds. Each appendage has two Wound Levels. If the opponent manages to inflict two Wounds to an appendage in a single attack, it is destroyed. If the appendage has not attacked that round, its Action card is turned upside-down and negated. Each destroyed appendage inflicts one Would Level on the Heecho itself. The Marshal must keep careful track of all damage done to the Heecho; once 12 total Wound Levels are sustained, the creature is banished for seven times seven days!
Banish Power
When the Heecho is in “violet smoke” form, it is immune to physical and magical damage. The only way to harm the creature is to cast Banish; a success inflicts one Would Level, with an additional Wound Level for each raise. Additionally, if Banish is successfully cast at an appendage before it attacks, its Action card is turned upside-down and negated.
Adjusting the Difficulty Level
The Heecho is designed to be challenging, but a few simple alterations may significantly scale down the difficulty. The appendages are easier to destroy if their health is lowered to a single Wound Level, and reducing the Heecho’s Strength and Spirit makes its attacks less deadly. The Heecho’s Fighting skill may be decreased, or the Marshal may limit the number of attacks possible under Multifold Peril. Of course, the Marshal may also increase such values to make the Heecho even more unpleasant!
Other Gaming Systems
Adapting to Call of Cthulhu
The Heecho was created for Deadlands, but in all fairness, my Deadlands 1876 campaign is already a Weird West version of Call of Cthulhu! With some tweaking, the Heecho can easily become a Mythos monster, bearing the same relationship to Yog-Sothoth that a Dark Young has to Shub-Niggurath, or the Star-Spawn have to Great Cthulhu. Because the Heecho’s card-based attacks are essential to its random nature, the Multifold Peril system should be maintained, even if the combat mechanics are translated into Chaosium rules. The Keeper is encouraged to purchase a Lovecraft-themed deck of playing cards for extra effect!
Sources & Notes
The Heecho is a fictional creation inspired by several sources. The name originates from George Hay’s Necronomicon, that faux-Assyrian version of H.P. Lovecraft’s grimoire first published in 1978. Although merely a name in a list of “ninefold affirmations,” the word “Heecho” sounded vaguely Mesoamerican to me, so I bequeathed it to my fictional Quivirans—the advanced pre-Colombian culture than inhabited Deadlands Kansas and Nebraska, and another example of my perpetual abuse of the historical Anasazi and the legend of Coronado. (And the name Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, well—Kobaïa is de Hündïn!) Because Hay’s Necronomicon linked the name to Yog-Sothoth and S’ngac, I decided to combine properties of both beings, so S’ngac’s “violet smoke” became ultraviolet light rippling through space-time as various gross appendages jutted forth, Erol Otus style!
The Codex Beltrán-Escavy is a Mythos addition courtesy of the inimitable folks at the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, and my enrollment of Uaxactun was prompted by Giacinto Scelsi’s magnificent orchestral work, Uaxactun—The legend of the Mayan city which they themselves destroyed for religious reasons. I must also credit the late, great Joan C. Stanley for her masterpiece, Ex Libris Miskatonici. A deadpan account of fictional works as lovingly detailed as anything by Borges, Ex Libris Miskatonici taught be how to blend the real and unreal, and I take Stanley’s word on Mythos texts as definitive. Finally, I’d like to mention that Frederick Pohl’s Gateway novels feature an vanished alien race known as the Heechee, who preserve their brains using technology and are sometimes referred to as “The Old Ones.” I’m just saying.
Image Credits
The images on this page are adapted from the famous Codex Borgia, an Aztec document believed to have pre-Colombian origins. The creature in the banner image is actually a nagual, or a shape-shifting sorcerer. The second image depicts the sun-god Tonatiuh drinking the blood of a beheaded bird—obviously!—but it could also depict the Heecho on a rampage. I mean, clearly. However, these illustrations are just stand-ins until Erol Otus types his name into Google, finds this page, and decides to bless me with an original piece of artwork!
Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 17 August 2020
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
PDF Version: [TBD]