#marabbecca

[briefbestiary]

The hidden monster lurking within Sicilian wells. A horror that causes disappearances near the structures it calls home.

[drondskaath]

Marabbecca | VII | 2020

UK Raw Black Metal

https://marabbecca.bandcamp.com/album/vii

[thecreaturecodex]

Marabbecca

“M is for Marabbecca” © deviantArt user Omny87, accessed at their gallery here

[Commissioned by @justicegundam82. The marabbecca is an Italian bogey about which there’s little info on the English-speaking internet, other than “it lives in wells and eats people”. Good sources of Italian creatures in general seem to be thin on the ground--I wonder if that scholarship has been done in Italian, or whether that niche is completely unfilled. @abookofcreatures, do you know any good sources on Italian monsters?]

Marabbecca Skittering along on an odd number of thin jointed legs is a creature with a cylindrical body hanging with loops and curlicues of flesh. Two of its limbs end in huge grasping talons, and its face is split into a toothy, vertical maw.

A marabbecca is a malignant subterranean predator that lurks in underground lakes and rivers. Although many are found in the wilds of the Darklands, they tend to take up residence in wells and aquifers in order to have a ready access to prey. They can survive outside of the water for several hours, and use this ability to strike out and hunt if prey does not come to them.

A marabbecca’s favorite tactic is to strike from ambush, clambering up its well to lash out with bird like talons and teeth that ooze a paralytic toxin. Once prey is appropriately subdued, it is dragged back into the depths to drown. Marabbeccas collect trophies from their victims, both of treasure and of body parts, and the latter may be left in visible places as “calling cards” in order to increase anxiety and tensions where they dwell. Marabbeccas seem to feed as much on suffering and fear as actual flesh, and they are used as bogeys in some communities to keep children from playing near dangerous wells. A marabbecca can go for months without feeding.

Marabbeccas are broadcast spawners—several times during their lives they gather in large numbers to release milt and eggs into the water. Larval marabbeccas are so small they can swim through water-logged rock and soil, allowing them access to faraway bodies of water and into wells that lack exposure to open water. If unmolested, a marabbecca can survive for nearly a century.

Marabbecca        CR 8 XP 4,800 NE Small aberration (aquatic) Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +16, tremorsense 30 ft. Defense AC 22, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+1 size, +5 Dex, +5 natural, +1 dodge) hp 91 (14d8+28) Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +12 Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 19 OffenseSpeed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +16 (1d6+2/19-20 plus grab), bite +16 (1d4+2 plus paralysis) Special Attacks grab (Medium), mobile grappler, paralysis (DC 19, 1d6+4 rounds), sneak attack +1d6 Statistics Str 14, Dex 21, Con 15, Int 9, Wis 16, Cha 10 Base Atk +10; CMB +14 (+18 grapple); CMD 27 (31 vs. trip) Feats Agile Maneuvers, Dodge, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Mobility, Stealthy, Weapon Finesse Skills Climb +21, Escape Artist +18, Perception +16, Stealth +22, Swim +21 Languages Undercommon SQ reduced water dependency Ecology Environment underground and aquatic or urban Organization solitary, pair or shoal (3-20) Treasure standard Special Abilities Mobile Grappler (Ex) A marabbecca can move its full speed when making a combat maneuver check to move a grabbed foe. Reduced Water Dependency (Ex) A marabbecca can survive for 10 minutes per point of Constitution outside of water before it begins to suffocate.

[ilpozzodelletrameperdute]

Marabbecca: un mostro che vive nell'oscurità e tramuta tutto in nulla

Marabbecca: un mostro che vive nell'oscurità e tramuta tutto in nulla

Marabbecca, mostro dalle fattezze sconosciute che abitava le oscurità della nostra Terra e tramutava ciò che esisteva nel niente più assolut

La marabbecca. Una donna fatta di buio, che dal buio emerge per trasformare in buio anche te. Me la ri-cordo da un libro di leggende di mio padre. Un vecchio libro rosso con il dorso spolpato dalle tarme. Mio padre lo donò al mio asilo insieme ad altri, perché ogni anno si liberava di una trentina di libri invenduti. La storia della marabbecca mi faceva paura. La immaginavo informe, come un'ombra. La inventarono le madri contadine per impedire ai figli di cadere nei pozzi: era lì che viveva, nera nel nero, in silenzio, in attesa di vita, di un corpo da annientare.

Passi di Marabbecca, Viola Di Grado 

[ilpozzodelletrameperdute]

Cosa si lascia, esattamente, quando si lascia una persona? Le abitudini in comune, i ricordi in comune, i corpi in comune? Cosa invece non si può lasciare? Cos’è che rimane unito, a incollare due anime con discrezione, per poi presentarsi un giorno all’improvviso nell’esistenza di uno dei due, sotto forma di una parola che non ci apparteneva, di un oggetto comprato insieme? Marabbecca - Viola Di Grado

[ilpozzodelletrameperdute]

Non mi interessava indagare l’entità di questa mia passione. Se fosse cotta, ossessione, o qualcosa di puro. Mi interessava solo che per una volta mi sentivo viva. Felice. Quello che è. Marabbecca - Viola Di Grado

[ilpozzodelletrameperdute]

Lei rise di nuovo, chiusi gli occhi come per assorbire meglio quella risata soffice. Pensai: Vorrei essere bella per te, Angelica, e quel pensiero mi umiliò. Marabbecca - Viola Di Grado

[ilpozzodelletrameperdute]

Pensai che le cose peggiori accadono d’estate. Quando la luce è assoluta, e nulla può nascondersi, nulla trova riparo. Marabbecca - Viola Di Grado