Bo Diddley, Monster Hunter

Ellas McDaniel, known to the youth culture of Transylvania USA as Bo Diddley, is more than just a musical prodigy and hit songster.  Though he maintains a successful recording career that allows him to tour the country more or less continuously, he has secretly added monster-hunting to his list of endeavors.

Bo Diddley's obsession with destroying creatures of darkness is fed by a deep sense of guilt and regret.  A couple of years ago, his young wife was kidnapped by a purple people eater, and never heard from again.  Worse, the creature taunted him about it for weeks, convincing him that he could have saved her if only he'd not rushed off for his latest out-of-town gig.  Bo tries to hold on to the hope that he'll see his wife again one day, but deep down knows the  truth: she was eaten by the monster, as so many others secretly have been over the years since purple people eaters were first sighted on Earth.

Since that day, Bo has committed himself to confronting the darkness whenever he can.  He uses his music touring as a cover for clandestine investigations into the supernatural, and has cultivated a network of contacts across the country who suspect the truth as he does, and thus aid him in his quest.  It is in this capacity that the PCs will probably encounter him.

Bo Diddley makes an excellent patron for low-level characters.  Perhaps, after their first brush with the supernatural, he recruits them to be the opening act or support crew on his next tour.  Or their paths cross inadvertently when they are pursuing the same prey. Whatever the case, his skills should be impressive enough to them that they would think themselves fools for turning down his offer of alliance.

NOTE ON RACE:  Segregation and casual racism exist in Transylvania USA just as they did in the real world.  DJs (GMs) and  players interested in exploring themes of discrimination and prejudice in their campaign should therefore take note of the fact that despite his fame and influence, there are just some doors that will always be closed to Bo Diddley, thus making his quest more difficult.  Though he has some white contacts in the hunter community, there are none that he trusts with his life.  Perhaps PCs could fill this gap, and thus find themselves facing many purely human monsters in their larger quest.

Bo Diddley
6th level Neutral specialist

Cha 18, Con 12 , Dex 15, Int 11, Str 9, Wis 12

Saves: Paralyze 11, Poison 12, Breath 14, Device 13, Magic 12

AC 13, HP 23

Dance Skill:  The Twist, 3 in 6
Musical Skill: Guitar, 4 in 6

Other Skills:
Search, 3 in 6
Sneak Attack, 2 in 6
Singing, 5 in 6
Songwriting, 5 in 6
Stealth, 2 in 6
Tinker, 3 in 6

Weapons:
Pistol, revolver -- (1d10 damage, Short Range 200 ft, Medium range 400 ft, Long range 800 ft)
Switchblade -- (1d4)

Special: Bo Diddley plays a customized Gretsch G6138 guitar that is, unbeknownst to him, tinged with a bit of magic power (perhaps a remnant of his wife's love).  As long as he wields it, Bo is +2 on all saves vs. Magic, and gets a +1 bonus in musical challenges against alien monsters.  However, he will slowly become addicted to the instrument over time, and must make a save vs. device at -4 penalty to part with it for more than 12 hours. If the guitar is out of his sight for longer than this period, he will display symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, and suffer -2 on all his rolls until reunited with it.

Dance-Offs & Musical Challenges

Monsters,  it turns out, like to dance and sing.  This often curdles the blood of mortals who witness it, but it is a fact nonetheless.  And some more adventurous mortals have learned it's possible to beat the monsters at their own game.

When a monster is encountered, it can possibly be turned or defeated by challenging it to a dance-off or musical battle.  But the catch is, the reverse is also true!  Monsters in such contests against PCs  can potentially turn or destroy them, as well.

Both parties use the turn table described in the turn undead spell, with the loser suffering the listed effect.  Generous DJs (that is, GMs) can allow PCs a saving throw vs. paralyze to resist a monster's turning effect on them if they fail, but players are never entitled to this.

The roll for both parties can be modified by their skill aptitude in a given musical instrument or dance routine, as noted below.

Every PC and many important monsters in a Tales from the Haunted Jukebox campaign should have both a musical/singing skill and a dance specialty in one of the more popular dances of the 50s and early 60s.  One of these skills begins at a 2 in 6 chance of success and advances at the same rate as the elf's Search skill.  The other skill begins at a 3 in 6 chance of success and advances at the same rate as the dwarf's Architecture skill.  Treat a monster's HD as its level for purposes of determining how skilled it is at its listed musical and dance abilities.

Success on a dance or musical skill roll grants the character or monster a +2 bonus on their next turn attempt.

Note that in a Tales campaign, this is the only way any character can turn a non-vampire undead being.  In Transylvania, USA, only vampires are susceptible to non-dance or non-musical turn attempts.