Goatman

The goatman is a murderous figure found in many american urban legends.

There are many different goatmen found across the USA, ranging from cryptids, to science experiments, to ghosts and even demons. However the specific goatman featured in Crypto X Ing is the Pope Lick monster, said to live near the bridge of Pope Lick Creek, in the neighborhood of the city of Louisville, Kentucky.

## Biography

The Pope Lick monster's name, if he ever had one, is unknown, as is the reason why he was born with a monstrous, mutated appearence that merged the features of goat and human.

On that chapter Crypto X Ing theorise that he might be the offspring of the Prince George's County's goatman. This maryland resident is said to have been a scientist working at the Beltsville agricultural research center, until a failled experiment merged his DNA with that of a goat, turning him into a monster. Crypto X Ing's theory is that this oat man somehow managed to mate with either a woman or a goat, producing the mutant infant.

Regardless of the truth of his ascendance the newborn was found and adopted by a traveling circus that used him as an attraction in a freakshow. Like many such "freaks" te poor goatboy was badly mistreated, seen as less than human by the ordinary circus staff and audience alike. A whole lifetime spent living in a cage with the animals, only being let out to perform tricks for a jeering audience turned the boy into a grimm misanthrope hating all around him.

One night, as the circus was travelling through the trestle bridge over Pope Lick Creek, a terrible accident led to the train derailing killing all aboad the circus train. Well not quite all as it turned out : the goatman (now an addult) was the sole survivor of the accident, some saying he even made sure to kill any other survivors.

From that point on the goatman remained near the crash site, living as a hermit and killing any who came close to his bridge. This would be the source of his new moniker : the Pope Lick monster.

## Appearance

The Pope Lick monster stands at an impresive 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall. His legs are covered in fur and end in cloven hooves like those of a goat, while his torso is that of a very hairy and muscular man. His head present both human and caprine features, with the forward-facing eyes, the mouth, and the nose of a man, but the ears and curved horns of a goat.

## Behaviour

The Pope Lick monster is extremely violent and antisocial, murdering anyone he encounters. A common modus operandi is to lure his victims to the train tracks so they are run over by trains, implicating a great pleasure found in reminiscing the train accident that led to his freedom. Nevertheless, if no train in scheduled to pass at a time trespasser are to be found the goatman will not hesitate to get his hands dirty.

## Characteristics

* Strength : the Pope Lick monster is much stronger than a human being able to throw a car tire from 500 feet (152 meters).
* Resilience : the Pope Lick monster is extremely tough, routinely jumping from his bridge to the road bellow (a 85 feet (25 meter) fall) to ambush victims, a feat that would most likely be fatal to a human.
* Speed : the Pope Lick monster is fast enough to keep pace with a car at up to 60mph (95kmp).
* Intelligence : the Pope Lick monster shows some degree of inteligence as he lures his victims to the tracks and jump from his bridge to ambush them, showing the ability to plan. That being said his tricks are not very elaborate and he mostly rely on brutish violence.

## Powers

* Hypnosis : the Pope Lick monster is a skilled hypnotist able to induce hallucinations in his victims through eye contact, or even causing an emotional responce in them, though he can't control their actions

## Gear

* Two-handed axe : the goatman's weapon of choice is a two-handed axe similar to a fireman axe.
* Machete : Goatmen are sometimes sighted using machetes though it is unknown if this is true of the Pope Lick monster in particular (and consequently he is not given one in Crypto X Ing this item is listed for exhaustivity's sake).
* Thrown objects : depending on availability the Pope Lick monster is known to use his superhuman strength to throw heavy objects as improvised range weapons.

## Weaknesses

The Pope Lick monster has no specific weakeness.