Long ago there were beings called Jotuns that ruled over the cosmos. They fought shadow wars with the gods every night, engaging them in combat and harming them, and drinking deeply of their fear. However, Jotuns did not revel in the causing of the pain, they only did this to sustain themselves on the fear of the gods. The Jotuns where powerful, intense, and wild, and they fed upon fear. Unfortunately for the Jotuns they were bested by the gods once, reducing their legend, destroying the Jotuns themselves. For the Jotuns are phobovores, eaters of fear, and they were only able to defeat the gods due to millenia of work, distilling fear within the gods themselves. But after their defeat, they waned into very minor sprites, fit only for scaring children.
These bogles (also called Boggles or Bogeys) now are forced to inhabit a small area in order to bring in those they can scare enough to eat. They are able to shape shift in order to scare, but they tend to stay in the same form in order to build up a local legend. Their most common forms are headless people, a large animal like a horse or cow, or a squat person who can appear out of nowhere. They will often use their shapeshifting to disappear and reappear, and stalk their prey. They will take the same form day in and day out, waiting for themselves to become a legend which they can use to draw in prey. Generally, a bogle will begin by scaring those who seem easily frightened, and lie in way in the same spot in order to build a story that's worth repeating. Once they've become established, they will try to convince the young or the brave to come to them in order to prove their mettle, the bogle will then attempt to harm those. Once they have begun to harm, bogles will then begin a campaign of fear in order to glut itself on the fear of all. The ultimate goal of the bogle is to bring in a heroic being and drive it out in fear, finally allowing it to glut itself on the breaking of the mettle of a heroic soul, until it can once again challenge the gods.
In ancient times, it was said to not give them bogle a name, and doing so would give it power. This is not an innate feature of the bogles, who do not have names of their own when born, but when they are given a name like The Black Cow of Hedley Moor, or The Headless Vicar of Lucknow, they become something spoken of in hushed tones, and therefore they can eat more easily.
Shapechanger: The Bogle has no fixed form, but it is still embodied. It must be no bigger than a middling stature person, but otherwise can turn into anything. Bogles will often turn into things like gold in order to lure in travellers. But generally they will turn into something the size and shape of a person, since they do need their bodies to move around, and they cannot float or fly. The only limitation in their shapeshifting is that they are unable to change their shape while being observed.
Phobophage: Bogles constantly grow bigger and bigger as they consume the fear of those they prey upon. If the bogle causes a target to make a Steel test, they gain points of Phobos equal to the number of turns of hesitation, plus the Steel of the person fleeing. This means that when the Hedley Cow terrifies Old John McWurt, John rolls their Steel, collecting 4 successes on their B6 Steel. John's Hesitation is 6, so he begins running for two rounds, and the Hedley Cow collects 8 Phobos. Bogles typically will save this, since it can be weeks or months before they can scare someone else, and the bogle must eat 1 Phobos every week. However, the bogle can grow bigger by consuming 10 points of Phobos. Each time they do this they can add 2D to a Skill, 1D to a Stat or Attribute. They can also consume 40 points of Phobos to shade shift a skill or attribute one shade lighter. If the bogle cannot eat a Phobo for a week, they lose 1 from every skill and a single attribute or stat (bogle's choice). This means they quickly diminish if starved. The stats above show the Bogle at its lowest point.
Some bogles have managed to build a reputation for themselves as a terrifying monster of a location. If the bogle manages to build a 1D Reputation, it no longer needs to consume any Phobos, allowing to simply keep all its energy to itself. A 2D Reputation allows the bogle to gain 1D to a skill every month. A 3D Reputation allows the bogle to add 1D to a skill or stat every month. Allowing a bogle to build a terrible legend for itself is the way to rebuild the Jotun.
Temporary Bodies: When a bogle takes a form, they may choose to become corporeal. This means that the bogle can be picked up, held, or felt for a while (important for placing a clammy hand on the unexpected traveller's arm, or becoming a hunk of gold to be brought home as a way into a home), but this is necessary. If the bogle becomes incapacitated, the body melts away, and the bogle is left a small ball of light.
Terrorize: The bogle can attempt to scare their targets. If they manage to surprise the target (often a Stealthy test), they can attempt to scare the target. The bogle rolls their Intimidation vs the target's Steel. This is a standard Steel test, with the Bogle's intimidation successes adding to the target's Hesitation.
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week