Reddit Monster Ecology Anthology

Original Compilation Introduction

I love monsters. I think its the reason I fell in love with D&D. I own 15 Monster Manuals across 5 editions, and all of them are old friends. Where would D&D be without the Beholder or the titular Dragon? I can’t imagine a world without Stirge or Jermlaine. This book is book is for storytellers and worldbuilders. Its the result of a heap of passionate people writing lore for the monsters we all know and love.

I remember the first Monster Manual from 1st Edition very well. I would stare at the drawing of the Carrion Crawler and marvel at its design and how terrifying it would be to meet one in a dark cavern, dropping down on some poor adventurer’s head and dragging him away into the darkness to be eaten. Or how I was pretty sure I was never going to have a Duckbunny or a Giant Beaver in one of my campaigns.

Well. The Giant Beaver did appear once. A whole nest of them. I had come up with some crazy reason why they were mutated - the result of some mad wizard’s experimentation to stop an incursion of militant druids who were hell-bent on reforesting a grassland. I was 12 at the time, ok? Don’t judge me.

I would read these books for hours. Wondering how they were created. How they lived and what their societies looked like. Over the years, as I got more and more of the Manuals, I realized that the lore, the very core of the reason why these things existed started to become less and less frequent. The 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual stands as a paragon of monster lore. Fleshy and exciting, they spurred me to create my own lore and twist the established tales.

Then came Dragon Magazine.

The first Ecology article appeared in Dragon #72 and was the Ecology of the Piercer. It was the start of a great many articles discussing D&D monsters from a “naturalists” point-of-view.

/r/DndBehindTheScreen decided to continue the tradition with this project for the 5th edition of the game, in the hopes that we could emulate-in-spirit the ideas of these early articles, and to add our own fresh ideas to the established lore.

These articles are not meant to simply rehash what we already know, but to bring a new perspective, and to perhaps push the lore into new areas that readers might not have considered on their own. I think it was a great success.

Our design goals comprised of covering the following:

• • The lifecycle of the creature, including pregnancy and young

• • The organization of the species (e.g., tribes, flocks,species lone predators, etc..)

• • Other discussion around whatever might be interesting how a grey ooze digests its food, how a phumph fies, etc.

• • The creature’s main habitat and lair preferences.

• • Any other traits, physical, magical, supernatural, etc.

• • What would ë ghting one of these creatures be like?

• • How about a swarm of them?

• • What creatures does this creature associate or fight well with? What are it’s enemies?

• • What kind of variants to these creatures could we create?

• • How could they be scaled for various levels of character parties?

There are 153 monsters in the 5e Monster Manual. There are also monsters in the Starter Set, Hoard of the Dragon Queen and some in the Player’s Handbook. The list also does not have the Miscellaneous Creatures or the NPCs from the Monster Manual, only what we considered to be the “core” monsters are covered in this book.

I would like to thank all the contributors for their amazing ideas and for working so hard on this. In time, it’s my hope that this book will allow a new generation of gamers to question the status-quo and to bring their own spin on creatures that we have become familiar with over the past 40+ years of Dungeons & Dragons.

-Matt H. aka Famoushippopotamus Project Leader

Aboleth

Ants have grand plans. They build elaborate structures over the course of generations. From an ant's perspective, their societies are complex and eternal. They aren't. They're mounds in the sand, and the sea comes to wash them away. The sea is eternal and it washes away their pathetic homes. I am the sea. You are less than ants. Now beg for me to kill you like your friends did. -Molmig the Permanent, an aboleth killing a group of adventurers its favorite way - mentally impelling them to beg for death

Introduction

Aboleths are among the most sinister and horrible of all threats to sentient humanoid life. Ancient, immortal, and all-knowing, aboleth are primeval abominations fueled by inhuman arrogance and hate for all other beings.

Physiological Observations

Aboleths are the oldest sentient life in existence. Their basic body shape resembles an eel, although not even a blind old fool could mistake an aboleth for any natural modern animal. They have no fins beside on their tail and down their back. Behind their head, four muscular tentacles twist and turn. Three huge red eyes - vertically arranged - sit at what would be called their face, above a mass of tentacles. The tentacles pull food into the aboleth's small, slit-like mouth.

Along the side of their body, aboleths have huge, gaping holes. These are roughly an analog to nostrils or gills. Aboleths breathe and vocalize through these holes. Aboleth language is enormously complex - it covers a vast range of pitches, clicks, croaks, pops, and sing-song esque vocalizations. Even with a lifetime of training, a humanoid mind is incapable of grasping any but the most basic meaning an aboleth expresses.

These holes also produce the aboleth's distinctive slime. This filthy muck turns the water around an aboleth into a thick, soupy mass. The aboleth requires this slime to breathe and to maintain moisture in its brief forays above water. The slime can also infect other creatures, forcing air breathing creatures to breathe water. The aboleth transmits this disease using its tentacles.

When one speaks of the dawn of time, they are referring to the first memories of the aboleths. This memory is no myth or folklore passed down - it is a simple fact that every aboleth remembers in perfect clarity. An aboleth has a perfect eidetic memory - it can recall every instant of its entire life in exact detail. These memories tretch back a long time, because once an aboleth reaches adulthood it ceases to age - they are immortal except for violence. But even more significant is that an aboleth's memory is passed down to each generation.

Aboleths reproduce asexually. Every few decades, an aboleth retreats to a secure location and lays a clutch of of 5-10 eggs. The aboleth doesn't move from the eggs for any reason until several weeks have passes, at which point it "swallows" the eggs with the holes on the side of its body. After another month or so, the aboleth vomits out fully developed but smaller aboleths - the young are called smiluts. They're only a few feet long at birth, but mentally fully developed and carrying all the memories of their entire familial line. They spend a year or so with their parent - there is no childhood for an aboleth, only a period of protection while they develop physically.

Aboleths also possess formidable psionic powers. They can communicate telepathically with all manner of beings and, most terrifying of all, can dominate the minds of lesser beings. They often force other creatures to serve them as thralls.

Social Observations

Aboleths used to rule a planet-spanning empire. For more than a billion years, they were the unquestioned masters of the world. They were served by advanced constructs they built, but eventually desired slaves capable of a certain degree of independence. The aboleths took fish and altered their form using dark arts and advanced science. They shaped the creatures into a form that mimicked their own. Above the surface, they performed similar experiments on apes, developing the first hominids. They let these species develop, forcing most of them into slavery and watching the others.

As their control over their subjects increased, so did their vanity. Until their subjects, in their hopelessness, created religion and brought the gods into being. The gods smote the aboleth empire and liberated their worshipers. Now, hundreds of thousands of years later, the aboleth empire is not what it was in its heyday. Aboleths lurk in secret in the deep waters of the world. Most are largely solitary, meeting with other aboleths every few decades to further their devious plots. Aboleths, vile and alien though they are, are capable of something resembling friendship among their own, although an aboleth would never come to a friend's aid - if one is unable to protect itself, it does not deserve assistance.

A few aboleth cities exist in secret around the world. Architecture with blasphemous geometry - strange stones twisted into impossible shapes. The hierarchy is impossible to comprehend for mortal minds and their governmental systems operate over spans of millennia.

And as a rule, aboleths worship no gods - they recognize the very real power of the divine, but feel no need to prostrate themselves before something so much younger than they are.

Behavioral Observations

The primary drive for aboleths in all things is a deep hatred of mortals and gods. They remember their billion year empire and what was taken from them. Each aboleth constantly burns with a cold, alien bitterness at the injustice they perceive. They will stop at nothing to reclaim their rightful place atop the world, but they plan on a geological time scale - to the aboleths, their displacement was a recent event. It is quite possible they are still in the very early stages of their plans to regain power. This is the way an aboleth thinks.

They are immensely cruel and take great pleasure in the suffering of lesser beings. They have an almost artistic passion for the mental domination and enslavement of mortals. Some take this to levels impossible to comprehend - capturing humans from the surface and adorning the walls of their lairs with their still living bodies as a canvass for blasphemous art, forcing mothers to eat their children, and other things simply too hideous to describe.

An aboleth's lair will always be in deep, dark water. They will often be surrounded by pathetic, mewling slaves. They cover their homes in magical artifacts and alien art.

Intra-Species Observations

Aboleths have nothing but hate for all other intelligent life. But they are not fools. They acknowledge and, to a certain degree, even respect the power of gods and mortal heroes. They also understand, however, that those other powers are but a blink in the eye of the aboleths - in time, they too will fade.

Aboleths are careful to hide themselves from the world above - secrecy is paramount to protecting their plots. They interact with the world primarily through their thralls. When they do occasionally emerge to the world above, it is in a terrible unveiling of power - a reminder for the mortal world that all they know is only temporary.

DM's Toolkit

Aboleths are one of my very favorite monsters - they capture Lovecraftian horror more than any other. The key to using them, in my experience, is to make it a slow burn for the PCs - introduce the threat early on, but then hide it away. Drop hints that the aboleth is watching and plotting. Have its servants appear periodically to >harass the PCs.

And when the time comes for the final battle, make the aboleth as terrifying as possible. Aboleths possess an intelligence far beyond mortal minds. They will use every trick in the book and show no mercy. And when the PCs emerge >victorious? Remind them that their victory is only temporary and that all of their hopes and dreams will be washed away like anthills on the beach.

Aarakocra

Introduction

Hawks, eagles, falcon, parrots- bah. Lets base the Aarakocra on bearded vultures because (1) 90% of the diet is bone dropped on rocks digested in a stomach with a pH of 1, (2) Lay two eggs but encourage the chicks to fight to the death, (3) dyes its white feathers with blood and iron oxide dust, (4) very territorial. Seriously look this awesome bird up.

No one knows exactly how Aarakocra came to this world. They could be exiles from the plane of air, creatures born in high mountain regions, devotees of a long forgotten bird god, or failed experiments in humans or elves learning how to fly.

Physiological Observations

They are vulture-like in appearance with black and white striped faces, red eyes, and black beaks. While their faces and heads are feather free, the rest of their body is covered in black and white feathers head to toe. Its is not uncommon to see Aarakocra dying their feathers with blood, iron oxide dust, or be adorned in red gemstones. Rubies, especially being valued. They live in a woven nest and are mated for life. Each season the females lay two egg, but encourage the chicks to squabble and fight for choice food. Usually one chick gets pushed out of the nest. But such is the way of nature, life, and the winds say the aarakocra.

Social Observations

These lawful neutral birdmen generally occur in bands of 5-10 pairs mated for life (+ 1d6 young) in mountains, deep craigs, and plains regions that sit next to steep rocky features. 3-5 bands make up an aarakocra flight centered around 1-2 wing-less holy individuals- storm callers. Aarakocra cultivate and encourage predators like giant eagles, drakes, wyverns and large cats to make homes with in the flight’s range and prey on deer, sheep, ect. The predators take the meat and the aarakocra farm the bones. Therefore aarakocra territories are already remote, but also become wild places difficult for human settlement. An aarakocra’s duties are to the storm caller, their mate/chicks, the flight, and independance. They are wary of outsiders and will consistently track movement through their territories.

Stormcallers (Warlock class) were pushed out of the nest to die by a more powerful sibling, but survived through sheer force of will, cunning, and sacrifice. While young, these individuals cut off their wings in a last sacrifice to air elemental and spirits. The young stormcaller staves off death, is bonded to an air elemental regaining flight, and gains magical ability. Becoming a stormcaller is a painful, tragic experience and to human eyes it can create aarakocra rulers disposed to cruelty and lack of mercy but not always the case.

Behavioral Observations

Not too much is known about the exact behavior of these beings. However shepherds have reported establishing light trading with flights. Travelers crossing wastelands or remote areas have been known to be saved by an aaracokcra after sucumming to injury. At the same time, caravans and attempted settlement in some of the fertile grasslands near flight have been met with destruction, death, and the periodic storms suspiciously centered over villages. Aarakocra have been known to keep giant eagles as pets or “war dogs”. And the little bits of lore that come from shepherds and dwarves comment that the birdmen praise rocs as agents of gods and view the phoenix as a symbol of greed, vanity, and trickery.

Some sailors report a much crueler populations of sea-borne aarakocra that are prone to raiding ships from island bases. Or piloting commandeered ships (sometimes with slaves) and raiding trading vessels and port towns. These attacks don’t seem to be preceded by any weather changes, but somehow the raid do seem to occur at the most opportunistic time. These leads some to ask if the aarakocra have learn divination and scrying.

Combat:

Aarkocra are not afraid to fight, but prefer to do it on their terms which involves maximizing their time in the air. They generally use spears, claws, and even hooked blades to dismount opponents or drag them off cliff faces. >They also will drop heavy, arrow shaped stones from above in order to break or destroy more fortified structures. Giant eagles can be used like war dogs. If need be, a Storm Caller might lead a group, bring the might of huge >storm systems or powerful air elementals.

Intra-species Observations

Aarackocra tolerate small human settlements and will trade openly with shepherds for bones, good spears, and gems, especially rubies. Aarakocra come in contact with dwarves in the mountains and trade rare herbs, spices, and tobacco for gems, metal work, and lightweight armor that allows flight. Aarkocra have a hatred of harpies, orcs, and ettins who eat too much of the local wildlife. Aarakocra will hunt the undead, especially those primarily composed of bone. They feel that the magical properties give them strength and communion with the gods. Druid and Ranger PCs will have the easiest time negotiating with aarakocra as they understand their more neutral viewpoints.

Variant Species

Rattletails: Because not many live to see the other side of a Rattletail attack, reports of these aarakocra are scant. Sailors and merchants report that some make their home on chains of island where goats can be raised for meat but there is little else that can challenge them. From these island, they will raid shipping lanes and ports. Worse are rattletails that have ocean going vessels they will fly from and attack ships near by. These birdmen are equipped with clay jars of fire to drop from the air. As the ship burns, they will then swoop in knocking sailors off with heavy clubs and enslaving the rest. Should a daring captain instead turn and attack the Rattletail ship, they will find the birdmen chum the water to attract sharks and worse. The birdmen will then leave their own ship and bait an attack. Once most of the crew is on board they will knock them off into the water and burn the other ship. Finally as if their taste for wearing finger and toe bones is not enough, Rattletails will also seek alliances with evil fishmen for added support or shock troops.

DM's Toolbox:

Two aarkocra males grab one of the PCs and carry them into the air by the legs. With the help of a third, they proceed to shake any gems, trinkets, and jewelry loose to catch in a net. They will drop the PC in a river or tree. Local shepherds are being driven away or killed and their flocks taken by birdmen. Also the weather has seen strong winds that are destroying roofs and tall crops. Rumors has it that high in the mountains a new stormcaller has taken hold and wants to destroy the local town.

After witnessing a brave fight the PCs put up against harpies/orcs/ettins, an aarkocra tosses the PCs a crude map that points out a haven and two local dangers.

Shattering Sheep! The PCs are caught in a storm of dropped sheep skulls and bones. DEX save or be knocked unconscious by the mass of falling bones.

A small band of aarkocra approach the PCs about helping defend an injured young roc- a holy bird. The PCs will need to stave off attacks by ogres/giants/orcs until the stormcaller arrives. The roc is in pain and may attack the PCs periodically.

Pieces of the local mountainous landmark are floating off! Rumors abound that the local aarkocra have gems from the plane of air and are either (a) terraforming to open a gateway or (b) actually fighting off a slaad/undead assault by changing the landscape for max advantage.

Angel

"I'll heal the faithful and revive those who are worthy. I'll bring destruction upon those who deserve it and I'll carry the ones who oppose God into death. I'll do all this and even more. For God has spoken."

Mikael, one of the twenty-four Solar

Introduction

A direct emanation of a good God, Angels are the embodiment of His will and their only meaning is to fulfill His orders.

But they aren't perfect beings, this blind obedience together with their strong pride can sometimes lead to mistakes and an Angel may also fall into darkness, where he begins to yearn for vengeance toward the God he was serving.

Physiological Observations

Despite that only a few have received the blessing of seeing the true form of an Angel, all the witnesses agree to one thing: they are beautiful. It isn't known if it's because they are truly beings of considerable appearances or because those who see them are struck by a sense of beauty that comes from the Angels' divine origin.

Anyway, they are described as very tall and muscular humanoids, neither male nor female, with large feathery wings, metallic or opalescent skin and gleaming eyes.

Although they can sleep, eat, and drink while under cover, they don't need to. Even breathing doesn't appear to be a necessity for them.

Social Observations

The Angel Hierarchy is structured with rigid castes based solely on how much power their God has granted to them. Ambition isn't common among the Heavens' lower ranks and rebellion has no meaning at all. Everyone understands the importance of his own place and only the more powerful ones may show signs of ambition.

However it shouldn't be mistaken as the human form of ambition, rather they crave to fulfill their duties better than anyone else. This behavior may lead to rivalries between the higher ranks and that's why the few Solar keep to themselves, far from the rest of the Hierarchy.

Behavioral Observations

More often than not Angels appear disguised as the races among which they have descended. But usually only the lower castes lives many years among mortals, dispensing aid, hope, courage and any other quality their God presides. Except for the lowest caste, all of them can see through lies and deception, thus no mortal can escape their judgment, but since the Heavens' ranks are not infinite, the medium and higher ranks are only deployed where there is an absolute necessity. Such a situation may call for a direct intervention using all their might, without any need to maintain a cover. That's why sometimes Angels may appear as emotionless creatures, lead only by their duties, consumed by their own hate toward sinners and unfaithful. Truly, they have emotions like every other conscious being.

Variant Species

Being created and guarded by divine powers, Angels didn't face the obstacles of evolution, today they are exactly how they were created eons ago. The classic literature tend on classify them into 3 big categories:

Devas, the ones who live among mortals.

Planetars, the army of God.

And the, almost God-like, Solars.

Truthfully, the Hierarchy is very fragmented, with every Angel created for a precise purpose. A more archaic classification divided them into seven groups:

Archangels, literally "Chief Angels". They are the most powerful ones, destined to lead the Hierarchy in the Final Battle against the Evil.

Seraphim, the "Burning Ones". Seraphim are God's bodyguards, they are always near their own God and therefore they shine perpetually in His blinding light. It is said that their wings are indestructible and thus they are often depicted with 6 wings, flying with a pair while they wrap themselves with the other two pairs.

Cherubim, the "Blessed Ones". Cherubs are Wardens of relics, holy places and saints. They are armed with flaming or thunderous swords and they have astonishing metamorphic abilities, above average for any other Angel.

Thrones, the "Many-Eyed-Ones". Directly under the orders of the Cherubim, Thrones are sentinels, observers, spies. It is said that they also carry the Throne of their God, thus the name.

Dominions are the mind of the Hierarchy. They are being of high intellect who elaborate the strategies to undertake against the Evil and oversee the duties of the other Angels. Some say that they posses orbs who allow them to see through the Thrones' eyes.

Virtues are the ones who grant sparks of divine power to mortals. Clerics, paladins and druids are all observed and guided by Virtues. It is said that they may also offer "contracts" to certain beings who were predestined to have the chance to shift the balance in a way or another.

Powers are the soldiers of the Hierarchy. They are specialized to fight Fiends, Devils, Demons and all the loathsome beings that Evil may generate.

DM's Toolkit

Angels aren't only God's tools, they can be valuable to any DM.

Did you think that the mighty Pelor shows himself to any human just because this little being was calling for help? Of course not, Pelor has His own business to run (let's put aside the fact that only being near to an almighty entity isn't exactly "safe" and bearable by any poor mortal, without considering the alignment of the deity).

Regardless of how your Pantheon is composed you almost certainly need agents for your gods. In the last section, I wrote an example based on the Catholic religion of how you can organize ranks between your winged beings.

A few examples with some D&D deities:

Angels of Tyr: Armed with longswords, they guide, help and judge paladins and magistrates. They can cast Zone of Truth at will or just perceive every lie passively.

Angels of Pelor: Armed with a mace, they shine so bright that you can't glance at them. They are always near clerics, granting them healing miracles and the power to destroy the undead.

Angels of Habbakuk: They always carry nets with them and are somewhat translucent. They can talk to animals and calm a sea storm.

Angels of Lolth: Their wings were ripped when they fell, but the Dark Mother adopted them and gave to them new wings, made of webs. They guide the hands of assassins and help spreading their new Mother's web of deception through whispers in the right ears.

Wait! But Lolth isn't a Good deity!

Who cares?

I mean, if you think that your God deserve a court of supernatural agents, Angels are a nice choice. As long as your God hasn't an army of fiends, demons or devils, they don't even need to be Fallen Angels (or the Balance will shift!). They are customizable to your God's needs! Don't stick too much with the manuals! You need something? Homebrew it! ;)

Animated Object

Boris had just killed a Rust Monster that was guarding King Olister’s fortress. With his weapons and armor destroyed, he thought he had no choice but to turn back. Then he found a suit of armor decorating the dungeon. Praising the gods for his good luck, he put on the armor and waved the nearby sword with glee. King Olister would fall before his blade, there was no doubt. When he reached the final chamber, he shouted a challenge to the mad king: “Fight me like a man or die a coward!” King Olister merely laughed at his challenge. The enraged Boris charged, but the carpet sprung to life, tripping him. Raising his blade to fight his new foe, he gasped when he realized that the sword was no longer in his hand, but floating a few feet away, pointed at him. He desperately tried to jump out of the way of the blade, but the armor locked up and actually moved him into the path of the blade. His head decorated a pike outside King Olister’s fortress the following morning.

-”Boris Learns to not Trust Animated Objects” from Big Book of Boris’s Blunders

Introduction

Not to be confused with Mimics, which are monsters grotesquely shaped as man-made objects, Animated Objects are man-made objects brought to life through magic. The nature of the objects or the magic powering them varies from object to object, but they all share certain traits that make it easy to classify them as a single type of monster. Most Animated Objects are unintelligent, with a singular purpose. Unfortunately, their purpose is almost universally harmful. Except for the rare intelligent Animated Objects, they are all unaligned because of their unintelligent nature. Even if their purpose is evil, they only fulfill their purpose because they are forced to, not because they themselves are evil. They also all share a vulnerability to antimagic.

Physiological Observations

The shape and function of Animated Objects vary from item to item. Three most commonly encountered by explorers are known as Animated Armor, Flying Sword, and Rug of Smothering. However, Animated Objects come in practically every possible form, from the tiniest needles to carriages and ships. All Animated Objects share one physical trait: they can only move parts of the objects that are capable of moving. A statue would make a poor Animated Object because it has no moving parts; it would be wiser to make a statue into a golem of some kind.

Animated Armor

This form of Animated Object typically appears to be a metal suit of armor, with significant variation in composition and decoration from object to object. It’s not uncommon to see Animated Armor with emblems or spikes decorating them. They can also take the shape of other kinds of armor, like leather or scale, but they tend to be less common because they lack durability. Animated Armor doesn’t rust naturally, though if it is made of metal it can still be damaged by a Rust Monster or any magical sources of rust. If the design of the Animated Armor does not make it immediately obvious that there is no one wearing it, it can easily be confused for a person.

Flying Sword

Despite the name, Flying Sword is a classification that encompasses all animated handheld weapons, including swords, axes, clubs, hammers, daggers, and even crossbows. Swords are the most common, but any out-of-place weapon in a dungeon could potentially be an Animated Object. Like the name implies, these objects can fly, making up for the weapon’s general lack of moving parts. Unlike a Dancing weapon, Flying Swords function permanently (until destroyed or disenchanted) but they do not gain the benefits of their wielder like Dancing weapons do. Like Animated Armor, Flying Swords possess the same immunity to natural rust and the same weakness to Rust Monsters and magical rust.

Rug of Smothering

This type of Animated Object shares an unfortunate physical similarity to another less sinister magical object, the carpet of flying. Like the carpet, the Rug of Smothering appears to be a rug or carpet, but instead of responding to command words with flight, the Rug of Smothering brings a whole new world of pain. Unlike a carpet of flying, a Rug of Smothering is generally incapable of flight, though there are certain exceptions. Their magical properties make them a natural flame retardant, so while fire can still damage them, they don’t burn like cloth typically would. These rugs don’t typically possess the ability to fly, though some possess slight levitation capabilities.

Other

Animated Objects of other categories possess the same physical characteristics as the objects they come from, though some things can be magically amplified. The magic negates most of the objects’ natural weaknesses, such as wooden objects don’t burn as easily or metal objects don’t rust. Objects are animated through either control of the objects’ moving parts or can fly through magic propulsion, though the latter is less common. Since they don’t have eyes (usually), they see through a magical blindsense that usually extends 60 ft. Beyond that, they are blind.

Social Observations

Because the ovewhelming majority of Animated Objects are unintelligent entities with a singular purpose, there is very little social interaction between Animated Objects. Sometimes they can coordinate to accomplish a group goal, but that is largely up to their creator. The rare intelligent Animated Object usually avoids the unintelligent ones, sticking together in the even rarer instance of multiple intelligent Animated Objects inhabiting the same area.

Behaviorial Observations

An Animated Object’s behavior is based entirely on the intentions of its creator. The most common Animated Objects serve a violent purpose, but there are many other kinds that exist for other reasons. Intelligent Animated Objects develop a sense of superiority because of their uniqueness, but they also tend to inexplicably become paranoid, often leading to isolated lives away from anything or anyone else.

Inter-Species Observations

Animated Objects only interact with other species if it is required by their purpose. Violent Animated Objects interact violently with other species, while helpful Animated Objects aid other species. Intelligent Animated Objects tend to be reclusive, avoiding both unintelligent Animated Objects and other races. While Animated Objects will fulfill their purpose to the best of their abilities, they will not perform any actions not directly associated with fulfilling their purpose. An Animated Object cannot aid an adventurer if its purpose is not to aid people, and they will not harm an adventurer if its purpose is not to harm people.

DM's Toolkit

Animated Objects are one of the most versatile monsters in the Monster Manual because they can literally be anything. The right amount of creativity can turn a room full of junk into a deathtrap of deadly Animated Objects. >Alternatively, Animated Objects can be used as to help the PCs. An animated lamp could guide a lost party through a maze, or an animated rope might help a traveller rappel down a wall. There could be a very lazy wizard who decided to never have to deal with any mundane task again, so he made every single possession he owned into an Animated Object, so the door opens when he wants through, the coffee makes itself, the broom sweeps automatically, etc. There’s no limit to the size of an animated object, so an entire ship could be animated, doing away with the need of a crew. A rogue, intelligent animated ship would be a deadly scourge upon the seas. Even more ambitious, there could be an animated city somewhere, maintaining itself while its citizens go about their lives, barely aware that the city is anything special.

I’m personally fond of a homebrew spell that transfers a dead person’s consciousness into an animated object. Fun times...

Ankheg

An Ankheg’s chitin makes an excellent armour and each individual has quite a bit of it. The problem is in collecting it, mostly because an Ankheg’s chitin makes an excellent armour and each individual has quite a bit of it.

-Old Hunter’s Almanac

Introduction

The Ankheg (gryllotalpa aegisidae, alt. myrmecia aegisidae) is a large insect common to temperate forest and grassland biomes. Many consider the ankheg to be a notorious pest species and when there is an infestation it can wreak havoc to a farm or ranch due to disruption of local soils and predation of domestic animals. Removal of ankhegs from agricultural societies can be difficult as obtaining enough poison to reach a lethal dose for the ankheg is often not a viable solution due to size and the creature’s resistance to many poisons’ effects. As such, a manual approach is often used. Ankheg resistant to removal have been known to consume or fatally poison unwary extermination contractors. It is not suggested that the inexperienced attempt to remove an infestation.

Physiological Observations

It is perhaps due to its interactions with humanoids that one of the ankheg’s most noted features are its large outer mandibles. Capable of injecting a potent poison these are used to subdue and manipulate prey for mastication with it’s smaller inner mandibles in addition to warding off unwanted intruders to its territory. Some sub-species of ankheg have been reported capable of launching a poisonous projectile. The mechanism behind this has remained expectedly elusive. The ankheg has a number of very keen senses including low-light capable vision, a keen sense of smell using the antenna on its head, and the ability to sense fine vibrations in the surrounding earth facilitated by a number of fine hairs on the ankheg’s feet.

Despite their fearsome reputation as voracious hunters of large game the ankheg is omnivorous consuming an extremely varied diet. It is believed that this is primarily to maintain its rather large size for a species of this particular clade. The large size also creates problems for the distribution of oxygen, a known limiting factor for many insects. Their large size suggests that there is something more than just diffusion pushing oxygen through their system. The ankheg’s chitinous exoskeleton is the primary reason that they are hunted, besides pest eradication. When properly cured and maintained it can be used as armor plating that can rival other types of heavy armor. Of of the notable properties is that it is one of the few heavy armors that is non-metallic instead relying on chitin for its structural integrity. This has made it a valuable commodity to the right buyer. Successful hunting of ankheg can be quite profitable especially due to the fact that the ankheg has resisted domestication despite a number of disastrous attempts.

Behavioural Observations

The ankheg is an ambush predator making use of its highly developed senses. In particular, its ability to sense vibrations through earth mean that it doesn’t even need to have a line of sight or to be downwind to detect potential prey or hunters.

Ankheg make the most of these senses when they are inside their tunnels. Ankheg are prodigious tunnelers making vast networks of them when they find a new territory. Farmland is especially attractive for this activity and can cause problems with the stability of the fields that the tunnels are built under as collapses are common injuring or killing farm animals and farmers alike. The ankheg use these tunnels as a way to store food and protect young from egg into its early instars. These tunnels have also been used as staging grounds from which the ankheg will quickly burrow above ground and attack prey.

Exploration of these tunnels without proper equipment is not advised.

Social Observations

Many ankheg are solitary creatures meeting other ankheg only to mate and perhaps fight over territory but on a couple occasions more complex social interactions have been observed. Of the more solitary varieties, a mating pair may be seen soon after the female has laid her eggs unless she has consumed the male due to a scarcity of resources. In addition several males may be seen in close proximity before mating vying for a female’s attention.

More rare are small groups of ankheg working together. This subspecies seem to have a high level of coordination and will perform all sorts of tasks together including building tunnel systems and hunting. They may in fact actually be eusocial like the ant, bee, or naked mole-rat but this has not been confirmed.

Evolutionary lineage

There is some debate over the evolutionary lineage of this peculiar insect. Due to the price portions of the exoskeleton receive in most markets, comparative analysis of intact specimens remain elusive as most are not collected with scientific enquiry in mind. As a result, there are two competing theories on which clade the ankheg occupies within the Insect class.

Some taxonomists lump the ankheg in with the mole cricket (Gryllotalpidae) citing the strikingly similar mophologies, behaviors, and diet. Both feature strong front fore-limbs used for digging and burrowing in earth and loose soils to create tunnels used by both to store eggs and early instar grubs/pupa. In addition, both appear to be omnivorous, making them a pest to both agriculture and animal husbandry, though the ankheg has a notable size advantage in the later regard. There are some notable differences that are marks against this hypothesis such as the lack of wings on the ankheg and the lack of any poison used by the mole cricket. This has lead some to believe that there is a different lineage for the ankheg.

The number of similarities to the bull ant clade (Myrmecia) has lead to an alternative theory stating the ankheg to be a large member of the bull ant family. Like many in the bull ant’s parent clade, Formicidae (the ant family), the ankheg produces a poison which it is able to administer with a fearsome set of mandibles. This, is addition to the solitary nature of a number of ankheg, have lead to its classification in the Myrmecia sub-family.

DM Toolkit

-Darkvision, tremorsense and a keen sense of smell means that any PCs will have a hard time hiding from an ankheg, or sneaking up on them.

-Ankhegs become a force to be reckoned with when they are acting as ambush predators. Make sure that you make full use of their burrow speed and propensity to build shaky collapse-prone tunnels to really put the screws to a party.

-It’s actually quite rare for a thing to fight to the death in real life but clade Arthropoda is not known for it’s high intelligence. Protecting a kill, it’s lair, or it’s brood offer a great incentive in addition to more simple blind, dumb, invertebrate rage.

-Speaking of low intelligence, some editions of this creature have such low INT that they are immune to certain mind affecting spells and powers, make sure to make a note of that and be aware that comprehension is often a prerequisite to following an order. Giving a complex order to a thrall does not give it a brain.

-In a number of ways the ankheg resemble ants, but are terrifyingly larger. While the typical depiction of the ankheg is a solitary one, turning it into a social animal is a easy step to take. A dungeon that resembles an anthill with larger than life ants has a certain appeal and can be a nice break from a more traditional dungeon. You can use the ankheg’s tunnels quite effectively given the right context.

-Ankheg armor is also very attractive to Druids for obvious reason. It can pose a nice macguffin for the druid in your party.

Azer

Fire ravages and destroys, sure... But it also creates. Forests can't live without wildfire, and the planes? The planes would be barren without the Azers. I've seen their cities, ya know. Spent a week trekking up one of their steel spires and saw neither a fiery face nor brass ass. Figured they were too busy building higher on up at the top. But when I did find 'em, and saw what they were crafting? Heh. Well I never seen a Mithral Hippogriff fly before, nor since.

Introduction

If there is beauty and order in the Plane of Fire, it is the result of the efforts of the Azers. An otherwise chaotic and unforgiving place, the elegant cities and breathtaking spires that rise from the ashes and cinders of the Plane of Fire are unparalleled in other elemental planes. No other race is as dedicated to or as meticulous with their craft as are the Azers, and the works they have wrought stand both the test of effectiveness and the onslaught of time.

Physiological Observations

The raw spirit of fire which animates these Dwarf-like beings is inextricably linked to the metal that they are composed of, and is imbued into them during their construction. It bursts forth from fissures in their metallic skins, forming fiery hair and beards that surpass even the most distinguished Dwarf's. It is unknown whether Azers were made in the image of Dwarves or vice-versa, as both are more ancient than historical records. Perhaps a short-statured God simply likes the look. Regardless, the similarities are more than superficial, as both races have an innate affinity with metal, gemstones, and riches. They seem drawn to the plunder of the earth, and their bodies are well suited to the depths and harsh conditions of the mines.

Unlike most other elementals, Azers are made, not born. It is this very fact that distinguishes them and grants them unique insight into the nature of construction and metallurgy. Any Azer seems capable of “building” a new Azer, though the exact requirements for their construction are unknown, and new Azers appear to be constructed on a rare whim rather than by some divine pattern. At best, this occurs once or twice in an Azer's existence. Despite the origins of their existence, however, they are no more a construct than any other living thing, as they are far more than the sum of their parts: A golem or automaton follows the precepts of its construction, but an Azer will always surprise you.

They have no need for sleep or sustenance, though they have a literal taste for rare metals. Upon consuming a metal, they melt it down within their internal conflagration and can extrude it from their very fingertips, allowing them to sculpt intricate designs that are far more delicate than any mortal smith could manage. It should be noted that an aversion to quicksilver and gallium is commonplace, perhaps due to these metals' low melting points.

Each Azer has a unique metallic husk, but they distinguish each other more by the hue and pattern of their flame than by the cut of their shells. This may be due to the prevalence of body modifications within the Azers. The metal they consume may either be incorporated into their next project or fused with their bodies. Newly-forged Azers tend to be constructed of a bronze-like psychoreactive metal, while ancient Azers may have bodies composed of a wide variety of left-over precious metals. Most Azers retain the Dwarf-like appearance of their “birth,” but Azers with unusual, even alien, features have been witnessed.

Social Observations

Azers are a solitary and paradoxically anarchical race. They have no apparent, definite hierarchy, but a strict social contract exists within their conclaves that ensures order. Most Azers are more concerned with their own inventions and creations than with each other, but large projects necessitating the input of dozens or hundreds of Azers are often spontaneously undertaken without so much as a blueprint agreed upon (such a collection is known as a 'Blast of Azers'). For example, the construction of the City of Brass for the Efreeti involved hundreds of thousands of Azers working seemingly independently towards a common goal. This occurred in spite of their lack of telepathy or established leadership. Rather, whatever an individual Azer makes is accepted and expanded upon by most other Azers. No order is enforced by the Azers because they universally self-enforce, and an Azer acting out of line is unheard of. It isn't that the Azers are disorganized; they are so organized they have no need of the usual command structures.

Social interactions between Azers usually entails little more than mutual appreciation of the Azers' creations. At its most flattering, an interaction will encompass admiration of a particularly rare metal incorporated into an Azer's husk. This brusqueness is not considered rude by the Azers. They are universally focused upon new creation, rather than wasting time with pleasantries. Somehow their independence has resulted in the mutually-assured construction of massive, gleaming spires and impervious ships to sail the burning seas.

Other species attempting to interact with Azers should bring some complex or rare tribute. An artifact or unusual construct may catch an Azer's attention for a time, but those wanting to truly interact with an Azer should engage them on innovative ideas. Azers are happy to iterate repeatedly on an idea for centuries, but a truly new idea will consume and focus them.

Behaviorial Observations

Orderly and nearly obsessive, Azers remain focused on their current task unless something gets in their way. About the only thing that can catch an Azer's attention is an interesting puzzle or unusual construction. Even in these cases, only a cursory examination will be performed before the Azer returns to its current priority. What they lack in brilliance they make up for in persistence. Azers are generally ancient and unhurried, and will puzzle out problems and creations by way of experimentation over the course of centuries. They have very strong opinions (borne by weight of experience) about the way machines and metals should be forged and built and will diligently seek to correct the mistakes made by non-Azers.

Alloys are particularly delicious to them, and many an Azer will value Bronze or Electrum over pure gold. Similarly, they place more importance in the utility of something rather than in its subjective value. Despite this, the beauty of their constructions is undeniable: the vaulted ceilings and domes of the City of Brass; the curling elegance of the Spire of Creation; even the lava-scarred hull of a Titanium Dreadnought... Each is built with a swooping, twisting beauty that will endure for eons.

An Azer might agree to improve an adventurer's axe or imbue a piece of plate-mail, but it will do so because it hasn't faced that particular challenge before. They have little use for currency and are distrustful of long-term agreements (likely stemming from the Efreeti Betrayal), but can forge wonders the planes have never before witnessed, and are thus highly sought as smiths and architects. Azers prevented from experimentation or creation will turn their attention inward: warping their own metallic shells in new and unusual ways.

Inter-Species Observations

The mutual disdain between Azers and Efreeti is well known and ancient, stemming from the Efreeti betrayal after the construction of the City of Brass. Ironically, the relationship between the Azers and Efreeti is best described as a “cold war”. Efreeti will pay good money for Azer husks, especially if they're still slightly molten. On the other hand, Azers are generally not immediately hostile towards Efreeti or their Salamander slaves. The presence of nearby Efreeti will cause an Azer to redirect its attention towards the construction of defenses and escape plans. Azer outposts are often harried by Salamanders and Fire Snakes, but are well constructed to rebuff any assault.

Modrons have an amicable relationship with Azers. Some mutual spirit of order apparently guides the two races towards peaceful co-creation in the rare planes where they meet.

Azers are not especially dismissive of those from the Prime Material Plane, but they are often unimpressed by what a Prime has to offer. Azers don't trade favors, but concrete progress they understand. Solve an Azer's problem and it will solve two of yours.

Azers have at times made tenuous alliances with Marids and Dao Genies. This is more the result of mutual hatred of the Efreeti than of any common purpose, and as such tend to be fairly unproductive relationships. Nevertheless, trade between the Dao and the Azers is common, as the Dao covet the gem-encrusted metallic wonders the Azers create. However, Azers are distrustful of Genies and any others who would take slaves, and the one thing an Azer will never forge is shackles.

Variant Forms

As mentioned, the appearance of Azers is unique to the individual and varies wildly. Extra arms, heads, or even silvery wings can be added by an Azer given time and desire. However, some sub-types are notable:

Chained Azers – Not every Azer escaped the Efreeti betrayal unscathed. Twisted by centuries of enslavement and confinement, these unlucky captives have wicked chains fused to their husks as a sign of their servitude. Efreeti keep them as smiths, and Chain devils may acquire these broken beings as shock troops or jailers. These Azers forego the hammers of their free kin, instead whipping opponents with their red-hot chains (See Chain Devil MM pg 72).

Reactive Azers – Azers who have consumed large quantities of radioactive metals are extremely dangerous to the living. Some unusual reaction within the fire spirit turns their flames green and enhances the radioactivity of the consumed metals. Creatures within 30 ft. must succeed on CON saves or become permanently sickened(1d4 CON damage). Additionally, spells affecting these Azers must roll per the Wild Magic Surge feature (Sorcerer PHB pg. 103).

Cold-Rolled – Extremely rare, these abominations gain life without being imbued with a fire elemental. Wicked and cunning, these failed Azers desperately crave heat and will drain it from anything they can find. Their body and weapons deal cold damage instead of fire, and they gain the Chilling Gaze feature (see Yeti, MM pg. 305)

DM's Toolkit

Azers are the civil-engineers of the planes. Modrons might keep a planar city's infrastructure functional and clean, but it was probably designed and built by an Azer. Therefore, if you need something steam-punk or modern in an otherwise High Fantasy campaign... Azers are the way to go. Given their non-confrontational nature I don't tend to use them as guardians or combatants, but they can make for interesting low-level planar encounters. They're also the most obvious choice for blacksmiths in the planes.

Azers are low CR (2) and I don't like them in groups, so I discourage aggression by having the Azer ruin PC equipment if threatened. That's a nice set of plate mail you have there, be a shame if someone were to melt it down to scrap while you're wearing it... That said, they can make excellent rewards, so if a player has grown attached to and named their otherwise non-magical sword, doing a favor for an Azer can make that sword be ON FIRE. In a good way.

They needn't be confined to the Plane of Fire, either. Perhaps some great work has brought them to the Prime and they need help collecting material or protecting their scaffolding. Or maybe it will help PCs get back at that Genie who twisted a wish, or forge them a planar gateway to get them to a new adventure. Or a sorcerer has bargained with an Efreeti to “rent” some of its Chained Azer Slaves for the construction of his macguffin +5.

My variants are not balanced, and may prove more challenging than the normal CR 2. Hopefully these variants expand their usefulness or give you ideas!

Banshee

Father Reolus glanced at the half-moon shining through the clouds as he climbed down from his horse. “Father, we’re so glad you’ve arrived so soon,” stammered the mayor’s boy, “It’s Ashera. Her horse bucked her off while she was riding by the river, and, well--” Just then the night was ripped by a ghastly shriek coming from the river. Reolus checked the silver sword at his hip. “Say no more, boy, I know what I’m dealing with. I’m going to need some earplugs.”

Physiological Observations

Banshees are the undead spirits of humanoids, filled with sufficient rage and anguish to remain on the mortal planes after their death. However, unlike other undead such as revenants or ghosts, these banshees have little unfinished business. Instead, they are tethered our world by their pride and indignation at having died.

All banshees were once beautiful in life. Humanoid individuals (usually elves) born with great beauty and powerful wills may use these gifts to enrich the lives of those around them, or to arrogantly manipulate and use others for their own gain. After lives of corruption and pride, it is no wonder that these spirits face their deaths with rage and denial.

After death, banshees resemble incorporeal versions of their mortal selves, but with visages grotesquely twisted by rage and anguish. As they age, their memories of their lives fade and their anger grows, blurring and distorting their frames and faces into horrors that are barely recognizable as human.

What truly sets banshees apart as creatures to be feared are their horrible wails and cries. Banshees’ wails have been known to drive men insane, paralyze them from fright, or even physically age them. On clear nights, these wails can be heard from miles away, warning all in the area of the malevolent presence.

Social Observations

Spirits that become banshees rarely have close friends or like-minded company at the times of their deaths, else they would not be banshees. However, occasionally circumstances will lead to multiple banshees being created, perhaps from a pair of lovers or group of siblings. In such cases, these banshees show contempt for each other, though not to the extent of their hatred for all else. They will cooperate against any who offend or trespass against them.

However, such groups are very rare. The nature of banshees’ creation means that they are limited to relatively short distances (only a few miles) near their domains, usually the site of their death, although occasionally their tomb or other final resting place.

Behavioral Observations

In life, banshees were those who could use their beauty and charm to manipulate and corrupt. With these abilities taken away, banshees now use their hideousness and frightful powers to destroy.

It is said by some that banshees’ wails are twisted songs of mourning, lamenting their lost lives. Others hold that these wails are screams of anguish and rage. Whatever their cause, all banshees perform these cries frequently.

It is perhaps fortunate that banshees are so loud, as it often serves as an unintentional warning to those nearing their domains. Banshees possess the same intelligence they had in life, but it is twisted by malice and anger. Reasoning with banshees is technically possible, but they greatly prefer violently driving intruders away rather than negotiating with them.

Inter-species Interactions

Banshees resent and envy all living creatures, which serve as reminders of that which they have lost. Banshees can sense life around them, and it fills them with a violent rage. This loathing is sometimes so intense that plant and wildlife near the banshee’s domain gradually wither and die, with this decay occurring faster the more powerful the banshee is.

Although banshees hate the living, they have been known to permit lesser undead and spirits to live within their domain, provided these inferior entities show proper respect and deference to the banshee (proving that their egos persist, undimmed by rage). However, any living creature attempting the same will likely meet a grisly fate, as banshees usually perceive the very act of being alive as a deep personal insult.

This hatred is not entirely one-sided. The destructive and disruptive nature of banshees means that their wails are viewed as omens of death. Furthermore, clergy and other individuals of faith often view banshees as more heinous than other types of undead, because of the often wicked lifestyle that leads to their origin and the blind wrath that controls their behavior.

DM's Toolbox

Although this entry is written in a very generalized way, the nature of banshees allows them to be used in a number of ways. The main points to hit are the malice and the wails. Even then, the wails are also extremely variable. >Although they have set effects in the various Monster Manuals, these effects can be changed to create different challenges (such as raw damage, paralysis, aging, etc.)

Banshees can be used a number of ways, as well. They work as an end boss in a crypt or tomb filled with other undead, awakened by intruding adventurers. The decay they cause can be part of a mystery surrounding a small village (is it pests? a drought? nope, banshee). They can be used as a living barrier or obstacle, perhaps blocking a bridge or narrow mountain pass.

Basilisk

"This map is bloody useless" Rodrik swore to himself as he navigated the dark passage. As the rogue rounded a corner he was greeted to a statue illuminated by his torchlight, its face caught in a horrified expression. As Rodrik moved to inspect the curious sight he heard a low hiss behind him. He turned just in time to see a pair of brilliant green eyes flash in the darkness.

Introduction

Lumbering reptiles of modest size, Basilisks are infamous for their magical gaze that has proven the demise of many an unfortunate adventurer. Hunted for their innate magical properties, feared for their power to instantly end a life, and found in near every climate provided they can find a cave or dig a burrow.

Physiological Observations

Basilisks are medium sized reptilian monsters that grow anywhere from five to seven feet by adulthood. Far larger specimens have been reported, but research has thus far proved inconclusive. Males are typically larger than females, but adult size is chiefly determined by availability of food.

Basilisk coloration varies depending on region and conditions at birth. Most individuals are a range of dull greens, with colors ranging to dark browns, oranges, greys, and even black.

Both sexes are covered in spike-like quills that extend from between the scaley plates on their back. Males sometimes sport a single curved horn on their snout, but it wears down with age or is prone to breaking off entirely in battle. As a result basilisk sex is difficult to determine from casual inspection.

Basilisks possess an extremely strong jaw and a natural under bite. Their bite force is strong enough to crush both bone and rock. A basilisk's mouth is filled with thick pointed teeth, these constantly wear down or snap off and are in a constant process of regrowing replacements.

The creatures are propelled by four pairs of thick squat legs that move in alternating rhyme to avoid stumbling. At the end of each foot are three large clawed toes. A basilisk's tail is thick and protected by layered plates, serving more as a deposit for stores of excess fat rather than providing balance.

Social Observations

Basilisks are not highly social creatures, typically gathering only in small groups of three to five adults sharing a cave. Adult males are typically solitary hunters and opt to instead dig a burrow large enough for themselves and a potential mate. Larger colonies are not unheard of, and if conditions permit large broods in excess of 20+ adults can inhabit large cave systems.

Adults can live to 60+ years of age given their mostly docile nature. Basilisks reach sexual maturity at three years of age and remain sexually fertile for the duration of their lives. Females can lay up to one clutch of eggs a year, doing so only when food is abundant. Males compete in shows of dominance for mating rites, rearing up on their hind two sets of legs and emitting a low earthy growl.

Rivals who refuse to back down in these displays will escalate to mating combat, slamming their chests against their opponent until one backs down. The winner quickly mates and in two to three weeks the female lays a clutch of roughly fist sized eggs. She will go on to incubate these with her body for a period of months, becoming increasing violent to all but her mating partner. Mated pairs will remain in close relation until the nest hatches, but quickly lose interest in each other once nestlings hatch.

Behaviorial Observations

Basilisk's primary means of hunting and self defense is their iconic magic gaze. It can invoke a number of effects, with the most common being a powerful petrification spell that instantly turns its victims to solid stone.

A hunting basilisk will slowly patrol its territory in search of prey, dispersing its weight across its eight legs in order to move silently over most terrain. When prey is spotted it need only wait until they turn to face it, direct eye contact being needed to trigger the effect of their gaze. Impatient basilisks will sometimes hiss to draw a prey's attention.

Once subdued petrified prey may be consumed on the spot, dragged to a more suitable location, or even stored in the hunter's lair for later consumption. A basilisk has the unique advantage of leaving defeated prey preserved as statues for times of scarcity.

When live prey is consumed the creature's strong jaws tear off chunks of flesh, easily snapping through bones. These same jaws can even break off hunks of petrified stone, which the basilisk swallows whole. By unknown means basilisks can undo their spells on consumed prey, and contrary to popular belief they do not actually eat rocks.

Inter-Species Observations

Basilisks will hunt any creature large or small that it believes it can successfully gaze. They instinctively avoid creatures that lack visible eyes, and seem to possess an innate ability to detect magical power in prey, avoiding beings who may be able to resist their spell.

They will sometimes work in cohabitation with the undead, being unable to petrify those already dead and feasting on those who enter their chambers. In a similar manner, basilisks have on occasion been used by dragons who use the beasts to guard their lair. A dragon is too powerful a magical being to provoke a basilisk's attack, and the creatures themselves have no interest in the dragon's hoard. This makes them ideal watch dogs and especially proud dragons may collect the statues of petrified adventurers as personal trophies.

Basilisks may be captured and raised by skilled or brave individuals. They possess intelligence on a level similar to dogs, but their aggressive temperament makes then near impossible to train. They can prove a very useful companion if a would be master can find a way to remove the threat of their gaze, at least with regards to himself.

Basilisk eyes are a prized commodity on the alchemic market, being used for potent spells of petrification as well as a host of other high end magical uses. Hides, bone, and fangs are also believed to hold magical properties and can fetch a high price. Would be hunters must either be well prepared or exceptionally lucky when hunting for basilisks.

DM's Toolkit

Basilisks are moderately powerful creatures that should present significant challenge to low level parties. Once means of healing their spells becomes available they quickly lose potency alone. They can easily be scaled up for harder combat by adding "greater" or "giant" variants with scales up stat blocks.

They can make for tricky minions when used in coordination with allies immune to their gaze. Forcing party members to risk petrification or find creative ways to mitigate a loss of vision.

Other uses include using them in traps, adding another element of danger to common obstacles like pit fall traps. They also make an exotic means of execution, having a royal basilisk petrify the guilty at which point the statue is carted away or smashed by an executioner for a bloodless execution.

Roleplay Situations: Basilisk prey could remain petrified indefinitely so long as they remain intact. The party could come across a basilisk den and deal with the moral dilemma of reviving statues from centuries ago. How does this affect the victims? Their families may be dead, their county gone, culture shocked time traveler syndrome.

One last scenario makes for a good side question in a city. A local artisan is famed for his sculptures. Upon investigation its revealed he is luring attractive young women to his home under the guise of modeling his next piece. >They become the statue when the man's pet basilisk petrifies the victim.

Basilisk Variants:

Swamp Basilisk. Smaller and more agile in build than their common cousins. These creatures are slightly weaker and may be found in swamps, marshes, or river deltas. Their gaze paralyzes prey rather than petrifies, and they drag their prey below water to drown the helpless victim.

Desert Basilisk. Known locally as "Sand Fangs", this rare subspecies that has a radically different diet. It lies in ambush under the desert sands where it emerges to ambush prey with its gaze. It then sucks the fluids from the victim's rocky body using two special fangs on its upper jaw. Once drained of fluids the corpse then breaks down into sand.

Behir

One of the creatures we’ve debated regularly is the Behir. While their presence is a menace as any dragon it’s not near as…. Disruptive I’ll say. As they are clearly not natural creatures they do little to harm the environment more than any predator and certainly are a good deterrent to a dragon coming. - Talgidar Human Druid

Introduction

Behir are strange magical beasts that inhabit many habitats around the world. While many traits vary in different regions they always pose a real threat to those who stumble upon them. They are strange and strong magical creatures that usually keep to themselves.

While they are not as well-known as dragons they are very similar in many ways. Don’t ever tell one so as you may be finding the answer to the afterlife very soon after that. Stay far away from them and only take them on in great numbers and on a battlefield of your choosing.

It is thought that storm giants of the ancient days created them to fight the dragons in a great war and these claims seem well supported. It is also ponderous as many more varieties of these creatures seem to be found as time goes on leading me to believe it was more than just storm giants.

Physiological Observations

Behir are huge reptilian beasts that resemble a cross between a crocodile and a centipede. They have very crocodilian heads and maws but sport two backward facing very sharp and straight horns. 6 sets of legs, on very serpentine bodies make them expert climbers.

A behir is easily 70 feet long at full size and can rear up the front most legs to stand over 20 feet tall. Their large heads sport many interlocking sharp teeth indicative of a voracious predator. Not only are they large but they can be surprisingly fast. While moving on their legs is a more controlled and slightly winding gait they can out run a human easily on land. They can maintain this speed while climbing even vertical surfaces making them dangerously mobile even in tight spaces. They also can easily climb on a ceiling but at a slower speed and usually used in ambush. While on the ground they can fold their legs in and slither like a snake propelling themselves not only with their large scales like a snake but also pushing with their legs and sliding along. This gives them a frightening speed when not climbing that’s hard to outrun for almost any creature.

Their mouths of interlocking teeth have very much the same use as a crocodile. They are meant to keep things in more so than chewing or tearing. Behir eat their prey (or chunks of) whole. Their long bodies can also be used to constrict larger prey and feed themselves like many constricting snakes of the world. Their mouth also can expel a dangerous line of magical energy in the form of lightning to dispatch of more troublesome creatures in a fight. This line easily can extend up to 200 feet away but they can’t do this constantly as it exhausts their magical energies. Fortunately their energy recharges quickly making prolonged fight disadvantageous for their foes.

Behir are preferred ambush predators despite their size. They can move very quietly if they chose to do so and normally like to cling to a wall or ceiling when sneaking up on prey or foes for the ambush. They are cunning in their tactics and very intelligent for a beast. They are not as intelligent as your average human but intelligent enough to form plans, escape routes and even counter measures to situations.

Behir can also speak but normally chose not to do so and only in the language of their most hated enemies, the dragons. This seems to lend credence to the theory as they were created as a weapon against dragons some time ago. They will parley or negotiate with more formidable opponents wishing to hunt another day if need be. Typically when almost defeated and with no means of escape will be the only time in which they are the initiators of conversation. They are fierce fighters and not cowardly but will take the opportunity to talk themselves out of a deadly situation if needed.

While they are huge predators they are not overly territorial. They go hunting when they need to which is usually once a week. Once their bellies are full they retreat to their lair curl up and hibernate to process their food. They eat a large amount in a day and then usually hibernate for a week making territorial disputes a waste of time unless with a dragon.

Their lairs are typically in hard to reach areas that require expert climbing to reach. A common tactic is a hole in the ground that one must crawl on the ceiling of that hole to a cave along the side, or plummet far down to their death. They make their homes hidden and hard to reach as while digesting they are vulnerable. Their homes are little more than bedded areas where they sleep not caring for material possessions and seem to only hunt and hibernate.

Recently behir have been found in many climates but the most well-known and common are native to rolling hills, mountains, or grasslands. They make their homes where they can but never in the area of a dragon. Their deep seeded hatred for dragons, again more credence to the weapon theory, makes them never settle for a space near them. They will fight off any dragon trying to make a home anywhere near their cave for miles and will only leave if utterly bested and possibly multiple times. They never make a nest in an already occupied area of a dragon unless they ambush the dragon and kill it.

Social Observations

Behir are solitary creatures from birth. They hatch in their egg clutch of 3 to 6 eggs and immediately wonder off in their own directions. They normally find their own secluded caves and areas to nest in and start life instinctually hunting not very different from that of an adult. While they have learning to do, especially at being stealthy, they are still adept at catching pretty due to their speed and cunning even from birth. Of course if all else fails they can simply blast their prey from a distance.

Upon hatching they are ready to go and thinking cunning beasts to start. They are small though only reaching about 2 or 3 feet. They grow at a rapid pace reaching full size in only a short decade and living for up to 19 more decades. They do not like to confront creatures larger than themselves making young a rare site for humanoids up until the age of 3.

Mating occurs only 2 or 3 times in a Behir’s life and usually only after their first 50 years. The female will go into a heat that is only indicated by the desire to mate. She will travel looking for a male and then try and entice the male for a mating arrangement. A female will display a “dance” in best terms indicating she wishes to mate. She’ll stand up with as many front legs in the air as they can and seemingly to violently sway left to right blasting lightning in the air until the male accepts by blasting lightning in the air as well. It seems that they only mate out of convenience or an urge to propagate as the criteria on a mate seem to be inexistent. During this mating time the pair will continually mate until the female produces eggs somewhere nearby and at which part she travels back to her original home. They hunt together and eat together during this period that can last months. The seemingly only benefit is that having a mate allows them to take on larger foes but even that seems rare.

Normally disputes between behir are rare as they just keep to themselves and can even overlap territories given their eating schedule, but females will fight over a male. Females work quickly to find a mate since eating on the road is dangerous without decent protection to digest food and a rival makes that journey harder. They also are susceptible to another behir taking over her lair in the absence at which point they will have a rare territory dispute. Usually a newcomer won’t take a lair that seems occupied not wanting to fight and rather keep their lives more simple.

Intra-Species Observations

Above all a behir is predator. Any creature it deems worthy to eat without a high risk of injury it will try and devour. Their large size and cunning tactics make most creatures they encounter an easy fight. They are out for food and will return to their cave only when they’ve devoured enough to go hibernate again. This can mean many creatures if they are not large enough, typically they eat about 5 cows before retreating to their lairs. If they are lucky 1 giant or other larger creature will suffice.

They avoid communities from experience, as communities have more numbers than they can eat but always have a way to gather more than they can handle in a fight. They don’t know why more creatures show up but they learn that it will happen when they attack a town or village.

When fighting they like to lead with their magical blasts of energy and follow in for the kill. They will eat or swallow hole any downed creature in the fight as it is their main goal of food. They like to constrict a creature to death with the end part of their body and fend off attackers with their mouths and claws until the prey succumbs. Once the constricted prey stops moving they retreat to a safe spot swallow them and re-enter the fray. If they encounter a solitary creature they will bite and rake at the constricted pretty giving it full attention.

They are brutally efficient and deadly killers giving no mercy as they only care for their hunger. This makes their calls for mercy when almost defeated hypocritical but they could care less for such values as they value food and little else. Despite their surprising intelligence for the average beast they have no ambitions above any other beast, food, shelter and comfort.

Their relationship with dragons changes almost everything in their behavior. They become seething plotting coils of hatred and death. Their drive to eradicate the dragon consumes all behavior only stopping to eat if absolutely necessary as they are singular in their goal. Dragons are not typically bothered by behir as they are rare but aware of the dangers if they do know of one. Behir will plot against a dragon and make swift action to kill it usually by going as far as sneaking into their lair. It’s not uncommon for a behir to wait on the ceiling of the dragon’s lair for the unsuspecting dragon. They lead with their blasts of magic then drop and the dragon’s head and neck constricting their mouths and throats shut to suffocate them. They like to then dig and tear at their wings while constricting and blasting them with abandon when they can.

If the dragon survives this initial assault and manages to free themselves they are likely to either be too torn to fight or flee if the behir is successful. If the behir is not then the dragon usually has the upper hand at being far more intelligent and powerful. If the behir doesn’t think it has damaged the dragon enough it will flee for the time being until the next opportune moment to strike. This can be a long while later or simply the next time the dragon exit’s their home and it the behir was waiting just out of sight to try again. If the behir continually fails or becomes badly damaged enough in a fight that it comes close to death it will instead flee and abandon its lair searching for a home far away from the foul dragon.

Variant Species

Behir are usually varied by their habitat and are surprisingly adapted to combat dragons of those habitats.

Blue Behir – as by name they are blue in hue ranging from brilliant sapphire colors to turquois. They are the mostly described above as they have a line of lightning as their blast and inhabit the fields, hills, and mountains. They usually encounter red dragons in these habbitats.

Black Behir - are strange for their habitat but effective. They are black as by their name but inhabit colder regions of the worlds that have snow. Their body temperatures are very high and have a much quicker metabolism then other behir. They spew a line of hot acid that easily melts snow and ice. They usually encounter white dragons.

Red Behir - are dangerous and cunning ambush predators of the swamps and flooded forests. While not aquatic they hang around the lower bows of trees waiting for prey to pass underneath. They are devastating with their line of fire that easily ignites the gasses of the swamps to their advantage. They are not well camouflaged but few creatures in the swamp worry about the trees when something could be lurking under the murky waters. They usually encounter Black dragons.

White Behir - These behir are very strange in their hiding tactics as they find larger trees and simply cling on to the trunk head down vertically. As they lay very still they grab nearby animals or leap at them from the tree. They are still quite large and to most they are not well hidden on a tree trunk. But to deer (their most common prey) they engulf the whole tree and are nothing more than a background. They have a freezing line for their breath blast that traps foes as it goes in for the kill. They mostly encounter green dragons.

Green Behir - These specimen are almost comical in behavior. They have dark green prickly scales and from a distance resemble a cactus. They live in the deserts of the world and scurry behind prey’s backs and when it thinks it will be looked at quickly rears up holding its legs out and up to look like arms of a cactus and looking straight up. They normally feed on camels and try to keep to the night for their hunts. They do end up hunting through the day but to less success and move far less preferring shade or dig under the sand waiting to ambush prey. These Behir have a unique breath blast in that it is a gaseous line that when contacted dehydrates the victim quickly. They have little trouble obtaining water as they “drink” it from prey with their pronounced fangs then feed on the dehydrated corpse whole. They are common enemies to blue dragons.

DM’s Toolbox

Behir are an interesting fight with their capture a member fight the rest tactics and are unlikely allies in a fight against a dragon. Here are a few scenario you can use them in.

Challenging monster fight

Challenging Ambush

Unlikely ally in the coming fight against a dragon

Livestock disappearing down a whole every few weeks.

Beholder

Oh please! Do come in! Marvel at the splendors of my abode but take your time you’re going to be here for a while. - Yintha The Terrible

Introduction

The Great Mother, whose origins are unknown, created many abominations and the worst among them was her children the Beholders. They are just as evil and intelligent as her but far less chaotic and thus more organized. Seeing the threat even to herself she devoured each and every one of her children aside from her son Gzemind who alone escaped only due to his uncanny affinity for illusionary magic. Gzemind paved the way for many more and is worshiped by Beholders to this day.

Since then the Beholder race has multiplied and diversified to an alarming degree. Although long ago and in distant places unknown Beholders are a threat to any and all who encounter them or their web of control. Beware when facing this adversary as they are cunning and dangerous, they surround and protect themselves by many traps and slaves. If you manage to meet one face to face you’ll understand the folly of even trying to find them as few ever make it out alive and none unharmed gravely.

Due to their belief of superiority a Beholder is afraid of almost no being outside of an old dragon. They know their limitations but do not openly admit them. Despite this attitude they are phobic of losing their teeth. Beholders have been known to go mad over some teeth lost in a fight. Panicking and screaming their dooms. Intelligent and reasoning beings until they lose a tooth.

Physiological Observations

Beholder while vast and varied have some similar traits to them. Each and all are a floating orb of flesh around 10 feet in diameter with usually a large central eye above sharp ghastly teeth. For most eyestalks are attached to the top of the orb looking all directions. Few would ever consider a beholder anything more than revolting other than themselves.

Beholders most notable features are typically the eyes. With they’re large central eye and eyestalks, on the top of the orb, they possess site in all directions from them aside from directly beneath themselves. The eyes are also the most dangerous weapons of a beholder. The central eye emits and antimagic cone that extends in front of them and in their main line of sight. This essentially is a zone of no magic and even weapons of brilliant power lie dormant in their gaze. Then each eyestalk can cast a ray of magic every few moments. These rays are dangerous and varied depending on the stalk. Fortunately the eye stalks can only turn 90 degrees so thus most can only look in 1 quadrant of themselves allowing more cunning adversaries to avoid the most devastating rays.

Each ray can be found in 1 of 4 quadrants. These quadrants are front, left, right, and behind in relation to how the beholder is facing. Every quadrant extends to 100 feet from the beholder and represents where the eyes can look. There is slight overlaps in quadrants leaving no blind spots at all unless directly beneath the beholder.

Beholders have a large mouth and small nasal cavities that make up the rest of the face. The small cavities appear just below and to the sides of the eyes an above the top corners of the seemingly smiling mouth. The mouths are very large with several curved sharp teeth to shred food to bits before eating. All of the Beholder’s organs are contained within the lower portion of the spherical body, behind the mouth. They possess lungs, intestines and stomachs that are all tightly packed. They excrete through a tiny hole in the underside and back of the creature. Around all the organs and the skull is a thin bladder filled with a light gas, making them buoyant and giving them the ability to float.

The majority of their body internally behind the large central eye is their massive brains. The brains are large and developed further in most areas then any human other than that of motor skills as they only need to worry about eye and mouth movement. Inside of the brain which almost seems to make the brain itself a 2nd skull is the Levitus Magnus. This organ is certainly responsible for the unusual way that beholders fly by controlling the amount of the buoyant gasses produced and stored in the beholder. It is also theorized to be the origin of the antimagic cone and source of the powers of the eye rays. This has been observed a few times as when a slew Beholder still emits and antimagic cone as it grotesquely floats in midair unless this organ is removed.

Beholder flight is slow but skilled. They seem to only move at a swift walking speed but entirely in control of their movements. It is theorized that this is practiced since young beholders seem to bob and weave far more clumsily then adults although the exuberance of youth cannot be discounted. A beholder can move in any direction almost effortlessly it seems and by will of the mind. They are usually found closer to the ground and make their lairs underground. Higher altitudes are less comfortable as the gas bladders inflate for altitude in flight making them stretch in size.

Beholders are asexual and produce children in clutches of 2 to 4 eggs every century in there millennia of life. They find a high secluded perch and regurgitate the eggs and leave them to their own devices. After a few weeks the rotten revolting smelling leathery eggs produce smaller fully capable beholders that start their life of building their riches on their own. In just 50 years they reach full size and adulthood.

Social Observations

Beholders can be described in 1 word socially, xenophobic. They hate all other creatures and only tolerate them as dominated slaves for their purposes or designs. This extends even to members of their own race. If you aren’t them they hate you is the bottom line.

They do exist in a society of social importance. The more material gains the more powerful you are considered in Beholder thinking. Beholders jab and boast about their standing forming rivalries instead of friendships. Beholder communities do exist but community in a loose sense more like hated neighbors who’d kill a common threat.

There are social gatherings of beholders that they hold in their lairs. They show off their best and most expensive ornaments (which may include slaves and victims of their flesh to stone rays) to everyone boasting of their power and presence. The other beholders go in sense of superiority that turns into haughty over bearing narcissistic verbal sparring. These are typically held by one member or another almost monthly as gloating and showing off seems to be a Beholder’s greatest joy.

When another beholder dies the “community” then races to the deceased’s lair to loot and pilfer what they can. They only take a few items but almost always go for the best items. They can only carry so much with their telekinesis eyes. Most beholders pay homage or worship the Great Mother and think themselves’ her perfect creation. There are Beholders who instead recognize Gzemind and consider themselves a higher being then even the Great Mother.

Intra-Species Observations

Beholders are not openly aggressive at first usually when encountering other beings. They prefer subterfuge and subtlety to outright aggression. Typically a beholder will only reveal themselves as part of a scheme and let their minions do the bidding. They are very adept as the puppet master or wizard behind the screen.

All other creatures are playthings or ornaments to a Beholder. Many times I have debated which is a more alien and off-putting interaction when speaking with a Beholder or an Illithid. Both hold an alien way of reason are far more self-absorbed then seems even possible and are seemingly on the precipice of murder with each passing moment. Typically a Beholder likes to gloat and show off how great they are and exact immediate and harsh punishment on interruption. Then when they’ve spoken their agenda they kill, capture or mentally enslave their audience.

Usually a beholder has as many as 15 to 20 humanoid dominated slaves tending to their every whim. On top of that they keep every creature they’ve turned to stone as garish decorations around their homes. If there were any way to revert the process many individuals would be saved in one cavern.

Beholders create a network of spies and contacts out of their more cunning and useful slaves. This has been observed to corrupt whole cities with the beholder being the crime boss savoring every moment.

Variations

Beholders come in many variations and vary in many ways. Each entry bellow details the deviations from the average beholder.

Eye Tyrant – This is the usual beholder described as above with Charm Monster, Charm Person, Death, Disintegration, Flesh to Stone, Cause Grievous Wounds, Telekinesis, Sleep, Slow, and Fear rays adorn the 10 eye stalks. They typically carve their lairs out with disintegration rays and favor vertical pathways due to their unique ability to fly. They will usually reach in 10 feet diameter.

Elder Orb – These are stronger versions of Eye Tyrants that are around 15 feet in diameter. They are rare but somehow even more dangerous.

Eye of the Deep – These are the aquatic variants of Beholders that instead have only 2 eye stalks (Disintegrate and Death) they also have 2 arms ending with crab like pincers extending in-front of them. They are typically 8 feet in diameter and a dark blue or green hue.

Beholder Mage – These are Eye Tyrants that have plunged out their central eye to learn a higher level of spell casting. On top of their eye stalk rays they possess the powers of any well trained wizard. Their lairs are treasure troves of knowledge in the arts of magic more so and extravagant libraries.

Death Tyrant – Ever wonder what happens to a beholder who embraces undeath as a Lich? You get a Death Tyrant. These are the gigantic skull floating magically with red floating orbs for each of the 11 eyes. They are full capable as they are in life but their rays are all dealing with undeath and necromancy. Their gaze no longer dispels but instead raises the dead.

Death Kiss – Beholders afflicted by vampirism are dramatically changed. The eyes stalks become hideous lamprey like appendages that suck blood and they lose their antimagic ray and lose their mouths entirely. They now also emit a dangerous electrical aura around them, a side effect yet unexplained.

Eyeball – Small and weird beholders only measure a few inches in diameter. They only have 4 eyestalks (charm person, Charm Monsters, Sleep, and telekinesis) and are popular with some humanoids as very intelligent familiars that may have some of their own agendas.

Gauth – These Beholders are strange as they feed on magic for sustenance. The central eye is fused shut by an overgrowing plate over the eye and thus blocks the antimagic cone the eye emits. They only have 6 eyestalks and have Disintegrate, Telekinesis, Death, Drain Magic, Polymorph and Flesh to Stone. They then have 4 feeding tentacles.

Gouger – These Beholders are cannibalistic predators. They mostly prey on other Beholders using their antimagic central eye and immunity to other beholder’s spells to suppress and then devour their prey. Their eyestalks are used only for sight and are magically useless. They do not float but crawl on 4 legs and can jump with great speed and to great distance. Their tongues are long and hard ending in a sharp point. They will shoot their tongue gouging their prey and reeling them in for a meal. They are large almost 25 feet across and despite their brutish tactics are just as smart. Be wary they prefer Beholder but will eat anything if needed.

Spectator – These Beholder don’t vary much except in outlook and personality. They value knowledge above all and are usually neutral in wheel unlike their evil kin. They have been known to from friendships with humanoids for mutual benefit. They are smaller in size usually around 6 to 7 feet in diameter.

Director – These are beholders that prefer to dominate animals instead of humanoids. They only have 6 eyestalks (charm animal, telekinesis, Disintegrate, Death, Sleep, Flesh to Stone) and 4 clawed appendages. They usually ride giant rats or weasels hooking on with their claws. They’re normally only found in larger Beholder communities.

Caco Beholder – A fairly new discovery and a dangerous one indeed. Just as evil but have drifted into chaos, close to ideals and mentality of the Great Mother. Murderous and uncooperative to any being they dwell in the layers of the abyss. They are 10 feet across and instead of eyestalks they are adorned with curved upwards facing horns. Their central eyes are green and seem to pulsate with electricity. They hurl lightning balls from their mouths and will viciously tear apart enemies with their teeth. They are red in hue and float with twice the speed of their kin.

Hive Mother – The second most dangerous beholder kin. They are much larger, as much as 30 ft. diameter and have the same eye rays as an eye tyrant. They are far more bloated looking and have the ability to substitute any of their rays for powerful rays of dominance. They instead of enslaving humanoids or animals they enslave and build whole communities of beholders. They are theorized to be the direct spawn of the Great Mother after she purged her first children.

Overseer – The most dangerous of all the beholder and are an immediate threat to any creature they plot against. They are gigantic 50 ft. trees of flesh with 3 mouths on the trunk and eyes for leaves. They have an eye ray for each leaf which can be thousands. They also have considerable psychic powers and have been heard of crushing creatures simply with their telekinesis. It’s thought that Gzemind became the first Overseer and has since taught others worthy enough the transformation.

DM’s Toolbox

As a DM beholders are a fun villain. They are powerful beings on their own but more powerful in their lair and surrounded by their “allies”. Beholders are also very intelligent and political and can make for a good amount of fun and intrigue. There’s many ways to use them, heck why not an evil campaign run as thugs for a Beholder boss?

Blight

Observant, are you? Pardon, my laugh, but you’re not the first to make that claim. Tell you what, leave a hundred gold here and walk a half mile into that dead forest. If you come back, I’ll double your hundred; if not, well… I haven’t had to double anyone’s stake yet. - Gevian Snarklehood, gnomish tinker at the edge of the Wastewood.

Introduction

Evil plants with a taste for blood. Blights are a versatile monster that is often overlooked. They are created by an evil that infests a plant (referred to as a Gulthias tree). Legend is that the first Gulthias tree was the byproduct of killing a powerful vampire.

Physiological Observations

Blights are plants that have been tainted with evil. They have the form of the plant they are corrupted from, but a dead version of that plant. So twig blights look like a small, drying stick; needle blights look like a dead bush; vine blights look like a span of decaying vines.

When motionless, they appear as dying plants and are generally unperceivable as different from a mundane version of that plant, but when closely inspected, they have features that are reminiscent of humanoid faces, although most lack speech. Most are bipedal with “legs” formed by a split trunk.

Their color always resembles an unhealthy plant, and is usually brownish, although very occasionally, one will retain green spotting.

Social Observations

Blights community (infestations) are centered on their respective Gulthias tree. This may be a remnant of the original Gulthias tree spawned by the ancient vampire, or a tree converted by a new and different evil. Sometimes the conversion is deliberate, but sometimes it occurs as a byproduct of a particular event – a powerful evil creature’s demise, a powerful evil creature establishing a lair, a breech to one of the lower planes, etc.

The blights spawned will be directed by the central Gulthias tree which always has the nefarious goal of corrupting all creation and converting it to an expanse of blight infested jungle with it as the primary plant. The blights will cooperate and achieve a rudimentary hive mind that yields coordination beyond what their Intelligence would suggest is possible.

Their “culture” is dedicated exclusively to their vampiric inclinations. They literally live to kill creatures and drink their blood. They have a very rudimentary individual intelligence, and the few that are capable of speech revel in crude humor associated with killing other sentient creatures and draining their blood that appears to be appreciated by the entirety of the blight population as indicated by the rustling of limbs that implies laughter at the end of the profane jokes.

Behaviorial Observations

Blights will form parties with different blights filling different roles. However, their strategies are not reactive; they do not have the intellect to adjust tactics in response to their opponents. So while they may have a sound overall strategy, if it is not wholly successful, the blights will fail because of their limited tactical abilities. Blights have no sense of self preservation, and they are spiteful, evil creatures completely dedicated to the suffering and death of other sentient creatures. If the choice is inflict damage and die, or survive, blights choose to die while inflicting damage.

Destroying the Gulthias tree frees the spawned blights from its influence, and destroys the hive mind, sending the blights on a near mindless rampage almost like mindless undead.

Inter-Species Observations

Blights will interact in a cooperative way with other blights. A creature that deliberately creates a Gulthias tree exerts influence over the blights centered on that tree, but that influence has limits. A controller might be able to dissuade the blights from overrunning and consuming a village in its path for a short time, but ultimately the blights are going to succumb to their compulsion and destroy the village even if it is under the protection of their “master”. Beyond those influences, blights attempt to destroy any life they encounter with no negotiations possible. There is nothing they value other than death and destruction to form a basis of exchange and negotiate with, not even their own existence.

DM's Toolkit

Blights as listed in the Monster Manual come in three forms (CRs 1/8, 1/4, and ½). This CR range restricts them to lower level minions protecting a stronger central evil force. The Gulthias tree, can be presented as an uber-trap type encounter surrounded by blights as “minions”.

While PCs quickly outgrow blights, the needle blight is particularly suitable for advancement. It has no traits that inherently affect CR, so advancing it is merely a matter of adjusting AC, hps, to hit and damage to coincide with the listing on Dungeon’s Masters Guide p.274, and probably adding 1-3 Legendary Resistances to make it more survivable. So need a CR 10 minion of a BBEG: AC17 (natural armor), HPs 198 (36d8+36), To hit +7, Dmg 63 (18d6), Legendary Resistance (1/day)

Bugbear

”The easiest way to find a bugbear, is to let it find you”.

Hobgoblin proverb

Introduction

Among the goblinoid races, bugbears are often thought to be the least civilized. These massive, hulking yet incredibly stealthy brutes prowl the countryside on the borders of civilization, mercilessly killing and eating anyone weaker than themselves. Despite their brutal nature, however, bugbears are quite intelligent and cunning. Completely carnivorous and borderline cannibalistic, bugbears are feared even among other goblinoids, as they have no qualms with eating their smaller cousins. Sharing not the hobgoblin love for open battle and conquest, bugbears concern themselves primarily with their own survival, and rarely wage open war against other creatures, preferring to ambush travelers or raid defenseless farms, disappearing as quickly and silently as they came. Bugbears are egoistic creatures and are as often encountered alone as in company of other goblinoids.

Physiological Observations

“How boogiebears ‘re made? Y’see, when a very ugly bear and a very ugly hobgobbin love each other very much…”

Borden, human peasant and ‘boogiebear expert’

Bugbears are almost universally incredibly tall andmuscular, the smallest of them being the size of an average human, and the largest being 6 or 7 feet tall. In some ways, they simply resemble bigger hobgoblins: They stand upright, they have sharp, triangular ears, and have rather big teeth as well. However, they also sport numerous bearlike features, such as claw-like nails (Who aren’t quite large enough to effectively be used in combat), a bear-

like nose and a coat of shaggy fur covering most of the body, barring the face. The fur is thickest and darkest around the face, and the color of the fur usually matches the creatures’ skin colour, ranging from pale yellow (for bugbears living underground or in cold regions) to dark orange (For those living in warmer, more sunny climates). Despite their rather large size, bugbears are very agile and above all, incredibly stealthy. The perfect combination of brawn and subtlety, bugbears are capable of one moment sneaking silently up on an unsuspecting foe, and crushing them to pulp in the next. Unsurprisingly, bugbears are incredibly talented hunters.

Bugbears typically wear sparse (or no) clothing stolen from smaller humanoids, which they do not tend to wash. They do, however, make sure to keep their fur relatively clean by bathing in rivers or lakes occasionally, but not more than practically necessary. As such, bugbears tend to smell a lot, their clothes even more so. Bugbears tend to care little for looks and appearance, but some of them do occasionally groom the mane of fur surrounding their faces, giving the illusion of bugbears having hair and beards. In reality, the two are one big mane. Both genders have the same amount of facial hair, and there is little difference between male and female bugbears, though the females tend to be slightly larger. As such, other humanoids (including other goblins) usually have a hard time discerning a bugbear’s gender.

Social Observations

Most scholars would laugh at the very notion of bugbear “society”; in some academic circles, they’re considered less organized and civilized than orcs. And indeed, the goal in life for the average bugbear is quite simple: To survive, to eat well every day, to acquire themselves a hoard of treasure, and to satiate their bloodthirsty love for hunting and fighting. Naturally, those goals are all attainable through the bugbear lifestyle of raiding, hunting and pillaging any and all weaker than themselves.

Bugbears feel no real connection to family or kin. They rarely form tribes, and are just as likely to kill each other as to join forces. Bugbears care very little for other bugbears, or indeed, other creatures than themselves, but since they can see the value of working together, they are not beyond teaming up with other goblinoids. Groups of bugbears form small hunting parties not unlike wolf packs, and several of these groups often fight other groups over territory or treasure. Gender means very little to a bugbears role in the group: Regardless of gender, the fiercest bugbear, the chief, leads the pack, eats first and takes the largest part of the treasure, and the remaining ones fight over the scraps left behind. If lone bugbears encounter goblins, they will usually rise to leader positions through brute force and enslave their smaller brethren. Bugbears often serve as mercenaries in hobgoblin armies, provided they are paid well in coin, food and drink.

A bugbear’s ultimate allegiance is to itself, however, and they do not entertain any desire to die in combat. As such, when its life is on the line, a bugbear will usually flee a battle, gladly abandoning its allies for its own sake. When a bugbear is encountered alone, this is usually what happened.

The only beings that bugbears show a nugget of deeply felt respect is their deities, mostly Hruggek. Though bugbears have a small pantheon of deities, all of whom are lesser gods or demigods from the lower planes, Hruggek is by far the most popular and the mightiest, bossing the other gods around. He appears as a humongous bugbear of 12 feet, with an equally humongous two-handed Morningstar. It is said that he prowls the lower planes, killing and eating anything in his path, be it demon, devil or otherwise. His home is said to be in the plane of Acheron (Some sources suggest the plane of Pandemonium), where he allegedly lives in a great cave filled with talking, dismembered heads, called Hruggekolohk. Sometimes the other bugbear gods hunt with (or rather under) Hruggek, but it does not happen often as they generally try to stay out of his way. Hruggek represents all that a bugbear wishes to become: A powerful and strong hunter and warrior, feared by all the other beings in the region, eating what or who he wants, taking what he wants and dominating his neighbors. Hruggek is usually invoked when bugbears battle against others of their own kin or other humanoids, whether over territory or for other reasons.

Another very venerated bugbear god is Grankhul, the god of hunting, senses and surprise, and the second-most powerful. While Hruggek is seen as the symbol of the bugbears’ physical strength and fortitude, it is said that Grankhul was the one who taught them to be stealthy and agile, and to ambush their prey rather than giving them a fair fight. Bugbears see hunting and stalking as a ritual act to Grankhul, and whether the goal is hunting for food or raiding for treasure, Bugbears view and refer to both as a Hunt and invoke Grankhul for success.

Skiggaret, the bugbear demigod of Fear and messenger of Hruggek, and Stalker, the vengeful bugbear god of death, also receive moderate veneration among the bugbears. They are also believed to have a god of fertility.

Bugbear clerics (Usually called Godspeakers or Warshamans) are rare, as bugbear religion is far from organized and bugbears tend to be uncharismatic creatures unwilling to study or work. However, occasionally one of the gods finds a worthy champion with a silver tongue and a strong spirit, and such a creature can usually attract a very large group of followers with its powerful magic and inspire great religious fervor. As such, whenever great hordes of bugbears assemble and go to war, usually a cabal of Bugbear clerics uniting under a common cause leads them.

Behaviorial Observations

Aside from their love of carnage and treasure, bugbears enjoy the simple pleasures of life, such as eating, sleeping, mating and hunting, and they view themselves and other intelligent beings as natural parts of the food chain, of which they usually consider themselves on top. Just like bears, bugbears get the urge to mate annually, in spring and summer. This will cause the males in the group to fight amongst themselves to impress the females, after which the winner must fight and defeat the female in order to earn the right to mate. Sometimes it's the other way around, with the females fighting over the males. Oftentimes, when many bugbears are gathered at the same place in the mating season, what appears as a great battle between rival groups may just be a mating ritual.

Bugbears are pregnant for about as long as a human, and carry one child at a time. Children stay with their mothers, learning to hunt and fight, until reaching adulthood at about 12 years of age, after which they strike out on their own, the mother no longer wanting anything to do with them. Bugbears seem to have lifespans slightly shorter than humans, but despite their desire for survival, few die of old age. The average lifespan for a bugbear is around 20 to 30 years, but if it isn't killed, it is assumed it could live up to around 70 years.

Some civilized humanoids have spitefully likened bugbears to lowly predators with humanlike intelligence, which might actually be quite true. However, bugbears do not take insult at this. They are carnivorous creatures and natural hunters, and they live according to what their instincts and impulses tell them. As such, assuming you could get into a philosophical debate with a bugbear (which it is capable of if it feels like it, which it rarely does), it would argue that its lifestyle is only natural, and liken itself to an apex predator, the civilized world being its prey. A bugbear sees no distinction between hunting a deer for food or burning down a village for treasure, weapons and armor (and eating the inhabitants). Morality, a bugbear would argue, is an abstract and frankly unnatural concept. To bugbears, there is no Good or Evil: There is only prey, predators and the Hunt.

Bugbears generally do not craft much (Aside from primitive, wooden weapons such as bows), as they believe that just as their prey provides them with food, they are also supposed to provide them with weapons and armor if the bugbear is strong enough to take it. They generally feel that hard work is for lesser creatures than themselves (such as goblins and hobgoblins). They are capable of making a number of basic traps, primarily through using rope to make net traps, but prefer to stalk and kill their prey personally. Generally, the goal of a bugbear is to enjoy life to the fullest, which usually involves making it miserable for all other creatures it encounters.

Inter-Species Observations

Since bugbears have a tendency to kill everything they meet, rather than negotiate, they rarely ally with other creatures unless they serve a more valuable purpose than food. Even when they are not in the killing mood, the egoistic and mistrusting nature of the bugbears tends to make relations with other creatures sour at best. They sometimes find hire in civilized societies as bodyguards or mercenaries, which they excel at as long as they are paid handsomely in food and coin, but their loyalty is shallow; a higher bidder or the threat of death will cause a bugbear to change sides on a whim for its own good. When bugbears do work together with creatures other than themselves, it is usually with other goblinoids.

Goblins: Individual bugbears find great delight in oppressing their smaller brethren into their service. Goblins subjected to the rule of a bugbear work tirelessly to delight their new chief, or the latter might choose to eat them. Bugbears find goblins useful for providing them with armaments and for assisting it in hunts and raids, but does not care in the slightest for its underlings. Bugbears treat goblins like dirt, bullying them mercilessly into submission and killing any who shows signs of rebellion.

Hobgoblins: Bugbears see hobgoblins as weak, and inferior to themselves, but are quite aware that their organization and tactical skill makes them formidable foes. Bugbears find that assisting their lesser kin in waging their many wars can make them a decent living, but they demand a great amount of loot and food in exchange, and do not take orders well, preferring to be in charge themselves if possible. Bugbears serve as scouts and shock troops for hobgoblins, often being on the front lines ready to break the enemy line apart. However, just as with any other creatures, a bugbear will likely abandon its smaller employers if it gets into a potentially life-threatening situation.

Barghests: Bugbears do not take well to the dominating nature of these creatures, yet they fear them due to their considerable power. Nonetheless, bugbears will rarely find themselves subject to the leadership of a barghest, believing it to be a demon sent by the gods of the lesser goblinoids to bully them, and encountering one means bad luck and ill fortune. As such, the more pious of bugbears will likely attack a barghest on sight.

Orcs: Bugbears respect orcs for their great physical prowess, but only in the same way as the lion respects the tiger. Orcs are enemies and competitors, and the two species rarely, if ever, get along at all. Orcs and bugbears are almost never encountered close to one another for longer periods of time, as one side will eventually annihilate the other. Others: Unless the creatures unfortunate enough to have bugbears as their neighbors are strong in numbers and have enough gold and food to hire the bugbears for their armies, the bugbears will attack them indiscriminately. Unlike goblins, they find that humans and dwarves make poor underlings, and that elves and orcs rarely wish to pay them as much as hobgoblins will (Or more commonly, that they outright refuse to work with them at all). The usual bugbear response to an encounter with any non-goblinoids is to steal, stalk and slay.

DM's Toolkit

“Didn't see that one coming did you?”

Laughing, sadistic DM playing bugbears right.

Bugbears are the perfect creatures for ambushing the players with brute force when they’re the least prepared for it. Incredibly strong and incredibly stealthy, a team of bugbears ambushing the PC’s dead at night while they’re sleeping without their armor on is sure to scare the living hell out of them if done right, and likely cause them to flee without most of their belongings. The fact that these creatures usually hunt in packs and that one of them is likely stronger than the others makes them even more terrifying.

A bugbear sneaks like a cat, takes hits like a tank and gives hits like a truck. With both its Brute and Surprise Attack abilities, a Morningstar hit from an ambushing bugbear is going to hurt. A lot. A Morningstar hit from five ambushing bugbears and one ambushing bugbear chief is going to cause a world of pain. And after the ambush, the bugbears will still be able to hold their ground very well in open melee against a weakened and terrified party. >Simply using bugbears as stand-in big brutes like ogres or orcs is doing these monsters a huge disservice, for the true and terrifying strength of the bugbears lie in their ability to deliver really hard-hitting ambush blows, giving them a rather big edge in the following melee combat where they continue to hit hard.

And remember, bugbears always try to escape with their lives. If the party manages to overpower the bugbears, they will in nearly all cases flee and come back another time for revenge, possibly with the aid of goblins. If bugbears have goblins under their service, they will likely send them in to serve as distractions and meatshields, wearing the PC’s down and chipping away at their HP before the bugbears finally close in for the kill, leaping from the shadows where they’ve been waiting the whole time.

The best way to use bugbears is when the PC’s are not expecting them, and as such, they should be used sparingly. Do not send the PC’s out to clear out a lair of bugbears, in fact, don’t even mention their existence at all; send them to clear out a lair of some other monsters and, out of the blue, let the bugbears ambush them on the road or in the forest to catch them completely with their pants down. If the PC’s are investigating a goblin camp led by a bugbear and the bugbear hears them coming, he wont openly challenge them and mindlessly hit at them until he dies or they die; he’ll hide, wait and judge his potential for winning. If the PC’s seem to be overpowering his goblins and are too much of a match for him, he likely wont even try to fight them and flee, never letting the PC’s know he was there at all, or he might try to catch one of them alone or ambush them later in their travels.

In any case, bugbears are -not- just another type of rank-and-file dumb monster that charges at the PCs and hits until it dies. Bugbears are survivors, hunters and extremely tactical creatures, who will always try to flee and come back for vengeance, better prepared.

Bugbears generally shouldn’t be used often (unless they’re actually part of an organized army), but only once in a while to scare the shit out of your players and let them feel how it is to be hunted, rather than being the hunter.

Bulette

Mayor Hillbottom’s stroll through the fairgrounds was being rudely interrupted.

“Mister Mayor, you have to call it off!”

The Mayor turned, sighing, “Not again…”

“Fanny Stoutman had two cows go missing just yesterday.”

“She should keep better track of her livestock - we all know that.”

“But Mister Mayor - the sinkholes, the upturned trees!”

The Mayor patted Garth on the shoulder.

“Garth, you’re worried about a little hubbub miles away. The County Fair is not a place where such things happen, and I’m not shutting it down. It is a tradition. A time-honored tradition of feasting, games, dancing…"

“No! No dancing! That would -”

Thocka-thocka-thock-thock. A dozen clog-shod children cavorted on the main stage. Garth went white.

“Well, it’s a bit late for that. Try to enjoy yourself.” The Mayor gently moved the wide-eyed halfling off to one side to continue his stroll.

Thocka-thocka-thock-thock.

Poor Garth, the Mayor thought. That’s what comes of a halfling going on too many adventures. Monsters on the brain. Thocka-thocka-thock-thock.

Then the earth split, and Mayor Hillbottom screamed.

Introduction

The Bulette, or ‘land shark’, is a ravenous, solitary, burrowing predator that sows sudden carnage wherever it roams. While their reputation for destruction is well known, a detailed study of the creatures has for centuries been stymied by one simple aspect of their nature: Only a fraction of a Bulette’s life - a few horrible and bloody moments of feeding every few days - occurs above ground. In recent years however, our organization has undertaken a coordinated effort to develop the most comprehensive report to date on this legendary beast. Our findings and methodology follow, but while there is much to say about the Bulette, an initial summary requires only three words: Dangerous, underground and hungry.

Physical Form

The adult Bulette measures up to 20 feet long and weighs several tons - reports have been recorded of singular Bulettes surpassing even these terrifying proportions. Under a thick, bony carapace and equally thick leathery hide lie reams of pure muscle that seem designed for unceasing burrowing and feeding. The Bulette sports massive jaws wide enough to consume cattle and horses in a single bite, and four three-toed feet ending in scooped claws that excel at digging. Like many other terrestrial creatures they must breathe clean air - but by sporting an incredible lung capacity, they are able to spend the bulk of their time burrowing beneath the ground, surfacing only briefly every day or so to take a single breath through a nostril hidden behind the plates at the top of their back. Though the Bulette is reptilian in appearance, posthumous dissection by our scholars [Ed: With much gratitude to multiple adventuring parties for the donation of the remains] point to a warm-blooded nature (much like the common Armadillo) and to the birthing of live offspring rather than egg laying.

Life Cycle

Bulettes live a mostly solitary life, and have been observed to roam a ‘territory’ up to 30 miles wide. They feed on meat of nearly any sort and seem to have a particular taste for the flesh of halflings and horses, and a particular distaste for dwarves and elves.

The underground nature of their life cycle makes their exact lifespan impossible to calculate. However, in the well-documented case of the village of Brantenburg, the same Bulette was observed for a dozen years before the entire surviving population opted to relocate, at which point contact with the creature was lost.

Long term observation of several Bulette territories also suggests they spend at least four months in some sort of inactive state far below ground - perhaps hibernating or reproducing - before returning to their more typical hunting patterns.

We classify the Bulette as an apex predator: the only thing that routinely kills a Bulette is another Bulette. Where one Bulette is a silent hunter, two engaged in mating rituals is apocalyptic. In a flurry of slashing claws and snapping jaws, the male Bulette proves his worth to the female through intense combat that leaves a swath of destruction across miles of countryside or - in some unfortunate cases - nearby villages. Once the female is sufficiently impressed, she engages the male in mating after which her overwhelming feeding instincts once again take over and she invariably consumes the wounded and exhausted male.

Tactics and Habits

The unrelenting viciousness of Bulettes created a problem for researchers hoping to observe them in the wild. We were able to overcome this obstacle through careful use of scrying, Scholar Vincini’s heated-air balloons and mundane flight magics and conducted a number of lengthy observations of Bulettes on the hunt.

Intelligence is one of the Bulette’s few weaknesses, and as a result their hunting strategies are limited to pursuing and then brutally consuming prey. That said, even the most cunning foe has found the Bulette’s natural hunting instincts to be sufficiently deadly and many a trophy hunter has met their end seeking to ‘outwit’ a Bulette. When hungry (which is almost always) the Bulette will roam underground close to the surface. A finely tuned tremorsense allows the Bulette to detect movement on the surface and close in on its prey, erupting from belowground with jaws wide. If the initial attack proves insufficient to kill or consume the target, the Bulette is capable of relentless aboveground pursuit - making powerful leaps of ten yards or more to crush, slash and tear their victim to pieces upon landing.

Typically, a Bulette focuses on a single, lone victim at a time. After making a kill, it circles underground to track the remaining prey and choose its next target, repeating the kill process until all prey has been consumed or its hunger is sated. Though many stories recount what could be considered malign intelligence (e.g. eating a caravan’s horses first and circling the disabled wagons for hours before finally killing the passengers) in practice this behavior was only observed infrequently.

Mysteries Remain

Above ground, Bulettes are capable of surprising quickness and mighty leaps enabled by their powerful and well-muscled legs. But this cannot explain their truly incredible speed while burrowing underground. In fact, it is estimated that Bulettes can burrow even faster than they can run! This fact, in conjunction with observation, leads us to one of two conclusions: Either Bulettes possess some undiscovered burrowing technique (perhaps swallowing and rapidly passing some amount of earth?) or there is magic at work. We have observed that natives of the Elemental Plane of Earth possess the amazing ability to move through earth like water. Could it be that the Bulette species descended from native Elemental stock? Still, there is ample evidence of Bulette burrowing uprooting trees and disturbing the earth, so this mode of transit is at least somewhat physical in nature. The pre-eminent theory relates to a peculiar gland found within the Bulette’s throat, which secretes a fluid that some Wizards and Alchemists claim capable of transmuting earth to mud. This theory is supported by excavations of Bulette burrows revealing muddy underground channels and may explain their ability to move underground as though swimming - because in fact they do!

DM Toolkit

There is so much we could say about the Bulette. It is a D&D original: One of the first monsters created specifically for the game way back in 1st edition alongside the likes of the Owlbear and Rust Monster. It’s been in every edition since and it remains an awesome monster for a DM’s toolkit.

Tips for running a Bulette encounter:

Foreshadow! A distant rumbling, passing by upturned trees and sinkholes, reports by locals - as Spielberg can tell you, it pays to build some tension for an Act before the beast appears.

Hit and Run. The Bulette shouldn’t appear and then fight to the death. Have it head back underground after the initial assault and give the PCs a chance to plan/worry/pee their pants before it returns for another pass.

Use the Leap! Even if it’s contrived or just for show, a Bulette leaping through the air is a thing of beauty.

Bulette Plot/Story Ideas:

Jaws/The Great White Whale - There’s a singular Bulette out there that’s smarter, bigger and more deadly than any seen before. It’s preying on a community desperate for heroes to stop it, but it has shown the cunning to evade traps and set ambushes of its own. It has even attracted famous monster hunters from far and wide - who don’t like competition.

Tremors - Ever wondered where Bulettes go to have their babies? They just decided to do it in your village. Dune - A guerilla/terrorist force is luring Bulettes to their enemies using magical ‘thump-thumps’ that attract the beasts from many miles away. Rumor has it they may have even tamed the beasts to ride atop them into battle!

Bullywug

Bullywugs? They are just a part of the cost of doing business around the Mire of Dead Men. The good news is, being cowardly, if you add a couple extra guards to your caravan, they will mostly leave you alone… mostly - Melnom Allcare, Neverwinter shipper.

Introduction

Brutish frogmen who view themselves as the rulers of the swamps. They have a distorted morality, code of honor, and etiquette. They “tax” (raid) the areas around the swamps they inhabit. They have no concern for developing or maintaining their environment, and seek only to exploit what is easily attainable.

Bullywugs lack the ability or inclination to develop industry or even care for equipment. Any sort of improved item (weapon, armor, etc.) that they acquire will degenerate from improper care rapidly in the swamp environment.

Physiological Observations

Bullywugs are amphibian humanoids resembling large bipedal frogs. They have bulbous eyes and a large maw prominently lined with teeth. Their skin is smooth and generally mottled in various shades of green. Their skin also is always moist giving it a “slimy” appearance. They almost always wear deteriorating light armor and carry spears or other simple weapons.

Many bullywugs will wear a totem necklace with charms of anything they perceive as having any value, but which most observers would regard as trash.

Social Observations

While many races have advanced in their view of male/female relationships, bullywugs are wholly male dominated. Females produce eggs and care for young. Bullywugs do not engage in sexual activities except for reproductive purposes, so there is no value placed on females as prostitutes, concubines, or other traditional sex roles. Bullywug “homes” are just subsurface ruts, so there is no value for females as homemakers. And bullywug social interactions are reserved for males only, so there is no value in females as social companions. Occasionally, a female emerges with qualities that make her proficient in combat, but bullywugs view these females as aberrations and they are typically expelled from the community.

Communities vary on the process males go through to transition from the role of young to adult. In some, it is merely a state awarded upon observation of physical maturity, but others have complicated rituals and/or tasks that must be completed to assume adult membership.

Bullywugs form communities with rather simple social structures. There will be a single dominant bullywug that all other members of the community obey without question. The leader is not expected to be consistent, gracious, concerned for the safety of the community, nor have any of the other responsibilities that other races generally place on leadership. The leader is free to indulge his whims and is expected to do so. The community obeys out of fear and also because each bullywug enjoys the fantasy that at some future point he will capture the leadership position and be able to enjoy the same benefits.

Bullywug communities vary widely in their traditions and culture because of the wide variation in the leaders’ inclinations. Some communities have a leader who is a self-styled prophet and develop elaborate pseudo-religious rituals. Some have a leader who is a self-proclaimed general, and will develop complex martial orders. Regardless, no social structure survives the transition to a new leader, who will invariably implement a culture suited to his own whims.

Bullywug communities are sometimes vassal states of more powerful entities, but bullywugs don’t make good vassals. They always require more resources to maintain discipline than they produce in return for the effort.

Behaviorial Observations

Bullywugs operate in two modes – either completely obsequious or completely dominant. The idea of equality is not a part of their makeup. In every interaction, they are either the dominant participant dictating terms or the lesser participant obeying the whims of the dominator.

Bullywugs will not attack unless they are confident they have the superior force. But if they do, they attack mercilessly.

Bullywugs have a distorted and unpredictable sense of value. They often fixate on a trinket of no value – a shell or shiny rock – and perceive it as highly valuable. Almost never will their senses of value align with the wider world. Very occasionally, a female bullywug will escape the confines of the bullywug swamp and emerge to be an adventurer. Bullywugs are carnivores, but their preferred diet is fish and insects. Occasionally they will gorge on larger prey.

Inter-Species Observations

Bullywug interactions with other races are generally difficult. Bullywugs don’t have the mentality to negotiate as equal partners. So outside entities must establish a clear position of superiority at which point bullywugs will comply with be completely submissive. However, this behavior will endure only as long as the position of superiority is maintained. Usually, the utility provided by the bullywugs is not worth the cost of maintaining the dominant position. Bullywugs can communicate with frogs and other swamp amphibians. They will often incorporate giant frogs into their defenses, and because of their communications with the swamp fauna, it is very difficult to surprise bullywugs in a swamp environment.

In the particular case of lizardfolk, bullywugs are mortal enemies. They have competed for the same territories for generations and developed a deep, racial loathing of each other.

DM's Toolkit

Historically, there was some variation in bullywugs presented. However, 5th ed has only a single statblock. It is a CR ¼, so PCs outgrow it as a challenge fairly early. The bullywugs’ aquatic nature can make for some interesting “escape/chase” underwater encounters on to level 3 or 4, but that is the limit of bullywugs as challenges for PCs. Advancing bullywugs is possible, since they are humanoid. They present a decent platform for adding expected improvements.

Bullywugs make for interesting roleplaying encounters as the bullywug tries to figure out if it is the dominant or submissive. And even after the roles are established, bullywugs complete commitment to one role or the other often makes for an interesting social encounter for players who are used to negotiating as presumed equals.

Cambion

"Of course. All those mortal women swooning over gallant pit fiends. All those golden-hearted succubi blushing as men kiss their burning hands. My darling, let me tell you a secret: devils don't love."

Lorcan, half-devil son of the succubus Invadiah, formerly the most powerful erinyes of the Nine Hells"No matter how often I asked her, my mother only spoke of him once: lavender-skinned, alluring but marred by self-inflicted scars, hair like fresh cut mahogany, deep orange eyes that smoldered like dying embers, with a fiery temper and cruel streak to match. I am lucky a penchant for piercings was the only habit I inherited."

Aurelian Shackleborn, tiefling paladin of Sharess

Introduction

Just as all humans are at least somewhat dissimilar, so too are cambions varied and unique. In truth, there is but one criterion that binds them together as a species: they are the spawn of a mortal and a fiend. Their infernal blood inevitably draws them to one conclusion: they are better than us, and want to ensure that we know it.

Whether they choose to live their lives on the Prime Material Plane, or leave to enter the service of some demonic lord, each cambion feels a destiny stronger than most, and one can be assured that whatever path these half-fiends choose, the lives of many will be changed in their wake.

Physiological Observations

The red-skinned, bat-winged, reptilian-tailed, horned humanoid with which you are probably familiar with represents but a small subset of the greater cambion population. Their individuality is matched only by the many designations of humans; certainly far more subraces of cambions exist than those of dwarves or elves.

The expression of their genes is as complex as any species. A cambion may be nearly indistinguishable from other members of its mortal half, or just as likely they may appear to be entirely demonic. Two cambion siblings might seemingly be of completely different races, their infernal blood manifesting in unique ways.

Generally, they can be grouped and identified according to their fiendish forebear, not unlike tieflings before the ascension of Asmodeus to godhood.

The following is a list of fiends known to be able to produce cambion offspring:

Tanar'ri (Demons)

Balor

Balor-spawn are the cambions told of in old stories and legends. Skin like a vibrant ruby, diminutive horns outlined by obsidian hair, large, leathery wings, and a non-prehensile tail. Shapely, well built, undeniably attractive, these cambions are very active in the affairs of mortals, easily influencing, ruling, and manipulating them.

More than any of their cousins, save perhaps the child of a pit fiend, these half-tanar'ri possess an unworldly ambition. It would be wise not to cross one.

Glabrezu

The abyssal child of a glabrezu is a large, hulking figure. With spined shoulders, furry, digitigrade legs, and occasionally an extra set of vestigial arms, these horned humanoids are light of skin, with markings similar to their demonic parent.

Marilith

It was once postulated that the yuan-ti were descended from humans who worshipped and pledged themselves to the service of mariliths, eventually interbreeding with them. Such an idea was slowly proven incorrect as we learned more of the yuan-ti history, but the connection is easily made once one has viewed a marilith-born cambion.

Occasionally indistinguishable from a yuan-ti pureblood, they may possess many similar physical traits; serpentine eyes, pointed teeth, and even scaly skin, though these scales usually manifest on the lower half of the body.

That is where the similarities end, however, as their fierce, warlike tendencies contradict the usual function of yuan-ti purebloods as spies. Though rare, some do inherit the six arms of their mother, making them nearly unmatched combatants.

Nalfeshnee

What grave misfortune has befallen the poor target of a nalfeshnee's desire.

The corpulent, wretched spawn of such an undoubtedly nonconsensual union are hideous, cannibalistic gluttons possessed of porcine features and habits.

Often bearing tusks rather than horns, and wings even more undersized than their demonic parent's, these bloated beings enjoy nothing more than the indscriminate consumption of flesh and the visceral satisfaction that comes from eating a creature alive.

Succubus/Incubus

Easily the most common cambions are those born of a mortal man and a succubus. Cambion daughters of succubi are known as "alu-fiends," or "alu-demons," but there is functionally no difference between them and their male counterparts. Children born to either sex of these demonic tempters can be indistinguishable from tieflings and many are capable of passing as humans.

Invariably promiscuous, they are generally attractive, even beautiful by human standards, if not for a few demonic traits, commonly sharp, pointy teeth, diminutive, batlike wings, and less commonly cloven, hooved, unguligrade feet.

Yochlol

The only form in which yochlol can mate with a mortal is that of a female drow. As such, a cambion birthed from this creature appears as any other drow, though they are often chosen by Lolth to become powerful priestesses and agents.

Baatezu (Devils)

Barbazu (Bearded Devil)

One of the more humanoid of the baatezu, the bearded devil gifts its children light purple skin, pointed ears, powerful claws, a statuesque physique, and a thick, powerful tail. Tendrils grow from their lower jaw, similar, but longer than tieflings with the blood of the Lord of Nessus.

Not particularly bright, they make fierce warriors and respond violently to perceived slights.

Kyton (Chain Devil)

Were it not for the occasional unnaturally coloured skin and eponymous chains worn by the kyton, they would appear nearly precisely human. So too, their cambion offspring can be hard to identify as such. Extremely well built, such half-baatezu individuals find a natural proclivity toward self-mutilation, scar-tattoos, and piercings.

Kyton-spawn are cruel and sadistic, enjoying both inflicting and receiving pain. Beyond these not entirely unique behaviors, they can be indistinguishable from other mortals.

Erinyes

The child of a mortal, particularly human, and an erinyes would be the most difficult cambion to notice, were it not for the large, majestic wings protruding from its back. Usually red or black, these alone are rarely enough to realize the heritage of such a creature. Possessed of an otherworldly beauty, the spawn of erinyes are almost always tall, fair, shapely, and universally aloof, viewing lesser races with disdain, but not caring enough to express it. The nearly vacant, seemingly lost visage of these half-fiends, silhoueted by beautiful, black hair, draws the eyes of most mortals with whom they interact.

Woe to those who fall in love the spawn of an erinyes, for the only thing worse than their indifference is their attention.

Pit Fiend

Similar to the progeny of a balor, a cambion born to a pit fiend exhibits many of the traits that first come to mind when thinking of evil outsiders. Red-skinned, though not smooth like their balor born counterparts, patches of platelike scales often appear on the shoulders and legs of these normally digitigrade, clawed humanoids. Thick, black horns, sharp, powerful fangs, and bright, glowing red eyes adorn the strong-jawed head of these half-fiends. Some inherit powerful, leathery wings capable of wrapping around their entire body, and a long, prehensile tail.

Yugoloths

Arcanaloth

Cambion children of the arcanaloth are unusual, but not unheard of. They often possess a more bestial form than other half-fiends, with back and shoulder fur, long, bushy tails, powerful canine teeth, hound's feet, long faces, and bright, yellow eyes being among the most common expressions of their outsider parentage.

Nycaloth

These cambions are some of the most similar to their fiendish heritage. Nycaloth spawn tend to be large, green-skinned, and brutish. Often fat, but unmistakably strong, their arms and shoulders may be adorned with spines. Rarely, they exibit an extra set of arms.

Ultroloth

Rarest of the yugoloth cambions, children of an ultroloth and a mortal have a strange, alien allure to them. They are slender, but muscular, with skin tones ranging shades of grey, blue and green-grey being the most common. Tall heads and ovoid eyes are complimented by abnormally small facial features.

Night Hag

One method of hag reproduction involves the snatching and devouring of a human infant. Not all hags are produced this way. Cambions born of the unholy union between a night hag and a male mortal are always female. The father usually does not survivie this ordeal.

They appear as normal members of their father's race, save for a few subtle differences. They might have abnormally pale skin, blue or black hair that seems to be made of shadow, heterodichromatic eyes of unnatural colour, or a slight hypnotic effect to their voice.

Rarely raised by their mothers, night hag-spawn are often left at the doorstep of some unsuspecting couple. Upon reaching puberty, the night mag may visit her daughter, and over the course of thirteen magical rituals, transform her unsuspecting progeny into a spitting image of the horror that gave her life. If the hag cannot locate her child, or if the rituals are interrupted, the cambion may continue living as any other mortal, though her hag blood will always call to her.

Rakshasa

The most distinguishing feature of those descended from a rakshasa is the inverted hands.

Beyond that, they appear not unlike the shifters of Eberron. Their facial features may include the yellow, slit eyes of cat, a cleft-palate and snout-like nose, pointed, curved feline ears, sharp fangs, broad nosebridges, and even a thin coat of fur across their entire body.

Their feline traits are as varied as any rakshasa, usually resembling a cat of the material plane, commonly a tiger, lion, panther, or cougar.

Social Observations

Cambions are as socially varied as any other individual mortal. How they view each other is equally as unique. Generally, they recognize the power of an other cambion, but are always wary. Rarely are cambions found to be in league with one another.

They might feel a twisted sense of kinship with siblings or other cambions of the same infernal lineage, or they might as equally likely dread and hate them, seeing each other as competition for favor in the eyes of their evil lords, competiton that needs to be eliminated.

Loners at heart, they never truly have a home on either the prime material or outer planes, and are never fully accepted by either group.

Cambions do not form societies with each other and do not have any sort of culture to unite them. They are usually found trying to subjugate and rule whichever settlement into which they are born, often succeeding.

Rarely will they accept any form of mortal vassalship.

Those who choose to leave the material plane usually seek out their progenitor and enter its service, often becoming key agents in the fiend's machinations. Cambions are of particular value as they have a much easier time of navigating planar travel than outsiders, and are immune to banishment, being natives of the material plane.

They acquire influence more easily than full-blooded fiends, and tend to be favored by their infernal parent over other subjects.

In particular, the demon lord Graz'zt has many of his children in his employ. They generally look similar, inheriting their father's beauty, grace, ebony skin, cloven hooves, and six-fingered hands.

One notable exception is his daughter, Thraxxia, who, despite being born to the demon prince of sin and a human woman, appears as an alu-fiend.

Behavioural Observations

There is truly but one unifying beahvioural trait present in all cambions: a desire to rule. No matter from which fiend it claims its infernal blood, the ambition of a cambion can only be matched by humans and outsiders. Small wonder that most of them are born to a human parent.

Their innate abilities put them leagues ahead of their contemporaries from an early age. Those who are raised among mortals exhibit wickedness, cruelty, ruthlessness, and perversion. They instantly establish a favorable power dynamic between them and their peers, often leading gangs of miscreants as children, growing up to lead gangs of thugs or full on uprisings and revolts as adults.

Those raised in the outer planes grow up knowing only power, as that is the path to survival in those dark, twisted lands.

Cambions are not devoid of feeling, however, and several align themselves with the ideals of goodness. Those raised by good-aligned mortals are naturally the most likely to reject their fiendish nature.

Being so devoid of acceptance, they approach their tasks with maximum effort in an attempt to prove that they are worthy of the ego they possess.

Interspecies Observations

Cambions almost universally view themselves as above other races, especially that of their mortal half. This does not mean that they necessarily discriminate or exhibit behaviour in this manner, but they are prejudiced and hold this belief to be true.

Good-aligned half-fiends may experience a dilettante effect, finding it easier to get along, at least on the surface, with any race more easily than most, depending on just how demonic their appearance is. Their natural emotional isolation makes them highly effective at forming quick, loose bonds with those they meet, and easily rise to positions of leadership among strangers.

They are not dissimilar from tieflings in this manner, as most other species are unable to differentiate between them.

DM's Toolkit

Cambions should be as fleshed out and complex as your player characters. They've had a rough go of it, they deserve something.

They can fit into any sort of campaign, whether as a minor villain, an agent to an important NPC, even as a quest-giver. When inserting a cambion into your world, ask yourself the same questions your players should know about their characters.

Where did they come from? How did they get here?

What are my cambion's goals, and how do they plan to achieve them?

Who was their mortal parent?

Who was their fiendish parent?

Are either alive?

What role does the fiend play in your world?

Are they important and/or central to the plot?

Choose a specific race of fiend and let that guide you in creating the cambion's appearance.

How active are fiends in your setting?

Subsequently, how rare does that make cambions?

Are there enough to encourage you to open them up as a player race, using modified tiefling rules or something of your own design? More than just a combat encounter or obstacle for the players to overcome, create a living, breathing entity in your world; cambions can easily be movers and shakers.

Some ideas for cambion driven story arcs:

A political uprising is orchestrated by a cambion from behind the scenes, weakening a ruler who supports the temple of one of the cambion's lord's enemies.

The party is sent to retrieve a scroll containing the true name of a decoy BBEG demon, the cambion uses this knowledge for personal gain and becomes the real BBEG.

A cambion has assassinated a high-ranking member of the church of one of the party members. They must track this creature down to capture or kill it. (Thank you Sepulchrave)

A neutral or good-aligned cambion is the key to defeating his demonic father who threatens the realm. He wants no part of it.

A cambion quest giver misleads the party into freeing a devil bound by holy means. Get creative with your cambion's background.

Carrion Crawler

“Most’a yah’s stroll on up in here, complainin’ bout sneak creatures an’ talkin’ bout how you’s would rather die starin’ a damn monster in the eyes than stabbed in the back. Know what that tells me ‘bout you lot? Yah never found yourselves face to face with a carrion crawler, cause if there’s one thing I know fer sure, it’s that the only thing worse’n getting caught an’ eaten by one from the rear, would be havin’ to stare at the creature’s face an’ know there ain’t a damn thing ya can do about it.” – Sir Irwin, Knight of the Norfort Council, speaking at the annual Fighter’s Guild Assembly.

Introduction

A characteristic of the best adventurers is that they do not fear death; indeed, they throw themselves eagerly into danger. The valiant ones are content in knowing they will die saving innocents, a noble exit from this life, and the smarter ones know that death is not necessarily the ultimate end people make it out to be.

But it is not the concept of dying to a carrion crawler that puts fear into would-be champions of the world. Fear of this monstrosity comes from knowing what will happen to the body after, and not knowing how long the potential victim will have to stand witness, paralyzed, as their body is continuously molested by the corrupted touch of the carrion crawler’s tentacles, and their body slowly fed into the creature’s terrifying maw…

Physiological Observations

Carrion Crawlers could be described to children as “that thing you’re afraid is hiding in the dark”, and half of those children would envision a semi-accurate depiction of the creature.

The stuff of the nightmares, carrion crawlers resemble giant slugs with many legs, all of which end in spikes which allow it to crawl vertically along surfaces to get the drop on wayward prey. The carrion crawler’s eyes protrude from the top of its head, a trait which allows more opening room for its mouth to devour any kind of dead flesh it manages to come into possession of.

Perhaps the most iconic, and deadly, physical trait of the creature, though, is the many tentacles coming from under its jaws, all of which secrete an extremely powerful paralytic agent which it uses to immobilize any living creatures foolish enough to come within its reach before consuming them.

Most accounts describe the creatures as primarily green, though some witness have claimed different colour variations in carrion crawlers depending on environment. It seems that some have adapted to blend into their background more, allowing more ease in getting prey within their tentacle's reach.

Females have been observed to be significantly larger than males, even having more paralyzing tentacles. It is theorized that this is because the mothers must immediately fend off attacks from their young upon birth, as their natural instincts take seconds to develop and they all instantly begin assaulting the nearest potential food sources

Social Observations

Carrion Crawlers can be called many things. Social is not one of them. They attempt to paralyze and consume any and all living things they encounter, including members of their own species, whom they will eagerly attack if no other source of meat is readily detectable in the immediate vicinity. However it is important to note that they do seem to prefer the flesh of other species’, therefore it is not recommended to try to lure two of them against each other in the hopes of distracting them and escaping.

Because of this innate hostility, it is unknown whether carrion crawlers are even consciously aware of their breeding processes. Some researchers believe that when a male carrion crawler attacks a female, his body will switch its usual paralyzing venom with an inseminating agent, much the same way a humanoid male’s body directs urine or sperm out of the genitals. Then, due to the lack of its main combat tactic, and faced with the female’s superior size and strength, the male dies in the ensuing fight. His corpse is then consumed.

After a successful kill, carrion crawlers emit a particular pheromone only detectable by members of their own species. While the purpose of this seems to be to assert dominance over an area or prey, it has the unfortunate side-

effect of attracting all other carrion crawlers in a one mile radius to the location it is emanating from. This also happens upon death, and as such, adventurers should be cautioned to act quickly as soon as there is any kind of casualty in a fight with a carrion crawler, lest they be rapidly overwhelmed.

Behavioral Observations

They are not intelligent. They are not cunning. They are simply driven.

Carrion Crawlers have one thing, and one thing only, on their minds at any given time: eating. The only time they can be considered relatively less dangerous than usual is when they are in the process of eating a fresh kill (whether it’s their own or if they simply killed whatever was there first is inconsequential). In these circumstances, they are wholly concentrated on their meals. That being said, they should still be given a wide berth, as they will immediately lash out at anything that disturbs them during their meal, and it should be noted that they do not have to be looking directly at a potential victim for their paralyzing tentacles to score a hit.

They are instinctively drawn to any kind of dead meat, sometimes detecting it from miles around. Though they generally prefer to stay underground, where it is easier for them to catch prey, sufficient amounts of dead bodies have been known to coax large numbers of carrion crawlers to the surface. Examples of this phenomenon include the aftermath of large battles between kingdoms and the ritual group suicides of some fringe religious cults.

Childbirth is an interesting process for carrion crawlers. While still largely a mystery, researchers believe that future mothers are largely unaware of their pregnancy until shortly before its end, about 3 months after conception. At this point, it is believed that the mother-to-be is overcome with a powerful maternal instinct and immediately seeks out any kind of dead flesh with more desperation than usual, within the remains of which she will give birth to roughly 60 carrion crawler larvae at a time. If no body can be found, the brood is simply born wherever the mother happens to be. It is interesting to note that immediately after childbirth is the only circumstance any carrion crawler has been observed to leave behind a potential meal of any kind, as they will usually fight over food to their dying breath. The larvae quickly consume whatever flesh they are born into, or their mother (should they be born near her with no dead bodies to immediately get their attention), and then immediately turn on each other. Of the original 60 newborns, only 5 will survive, on average.

Inter-Species Observation

Asking a carrion crawler to differentiate between species would be like presenting a starving dwarf with a leg of mutton, a pork chop, and a T-bone steak and asking him which he would rather hold a conversation with. Everything is food. Every living species is food. There are no exceptions.

DM’s Toolbox

Carrion Crawler’s don’t have the cunning to be the main foes of any situation, nor are they common enough to be randomly encountered while strolling from point A to point B. They are, however, useful for creating those “Oh Fuck This Just Went From Bad To SO Much Worse” situations. For example:

A fortified city has been under siege, which the PC’s have just broken. But now carrion crawlers have showed up, attracted by the bodies. Even worse: pregnant ones. The city is now under another, more accidental siege, as no other nation wants to wade into the birthing slaughterfields of the crawlers.

Upon retrieving the magical McGuffin from the deep underground lair of Badguy McEvil, they emerge from the boss’ chamber to find a carrion crawler feasting on one of the minions they killed on the way in. A nature check will reveal that by now, the pheromones have been released. More carrion crawlers are on their way, and this one is still blocking their way out…

They also make for good pit creatures. Does your evil wizard have a trap door to drop your PC’s in? Throw in a carrion crawler! Hell, throw in two!

Centaur

Swift-Stride of Starkbacks galloped up to the top of the hill where the forest broke out to open farmland. Smoke rose from the clutch of houses, the filthy two legs just sturring from their dens. They had been here for generations now, cutting at the trees, cutting away at his home.

Grand Broodmare Sunmane of Dryadspeak spoke of solitude, of remaining far away from the business of these axe wielders, these tree burners, these filthy savages! Swift-Stride clopped forward, fully coming out of the treeline, with teams from twenty Harras’ of their land. He raised his bow, a gift passed down and blessed anew by the forest, a flint tipped arrow glinting in the new dawns light.

It will be a red one, and the blood will flow thick before this warpath is ended, he thought, as he let the arrow fly.

Introduction

Centaurs are a noble and ancient race, coming into creation some say even before the elves. They were there when the first Dryads danced through the groves, at the stirring of the first Treants. They are allies of the forests, and those who seek to protect them, their home. They will defend them fiercely, and hate all those who would seek to take their ancient lands from them, whether this be open rolling grasslands, or ancient dark forests. Some have forgotten this proud people, but they are not one to be taken lightly.

Physiological Observations

Centaurs can simply be seen as horses with the torsos head and arms of a humanoid, replacing their head and neck. This is quite a crude observation, and one should never compare a centaur to a horse. It will not end well. Depending on their land and heritage they may appear to have the top halfs of elves, men, even dwarves. Some say even darker variants from some of the more brutish races exists, though this is only hearsay. They have the same variety of coats as horses do.

Besides armour and ceremonial trapping they rarely garb themselves in clothes. They will adorn their hair and bodies with jewellery which usually reflects the land they are from. Some of the cultures will tattoo themselves with their deeds and heritage, or apply woad and war paint during times of conflict.

Social Observations

Centaurs are family creatures. They will raise their youngs as mating couples and will usually mate for life. Families will gather into tribes and clans, known as Herds, a Stable, or a Harras, depending on their culture. These words have been taken by other sentient races for discussing horses, another point of contention for these old and noble people. They usually speak languages of the woods, with common being a language only known by a few. It is sometimes looked down upon to learn the languages of two legs.

These Herds are ruled over by democratic councils, with an elected head to make final decisions. Centaurs believe in discussion and debate, and will hold councils to decide on actions to be taken for any group. The young naturally rebel against this, but they are more often than not brought into line by sense of duty to the herd, or by stern punishment from the strongest stallions in the tribe.

They worship a variety of gods, once again dependant on where they are. All their gods will have strong ties to the earth, natural forces, and wildness. They have no set alignment. Above all Centaurs are a diverse people.

Behaviorial Observations

Centaurs will engage in long conversation and debate for the sheer enjoyment of it. Alongside martial prowess, the ability to debate and philosophise are greatly prized. They will usually eat and drink as a whole herd, another way in which they socialize, debate, and tell grand tales and legends. They are swift to anger over certain things, but are usually calm on most topics. Both females and males will hunt and gather, fight and talk. They will either live under the stars, on in homes sung with magic from the land around them, such as trees, or caves. They migratory, usually travelling their lands in yearly cycles, returning to well-known and long used sites of their herd. They have main religious or ancestral days and nights of remembrance and celebration.

Inter-Species Observations

Centaurs can be allies or enemies to anyone. As long as you do not insult them, threaten their way of life or land, and have a similar alignment or god, they will be friendly to you. The young will often be standoffish or insultive, but this usually passes with age and wisdom.

They sometimes regularly trade with nearby settlements, though this will usually be done in a neutral location. You’ll rarely see a centaur trotting down a cobbled street. They prefer their own lands, and are naturally distrustful of such places, such scars on the land as some Centaurs see them.

As already mentioned, they get on quite well with creatures of the forest, elves, and other sentient beings of and from the land.

If a Harras goes to war it will usually end when either they are wiped out, or their enemies are vanquished. War is something not chosen lightly, and centaurs rarely if ever war amongst themselves. When it is chosen herds from far and wide will usually come to the aid of a Harras on the bloody path. Despite their love of debate and negotiation, it is very hard to barter for peace with centaurs when they have chosen war.

DM's Toolkit

Centaurs can and should be used in great variety. From the singular titans of Greek mythology, to the roaming clans seen in more modern fiction. The singular ones can be done by boosting the stats of the base centaur, and can make great damsel in distress quest bosses.

Centaurs don’t have to just be man-horses. Why not use orcs, dwarves? How about half dragon half ogre centaurs!!!! You could use the same base stats but with a new and interesting coat of paint.

They also offer a perfect chance to have a prickle NPC, one given over to long flowery speeches also. Perfect for having fun with your players. They can also be used in adventures that don’t necessarily need a bloody ending. What if your heroes are required to sit in on a Centaurs debate on whether they should trade with a town of elves?

Just remember they are smart, they are prickly, and when riled to war they are bloodthirsty.

Chimera

“It was like looking at something out of a nightmare. They tell you stories of three headed beasts swooping down and stealing horses and cattle, but it just sounds like a story to scare children. But then you hear it growl…and you remember why people tell those stories in the first place…”

-Shaw Marsdon, Farmer, and survivor of a chimera attack

Introduction

The Chimera is a creature that is steeped in legend. It is a fierce, territorial predator that prefers to toy with its prey and draw out the pain of others when it has the opportunity. The chimera has the pride of its lion head, the greed of its dragon head and the tenacity of its goat head, making it a deadly foe for even the bravest of adventurers.

Physiological Observations

The chimera is a very large beast, standing at about ten feet high at the shoulder and weighing almost 70 stones. The average chimera will have the hindquarters of a goat, while the front half of its body resembles an oversized lion. Its tail is thick and scaly, sharing the same color scales as the dragon head, and also has thick leathery wings which the chimera uses for flight. The most noteworthy feature of the chimera are its three heads. The standard chimera will have the head of a dragon, a goat, and a lion, but the order of the heads will vary from chimera to chimera. The sex of a chimera can be easily told by looking at the lion head, which will have a mane in male chimeras or will not if it is female. A female chimera will also have smaller horns on the goat head.

Another important physical identifier for a chimera is the color of its dragon scales. Like true dragons, the color of scales will dictate what type of breath weapon the chimera can have. While red is the most common head for chimeras, there have been reports of creatures with the scales of any of the chromatic dragons. There are rumors that metallic dragon scales have also appeared in chimeras, but this ecologist has found no substantive evidence suggesting that this has ever occurred. A common misbelief about chimeras is that only the dragon head can make use of its breath weapon. This has been found to be false, all of the heads of the chimera are capable of using its breath weapon, though only one can use it at a time. This means that a chimera can theoretically use its breath weapon on anything within its scope of vision. The correction of this misinformation could save the lives of adventuring parties that meet one of these creatures in the future.

Social Observations

Current research by ecologists suggest that the placement of the heads of the chimera directly affects how the chimera interacts socially. Up until recently chimeras were believed to be solitary creatures, staking out ten mile territory as their own and defending it. It was thought that the only interaction between chimeras would occur when they mated, at which point the male and female would then return to their own territory. While this is true for dragon-centric and lion-centric chimeras, it is not true for the goat-centric chimera. Chimeras with their goat head in the middle will actually seek out members of its own species, creating what is known as a drove of chimera. These groups may have as many as ten chimera within them, but rarely exceed four due to large numbers driving off local game. Droves of chimera tend to become increasingly bold compared to others of their kind, some even have been known to raid entire villages for their cattle and even occasionally their citizens.

Chimera hatchlings will stay with their mothers for approximately sixteen weeks. In these first sixteen weeks the color of the hatchlings scales can shift multiple times, and by the end of their growing period their body will settle on a dragon head and their breath weapon will fully develop. These young chimeras will then leave to either seek out territory of their own, or find their own drove that they will be able to join.

Behavioral Observations

Chimera behavior is heavily dictated by the central head. While chimeras gain certain traits from all of their heads, the one in the center will control the most of the chimera’s personality.

A dragon-centric chimera will be heavily motivated by the same gold lust as its dragon counterpart. These chimeras have been known to steal shiny metallic objects and horde them in their caves, though they clearly lack the understanding of precious metals that dragons themselves possess.

Lion-centric chimeras tend to be the most aggressive of the species. They are known for seeking out larger than average prey, as well as viewing other monsters within their territories as rivals. These chimera have been known to attack gorgons, hippogriffs, griffons, manticores, and in rare cases, even young dragons. Lion-centric chimeras remember the rivals that they fight, even after years of not fighting. These chimeras have been known to find enemies who have defeated them in the past and kill them to establish that they are the alpha of their territories.

The goat-centric chimera is the most stubborn of all of the chimeras. Even when not supported by a drove, a goat-centric chimera will choose to fight to the death instead of run away. They are kill or be killed and will attack with little consideration for their own body, only stopping when their opponent is dead. much more real.

All chimeras prefer to toy with their food rather than just going for a kill. They like to swoop down on their prey, crippling them with horns, teeth or breath weapons, then leaving the target to bleed. In some cases chimera have been known to let their prey limp away for hours or even days just to savor its death. Most chimeras are also willing to flee if the prey is too strong for them. They will leave to lick their wounds and survive to hunt again.

Inter-Species Observations

Chimeras are cruel, dangerous hunters and in most cases their only interactions with other species is when they try to kill them. These beasts are capable of understanding draconic however, and tend to defer to dragons as the alpha predator of a territory as long as the chimera remains well fed. Some evil wizards have actually used chimeras as guardians by supplying them with enough food and gold to satiate their greed.

DM's Toolkit

Chimeras are more than just monsters on a random encounter board. They are fierce, territorial predators who are willing to flee and regroup to let a party think they are safe. These monsters make for great enemies for low to mid-level campaign when you need an encounter to really feel dangerous. Don’t forget, we have myths about this thing for a reason. Chimeras are terrifying image that should be steeped in contradicting legends about its bizarre creation. It can really provide you an opportunity to dive into some lore and help make your campaign feel even that much more real.

Chuul

Soveliss knelt in the gray mud of the cavern floor and frowned. The tracks were unmistakable: four pairs of broad, segmented feet, each step deeper at the toes than at the heel, followed by the broad wallow of the tail.

"Chuul," he said softly. His eye fell on a small splatter of blood, a place where the monster's steps hesitated for a moment before continuing. Likely the creature had paused at this spot to shift the villager from one claw to the other. Ahead of him a great black lake stretched off into the darkness, cold and still as death itself. Water dripped somewhere in the unseen reaches of the cave, a single drop every ten heartbeats. The chuul's tracks continued into the icy water.

"The lake?" rumbled Tordek. The dwarf stood with his feet planted wide, eyeing the water with distaste.

"Yes," said Soveliss. The elf straightened and brushed the mud from his hands. "It went in, but it did not come out. I think it knows that we followed it here."

"Damn," said Tordek. He looked at the lake again and shook his head. "I hate the water."

Introduction

A horrible mix of a large lobster-like aberration, insect and serpent the Chuul are carnivorous lurkers who partially submerge themselves to surprise their prey. The many tentacles protruding from their mouths are capable of causing paralysis with only a single touch, thus leaving ample opportunity for their powerful claws to strike. These creatures are relics in that they were created during the primeval ages when aboleths ruled a vast empire spanning the oceans of the world. The Chuul survived the crumbling of these empires still carrying the will of their aboleth creators: in collecting humanoids, gathering treasures, amassing magic and consolidating power. Although they were cast adrift with the rise of gods and the end of the aboleth rule these compulsions remained.

Physiological Observations:

Chuul were perfectly obedient creatures created by the aboleths to circumvent their only weakness, being bound to the water. They would collect sentient creatures and magic. By design the Chuul were made to endure the ages of the world, growing in size as the eons passed, commonly reaching 650 pounds and 8ft long. Carrying on this mentality and guarding ruins of the aboleths empire tirelessly, they still linger silently observing these old commands.

Chuul can be found in aquatic lairs in a variety of watery habitats. Although they prefer swamps, jungle lakes, temperate marshes, and underground bodies of water, some individuals would purposely seek out sewer tunnels or coastline shipwrecks in order to provide themselves with a more accessible source of food. They were also known to use rivers, and even oceans, in order to travel to new locales. Chuuls could be found living as solitary creatures, in pairs, or in small groups of 3-5, which were known as pods. A pod would purposely seek out a body of still water that was large enough to support the entire group. Some Chuul, particularly older ones, create lairs by digging up lake bottoms and building rudimentary structures from trees and stones.

Social Observations:

Oviparous creatures, adult Chuul produce clusters of slimy yellow-green eggs from which hatchlings emerge. An adult Chuul can lay such egg sacs only rarely, and so would viciously protect them, as would any fellow pod members. If a Chuul with hatchlings found itself in a food-poor environment, it would attempt to collect humanoid prisoners alive and bring them to their hatchlings in the nest. Seemingly counterintuitive to their aforementioned protective care towards their young, Chuuls were known to attach their egg sacs to the underside of ships, boats, and rafts in an attempt to increase their distribution to new lands.

A Chuul lair consisted of circular rooms that are interconnected by tunnels made just large enough for the biggest member of the resident pod to squeeze through. One of the aforementioned rooms would always be a trophy room, as Chuuls were born hoarders. After making a humanoid kill, a Chuul would keep aside something from the victim as a trophy, whether shiny armor, a piece of jewelry, or even a well-crafted saddle. If the victim was not carrying anything of interest, then the Chuul would settle for displaying their skull in their trophy room.

Despite their monstrous appearance, Chuuls are actually more intelligent than they seem, often setting traps and ambushes for their prey. Although they are still far from civilized; lacking any sort of culture, ability to make tools, or settlements. However, they share a racial memory, which they possess from the moment they hatch. This allowed a Chuul to clearly recall events experienced by previous generation, but this became less and less vivid the further back it went.

Chuuls tend to be rather prone to mutations, with magical experimentation, planar rifts, and polluted water affecting and altering them far more easily than other creatures, leading to gigantic and/or poisonous individuals. However, it was only under the experimentation of aberrant magic-users that such mutations reached truly terrifying proportions. Such tinkering was done with the aim of fully unlocking the Chuuls' psychic potential and thus create formidable minions that were not only physically powerful, but possessed potent mental powers as well. Chuul could find themselves aligned with Mind Flayers if it allowed them to consume more humanoids or further their innate drive to slay explorers. They are also capable of sensing magic at a distance thus proving themselves useful to Mind Flayers.

If a Chuul were to ever come in contact with a aboleth their long standing psychic bonds would immediately cause them to assume their old roles. Such Chuul would redirect their compulsions to the service of the aboleths’ sinister purposes.

DM's Toolkit:

Chuul are typically limited to their environment and rely on their ability to impose advanced hunting tactics to ambush their prey. You want to embrace these tactics and show how potent these hunters are. Typically, Chuul will be strong physical combatants who fight by grabbing and piercing their target with their enormous claws. After the unfortunate victim was trapped within the strong grip of a Chuul's pincer, it was either simply crushed or brought towards the creature's mouth tentacles, which grasp and exude a paralytic secretion. A Chuul would normally try to always have one claw free during combat, so that it could deal with any other opponents that might try to interfere. If facing a large number of foes, it would drop a paralyzed or dead victim before moving onto the next attacker.

Much like a number of other aberrant creatures, Chuuls can have psychic abilities. However, it is unusual for a young Chuul to have access to such powers, instead they would gradually become able to exude psychic static as they aged. Older and larger creatures are able to emit a psychic moan that weakened resistance to psychic attacks and use a psychic lure to draw victims towards it.

Chuuls are also able to see perfectly well in the dark, are very alert, and have an innate immunity to poisons. They can act as sentries to a Mind Flayer colony, guardians of ancient treasure or ruins containing rich history, or take a more hive mind approach under the servitude of a returning aboleth.

Using their susceptibility to mutations, Chuuls can also become larger foes armed with a number of Psionic abilities under the influence of your BBEG.

Cloaker

Dealing with Aberrations: An Adventurer's Introduction to Alienology

Chapter 5: Trust Nothing - A guide Cloakers

Introduction

The cloaker (Magical name Tenebra Complexor), is an extremely uncommon aberration generally believed to have originated in the Far Realms. Although a growing number of ecologists and alienists are beginning to suspect that cloakers may be related in some manner to mimics, possibly a descended species. This seems unlikely given the life cycle of the cloaker (see Social Observations below for more).

For more information on mimics, the author recommends Wolfdream's entry in this tomeWhat their motivations for leaving the Far Realms was is unknown, but they currently reside deep underground in a unique city, organized under cloaker lords and other powerful subspecies.

While they usually appear to have ulterior motives known only to them, they do often work as mercenaries. Because of their highly reclusive nature, the majority of the observations about them and their nature is related to when they were found on a job related to spying or assassinating a humanoid, and the contents of this entry reflect that.

Like many aberrations from the Far Realms, they are intelligent, possibly even highly intelligent and maybe sapient. However, their way of thinking and communicating is completely foreign to non-aberrations, and usually only powerful alienists and magic users are able to communicate with them. Members of the cloaker lord and shadowcloak elder groups appear able, though reluctant, to use undercommon.

Physiological Observations

Cloakers are named due to their resemblance to common cloaks, a fact which they seem willing to exploit when they are hunting, often hiding themselves among cloaks, coats, and blankets. This ability makes them excellent spies and assassins.

They can be differentiated from real cloaks primarily by the mouth in the middle of their form (hereafter referred to as 'the belly'). This mouth also has two red spots near it, which act as eyes. There are also a number of "black buttons" on the opposite side of cloaker's form, which are additional eyes. While it is the fashion of humans of Amn to have buttons on the outside of the cloak, the button-eyes of the cloaker can be distinguished from real buttons by being almond shaped. It is highly advised, however, to not get close enough to a suspected cloaker to distinguish genuine buttons from the button-eyes of a cloaker.

Cloakers also have claws on two of the corners of their form and a mace-like tail, which helps create a relative 'up' for their form. When acting as a spy or assassin they will hide these appendages, so the reader should not assume they just need to look for a tail.

If you believe that you have a cloaker near you, DO NOT approach the suspect. Their intelligence means that they may realize you are onto them and attack you. It is recommended to strike the suspects with a blunt weapon, preferably one with reach or range. While striking the suspect with a full spear may be the most advantageous (keeping the creature away from you), it can also destroy someone's cloak if you are wrong.

Additional indications of a cloaker on the premises include feelings of paranoia and fear as a result of its constant vocalizations (see Behaviorial Observations for more) or apathy and lethargy.

If residents have begun to demonstrate apathy and lethargy, the cloaker is preparing to attack, and it is EXTREMELY important that you find and kill it, or at least remove the residents from the area.

Social Observations

Note: For additional information on Cloaker Lords and Shadowcloak Elders, see the Known and Suspected Sub-Species and Relations section below.

Cloakers are often organized into societies led by Cloaker Lords. These range from small raiding parties to at least one massive and complex city, Rringlor Noroth in the Marching Mountains in Calimshan.

The inhabitants of Rringlor Noroth are extremely aggressive to non-cloakers, and as such, there has only ever been one humanoid to enter it and be able to report on the experience, the sorcerer Stitchlipped. He reported that the city is lead by a group of 12 cloaker lords that seem to maintain a form of control over the whole of the city. The individuals have self control and full initiative unless directed by one of the leaders of the city. When needing to make decisions the 12 join their bodies into a sphere of living shadowstuff that he dubbed the "Conclave of Shadows". He speculates that during this phase they merge their minds to find an amicable solution.

Cloaker Lord's are generally the rulers of cloaker societies, as they seem able to naturally dominate lesser cloakers (as well as non-sentient aberrations), in a way possibly similar to ant queens. The comparison to ant queens may be extremely apt, as the only known way for cloakers to reproduce is through a form of asexual division by cloaker lords, which produces a cloud of 1-6 cloakers.

There is growing speculation that cloaker lords are what cloakers become after a number of years as a number of cloakers have been found in the Plane of Shadow which seem to be somewhere in between being a cloaker and cloaker lord. The relationship between cloaker, cloaker lords, and shadowcloak elders creates a way to understand the cloaker life cycle: a cloaker is born through asexual reproduction from a cloaker lord, the cloaker grows up and eventually matures. It finds a way to the Plane of Shadow. There is speculated to be a location of some sort, perhaps an armed camp or a town, that they finalize their maturity. During their time in this armed camp they develop a startling magical power and develop their sway over the younger members of the species.

How cloaker lords become shadowcloak elders is unknown, but it is speculated that it involves another trip to the Plane of Shadows, or perhaps the Far Realms. However the transformation happens, they return immensely powerful. Cloaker lords have not been observed to take orders from shadowcloak elders, or for them to interact at all. Additionally, no shadowcloak elders were seen in Rringlor Noroth. This has led to some speculation that shadowcloak elders are actually an alternate adult form of a cloaker, which is also able to create offspring, and leads another, hidden, cloaker society. What kind of relationship these two societies may have is unknown.

Behaviorial Observations

Due to their appearance, cloakers are often hired to spy and assassinate targets, doing so by blending in to any place humanoids leave clothes, coats, blankets, and cloaks.

When hunting or scavenging they are known to hide themselves any place dark and cramped. Numerous reports have had unlucky adventurers being attacked by cloakers found in naturally shadowed recesses of caves, high in trees, under rocks, and the like.

Cloakers vocalize almost constantly using a low, almost sub-auditory sound. Exposure to this sound causes mild paranoia, but after longer periods of time causes the subject to become numbed to the sound, and exhaust reflexes related to self preservation. A lord of Waterdeep was exposed to the effects of a cloaker's auditory attack for months, during which time he eventually stopped eating, and died of a mixture of dehydration, malnutrition, and suffocation when he simply stopped breathing.

Additional levels of this vocalization induce fear, nausea and weakness, and mild paralysis.

It is generally reported that cloakers can manipulate shadows, however, this author believes that that is an old wives tale. It is perhaps that the unusual movements of the creature are the source of the myth.

Inter-Species Observations

They are often seen to be in rivalrous positions with other intelligent aberrations and underdark dwellers, and have been known to be willing to work as mercenaries with various creatures. These relationships are normally tense and unpredictable, which usually involves an evil-aligned creature. Since cloakers do not have much use for money or jewels, the relationship is often built upon an exchange of services, with the other creature doing some unknown work in the cloaker city.

Exercise caution in allying yourself with cloakers though: while several individuals who have worked with cloakers have reported an amicable relationship, others have gone into the cloaker city and never been seen again. Attempting to avoid paying their debt to the cloakers has resulted in the Green Steel mercenary band being stalked and systemically killed by cloakers and their slaves.

Their relationship with aboleths is tense, but both sides seem content to avoid each other, since their natural homes prevent any significant contact. Although there is speculation that sea cloakers (see Known and Suspected Sub-

Species for more) may be the result of a large scale conflict between aboleths and cloakers, that the cloakers won.

As may be expected, any contact between cloakers and beholders will tend to end with violence. However, at present, there are no records of beholders or cloakers actually seeking each other out. This relationship is not shared with deepspawn, who cloakers are usually seen either attempting to exterminate or enslave. Some speculate that the slave deepspawn were captured as newborns by raiding parties.

As far as can told, cloakers appear to be at war with illithids. Exactly what the cloaker's goals are in attacking illithids is unknown, since the cloakers do not actually secure territory when they win battles. The illithids also do not appear to have a clear cut goal in their side of the conflict, having never made a direct attack on Rringlor Noroth, and often ignoring nearby bands of cloakers.

Despite existing in very different parts of the food chain, the cloakers are known to be fierce and hated enemies of Deep Dragons.

Derro seem to be treated as a sort of pest: killed only when nearby, ignored otherwise. Rringlor Noroth was said to have have had numerous derro living in places too open for cloakers to live in,but this community was slowly culled, and it is believed at present there are no more derro in Rringlor Noroth.

Their relationship with the drow and duergar are complex, sometimes seeming friendly, other times combative. This may be tied to the alien thought processes of the cloakers, the chaotic nature of the drow, or the xenophobia of all three. Regardless, they have been observed on various occasions combating mutual enemies, cohabitating, and engaging in large scale battle against each other, and various attempts at subterfuge and assassination.

In absence of other food in the Underdark, cloakers have been observed to prey on the native gnomes and dwarves that stray too far from their settlements. Cloakers do not seem to be strictly antagonistic to either species, their relationship may be seen as more similar to that of a human and a deer: indifference until the human is hungry.

Known and Suspected Sub-Species

Cloaker Lord: The size of a cloak of a large humanoid such as an ogre. When furled out, cloaker lord's take on a bat-like appearance, but otherwise very similar in description to a cloaker, having a mouth in the centrally located belly, flanked by two red eyes, and with a number of black button-eyes on the other side of the mouth, a club-like tail, and bone claws on the corners.

Resplendent Cloaker: How, or if, the Resplendent Cloaker is related to cloakers is unknown, as are many aspects of the creature. It is a symbiote which obtains nourishment from healing its host, but also has a dazzling aura. It is believed to sense impending doom, which has led to most specimens to be killed, preventing study. Speculated to be the cloaker equivalent of doctors, or an atypical form of vampirism.

Sea Cloaker: An aquatic aberration native to, and mainly inhabiting, the sunken city of Simorgya, which mean minimal study has been done, but the numerous similarities between them and cloakers has led many ecologists to speculate on a relationship. For additional information on this species, the author recommends Vandermar's The Deep Ones: Aquatic Aberrations.

Shadow Cloaker: A parasite, they are sometimes used by underdark mercenaries, because their life draining effect can be used on anyone the host touches. What the main line of cloakers gets from this is unknown. They can be distinguished from regular cloakers because they appear as moving shadow, even in the light, which weakens them. All attempts at communicating with them have failed.

Shadowcloak Elder: These individuals look less like cloaks than massive, shadowborn flying rays. They have large mouths full of teeth, gold claws, and red eyes. These individuals are highly intelligent and able to coordinate the attacks of cloakers, liking to send the cloaker followers in to attack while they stay off to the side and use magic. They are highly skilled in magic, able to manipulate shadow, and shift to the plane of the shadow at will.

Undead Cloaker: An exceedingly rare, possibly extinct, subspecies that may be the result of negative energy effects on shadow cloakers. Like their possible source, they are parasites, but they drain the life force of the host, or whoever the host is touching. They appear as rotting cloaks or flesh. The last confirmed undead cloaker was being used by the Archmage Arklem Greeth before becoming a lich.

Cockatrice

Author: Helga Halfdragon, Associate Professor of Magical Biology, College of Cliffport in conjunction with Marigold Bucklebrandy, Adjunct Professor of Bioloigcal Alchemy, Imperial College, Goldencourt. Special regards, Ithyrion Starbreeze, Redbrand Heldenhammer(late), Torbald Gyldaderathyn(late), Reb and Jeb Dinklutz, Aeronicles the Incinerator(late), Ysgrid Swiftstride(crippled). Entry: Cockatrice. Date: 1176 TL, 4329 DR.

Introduction

“Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.” - text from an unknown tome

The cockatrice is a hideous, venomous creature, standing about waist-high to an average human or elf. It has a poisonous bite or peck that will, if untreated, turn the victim into stone. The cockatrice has the head of a rooster, the body of a lizard or serpent, and dragon-like or bat-like wings.

The cockatrice is extremely aggressive to creatures larger than itself, pecking and biting in a frenzy in order to petrify it and make its escape. The cockatrice shares many traits with other magical creatures, notably the basilisk, which indicates common evolutionary ancestry.

Physiological Observations

“It was like half-lizard, half-chicken, and half bat!”

“No, it was more like half chicken-lizard, half dragon!”

“I’d say more of a half dragon-chicken, half bat-serpent.”

-overheard at a tavern in Kynsdale

The cockatrice appears to be a hybrid animal- mixing bird, lizard, bat, and dragon. However, the opposite is true. The cockatrice seems to be the modern relative of a precursor species that may have become a variety of magical bird, serpent, or dragon-like creatures, such as the basilisk, hydra, wyvern, non-celestial couatl, and maybe even the mighty dragon (though any dragon you ask would find the theory preposterous). It generally appears like a diseased chicken with bat wings, with scattered patches of feathers, quills, scales, or bare skin.

The cockatrice’s most notable feature is its ability to turn creatures into stone. Though it helps a bit in hunting, it likely evolved as a defense mechanism against larger creatures. The cockatrice secretes a magical venom from its mouth, which quickly evaporates into a sticky mist that coats the beak. Contact with blood or other body fluids quickly causes a magical petrification effect, turning the victim into stone. This effect varies in potency between subspecies and individuals, with some scratches causing near instant petrification and others causing a very painful, stone-like scab to form which will slowly turn the surrounding flesh into rock.

Since the venom is designed to evaporate quickly, it loses potency quickly. Without the cockatrice’s constant breathing and reapplication it will soon dissipate into the air. This also makes the venom extremely difficult for alchemists to study.

Because the magical venom evaporates so quickly, it will appear in a cloud around the cockatrice’s head when using magical detection. It will seem to emit in the breath, beak, and in eye ducts. This may be the origin of myths of a cockatrice needing to breathe on its victims to turn them to stone, or staring at them like a basilisk. This seems to be a sort of evolutionary defense to throw off magic-detecting predators, making it hard for them to pinpoint the exact nature or origin of the cockatrice’s magical ability.

Behavioral and Social Observations

“Whatever you do, if you see a cockatrice and it don’t see you yet, DON’T make eye contact. Naw, you ain’t gonna turn into stone, that’s a basilisk. But if you let it see you, it’ll attack, and then you got trouble. Just let it go on it’s wee little way. Now, iffen you DO see a basilisk…” -Ithyrion Starbreeze, elf rangerCockatrices, despite their monstrous appearance, leave fairly mundane lives, hunting in underbrush and shallow streams for frogs, rats, fish, and bugs, or foraging for nuts, berries, and seeds. If not disturbed by larger creatures they would likely seem a very peaceful creature. However, another trademark of the cockatrice is its bad temper and aggression. At the sight of anything larger than itself a cockatrice will fly into a murderous frenzy, pecking and flapping its wings in a violent whirlwind of feathers and scales. Most larger creatures are scared off by the sudden outburst. Others are not so easily intimidated. Rangers and trackers learn that finding a lot of dead cockatrices typically means owlbear territory.

Cockatrice legends say they are born when a male rooster lays an egg and it is incubated under a toad or snake. This simply isn’t true- there are male and female cockatrices with little sexual dimorphism. When cockatrices nest the parents will usually bring petrified toads, rats, or snakes back for the chicks when the eggs hatch or are about to hatch. This may be the birth of the legend.

Cockatrices aren’t particularly territorial but they do develop a pecking order in groups. If a group of cockatrices are feeding together, the constant squawking, pecking, and fighting is enough to drive away most prey in the area, making cockatrice gatherings fairly rare unless food is abundant. Cockatrices prefer being active at night or in low-light situations.

Inter-species Observations

“It was the darndest thing, Jeb. I swear it was just standing there, with the chickens. Didn’t touch a single one. Sure messed up the duck pond though. What a mess…” -Reb Dinklutz, farmer.

Cockatrices are a rather dangerous pest animal. Farming towns and settlements that attract rats and other prey seem particularly prone to cockatrice “invasions”. They will begin at the outskirts of a town or at the tree line of forests, coming into town at night, feeding on smaller farm animals and petrifying the larger ones. Once a large animal is successfully petrified the cockatrice will usually flee the area before it wakes up. Some farmers have begun to create “scare-cockatrices”, stone statues placed onto property to fool the cockatrice into fleeing the area. It has been met with mixed success.

Cockatrices seem to share some sort of bond with the common domesticated chicken, occasionally sneaking into farm coops to forage with the flocks. The chickens don’t seem to mind their presence, largely ignoring the deadly predator among them, and the cockatrice will not attack them and seem to defer to whoever is the head chicken of the flock. Domesticated ducks, turkeys, geese, and other fowl are not so lucky; a cockatrice will hunt, kill, and eat them as they would any other prey. Biologists are unsure why this is.

Variant species

“No, it wasn’t a basilisk, it was a cockatrice! A huge one, the size of Nurgluz over there! Yes, I know he’s a half-giant, that’s why I picked him!” -Rosie Mayweather, dire cockatrice survivor.

A Cockatrice’s danger seems to increase with size. The Lesser Cockatrice is about the size of a large chicken and its venom, while painful, usually doesn’t cause petrification in full grown humans or stouter halflings, and will instead cause a large bruise that is particularly “rock-like”. Their irate nature makes domestication incredibly difficult, though it’s not uncommon to see the occasional brave or foolish goblinoid or hedge-witch attempt to have a “flock” of lesser cockatrice.

The Common Cockatrice is the one we are most used to seeing, and stands about waist high to an average human or elf. It is also the most aggressive of the varieties. They are fairly common across most climates, and their coat camouflage will change based on their environment, dark grey for forest, sand for desert, etc. Some cockatrices in humid jungle environments sport vibrant and colorful plumage and quills, presumably for mating displays. This does not make it look prettier, and on the contrary makes them appear somehow even more gaudy and hideous.

The Dire Cockatrice is thankfully rare and is truly dangerous. Less aggressive than its smaller counterpart but more intelligent and deadly. The size of a tall human or elf, it is uncharacteristically patient and rather stealthy, stalking large prey through thick undergrowth or foraging for fruit and nuts. Though there are no documented cases of a dire cockatrice hunting humans or human like races, it is not unlikely. As one anonymous researcher put it, “There may be no documented cases because all the ones documenting them were eaten.”

‘You just went and MADE a new cockatrice? Probably not a good idea...’ -Chiss Kratt, human adventurer.

Because of their relative ecological abundance and the curious innate alchemical nature of their venom, cockatrices are favorites for magical experimentation. Although both the College of Cliffport magic school and Imperial College of Arcane Study strictly forbid the use of inhumane magical experimentation for ethical reasons, throughout history and among less civilized circles the cockatrice has been a frequent test-subject. As such, there are a variety of subspecies that are, to a certain extent, magically engineered. Stronger venom, flame breath, multiple heads… the cockatrice seems to take well to a variety of magical tampering. Add this to the fact that the Cockatrice is a very old species with a lot of genetic variation and it becomes difficult to determine which species are natural and which have been tampered with, whether by mortal, god, or extra-planar entity.

The authors would also like to point out that owning a cockatrice at any size, subspecies, or temperament is considered illegal in many countries and is widely considered a very, very, very bad idea.

Historical and Cultural Significance

‘Lord Baldwin the Bastard, his mind like a snake,

Lord Kenny of Highport, the villainous rake,

Lady Miri the Wise, who spreads both her legs,

Earl Brighton the Third, head bald as an egg,

The Council of Four, Oh! so brave and so true,

A cockatrice den, and their victim is you!’

-Political ballad during the Third Succession Crisis.

Their loud squawking, grotesque appearance, nocturnal activity, and magical nature make cockatrices particularly good “bogeymen” stories, sounding much more dangerous than they might actually be. Calling something a cockatrice may be a reference to either a small thing that is more dangerous than it appears, such as a small snake with a very venomous bite, or the opposite: a large danger that sounds scarier to the uniformed than it might actually be. This double-meaning is used by bards to great degree, especially in contemporary political songs.

The Cockatrice occasionally appears on heraldry, its aggression and tenacity seen as positive traits to particularly warlike or ambitious individuals. Lord Godwin the Tenacious notably made it his house symbol, but after his embarrassing defeat at the Battle of Goblin’s Hollow where he was tricked into attacking his own army’s shadow it has since lost popularity. Cockatrices are also used in occasional Alchemical advertisements. As cockatrice venom is particularly difficult to harvest, it implies a certain level of mastery, although of course there’s no guarantee that the particular store may actually possess it.

DM’s Toolbox - Better Than Rats

A cockatrice makes a decent low-level encounter, the obvious challenge being the two Con saves against petrification. Being petrified sucks, and maybe the only thing worse is having someone ELSE in your party be petrified. I feel like it's a good 1st level encounter, and more interesting that dire rats or a rat swarm. It can be fun to play on the mystery- what are the strange noises at night and what has been turning the town’s animals into stone, albeit temporarily?

Scaling for higher levels is pretty easy too. More HP, harder DC on the Con save, larger size description, and you’re in business. Making them more intelligent and less predictable makes a bigger challenge. You could have pack hunting cockatrices, fire-breathing genetically modified ones, or truly monstrous dinosaur sized ones.

Couatl

"Never have I seen such a creature as that which pounced on my quarry that day, nor do I believe I shall ever see it's like again. It felt like its gaze pierced my very soul, and I knew it meant no ill will towards me. Indeed, it seemed almost apologetic to be taking my prey, and it left me this feather, I guess by way of payment" - Quirious, Ranger from Baldurs Gate, on his travels in Maztica

Introduction

Couatls are benevolent beings, celestial in origin. Exceedingly rare, they are creatures of great good who were created as guardians and caretakers by a god, forgotten by all except the couatls themselves, since the dawn of time. Most of these mandates are long since fulfilled or failed, but a few couatls remain, watching over ancient power or safeguarding the descendants of creatures they once helped guide and protect.

Physiological Observations

Those lucky enough to have witnessed a couatl in it's true form find it hard to put their experience to words, for their form is undeniably beautiful and striking - a great serpent, 12 feet in length, covered in iridescent blue-

green feathers, with a pair of vast rainbow coloured wings (up to 15 feet span) and piercing, intelligent eyes. They possess a keen intellect, and radiate a glory and purpose which comes from the gods themselves. They can speak any language via telepathy with any intelligent being.

Though they are truly wondrous creatures, few have ever laid eyes upon one, for they prefer to hide themselves unless truly necessary - most are able to keep themselves invisible with magic. The eldest among them can change their form, appearing to travellers or pilgrims as beautiful humanoids of indeterminate gender (as couatls themselves are genderless), clad in loose, bright clothing.

No almanac nor bestiary can truly claim to have details of their lifespan and are generally thought to be immortal, as individual couatls have been repeatedly appearing to secluded societies for many centuries. They can go without food or even air for prolonged periods of time, but in truth they still succumb to the passage of time, disease and hunger. Couatls tend to favour warm forests or even jungles, though they are known to travel and will visit any area where their presence is required.

Social and Behavioural Observations

Given the rarity of these beings, seeing two together is almost unheard of. They meet only at times of great significance: to discuss matters of extreme importance, to mourn the death of one of their own or an individual close to them, to produce offspring, or to face up to a particularly grim or difficult challenge.

As mentioned above, couatls are genderless. However, via their magical nature, a pair is still required to produce offspring. They seek to reproduce only when a couatl senses its own death approaching, of which they are aware up to a century before it occurs (though the exact circumstances remain hidden from them). If a couatl has not achieved its original purpose set out at its creation or birth, it will seek another couatl with which to mate.

The mating ritual is a spectacularly elaborate dance of magic and light, and can take many hours. The result is a gem-like egg, from which hatches a new couatl some weeks later. This offspring is then raised by the parent which sought to mate, and instructed to take up the parent's duties, so that the parent's task can be completed after it dies.

Couatls tend to reside close to the location where their mandate states they must watch over. They make use of a small hunting ground, where they hunt similar prey to mundane snakes - small mammals and birds form the bulk of their diet. They will also consume the remains of a fallen foe if the mood strikes them. Couatls possess a reverence for all living things, so they endeavour to make their hunts as swift and painless, whether for unintelligent animals or their enemies.

A couatl will rarely resort to violence, doing so only when provoked or threatened. Even then, they will most often attempt to incapacitate their foe, rather than kill, and make a quick getaway. Their bite is poisonous, and induces a euphoric and lethargic state that is fairly easily reversed by healing magic.

Inter-Species Observations

Following their mandates, couatls do occasionally come into contact with individuals of other species. They have been known to "adopt" developing societies, attempting to steer them along a path of benevolence and righteousness. This can result in the particular couatl being worshipped as a god, bringing knowledge and guidance, and although the couatl might find this veneration deeply embarrassing, it will often maintain the pretence in order to more effectively shape the civilisation for the generations to come.

Although they are servants and messengers of the gods, couatls themselves are not particularly religious, as they have often seen firsthand that such devotion can be mislead. Instead, they view their patrons as distant friends, and their service as a working relationship.

Given their reputation as servitors of benevolent deities, when a couatl does deem it necessary to come into contact with a more developed society, their arrival is often associated with bad tidings and as such they are treated as a mixed blessing. Often, their disposition is then treated as arrogance, as their paternal desire to lift up other races can appear patronizing. As such, many established societies shun them all together.

Variant: Imperial Couatl

Vastly bigger than the average couatl, this mythical beast is a powerful force of good, setting itself directly against some of the foulest evils in the known world. It is unconcerned with the comings and goings of humanoid creatures, and seeks only to eradicate evil the world over. It particularly relishes taking on Chromatic Dragons, and remains one of the few creatures that can challenge such a beast in the air.

DM's Toolkit

In most cases, couatls are not in the foreground of a particular setting. They make good occasional patrons for characters, and even at times allies against particularly powerful evil foes. They are incredibly rigid in their lawfulness, and although they will not often come into conflict with good parties, they may disagree with their motivations or actions if they are not in line with the couatl's mandate.

In lower level games, couatls can be used as quest goals - rumours of winged snakes prompt an investigation in order to utilise their knowledge and wisdom, and possibly then resulting in the couatl taking the party under its wing (pun intended) and sending them off on quests to aid its own conflict with evil forces. At higher levels, coatls can be treated more as equals to the player characters, and can be used as a powerful NPC in particularly difficult encounters.

A couatl will flat out refuse to aid a party with evil or reckless characters, even going so far as to recruit a force of defenders for itself and even engaging them directly.

As noted above, it is very rare to come across more than a single coatl - a gathering is sure to foreshadow a terrible event, or that the forces of evil are particularly concentrated in that area.

Treasure wise, the gift of a feather by a couatl can be used to contact and even summon the individual from which was taken, though only if it was freely given. Feathers otherwise taken are worth a small fortune anyway, but have no remarkable properties. Couatls don't tend to horde any other items, as they view the accumulation of wealth as a path to corruption.

Crawling Claw

Valthias looked down at his apprentice. Then to the...

Thing...

That writhed on the floor. Four spindly fingers danced spasmodically around a withered husk of a palm, jerking in every direction. The index finger, he thought, must have gotten lost somewhere in the process. Vecna preserve us if the cat got to it.

Running one hand through his thinning grey hair, he hesitantly laid the other on the boy's shoulder.

"Everyone's gotta start somewhere, kid."

-- From The Charitable Necromancer by Valthias Caspase, Archmage of the Final Circle Introduction

Introduction

Crawling claws are hands that have been taken from the dead (or the unfortunate living) and infused with necrotic energies to animate them with unnatural life. Totally devoted to their creators, crawling claws make excellent maids, butlers, servants and -in a pinch- men-at-arms. Often chosen as the first project for aspiring necromancers for their ease of creation and the assistance they can provide towards the fulfillment of more ambitious goals.

Physiological Observations

The appearance and physique of crawling claws vary greatly from individual to individual based on the skill of the creator and the nature of the source material. Necromancers have managed to animate everything from minute crab pincers to colossal dragon claws, and though more powerful hands make better servants, they also take more skill to create and control.

Disturbingly nimble, crawling claws make almost no sound as they skitter around haunted mansions, corrupted graveyards, and ancestral tombs. Not having eyes, they rely on a sort of spiritual vision that gives them a panoramic, night vision sight that prevents sneak attacks and makes them perfect as scouts and lookouts. Their light weight and unnaturally enhanced musculature gives crawling claws the ability to leap great distances and stay in the air for longer periods of time, an effect which is often mistaken for flight or levitation by the superstitious.

Though generally able to produce only as much force as the original hand would be able to in life, crawling claws are often imbued with enchantment to make them tougher, stronger, and faster. In addition to magical enhancement, the constructed nature of the crawling claw makes it is quite easy for the necromancer to dissect it, replacing nails with steel talons, tendons with springs, and skin with studded leather. The experienced wizard will sneak a few of these improved hands into a swarm of crawling claws, presenting a formidable surprise to adventurers who will find themselves suddenly held down by an iron grip as the weaker claws rip and tear at their flesh.

Remember, though, that the crawling claw is not simply a construct, but an undead construct - If enough of its actual flesh and bone is removed, destroyed, or replaced with inorganic matter, the claw's body will no longer be able to contain its vital essence, and it will fall apart. This is the primary way by which crawling claws are destroyed, as they possess no central weak point, and physical attacks that do not remove their original biological matter will damage them much less than attacks that do. This durability only applies, of course, to crawling claws animated with the original and more lengthy ritual which imbues the entire Claw with life energies. More expedient measures, like inscribing runes on the palm or injecting the veinswith magical fluids are much easier and quicker, but are also far more easily destroyed by cuts and bashes.

Incapable of direct reproduction, withered or degrading crawling claws can nevertheless be ground up into a powder and fed to animals or humans of the same species as the original claw. This powder acts as like a disease, slowly poisoning the victim, whose body largely begins to shrivel and atrophy while their hands grow to enormous size and strength. Though the effect is not very strong, if the individual is killed during its effective time period of between two and three days, their hands will tear themselves off the corpse and report to their necromancer for further orders.

Behavioral Observations

Though generally only intelligent enough to receive, process, and carry out simple orders such as "Fetch that liver for me", "Guard the unconscious man", and "Tear out his eyeballs if he tries to get out of the icebath", Crawling claws can be gifted with greater intelligence, or even sentience, at the cost of great material and magical expense. In such cases where this happens, the claw is usually also given a crude mouth with which to speak or other physical enhancements to make it a more useful servant and justify the magical investment.

Rarely will a sentient Claw break away from its master. Despite sentient claws hanging on to a shred of their original person or individual's personality, they will remain the most steadfast of servants and are even more difficult to Turn by paladins and clerics than the non-sentient ones. Some believe that this is a form of Stockholm syndrome, that claws long pressed into the service of a necromancer will have their consciousness altered to believe that there is no true way of life besides service to their creator. Others theorize that the process of creating a claw shatters the original personality of the original being, instilling the source-material's feelings of loyalty and subservience while sucking away their free will and pride. This second theory is supported by case studies where more powerful and prideful Crawling claws - those of White Dragons, High Elves, Storm Giants, and the like - are far less likely to follow orders when made sentient than dumber, and less-wise races - such as Kobolds, Ankhegs, or Cyclopes.

Social Observations

While they are essentially willing slaves to their creators and thus have no real society of their own, crawling claws nevertheless play an important role in many cultures where necromancy is more or less acceptable. Being such a basic construct and the first ones that many necromancers animate, they are often regarded as something akin to mobile teddy bears or dolls in some societies. Necromancer parents may assign sentient Crawling Claws to act as "nannies" for their children to simultaneously keep them safe and instill in them a fondness for death from a young age. In such societies, some old crawling claws are preserved with enchantment and careful maintenance for decades and centuries, caring for one generation of archmages after another.

In other societies, crawling claws are seen more like status symbols that double as slaves and are cared for in a very different way. "The hands of the great are legion" or some variant of that saying is generally a common sentiment in such cultures. Rich necromancers might flaunt their wealth and power with elaborately enchanted claws: Hollow ones that can be worn like gloves, massive ones that guard their dungeons, jewel studded ones that can cast spells, and amalgamate stacks, sown on top of each other, that serve as mobile serving platters. The upper class of these societies prize the claws of rare and dangerous monsters such as Giants, Dragons, Sirrush, and Pheonixes to make their servants and fill their collections.

Most cultures, even those where necromancy is acceptable, do not take it this far with crawling claws in particular though. In those, crawling claws can act as familiars, pets, or manual laborers, but they are not given some special place in society to be admired or desired.

Intra-Species Observations

Crawling claws generally do not act on each other unless given sentience or ordered to, but in the event that a non sentient one is ordered to carry a non-verbal message, they might pass it on along a chain of hands like a sort of Manual-Courier Express, each hand inscribing the message onto the next or passing it along through a tapped code hardwired into their memory by their creator. In this way, they can act as secure and encrypted means of passing information from the necromancer to others.

Sentient claws often act much like their original species does, and, holding onto shattered recollections and broken pieces of the original's personality, might re-enact the behaviors of their intact predecessors. Crawling claws from Giants sometimes attack Draconic ones, Animated Illithid claws might favor attacking the brains of their enemies, and sentient kobold claws will often prostrate themselves before Dragon claws. Entire microcosms of society might exist in the crawling ecosystem of the Necromancer's lair, with complex social webs being spun and caste systems generated by the minds of these otherwise detached beings.

DM's Toolkit

While mildly creepy and certainly quick, the single basic crawling claw should pose little threat to even a level one adventurer. Sending a half dozen so at a time against a beginner party might be the undead equivalent of the goblin raiding party. For higher level adventurers, variant claws or hordes of hundreds of basic claws using swarm rules might provide a more suitably terrifying challenge. Adventurers should see crawling claws as a sign that necromancy already has its talons set into a place, and that the source of the creature will be somewhere in the region. Not far behind the crawling claw scouts will be the more durable variants, as well as the skeletons, zombies, ghouls, etc. that usually make up the bulk of a necromancer's minions.

Variants

Bigby's Nightmare

Crawling claws taken from giants and enchanted with extreme durability and gifted with the power of flight, Bigby's Nightmares are massive constructs able to replicate the effects of any of the "Bigby's Hand" - series of spells. Useful as front line fighters, siege engines, and bodyguards, Bigby's Nightmares can be terrifying implements of destruction that bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "Finger of Death".

Degloved One

Taking aspects of wraiths, mimics, and crawling claws and combining them into a single abomination, Degloved Ones are crawling claws that are hollowed out and tanned, taking on roughly the same appearance as regular gloves. However, if put on by one other than their master, they immediately latch on to the wearer's skin, sucking their blood through the vulnerable veins and arteries of the hand and forearm. More powerful versions of these might be able to fuse themselves to the victim's skin, making them near impossible to take off without ripping off your own skin in the process. Even stronger ones can take control of the arms of weaker willed adventurers, making them hit themselves over and over again. It is at this point that the necromancer is advised to exclaim "Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself," while dunking the poor character into a latrine headfirst or painfully pulling their underwear from behind.

Ecology of the Cyclops

“We had to duck behind an outcropping at the foot of the hill. The rocks weren’t actually that accurate, I guess only having one eye comes with it’s disadvantages, but we weren’t able to break cover without risking getting pulped. Fortunately, Regith had found a little cleft and put an arrow right into the side of its neck, which distracted it long enough for us to close the distance. Damn was that a mistake. It smashed Kegan with its club, then grabbed Flint and dashed his head against a crag. We only got out of there alive because Alamar put some sort of spell on it and calmed it down enough that Regith could line one up and put it in its eye.”

Folan Latimer, Captain of the Fourth Company of Scouts

“Cyclopes? They’re idiots. Once I convinced one I was the god of fire using nothing but a pot of oil, six torches, stilts, and a long cloak.”

-Kell Toddle, Halfling Rogue

Introduction

The cyclops is a massive and fearsome humanoid, found primarily in remote locations. Although clearly intelligent, cyclopes are exceedingly dim-witted, knowing little more than is necessary to sustain themselves and having no interest in learning further. They are absolute strangers to innovation and can be easily deceived, although the consequences of failure in that department can be severe. Cyclops will often know enough Common or Giant to converse, but practically none can read or write. They tend to scratch a living out of harsh lands through herding, but are not averse to supplementing their diets with any other sources of meat, regardless of intelligence, that stray too near their lairs.

Physiological Observations

Cyclopes resemble massive humans, sometimes reaching as much as twenty feet tall, with broad shoulders and powerful musculature. Their most notable feature is, of course, the single eye located in the middle of their forehead. The reason for this curious deviation from the basic humanoid facial type is unknown, but it has been suggested that the poor depth perception arising from their monocular vision is meant to be a physical analogue to their lack of wisdom and foresight. This, of course, assumes an active divine hand in the race’s origin, which I suspect although have been unable to prove. Consultation with the priests of several prominent gods has so far been fruitless, although one cleric of Poseidon returned from an attempted communion with his god rather red in the face, a lead which I will endeavor to pursue in the future.

Social Observations

Cyclopes tend to prefer isolation, but often live near enough to their own kind that they can trade goods and rely on each other for mutual defense in the rare instances that a threat appears which cannot be solved with their own great strength. Most cyclopes keep animals, maintaining sizable herds of sheep, goats, or cattle, from which they draw the majority of their sustenance through meat and milk. In one curious case I witnessed a heavily scarred cyclops tending to a small group of owlbears and referring to them as “screechy stab-goats.” Cyclopes most often make their homes in caves, among ruins, or in lean-tos constructed from whole trees. In rare scenarios some may be found building crude structures from huge stones, the sheer scale of which can be quite impressive to those unfamiliar with their handiwork, even if the craftsmanship leaves much to be desired.

Cyclopes do not follow any religion and, indeed, scarcely regard the existence of the gods. Their own fantastic strength and impressive self-sufficiency have caused them to become assured of their own independence of the divine. In those rare cases where cyclopes are forced to interact directly with gods or divine magic, they tend to be cowed into submission only through shows of force, rather than any sense of respect or deference. They typically chafe under such pressure and seek to assert their independence as soon as possible.

When a male cyclops feels a particular urge to mate, he will typically travel to the lair of a female of his species and present her with an assortment of gifts. These are usually practical in nature, consisting of cheese, mutton, crude tools, and animals from the male’s herd. If the female considers the offer sufficient, she will agree to mate with the male. Most scholars believe that this sort of unidirectional gift-giving has arisen due to male cyclopes’ propensity for returning to their own homes soon after copulation, leaving the mother with the resource-expensive task of raising any potential offspring. Only rarely do cyclopes form family groups for extended periods of time. Young mature quickly and are considered fit to fend for themselves sometime around six years of age. When this is achieved, the mother will provide her offspring with a small flock from which to build its own herd and send it off to find a suitable home.

Inter-species Relations

Due to their natural propensity for isolation, cyclopes are not typically a threat to civilized societies. They are, however, an absolute terror for travelers who wander too near their lairs. Cyclopes have no compunctions about eating intelligent beings and, in fact, seem to consider them something of a delicacy. Unwary humanoids have often been known to come across a cyclops’ herd and assume that the owner is of a peaceable disposition, only to be eaten whole when the cyclops returns. Cyclopes are also known to trap their victims in caves or similar prisons to be consumed later.

Cyclopes do not use currency and have little need for most finished goods, although there are instances of cyclopes engaging in trade. This typically takes the form of barter between cyclopes, but in rare occasions can involve smaller humanoids as well. Cyclopes enjoy shiny objects and often collect jewelry from travelers they have eaten. They have been known to offer these items in exchange, most often for wine, which is the one commodity they desire above all others. Cyclopes are not sufficiently skilled to grow and ferment grapes on their own, but if they have had the fortune to come across wine from a victim or trade, they have often been known to develop a particular taste for it. In several cases, cyclopes have demanded dozens of barrels in regular tribute from towns located near their lairs.

An adolescent cyclops can present a serious threat to small towns and farmsteads as it strikes out on its own, searching for a suitable area to raise its own herds. Possessed of the same great strength as their parents but far greater wanderlust, young cyclopes have been known to eat whole families of shepherds before tearing down the walls and occupying their homes for a time. It is fortunate that cyclopes’ low birth rate ensures that such instances are few and far between, as it takes a sizable show of force to dislodge a cyclops from it’s claimed territory.

Although superficially similar to giants in many respects, cyclopes are not included in the Ordning, the complex system of giant hierarchy. As even ogres have a place in the ranking, this indicates that giants consider cyclopes to be of an entirely different class of being. As they often inhabit similar locales, cyclopes and hill giants clash occasionally, with cyclopes emerging the victors in these struggles more often than not. If confronted by giants of most other varieties, cyclopes will back down due to the former’s greater size and organization.

Elder Cyclops

All descriptions so far have concerned themselves with those cyclopes found on the Material Plane. There are some reports of cyclopes inhabiting divine realms which are, in many ways, nearly perfect opposites to those of our world. These cyclopes are skilled craftsmen, reputed to be among the greatest smiths in the universe. Their great strength and simple wisdom make them respected figures, responsible for the creation of powerful divine weaponry.

DM’s Toolkit

Cyclopes’ tendency towards isolation means that, in the absence of some external force, they should rarely be an issue for settled communities. They can, however, be used to great effect on travelling parties, where capture by a cyclops can be a nicely self contained, albeit clichéd, session, or as signals that something has upset a previously existing balance.

An adolescent cyclops was sighted moving across the countryside in the direction of a sizable town. The party must find a way to stop it before it cuts a bloody swathe through the outlying farms and threatens hundreds of lives.

Several fully grown cyclopes have come down out of some forested hills and claimed a fertile valley as their own lands, despite it being currently inhabited by several human communities. When questioned, they say that something has been killing their sheep and is too stealthy for them to catch.

The party stumbles across the lair of a cyclops, which proceeds to politely offer them cheese. He asks with all courtesy whether they would be so kind as to deal with the bandits which have been plaguing the town from which he imports his wine, as he cannot afford to leave his herd for so long.

Darkmantle

"I was just a lad when an adventurer, much like yourself, asked me to lead him to a cave. He said the cave contained untold wealth, that there was some dragon or other living there or something. I was just a boy so with a single silver piece he got me to take him there. The locals knew this cave only as a dangerous place the children were much warned against it. If there was a dragon there the man never made it that far, this strange creature looking like some squid that escaped from the nine hells saw to that. Be wary of the Darkmantle boy, it lurks above" Below the tale is a drawing, looking much like a field journal some scientist sketched, though the attributation is currently unknown. It is the Darkmantle*

Excerpt from the popular "The Great and Terrible Beasts of Our Time" on sale wherever popular tomes are sold."

Introduction

A rather interesting predator, the Darkmantle waits most often in caves, or other dark places, where its natural camouflage does it the most good. The natural colour of the beast mimics that of the cave it finds itself in, and should it move to a new home it can change to suit it. The creature attatches to the tops of caves with a suction power near its tentacles and waits patiently for the next fool chasing gold to come walking through unprepared. Should they find themselves outside their chameleon reflexes will do them far less good as their ability to change colour suits more the variety of greys one finds in caves more than the browns and greens of a forest. It is theorized to have first found its home in the Underdark with the Drow and the other unsavory denizens of that abominable place, but how much of this is speculation and how much of it is just hatred of the creatures from below the earth is unknown at this time. There were also some that believed it to be an outsider of some description though none have ever been reported in any of the outer plains where outsiders make their homes. Much of the information that will follow is based on mine, and my colleges, direct observations of this creature, the Tenebris Pallium as we have come to call it, according to one of our associates in the language department it is ancient Dwarf for Darkmantle.

Physiological Observations

Although it resembles a common and far less deadly squid, in basic shape if not overall form, there is a thick membrane between each tentacle. This membrane, when combined with the slender tentacles, is what you will feel wrapping around your head as you suddenly find yourself in total darkness. It also gives the creature Eyes near the top of the creatures head face in every direction so that no matter where prey comes from it can be seen. Inside the membrane is several rows of teeth as sharp as a blade, where the creature stores the food it consumes I have yet to discover as it eats far more than its relatively small stature would allow and cutting them open upon death has yet to reveal a long term stomach, or any digestive organs at all. I believe they directly absorb the nutrients they eat at a maximum efficiency, which would also explain a distinct lack of bones found in many of the caves they inhabit. It has no known subspecies however its relation to beasts such as the extinct Lurker Above should bear out further research in due time. Their young are quite fascinating as well. Dr. Lemontwig of the Elfen Research Institute spent fifty years tracking one from egg to adult hood and I will share some of his findings.

Life Cycle

The Darkmantle breeds much like a fish. The females, on the exterior entirely identical to the males, will lay an incredibly large clutch of eggs and which release some sort of noise that calls to the darkmantle via its echolocation, though even the sensitive ears of an Elf cannot pick up on it. Many eggs will be inseminated by any males nearby, some even journeying from other caves if their own does not contain a female, suggesting to me at least that females of the species are rare. Following this it will take approximately one year for the mantles to hatch. In this time no protection is offered to the eggs nor is there any care for their well being. The creature emerges in much of a larval stage, it is soft and lacks the carapice its parents use to disguise themselves as stones and so, in quite a shock to myself, must scurry around in the dark and hope to avoid dying. This, I believe, is why they lay so many eggs as relatively few will ever make it to adulthood. As mentioned elsewhere they feast on whatever scraps the adults leave and, should they survive at least, this process will last around four years before their shell hardens and they reach a stature that will allow them to take on small prey of their own. These young have sometimes been found in the cellars of taverns or sewers hunting rats and other small creatures. to fully grow it will take another 15 years, combined with shedding their carapace several times as they grow which leaves them vulnerable and camouflaged for about a day until the new one grows in. At around 20 years of age they are adults, but while growing slowly Dr. Lemontwig noted that they never seem to stop. However after the 50 years the subject was killed attempting to target some industrious goblins and so we are as of yet unaware of their full lifespan. Dr. Lemontwig has decided to keep one in captivity in his lab and begin anew. Though I will likely not live to see the outcome, being merely human myself and already getting on in years, I hope future generations will take great interest in his research.

Social Observations

It gets along well enough with its own species, they are seldom seen fighting over territory or food, but often prefers to be alone or in small groups, though there are some that grow to a good number, as long as there is food in steady supply their population seems to grow and they stay where they were born. Not a pack animal by any means but has an observable intelligence similar to that of many basic animal companions. I have personally witnessed almost a score of the beasts descend onto a battle with some Orcs and only the party that I was travelling with was attacked, suggesting to me that these beasts could be tamed. If not well enough to handle direct commands they can very well be taught what to eat and who to leave alone. There are even records of the creature working in tandem with several of its brethren to take down larger and more dangerous prey. Anywhere you see larger clutch of the beast beware, there could be even larger creatures waiting nearby.

Behaviorial Observations

They are fully and entirely a predatory animal, concerned with nothing more than their own safety and securing food. They lack compassion for their young, often laying eggs and then leaving the cave themselves in search of a new home when food may be scarce, though many times they will simply reside nearby. In some cases the adult has let the child starve to death as they got to the food last and there was none remaining. They seem to only be able to attack from above, when lifted from a host or missing their attack they often scurry away to climb back up to try again, seemingly entirely unaware of even the limitation on the darkness they create to conceal their first attack. When they work together and fell a larger beast you can often see the entire caves worth of them feasting on the body together until not even the bones remain, as was the case when I saw them devouring a relatively young dragon. At this time they will climb back up to their perches and rest until they feel the hunger again. It is at times like this that you are most likely to see their young scurry down in an attempt to feast on whatever scraps remain. Until they grow large enough to take prey of their own this is how they will survive.

Intra-Species Observations

As any predator the dark mantle sees other species more in terms of "food" or "not food" rather than any companionship. Even their own young only escape their feasting due largely to it being difficult to attack something from above when you are on the same level as it. They seem to be trainable by more intelligent species and I once met a ranger who claimed to have one as his animal companion, though he was drunk at the time and was not around when I left in the morning so I do not know if he was telling the truth. Even those in the wild can be scared off if they are hurt enough, they will often flee deciding that the meal is not worth the risk, so they do have some self preservation instincts.

DM's Toolkit

These would be creatures to fear for peasants and low level NPCs but an adequately leveled party should have little difficulty unless it is a swarm. With very little in the way of special abilities their main use is in surprise attacks or ambushes where the creatures the party is fighting have trained them. Fighting goblins when suddenly darkmantles show up could be a terrifying proposition for many a party.

As it can attack no one else but its victim once attached they are best thrown at the party either in small groups or with other creatures nearby, though one could be a good surprise to catch the party unaware.

Obviously their specialty is surprise attacks, most often their darkness spell is used just before grabbing onto a prey leaving them even more unaware of what just happened to them but it could easily be used for other reasons if the need arises. It has its limits though, as Darkness can only be cast once a day and is only a 15ft radius but, as with all supernatural darkness, darkvision is useless against it which could leave party members groping in the dark trying to help their party member.

It is a very versatile predatory animal excellent in anywhere dark, making effective use of the darkmantle should be simple for any DM, they appear in numbers anywhere from solo up to 15-20 commonly so feasibly they could pose a threat to even a midlevel party in large enough numbers. Especially if you have them work together. As suggested in this post you could easily have one grab a head and the others latch onto other places on the body and attack in tandem (as of 5e they gain advantage when attacking people they are on) leading to a deadly combination.

Use them sparingly however as if you put them in every cave the novelty of the surprise will wear off quickly and the party will begin to expect them to be everywhere.

Death Knight

Even the most righteous men can fall into darkness. I couldn’t believe it was him, not Miltiades. For so long he was a pillar of goodness, but in the end hate overtook him. Even as I write this his eyes, seething orbs hate, peer into my very soul chilling me to the bone. He must have some honor left, otherwise he would've killed me by now. - A note found on a skeletal warrior outside of the Ruins of Raudor.

Introduction

Death Knights are those that have been cursed forever to roam the earth in undeath, hate perpetually driving them to enact vengeance on those that have wronged them. Although rare, Death Knights are said to have been paladins that have been cursed by their god for a treachery they have committed or great warriors that have partaken in an unholy ritual to rid themselves of their mortal weakness.

Physiological Observations

The most notable aspect of a Death Knight are the eyes. Glowing red from the hate that now consumes them. Their eyes illuminate their skull, having shed their skin, blood, and muscle to become the ultimate beacon of undead strength.

Although Death Knights have no skin or bone they retain whatever strength and vigor they had in life. Although the Death Knight lacks a phylactery, they will continue to come back to life until their soul has sought forgiveness. As such, they are granted divine powers by that which keeps them undead, although they may never use those powers to heal.

It is said that a warrior who was transformed channelled their very soul into their weapon, bringing death to others with the very essence of their being. When transformed an unnatural green flame envelopes the body and erases all aspects of life by burning away the living tissue. The brain, no longer needed, is replaced by the soul infused weapon.

Social Observations

Death Knights are dark and brooding, their minds lost to the hate that consumes them. Death Knights are not welcome among the living so they often surround themselves with undead that are capable of complex thought. Skeleton warriors, wraiths, and wights often make up the retinue of the Death Knight.

As they gather forces Death Knights are forced to remain on the move, otherwise an army of the living would be brought upon them and ruin their quest for vengeance. A Death Knight might take command of a ruined castle, or it might claim a fortress from its inhabitants. If conquest is what drives the Death Knight, captured lands might turn into the beginnings of the Death Knight’s empire.

The majority of Death Knights work alone as great leaders, although sometimes they will join forces with a greater entity. Death Knights who transformed unwillingly will most certainly attach themselves to someone with great power and initiative. This person of power can be a Lich, a vampire, or even a mortal that holds great sway over the undead. A Death Knight will hold true to its commitments for years, centuries even, but as time progresses a Death Knight will always serve themselves seeing that promises, like mortality, are a farce.

Behavioral Observations

Death Knights are consumed by the hatred that drives them, this leads them to be thoughtful and deliberate, regardless of their personalities in life. They carry their very souls in their bony hands to serve as a reminder that their bargain cannot be undone. Death Knights have given up any thoughts of joy or contentment for the power to accomplish their goals, a thought that weighs upon them every moment in their immortality.

Those that turned to death for power were, most often then not, frustrated in life. Death being preferable to defeat, Death Knights have forsaken their very lives in the pursuit of power. As the Death Knight continues to be defeated the more forces and power it gathers. Once a Death Knight is victorious in its goal, its joy is fleeting, for it is faced with an eternity of endless struggle.

Inter-Species Observations

Death Knights generally work alone, amassing an undead army to further their cause. Due to their undead nature Death Knights very rarely have any living companions. Death Knights see mortality as a weakness, and weakness in intolerable. The one creature that a Death Knight will make a long term commitment to is its favored mount. Death Knights ride into battle on the backs of evil beasts such as Nightmares or other undead mounts. The teamwork required between mount an rider is often the Death Knights only lasting source of pleasure.

Death Knights will sometimes ally themselves to other, more powerful creatures such as Liches, Vampires, or other Death Knights. These commitments will never last, however, as the Death Knight grows in power the more obsessed it becomes in its own personal agenda.

Death Knights have also been known to transform other great living warriors into Death Knights in order to form an elite society of undead. If this is the case the other Death Knights will always follow the oldest, most powerful among them, generally the one that transformed them.

DM's Toolkit

During conception Death Knights drew a lot of inspiration of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ring Wraiths. As a potential plot hook you might be able to say that a group of Death Knights were created by a supreme dark lord in order to fulfill a dark brand of justice.

Another option is to use a historical leader such as Genghis Khan. The Death Knight could be the leader of an undead army that is sweeping the world converting the dead into undead or even great warriors of the land joining forces with the Death Knight as a better chance of survival.

Demilich

I just remember so many skulls. A vast wall. And nothing but hideous laughter all around. Then Strex’s blood started leaving his body through every pore. It pooled at the base then began crawling up the wall into the mouth of a skull set at the highest level.

Introduction

It is a misnomer that a demilich is a lich that that has forgotten to nourish itself. The notion is ridiculous. Only the most powerful wizards and necromancers attempt lich-hood, so its hardly believable they would forget a simple thing like feeding their source of power.

Far more likely is that demilichs are the products of failed transformations. This mis-fire almost always occurs at the moment of creation of the phylactery and the bonding of the soul to it. What is left is the intact phylactery, the skull, a pile of ash, and an angry, thwarted evil soul that usually proceeds to kill any living thing 1 mile around. Then they simmer in hatred until the next victims stumble along.

Equally as likely is that demilichs are the products of a deal with Orcus. Individuals are promised immortality in exchange for their horrid cooperation. However, the demon lord of the undead is known for taking delight in watching mortals realize the moment of the double cross before they are nothing but a skull.

Another surprising reason for a demilich is out of reverence or for future council. In some societies, powerful and successful rulers are preserved to ensure eternal prosperity and domestic stability. The irrationally moral might find this abhorrent, however the rationally pragmatic see it as a way to prevent endless succession wars which drain a land of resources and sow only strife.

Physiological Observations

A demilich’s physical appearance can very greatly from the mundane to the fantastical depending on the ritual used to create the lich and if there are purposeful attempts to hide it. These designs could be part of a protection system to prevent the skull from being taken or jewels could be augmented to feed the lich’s phylactery, increase its surveillance capability, or bolster offensive power.

The skull could be also resting in a pile of ash or ceremoniously mounted in the wall or in an obelisk. This again is dependent on why the lich was created. If by accident, the skull could be in the corner of a cluttered study or under a soiled cot. If by purpose, the skill might be mounted in a very elaborate mural depicting the lich’s history in a bas relief surrounding a sacrificial alter.

Social Observations

A demilich is not a social creatures in the traditional sense. If the lich was created by accident or crooked deal, they most likely will be very hostile toward any living thing that crosses their path. They will take enjoyment out of causing pain, suffering, and extinguishing the light of life. A demilich created to run a cult, guild of thieves/assassins, or a kingdom will be mostly concerned only with those it knows are apart of its society and order. This can manifest itself and a sort of xenophobia.

Behavioral Observations

Against strongly influenced by the reasons for its creation. Demiliches created from accident and deals-gone-bad are going to hate life. Their resting places will become lures for fool hearty adventurers, ignorant grave robbers, and zealots seeking to impress their gods. Demilichs have no problems quickly eliminating these intruders.

Accidental demilichs might not have any external defenses set up. They may, overtime, have created a small army of undead and encouraged a large monster to take up residence in their old tower. Demilichs who where seeking lich-

hood or had it promised to them might be at the center of a vast underground labyrinth dedicated to them as they had time to prepare.

However, demilichs created for rule might be placed in a vastly elaborate ossa built for worship, council, sacrifice, and display. These places will be not only guarded by the lich’s own defenses but a host of dedicated guards.

Intra-Species Observations

Again, a demilich will tolerate those who it can rule and those who it sees as intelligent. However, failure is little tolerated, death is swift, and punishment can be multi-generational after all, the undead see time very differently.

DM's Toolkit

Below is a table for the quick generation of demilich for your campaign. I think the most exciting idea that the demilich is a part of a council used by a powerful guild to maintain its standing. The guild could be at the heart of a city have many twists and turns.

1d10	Litch Skull	Creation	Tomb
1-2	Human	Tricked by Orcus	Center of a death cult
3-4	Slaad	Lost in the Astral Plane	Center of criminal organization
5-6	Yuan-Ti	Craved Eternal Power	Powerful family crypt
7-8	Fiend	Lichdom thwarted by hero	Abandoned site of former power
9-10	Dragon	To serve guild/cult/kingdom	Center of a maze

Demons

I see from your journal that you have studied us extensively, wizard. Most think all we 'demons' to be savage, brutish creatures. But you... you have peered behind the veil. I even see that you have heard the name Tanar'ri... a name that stretches back uncountable aeons. No, don't even bother struggling. Those straps are tightly secured. Do you really think you're the first wizard I've harvested?

You ARE the first to have discovered as much of our history as you did, that I do grant you. It has been long since I conversed with an intellectual such as yourself, and we have plenty of time before I am done harvesting you. You wish to know about the so-called 'Blood War?' Very well, I will be kind enough to satisfy your curiosity and tell you about our struggle for freedom. The knowledge I am about to share with you has not been shared with mortals in millenia. Try not to scream too loud as I recount it. You wouldn't want to miss anything.

Introduction

This is a story about the demons behind the Blood War, also known as the "True Tanar'ri." Is it a true story? None can say. In the infinite depths of the abyss, even truth itself becomes warped and mangled beyond recognition. Perhaps it is best to say that it is one potential truth, and leave it at that.

The story is a tragedy, and the tragedy is time. In time, all things change and evolve. It is said by some that humans are descended from apes, just as kobolds are descended from lizards and merfolk are descended from fish. If that is the case, and we have truly evolved so much, think about what our species might look like a billion years from now. And think about what other creatures might have looked like a billion years before now...

A billion years ago, or so the story goes, there was a society of creatures very much like our own. They were masters of magic and technology, particularly as relates to the connection between the body and the soul. At their society advanced, both magically and scientifically, they discovered a way to defeat death itself, by anchoring their souls into their own bodies. Imagine a society spanning multiple dimensions - a society where nobody could truly die unless they chose to do so. For a time, it was a utopia - at least for them.

Physiological Observations

But curiousity is the downfall of all creatures, even eternal ones. Eventually, these immortals began to experiment with their own immortality. They discovered that because they were unable to die and their bodies could recover from any injury, it was possible to make surgical changes to their bodies that were previously unimaginable. If one of them wanted to be able to see in the dark, all they had to do was remove their own eyes and replace them with the eyes of a cat, then let their body incorporate the foreign parts as it swiftly healed. If they wanted to fly, they simply needed to remove wings from another large species and attach it to their shoulders. This was seen as a liberation from their own physical limitations, and at first their society rejoiced in their newfound senses, as they harvested all manner of creatures to live vicariously through those creatures abilities and powers.

Eventually, discontent started to grow among the immortals. There was a limited number of body parts to harvest, and they noticed that all the best pieces and experiences were going to those immortals who were wealthiest or had the strongest connections to those in the upper ranks of their government. 'Promotions' to a better body were given out at the discretion of those in power. This seemed like an injustice. As their cultural aesthetics changed and adapting ones body became an essential part of their culture, the poor could not afford good body parts, and had to live with whatever patchwork bodies they could make for themselves, while their elite - the ba'atezu - harvested the best bodies money could buy.

So the poor struck back, in the most savage way they could. They attacked the other immortals, and harvested them. And thus began the Blood War - a war of ideology between those 'devils' who believed that new forms should be granted by the government, and the 'demons' who felt that they were entitled to any body parts that they had the strength to take. This is why there is so little physical variation between devils, whereas demons vary so widely, even between members of the same type or species. Devil's bodies are created by standardized processes, whereas every demon is self-made - and the greatest demons, the demon lords, consider themselves to be artists, with their bodies as a kind of canvas.

Social Observations

The "True Tanar'ri" - what mortals call demon lords - are an immortal species of anarchists obsessed with personal freedom at any cost. They are obsessed with bringing down the devils who oppressed them, and see no value in mortals other than as cannon fodder, "entertainment", or spare parts to incorporate into their own bodies.

Initially, the anarchists thought that laws were not needed to allow them to live in harmony - that freedom itself and mutual respect would allow all true tanar'ri to cooperate. This dream died quickly. Billions of years of warfare and torture have given these creatures a contempt for all other immortals, even those on their own side. A demon lord will cheerfully harvest another of their own kind the second it has the opportunity. Behaviorial Observations

To understand the psychology of the demon lords, one must understand the reasoning and motivations behind the Blood War. When the first immortal anarchists rebelled, the government could not defeat them through conventional means - after all, they were immortal. No demon or devil could be permanently slain, unless they chose to be.

Some might think that this would make the war pointless, but on the contrary, it only made it more brutal. A ba'atezu general named Asmodeus realized that if death was voluntary, then the only way to truly defeat the other side was to make them want to die. Aeons of torture, imprisonment and psychological assault became standard tools of the Blood War. The goal was to cause so much suffering to the other side that they willingly relinquished their immortality.

And it worked. Over time, the gentler demons and devils chose to die, their spirits broken by the eternal conflict where no rules existed, and anything was allowed. The Blood War has gone on for billions of years now, and the only original survivors left are those who were almost unbreakable - the most vicious, determined, and psychopathic members of both sides.

Inter-Species Observations

In this way, the immortals numbers gradually eroded, and at first it looked like the war would slowly wind down. Then, millions of years ago, the humanoid races were created - and the simmering conflict flared up more brightly than ever. For you see, humanoids were one of the few races with souls powerful and resilient enough that they could be changed into immortals themselves.

And so it came to pass. The "true" tanar'ri, ensconced in the Abyss from which they launched guerilla attacks against the ba'atezu and each other, created soul magnets to attract those humanoid souls most like themselves. And the ba'atezu did likewise.

Be frightened of the demons that live in the Abyss. But fear them not only for what they can do to you, but also because they are what we may someday become.

DM's Toolkit

Demons are creatures of dread, and any adventure involving them should have elements of horror in it. I took a different approach to the horror aspect by making demons more relatable. In this re-envisioning of demons, they began as freedom fighters who were willing to do whatever it took to achieve their version of 'freedom' - and lost their humanity in the process. This can make them a great allegory for PCs that have similar goals. For example, a group of PCs using guerrila warfare to fight an evil government might use increasingly brutal tactics to combat their adversary, rationalizing that "the ends justify the means". Meeting a true tanar'ri, they might see the logical end result of such an approach.

The 'harvesting' angle also gives a certain logic to demonic behavior - they consider themselves 'artists' and mortals are their paint. The film "Jeepers Creepers" gives an example of how this may be used, as it depicts a demon that goes on a killing spree to create the perfect body for itself.

Devils

Introduction

“So mortals, you’ve reached my lair. Did you enjoy your trip? No? Didn’t think so. Since I’m in a generous mood and you’ve impressed me by making it here alive, well more or less alive, I’ll offer you a deal. Anyone who kills another member of your troop will be allowed to beg for their life. And because I am so benevolent I’ll only take your soul before I throw you out. Now, mortals dance for my entertainment … Show me your pained expressions … Gut your friends … keep your miserable existence … Fight! … Slaughter! … Beg!”

-Tale told by a broken ex-adventurer, Nuva Liädon, about their venture into the lower planes and their hunt of the pit fiend Merlach.

Physiological Observations

Physiological observation is a nigh-impossible feat; Carcasses evaporate upon death, capture is extremely difficult, and their form shifts with the passing of their will. In my research I’ve come across many theories. One stands out, the tale of the Blood Wars, as it is mentioned in a variety of ways in the mythos of every early civilization. I personally refuse to believe this to be the truth. According to the Blood Wars theory devils and demons both were originally a humanoid race of mortals corrupted by their pursuit of immortality. Mind you that this is a very abbreviated and incomplete description of the theory. It is simply absurd to believe that they were like us once, or worse that we could become like them. I felt it was important to mention because maybe the tale holds some merit.

After all my research – reading forgotten texts, looking into the dark arts and talking to priests, keepers, paladins, fiend hunters and clerics – I’ve concluded that devils hyper-evolve. Hyper-evolution causes the strongest of mind and body to make leaps in the evolutionary process while leaving the others behind in a comparably pitiful state. Of course it is no surprise that there is a clear physiological hierarchy caused by this huge discrepancy in power. Much like among animals or savage tribes the strong rule over the weak.

Hyper-evolution causes one more peculiarity: All of the evolutionary data from these leaps are stored within the individual fiend. The fiend can unleash this data on a lower devil to forcibly rewrite its genetics, causing excruciating pain – both physically and mentally – as every segment of their being is ripped apart and reassembled. During this process the fiend places a safeguard in the genetic code of the lower creature. The safeguard allows the fiend to reduce it back to its original state should the lower creature ever get out of line.

The internal structure of the beasts is different for every sub-species. Because of the lack of remains to examine I can’t be sure about what organs resides in the creatures. However I’m fairly certain they have a heart: In ancient dark magic rituals there are several references to using a devil’s heart to transmute souls into necrotic energy. This also leads me to believe that fiends use the souls collected in their dealings to fuel their magic or even to sustain themselves. They have intestines according to the paladin, Falco Odyss, who “ripped its guts out”. I find this statement to be insufficient proof and would need further evidence before making conclusions. I know for sure that the hell spawn has the ability to consume food. This doesn’t mean that they need food – or can even use it – to sustain themselves.

Devils are to a certain extent immortal. When they are killed on the Prime Material Plane their carcass melts away while releasing volcanic gasses and necrotic energy. This necrotic energy transports the body back to the Lower Planes where it will start reforming at full strength. I have reason to believe that this process requires souls as a magical catalyst. A soul is the purest form of life force therefor I think the fiends use it to rebind their consciousness to their form. Of course this is – well-grounded as it may be – a theory and would need further experimentation to prove. The simplest way to dispatch a devil permanently would be to kill it in the Nine Hells. When killed in the Lower Planes the reforming process doesn’t commence.

Social Observations

“You’ve had your time with my gift, musician, now it’s time to pay the prize. So why don’t you tell your guard dogs to lower their weapons before they hurt themselves. … Listen carefully mortals. While I don’t mind crushing you like insects, it is bad for business. Besides even if you did manage to kill me it wouldn’t get you out of your contract. What? Why the surprised look? You think you’re the first to try and weasel your way out of a deal? Human arrogance never seizes to amaze me.”

-Telling by a group of mercenaries about their encounter with a devil.

Devils have a very strict social hierarchy headed by Asmodeus. Every fiend heeds his call, be it directly or indirectly, there is no escaping his rule. His absolute rule is caused by his ability to reshape any fiend’s form at will. Each layer of the Nine Hells other than the ninth is ruled by an archdevil, creatures whose existence is an even larger mystery than other fiends. The Layers and their current rulers are as follows: Avernus ruled by Zariel, Dis ruled by Dispater, Minauros ruled by Mammon, Phlegethos ruled by Belial and Fierna, Stygia rule by Levistus, Malbolge ruled by Glasya, Maladomini ruled by Baalzebul, Cania ruled by Mephistolpheles and finally Nessus ruled by Asmodeus. There is mention of other archdevils however they don’t seem to currently be in power.

Even though it isn’t in their nature the creatures all adhere to the hierarchy. The foremost reason being that the benefits far outweigh the discomfort suffered. Superiors and underlings can always count on each other’s support.

Through my research I know of at least one ‘arrangement’ where the hierarchy empowers their vile species: If a devil is destroyed that still holds contracts, the ownership of the contracts is transferred to their superior. I imagine that there are many similar structures are in place. Serving their master as well as they can is exceedingly propitious since their master holds the power to enhance their form.

A note of warning for all the mortal races: We would be wise to fear the fiends. If they ever find a way out of the Lower Planes their armies will annihilate us. Their absolute chain of command combined with their immortality allows for a ruthless efficiency when it comes to waging war.

Intra-Species Observations

Devils mostly keep to themselves but they need to interact with other species so they can gather souls for their vile practices. They interact with the mortal humanoid races because our souls carry a large amount of life force and it is in our ability to agree to their dark deals and voluntarily sell our souls.

They gather souls in different ways. Primarily they make deals in which mortals sell their souls to gain something they desire. These deals take place under different circumstances: In 142 of the 173 cases I’ve studied the subject summoned the devil to attain their desires, In 27 of the cases the subject was approached in a moment of utmost despair, In the last 4 cases the subject was offered an ultimatum. The ultimatums are by far the worst way because they are things like: “Forfeit your soul this instant and I’ll save your daughter from certain death”. Through my research I came in contact with a situation where devils were “harvesting” souls. Further investigation revealed that the band of monsters were seizing people at random and hauling them off to their impromptu lair to torture them until they willingly gave up their soul.

In the rare case that a demon and a devil would cross paths, the creatures will act hostile to one another. They both have a deep-rooted love for violence, corruption, torture and other despicable acts but they have completely different modi operandi. Devils are ultimately methodical and follow the rules of their “civilization” while demons are chaotic and follow no rules at all. This colossal difference in deprived ideals causes encounters between them to almost always end up in violence.

DMs toolkit

Full disclosure: I absolutely love devils. I love roleplaying them. I love offering tempting deals to my party. I love how sly they are. They are amazing. Think evil salesperson that is really good at his job.

Before I say anything else I need you to know that “my researcher” was wrong about one thing: Devils do not mostly keep to themselves. They love screwing with people: corrupting, misleading, causing pain and so on.

In combat they are ruthless and give seasoned parties a run for their gold if you use their cunning yet ruthless nature. Remember they would go for the kill unless they think they can take captives to torture into giving up their soul. I’ll go into specifics for each of them in the individual posts.

But more important is the roleplaying aspect:

You can have them approach the party when things are looking very bad, offering a way out for a price. Usually this price would be a soul but I’ve used smaller things like specific favours (desecrating a church for example). The devil would offer these smaller deals to gain trust as part of their long con. It’s important to remember that devils are very patient, after all they’re immortal.

You could have a devil (of appropriate level) ruling a kingdom through a proxy king trapped by a deal. This should create a rather large quest line since devils are schemers and wouldn’t be found out easily. So be wary if you add this to your world be prepared to be stuck with it for some time.

If you want a more straight-forward way of incorporating devils into your campaign you can use a roving band of devils that are abducting and torturing people. Still they would be stealthy about it so reports should just be missing persons and strange screams coming from a certain place (being the lair).

I just want you to use them. Discover the joy of being a cunning sadistic horror. Just do it!

Devil: Erinyes

I can't stay long. She's tracked me to the end of a dozen worlds already, and she'll chase me through a dozen more if I have anything to say about it. - Carver Dean, fugitive of the Nine Hells, during his last known visit to Sigil.

Introduction

Erinyes, sometimes called Furies, are among the most fearsome warriors in all the Nine Hells. Faces streaked in blood, these fiends form the core of infernal armies, diving into battle in the wake of hordes of lesser fiends to deal the death blow to angel and demon alike. Erinyes are versatile, however, and often undertake independent operations that take them across the planes in pursuit of those who seek to escape Hell’s judgment.

Physiological Observations

Erinyes resemble angelic women with black-feathered wings, although their presence tends to evoke terror rather than awe. Their humanoid features are as varied and diverse as humans, elves or dwarves. While a Fury has no natural shapechanging ability, a Pit Fiend will often mould one into a new form before dispatching her on a mission, giving her a shape recognizeable to her quarry, and restoring her true form only when she returns victorious. Folklore tells several tales of wretched spirits harried across the planes by visions of women they wronged in life.

While Erinyes are normally regal and imposing, when angered they are known to weep tears of blood, and their piercing shriek is terrible indeed. There are hazy reports of some Erinyes manifesting strange new powers in such a state. Sometimes, foes are merely frightened away, others see the screaming faces of every person they have wronged hissing and spitting at them, and still other stories speak of terror physically withering the flesh of onlookers. In particular, there are several stories of pregnant women having miscarriages after gazing upon an enraged Erinyes.

Social & Behavioural Observations

Erinyes are proud devils, and generally regard themselves as second only to Pit Fiends. Certainly, they are among the most romanticized fiends, serving as field commanders and elite soldiers in Hell’s armies. This suits the Gelugon just fine, as the Ice Devils prefer to direct the armies of Hell from the safety and obscurity of their infernal fortresses. On the battlefield, a single Erinyes may serve as the commanding officer for legions of lesser devils, or strike in trios against the enemy’s strongest champions. When the skies over a battlefield are contested, Erinyes are generally accompanied by dozens of Spined Devils, and possibly a handful of Cornugon serving as lieutenants.

Even outside the Nine Hells, Erinyes command respect. Even angels are careful to give a roving Fury her due, knowing that she pursues her quarry with a single-minded focus, and thus it is often better for everyone involved to simply speed her on her way. For mere mortals it is best to avoid such encounters altogether, as Erinyes are not patient creatures, and often skip directly to torture when questioning bystanders about her target’s whereabouts.

Depending on the nature and importance of an Erinyes’s mission, she may be given additional magical equipment to assist in her pursuit. This may include artifacts that enable cross-planar travel, divination implements suitable for observing her quarry, and magical weapons and armour. Even without such implements, headhunter Erinyes often know shortcuts and gateways from one plane to another, making them quite capable of hounding a target across one world after another. An Erinyes might even teach mortals a few such pathways if they go out of their way to assist her in her hunt. Of course, she might also reward such mortals by only torturing them slightly.

Most importantly, however, one should never confuse an Erinyes with a Succubus. Should you make this mistake, she will specifically dedicate several hours to showing you the wide variety of sensations a Fury can elicit from mortal flesh. No one ever makes the same mistake a second time.

DM's Toolkit

Erinyes are some of the most badass monsters in mythology. But their presentation in the Monster Manual is honestly a little… bland. They boil down to “Flying lady with poison weapons. And maybe a rope.” No flashy powers, no spells. So if you want to make Erinyes memorable, the first thing you need to do is paint them right. Probably the best known depiction of the Furies in mythology is Eumenides by Aeschylus. It’s said that when the play was first performed, the depiction of the Furies was so terrifying that pregnant women had miscarriages. That wasn’t an idle line I jus threw in there for nothing. I’ve always seen them as weeping tears of blood. Can’t remember where I picked up that detail, but I love it, and it adds that little extra horrific element that pushes things beyond, “Lady with a bow and sword” to “Holy crap, we do not want to mess with this chick.”

If you want to give an Erinyes a little more supernatural edge, try giving them some kind of fear-based power, especially one that torments the target with guilt. It fits well with their role as pursuing tormentors.

The line about Erinyes being “reshaped” by Pit Fiends was my own invention, but also in keeping with the general theme. Nothing says scary like being chased across the planes by a girl you murdered, weeping blood and screaming your guilt for all the worlds to hear. If you take DMing cues from the school of Dungeon World, feel free to ask your players a question along those lines: “What woman from your past fills your character with the greatest sense of dread or guilt?” Just file that away for a few sessions, and then drop an Erinyes on them wearing the face of their bitter ex. It’ll go over great, I promise.

Dinosaur: Allosaurus

Wolves!? Heh! I WISH it was wolves taking my livestock! No no no no .... I can hear them! Now shut up and get out there and do what I'm paying you to! - Halfling Farmer addressing hired mercenaries on his livestock issues.

Introduction

Allosaurus or plural Allosaurs are large bipedal dinosaurs that are cunning and dangerous. They hunt in packs much like wolves and terrorize the livestock of any civilization that dares be near its hunting grounds. While not overly dangerous on their own you can almost never bet that they are alone for long.

They are often mistaken for smaller Tyrannosaurs but this is a woefully inaccurate assumption. Allosaurs are not just fast but also cunning tactical predators. It's also assumed that Allosaurs are far from intelligent when just like wolves they will surprise you if you under-estimate them.

Physiological Observations

Allosaurs are large animals sometimes reaching 12 feet tall. They have long bodies measuring upwards of 30 feet at times. Bipedal with strong powerful legs make them quick and agile hunters. Their heads are larger in proportion to many animals as their preferred method of attack is biting with their massive jaws. The arms while short are used and incredibly strong. They can be used to hold prey while eating or even help in taking down larger prey or holding on. The Allosaurus body is almost always perpendicular to the mostly vertical legs. The head and neck are attached to the torso lower than that of a T-rex indicating snapping at the ground while running is a favorite tactic. It has been noted that they can snap their head downward at incredible speeds. Although they can be tall they can't reach but a mere 2 more feet above themselves as a result of this body structure. Most of the body length, about half, is consisted of the large muscular tail. The tail is used for balance while running and also as a social indicator.

The teeth are the most common weapon of Allosaurs which can measure up to 3 inches in length. Once an Allosaurs has you in its mouth it will try and pin prey on the ground using either its arms or feet. It will then kill the prey either by eating it alive or if a prey is particularly dangerous disemboweling and tearing at the flesh until it relents. Sometimes if it feels there's still opportunity for injury while pinning a prey, like stegosaurs' tails, they will disembowel the prey and back off at a safe distance and wait until it succumbs to the injuries.

The arms are only a few feet in length with 3 claws that they have no qualms using as weapons. It's been observed that they'll hold onto smaller prey and slam them onto the ground to daze them. Allosaurs are not kind killers and will employ all of their tools for the safest kill possible.

A surprising tactic for Allosaur is that they have incredible jumping capabilities that more than make up for their vertical reach. Allosaurs will pounce prey as a surprise attack and prefer to do so from hiding. The pack will wait sometimes for the best opportunity to pounce sometimes hours. Younger ones can get impatient and simply charge ahead but this behavior is usually reigned in quickly by adults.

Allosaurs are reliant on their speed and use of their powerful legs and never attack with them. The risk of injury is too high. They will always reposition themselves so that they can keep an eye on all attacks. If flanked they will attempt escape and reposition themselves as to keep their legs safe. If surrounded on all sides they will attempt to jump over the safest option. It has also been observed that they will become very defensive if they're legs are in danger and they cannot escape. They will let out higher pitch almost pleading "barks" indicating to the rest of the pack they are in trouble. It's also noted that Allosaur are excellent swimmers and are all adept fishers in rivers.

Allosaurs seem to be found in any climate. While most abundant in warmer and temperate climates some have been found in more polar regions. They are warm blooded but with little protecting from cold in warmer areas but as the region is colder a small "coat" of feathers can be found on them. In Polar Regions they almost seem like giant birds stalking the tundra. They almost always prefer highly vegetated areas for cover and ambush sites. If a territory includes open areas sometimes they will patrol those areas but almost never find prey there as they are spotted too quickly.

Social Observations

Allosaurs are usually in packs of 4 to 6 members. These are typically families of parents and children. They do not constantly stick together as they will roam the territory in search for prey separately. If a danger or threat is found they will call for their pack with a deafening roar. If it is a prey is spotted and believed to be able to taken down on their own they will set up an opportunity to pounce. Just before a pounce they will make the call for the pack with a quick but loud bark and then leap. This usually is quick enough that even the most alert prey is pounced before they realize the noise or where it came from.

When not roaming the territory they will feed and sleep or simply play in the central nesting area the remainder of the day. They do not need to eat every day and can survive up to 2 weeks without food but will hunt every day. Nesting sites are typically indicated by the bones of victims strewn about a secluded area. Those knowledgeable and unlucky enough to find a nest can indicate from scraping by the teeth on the bones that it's an Allosaurus nest.

Allosaurs seem to communicate through barks and tail indicators. A tail that is curled up is interacting in a peaceful manner or excited. When young are at play the tails are curled up as they chase and nip at each other. When aggressive, their tails are straight and stiff to be ready for any sudden movements by aggressors or if they decide to strike. Tails curled down seem to indicate unsureness. This is usually seen when Allosaurs spot creatures they wouldn't consider prey or are particularly stressed.

The barks are usually excited greetings of family members or almost cheering for taking down prey. The short barks mentioned before are high pitched but controlled. A more prolonged and unaggressive roar has been observed when a member leaves the family usually for a mate. The most unsettling noise aside from the deafening roars of intimidation is the pleading barks they tend to do when in a dangerous situation. These are by far the most urgent noise Allosaurs make. Once observed by a survivor of a hunting band that once they had cornered an Allosaur and it gave that bark all the other Allosaur immediately disengaged from other fights and focused on a single area for the other to escape. The trapped Allosaur pleaded and rapidly snapped its head up and down at member of the group. All of the Allosaurs attacked the poor hunter and ripped him to shreds. They then left as a group and struck from the shadows at a later point.

Calls seemed to be always heeded by every member of the family. Even extremely younger and smaller Allosaurs rush to a call (no matter the call). This would seem counter intuitive for a border dispute with another pack but showing the amount of young seems to play into the intimidation. Borders are almost never fought over only intimidating roars and advancement to drive intruders away. If it does come to blows it's typically done by the 2 leading males. If the loser male survives the pack then moves to another area. If the loser is killed, which can happen, the rest of the family assimilates into the winner’s pack. Usually rare but this can make a pack of close to 10 to 12 members at times.

The nest is defended very aggressively but not to the point of injury. Typically they will try and intimidate intruders, preferring to not fight alone. If they are together intruders are likely to be killed and eaten.

Allosaurs live for 40 years or so and usually raise between 4 and 8 children in their lifetime. They lay 4 eggs at a time though normally only 2 survive the first 6 months after hatching, if all 4 hatch. It's most common for 2 young to be with the family. Once young reach 2 years they are full grown and able to hunt for themselves. Allosaurs will not lay another batch of eggs until the current young have left. Finding a mate seems to occur around the 5 to 7 year mark of an Allosaurus life. At this time females emit a pheromone that unmated males are attracted to. If a female is intrigued by a suitor she will excitedly bob her head up and down at the male’s direction. The male then mimics this action and both give out a long loud higher pitched roar. This seems to indicate that they're off to start a new family. The families then respond in kind and seem to go about business as usual. Males leave on their own accord around the same time to go searching for a mate. They tend for safety to stick to smaller prey as they wonder outside of the family’s territory. They seem to linger at the border for a few days but then eventually give out their departing roar and leave to find a mate.

If the lead female or male is killed the other parent will raise the children on their own. It seems that they have range of emotion although not far developed as they will guard a mate's carcass from scavengers and hang around it for days not eating. It seems to understand its mate is dead as it never tries to awake them as it might do in each morning. Once a few days have passed it then seems to move on and resume life as it would have. They never look for another mate or accept a new one and once the last children leave simply keeps to itself.

Lone Allosaurs don't make social calls and instead just pounce prey or threats and fight ferociously. If overmatched or unable to win they will flee and return later instead. They will keep eyes on threats and try and attack while they are otherwise distracted, usually asleep.

Intra-Species Observations

Allosaurs are a clever bunch and are always dangerous to almost any creature in the right situation. To an Allosaurus each creature is put on the same spectrum of interaction. They either consider you prey, a threat, inconsequential, or dangerous.

Prey - usually anything living and smaller than an Allosaurs or larger animals that they have experience in taking down. Allosaurs are adapted to bringing down larger sauropod dinosaurs but only in groups. Humanoids that do not carry weapons fit in this category. It seems they've had enough run-ins that they are cautious of weapons. Prey are treated with respect for injury at all times. They will not press an attack if prey is able to injure them, they will harm prey and wait for the next opportunity. They are known to stalk a kill in progress for several days if needed. Allosaurs prefer quick kills and if a fight with food goes to long it will come back later. Unlike Tyrannosaurs they do not eat carrion; they always kill their prey and thus are hard to be baited.

Inconsequential - animals too small or too dangerous and unaggressive are ignored. They have no qualms showing themselves and ignoring such creatures. They will if hungry and other food sources are unavailable go after this group. Ankylosaurs are typically in this category as they are too dangerous to safely deal with. If threatened by an inconsequential, they will respond in kind, but avoid fighting unless they are starving. It is noted that if something becomes a potential target that was previously too dangerous they will not attack until the whole group is present.

Threat - This is a very dangerous category for any being to an Allosaurus. Humanoids with weapons are typically in this category. Allosaurs are more cautious with this group but far from less deadly. Instead of pouncing from the brush they will study a threat until found or they decide to reveal themselves. Observations indicate that parties seeing an Allosaur watching from the shadows are a very bad omen. They watch with patience for when to strike making a horrifying experience for all. This is also how other Allosaur packs or larger predators are treated. The typical tactic that they either reveal themselves or when found let out the intimidating roar. If the "threat" doesn't leave it watches from a safe distance, roaring again if any progress is made towards the creature. This is a stalling tactic meant to intimidate and confuse. The straight tail will flick from side to side eventually when it recognizes the family has arrived. They then surround the threat and if unseen pounce otherwise they go in for a coordinated attack. As with prey if the fight goes on for more than a few minutes they retreat. They will then stalk the threats striking at times when they deem threats vulnerable. It would seem to some that attacking during this initial phase before the family shows up is optimum but it is probably the worst decision. The Allosaur will retreat and refuse to engage and if chased will let out the distress cry while running. The worst part is that they only run as fast as their intruders letting the family catch up. This has caused the death of some large solitary predators.

Danger - This category is reserved for creatures that have bested Allosaurs in battle or truly intimidating creatures. Typically hydra and dragon fit in this category to an Allosaur. Dragons easily unsettled Allosaur as they seem susceptible to their fear aura. Hydra seemed too dangerous to even attempt with so many heads. Sometimes if a party ends up killing a member of the family the pack will treat the party as such. They keep an eye on a danger from a far distance but do not engage. They will simply run if pursued. If cornered they'll fight but distress barking the whole time. This has ended some creature’s lives but not often, as the whole pack will fight to save 1.

Variant Species

Allosaurs all variations act as above aside from costal Allosaurs. The differences are explained below.

Tropical Allosaurs - these Allosaurs are brightly colored with no feathers at all. The lush vegetation of the tropics is cover enough and the bright reds and yellows they appear could be mistaken for fruits in between the leaves.

Temperate Allosaurs - these Allosaurs are typically greens with brown feathers living in a temperate climate. With season changes they grow thin feather coats of brown feathers or lose the coats all together. It seems that this is a camouflage technique to blend in with the changing forests.

Polar Allosaurs - These Allosaurs have thick white feather coats year round. They have trouble hiding when not snowing so they tend to be more aggressive to catch prey. It is also noted that these Allosaurs typically are found sleeping most of the time huddled together and are only active during the warmest parts of the days. They also prefer cave dwellings for nests but sometimes in deep forest thickets.

Coastal Allosaurs - These are truly fascinating beings. They are far more docile then other variations and skin with brilliant teal and blue tops and while bottoms. This seems to be similar to sharks to confuse fish for camouflage. These Allosaurs regard most other creatures as inconsequentials and treat fish and sharks as prey. They wade into the ocean shallows staying very still. Then with incredible speed when fish become complacent and swim nearby snap there head down grabbing prey and sometimes with their arms. They make their nests on the beaches and protect them but not too aggressively. They'll warn creatures getting near the nest but otherwise ignore humanoids and other creatures. All Allosaur can fish but only coastal ones do it exclusively.

DM's Toolbox

Allosaurs despite being CR 2 in 5e could pose a challenge to any level of group. Their reliance on the pack makes them cunning like wolves and they can admit defeat. Here are some possible scenariosAs the quote farmers losing live stalk to an Allosaur pack, eradicate the dangerous predators before they start to find more reason to jump out of the wood.

A journey through Allosaurus territory that could change based on how the encounter goes

A lone Allosaur simply trying to avoid a kill crazy party

A frustrating fight for a high level party where they keep getting surprised and attacked but without the ability to retaliate effectively.

Dinosaur: Ankylosaur

BAH! Take your stinking war hogs and horses and go elsewhere! Ol' Rooter is sticken’ with me! - Dwarven Cavalryman when questioned for his... unconventional mount

Introduction

Ankylosaur are a large and rather docile herbivore. They unfortunately are not very bright. They have only a few goals in life and that's eat, stay alive, and eat. They will mate if it suits them but unlike most animals they are not social by a lot of means. They do take a liking to routine which makes them able to be trained as long as food is involved, otherwise they lose interest.

At first glance they seem to be very plodding and slow creatures much like turtles, but unlike turtles they can make for a trusty mount. Stubborn and sometimes moody it takes a certain kind of rider with the right care to make it effective.

Physiological Observations

At first glance it seems that an Ankylosaur is just a giant more lizard like turtle. This is not quite true as Ankylosaurs are not attached to their "Shell" and can move quickly when they care to, fair warning this is not often. They stand about 5 feet tall and can be up to 20 feet long. They have short squat wide heads that taper off in 2 small backwards facing horns. On their back is the large "shell" that extends all the way to the end of their tail. This is not like a turtle shell as it is a hard bony plated area that extends a few inches off the sides of its body. Think of it like a cobra's hood all the way down that's made of bony plates. The bones in these plates are hard yet spongier making them lighter than expected. The Ankylosaur shells make for good shields if forged correctly by skilled craftsmen. The end of the tail ends in a dangerous bulbous club of sorts. This is made of solid hard bone with no nerves as they do not hesitate to use it even on castle walls if it desires. Some variations have been seen with spikes of horn like material on the end of their tail also.

Their mouth is wide with a beak and flat teeth for eating and chewing soft vegetation. It seems that they are particularly fond of fruit but since it is rare on the forest floors they tend to stick to softer plants for their primary diet. They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing making them alert to many dangers before many other animals. They do not rely heavily on sight as they seem to not be very sight driven in actions. They can see but it seems to treat hearing and smell as humans would sight for their primary way of navigating the world around them.

Their legs are very unlike that of turtles in that the legs are upright and not out of the sides like a turtle. This can account for Ankylosaur despite awkwardly wobbly from side to side when running are deceptively quick for their pudgy looking nature. Ankylosaur can run up to 20 miles an hour and maintain a speed of 10 easily for longer traveling. While not nearly as effective as a horse for traveling it's certainly good at defending itself.

As for intelligence they are lacking in comparison to other animals. They are stubborn and stuck in their ways by the time of adulthood. If a new creature or situation is presented an Ankylosaur is wary and even at times aggressive if it finds something dangerous. They mostly run on instincts although Ankylosaur riders would argue that there's more intelligence than most give them credit for. It has been noted that "domesticated" ankylosaur will have an understanding and bond with a rider after much training but this seems to be the only complex relationship observed.

Ankylosaurs are not particularly vocal animals. They have grunts and calls but it only seems for rudimentary communication. It will call at an attacker with a low grating roar when on the offensive. It happily grunts when eating or content but no other noises have been heard.

Young Ankylosaurs are hatched with their shells and are just as sturdy. Although they start small they are fully capable upon hatching from their eggs. They immediately start searching for food once hatched. They grow up over a period of 10 years and live to be about 70.

Ankylosaur prefer the softer vegetation on forest floors and jungles and thus stick to those kinds of environments. They are not normally found in colder regions although given proper care as mounts can traverse such regions. Ankylosaur riders do have to keep their mounts warm just as much as themselves in these environments and they are just as susceptible to freeze to death as any humanoids.

Social Observations

Ankylosaur are inherently non-social animals. Even among their own kind they treat each other with indifference. They prefer a solitary life rooting around the jungle eating as they go. a life of simple eat, sleep and find more food seems to be the way of life from the onset.

Although normally alone socially other animals nearby normally don't agitate them. They've been found grazing with herds of other dinosaurs if the food is good enough. In rare occasions a group of ankylosaur can be found together but this is almost always coincidental. It may be multiple males finding a female in mating season but it seems to be a first come first serve situation. When it comes to mating season the female will give off a pheromone and eventually a male will head the call.

Nests are fairly well hidden with dirt and vegetation by a mother. She will lay between 10 and 12 eggs and lightly cover them for hiding. Her responsibility as a parent ends there. She will then wonder off back to a life of solitude. Young when hatching move off in the direction they see food. They are not competitive and mostly ignore each other.

Intra-Species Observations

Ankylosaurs are indifferent to most other creatures. They continue to feed walk or do whatever they were doing regardless. They aren’t easily startled either which leads some to believe they are oblivious to their presence. The truth is that an Ankylosaur normally is well aware of what’s around it thanks to scent and hearing. They simply most of the time don’t care.

When dangerous predators are near they are a little more cautious. Anything considered an enemy should be wary of an angry Ankylosaur. They face their enemies calling with low grumbling roars. The slant there bodies front down exposing mostly their shelled back and waive their tail menacingly in the air. Larger predators typically are the only thing that immediately causes this behavior. It’s unfortunate that the Ankylosaur doesn’t handle multiple enemies well as it’s exposed to anything behind it. This can be its down fall in many of confrontations. If the Ankylosaur is approached while angry it will put the club to swift use.

The club is hard enough to snap a Tyrannosaur leg in 2 or crush the skulls of raptors. They will swipe at enemies behind them but ultimately face the largest threat. A downfall aside from the inability to effectively react to multiple foes is also that they rarely run. They will stand their ground no matter the adversary. This can be useful to riders or cause serious issues, especially in groups.

While their interactions with humanoids in the wild have been far from interactions it is possible to train an ankylosaur as a mount. The ankylosaur needs to be raised from hatching or very soon after by the intended rider. This takes a great deal of patience by the rider and a lot of work. They will learn much as any other animal using food as an indication of good behavior. Due to their thick hide unlike horses they are unable to be “spurred” or physically indicated for behavior. All commands need to be verbal and by the rider. They are only attached to 1 being making them not usable by others. They will bear strangers as riders but will only obey the trainer. It has been noted that it is NEVER advised to use physical punishment on an Ankylosaur. Regardless of who or what it is, attacking an Ankylosaur will result in injury or death. They will fight and most of the time they will win.

Riding an ankylosaur is far from a comfortable one with their backs being wide and hard. Saddles can be strapped to the animal. The movement jostles the rider side to side and the hard shell shifts left to right. Dwarves seem to be the only races that enjoy such a ride as other races are more akin to the grace of horses or such. It is helpful that an Ankylosaur is just as dangerous as its rider to would be aggressors.

Variant Species

Below are variant species of Ankylosaur:

Forest Ankylosaur – These are the most common and what the variant the article speaks of

Mountain Ankylosaur – These Ankylosaur are smaller than their forested cousins with longer legs. They are excellent climbers and feed off of vegetation most others won’t reach high on a mountain. They have the unique ability to curl up in a ball to safely fall if they slip. It has also been observed with will bowl down an aggressor if it has the high ground by rolling into them.

Domesticated Ankylosaur – These ankylosaur are good at protecting herds or live stalk from would be predators. While they don’t actively care for the livestock they are very aggressive towards would be predators and keep the herd/flock safe. These are virtually identical to Forest Ankylosaur aside from usually being bred for more dangerous tail clubs or even spikes.

DM’s Toolbox

Ankylosaur are a good creature for mounts if done correctly as they can create some interesting moments for their stubbornness. Here are some possible scenarios:

Confrontation where a mounted Ankylosaur won’t back down from a fight with an over matched foe like a dragon?

Aggressive old Ankylosaur that doesn’t like people as it learned the hard way not to trust humanoids

Maybe RPing the budding relationship between rider and mount

hunting a population for good armors and materials made out of the durable back plates.

Dinosaur: Deinonychus

"These beasts are unlike any creature I've seen. They are swift as a deer but strong as a lion. When I look into their eyes, I see them thinking...reasoning." - M'ul Doon, Jungle Huntsman

Introduction

Dinosaurs are fearsome beasts that come in all shapes and sizes. Deinonychus is one such creature. Among the smartest of its kind Deinonychus is a deadly pack hunter, relying on its speed, strength, and coordination to bring down large prey.

Physiological Observations

Deinonychus is a medium sized dinosaur, growing upwards of 11ft from nose to tail, and weighing roughly 220lbs. They possess scaly bodies ranging from green to brown to dull greys. There is also a light concentration of feathers around the limbs and head.

Deinonychus is most famed for its sickle like claw on its foot. Used to rend prey this weapon is a natural compliment to its impressive leaping abilities. The creature's skull is narrow and triangular, lined with rows of small razor sharp teeth.

Despite being clearly a reptile, Deinonychus is warm blooded. Their hearts are four chambered and they display a level of activeness not seen in other cold blooded creatures. They are still limited to tropical climates given their lack of body hair or thick fat deposits though.

Social Observations

Deinonychus is a pack hunter, similar to wolves or lions. They operate in groups usually numbering 3-6 adults and a nest's worth of adolescents or hatchlings.

Packs are ruled by a single dominant member, the Alpha, who may be either sex. The pack will adopt matriarchal or patriarchal hierarchy depending on the leader. Rivals challenge the Alpha in single combat and losers are exiled. Those Deinonychus in exile tend to die from wounds, but are known to survive and usurp other packs or reclaim their own.

Behaviorial Observations

Deinonychus calls home to primarily jungle environments. Thick vegetation helps camouflage their members as they stalk prey, and their impressive agility gives them mobility in the dense undergrowth. Packs will occasionally live within savanna like regions, so long as there is sufficient tall grass or other such cover to obscure their movements.

Deinonychus packs control large territories, and scout the outskirts of their realm for potential threats. A series of calls and vocalizations are used to alert the rest of the pack to the severity of threats.

Breeding rites belong solely to the Alpha, with egg clutches of usurped claimants being destroyed and hatchlings cannibalized. Eggs are guarded collectively by young females and hatchlings are quick to learn lest they be abandoned by their pack.

Inter-Species Observations

Deinonychus are almost unrivaled in their jungle domains. They consider any creature smaller potential prey, and anything larger a potential threat. A lone adult can easily match more common predators like panthers and jaguars. A full pack can bring down much larger prey.

Deinonychus holds no particular regard for humanoids. They respect numbers though, so large enough groups will simply be avoided. They speak no language and while cunning, and not sapient creatures.

It has long been theorized that much like wolves, by using their pack instinct and hierarchal behavior, one could train or even domesticate Deinonychus. Few have tried, as capture proves a daunting enough task. Tales of jungle dwelling druids riding Deinonychus mounts have been heard in exotic ports.

DM's Toolkit

Dinosaurs as a whole provide "exotic" flavor to a region. They are good for creating a brave new world type setting or making a landmass feel truly wild.

Deinonychus are good encounters for mid level parties traveling the jungle. They attack fast and without warning, have large bonuses to spot and hide, and are not mindless. They ambush and retreat, call for reinforcement and attempt to flank are target weak individuals. Played smartly they can bring fear to an ill prepared teams.

There are no official stat blocks for Deinonychus in 5e as of yet, but several homebrew alternatively. In older versions they are usually included in the Monster Manual. Adults are medium, hatchlings are small, and an Alpha can be scaled up to large to pose greater threat.

Dinosaur: Plesiosaur

It was never the sharks or the pirates that scared me in my sea faring career. It was the disappearances. One day one of my boys was just leaning on the rail looking at the water, and then he was gone. - Ex-Captain of a pirate hunting vessel.

Introduction

Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles that have no discrimination on food. They are very dangerous when hungry and sometimes due to their size they'll always be hungry. They are powerful swimmers and surprisingly quiet ones. They are extremely dangerous to humanoids that are unfamiliar with the sea and are the cause of many sea voyages returning with fewer crew.

It is very likely that these were once land creatures as they are able to "walk" on the beaches. They are slower and less fierce on land probably resting for the night. That doesn't make them easy prey or targets as many have been observed suffering grim fates thinking a plesiosaur was beached and helpless like a whale.

Physiological Observations

Plesiosaurs are a varied group of animals. They share a lot of the same traits aside from their heads and necks. Each species is easily identified by the differences and is further detailed in the variants.

All plesiosaur have 4 flippers and a tail. The tail is usually small and seemingly vestigial aside from the wide jaw variety who use their massive tails for propulsion. Their bodies are made of a coat of smooth and sleek scales giving them the sleekness needed for speed in the water. Most varieties have a long neck that ends in a teeth filled head that's to be avoided. Without their flippers their bodies resemble large long tear drops. The front of the chest and back where most of the organs are contained is much larger than the small tail and hind quarters.

The flippers are very close to a paddle from a boat. They swim but “rowing” through the water with each paddle independent from the other. This movement is very fast and fluid making them very quiet swimmers. This makes them extremely effective hunters as they can surprise a school of fish and if they still are found out can outswim and maneuver any of them. Turning is quick and sharp with every paddle independently moving.

A clue that they were once land dwellers is that they are air breathers. Observations record plesiosaurs holding their breath up to an hour at a time. Breathing seems to be controlled exclusively through the nose holes facing upwards just in-front of the eyes. They seem to stay near the surface of the coastal regions they inhabit with their heads up in the air scanning for prey. When they find prey the quietly slip under the surface and dive. They’ll dive out of sight of the fish and then strike from below. They will then chase after the remaining fish eating until they’re full.

After most the day in the water, Plesiosaurs return to the beaches to sleep. They crawl up onto dry sand with flippers and lay their heads down falling asleep. They are dangerous to many animals in the area so many do not bother to go near them. If awoken before they intend they instinctually lunge at the source of the disturbance. This seems to be why they seem to sleep out of reach of each other. A few incidents have been observed of accidental attacking but rarely are the wounds serious or result in retaliation.

While primarily fish eaters Plesiosaurs will grab anything they can. They’ve been seen snatching birds from the sky and crew off of ships. Their ability to be quiet makes them very hard to notice when they are close. Observers who have seen crew member be taken from ships report a snake like head emerging from the water with no sound. The plesiosaur will peak its head over the railing looking for food. They are not aggressive about it but snatch anyone close enough. It is noted that they prefer to eat things whole so gnomes and halflings seem to be favored over larger humanoids but they will grab something up to 10 feet tall. If they meet resistance as in attackers striking them they’ll leave for a time. They then will check back after some time and prioritize individuals they deemed as threats and throw them from the ship.

If prey is too large to swallow they will grab a victim and swim a few feet below the surface. This is usually the case when grabbing larger birds or pteradons. They bite with their needle like teeth grasping prey and attempting to rip the prey apart. They bite off chunks eating them whole as they go. It seems that they are not able to chew.

They are not particularly fond of confrontations or fights but they do have means in which to fight. Typically this is seen when on land as they are too slow to simply run and risk injury. They lunge like a snake with their heads almost opening to 150 degree angles. They will bite and grasp enemies attempting to trip or throw them. Most humanoids unfortunate enough are tossed into the water where the Plesiosaur has the advantage and they will then slide off into the water to end the fight with their superior water maneuverability.

Social Observations

Plesiosaurs live in pods of 4 to 10 members. They all hunt independently but close by. They are not entirely coordinated when attacking prey or ships. They will follow the first member to notice in hopes to also find food. This is not to be said they don’t interact. They will stick close together and when larger prey is involved they do take bites and leave for other members to take a bite. Even if prey is killed they will still just take a bite and leave. This seems to allow the whole pod to feed without fighting over food.

They are not patient hunters so the first pop member to notice a meal usually immediately leaves for the target. The others will then follow but keep distance of at least 10 feet from each other as to not cause collisions. When fighting underwater or as a group this behavior is also followed. They seem to be a group of individuals biting from various angles. This is very deadly to most aggressors although without any coordination smarter foes usually know to dispatch of Plesiosaur one by one.

In a pod there are a mix of males and females. Mating occurs frequently and often between feedings. There is no preference of partners. It seems that they are not very fertile and only produce young once or twice every 5 years despite mating all year round. Even when a female has a calf mating is accepted and occurs very often. Pregnancy seems to not burden a female in any way. She will not accept mating at this time and will simply swim away from male advances. They seem to round out their shape a bit more towards the end of their body. At later stages of pregnancy the tear drop shape becomes more and more oval shaped with a tail. Luckily pregnancy is not long only a matter of 5 or so months.

Females give live birth underwater usually mid-day. The young just like their parents are predators and while disoriented at first quickly learn the ropes of swimming. They keep close to the mother all the way until adults. They simply just follow the mother and either eat scraps or learn to fish along-side her. Once full grown they stay part of the pod but act independently.

Plesiosaurs seem to live around 20 to 30 years and stay in the same hunting grounds most of their life. Prey may be abundant of one kind or another but since they are not picky eaters as long as there is anything edible it will stay in an area. Pods will move in roaming for more food on the water and can move over time great distances. This can cause pods to intersect sometimes. Pods will then just merge as they seem to favor safety in numbers.

Larger pods occur but not often. They act no differently but since food is consumed at a higher rate availability becomes more of an issue. Larger groups run the risk of members starving. Pod members still act individually and if starving members continue to miss food opportunities they do eventually die. Larger pods normally don’t stay large for many years as member start to die off.

Intra-Species Observations

Smaller animals, including humanoids, are prey to Plesiosaur. They seem to recognize ships as sources of prey and know to look on deck for easy to grab members. Observers will see a pod of plesiosaur in the distance with necks out of the water one second and then nothing the next. Experienced captains and sailors know to either go below deck or get your weapons ready. Of course that’s when crew is lucky enough to spot them first.

In some areas more often traveled plesiosaur will start to become more of an issue. Sailors will sometimes mark locations on maps indicating plesiosaurs there. Sometimes stories are exaggerated coming up with great serpents that crash ships. Sometimes as described below this is not far off.

Larger creatures are typically ignored as since they think as individuals they do not expect to win a fight despite numbers.

Typically if a fight or larger prey is being killed a lot of blood will permeate the water around them. This brings on their most hated enemies, sharks. They are familiar with sharks and compete with them for food often. Most plesiosaur will attack sharks on site, even if they are outmatched. This has led to survivors of plesiosaur attacks describing violent battles between hated enemies that allowed them to escape a previously hopeless situation. Larger sharks like megaladon who are simply massive are even attacked.

When sharks are spotted, plesiosaurs forgo stealth for aggression. Smaller sharks are wholly overmatched for an enraged pod and are torn to shreds quickly. Fights with megalodon and great whites take longer but most of the time the pod is victorious as the sharks are not actively hunted by most anything and don’t react quick enough. Whale sharks are not attacked as they are considered whales to a Plesiosaur.

Variant Species

Below are the variants for Plesiosaurs.

Long Necks – these are the most common and mostly described above. They are typically 30 to 40 feet long with a third to half of that length being their neck. This allows them to superior reach with their weapons or teeth as we call them. They favor warm coastal regions. They are usually teal, blue or green.

Wide Jaws – These are terrifying variants that are thankfully usually solitary. Growing up to 80 feet long with wide crocodilian like heads full of sharp teeth. Some have been called mosasaurs, they are quite similar to behavior as their long neck cousins aside from usually being solitaire. Mating occurs on every meeting of a male and female but they continue on their own ways afterwards. These have been the cause of capsizing ships as they favor larger prey like whales and mistake ships for whales. They also are entirely water dwelling as beaching is a much more fatal endeavor to them. They will sleep floating on the surface using special air sacs. They also hold their breath for up to 3 hours. Their tails are large and paddled to help propel them in the water unlike other Plesiosaurs. They are more often in open seas away from coasts and in warmer climates. These are normally light blue in color with white bottoms.

Polar Plesiosaurs – these are very similar to long necks but always have dark black skin to absorb as much heat as possible. They have a specialized chemical that super heats a water jet they can spray at prey and attackers. They usually use this to drill breathing holes in the ice. They still beach themselves to sleep and do not have the snapping instinct. They huddle together for warmth. They are still wet so a thin coat of ice covers them but they can breathe by the warm air coming from their nostrils close to the super-heated spray vent on top of their head. It’s been noted this super-heated chemical is close to that of a polar worm or remorhaz. They are less familiar with ships as the climate normally doesn’t allow for ships and avoid them if around.

DM’s Toolbox

Plesiosaurs are something fun for a water or costal adventure to mix up a campaign. Dinosaurs are typically seen as a setting on their own but they can be integrated into any campaign. Here’s a few sample encounters below to jog your imagination:

Long sea voyage, lookout on the crow’s nest spots weird poles in the distance that disappear. Then suddenly, the cabin boy disappears moments later.

Deadly encounter in the water with a wide jaw who’s mistakenly capsized your ship

A fun tip toe through the beach and a pod of sleeping long necks

Polar adventure with a weird frozen breathing mass of black creatures.

Dinosaur: Pteranodon

The town council didn’t pay heed to the druids who warned us about the reduced amount of seagulls. They advised we double up on crossbowmen on the walls because of less seagulls! We were glad that there were less of those pests around! - Mayor of Seaside Town

Introduction

Pteranodon is a general term for many flying dinosaurs. They are characterized for their enormous beaks, leather almost bat-like wings, and their interesting head crests. Each type of Pteranodon is a veracious carnivore patrolling for food. They are more than just pests to communities they are dangers to the inhabitants. Druids have troubles finding balance when such a dominant carnivore takes roost in the area.

It’s theorized they are the first fliers to exist. While they have mastered and rule the skies they inhabit they are not as agile in flight as many birds but then again birds are normally not as dangerous as a Pteranodon to every-thing around them. They are powerful fliers able to take off from a standing position and carry prey considerably heavier than themselves they are not agile. Grace is left to the birds as some experts say.

Physiological Observations

Pteranodon are bird like reptiles. With large heavily muscled forearms with spans of leathery skin in-between fingers and joints forming wings. Their back legs are small and they all have a long tail. Their necks are fairly long and end in seemingly oversized heads. A Pteranodon beak can be up to half of its body length (or height when standing). The beak is long, straight, and narrow. Extending from the back of their head is a crest that varies depending on the specie.

Pteranodon hunt by flying over prey and grabbing with their long beaks and returning into the air. They have large eyes with rotating cornea that can “zoom” in on prey. They can either grab prey with their beak or will pick up larger prey with their back legs and fly into the air. Observations have indicated that larger species can pick up children with ease and even some adult humanoids. They are daily hunters eating only 1 meal a day but will likely hunt 2 to 3 times as to bring food home to squawking young.

Pteranodon have low sounding rolling calls. This is similar to how some humans roll their tongues to speak. They can be very loud with their rolling squawks. They normally call out to inform others of the community of a large amount of food sources if found. Other times it just seems they want to startle prey just before they swoop in, making them easier to catch from not moving.

Flight is a very slow and almost clumsy looking affair for Pteranodon. They flap their large wings with great power until they reach their desired flying height. They will then glide on currents conserving energy. They are amazingly strong and can carry seemingly impossible weights while flying. They are unable to do complicated maneuvers such as rolls or spins like many birds. Fighting in air is almost impossible for a Pteranodon. Their tails usually long and ending in a almost symmetrical leaf like shape are used as rudders to helping steering while flying.

On land they stand on all 4 legs and lift their necks upwards. Their head will then be at a 45 degree angle to their bodies as they walk on their “hands” and feet. This stance is similar in posture to that of a giraffe. Their crest is usually pointing up and their beaks slightly down. This is the normal head position in flight also. They are slow on land as their wings are very large and awkward to walk on while their back legs are very short. They are dangerous while on land using their powerful wings as weapons and their beaks as usual to tear attackers apart.

Their wings are made of the tough leathery tissue that runs from the tip of their last finger and connecting each finger to the side of the body. The wings end at the angle of their back leg running down the whole length (or height) from shoulder to feet. The wing span can be up to 4 times as wide as the height of Pteranodon. For instance if a specimen is 4 feet from legs extended to shoulder, it’s likely to have a 16 foot wing span.

Master leather workers can make leather goods from Pteranodon wing membranes. The leather is very thick and useful for many things such as armor. It helps that as it is thick it is flexible for use in in flight. This makes the leather highly valued for its rarity and strength.

Take-off from ground is a feat of impressive strength to those familiar with flight. While lots of fliers take a running head start a Pteranodon will take off from where they stand. They will launch themselves using all 4 legs to jump straight up in the air and then spread their wings and flap to lift themselves higher and higher. This is usually at a more forward angle with their back’s facing the wind as to expend less energy.

Males and Females are slightly different with male’s being slightly larger and more colorful as to attract mates. Each species is further detailed in coloration in the variants section.

Pteranodon are found all over the world even in colder regions but usually during summer months. Most species migrate like many birds to favorable weather.

Social Observations

Pteranodon are mated pairs across all species. They nest with both male and female hunting until a clutch of eggs are laid. They mate for life producing up to 10 clutches of 4 to 8 eggs every year. They will do this for their whole adult life even into an older age, which they can live to be up to 20 years old. Reaching adult hood like most birds only takes 1 season or year.

They are not solitary pairs and they live in communities or flocks. They will be massive in size of community with dozens of pairs sometimes reaching well into 100 or so. This can vary from specie but the most common Pterodactyl are coastal fishers with large amounts of food can support huge flocks.

Although it seems like they will have increasing population very quickly typically only 1 or 2 young survive the first season. It is extremely competitive between young in the nest as the mother and father let the young sort out amongst themselves who gets the food brought to them. Most of the time a single dominant chick will survive, other times 2 will survive although will compete until leaving the nest and hunting for their own.

Once they reach adult hood they go looking for a mate in the flock for a suitable match. The males show off their bright crests and colors to the females in hopes to impress them. If a female accepts they will stay together until death. The male displays by landing in front of a ground female and shaking his head vigorously to display the prominent crest and colors. A female will accept by returning the display after waiting for time to decide or simply reject by flying away. Occasionally it will take time mates to be found and singles will build their own nests on the outskirts of the flock until a mate is found. If a mate is killed or dies they start the mating process all over again although it’s harder for older males to attract females as their colors start to dim with age.

Other flocks if ran into are simply ignored as Pteranodon are normally only concerned for food and if there’s not enough to go around a flock will simply leave.

Intra- Species Observations

Pteranodon are not very aggressive creatures only attacking what they could consider prey or something disturbing their nests. They are a menace to sea towns they decide to take roost near as they will pick up children and smaller adults as food. Eventually if enough are killed they will leave a nearby town alone fearing injury or death. Although they will try again next season and have to re-learn their lesson.

They are at odds with many types of birds. Seagulls of the coasts, and other birds where ever they live. They unfortunately take up the same niche in the environment and end up driving out competitors simply by numbers. They normally don’t have direct confrontations unless competition decides to make that move themselves.

While they normally don’t fight larger animals they will if their nests are in danger. They do this by landing on the attackers and pecking at them with their sharp beaks. Larger specimen have been observed driving off bears from their nests by landing on their backs and pecking until the bear was injured enough to leave. If something is small enough to be picked up they will do so and then drop them from great heights.

If a larger scale assault occurs and too many nests have been destroyed, for example humanoid communities eradicating them, they will move on to other safer locations. Their memory is not long as they have been known to return to the same abandoned site if they chose next season despite the losses.

Variant Species

Described below are the various kinds of Pteranodon that can be found:

Pterodactyl – This is the kind mostly described above. They live in coastal regions preferring fish as prey. They are up to 6 feet (tall) with 24 foot wingspans. They will try and eat humanoids small enough although they still prefer fish. The males are teals and blacks, while the females are duller blue and browns. The male’s crests and heads are bright reds and blacks. Crests are like a knobbed horn extending from the back of the head straight out for half of the beak length, for both males and females. Flocks will typically be between 50 and 80 pairs.

Rhodaran – These are much smaller variations that live in forests. They are only 1 feet tall or less with average 4 foot wingspans. They primarily glide from tree to tree snatching insects out of the air with their pointed teeth. Their favorite prey seem to be dragon flies so they are especially fond of forests with bodies of water concealed in their midst. Being insectivores they are rarely concerned with humanoids and only attack if bothered. They do migrate in colder regions to warmer areas during the summer months but not as large of a migration as pterodactyl. Flocks will have 200 pairs at most and little as 100. Rhodaran males are darker green in coloration, with females being a light brown. The crests are similar to a pterodactyl but curled up and the end, almost hook like. Male crests are a brilliant lime green with yellow markings.

Quetzalcoatlus – These are very dangerous and enormous variations. They are anywhere between 16 and 20 feet tall when on ground and can have wingspans stretching up to 70 feet with a slightly smaller wingspan ratio. This makes them quite the opposing figure as they can be as tall as a giraffe on all 4 legs. They are usually not in a flock instead they are more solitary with 1 pair. They live on mountain tops and consider their territory for up to 50 miles. They have been seen picking up livestock, deer, or other animals and carrying them away. Roc’s are in direct confrontation with these massive Pteranodon. Quetzalcoatlus will usually swoop down from great heights and carry off prey to be eaten at the nest. They are dangerous as they can consider many things food due to their size. Quetzalcoatlus are dangerous fighters that will land on their enemies and tear at their skin with their beaks. If this fails they will bludgeon foes with their wings much like a duck will. Roc and Quetzalcoatlus fights are usually initiated by Quetzalcoatlus by diving onto a roc’s back. Rocs are superior fliers if they survive the first assault they can recover and win a fight but often do not survive the initial assault. Males are usually bright colors of reds and yellows with females being a duller brick red or dark orange. Both males and females have lighter colored chests as to obscure their presence to land dwellers. The crests are large wedges like that a Mohawk. The male’s crests are slightly larger and brilliant blue with yellow and red marks.

DM’s Toolbox

This guide assumes an integrated world of dinosaurs and regular monsters. In this case Pteranodon are a far rarer occurrence than that of what would usually inhabit their habitats. Below are some ideas for using Pteranodon in your campaign.

A large flock of Pterodactyl has taken over the cliffs near a town driving the seagull population away. Children have started to go missing

Rhodaran are fleeing the forests inciting stories of clouds devilish bats to nearby villages. What could be driving them off?

A dwarven kingdom under the mountain has stopped trading for fear of confronting the new mountain residents the Quetzalcoatlus.

A craftsmen looking to make better leather employs adventurers to harvest Pteranodon leather, none have returned thus far.

Dinosaur: Triceratops

Hornbeast are strong, stronger than horse, stronger than elephant, stronger than enemy! - Warchief Ghazgul on his Triceratops riders

Introduction

Dinosaurs are an ancient race of creatures native to the Material Plane. They are as diverse as they are ancient, coming in all shapes and sizes from as small as a chicken to as large as a dragon. Triceratops is among the larger dinosaurs, a peaceful grazing herbivore, but a deadly combatant when provoked.

Physiological Observations

Triceratops are among the most physically impressive dinosaurs. Adults reaching an average of 20 feet long and weighing as much as ten tons. This pushes them far beyond the size of other large animals such as Elephants and even Mammoths. Size is only one important feature though. The Triceratops is famed for its three large facial horns, which grow with age but are prone to breaking off in battle. Its massive skull tapers into a boney crest that protects the animal's neck from attacks. The creature's tail is also considered very dangerous, and although not designed as a weapon it can strike hard enough to break bones and easily knock humanoids off their feet. Thick powerful legs and wide squat feet support a triceratop's great weight, but also give it the strength and speed needed to make deadly charges. There is very little about the Triceratops that does not invoke power and strength.

Social Observations

Triceratops are herding animals, as are the majority of four legged dinosaurs. They live in familial units that can be anywhere from five to fifty individuals depending on the region and the availability of food. Both male and female sexes will exist within a herd, although males will compete for status and dominance amongst each other. Males become extremely aggressive during mating season, going into a rutting phase. During this time they become much more solitary, only rejoining the herd to attempt to breed or secure breeding rights. Mating rites consist of lengthy battles between rivals, locking horns in contests of strength to prove dominance. Females lay clusters of 6-8 eggs that take upwards of half a year to fully develop. Herds will migrate to nesting areas where pregnant females will construct nest clusters in protected regions near ample food and water. The Herd will experience little mobility during this time and males to seek other herds if food begins to become scarce.

Behaviorial Observations

When the God's made this creature they invoked some small mercy upon the rest of us. The triceratops is a herbivore, content to spend its days grazing on low growing shrubs and other vegetation. And indeed it does, spending over 12 hours a day simply feeding in order to sustain its great size. Water is also of great concern, and herds will not wander more than a few days travel from reliable sources of water.

When threatened adults will roar and bellow to alert the rest of the herd and to intimidate potential threats, rearing up and pawing the ground to signal their intent to charge. Adults may mock charge if the aggressor creature is much smaller than the triceratops. In the event of a significant threat such as a Tyrannosaurus or a Dragon the herd will form a defensive ring around their young, using a wall of horns to give their opponent no opportunity to attack. If this ring is broken the animals tend to panic and break formation, leaving the attacked to their fate while the herd retreats to regroup.

Inter-Species Observations

Triceratops and humanoids generally share an uneasy coexistence. The animals tend to only live in savannas and grasslands, or other suitable tropical climates, and they have little interaction with major civilizations. They are exceptionally difficult to tame and domesticate, making them less appealing than elephants for beasts of burden. However, it is not unheard of, and very brave or very foolish individuals have been able to tame and even ride these animals. Their natural armor and weapons combined with their great size makes them truly formidable on the battlefield, as does the ability to provoke them into a charge.

Triceratops have few natural predators, and their young are only vulnerable to creatures such as lions and hyenas for the first year or so of life. By the time they reach adolescence a triceratops is usually the dominant animal in the region. However, their great size does make them appealing targets to the highest class of predators. Tyrannosaurs is an age old rival, preying on the old and sick, but is a manageable foe. Rocs and Dragons however are a danger these creatures have little ability to counter. Both strike from the skies and are massive enough to carry off even some adults, and Dragons are particularly dangerous given their breath weapons.

DM's Toolkit

Triceratops are fun monsters, being a good way to introduce a more "wild" region. They can make for supreme mounts for players at high levels, and overall are a fun creature to replace animals like war elephants when the setting calls for it. Overall its hard not to place Triceratops into any tropical setting, but they hold little place in more northernly climates.

Dinosaur: Tyrannosaurus Rex

The great ones! All who believe themselves powerful need only to gaze upon them and know folly. For no creature aside from dragons can match their strength, speed, and cunning! - Lizard Folk shaman referring to the revered Tyrannosaurus

Introduction

Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex for short is a massive bipedal lizard like animal. They are ferocious carnivores and dangerous to all creatures, even dragons if caught unaware. These gargantuan predators roam their territories protecting their claim and devouring food when it pleases them. King of lizards is an apt name.

Their enormous size and power give many ecologists pause when considering the similarities to dragons. The groups of lizards, known as dinosaurs, have always been classified as distinctly different from dragons. Now that seems to be an incorrect observation when looking upon a T-rex. It is possible that in the early times Dinosaurs were the predecessors to the Dragon kind and even Hydra as all seem to be familiar in sorts. It is uncertain and no dragon would admit such a base claim in their eyes.

Physiological Observations

A T-Rex stands on two long legs at center of mass to their large 40 foot long bodies. They have massive heads resembling a hornless dragon and rows of sharp very large teeth. They stand with their heads and bodies parallel to the ground at around 18 feet tall. They are powerfully strong monstrosities with thick muscled jaws, powerful necks, strong fast legs, and powerful thick and dangerous tails.

The large head of a T-Rex has forward facing eyes that while look small in proportion to the head are excellent for depth perception. They are very perceptive when it comes to sight and smell. Able to see somewhere between that of an elf or a human and ability in smell can rival that of a hound. Their massive jaws sport up to 6 inch long teeth all made for tearing large chunks of flesh. Their ability to smell is probably the most impressive. They can track older than week old trails simply by smell alone. Escape from a T-Rex seems only temporary.

Their powerful necks give them incredible strength even for a creature their size and able to carry multiple tons in their mouths with ease. They have very small yet powerful arms just past the base of the neck. While the arms seem vestigial they are used often in grasping prey or mates. Their hook-like claws are hard to extract and their small size makes the arms incredibly strong and efficient at holding fast.

While very large creatures they are incredibly fast. Able to run as fast as any horse chasing down prey or enemies with surprising speed is well within their capabilities. Their tails are mostly used as a counter balance and while flexible extend straight outwards from the hind quarters and only drooping down at the very end. When not used for balance they can make a devastating swipe able to level buildings. Both legs and tail are incredibly strong making a T-Rex dangerous from all directions not just in the reach of their maw.

A T-Rex is a violent carnivore that eats large chunks or whole creatures. They can bite and swallow a human sized creature with relative ease. Any larger creatures they pin with one leg and pull large portions of meat off with their clamping jaws. The site is gruesome to behold. Reports of starving T-Rex subsisting off of carrion exist but it seems they are more than capable of hunting and only doing so in desperation. Any amounts of bone or materials too hard to be digested are regurgitated much like an owl pellet hours later. Well-fed T-Rex territories are marked by occasional piles of bones teeth and even weapons and armors.

When hunting they sniff out prey and follow the tracks to their intended target. Often good enough they can trot until their destination is revealed. Once prey is spotted they work hard to get as close as possible without alerting to their presence. They hunch down on their bellies and softly crawl on all 4 until they explode into a leap running full speed at their target. If discovered they will also explode into a run at their prey. Usually they can outrun their prey and easily catch them but the least amount of energy spent possible the better.

They need to eat a lot to satisfy their hunger but they only need to eat 1 time a week. They will eat up to 2 tons of food if they can manage thus preferring larger prey. They can subsist off of smaller prey but it requires more work and more often.

They mostly inhabit hilly moderately warm climates with open spaces for running down prey. They tend to nest in copses of trees in the open rolling hills for cover. A territory of a T-Rex is usually in a 20 mile radius giving a lot of room for prey to live with never seeing their domain’s king. This not only allows for an ample amount of food for a T-Rex but also doesn’t inspire every living creature to run from a new T-Rex territory either.

T-Rex while are clever in decision making during battle are not overly intelligent creatures. They are as intelligent as any lion or other large beast and can be outsmarted given the preparation. They have few tactics outside of ambush and slight herding into favorable terrains when chasing a target. They pursue with abandon and fight to the death. Unfortunately for most inexperienced humanoids to the death is usually in favor of the Tyrannosaurus.

Social Observations

Tyrannosaurus is usually a solitary hunter. They are not in need of allies or protection often being the top carnivore in their territory. They hold their territories for many miles and border disputes can be vicious as the instinct to keep a plentiful amount of food is very great.

Females are stationary in their established territories through adulthood unless supplanted by a rival or catastrophe. They prowl in search of food and to protect their borders. Overlapping can occur but only by coincidence as the territories are so large that rivals may not encounter each other for a very long time.

Males are nomadic by nature in comparison. They hunt on the go and sleep where they can. Smaller than females but not by much and more brightly colored, especially their heads, indicate them as male to any potential mate. Males roam the lands looking for females to procreate with. If a female is receptive she will allow a male’s advances into her territory if not she’ll chase him off with a frightening display of aggression.

Males gingerly approach a receptive female emitting low grating hums and growls. Receptive is a kind word to a female for if unbothered will simply accept his presence almost ignoring him. He will then mate with her when she crouches down and he’s close enough.

During a span of many months the male will benefit from the territory as they continue to mate until eggs are produced. He will then hunt the territory and share spoils with the female as she guards the eggs. Once the eggs hatch the male simply leaves to find another territory.

A clutch of T-rex can be between 2 and 4 eggs usually only 2 viable eggs are produced. Young are raised to adulthood in a short 3 years by their mother. At this time she chases them away from her territory and she resumes life as if nothing had occurred. During the time of raising them they will hunt together and herd prey into each other. Mother will usually be waiting for an ambush while the younger playful children chase prey with abandon to their mother’s position.

T-Rex can live up to 30 years and producing children every 5 or so. It’s unfortunate that of a clutch usually only 1 will survive to adulthood and it’s not a guarantee. Without the full strength they enjoy as an adult prey are not as easily obtained and they are less able to fight dangers. T-Rex populations rarely explode and naturally keep at a constant rate in a habitat for these reasons. They are susceptible to decline more than other apex predators of an environment unfortunately.

Intra-Species Observations

T-Rex are simple predators that eat when hungry and ignore animals when not. They like to make themselves ever present to herds of animals just on the horizon making animals lull into complacency in their presence. They regard most living creatures when hungry as food, even larger then themselves. If they are not hungry and not being provoked they are as docile as a contented house cat. T-Rex are unused to being challenged for dominance by other creatures and treat them all the same, food when hungry and background when not.

As more than capable fighters of larger creatures they favor bludgeoning with their tales to knock foes off balance and go for a devastating kill by tearing out huge swaths of flesh. Cocky unaware dragons have been decapitated underestimating a hungry Rex. When fighting smaller creatures they sweep with their tails and snatch up prone victims in their jaws to be devoured. When they fight they are very vocal and loud. Their roars rival that of any dragons and they will do so with every opportunity. This seems to be a defense mechanism to make as much noise as possible in an attempt to intimidate an attacker into running. If they run a T-Rex will catch them.

When attacked or fighting for reasons outside of food they still eat their foe probably as sign of dominance. They will not totally devour the opponent but will eat things like the head arms and legs stripping weapons and other perceived valued appendages away. Odd behavior for creatures with little intelligence outside of battle.

Variants

There are different kinds of Tyrannosaurs roaming the lands and each is dangerous and to be avoided.

Tyrannosaurus Majorus - This is the T-Rex described above. They range from dark greens and browns to soft yellows in color. They typically look much like the main color of vegetation in the fields for better sneaking up on prey. They prefer plains and hills with small outlooks of trees. The male’s heads will appear a softer blue in contrast to the rest of the body.

Tyrannosaurus Sauronious - This is a dangerous variant of T-Rex that inhabit more tropical regions of the world. They are never docile as they never cease in hunger. They roam the tropics stripping prey as they go. These variants typically run in mated pairs as both sexes are always on the hunt for food. They are bright yellows with purple or green accents and can roar so profoundly it will concuss foe and prey to the ground. The males are still slightly smaller but bear no significant markers. Their roars are far more powerful and have been known to cause physical harm although not much information has been gathered as survivors are non-existent.

Tyrannosaurus Diabolis - This is arguable the most bizarre variant of T-Rex. They are red and black in color and have outright immunity to fire. They live and thrive in extreme heat and volcanoes. They enjoy meat but sustain mostly on rocks and lava. They seem to regurgitate fire in wads of flaming pitch at prey preferring charred meat. They occasionally run across Sauronious and devastating battles occur. They live together in closer colonies of up to 10 members sustaining their numbers with young. They only live in areas around or in volcanic activity.

Tyrannosaurus Freezanis - This Tyrannosaurus type is by far the most rare. They’ve developed their scales into thick down like feather coats keeping them warm in polar climates. Other than their black skin and white coats of fur they are closest to Majoris in lifestyle aside from the climate. In the summer they do shed their feathers to reveal their shining obsidian scales but as those days of slight heat are short they soon sprout new coats of ivory feathers.

DM’s Toolbox

Tyrannosaurs are an iconic dinosaur. This interpretation uses the mostly real world creature for the behaviors that are believed to be true according to more recent studies. You as the DM have discretion to make them opportunistic predators that normally feed off of carrion as catching prey is harder as is the previous accepted theory.

Here are a few scenarios to use a T-rex.

Ambush predator of extreme danger

stalked by dangerous predator stuck on an island time forgot

A dragon thought to have been living nearby found with it mutilated and mostly eaten what creature could do such a thing?

Displacer Beast

The following excerpts are from the journal of Jason Canderman, of the eight-man Canderman-Dodder Expedition, which was documenting the newly-discovered ruins of an ancient Hithan pyramid. This journal was found by a group of nine explorers (three of whom met their fate later by the same creatures described within). Based on the following excerpts, we recommend bringing a full regimen of prepared soldiers before the next expedition is attempted.

Juelay 18, 887 NE - On the ninth day since our expedition began, We have finally entered the Ssizeraal valley. The temperature is sweltering, and has been becoming so for the last three days. Ahead of us is the massive Ssizeraal Jungle, and beyond, new discoveries. We have seen no sign of any locals, either intelligent or not.

Juelay 21, 887 NE - The travel through the jungle for the last three days has been difficult to say the least. The air is oppressive and thick with humidity. Very little light makes it through the canopy above us. The bugs are terrible. Malik is sure that we are being swarmed by new species of gnats that are far more aggressive than those of our more temperate farmlands. Finley has warned us that the pack mule and spare horses all seem nervous, and I hear them whinnying far more than they did on the open paths leading to the jungle. We hope to soon find the ancient road we were told about.

Juelay 22, 887 NE - Just before sunset, we found the ancient, overgrown road that once connected two great Hithan cities of the past. We decided to set up camp in the slightly-clearer area. I saw with my own eyes the uneasiness of the pack animals - they seemed especially fearful of the old road itself.

Juelay 23, 887 NE - Traveling on the road, overgrown as it is, has provided far swifter travel than the first several days through the jungle. Though the canopy is still thick, light is able to reach the jungle floor, which seems to have a positive effect on both the humidity and the bugs. We are still several days out of the ruins we seek, but are optimistic. Guardsman Chaz mentioned he thought he heard a loud roar earlier in the day, such as that of a predatory animal, but no one else heard it.

Juelay 24, 887 NE - I am sad to write that tragedy has struck us today. Guardsman Jueg, youngest of our crew, has perished to an unknown beast. At just past noon today, Jueg left the path for personal reasons. As the minutes passed, we became worried. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes, and no response to our calling his named, Guardsmen Chaz and Dale entered the forest. Scant minutes later, they returned, carrying the body of Jueg. The back of his neck had been mauled by a maw of significant size, with piercings from teeth penetrating to the front of his throat. This had caused his death, and also his inability to scream. However, much more terrible and obvious, was the gaping wound on his chest. His heart had been viciously removed, leaving a large, bloody cavity. None of us had experience with any sort of predator that did this, and so sadly, the cause of death will forever remain a mystery.

We buried Jueg off the path, speaking a few words to Shand, Patron of Safe Travels, and gathered his items to return to his family. We will sleep uneasy tonight.

Juelay 26, 887 NE - Another of our crew has died. Around midnight last night, Guardsman Dale, on duty, was killed by the same beast which took Jueg's life. We only discovered his body this morning. Just as with Jueg, his throat was horribly wounded, and his chest had been eaten on, with the heart gone. We are surely being stalked by a predator of such ferocity as we have before witnessed. For the rest of our expedition, both guardsmen will remain awake through the night, along with either myself, Malis, or Jenar. Finley will stay with the pack animals through the night, to make sure they are not terrified so much that they break their restraints.

Juelay 27, 887 NE - We are down another crew, this time Jenar, whom I have known for well over twenty years. Though we were not close, and over the years had vehement disagreements on our various scientific pursuits, his death was a tragic blow to me and our expedition. We are now fearful of our lives, though we have a bit more information now as to what fell beast plagues us. Jenar was awake while attacked and was able to let loose one scream, which Guardsmen Chat and Vic heard. They both spotted a large black beast, extremely fast, and both attacked, but were unable to wound it. They retrieved Jenar, who was still alive, and brought him back to camp. After waking the rest of us, Jenar eventually died in my arms. Even now, his blood is still on me, as I struggle to put pen to paper.

Juelay 29, 887 NE - Eighteen days after after our expedition started, and after the deaths of three of our comrades, we have arrived at the ruins. Though our hearts are weary and souls are heavy, we rejoice at the beauty before us. Three pyramids, mostly claimed by the vines of the jungle, but still obvious in their majesty, stand before us in a large clearing. My initial notes before we set up camp:

The pyramids appear to be aligned with the stars of Gozdare the Bard - specifically his lute. The smallest is to the the northeast of the clearing, and appears to be no more than a hundred feet tall. The next-smallest is on the southwest of the clearing, and is much larger, possibly close to three hundred feet tall. It clears the tallest trees around us. The central-most pyramid however is the largest, possibly over five hundred feet tall. If our estimates are true, this will be the largest Hithan pyramid found so far, though we will need to take more accurate measurements to be sure. This central pyramid has also best-withstood the ravages of time - being furthest from the trees, there are no vines pulling at the stones, and no roots to disrupt the ground. It is quite beautiful.

Stairs climb the center, and each of the four sides of the base are adorned with animals, some known, some not. There are griffons and rocs on the south face, salamanders and large bug-like creatures on the eastern face, frogs and octopi on the western face, and on the northern face, which is the side that greeted our arrival into the clearing, are gorillas and some sort of feline creature. Though the statues are mostly-eroded, these feline creatures are of a variety never before seen, with large spikes protruding from their shoulder blades. All-in-all, they are quite menacing looking, and the pack animals seem wary of the statues. Multiple times in the evening, as we were setting up camp, I also caught Chaz gazing upon the feline creature statues.

Juelay 30, 887 NE - On the eve of Agaus, we have been attacked again. Luckily no one was wounded tonight, and for the first time, beneath the nearly-full moon of Juelay's final night, we all finally caught glimpse of the beast which has been stalking us. It is a large black feline creature, which is likely what the northern-face statues are modelled after, but instead of spikes on its shoulderblades, long writhing tentacles protrude. It is, quite simply, the most horrific creature I have ever seen in my life, and it is quite menacing. Chaz and Vic were able to fend off the beast. Chaz even swears he struck the beast clear in the neck, but his sword went straight through as though it wasn't even there! We are very much on edge, but now that we know more of the best, we feel more confident. Our fires burn bright throughout the night.

We have studied the ruins even more, and based on some hieroglyphics we have been able to find around the base of the central pyramid, we are quite certain that these ancient Hithans likely worshipped - or at least revered - the animals to which they built totems. This is astounding to us, as all our previous knowledge of the Hithans has led us to believe they were actually worshippers of The Fold.

I and Malik climbed the stairs of the central pyramid today. Again, we have not made concise measurements, but based on the five hundred fourteen steps, each of which are almost a feet steep, we are quite certain our first guesses about the size of the pyramid were very close to correct.

Atop the pyramid is what appears to be an altar, and it is stained with what can be nothing other than blood. Beside the altar, on each side, is a smaller statue of several of the animals that surround the base of the pyramid - the feline creature faces the altar's south side, the frog its west, the roc its south, and the bug-like creatures its east. Though obviously a sacrificial altar, there appear to be no knicks in the stone to suggest that blades were used in the ceremonies.

Agaus 2, 887 NE - Again we have been attacked by the strange beast, and our knowledge of it increases and becomes harder to understand at the same time. Malik, who has had some study of the Arts, was able to loose a spread of magical bolts upon the beast. He swears they hit, and that in fact, those magical bolts are incapable of missing, but I clearly saw the bolts strike thin air two feet to the right of the beast as it approached the camp. Either way, it screamed in pain and retreated, but I was sure I saw it look back with such a look of menace that no natural animal can attain - this was the look of a thinking, rational creature, and it struck me with such fear that it is now four hours later and I cannot sleep.

In the study of the pyramids, our work has been cut short both of the last two days, as powerful thunderstorms have swept through the region. Several of our horses broke free and we had to chase them down, all while being fearful of being attacked by the stalking beast.

Agaus 4, 887 NE - We are leaving this wretched place. Tonight, just after the final darkness of night had settled upon us, we were attacked. This time not one, not two, but three of the terrifying creatures attacked us from three sides, as though they were organizing a three-front attack. Malik was able to let loose another burst of magical power which wounded one of the beasts, causing it to flee, but was quickly mauled from behind by a second.

Meanwhile, Vic and Chaz were able to fend off the third, but not before Chaz was critically wounded. Malik perished soon after the creatures were chased off, and Chaz may not be long for this world - he is missing an eye, which was bloodily removed from his head by one strike of the beast's tentacles. He also has a terrible bite wound on his hip. Vic, Finley, and I sit huddled together, with four fires around us, and the animals to our back. Chaz babbles incoherently about invisible teeth. We could not even risk burying Malik. His body is covered and rotting just outside the fires. May the gods have mercy on me for saying this, but if the beasts come back, hopefully they will be distracted by his flesh and will leave us be. We leave tomorrow.

Agaus 6, 887 NE - The last two days were a nightmare. As we began travelling north to leave this place, we realized almost immediately we were being hunted. Multiple times throughout yesterday, we could see the slinking forms of black felines in the jungle to our right and left. The first attack killed several of our horses, including the one which carried Chaz's limp form. To our shame, we fled further up the path, leaving him on the ground. Our only comfort as we ran from his limp form on the ground was that, in his delirium, he likely would not realize what was happening to him. We stumbled along the ancient roadway for almost an hour when, to our horror, we saw several of the beasts awaiting us on the path before us. They just stood there as we scrambled to a stop, trying to hold the horses steady. They watched us as we backed away from them, and then began slowly moving down the path toward us.

We saw them leave the path behind us eventually and tried to turn around north again to escape the jungle. No sooner had we turned the horses around than five of the horrible beasts appeared on the path to our north, blocking passage. They moved toward us again and we fled back south, the direction from which we had just come. They were herding us! We passed the remains of Chaz and two horses without looking, seeing only a bloody mess. It took us two hours to reach the pyramids again, and we quickly set up camp with our backs to the base, not knowing what to do. I am certain I will not sleep tonight.

Agaus 7, 887 NE - This is my last will and testimony. If one should eventually find this journal, please read the words within carefully, and leave this ungodly place. Throughout the day today, we have been attacked multiple times, but never lethally, save for one instance. At noon, Finley, in terror, took to horse and galloped toward the jungle's edge. Three of the beasts caught him and his screams still resonate in my ears. These creatures, now attacking us in broad daylight, are herding us up the pyramid, though we know not why. Vic and I now sit halfway up the stairs of the pyramid, between the base and that fearful altar, and watch the cat-like creatures prowling below us. There are almost a dozen of them now, an obvious pack, and we can see features now we could not before - such as their six legs, and that the tentacles seem to have teeth on them, and that though they are the color of panthers, they are closer in size to full-grown tigers. Vic has fired arrows at them over the course of the day, and I can now swear that the arrows are hitting the creatures as I see them, yet still moving straight through them, as though they are not truly there. They keep slowly coming higher up the steps, and we keep retreating. It will not be long before we are at the altar. I have sharpened my knife - if I must die, I will die cleanly.

Introduction

Displacer beasts are a magical monstrosity from the Feywild. It is said that at one time, they preyed only in the fey courts, but as many an explorer and adventurer have learned (to their own detriment, usually), these monsters are alive and active in the prime material plane. While many regard them as simply animals (thus "neutral" in alignment), the truth is, most harbor an intelligence and maliciousness not available to natural beasts of the world. They are a truly deadly predator, not to be taken lightly.

Physiological Observations

Physically, displacer beasts have an almost uncanny resemblance to panthers. However, the appearance is mostly superficial, and their more alien features are quickly apparent to even the most casual observer.

Feline in structure, the beast can grow up to eleven feet in length, rivalling the largest tigers in size. Unlike tigers, they are much sleeker, tending to weigh at the most up to 650 pounds. They have dark black fur, much like the panther they resemble, but their fur has a gloss to it not found in natural wildlife. It is thought that this is a leftover from their heritage as a fey-related creature, as it typically would not help with camouflage at night to have a sheen to one's fur. Finally, their heads can be up to two feet wide, with a maw that contains two-inch-long incisors. The creature's jaws are so powerful that they have been known to crush their victim's skulls in one bite.

From here, the displacer beast's unnatural heritage takes over. The most obvious aspect of the monster are the two tentacles that protrude from the shoulderblades. These tentacles can grow up to seven feet long on a full-grown adult, and end it a pad covered with spiky growths resembling sharp, pointed teeth. The tentacles are able to be moved and maneuvered by the displacer beast as though they are fully-functioning limbs.

Instead of four legs, the displacer beast has an extra pair of legs immediately behind the front, giving the creature a total of six legs. Scholars are unsure of the evolutionary purpose of these legs, unless simply to make the beasts even more deadly than they already would have been otherwise.

Finally, the creature's claim to fame and namesake, is its ability to appear anywhere from several inches to several feet from where it actually stands. Observers have reported seeing someone striking the monster dead in the eyes, only to then be swatted and attacked seemingly by something invisible to the side. The nature of this natural displacement is unknown, though it is likely to be a remnant from the mystical nature of the Feywild. This ability is in constant effect - it does not disappear if the animal is asleep or unconscious, though if it is killed, the effect ends. Many a hunter or warrior has been awfully disconcerted to finally slay the stalking beast, only to have it's corpse transport to a few feet to the right or left.

Displacer beasts can run extraordinarily fast, far outpacing cats of similar size (other than the cheetah), as well as other animals with more than four legs. They can also jump amazing distances - up to twenty feet horizontally, and over ten feet straight up from a standing still position - several feet more in either direction if they have a running start.

As kittens, displacer beasts have no tentacles - rather, they have two bony protrusions on their shoulder blades. Over the course of the first three years of the displacer beasts' life, the spikes will elongate and grow outward, with skin covering them. The protrusions will soften and become more flexible over time, and by the third year, when the beast is in adolescence (and about half the size it will eventually grow to), the protrusions will resemble rudimentary tentacles - they will often be just a few feet long, and not very flexible yet. By the fifth year, pads have formed at the end of the tentacles, which are now up to six feet long, and spikes are just beginning to grow from them. By the seventh year, most displacer beasts are fully grown, tentacles and all.

Displacer beasts lifespan on the prime material plane is around thirty years. In the Feywild, they can live for hundreds of years.

Social & Behavioral Observations

Displacer beasts are extremely aggressive predators, and similar to most cats, they seem to enjoy toying with their prey. Some reports have indicated people being stalked for multiple days in a row, often with the displacer beast making an appearance just at the edge of the potential victim's vision. It is said that once a displacer beast chooses a victim, it will not stop stalking until either the victim or the monster is dead.

Displacer beasts have several typical manners of attack. The first method the monsters use in combat is usually striking at their opponents with the reach of their tentacles, thus staying out of the range of most weapons. The tentacles can strike with extreme precision, with the jagged spines leaving devastating, often fatal wounds. If this does not finish off the prey, then the creatures will often next move in and attack with their massive claws. Much like other large feline predators, they will often jump onto the back of the victim, raking with their back claws while holding on with the front. Unlike those other feline predators, and to the misfortune of their victims, the displacer beasts have that extra pair of front legs, giving it even more attacks to incapacitate their prey.

Finally, often as a final death blow, the beasts have been known to bite the victim's chest with their massive jaws. As though they are aware of where the prey's lifeblood comes from, they will eat the heart of their victim, sometimes in one fell bite.3 Dead bodies which have not been completely consumed will often be found with their heart, and most surrounding organs, missing, having been eaten by the creature.

Very few who have seen a displacer beast have lived to tell, but those who have all seem to agree that the monsters display almost no sign of fear. They also seem to display malice at their victims, especially those who evade them. Survivors often awaken terrified in the night, screaming of seeing those feline, malevolent eyes staring them down. More hardy folk, such as adventurers and explorers, confirm this - most who have survived tell the same story, that as the beast fled to safety, it would often look back and stare at its would-be prey, as though calculating.

In regards to their associations with other species, what little is known is shared here.

Firstly, displacer beasts and blink dogs have such an incorrigible and known hatred for each other that they will attack each other on site with no regard to their safety.4 Pound for pound, displacer beasts are much stronger and more terrifying that blink dogs, but blink dogs are a bit smarter, and will often attack with its full pack, giving it the upper hand. Scholars debate where this hatred comes from - it does not likely extend from the typical dog vs cat mentality, since by nature, cats and dogs do not actually hate each other (despite what many a pet owner says otherwise). The most prevalent theory is that the two creatures' abilities (blink and displacement) are so similar in their mystical nature, that their auras upset the other. Both species can sense when the other is around, even when outside the range of hearing or smelling (and even when hearing and smelling are magically blocked).

They have similar (though not as ferocious) disposition toward other magical animals as well, such as pegasi, unicorns, and winter wolves. None of them inspire the displacer beast's fury like the blink dog, but the beast will go out of its way to specifically target those other species.

Toward most other animals, and even humanoids, displacer beasts display a predatory air mostly, though again, if they are bested by their prey, that nature starts turning to hatred and fury. With one exception, displacer beasts are not scared of humanoids - they consider an elf, human, or gnome just as much fair play as they do boar, buffalo, or elk. Rakshashas are something different. This is possibly the one creature in the multiverse that displacers not only show respect for, but possibly fear. No matter how large a pack, no scholars have seen, or even heard of, displacer beasts attacking rakshashas, and some myths and legends even place the beasts in the company of the tiger-men, often as pets or guardians.

Some other species have been known to capture displacer beasts to use as guardians, though the beast will spend all its days in captivity planning its escape and eventual evisceration of its captors. It is very rare that a pack of displacer beasts can be caught by surprise by any amount of hunters, but solo beasts have been overcome by large groups of hunters. In particular, lizardfolk seem to like capturing the creatures, possibly simply due to their close proximity in jungle and rainforest ecosystems. Large bands and tribes of orcs, hobgoblins, and other powerful goblinkind have been reported to have captive displacer beasts, but these situations are much more rare.

Finally, they seem to have no specific ill will toward other large predatory cats, and are not known to hunt them. This could be that the predatory cat's natural instincts are too refined for the displacer beast to stalk, so it is not worth the trouble, or it may even be some sort of lingering byproduct of the species' evolutionary history.

Ecological Observations

Within the prime material plane, though displacer beasts can be found in almost any region and climate, they favor humid forest areas, such as jungles and rainforests. These biospheres are likely the most attractive simply due to the prey within, but it could also be they still retain deep, past links to their jaguar and leopard "cousins." However, they may appear anywhere in the world, and have been known to adapt to different biospheres - brown and tan displacer beasts (colored like a lion) have been spotted in the desert (though rarely), and there are even rumors of white displacer beasts in arctic regions.

Displacer beasts need to eat anywhere from ten to twelve pounds of food per day, though like other hunting cats, they can go for a week or so without eating, then gorge themselves on a meal of anywhere from a 100 to 125 pounds. Their preferred prey in their natural habitat are any large animals such as boars, large deer, and other large mammals. However, they are just as happy to prey on humanoids, smaller mammals, and even certain larger lizards and reptiles that have enough mass to sustain them. Once a displacer beast has killed its prey, it will usually start its meal with the heart, and then move onto the head, and other internal organs.

Intra-Species Observations

Displacer beasts are more often than not pack animals.7 They roam, hunt, sleep, and live in small packs, with anywhere from five to eight adults. If there is not a pack lord (see Variants), then usually the strongest male in the pack will become an alpha.

Displacer beasts tend to be fiercely loyal to their pack, but are highly competitive of territory if they come across other beasts not in their own pack. Two displacer beasts from different packs (or two solo beasts) will size each other up and likely fight if one encroaches on the others' territory.

The mating ritual between a female and male displacer beast could be confused by the outside observer as an intense fight. Often, two or three males will approach a female in heat. Those males will strike each other with their tentacles, leaving gaping wounds on each other. It is not uncommon for one of the creatures to succumb to the wounds and die during the process. Eventually, only one male will be left standing - the others having either perished or fled to lick recuperate. This one will then approach the female. The two will circle each other with their tentacles flailing wildly. After as little as several minutes, or as long as a few hours, the two will launch themselves at each other, wrestling viciously. Their tentacles will strike at each other, but during this part of the ritual, rarely is blood drawn. Rather, for the only time in a displacer beast's adult life, the spikes on the tentacles will withdraw slightly. The two will eventually entangle their tentacles around each other and the male will mount the female.

During pregnancy, the male often stay close by the female, and will guard her ferociously. Other males in the pack will be protective of a pregnant female, but the male mate will attack literally anything that comes close to the female, including other displacer beasts.

Pregnancy lasts around a hundred days, and then the female will give birth to three to six kittens. At this time, the male mate will often leave the pack permanently, though the rest of the males will continue protecting the mother during the first few months. The kittens grow rapidly, and the mother will be training them to hunt on their own by their sixth month.

Historical and Cultural Significance

There are many primitive cultures across the world that worship displacer beasts, and other similar magical monstrosities. Some prehistoric cultures (those dating back to before writing) even have legends that the dislacer beasts came from the sky 5 - these cultures look upon the beasts as a form of totem, and praise (and fear) them in equal measures. More intelligent displacer beasts may use these cultures for a time, as they will provide plenty of fresh meat for the beasts, but they will soon become weary of being given food - after all, they would much prefer to hunt.

More modern legends have displacer beasts in them as the guardians of evil deities - it is said that Bhaal has a pet displacer beast named Fade, whom he sends out to do his bidding when needed.

It is also likely that displacer beasts are the actual start of many rumors and ghost stories across the world that involve spectral panthers.

Variants

Occasionally, due to a fluke in the dark magicks that sustain a displacer beast's life, a beast will grow much larger and stronger than the typical specimen. These Displacer Beast Pack Lords can reach a full twenty feet in length (with tentacles over fifteen feet), and are always the undisputed ruler of any packs that form around them.

Though there would be no change to their stats, arctic and desert variants exist. The arctic displacer beast has a bluish-white coat, and its tentacles look less like long whips, and more line multi-segmented bones. The desert displacer beast, varying between brown and tan, looks like a large puma, with tentacles that look like thick, knotted ropes.

DM's Toolkit

Displacer beasts should be used carefully. They are a very dangerous creature, and even though they are not very high CR, their nature, and the mysteries of their origin, can make them a great opponent for PCs. They can make for a very unique encounter.

First and foremost, they are not likely to be the final boss in an adventure. Though they are much more intelligent than regular cats, they are not smart enough to plan strategies and create long-term menaces. At the end of the day, they are just extraordinarily intelligent and ferocious hunting animals, and should be used as such. Encountering one (or a pack) in the wild is a completely suitable way of using them.

To make things more interesting though, having displacer beasts be the pet or guardian of more rational NPCs would make for a more memorable encounter. A lizardfolk shaman that releases the displacer beast on the PCs while attacking with magic from the back could be a deadly and unique encounter.

For strategy, displacer beasts will almost always attack with reach first, using their tentacles. On any creature that can actually fight back (such as PCs, other displacer beasts, or stronger NPCs), it will attempt to use its tentacles as long as possible, wearing down the victim. When it must resort to its claws and jaws, it will be at a point where it is going all in. If the beast thinks it doesn't have much of a chance, it will likely flee (though it will stalk the victim afterward, looking for a weakness).

Though it is unusual for a single displacer beast to attack a group of armed combatants, if they are particularly hungry, or feeling the combatants may be in a weakened state, they may do so. A pack of displacer beasts has no qualms about attacking multiple potential victims.

Displacer beasts have powerful claw and bite attacks, however these were left out of the Monster Manual. Using slightly modified tiger stats (to account for the displacer beast's higher strength), here are some attack options using claws and bite:

• Bite Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage.

• Claw Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.

Doppleganger

The questions I began with were not about doppelganger society. I simply wanted to find a way to make my pet mimics more intelligent, you see. But it was the answers I found that led to me being hunted across the breadth of creation by those assassins. You see, my friend... my friend... Sven, this drink tastes funny. I... Sven, you aren't... no! Nooooo --Last words of the sorcerer Leeren Bannes

Introduction

I wish to categorically retract and apologize for all of the wild tales I published in my most recent work 'Doppelgangers: the Threat Within Us'. At the time I was suffering from a case of anxiety and I regret that this in combination with the unorthodox nature of my work was enough to trigger a mental breakdown. Naturally, a full refund will be issued to anybody returning a copy which they have purchased, and a free version of my book will be made available to those people, once it has undergone suitable revision and academic fact-checking. --Leeren Bannes, two months later

Physiological Observations

At first glance, the doppelganger seems like a humanoid of whatever species and type it has chosen to impersonate. Upon cutting the doppleganger, its nature is hinted at to the keen-eyed observer - its blood is a sap slightly thicker than blood, and similar to the internal fluids of its evolutionary predecessor, the mimic. The only difference is the coloration, which varies depending upon what species the doppleganger has chosen to impersonate. Typically a doppelganger will alter the color of its internal fluids to resemble the blood of whatever creature it is impersonating. A deeper examination reveals that the doppelganger has no internal organs. It absorbs food just as a mimic does, breaking it down with acidic secretions inside the doppelganger's own body. Of course, such examinations would kill a normal human, so they are hardly a foolproof way to detect doppelgangers in one's midst.

It was upon cracking the skull that I made the discovery that would secure my place in history - the discovery not of a brain, but a nucleus similar to that of a mimic. I say similar... but not identical. With the added support offered to the nucleus by a solid bone structure, the nucleus took on a pattern of variegated folds and creases similar to that of a human brain. It was a mimic, you see - a highly advanced mimic that had exchanged a broader range of shapeshifting for something much more dangerous - enhanced intelligence. With its nucleus separated from the shifting tides of its body, the mimic could maintain the shape of the nucleus - its mental library, if you will - and store more data, thus retaining a higher intelligence with each shift.

But if that was the case, why could not any mimic simply create an internal bone structure for itself, I wondered? It seems that the resinous structures a mimic creates are temporary in nature. It was not until I thought to cast the Animate Dead spell that I realized the horrible truth - that the skeleton of a Doppelganger was that of a dead humanoid. A doppelganger in effect is born as a parasite - a creature that starts as a human, but with a mimic living inside of it. Gradually the mimic grows, replacing the host's body and even its mind, taking on its thoughts as it gradually shifts its nucleus inside the skull and devours the host from the inside out. By the time the body is done with puberty, there is nothing left of the host but its skeletal structure.

How does the doppelganger impregnate the host, however? Mimics breed through parthenogenesis, so doppelgangers should not be able to interbreed with any other creature. At first the question baffled me, but the answer was elusively simple. Doppelgangers are only born when a doppelganger breeds with a female that is already pregnant. Using its understanding of humanoid pheromones and subconscious body language - an understanding so deep as to often be mistaken for telepathy - the doppelganger senses the pregnancy most likely even before its "mate" does. It is then a simple matter for it to assume the guise of a target's lover to mate with her again, splitting off a little bit of itself which wriggles into the womb. This baby mimic bonds with the fetus during development, becoming a parasite which eventually takes over the host entirely sometime during puberty.

It was then that I realized the true ramifications of the discovery I had made. For if a mimic could establish such a parasitic relationship with a humanoid, who was to say that it could not have done the same with another creature - a centaur, ogre, or even a dragon? I later confirmed that this was indeed not just possible, but common. The only limitation to the forms that a doppelganger can take is the underlying skeletal structure of the host that the parasitic mimic bonded with. This is one of the many reasons for the secrecy that doppelgangers typically demonstrate. If the world at large knew that every doppelganger can only be born through the death of an infant, the species would doubtless be persecuted far more than they already are."

It was shortly after that discovery that I learned I was being hunted. --Excerpt from the secret notes of Leeren Bannes

Social Observations

I was able to infiltate doppelganger society through the use of the Alter Self and Polymorph spells, in conjunction with the metamagic abilities of my sorcerous blood, which I used to cast my transformation spells through thought alone, without any verbal or somatic components. I also cast an illusion spell to mask my slight body mannerisms, for doppelgangers are so attuned to the nuances of body language that it can often seem like they are reading minds. The species as a whole is inherently mistrustful - until they can be assured beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody else is one of their kind, the only information you will get from them is lies.

While masquerading as one of these creatures - an infiltrator hiding among a species of infiltrators - I learned that the society of doppelgangers exerted far more control than anybody has ever suspected.

he natural structure of doppelganger society is the cell - a group of infiltrators with one singular purpose, control over a society - with the ultimate purpose being that society's destruction. Each cell is led by a handler.

The handler is the only doppelganger with connections to other cells. This way, if an individual doppelganger is captured and interrogated - either through torture or magic - the amount of information that he is able to disclose about other doppelganger operations is limited. The handler of a cell is itself part of a larger cell, composed only of handlers. The leader of a cell of handlers is known as a director, and the director is the only doppelganger to make contact with other handler cells. What level exists above a director? Sadly, I never got the chance to find out.

The meetings of a doppelganger cell are unlike those of other secret societies. During my time with the cell, we had one meeting in a stable, (where our forms were three stablehands and two horses), one in an hobgoblin tent (where we were two hobgoblins, a bugbear, and two worgs), and one in a castle, where we were a duke, the crown princess, a bodyguard, and two trained griffins. --Excerpt from the secret notes of Leeren Bannes

Behaviorial Observations

In my earlier studies of mimics, I had previously categorized them into two breeds - the relatively docile house mimics, created as peaceful furniture, and the aggressive hunter mimics, bred for war. Initially I had thought that doppelganger society would follow a similar cultural divide. However, I fear that in almost every aspect of their behavior, doppelgangers seem to have the aggressive mentality of hunter mimics. I suspect that only mimics programmed with this level of aggression were motivated enough to attempt to procreate with humans in order to get closer to their targets.

The personality of Doppelgangers also corresponds to hunter mimics - they have the mentality of spies who are at war. If outed, they attempt to assassinate witnesses. If captured, they refuse to cooperate - and their lack of a nervous system makes them very resistant to torture. A doppelganger who speaks under torture is almost certainly lying. Effectively, a doppelganger has the same goals as a hunter mimic - to identify and neutralize "enemy" targets - and a complete lack of understanding that the war they were created to fight ended a long time ago. Even worse, they have a more sophisticated set of tools by which to eliminate targets - such as gaining power in other species societies and manipulating them to fight each other. You will never see a doppelganger living a contented life as a simple farmer - every persona which they take on is meant to either get them closer to their next target, or gain more power to use against their target. They are the ultimate assassins that mimics were once meant to be, and while they each may have slight personality quirks and preferences, in the end they have no goals or ambition beyond the lethal programming that their ancestors were given centuries ago. --Excerpt from "Doppelgangers: the Threat Within Us" by Leeren Bannes

Inter-Species Observations

Doppelgangers blend in with all societies. They have the ability to read body language, control their own pheromones, and perform a role so convincingly that even a victim's loved ones may not know that person has been replaced. This is only a role, however - doppelgangers do not feel any true emotions in the humanoid sense of the word. There is only a cool, thoughtful calculation. They work together very well, out of a sense of mutual benefit - doppelgangers are the only creatures that other doppelgangers can trust, and it makes sense to work together in order to help each other eliminate targets and gain power. Unusually, a cell of doppelgangers that works together for a long time will often fixate on the same "enemy targets" to eliminate. This is not so much a sign of empathy as a sign of how much of a doppelganger's personality is nothing more than ancient programming by their creator. It is ironic that the race of creatures which may someday end mankind started out as nothing more than furniture.

Other than fellow cellmates, Doppelgangers often cooperate with hunter mimics in a symbiotic relationship - the mimic assumes the shape of the clothing, armor, or baggage that the doppelganger is wearing, so that when the doppelganger changes shape, their equipment and clothing changes also to match their new form. And when the doppelganger moves to assassinate their victim, the mimic will assist them as well. I speculate that these tame mimics are the result of doppelganger parthenogenesis when they are unable to implant a tiny mimic into a developing fetus. --Excerpt from "Doppelgangers: the Threat Within Us" by Leeren Bannes

DM's Toolkit

If you enjoy conspiracies and intrigue, then the Doppelganger is the monster for you. These creatures manipulate their pawns from behind the scenes, and pack a solid punch for low-level characters that finally uncover their machinations, especially when each doppelganger is accompanied by a mimic or two.

Of course, there is no need to limit doppelgangers to low level adventures. As parasitic organisms, a dopperganger could be anywhere. A cloud giant supervising a team of fire giants might actually be just a huge doppelganger.

One plot hook in a campaign could be uncovering whom the doppelgangers report to. Each cell reports to a handler, but only the handler knows the bigger picture - and the handler is part of a cell of handlers, whom in turn report to somebody else. Who is at the top of the doppelganger hierarchy? And what are their ultimate plans?

Another plot hook is the question of how doppelgangers were first created. It is easy for doppelgangers to reproduce themselves, but if they are truly descended from mimics, that means that somewhere, centuries ago, there was a mimic smart enough and skilled enough at shapeshifting to impersonate a humanoid in order to "mate" with it and create the first doppelgangers. Mimics never die naturally, they only grow older and larger. Where is the Doppelganger Creator? And what does it look like after all these years? Perhaps it is the size of a castle by now. Perhaps it IS the castle. And do the doppelgangers that it has created report to it?

Dragons

I've heard tale of red beasts who rule as tyrants. I've heard songs of gold majesties who rule over kingdoms with aloof care, protecting and only visiting for occasional tributes. I've read books of dragons fighting in wars for the greater good. I have no idea where these stories come from. The only dragon I ever met wanted to talk. Dragons are weird.

Introduction

Like Humanoids, Dragons are wholy complicated and mysterious creatures. Some say they were created by pure magical energy by the gods they worship. Others say they just came to be. Few dragons have ever tackled the idea, thinking they are individuals uncapable of being quantified by some science or another.

There are dragons that rule, there are anti-social dragons, there are war-faring dragons, there are as many personalities amongst the True Dragons as there are people on the earth. The only main difference is that Dragons are much bigger and much fewer in numbers.

They are legendary and they are to be respected above all else.

Physiological Observations

Dragons have long lifespans similar to that of Elves, developing through several age categories. The most important ones are wyrmling, where the Dragon is born and taught the magical pulse of the area it was born in. Then young, where a Dragon goes out and finds its own lair, seperating itself from its parents.

After that the Dragon begins to develop and grow into its large head, gaining the shape it would carry with it as it continues to grow into adulthood. In adulthood a Dragon grows stronger and wiser, breaking the cusp of human capabilities and reaching a power that is unmatched by most creatures.

The last stage of a Dragon's life is Ancient. These are creatures that have lairs that they've filled for most of their life with their horde. These are monsters that are legendary in nature and possess the power to destroy cities or rule them. These are what the songs sing about. These are what the villagers fear and worship.

Besides being reptillian in appearance, with their resistant scales and large claws, they are very feline, with cat-like eyes and a sluething walk that mirrors the majestic and proud thoughts that fill their minds. Their eyes are superior like a hawks, spying things from hundreds and hundreds of feet away even in the pitch black of night.

Most have horns that grow in various directions and styles which, along with their respective color and tint, help distinct them from other Dragon types. Their wings continue to grow until the day they die, their wingspans reaching up to 80ft, their bodies stretching to be 85ft, standing 16ft tall, weighing as much as 160,000lbs.

Social Observations

If there is one thing that can be said of all Dragons is that they enjoy isolation. Typically they only come out of their lairs to mate and raise wyrmlings in a new spot where their children will live long enough for them to leave it on its own. Though there are certain Dragons that tend to stay in cities and kingdoms and are quite social.

Social interactions with Dragons can either go really bad or really right depending on your personality and the personality of the Dragon. Evil, subserveant people can find solace with a Red Dragon, while kind bards can find friends with Copper Dragons. They are a very complex creature that are often unpredictable.

The only other thing that can be said for sure of Dragons is that they speak draconic and typically several other languages that allow them to communicate with their servants or their friends. Draconic is a language that is very complicated and learned only by the eldest of elves and sages in capitol cities.

Behavorial Observations

Being in isolation, it can be hard to figure out much about Dragon behavior. There are few facts set in stone, but they are important to their character. Dragons love hoarding treasure. Whether it's literal piles of gold, old warships, the remains of elder kings, intelligent creatures, gems or ancient tombs. All Dragons hoard as an instinctual part of their nature, almost like a compulsion.

Typically, evil Dragons like to steal their hoards from other dragons or kings and they have their minions and servants collect gold and gems for them. Good aligned Dragons will barter for priceless objects and collect their gold from fallen enemies or as payment for aiding a kingdom at war.

All Dragons have at least one lair where they keep their treasure. Every type of Dragon enjoys different weather and environments where they will search for or build their own lair for them to live in and spend most of their days. A lair is extremely personal, very much like a home is to humanoids, though Dragons don't tend to raise their wyrmlings in their own lair. They will find a place out in the wild where the baby Dragons can learn to hunt.

Dragons like the feeling of isolation, whether it's because they are paranoid (sometimes rightfully so) or just because they are introverted is not known. Some say the best of Dragons are never seen by a humanoid eye, because of their well hidden lair and their aloof nature. Then again, other humanoids spend their whole lives under the thumb of an ancient Dragon which bullies their ruler into giving away most of their riches.

Like Humanoids, Dragons are wildly varied in their likes and dislikes and without further delving into each personal Dragon's life, not much else can be said for sure of their behavior.

Intra-Special Observations

True Dragons believe they are the top of every food chain. Even the good aligned ones who make friends with humanoids find themselves superior. Depending on each individual Dragon, they may or may not aid and ally other creatures, though they typically don't help fellow Dragons. Its hard to have two people who think they are the best work together.

DM's Toolkit: Use Dragons! >Use your own personal Dragon. >If you have some ideas for a Dragon, write it up. >Use them.

Use Dragons.

Chromatic Dragons

The only reason Chromatic Dragons are not on top of the food chain is because of their lack of numbers among their ranks. In fact, the main argument for them keeping humanoids around, or alive for that matter, is the same reason we keep cows and chickens locked in cages. They look upon us as if we are just subjects to their whims.

This arrogance might seem like a part of their beliefs, like Tiamat herself preaches these things, but it's more simple than that; it's a fact. It's an integral part of their psychology and the cornerstone of their personality. Dragon's are more powerful and intelligent, more worthy of all the Earth and wealth, than any other creatures living or dead.

One thing of note though, Dragon's are not so arrogant that they can't recognize the capabilities of certain individuals or powerful organizations and cultures. They can put their pride aside to acquire things that deadly enemies have or to negotiate with a creature that has something to offer.

That's one thing to keep in mind. If players think they can talk to a Chromatic Dragon, they need to have land, wealth, power and the ability to let the Dragon take the Authority position.

This sort of psychology follows through to communication with other Dragons. Chromatics find themselves superior to all non-chromatics as well that their variety is superior to all other chromatic varieties. Most times it even goes so far that each individual of a certain chromatic variety finds themselves superior to all others of that variety.

Even with all of these definitives in their basic psychology, how they represent themselves is quite varied. See, some honestly believe the world revolves around them, some work together only to be the leader of other dragons, while other see humaniods as poor, defenseless children that needed protecting and herding.

To DM for a dragon all it takes is the right combination of vanity, narcissism, power, pride and a uniqueness that they believe puts them well above the other Dragons.

Unlike humanoids, Dragons do not seek comfort or companionship. They are long-distance hunters, willing to fly for miles and miles from home for just one meal. Dragons do not feel a safety in numbers, but more so they feel that same sort of safety in isolation.

I think the best way to think about it, or at least to comprehend it, is that a Dragon's psychology is similar to how a human with a mental disorder might act or behave. Humans might view Dragons as sociopaths even going so far as to being a psychopath.

Now, of course, they don't have any mental disorders, it's just a little DM shortcut you can use. Have a Dragon that's OCD about their gold, sociopathic with its social life and a psychopath with its manipulation. I believe this is the secret to understanding a Dragons behavior.

If you look hard enough you can find these in all chromatics. It's these things that put them apart from metallics and other creatures in general.

Metallic Dragons

I’ve seen many things in my years of life. I have seen armies clash, where more blood and death surrounds you than you thought was possible to be in one place. I have seen the sun break over the mountains in the spine of the world, with such pristine beauty that you wonder why mankind would ever want to mar its surface with their passage. I have dined with Queens and Emperors, and laughed with Ambassadors from faraway lands.

But none of these things prepared me for being the guest of a Dragon. Aye, ‘twas a great Wyrm she was, and a fine amicable host she made. Plenty of food – if you liked rare oxen – and she regaled us with stories of ages past. She was attentive to our own stories, though they were far less interesting than her own. For three days straight, she hosted us in her lair, only to find umbrage in a passing remark made by a companion of mine. She proceeded to bury the poor man up to his neck and leave him in the middle of nowhere to starve to death. The last time I saw him was his head poking out of the ground as I was carried away in the claws of the Wyrm herself.

Upon returning to her lair, she gave me a King’s ransom in treasure, thanked me for the companionship, and told me she hoped I would visit her again in the future – perhaps with a more respectful guest next time.

Aye, I’m certain of only one thing when it comes to dragons: nothing is certain.

--Excerpt from the memoirs of Geirafhel the Warrior Prince

Introduction

The study of dragons is an exhilarating and dangerous field. It is a testament to their power and fierce nature that they are ubiquitous in every culture, yet so little is actually known about them. The reason for that, of course, is that no dragon to date has consented to being examined and studied. They are notoriously sequestered. Cloistered in their lairs for years, or even centuries, they are quite content in solitude.

On the rare occasion that a man (or woman) of learning has the opportunity to speak with a dragon, the dragon is invariably loathe to give any insights or details into the nature of themselves. Most tales speak of the Dragon’s Barter, a game which it seems all dragons enjoy to some extent, in which treasures are traded. The definition of treasure varies, but oft times the scholar finds they somehow do not receive as well as they give. An ancient work of art for a nugget of information or a pledge of many years of work for a scrap of detail is not unheard of. One man traded a decade of service to a Brass Dragon, and in return learned that Brass Dragons have a peculiar affinity for sunlight and sunbathing. This is expounded within the chapter dedicated to Brass Dragons within this series of Treatises on the Ecology of Faerûn.

Physiological Observations

Physiologically, it would appear that Dragons have similar attributes to a variety of common animals. Akin to birds of prey, females tend to be slightly larger and stronger than males, although there seem to be more exceptions with dragons than with avian species. Their movement on the ground is quite feline in nature – lithe and ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. Like sharks, they can regrow lost teeth. This remarkable amalgamation of traits from across the various animal kingdoms sometimes brings up more questions than answers.

Despite the fact that there are a number of examples in recorded history of dragons being slain, no complete body has ever been recovered for dissection. Parts have been harvested to be converted into magical items of various types by intrepid adventurers, but never an entire body for scientific study.

A Metallic Dragon’s eyes are particularly fascinating. At a Dragon’s hatching, their eyes resemble that of most any other creature with walks upon or flies above the lands of Faerûn. As they age, however, their pupils, irises, and all normal structure of the eye is lost as they take on the appearance of a molten metal to match their scales. Some scholars posit that the metallic sheen is a covering over the eye, much like the second set of eyelids which crocodiles and other reptiles, which allows the Dragon to see through it. Others claim it must be magical in nature. Ultimately, it is unknown how a Dragon is able to keep such keen eyesight without any visible structures of the eye, but their keen sight cannot be doubted. Indeed, it would seem that as a Metallic Dragon ages into the Ancient years of its life, their eyesight improves. Some even claim that the oldest, largest, and most powerful of Metallic Dragons can see straight through cover and magical illusions.

Social Observations

It is common wisdom that Metallic Dragons embody the precepts of Good, filling the counterpart to the Chromatic Dragons which embody Evil.

I would say that is mostly true, yet I would advise caution. Your or my definition of Good and Evil is not always synonymous with a Dragon’s definition. Even Metallic Dragons have a very different perspective of morality than the humanoid species, one which is tempered by many centuries and even millennia of life. While Humans are oft impatient with the longer lived races such as Elves and Dwarves, even these long lived races are seen as impetuous in the eyes of a Dragon.

Thankfully for lesser races, Metallic Dragons are more likely than their Chromatic cousins to be involved in the affairs of the Kingdoms around their lairs. Certain species, such as Brass, are quite gregarious and will at times seek an audience to speak with (or as some would say, someone to speak to. They are known for not allowing their conversational partner to get a word in edge wise). Others, such as Gold, tend to be quite a bit more arrogant, demanding obeisance and extravagant displays of deference to their might.

A Metallic Dragon can make for a staunch and powerful ally, with the older individuals able to lay waste to entire armies. This makes their allegiance hard won, as most loathe meddling in the affairs of the lesser races. It would behoove those who seek to ally themselves with a Metallic Dragon not to stoke their ire. Oft times, what a Human Kingdom may see as a dire threat does not pique a Dragon’s interest. If that Dragon can remember a time a mere century or three ago when the Kingdom seeking its aid did not even exist, does it really matter if their existence is in danger now?

When the cause is great enough, however, Metallic Dragons are known for fighting on the side of Good. There is a reason why tales of Dragons in battle survive to become legends of old, for it is beneath them to interfere in anything less.

Intra-Species Observations

Metallic Dragons are much more likely than their Chromatic cousins to engage in social behavior with other Dragons. Each type of Dragon has its own unique mating rituals, and some Metallic Dragons even meet for purely social reasons, to tell tales and swap gossip. Tales are told and sagas are sung in taverns across the land of great Dragons-moots in days of old, where they claim a governing body of all Dragons was held and decisions made. None know exactly what happens in these meetings, as no non-Dragon has ever observed one (or having done so, lived to tell the tale). Ancient texts proclaim these may happen as often as once every quarter millennia.

DM's Toolkit

Metallic Dragons are complex, powerful creatures. They are great to add to a campaign as potential allies, or perhaps potential enemies. After all, a Dragon’s unique perspective on morality may put them in the grey area from the perspective of the party.

Perhaps a Silver Dragon will ally himself to a party looking to get rid of a rival White Dragon.

Perhaps a Gold Dragon has become the self-proclaimed ruler of a town, enforcing strict laws and harsh punishments for the “greater good.”

Dragon: Dracolich

“We fought hard to reach that treasure room. The Kobolds defended the caverns fiercely and jealously. The walls themselves conspired against us, riddled with poisoned darts and blades that could split a man. They were no match for a real band of adventurers in the end. Imagine our surprise when we found out all those wretched lizards were worshiping a mere corpse! No dragon, just a pile of bones splayed over treasure, like the vermin had already picked them clean. Sure, we all had a good laugh. We smiled and joked about how foolish the little lizards had been for venerating this pile of garbage. We even encouraged Rollin to pull out his lute and make a quick dirty limerick about the pile of dust. Not one of us had time to even call his name before that terrible greenish fire devoured him. He was... he was just ashes, body and soul. Gods, how could we have known it was listening?” - Lorent of Raging Blood, 10 years after retirement

Introduction

Dragons (or the Draco Draconis) have always been a fascination of scholars, especially those among the magical guilds. They are beautiful and terrible creatures with qualities that make them as diverse as humans themselves. The secrets of dragons are closely and fiercely guarded by any who know them, and some are darker than others.

One such secret is the abomination known the Dracolich. These foul monstrosities are dragons who shed their mortal coils for a form of immortality that leaves their bodies as decomposing corpses. The Dracolich preserves its soul through the creation of a phylactery, and in doing so is no longer dependent on its body for survival. It is said the process is only attempted by the deepest of evils, as the sundering and repairing of souls is best left to the powers of the divine.

Few creatures are able to achieve lichdom, and the Dracolich has sparked many a debate among scholars as to the implications of its existence. The core of these debates often focuses on whether humans introduced the process to dragons, either through force or by choice, or whether dragons imparted the knowledge to humans. Almost all agree that no matter which side is correct, the results are never good.

Creation

While a Dracolich is an undead creature and in being so could be said to have no “life cycle”, its creation is still a process. Dragons are incredibly long lived beings, their lifespans far outstripping most humanoids. The existence of the Dracolich would suggest that even these majestic creatures still fear the ravages of time. The transformation process is unholy and dangerous, and therefore most commonly attempted by evil dragons that wish to stave off death, have struck some sort of dark pact, or simply have a unquenchable thirst for ever greater power. This leads many guild scholars to believe that the chromatic dragons are the most inclined to attempt the change into lichdom. Some have personalities that are too impatient to attempt this, these being the Green and White Dragons who have poor dispositions for such long term goals. Others colors have greater disposition towards the cost of achieving lichdom, such as the power hungry Red Dragons, the cruel and selfish Black Dragons, or the ever plotting Blue Dragons.

The transformation is a closely guarded secret, but there are many theories and hypotheses about surviving in undeath and preserving the consciousness. It is said that each particular ritual is tailored to the individual performing it, but all are painful and incredibly dangerous. Failure results not only in death, but damage to the soul (should it survive at all).

All methods agree that there must be a receptacle for the released soul known as a “phylactery”. This usually takes the form of a very well crafted and suitably powerful gem. These gems are always of the highest quality, as flaws and blemishes upon the object would make them unable to contain the necromantic magics required. These phylacteries are guarded jealously and under the most powerful minions, magics, and traps that the Dracolich can summon, for its immortality is assured as long as the artifact remains undamaged and unsanctified.

The ritual itself varies by Dracolich and theory. The process is a long ritual of great concentration and preparation, some theories claiming that it may take weeks to complete. Circles of power must be drawn, potions must be brewed, and artifacts collected. When all preparations are made, the Dragon must find a secluded place to perform the ritual where they will not be interrupted for an extended period of time. Often this takes place far and away from civilization where wayward humans might stumble upon them. The ritual involves a carefully planned suicide of the body, at which time the soul is drawn forth and magic is used to redirect it from any seeking divine power that would guide it to an afterlife. The purpose of the ritual suicide to slow the process of death so that Dragon may continue to weave the necessary magics even while dying and in incredible pain. Only the most disciplined of minds would have a chance at completing this task.

Some scholars insist that the process is not one that can be performed by the Dragon alone, and that it must be assisted by a powerful magic user who is willing to provide magical aid in directing the soul and balancing the flow of magical energies. The implications of this method would also suggest that a sufficiently powerful wizard may be able to force the transformation on a helpless Dragon. If any true evidence of this exists, then it has been wisely destroyed or forever hidden.

An opposing school of thought insists that the process is done alone through the brewing of a very potent extraction, which the Dragon imbibes in order to destroy itself. This theory has been the source of great research into necromantic brews that mimic the effects of death, from the rotting appearance of a corpse to the unholy resistances that undead beings have. The mixture would require a massive amount of necromantic power and negative energy infused in it, and could take years to brew a single draught. A single mistake could result in failure... or worse.

It is worth noting that a small school of scholars propose a more divine method through the evil Dragon god known as Tiamat. Humans have poor understanding of this deity, however, and so very little has come of such speculation.

Physiological Observations

Physiological observations of the Dracolich are in direly short supply. Thankfully few of these creatures have existed. I was, through diplomatic request, able to gain temporary access to the only known Dracolich to have been taken “alive”: Daganth the Eclipse, held in highest restraints within the Elven temples of the Western Empire. The beast was terrifying even in captivity and his consciousness subdued. It took me several attempts before I was capable of remaining in the room for more than a few seconds without fleeing in fear.

The physical body of a Dracolich can be an indicator of its power and age, with new Dracoliches still having flesh yet to rot. Once the soul has been removed from the body, the body is most certainly dead. As such, without proper physical care and magics (both are required as mundane means only go so far) the body begins to rot and decompose. While there are the incredibly rare reports of Dracoliches who have maintained their body carefully throughout the ages, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that with great age comes little motivation to do so. Thus, most Dracoliches allow their body to rot until they are little more than great skeletal figures.

The decomposition process is what makes determining the original scale color of the Dragon difficult. One must work from clues based on skeletal shape, size, and wear. This can be terribly misleading, however, as time and personal habit can lead to odd markings and alterations. While conceivably a Dracolich may be of any age at the time of conversion, the experienced required to undergo the transformation means that most are skeletons of great size and age, the wyrms of their kind. This makes most of the beasts quite large, the size of several buildings in length and height, though obviously without much of the weight from organs and tissue. It maintains the great claws of the Dragon species, as well as the mighty teeth.

Though the beast has no eyes, it appears to have no trouble seeing. In fact, it seems capable of discerning friend and foe in the pitch black with ominous green light that emanates from the sockets. For all accounts and purposes this is completely cosmetic in that the creature has no need of the light. It is, however, incredibly unnerving. They are also capable of hearing, despite their lack of ears. Speech is possible through the use of magic. Mundane means no longer serve as the throat has long since turned to dust.

The Dracolich has no need to eat, breath, sleep, or even move unless it so desires. This makes its lair options quite varied, and allows it to choose according to its purpose. Mountain caves, old labyrinths, ancient forests, even the bottom of the ocean if it serves the beast's needs.

A truly fascinating aspect of the Dracolich is the presence of the Dragon's Breath, despite the creature's lack of inherent lungs, throat, or indeed even the need to breath at all. I believe that this is a kind of sentimental attachment to the existence of its living counterpart and the deep seated connection to its being and type. A Dracolich is quite capable of emitting terrible and powerful energies from its jaws, usually in the form of ghostly fire or necrotic black energy. However, some Dracoliches do not seem bound to this particular breath, as the Dracolich Saphira is said to have emitted jets of acid during the Wars of Myth in the Second Age. I am told that Daganth the Eclipse does not have this capability. This would suggest that the magical nature of the beast makes them capable of learning to augment this breath to suit their needs if they are sufficiently powerful and inclined to learn.

The body of a Dracolich is far from indestructible, though it is indeed incredibly resilient due to the powers that move it. Should the body be destroyed, the bones cracked and scattered to the point that the spirit of the creature can no longer maintain the form, it crumbles to dust. This is not the end of the beast, however, as long as the phylactery remains intact. In time, the soul crafts a new body to inhabit near the phylactery so that the beast may continue its unlife. Human variations of liches can take over a week to reform a physical manifestation. It stands to reason that the body of such a massive creature would take longer, possibly even months, before it is capable of being inhabited once more. During this time, the essence and soul of the Dracolich is bound to its phylactery, unable to act upon the world. This is when the creature is most vulnerable. As a result, the phylactery of such a creature is always well hidden and guarded.

The physical weaknesses of the Dracolich are few and far between. Being once Dragons, their bones are incredibly sturdy and difficult to destroy, and they retain the powerful energies that cause spells to falter in their presence. The addition of the... I reluctantly say “benefits”... of undeath make them even more resilient. The Dracolich does not have any of the valuable organs, the small breaks in the scaly hide, or the dependency on sensory organs that adventurers have used in the past to assail Dragons. The beast does not fear the lucky axe blade nicking an artery, or the well placed dagger piercing the eye. The necromantically infused bones will shrug off all but the most grievous of injuries and the lack of pain means that even these will not cause the beast to falter. The one true weakness these abominations seem to fear is the power of the Divine, and the life giving positive energies it brings. Even this is a difficult weapon to wield, as the beast is capable of attempting to stifle these energies to prevent them from affecting it. Daganth himself emits a horrible aura, and his lair was desecrated to slow the advance of the Elven Clerics that assaulted him.

The Un-Life Cycle

As stated above, the Dracolich could be said to have no true life cycle. Upon completing the creation process, Dracoliches may suffer damage to their psyche. This can lead to varying degrees of memory loss for the creature. As with human liches, this is of little consequence to a being who now holds eternity. The unlife of such a beast is never over until its phylactery is utterly destroyed, and the remains sanctified by divine power in order to purge the necromantic energies that fuel it.

There is one particular ability that sets the Dracolich apart from its humanoid “cousin” in necromancy. When the body is destroyed, a Dracolich soul is capable of forcing itself into and taking control of the corpse of another slain Dragonkind. This need not be the same type of Dragon, or even another Dragon at all. In fact, the power seems only limited to being a sufficiently reptilian physiology. Documents of Dracoliches surviving assaults in such a way describe a marked change in the Dracolich, and it would appear that the process alters the souls according to the body it chooses to assume control of. In some cases, it could be considered an entirely new Dracolich due to the process. This also means that this particular form of preservation is a last resort for the creature.

Ironically, even these beings who have sacrificed everything to gain immortality are unexpectedly subject to the ravages of time. Much of the following is based on documents, some speculation regarding humanoid liches, and the journals of such beings that have been found. It stands to reason, however, that the Dracolich would follow much of the same procedure:

With the dislocation of the soul from the body, it is made free to wander without it at times. The soul can explore planes that no mortal coil could ever enter. During this time, the body is unattended and inanimate. It merely wastes away further, dissolving into dust until the soul returns to restore it over a slow process of regeneration. In humans, this great time takes a toll upon the psyche, and may eventually result in psychological damage. The soul may also find that the body rejects its return, and it must reassert its control, possibly unsuccessfully. The mental erosion can turn the bodiless lich into nothing more than an unstable essence that eventually fades to oblivion. This is the slow, but ultimately inevitable fate of liches that are not destroyed. It is uncertain whether the effects of time are as detrimental to a creature whose mind and body were built to withstand much greater passage than that of a humanoid. Thus, the Dracolich may be capable of this spiritual disconnection for much longer than any humanoid counterpart before detriment to the mind or its ability to control the physical manifestation.

One feared speculation among scholars is that the Dracolich may be capable of a particular transformation into an iteration seen in humanoid liches known as the “Demilich”. In humanoids, the extended deterioration leaves behind only the skull (which remains forever pristine) and little more than a shadow of the original intelligence or essence. The result is an unintelligent but incredibly powerful and dangerous skull that is capable only of a basic animalistic instinct... usually to devour the soul of any adventurer foolish enough to destroy it. While there are no documented cases of a “Demi-Dracolich”, this has not stopped the speculation that such a creature may be possible. More frightening, there are cases of “Awakened” Demiliches who retain their intelligence and have even greater power than before after eons of spiritual travel. Should an Awakened Demi-Dracolich skull exist, it would be an artifact of such terrifying power and malice that one trembles at the possible horrors it could inflict upon the world.

Behavioral Observations

Each Dracolich is unique in its behavior, as it is an intelligent individual. This is greatly influenced by its personality and preferences in life. It is known that certain Dragons have particular personality dispositions, and this can carry over into the creatures unlife. Dracoliches that were once Red Dragons tend to be greatly domineering and obsessed with power. Former Blue Dragons tend to be greatly contemplative and far scheming. Each may have its own habits or ticks that it has developed over the eons. However, a very common theme is isolation and secrecy, as when their presence becomes known there is great panic and attempts are made to eradicate them. A Dracolich may influence an area inhabited by lesser creatures for decades or even centuries before anyone ever discovers the beast itself.

The typical Dracolich has no actual necessity to move, and therefore can appear as nothing more than a pile of draconic bones. At the same time, the mind of the beast may be contemplating any number of things during internal processes, giving no sign of such machinations.

A creature that lives forever generally has two options that overtake their behavior: Increased obsession with some goal or knowledge, or the eventual drifting into listless disconnection from the physical world. Being born from beasts of Dominance and power, the Dracolich tends to favor the former over the latter. This means that a Dracolich will spend countless years seeing some sort of goal come to fruition (simple with no concept of time anymore), or continue to actively seek some fascination it held in life. A Dracolich, therefore, is an incredibly talented creature concerning the skills it may learn, the magical prowess it has pursued in arcane studies, or the procurement of truly astounding and unique artifacts for its treasure horde (another quality they retain from life). This makes each and every one truly unique.

When threatened, the Dracolich is a deadly foe. They are cunning and planning, often not engaging until the opportune moment and having servants and thralls soften the defenses of the enemy first. When pressed into combat themselves, they prove more dangerous than any creature at their command. Ghostly fire or life devouring energies may spring from the bony jaws and consume a foolish adventurer. Their claws and teeth can crush and maul any melee combatant, piercing through the hardiest of armors and magical protections, making quick work of the enemy. Most fearful of all, however, are the powerful magical energies that the creature has at its command. Centuries or even millenia of arcane knowledge and artifacts may be at the Dracolich's command, along with the tactical experience necessary for deadly efficiency with tooth, claw, and magic. No one wishing to slay this beast should make the attempt without a great deal of planning and adequate provisions. Even then, the chances of success are slim.

Social Observations

Dracoliches are, beyond thankfully, magnificently rare creatures. Much like the Dragons they once were, Dracoliches are solitary creatures. Though after their change, they are no longer driven to even interact with their own kind in order to breed, making them more reclusive than before. Their personalities are as varied as their living counterparts, though they tend to be more malicious and cruel due to the evil nature their unnatural life requires of them. It is possible that a Dracolich may interact with others of its kind. Dragons tend to be as intelligent (and often far more so) than humans, and a Dracolich retains this quality. They are capable of forming bonds with each other, but are greatly uninclined to do so. They retain the predatory predilections of Dragon kind as well, both in speech and body language. Considering the power and investment their creation requires, it is safe to assume that most of the Dracoliches would be intellectual in disposition, though how that manifests can vary dramatically.

Inter-Species Interaction

Most Dracoliches are unrepentantly evil, and as such, treat other creatures with great maliciousness and cruelty. Being intelligent, they are driven by their own desires and wants, and therefore are not usually interested in interacting with what they consider “sub-races” or “sub-creatures” unless there is something particularly useful or noteworthy about the subject that the Dracolich fancies. This means that most creatures who come in contact with a Dracolich are either killed or subjugated. The reasoning is almost always selfish. A Dracolich's intelligence means that they are also capable of handling and keeping lesser creatures as minions, usually to guard their bodies and dissuade any intruders to the lair so that the creature need not bother itself with such trivial matters. All variety of creature may be found, from mindless undead drawn to the necromantic energies, to animals following carrion or cohabiting the environment, to even thralls or hired mercenaries from sentient races. Any preferences in slaves tend to match the Dracolich's personality from life. There are reports of a kind of reptilian affinity for those Dracoliches that keep living creatures as some strange form of “pet”.

When the Dracolich does enthrall or subjugate lesser creatures, they often tend to do so with purpose and reason. A Dracolich is more than capable of furthering its own goals through manipulation of the political landscape of lesser creatures, and as stated above this manipulation can last many many years through the quiet use of puppets and envoys before the true mastermind is revealed. There is commonly a desire to accumulate some form of wealth, which satisfies the beast's desire to be dominant over others.

Should a Dracolich seek an equal partnership with another creature, the power of that individual must be something to be reckoned with. In all likelihood, the Dracolich begrudgingly admires the creature, as in any other case it would most likely subjugate the competition. Usually any alliance is short lived (relatively speaking), and serves some purpose or desire of the Dracolich, be it power, artifact, or personal gain.

DM's Toolkit

Story

Grand and deadly, the Dracolich is a great mid to late game challenge for any party. The typical first reaction is to have such a powerful and frightening creature serve as the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy, for those who don't know) in the campaign. However, I find that they tend to work best not as the final evil creature pulling the strings, but as a very competent “Second-in-Command”. While they are indeed frightening and dangerous enemies, they are rather alien in their thinking and can be difficult to connect with as a villain.

It can be very effective to have the true villain in control of such a beast, either by force or by agreement. The arrival can be quite dramatic when the end of the BBEG looms, and this foul monster comes to his aid with the force of dark wings. The Dracolich can also serve as a wonderful “complication” in the assault on the BBEG, with the party knowing that the villain has this creature in his bag of tricks and having to concoct a plan to deal with the creature and its master in one fell swoop. Of course, this is always open to any interpretation, as they can just as easily make for a terrible, monstrous driving force behind evil deeds in any campaign.

Due to their intelligence and cunning, any encounter with a Dracolich should be a very big event and planned. The Dracolich is not the typical random enemies a party faces, but a dark and brooding force. It plans and plots in its dark lair, furthering some evil desire that drives it in unlife. It does not reveal itself too early, being far too cunning for such a thing. It studies the party, learning about its enemy, focusing on discovering crippling weaknesses both in combat and out. A Dracolich has no qualms about holding innocents hostage or forcing the party to turn on itself due to creed, purpose, or magical domination. Then it plans for the proper time and place to destroy such adventurers.

Have this creature serve as a master of others, a cunning plotter steeped in the political intrigue of both the mortals around it, and the cosmic forces above. Outsiders and natives alike will tremble in fear before such power.

Combat

A Dracolich is rarely surprised by the foolhardy attacks of a short lived and mortal being, having eons of experience on its side. They create a daunting task. Should the party bring the fight to the beast themselves, they should expect a dangerous lair filled with defenses and traps tailored to their intrusion, as well as a variety of intelligent and unintelligent creatures that the Dracolich has collected and subjugated to serve him. They should also expect a very fatiguing battle, as the entire lair gives them no chance of resting and little chance of healing.

The biggest weakness of this kind of villain is its pride. A good way to flavor the personality of this particular monster is to remember that it believes itself invulnerable and superior to any challenger (a very Draconic trait). Who doesn't love a little bit of cliched “This cannot beeeee!” as the warrior sunders the phylactery of this mighty foe? The greatest strength is the Dracolich's versatility, and as such they serve best as a “controlling” type monster on the battlefield, buffing melee thralls and delivering devastating pain in the background. They are easily augmented, and capable of taking class levels as wizards, sorcerers, or warlocks. They also gain the use of feats both monstrous and humanoid. Metamagics can serve fantastically for a Dracolich who wishes to ambush the party with silent spells and maximized damage. Feats for multiattack and increased melee damage can give the monster a fall back for when the party closes the distance either in the air or on the ground. You can also justify having the negative energy breath weapon drain levels, just like a number of undead creatures. It makes for quite a scene when the party has its paladin and barbarian driving off the hordes of Dragon Cultists in brutal melee while the wizard and priest are deflecting blasts of necrotic energy and hurling thunderstorms at the Skeletal Dragon.

After the big finale, the Dracolich is an incredibly rewarding victory. It is sure to have a great deal of treasure and loot to pour through, and a veritable mountain of gold. This is another reason why the Dracolich serves as a very good second-in-command to the BBEG, as the players will get a true boost in the character value and equipment just after defeating the beast. This might give them that big McGuffin they require, or just give them the opportunity to buy themselves a brand new toy and actually have a chance to use it in the final battle that looms just ahead.

Dragon: Shadow

Every night, more of the king’s family disappeared. The bodies were torn to bits, savagely mutilated. The villagers blamed ghouls, or vampires. Eolyn was no amateur, however. Ghouls couldn’t slip into the keep unnoticed, especially after the wards she had prepared. And in the woods, she had seen the footprints of a man gradually become larger and morph into claws. A shapechanger.

Tonight, she was ready. Her familiar had observed the comings and goings of the townsfolk, and she was ready to lay an ambush for the monster that was targeting this town. After dark, she and her companions lay in wait outside the smith’s hut, and when she heard the door creak open she summoned her silver pact blade. When dealing with lycanthropes, it was important to strike fast and true, and that is why she did not give any warning but instead struck right for the neck when the blacksmith stepped out.

”Ow!” the blacksmith exclaimed, gingerly touching the shallow cut where the sword had bounced off his neck. “That… that really smarts. What impelled you to do something so stupid?” He sighed. “I had really hoped that I could set up a more reasonable government here without claiming any souls, but I can’t just let a human take a swing at me and walk away. I’d be a laughingstock, you know.” The man’s features began to shift, and his body grew in the manner that Eolyn was accustomed to. Then he KEPT on growing. “Nothing personal,” he growled.

As the ash-colored dragon looked down upon her, Eolyn started to reconsider the value of giving fair warning before an attack.

Introduction

Shadow dragons are metallic dragons tinted a dusky grey by the Shadowfell. Due to their manipulative and often vicious behavior, it is a common misconception that Shadow dragons are descended from the bloodlines of chromatic dragons. This is actually far from the case. Though chromatic dragons can become shadow dragons as well, metallic dragons are far more susceptible to this transformation, as the dark powers that exist in the Shadowfell seem to enjoy corrupting good-hearted souls more.

Physiological Observations

Shadow dragons are easily distinguishable from other dragon types due to their coloration, which gradually fades from their original color to a charcoal hue that can range from grey to black. They maintain the physical features of their original dragon subtype; for example, a gold shadow dragon will have sail-like wings and long flexible spines dangling from either side of its face. Viewed from very close, the inside of a shadow dragon’s scales retains the dragons original coloration, occasionally shining through where the edges of the scales rub against each other. Of course, shadow dragons are rarely seen unless they choose to be. In darkness, a shadow dragon’s body becomes transparent and can be seen through, as though it were composed of dark smoke. Blades, weapons, and even most spells barely effect this incorporeal form. Of course, the shadow dragon can choose to make certain parts of its body briefly corporeal – generally, its claws and teeth.

In daylight, shadow dragons in their true form are blinded, and it can be noticed that their eyes are almost entirely pupil, with very little sclera visible. Their inability to dilate the pupil prevents them from controlling the amount of light that enters their eyes. Metallic dragons who have mastered the ability to change their shape are not affected by this limitation while in humanoid shape, and most spend their daylight hours in this form, posing as humanoids. This combination – the ability to fly and be nearly invisible at night, while posing as humanoids in the day – makes shadow dragons excellent spies and assassins, and this is generally their favorite methodology for resolving conflict. Shadow dragons are almost never seen in their true forms unless they are about to make a kill.

Shadow dragons generally have two breath weapons: the non-damaging breath weapon of their metallic ancestry, and another that stems from their connection to the Shadowfell. The elemental breath weapon of a shadow dragon is replaced by a white mist that appears to hurt the victim’s shadow in the way that the original breath weapon normally would. For example, a silver dragon normally has an icy breath, so a silver shadow dragon would breathe out a mist that appears to freeze their opponent’s shadow. A gold dragon normally has fiery breath, so a gold shadow dragon would breathe out a mist that appears to set their opponent’s shadows on fire. Regardless of the visual effect, all shadow dragons elemental breath weapons deal necrotic damage. If the victim is killed by this effect, their shadows separate from their body after a few moments, rising as undead shadows that are under the complete control of the dragon.

Behaviorial Observations

Shadow dragons tend to have the same general personality of their dragon type. For example, brass dragons are talkative, bronze dragons oppose tyranny, and copper dragons have a good sense of humor. However, the Shadowfell alters the personality of every shadow dragon, causing significant mental instability. Every shadow dragon is consumed by one of the traditional “seven deadly sins.” A shadow dragon consumed by pride might set itself up as the ruler of a society. A shadow dragon consumed by greed or envy might be a merchant king. A dragon consumed by gluttony is a rapacious predator. And a dragon consumed by lust is… well, best not to think about.

Regardless of which vice they succumb to, all shadow dragons become homicidally dangerous when their ability to indulge in their innate vice is threatened. For example, the aforementioned pride dragon that rules a kingdom might generally be a fair and just ruler – it prides itself on having the respect of its subjects. However, if one of those subjects does not show it enough deference, the dragon will unhesitatingly roast them alive. Or perhaps a neighboring kingdom doesn’t show enough respect to the dragon. Where a mortal king might simply ignore an accidental slight to his ego, the dragon monarch would declare war. To a shadow dragon, their innate vice eclipses everything. Thus, even the most virtuous of shadow dragons are dangerous creatures which need to be interacted with cautiously. To make matters worse, shadow dragons do not know what their “vice” is, or even that they have one – from their perspective, their vice is perfectly rational and it is the rest of the world which is illogical. In this way, the Shadowfell corrupts even the most pure-hearted metallic dragons.

Social Observations

Generally speaking, shadow dragons gradually become neutral or evil in alignment. They start with good goals, but are absolutely ruthless in how they choose to pursue those goals, and when this is combined with an uncontrollable urge to indulge in some sort of vice, the combination can be quite unpleasant. Most shadow dragons consider themselves to be good, but a more “pragmatic” good than their naïve cousins. They have a ruthless “the means justifies the end” mentality that can often be quite horrific in its application. For example, a silver dragon might try to improve a human society by educating and guiding it. A silver shadow dragon, on the other hand, might try to improve that society through eugenics, gradually eliminating “unworthy” bloodlines.

Shadow dragons tend to be urban creatures, and often make lairs in a city, storing their treasure in vast underground basements that are guarded by their servants – both living and undead. Despite their terrifying abilities, shadow dragons prefer to rule from the shadows rather than openly seizing power. In a city controlled by a shadow dragon, most of the residents will not even be aware of the dragon’s existence – they will simply learn over time that the night is something to be feared. Residents who oppose the dragon’s goals will simply disappear one evening, walking into a patch of white mist and never being seen alive again. Shadows lurk everywhere, spying on conversations which they whisper back to their dark master. Even the rulers of the city may not be aware of the true nature of the creature they serve – all they know is that this person knows more secrets than they have a right to, and controls a veritable army of undead. A group of adventurers unfamiliar with shadow dragons may easily leap to the wrong conclusion and assume that the nobles are being manipulated by vampires or lycanthropes.

Inter-Species Observations

Chromatic dragons tend to be terrified of shadow dragons, although they would never openly admit it. Since most shadow dragons consider themselves to be metallic dragons, they are inherently hostile to chromatics. However, their transformation makes them vicious and lacking in any ethical restrictions. The very first opening move in a conflict with another dragon is to send an army of shadows out to hunt down and kill the other dragon’s eggs.

Metallic dragons are not particularly well inclined towards shadow dragons either. In situations where the shadow dragon was once a metallic that was gradually tainted by the Shadowfell, they generally have friendships or alliances with other metallic dragons, and these relationships may survive their transformation. However, at the very least the shadow dragon will be considered by other metallic dragons to be mentally ill, and even their former friends will treat them with caution.

Shadow dragons have a very dangerous view of humanoids – they consider every humanoid to be a potential pawn or puppet. Their stealthy nature and shapeshifting ability makes it easy for shadow dragons to gather blackmail on people of influence, and if a person is not susceptible to this form of compulsion, a simple breath is enough to turn them into an undead shadow willing to obey the shadow dragon’s every command. Humanoids who interact with shadow dragons must be aware that at the back of the dragon’s mind is a constant calculus of “Is this creature more valuable to me alive or dead?” and conduct their interactions accordingly.

DM's Toolkit

For a shadow dragon, creating an army of minions is literally as easy as breathing. As such, they make ideal BBEGs for your campaign. Their abilities and personality makes them best suited for hit-and-run tactics. During the daytime, a shapeshifted shadow dragon might pretend to be a peddler and accompany the PCs to a town, learning about their strengths and weaknesses the entire time. Then it transforms, takes wing, and breathes on the town, turning them all into shadows to attack the PCs. After PC warriors have been weakened by the shadows Strength-draining attacks, the shadow dragon will move in for the kill.

Shadow dragons who are spellcasters favor spells that provide darkness or obscurement, such as Darkness or Stinking Cloud. This allows them to skew battles in their favor (since they have blindsight, they can see perfectly well under such circumstances) while also providing them with protection from the sun if they have to fight in daylight. A shadow dragon that is forced to fight in bright light (especially daylight) will choose to flee if these protections are dispelled.

It is important to remember that due to their Living Shadow feature, a shadow dragon that fights in the dark effectively has twice as many hit points as another dragon of the same age. Like all dragons, shadow dragons are highly intelligent creatures and will use this to their advantage. When applying the shadow dragon template to a normal dragon, increase the CR by 3 to reflect this.

In many campaigns, BBEGs are not encountered until the very end of the game, due to PC tendencies to kill any enemy they meet. Shadow Dragons are a refreshing change of pace because their unfair hit-and-run tactics mean that PCs who are attacked by them in the dark will be heavily on the defensive and will probably need to find a way to retreat or escape, while a shadow dragon attacked in the daytime (or with their darkness spells dispelled) will probably retreat, even if it normally might outclass them. Having multiple encounters with an enemy that can be far stronger than them in certain circumstances adds a personal element to the rivalry with the BBEG. Killing the shadow dragon will require a lot of cunning as the PCs need to come up with a plan to get the dragon in a well-lit area where they have the advantage, while at the same time cornering it in such a way that the dragon cannot simply escape and come back for revenge later.

Dragon: Black

I had slain every kind of dragon except the Black. Mighty reds, Cunning Blues, Dangerous Greens, and Primal whites all pale to the horrors that I found in that lair. At first it seemed like any other of the foul beasts lairs but then I stumbled upon, nah smelled the feeding chamber. I turned back and never took another Black contract again. - Radiald Dragon Hunter

Introduction

Many dragons are feared and worshiped; hardly any Black Dragons would be in the latter category. Most would say that the great reds are the worst to come upon but some would argue that’s true of Black Dragons more so. Black Dragons are evil and sadistic like many chromatic dragons, but they revel in the anguish of victims. Tales of heroes overcoming a dragon often come from dragons of other colors, as Blacks don’t make that mistake. They have pride just like any dragon but they take pride in their art of torture and revel in their victims fear. To be caught by any dragon means death but to be caught by a Black Dragon means a very slow and a very very painful death.

Black Dragons are the cruelest of the cruel and take their time. They are patient, cunning and dangerous. Woe to those who find themselves in a Black Dragon’s lair as you are unlikely to escape. They are powerful creatures that could destroy many creatures in a fair fight that never fight fair.

Physiological Observations

Black Dragons are similar in frame to other dragons. Long serpentine necks and reptilian heads, with tall cat like bodies and long tails make them intimidating already. Like other dragons they can become immense and seemingly never stop growing. They differ in many ways from other dragons especially considering they're quite amphibious.

Black dragons' feet are webbed both in front and back and they have a tall frill extending from their spines from the base of the skull all the way to the end of their tail. They can breathe air or water and seem to enjoy just lying in the water waiting for prey.

A Black's skull and head are the defining features. First of all the large segmented horns that come of the sides of their heads and point forward are the most clear markings. These horns have incredible durability so don't count on cutting though them. Their faces are unique in that their eyes are sunken in and continue to appear so with age. Their noses are nothing but 2 sunken in nostrils upwards pointing at the end of their snout. With age the skin on their head and face gets thinner and thinner, sometimes exposing bone. This appearance gives them their apt nickname of skull dragons.

Their wings like any other dragon are large and powerful although given the terrain of swamps and fetid lakes they prefer swimming to flying. While swimming typically the wings are folded tightly to their sides and back but can be opened up to help push for powerful rushes forward. They are able with this process to go from completely submerged to flight.

A Black dragon's scales are always black but where they can differ is accents in color. Typically the wing, frill membrane and horns will share the same hue. Typically is a muddy grey color but more exotic specimen have been observed with yellow and greens for accenting colors. These colors usually match up with the murky swamp waters they inhabit. More exotic marshes that have green or yellow waters give these black dragons their unique colors.

As with any dragon a dangerous breath weapon can be used to decimate foes. While a Black prefers to torture enemies they rarely hesitate to use their breath to fell foes. They can spew a long line of acid that is so dangerous it melts any organic material it comes in contact with. This causes a slow debilitating but excruciating death that they more than enjoy watching.

The most overlooked yet hideously vile part of the dragon is the tail barb. It stores a totally different kind of acid or even venom in the tail. It seems to have a necrotic and extremely painful effect on the area stung. It's very thick which seems to prevent travel through the body like most other venom. It puts this to great use as discussed further when feeding.

Black dragons are probably the most patient hunters. They prefer to wait in the mud for a hapless victim to get close enough and then snap much like a crocodile would. If the initial attack doesn't work they either finish off prey with their teeth and claws or on rarer occasions when prey is larger or tougher to kill it will use the horrible breath weapon to end the fight.

Before I write on feeding I must speak on the evil nature of a Black Dragon. It's very well known that chromatic dragons are entirely evil but no other dragon is as sadistic and cruel as a Black Dragon. They plot and scheme the torture and misery of any creature near it and revel in their pain. A Black's favorite thing to watch is a society crumble and die, especially by their own claws. They love finding ancient submerged or water logged civilizations often making their home in or near them if suitable enough.

Feeding is by far the most common enjoyment a Black Dragon enjoys. While their diet of unthinking marine animals consists of the day to day diet they enjoy other prey in a very different way. Humanoids are the favorite prey of Blacks and almost anything intelligent. They don't just gobble up humanoids like they do with fish they make sport of capturing and torturing prey for long times. The mentioned tail barb is put to use to disable creatures legs and then they are dropped into the feeding chamber. Once stabbed the venom kill the appendage over time. Paired with being constantly submerged in the water causing water rot the appendage becomes forever useless and dead. This is when they feed.

They chomp off the rotting "pickled" meat and enjoy the prey's horror and disgust endured over and over again when all they have left to give is their life. Pickling as they call the process is practiced on many beings and most often humanoids. They enjoy watching from the shadows or secret compartments, their prey futilely trying to escape. Most may survive the initial dragon attack but few ever are relieved by that fact.

There are very few if any accounts of survivors of feeding chamber victims. I did manage to track one individual down who gave a fairly detailed explanation of how the room was. The room is very large and submerged in shallow fetid water full of rot and disease. There were 4 live victims with the remains and parts of many more making the rotting smell entirely engulfing. The survivor was able to escape after losing an arm to the pickling process. He managed to climb the slimy wall using broken bones as picks he stabbed into the muddy walls and climbing out of the ceiling chamber. The dragon was waiting for him in the tunnels and congratulated him on his efforts and let him go. “Well done human!” The dragon had told him and bade him on his way while the dragon climbed down the shaft to feed off of another victim. He didn’t question his fortune and hurried to town to tend to the rotting stump the dragon left of his arm. This is where I met with the man who unfortunately succumbed to the disease festering in him from the wound only a few days after I spoke with him. His last words to me were that of paranoid thoughts of the dragon following, even haunting him out of the corner of his eye. It wouldn’t surprise me that the dragon let him go knowing his wound mortal and enjoying the psychological damage done.

Black Dragons make their lairs complicated networks of chambers in the mud and dirt of any swamp, lake or flooded forest. There’s typically at least 5 chambers in every Lair, Bedding area, Visiting or Entertainment chamber, Treasure chamber, Feeding Chamber, and Observatory (typically into the feeding chamber). Dragons like to make their lairs complex for weaker creatures to navigate. For instance they usually drop down into a chamber from an angled slope somewhere on the ceiling. They typically will not do this for the visiting chamber as they like the surprise to outsiders to be complete. They typically tunnel down under the water and allow the air to keep the water at bay, or not, simply allowing it to spill. They will always keep their treasure room up higher to avoid water damage to any precious goods they may have or soon obtain. Their lairs and the areas around them are usually "spoiled" with fetid water and rotting smells. Lairs will always have at least 2 entrances/exits. Typically the main entrance they can fly out of for escape but is usually concealed. The 2nd is almost always underwater.

Black Dragons are particularly fond of coins as treasure making them easier to bribe with gold than most others. While they hold coin in high regard they most value ancient artifacts of lost civilizations. They are eager to obtain such things and not against bargaining for them. A typical Black horde will have mostly coin and occasionally some magic items. On rare occasions very powerful ancient items are found in their lair as they constantly keep an ear or eye out for such treasures to add to their collections. They are also fond of dominating and toying with sentient magical items. Typically older dragons will get their claws on at least 1 such item and use it regularly for entertainment when not sleeping.

All dragons live a long time and Black Dragons are no exception living for millennia. But as most they are not immortal and will eventually die. They continue to become stronger and more powerful up until the last few months of their lives where they wither and die quickly. Almost all dragons seek a way to avoid death in many means. The most typical way for a Black Dragon is that of lichdom. They are especially talented at this form of immortality as they can maintain their sanity for a long time given their sensibilities are very close to that of a lich to begin with. They may lose over time their love for torture and instead go for a quick kill but that will take thousands of years to even start to occur.

Black Dragons from the time of birth hang around the father’s territory building their own 1 or 2 chamber homes until they reach a young adult stage. They will then depart usually after directly visiting their father for advice on a location and then build their own lair over the next few years. While building they are usually more concerned with the act and only hunt for food. Once a lair is established and finished though life carries on as usual. The older a dragon gets the more comfortable they are with leaving their territory for short periods of time. They usually go on an annual “treasure hunt” to specifically build up their horde. Males will normally inform children they are actively guarding at the time and not travel more than 100 miles.

Social Observations

Like many chromatic dragons Black Dragons are primarily solitary. They live most of their lives aware of but not near other Dragons. Being very large and dangerous predators the environment may not suit even 2 fully grown Dragons. The most likely time to see multiple Black Dragons are when mating has come into play.

Black Dragons treat other Black Dragons with general mistrust and even as a potential threat. They will very rarely cooperate considering any conflict achievable by they themselves. Black Dragons like most other dragons are prideful to a fault and will be stubborn and independent to their end, with one exception discussed further. That pride unlike other dragons doesn’t cause them to overestimate a humanoid as they always have killing them in the back of their mind.

Most animal males fight for a female to impress them but for Black Dragons it goes the other way around. When a female is ready to mate she will travel far from her den if needed to find a male. She must display her worth and will typically show this by completing tasks set by a male. This may include fighting other females if multiple suitors arrive at once for 1 male. Once she was proved her worth she will then mate with the male to create eggs. She will carry the eggs for around 3 weeks before giving birth to them in the male's territory. At this time the maternal instinct has come to an end and she returns home usually cursing herself for leaving her hoard unguarded.

Black Dragon males from the time of egg lying are tasked with guarding the eggs in his territory. He will protect them from predators but usually keeps a distance from them. Males will watch over hatchlings for many years until they fly away looking for their own territories. This is usually at the time of early adulthood, about 40 years.

Males give their young protection from potential threats and even guidance from time to time. This interaction between father and child is seen by humanoids as cold at best. The paternal instinct in a Black Dragon is very strong and conflicts with their sadistic and evil natures resulting in a "tuff love". Most Blacks would never admit it but they have a soft spot for their children. The children also often idolize their fathers. This may be why females fight over males as father figures may influence that decision. It's important to note that when attacking young Black Dragons you're likely to face an adult male. Although the connection is lose at best between father and child when the child leaves they still hold a fondness for them the rest of their lives. This is probably the only chink in any emotional armor to a Black Dragon.

Intra-Species Observations

Black Dragons are notoriously sadistic and evil and due to this they do not get along with many creatures. Most humanoids are destroyed and eaten when entering their territory. As watching civilization crumble is their most favorite thing in all of their existence any towns nearby are likely to have a Black Dragon invade local politics through bribery and manipulation. Nothing pleases them more than when riots break out and the town destroys itself.

Sometimes lizardfolk and bullwugs are found as slaves or worshipers of Black Dragons as they share a swamp like territory. Black Dragons are particularly fond of bullwugs as their society is disastrous at best and will entertain them to no end. They normally do not allow other races to stay long as they will usually start filling up their feeding chamber when bored of any other race. They will keep a society of lizardfolk or bullywugs close for centuries as guards if needed. Lizardfolk are desired as being very capable and obedient guards.

Black Dragons are born fighters and killers so when pitted against formidable opponents they like to fight, and know how, but always fight dirty. When against other dragons they will immediately go for the eyes with their breath weapon or attack from the shadows if possible. They will then wade in with a frenzy of bites, claws, goring with their horns and stinging and bludgeoning with their tails. They also like to particularly target other dragon’s wings as they want the flight advantage if things get too dangerous for them.

With humanoids and other smaller foes they like to start with a tail whip and knocking as many enemies as they can down. Once unable to move they will douse targets in their breath weapon and move in to finish them off with their teeth, wings and claws. There’s nothing easy about fighting with a Black Dragon. They also prefer to keep at least a few survivors for pickling.

Many tales of heroes biding time with a dragon playing against its pride have led many to believe this is a viable strategy in dealing with Black Dragons. When in truth most dragons and especially Black Dragons are smart enough to see past such ploys and only entertain themselves by playing with their food as they call it. A Black Dragon likes to position themselves in a way when facing a humanoid that at least part of them is obscured to surprise sting with their tail. They will entertain conversations for long times if the topic is interesting and sometimes will spare a creature if it feels the relationship could be beneficial, for a time at least.

When a Black Dragon is outmatched or in danger they have no qualms in leaving to fight another day, as they will fly away. Per their personality normally they will remember those foes and plot a subtle and excruciating death for all involved later on down the road. Letting a Black Dragon live is sometimes more dangerous than finishing a close fight. They are crafty and creative in their revenge and exact it completely.

Various Forms

As with most creatures Black Dragons can be found in many forms. You could consider the various colors of dragon variants of the Chromatic Dragon specie as they share many aspects and features. This is more of different forms of a Black Dragon as they all can be one or more of these at one point in their lives, except for gender changes (usually, magic can do some strange things).

Females – It’s important to distinguish the difference of females and males in particular. Females are far more solitary in nature only possibly keeping in contact with their fathers. Usually a dragon is never far from their lair but with females this is possible and they are far more likely to employ trusted slaves, servants, allies or pets to guard treasure while gone. Females never mate with their fathers, this is openly admitting a fondness or weakness.

Males – Males are just as evil and sadistic but this behavior clashes with their love for their children, although begrudgingly. They normally don’t leave their area and are slightly distressed in leaving their territory incase young need guidance and of course their treasure. Males are more prone to bartering and conversation being less traveled than females but still enjoy a fun pickling as any other.

Dracoliches – The Black Dragon Dracoliches are different in that they retain a majority of their personality for many more years than that of other Dracoliches. Males still harbor love for their children as the paternal instinct is very strong and often the last aspect to go.

Humanoid masqueraders – This is one possibility when a Black Dragon takes a “vacation”. This is normally when they start to sew the seeds of discord in a community. They play the part of the politician usually and seek to destroy the unity and “rock the boat” as some humans might say. They typically appear as raven haired member of the dominant race and enjoy solitary quarters. They will stay this way for a few months or as long as they feel needed to start fires and leave to watch the show. As they normally are an outsider they will try and quickly gain the trust of a leader and influence or even force them to certain positions.

Treasure Hunters – This is the other possibility of a “vacation”. This is when a Black Dragon is roaming and looking to increase their horde. Usually they will travel within a 500 mile radius and pick a location to plunder. They favor ancient ruins hoping to find treasures and take pleasure in learning the fall of the society. They normally are never gone more than 2 months but longer journeys they’ll stretch to 3. They normally do not attack communities outright. They will employ or force laborers to transport treasure back to their horde, and usually add them to their pickling room when finished.

Good Black Dragons – It’s not unheard of for a Black Dragon to succumb to “good” as good folk succumb to evil. As males battle with their sadistic nature and their love for their children some take to the love side of their personality. Females are far less likely to occur as even among males this is an extremely rare occasion. The dragon acts more as a protector of their swamp than a great danger to outsiders. Given other conflictions even a good dragon may consider humanoids food but torture while always a desire is withheld in these individuals.

DM’s Toolbox

Black Dragons are a powerful adversary like any dragon and they fit the bill for a great villain who’s calculating and ruthless. Here are some ideas on how to use a Black Dragon.

Your standard run of the mill, kill the dragon get the treasure

A trade caravan has to go through a known Black’s swamp and needs protection

A city is dealing with a rather disruptive individual politically that seems to be swaying the town politically into a downward spiral.

An important NPC or team member has been captured and is in danger of or being pickled.

A father Black Dragon as last resort looks for help in aiding a child from a dangerous situation or rival such as another dragon. (very tricky RP situation as a dragon as an “ally”)

Run in with a treasure hunting dragon wanting your campaign’s maguffin.

A curious encounter with a good Black Dragon.

Dragon: Blue

Truly, it was the oddest thing. I'd heard talk of a mighty Blue lording itself over a town, so I decided to solve their problem for them; only to get there, and be turned away! As it turns out, the Dragon was their mayor - their mayor! As it turns out, there was a relationship the townspeople were calling "mutually beneficial." The dragon gets livestock, and gets to bask in a sense of power and superiority, while the townspeople get the protection of a Dragon - hell, he even paid them! - Sven Silverblade, Monster Hunter.

Introduction

Blue Dragons - occasionally referred to as Storm Dragons - are some of the most amicable of the Chromatics, sometimes living as peaceful neighbors, employers, or even leaders of humanoid communities. By the same stroke, however, Blues will engage enemies in combat over even the smallest territorial infractions, or occasionally just to prove their power. All this culminates to the one thing Blues live for - to prove their power and superiority over others.

Physiological Observations

Blue Dragons share their overall physical form with their cousins - a large, reptilian body with powerful limbs and wings, as well as thick scales and a long, muscular neck. Blue Dragons are unique in several aspects besides coloration of their scales.

Blue Dragons have a specially developed brow ridge that works to funnel rainwater out of their eyes, thus serving to give them exceptional vision even in the heaviest of storms. Blues also have some of the most flexible wing joints of any dragons, their flying resembling nothing moreso than a bat. Though this flexibility does trade off a fair amount of impact durability to the wing joint, Blues can fly in hurricane winds with ease, catching blasts of air like a sailboat would catch a small gust.

Also unique about the Storm Dragon is its massive, heavily plated tail. The tail, aside from being lethal in combat, serves as a counterbalance in inclement weather, preventing the Dragon from being blasted around by shifts in the winds. Blues also have unusually reflective scales - while not quite to the point where it could be used as a mirror, the scales can allow a Blue to become all but invisible in clear skies or at nighttime.

Blues prefer to eat infrequent, large meals over many smaller ones, and have no special proclivities towards hunting the sapient for food - in fact, while they may hunt humanoids to prove their might, they show preference for food that doesn't fight back.

No matter how many autopsies I've performed on blues - three, with special thanks to Sven Silverblade and Tommik Stoneaxe - I cannot seem to find any physiological power behind the Storm Dragon's powerful lightning breath, leading me and my fellow researchers to believe the power's source is instead of magical origin, perhaps some remnant of the powers of Tiamat.

Territorial Observations

It's well-known that Blue Dragons prefer coastal lairs, but why? In my research, I was finally able to find out the reason. After speaking to the Blue Dragon Terrorcloud, he (or she - it's difficult to tell without a violation of the dragon's pride) had the following comment;It's not just the coast, and it definitely isn't the fish - it takes far too many to make a decent meal. Sure, the salt baths are great for cleaning the scales, but a handful of thralls can replace that easily. It's the storms, why my kin and I prefer the coast. There's a simple exhilaration in flying out into it's winds, roaring your challenge against its thunder and pitting your strength against its winds. It's the ultimate challenge of a Blue Dragon - the metaphorical force of nature against the literal one.

Aside from that, however, blues are some of the most versatile in their territorial habits - for pretty much any area will receive storms from time to time. This, combined with their fierce territorial claims (after conversations with the aforementioned Terrorcloud, I have concluded this ties in to their innate pride and sense of superiority) leads Blues into frequent conflict with many that may intrude upon their territory - humanoid civilizations, mighty underground denizens, and - not infrequently - other members of dragonkind.

The actual specifics of the lair seem not to matter much - Blues like lairs with easy access to the water, and are indifferent about access via land. They have a strong aesthetic sense about their hordes, primarily taking in visually pleasing treasures, with a preference for those blue in color. This leads Blues to more frequently having gorgeous works of art in their hordes, alongside the more traditional treasures. In fact, it's even been witnessed that Blues will disdain treasure that they find displeasing to the eye, upon fear that it will ruin the beautiful tableau of their lairs.

Social Observations

Blues, as mentioned above, are among the most social of dragons, and certainly the most agreeable. As long as one maintains the superiority and impressive power of the Blue, a visitor can frequently survive the conversation unscathed. It's also not uncommon for a Blue to claim peaceful dominion over a settlement, or have amicably hired workers in its employ - as all these only add to the sense of power and self-importance that a Storm Dragon has.

However, due to this need to feel powerful, Blues will only very rarely get along with other members of Dragonkind, even other Blues. The only time Blue Dragons will mate is during massive tropical storms, wherein all Storm Dragons in the area will challenge the winds and attempt to find a mate. The couple will then separate, the mother taking the clutch back to her lair to nest.

Lifecycle

A Blue Dragon will incubate for about 20 months, the first five happening inside their mother. The average clutch falls between 2 and 4 eggs, with failures to hatch being incredibly uncommon. After hatching, the wyrmlings take about 7 years to develop into a young dragon, at which point the mother will drive them from the nest.

Young Blues will typically be considered adults after living about 160 years, growing to about 31 feet in length, with a 36 foot wingspan. However, like all Dragons, this does not signal the end of their growth. Chromatic Dragons grow throughout their entire life, and have been recorded being as long as 85 feet and weighing in at over 80 tons.

A Blue Dragon is generally considered an Elder after living for a millennium, and an Ancient after living for 1,800 years. The oldest lifespan recorded for a Blue Dragon was approximately 2,300 years, from the record of it being hatched by a clan of Dragonborn, to the record of its death at the hands of a Dwarven empire more than two millenia later.

In Legend

Storm Dragons have an illustrious place in legend, beaten out only by their Red and Black cousins. Dwarven tales claim of mighty blues following powerful storms, adding their destruction to its, while Elven tales claim that the storms were, in fact, following the Blues. Blue Dragons have inspired many works of art and song, as well - the concept of a mighty beast, roaring its challenge to the storms, has captured the minds of romantics for millennia.

Some tales speak of the mightiest Blue Dragons, the first to arise from Tiamat's sundered head, having the power to control the storms, whipping them into existence with gales of wind from their powerful wings. While few sources have any true evidence behind them, few stories of the Blues of old lack that particular detail.

In Combat

Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Monster Hunter Sven Silverblade and Dragon Slayer Tommik Stoneaxe, the knowledge of the fighting styles of Blues can be fortified with firsthand accounts, rather than old wives' tales and legends. Silverblade, on the hunting of his first Blue, had the following to say;We'd been hunting it for weeks. We knew the location of its lair, we knew where it fed, hell, we even knew where the damn thing dropped its waste, but we still couldn't find it - it found us. Dropped out of clear skies like teleportation, and blasted us with lightning. Killed a quarter of my men in that first pass alone. And while some Dragons will stand and fight, engage you on the ground to prove their strength, the Blues aren't like that. No, to the Blues, fighting is a long-term commitment, sometimes even lasting a week or more, and this one - Deathwind - was no different. After that first attack, he came irregularly - sometimes not coming at all in a day, sometimes twice or even three times a day. We knew we were buttered when the fifth day rolled around - there were only 8 of us left, and a storm was rolling in. That's when we stopped hunting it, and forced it to come to us - we took over its lair, and its horde. Nothing a dragon loves more. Forced it to come after us in the confines of its cave, where the damn beast couldn't fly away.

Most tales of the hunting styles of the Blues match Silverblade's account above. Harassment, followed by vanishing into clear skies, attacking irregularly, keeping their prey guessing, and usually long-term, hit-and-run engagements. However, not always. Tommik Stoneaxe speaks a different story, of the one Blue he's slain.

It was our third day of travel, and we were nearing the cliffside that supposedly held the lair of the beast. I say supposedly, because we never got to find out - Stormwing found us first.

The six of us were walking along the beach, and had just passed a sand dune, just like any other - so we thought. Turns out, the white sand was covering blue scales - the damn thing burst forth like Asmodeus from the Abyss, taking out our back two in seconds, and hitting the rest of us with a blast of lightning. Fortunately, we managed to drive the beast into the nearby forest, and take it out there, but it was a near thing - only two of us lived to tell the tale.

This sheds light on a more uncommon aspect of a Blue's hunting style, a type of burrow-and-ambush tactic.

DM's Toolkit

Hunt down and kill because dragon

Storms are hitting all along the coast. The storms aren't any harsher than usual, but for some reason all the villages hit seem to lose contact...

Rumors spread of a town under the dominion of a Blue Dragon. However, the townspeople don't seem to mind that much. (Moral Dillema).

A Blue dragon is clashing with a White over territory, causing deadly weather patterns and mass destruction.

A Blue is looking for some new works of art to add to its lair. While its own methods aren't the nicest, it could be persuaded to let the party do the looking.

A group of dragonborn are trying to hatch and raise a Blue Dragon in the middle of a fishing town. How long can they keep that under wraps?

Dragon: Brass

I followed the setting sun as the winds blasted me with sand, I tightened the fabrics on my face. My camel moved stubbornly over the dune, knowing full well that if we slowed we would be consumed by the sandstorm brewing a mile behind us. If we were caught we’d be buried alive or ripped to shreds by the sands. We reached the peak of the dune just as the storm was upon us, then as though a switch was pulled, my camel charged at full speed down the dune. Its legs seemingly spinning and bending impossibly as it shot down to our destination. I could hear the roar of the winds in my ears, despite my protective clothing it felt as though glass was being scraped across my skin at a thousand different points at once. Still I struck my camel with the flat of my sword and screamed ,“hut hut hut hut!” my mouth filling with sand. It charged even faster, the sky darkened above us as we reached the base. Then it was gone, or rather it could no longer reach us. We travelled down a worn path in the sand as we had countless times before. Before dusk we reached an oasis, the bright blues and greens like jewels against the barren wastelands. I got off my camel allowing it to wander and rest, I walked by the largest pool and placed my swords carefully by the bank. The water began to bubble as a gargantuan Brass Dragon rose from its depths, I could make out my reflection in its blank eyes. I bowed my head “Peace upon you, oh great serpent of the desert”, it drew back its lips revealing rows of giant teeth that glowed in the twilight, “And peace upon you Salah, what have you brought me this time?”

Exert from “Travel among the nine seas of sand” By Salah Al Tin-neen

Introduction:

The Brass dragon is often overlooked in many cultures, being less impressive than the other metalic dragons of gold, silver, bronze and copper as well as far more isolated in nature. As such, it is my goal to change this and shed some light on these mysterious creatures. The following is an accumulation of my own interactions with Brass dragons as well as stories and documented encounters I have gathered through my research across the lands.

Physiological Observations:

Like all dragons the brass dragon has a serpentine neck, four legs, large talons and two powerful wings. The structures of the head, however, are very different. Brass dragons have a broad protective plate that expands from its forehead and a spike that protrudes from its chin. While the exact purpose of these structures are unknown they are thought to either be used to attract mates or for focusing their magic.

While by no means the fastest among dragons, Brass dragons are the ones best designed for long flights. They have the largest wingspan of all the dragons and a frill that runs the length of their neck. These two features allow them to cover great distances while expending very little effort. An important adaptation for living in an environment where everything is separated by miles of sand.

The appearance of a brass dragon changes very obviously with time. A wyrmlings’ scales are a dull mottled brown, shining more and more as it matures. Their frills begin as a pale green but darken with age. The most notable change is the eyes. The pupils become fainter and fainter with time until they just resemble a pair of molten metal orbs. This is a common trait among all metalic dragons.

The loss of eyesight was initially confusing for me. After all, in such an expansive environment wouldn’t eyesight be a vital tool for survival? I was soon proven wrong upon meeting my first adult dragon. Their senses of smell and hearing is far more extensive than previously thought, capable of detecting me miles before I reached them. On top of that, (like the blind bandit monks) they are capable of detecting the subtlest of vibrations through sand, water and air. Giving them an incredible sense of perception of their surroundings. As previously indicated, Brass dragons live in desert environments. Unlike most dragons, they will build their lairs in any structures they can find in the desert such as oases, ruins, canyons or caves rather than go for one in particular (e.g. whites and mountains). However, they will always have abundant access to sunlight, even if they have to tear holes in the roofs of their lair to do so.

Their affinity for sunlight is something of a mystery. Like large reptiles they enjoy bathing in light and often seem much more energetic after doing so. As they rarely go hunting regardless of their lifestyle, it is my professional opinion that they are capable of harnessing sunlight and convert it into fuel. In fact, I theorise that the purpose of the head shield and their neck frill is to optimise the amount of sunlight they can catch or, at least one of its primary functions.

Abilities:

Like all metalic dragons, Brass dragons have the ability to transform into other humanoid creatures at will. While I have never encountered one personally. I must note that several prominent members of history who seemingly just appeared from the desert have very…..dragon punny names. Such as the founder of the great high magics academy Tin-neen Al-Karim which literally means “the generous dragon” not to mention the great Queen Gamila Al Muta-wazin which depending on your dialect either means Gamila the “well balanced” or “The beautiful scaled one”. These people have always possessed high magical ability, are noted for being incredibly extroverted and often have massive events of history revolve around them.

Brass dragons are also capable of two breath attacks, a powerful sleep breath, which can knock out a camel at nearly 100 yards. And a much more powerful fire breath attack. While nowhere near as powerful as the fire dragons’ breath attack, it is noticeably more persistent. The yellow flames lasting hours rather than minutes.

Brass dragons also exert a surprisingly fine level of regional control. Capable of creating hulking illusions to patrol and scare away any uninvited guests in their domain. The domain of a Brass dragon varies as it grows. From a mile radius as a wyrmling to an thousands of miles. Ancient Brass dragons consider entire deserts as part of their domain. They have a truly amazing ability to know the exact location of any creature that goes within 30 feet of any source of water within one mile of its lair. It should be noted however, that the most common regional ability used is the creation of paths in the desert terrain. These typically lead uninvited guests in circles or away from its lair, or it leads weary travellers to nearby sources of water and shelter where the dragon may or may not be staying.

Social Observations:

To describe Brass dragons as gregarious would be akin to calling a fire elemental warm. They love all forms of company and conversation. They accumulate as much knowledge and information that they can whenever they have an opportunity. And are more than willing to share that wisdom in exchange for gifts of knowledge or valued items. If an intelligent creature attempts to leave its domain without talking to it first, the dragon will pounce on them (much like a house cat) and force them to make conversation. A fact that to many of my colleagues makes them more terrifying than Tiamat herself. Any creature that then tries to leave by force will have greatly offended the dragon, as such it will typically knock you out and you will awake; pinned beneath its claws, buried up to your head in sand or in one case, tied upside down to a palm tree, until you’re willing to cooperate and make small talk.

The most treasured things to a Brass dragon is knowledge and magical items. It is not uncommon for a brass dragon to gift a hoard of gold to someone they deem interesting. Items such as a living weapons and djinn in bottles are among their most beloved items in their hoard. Much to the ire of djinn. They rarely have one giant hoard of treasure but rather prefer to have many smaller hoards scattered across their domain.

The mating ritual of Brass dragons is essentially any given winter/fast festival at a university, work or town. A large number of Brass dragons meet up at some predetermined location each bringing fine foods, drinks and possibly musicians. Followed by an entire night of social interaction as they share and trade knowledge and wisdom accumulated through the ages. Mates regale one another with tales of gods long forgotten or heroes in lands long lost and stories so amazing that most writers would give their hands for the opportunity to tell it themselves. Eventually they pair off and fly away to mate at one of their lairs rarely leaving any single.

(Much like humanoids) When a Brass dragon couple has mated, whichever has the smaller domain moves into the larger one leaving their hoard unattended but with indicators that they shall return (typically an illusion that will inform any who enter the domain) The two will then raise they hatchlings together, teaching them ancient tales and secrets passed on from parent to child since the dawn of dragons. When the scales of the hatchlings begin to shine they will be "encouraged" to set off on their own. Once they have all moved out of the nest, the parents will split ways, but not before the dragon who did not have to move out will gift its most valued treasure to its former partner as compensation. I was informed by a Brass dragon that to not do so is considered "bad form" and brings extensive shame to both them and their brood.

Species relations:

Brass dragons get along very well with most humanoid races. To the nomad tribes of the desert, Brass dragons are revered as guardians and great deities of the sands. Often leaving gifts and offerings to the dragon in hopes for safe travels. Any kingdom would do well to remain in a local Brass dragons’ good graces or else find that all the roads leading out of the kingdom always bring them back into it.

As brass dragons are typically very trusting in nature it is not uncommon for people to try and manipulate/trick them. Historically, however, this has rarely panned out as originally intended. As, if a Brass dragon finds out it is being tricked or manipulated, it will try to do the same to whoever is tricking it. They will see it as a giant game of who can be tricked and have centuries of experience. Many a trickster has tried to swindle a Brass dragon only end with them being left penniless in the middle of the desert with the sounds of draconic laughter echoing through the sky.

Brass dragons and Blue dragons hate one another. There is no other way to describe their relationship. If two know of one another they will try to defeat each other in any way possible. Subverting any plans they make, stealing any treasures they can and destroying each others’ lairs whenever possible. The only thing preventing them from attacking one another outright from the moment they can, is the fact that it is likely that both would end up dead in the ensuing battle. That does not stop Blue dragons from sending its thralls to kill the Brass dragon, or the Brass dragon trading secrets of lost treasure with kings and assassins willing to kill a Blue.

Djinn are not fond of Brass dragons, as most do not like being trapped within a bottle and as such dislike being stuck inside a bottle inside a hoard of gold within a chest inside a cavern beneath an oasis guarded by a dragon. Even though most djinn rarely care for one another, if a Brass dragon has one whom is regarded as a friend or has been sealed with salt, it is said that 1001 djinn will work to free their imprisoned comrade. For similar reasons, Genasi often try and achieve the same.

DM tool kit:

Lost in desert, can’t find food or water. Brass dragon comes to the rescue

Party takes a seemingly abandoned treasure chest at an oasis, much to the anger of the brass dragon

Attend a brass dragon party as musicians (perfect for bard heavy teams)

Help settle a long dispute between a blue and brass dragon

Come to a brass dragon for help defeating an ancient blue

A Djinn/ Genasi wants help freeing a djinn in a bottle in a brass dragon hoard

Need to find ancient knowledge pertaining to quest or ancient item in a dragon hoard, players need to trade their own knowledge and use their charisma to get it from the dragon.

A Brass dragon feels somewhat snubbed by their partners choice of compensation and will pay handsomely for some revenge

Dragon: Bronze

We watched in awe as the seemingly young woman cut down Orc after Orc. Her bronze eyes gleaming with joy, her green tipped bronze hair flowing around her. When the enemy brought their wyverns upon us, she turned towards us, “handle the rest, I’ll take the wyverns.” In a flash of brilliant light her body grew, the mighty form of a bronze dragon standing tall before us. She took flight into the swarm of wyverns, the very embodiment of battle. – Unknown Soldier

Introduction

The good aligned aquatic dragons that inhabit coastal and underwater lairs, Bronze Dragons are an interesting species to study. Despite their fierce appearance and the hints of green upon their bodies they are some of the most just and honourable dragons. Their penchant for partaking in war makes them common allies for the forces of good in the constant battle against the evils that threaten our world.

Physiological Observations

Despite having the long, sinuous, winged body of all dragons, the bronze dragon is unique amongst its metallic brethren due to its aquatic nature. Their heads are defined by the pointed beak and the ribbed and fluted crest that adorns it. Curved horns protrude from the crest, as well as from the lower jaw and chin. To assist their swimming they have webbed feet, webbing between their forelegs and body and smooth scales. There are also two sails along their spine. One that runs from the top of the head to the base of the wing joints, and another that runs from the bottom of the wing membrane towards the tip of the tail.

Bronze Dragons can be immediately identified by their unique colouration amongst all dragons. Born yellow, their colouration darkens to the bronze as they mature. Interestingly enough the far end of their wing membrane, their wing tips, the webbing between their feet and claws, and their sails are all coloured green. Upon approaching one you will also notice that their eyes are a softly glowing green and that there are even small green patterns across the scales of these wondrous dragons. Of course do not be confused, this green colouration does not mean the Bronze Dragons have a penchant for evil, they are as much champions for good as their Golden brethren.

As all metallic dragons the Bronze Dragons have access to two different types of breath weapon. The first is a lightning breath similar to that of the chromatic Blue Dragons. Their lightning breath fires in a straight line with the range and power of it's breath increasing as the dragon grows older. Bronze Dragons often use this in the midst of combat, except when they do not wish to slay the opponent they face. Their second breath weapon is a blast of highly repulsive miasma. This is often used in combat to place some distance between a Bronze Dragon and it's opponent, or opponents to great effect. As with all dragons, the breath weapons are highly exhausting and are difficult for dragons to use consecutively

Social and Behavioral Observations

Bronze Dragons are a somewhat social species of dragon but rarely reveal their form immediately. Often they will watch various creatures and ships of interest, take the form of a friendly sea creature and follow after whatever catches their interest. Occasionally, a Bronze Dragon will take the form of a smaller creature, such as a rat or bird, and sneak on board a ship to check for treasure. A Bronze Dragon will attempt to barter with the ship captain to gain ownership of an item that piques their interest.

They have a strong sense of righteousness and believe in working towards a just cause, that being said Bronze Dragons also have a love for combat. Should any sort of war or fight take part within their territories, the Bronze Dragons eagerly watch. They will often determine if a side is working toward a just cause and then make their way towards that group to offer up their services during the war. When it takes a pledge to assist an army it will often do so for a fee in the form of gold, a ceremonial item or any kinds of books that deal with military history or that tell tales of great wars and combat. Occasionally the Bronze Dragon may lay claim to the treasure of the defeated enemies should he deem the treasure to be dangerous in the hands of humanoids.

Bronze dragons usually have their lairs in coastal or underwater caves. They are able to control the weather around their lair and all underwater plants within 6 miles taken a range of colourful hues. They are also able to create fog clouds and thunderclaps within their lairs should they require to defend themselves from attack. Within you would find a collection of the usual treasures within a dragon lair (gems, gold, jewellery, magical items and weapons, quite often found from various shipwrecks or ancient sunken cities) as well as books detailing military history. You will also find a large assortment colourful coral and pearls from the reefs and seabeds.

Intra-Species Observations

Bronze dragons are able to get along with various other creatures as long as they show themselves to be just and honourable. In particular a Bronze Dragon has a penchant for maintaining friendships with those few individuals they deem worthy whom have fought alongside the Bronze in the various wars it have taken part in. They are also known to be quite fond of the bartering they perform with ship captains they have met, and rarely leave a bartering session unhappy, even if they didn’t manage to gain the item they wished for. They have also been known to assist humanoids who have found themselves shipwrecked, or in some other trouble at sea. Never requesting a reward for what help they provide.

Apart from the normal animosity towards chromatic dragons that all metallic dragons share, Bronze Dragons have a particular hatred for the Blue Dragons. This occurs due to the propensity of Blue Dragons to occasionally establish coastal lairs. The altercations between Blue and Bronze Dragons are known to be some of the most violent, with combat lasting until one of the dragons is severally injured and retreats. Then after the dragons have rested they will begin anew fighting for dominance. This can last centuries, ending only when one of the dragons finally slays the other and claims victory over land and hoard.

Variant

Tyrannical Bronze: In extremely rare circumstances a Bronze Dragons sense of righteousness will go to such extremes that they will determine that the only way to maintain order and the greater good is for the Bronze Dragon to rule over the people. Such Bronze Dragons will take over a city or country and become quite tyrannical in their rule.

DM's Toolkit

Bronze Dragons can appear in a number of circumstances acting as wither as friend antagonist for the party. Such circumstances include:

•The party finds itself shipwrecked at sea. The Bronze Dragon spots them and assists them in reaching the nearest island.

•The Bronze Dragon notices a particularly interesting magical item on the ship the party is currently on. The Dragon attempts to barter with the party for the item.

•A tyrannical Bronze has taken over a coastal city, the party can choose to try and kill it or try to convince it to change its ways.

•The party needs to seek out a nearby Bronze Dragon to ask for its assistance them in a war against a great evil.

•A Bronze Dragon is assisting an army that it believes is just, and the party is pitted against it despite being mostly good aligned.

Dragon: Copper

“Lad, if a Copper Dragon were to ask you ‘Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?’ would you know the answer?”

“Because some dead poet wrote on both?”

THWACK

“No, it’s because a Copper Dragon tells you they are”

-Archmage Ragno, tutoring a student.

“Odd, I didn’t take you for fools”

Porath the Ancient, to a group of adventurers who failed to laugh at his joke.

Introduction

To the uninitiated, Copper Dragons, with their well known miserly streak and penchant for misleading adventurers, might seem closer to their fell cousins the chromatic dragons than their helpful metallic brethren. This, however, would be an egregious insult to Copper Dragons everywhere, who are far more aptly described as playful and sociable tricksters.

A good life for a Copper Dragon is one full of laughter and mirth. Though they do not seek to actively root out evil in the same manner as Bronze or Gold Dragons, invariably Copper Dragons will challenge evil entities in their domain as a threat to their local entertainment.

Physiological Observations

Physiologically the body of a Copper Dragon, with its athletic muscularity, is not dissimilar to that of a Red or Silver Dragon’s; having the profile many consider (quite incorrectly) to be archetypal of all dragons.

Where a Copper Dragon differs from other dragons is through the thick brow plates that jut over its eyes and extend along the top of its skull before connecting to its segmented horns. This incredibly dense layer of bone affords Copper Dragons remarkable protection and they have been even known to use it offensively (particularly against other dragons) to cave in the skulls of their opponents with a vicious head-butt. Incidentally, this also gives rise to the expression ‘as hard-headed as a Copper Dragon’.

Rumour suggests that the copper scales of an Ancient Copper dragon can be (when combined with high quality tin) used to create a miraculous form of bronze called chalkos that has the ability to change shape with its wearer. While I cannot confirm the veracity of this, it has been suggested that because Copper Dragons grow into their polymorphic abilities later than other species of dragons their whole body becomes hyper-morphic so as to make up for this lost time.

Social and Behavioural Observations

Copper Dragons see themselves as fun and intelligent beings. Indeed, Copper Dragons regard themselves as excellent hosts, capable of providing endless entertainment through a long standing collection of jokes, riddles, pranks, and stories.

Such mental collections, much like their treasure hoards, are painstakingly built from a very young age and are a source of great pride for each Copper Dragon. Invariably though, this pride leads them to become quickly annoyed with those guests that do not appreciate the wit and humour on display within such collections.

Despite this, Copper Dragons are extremely fond of guests as a rule, particularly those that they find fascinating or charming, and to this end they will often make the general location of their lair well known (although the entrance to their treasure hoard is always a closely guarded secret).

Likewise, Copper Dragons enjoy one another’s company and will make regular visits to each other to recount newly acquired jokes and tales. For Copper Dragons this also doubles as the courtship ritual during times of mating, thus it always pays for a Copper Dragon to maintain exciting company to help increase their chances of mating success.

Ecological Observations

Copper dragons are fond of hills and rocky uplands, particularly those with twisting ravines and canyons, as it allows them to take advantage of their nimble flying ability. Due to their desire for company Copper Dragons will also tend to reside close to at least one major settlement, and are especially partial to lairing in abandoned castles or cities dug into mountainsides.

While it has been reported that intelligent beings living near a Copper Dragon seemingly fall into fits of giggling for no apparent reason, this is often an over exaggeration. Instead it would be more accurate to say that people near a Copper Dragon are happier as a rule and also prone to being mischievous and mirthful in nature. Indeed, any bouts of giggling likely have a very apparent cause to the prankster but perhaps not to their victim.

Inter-Species Observations

Copper Dragons enjoy the company of most species provided that they can maintain an interesting conversation. When dealing with any creature the Copper Dragon often inadvertently shields its keen intelligence behind its trickster nature, leading many creatures to believe that they can be easily fooled or manipulated. This is of course patently untrue, but the Copper Dragon will usually only reveal such a fact at a time it finds most entertaining.

DM’s Toolkit

The temperament of Copper Dragons draws its inspiration from many sources, in particular though the parallels to the trickster gods and beings of ancient mythology (such as the satyrs and Loki) are particularly apt.

Copper Dragons, along with their cousins the Silver Dragons, are perhaps the most recognisably human in nature. Indeed, Copper Dragons, while they are good entities, are quite hedonistic and enjoy life in very grounded ways, telling stories and jokes, playing pranks, and so on. The thing to remember of course is that this mirthful attitude is still tied to an extremely intelligent and deadly being.

For this reason Copper Dragons are perfect additions to most campaigns, able to serve as an ally, an antagonist, or an obstacle with equal measure. They also allow the DM a great opportunity to role-play and inject some characterful flavour into a session or campaign. Here are some sample encounters with a Copper Dragon:

• A local baron urges the party to rescue his court bard from the clutches of a terrible and wicked dragon. The bard is of course an honoured ‘guest’ of a Copper Dragon, and the dragon is unwilling to part with his company.

• The party encounters a wizened old woman travelling alone along the road near night fall. The woman is making camp for the night and asks the party to stay and pass the time with stories. In the morning the party sees the woman transform into a Copper Dragon, and, if the party’s stories were pleasing, the dragon provides them with useful information or items.

• A Copper Dragon has been rampaging along the frontiers of a kingdom or empire renowned for its order and civility, the Dragon sees this cultural change as threatening to the ‘happiness’ of the people within his realm.

• A Copper Dragon has an item the party requires (or blocks the path of the party etc). The dragon challenges the party to a riddle contest to resolve the issue.

• A druid has heard of the mythical properties of chalkos bronze and commissions the party to acquire scales from an ancient Copper Dragon to allow him to create a set of armour that can be worn while using wild form.

Dragon: Gold

"I have finally caught up to you Vepinir..." The sun glinted off the golden scales as the majestic beast swooped down next to the Rakshasa. The Rakshasa looked up to see the Dragon looming over him. "Congratulations, Kiera. I knew that it was inevitable that you'd catch me, and send me back to that dreary place, but I have accomplished much in this lifetime. If you kill me, I'll simply come back, and be able to continue my plans uninterrupted. You have won for now, but I will come back." The Dragon snorted in disgust, but then continued "Unfortunately for you, coming back is not an option." As the dragon's claw lifted up to strike the Rakshasa, the last thing he saw was the glistening pearl in the dragon's hand.

Introduction

Gold Dragons are some of the most powerful creatures in existence. It is truly a great blessing, that they are on our side. Many often say that they are the kings of the Metallic Dragons. This title is rightly earned, as a Gold Dragons strength rivals that of a Chromatic Red. With this great strength comes great responsibility, and many Gold Dragons have dedicated themselves to a life of vanquishing evil. With the ability to see into the future, and the strength to fight many evils, no other creature is as suited to the job as the Gold Dragon.

Physiological Observations

The Gold Dragon is unique in comparison to other species of dragon, in that it has whiskers coming off of the face. These whiskers are rumored to contain it's ability to see into the future, and are a valuable component in many alchemical mixtures. The Gold Dragons head also has 2 large horns that go just above the Dragon's eyes. Larger horns are typical on male species of the dragon, and females prefer dragons with larger horns and whiskers. Other features of the dragon include the wings which start at the shoulder, but travel along the side of the body until it reaches the end of the tail. A gold dragon is also much more slender than other dragons, giving it a kind of serpentine look.

It is truly a spectacle to see a Gold Dragon in flight. The way the wings ripple make it look more like it is swimming through a vast ocean. The wings should not be able to provide enough lift for a Dragon on it's own, so we can only speculate that magic is what keeps it flying. But that does not make this a less majestic flight.

Social and Behavioral Observations

Gold Dragons see themselves as the ultimate destroyer of evil. Their might and strength is matched by none other, and so it is only fitting that they should go out and protect innocent people. Gold Dragons often see themselves as superior to humanoid creatures, and see themselves as the protectors of these insignificant mortals. Unconcerned with the daily tribulations of a small group of humanoids, they are more focused on what is important. Destroying evil before it begins.

With the ability to see into the future, Gold Dragons may spend a lot of time in meditation. Searching through all of the possible threads until they find someone, who is bound to commit an evil act. The next step is to learn more about that creature. They can accomplish this, by turning into a humanoid form, and getting close to the person in question. Once they know with a surety that the creature will perform an evil action, they strike them down before evil can come to pass. Gold's follow a philosophy of "stop evil before it has the chance to spread".

Gold Dragons however have a special hate for Rakshasas. These tiger like creatures are the absolute bane of existence, and must be wiped out. Gold Dragons search unceasingly for any trace of a Rakshasa and will do all in their power to destroy these devils. Rakshasa know this, and often try to execute plans, that will culminate in the death of a Gold Dragon. Thus a cycle is born where Gold's try to seek out the identity of a Rakshasa, while Rakshasa's try to kill the Gold Dragon.

Ecological Observations

Gold Dragons like to live in terrain with lots of hills. This gives it the opportunity to survey it's area in detail, and spot any threat long before it becomes a threat. If a Gold Dragon decides to stay in any one area for a long period of time, it will start to construct a beautiful lair that resembles humanities greatest feats of architecture. It is believed that we may have stolen their designs.

Gold Dragons who have laired, are also capable of producing a pearly mist in a six mile radius around the lair. This pearly mist will contort into haunting forms if evil ever sets it's foot within the mist, immediately warning the dragon, and any humanoids in the area, that evil is near. Many people often associate these pearly mists with good fortune, and will try to make a village within these mists. Humanoids who live in the mists have often been caught worshipping the Gold Dragon. The Gold Dragon does not mind this, and often encourages it, as it has the potential to bring champions of good, in the name of the Dragon.

Inter-Species Observations

Gold Dragons are very solitary creatures, and often do not associate with other Gold Dragons for long periods of time. If a Gold crosses path with another Gold they may stay and chat for a little, ask one another for small favors, and then be off on their way. Every once in a while, maybe every 100 years, a Gold Dragon will get the urge to mate. When this happens all Gold Dragons will travel to a special place designated as the mating grounds. This place is often a place of water, and may have great waterfalls, or be a large lake. After mating has commenced they will decide on a new location to go to in a 100 years, and then separate, with mothers raising the new clutch of eggs in their lair.

DM's Toolkit

Gold Dragons origins come from the dragons in chinese myths, and legends. With ancient chinese myths, the Tiger is seen as the arch-nemesis of the dragon, and they are often depicted in an eternal struggle with each other. In D&D we have the Rakshasa which is the perfect counterpoint to a Gold Dragon. With their scheming and blatant evil, contrasting the Gold Dragon and it's undying effort to destroy evil.

Gold Dragons are often seen as the paladins of dragons. This combined with their eastern origins, ability to see the future, and their mists, can make for interesting encounters. Gold Dragons are best suited as strong allies to the party, or potential obstacles. Here are some sample encounters with a Gold Dragon.

Locals are concerned with mists spreading into their hometown. These pearly mists often contort into haunting shapes, especially right before someone in the village dies.

A Gold Dragon is convinced that the mayor of the city is evil, and has revealed it's true form. The mayor is in hiding, and the Dragon is growing impatient with the people of the village.

A Gold Dragon is convinced that a player will commit an evil act, and wishes to destroy the player.

A Gold Dragon is searching for a great pearl, as big as a mans head. This pearl is rumored to be able to vanquish evil, and the Dragon needs it.

A Gold Dragon in humanoid form asks the adventurers for assistance in taking down a Rakshasa that is terrorizing the local town.

A pearl is the only thing that can permanently end the life cycle of a Rakshasa. Obtaining one from the ancient tomb of a Gold Dragon will be difficult.

A threat presents itself, be it a Rakshasa, or a Red Dragon. The Gold Dragon then asks the party to stand down, as they are incapable of fighting such evil.

A small village has lost the mists that helped to warn them of danger. With them having grown complacent, it is easy for monsters to attack their village.

Dragon: Green

Despite the rumors of Green dragons being horribly evil our encounter was, pleasant to start with. Our party was seated in a lavish room served wonderful meats and vegetables and entertained with lively discussion. We played games of whit and debate and we all seemed to enjoy the company of Pyrillis the Green dragon of Fell Forest. As one member discovered her riddle a flash of annoyance came across her eyes that it seems only I perceived. That fact is what probably saved my life. I then started to pay attention more to words she used and began to worry, as she seemed to have an agenda in store that didn’t sit well with me being a hundredth of her size. I tried to quietly inform my companions but they were in disbelief. Then the conversations started to die with nothing more to tell of our adventures the true nature came to light. Before any one of us could react she sprayed her vile breath in the enclosed yet large room. The green smoke burned and chocked but I ran for the exit. I only made it out as I cut the vines closing up seemingly on their own and ran without looking back. I deeply regret leaving my friends but I also knew that we’d all be dead if I had tried to help. - Survivor of Pyrillis Green Dragon

Introduction

While dragons are imposing figures of great power, Green dragons like to subvert that stereotype by being warm and welcoming. They invite you into their home, feed you, make sure you are comfortable and make conversation. They subvert their reputation for evil ruthless creatures to any who listen, and confirm that reputation on those who don’t. Green dragons are masters of deceit and desire control above all else.

Green dragons are intense dangers to anyone who manage to be in their evil gaze. While they seem to be kind and courteous to those who speak to them they are undoubtedly evil and deceptive. They enjoy trickery and deceit and plot your death with every move. It’s a game of chess that the dragon started 3 turns before you and considering 20 moves after you.

Physiological Observations

Green dragons like most are built much more feline in body structure than most realize. They are extremely reptilian at first glance with their crocodile like heads, great bat-like wings and long tails. Their scales are extremely tough and resistant to many forms of harm. Like any dragon they have a devastating breath that can fell most creatures with a single puff.

Green dragons in contrast to other dragons are very tall and more slender. They have longer front legs and shorter back legs giving their body an upward slope. This gives them the body angle much like that of a giraffe. Their tails and necks are long and slender although both are very strong. Green dragon’s heads resemble a crocodile with a perpetual crooked grin. Telling facial expressions on dragons are hard enough but Green’s seem to particularly be difficult to discern as they always seem to be smiling.

Green dragons have a spinal “sail”. Every third vertebra has an elongated spike and is connected by a leathery membrane. This sails starts between the eyes on top of their head and rises dramatically at the end of the head and base of the neck to a peak and tapers off to the end of the hips and base of the tail. This sail can be up to 10 feet at the peak depending on the size of the dragon making it a very prominent feature.

Green dragons’ wings are very large and powerful like most dragons. They are connected above and just behind the front legs and each of the wings are longer than that of the dragon’s total body length. Green dragons love to patrol their territories from the skies and will often fly at least once a day to oversee their area of residence.

A Green’s breath weapon is akin to a chlorine gas. They themselves are immune to its effects but to any other animal it’s a stinging choking gas that can be very potent even when spread out in open air. This breath weapon does not affect plant life even though it does hurt animals on contact. A Green feeling particularly annoyed by a creature they may force them into an enclosed space and enjoy gassing a foe as one would enjoy a play. Green dragons usually do not use their breath weapon on animals they intend to eat as it doesn’t taste good.

A Green’s diet consists of primarily meat. They usually hunt for larger forest animals such as bears or owlbears but will even eat smaller game if needed. They usually only eat once every other day as they don’t have too much of a metabolism. Their territories can be rather large so game is usually plentiful but if it isn’t they can eat shrubs and other plants as sustenance but by far prefer meat. Their favorite food is elves as they find them particularly delectable, though they are good at hiding that fact from elves.

Green dragons start life as a very dark green color, almost black looking. As they age they become lighter and lighter with adults being lime green and older ancient dragons a light olive green. I theorize this is for camouflage in their typically forested or jungle homes. There have been rumors of stark white dragons who patrol ancient jungles and forests who may be old enough they’ve lost all color.

As mentioned before Green dragons prefer areas full of plant life for their home. Forests, jungles, or even swamps can be suitable for a Green. Confrontation on territory is not uncommon with Black dragons when a green decides to make a swamp their home. Green dragons seem to have an affinity for plant life as they either seem to control them or at least communicate with plants to give them orders.

Green dragon lairs are usually dug out from the ground or in caves. They are lined with vines and ivy all around. Some lairs even have trees in them or other larger plants as decorations and may be warped into furniture. The lair usually only consists of 4 large chambers, Bedding area, Treasure Hoard, Dining Hall, and Audience Room. Some dragons have a 5th room used as a gas chamber, it may be that they all do and they are just well hidden as few ever leave a Green dragons den alive or are very concerned to explore it more than the treasure hoard.

A Green dragon's treasure hoard is usually filled with a lot of currency but they value green gems the most. Emeralds are very popular amongst Green dragons and there always seems to be plenty of them in a dragon’s hoard. Green dragons also usually have art objects usually made of wood in their hoards as decorations. Unlike most dragons all of treasure is neatly stacked or piled and organized. They do not seem to slumber in their treasure room and sometimes even have a ledger on their wealth. Green dragons actively seek out objects of intelligence and seem to enjoy the challenge or simply dominating them and bending them to their will.

All dragons in one form or another seek immortality. Green dragons are no exception as they spend a lot of time in research on this mystery. Green dragons seem to somehow gain immortality by becoming ethereal in nature or in layman’s terms a ghost. How this achieved is a mystery but they start the process late in life after the end of their many millennia. They start to flicker in and out of corporeal form and once fully achieved stay in a state of constant existence in both planes. Ghostly greens seem to haunt their territories with their new powers as a ghost but ultimately keep to their same way of life. Other methods of immortality are not usually seen but it’s not unheard of to see a Green become a Dracolich.

Social Observations

Green dragons are usually in contact with many other Green dragons at a time. Their territories seem to be planed as usually a male and female will overlap to a small degree. Green dragons know about other dragons nearby, not just other Greens, but seem to only know of their location and color.

The only way to see the true evil nature of a Green dragon is to observe it in interactions with other Green dragons. They are brash, rude, insulting, belittling, and crass to each other. Green dragons will roar and carry on so loud that it would shake the bravest warriors and so offensively the worst sailors would blush. Despite this seemingly unproductive communication they seem to communicate effectively as they form many schemes together.

One such scheme is children. Procreation seems to be a business deal that neither party enjoy but understand the necessity to further the race. This is usually why a male and female would overlap territories as they wouldn’t have to leave their homes far behind to bother themselves with mating. It seems this process is planned far ahead of children. Typically the parents will mate and then leave the eggs by themselves in the overlapping area. A clutch of eggs are usually 2 to 4, anymore will probably be smashed by the parents as 5 would be too annoying. They watch over the eggs and protect them from afar. Once hatching they then step in and raise the children together. They teach their children their ways of deception and how the world works. While they are very diligent parents, children are an obligation to them and hold no feelings for them other than that of their invested time. Children move on to make their own territories once they are old enough to survive on their own.

During this time of raising children of their first brood it’s not unheard of for parents to mate again and produce a second clutch of eggs. These eggs are laid away from their territory and totally ignored as the burden of more children to a parent is just too much for them to care. It is very rare for the eggs to survive long unprotected from predators as they are exposed and just lying on the ground. If one does survive they usually can make it on their own gaining full sentience only hours after birth. These individuals have no sense of community with other Greens or any other dragon. They are still lies and deceivers but not as adept at it as young who were raised by parents. They are more easily read by others and seem to be far more aggressive as their view on the world is constant hostility from all angles. Sometimes these clutches form their own council and start lives in a whole new area untouched previously by Green dragons.

Green dragons that live near each other usually form yearly or longer time spanning councils. They meet at an appointed location each year and discuss, or brutishly yell current issues and how to resolve them. Sometimes this is outsider dragons, particularly troublesome settlements or anything they don’t like. This is also where mating arrangements are made. Each dragon vies for power over each other giving no clear leader. Typically after hours of discord and undermining a discussion leader is agreed upon for the meeting out of annoyance and frustration.

Intra-Species Observations

Green dragons are deceptively nice to intelligent creatures. They offer help and information when they come across any intelligent creature in their territory. They try and suggest that they stay and speak with them in their lair and will walk them there. If a creature or group of creatures refuses they usually insist but do not press too hard as a Green doesn’t need a lair to get information. A Green dragon wants information, they have a desire to be in complete control of their territory and outside influences can upset that so they pry for such information. They also seek information on anything that would be of interest to adding to their horde and are fond of adventurers telling tales and rumors of treasure and will usually seek those out of they believe them enough.

The Green will be kind and courteous during the conversation but once it believes it will get all the information it can or will it will then start to pose a riddle or game. They genuinely enjoy such games with any creature. Unfortunately Green dragons are not a desirable foe as they are sore losers, and can turn from friendly to a mortal enemy in a blink of an eye. If refused when they offer riddles or contests of whit they will be polite for a few moments as they consider how dispatch of their new prey. Green dragons are very volatile.

If a Green dragons becomes bored at any point or feels that anyone has discovered it’s intensions it will attack immediately. As they are masters at hiding their true feelings and thoughts they are masters at discerning others’ and rarely make mistakes in intentions of others. Green dragons prefer to lead with their breath weapon if the foes are too dangerous otherwise they sweep with their tails if they can eat their foes.

The kind and courteous behavior extends to other dragons as well (except other Greens). They will usually employ the same tactics although be more careful about asking a dragon’s hoard location as that’s alarming to any dragon and they know that. A Green if it decides to kill the other dragon will drop the façade before asking about where their hoard is and will then make it clear that they will know the location by force. Green dragons prefer to not fight with creatures. They prefer to keep things civil until they can strike in a false sense of security with no recourse. Having to fight creatures that fight back is considered a failure of deception and they do not enjoy that.

Although Green dragons are not fond of fighting, they have a deadly enough arsenal at their disposal that they can certainly hold their own. When fighting humanoids or smaller beings they usually sweep with their tails hoping to fell creatures quickly and by surprise. They will then wade in with their claws and wings. They almost never bite smaller beings as lowering one’s head is considered bowing to a Green dragon and they are only bowed to.

When fighting dragons they are usually taller when comparable in age and douse their enemy in their breath weapon from the top down starting at the head. They hold no qualms about biting another dragon as it is their most effective weapon and easily crushes through any other dragon’s hide. Green dragons have the strongest bit power and grip of any dragon and have been observed severing another dragons head with a single bite.

Green dragons like to pepper in double speak when speaking to humanoids. They’ll speak in a manner that if noticed hints at their intentions of usually eating humanoids. They are good at word play and hiding their intentions though. They will particularly do this more so about elves as they are the best meal a Green can have. Green dragons when establishing a territory like to eradicate nearby settlements near their new home. They prefer to do this from the background than outright attacking any village, town or city. They will often aggravate relations between group by spreading rumors or even attacking villagers and leaving their remains at a settlements doorstep aiming to spark wars. Often times Green dragons like to help directly side themselves against elves as it gives them protection in a coming battle and an opportunity to eat as many elves as they desire.

Various Forms

Green dragons while could be considered a variation on Chromatic dragons have various aspects of their lives that can vastly different given their age or situation.

Young Student – These dragons are typically traveling and much younger. They are given tasks by their parents raising them to hone their skills in deception. Such tasks include starting a political uproar in a village or even swindling another dragon’s hoard if they are found to be particularly talented.

Abandoned – These dragons are at any age. They usually act independently or in league only with their siblings. They are far more prone to violence as their skills in deception are not as well honed. They also are more likely to seek other means of immortality as the secrets of becoming a ghost are kept within a community once discovered.

Ghostly Dragon – A Green who as learned the secrets of prolonging life without end. This secret is jealously guarded within a community of Greens but eagerly shared among them. They haunt and patrol their homes looking for more wealth to swindle and no longer needing sustenance. These dragons are more prone to play tricks and ask riddles of a more ominous and dark nature and only reveal themselves as attacking.

DM’s Toolbox

An important part of D&D has always been and will always be dragons. Dragons may be the quintessential monster but they should be used with though and purpose. Green dragons make for a great RP experience. As a DM it is of course up to your discretion on how each dragon acts as indeed each one is an individual. A Green dragon in general can be described as a calculating serial killer that wants all the information they can get before having fun. Here are some possible scenarios to use a Green.

Unknown sources of rumors are inciting war. A Green is actively marking its territory and there’s not enough room near this forest for a town and a dragon, let alone 2.

A curious encounter with a seemingly friendly Green dragon despite all conventional knowledge that they are evil dragons.

A smaller green dragon approaches the party curious of what’s in your wagon.

Dragon: Red

Hear me now, you insignificant speck. I have annihilated your armies, and your pathetic "champions" warm my stomach. Do not insult me further by attempting to run... Did you actually dare to believe that you could so much as scuff my scales? Have I been withdrawn so long that the universe forgets the respect I am due? Do you not recognize oblivion when you look upon its face? Make no mistake, foolish morsel: I am a dragon, I am death.

I hold favor with Tiamat herself. Civilizations rise and fall at the twitch of my tail. I have lived so long that stars and gods wink into and out of existence in the time it takes for my flames to extinguish themselves. I am that ancient power which all creation fears... And you have roused my ire.

No, I am not going to kill you, impotent mite, though it would take no effort at all. In your ignorant attempts to harm me you have done me a favor. You made me aware that the world has forgotten who is its master, and for that I shall honor you as my thrall and herald. You shall bear witness to my glory as I reduce all that your kind has wrought to ash, and from the soot establish my dominion once again. Go, sing my song of fire and blood. Remind the world that you, all of you, are beneath me. I am the King of Red Dragons.

-Etrigan the Eternal to Daniyel Albright, last Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms of Sunstep.

Introduction

All dragons are characterized by their power, cunning, pride, and the compulsion to hoard. These traits are embodied by reds to the extreme. Please note this report does not intend to belittle the abilities of any other dragons nor marginalize the accomplishments of any who manage to best a dragon (in whatever fashion), for every dragon is a significant danger and challenge which should NOT be taken lightly (as any who do so will quickly find themselves in the afterlife). The aim of this report is to better understand and deal with Reds, who display such enormous amounts of greed and arrogance (even compared to other dragons) that they have come to be viewed as the archetypical evil dragon by many cultures.

Physiological Observations

Red dragons share the extended serpentine necks, reptilian heads, and feline style bodies covered in immensely tough scales of all dragons. They distinguish themselves by being somewhat bulkier than their cousins, having the longest wingspan of any chromatic dragon, and carrying themselves in a consistently proud/disdainful manner even when they do not think anyone can see them. The scales of a red dragon wyrmling are a bright glossy scarlet that become a dull, deeper red as they thicken and become as strong as metal as they reach adulthood. At which point the features which most people's know them for will have fully developed: the beaked snout which constantly vents smoke, the golden orbs for eyes which dance with flame when enraged, the blue-black tint along the wings which resembles burnt metal, and the swept-back horns and spinal frill which define their silhouette. Red dragons lair in high mountains or hills, dwelling in caverns under snow-capped peaks or within the deep halls of abandoned mines and Dwarven strongholds. Caves with volcanic or geothermal activity are most highly prized by red dragons, as they then have even more hazards which hinder intruders and allow searing heat to wash over the dragon as it sleeps. It should be noted that due to the high level of confidence in the protection of their treasure hoard Reds spend as much time outside the mountain as in it.

There is a reason peoples of the Material Plane are hard-wired to notice the color red even against other shades of itself... I suspect it has nothing to do with berries.

-Amber Ironfist, Dwarven Chief of Overground Security

Social Observations

Red dragons, like all dragons, live mostly in isolation and are fiercely territorial, preferring only their own opinions on lair aesthetics, treasure priorities, etc. Reds are aware of where other dragons are located, but are only truly interested in their status and accomplishments compared to other Reds. Unlike most dragons however, Reds are actually willing to actively seek out their elder Reds and other-colored cousins if there is a significant problem they cannot solve by themselves, using their authority as "Tiamat's chosen" or bribes from their horde to enlist their "servitude". When mating, Reds display a rare level of respect for each other compared to the rest of Chromatics. The female seeks a male's lair when she is in heat, then each courts the other through a sculpting competition where the duration, control, and intensity of flame is compared in addition to aesthetic creativity of the sculpture. The winner of this competition receives the honor of "hosting" the eggs and hatchlings. Due to their extreme ego both parents help raise the wyrmlings, as each believes them self to be the best and most knowledgable parent and will unload all of their collective knowledge on their children at only the slightest prompting. As soon as they deem a child old enough, usually the first time it speaks out against either parent, they kick it out. Confident that they have done the most absolutely perfect job in child-rearing. I must note that an unforeseen aspect of Chromatic dragon culture has been recently discovered, at great personal sacrifice by two colleagues and dear friends of mine, the half-elf Varis Tanner and Dragonborn Kepeshkmolik Ghesh.

It would seem that once a century all Chromatic dragons are compelled by a mysterious force (I suspect Tiamat) to gather in one place, an island which only dragons are able to find naturally. Ghesh and Varis were able to follow a Red they had been hunting to this island and reported it to be similar to a Kings Moot. Apparently this is the one instance when dragons break their characteristic isolationist nature to share knowledge (including strategies used by adventurers who attempted to harm them), compare accomplishments, and select a "King" (a tradition which began during the Giant war I'm sure, though I must consult a Brass dragon to determine if Metalics conduct a similar "Dragons' Moot"). It seems that their hoards are in minimal danger while they are away, as the collective magic from a large number of dragons in close proximity with each other creates a field or "bubble" of magical time distortion and each dragon is aware of the date of gathering as it approaches thus making extra precautions to their respective lairs. According to my calculations, it seems that within this magic field one experiences a year in the span of a single day, as when one of my fellows would exit to safely relay their report to me the other would tell them they had been missing for several weeks, even months at a time. The phrase "might is right" appears to be fact among dragons as Reds, being the strongest physically, are the only contenders for royal title although the other colors devise various tests which determine which Red is worthy of "wearing the crown" for the next hundred years (whether this is a physical crown or not is unknown as my compatriots were unable to get very close). For example, it seems the Greens present a series of difficult riddles and complex puzzles to determine the "strongest" mind, whereas the Blues demand various physical tests (a trial by combat section forced my friends to leave the field for several minutes). The Whites demanded a a series of hunting challenges, the word "dangerous" apparently was used to the merriment of all dragons in attendance. All dragons seek immortality, and apparently this is the most viable route for Reds, as any consort of Tiamat receives boons, and one can only imagine what favors await a Red that distinguishes itself among the rest in her eyes. All this was communicated to me through scrolls in a Secret Chest spell of which we each share a replica... Unfortunately this is as much as I know, as I have not heard from them in a month, and must assume they were discovered and killed.

Interspecies Observations

Like most dragons, Reds are carnivorous. Dragons being at the top of the food chain for the earth and sky, and Reds being at the top of the Chromatic hierarchy, they are not picky about what they eat so long as it is meat. This often means that most sentient creatures are classified as "food". However, as they see themselves as the rulers of the world, Reds are actually the most likely Chromatic dragon to entertain non-lethal options when dealing with intelligent species. In addition to kobolds, who so frequently worship and work for Chromatic dragons, Reds have been known to allow adventurers leave their lair alive, so long as their treasure hoard doesn't seem to be in danger. Add to this the competitive nature amongst Reds and it is not surprising that they enjoy conquering and ruling tribes or even cities of "lesser" creatures, often counting these as an extension of their hoards and the accomplishments of "their loyal citizens" as something to lord over other Reds. This brings up a point which has long been slightly misunderstood. Reds seek wealth for their hoard, not only because of their greedy nature but because red dragons desire recognition of their power above all. The power they have due to their possessions is determined by the value others place on it, so by extension they understand the worth of each slave in servitude to them in relation to the rest, and each brick in a building. In addition to material wealth, they are able to estimate the value of a year's worth of labor from each individual according to only a day's observations. However, no dragon will allow a giant or their descendants to live as its servant, due to the blood feud between them. The one other silver lining for adventurers who encounter a red dragon is that they are the most likely to allow their vanity to be used against them. Flattery, though not effective as a long term stalling tactic, has saved many a hero's life, and Reds are the most likely to underestimate the cunning of non-dragons in comparison to themselves. Legend has it that the most frequent method of successfully slaying a Red has been through manipulation of its ego in order to get it to leave its lair. While allowing them room to fly does seem unwise, dragons' weakest spots are their eyes and wings. Remember: a downed dragon is a dead dragon... Occasionally. Red dragons are absolutely ferocious combatants, and will fight all the harder to avoid the slight to their pride should they need assistance.

When dealing with dragons it is best to understand their history. We don't know exactly how the war between the Giants and Dragons ended, but only one side was forsaken by their god... And last I checked, Tiamat was still accepting dragon consorts.

-Birel Ilphelkiir, Head Librarian of the High Elf Museum of Natural Science

DM's Toolbox

Reds fulfill all of the classic tropes associated with dragons (at least in Western Cultures), so it's the perfect chance for you to try portraying a megalomaniac, have fun with it. Some ideas for incorporating them into a campaign include:

• Slaying or stealing from the dragon that threatens/possesses your MacGuffin, obvious but always enjoyable.

• If your PCs start to die off it may offer the one or two survivors the chance to live as slaves, which could lead to a "heroes turned villain by necessity" campaign.

• The Red rules a city/empire and your PCs are hired by/leading the resistance.

• The Red can be convinced to give your PCs information if it has something to gain from it. It may even employ them to collect treasure or information on the accomplishments of other Reds. Even steal from other dragons if your PCs can display they won't die or give up their employer.

• There are often evil sentient items that can only be destroyed by magic fire, an ancient red dragon serves as the perfect twist on the "Mount Doom" trope.

• Food is becoming scarce because of red dragons raising their young nearby.

• A multi-dragon encounter. Perhaps even Dragon wars.

• Make smart dragons! If a tactic worked too well for your PCs in the past, allow the next one to have heard the story & counter their strategy.

Dragon: Silver

My knees went weak as she walked into the gates. It had been over 40 years since we had tearfully departed on that cold night. A love long lost had returned as youthful and beautiful as ever. Here I am a withered and old man. I both feared and hoped she’d recognize me. Then she looked me in the eyes with those soul piercing turquoises and approached smiling. 40 years isn’t long I felt myself thinking. - Baron Thadius McKardly’s diary.

Introduction

When the dragons first discovered humanoids many disregarded them as ants or playthings to be used. Yu’llandar the powerful Silver Dragon instead looked at them with curiosity. He watched over a small group of elves carve their start in a forest and grew fond of their lust for life and beauty. He watched from afar with a love that was pure and chaste. Silver Dragons like most dragons consider themselves the ultimate beings. They do so not with superiority or pride but just a calm sureness that only ever comes across as polite confidence. Silver Dragons are kind and value matters of the heart. If any dragon were to be encountered by the goodly folk it would be dangerous but only if it were Silver would it be a blessing.

Physiological Observations

With shinning silvering metallic scales, vibrant cobalt eyes and highlights, Silver Dragons are among the most beautiful creatures. They have regal sails standing tall starting at the head and ending at the end of their tail. Their eyes sparkle with wonderment, sincerity and kindness. When in battle they seem more at play then aggressive as they move around with a grace and confidence that seems unflappable.

They are most easily recognized by the head with their tall sails and stunning eyes. Their 2 horns are sharp and sturdy but almost useless as they extend from the back of the skull and gently slope downward, almost as if slicked back hair. Blue to Purple their eyes shine with curiosity and intelligence. Their faces are gently sloped down to the jaw giving them a shorter face then most dragons but fittingly seem to only accentuate their regal frill and beautiful horns. They also have 2 chin frills staring at the chin jutting forward and down and going all the way back to the end of the jaw. These chin frills resemble a well-groomed dwarvish beard at times. Females typically have smaller chin frills.

The silvering shining scales make most creatures wonder at their beauty. Then at ends of the sails, wing membranes and ears they turn to turquoise, purple or blue (the same as their eyes) in hue giving them a splash of color. Most dragons of other colors consider themselves the epitome of what a dragon should look like but do admit that Silvers are second.

In body structure they resemble lithe and graceful cats like most dragons. Despite their great size they seem to move with ease and grace. The Silver Dragons keep their wings always upwards when folded unlike other dragons who fold their wings against their bodies when at rest. Their long tails move about with ease behind them and are usually kept off of the ground unless at rest.

Despite their grace and beauty Silver Dragons are deadly creatures that are more than capable in battle. They can use their strong tails agilely and with great effect in bludgeoning foes. Their claws on each of their 4 legs are dangerous and sharp, able to slash open the hides of even other dragons. Their teeth and jaws are strong and easily can be used to bite. Most of all they can breathe 2 different breath weapons depending on the situation. They primarily use the element of cold in a wide cone that can freeze enemies and the like. The second is a cone of paralyzing gasses that not many creatures can withstand. They freely use both in battle.

Battle for a Silver Dragon usually is done by fly by breath attacks first ice then paralytic in nature. Those remaining can expect sudden onslaughts of claws, teeth, and mostly whipping tail upon the ground until their ready to lose their breath again. They favor using their tail and keeping a distance but can fight up close to devastating effect. Since they are raised to learn to fight by their parents some can be extremely tactically adept and dangerous fighters. Generations of Silvers hardened by fierce combat are common.

They are carnivores like most dragons and with the sharp brilliant white teeth to prove it. They do prefer their meat cold or even frozen. They usually just gently blow on a deer or another animal to freeze it and then eat the meat after a sufficient cooling. They will eat fallen enemies too as long as they are not fellow dragons.

Flight for them is just as easy as any other dragon. They need space to take off and land or some advantageous terrain like a cliff to properly take off. Once they are able to get going flight becomes easier and flapping to gain height seems effortless to them. They glide as much as possible to conserve energy but normally they’re not flying for long. Silver Dragons can shapeshift into humanoids forms and prefer to live most of their lives among the lesser beings. Usually taking shape of a kind and helpful person like a sage or strange wanderer they keep their distance and just enjoy the lives of the humanoids. They can be noticed by the perceptive for always having silvery hair (often mistaken for grey hair) and bright youthful and blue eyes regardless of apparent age.

Their treasures are mostly of lost civilizations with relics and artifacts of the particular race they’ve become fascinated with. Most Silver dragons value humans for their ambition and lust for life with such a shorter lifespan. The least likely is that of the traditional and stoic dwarves.

They regularly visit their homes in high up caves or alcoves in the mountains to ensure their treasures are still in order but do not stay for long. Silvers tend to only visit their homes monthly and only for a few days. They open their homes and even their identity to their most trusted friends if they make many among the people they watch.

Their homes are typically in colder regions of the worlds but can be in warmer regions of the mountains reach high enough.

Social Observations

Silver Dragon culture is very different to many dragons. They are parts of clans that consist of many families making for large networks of Silver Dragons. They can number as many as 50 in a clan making for a terrifying force to draw ire from. These clans despite the loyalty of members are disjointed and non-active in human standards only meeting twice a decade. Silver Dragons don’t spend their time like most dragons is why this lack of urgency to meet. Silver Dragons spend most of their time as the mortals they watch as they live among them and learning from them.

When they do meet they generally socialize and sometimes find bonds among close friends catching up. These meetings last for many a ten day in order to properly catch up and socialize with fellow dragons. These meetings most of the time are purely for casual purposes but sometimes in need for pressing issues. Meetings of urgency are typically held outside of the regular schedules and are facilitated by any member if the need is dire. The most common reason is the looming threat to the safety of a member and that’s usually only if multiple enemy dragons are involved.

Silvers have a unique way of bonding in mating for dragons, there usually in their own affairs and estranged but they do have marriages. These are typically arranged and appointed with in the clan or sometimes in rare occasions as acts of good will between clans. These marriages are lose by most interpretations as they rarely live together and will only meet 1 or 2 times outside of meetings for mating purposes and to raise children. Of course there are exceptions to those norms that do live together and usually dwell among the lesser beings in the guises of husband and wife.

Clans are usually not concerned with problems of the land as a whole seeing lesser beings’ troubles as insignificant. Very rarely is a clan roused to action on behest of an outsider unless large scale issues are present that could directly threaten members. If a clan is unified in action they can be very powerful as a flight of Silver dragons could decimate any army.

Silver Dragon young are produced every 5 to 6 centuries. The parents are very loving and take great care in raising their children as any humanoid of goodly wheel would. Typically 3 to 6 eggs are produced and hatched after 10 months in cooler moist temperatures. In parent they are typically strict but fair. The children are taught everything from basic life skills, social decadence, fighting, and master of flight and mastery of their breath weapons. In around half a century the young children will be old enough to find homes of their own typically with the help of a clan member that will scout a suitable location for them in relative safety. After fully grown they do keep in contact with their parents though mostly only through the bi-decade meetings.

If anything were to happen to the parents during the time of raising young, the clan will assign surrogate parents for the young. Thankfully rare occasions but dire none the less.

Intra Species Observations

It had been only a few years since I left my little hamlet on the hill. I couldn’t resist no matter how I tried, I wanted to see how Thadius had fared over the few winters. I had heard of an orc raid and hoped he still lived among the people. When I did return it became obvious a few years is a lot to a human as I looked into his soft eyes. I immediately recognized him and decided this time I wouldn’t hold back. Even if I had only but a blink of an eye with him it would be worth it. I’m sorry that it took too long to realize that. - Lady Thamia when returning after only 40 years.

Silver Dragons take more interest than most other dragons in creatures below them. As with most dragons they consider themselves the ultimate beings. They are not above interacting with lesser creatures though and find the goodly ones fascinating. They study and watch civilizations under their territories with more than passing interest. They don’t normally like to make themselves known not desiring to interfere with the day to day lives and instead watch from outside or inside under disguise. Sometimes they make themselves known to a city or town and publicly show their allegiance if the town is a positive enough force.

They listen to stories and tales with great amusement. They are particularly interested in lost civilizations or tales of such and sometimes may venture for those very places to see for themselves. A Silver Dragon in an area is likely to know the complete and extensive history of a settlement near to them as they make it their business. Many adventurers have found useful information in seeking out the wisdom of a resident Silver Dragon.

As with other goodly dragons Silvers have no qualms destroying villages of orcs and goblins they find in their territories. However, unlike other goodly dragons they’ll not actively seek these settlements out and so only do so if they feel like brushing on their fighting skills. It’s not uncommon for evil communities to exist near a Silver’s territory if they are benign.

Although Silvers are largely fascinated by a settlement but can be very self-centered. They care not of taking a few livestock here and there as long as they’re not risking the lives of the lesser beings. Often times when things are lean for a settlement they may rebalance the livestock in the area to be more equal. The consider themselves for the most part not intervening even if they do from time to time.

Sometimes they’ll become close friends with members of a community and will often help those friends in need. It’s not uncommon for a dragon to have many friends and friendly faces known to them in a town. In fact they quite enjoy having such company. They rarely stay so open to the public for too long preferring a distance emotionally if they wish to keep their identities secret.

Usually if they feel they’ve become too close they’ll leave and distract themselves with other matters and return after 50 years or so. Sometimes this distance is not achieved and while not bad it’s a more dangerous prospect for a Silver. Many are taught this distance from experience as they’ll have to endure several lifespans of even the long lived elves and keeping that distance keeps things more guarded emotionally. Such close bonds are not looked down upon by other dragons but always advised by caution.

One such practice that is indeed taboo is the mingling of dragon and mortal romantically. These are rare occurrences as they are highly advised against and heavily chastised actions among the clans. Even though they are taboo these relationships do exist. The dragon typically will adopt the customs of such a practice by the race of their chosen partner. Children produced of such a union are often taken care of by the dragon parent in their cave as to avoid the suspicions or simply troubles a half dragon may bare in such a community.

In the clan the half dragons are accepted typically, although more xenophobic clans may reject such children. The networks of allied Silver dragons make for half silver dragons the most likely of a half dragon to succeed in life and often they thrive. Not much is done or can be done once this taboo is committed other than moral support when things inevitably end.

In the presence of other dragon kind Silver Dragons are often kind and talkative. They’ve been known to form lose friendships with other goodly dragons. When in the presence of evil dragons they give extreme caution and suspicion but are not quick to immediately expect a fight. Often times when negotiations of dragons of evil and good take place a Silver will represent the side of good.

Variants

Silver Dragons are technically a variant of their own from the group of Metalic Dragons but they can be in different categories based on heritage and their chosen interests.

Hardy Silvers – These silver Dragons are usually fascinated with dwarves or barbarian tribes. They are Patient even for dragon standards. They are usually very adept fighters and regularly practice on the many goblin, orc and even giant tribes that plague dwarven lands.

Versatile Silvers – Typically found in more diverse or humanoid lands they are the most knowledgeable clans of Silvers. It’s not uncommon for them to have great libraries and great hordes of powerful artifacts and devises. They have a thirst for knowledge and will gladly trade in such goods.

Graceful Silvers – Typically closer to elves and enjoy the lust for life that most elves have. They are very companionate and are the most prone to having maybe too close of ties to their chosen interests in mortal beings. These silvers are also more likely to be in wedded pairs as they enjoy being close to another.

Sharp Silvers – Found closer to gnomish and Halfling areas they love witty banter and comradery among folk. They also are more likely to be in wedded pairs as marriage is a big part of Halfling culture in some areas. They admire the smaller races for their ability to thrive in a world seemingly meant for people twice their size.

DM’s Toolbox

For Silver Dragons just like any other dragon it’s very important to remember that all dragons are individuals just like any PC. These are just templates upon Silver dragon culture. Silver dragons can be a good way to show how power and beauty can intersect into a friendly and deadly encounter. If you have a good party they can be powerful friend or source of information. Evil parties can have a real threat looming over their head if they step too far out of line.

Dragon: White

“Twas a battle for the ages, there in this huge lair carved out of the ice and stone sat the dragon. The walls were comprised of a fine ice clearer than glass, within sparkled jewels of all colour like a rainbow trapped in time. Surrounding the center were giant sculptures of ice, they depicted giants frozen in battle and flight. Upon a closer inspection I saw that these were no sculptures but the poor inhabitants of the mountain before this Dragon arrived. Some had been cracked in two, exposing their rotting entrails not to feed on, but to simply remind any who dare enter this lair of their ultimate fate. I must admit that despite my own violent past, I felt a shiver of fear down to my tail just thinking about it. Then in the very centre, upon a mound of ice and diamond, I saw him. Shining in the spectral lights of the cavern, scales as white as the moon and eyes like the night sky, he opened his might maw and let loose a blizzard of terrible force.” -Zahra, a hunter.

Introduction

Arguably one of the rarest of the dragons in the known world. Due to their rarity there is little known about the White Dragons compared to the ferocious Reds or the Sadistic Blacks. The following is a combination of my own research in the field and deductions from tales of Hunters seeking wealth , heroes seeking glory and those who were merely unfortunate. I have attempted my best to remove any possible exaggerations that may have been used to embellish these accounts, however when dealing with such a terrifying creature what seems too incredible for fiction may in-fact be the cruelty of our reality.

Physiological Observations

As can be expected, white dragons share the same overall build of their cousins. Reptilian body, long serpentine neck, scales. Other than their colour, the main difference is the structure and size of their legs. Unlike most other types of dragon, the White dragon has enlarged powerful legs connected to spade like feet which in turn have large retractable claws. This allows them to dig through solid rock with frightening speed; and, according to various accounts of giants I asked, with surprising silence.

A White Dragons head is serpentine in structure, but closer inspection of the skull reveal that they possess pits next to their nostrils which allow them to detect even the smallest amount of heat in a raging blizzard. They also have an incredibly large ear structure built in, meaning they are probably capable of vision only using their sense of hearing. This highly developed skull structure may mean that White Dragon heads are weaker than other kinds, however no credible account of slaying one shows this as of yet. Their eyes are typically black in colour, though reports of blue eyed dragons exist and will be addressed later in this report.

White dragon wings are incredibly powerful, and are capable of folding inward to allow the dragon to better tunnel through stone and ice. Their wings are typically white with a blue tint, meaning they can be near undetectable with the naked eye at night.

White Dragons prefer to live in cold regions and build their lairs within the largest mountain they can find. They excavate incredibly complex tunnel systems out of the ice and stone. The lair of the dragon seems to shift as the dragons age, the older and larger the dragon the deeper their current lairs can be found.

A White Dragons size seems to be directly linked to the size of their cavern or lair. I have personally seen a White Dragon within the hollowed out base of a mighty mountain that was easily over a mile long and Gods know how tall . It seemed that the dragon was in some sort of state of hibernation a fact that is not in any known White Dragon account. The monks protecting the cavern would not allow me to investigate the depth of the behemoths’ slumber nor would they permit me to investigate the density of its skull with my sword. But did allow me close enough to see that its breathing was slowed to ,on average, less than once per day.

Like all dragons, the White Dragon has a dangerous breath attack that allows it to unleash a torrent of frost and ice at its opponents. Investigations of old lairs show those who were unfortunate enough to receive the blast full on. These individuals were frozen solid, perfectly preserved in their final moments, one can only hope that death was instantaneous. Furthermore, White Dragons are capable of some level of weather control, able to stir up great blizzards with their mighty wings. Although, I believe that this is somewhat limited to their environment, I have yet to hear of a White Dragon in a desert so this is unverified.

White Dragons typically use their blizzard abilities for hunting. Upon locating suitable prey (a pack of mammoths, giants, hunters, Frost Orcs etc), they whip up a mighty tempest to surround them. The White Dragon will encircle the prey from high above, increasing the ferocity of the blizzard with every lap, cutting off any retreat and allowing the prey to wear itself out as they are subjugated to the unrelenting frosts. The White Dragon will then cut off the weakest from the pack and devour it in a mighty swoop and continue to pick them off one by one until only whatever it deems the strongest remains. Then they usually allow the ice storm to end and appear before the enfeebled leader before dealing the final blow.

While all dragons can survive many millennia and are to many extents immortal, most seek ways to avoid death entirely typically via Lichdom or some other dark magic or bargain. White Dragons show no such inclination. Instead upon reaching a certain age they will begin a rampage or feeding frenzy which is usually marked in history as a “Frost Age” which typically lasts about a dozen years. During which vast amounts of land will be buried beneath tonnes of snow and entire countries will be reaped of all life. Following this event, the White Dragon will completely disappear. It is my personal theory that this is when they enter a state of hibernation. I do not know what they are waiting for nor what they do when they awake, however I theorise that the awakening of such dragons can be linked to the vast amounts of Mortal history dubbed “Ice Ages”.

Social Observations

White Dragons have no code of ethics when it comes to non White Dragons. To them, words are just sounds and actions are all that matter. Never trust the word of a White Dragon.

If a White Dragon builds its home in an inhabited mountain. It will take its time to create to create its lair. Instead focusing on tormenting the indigenous population by attacking stealthily from the shadows or through a series of guerrilla like tactics where it will suddenly appear among a vast amount of them, unleash its frost breath upon as many as it can before disappearing back into the Earth. Historically, Dwarfish civilizations are the most successful at repelling such attacks, however if a Dwarven city suddenly ceases all contact after an especially harsh winter, it is probably due to a White Dragon attack.

When the indigenous population is reduced to its satisfaction, it will proposition certain members with an opportunity for survival. Claiming it will allow them to flee if they attack their fellows. To my own personal dismay, I have yet to encounter any who have rejected this offer. These acursed individuals will more often than not instead find themselves trapped in eternal bondage to the dragon instead of free. Much to their horror and the dragons delight.

Combined with their curious hunting habits, it seems that what a White Dragon enjoys most of all is domination. The feeling of toying with lesser beings and breaking them down mentally and physically while they stand strong and powerful. They seem to prefer living in mountains which house thriving civilisations more than any.

As can be expected, White Dragons are very fond of jewels. While diamonds seem the obvious choice, they typically use them to make beds for themselves, preferring the more coloured variety to decorate their lairs by embedding them within the ice. A completed lair glows like the northern lights as moonlight cascades through the jewels and ice through a very sophisticated series of ice lenses. Evidently White Dragons are a great fan of beauty and art.

White Dragons typically mate a couple centuries into their lives. When a White Dragon is prepared to mate, it creates a mighty blizzard extending for many miles. Any interested mates will create their own blizzard and the two storms will approach one another with amazing speed. The union of the two storms masks the exact specifics of their airborne mating. However I have observed that it involved a lot of biting, roaring, talons and (somewhat comically) they do not know their partner's gender until they meet and they rarely care.

If a male and female union takes place, the Mother will go to the Fathers’ lair where he will bring her many offerings of various large creatures until she gives birth to half a clutch (~4) of eggs. After this, the Mother will leave to her own lair where she will lay the rest.

I have yet to see any real difference in the outcome of the young dragons despite different parents raising them. Both parents will allow the dragons to create their own smaller dens within its mountain and bring them along for hunts until they are large enough to do so themselves. The children will then leave of their own fruition before their first century.

Species relations As previously mentioned, White Dragon will often trick members of a given civilization it is tormenting into working for it. Upon its victory, the White Dragon will go back on its word and simply force them into serving it until they die of old age or it gets bored. As such, they rarely have more than a dozen or so serving it at any given time. From experience, many are too afraid or traumatised to turn on their master even when presented with an opportunity for escape. Even upon the White Dragons death, many choose to wander to their deaths in the unforgiving colds than return to freedom.

Due to their preferred habitat, White Dragons are rarely seen with those of other kinds. I heard reports of a White and Red quarreling over terrain (mountains and sleeping volcanoes being so similar). The following maelstrom of fire and ice are said to affect countries for decades after the battles have ended. Accounts show that in direct combat, the Reds are far more deadly than the Whites. However, the Whites typically use a combination of ingenuity and cunning to defeat the Red. Accounts that show a White winning over a Red will often leave them barely alive. Only to leave the area entirely as Whites have no real interest in living in volcanoes but seem to only fight due to their own immense pride.

Legends

There are very ancient legends of Blue Eyed White Dragons who brought their awesome might to villages and towns well far from their mountain lairs. These great beasts would freeze entire cities in ice or burrow and cause it to literally collapse on itself as thousands cry out in horror. I found only five accounts of these terrible creatures throughout the entire world. While the first three disappeared as quickly as they appeared, the fourth was slain by a nameless King and his army of wizards. The Fifth is known as the Ultimate Dragon, the first born of Tiamat herself, the Three Headed White Dragon. Destroying more than the sum of the other four combined. Like the others it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Beyond carvings of ancient conjurers, I have yet to find anything explaining their origins.

DM Tool kit

Classic Kill Dragon because dragon and get rich

A dwarven city is under siege of a mysterious monster. Players will have to hunt down a dragon while simultaneously watching out for the dragons servants.

Terrible storms ravage countries of the North, players are stuck and are forced to race to kill the dragon before they freeze to death in the unforgiving wastes.

A Red Dragon wishes for vengeance against a White that humiliated it and is willing to pay very handsomely.

A dragon rampaging dragon leading to a hibernation, is it worth hunting it down if it’ll sleep for the next few centuries?

A cult attempts to awaken a terrible hibernating dragon beneath a mountain.

An over ambitious wizard attempts to locate and control a legendary Blue Eyed White Dragon.**

Dragon Turtle

“Whether or not your princess is alive is of little consequence. You would be better to find a new mate, and find a new ruler. Her dynasty... your civilization… it will not last forever. Already it reaches the end of a cycle, the tree may fall but new ones will grow. Hmm. Nonetheless, if you are determined to know her fate, I am not one to choose for you how to spend your short life. Your bauble is shiny enough, and the determined will of an individual cannot change the tide but can swim against it… Very well. I will help you.”

Garguantuan, solitary, and incredibly ancient, dragon turtles are the apex predators of the oceans, the dragons of the undersea world. Dragon turtles have incredibly long lifespans, far surpassing those of humans, elves, and even dragons. Legends speak of dragon turtles that live for millennia, and of turtles who hibernate so long they become living islands. Myth says that dragon turtles have the gift of prophecy, and that they see time differently than other mortal beings, though it may be that their incredibly long lifespans simply give them a unique perspective that is difficult for shorter-lived beings to comprehend.

Physiological Observations

A dragon turtle resembles a massive turtle with a head resembling a large snapping turtle or dragon. Dragon turtles breathe superheated steam which they use for hunting for food and treasure. There have been reports of dragon turtles with elemental breath weapons resembling dragons, such as corrosive, fire, or ice breath, though they are not confirmed. A dragon turtle is truly massive, ranging from the size of a small whale at adolescent to the size of a merchant vessel as an adult. It’s not clear when or if a dragon turtle stops growing, and there are legends of dragon turtles growing to the size of islands with their own ecosystems growing on their backs while they hibernate the centuries away.

Behavioral and Social Observations

Underwater Treasure Hoarders

Dragon turtles, like their flying cousins the Dragons, crave treasure at an instinctual level. They hoard it in great undersea caverns and defend their lairs jealously. Like dragons, an individual dragon turtle’s lair and horde varies based on the personality of the individual, though pearls, jade, precious stones and stone sculpture and metalwork seem to be common favorites.

Feeding

Dragon turtles can eat nearly anything. They crunch on coral beds, forage through kelp forests, and hunt both whales and entire shoals of tiny fish. As young turtles they are insatiable, but as they grow older their metabolism slows. Mature dragon turtles can go months without eating, and even longer, years or centuries, when hibernating.

Mating and Spawning

Dragon turtle mating is a very private affair, but a few things are known. Dragon turtles follow a seasonal mating pattern. For a year or two, the oceans become empty while dragon turtles migrate to spawning grounds. Little is known about the mysterious spawning season, but speculation says that it lasts for years, perhaps decades, and that there is a long time, perhaps hundreds or thousands of years, between spawnings. People are unsure where the dragon turtles go, whether the deep ocean or uninhabited lands where they can have space and privacy. The prevailing theory is that they make their way to the elemental plane of water for their spawning, but how they get there no one is sure.

Though dragon turtle spawnings happen once in a great while, dragon turtle eggs presumably hatch in staggered waves, lying dormant for years until the conditions are right for the particular turtle. As a result, there is a steady stream of new dragon turtle babies each year. Dragon turtle infants are comparatively tiny, about the size of a loaf of bread. They rise in staggering numbers, hundreds of thousands each year. Very few survive to adolescence, and fewer still to mature dragon turtles. Maybe one in every four-hundred thousand will survive long enough to mate.

Intelligence

Dragon turtle intelligence rises as they grow, gaining sentience once they reach adolescence after a few hundred years and have survived long enough enough to become the size of a small whale. Then they will be brash and animalistic, ruled more by instinct than cognizance. As they mature, their mental capacity grows, matching and then perhaps surpassing mortal minds. Telepaths talk of fully-grown dragon turtles minds as dark and vast like the wide open ocean, full of depth and mystery.

Inter-species Interactions

Slow and Solitary

Dragon turtles are mostly private. They crave seclusion and solitude, even from their own kind. They are capable of conversation, though at they are at best uncaring of the affairs of shorter-lived creatures. They can occasionally be coaxed up for conversation if treasure is involved, and some younger dragon turtles have been known to join undersea armies or coastal navies as a way to build a quick hoard.

Strange Perspective

Talking with a dragon turtle is difficult. They don’t seem to have the same way of thinking as a mortal does. They don’t form attachments to individuals or countries as much as geographical land masses. A dragon turtle may sink every ship in a given bay because a primitive tribesman threw a spear at it when it was younger there, or may always defend a port city from invading ships despite who is actually in control of it. The timeframe of their thought process is so slow it’s almost geologic, the empires of elves, man, and dwarf are just blinks in time, the slow crawl of the continents something a dragon turtle can watch with interest.

Connections to the Plane of Elemental Water

It is clear that dragon turtles have some connection to the elemental plane of water, whether it is their original origin or their post or pre-mortal plane of existence it is unsure. Certainly the other creatures of the elemental plane are more used to seeing them and are able to engage them in conversation somewhat easier. Some people believe dragon turtles routinely pass in and out of the elemental plane to other planes of existence, swimming through all the oceans of all the worlds for eternity.

Historical and Cultural Significance

Dragon turtles are sacred to some island societies. Some societies hold origin legends of dragon turtles as their guardian spirits, or as wise benefactors sharing their wisdom in times of crisis. The dragon turtle symbol is a sign of longevity, strength, and wisdom. The God of Time is said to be a dragon turtle of cyclical age, never-ending and being in both past and future simultaneously.

Variants / Age groups

Infant

Infant, adolescent, adult, and elder dragon turtles vary in size and temperament enough that it may be useful to think of them as separate species. The infant turtle acts much like a regular sea turtle, and doesn’t even really have a breath weapon for hunting. It kills and is killed enough to be a normal part of the food chain, albeit as it gets older it gets much larger.

Adolescent

An adolescent dragon turtle is beginning to gain sentience. It is about the size of a whale, and now is one of the largest animals in the ocean. Its main motivations will be for food and for treasure. It is wise enough have conversations, and to be bribed or convinced by other creatures, and is full of youthful energy and curiosity. It does still have the usual dragon turtle aloofness, and may be prone to long periods of deep thought as its mind begins to open up to the rest of the universe.

Adult

An adult dragon turtle is massive, larger than most whales and the same size of many ships. Dragon turtles at this stage begin to withdraw into their own minds and into the deep contemplations of mature dragon turtles. They may retain relationships with people and dynasties from their youth, but few kingdoms last as long as the dragon turtle. Those that do develop elaborate rituals so the dragon turtle has a sense of familiarity that one would develop with individuals; using the same rote language, ceremonial clothing and appearance. It give the turtle something lasting to connect to.

Elder

An Elder Dragon Turtle is one of the oldest creatures in existence, and may have been one of the first sentient beings on the planet. They are prone to long periods of hibernation, and may grow to truly colossal sizes. It may be more legend than reality.

DM’s Toolbox

Theme: Time keeps on slipping...

Dragon turtles are OLD, and can be the main theme to drive home. Dragons are typically dynamic enough to get involved in the affairs of mortals, but dragon turtles while the centuries away with their hoards at a much slower pace. >When roused they can be impressive as they use their massive bulk to smash your PC’s vessel with the slow, uncaring indifference one would use lazily swatting a fly.

As an Encounter

Adolescent turtles will be the most likely “monster” a PC would run into, while a dragon turtle elder would be more of an NPC. At CR 17 a dragon turtle isn’t something you would want to carelessly jump into combat with. A dragon turtle attack should feel like a force of nature, a tsunami or an earthquake, venting and belching scalding steam like an undersea volcano.

As an NPC

Good dragon turtles and evil dragon turtles exist, you can make benevolent, wise seers or enigmatic undersea tyrants. When roleplaying a dragon turtle give it a deep and mysterious, alien air. They see as your PC’s as very short-lived and largely insignificant, but are aware that powerful individuals are capable of creating lasting change. Dragon turtles are said to have a gift of prophecy, but they may simply have the benefit of thousands of years of experience watching events unfold around them.

Drider

Once my last torch had burned out, I knew I was finished. I had no idea I'd have to wait so long.

The thing had been stalking me for days. Ever since, I climbed deeper into the Bottomless Maw to avoid the goblins in the upper tunnels. The tunnel was utterly black. I couldn't see my own nose, much less what was following me.

My light had been out only a few minutes when I stumbled on the rough stone floor. The thing crawled toward me. The sound of it's feet, clicking and clacking on the stone was directly over my head. I don't know what happened next.

When I awoke, I was hanging upside-down. Gravity made the pounding in my head that much worse. I struggled against my sticky bonds to find I was swaying, suspended from the cave ceiling by a thread of webbing. I don't know how long I waited, minutes, hours—it could have been days. All that time, I'd hear the occasional skittering across stone. Sometimes across the floor, but more often across the ceiling.

Once, the thing brought someone else into the cave. She was screaming the whole time, and then silence. I tried to listen for her breathing when the thing left again though I heard nothing. Only the occasionally soft clacking of its feet on the stone.

The time stretched on like the darkness, there was an end to it somewhere, but I could not see it. I was thirsty and hungry, I felt so weak, and my head was throbbing. When my captor finally came to drain the blood from me, death was a blessing.

—the ghost of the adventurer Japhy Grint eflecting on the events leading up to his death, recorded by Egarford Bittwistle, gnomish dungeon ecologist, during exploration of the Blackwilde Caverns

Introduction

Driders are terrible monstrosities, a twisted, ruined soul of a dark elf cursed for failing the Spider Goddess's trials, a drider is driven by madness and hunger. Driders live out their lives in solitude in the deep places of the world. Adventurers who happen upon a drider's hunting grounds will likely die.

The word drider is a portmanteau of of the words drow and spider. Some ecologists prefer the term arachnotaur. I had once thought to seek out and survey several driders regarding their individual preferences in this and other matters. However, it is not easy to find a drider without becoming food, and once found, many are not interested in chatting, even in the name of knowledge.

The ritual of transformation is a closely guarded secret. Dark elf high priestesses claim that the Spider Goddess herself is the only one who can perform it. Outsiders postulate that an inner circle of the highest ranking priestess possess the requisite formulae and incantations. Attempts to uncover any further information regarding this have resulted in nothing on which I have reason to believe the priestesses will make good. Two prominent scholars who were investigating these fascinating creatures disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

Physiological Observations

During its horrible transformation, the legs of the cursed dark elf are replaced with the posterior portion of the cephalothorax, abdomen, and legs of an enormous spider. The cursed dark elf retains its head, arms, and upper torso. Two changes in its face are noticeable. The color in the eyes of the cursed elf fade to pale, milky pools. The elf's upper canine teeth extend into long fangs. The details of the inner workings of the anatomy of this beast are difficult to discern. Upon death, the innards rapidly decay to a goo that ranges in color from pale green to black. It is known that a drider eats with its elf-like mouths and is capable of spinning webs with a spinneret on its spider-like abdomen.

The black haemolymph-like substance that circulates through a drider's veins is a deathly poison. The toxin can be delivered to foes bitten by the drider's fangs. The toxin is a valuable commodity, sought after by poisonmakers, but the location of the gland that produces it has remained elusive. It is thought that the toxin is not produced by an organ at all and that it may be a by-product of the dangerous magic that produces these monstrosities. I find this hypothesis weak in evidence though difficult to disprove.

A stronger hypothesis is that the drider is a ritualistic wedding of organisms so different from one another that the toxin is a specialized product from somewhere in the spider portion of the drider that undergoes a terrible combinatorial selection process during the transformation ritual itself or shortly thereafter. As the dark elf transforms, the toxins are "tested" throughout its body in rapid succession and in short bursts until a combination that does not kill the creature is found. This combination is still likely to cause excruciating pain, but less so than one of the other combinations. In support of this hypothesis, there is some alchemical evidence that the haemolymph of each individual contains a unique combination of toxic substances. This evidence is still thin, but provides a testable hypothesis as more data is gathered.

The constant pain from toxin in its own veins may be what drives a drider to madness. Driders feed on the blood and fluids of other creatures. I suspect that some abatement of the pain derived from the toxin occurs after feeding. Reinforcing the almost constant hunting and feeding behaviors observed in these creatures.

The initial transformation ritual can be completed in a matter of hours, but the exact timeline of development of toxin, web-spinning, fang-growth, and change in eye-color are unknown. In over three hundred documented transformations, the creature scuttled off to avoid observation for at least several months. Whether driders succumb to old age or if they can lurk in the dark for eternity is not known.

Social Observations

Most driders are solitary hunters. Most keep no company, save a food source kept until later. At various times in the past, splinter sects of the Spider Goddess's faithful have taken to both worshiping and enslaving driders. Worship of driders often ends in blood and death for either the drider or the dark elves, as madness and hunger subsume any rational thought. Manipulating the behavior of an enslaved drider depends on keeping it well-fed. If unleashed as a weapon of war, there is danger in that a drider that is too well-fed will lose some of its viciousness.

Though capable of speech, driders rarely speak. Even in the instances of cultists following a drider, the creature often gives silent commands, pointing and nodding approval or viciously attacking to express disapproval. To call a drider an anti-social creature would not be incorrect though I believe such labels do a disservice to attempts to understand them.

Behaviorial Observations

Drider often lair in dark web-filled holes deep beneath the earth. I have only entered these lairs after the creature was destroyed. Evidence suggests that the drider returns to its lair only to rest and to feed, but it spends most of its time hunting.

These monsters have been known to stalk prey for days through dark tunnels, waiting for an opportunity to strike. It is thought that they are very selective in choosing prey. I have been hunted myself before. However, their malign presence always ceases the pursuit when I reach a place of greater light or denser population.

Some driders prefer to set sticky web traps instead of stalking prey. I find this behavior curious, and suspect this may correlate to variability in the intelligence of the creatures. The behavior may be something that driders of differing ages engage in—if driders age at all. One might think that older driders set web traps as their capacity for speed and stealth fail them, or that younger driders set web traps as their need to feed is greater. My notes on this are a scattered mess as drider ages are as yet impossible to discern fully. I can say with certainty that there is no geographical pattern to stalking hunters versus trap-setting hunters.

No matter the style of hunting, driders of both ilks are known to carry prey to their lairs to save for feeding at another time. My suspicion is that this behavior has more to do with a cunning for maintaining a supply of food when prey is scarce. A colleague of mine insists that the drider is simply cruel and enjoys tormenting its prey. Try as I have to capture a specimen alive for interview, I have failed at every turn.

Some driders wield blades and cast spells as they may have in former days as elves. Others fight with fang and web, must like a spider with exceptional cunning. I have had the good fortune to survive encounters with both, and for this, I am indebted to my brave companions, one of whom was not so fortunate.

Inter-Species Observations

Except for prey, a drider abhors the presence of other sentient species in its lair. It incapacitates its prey, wraps it in webbing, and carries it into its lair to drain of blood at its leisure. Most driders drain prey completely in a single large feeding.

Within its lair a drider may tolerate the presence of maggots, oozes, and other non-intelligent creatures that will feed on the corpses and leavings. A drider will not abide another predator in its lair or the immediate territory around it. Generally avoiding confrontations, the drider will often abandon its lair and move to other tunnels. Leaving a cave filled with web and bones.

The notable exception to this is the drider's affinity for spiders, a curious behavior pattern to say the least. I have seen drider lairs, both active and abandoned completely filled with spiders. From tiny specimens to spiders the size of large dogs, these beasts are at home with the drider. I, and several other notable ecologists, suspect drider lairs present abundant food and ideal breeding grounds for spiders with ample maggots and flies to eat, webs that catch other small prey, and a lack of larger predators. Superstitious underfolk believe that the spiders follow a drider and congregate around it because the drider is a manifestation of the Spider Goddess. She whispers to the spiders through its milky.

An old story among the elves speaks of the first drider. This story is rarely spoken as it challenges other assumptions regarding the origins of the dark elves themselves. The tale speaks of a primitive elf shaman called Cyrelia the Blackflame. Cyrelia was tasked with destroying a demon that had infiltrated Cyrelia's village and begun demanding tribute from her people turning them to madness and death. Cyrelia faced the demon and succeeded in subduing it. In the process, however, she absorbed its essence and was transformed into a terrifying monster with eight legs, venomous fangs, and a desire to feed. She returned to her village and demanded that the people follow her. A handful did, and she led them below ground to a deep place touched by a demonic presence. In this desperate colony, the elves sheltered against the forces of the dark protected by their dark half-spider mistress. Twisted by the dark, over the years, the elves and their children were changed, for Cyrelia's colony was the birthplace of the sinister drow race.

DM's Toolkit

Driders tend to be isolated, stealthy predators. Encountering a drider in a dark tunnel should be be a harrowing experience for PCs. The drider will use darkness and its ability to scale walls to avoid being seen. But it will also use these to aid its escape. A drider works well in a series of twsiting, branching, and intersecting passages with sheer drops and openings in the ceilings. The drider can easily move between levels while the PCs have to slow down to climb if they are to pursue or to flee from the monster. Whenever the PCs encounter a drider, it should be in tunnels that the drider knows well, but the PCs have only recently entered.

For higher-level drider encounters, the difficulty of navigating the tunnels should increase. I would also add more web hazards. Both sticky webs that hinder movement, and tricky webs that hide collapsed tunnels and chasms. The drider will rarely turn to fight when pursued, but it might try to lead the PCs to a place where they must. The drider is aggressive in attacking, but it's not foolish enough to allow itself to be killed when it is outmatched.

Dryad

When I was a child I used to go out into the forest behind our farm if I was sad, or just frustrated with my parents. I never knew why but I always felt like I had a friend there. Like someone was comforting me.

-Aylana Foxheart, Innkeeper at The Ebwyn

Introduction

Dryads are fey creatures with immensely close connections to nature, and more specifically, with trees. Any geographical location with naturally occurring tree growth is likely to have at least a few dryads that live there.

While most experts are still at a loss for an explanation as to how or why dryads came to exist in this world, a popular theory is that the deities of nature created them as companions and caretakers for the forests that had become all but abandoned millennia ago.

Others argue that if that were the case dryads wouldn’t exist in forests that are densely populated and that it is more likely that these “tree spirits” are exiles who hid in the forests taking on the form of humanoids they saw being the most protected or treasured by human and elven culture.

Physiological Observations

A dryad’s appearance can vary depending on the environmental factors at play near their ebwyn, or birth tree, but a few features are always the same. dryads are solely female in gender, and they do have a gender, sexually speaking. It is not uncommon for handsome/attractive men to go missing from towns or paths located inside of or along the edges of a dryad inhabited forest. Dryads charm these men (magic not always being involved) into being their mates and protectors. All dryads also exhibit physical features one could best describe as a combination of plants and human or elven women. There is often a fair share of skin visible near the neck and thighs specifically. The rest of the body varies depending on the type of dryad. Most, if not all, dryads also have a substantial amount of lichen on the parts of their bodies that are not bare skin.

Another thing all dryads have in common physically is that their appearance changes along with the seasons. During the summer their hair, leaves and bark are lively and vibrant. In the fall and winter these features turn darker, fall off or shrivel up. When spring comes around their bodies begin regenerating. Their hair grows, their bark (if they have it) strengthens, their leaves or flowers bloom.

Every known species of dryad originated from, and is bound to through its life force, an ebwyn or birth tree. It is not currently known what attributes are necessary in a tree to allow for the creation of a dryad, or if the dryads are truly created within the tree in the first place. Some theorize that dryads are the spirits of trees incarnate.

What is known for sure is that the death or destruction of a dryad’s ebwyn is always closely followed (within 48 hours) by the death of the dryad and vice versa. Because of this, it has been observed that a dryad will become uncharacteristically enraged when its ebwyn is endangered.

The majority of intelligent races/cultures that would care to study fey in their homes have discovered that dryads do not eat or drink. Instead, they return at least once per day to absorb energy and nutrients through the roots of their ebwyn. It is widely believed that this plays factor in dryad appearances being influenced by their surroundings.

Some examples of this influence would be the dryads in the arctic climates of the north being heavily covered in a light gray moss that many of the trees in that climate grow.

Social/Behavioral Observations

Dryads can be categorized as one of two particular archetypes. The first, endearingly shy and high spirited. These dryads are giggly and playful, being easily entertained by displays of skill or culture that they are not normally exposed to. The second being stoic, watchful and almost paranoid. It has been hypothesized that the less familiar a dryad is with the world outside its habitat, the more it tends to be the shy and playful type. Those who have seen the chaotic and cruel way the world can be tend to be more careful.

Through various rituals or other powerful magics it is possible for a dryad to live for extended periods of time away from its ebwyn. However, this is extremely rare as all dryads strongly prefer the comfort of their homes over traveling and experiencing other environments.

When dryads have been encountered away from their homes the stories told afterwards are almost always unique. Depending on the species of dryad, these are either tales of merriment or tales of woe, but always interesting nevertheless.

While in their homes, however, many dryad species are known to welcome company. Their voices are melodic and soft. Many a traveler has lost track of time while sharing “an evening” with a dryad, ending up back on their original course days or weeks later.

It is not uncommon to find small groups of dryads living together in somewhat of a commune. While each is tied individually to their own ebwyn, they enjoy the company of their own kind and feel at home near one another’s ebwyn. However, if a hierarchy or social order of any sort exists among dryads, it is yet to be discovered.

Most dryads are naturally benign and, while they will certainly make efforts to ward off danger from their homes, tend to avoid conflicts unless something would endanger their natural habitats.

Intra-Species Observations

Dryads of the first social archetype we discussed tend to get along with just about any race that isn’t inherently evil as long as they do not endanger the dryad’s habitat or openly despise nature in general. They enjoy storytellers and actors especially as they do not often leave their homes. They also, for some unknown reason, have a soft spot for gnomes and have been known to break into giggle fits at the sight of one.

Dryads of the second social archetype get along with their own kind well enough. They also tolerate other fey who would also put forth efforts to protect nature. Beyond that, it is unlikely that these dryads will even show themselves in the presence of other races unless it is to protect their home. Rare exceptions have been made for the occasional wandering druid who passes through seeking guidance or refuge and seems genuinely respectful.

Variant Species

Let's talk about a few of the different known species of dryad. There are several and each is specific to an environmental setting. While all dryads may have been the same at the time of their arrival on this plane, years of dwelling in various climates seems to have forced evolution upon them.

Azwai

The Azwai are the dryads typically found in arid areas of the world. They are the only species known to have cacti as their ebwyn. As such, their physical appearance has been known to frighten at first sight.

Their heads, shoulders, stomachs and thighs are soft skin like that of a human or elf. It ranges in color from a lime green to a tan gold depending on whether their ebwyn is lively and surrounded by other desert foliage, or stands alone amidst a sea of sand and cracked earth.

Azwai that are linked to a cactus also tend to have small spines protruding from their elven/humanesque skin. They are the only type of dryad that is frequently bald. Their arms and legs (from the knee down) slowly form into soft vertical ridges.

Yelmyb

The Yelmyb are the most common and well known species of dryad. These beings live in lush green forests. Their ebwyn are most commonly oak and ash trees. Their physical appearance is often described as quite pleasing or soothing.

They are the most humanoid of all dryads. In fact, from a distance, it can be hard to tell that Yelmyb are dryads at all rather than some poor lost soul who can’t seem to find her clothes. From head to toe Yelmyb appear to be human or elven women with long, straight hair and very soft features. Their skin resembles the texture and physical appearance of the wood underneath a tree’s bark and is typically a light shade of brown while their hair is a mossy or leaf green.

Freymir

Freymir, like their favored pine, spruce and fir trees, are the most common dryads in boreal and frozen areas of the world. Unlike other dryads the Freymir communicate entirely through telepathy. As far as anyone has been able to tell, they do not have mouths. Instead, a thick white bark grows along their jawline and grows as high as just below their noses. This bark glows faintly when they “speak”.

Unlike their brethren, the Freymir have almost no exposed humanoid skin. Where others would have bare skin, the Freymir have a particularly thick type of lichen. Initial studies have indicated that this particular type of lichen, when observed and studied independently, is capable of vegetative reproduction. In theory, this would mean that the Freymir also have this capability.

DM's Toolkit

1.While the PCs are passing through a logging village, they notice that the village is mostly women. While resting in the tavern for the night they are approached by some of the women in the village whose husbands have recently gone missing. They ask the PCs to investigate. The PCs search the nearby woods where the husbands would have been working and find them worshipping a beautiful Yelmyb who is reveling in their adoration.

2.The party has settled down for the night in a cave with a fire to escape the cold of the alpine mountains they’ve been traversing all day. Just outside stand hundreds of pine trees that the PCs swear they hear faint giggling from while they eat their suppers and lay out their bed rolls. As each watch begins, the PC on watch makes a wisdom saving throw to see if it is charmed by the Freymir who is watching over the camp. If they fail their save, they do not waken their comrades and instead wander out into the night to play with their new friend(s).

3.A wizard has fallen in love with a beautiful spirit of the forest and has decided that she must join him in his home. He is researching ways to separate her from her ebwyn when the PCs find him. The party helps him at first but comes to find that what he is planning to do will likely endanger the forest itself and all of its denizens. However, when they approach the wizard with these concerns he has become crazed, obsessed with the idea of freeing his beloved.

4.The party has been traveling for days across the treacherous desert and are dangerously low on supplies. As the sun begins to set they see a figure in the distance. It is bald and strangely feminine. Its head seems to tilt slightly as if it is eyeing them curiously before it vanishes. Nearby a bed of cacti begins to glow a pale green and they hear a soft chuckle. They try to ignore it and move on, worried that it may be a fight they cannot afford at the moment. As they stop for the night and attempt to take one last drink from their waterskins, they are amazed to find them full of a sweet, cool liquid that was not previously there.

Duergar

"No being ever loved gold more than the Great Dragon. However, the Duergar were second, and not for lack of trying." from "Demons and Dwarves, the Hidden History of the Duergar" by Flavia Septimus

-From the Writings of Flavia Septimus, official historian of the Antarin Empress, Aguinala von Slaydo, peace be upon her.-

Introduction

Duergar are a long removed sub-race of Dwarf, possessing dark complexions, grey eyes, and black hearts. They were long ago expelled from Dwarfkind for their insatiable greed and disregard for the concepts of brotherhood, honor and mercy. Banished from the lands of Dwarf, the Duergar were forced into the harsh extremes of the wilderness, to fight for survival as the Dwarves of old did. Sadly, Duergar proved as resilient as their former kin, and the Duergar were left to eke out an existence in the blistering deserts, freezing wastes, or the deepest caves and caverns. There they forged a new culture, and new bonds of hatred for their old kin.

Physiological Observations

Duergar have adapted to the savage places where they live. They are a solely nocturnal race, sheltering in caves or fortresses when the hated sun looms overhead. The sunlight causes their sensitive hides to blister and their eyes to seal partially shut. But at night their dark hides enable them to vanish and reappear with impressive dexterity. Their eyes are silver or gold, with a rare few having pupils that resemble rubies or topaz. Their eyes pierce even the darkest of shadows, and their hearing is so good that they can hear a heartbeat behind an inch of wood. Duergar possess huge, bulging jaws which are full of closely packed, pointed teeth. They use this to eat things other races wouldn't even consider food, such as roots, raw meat, bark, and supposedly, slaves that are too weak or injured to work.

As stated earlier, Duergar are a sub-race of Dwarf which refused to obey the Gods we all hold most dear, preferring the worship of hideous creatures that slither beyond the stars and the vile, mad gods of the Underdark. For this, they were expelled from their place and forever scorned. Due to the limited number of partners, many Duergar exhibit unique hair,eyes, and diseases due to inbreeding. Some scholars have stated that these conditions are actually due to the Duergar's obsession with drawing power from blasphemous pantheons. Sages are prone to such idle speculation, and no firm evidence of this was ever found. For instance, some Sages also say that Duergar's incredible stealth abilities are because they can turn invisible! Other wild speculation on the behalf of these so called Sages point to tales of Duergar breathing fire, scaling walls like spiders, turning into or controlling wolves, and even manipulating other Dwarves into joining them, before using magic to transform other Dwarves into Duergar as fact. The shrewd Dwarf will disregard such tales as what they are, mere common superstition.

Social and Behavioural Observations

Most Duergar live in small, highly mobile social units. These units are called Warbands. These Warbands vary in size, from several thousand to only a few hundreds. Each Warband is a self contained society, containing everything it needs to be self sufficient and mobile. Duergar must constantly remain on the move, as other Dwarves and other Duergar will attack them, trying to steal their supplies or kill them. Other good-aligned races tend to be hostile to them as well, since Duergar have a habit of kidnapping their countrymen as slaves or plundering their home's wealth. Since Duergar are almost always constantly on the move, they find themselves constantly short of supplies, from food to steel. As such, they raid the surrounding area or attempt to seize the means to produce whatever they need. However, unlike other raiders, Duergar collect treasure not just for bragging rights. Duergar will usually attempt to purchase what they need, so they can keep their enemies far away from their areas of resupply. However, such dealings must be kept secret, for any government that helps Duergar and their is a Dwarven state nearby will be threatened with war if they do not help to apprehend the Duergar. Certain races are always willing to deal with Duergar, such as Goblins, Kobolds, Giants, Drow and Devils. However, usually for the convenience of both sides, such dealings are kept secret.

When other options have been exhausted, Duergar will attempt to seize areas of great wealth. They favor forests for lumber, cities for slaves, mines for ore, and bridges and straits for tolls. This is a Warband at its most dangerous. A mobile Warband will flee if they are badly outmatched. But a Warband that has seized a vital resource will dig in and fight until they are pushed out. In cases like these, the Warband must be expelled quickly, for they will invariably attract other Duergar bands. And while Duergar view each other as rivals, they have no shortage of common enemies. These Warbands may form a temporary alliance, or they may coexist for years. If this occurs, they leaders of the Warbands may agree to surrender their authority to a single competent commander.

As an example, allow me to site the Cirrenholm mining town. A Duergar Warband of 2,000 strong called the Daughters of Augustus seized the town, enslaving all of its inhabitants. The Dwarven members of the populace were butchered, and the humans put to work. But when the local Human Count dallied in going to drive them off, he found himself besieged by another enemy Warband, the Company of the Bleeding Eye.

When dealing with races willing to sell them goods, the Duergar are known for their cheerless, gloomy demeanor. They are also known for their impeccable honor and martial pride. Duergar hold debts of honor firmly in their minds, and if a group has helped them in the past, they will rush to that group's aid. Duergar do not trust most races. Certain ones they hold in open contempt, such as Dwarves. Any group not known for its honesty will be kept at arms length and not trusted. Usually, a Duergar will keep their word, but they expect you to break yours.

In Combat: A mobile Warband will attempt to lure attackers away while sending back word. These forward scouts will try to defuse a violent situation, usually by bargaining or bribing the other party.

If a Warband is attacking or or defending a valuable location or useful plunder, half of them will enlarge, the other half will turn invisible.

Duergar always try to use the battlefield to their advantage, and fight only at times and places of their choosing.

Intra-species Observations

A Duergar warband may look very united, but in actuality it is only the threat of a multitude of enemies that keeps them together. The leaders of each Warband scheme against each other. Warbands have a very fluid command structure, as certain warriors can rise or fall rapidly after a particular success or failure. Duergar are a hard people, with no trace of mercy in their hearts. They are not cruel, but they are not stupid. Duergar too old or too feeble to fight are abandoned and left to die, or killed. It is the responsibility of all members of a band old enough to receive martial training to fight in its defense. And while the warriors are honor bound to always defend their band, in the worst case scenario all but the youngest children and the pregnant females will gather their arms to make war on the Warband's foes.

DM's toolkit.

Duergar are criminally underused. They are Dwarven Drow, and yet the latter is incredibly common while the former is not. And despite this, they are quite similar. They both have grey skin, weird magic power, and dwell in caves. >So change that. Let the Duergar take their rightful place as one of the most common monsters, as they are rife with possibilities. Duergar possess great flexibility, as they will rarely attack on sight. however, Duergar loathe Dwarves, and are much more likely to try to attack if an adventuring party includes a Dwarf. This can make for some tense decision making, as everyone has a knife, but no one wants to attack first.

Here are a few ideas to stir up your think pans.

Alternate Versions: >Forest Druegar are taller and leaner then their cousins, and have a struck bargains with the inscrutable gods of the virgin wilderness. These Druegar are often accompanied by Quaggoths or Mantaragons, and occasionally the spirits of territorial fey. These Duergar cannot grow in size, but can often control or transform into animals. These Duergar are the most reclusive, preferring to never leave their claimed territory unless absolutely necessary.

Desert Duergar have paler hides and often have growths on their shoulders and foreheads. Desert Duergar are camouflaged to blend in with the sand stone of their preferred hiding places. Some are known to breathe fire or be able to transform into swirling clouds of sand. These Deserts are terrible marauders, attacking in a whirlwind of fire and steel. >Frost Duergar possess topaz eyes and snow white hair in much larger quantities, due to the inbreeding that takes place in such small communities. Frost Duergar are the most willing to set aside debts of honor or gold in the pursuit of survival. They are said to possess near invulnerability to cold, and a kinship with the savage predators of the blasted wastes, but also with undead. Frost Duergar often have retinues of corpses to serve them, and intelligent undead that normally despise them find them tolerable, if just barely.

Plot Hooks: >A cult of Toroq, Lord of Torture, has arisen in a human city. The cult has seized the city, and the local Lords are readying an army to go liberate it. However, unknown to everyone, a Duergar Warband who follows the same Black Lord is coming to reinforce the cult.

A Human military commander in charge of a frontier fort is secretly selling his extra supplies to a Duergar Warband. The Duergar are using these extra supplies to raid the nearby Dwarven state. The Human King dispatches the party to go investigate and prevent a conflict with their neighbors.

A Duergar who has been abandoned by his band waits by the side of the road. He possesses a maimed leg, a blind eye, a grievous wound and a small magic sword. However, halfway through the conversation, a patrol of Duergar arrive, realizing that they left the dying Duergar with a valuable heirloom that they feel belongs to them.

Elemental

Elementals are a conjurer's best friend, boy. Imagine summoning a creature of pure fire out of a gate. Imagine summoning waves of water that swirl and vortex to fight for you. A moving hill at your command. The very wind itself battling for you. The elements at your command. Though, I suppose it's a little too early for you to even dream about summoning them. -- Tigrim, Founder of the Dwarven School of Magics.

Introduction

Elementals are constructs of raw elemental power. They are found, primarily, in four different forms: Air, Water, Fire, and Earth. Each has a specific shape and can perform specific duties. However, in essence, they are the same. In their own planes, Elementals are simply living energy. They don't have form in their homes or any desire. It is only through the conjuration that Elementals gain form.

Physiological Observations

Elementals in their own worlds do not have any physiology. They are simply bodiless constructs of living energy. However, when a spellcaster summons the Elementals to their home world, the Elementals gain a form. Depending on the power of the magic and the trade enacted for the magic, the Elemental can differ in size. The smallest are approximately 16 ft. tall while the largest are closer to 40 ft. tall. Elementals can be bound to certain forms as well. For example, Invisible Stalkers are simply Air Elementals that were bound. The same thing applies for Water Weirds as well. Some elementals can be bound to strong materials such as stone or iron to create golems, however the magic needed to do so is much higher.

Air Elementals generally resemble moving clouds and prefer to fly low to the ground picking up dirt and debris. However, when angered they can quickly become cyclones that batter the foe while throwing them.

Earth Elementals resemble moving hills. They are immensely strong and capable of withstanding blows easily. Earth Elementals can move through the Earth as if they were a liquid, flowing from place to place easily. Creatures that are earthbound should be wary because the close ties to the element allows this monster to precisely pinpoint any quarry that touches the ground.

Fire Elementals are furious burning humanoid creatures which only exist for one purpose: carnage and chaos. They burn everything in their path and leave nothing behind. However, like any other fire, they are weak to water and water causes them to retreat hissing and smoking in pain.

Water Elementals appear as waves that move rising and falling. Just as easily, the water can become a swirling devastating vortex that batters. They prefer to surround and drown the opponent filling their lungs and mouth and nose.

Because of their nature as living energy, Elementals require neither rest nor sleep. They are not affected by exhaustion, grappling, paralysis, petrification, or loss of consciousness. They cannot be restrained. They cannot be injured by nonmagical weapons. This makes them incredibly challenging enemies.

Summoning Process

Summoning an Elemental is a two part process. The first part involves the use of a Gate Spell. The most common ones are the Timed Gate and the Soul Gate. The Timed Gate allows for smaller Elementals to be drawn while a Soul Gate is usually best for larger Elementals. The soul used acts as part of the trade for summoning the larger monster.

In addition to the gate, a material component of the element is required. For Water Elementals this component is at least a small pool of water approximately 15 gallons in size at minimum. Fire Elementals require a bonfire at least 10 feet high. Earth Elementals require at least 100 pounds of dirt or mud. Air Elementals, are the easiest as they simply require air, although for larger ones, steam is preferable.

Finally, the verbal component is:

Mörg ár síðan, fjögur þjóðir bjuggu í sátt . En, breyttist allt þegar eldur þjóð ráðist.

This process should obviously NOT be attempted in areas where fey or wild magic is predominant.

Behavioral and Social Observations

Elementals resent being bound to the material plane or any plane other than their own. They do not enjoy enlsavement and are constantly looking to escape this enslavement. They attempt to sabotage the master in every way. Because of this, every instruction given to an Elemental must be very specific so that they do not turn against you. They follow orders very willingly, and are not emotional. Their goal is to fulfill the required task in order to return to their own plane.

Intraspecies Observations

Elementals do not particularly have any interactions. The only notable interaction is that Fire Elementals do not like Water Elementals and Water Elementals enjoy killing Fire Elementals. Elementals will not work together unless ordered. Even if ordered, Fire and Water Elementals will never work together.

DM's Toolkit

Honestly, I think this is one of the monsters you throw at a party to make them a little scared and I think they work best against a party in which only one or two people have any magic and are low level. This is because it serves as a great tool for forcing players to look at alternatives besides fighting and makes the party realize how powerful their enemies can be.

Another use, that I've recently really enjoyed, is having elementals trapped in chests (imagine a 16 ft. creature being smushed inside a 3 ft box) and having it explode out, furiously, when the chest is opened. A great trap for unsuspecting parties.

Of course, they also make great guards for treasure as well, which is the classic. A powerful construct of living energy that's made of one of the 4 elements. Always a scary enemy.

My favorite one is definitely the Earth one for encounters. The ability to move as liquid to any given area and suddenly attack makes players have to consider new strategy and tactics especially when surprise attacks cannot work if the players are touching the ground.

Elves: Drow

Station is the paradox of the world of my people, the limitation of our power within the hunger for power. It is gained through treachery and invites treachery against those who gain it. Those most powerful in Menzoberranzan spend their days watching over their shoulders, defending against the daggers that would find their backs. Their deaths usually come from the front." -Drizzt Do'Urden

Introduction

Centuries ago, there existed only one faction of elves. However, a rift developed in the elves due to a difference in moral principles between two factions. One faction, who today are the elves we know of, believed that the highest moral value should justice and fairness. The other faction, however, believed that might was the key factor in society. As these differences developed, the two factions began to form tension and eventually this tension led to war. The war was brutal and raged for nearly two decades but the elves were able to diminish the Drow forces, which were then forced to retreat into the Under-dark, the cavernous world under the surface. The Drow, initially forced to the Under-dark, began planning for vengeance. But, over time, they grew to love their new home. They adapted to it and began to view themselves as the rightful rulers of the Under-dark. They also became faithful followers of the Chaotic goddess, Lolth (Lloth in the Drow language). The Drow are famed for their cruelty, their martial prowess, and most for the chaotic and manipulative society they live in.

Physiological observations

The drow are very similar in stature to the elves. They stand just a little shorter than most humans. Their skin is dark, often completely black, is believed by elves to have developed among the drow as a result of a curse cast on them by Corellon as punishment for their lack of justice and their obedience to the evil Lolth. The white hair of the drow developed due to a lack of melanin, an adaption to the dark work they live in. Both sexes in the drow species are fairly athletic which lends to their martial prowess, making them agile warriors. In addition to their white hair, life in the darkness of the lower world forced another adaption among the drow, their eyes. Their eyes over time turned red and are now able to see in the darkest of places. This ability developed fairly quickly as a result of Lolth's blessings to her favorite people. Besides the adaption to light, the eyes of the drow developed another strange trait. If one were to examine a drow's heat signature, they would notice that the eyes of the drow glow incredibly bright, appearing above the normal heat signature of the torso as almost miniature fires. Though there is no proper explanation, many scholars attribute this to the drive the drow have for revenge against the surface dwelling people. The drow also have a natural resistance to magics, a trait that developed as a result of a blessing granted by Lolth. However, their time in the Under-dark means that they have developed a sensitivity to light making them detest the dark sun.

Social Observations

Drow are introverted creatures. They do not particularly enjoy the company of other species. This behavior is largely driven by the attitude the drow have that they are superior to every other creature in the Under-dark and that they are ordained by Lolth to rule this new home. Thus, the largest interactions of the drow with other creatures tends to be subjugating them. They often lead raids against these creatures intent on enslaving them. Often, the subterranean dwarves and gnomes keep some kind of spies among the drow to prepare for such raids. They drow avoid, mostly, any relationship with the mind flayers, recognizing their prowess. They do not choose fights against these abominations without much prior preparation.

Behavioral Observations

Drow are a cruel, sadistic race. They are expected to conduct themselves confidently and are expected to torture those who disobey any rules. However, this trait does not require any reinforcement since the drow love being in positions of power and the screams of those who are weaker than them. The drow love being able to boast themselves especially when they can boast as to the favor they have curried from Lolth.

Intra-species Observations

The drow have a very complex intra-species structure. On the surface, all drow are expected to work together. However, their entire culture is built on a hierarchy and the only way to advance in position tends to be through deceit and backstabbing. The primary relationship that drives the drow structure is their inter-gender relationship. In the drow society, women hold the most power. They are much more physically fit than their male counterparts. They also hold positions of power among individual families and tend to have better positions of power. They are trained to be clerics to Lolth, which is considered the best position any drow can obtain. The men tend to be placed into lower positions acting as wizards or simple fighters.

The next system that hold the drow culture is their familial structure. The largest families hold the most strength. They tend to be the ones with the most soldiers and the most slaves. The top 8 families in the drow culture form a council at the peak of the drow society. These families make all of the major decisions for the Drow and act to convey the will of Lolth. They are also said to have the most favor from the dark goddess.

There are ways for the families to advance. The most common way for these families to advance is for one of the higher ranking families to disappear. Many times, this disappearance is a result of a secretive attack from one family against another. As long as there is no proof, the family that advanced cannot be held responsible.

DM's Toolkit

Personally, I find that Drow make wonderful villains in a campaign. They're dark, evil, sadistic, and best of all cunning. They've got great magical potential and good physical prowess which means that players would be in for a fight. They also have no qualms against stabbing someone in the back. They also make great decoys from a real villain since players are less likely to trust a drow, especially if they've been stabbed in the back before.

Empyrean

"We'd heard loud sobbing coming from the Dresden Fields to the west. Something so loud that it was heard even in the capitol of Rendiza, almost 4 days away. The Abbot of the local Church asked us to investigate the strange noises. So, the 7 of us jumped on our horses. We were sure we could handle whatever it was. We were young and heroic then. Imagine our surprise when we got to Dresden Fields, the most gorgeous meadow on this continent only to find every flower shriveled. The whole place was gray. Not a color left. And in the center of the Blight sat a wailing Empyrean. Mind you, it didn't stay sad long. As if by magic, or maybe the divine erratic blood seeping through it's veins, it exploded at us in a burst of uncontrolled rage. Lucky for us Zatara was there. Took the whole impact and shielded us. But, we were knocked out cold. When we came to, the Titan was gone." -- Memoirs of Tigrim, Dean of the Dwizard College

Introduction

Empyreans, or celestial Titans (Titan caelestis), are some of the most beautiful creatures that mortals could possibly see. These creatures are the divine offspring of the Gods residing in the Upper Planes and retain much of the celestial prowess of their parents. They are gorgeous, intelligent, self assured, and resilient. Empyreans' godly blood often impacts the material planes or any planes that they choose to live on profoundly.

Because the Empyreans are children of the gods that reside on the Upper Planes, they tend to be more good than evil. By our survey, around 3/4ths of the Titan caelestis are good in nature though the race is chaotic, with one or two exceptions. These good Titans reside primarily in the Olympian Glades of Arborea in the Upper Planes.

The evil ones become evil due to a curse placed upon them or as a result of their ventures into the lower planes and becoming corrupted. These cannot survive long in the Upper Planes, lest they be killed. Instead, they run to the mortal planes, usually becoming tyrant rulers of mortal kingdoms.

Many of the abnormalities of the world are results of the powerful emotion of this species. This concept is further described in the "Social Observations" section.

Physiological Observations

Titans resemble the word in every sense and it would appear that the word in the language of common is derived from these creatures. The average height of this species is approximately 25 feet. They weigh, on average, 14,000 pounds. The species is incredibly statuesque and many master sculptors often sculpt marble carvings of titans, honoring the children of the gods. Their stone like skin only serves to further the nature of their statuesque appearance.

Largely, the Empyreans have no age. They are immortal beings and do not change. They never age, though it is possible to kill them. Immortal is quite different than invincible. However, because they never age and cannot die peacefully, few Empyreans are willing to stop in battle, often fighting even when they are almost near death. Additionally, Empyreans have naturally hardened skin that is fairly resistant to most weapons. Additionally, they’ve been born with a resistance to magic as well as an innate ability for spellcasting from their divine ancestors. All of their weapons are magical, a gift from their parents. This inborn ability and centuries of experience makes them almost impossible to combat.

Social Observations

Empyreans are incredibly well versed at interactions with other groups of people especially due to their large intelligence and charisma which almost matches their strength. Empyreans’ magical blood often flows into their interactions with society. When Empyreans are happy, their mood flows into the society. Around them, in this mood, many wild animals and birds crawl around and run around the Empyrean happily and the moods of people improve drastically. Many times, furious Empyreans that venture near dormant or even extinct volcanoes cause sudden unexpected eruptions slaughtering many. Other times, the radiating joy of an Empyrean can suddenly cause leaves to grow, flowers to bloom, and plants to bear fruit during the harshest of winters. In many villages, folklore attributes natural disasters to the unhappiness of Empyreans and in some villages, ritual celebrations take place to ensure that the Empyreans remain pleased so that their wrath or sadness doesn't bring misfortune. Some people even believe that the positive feelings of an Empyrean can heal the gravest of wounds and illness, anything short of death.

The few Empyreans that are evil often use this to their advantage to gain control/dominion over kingdoms of mortals. These evil Empyreans quickly become indomitable tyrants over mortals thanks to their large charisma.

The good Empyreans tend to have largely beneficial effects and are largely helpful to those that are good. However, they spend much time away from the world of mortals, preferring to reside on the Upper Planes with their parents. Good Empyreans that fall in battle are often recreated by their godly parents. Evil ones that have displeased their parents will usually never be revived, which is one of the risks of becoming evil.

Empyreans remain detached from the mortal realms. However, sometimes, Kings or other similar leaders send messengers to ask advice of the Empyreans due to their large life spans. The evil Empyreans tend to be against the general ideals represented by the rest of their race. They only talk to mortals to dominate them or to manipulate them in some way.

Behavioral Observations

Most Empyreans enjoy goodness. They enjoy helping people and making things better. However, they prefer freedom, due to the chaotic nature of their blood. Because of this chaotic blood, they do not spend much time amongst mortals who often constrain themselves with laws. Instead they prefer to worry about their own happiness and despite their best intensions occasionally hurt others attempting to do what they feel are right. Empyreans enjoy serenity in all things. They love spending their time in the glade fields of the Upper Planes.

The Evil Empyreans are similar. They enjoy power and control and view themselves as vastly above mortals. Because they cannot live in the Upper Planes without the gods destroying them, they descend below the Upper Planes and choose to take over the material planes. Here they conquer and become tyrants that rule almost for millennia till some band of heroes replaces them.

Intra-species observations

Empyreans enjoy the company of other Empyreans holding feasts in their homes. However, they dislike evil and prefer a more chaotic environment. The few evil empyreans that attempt to remain in the Upper Planes are quickly killed.

DM’s Toolkit Empyreans can make for incredible high level enemies and friends alike. Specifically, they serve the role of BBEGs for campaigns that can involve freeing entire nations from the grasp of a tyrant. Something this heroic that would place your PCs in a textbook! Other times, the Empyrean could be used as the end of a long expedition searching for celestial advice for dealing with a BBEG or an ally against an enemy that your PCs may not be able to handle. Don’t tell your PCs that Empyreans can be revived and have one as their ally die. Revive him later for an awesome uplifting moment. (Keeping in mind you have to build a bond between the PCs and the Empyrean). Because of the belief that Empyreans can heal with happiness, maybe the PCs are tasked with taking a sick person and gifts to the Empyrean.

Outside of story, Empyreans are strong enemies that have high AC and incredible resistance. Their strength makes them a threat to party members that are weak to direct attacks and their innate spellcasting skills makes them a threat to the party members weak against magic. They are a great well rounded threat. Toss in a few underlings and the fights become incredibly difficult to win. The best part is they can be used in both normal campaigns as well as in evil campaigns.

Erinys

Three beautiful winged figures land on the steps of a resplendent structure of gold, silver, and marble. It is an Areiopagos, a place of celestial justice. The trio storm up the stairs and barge through the gigantic double doors startling a group of celestials chatting inside. Continuing inward the three figures ignore the bystanders as they approach the center of the building. There, sitting high on opulent thrones flanked by marble columns are nine magnificent archons. Arbiters, judges, philosophers, beings that seek to uphold law in its magnificence. With a quick bow the leader of the trio speaks with the strength of a thousand guardsmen.

"Forgive me for our intrusion. There is another human actively evading those hunting him down for his crimes. I request permission to stop him."

One of the archons with a head of a regal hawk looks down upon the three with stern eyes. Its voice, as firm as stone, carries the beauty of a harp. "His retribution will come. Mortals are short lived and their sins swiftly catch them." "But what if he finds a way out? What if he makes a deal? He has committed horrible acts and needs to pay!" Her passionate intonation rapidly grows louder as she speaks.

The archon responds, his tone measured. "You believe he deserves justice?"

"I believe he deserves punishment!" She shouts, words echoing off the silent columns. "I wish to…"

The hawk headed archon silences her with a hand and leans back in its throne. "And that is why you will not receive authorization to leave. Punishment is not an end but a means to enact justice; and justice" The archon pauses, glaring at her like a disapproving father "is clearly not your aim. Speak not of this again."

The leader of the three throws her hands up in disgust and gestures to her siblings to leave. As they storm back out the door and take flight, the three fume with frustration, with anger never experienced before. The siblings look at each other, knowing that each shares the same conviction. One by one they dive through the magnificent skies of Arcadia and plunge into the material plane where their quarry hides.

The three swiftly catch the man cowering under a tree, hiding from his pursuers. Like the sword of the great warrior Damocles, the angels descend upon him. First, the eldest strikes, delivering a wicked blow that brings the man to his knees. The middle strikes next, knocking him to the ground. Finally, the youngest attacks, hammering the man's face into the earth. Standing over this beaten man bleeding in the dirt, the trio of angels look at each other. Their rage had not been abated; in fact it seemed to have grown. Below that feeling was something else, something primal and powerful. Joy, sadistic pleasure derived from their gleeful torture, giving him what they believed he deserved.

As the night progressed, the angels grew ever more brutal with their attacks. They built off one another's progressively more brutal assaults. The first fashioned a rope from her hair, using it to lash and restrain their target. The second employed healing magic to allow for ever more brutal assaults. The third turned their weapons into the cruelest implements of torture.

When the sun finally dared to peek above the horizon, the eviscerated corpse of the man lay dead on the earth. The three angles looked at each other, exhilarated, their pearlescent wings stained crimson by blood. There was no remorse in their eyes, no hint of guilt, but no satisfaction either. The hatred, a feeling nigh alien to them for centuries, still lurked in their hearts, muted but unremitting. One by one they took wing, returning home only to speak of this night in hushed whispers. But, as they ascended, gravity pulled back. Despite their efforts they were pulled earthward, slowly at first, but soon they were in free fall. Bracing for a crash the three hurdled through the ground, continuing ever downward.

When they opened their eyes the three found themselves in a realm of fire and brimstone. Horrific screams could be heard in the distance and untold monstrosities lurked in the shadows. They knew they should be afraid, they should clutch their weapons and steel themselves for batte, but something deep within told them this was no longer hostile territory. With eyes that now burned with hellfire they examined each other and their new home. It was in that moment that they understood who they truly were. The feeling inside of them, the feeling that drove them wasn't mere anger or hatred… It was fury.

-From “The Legend of the Erinyes"

Littering the skies of Baator, Erinyes, also known as furies, are a common sight to any planar traveler. All are descended from three angels who fell from Arcadia eons ago and all still bear their likeness to this day. Erinyes are said to be beings of vengeance, but in the eons since the species was first born they have grown into much more.

Physiological Observations

While almost all devils are twisted, horrific monstrosities, Erinyes appear to be beautiful men and women. They tend to be of an average height of 6ft with well-toned bodies. Almost angelic in a sense, the dark coloration of their wings and their fierce red eyes belie their true nature. The youngest Erinyes have wings of blood red that gradually darken to black as they age. Once an Erinys ages beyond a certain point, their wings begin to gradually shed feathers until only bone remains. These Erinyes are by far the oldest, most dangerous, and most sadistic of their kind.

Erinyes tend to be outfitted in a manner that gives them a more intimidating visage. Spiky plate mail and helmets adorned with horns are incredibly common along with their flashy weapons. Erinyes typically use wicked serrated blades and longbows with barbed arrows. Often, Erinyes carry ropes woven from their own hair that are able to act autonomously in a manner not dissimilar to a serpent. Erinyes have developed numerous ways to utilize these ropes in combat.

Most devils come into existence from the forsaken souls of the dammed. Erinyes however, are born in a manner most mortals would consider natural. An Erinys' parent can be another Erinys or one of the greater devils who tend to be fond of them. In a world full of bleak scenes and revolting creatures, an Erinys' beauty provides welcome respite. There is much philosophical debate over whether or not Erinyes are born innately evil. There is a common belief among many extraplanar scholars that Erinyes are born walking the line of good and evil. Their immediate parentage points them towards ill but their ancestry towards righteousness. Regardless of whether or not this is the case, any semblance of benevolence is swiftly and mercilessly beaten out of young Erinyes by their parents.

Erinyes mature at about the same rate as humans, but their childhood is one of suffering and rigid order. When their parents and devilish society at large aren’t literally beating their worldview into them, young Erinyes spend their time learning and training. By the age of 10 years (as measured on the material plane) Erinyes are formidable warriors and possess a working knowledge of magic and the planes. It is at this point that these young Erinyes enter the forces of Baator proper to begin their eternity of service. There have been attempts by various good natured individuals to “rescue” Erinyes before they reach this point hoping to usher them to good. Unfortunately, these good intentioned missions are almost always deadly failures.

Behavioral Observations

There are many different types of Erinyes with a diverse spectrum of personalities and worldviews. That said, there is one key principle that unites these vile creatures: the desire to punish wrongdoers. To some, it is a passing fancy, something not to be pursued with zeal but enjoyed as it comes. To others it is an obsession chased at every opportunity. While this may sound borderline virtuous, even a cursory examination of their methods and motivations reveals them to be as malicious as any denizen of the Nine Hells.

True good comes from justice and penance, not punishment. Those of a pure heart do not seek to make wrongdoers suffer but rather to restore a karmic balance and (hopefully) to reform the wrongdoer into someone worthy of redemption. Punishment is often the means with which this end is reached. To an Erinys however, punishment is the end. The thrill of vengeance, the joy of making others suffer is drives them. The twisted sense of justice is but a thin justification for their wicked hearts. These seemingly conflicting ideals are a carryover from their angelic heritage twisted by the cruelty of Baator. A criminal who repents for his sins and has a true change of heart will receive no mercy from an Erinys.

Erinyes are also bound to a deep sense of honor reinforced by both the strict hierarchy of hell and their ancestry. They make soldiers that are brutally efficient and, most importantly, loyal to the end. It is exceedingly rare for an Erinys to engage in an act of deception, they prefer to act frankly and decisively. This is one of the man distinguishers from succubi.

Societal Observations

Erinyes exist in a strange place within the fiendish caste system. While most devils are born at the very bottom and constantly attempt to claw their way up the ranks, Erinyes are born about halfway up the ladder but have almost no hope of promotion. This strange placement coupled with their sense of honor makes them favored agents of greater devils, as Erinyes are powerful enough to be quite useful but are not a threat to one's status. Thus, many Erinyes are privy to information or powers that their masters would usually keep to themselves. Some leverage this to gain more influence within the infernal hierarchy or preferred appointments.

The one chance an Erinys has for promotion is to become a pleasure devil. These greater devils occupy some of the highest levels of Baator and almost exclusively spend their time corrupting virtuous mortals. Only Erinyes that operate on the material plane (known as Alecto) are eligible to be promoted. Many actively resist promotion as it precludes them from engaging in the activities they revel in such as combat, command, and torture. These Erinyes get much more satisfaction out of their current lot than they would from promotion. However, those that truly excel at condemning the souls of mortals, strive for a chance to become something greater.

Erinys Specialties

Erinyes can be roughly divided into three main disciplines within the Nine Hells. The first are the Alecto who work on the mortal plane. These individuals engage in many activities, almost all of which involve collecting souls for their masters. They have been known to hunt down wrongdoers on the path to atonement to slowly and mercilessly cut their journey short assuring their soul makes its way to the Shelves of Despond.

The Alecto are also the Erinyes who coerce individuals to the lure of evil. Whether it is taking the form of an individual so alluring one is willing to sell their soul for a night with them or taking a position as a trusted advisor coaxing a leader down a darker path. However, it is rather uncommon for an Erinys to have the patience for such slow subversive methods as most prefer to act more decisively. The few devious Erinyes who revel in this work are the select few who are able to ascend to the rank of pleasure devil.

The job many Alecto take the most pleasure in carrying out is the execution of Faustian pacts, particularly those that involve vengeance, punishment, or the dreaded "Curse of the Erinyes". Taking after their progenitors, Erinyes are adept at exacting vengeance and punishment. They delight in creative and gruesome ways to cause agony to extract every last bit of suffering from an individual before sending them below to begin the process anew. Often, a jilted lover or irked business partner will call an Erinys down only to be horrified at the sheer depraved lengths Erinyes are willing to go when exacting said revenge.

Megaera is the second class of Erinyes. Their vocation is coveted by the vast majority of Erinyes. Megaera are always selected from members of the other two groups who prove themselves to be particularly adept at torture. These individuals spend their time tormenting the souls of a select group of the dammed. Megaera have a particular talent for inflicting what they call "justice" upon those who commit particularly barbaric crimes. Slowly, and for as long as possible, Megaera sadistically torment these souls driving them slowly mad. Megaera are by far the most dangerous and cruel Erinyes to encounter. Fortunately, unless your soul has been condemned it is extremely unlikely to meet one.

Tisiphone is the final designation of Erinyes. They are the guardians, the vanguards, and the soldiers. Tisiphone are the Erinyes one sees patrolling the skies of the nine hells, leading contingents of lesser devils on the fields of war, called to the side of greater devils in combat, and even serving as infernal lawyers in the Diabolical Courts of Abriymoch. Tisiphone are the most numerous of Erinyes as they serve a relatively unique niche within Baator. As only a select group of Alecto are even eligible for advancement within the hierarchy, greater devils place much trust in the Tisiphone, using them for special tasks and important duties. Tisiphone are, in turn, more loyal and reliable than any other devil. While the most exceptional of Tisiphone do not get promoted, they are assigned to the most coveted of positions, such as high level commanders or interdictors.

The Curse of the Erinyes

One of the greatest horrors a mortal can call down upon another is the Curse of the Erinyes. Unlike the majority of curses, the Curse of the Erinyes can only be invoked through a direct pact with an Erinys. Once the agreement has been reached the invoker's soul is forfeit and the Erinys who made the pact will descend upon its target. The process is slow, horrific, and almost undetectable as only a minor tracking curse can be identified by even the greatest clerics. First the Erinys brings misfortune upon their quarry. Slowly, their trust in their friends, family, society, and even reality itself is eroded.

Second, an unnatural hunger sets in coupled with revulsion for food. No amount of consumption will sate this hunger and often, food only exacerbates the suffering.

Third, sickness finds its way into the target's life. It doesn't always descend upon the target of the curse however, those they care about could instead be struck deathly ill.

Fourth, madness descends upon the target. The process is slow and surreptitious as Erinyes take great care to personalize the creeping onset of madness, consuming even the strongest of will. Unlike magical insanity, this madness is not easily reversed for the process is insidious in its mundanity.

Finally, death comes for the target. It is not swift, it is not peaceful, it is not merciful. Death is usually the most torturous part of the endeavor. Truly a fate no soul with an iota of a conscious would honestly wish upon another. The entire process can take months if not years, turning the very world into the subject's own living hell.

If an Erinys is successful in their endeavor, they will collect both the souls of both he who called down the curse and he who it was called upon. The Erinys often makes sure the two individuals meet upon their arrival to the river Styx. It is possible to remove the curse of the Erinyes, but it is a task only completed by the cursed. Unlike many other curses, the Erinys must be warded off for it will not relent. One must first complete a right of purification and, if a patron of good answers the call, a grand task of atonement must be undertaken to ward off the tormentor. The few who successfully ward off the curse may gain the favor of their patron to champion the cause of good.

Variants

White Winged- These Erinyes do not inherit the tarnished wings of their parents. Their wings retain the milky hue of angels making them natural deceivers. From a young age these Erinyes are pressured into using their appearance to take advantage of those foolish enough to trust them. These individuals are arguably the most dangerous of all Erinyes as their skills of manipulation and subterfuge become incredibly potent over the eons.

Redeemed- Every now and then an Erinys will reject their parentage and seek to redeem themselves in the eyes of good. These individuals steal away from the deep reaches of Baator and seek forgiveness. The denizens of the upper planes are not fools however and it may take thousands of years to gain their trust. Redeemed are most often encountered on the neutral or material planes where they prove their worth through selfless acts.

Wings of Hades - The most powerful and dangerous of all Erinyes. Wings of Hades are ancient creatures having survived and grown through thousands of years in the lower planes. These beings surpass the caste system of the Nine Hells to exclusively hunt the denizens of the upper planes. Wings of Hades have all but lost the beauty of their brethren. Their feathers have fallen from their wings, their skin has hardened into a wrinkled carapace, and hair has grown long and bedraggled. Their hair now attempts to grab and drain the life out of anything that gets too close. Those who have made allegiances within the upper planes must be wary; the Wings of Hades are one of their greatest threats.

DM's Toolkit

Erinyes are interesting creatures. While they're unilaterally described as attractive to humans and the like, they are not usually described as seducers. Furthermore, their origin in Greek mythology has nothing to do with seduction or temptation. These are beings of punishment and vengeance. If you need a sexy demonic seducer, the succubus and incubus fill the role perfectly. It is a disservice to Erinyes everywhere to just treat them like succubae.

The Curse of the Erinyes can make for an interesting plot development. It places the target on a timer to complete whatever task set before them and it should make them loathe whoever placed the curse upon them. If a player sets you up to place it upon them, it can be a great way to guide the party in a particular direction.

It is very likely any extraplanar travelers will encounter an Erinys at some point. They are often used as couriers, scouts, soldiers, and guards. Of all the devils, Erinyes are some of the most combative and will likely treat the party with disdain at best.

Erinyes on the material plane tend to be less subtle than most other devil agents. While a more cunning devil will be the grand vizier manipulating the king into allowing horrible individuals to influence his kingdom, an Erinys may be the king's head general yelling "THIS MEANS WAR!"

Make good use of the ropes Erinyes carry with them in combat. Having a tool constantly attempting to ensnare, trip, and hinder attackers can turn the tide of a fight.

Ettercap

"The Webbed Woods? Now why would you want to go there? No spider alive or dead should spin webs of that size and strength. Hells, ain't nobody seen a spider in those woods for centuries, and yet those webs remain. Crazy Gregory Rutger still tells stories of what he seen in there, hunched, fat, purple-skinned men with spiders for heads and fangs for fingers, spittin' web and riding giant spiders up and down the trees. Don't pay him no heed; ol' Greg's never been quite the same since his wife passed, not that he made much sense before." Carroway Saddlebaum, farmer

Introduction

The ettercap. Believed by some to be descended from a cult of arachnid worshipping druids, these humanoid aberrations possess a low, primal intelligence and hunt prey instinctually. Some have argued that, very rarely, an abnormally intelligent ettercap is born which can learn to communicate, and even study magic. A true scholar cannot rely on such an abnormality to be replicated, so, for now, this can be regarded as conjecture.

Physiological Observations

Ettercaps stand as tall as a man and weigh as much. Their lifecycle mimics that of a human, perhaps lending weight to the aforementioned idea of their origin. That, however, is where the similarities end.

The most commonly known is the forest ettercap. Their thin, lean, digitigrade legs support a bulbous, distended, oversized abdomen, from which they project their webbing. A hideous, fanged, spider-like face protrudes from its hunched, hulking upper body, with long, muscular arms that finish in large, black claws. Their skin maintains a greyish-purple hue, with a light, ivory chest and underbelly. These ettercaps possess a necrotic venom, which rapidly rots infected flesh.

Desert ettercaps dig burrows deep underground from which they launch lightning strikes at unsuspecting passers by. These monstrosities forego the mauve skin of their woodland cousins for a sleek, shiny, jet black tone, making an all ready terrifying creature more sinister. Rather than bulbous and soft, desert ettercaps have a chitinous, shell-like hide and a much more muscular physique, as they require less of their bodymass devoted to web production. Instead of building elaborate traps and snares, their use of webbing amounts to what we would see as bedding and security. Their sandy burrows are lined with their silk for ease of movement, while the area surrounding its den is a complicated sequence of trip wires, allowing the ettercap to pinpoint the location of its victim beyond its tremorsense. Neurotoxic venom paralyses prey, allowing for their oversized fangs to tear the body apart for later consumption.

Leaping ettercaps range from green to yellow hues and live in foothills and grassy plains. Blending in with their environment and smaller than other ettercaps, their primary attributes are patientce and stealth. Without any sort of webbing, their lithe, thin bodies are built to hunt. With oversized legs and smaller arms, leaping ettercaps are not well suited to fighting or chasing. The venom of the leaping ettercap acts as a sedative, and once its prey has been bitten, the ettercap will allow it to flee, tracking the victim until it passes into slumber. Once it has re-captured its prey, the sleeping creature is dragged back to its den, in which it never awakens.

The hunter ettercap can be any of several shades of brown. The only ettercap to possess fur, the hunter has particularly powerful forearms that allow it to sprint, not unlike an ape. The most energetic of their brethren, slowly creeping to their target before sprinting at great speeds to catch prey off guard. Their primary offensive tactic seems to be crushing prey against their enormous girth. Paralytic venom and powerful hooks ensure that once ensnared, its meal cannot escape.

There have been sightings of ettercaps adapted to swimming; a frill jutting from and following the spine, webbed toes, and in place of the usual scythelike claws are three-pronged, webbed, chitinous spears. The habitat of these horrendous creatures has not been located, all we know of them is from half-drunk accounts of frightened fishermen.

Social Observations

Ettercaps are solitary, cowardly creatures who only socialize to mate. The females tend to be more intelligent than the males, and usually dominate them in mating rituals. Not uncommonly, the male is killed during the act, to be eaten by the mother, or cocooned and saved for her offspring.

The only companions an ettercap possesses are the natural spiders with which it shares its lair, tending to them as a shepherd to his flock. Occasionally, ettercaps will keep giant spiders as pets in a twisted mimicry of the relationship between a hound and its master.

More cautious than aggressive, multiple ettercaps may take up residence within anothers territory as long as there is enough prey for both of them. When short on food, ettercaps are not above resorting to cannibalism, especially the hunter variety.

Behavioural Observations

Ettercaps hunt much as spiders do, laying traps and weaving mazes of webs, patiently stalking its prey from afar. Cowardly, ettercaps will flee if its intended prey proves to be too much of a threat, content to let the thing wander until a better opportunity to strike presents itself. Those who seem to evade the traps of the ettercap may find themselves the victim of a web garrote or venomous bite, both methods attempting to subdue its prey without great risk to itself.

The digestive system of the ettercap is much more complex than our own. With the exception of the hunter ettercap, digestion occurs outside of the body. Thus, the hunter is the only ettercap at risk of parasites or food poisoning. Once prey has been successfully subdued, the ettercap returns to its nest where it weaves a cauldron-like cocoon for its meal. Digestive enzymes are then vomited into this cocoon where the victim is dissolved into a drinkable soup which is then drunk by the ettercap.

Interspecies Observations

Ettercaps view nearly all other species as the same: food. The only exception to this is the fey, for which ettercaps possess a particular enmity and singular hunger. They enjoy nothing more than devouring a captured pixie or sprite, even going so far as smothering a dryad's tree completely with web, in some misguided attempt to catch and eat it.

The only species with which ettercaps seem to have a positive relationship are spiders. It is unknown for what purpose ettercaps seem to domesticate both the common and giant spider, as their intelligence is unlikely to be able to allow for any sort of husbandry. It is possible they feel some primal kinship with arachnids. It is unkown how ettercaps would react to a servant of Lolth. Perhaps we are lucky that no drider has subverted a number of ettercaps to its worship. Such an organization would surely be a blight on whichever land it existed.

DM's Toolkit

The ettercap makes for an interesting encounter. Perhaps some children of a nearby town have disappeared after wandering too close to an ettercap's territory, there is a very limited window of opportunity to rescue them and provide an anti-venom or magical healing before they are killed and eaten. Perhaps the PCs are forced to travel through ettercap infested land in order to reach their destination, being stalked from the shadows as they travel. >Perhaps they are caught unaware as they wander over the den of a burrower hidden in the sand.

Mechanically, a battle with and ettercap allows the DM to combine elements of deadly traps, mazes, and combat all in one encounter. Cowardly as they are, be sure to only reveal the ettercap when it is convinced the fight will be in its favor. Play with the predatory nature of it in its habitat. Tell the players they see hulking shadows scurrying up the trees and behind cocoons of web. Let them get deeper into the web labyrinth before they realize they are lost. Describe the bones and equipment strung between the trees. Entice them with magical items that are theirs for the taking if they can only pry them free of the web.

Play with some variants on the standard ettercap. Maybe the venom grants the restrained condition on a failed save, instead of bonus damage. I spent a lot of time researching real-world spiders for inspiration. (GOODBYE SLEEP) Many spiders have unique hunting and trapping methods. Maybe your ettercaps forego webbing entirely. Maybe they posess powerful legs for leaping strikes. There is one thing all spiders have in common, though: patience. The longer the ettercap waits to strike, the more terrifying it becomes.

Ettin

"They’re a funny and stupid sort. Don’t worry about MekTar he’ll be no trouble for us to get around” – last words of Radial the Human Mage

Introduction

Ettin are a strange creature that’s hard to pinpoint a classification. They resemble orc, giants, and ogres in some strange compilation where an extra head was forgotten by the gods. Large lumbering giants standing around 15 feet tall make for a menacing sight for any adventurer. They smell are dirty and seemingly lazy. Ettin are not afraid to bully smaller creatures for mundane tasks but seem to be solitary most of the time.

In short they’re not pretty and not pretty smelling. Ettin are solitary for their awful demeanor and even more awful manners. There are not many creatures who can stand to be around them even their own kind it seems. Yet there seems that there should be more to them than mindless brutes, hence my investigation. The findings were surprising to say the least.

Physiological Observations

Ettin as mentioned before giants standing at 15 feet tall with many orc features and two distinct heads. They have the pig like noses and greenish to light brown skin coloring much like orcs but long flowing wild thick hair like that of an ogre. They normally don’t wear much than a loin cloth in comfortable temperatures made of hides and skins seemingly hastily stitched together.

The two headedness of Ettin is their most striking feature and it seems greatest disadvantage. They are unique in features for each head like that of the uniqueness between any face. It seems that they are always the same sex with no reported male and female heads reported. In that they are separate with unique personalities and preferences. The unfortunate part is that they share the same body from the necks down. Each head controls their respective sides of their bodies and it seems to make them uncoordinated and clumsy creatures indeed. They can fight well enough when they do fight seemingly coordinated actions. When they work in unison the Ettin can be a powerful enemy to any creature. While not engaged in a singular goal the ettin are combative with each other. They sneer and make backwards comments and harsh jokes at each other in open contempt. They constantly argue and mutter with each other. Having grown up together it would be thought that they’d learn to live with another but only seem to grow up in contempt for only being half in control of their body. The profanity and slurs that they speak to each other in are enough to make a denizen of the lower planes blush at times.

Most Ettin are unbathed and poorly dressed slobs. They reek of past meals spilled on themselves and gory matted hair and clothes from past battles. They hardly care to clean up for any reason or even get up unless to find food or necessity demands so. They are foul in personality and presence making them ugly creatures in and out.

They live in many regions of the world like orcs or humans with no real preferred climate or habitat. They seem to prefer a solitary cave, glade or anything really away from other sentient beings. They are not overly territorial and share their home with animals sometimes taking kindly to them as pets but often the bickering keeps most animals away. Ettin do not value good or treasures like many sentient races do, or even community like most. Above all they value privacy. They do like a more comfortable living and will strike deals for their considerable strength to gain wealth but never for any extended amount of time. Dealing with constant harassments and annoyances they are quick to anger and violence. Their unbridled rage is almost uncontainable and makes them extremely dangerous to those in their path. They are good for brutes or guards to potential employers and do their jobs very well but can be unpredictable enough that this is rare. Ettins will live between 60 and 70 years until they can no longer hunt for themselves or force others to do so. Ettin names are self-given and typically central to the head. UrukDahk is an Ettin comprised of the individuals UruK and his sibling Dahk is one example.

Social Observations

Ettin are extremely solitary to other members of their race unless they are somehow in in debt to or in league with a greater force or for mating. They are possibly even fouler in behavior to other members of their kind than themselves making for an unpleasant sight for anyone or anything to behold.

Mating seems to only occur out of sheer reluctance of nature’s call. The female’s being the more dominant sex always seek out a male for bearing children and bully them or physically force them into the act. During pregnancy and early childhood the female relaxes and makes the male tend to her every need. Food, drink are demanded and then the male is sent off from her sight until needed again.

Children are seen as a necessary burden of their existence and once only a few years old are sent off into the wilds to deal with life as it comes. Not many children would describe themselves as loved or even cared for in their early years by their parents just given the means to survive. No discipline guidance or care is offered before the family departs to go to their solitary existences.

Ettin children often do survive on their own given their considerable strength and size being almost 2 ½ feet tall at birth. Once they are only 2 to 3 years old and capable they take off hunting and foraging on their own in search for a suitable cave or similar secluded area to call their own. This is a forced departure when the mother sends the father and child away to be on her own once again.

Ettin fathers are far from caring to their children and openly contempt them for being the reason of their forced labors. They long to be rid of the responsibilities and depart as quickly as possible, usually after the first year. The mother then will indenture the child to do her bidding, once the father escapes.

Intra-species Observations

Ettins seems to be aggressive with almost any other sentient creature in attitude but don’t attack on site. They more consider the options of food and who gets what part. They are not picky eaters and eat almost anything they can when given the opportunity. They do parley for food or wealth and do so only when bested or they believe themselves in danger.

Ettin are excellent fighters as mentioned as they seem to come to a clarity and coordination in battle. It seems to come naturally to them when the stakes are a bit higher. They move in coordination and attack with an uncanny efficiency given the ability to process information in battle twice as much as a single individual. It’s not uncommon for Ettin to be using a weapon in each hand with great efficiency.

They are often taken advantage of other creatures who know how to play each head against each other making the argument more of the focus than the common task or enemy the Ettin shares. Tales of adventurers escaping the dinner table using this tactic are not unheard of and in-fact a children favorite for some human communities.

The Ettin’s Dilemma

I have observed another side to Ettins and their ways that may go against all previous conventional wisdom. As previously described Ettin seem to live very solitary and miserable lives with only desiring to be left alone. They are harsh angry and aggressive to most beings including their attached siblings wanting no contact with any other creatures and over indulging in self pleasures when possible. Having studied many beings across the realms this seems as an odd state of being so I looked to other creatures of similar behaviors and my results were astonishing.

It seems that Ettin are products in demeanor of harsh mental and physical abuse. This behavior can be seen in almost all sentient races who have suffered as such from an early age. I do not know the cause of such an upbringing only to theorize that parents seem to conduct themselves as their parents did. This perpetuation that plagues most Ettins is deep and long running that further perpetuates in each generation. This explains the harsh and solitary behaviors and even the bad hygiene in a self loathing that’s been instilled from an early age that seems to be lashed out uncontrollably at any and all directions including their sibling.

I came to this question as I had found a fully functioning Ettin who was not abused but cared for by a surrogate elven community from childhood. I do not know what drove the Elves to put aside the preconceptions and accept an Ettin into their community when they rarely do so for other races such as dwarves or humans but the differences were astonishing. Further investigation is needed on this matter but interviewing the “typical” Ettin is far from easy and talking about such personal endeavors seems far from their interest. For now I only know of RabThom the goodly Elvish raised Ettin, there must be more out there.

Having no other subjects to base this on but it seems that Ettin who are raised with a healthy upbringing are more akin to an orc. While crude and violent they are not necessarily evil and they seem to relish battle. RabThom enjoyed how when focused on a singular goal such as battle he felt the best and was a very apt forest guardian. Rab informed me that he controlled the left side while Thom controlled the right, yet in battle both could at will move any part needed and rarely did they disagree in such a situation. They trusted their limbs to their respective brother while they focused on another aspect of the fight. RabThom had his disagreements but more akin to that of siblings who care for another and who are very close then that of hated enemies. RabThom also was a very well dressed and bathed creature in comparison to most humans which may have been a personality trait or something garnered from the elves.

Variants

As with many creatures in the world Ettin come in a few variants depending on some differences

Abused Ettin – As described for the most part of ettin up-bringing and society. They live all around and are aggressive harsh and violent thinking beings more concerned with themselves then most anything else.

Adjusted Ettin – As described above for RabThom they are far more agreeable mild mannered and thankfully well hygiene minded individuals. They seem to still enjoy battle instinctually but not so much so to attack anything and anyone without good reason.

Tri-headed Ettin – A very rare occurrence that seemed to be an even better killing machine with a head controlling each arm and the other controlling the legs. But with more arguing it seemed as a downside outside of their common goal.

DM’s Toolbox

Ettin are a good fantastical creature to use and work well as a tougher challenge when paired with orcs or goblin kin. Ettin are typically depicted as a dumb smelly brute but as a DM you can adjust that to anything you need in your campaign. Keep in mind that an Ettin is actually 2 individuals (or 3) in the same body and using that can make for an interesting encounter both in and out of combat.

Faerie Dragon

" . . heehee . ." There it was again! Borgog snapped his head around looking for the source of the sound but the giant could see nothing but gravel and shrubs. Puzzled, he turned his attention back to the large fruit cake sitting on the pathway. Suspicion winked in the back of his mind but Borgog's hunger brushed it aside. He was glad to finally catch a break after his run of bad luck. There had been the leg of lamb a few days ago that had somehow turned to stone in his mouth, shattering his canines. Then the dead Halfling he'd stumbled upon yesterday that had the taste and texture of night soil. And all the while, that constant giggling noise.

Introduction

Faerie Dragons (Draco Lascivus) are curious creatures that straddle the Material realm and the Feywild. While generally possessing a playful and generous nature, if threatened they doggedly stalk and torment their victims with a variety of malicious illusions.

Physiological Observations

Diminutive and agile, Faerie Dragons can live almost a century. Born with a pinkish hue to their scales, they change in color as the creature ages. The color of the scales moves through the color spectrum while the creature matures, settling on a vivid violet around the half-century mark.

The anatomy of the Faerie Dragon go some way toward proving that the creature is Draconic in nature, rather than Fey. They possess all the identifying features of the Draco family; interleaving scales, leathery wings extending from above the shoulder, and most tellingly a shriveled breath gland. The gland expends a gas known to induce hysterics in humanoids. The numbing and euphoric properties of the gas makes it extremely appealing to narcotic aficionados, but healers have also been known to pay rich bounties for samples of it.

The creatures magic is organic in nature and grows as the creature ages similar to the greater Dragons. Perhaps due to its small stature, the creature relies on illusory magic to evade and confuse predators.

Faerie Dragons can turn invisible at will, but this feature is not reliant on magic. The creatures scales seem to possess a chameleonic quality, folding and reflecting light in such a way that it appears to pass clean through the creature.

Social Observations

When conversing with a Faerie Dragon, be wary of the creatures playful nature. They are unable to resist the opportunity for mischief, and will invariably give a misleading answer rather than be helpful. An adventurer willing to decode their riddles and misnomers will be able to extricate a large quantity of information from them, whereas impatience and literal translations will only lead to frustration.

Behavioral Observations

While their larger cousins prefer to amount expansive hoards of treasure and magical items, Faerie Dragons seem to lack the attention span for material objects. A traveler that offers up a shiny ring in exchange for information may well find the ring discarded in the bushes only days later. They value precious stones and children's sweets with equal regard, temporary playthings whose only worth is their novelty.

The true hoard of a Faerie Dragon contains of riddles, jokes, and gossip. They have a lasting memory for such information. Wizards take note, while their obvious intelligence and inherent magics makes them seem like ideal familiars, take heed. They lack the patience for higher learning, and their loyalty is directly linked to the amount of attention they are given.

Intra-species Observations

Extremely talkative, Faerie Dragons are never found far from intelligent creatures. They are particularly drawn toward peaceable societies appearing to favor Halflings and Gnomes.

Faerie Dragons rarely stay in one area for any length of time. They grow bored with the slow rate of change of most societies, but will make a habit of visiting a town every few years. The creatures seem especially drawn to adventuring parties as they have similarly short attention spans. They may not always make their presence known to the party, simply following them curiously and occasionally pranking them with tricky illusions.

Variant Species

A small colony of Faerie Dragons in the Tolgey region have been observed to have taken on a permanent state of invisibility. The high number of strange and dangerous beasts in the region is believed to have driven this adaptation. These Faerie dragons can only be spotted by their grinning teeth floating in mid-air.

Like everything else in the region, they are suspicious of humanoids and their default reaction is typically malicious.

DM's Toolkit

Faerie Dragons have very low HP, and extremely limited ability to deal damage. Where they do excel is through the wide variety of spells they possess, as well as their euphoria breath.

They can turn a mundane encounter into a chaotic one by directing their illusions at both the players and the monsters, giggling all the while.

Scaling the Faerie Dragon for different level parties is pretty much done perfectly in the Monster Manual. Just move along the Rainbow a few steps, and maybe add a handful of HP. Don't underestimate the power of Polymorph, it scales to fit any CR level.

Roleplay encounters are where these creatures really shine. Illusory pranks, riddles, and trading songs for information can all make great interludes from the overbearing presence of gritty reality.

Further Inspiration

I like to portray Faerie Dragons as mischievous and playful; the fun side of Chaotic Good. If you worry about this being a little too light for your campaign, malice intentions and survival instincts can be amplified. The list >below is not comprehensive; it is merely a sample of characters displaying a different aspect of the trickster personality that you may like to use for inspiration.

Bugs Bunny

Jerry (Tom and Jerry)

Scooby Doo

Puck (A Midsummer's Night Dream)

Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)

The Riddler (Batman)

Flameskull

My old master sent me a request: he was having trouble dealing with worrisome occurrences in a village near his tower. Crop blights, dead livestock, villagers going missing - all signs of potential dark magic. I arrived within the fortnight, and found the door to his tower ajar. I entered and was hit by a profane stench. It was familiar at first: his old tomes, miscellaneous reagents, strange taxonomies. But it smelt burnt... I can still smell it. My master's voice called out to me, and I came running up the stairs to his study. When I entered, a bright, green, light roared in front of me. And then the laughing started. - Dalerion the Adept, speaking to an Archmage's Tribunal

Introduction

The Flameskull is an undead mystical creation, the result of a profane ritual involving the head of a magically-attuned individual. It is a simplistic and rigid, yet effective, guardian that is bound to the commands it is given at its creation. It is a skull, leafed in powerful flames that stalks silently and imitates voice with frightening accuracy. It never rests and follows its orders with maniacal efficiency, taking advantage of the memories and magical prowess of its previous form. It follows its commands to the letter, often producing intended consequences for its creator.

Make no mistake, however, the Flameskull is not even a shadow of its former self. It only borders on sanity, and woe be to any ill-prepared adventurer who falls in its path. The mage that once was is gone - and since the head is required, they're usually dead.

Physiological Observations

The Flameskull, being a mystical creation, can be quite different aesthetically but the general anatomy and function is near ubiquitous. The Flameskull is defined by its very name, it is a levitating flaming skull. The form of the skull depends upon the race, age, and sex of the mage the skull was created from but otherwise is completely bone. No flesh, muscle, or other viscera remain. The Flameskull is continually wrapped in a bright (usually green) flame, that burns violently hot and can be controlled by the Flameskull. It levitates above the ground, and is animate by magical means. It has keen hearing and sight, although rumors of a sense of taste remain yet unverified. They are as intelligent as their former selves, though usually only speaking the languages of their creators. They only faintly remember personal members, but otherwise have accurate historical recollection.

Flameskulls move quickly, silently, and their flames can be dulled to an infinitesimal glow (although never intentionally extinguished.) Their skulls, no matter how old, remain extremely strong; infused with the magical bindings that created it. The Flameskull does not eat, drink, sleep, or breath - it spends its existence executing its given orders and discerning how best to do so. It is lost otherwise.

The primary form of defense and combat used by Flameskulls is their ability to use the magic of their former self. They also inherently may focus rays of fire from their eye sockets, and have been known to also bite.

A Flameskull may only be permanently killed by immersion in holy water, or a spell that dispels magic or curses. If otherwise killed, no matter how shattered, a Flameskull will reform in as little as an hour.

Creation

The ritual to create a Flameskull is an inherent act of evil. While not requiring the soul of the subject, it does require their head and magical powers. This usually means death, but in the case of a multi-headed sorcerer, or perhaps a particularly well-prepared wizard, this may not spell death for the subject.

First, the creator must acquire the head of a powerful magic-user, usually by decapitation of some sort. Then, specific runes found only in long-forgotten tomes must be inscribed, in the blood of the caster, both in the flesh and on an alabaster slab four pace by four pace large. The creator must then find a flame that has burned continuously for one hundred and eleven days - no less, no more. Using the fires of this flame, the creator must melt down the hair, eyes, teeth, and brains of the subject into an inkwell. With this ink, still hot, the creator must write down their commands. Before the ink cools, the parchment it was written on must be shoved into the mouth of the head and then the head must be set alight by the same flame used to melt down the ink.

After uttering profane words of binding, the flames will turn a deep color and the remaining flesh (if there is any) will melt off, and the Flameskull will begin to scream. It will not stop for four days and four nights. It then follows the commands it was given - they cannot be changed or modified in any way.

There are a variety of points at which a ramshackle mad wizard may go wrong: the ink may not have a proper binding agent (gum arabic is recommended,) causing it to run and sully the commands; the head may not have had the eyes removed fully; or the runes used could be an age-old secret for the transmutation of beets.

Social Observations

Flameskulls, in general, do not work well or cooperate with one another. Often two or more Flameskulls will be set to the same task, and begin to bicker and beguile one another - each one perceiving that the other is compromising their goals. They inherently do not trust one another, perhaps because each understand the insanity lurking underneath them. Multiple Flameskulls set to similar but different goals are even worse, as they begin to be caught up in an internal-bureaucracy tied to usually one hastily scrawled sentence.

Flameskulls whose tasks do not interact with one another whatsoever are a rare encounter, but in those cases it goes swimmingly. They revel in their tasks, complement each others flames, and discuss the nuances of their commands. Often, those still bound by them will scheme with one another on how to deceive and rid themselves of their chains.

Flameskulls of opposing goals fight to the death, with no exceptions.

Flameskulls do not, otherwise, interact. They don't mate, form social structures, or otherwise propagate a future.

Different Flameskulls feel differently about their tasks: some are frustrated, others eager to serve, others eager to have the opportunity to kill their creator and roam free.

Flameskulls often talk of "Freedom." Freedom from their commands, freedom from their creators, even freedom from sanity.

Behavioral Observations

Flameskulls are apt communicators because of their ability to recall historical events quite well along with near-perfect voice imitation. They usually simply use the voice of their previous self, unless attempting to deceive an intruder or mock something.

However, Flameskulls do not communicate often, unless they have gone insane. The key to dealing and communicating with a Flameskull is to discern, as quickly and accurately as possible, if it is insane.

Sane Flameskulls will be reasonably suspicious of all who approach it, but will be eager to offer as much information as they can about their master and how someone might kill their creator or free them from their commands. However, this conversation is usually impossible as most Flameskulls are given strict commands to kill all who come near whatever they are guarding. (Absolutes, such as "kill all" are quite dangerous terms to use for commands - as an unwary creator has often learned.) However, insane Flameskulls, those released from their bonds or having failed to guard whatever it is they were guarding, are another matter entirely. No longer bound to the very essence of their creation, insane Flameskulls lash out with the remaining fragments of their former life and tormenting contract. Their ability for voice imitation is used to their fullest as they terrorize all who come near them, without regard for life or morality. Most take sick pleasure in luring people into traps with the voices of hurt innocents before incinerating them with their gaze. Some use riddles with no right answer (unless death by fire is an acceptable one,) others simply use their former self's ability for Illusion magic to force people through twisting labyrinths with no end.

There is no limit to the extent of both the malice and ingenuity of an insane Flameskull - they are utterly and wholly lost to any chains that once bound them. A sane Flameskull can be just as devious,though often more restrained. While they crave freedom, they are still absolutely evil.

Inter-Species Observations

All races are equal in the sight of a Flameskull, in that they usually hate them all. Sometimes especial prejudices remain from their past selves, but otherwise a Flameskull will view anyone not sanctioned in their commands to be a possible threat and never let down their guard.

Due to their usually secluded nature, guarding areas or people of great and evil power, common folk do not usually interact with Flameskulls and the more dramatic nature of the Lich often causes it to overshadow the Flameskull. Many encounters with Flameskulls throughout history often simply become more exaggerated until it becomes the story of a powerful Lich.

Rarely, Flameskulls are viewed as an alternative to Lichdom. Their commands are usually something akin to "Live free and well."

The resulting Flameskull often has existential crises, and go insane within the first few days of activity.

Flameskulls may be used as guards by secluded mages and communities of evil creatures (though they must be well-supplied and magically adept.)

DM's Toolkit

Flameskulls are good for a wide range of encounters - from goofy to gritty. Combat wise, they are suited for a early to mid level party but may easily have their difficulty scaled up by adding other spells to their abilities. >Their talkativeness, voice imitation, and odd appearance allow a DM to capitalize on using and honing their aural and visual imagery. Their rejuvenation and spell-casting provide a variety of ways a DM may use backstory, time-

constraints, and roleplay in order to make what may seem like a one-off encounter have lasting repercussions. The fact they are bound by commands and may have a semblance of their old selves can introduce interesting moral dilemmas for player characters. I've included an example ritual of creation for inspiration, utility in evil campaigns, and insight. I've also included a short example list of encounter and plot hooks based around Flameskulls.

A wizard of great renown has asked the party to check up on his old colleague, whose last letter described a recent crop blight in a small holdfast near him.

The familiar of an ancient Druid approaches the party, and leads them to an old and abandoned tower in the forest. Beautiful and soft singing can be heard from inside.

Rumors of a voice making prisoners go insane in the castle dungeons are confirmed when the party is sent there by a corrupt and sinister new lord.

The party encounters a Flameskull frustratingly knitting together a small sweater with telekinesis. It bemoans its fate to eternally "Knit for the Great Dread Lord Nercomarth." Apparently, Nercomarth wasn't the greatest speller.

The party happens upon a strange altar with runes written in blood, a hastily written note on the altar says "Don't trust the voices - especially the dog." The party then hears the cries of a wounded dog further in the distance.

An erratic Flameskull stands before two doors, and offers a simplistic riddle to the correct door. Both doors open to solid rock and the Flameskull has no intention of letting the party exit with their lives.

Flumph

In my time spent in the underdark I was constantly in fear for my life and stalked by horrors in the dark. Until I met the strange Flumph. Since then I've never met such a friendly and kind creature and I owe my life to them and happily call them friends. - Underdark Survivor

Introduction

The flumph (used as both singular and plural) are creatures that few find but almost always come back to tell the tale. Flumph are known to be very kind and helpful to other creatures of good alignment and are a welcome sight to most in the underdark. They look physically weak but are highly intelligent and extremely powerful psionically. Psionics regard flumphs as powerful beings.

Their origins are unknown as no other creature seems to be related in any way to a flumph, some theorizing they are of another plane. Despite this otherworldly nature they are very adapted to their lives in the underdark and seldom find their selves in a dangerous situation that can't be handled.

Flumph will avoid any danger or simply just hide from any potential threats. If they need to fight they employ hit and run tactics and work as a team.

Physiological Observations

Flumph appear to be floating jellyfish at first sight. A dome like body with tentacles hanging down sort of drifts through the air. Where they differ is large eye stalks that sprout from the dome and a large toothless mouth between the stalks used only for breathing. They also glow soft inviting hues belaying their emotions.

It has been observed that they normally are glowing soft pinks as they are content and happy working throughout the day. Other colors have been observed, Green seemed to show curiosity, Blue was an indicator of sadness, Red was anger, Yellow fear, Orange has been observed as a mix of fear and anger usually observed in battle. It was also noted the more brilliant the color the more intense the emotion.

The gentle drifting in the air is controlled by several air jets attached at the bottom of the dome structure. They float using the air to varying degree. They gulp in air and expel it through the jets. There's a larger central air jet for fast sudden movement that gives them their namesake for the "Flumph" sound it makes. It's also noted that they do not appreciate being called as such. It was noted that if they happen to land eyestalks down they have trouble up righting themselves. This was especially true for younger members of the cloister. It's common practice for young to flip each other and race to upright as it was called.

When in danger they prefer to hide and disguise themselves as the glowing mushrooms commonly found in their environment. A flumph will "sit" their tentacles on the ground bunching them together to appear as a stalk of a mushroom and retract the eye stalks and close their mouths. It takes practice for a flumph as younger ones who have less control of emotions may accidently attract intruders giving of brilliant yellows.

When in battle they use their tentacles to club attackers close to them. They will start by spraying a target with a foul smelling liquid that is quite poisonous to other creatures. They can only do this once a day so it's used sparingly. They prefer to hit a target and disengage and let another flumph move in for an attack. Because of this many attackers simply gave up.

Flumph are considered very dangerous to psionic beings as they feed off of psionic energy as a food source. Feeding was never "observed" as they seem to just constantly do so with ought any physical indication. They usually do this at a safe distance and without notice from the beings they feed off of. Illithid are the most common food source but in some cases Aboleth and other psionic beings are found. Many of the creatures they feed off of do not suffer any ill affects but when too many feed off of them or feed too much they can become weakened and even die as a result. This is dangerous for the Flumph as they could be discovered if a community becomes suspicious. It's hard for psionics to detect a flumph as they are always protected by a shroud of psionic energy. It's well known to Illithid that flumph are to be dealt with physically, most of the time by slaves. Flumph are also found outside of drow cities but in smaller cloisters as psionics are less common in the race.

As a result of feeding they can see into the mind of the victim and since they usually end up feeding on evil creatures they end up seeing many evil and base acts. Being good creatures they do not enjoy seeing such things and eventually if built up enough can weigh on them heavily. They usually "vent" to members of the community to relieve the stress but those who can't vent can turn into a Dark Flumph.

Flumph can feed off of non-psionic creatures thoughts as long as there is some amount of intelligence. Doing so is not considered desirable as it can be excruciating to the victim and is poor feeding. This is avoided most of the time but if desperate they can do so.

Social Observations

Flumph live in groups called cloisters. They are composed of usually 4 to 6 pairs of adults and there can be up to 1 child per pair. This depends heavily on the availability of a food source and can range upwards of 15 pairs. The pairs are mated individuals that stay together for life usually raising 2 to 4 children over a life time. It seems that breeding numbers were calculated as they would only replace members in lower food source regions and build up in abundance. A flumph lives around 50 to 60 years and once it finds a mate stays with them for life. If a mate dies a Flumph will only last a few hours as the profound depression can affect them so completely that they'll die as a result. In a cloister other members console the remaining mate as much as possible but ultimately know their fate. The cloister has no reverence for the dead bodies and simply moves them to a location where scavengers won't be attracted to the cloister.

How Flumph reproduce wasn't revealed as it was considered a private affair. It didn't seem to be a long affair as a pair would float off and be back within a few hours. It was usually reserved for the sleeping times of the cloister and didn't occur very often. Flumph are pregnant for only a few months and give birth through the large central jet. The central jet was never used during pregnancy seeming to be a result of the pregnancy. This seemed to be dangerous for the female so the mated pair were usually protected and it seemed only 1 pair would be expecting at a time. Young are very quick to learn and become fully mentally capable in a few days. Motor skills were developed over a few weeks as newborns instinctively crawl up onto the mother's dome. Newborns immediately instinctively feed on the nearby food sources.

Children reach adulthood in a matter of 3 years. Once they are newly adults they usually leave the cloister to find a suitable mate which is referred to as the departure. The cloister revered this leaving with fear for the child and was very supportive. Typically children did not stay as a cloister too large would be discovered. It was observed that this was a very dangerous time for a flumph as they did not have any member to "vent" to until they find a mate. The flumph emits a psionic signal that indicates it is looking. When 2 potential mates meet up they immediately vent. They seemed to then search for a suitable food source away from their cloisters although visiting from time to time socially. Eventually pairs searching find other pairs and form their own cloisters.

Cloisters can sometimes not be far apart only a half mile or so as food can be extremely abundant since a cloister can usually feed off of only 1 or 2 psionic creatures. The more powerful the creature, the better the food source. Creatures like Aboleth can by themselves support a cloister of 15 and still not feel any affects.

The community usually is concerned aside from feeding with safety. All members of a cloister seem to immediately accept a role and play its part to the key. There are teachers or children watchers that guide young in groups to learn about their world and explain things. There are alert sentries for dangerous predators that are far from susceptible to psionic defenses. Then there are cleaners that simply keep the area they live in clean. There seems to be at least one individual that is concerned with relations with other beings. They will regularly communicate with other cloisters or be the spokesperson to outsiders. There are also sometimes in larger communities scouts to guide young in a safer direction during the departure. Scouts would go long distances and aside from the young themselves are most susceptible to becoming Dark.

Intra-Species Observations

Flumph regard intelligent outsiders with curiosity or simply avoid them. Being very intelligent and psionic they attempt to communicate psionically they are unable to do so verbally. If they can't communicate immediately they will very carefully try and probe an intruder to determine motives and react either friendly or go on alert. They will never reveal themselves purposefully without determining if an outsider is dangerous our not. If friendly they will attempt to communicate to an individual visually by showing their curiosity or green hue. They will then attempt to carefully work their way into the outsider’s thoughts to communicate. Once communication is established they greet and welcome good outsiders offering safety and information or any help they can. Neutral individuals they are cautious of but if asked they are willing to help.

If introduced to the cloister the Flumph will introduce themselves as individuals. They don't have a name for the species as a whole and only address individuals in naming. It's been noted that when first called Flumph they found it very rude to be named after their locomotion. They refer to cloisters by family ties or if no tie exists by a few individuals and their location. Flumph are especially eager to warn and help adventurers with either avoiding or safely confronting their food source. They are cautious to reveal locations for fear of individuals’ lives. Although they hold no love for a food source as with their usual evil nature, they will not in any way help individuals kill it. They do not stop such actions and avoid violence even in this situation but they will deceive to protect a food source.

It's not uncommon for them to befriend good individuals and treat them warmly as a trusted friend. they are always kind and pleasant and will provide ample hospitality for any friend. They even go as far to attempt to gather physical food and water for a friend. Venting to a friend is considered a high honor and usually only reserved for a mate as it is a done only with extremely trusted individuals. Venting has the potential to harm an intelligent creature of any non-evil alignment. This is an attack against ones will (or wisdom) that forms a bond with an individual. This bond cannot be broken to the Flumph and they will stay with that individual for life. Venting can be done to multiple creatures but causes complexities with more and more individuals as it is usually reserved for parents and mates exclusively. If an individual who has been vented to dies they Flumph regards this as a great sadness much like a trusted friend or relative dying. It seems that only the mate dying affects it so profoundly to death but that may be due to the mate being vented to the most.

Variant Species

There are 2 variants of Flumph:

Dark Flumph - These individuals have not vented long enough that evil thoughts have built up and caused them to mentally deteriorate. They gain a psionic blast that can be lethal to even lower intelligence creatures as they are trying to vent to anything it can. Typically Dark Flumphs don't live very long as they'll disregard safety for the need to vent on any creature. They are easily indicated by quickly flashing between emotions almost rainbow like flashing and always brilliantly.

Aquatic Flumph - These flumphs are found underwater in the pools and lakes of the underdark or even rivers. They tend to favor Aboleth as prey but will find any source suitable for food. Instead of air jets they have water jets and breath through gills, thus the mouth is replaced with gill slits.

DM's Toolbox

Flumph are considered a silly creature in D&D's history but they can be used as a joke or as a believable part of any world. Many scenarios can be used with flumphs.

Gather information on the surrounding or an evil city they are feeding off of

Players can Help Flumph move to a new food source

DM's can use Flumph cloisters as a morality issue to chose between letting a city of evil thrive so the Flumph can survive or just wipe the city and let the Flumph figure it all out.

A role-play scenario of trying to communicate for the first time with a seemingly alien race

A quest to help a young adult find a mate

A deadly encounter with a Dark Flumph

Help protect a cloister from a dangerous creature

Fomorian

The following is an extract from the preliminary notes and works of Dr. Edmund van Richten during his study of the Underdark. Dr. Van Richten still has not returned from his last excursion and has been deemed M.I.A. by the Academy. A group has been dispatched to locate him/his remains.

Introduction

I have been studying the Fomorians for several weeks now, both up close and from excerpts of recorded history from the Eldrain. The findings in the physiological and socio-societal areas are conclusive, but the historical aspects need further probing. They have proved an interesting specimen to begin with, both from a historical and biological standpoint. Let us begin shall we? Subjects are Fomorians, a race of sentient creatures that currently reside in the Underdark. They are of Giant-kin, though whether the pureblood lines were originally a product of the Othea is unknown however. The name bestowed upon them comes from the Eladrin/Elven civilisations of the olden ages. Previous name has been lost in history. The etymology of the given name is believed to have originated from an ancient dialect of Elvish that has long since died in the spoken word. The 1st part “fo” means ‘under’, ‘below’ or ‘nether’. The 2nd is debated to either “mor” meaning ‘big’ (which is plausible given the giant-kin relationship) or from “mare”, which relates to infernal origins, giving the meaning “under-demons”. Both are perfectly plausible roots from the name.

Physiological Observations

The physiological characteristics of the Fomorians are difficult to pin down in writing. This is mainly due to the malformed nature of each individual Fomorian. The source of the deformities in the Fomorian race can be historically traced by the elves. They state the Fomorians were a once proud race, magically inclined and very handsome (which, given elven standards, lends some definite truth to the claim). However, they were also described as apathetic to the suffering of others and very despotic in their gathering of magical knowledge. Once they attempted to overthrow the Feywild and enslave it, they were struck with a curse that began to physically deform their very bodies. The origin of this curse is currently unknown. The physical manifestations of the curse on the body are random. Limbs can be uneven in size, shape and/or position on the body. Facial features are distorted, as if the face has literally melted. This, however, has bestowed some unintended benefits (see below). The defects have affected the race’s strength levels, as an atypical Giant-kin can lift tremendous weight (Do not underestimate them, however. These beings are still much stronger than any standard humanoid creature). They do share some characteristics. Males stand at an average height of 4.10m (16-25’), depending on age and weight around 450kgs (1000lbs). Females can measure between 3.90 (13-17’) and weight in at 300kgs (700lbs). They possess a grey-white skin tone, explained by the generations born below the surface. It has been observed that they possess superior senses to that of a normal inhabitant of the Underdark. It is posited that the malformation of the sense organs on the face/head is of some benefit to them. (It should be noted that the above information was gathered by a dissection of a male and female adult Fomorian, obtained by the purchased services of a party of wandering mercenaries.)

Social Interactions

From multiple observations of interactions, several inferences regarding Fomorian social hierarchy can be noted. One key aspect is that all Fomorians appear to possess a superiority complex in regards to other races, even after the debilitating curse they now possess. They retain slaves of what they deem to be lesser beings. The primary characteristics they deem important among themselves appear to be fear and intimidation. They seem loyal only to those that they fear. One observation showed what appeared to be an Alpha hunter and his group attack a pack of Hook Horrors. The Alpha was severely injured. Once his back was turned, what can only assumed to be the Beta, jumped it from behind and bludgeoned it to death. It seems like if you are not a member of their species and/or fearsome/intimidating in some fashion, you are considered fodder in Fomorian eyes. It also appears that they possess a hierarchal system of leadership, as an “enhanced interrogation” session with the hired party’s wizard and a male Fomorian Alpha described. Exact details could not be gleamed at this time but the subject noted that slaves are of high interest to the Fomorians.

Behavioural Traits

Fomorians appear to be highly aggressive and territorial. As noted before, they possess an almost psychopathic superiority complex with a tendency towards megalomania. Fomorians are known to keep slaves of Cyclops, dwarves, Svirfneblin, drow and any other beings that run across them. Accounts by escaped slaves have detailed that once a slave has outlived its usefulness, they are slain and used either for food or used as quote “decoration”. The tunnels and cavern entrances that lead to the domains of these beings are littered with the desecrated corpses of their prey and former slaves. Shrines of poorly stitched body parts mocking the races they’re composed of. This is how they mark their territory. Previous accounts also give the impression that, due to their abnormal shapes, Fomorians do not create clothing themselves anymore but rather drape the tattered armour and clothes of slain adventures, explorers and miners across their bodies “when they even bother” (again, direct quote). One slave noted that a group leader, the “Queen” as the tribe’s hunters termed her, kept poets, singers and dancers for her own amusement. It is unknown if Fomorians have any artistic desires beyond this or if this is an outlier. This particular account was of interest as many previous observations of Fomorian behaviour towards members of the female sex tend to distain and patriarchal.

Inter-species Interactions

Fomorians are known for their intense loathing of any other races, particularly elves/eladrin. This distaste can be subdued if the Fomorian in question desires something they believe you can help them obtain. This fact was observed during a meeting with a pack of local lycanthropes that had previously agreed arrangement with the Fomorians (exact details unknown).

Further Information

Fomorians still seem to possess some magical abilities. For many years, it was believed that the magical essence of their powers was the cause of their altered state. However, they seem to still retain some level of power which they can inflict on other beings. This power has been termed “the Evil Eye” locally and seems to be some form of psychic attack. A further effect has been observed in some that have been hit with this power. The target seems to slowly deform in a similar manner to the Fomorians. This effect is temporary for a period of time, depending on the individual in question.

DM’s Toolkit

Fomorians are an interesting case as they are Underdark creatures and high on the level listing. At a bare minimum, the adventuring party should be at level 5 before encountering just one of these vile creatures. These should be larger villains of a trip into the Underdark, and could be modified by the DM in some way to signify a “boss” style Fomorian, the Alpha of a hunting group or tribal leader. One should also consider other, non-intelligent creatures for Fomorians to use as hunting pets. Perhaps they are an indentured tribe of Quaggoths or taken Kuo-toa as slaves. They can also be used in an epic adventure involving an invasion of the Feywild or an uprising of the Underdark. The DM could also force a tenuous alliance with a small band of Fomorians being hunted by mindflayers or something else prowling the Underdark. Fomorians are a key part of the Underdark, and while they need not be included in every adventure to it, they can be a very useful and fearsome foe for the part to contend with. Fomorians are as useful as the DM’s imagination allows them to be (yes that is corny and I know it).

Fungus: Violet

“I wonder why it’s called the violet fungus. They should have named it the violent fungus instead. All of my comrades were slaughtered on our first journey into those caves because we weren’t careful enough. And me? Well, I used to be an adventurer like you, but ever since my left arm has rotten off I’ve resorted to making my living as a scholar. And that’s good for you, foolish young explorer. Let me tell you what I know…” – Durson One-Arm, human scholar and ex-adventurer.

Introduction

Known quite well among cave-dwelling species, the violet fungus is a small to medium sized plant creature. They resemble giant mushrooms, ranging from light pink to deep purple in color. Their most distinctive, and dangerous feature is their venomous tentacles that cause the rotting of almost any tissue they come in contact with. They are known to have a symbiotic relationship with shrieker fungi.

Physiological Observations

The typical violet fungus is between 3 and 5 feet tall, and weighs 40 to 65 pounds. The mushroom has a surprisingly resilient outer skin, somewhat wood-like in consistency, and many adventurers have been surprised at its toughness. At first glance a violet fungus seems to be an extremely overgrown, pretty purple-colored mushroom, but closer inspection will reveal up to 6 large tentacles attached to the foot of the mushroom that it uses to kill prey. If destroyed, these large tentacles will often regrow within a couple of days. The foot itself is a large muscled organ, used for soaking up nutrients and is capable of movement. This movement, while not particularly fast, is often enough to surprise and overwhelm unsuspecting creatures or adventurers. Aside from the larger tentacles, it has a host of smaller tentacles around the foot that are most likely used for soaking up the nearby nutrients.

Life Cycle

Once a violet fungus has reached maturity and found a suitable feeding ground, it will try to catch some extra prey in preparation for releasing its spores. Once extra prey has been caught it will release its spores on the surrounding area. Within a couple of weeks new violet fungus mushrooms will grow from the rotting mound of sustenance. Often, this results in too many violet fungi in one particular area, and consequently many of the fungi will migrate to another area to form new colonies. It has been reported that sometimes, scavengers or hungry predators become desperate and manage to steal a fresh corpse from near a colony of violet fungi. Rarely, spores have been released just before this happens and the remains of the stolen meal sometimes manage to produce a new colony of violet fungi.

Behavior

Generally, violet fungi that have enough food are quite docile and content to stay where they are. However, if food is absent for a long time it may begin to wander in search for a better spot. Once it detects prey it will strike out with its venomous tentacles. These tentacles are coated with a particularly nasty venom that will cause tissue to become necrotic and rot away. Many members of the species that live or hunt in an area where these fungi make their home have scars on their body due to these vicious tentacle attacks. While scholars have not yet agreed on how the violet fungus detects its prey, most speculate that it must sense vibrations.

Inter-species Observations

Many sentient cave-dwelling species have tried to use the fungus to their advantage by cultivating them at key locations in their domain together with shrieker fungi for extra security. They often take care to feed the fungi enough so that they do not start wandering away from their positions. This combination has proven to be a crude but good first security measure if well-maintained, but has also proven to be a complete disaster when not maintained properly due to violet fungi wandering around. Although some have questioned the fungus’ intelligence due to its ability to move around, this is all a form of instinct, and should not be seen as any sign of intelligence.

Trivia

The venom that coats the violet fungus’ tentacles is very potent, but loses effectiveness when a tentacle is severed. The venom may be harvested (a dangerous job indeed!) and preserved by a skilled alchemist, although this does decrease the effectiveness quite a bit. Many of the species that use violet fungi as security have devised methods of obtaining and preserving the venom.

DM’s Toolkit

So, how would you use the violet fungus to surprise or possible decimate your clueless adventurers? Some ideas are mentioned below. Be aware that their effectiveness and damage type depends on the edition you are playing.

For an extremely low level party, either a pair or small colony of violet fungi would do, somewhere in a cave system. Maybe they are curious and don’t know the dangers of these mushrooms yet and therefore come too close to these hungry and dangerous mushrooms. Perhaps there’s something shiny in the pile of rotten stuff on the floor near the fungi that attracts their attention. It could be that they have to retrieve this shiny thing for a quest if you so choose. This is perfect for acquainting them with the dangers of caves and/or the Underdark. You could even have them receive a quest from an alchemist/wizard who wants a violet fungus specimen or its spores for breeding or study.

For an extra kick, combine some violet fungi with a few shrieker fungi. The shrieker fungi will attract the adventurer’s attention when it senses light or movement, and depending on the subspecies/variant might even be a real nuisance in combat. If they don’t want to fight with the blaring sound of the shriekers they will have to fight against the violet fungi in complete darkness, leaving those without darkvision in serious trouble. The wailing of these shrieker fungi can then call in the local security (for example, troglodytes or goblins) might be be equipped with a couple of violet fungus venom vials, or wandering predators that have learned that the shrieking sounds means fresh prey (so many predators to choose from!).

Random nonsensical suggestion: An awakened violet fungus requires the party’s help in fleeing from its evil druid master who wants it to guard a grove of mushrooms or a mushroom forest.

Fungus: Shrieker

“There was only one way to survive at that point. Either eat the first thing I could find or starve to death. Oh, I ate alright, don’t ye doubt! But me ears weren’t the same for a couple o’ days after that. – Thorgan Gemsniffer, dwarven miner.

Introduction

Often found near the deadly violet fungus, the shrieker is a type of underground mushroom that reacts strongly to light and movement. While not really deadly on their own, the sounds they make are horrible and can attract predators.

Physiological Observations

A dull gray to milky white mushroom. It is usually about 3 feet tall and weighs about 35 pounds once fully grown. It has a stalk rooted into the cavern floor and exploratory tissue on the surrounding detritus. The cap has small holes in its top that are covered by some kind of oily and stinky membrane. These holes contain soft tissue not unlike vocal chords, and are used to produce the shrieker’s typical sounds. It also seems to be immune to the venom that coats violet fungi tentacles.

Life Cycle

Once the spores have found a favorable environment, a layer of nutrient-absorbing tissue is quickly formed on this suitable spot. From here, a shrieker mushroom will start growing. During growth, the stalk will secrete acids to anchor itself into the stone. Its spores are spread by either bombarding them away strongly enough and hoping that they land far away, or due to spores hitching a ride on migrating violet fungi and thereby moving somewhere else. When this violet fungus dies, the shrieker fungus spores will often have a chance to start growing.

Behavior

When something comes close, the mushroom starts shrieking. Depending on how close the creature is, and its disposition, it will either move away or come to investigate. In any case, nearby predators will likely kill the creature as it moves away. If the shrieker is located near a violet fungus colony those will kill the prey if it comes near. Aside from all this shrieking the shrieker fungus doesn’t really do much.

Inter-species Observations

The shrieker and violet fungus enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Aside from that, the shrieker is cultivated alongside the violet fungus for protection. Some underground creatures like shrieker ‘meat’ and eat it gladly.

Trivia

Shrieker meat is actually edible as long as you remember to remove the spores beforehand. It’s quite unpalatable for most species but it’ll keep you filled. Some specialty shops sell shrieker spores held in a thick mixture of wheat paste and vermiculite in a small stone container. These can be planted in a dark and moist place to eventually grow into a shrieker colony. According to some rumors this paste also shrieks when there’s light or movement, but this is absolutely not true, seeing as how the sound is only made by mushrooms and not the spores. When a shrieker fungus shrieks, talking is usually near-impossible due to the overwhelming noise.

Variants

The Mindstab Shrieker Fungus. It shrieks just like a normal shrieker, but is also capable of emitting a mental blast to anyone nearby. Creatures that are unable to resist are stunned.

The Singing Shrieker. Instead of making a horrible noise, these shriekers sing a captivating melody. Those who fail in resisting their lure are tempted to walk towards the shrieker in the most direct manner possible.

DM Tools

To be honest, these aren’t the most exciting of enemies. I suggest using them in conjunction with violet fungi or as outermost security for a base of some kind used for alerting the guards. Be aware that depending on preference and edition, their shriek effect may vary from being unable to hear anything else happening nearby or sonic damage to status conditions like being deafened.

Random nonsensical suggestion: An awakened shrieker fungus has learned how to sing beautifully and challenges the bard to a music contest.

Fungus: Gas Spore

I told them we should have left it alone! But noooo, let’s not listen to the only person who has common sense. And what did we get for it? A bunch of infected people! – Bilybar, gnome wizard.

Introduction

An odd floating orb with several ‘arms’ and a patch that looks like a large eye. This fungus resembles a beholder and is known as a Gas Spore. They seek out light and are harmless as long as you stay away. They are extremely sensitive to damage, and will explode if damaged. This explosion is actually a method of reproduction, infecting living creatures to grow new gas spores.

Physiological Observations

A round, brown floating orb coming in at 180-200 centimeters in diameter when fully mature. It has several small tentacles (usually ten) that it uses for movement, feeding and reproduction. It also has the fungal equivalent of an eye. This eye is sensitive to light and heat and is used for navigation, feeding and reproduction. The inside contains a large amount of gas in which seeds float around. The gas spore seems to be naturally buoyant in air, although it remains unclear whether this is due to the gas on the inside or some sort of natural levitation ability. Due to its shape it has been mistaken for a beholder by many adventurers.

Life Cycle & Behavioral Observations

A full-grown gas spore will float around in caves or above the surface in search food and light. In caves this means that they will seek out any source of light they can find, like phosphorescent mushrooms or areas filled with magical light or even torches. Above ground they are content to stay in any spot that has enough light for their needs. Aside from needing light, they need food. Specifically, they feed on other plants of all kinds. This ranges from molds, lichens, small mushrooms and moss to small plants and leaves from trees. As such they are found in many different areas. They use their tentacles to help themselves move along all sorts of surfaces. They can be found in unexpected places due to their ability to levitate. If they cannot find food or light for a long period of time, a gas spore will hibernate and float around aimlessly, for centuries if need be, until it reacts to the presence of light.

If they sense a warm-blooded creature of at least gnomish size they move towards it. If they manage to reach this creature, the gas spore will try to hit it with one of their tentacles and inject seeds into this creature and flee afterwards. Sometimes, the intended victim fights back, but this rarely improves the situation for the victim. The gas spore’s hide is quite fragile, and so even a small amount of damage will pierce it. The gas inside of the creature will react to the outside air and cause a powerful explosion, shooting seeds in every direction. This suicidal trait is actually a manner of reproduction as well, since any creatures nearby will be showered in seeds and it is likely they will breathe in a few of these seeds.

Infection

Once a creature has been infected with seeds, either through injection or by breathing in a few seeds after a gas spore explosion, the seeds will begin growing on the inside of this unlucky victim. The process may take hours to more than a day, depending on the size and fortitude of the victim. In any case, fighting off these seeds without some outside help is nigh-impossible once infected. Most commonly magical help must be sought out to cleanse the body of this infection, although an alchemical solution may be available as well. If the victim cannot be helped in time, several new gas spores emerge from the victim, their number dependent on victim size and severity of initial infection. These gas spores are still very small, but otherwise fully formed and will go on their way to find light and plant matter to consume.

Inter-species Observations

Generally, gas spores don’t interact with anyone or anything in any way, except for hunting down warm-blooded organisms to reproduce. They may congregate in certain spots, however. For example, a place in the caves where there’s abundant light and plants may attract several gas spores. In such situations, gas spores don’t interact with eachother at all. Most sentient species also tend to avoid gas spores, seeing as how they can be quite dangerous.

DM’s Toolkit

A gas spore is one of those creatures that can be deadly if you don’t know it, but trivial if you know what to do about it. Once you know its trick, it’s over. If none of your players have ever encountered it before, you’ll have most fun with this creature. Seeing as how they eat plants and need light, they can be located nearly anywhere for a random encounter, and can be quite deadly if there’s no magical healing nearby.

Galeb Duhr

Aye, the Talking Stone set us a task! A bloody impossible one! Only once the full Codex of the Titans was read aloud to it would it grant us access into the lost diggings. The War Chief said that would take roughly 2,300 years! Never trust a Galeb Duhr!

Bittern Coldrock, Dwarven scout.

Introduction

The race of creatures known collectively as the Galeb Duhr were first discovered by dwarven miners in the Age of Mists and those early diggers called them, literally, Talking Stones. The creature can create vibrations that can mimic language as well as music and natural sounds, and have proven able to learn basic Dwarvish, but most communication is done through a pidgin called Minish, a natural result of thousands of years of friendly interaction between the species. The Galeb Duhr are guardian spirits who have chosen stones and minerals as their chosen vessel in this world. They are able to animate this body through force manipulation and can use vibration in astonishing ways. Not all of the Galeb Duhr are alike, each is unique, and each pursues their own goals, and treating with them can be unpredictable.

Physiological Observations

The Galeb Duhr can inhabit any chunk of stone or mineral that can move freely and roll around, none have ever been observed possessing large stony formations, like mountains or cliffsides, but much of the world is unexplored, and who can say what lies beyond our knowledge? In any case, the Galeb Duhr have been seen in boulders up to 30' long as well as small stones a mere 2' long. The average seems to be 8 to 12 feet, however.

The size does not seem to matter, but most Galeb Duhr are seen in larger boulders, most likely as this allows them to fulfil their goal as guardians against very determined enemies. There have been reports of pure mineral Duhr, made of silver, gold, tin or copper, and as large as a barn door. These Duhr are vulnerable to fire and actively avoid areas of volcanic heat.

The weight of the stone a Galeb Duhr inhabits varies according to size, and they are subject to the same natural forces and hazards as regular stone is, and their speed varies with size as well. Small Duhr can roll twice as fast as a man (60') and at that speed can knock down an armored man or mounted rider with ease and doing considerable damage in the process. The largest Duhr are slower (20') but their weight gives them a reason to be feared as they can crush and pin multiple enemies at once, but their real power comes from the Galeb Duhr's innate ability to Meld with Earth, and allows them to Dash at will while earthmoving. They can feel vibration and will use ambush tactics against any determined enemies, thrusting out of floors, ceilings and walls to crush and rend intruders.

The Galeb Duhr as stated above understand vibration and can create, use, and manipulate it to communicate in many ways; speech, song, and mimicry are the most common, but they can produce vibrations above and below the hearing range of most humanoids and monsters, and its believed that they use these frequencies to communicate to one another and power the amazing abilities that they have been observed using. The songs of the Galeb Duhr are haunting and generally slow as a lament, and they raise sympathetic vibrations in nearby mineral and ore veins, causing the surrounding terrain to literally join in the song. Explorers have reported hearing a singing cavern from miles off before coming across the full vibrato of it and being awestruck with the eerie orchestration of the singing stone.

Speaking to a Galeb Duhr is an exercise in patience. Its such a psychological trial that the dwarven clans have created a special Study of Galeb Duhr in the teachings of the explorers of the species. This Study conditions the dwarf to adopt a mindset closer to mineral than dwarf. To slow the mind and become attuned to the special perception of stone. This allows the speaker to endure the trial of communication that awaits.

When you speak to a Galeb Duhr the vibration that your words create take 1 minute per word to travel through the rock's structure to the spirit within. It then takes the same number of minutes for the Duhr to process what you've said into something it can understand, and then when it speaks back to you, it does so at the rate of 1 word per minute. As you can see, this is excruciating for the quickened mind, and interrupting the Duhr with some rash impatient statement will derail the entire conversation as the Duhr are incredibly polite (mostly) and will stop what they were saying to address the social awkwardness, which can lead to further misunderstanding and there have been many reports of Galeb Duhr becoming slowly enraged and attacking the ones it perceives as mocking the sober dignity of the rock guardian.

There are dwarven tales of dedicated Stonecallers who cast off their blood and culture and engaged a Galeb Duhr in conversation that lasted for centuries, the dwarven hermit becoming a Galeb Duhr himself after X amount of years spent in philosophical debate with the Talking Stones. Faerie tales also mention the folly of "speakinge to stone, who obsessys over forme". Caution should precede any attempts at engaging these creatures in conversation.

Social Observations

The Galeb Duhr are, primarily, guardians of minerals veins and they steward the natural wonders found underground (grottos, flowstone caverns, waterfalls, etc...). They will attack and kill any who attempt to mine or destroy the natural resources that they have taken under their protection. They are extremely dangerous enemies, being able to command arcane abilities to move, animate, and shape earth and rock at will.

The dwarven clans have strict rituals that they undertake when seeking new areas to exploit for mineral wealth. A ritual of Greeting must be performed every day for 30 days by a sanctioned Stonecaller (and this beautifully diplomatic entreaty takes 3 hours to sing). If no Galeb Duhr gives challenge in that time, the dwarves move in to claim the area secure in the knowledge that their proscribed ritual is now permanently archived in stone, the vibrations captured in the lattice of mineral and able to be retrieved by any who know where to look and how to listen.

The Mineral Duhr, the rock-and-ore creatures that shine with gold, silver, tin, copper, mithral and other valuable minerals are rare creatures. They are dedicated guardians of the type of mineral that they are created from and have been known to wage war on those to steal mineral wealth from their protected territory with a zeal that borders on unstoppable. They seem comprised entirely of rage and angry thoughts, rarely speaking and attacking any and all with no mercy. The stone Duhr regard them with awe and a little fear. They are seen as superheroes to the general Duhr population - they are fascinating and a little terrifying, and there is something about that that draws stone Duhr to the mineral Duhr in sometimes great numbers (30 or more).

These groups serve the mineral Duhr without question, and there are many records in many creatures' histories of armies of vengeful Duhr come to punish those who delved too deep and grew too greedy. The Great Gold Duhr and his army of hundreds of large boulder Duhr sacked with success four of the larger trade cities in the Drow Empire some thousand years ago and their bards still whisper the terrors of trusting stone into the ears of the young ones.

Some Duhr have formed friendships or at least mutual assistance agreements with surface races on numerous occasions. The Druid circles have been reported of having Galeb Duhr block passageways to sacred or secret places, where the Mysteries are close to the waking world, and their intertwined culture with dwarves is well documented - Duhr sometimes serve as Living Doors in dwarven communities, or as hidden defenders, or installed in mountaintop temples preaching wisdom to wide-eyed seekers of truth to acolyte Stonecallers.

Behaviorial Observations

Most Galeb Duhr are peaceful. They will actively avoid confrontation if possible, by simply melding with the earth and disappearing.

If attacked, they are fearsome foes, using their powerful earth abilities to aid them in anyone who seeks to cause them harm. Earthquake, Stone Shape, Wall of Stone and other earth-related spells are available for use by any Galeb Duhr, regardless of size or age.

They will treat fairly and kindly with anyone who seeks to treat them the same.

The Duhr are able to create one (and only one) "offspring" each. Some mechanism we don't understand allows the transference of energy to a new stone and when this happens a new Galeb Duhr is "born". The new creature is fully cognizant and has full command of its abilities.

Galeb Duhr have never been observed fighting one another, nor do they seem to form pair-bonds or family units. They are loners, seeking solitude in places of natural beauty, whether above ground or below, it does not seem to matter. The only time they come together in numbers is if one or more of them are threatened, and there are nearby Duhr who can assist, or if a mineral Duhr is in the area, which will call all of the local Duhr to serve its needs.

Intra-Species Observations

Galeb Duhr get along with a large number of species, most notably dwarves and Duergar, who pay them the proper respect. They have affinity with all the earth elemental species and can even communicate with Golems if the need arises. Any race of creatures who takes the time to treat with them with respect and kindness and does not fight the Galeb Duhr and steals resources will find the Talking Stones to be wise, polite and willing to help an ally in need if it is within their power to do so.

Their enemies are largely the reverse - anyone who steals material wealth from the earth is an enemy. This sets them at odds with any race that digs for wealth as well as Dragons in general, whose minions like to tear up the ground looking for ore. Despoilers of the earth's treasures can often call many Duhr to the area, as vibration can travel a very long distance, and the Duhr recognize the alarms of mineral that is under attack.

DM's Toolkit

Obviously I have taken a lot of liberties on this creature, as per the brief when this project was announced.

There is a TON of chatter and lore out there about the Galeb Duhr, so if this Ecology doesn't tickle your fancy, there are lots of alternatives out there.

The Galeb Duhr don't seem like a typical D&D monster at first glance. Their first instinct is to flee any confrontation and communicating with them is an exercise in patience.

However, once roused to anger, they are formidable. Since you can have any size rock be inhabited by the Galeb Duhr spirit, I have used them in small, baseball-sized stones that acted as swarming foes, all the way up to house-

sized dolmens that are worshipped as a God. The Galeb Duhr is best used as an obstacle, not something to fight. Treating with them takes a long time, and some long puzzles could be keyed around interacting with them.

In any case, they can be weakened or strengthened as you see fit, like any monster, and therefore can serve as a challenge for any level of party.

Gargoyle

Flying rocks. No! Not thrown rocks; flying rocks; big $%&# rocks that fly around and try to kill you. Look just like stone statues. Crazy? Well if you are planning on going in there, you are the crazy one. - Garg; "professional" tomb raider.

Introduction

Gargoyles are creatures of elemental earth (rocks) that take (essentially) humanoid form. They are indistinguishable from a statue until they move (usually to attack). Gargoyles need nothing to survive and no use for treasure; their only enjoyment appears to come from killing, so they are inclined towards violence as killing is the only thing that brings pleasure to their unlimited lives.

Physiological Observations

Technically, a gargoyle can be of any shape, but (by far) most have a humanoid form with unusual heads. Less frequent are gargoyles that look like beasts. Either because of evolution or design the vast majority are also medium sized and are thus less noticeable as statues. Many have wings, but that is a “decorative” feature, as their flight ability is a supernatural effect, and while those with wings will flutter them while flying, the aerodynamics of an earth elemental using wings to fly are pretty absurd.

There is no inherent size restriction, and gargoyles exist from sizes of tiny all the way to gargantuan, but the vast majority are medium sized. Technically, gargoyles have no sex, but they often resemble a male or female anatomically.

Gargoyles are not born or hatched. They are created by a process. Their form is carved from stone and then imbued with life. The first gargoyles to emerge from this process were created by Ogremoch, the evil Prince of Elemental Earth. But other gargoyles have been created by other evil powers.

Occasionally, a gargoyle becomes a “parent” by carving a form and then sharing its life essence with the form. When done, the parent shows a significant downgrade in its powers.

Social Observations

Gargoyles only socialize with other gargoyles. And within their groups, the strongest will dominate. Their social structure is hierarchal with the alpha commanding obedience, and taking first spoils. The entire group will be ranked, and it is only through physical challenges or finding a different group that a gargoyle can change its station.

Gargoyles spend the vast majority of their time motionless, usually blending into a crowd of statues, so there isn’t a lot of socialization going on. The only time socialization occurs is when there are spoils of some kind to be divided. At these times the socialization is very straight forward. The stronger members of the group exert their position in the selection process, and occasionally there will be a challenge to the existing position, resulting in violence.

Since gargoyles don’t engage in sexual activity there are no mating rituals. Gargoyles will live until they are killed. Many are thousands of years old. And one would think that over a lifetime that long some degree of civilization would develop, but gargoyles appear to be incapable of that sort of development. Gargoyles have no culture; no architecture; no organized states. The only artistic contributions they make are the statues they carve to blend in with.

Behaviorial Observations

Gargoyles have no physical needs to survive. And they have no use for wealth. They literally live simply to survive and occasionally punctuate their existence with the sadistic glee they take in killing. Curiously gargoyles make excellent guardians for evil masters. If a creature can convince a gargoyle that it is more powerful, and acting as an agent will give rise to opportunities to kill sentient beings, gargoyles become willing servants. Because of their unlimited lifespan, time means almost nothing to gargoyles. A gargoyle usually cannot relate if they have been serving a master for several days or several centuries. When there is no activity, the gargoyle assumes a motionless position, and is just another statue.

If a gargoyle is assigned to guard a location where there are no statues present, it will carve its own statues from whatever stone is available. And over the centuries, some gargoyles incidentally become quite good sculptors. Unlike most elementals, when a gargoyle is killed outside the plane of earth, they do not return to that plane. They are killed wherever they are slain on the cosmos.

In combat, gargoyles will coordinate their attacks. They almost always start in a situation where they are camouflaged among a group of statues. They are not particularly cunning, but they do recognize obvious things – like “hey, that guy is healing the others” and “hey that guy looks like a wizard.” And they have a great deal of mobility to get to vulnerable opponents.

Inter-Species Observations

Gargoyles often serve evil masters. And sometimes they serve them long after they are no longer alive. A fairly common situation is for a master to set a gargoyle to a task – “guard this treasure chamber from intruders” – and then the gargoyle will do that almost forever. They will assume statue form and just wait – there appears to be no limit to how long a gargoyle will wait without abandoning their watch.

Gargoyles’ interactions with other species will almost always begin with the gargoyles observing the creature while disguised as a statue to evaluate it. If the creature appears to be weak enough that the gargoyle can kill it, the gargoyle will do so. If the creature appears too powerful for the gargoyle to kill, then if it appears to be an evil creature, the gargoyle will almost always offer service; if not, the gargoyle will simple try to avoid contact with the creature.

DM's Toolkit

Gargoyles generally are going to be a combat encounter. There is some room for PCs to deceive gargoyles into believing the PCs are powerful forces for evil, but usually gargoyles will have discerned the nature of the PCs by observing them as statues.

Since they have unlimited lifespans, and infinite patience gargoyles are excellent choices to be guarding something that has been long forgotten.

The single gargoyle entry in the Monster Manual is a CR2, but the gargoyle is a pretty good platform for Modifying a Monster (DMG p.273). Here are examples of gargoyles with CR0 through CR20, but a DM may choose a different advancement.

Genie

”Your wish is my command.”

Ancient Djinni saying

Introduction

The Elemental Planes offer some of the strangest and most powerful folk in the Multiverse. A traveler of the planes may meet such outsiders as elementals, salamanders, azer, mephits, xorn, and much more. The greatest of these outsiders are the genies.

Awareness of genies is widespread. Even in the most mundane places of the Prime, unread peasants have heard the tales of otherworldly spirits trapped inside foreign oil lamps or magic rings. These spirits are said to be accursed- magically bound to their unassuming prisons to serve the whims of daring thieves, great heroes, and devious wizards. Against their will, genies are said to grant three magic Wishes to the man or woman who possesses the container.

This all makes for a fascinating story, but scholars of the magic and the wierd, like you and I, know otherwise. In circles of extraplanar travelers, students of the cosmos will quickly discover that there’s much more to know about genies than simple wish fulfilment and magic lamps. The truth... is far grander.

Physiological Observations

If one thing can be said about genies, it is that there is no such thing as an “average” genie. Genies run the gamut of appearances, and no two look alike (as they’ll be sure to remind you).

The shortest of genies is five feet tall (1.5 meters, for you folk from Mechanus), and the tallest is nearly twenty (roughly 6 meters). Their body structure varies similarly. Some genies are tall and slim as the feyfolk, and others are as wide and squat as the dwarves. Some are bound with the muscles of an athlete, and others allow themselves to become soft and flabby. They can be hairless as a monk, or as hairy as a yeti. On the surface, genies appear to have two distinct genders, male and female. Upon closer inspection, one will find a wide range of inbetweens. ‘Both’ and ‘Neither’ are as common as ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ in the wide spectrum of genie society.

Some extraplanar researchers suggest that a genie’s appearance is governed by the traits that the genie wants in itself. A djinn may have a big, round belly and a jolly chortle as a way to show to others that he’s a genie of good nature. Conversely, an Efreeti may take on an fiendish visage and an intimidating size to present that he is not a genie to be taken lightly.

Of all the physical traits of a genie, there is only one that they have no say in. Each genie belongs to a specific elemental subspecies.

Djinni are the cerulean-skinned lords of the Plane of Air. Their hair is seemingly made of sapphire or onyx pulled into soft wires. Their eyes shine red like rubies on a bed of jasper. Naturally, Djinni command the winds at their will. They can guide the spring zephyr to fly to the east, and demand that the raging typhoon retreat to the south. As masters of the Air, djinni ride warm air currents and prove themselves as the fastest fliers of all genie.

Marid are the weird denizens of the Plane of Water. Of all the genie subspecies, Marids claim the most diverse morphologies. In the shallowest shoals of the Plane of Water, the Marid appear as pools of water that have taken on a humanoid shape. With this amebic form, they can take on any surface features they so desire and change it at a whim. Contrast these shape-shifters to their cousins that make the deepest trenches into their home. These deep-sea Marid are ancient and fishlike like the timeless monsters that swim in the Far Realm. They are covered head to foot in shimmering scales, serrated fins, poisonous spines, and queer antennae with eerie glowing nodules. Like the Djinni, they are perfectly suited to their environment, and are the fastest swimmers of all the genie subspecies.

The Dao are made of living clay, stone, and silt. Where the other genies look like they are made of gems, a Dao may literally have gems embedded into their earthy flesh. Their hair is comprised of soil and sand that sits exactly as the Dao desires. Despite the shape they take on, Dao are as sturdy as a marble monument, and strong as the tumbling boulder. Solid stone is to them as Air is to the Djinni.

Last, but not least, are the Efreeti. Efreeti are the hot-headed rulers of the Plane of Fire. They present themselves with infernal horns, hellish crimson skin, and fierce, muscular bodies. At first glance, they may look similar to a red ogre, an extraplanar oni, or an irritable giant. That is a misconception best kept to oneself. An Efreeti’s hefty musculature is never just for show.

No matter their age or background, a genie is capable of great and powerful magic. With this innate magical power, even the weakest genie is a fair match for the pinnacle of human achievement. The greatest genies become lords among their people. At the time that a genie is named a lord, they innately gain the ability to grant a single wish to another creature, once per year, at no cost to themselves. When a lord is named a sultan, it can then cast three per year.

Wish fulfilment is a natural and curious part of genie physiology. A genie’s ability to grant wishes is directly related to their social group. Researchers have attempted to investigate the extents, limitations, and causes of genie wish granting, but their efforts have been fruitless. Furthermore, the genie people as a whole refrain from commenting on the subject.

Birth and death is another rarely-spoken concept amongst genie. While genies are known to successfully bear children with other species, there are no known records of pure-genie children. From an outsider's point of view, it may seem as though new members of a genie clan appear out of thin air! The prevailing theory is that young genies spawn from lost souls that fall into into the elemental chaos. Of all the wretched things that fall into the chaos, only the strongest crawl out of the roaring elements as genie. The rest are annihilated. Upon their death, a genie instantly returns to their element in the form a warm breeze; a splash of water and sea foam; a flash of fire and a puff of smoke; or pile of crystalline dust.

Social Observations

Genie society is comprised of three ‘orders of debts’. These debts are recognized in order of importance. The first supersedes the second, and the second supersedes the third.

First and foremost is the debt of the Sultan.

Every great city of genie is ruled by a Sultan. In their eyes, the Sultan is the king amongst kings. A Sultan is the wisest, most powerful, and most decorated of all the genie in the land. Every phrase the Sultan says is as a proverb, and every word is as law. To receive summons from the Sultan is a sign of great importance, and to receive an order or request from the Sultan is never to be taken lightly. The rewards of following through with the Sultan’s request are very great. The only thing greater than the rewards are the punishments for failure.

A genie is in debt to the Sultans the most because the decadence of all genie society is preserved and protected by the might and power of the Sultans.

The second debt is to the Family.

When a genie crawls out of the Elemental Chaos, the first sight they see is that of their adoptive family. From that moment on, the genie is showered with wealth and power. The adoptive brothers and sisters will teach them the nuances of trade, craftsmanship, and combat. It is with these skills that a genie will bring more wealth and great honor to their family.

As caretakers, trainers, and benefactors, the genie owes an insurmountable debt to her family.

The third and final order is the debt to Oneself. When the genie is ready, it will leave its ancestral palace and have one built for itself. Independently from its family, the genie will strive to be successful. It may start a trading empire, or build a treasure hoard, start a business, or even loan its powers to wizards that beckon for their aid.

For all its own hard work, a genie is entitled to live in luxury. All genies own slave workers, and are encouraged to become connoisseurs of food, drink, tobacco, love-making, and other such splendors.

“Be careful what you wish for”

Ancient Efreeti saying

On Genie Birthing Traditions

Genies are as much family-folk as they are entrepreneurs. From the moment the soul stands to survive the chaos of the Elemental Planes, their family is alerted to its presence by some ancient instinct. On the day of their second ‘birth’ into the cosmos, their family descents on to the spot where they are expected to appear, ready to robe them in the finest silks the family has and ready to feed them their first meal in what very well could be centuries. The festivities differ from subspecies to subspecies.

Efreet crawl onto the shores of the City of Brass from the burning waves of the Sea of Fire. As they break the silky smooth pahoehoe and heave themselves out of the frothy ?a?a, they meet their family for the first time beneath the cool shadows of the sultan’s palace. There on the brimstone shores, they are handed their own scimitar before anything else. That scimitar is the Efreeti’s dearest possession, the one object that they will care for until they return to the flames once more. Training begins immediately, without fanfare.

Djinni spirits in the Sirocco Straits roam about the clouds listlessly, as if they were caught in the deepest of daydreams. Some day, each one of those nameless souls will be ushered along by a warm mistral. The soul will travel over the clouds until it lands on the island that it will call its home. For Djinn, this is a time of great festivity! It is a time for drinking, eating, and sharing stories with their new relative. Most of all, it is at this time that the newly awoken Djinn has its first laugh. According to Djinni tradition, the genie to give the newcomer their first laugh will have three years of good luck.

Marids form in the unknown depths of the Sea of Worlds. It is said that the Marids are molded by the impossible pressures that exist at the very bottom of that great sea. From the abyssal trenches, the Marids rise and grow until they reach their desired depth-zone, circled by their clan. They are whisked away by their folk in wreaths of bubbles and taken to their coral palaces beneath the waves where festivities await. As the family eats, the newborn tells their first story, a fish-tale from one of their previous lives. A little known fact about Marids is that they retain more of their memories from their past lives than other genie subspecies, presumably for the sole purpose of hyperbolizing them.

Dao emerge from the stony cliffs of the Plane of Earth. When they fall from the rock walls, they awaken to no family, or likely anyone else for hundreds of miles. The Dao fashions its own weapons and clothes, and walks on foot to their home, as if driven by animal instincts. As the single Dao makes its adolescent exodus home, it will often fall in with Dao bandits, mercenaries, or trade caravans. By time they reach their destination, a Dao has often already made decent business person of itself and can join in the family business immediately without prior training. Of all subspecies of genie, Dao are the least friendly with their family, but the most connected to the greater Dao community.

Behavioral Observations

To mere mortals, Genie are strange and otherworldy creatures with unusual, hyperbolic personalities. While genies are all unique in their own way, each subspecies carries certain connotations or patterns in their people’s personalities.

Djinni, especially when compared to the hot-headed Efreeti or the cold-hearted Dao, are a jolly, welcoming sort. Of all the genie types, the Djinni is the most likely to be a good host for a tea party or a meal. They are a proud and respectable lot. Always accept an invitation to dinner or a drink with a Djinni, to do otherwise would be an insult. Djinni do not take insults well.

Marid are as reclusive, solitary, haughty, and egotistical as Wizards. In fact, Marid are so full of themselves that all Marid are genie lords. Of those, five percent of the population names itself as a sultan. Marid respond very well to flattery and bribery. All it takes to get a Marid’s help is chest of treasure and a slew of cheap compliments.

These behaviors would be damning for the other three subspecies. If they attempted such a stunt, their entire race would surely be victimized by evil wizards, and their souls would become trapped in any piece of chinaware or clamshell off of the beach that the devious spellcaster could find! The Marid’s saving grace is their obnoxious persona. If it weren’t for their greater-than-thou aura and endless storytelling, they would be victimized to extinction.

Efreeti are egotistical and cruel. They are deceptive, cunning, ruthless backstabbers. Plane-travellling adventurers are advised: Never cross a Efreet. Despite all of these things, Efreet are very well connected and very honorable (in some circles). While very few Efreet can really grant wishes, any Efreet that is very grateful will do everything in its power to fulfill their debtor’s request. Through their connections, they can have people killed, connect an adventurer to high society, and even obtain ancient artifacts. Of all the subraces, Efreet are the only genies to have a standing army. Thanks to this military, the City of Brass is effectively impenetrable. It is said that if the Efreet were to ever get Imperialistic, the multiverse would genuflect to the Brass Sultan in just three days.

The Dao are greedy and malicious folk. They hide themselves behind sparkling gems, otherworldly silks, and gaudy gold jewelry. They are impossible to deal with, unless they see something to gain in the transaction. They are so infatuated with their wealth that they often eat it by crushing it and powdering it over their meals and drinks. Growing a fortune from nothing is considered a part of growing up for the Dao. As such, they do not care about those who experience misfortune or poverty. Charity is as foreign a concept to a Dao as being born from a cliffside is to a mortal.

Inter-Species Observations

First and foremost, all genies have slaves. If you are an adventurer, do not attempt to argue with them about abolishing slavery or emanciating their slaves. The best that can come from that argument is total ignoration from the genie. The worst... is unpleasant to write about. To genies, slaves are property with an expiration date. It is in their best interest to make the best use of their living assets before they shake free of the mortal coil.

Each of the genie subspecies has a different view on slavery. Marids treat their slaves with indifference. They form complicated class and work structures within their palaces so that they only have to deal with one or two slaves ever. More often than not, this grand hierarchy goes to waste, as the Marid asks little work to be done around its palace. All others defer to the slave that supervises them. Dao do not just own slaves, they actively capture more. To the Dao, being a slaver is a legitimate career choice, and a popular one at that. Dao rarely leave the Plane of Earth in search of slaves. When they do, it is to search one of the other four Elemental Planes for slaves to sell to the local genie. Efreet are wicked slavers. They punish and work their slaves harder than the other three subraces, and have a higher turnover of slaves as a result. They view any non-genie as a potential slave. Travellers to the City of Brass are often warned to be wary of their surroundings, lest they be coerced into Efreeti slavery. Djinni find that slavery is a sad matter of fate. Sympathetic to their slaves, they treat them nicely. It isn’t uncommon to see a Djinn’s slave treated as part of the family.

Genie are waited on hand-and-foot by their slaves, and do not serve others except by order of their family or the Sultan. However, that does not make them unhelpful. Powerful wizards often consort with genies and summon them into their towers. Genies make excellent magical tutors, researchers, and guards. This great power comes at a great price, however. The bribes required to take on a genie helper are immense. To force a genie to help takes magic powers that are beyond what most wizards will ever be capable of. The alchemical reagents needed to cast such a powerful charm are often as expensive as the genie’s wages, besides. A wizard that becomes friendly with a genie may find that they are given a discount for the genie’s time. It is not unheard of for an Archmage to freely consort with a genie at no charge. This sort of friendship only occurs after many, many years of working together.

Some dark and evil magicians avoid both of these issues by using clever spell combinations to summon a genie and capture it inside of a magic container, such as a ring or oil lamp. Genies that are bound inside these objects are forced to be loyal to their owner. This forced loyalty comes with great loathing. Enslaved genie often try to subvert their master and try to find ways to escape their prison. Beware, an escaped genie is a wrathful genie. Genie Lords and Sultans that are bound inside of these prisons can only be held until their yearly allotment of wishes are granted three times. Genie lords can grant a single wish per year. Genie sultans can grant three.

When asking for wishes for such a genie, always be aware of what type of genie you are wishing upon. A Djinn will often grant the wish close to the original intent, but with a benign, mischievous twist. Marid purposely misinterpret wishes or fail to hear their master’s wish entirely. The cold and malicious Dao, like the Djinn, will grant a wish close to their master’s intent, but the wish will come with a malicious twist instead. Efreet grant the wish as well, but never how it is expected. Usually, an Efreeti’s wish will end with their master’s demise.

For an example, a person wishes upon a genie for one-thousand gold pieces. A djinn might make all of the gold pieces counterfeit, which could get the master in some trouble down the road. A marid will misinterpret the wish as “one-thousand cold nieces” and summon all of the young women from a nearby town to the master’s vicinity. A dao will transport one thousand gold pieces to the master from a nearby dragon’s hoard, and leave behind clues to lead the dragon to finding the ‘thieves’. The Efreet will create the gold pieces, but send the heap to a location a thousand feet in the air above the master. By time he realizes where his treasure is, he will have been squashed by the weight of his own greed.

DM's Toolkit

For a campaign starter, have all of your players as slaves to an entrepreneurial Djinn who’s looking to start an “Adventurers for Hire” business. Although the genie owns the players, this could turn out to be a very happy and trusting relationship between the master and the PC’s. By time they reach level 10, they might have already gotten to a point where the Djinn sets them free and continues to act as their friend, advisor, and quest giver. For higher level characters, or evil ones, a boss who’s a greedy Dao or Efreet might be more appropriate. A group of casters might work for a Marid.

Genie cities are cities of adventure. The City of Brass, for instance, is as wide and diverse as Sigil, the City of Doors. An entire campaign could be set in one of these places! If not, they make for a great place to visit. >Players who are new to the idea of the Great Wheel Cosmology may find a genie city as a good entryway before getting into the complex politics of the Sigil or the weirder aspects of the Outer Ring.

As I said in the first part, the basic genie (in the Monster Manual) should be considered a commoner amongst genie. Genie Wizards, Fighters, and Rogues should exist in these cities with class levels. In addition, Genie Lords and Sultans should be upgraded into top-notch foes with Legendary Actions. The greatest Sultans, like the Sultan of the City of Brass, should be Challenge Rating 30 when you’re done.

An enslaved genie can be the source of some very interesting plot hooks! Each one of those examples that I gave for a subverted wish could be a plot hook, especially if the genie’s master is an NPC. A rich man is paying for things with coins made of fool’s gold! All of the young women in the land need to be led back to their towns after some strange magic teleported them in front of this one guy’s house! A red dragon is sending hit men after the party, but they don’t know how they could have possibly made it mad! A man locked inside his study dies from a chest of gold falling on his head! It’s a murder mystery!

If you’re ever looking for some inspiration for your own genie, check out Disney’s Aladdin (for a jolly Djinn), the Wishmaster series (for a devious Efreet), The Arabian Nights (for examples of genies who live as normal genie-

people with normal genie-lives), and the X-Files episode “Je Souhaite” (for great examples of wish-subversions).

Ghouls

Tuesday, 16th of January: We had come to a small town in the northern parts to investigate cases of cannibalism. When we found the remaining people they were all huddled in the local temple praying. The local cleric had cast detect good and evil after the first few killings and detected some sort of evil in the forest. According to the villagers some of the town guard ventured into the forest never to return. My lay partner and I decided to check the forest. About a mile from the village in a clearing we discovered the mutilated, have eaten bodies of the town guard. We were about to return to the village when we heard an ear piercing screeching. My partner and I turned just in time to see an emaciated, corpse like creature resembling an elf charging at us. We dispatched it easily and we identified it as being ghoul. Just then we heard more screeching and we both looked around. The edges of the clearing were full of these ghouls. We were surrounded. - Eddard Tallstag, inquisitor of a religious order of undead hunters.

Introduction

Of all the creatures of undeath, ghouls are one of the most fearful. Even necromancers are wary of them. Ghouls first walked the earth when an elven necromancer named Doresain began to eat the flesh of other elves for Orcus, the king of undeath. As a twisted reward, the undeathly king turned Doresain into the first ghoul. Doresain turned other servants of Orcus into ghouls. Orcus gave a few of them extra power, turning them into ghasts. Ghouls were a scourge upon the world until the gnoll king, jealous of Orcus, robbed Doresain of his power and slew many of them. Having been abandoned by Orcus, Doresain appealed to the elven deities. They had mercy on him and saved him. Since then all elven races have found themselves immune to the paralytic claws of the ghouls and the evil infections of the ghast. This immunity became known as Doresain’s salvation in elven folklore. Ghouls still roam the world and Orcus creates new ones.

Physiological Observations

A ghoul resembles an emaciated elf with a notably protruding jaw. A ghoul’s skin is possessed of a deathly white pallor often covered in blotches. Most people describe ghouls as being skin and bones with abnormally long arms that end in hands with long spindly fingers and claw like fingernails. These fingernails drip with a black ooze which acts as a poison that causes paralysis. Ghouls have no body hair and their teeth more closely resemble canine teeth then they do that of an elf’s with massively exaggerated canines and incisors. A ghoul’s skull actually has a longer mandible and a maximalla that protrudes more than normal. As a result, a ghoul’s skull vaguely resembles that of a dog or wolf yet maintaining its humanoid appearance. When their skulls are cut open, ghoul’s brains appear shriveled up. This is likely due to decay caused by all the necrotic energy that they are exposed to during their transformation.

A ghast is very similar to a ghoul with a few exceptions. The most notable of which is that its skin varies in color. A ghast’s limbs are also slightly longer than a ghouls. A ghast’s brain also resembles that of an elf or human. A ghast’s claws radiate necrotic energy. While a ghoul’s claws are black and covered in ooze, a ghast’s claws appear to be heavy, almost darker than black (this must be seen to be understood). This is not the same kind of necrotic energy like that of a wraith’s life drain which causes necrosis in the victim. The necrotic energy of a ghast’s claws is subtler. Similar to the poison of the ghoul’s, this necrotic energy stuns the nervous system when the claws cut through a living being’s tissue. This necrotic energy lingers in the victims bodies and will sometimes cause them to become a ghoul.

When someone is slashed with a ghast’s claw and survives the encounter, sometimes the victim starts to become a ghoul. Victims possessed of a hearty constitution typically have more of a chance of surviving and recovering. It is important to note that due to the divine immunity granted them, elves are fully immune to this process. The first sign of the transformation is necrosis in the wound. Necrosis typically appears twelve to twenty four hours after the wound is received and will continue to grow over the next forty eight hours. Wounds from a ghast’s claw never get infected as the necrotic energy kills any kind of disease that might be on the wound. About three days after infection the victim will start feeling unusually hungry. This marks when the necrotic energy has spread to the stomach. At about five days the victim will almost surely start binge eating, particularly meat and other animal products. The victim will also start looking pale, start losing hair, and will start complaining of pain in the jaw and teeth. Their hunger will grow until it becomes uncontrollable and the victim loses all sanity. This means the necrotic energy has eaten away at the brain. After another week most higher brain function and become a crazed, flesh-eating creature that only listens to ghasts. And thus a new ghoul is created.

Ghouls and ghasts do not have stomach acid. Instead their stomachs are full of a necrotic soup that decays and destroys anything introduced into the stomachs. This is an extremely inefficient way of absorbing nutrients as most of the nutrients the ghoul consumes are destroyed. As a result, a ghoul constantly hungers and consumes an amount of meat on a daily basis that would make an ordinary humanoid morbidly obese yet they maintain a skin and bones appearance. However, ghouls are like most undead in the sense that they are animated and draw the energy their bodies need from necrotic energy. This means that a ghoul needn’t use nutrients from eating to function. A ghoul also does not need to maintain homeostasis as it appears to matter little what its internal temperature is as long as its blood isn’t freezing or boiling. Thus the majority of the nutrients a ghoul consumes are used for regeneration of wounds which is why ghouls have impressive regenerative capabilities. In fact, a ghoul or ghast can survive for decades or even centuries without eating. It is not entirely known what happens to excess nutrients as the ghoul’s body does not convert nutrients into fat. Most undead experts theorize that excess nutrients are converted into more of the negative energy that fills the ghoul’s stomach.

As a ghoul eats more and more food, the negative energy in its stomach grows. As the energy grows, it moves towards the limbs and making the ghoul stronger and faster. Once it moves to the claws causing them to “glow” with necrotic energy and moves towards the brain, reforming it, a ghoul is considered to have progressed into a ghast. Like ghouls, ghasts draw their animation from the necrotic energy from their stomach. Because of this, the best way to kill a ghoul or ghast is to either decapitate it (which is effective for most undead) or to disembowel it.

Behavioral Observations

Ghouls and ghasts are almost always looking for their next meal unless they’re under the control of some necromancer. Ghouls and ghasts either hunt alone, in packs, or rarely hordes. A pack of ghouls refers to four to ten ghouls led by a ghast. Ghasts communicate orders to ghouls via a language resembling a more rudimentary version of common with moans, snarls, and grunts replacing most of the vowels. When a ghoul in a pack progresses to a ghast, the new ghast and the established leader of the pack will equally divide the pack of ghouls and go their separate ways. Sometimes the two packs will join up together to take down a large group of prey or for safety in the event that they are being targeted by an undead hunter. Sometimes several packs will join up into a horde.

Ghouls and ghasts typically roam forests, old crypts, and other out of the way places. Some ghouls have been observed hunting city streets and sewers. Once they have been realized to be ghouls they are hunted down and slaughtered but the city guard almost immediately. Ghasts, being slightly more intelligent, can sometimes hunt an immense metropolis for weeks or even months by spacing out the time of their kills. Generally in cases such as these city guard attribute the cannibalistic murders to serial killers. A captain of a city guard must not discount the chance that a serial killer might actually be a ghast when cannibalism is involved.

Ghoul hordes are the stuff of nightmares. A horde contains anywhere from twenty to even eighty ghoul foot soldiers and five to twenty ghasts leading them. The ghasts command their horde towards a common goal. Generally hordes wander rural areas on the edges of civilization attacking towns and razing villages. Hordes tend to disperse after only a few raids as they quickly attract the attention of local garrisons. Naturally occurring hordes are a rare thing though skilled necromancers have been able to organize them to terrifying effect.

Interspecies Observations

Ghouls and ghasts are very territorial. Rarely do they get along with fellow undead and generally see them as competing predators. Sometimes when ghouls and other undead are sealed in a crypt together the ghouls will often attack the other undead. Often times the ghouls will claim rooms in the crypts for themselves but there are cases of virtual wars being fought within crypts between the resident ghouls and other undead. Sometimes if the only other occupants are zombies or skeletons then the ghouls might be successful in killing or driving away the other undead. However, more often the ghouls will either be wiped out or sealed in one specific part of a crypt by more powerful undead.

For necromancers, ghouls can be a very tricky thing. Many a novice necromancer has sought out ghouls for minions only to be eaten alive or be turned into a ghast themselves. As a general rule, ghouls make bad undead servants. However, for a diabolically enterprising necromancer, ghouls can be used as attack dogs. Indeed, many vampire counts have pens of ghouls in their castles that they will release into the forest to kill any vampire hunters foolish enough to make themselves known.

DM’s Toolkit

Ghouls and ghasts are very versatile in my opinion. They can be make good encounters for all levels for an ingenious DM. Granted this can be said for any monster (Tucker’s kobolds anyone?), but ghouls are a favorite monster of mine. A pack of ghouls chasing low level PCs through a forest can make a good encounter for low level adventurers.

Alternatively, a lone ghast can stalk them through a forest. Personally I like to have ghouls attack unexpectedly >at night as a way of introducing a BBEG necromancer. I once had my players sleeping on the first floor of a house only to have a ghoul break through their window at around midnight. Ghoul hordes can make a good encounter for high level adventurers. Especially if your players are the type to set up defenses in a town and teach the villagers how to fight.

Implementing the ghast claw infection rule can give ghasts an extra scary feeling when the players know that one slash can kill them days later. However, I would not recommend this for a group that likes to keep lethality low.

Rules for Ghast Transformation (Feel free to alter these)

Day 0: When a player is hit during an encounter, have them make two constitution saves: One for paralysis and one for infection. On a successful save your player isn’t infected and can go on like nothing happened. Depending on the lethality level of your campaign, the DC level of the save could be 5, 10, or 15 (personally I like to use a DC of 10). If they fail they are infected.

Days 1-2: Both days at morning have the player make a constitution save. The DC can be the same as the one you used to calculate infection. Alternatively, the DC could scale as the infection progresses (ie: Days 1-2: DC 5, Days 3-5: DC 10, Days 5-7: DC 15). If the succeed one save they overcome the infection if you like to keep things easy. If you are a mean DM you can require the player to succeed three separate saves or become a ghoul. On a failed save on these days they notice necrosis in their wound.

Days 3-5: At this point the player starts to feel unusually hungry. As they near five days the hunger will grow and grow. Their fingernails will also start growing faster and become claw like. From day 3 on the player will rapidly start to lose weight until they appear emaciated on day 7.

Days 5-7: At this point your victim player will start compulsively binge eating (Day 5 - DC 5 will save not to binge eat. Day 6 - DC 10 will save not to binge eat. Day 7 - DC 15 will save not to binge eat). During this time their skin will turn pale. Their jaw will grow to look like that of a ghoul’s and their ears will start to look like an elve’s, causing the player much pain in the process. Hair will also start to fall out. If your player manages to fail all their saves by day seven their brains will have deteriorated and their stomachs become that of a ghouls. Effectively they become a ghoul.

If you don’t want to kill your player you can give the player some sort of magical artifact to make them maintain their sanity. At this point you have a human ghoul. Every once in awhile they need to make a save or feel hunger intense enough to want to eat NPCs and even party members (personally I leave off that last part). In this state the player does gain paralysis for unarmed attacks and the ability to understand ghoul communication. You can also give the player the ability to make a charisma save to command ghouls.

Ghost

I know what I saw! She was right there then she vanished! Oh my Valinda what happened?! - Marko WindStep Human Soldier

Introduction

Of all of my research I’ve not found a more tragic and sad creature as the ghost. I gathered this research at behest of a small town who regularly found a woman standing on a guard’s post looking outward. Fearing a security breach many times this creature was spotted but never for long and when spotted simply vanished. I also gathered information from over 30 different cases along my travels and only now I feel I can make a concise investigation on these creatures.

Ghosts are the echo or spiritual remains of a creature that has since shed its mortal frame. Any creature it seems can be a ghost aside from other undead. They must have possesed a spirit or soul. They often are benign but sometimes are just as dangerous or violent as a ghoul.

If there seems to be any indicator on how a ghost comes to be it’s a factor of 2 things. First is an immense will power and second is a specific goal or task left undone. It would seem that both conditions need to be met for a ghost to manifest.

Physiological Observations

Ghosts often look as the creature did in life, but insubstantial like a soft glowing fog taking the creature’s visage. Sometimes depending on the situation the ghost can be deformed or look as they did in the moment of death instead of as life. These deformed ghosts are more often not of the friendly persuasion.

Ghosts by nature are nothing more than a visible fog. Unless an item or creature is magical they will never be able to touch a ghost unless the ghost wishes it. They use this ability to their advantage often and maneuver through solid walls, doors, and floors at will. Some will even hover above the ground as if walking on an unseen floor.

Ghosts always dwell in a single location and do not move from their home. Often times it is where they had lived or died. This location is often called haunted. Strange occurrences mark a haunting. Furniture or objects misplace, moved, or rearranged, earie noises or unnatural silence, unexplained feelings of dread, sadness, fear or even anger all are markings of a haunting in an area. Often times these areas are relatively small such as a single building or part of one. In open the open air often a specific landmark like a water fall or tree or even a bed of flowers can be haunted.

Ghosts have a dominating emotion that usually rules their existence. Even the most intelligent and aware ghosts are ruled by a major emotion. This doesn’t mean that ghosts can’t exude for feel other emotions just that as we may have a default of peace they may have one of anger or sadness. Positive emotions are virtually unheard of as usually such emotions do not come with a task undone. This emotion is determined upon their primary feelings at the time of their demise. A ghost who died of or during profound sadness will exude this very feeling from themselves. Creatures can succumb to this same feeling if not careful or prepared. Most often violent ghosts come from violent intent upon death. Weather this is outright anger or hatred, or the profound and dangerous sadness of suicide.

These undead shadows live in 2 planes of existence and shift between them at will. They live on both the Material and Ethereal Planes. When in one plane they are completely gone from the other. This explains how they can simply vanish to the eyes of others. One could travel to the other plane and find them.

The few ghosts that do act violently do have a few ways in which to attack others. First is that by mere touch they can wither a corporeal creature. Their touch is necrotic in nature although they seem to be able to choose upon contact to enact this ability or not. Some of these ghosts also have the ability to either change their own appearance to a horrifying visage or change how others perceive them to look. Sometimes, especially in the more violent deaths enacting the state, the mask of their own death is constant and always a frightening sight. Lastly and most dangerous is their ability to possess a creature. Often times this ability can be applied to any individual creature. Only those with a strong sense of self have deterred such attacks, even then it’s not guaranteed.

These abilities are present in all ghosts though only the violent ones employ them often. Possession in less violent beings often is very specific to race and gender of a host body. The possession will often show something to someone or bring something to one’s attention, in accordance with the ghost’s unfinished agenda.

When a ghost’s quest has been fulfilled they are always granted full clarity of their existence and become at peace. They then move on into the next stage of life never to be bothered again. Often times they will thank those who aided them and in some rare cases bestow gifts of material or magical means upon their allies. Most often it is simply kind words and as much insight they can give. A ghost can never be deceived that its goal is achieved. They are inexorably tied to the event by the fates or some guiding factor. Goals exist in which they need to better understand a situation and persuasion or proof is required but never does the goal remain undone.

If they are killed by conventional means they will simply return to the Etheral Plane. Although there is one way to rid an area of a ghost without their unresolved business achieved. If they are exercised by a priest, even if they are of good alignment, or exposed to a weakness tied to their existence they will dissipate. Ghosts have a truth or object which often opposes their goals greatly. They always have one even if it is small. One such ghost that by all means was helpful to a city was banished by this method. He had been a human paladin in life and sought to protect his town forever, and he did so. He was loved and cherished and often helped the townsfolk.

Unfortunately he was banished when during the investigation it was found that he had during his life broke the vow of celibacy of his order 1 time. The shame of his act caused him to depart there and then when he was asked about this very act. Since he's not been seen and it is assumed that he simply moved on.

Social Observations

A ghost is not always solitary but it is rare to find them in groups. Ghosts have no need outside of their agenda to interact with another. There are a few occasions in which ghosts are numerous but in all situations they seem to not acknowledge another’s presence unless somehow they have a common or related agenda.

Some ghosts who are in groups do directly interact, especially when they are fully aware and have the same goals. Often times these ghosts died together or in the same manner. They will acknowledge and even talk among themselves depending on the situation. In one such occasion I directly spoke to a group of 3 adventurers who had important information for a former companion to complete their journey. I learned that not all 3 had died at the same time but all were bound to a place of great importance in that quest they had been before.

Interactions with Other Creatures

Ghosts are complex in their interactions with those few that they do so with. They range from one way conversations to complex and deep conversations. This all depends on a ghost’s goals, how aware they are and their demeanor or ruling emotion.

The range at which a Ghost can be lucid is very wide. From unresponsive and completely aloof to as aware and lucid as any living being can be found among ghosts. The level at which they are aware is often directly tied to their resolve in life. The individuals who were weak willed but just enough to remain for some reason often are trapped in the unacceptance of death and linger. These ghosts are often called echoes and repeat an action over and over. Those who were driven and focused on a goal unerringly often are themselves completely.

Ghosts always interact in the means to further the completion of their agenda. They ignore any and all interactions unrelated. Violence or hostility to them or their agenda is usually taken as a threat and can push even some benign ghosts into attacking. If spotted by creatures they are disinterested in they normally leave unless they are actively working on their agenda. They are elusive because they can simply wish not to be seen and shift to the other plane.

Variations

Ghosts all share common traits and act according to their agenda. There are many kinds of ghosts from many races. Listed here is but a few of the varieties of ghosts I’ve encountered or heard tale of.

Ghost of Vengeance – These ghosts want to some creature dead, either slain by them or who slew someone dear to them. They will not rest until their quarry has died. They will attack those who resemble their target and sometimes that can be as broad as a whole gender or even humanoid or not. Lucidity is key to a ghost of vengence because without it they may attack any and all thinking them their true foe.

Ghost of Great Dishonor – These ghosts exist until some act they had caused or caused to them has been corrected. This ghost is not too uncommon with races who value a proper burial and it was not conducted.

Ghost of Something Unsaid – this ghost can manifest when someone dies before they can say something important; often a personal message to someone. Lovers who never spoke the word, Vital information to research, Or sometimes words to right the course of a life.

Ghost of Something Undone – This is a ghost who left an act of great importance undone. Often times these are tasks of great importance to the individual. They can range from a personal quest to find a missing person to a goal not achieved for the whole of a kingdom. These ghosts are friendly to allies but deadly to anything or anyone directly in their way. Often times they need proxies to achieve this goal as they can’t leave the immediate area of their death.

Lost Soul – These ghosts are often unaware of many individuals and their goal is often unclear to them. They can have small moments of clarity usually at a specific time during the day or sometimes more complicated a certain day of the year. When lost or unresponsive they are often seen doing something important or enjoying to them during life.

Ghost of Despair - Most likely the hardest goals to achieve as the ghost themselves feel unable to do so. These ghosts are mainly ruled by sadness and in some cases took their own life. They have been heard of possessing others and continually carrying out their last acts in a futile attempt to alleviate their troubles.

Ghost of Hidden Truths - These ghosts want a secret to be known and spread. These ghosts are active participants in a mystery to solve their dilemma or get someone to prove it. They are not far from something unsaid but often are not simply a message but a truth obscured.

Ghost of Catastrophe - These ghosts are often unaware they are dead or will not accept the truth. They often simply need to accept death. Often times they are killed in mass by a natural event or death instantaneous and unexpected. There have been whole cities of lost ghosts milling about in their daily live as before completely unaware of their demise. They often are in large groups but do not interact.

DM’s Tips

Ghosts are there for a variety of useful reasons. They can bring light to mystery, help with information, be a challenge or aid in a quest. Ghosts are also very useful for a great RP experience and can make for interesting interactions that players need to decipher. Try using a ghost to start a quest instead of a jail it might be fun.

Giant: Hill

“Hill Giants? We’ve had no trouble with those beasts for months now.” The adventurer looked up from his notebook, surprise written plainly on his face. “How’d ya manage that!? Them things are massive, they are!” The farmer smiled. “We built ourselves a scarecrow. A really big scarecrow.” - overheard from a conversation in Grabiel.

Introduction

There are plenty of things that can make your day miserable out in farmer coutnry, but Hill Giants are by far the worst you can encounter. They eat anything they can get their massive hands on, livestock, buildings, people, it makes no difference to them. They have the mental acuity of a toddler, unable to hear reason and prone to throwing tantrums, destroying anything and anyone around them. Thankfully, they’re also quite possibly the dumbest creatures under the sun. A far throw indeed from the legendary rulers of old you hear stories about.

Physiological Observations

A Hill Giant grows to be around 16 feet tall, they commonly have tan skin and immense bellies. It is rare for a Hill Giant to bother with clothing as they are rarely ever cold and have no use at all for manners. On the rare occasions they choose to adorn themselves however, the clothing usually consists of pelts, skin or bones from their most recent kills, be it human, beast or whatever else they’ve come across. They use small trees or large boulders as weapons, usually just picking them up whenever they need it. If no tree or boulder can be found close by when it wants one, anything heavy will suffice. They have been known to pick up horses and use them to bash humans to death. They have been seen ripping barn-doors off their hinges in order to throw it like a discus into a group of people or buildings. As long as it's heavy, a Hill Giant will likely use it to kill things with.

Hill Giants are one of the few creatures who can truly claim an existence free from hardships. They suffer no lack of sustenance as they can eat just about everything, be it rotten or fresh, old or young, they simply don’t care. As long as the food available is not evertly poisonous, a Hill Giant will eat it until he throws up, and will then likely try to eat whatever came out of him.

Due to this incredible hardiness the Hill Giants have never needed to develop past the mental state of toddlers. They take what they need with their considerable muscle and if they ever encounter a problem that said strength can not take care of, they throw tantrums and then give up and move on to something easier. They are the quintessential bully, only they want to eat you as well as beat you up.

Social and Behavioral Observations

Hill Giants are on the lowest rung of the Ordning the Giants caste system. Every type of Giant is part of this hierarchy, each individual Giant are placed in the Ordning based on type and a set of skills or attributes decided by said type. No two Giants are ever equal. The major difference between Hill Giants and their cousins is that Hill Giants are too dimwitted to actually be aware of the Ordning, they obey other Giants not because of their caste system, but because of their size. For Hill Giants size means everything, leaders are appointed not by aptitude or ability but by the volume of their bellies. If a thing is larger than the Hill Giant is, it is to be obeyed and feared with unquestioning loyalty. This has turned the Hill Giants into the black sheep of the Giants, who are usually quite respectful to one another. A Hill Giant tribe rarely reaches more than 7-8 individuals, as the chaos caused by these creatures is prone to attract adventurers and Giant hunters to the scene, effectively culling the herd.

Hill Giants are commonly used by other Giants at war time as cannon fodder and front-line berserkers. A wave of raging, massive piles of wobbling flesh rushing at whatever target has been pointed out for them, they will not stop killing, eating and destroying said target until the fall dead or a Giant of higher Ordning rank than they tells them to stop.

These creatures may share blood with some of the world’s most impressive races, but make no mistake, they are beasts, brutes and bullies.

Intra-species Observations

Hill Giants have but two ways of interacting with other races. Eat it or Obey it. What the Hill Giant decides to do depends almost entirely on the creature’s size. One of the first lessons a Farmer learns when they live in an area with Hill Giants is how to avoid destruction at their hands. Several methods have been invented, including massive scarecrows, painting buildings green to camouflage them and leaving trails of food leading away from close villages.

DM’s Toolkit

The adventurers are hired to protect a village, Hill Giant tracks have been recently spotted only a few miles from the small hamlet. Give the Players a deadline of a few days to build defences and see what they come up with!

A large plume of smoke can be seen on the horizon, traveling there reveals a medium to large sized city demolished. The walls have been knocked and pushed down and there are signs everywhere point towards Hill Giants. But why would Hill Giants attack a fortified city when they can get easier food in the forests?

There has been a report of a large gathering of Hill Giants, easily over 50 of the beasts. The scout spoke about how they all gathered in a circle around the fattest Hill Giant he had ever seen. The strangest thing however was what that Giant was wearing, it had a massive talisman tied around it’s neck. The scout swears he saw it draw battle-plans in the dirt, but obviously that’s ridiculous.

The adventurers, for some reason, need to assault a large castle/hold/fort etc but it’s walls and position make it nearly impossible to attack. A tribe of Hill Giants have been spotted nearby, maybe they could be fooled into assisting? Note for the DM: Coercion would likely not work, Hill Giants are about as open to reason as a newborn.

Giant: Stone

On that day, we dug deeper than we ever had before. We were so sure we’d hit the jackpot, after all those years we felt it in our bones. We broke ourselves upon the stone until it gave way. We broke through, but what greeted us was neither gold nor diamonds. What we saw was so, so much greater than anything we could have dreamt of. Carvings. Carvings in the stone. Carvings telling stories that would make each and every one of you weep. Carvings of such beauty, such grace… on that day our purses were left empty, but our hearts grew richer than I could have ever imagined possible.

-Joseph Valeran, recounting his mining efforts in the Darkmist Mountains.

Introduction

Deep below the mountains live the Stone Giants. They care not for the world above, that fickle world below the sky. Underground channels make their waterways, huge caverns their settlements and long, winding tunnels their highways. Stone Giants are tranquil beings, they keep to themselves at all times. They are artists, beauty and grace their sole purpose in life.

This is not what a common tale of Stone Giants will reveal however. No, tales of Stone Giants are tales of rage, of bone crunching beneath stone, of blood and gore and death. The few who have survived meeting a Stone Giant will tell you about the mountain that suddenly started moving, how it shouted in a language older than the rocks themselves and how it came down upon them like a grey avalanche of fury.

Physiological Observations

The body of a Stone Giant is a marvel to behold. 18 feet of finely sculpted muscle, every inch of it crafted for a purpose. It’s face usually carry gaunt features and sunken, dark eyes. It’s skin ranges in colour from the lightest of Granite to the darkest of Basalt but usually take after the tone of the mountain they dwell in. Their hair is unanimously dark grey. A Stone Giant will rarely be clothed while in their subterranean dwelling. On the rare occasion they travel to the outside they will wear treated animal pelts (usually of cave bears or mountain goats) to keep warm. Their weapon of choice is the mountain itself. They will throw boulders, create rockslides, break the stone upon which their enemies stand and knock them off of their mountain ledges into the darkness of the deepest ravine available. Be warned, the mountains is the domain of the Stone Giant, engaging one in combat on its own terms is equal to suicide. Some Stone Giants have been known to carry exquisitely carved stone cudgels, the size of small trees, though the Giants carrying these rarely seem happy about using them for such dirty work.

When it comes to sustenance a Stone Giant can live for eons on nothing but the minerals provided by the mountain and the water from underground channels. They can and will however eat plants and even meat if they have recently been engaged in extended periods of physical stress.

Talking about a Stone Giant’s physical attributes without focusing on their purpose is a fool’s errand. Stone Giants value beauty and grace above else, not like the Cloud Giants who wear diamonds and pearls to be the object of jealousy, not like the Dragons who simply wish to wallow in their own splendor. No, the beauty a Stone Giant seeks goes far beyond such things. The beauty of a Stone Giants work is a gateway to the gods themselves.

Social and Behavioral Observations

Like all Giants, Stone Giants are part of the Ordning. A caste system that ranks all Giants based on type and special attributes and skills, no two Giants are ever equal. Stone Giants stand on the second lowest rung of the Ordning, just above the Hill Giants. Even the lowest ranked Stone Giant stand above a Hill Giant chieftain.

Each type of Giant has ways of appointing their leaders, the Stone Giants decide the most worthy among them by skill in Stone Carving. They believe that when a skilled Stone Carver works, their god speaks to them through the artists hands. When you look at the carving such a Giant can produce, it is easy to see why. They are true masterpieces. The massive chambers used for such carving are their cathedrals, their temples. They are considered holy by all Stone Giants.

Stone Carving is not the only way of gaining a high standing in Stone Giant society however. They also value skill in throwing and catching large boulders with poise. That’s a recurring theme in Stone Giants, everything is to be done gracefully, every movement is an art.

The only thing that would make a Stone Giant willingly leave their homes is the order of a Giant higher than it in the Ordning. They will travel far and wide to follow their superiors command, be it to do battle, to do observe an important event or to carve them a masterpiece to hang upon their walls. Cloud Giants in particular are prone to ask Stone Giants to construct their mansions for them. In a war waged by Giants, the Stone Giants would make up the ranged covering squad. Their prowess at throwing boulders is hard to match even for most other Giants.

Intra-species Observations

Giants that don’t show adequate skill in carving, throwing or other artforms, are appointed to be gatherers and protectors. They live on the outskirts of Stone Giant settlements and they carry out their jobs with extreme prejudice, for there is nothing that Stone Giants hate more than being disturbed. They do not trust anyone or anything coming from the world outside. The world they call ‘The dreaming world under the sky’.

A Stone Giant treat the outside world like a dream in more than just name, they’re not entirely sure that place is even real. A promise made there need not be kept, no responsibility applies to actions taken there, no creature living there can be trusted. Because of this Stone Giants are very careful about letting anyone not of their own kind close to them. They would rather let death rain down upon travelers than risk one of them setting foot on an entrance to Stone Giant tunnels. This is where the stories come from, this is why the Stone Giants carry such foul reputations.

Giants and Dragons have a special relationship, the Dragons were but wyrmlings when the first steps of a Giant shook the world beneath their feet. The history of war between the two species is as long as it is brutal. While Stone Giants certainly have fought and won battles against Dragons before, it is rare to see it happen nowadays. Dragons have much easier targets to prey upon in the mortal races. Not to mention that the art of a Stone Giant is not often the type of treasure a Dragon seeks. That said there have been altercations where a Dragon has found one of the Stone Giants finely carved caves an excellent place for a lair. As stated above, the Stone Giants are at their most dangerous when able to use the mountain itself as a weapon, most Dragons will know better than to take one of the Giants holy places for lair.

DM’s Toolkit

While Stone Giants are ferocious warriors and hate being disturbed, they are not stupid like their Hill Giant cousins. Nor are they inherently evil. A very clever party may find ways of appeasing a Stone Giant to let them use its tunnels as a shortcut.

Stone Giants make excellent plot devices for Lost Civilization stories. A dwarven archeological team has gone missing after their last reports of “We’ve found something amazing down here.”

Stone Giants can be used as an environmental hazard. A party who knows that Stone Giants dwell in this mountain may lead its pursuers straight into the belly of the beast. Just hope they have a plan in place to spare themselves the hell that is about come upon their enemies.

A clever villain has led the party down a cave system leading to Stone Giant territory, and blocked the way out.

The party comes across a town working on hard on seemingly preparing themselves for battle. Their survival depends on their mining efforts in the nearby mountain but a Stone Giant has been making it impossible for them. They’re gearing up to fight it, not realising that where one Stone Giant is, there is an entire settlement of them.

A Cloud Giant wants a new piece of art for its wall, but simply asking for it is far too simplistic. It hires the party to brave a Stone Giant dwelling to steal the piece. The Cloud Giant has of course placed bets on whether party will survive or not.

Gibbering Mouther

HEY! Hey meatbag! HEY FILTH! Filth! Yeah, YOU! C'mere you delicious crunchy bag of meat! FILTH! WHERE YOU GOING? Hey! HEY! YOU DIRTY FUCKER! YEAH YOU BETTER RUN! Hey FILTH! Come BACK!

A gibbering mouther on a good day.

Introduction

Madness personified. Nightmare-made-flesh. A creature of amorphous flesh, eyes, and mouths, the Gibbering Mouther is a an aberration unlike any other known monster. Many theories have been put forth about the Mouther's place-of-

origin, striving to find some sort of framework to explain it's nature. Most believe that Limbo is the only place that could spawn such a horror, but many others argue that the Void is infinite, and there are multitudes of Planes that we cannot even imagine where perhaps these types of lifeforms are normal. Others will say that they have no Plane, and spring forth from the minds of sleeping Elder Gods, and some even claim that they arise from the energies arising from the trauma of many conscious minds, much like Feyr do.

Physiological Observations

Whatever it's beginnings, there can be no doubt that the Mouther is a terrifying predator. It moves with an alien grace, almost flowing like liquid. It is a huge amorphous blob covered in eyes and fanged mouths, that it stretches out with pseudopods in any direction to grab and devour prey.

Some have been reported being slightly larger than man-sized, and one asylum patient claimed she observed a Mouther that was the size of a house (her claims that it destroyed her entire village was later proved true). The creature propels itself in two main ways; by oozing along the ground, in a peristaltic wave, (and it is decidely faster when traveling over mud, snow, or water), or pulling itself over walls and ceilings by means of extended pseudopods - the mouths of the Mouther actually bite and grip the surface of whatever its climbing across.

If still, they resemble a wet pile of earth or stone. There is a miasma of stink around them that cannot be ignored. Ammonia and feces seems to be the two that are reported the most, but Mouthers smelling of sulfur, formaldehyde and even turpentine have been observed.

The eyes and mouths covering a Mouther are said to come from the prey it devours, however many new research papers have postulated that new eyes and mouths appear at random, and the multitudinous babble that pours from it are not the memories of its prey, but more often just a muddle of nonsense. Heated retorts have been declared in public and the debate continues. What it does illustrate is how little we really know of these aberrations.

Because they are covered in living eyes, Mouthers can see in all directions simultaneously, and can never be surprised. Mouthers have never been observed at sleep and most agree they do not need sleep, but can relax and close its eyes and mouths when in ambush.

Some have speculated that Mouthers can breathe through anaerobic respiration and are unable to be suffocated. This has never been tested.

The prevalent theory is that the Mouther's nervous system is decentralized, meaning no brain tissue as we would recognize it, but there is a vocal minority who claims to hold evidence that the Mouther's brain is found in one central location, much like humanoids.

Mouthers have been observed "giving birth" - when enough victims have been devoured, the Mouther splits itself into two smaller creatures, much like Oozes and Puddings. The two new creatures each have around half of the size of parent form, and immediately seek to distance themselves from one another. Nothing is known about lifecycles, or even if the Mouthers have one. Perhaps their size is merely a reflection of how much prey it has consumed?

Social Observations

Mouthers are not naturally friendly. They do not socialize. If you aren't a Mouther, you are food. If you are, you are to be avoided. Mouthers do not wage war on one another. When two meet, they determine who should leave on some level that we cannot comprehend, and age or size does not seem to make a difference. There is some speculation that if two Mouthers were forced into the same area and could not leave, that they would merge into a larger version rather than fight, and this could explain the observations of witnesses, but does seem less practical on a biological level.

Behaviorial Observations

The creature appears to have no real intelligence, most agree it only rates a 1 on the Moldvay Scale. It exists only to devour, and while it can survive on vegetable and mineral resources, it's real hunger is for flesh. Animals, humanoids, monsters, whatever it can catch.

The Mouther appears to be completely insane. It howls and gibbers in dozens, sometimes hundreds of voices, depending on size, and any creature who hears this cacophony is usually driven from the area in sheer terror. Only the very stoic can face a Mouther in battle.

Mouthers have two incredible abilities. One appears to be biological, the other, some force of the Unknown. The biological ability is a spitting of ammonium iodide from any one of its mouths. When this spittle strikes a hard surface, it causes a bright, dazzling flash, and is often used to blind prey. Some arcane force little understood also gives the Mouther the ability to soften rock and stone to the consistency of loose quicksand in an area around the Mouther beyond it's physical body. This gives the Mouther an indisputable advantage when hunting, and Mouthers are actually faster in watery terrain.

That being said, their almost non-existant intelligence usually results in a Mouther's own death by simple greed. Most Mouthers die of starvation, not battle. If they become trapped in an area for only a few days without any source of food, they die and their corpses aspirate away through some planar transfer we do not understand yet. In short, we have never been able to dissect or study a dead Mouther. They do not seem to hoard treasure, and have not been observed using magic items.

Inter-Species Observations

These insane abominations are incapable of understanding what cooperation means, so they are unable to form attachments for mutual benefit, but they are capable of being dominated by creatures with formidable will and power.

Mouthers have been used as shock troops in wars across the Planes, and they are most often found in the company of Demons, who find them hilarious. Agents of Chaos will often have dominated Mouthers that serve as assassins and "biological weapons". Powerful sorcerers often keep them as "pets". Mouthers can be found serving nearly any powerful, intelligent creature.

DM's Toolkit

These things are really scary. They are fast, multi-attackers with terrain-modifying powers and a nifty flash(without the bang). Oh and the Fear from the gibbering, always handy. They lay in wait, just a pile of dirt, some prey happens by, they shift the ground to a nice sloppy mire, and then turn on the Gibbering Machine. If they had any intelligence they'd probably think that was hilarious. The jump scare followed by a dunk and a crunchy ending.

Mouthers as ambushers is my preferred method. Their physiology practically demands it. But having one roll up on you in a dark alley, glad as hell to see you? They are just plain scary all around.

I like to give Mouthers the same origins as Feyr. That they appear in areas where fear and stress and trauma in the local populace is high. They sort of coalesce from the bad air and roll around, scaring and eating folk until the sun comes up and they vanish like mist, only to return the following night for more shenanigans. This might go on for weeks, or until a bunch of adventurers show up to deal with the problem. On the flip side, I like to have one of these act the same way around the PCs. The Mouthers appears out of nowhere, taunts them with craziness and follows them until dawn, where it vanishes and comes back again, and again, and again, and...until they find a way to deal with it, through combat or magic, or some other method that doesn't include trying to negotiate with the gorram thing.

They are great minions and can really change the tide of a battle if dropped in from the ceiling or waiting in ambush near it's master. They make great Solo challenges if increased in size and given the right terrain and features to work with.

Mouther Variants

Undead Mouther - Give those bites some necrotic gravy. Make them unturnable, too, for funzies.

Ghost Mouther. Phasing in and out of the Prime Material Plane should make this version even more pants-wettingly awesome.

Masonry Mouther. These are stationary and cannot move. Walls, floors, ceilings - now with more Mouther. Or entirely Mouther. Dungeons will thank you for it.

Aquatic Mouther. Sure the regular ones can swim. But are they see-through, bioluminous, and paralytic? With shark mouths?

Singing Mouther. Only hungry for song. 40 at a time. Will Gregorian Chant for food. Lawful Good (if such things exist for you). A real aberration.

Gith

Me, sister, mother, father; not-human, just mind-bended. Mother, father; killed by Voor. Me, Sister; Slaves, but more. So much more. She Gith. She speaks and minds come straight. We think. We think free. She speaks truth, we are one. We are Gith, we are strong. So we win. Long, brutal; memories of Pharagos and visions of dead gods haunt my dreams. Gith say we have not won. Must kill all mind-benders; all creation.

Is this Gith, or Illithid? I say no. More follow. Sister, Brother. No longer slaves. Only war. Sister, Brother. Gith, no more.

I know this, I know her pain. She sells her soul for war. Sister, Brother. Foul Baator. She was Gith, but I am Zerthimon.

Zerthimon, Hero of the Githzerai.

Introduction

The gith are a race of semi-Astral beings, whose forerunners were shaped by Illithid experimentation and long exposure to the Ethereal, Astral, and Outer Planes. Vaguely human, they are sentient race with strong temperaments and affinity for planar travel. The two subspecies, Githyanki and Githzerai despise one another due to a bitter civil war between the gith race that occurred after they were liberated. The gith are so named for their liberator, Gith, a slave like them who arose to topple their Illithid masters. The name of the original species, the forerunners, remains lost in time.

The divide among the gith occurred after the successful toppling of their Mind-Flayer masters. Their leader, Gith, instituted a strict military hierarchy and set forward to ravage the planes in search of all Illithids in an attempt to exterminate them. A war hero, Zerthimon, objected and formed a strong following of gith seeking to retreat into meditation and martial training - to prepare for an Illithid counterattack. Zerthimon also objected to the rigid military hierarchy of Gith, which he argued was no better than being an Illithid slave. As tensions boiled over, civil war ravaged the homeplanet of the gith and thrust them into extraplanar battlegrounds. The races divided in creed and lifestyle until the two races, Githyanki following Gith and Githzerai following Zerthimon emerged.

The whole lot are savages, plane and simple - if you'll excuse the pun. Illithids did all this, really. Broke them and put them back together - the ultimate slaves, save for the fact they were exceptionally good at rebellion. What they were before? Oh, don't bother asking. They already did.

Eq'Torst, Arcanaloth

Physiology

Gith are the results of extraplanar exposure and Illithid experimentation, optimized for burden and martial prowess. They are bipedal and stand at just over six-feet, with tawny brown skin and thick russet hair. Their limbs are elongated, and their heads more ellipsoidal and narrow. They posses piercing eyes the color of a nebula, and their skin is commonly covered with either scars in Githyanki or martial tattoos among the Githzerai.

The Githyanki reproduce by laying eggs that hatch and fertilize in secret clutches on the Prime Material plane, while the Githzerai are even more secretive - leading some to believe they give either live birth or some other form of reproduction. Both the races live about two times as long as the typical human, producing on average two to three offspring in their life time. Both reproduce on the Prime Material plane as aging does not happen regularly or standard enough in the Astral plane.

After years of Illithid control, the gith have developed strong psionic ability - mostly defensive.

Githyanki have adapted to extraplanar travel in the form of resistances to planar-splicing and other various malfunctions. Common accidents like a mid-transition portal failure often are more humorous then deadly, with Githyanki walking around without an upper torso and severed heads cracking jokes while the raiding party's artificer and doctor reassembles them. They have also slowly adapted to long-periods of dragon-riding, coming from a deal struck long ago by their ruler Vlaakith with Tiamat. Most Red Dragons are at the very least respectful of the Githyanki, a great many are ridden by them as war mounts - not necessarily as companions.

Githzerai, meanwhile, have thoroughly trained their minds to further develop their psionic capabilities and this allow them to control their native habitat of the plane of Limbo. By mentally enforcing stable structures, Githzerai develop small free-floating habitats of stability in the infinite chaos.

Slavemasters. They are hypocrites, devious raiders who want nothing but their own bloodlust satiated. I would find it almost admirable if I wasn't enslaved to them for many centuries. Many foolish riders. Some killed in... accidents. Some I outright incinerated. They were shocked when I killed the lot of them, but you don't bind a dragon, you don't chain a god.

Harrelhorn the Scarred, Ancient Red Dragon

Social Observations

Imperious and free-willed in both cases, the gith have fragmented over time from their ideological empires. They still despise their counterparts, but Githyanki and Githzerai no longer form planar empires, instead consigning themselves to raiding parties and small monastic groups mostly.

The Gith language is shared between the two, and the written script is unique to the gith. Written in circular runes, words and idea-phrases are written clockwise in arcs and circles. Verb structures arc between noun-circles with objects tangentially relating in a mass of intertwining patterns indecipherable to the untrained eye.

The last bastions of strong civilization for the Githyanki reside on the floating Astral husks of dead gods - the capital city residing on a long-lost one from the eons of creation. Here, Vlaakith CLVII the immortal Lich-Queen rules with an iron fist and subjugates most all Githyanki. While many do not report directly to her or her command, she wields mighty power as she is the bearer of their contract with the Red Dragons. It is also here young Githyanki who have grown in the Prime Material plane come to pass the ritual of adolescence, hunting and killing an Illithid, and train in Dragon-riding.

Githyanki raiding parties usually have small crews of fighters, a Sword Stalker, an artificer/healer, and a pilot. A Sword Stalker is usually captain of the astral ship and representative of the larger Githyanki hierarchy. Sword Stalkers are part of the solemn Silvered Order, which protects the mighty Silver Swords created by the Githyanki in order to slay their foes. Formed from ancestor worship, the firestone of a Red Dragon, a masterful smith, and the guidance of Gith these blades wreck havoc upon foes, able to sever the Astral connections of travelers to the plane. Some raiding parties act as either Gith-alatto or Rrakkma raiders, Githzerai and Illithid hunters respectively.

Githzerai monastaries are secluded and intersparsed throughout the planes, but the primary capital, the Floating City, resides in Limbo. Limbo is the central location for most Githzerai, allowing them free control over their settlements, save for the occasional slaadi intrusion. Their deeply meditative and rigorous hierarchy is mostly based on merit and ancestor worship. The most skilled among the monks are given the title of Zerth, and are able to shift between planes nearly at-will.

Both of the gith have strong traditions of rejecting deities, a pursuit of freedom, and Astral navigation. Some gith feel at home only on their Astral-ships, flitting between the planes either raiding or spreading the word of Zerthimon. As a rule, the gith primarily avoid the personal realms of major deities; respecting their distance. Githyanki have specifically been forbidden by Vlaakith to enter Baator, who says the contract of the Red Dragons will be compromised otherwise. However, past that, the gith have been known to profit off the curiosity of the more sedentary and exchange passage for information about their rivals and Illithids, or payment. Githyanki specifically also have a tradition of dragon-riding, and are more likely to use their mounts instead of Astral ships when conducting large scale warfare where the unstable guerrilla abilities of Astral ships become compromised.

I know evil. I am evil. We were made evil, and entered into a deal with evil. Our slave-brothers are not evil. They not know evil. They focus. On pity. Mercy. Weakness.

When mind-bender comes, they will not know. They will die. When evil comes, kills all, only evil will remain. Only evil will be free. We are evil, we are not slaves.

Rosstiun qa'Vlaakith, honorable Silver Sword of the Ever-Rrakkma, Githyanki.

Behavioral and Inter-Species Observations

The gith are not bound necessarily by honor, but rather a strong tradition of freedom, that is paradoxically tempered by Githyanki military and Githzerai monasticism. This, in part, is the leading cause of the gith's planar diaspora. It is the opinion of this researcher that there may come a time when, motivated by a universal struggle, the gith will reunite and abandon the hierarchies of their predecessors as the original gith did the bonds of slavery.

Gith otherwise may have chaotic and impure, or highly restrained temperaments - with the same variations any other sentient race. A common theme, however, is a certain arrogant xenophobia. Partially because of an imprinted fear of racial subjugation and partly because of their history of struggle, most sentient races are looked down upon by the gith. While the occasional raiding party may have a human mercenary, or a half-ef may study under a Githzerai monastery, the vast planar differences often led the gith to associating only with elemental and planar beings.

Slaadi are a tense acquaintance of the Githzerai, often being given Githyanki prisoners for spawning in exchange for peace. Conversely, Githyanki despise slaadi. Above anything, the gith despise the Illithids - they are to be killed on sight, no matter the circumstance, by any member of the race. The race after the Illithids are the opposing subspecies, although rarely tense alliance or peaces may exist for a short time if motivated by a combined threat.

Some enterprising gith scoff at the traditions of their brethren, co-mingling as Githzerai and Githyanki in the ultimate pursuit - duplicitous capitalism and free enterprise. Gith trading companies are known for their speed, skill, and relative safety of cargo. However, dealing with extraplanar travel always has potential drawbacks, which are usually pushed onto the traders and not the gith middlemen. A shipment of fine china may come back as animated objects if the caravan stops too long in Mechanus, for example. Other companies, offering planar travel to nobles and royalty make a fortune off of rushed trips through the elemental and upper planes. Their services have also been contracted by adventurers, fiends seeking advantages in the Blood Wars, and minor spirits and celestials looking for safe passage.

DM's Toolkit

Planar pirates, planar travel agents, planar monks, planar freedom-fighters, planar Lich-Queen worshipping red-dragon riding plane-shifting martial silver-sworded Astral badasses - yes please, the gith are any Spelljammer / Planescape afficanado's bread and butter. They've got a rich, very interesting history with Liches, Dragons, Fiends, Illithids, and Humans all intertwined. Here's a basic interpretation/rundown. here you go Here we go, adventure/encounter hooks:

The party finds the freshly blasted ruins of a Githzerai monastery, on a successful Arcana check or Planes check the players find a planar rift leading onto a Githyanki raiding ship.

After clearing an Illithid dungeon, the party finds in the darkest depths a secret time-experiment. Apparently the Illithids were experimenting with reversing the Gith rebellion, the party must go back in time, witness the rebellion, and undo their experiments to avoid the creation of a devastating time-warp.

The party is approached in a buzzing metropolis by gith traders looking for guards. They're pretty secretive about where they're traveling to. Just after the point of no-return they admit the destination is the Abyss, in search of [insert swaggin' treasure here.]

A Githyanki challenges the party's biggest jackass to a duel, and if successful a larger force will come and impress the entire party into service in their raiding ship - War of 1812 style.

The party must get from Plot-Device-Town #34B to the Lost Island of McGuffins. A wizened Githzerai approaches the party with an offer; if they will help him get revenge on raiders who killed his family, he will planeshift them to the Lost Island.

The party is faced with a red dragon far beyond their capability. Prepared to meet their fate (or caught up in moronic loot-lust savagely trying to beat the dragon's insane AC with a wooden sword,) the fight is interrupted by a Githyanki ship blasting through the magma blaring [insert favorite rock song.] They quickly begin wrapping metal bonds around the Red Dragon, who violently fights back.

• From here you've got a few options, either

• The ship is smashed by the dragon into the side of a large outcropping of rock and the surviving Githyanki enlist the party's help in killing, or hopefully subduing, the dragon.

• The dragon is violently plane-shifted away, leaving behind an exposed cave that reveals a scared dragon wyrmling.

• Githzerai come, noticing the disturbance in the force Astral plane and everything just becomes a clusterfuck.

• The party is trying to interrogate a hermit Illithid for information when a gith Rrakkma bursts through the doors (or anywhere, really) demanding the Mind-Flayer's head. They are not likely to interpret the situation well.

• The party uncovers a Githyanki clutch of eggs that their Kenku guide was secretly searching for. As he begins looting the eggs, a brood matron arrives.

Gnoll

Introduction:

It is technically incorrect to say that Gnolls are inherently cruel creatures. This suggests that they take delight in causing pain. They are predators and no more naturally cruel than a wolf among sheep. That being said, the majority of gnolls are worshipers of Yeenoghu and do engage in deliberate acts of cruelty in his name.

Physiological Observations:

The predominant species of Gnoll is the Striped Gnoll. There is nearly no sexual dimorphism among them, giving rise to the common belief that gnolls can swap genders. Short of them being pregnant, nursing, or naked, there is no reliable way of telling which striped gnolls are female. They are bipedal with a generally humanoid form. Their arms are longer than their legs and they are short in the torso. Their grey and brown fur tapers lengthens into a mane that goes from their brow to nearly their tails. The high sagittal crest of the skull, in addition to making them look dull-witted and thuggish, gives them jaws strong enough to splinter a horse’s leg. Striped Gnolls stand about seven feet high and weigh 300 pounds on average. They are almost completely nocturnal.

Gnolls of any species can digest meat, bone, hide, and hooves. They can and will eat scavenged and decomposing corpses if that is what they find. However, when they hunt they will not always wait until the creature is completely dead before they start feeding. This is often misattributed to their having a cruel nature. They have an aversion to vulture and Arokocra flesh, but won’t starve if that’s the only option. Although they are primarily carnivores, Striped Gnolls will eat just about anything that isn’t poisonous. All species of Gnolls will eat anything they can kill, whether humanoid or not – this is unrelated to the deity they worship.

Striped Gnoll cubs are born toothless and with their eyes closed. There are, on average, two pups per litter. Both parents dote on the children, keeping them safe in a den dug into the earth. The young grow quickly, becoming half their fully grown size within a year and capable of hunting with the adults. Striped Gnolls may give birth at any point during the year.

Sociological Observations:

Striped Gnolls mate for life and are monogamous. A mated pair is the primary social unit. A territory is occupied by a close-knit extended family of Gnolls. They will join together for raids, hunting, defense, and worship. They are very hostile towards groups that are outside the family. Families are traced through matrilineal lines and they are matrilocal (a mated pair will stay within the territory of the female and her family). A pack will have at least ten members, but there will be no more than 100 in a territory. As the family ties become more tenuous it is more likely that the pack will split in two with each going to a separate territory. They are unlikely to remain on friendly terms.

Gnolls do not make inquiries, they make demands. They are very abrupt and do not have a concept of diplomacy.

Striped Gnolls do not have a firm hierarchy. Leadership is ad hoc, chosen every time two or more pairs comes together in cooperation. The display of trophies taken in previous raids and hunts is very important in determining who will lead. Females and males are equally as likely to lead the family pack. If displaying of trophies and bragging stories is not enough to determine a clear leader then a fight may break out. These fights tend to be over quickly and with few injuries – the family remains close and it is a bad idea to weaken the pack.

Gnolls grow quickly. A two-year old Gnoll is fully grown and deadly. The average lifespan of a Gnoll is thirty years, and they will remain in the prime of health until the final few weeks before their death. As soon as a Gnoll begins to feel the effects of age or disease they will become the most deadly warriors, seeking out dangerous enemies of the pack. Gnolls believe that death in battle or on the hunt is the only appropriate way to die and the more dangerous the foe, the better. Dying of disease is deeply shameful. A Striped Gnoll who has lost their mate and has no pups to care for may similarly become a berserker in their grief.

All Gnolls will ritually consume their dead.

Behavioral Observations:

Taking trophies is an important part of gnollish culture. They do very little crafting of their own so trophy taking is how they acquire most weapons, clothing, and armor. Such items will be patched and torn as necessary to fit a Gnoll. Other trophies are mementos of great hunts and battles. These tokens are used as personal decorations and also used to display the might of the Gnoll who took them. The trophies are not necessarily valuable in the monetary sense.

Gnolls consider natural tunnels and caverns to be sacred spaces. Early theories associated this with the worship of Yeenoghu – that the Gnolls were trying to emulate his infernal realm. However this behavior also shows up in packs that do not worship Yeenoghu. It may be an instinctual behavior stemming from the warrens the pups live in.

85% of Striped Gnoll packs worship Yeenoghu. Those that do take pride in inducing and maintaining a state of terror in their victims. The most depraved are the Slavers. Slavers are Gnolls who specialize in physical and psychological torture, completely breaking the will of their victims so they will serve and fight for the Gnoll pack. The victims of Slavers are broken to the point that they will happily participate in the torture of further victims. The pinnacle of the most skilled Slavers’ “art” is getting a paladin to renounce their deity and deconsecrate themselves. Any pack of more than 20 adults will have a Slaver. The Slaver will have 1d4 slaves with at least one of them being a fighter.

Only slightly less repellent are the Priests of Yeenoghu. Priests are in charge of the act of sacrificing creatures to Yeenoghu deep in the sacred caverns. The altars of Yeenoghu are unworked stones, with chains for securing the sacrificial victims. Sacrifices can take days to die if the Priests are in mind to make it last that long. Priests also gather the sacred, hallucinogenic herbs that are mixed with the blood that in consumed by the worshippers.

Gnolls whipped into a religious frenzy and under the influence of the sacred herb will berserk and attack with suicidal furor anything that they can reach in the night. The Priest wears robes that have never been cleaned and wields a dagger that has likewise never been cleaned. There is a chance that a creature struck with the dagger will be poisoned and suffer from sepsis as a result. If the sepsis is left untreated it will turn into gangrene in 1d4 days.

Flinds are stockier, shorter, and smarter than the average Gnoll. In the past they have been considered a sub-species of Gnoll, perhaps runts. A newly emerging theory is that a Flind may be a hybridization of humans and Gnolls. It is not uncommon to find them in packs of twenty or more. They will almost always have a leadership position either as a fighter or a cleric.

Intra-Species Observations:

A lone Gnoll seeks a pack and is fairly egalitarian when it comes to what species they will consider part of that pack. It is not an easy thing to earn the friendship of a Gnoll but once it is given, not even a dwarf is a more loyal companion.

A Gnoll pack does not take kindly to any trespasser into the territory. Bringing gifts and food is one way to keep a pack appeased enough to bargain with, but there’s no guarantee of a positive outcome. If the Gnoll pack approves of the bargain they will provide gifts of their own (that they perceive as valuable), but they also may demand further gifts of the adventurers gear.

Although they are not terribly intelligent, Gnolls are canny killers and patient hunters who make efficient use of their ability to imitate voices and noises. Even a small pack can take out a human settlement if they are sufficiently motivated. One captured Gnoll had this to say:

Start with the young and it is easy. Lure them into the woods and make them die. Eat the first few so that nothing is left. Young go missing from houses and it is tragedy that happens all the time. After the first three or so the people in houses start getting suspicious. Then you leave some gnawed bones. They blame wolves and send out the hunters. You use the voices of the children to call the hunters and make them disappear.

After the hunters disappear they send the fighters. Use the children’s voices, the hunters’ voices. Separate them and kill them and eat them. Not all of them. Leave the remains where they will be found. Drive those in the houses into a frenzy so they send all their weapons and shields and armor out on the backs of fighters. Fighters are dumb and cowardly and will not stay where they can protect the houses.

Then we have the weapons and the armor and the shields. And all that is left in the town is the soft parts. Like the belly of a fawn. The old and the young and the sick. The perfect prey. Call to them with the voices of the dead and many will come out, wanting to believe that their mates have returned. But it is the pack, and we are hungry, and we will feed until there is nothing left to gorge on. It is all joy.

Some have found ways to control Gnolls. The easiest way to gain control of a small group of Gnolls is to threaten a member of the family. This is holding a Rakasha by the tail though because the instant the threat is no longer enforceable it will bring the full wrath of the family down.

To control a larger group of Gnolls it is best to promise them good hunting and the opportunity to kill in the name of Yeenoghu (if applicable).

Variant Species:

Much rarer than the Striped Gnoll is the Spotted Gnoll. They are generally similar unless otherwise listed. Spotted Gnolls are bigger than Striped Gnolls. An average Spotted Gnoll is about 7’6” and 350 pounds. Females are about fifteen percent larger than the males, but it is even hard to be assured of gender than with Striped Gnolls. Females have a pseudo-penis and pseudo-scrotum, making it difficult to determine gender even if the Gnoll is nude. Spotted Gnolls have some very distinct sociological differences. They are intensely matriarchal and hierarchal. The highest ranked male is still lower than the lowest ranked female (although an exceptionally fierce and strong male may be considered female if he proves himself worthy). There are about twice as many females as males. They eat from a kill in order of rank, with the Matriarch and her youngest pups getting first pick. To take food out of order is seen as a challenge to rank. Most politics among Spotted Gnolls are worked out over communal meals.

They are not monogamous and do not pair for life. A female will mate with any male who is not related to her that catches her nose while she is in heat. Only females of a certain rank are permitted to bear pups. The Matriarch will kill any pups from mothers of too low rank.

Spotted Gnolls are born in litters of four, too many for the mother to nourish. They are born with their eyes open and a full set of teeth. Spotted Gnoll pups dig their own warrens out instinctively, only emerging to eat. In the pup warrens they fight and the weakest will die. After about three months they are generally too big for the pup tunnels. It is only after they finally emerge from the tunnels the last time that a pup is considered to be “alive.” Spotted Gnolls are guaranteed not to worship Yeenoghu. The idea of being ruled over by a male, even a deity, is both abhorrent and hysterical. Despite this, it is possible that Spotted Gnolls were among the final worshipers of Gorelick before his death. They value strength of arms and will above all other virtues. Spotted Gnolls do not have any Priests or Clerics among them, but there may be a Shaman who will help them commune with spirits and ancestors for guidance. They are very in tune with natural surroundings, and will defend their territory from anything that would upset the ecosystem.

Spotted Gnolls are hostile towards those outside the pack, but a Matriarch may be interested in making a deal if a suitable number of gifts are provided. She will distribute these gifts among her followers. The alignment of Spotted Gnolls will follow that of their leader and they are not inherently given towards Evil (they are most inclined to a Chaotic Neutral alignment). Remember, however, that these creatures are still primarily predators and regard most humanoids as part of the spectrum of prey creatures.

They are more nomadic than the Striped Gnolls and can be convinced to move on to where hunting is better.

Spotted Gnolls revile their Striped Cousins because of their worship of Yeenoghu. They see it as borrowed strength and that is contemptible. They do not take slaves and they do not torture or make sacrifices. It is very important to Spotted Gnolls that they die in battle. They believe that it is necessary in order to take their strength with them into the afterlife. Inquiries into the nature of the afterlife is usually met with a wave of the hand and the statement “that is tomorrow’s stag. Let us hunt today’s.”

DM’s Toolkit:

TL;DR – Striped Gnolls have a family life that would be familiar to most adventurers, almost downright endearing. However they indulge in unspeakable cruelty to appease their evil god. Spotted Gnolls have a social life that many would consider abhorrently cruel, but they are most amenable to dealing with outsiders and are not likely to be evil.

Here are some ideas beyond the group ambush tactics that Gnolls are so justifiably known for:

A Striped Gnoll comes to the adventurers at dawn – he returned home to find his mate murdered and his pups missing. If they can find his missing pups before nightfall, when Yeenoghu can look upon the land, then the Gnoll will convince his tribe to not attack a nearby village. He may even be telling the truth.

A lone Spotted Gnoll Matriarch has been blocking the bridge to a nearby village, slaughtering any who approach. When the party approaches she demands they face her in combat. This Gnoll is ghostly with the power of Frightful Moan in place of Butcher’s Lure. She can be hurt with mundane weapons. The Gnoll cannot be bloodied. When reduced to zero hit points she will thank the party for finally providing a worthy challenge. She will tell them where to find a treasure. Under the bridge is Gnoll corpse with a broken neck (she fell off the bridge and broke her neck). The body will have her weapons and armor, some jewelry, and a map to a treasure. What a Gnoll considers treasure may be surprising.

A desperate Spotted Gnoll ambushes the party and shoves three squalling, biting pups into their arms. Seconds later a pack of Gnolls strikes from hiding and kills the desperate Gnoll. The most battle-scarred individual – the Matriarch – demands the pups and makes it very clear she will kill them in the name of maintaining the natural balance of the ecosystem. She is amenable to diplomacy (and gifts) if the party has a solution, otherwise she will attempt to kill them to get to the pups.

Gnomes: Deep (Svirfneblin)

We ran into the labyrinth, knowing that on our tails were the most fearsome creatures the Underdark had ever seen. I felt hopeless as we wandered for days and days, until finally we found them. The Svirfneblin of Blingdenstone. - Journal of Aoth Uuthrakt

Introduction

The Deep Gnomes, or Svirfnelbin, are the Underdark equivalent of their surface gnome cousins. The Svirfnelbin are guarded and suspicious of others, but when they find a trustworthy companion, they are as kind-hearted and loyal as their surface kin.

Physiological Observations

Svirfnelbin seem to be creatures of stone rather than flesh. Their skin is leathery and is colored in gray, brown, or other earthy hue’s that act as a natural camouflage with the rocks around them. Their bodies are incredibly dense, often weighing close to 120 pounds but only standing 3 feet tall. This density makes the Svirfnelbin bodies hard from muscle are gnarled with fat.

Male and female Svirfnelbin are easy to distinguish. Males are typically bald from childhood while females have long stringy hair. Since male Svirfnelbin don't grow hair on the tops of their heads, some have taken it upon themselves to grow stiff beards or elaborate mustaches. Female Svirfnelbin usually tie up their long stringy hair so that it doesn’t get in the way as they work.

Deep Gnomes also have an innate ability to cast magic. Much like the Drow, Svirfnelbin have been born to be natural spell casters. Spells that focus on defense aid the Svirfnelbin while in the extremely hostile environment of the Underdark.

Social Observations

Being that most Svirfnelbin are slow to trust, there are very little interactions between them and other races, especially those from the surface. However, sometimes Svirfnelbin see the need to establish relationships with other races and will venture outside of their enclave. Such individuals tend to become merchants that deal with the other Underdark races, or scouts and spies that go out for a certain mission.

Svirfnelbin have established gender roles within their society. Males will work the mines and patrol the perimeter, while females will run the enclave and see to the day to day operations within the city. Mining for gemstones is a top priority to the Svirfnelbin enclave, especially when it comes to rubies.

Behaviorial Observations

Deep Gnomes tend to be sullen and hard working, using their intense focus to perfectly achieve the task at hand. It is this stoicism that led to the Svirfnelbin to be highly successful in the dangerous environment of the Underdark. Learning how to survive, the Deep Gnomes found that any sound at all can attract attention and lead to the deaths of thousands, thus it is typical that Svirfnelbin cities are deep within caverns with only one entrance and plenty of sound dampening along the way.

Stark stoicism and the intense survival instinct melts away when faced with the precious gems of the earth, particularly rubies. Svirfnelbin are fascinated with gems and jewels that come from the earth, and most males dedicate their lives to becoming master craftsmen of different ores and gems.

Inter-Species Observations

Svirfnelbin are highly distrustful of others, even other Svirfnelbin. When dealing with others it is common that the Deep Gnomes keep the other party at arms length and under a suspicious eye. However, if one is persistent in their attempts to befriend a Svirfnelbin they can find that they are the most loyal and dedicated friend one can have.

Deep Gnomes have a high distrust and hatred for the Drow. They are highly outmatched when it comes to battle but they will hide and make sure the demon-worshipping-pointy-ears will never find their settlements. Some Svirfnelbin will have transactions with the Drow, but always in a safe environment and in the Deep Gnomes favor.

Creatures of Elemental Earth are quite commonly found in the company of Svirfnelbin. Elemental Earth creatures such as the Xorn have a high reliability to the Deep Gnomes and will from fast friendships with them. Xorn are often tasked with guarding a Svirfnelbin enclave with the promise that they will be fed the precious jewels that are mined from the earth.

DM's Toolkit

Deep Gnomes are a fairly niche creature, seeing as how they are mostly found in the Underdark. However, once in the Underdark the Svirfnelbin can be used in a variety of different ways.

A Deep Gnome illusionist wizard that has made a great home for itself in the Underdark. Using flavorful illusion spells for a Svirfnelbin would make a great encounter for any party.

Another encounter with Svirfnelbin would be a classic merchant. Distrustful with incredible wares that the party would want. This merchant could also promise more exotic items in exchange for different materials and gems found in different places in the Underdark.

Or one of my favorites, war. The Deep Gnomes have been entangled in a war with the Drow and the Svirfnelbin enclave has sent out scouts to find help defeating their enemies. This would be a great way to show off the Underdark as well as its many inhabitants.

The most important thing to remember about the Svirfnelbin is their ability to hide in the rocks of the Underdark. So always make sure the Deep Gnomes are sneaky and come out of nowhere.

Goblin

"It's no small wonder the whole of the world hasn't been destroyed, consumed, and shat out of a goblin's wretched ass."

"Every once in a while when they aren't getting incinerated in lava, crushed under rock slides, or devoured by dragons, goblins experience moments of unmitigated glory in battle."

"Finding themselves in a new and unexplored world, they immediately set it on fire."

"Don't let them lead the soldiers, but by all means let them lead the way."

"I like goblins. They make funny popping sounds when they die."

There are few things you could do that are worse than creating goblins. Goblins are dumb, excitable, cowardly, and dangerous beings with very little instinct for self preservation and no regard for any creature other than themselves. Not even other goblins. They are a gross overmeasure that is at best aimed at an enemy and at worse immediately brings ruin upon you in a myriad of painful and horrific ways. What you can do with the leftovers is limited only by your imagination and their predisposition for escaping and propagating uncontrollably.

Few blights upon the world have as many teeth, knives, and explosives.

The Ritual and Purpose

The first to summon a batch of goblins up from...wherever they come from REALLY didn't do the world any favors. And the ones that have performed the ritual since are idiots. I mean, really. Who looks at a world now teeming with these little shits and thinks, "Naw, I want a fresh litter"?

Anyways, if you're looking to create your own special brand of terrorizing, cruel, lunatic saboteurs then have at it. You can find the dark knowledge needed to summon these elemental spirits of destruction to your location in any evil library or sunken temple to a black god of chaos. It'll usually be written in blood and the reagents and materials are quite cheap. Except that elven baby. That'll cost you for sure.

Once you finalize the casting with the initial demand (no guarantees, broh) your little monsters will be clawing their way out of that primeval soup carrying various fel implements of torture and murder. If you performed that extra step in the ritual they'll each hop out with a very sensitive grenade hung around their necks and clutched in their grimy claws. I recommend the upgrade, honestly. Those that don't blow themselves up will do a hells of a lot more damage to your target.

Within an hour they'll be full sized and ready to destroy your enemies. Or you. Or the world.

Physiological Observations

How one desires a goblin to look upon creation is not always how they come together during the ritual. Nevertheless they often resemble best what they're designed to do: Cause mayhem and kill things. Such as it is they more often than not are small gnarled humanoids in form with comically large heads, long arms, short legs, sharp claws on all appendages, and blotchy skin in a wide range of hues between black and pale blue-white. Their teeth are tiny and pin-like and number in the hundreds. They are not especially muscular although some are created or come by a larger physique, but usually only alpha goblins known by a wide range of names which include such clever ones as "Big", "Fat", and "Boss". Their large eyes are alive with avarice and curiosity and their ears are very sensitive and range from tiny holes in the side of their noggins to large batlike attene on top (mostly) of their heads.

Second generation and newer true-bred goblins have muted colors that eventually fall somewhere between charcoal and pale green. They also might be larger or more lithe depending on what wretches made such fruitful pairings and what environment they now terrorize and quickly spoil.

Social Observations

Society isn't a concept many goblins can grasp, and those who can choose not to. Goblins are herd animals monsters and follow the pack in all things. A lone goblin is either a problem, or a bigger problem, an alpha goblin. Both are rushed to be killed or beaten and if this assault fails then you know which kind of goblin you've got on your hands. Alphas are smarter (relative) and possess a modicum of the focus it takes to keep a pack of raving lunatics from blowing everyone up. And if all else fails, or really it doesn't matter, they have the muscle and the will to cave in every last skull that doesn't get with the program.

Male and female sexes are both created in the batches of little horrors that crawl out of the soup they're magically imbued with life in. It is unknown why both reproductive requirements would be created in a creature brought to life by magic. I can only guess that the cruel dark god or fiend that first shared the secret of this doom with a mortal mage purposefully lied about the "perfect soldiers" it would create and instead unleashed a chaotic nuisance upon the multiverse.

Regardless, soon after the completion (maybe) of the initial mission of their purposeful summoning to life the goblins will begin to procreate and fill whatever holes or ruins they can escape to with a horde of slathering craven duplicates. They will multiply and the land that hosts them will quickly deteriorate as they draw an ever growing intake of resources while polluting what's left with excrement and carrion. Eventually females will be regulated to breeders and matrons deep in protected warrens churning out an endless supply of little green monsters. The gestation for a goblin is quick, at around a month. And they can be natural born in litters of 2 to 20 depending on the age and strength of the foul mother. These "slugs" lack any ability to care for themselves so are looked over in large groups by a matron, a haggard beast of a goblin who has outlived her reproductive organs.

They care for these goblins until they are a few months old and can move and hunt for bugs on their own at which point they are thrown into what are little more than large holding pens to grow strong and "play" such games as "kill the weakling" and "What's this do?". Young goblin mortality is VERY high but this weeds out the inferior specimens.

Behavioral Observations

After a year or so a goblin reaches adulthood and is a full fledged terror in its own right. It will steal, kill, or starve. It will amass a degree of avarice that rivals a dragon and a hatred of anything that isn't itself. It will exert dominance over anything weaker than it and kill anything it doesn't find useful or entertaining.

Speaking of entertaining, nothing captures the gnat strength of their attention spans like fire and explosions. Any first generation goblins still alive will have been making explosives for some time now and these will be cherished armaments by all goblins that go out into the world. They will happily detonate these or themselves on any enemies they come across. Sometimes they will accidentally blow themselves up at inopportune times. Goblins are clumsy and stupid things and are prone to all manner of accidents. Now add in a crude and faulty grenade...

Intra-Species Observations

Goblins make ideal lackeys and even better cannon fodder. Their nature also makes them easy to lure into alliances or slavery.

“Here’s an old boot. You like old boots, don’t you? Now you’re mine. Sweep this floor. Don’t steal anything and I’ll give you more boots! Idiot…”

This being the case most evil humanoids are eager to have a den of goblins on their side. They are mad, suicidal combatants and prone to accidents so there’s never a large number of them to feed or try to corral for too long once the war is on. And with those dens packed with brood-bearing factories your ranks will be replenished swiftly. This makes goblins highly sought after if your plans involve a high death rate, a nigh impossible attack vector, you need a prolonged distraction, general mayhem, or you literally want to fire them out of cannons of varying reliability.

Hobgoblins and bugbears, though of no actual direct relation to goblins are most often in control (they like to think) of some good number of these goblins and use them as scouts and slaves. Like a small dog there to wake the big dangerous dog in case of danger. Though in this example the chihuahua has a knife and a handful of other ankle-biters. Other humanoid races that can find the goblins useful and have the stomach to maintain a modicum of control are gnolls, orcs, and ogres. But a goblin will align itself when the going gets tough to ANY creature it views as dangerous or powerful enough.

Goblins for their part can actually prove competent and loyal servants. If you’re a dragon, or some other mind numbingly powerful entity who is a god in their minds. Anyone else who is “boss boss” probably has a timer running before some brighter than most goblin alpha thinks “stabbin ‘n grabbin” is a better plan for the den. Smart overseers will immediately identify alpha goblins and either elevate them to “king gob” and spend resources training and controlling them, or killing them outright. In the end you sacrifice a little order and coordination for a little bit more time to sow destruction.

Though goblins are very much nature over nurture, and their nurture just reinforces their nature mostly, sometimes you can come across a goblin that passes for something likeable and well-meaning. These are never the first generation of primordial chaos, but their spawn. If taken from birth and raised in a temple of well mannered and disciplined monks or what have you, the worst you’ll get is a green kid who sometimes eats a bird or breaks some clay pottery for fun. At best you’ll have a green kid who sometimes eats birds, breaks pottery, but does his chores. Goblins that survive and mature inside a warren of their own design rarely display any decent behaviour but some craven individuals develop quirks that allow them to live.

DM’s Toolkit

Goblins are a staple of any D&D game as they are a low CR creature that can adapt and stay a threat probably up until mid range levels. They can be deployed alone or in groups of a handful to a hordeful with “jobs” varying from scouts, workers, and thieves to marauders, assasins, and shamans. I especially like goblins because I can flood a combat with them, give each a single hit point, and roll attacks in groups so the PCs are drowning in teeth and knives but there is often very little danger of a death to my adventurers and it doesn’t slow combat down as much because I treat them as swarms.

Goblins make great information droppers, trickster guides, and lying cheating assholes due to their nature to survive seemingly impossible situations and to screw over anyone they can. One moment the party’s prisoner goblin is leading them to an ancient underground temple that borders the goblin den, and the next the PCs find themselves IN the goblin warren in very grave danger. These goblins can also be tragic NPCs because even though your dwarf probably hates them with a passion, the human PLAYING the dwarf wants to believe there’s something within worth saving. And you can play that for and against the party pretty much whenever you want. These are flawed beings, meant for a single purpose and getting them to do anything else is a hassle.

In closing,

They’re cheap.

They’re easy.

They remain dangerous.

Happy hunting. And stealing. And maiming. And overpopulating. And devouring. And...

Golem

As they peered down the chamber, towards the ancient vault, they saw what appeared to be a giant statue in their way. But as they approached, it seemed to move. It was too late to back down.

Introduction

Golems are the spirit of beings from the Elemental Plane of Earth bound into a constructed body that is usually made of clay, flesh and bones, iron or stone that serve as protectors or guardians, and to serve their creators. Golems are also sometimes created with items that allow those who are not the creator to control them.

Physiological Observations

Barring flesh golems, whose size usually compares to that of humanoids, as it is made from their remains, golems tend to be hulking in both size and strength in addition to resilience. Additionally, being constructed, they do not have any needs and also don't have problems with staying active for very long times, even eternity. As such, they make great guardians for places like vaults and fortresses, so much so that even long after the death of their creators, such places are still protected.

Social Observations

Golems are usually only friendly towards their creator. They don't tend to gather up unless many are created for a single task. Even if observed or argued with, golems will simply try to execute their task. As such, trying to persuade a golem is impossible.

Behavioral Observations

Golems have little intelligence, and have problems with understanding. However, they are also able to understand a command or instruction from their creator. But, if it cannot finish its task, it might do nothing, become violent, or something else might happen, due to their inability to think about what to do. Golems, in fact, cannot think for themselves, or act for themselves. Even if their creator told them to jump off a bridge, they would be bound to do so.

Despite all this, golems are great for performing assigned tasks. Because they can understand commands, they can be used to guard areas by commanding them to do such, allowing the protection of areas by the golem. This is perfect and meets the skill set of a golem, with their knack for resilience and strength, allowing them to prevent unwanted creatures from entering an area.

Golems are rarely killed, but when they are, it is usually by very powerful opponents, far more powerful than a commoner or a plain old soldier. However, if a golem is damaged, its elemental spirit contained within it might try to escape, wrecking havoc rather than following orders, unless something is done to repair or destroy it.

Inter-Species Observations

Golems being bound by their creators orders, tend to be very good at following the instructions of their masters.

However, golems are incapable of comprehending or interacting beyond those facilitated as part of a command from their master, and as such, almost never interact with others except as part of their duties.

DM's Toolkit

Golems are a good foe for all sorts of characters, as different kinds of golems have different challenge ratings from 5 all the way to 16. It should be noted that golems have resistances to magical effects, so they are a bigger challenge to magic focuses groups. Additionally, they can be used and constructed by players with a Manual of Golems, which can help make a fun side quest and boost the power of a party.

They are very good to use as guards for ancient dungeons, as their doesn't need to be much work put into explaining why its their other than to guard it.

As such, I hope you enjoy golems and use them in your games, as they add a good amount of content to games.

Bonus Fact: The golems of Dungeons and Dragons are inspired by stories like "The Golem of Prague", from Jewish Folklore, a mass of clay brought to life by a Rabbi by rituals and incantations, which can be used as a great excuse to allow divine spellcasters to use golems too. According to such folklore, The Golem of Prague, who was named "Josef", could turn itself invisible and summon spirits of the dead.

Modifying golems by giving them names or giving them powers such as the ability to summon spirits or turn invisible, like "The Golem of Prague" can add flavor or make them extra challenging enemies.

Gorgon

Long have I quested to prepare for this day. I came armed with a golden sword, a magical helm of darkness, flying sandals lent by a god, and a shield mirror-polished. To fulfill an oath have I come, yet now I see that I shall fail. Not a vile snake-haired woman, but a herd of bizarre metallic bovines live in this isolated valley. It would seem that something was lost in the translation with the wood elves. It appears that one of the creatures approaches, perhaps they are.... from the lost journal of Perceus of Ellada

Introduction The Gorgon, as it is known to the Wood Elves of Ellada, is called Khalkotauroi by the wary dwarves that live in the mountains above the creatures' breeding ground. The beast is oft confused in conversation with the humanoid Medusa, and mistaken for a construct by ignorant travelers. Yet the proud and mighty Gorgon has its own story to tell, told largely by verdant pasture land dotted with beautifully accurate stone sculptures.

Physiological Observations Once the naturalist or zoological hobbyist has overcome the immediate danger of petrification, the details of close observation wash away the misconceptions generated from distant viewing. Overall, the Gorgon does indeed resemble cattle in overall proportions and composure. While males and females both have horns, males tend to have larger horns and broader shoulders.

The Gorgon's distinctive visual characteristic is their metallic, shining scales. These lead to myths about the creatures being mechanical constructs or being dragonkin. Neither of these could be further from the truth. These Magical Beasts are certainly made of flesh and blood, and show absolutely no other physiological or behavioural signs of dragon blood.

In fact, the scales appear to be keratinized fur that hardens into the Gorgon's armor. Due to the striation of the hair fibers and the oiliness of the beasts' skin, a bright white metallic or yellow metallic sheen develops in the adults. Newborns are born quite fuzzy, and calves have dull, developing scales. It is believed that this is an adaptation to protect against the claws of undead creatures, the Gorgon's only 'natural' predators that are not affected by the Gorgon's petrifying breath.

It is still not understood how the Gorgon's petrifying breath works, as the gas is not stored in the body and so not retrievable via autopsy of a Gorgon corpse. While a few Gnommish alchemists are certain that the Gorgon creates the gas from materials it consumes, all attempts to synthesize it have failed. And this is why the High Wizard Subcommittee for the Classification of Magical Beasts includes the Gorgon among their count of Magical Beasts. Rumors that the petrifying gas can be nullified with anti-magic zones have not been confirmed. There are magical items that protect the user from turning to stone, tested extensively during the investigations that provide the facts for this treatise.

Social Observations Gorgons behave much like other large herbivorous four-legged beasts, in that they graze on prairie or valley grasses, slowly migrate from well-grazed to fresh growth pastures, and raise and protect young, all as part of a herd. Gorgon herds are protected and guided by strong, powerful bulls and occasionally cows without a calf. Most cows are in some state of raising offspring: pregnant, birthing, or nursing one to two calves. While each mother provides primary care of their own calf, the whole herd shows concern over the calves and help protect them.

Bull Gorgons have been observed sparring with their horns, but this seems to be more about learning and developing defensive skills, rather than the displays of dominance that bovine and ovine males are known for. They rarely harm one another, and unlike cattle no clear winner is determined.

Behaviourial Observations Aside from relatively familiar herd-like behaviour in grazing and protecting their young, Gorgons have a few bizarre behaviours that are not easily explained. As mentioned earlier, it is posited that the shining scales developed to protect against undead predators. This is critical since Gorgons seem strongly attracted to graveyards, battlegrounds and other areas teeming with death magic. Thus they encounter greater quantities of skeletons, wights, ghouls and ghasts than most beasts. One wizard suggested that without the elusive Gorgon herds, our world might be overrun by hoards of undead.

Rarely, but often enough to have been recorded numerous times, a single Gorgon bull will wander into a large village or city. With seeming clear intent on confronting everyone and everything near its path, the bull will run and charge into the midst of crowds, storm into china shops or smithies. These events are obviously very dangerous as even people not turned to stone by the Gorgon's petrifying breath end up gored or trampled. Inevitably, the Gorgon dies from the sheer number of arrows and swords brought to bear against the intruder.

Gorgons loath blackbirds. Aside from the thousands of blackbird stone statues found in their grazing pastures, observers noted that Gorgons of all ages will charge, gore, petrify and even bite any blackbird within reach. This is particularly odd since songbirds and birds of prey are left alone. There is even a StirgeEater that is often found perching on the backs of the southern Gorgon herds, keeping the beasts safe from the flying parasites. Due to this strange behaviour, getting a high quality blackbird statue from your local stone mason is fairly inexpensive.

Inter-Species Observations Gorgons are not beasts of even moderate intelligence, and so they do not interact with other species (aside from the blackbird) unless the herd or young are threatened. After the first week of observation, our scientists were able to relax their vigil somewhat, as the beasts became accustomed to our presence and did not immediately charge and breathe their petrifying breath upon us. Indeed one brave half-elf druid of the company went out among the grazing herd with nothing more than a makeshift set of twig horns for protection.

DM's Toolkit >Due to the petrification ability and lack of significant treasure, players and DMs alike are not easily drawn to the Gorgon. I certainly have never used one before. However, after this Ecology write-up, I see that they can provide several interesting opportunities for the DM.

The first I allude to in the quote, and that is the opportunity to pull a bait-and-switch on the players. While being turned to stone is still the result of a failed encounter, players that spend much time preparing for encounter with a gaze-attacking Medusa will find their mirrors useless against the noxious breath of bos petris.

The next use for these creatures is a non-geological barrier. A simple two day trek through prairie land becomes a deadly game of sneak and hide if the grasses are occupied by a large herd of Gorgons. This forces players to think creatively, stop and observe, and exhaust spells of protection and/or flying.

With the addition of the irrational city-raid, I've given our DMs an opportunity to let the players come to a town’s desperate rescue by stopping the stampeding statue-maker. Whether it is used to redeem the PCs of their murderhobo habits, bring them to the attention of the city government, or as a hook as to what is out in the wilds that would drive even a Gorgon into town; it utilizes a nearly-forgotten mythical beast to keep the PCs on their toes, and out of range of the green cloud. (On that note, the ONLY reference to the breath being green I found was describing the 3rd edition illustrations and later.

Be very careful forcing your players into directly interacting with even a small herd of Gorgons. Petrification is a fate almost worse than death, since the corpse now weighs 3-5 times as much as normal, and finding a reversal could turn a minor side adventure into the beginning of an entire campaign that includes at least one player incapable of doing anything until they are returned to normal.

The DM providing a description of intricate statues in places they do not belong will give smart players a warning that something dangerous is in the area. After using this trick once with a real Gorgon (or Medusa, basilisk, cockatrice, etc.) then use it again as a tension builder and a security ploy by a reclusive stone mason/wizard who can't afford a real guard Gorgon.

Grell

Th-they c-ame they came out of, out of nowhere. We were strung out, you know? Strung out down the tunnel, when, when they came. Gods, I can still hear Mayeesha screaming. I can hear all of them screaming. Whatever took...whatever ate them, they weren't anything natural.

Can we, um, can we stop now? I don't feel like talking anymore.

-Ex mercenary during a session at Rafanar Asylum.

Introduction

Grell are terrifying predators. A huge brain with raptor's beak and a mass of dangling, barbed tentacles, these psionic creatures gather in colonies and rely on ambush and numbers to overwhelm their prey.

Physiological Observations

Grell are the result of a mutation of a psionic disease common to the Illithid race. A virus-like metamorphosis occurs that creates a new identity in the diseased Illithid brain. This new identity has only two drives - to feed and to procreate. In a shocking transformation, the final stage of the disease causes the Illithid brain to swell to 20 times its size, obliterating the skull (and killing the Illithid). The brain, through some psionic mechanism, is able to levitate, and rips itself free of the body. Over the next hour the brain manifests a large, cruel beak on its "underside" and 10 suckered tentacles, each over 2 feet long.

The Grell is now fully adult and able to feed and reproduce immediately.

Their beaks are sharp and tough, able to tear through thick hide and strong armor with ease. Their tentacles are sticky and strong, 4 can grapple an armored man with ease. Their levitation ability does not have any recorded limit in regards to the weight they can lift. Grell have been seen carrying off large cattle and deer, and they are limited by the ability to grab prey, so many Grell often work together to carry back food.

They are wholly psionic creatures - able to detect psions and be detected by them. They have crude attacks and defenses, almost primitive in nature, but the sheer number of them often overwhelm much stronger prey.

Feeding appears to be chaotic. Oftentimes Grell colonies will relentlessly strip an area of all living things, while other times they will only occassionaly take a few large creatures, seemingly content with the bounty until they need to hunt again.

Social Observations

Grell gather in colonies, like many social animals. They do not appear to have the traditional alpha/beta/loner structure like wolves or other pack animals have, nor do they seem to have a single leader, such as bees and ants. Grell do not seem to have any leadership structure at all, and as such, researchers have postulated the idea that they must function in the same way that flocks of birds do, or schools of fish (these groups do have leaders, but its more valuable to model our observations with the premise that the mythological "hive mind" controls the Grell, as we cannot predict with any reasonable certainty how an abberative species self-organizes. Indulge us, with our thanks).

There do not appear to be male/female gender roles, with every member of the swarm appearing to participate in every activity required for survival (hunting, defense, procreation).

Behaviorial Observations

Grell know only hunger and the drive to create more Grell. They have a sixth sense that appears to let them sense living prey (and they especially love humanoids) and objects up to 60' away.

Grell need humanoids to reproduce, much like their Illthid progenitors, but do not require the victim to be alive. Once slain, the Grell will extrude a thin tentacle and enter the skull of the incubator through the ear. We are not sure what process takes place at this time. Some have postulated that the tentacle is an ovi-positor, but most agree this claim has little evidence to support it. The overriding theory is that the tentacle transfers some sort of seed-virus into the host, allowing the Grell mutation to transform the incubator's brain, but there is much dissent, stating that this would not account for the newly-born Grell's psionic abilities. The rebuttal has been that perhaps the virus is the source of the psionic attributes to being with? Debate continues.

Either way, a new Grell is born from the host in just 24 hours.

Grell do not fight one another for resources, each individual contributing and taking from the collective equally.

When hunting the Grell attack from ambush. They are able to compress their bodies into surprisingly small and shadowy places, drawing their beak and tentacles in tight to their sponge-like bodies. Grell are never found alone unless some disaster has befallen the colony.

Grell have no fear, and have been observed attacking every type of living creature, from human to dragon. If they detect Illithid they frenzy and will focus solely on destroying them.

Intra-Species Observations

Grell have never been seen to treat with non-Grell in any way but as prey. Much like any mindless predator, they are not real good at making friends.

Their sworn mortal enemies are, of course, the Illithid, who will oftentimes become obsessed to madness in eradicating Grell nests when they find them, to the point of killing every living thing in the area, just to deprive the swarm of food sources and incubators. The Grell, not surpringly, feel the same, and will abandon all other activities to pursue the eradication of any nearby Illithid (and any incidental Flumphs in the area as well).

DM's Toolkit

Obviously this is a large departure from the canon. I don't like just rehashing the same old thing - for me, these Ecologies are about looking at monsters in a fresh way while keeping the basic understandings alive.

I've modified these for my own game by removing their lightning abilities and adding a basic Psionic Blast - treat as a cantrip, does 1d6 force/psychic damage.

Truthfully, Grell scare the shit out of me as a player. They are like psionic piranha to me - they hide, they swarm, they kill everything and take it with them to create more Grell. As a DM, what's not to love?

Grick

Coiled beneath the stones and brush, it waits. It hears voices approaching - high-pitched, playful voices. Voices it recognizes as younglings from the community down the river. It opens its beak, pointed tongue running along the edge of its sharp lips. It knows it is in a bad position to strike, but cannot risk moving now, as the voices are close now, and would hear the stones above it shifting. It feels excitement welling - it hasn't eaten in a week, since eating the meat off the bones of a deer, and fresh man-meat is always preferable to deer. The voices are only a few feet away now, voices filled with joy and glee, unaware of what lies beneath the stones they play atop...

Introduction

Gricks are large, serpentine monsters that prey on animals and humanoids that are weaker than they. Most grow so large that they become the dominant predator in their small range, easily attacking, killing, and consuming the smaller animals around. Though they mostly live underground, a few live and prey in areas of dense foliage or other areas that provide adequate cover for their preferred hunting method, which is hiding in wait until the perfect moment to strike.

Physiology

"There's slime everywhere," came Dane's squeaky voice. Sal entered the small cave - barely more than a depression in the hillside. It was dark inside, but he wasn't scared. He'd been in darker places. He worked his way down the slight descent, kicking some loose pebbles ahead of him. The ceiling was very low, so low he had to crouch.

After about ten feet, it opened up into a larger space, and Sal ran into Dane. His friend was crouched over a pile of animal bones on the ground, which had a slick, slightly gooey look to them. He looked around - the cave was not very large. Just a pile of rocks within arms' reach to his left, and a depression to his right with a bunch of leaves - almost like a nest.

"What kind of animal do you think this was?" Dane asked, dragging a stick through the clutter of bones, scattering them slightly. The light from the opening showed Sal that some of the goo was now on Dane's stick. "Think it was a deer?" Dane asked.

"I don't know," Sal responded, then turned to his left. He thought he had heard the stones shift, just a low clicking sound, like a rock bounding off another. He peered at the pile of stone, looking concernedly at the dark spaces between the larger rocks. Was something moving there?

"I don't know," he repeated. "Let's just get out of here." He turned to climb back up the path. He heard Dane shift behind him. Then he heard rocks begin to fall... It's not hard to figure out why people think that gricks are some sort of snake or worm. Their serpentine bodies, seen from either afar, very much resemble a thick, coiled constrictor or large worm. However, as it turns out, and you will see, they are actually much more related to mollusks - in particular, cephalopods - than either reptiles or anything we understand as a "worm."

The general (visible) shape of a grick is known for three distinct features - the tentacles, the beak, and the "tail." Let's start at the top.

A grick has four tentacles, spaced evenly around its beak. The tentacles have sharp, serrated hooks at the tip, and are covered on the underside by two rows of sucker. While in a state of rest, the four tentacles fold together neatly, completely hiding the beak within. In this position, the grick looks like one, long form, thus giving way to people believing they are worms.

In the center of the tentacles is a sharp, powerful beak. Similar to a squid, the beak is hooked and downward-pointing, and can make gaping wounds in flesh.

Though the beak and tentacles area are often pointed forward, and are used in the grick's consumption of food, the creature does not have a head - there is no skull and there are no eyes. Instead, we have the "tail." However, what most people refer to as a tail, is actually nothing more than an over-developed fifth tentacle, which houses the grick's digestive and reproductive system.

This tail is much thicker than the other four tentacles, and instead of being covered on the bottom side by suckers, instead is covered by a fine, almost invisible lair of cilia. These cilia both aid the grick in movement (allowing it to climb walls and ceilings), and are also the primary sensory organs for the creature. The grick uses these cilia to smell the air around it, informing it of prey or predators in the immediate area. They also sense temperature, allowing the grick to move safely through its environment. The cilia have tiny pores on them that secrete a benign slime to aid in the grick's movement along the ground.

The base of the tail has two important features. The first is a clump of very small, serrated blades, which the grick may use as a weapon (though it is typically much too slow to be very effective). The second is a small slit, running parallel with the length of its body, which houses the grick's waste excretion parts, as well as its reproductive organs. Grick males and females have distinctive reproductive differences, but to the outside observer, it is impossible to tell them apart.

Overall, gricks tend toward earth tones in colorization - browns, grays, and greens being the most common. This helps them blend in to their favored hiding spots for ambush. The underside of all five tentacles tends to be a paler shade of whatever color the grick's body is. The beak is typically brighter, sometimes orange or red, or at least a reddish-brown.

At birth, from the egg, gricklings are very small. Coiled within the egg and for the first several days of the grick's life, it is only three to five inches long. At early stages, all five of the tentacles are an equal size and length, though the fifth "tail" outgrows the other four very quickly. Within a year, the grick is two feet long, and within three years, is fully grown at five to seven feet long.

Behavior and Social Interactions

It heard the obvious sounds of animals and man-creatures retreating. It knew it was time to strike, or it would miss its opportunity. It shifted its massive bulk, uncoiling, flexing its powerful muscles. Stones rolled off the top of it, clattering to the hard ground, and it lifted its front end, spreading its tentacles wide, revealing its sharp beak.

One of the man-things was very close, stupidly frozen in fear. It lifted itself up to be level with the head of the child, feeling the warm temperature, sensing the stinky, fearful sweat that it craved. It opened its mouth, stretching wide, and surged forward - not swiftly, but fast enough. The child was just starting to scream when it felt its sharp tentacles sink into tender flesh...

Gricks are solitary creatures for most of their life. After birth, the brood will be fed by the mother grick a diet of worms, bugs, small rodents and birds. These animals will already be dead, as the grick is too small at first to kill its own prey. Out of the four to six gricklings born usually only two at most will survive. These two will eventually feed on the rest of the gricklings that did not make it.

At around six months, gricks will leave their mother and find their own territory. Usually, for the first year or so on their own, they are no more than a few miles from the mother grick. In fact, they will often scavenge the mother's prey if they are having a hard time finding their own. However, by the time they are full-grown, they are often the apex predator in their region, and have to find larger hunting grounds away from other gricks.

Most of a grick's life is spent coiled beneath branches or rocks, awaiting prey. They are ambush predators most of the time, but will willingly scavenge for food if hunting is not going well. For example, some gricks have been known to set up their lairs close to quicker predators, but those which do not consume flesh. For instance, it would not be uncommon at all for a grick to set up a site beneath a siphoning of stirges, knowing the stirges will simply drain the blood from their victims, but will leave the flesh intact for the grick to consume.

To capture their prey, gricks will rise up like a cobra, distinctly "S"-shaped, and lurch forward. They will first strike with their tentacles, using the sharp ends to flay and pierce the skin. If close enough, it will attempt to wrap the tentacles around the prey and draw it within range of its powerful beak.

Gricks are not particularly fast though, so this is usually just how it attacks if it must be seen. They much prefer to hide beneath rocks, or on ceilings, and grab, stab, slice, and bite their potential prey from concealment.

The grick's tail blade may be used as a weapon in certain circumstances, but it is slow and sluggish, and mostly used only as a last resort.

Because the grick is not particularly smart or fast, it will often form symbiotic (or sometimes parasitic) relationships with other creatures around, particularly creatures who do not consume bodies quickly.

Variants

Sal led the five town guardsmen and his father back to the cave. The guardsmen went in first, brandishing torches and swords. His dad put his hand on Sal's shoulder and squeezed. After a few minutes, Rane, the leader of the guards, came back up, casting his eyes downward. He took a deep breath then looked up at Sal's dad, and gave a slight nod. Sal felt his lip trembling, and his father held him as he sobbed.

Their procession back into town was solem - five guardsmen on horses, Sal riding with his father, and a seventh horse laden with a covered shape. There had been no sign of the monster. It must have moved on.

In very rare instances, gricks will have more than the four front-facing tentacles. Some adventurers have reported up to ten tentacles, though this is likely an exaggeration. The highest number of tentacles documented by scientists and specialists is six.

Less rare, but much more terrifying, are the monstrous grick alphas, which can easily grow to fifteen feet long. These monsters are almost always the apex predator in their area, destroying any competition with ease. Many a campaigner has has met his match fending off a grick alpha's five-foot long tentacles.

DM's Toolkit

Gricks make great low-level encounters, and can fit into just about any type of wilderness or dungeon setting. Because they will often form symbiotic relationships with other, speedier (and/or more intelligent) creatures, they are suitable to be used for several types of encounters. Here are a few examples:

A grick lays low in a small hillside cave, beneath a copse of trees where a half dozen stirges live. The grick eats the remains after the stirges drain the blood of victims.

A small tribe of grimlocks, knowing the existence of a local grick, have set up several traps to lure adventurers away from their lair and to the grick.

An ogre mage keeps a grick in a pit inside his lair - he feeds disobedient minions, as well as prisoners, to the grick to show who's boss.

Make use of the gricks' ability to hang off walls and ceilings. There is little more terrifying to a group of already-frightened adventurers, deep in a dark cave, than something attacking them unseen from above.

Griffon

Introduction

In civilised lands, free from the tyranny of Dragons, the noble Griffon often holds the position of apex predator. The common or mountain Griffon is a large, social creature with the grace of a soaring eagle and the ferocious power of the largest jungle cat. It is fortunate indeed that they favour herd animals as prey, a shepherd can loose some sheep to appease a pride of Griffons and a marching army can afford the loss of a few horses if it will distract from the ones between their legs.

Physiological Observations

The Common or Mountain Griffon is a noble beast, standing six feet at the shoulder, up to ten feet long and with a wingspan of eighteen feet. The fore features resemble those of a gigantic bird of prey, somewhere between an eagle and a vulture and ranging in colouration from black to white including browns and greys. The rear of a Common Griffon resembles that of a huge cat, they are often the same or a similar colour to the avian features but can be mottled, spotted or even striped.

Hidden in rocky shorelines, coastal caves and on the pack ice of colder seas live the elusive Sea Griffons or Seagriffs. These flightless Griffons may at first seem comical dragging themselves bodily like a massive Sealion crossed with a Penguin or Auk, however any good sailor will tell you of their awesome power once they are in the water. Indeed in many places communitys have made a tradition of scouring the shorelines to collect all the Seagriff eggs they can in an attempt to control the population.

The Royal Griffon is in all ways a superior creature to other Griffons twice the size of a Common Griffon and intelligent enough to be capable of speech if taught from hatching. Royal Griffons exhibit a luxurious and vibrant range of colours and patterns. Tiger stripes, peacock fans, ruffs, plooms and quills are all common. As such the pelt of a Royal Griffon would be a fine prize indeed.

Social Observations

Common Griffons like in small family groups called prides. A pride consists of a dominant male, a handful of females with which the male breeds and a few hangers on such as the males mother and perhaps some young males soon to depart in search of their own mates.

Seagriffs live in colonies which can rage in size from just a few animals to thousands, They will each year form a partnership and raise one or two cubs after which the partnership will end as the seasons turn and the colony breaks apart for the summer.

Royal Griffons are solitary creatures and very territorial only coming together to breed or to fight out territory disputes. A mother will raise her cubs until their first hunt then as they enjoy thei first kill she will abandon them.

Behaviorial Observations

A Griffons nest is clean and discreet, often hidden from view either high upon a cliff face, deep in a cave or simply in some remote location with a little cover. Their hunts are organized and graceful, all hunters could learn from watching a Griffon hunt even if all they learnt was to avoid provoking the beasts.

Inter-Species Observations

Common Griffons are known to favour horse meat or that of cattle and sheep in fact the only time a humanoid should be fearful of wild Griffons is during a famine or if they approach the nest itself. Seagriffs on the other hand are far more unpredictable, their diet consists largely of fish but they may attack anything that gets too close. In the water they have even been known to hunt for sport. A Royal Griffon hunts at will and is utterly indiscriminate though they mostly have the common sense to avoid populated areas they will think nothing of stalking a band of adventurers or merchants caravan.

DM's Toolkit

So common Griffons are the rules as written, monster manual Griffons, great if you want to add some danger to a mountain pass, something impressive and scary without being invested it killing the PC’s. Have the Griffons attack the party but focus on the horses and pack animals, once they make a kill they will try to escape (assuming the PC’s have the sense to let them go!)

Seagriffs are a flightless variant of the standard Griffon, great for those long sea voyages when you are all bored of sharks they are also nice set decoration for a smugglers cove.

Royal Griffons need a stat and size boost, maybe give them a language. Could be a great plot hook for a local maneating Griffon that needs to be hunted down but, twist, shes just as clever as the hunters (Predator meets the Jungle Book)

As Mounts

Everybody loves to ride a Griffon right? Well that’s gotta be earned. Depending how harsh you want your world to be perhaps a mercenary band have raised their own Griffon mounts but removed their wings, making them easier to control?

There’s also totally room for Royal Griffons acting as mounts as a one time favour, if you can convince one that is…

Grimlock

Blind, even more so than others of the Underdark, they shuffle their way around to the surface where they pick clean entire settlements in a single afternoon before vanishing as quickly as they arrived. Showing no mercy, inducing only fear in whatever pitiable souls happen to survive their onslaught. They swarm, they feast, they are no better than locusts.

Excerpt from: Creatures of the Underdark and you. Surviving in a hostile world. Only sold in Ratgrowth's Tomes and Magic's located in scenic down-town Ravenloft

Introduction

Have you ever wondered who the creatures of the underdark focus their hatred towards when they are not attacking the surface world? It is the Grimlock. As intelligent as your average human the Grimlock have fashioned a very simple society in their caves of the Underdark. Full of homes for their young and protections for them, even farmland where they cultivate mushrooms and other edible plants native to the underground network. However things are not all well and good for these creatures, after eons in the dark they no longer have eyes and must rely on their other senses. Even worse the Illithid and the Drow have taken to using them as slave labour, or food in some cases, and sometimes just destorying their homes and land for fun. After spending a year among the Grimlock, not an easy task with their echolocation and sense of smell akin to that of a dog, I learned much of these feared creatures and decided to share my knowledge with the surface world.

Physiological Observations

Interestingly enough they look vaguely like the humans of the surface world, they have a comparable height and weight as I learned examining their dead. Their skin in a very dark palid grey, as mine has quickly become in my time away from the suns warm glow, theirs however is a much darker grey, not unlike that of a simple stone. The most notable thing about their appearance is their distinct lack of eyes. Many claim it is a blank place where their face should have eyes but I have seen several notable distinctions in this aspect. I believe that those that survive, hence those we hear the stories from, are the ones that have only encountered the more timid Grimlock who each share a physical distinction I will discuss momentarily.

Physical Distinction

Interestingly enough the Grimlock do not have a single physical deformity that explains their lack of sight. Some have no eye sockets at all, merely skin stretched across their face lacking even so much as eyebrows, I have heard that many people are most disturbed by this variant, though I myself find the evolution that caused it quite fascinating. There are others yet who still have eyes, though they take the appearance of milky or clouded over as some humans who have lost their sight appear. There is yet a third variant however, and these ones truly terrify me. They are the most violent, and most intelligent. They lack eyes but the sockets where their eyes used to be are still present, they are merely empty holes. Sometimes it seems as though they are looking right at you, and I am unsure if they are the next stage the Grimlock will take as they continue to adapt to the underdark. However the most interesting, perhaps the most troubling, thing about them is that despite being entirely blind they have forged a hierarchy in their society that correlates directly to the state of their eyes.

Social Observations

They have a simple society, not unlike our records from the Dwarves and Elves of early human society interestingly enough, consisting mostly of warriors and women and the young. There are a few who contend for the leader but the caste system will be talked about shortly. They form family units as well, and each is granted their own home, with the usually seen male female and then eventually children set up, though they don't seem to do the usual courting ahead of time. Family units like this seem to be contracts of a sort, I was lucky enough to witness the event, a young male went to an older male and traded some spoils from a recent hunt (several humans) and then the young female joined with the young male in his home. This was early in the year so I was also lucky enough to witness some of their mating habits as well as some of the life cycle, truly an interesting prospect.

Caste System

As mentioned above the caste system is directly tied to the physical appearance of the Grimlock in question. I am not certain if their behaviour is tied to what kind of eyes they have or if the caste system merely forces that behaviour on them in order to best survive in their designated role within the community. The most timid of Grimlock (relatively speaking), the ones with flesh instead of any eye sockets, are usually the crafters and farmers and lowest level warriors. They tend to the mushroom fields, they craft the stone tools the Grimlock use and they are the ones tasked with carving out new dwellings in the rocks for new Grimlock who have earned their place, they also carry any spoils and loot from another raid on the surface meant for the entire community back to the Underdark. To earn ones place one must merely perform admirably in their designated job, and sooner or later the leader will have a cave carved out, alternatively should a family die for whatever reason that hole may be taken up by any Grimlock who can defend it from the others doing the same.

The milky eyed Grimlocks are more aggressive than their flesh faced counterparts, and they are the medium level warriors, they carry the best tools and in some cases even rudimentary armour, be it looted from a town or made of bones from other beasts of the underdark. Some of them may help with the farm tasks when it is required of them but for the most part they merely guard and scout nearby tunnels, attempting to keep a look out (pardon my usage of the term) for predators and nearby threats from those that wish them harm.

As mentioned before the ones with the empty eye sockets are by far the most aggressive, though they also appear to be the most intelligent. In my time among the Grimlock they have by far almost spotted me the most and that was with my trick to hide my scent from them. They are the leaders of the group, either the chief or the generals or even leaders of the other individual castes. They offer direct instructions to others, they otherwise live in luxury. With several women and many children of their own they only venture out on raids on the surface or when a battle is being fought in their encampment. There are power struggles occasionally where others with empty eye sockets attempt to take the top spot but in my time here one has remained in power for the entire year. They seem to refer to him as Grok Noll and he has a very distinctive scar across his abdomen.

The women, children, elderly or otherwise infirm all face the same stature in the society. They are treated mostly as property or as burdens, either killed (if they are elderly or inform for a certain amount of time) and eaten or taken care of but otherwise restricted from doing much of anything. Some of this may be out of necissity however as were the women to be put in danger the entire society may fall. Their very high mortality rate means that women are worth more than gold.

Life Cycle

I will not discuss mating in great detail here as it is much the same as it is with most humanoids and thus would be pointless to go into great detail about. However their life cycle is very interesting and so I feel I should discuss that.

Once the female is pregnant, which seems to be incredibly quick as the one I observed was showing growth within weeks, they are born within two months. Following this it takes approximately six for them to fully grow, interestingly enough though both parents were the flesh covered face types of Grimlock the child was one empty eye sockets and this leads me to believe that their biology is one that is in constant flux. Perhaps there is some magic about that is causing them to be this changeable.

At any rate within six months the young child I took to calling Nareth was fully grown and already seeking conquests of his own, he battled with the captain of the guard and upon killing him took everything he had as spoils. He became the leader of the towns guards, he gained that Grimlocks possessions and home, even his females. Nareth immediately killed any children the former guard had, as well as any females he had that were currently with child, and set about creating a family of his own. It seems when a shift in power takes place the homeless of the Grimlock feast well.

Behaviorial Observations

They are intelligent, it is easy to tell that, their use of tools and a hierarchy proves that without a doubt. But they are also very aggressive, more so to outsiders than to others in their group but they will not hesitate to attack others if they need to. To each other they seem to get along well enough so long as no one steps out of line. Grok Noll sees to that well enough. However they lack compassion of any kind, their elderly are not taken care of and must scavenge to survive. They care not for the lives of others or each other however they will protect each other well enough when it benefits them all. Such as protecting the females. In my year here I also have yet to see a single instance of a male attempting to mate with a female belonging to another male, it seems they respect those boundaries, or otherwise fear the result of breaking those boundaries. However the other species of the Underdark cause the Grimlock much fear and for good reason.

Intra-Species Observations

The Grimlock are often attacked or mistreated by others in the Underdark and so are incredibly wary of any other species, this is one reason they band together. I was only able to hide amongst them by using the guts of a dead Grimlock to hide my scent so they could not trace me as a different being but rather leave me in peace. This also means however that Grimlock most often do not speak Undercommon, a language I have studied for many years in anticipation of this research. It left me entirely unaware of what they were saying, instead they seem to have their own language, and while I have picked up on terms here and there I have yet to learn the majority of their language.

To the Grimlock settlements on the surface, those of Humans most commonly but also Elves where they find them, are little more than a pantry. When they are desperate for food it causes them little worry to lead a raid on a nearby village and take most if not all of their people home for consumption. I have witnessed the end result of many of these raids and they are always fatal to all brought back. They take all humans and all of the food said humans had in order to prevent starvation of their own. It seems they do this only out of a strict need to eat however there are some that enjoy consuming humans more than others do.

The Drow Elves raid the Grimlock camps as well, they tend to destroy crops and water cisterns and then take as many as they can hostage to use as slaves. I was unable to find out exactly what they need the slave Grimlock for however as I needed to finish my research. Hard labour seems most likely, and I suspect given their natural strenght they would be well suited to such work, perhaps this would explain why the Drow seem to have such opulent palaces carved out of solid rock, but that is a research subject for another day.

To the Illithids, also known as Mind Flayers, the Grimlock are seen as two things, food or slave labour. When the Illithid attack the relatively simple minded Grimlock people they attack with their Psionic abilities to disrupt the Grimlock's natural echolocation and then capture as many as they feel they need, though sometimes they eat their minds right on the spot, and other times they eat them on the way back to their homes in other parts of the Underdark.

Aboleths are less utilitarian about how they treat the Grimlock, seeing as the Grimlock people cannot breathe underwater and thus would be useless as slaves to the Aboleth they seem most often just to torment them for fun. As alien as the Aboleth society and culture are to us from the surface it seems they take joy in some of the same activities, namely hurting others or watching them hurt each other. I am certain an Aboleth would love to visit a Colosseum if it ever got the chance. In cases where a Grimlock has stopped to take a drink near an Aboleth the Aboleth will almost always torture the Grimlock to death or near death.

In the Medusa we see early formations of a Grimlock religion. As the Grimlock cannot see they believe the Medusa's ability to turn flesh into stone to be some sort of divine magic and many will worship any medusa that finds its way into their encampments. Some Medusa take advantage of this in order to gain a loyal following of servants and will indeed like the Drow or Illithid before them effectively enslave the Grimlock. In many cases forcing raids on the surface once more in order to feed the hunger of the Medusa. However some, notably the Grimlock Grok Noll, rejected a Medusa that came to the camp I was observing, it expected followers and instead it became food. It seems that Grok Noll is, based on symbols I found in his cave compared to texts after I returned to the surface, a follower of Shar the mistress of the night and goddess of the darkness. I am unsure of how he came to be aware of the goddess, their xenophobia would prevent a priest of Shar from coming into the town to spread her message, perhaps she found another way to speak to the Grimlock people.

DM's Toolkit

There are several ways to use these guys effectively, our own Hippo suggested using them as a sort of swarm, piranha style, who descend onto a town and pick the area clean before disappearing back to the Underdark. This is quite the effective way to use them on the surface, to attack a town players are in and force an encounter (or force the party to flee if you prefer that way)

They are low level monsters best used in large quantities or when the players are similarly weak with the 5e rating them only at a CR of 1/4. As mentioned they can be used as guardians of a medusa they see as a god, fodder for Drow that use them as slaves or similar from Illithed, they can even be used to warn of nearby Aboleths just by placing their corpses near some water or having some behave very erratically. If you wish to stat them up they can even use tools and armour and a scavenged battle axe from a blacksmith they destroyed would be especially useful to make them a bit stronger. Maybe they were even smart enough to kidnap a blacksmith to make better weapons and gear for them making them an even bigger threat, thats not out of the realm of possibility when dealing with Grimlock.

They have blind sight via echolocation and an extremely good sense of smell and so can be rendered entirely useless by spells that cause sound (to trick them) or other methods of making them deaf and strong smells thrown directly at them to confuse their nose. If they lose their sense of hearing their blind sight becomes much shorter, being only 10ft.

Editions vary but their INT is usually around 10, 5e lists it at 9, and they speak Undercommon in 5e but in previous editions had their own language, so they can be reasoned with should the party wish to try but due to their constant mistreatment by literally everything they encounter their distrustful nature will make any negotiations difficult, they are far more likely to react violently to any party that sets foot anywhere near them than listen to what the party mouth has to say. So they are a good option if your party enjoys negotiating and you want to throw some combat at them.

Hag

They sneak through our world, gobbling up naughty children, seducing the men and wreaking havok. There is not a single race of the material plain that can consider itself safe so long as the Hags and their cousins roam free and alive.

-Speech from Guildmaster Trex prior to his guild vanishing.

Introduction

An extraplanar being of uncompromising malice, I have found myself the captive and unwilling mate of several of these beasts, I have watched them birth horribly offspring stemming from myself. I was lucky enough, however, to have been allowed to keep my notebook. I decided that though I may die here I will record everything I can. These creatures are exclusively female, they rely on captive males such as myself for breeding purposes, though this sometimes leads to a male offspring, I shall condense my notes on them later on. I have witnessed them eating children stolen from a nearby village, orks, goblins, anything they could steal away. I doubt there is any race on this plain that tolerates their existence. Horrendously ugly there are still several varieties I have seen coming and going from my prison. They speak common with no regard if I overhear them, I fear that means the worst. I will piece together tales I have heard as well as things I have seen so I may learn what I can before my end, and hope against hope that someone finds my notes.

Variable types

Annis Hag

This creature seems to use magic, not to disguise itself as a maiden as some of her sisters will do but rather to make herself seem more fierce. Usually a giant or ogre of some sort, though they always strive to make them an exceptionally attractive specimen of whatever race they pretend to be. Though it is hard to be exact from my tiny prison I would venture a guess that these specimen are at least 8 feet in height. Though physically they will, when not in disguise, appear as merely some giant though particularly ugly, old woman. Having heard tales from friends of mine who had gone adventuring I can tell you for certain these beasts are both physically overpowering and dreadfully clever. They use tactics on the battlefield that simple minded creatures simply could not fathom. No doubt they have taken the life of many adventurers with such fearsome abilities.

Green Hag

I know not the proper name for many of these beasts, they spoke it in a tongue I do not comprehend, so I will merely call this one a Green Hag as it describes it well. Like most of its Hag sisters a Green Hag seems to have the ability to hide its true form and make itself look like any beautiful young lass you might see, say for example, in a farming village as you ride by, recently having spent a year in the underdark studying the beasts to be found there. One should always be wary however of any maiden who seems overly eager to be rid of her flower or you may find yourself in a cramped cell with only a notebook for company. These beasts seem to favour swamplands, or else very desolate forests. They seem to be capable of keeping as pets creatures far more intimidating than themselves which lends credence to their true powers and capabilities, I have seen several different ogres come and go from this place taking orders from these beasts. The only tales I had heard of them say they prefer trickery when combat is unavoidable, they will mimic the sound of nearby beasts to make unwary adventurers drop their guard and then attack from the shadows without warning.

Sea Hag

Once more a name spoken in tongues I do not know, this one however can be seen dripping with coral and seaweed. I recognized them immediately, a dear friend lost his life escorting me to the underdark to one of these foul monsters. They favour the water, seas or deep lakes he told me. Unlike their cousins they do not hide their true forms, once more looking like a decrepit and in this case drowned old woman who time was particularly cruel to. And unlike Sirens they do not call out to men to lure them to drowning or crashing upon the rocks. Instead they prefer a direct attack method whenever possible. I have found myself losing even my ability to write in their presence and more than once after they have glared at me the sun has moved in the sky. I know not how long I have been here, days, months, dear Pellor how long have I been here. I shudder to think how many of these abominations my carelessness has helped create.

Night Hag

Wherever it is I am being held this beast seems to be the one in command. Slender fingers shape into claws at the end of its hands, horns grow out of its head in a strange spiral, its skin pitch black and its eyes a glowing fierce red. I have never heard this one speak at all, though I see her and hear her in my nightmares. I am never allowed to rest, they haunt even my attempts at sleep. I fear they seek to drive me insane, I only prey they end me before it comes to that. These creatures seem to be the most dire of the Hags I have otherwise seen from my hole. I have witnessed this one give birth, steal away into the night and return with a human child, no more than a year old, I can only imagine they traded their young for this one. They feasted on it as though it were a spring lamb. I closed my eyes and tried to block the noise. It did little good.

Dusk Hags

A mere tale I have heard from one of my friends long long ago I think, my hands are looking older, how long have I been here? I must keep my sense of mind, I must keep writing. Dusk hags are sometimes the offspring of Night Hags, rather than the black skin of their mothers theirs is more akin to old paper, very yellowed with time. Tales I have heard have said these Hags are less confrontational and prefer to be left alone, though they can seek companions and often times prefer the company of their sisters. Those same tales also warn of the Dusk Hag and its most insidious ability, that of prophecy. Emperors have ruined their entire realm chasing after some misinterpreted words from a Dusk Hag, and many lesser men have done the same. The prophecy is never wrong, however it is always vague, and this is also why many bands of hags keep them around, to help them plan whatever fiendish cruelty they seek to accomplish.

Hagspawn

Occasionally from the mating of Hags and their male captives, a son is born to this all female race. The child is accepted neither by the Hags nor by humanity. I have heard that some go out into the world seeking their fortunes or for their own reasons not unlike the Dhampyr. A guild master I was friends with once told me both creatures make exceptional adventurers. Unfortunately I do not know much else about them, they are fierce fighters and they often slightly resemble the Hag breed their mothers come from.

Social Observations

The hags themselves often form small groups, known as Covey, where they exist as a trio with several dangerous creatures like ogres and giants acting as pets for all intents and purposes. The three seem to be capable of being any variety of hag, the ones noted in my book here are only the ones I have seen or heard tell of, there may be more. They exist in this trio to make best use of their powers. They are fiercely intelligent creatures and often I can see them concocting plans for the nearby town. I wish I could know how many of these creatures exist among them, or how many came from me.

Behaviorial Observations

There is not much I can say about their behaviour, they feast on living members of other species, plot in languages I do not know and breed whenever their vile wombs are empty. I am not their only captive, but I am the only one still alive after so long. They have kept me here for longer than I have been able to keep track of, I just want it to end but they wont, when I beg for it they laugh and cackle with those raspy monstrous voices and tell me I have so much more use to them. I fear they let me live now out of cruelty, wishing me to be tortured for as long as what little sanity remains to me stays intact.

Intra-Species Observations

With the exception of the Hagspawn and Dusk Hags their main interactions with other species involves either tricking them into mating with the hag or simply feeding on them. And often times from what I have seen the Hag will feed on her mate immediately after they are finished anyway. When their children are born they replace children from homes sometimes in cities miles away, I was nowhere near Ravenloft when I was captured and yet when I had the chance to speak to a child of four I found out that is where she came from. Replaced by the Hags whelp no doubt to be raised by this girls parents in her place. I have seen Goblin children replaced in much the same way, I can only assume any race with live children may face the same fate. Once they are ready they feast on the children they bring home. I have grown numb to the dark feasts. Dusk Hags they treat as treasures almost with their gift of foresight and Hagspawn they care not for, they will either kill it or set it into the wild and let nature do the same. Relatively few Hagspawn live long enough to encounter their mothers, not that either would ever know.

DM's Toolkit

With such a large variety you can fit hags into pretty much any setting, and with their guards consisting of Orcs and Giants you have a lot of variety you can toss towards what could easily be a boss encounter of a short quest at the right levels. Family finds out their child was replaced and hires you to go track down the Hags before their midnight snack consisting of baby organs, or perhaps they captured a lot of men or an important NPC for mating purposes and you want to save them. They can also be more middle quest foes as well if the party is strong enough you can toss them in the path without question if at least one party member is male. They make for good ambush foes as well given their predilection for sneaking around and ambushing, and they could easily get the drop on party members. If youre looking for a longer quest goal for them you could just have the party meet and mate with a hag in disguise and then they go off in search of his child before they use their profane rituals to turn their young child (at puberty) into a proper Hag like them as for all intents and purposes as children they appear to be completely normal until such a ritual takes place and could pass off as human their entire lives. The Hagspawn as well can make for a good PC class if the player is looking for something a little out of the ordinary.

Half-Dragon

"She'll be fine." I told myself as I watched the figure ride over the horizon. "She's got fire in her blood… and her dad is a dragon."

Known as Migakh (pronounced My-Gah) in the draconic tongue, half dragons are an interesting breed. While one can come about in various ways, they are most commonly created simply by parentage. It is fairly well known that many dragons have a penchant for polymorphing into humanoids and comingling with the "lesser" races. It is not unheard of for a dragon to sire a child with a member of the humanoid races, often with powerful or interesting individuals. The humanoid parent (who is not always the mother) is almost always saddled with their unique offspring, as most dragons want nothing to do with them.

The second way Migakh come about is far more difficult to predict. Wild magic, spellplague, and "unique" encounters with dragons have all, in rare cases, resulted in people gaining the benefits of draconic blood. Half pseudodragons, half Faerie dragons, and most non humanoid Migakh come about in these ways. I met an individual who spent a few weeks eating nothing but the heart of a slayed dragon, gradually taking on its traits. She ended up becoming quite powerful. It should be noted these cases are the exceptions, you are far more likely to be poisoned by the foreign blood of a dragon than you are to be strengthened by it. Consult your cleric before trying to transmogrify your very essence.

Physiological Observations

Migakh appear as one would expect, humanoid dragons who are usually a bit larger and more muscular than the race they come from. While Migakh always have the protective scales, claws, tails, and the deadly breath of their progenitors, it is also very common to carry a smattering of other traits relating to their parentage. A half black dragon, for example, will likely have horns that extend around the side of their head pointing forward and webbed digits. Beyond the broad strokes, Migakh vary quite wildly in appearance, as with most half breeds. Some individuals inherit the elongated skull of a dragon, while others retain their humanoid structure. Most Migakh do not possess wings, and even fewer possess wings powerful enough to sustain flight.

Migakh almost always live longer than those of their parent race, usually living two or three full lifetimes. The largest exception to this rule are those of elven parentage who may actually lose a century or two off the elves' near millenia of life. The prevailing theory as to why this is the case is the dissonance created by the conflicting magical nature of dragons and elves.

The only major physical drawback Migakh experience is that they are all entirely sterile. Some are perfectly content with their inability to sire offspring, while others may spend a lifetime hunting down a way to circumvent this limitation.

Social Observations

As with most half breeds, Migakh tend to find themselves on the fringes of society. Most humanoid races fear and shun them, principally if their scales are chromatic in color. This means Migakh usually find themselves fighting whether it's for survival or as a career path. Their unique abilities tend to make them superior to the average individual when it comes to combat and many become quite well known for their talents.

Many people believe Migakh would be able to find kinship with the dragonborn, but this shows a complete lack of understanding of dragonborn culture. While they may look similar, the two races are no more alike than humans and drow. The majority of dragonborn see half dragons as abominations or agents of their hated foes. Migakh rarely have any knowledge of dragonborn culture and society. It is often far harder for them to assimilate into a dragonborn clan than a human one.

The one place a half dragon may inherently find acceptance, and in fact reverence is with Kobolds. On several occasions, Kobolds have been found to serve under a Migakh who fills a role somewhere between warlord and demigod.

For any given Migakh, their relationship with their draconic parent varies widely. Some actively seek them out in hopes of finding kinship or vengeance. Others have no desire to track down their parent due either to resentment or disinterest. As for the dragons, each may have a different response to meeting their half-blooded children. One may be delighted to find their offspring wandering into their lair, while another may be disgusted by the very idea that such a lesser being should stand in its presence.

Behavioral Observations

As with any half breed the Migakh are not entirely beholden to their bloodline when it comes to their morality and personality. It should be noted however that there are often latent traits exhibited by half dragons that relate to their lineage. Half blue dragons are more likely to be vain and arrogant whereas half white dragons tend to more impulsive and quick to anger.

Those born as Migakh tend to have difficult childhoods. While there blood is no direct indication of personality or behavior, the nature of humanoid society often treats Migakh with hatred and scorn. Leaving most as loners (whether by choice or necessity), often with a contemptuous view of humanoid society as a whole.

It is hard to predict exactly how one reacts to becoming half dragon later in their lives. They tend to have a different mindset depending on the circumstances of their transformation. Many in a particularly dangerous line of work see becoming a Migakh as an honor or triumph over something as powerful as a dragon. These individuals tend to wear their scales with pride. Others (often those who became Migakh due to an accident), find their new appearance as a mark of shame or a horrible curse.

Non-humanoid Migakh

While it is most common for humans or elves to birth draconic children, it is not unheard of to find a myriad of other creatures created of draconic blood. Because it is exceedingly rare for a non-humanoid Migakh to actually have a dragon parent, these creatures are often the results of magical manipulation. Whether the intent is to create a living weapon or simply an accident, the result is always something powerful and dangerous.

The most notable examples of these creatures are the steed of the great hero Wuuzeulan who is said to ride a dragon-like pegasus into battle. There have also been tales of the deadly dracolisk, an amalgamation of the feared basilisk and a dragon. It is said they guard the abode of a great wizard.

DM's Toolkit

-Half dragons are an interesting way to spice up npc's. Whether they're friends or foes it adds and air of strength to them.

-It's almost inevitable that a PC will want to be a half dragon at some point. It should be noted that half dragons are significantly more powerful than the standard player races. Usually they're worth a class level or two to make up for their innate strengths.

-It is better (in my opinion) to have a player become a Migakh later in their adventures as part of the story. There are a myriad of events that could result in a PC's transformation and it can make a wonderful "reward" for overcoming a great foe.

Harpy

WARNING: Harpies are seriously messed up creatures. I held off writing this article for a long time because my mind kept going to horrible, horrible places every time I sat down to write it. But there aren't a whole lot of ways around the implications of things like how Harpies actually reproduce. If the first line of this article bothers you, you might want to skip to "Encounters and Variants" at the end. I've worked to make sure the stuff there is PG13.

Introduction

Harpies are sexual predators. When considering this statement, note that emphasis is placed firmly on the word "predators", for the harpy fulfills the evolutionary imperatives of sustenance and reproduction through the same means.

This can make it difficult to properly discuss the harpy from a strictly ecological standpoint. On the one hand, there are individuals who do not take harpies seriously. Various fraternities, for example, at magical colleges and military academies around the world have attempted to use harpies in their hazing rituals. This practice invariably ends with the new pledges being eviscerated and cannibalized. This, of course, leads to distorted rumours reaching students at a college one town over in time for next year's hazing. Do not mistake a harpy for a harmless seductress.

On the other hand, we have the genuine discomfort of discussing a creature that reproduces through violence and force. It is not a subject to be taken lightly, but it lies at the core of the harpy's continued survival, and so I cannot truly avoid it.

Physiological observations

Harpies resemble women, generally either human or elven, with wings sprouting from their backs and legs that end in taloned feet. Typically these resemble the wings and talons of a vulture, although there are a wide variety of harpy subspecies resembling other avian species, ranging from hawks and eagles, who tend to be stronger physical specimens inclined to a more solitary lifestyle, to the vibrant plumage of parrots, who lack the enchanting song of their sisters, but instead wield powerful illusory magic. All of these subspecies, however, are united in their basic predatory nature.

Harpies are not cleanly creatures, and as a rule one can gauge just how dangerous a given specimen is by the rankness of her odour. The more successful a huntress she is, the more layers of gore cake into her feathers and the fouler she smells. Indeed, among the more social varieties of harpy, an individual's stench is one of the most important factors determining her place in the pecking order. A harpy's den is one of the foulest places in all the world, second only to the immediate vicinity outside a Harpy's den. While the remains of past victims will litter both inside and out, a Harpy at least has the decency not to relieve herself inside her own den.

Of course, the most well-known hallmark of the harpy is her enchanting song. No matter how vile and hideous a harpy's visage is, her song is capable of entrancing an individual and bending them to her will. This song can be used to lure prey away from companions and into an ambush, or to leave the victim so captivated that they walk off a cliff in their distraction.

Needless to say, this song is one of the Harpy's most potent tools when hunting her favourite prey: men. Harpies despise men, be they elf, dwarf, halfling or otherwise, and yet as a single-sex species, they must rely on men to reproduce. Harpies do not find this troubling, as they are also cannibalistic. To the harpy, a "mate" is just another slab of meat. The fact that said meat might furnish her with a child is largely incidental. Several students have assured me that this attitude is remarkably similar to ex-boyfriends they have had in the past. So far, the review board has turned down all of our grant requests to investigate this connection more closely.

Harpies in heat are truly vicious creatures. They will band together and seek out the strongest male humanoid they feel they can reasonably overpower, and use their song to lure him away from any companions. When their prey is along, they will then attempt to incapacitate him. This is generally accomplished by working together to lift the man into the air, and then drop him from a height low enough that he will survive, but high enough that his legs break on impact.

Once their quarry is incapable of escaping, the harpies will compete with each other to establish dominance. This involves elaborate posturing, wafting of their wings to compare stench, and occasionally in outright combat, though the loser rarely suffers any permanent injury. This determines the order in which the harpies will first mount, and then devour their victim.

One month after mating, a harpy will lay a clutch of two to four eggs, which hatch three months later. Members of the aerie take turns warming the eggs, allowing the mother to go out and hunt. After hatching, baby harpies reach adolescence at ten years of age, and full adulthood at seventeen, often helping to raise their younger sisters until they are old enough to have children of their own.

Origin

There are numerous stories which claim to tell the origin of the harpy. The typically this involves something about a woman who was spurned by her lover, and whose subsequent bitterness changed her into the monster we know today. Personally, I find these stories lacking. They don't speak to the heart of the harpy's nature.

No, my favourite origin story is altogether different. There once was a woman whose tribe venerated their Ancestors, the great men who had led the tribe throughout their centuries long history. She lived according to the laws and traditions of the Ancestors, and none could match her singing of Ancestor's Hymn, the epic cycle of their great deeds.

And the men of the village coveted her, until one night they set upon her and left her bloody and weeping in the morning. She beseeched the tribe for justice, but they refused her, saying she had corrupted the Ancestor's Hymn, turning it to an instrument of seduction with her voice. Then she beseeched the Ancestors for justice, but they turned from her, for she was no longer pure in their eyes. Then she beseeched the demons for justice, and the demons answered.

And so they forged her into an instrument of terror, that she might visit upon her abusers what had been visited upon her. They twisted her beauty to foulness in the wings and talons of a vulture, that those who lusted after her would be revolted when she set upon them. They imbued her with unnatural strength, that she might tear a man apart with tooth and claw. Yet they preserved her voice, and made it yet more beautiful, that the Ancestor's Hymn might truly be turned into an instrument of seduction.

So it came to pass, that the tribesfolk heard the Hymn once more, yet they had never heard such words set to its melody. And such was its beauty that they all stood enraptured, even as the song foretold their doom, and the end of the Ancestor's Hymn. Then she was upon them, and the screams of the tribe played counterpoint to her song. And when at last she stood alone among the tents of her people, she befouled the altars of the Ancestors with filth, and with the entrails of her people, and they were heard no more. Thus was the first harpy born.

Social Observations

Most harpies are social animals, banding together into tribes of up to a dozen known aeries. While aeries have a loose hierarchy based on stench, physical size, and other dominance cues, there is rarely a centralized leadership and harpies demonstrate a remarkable cooperative spirit unless directly competing for a resource. Indeed, the harpies of an aerie share an almost sisterly affection towards each other, and some reports indicate that harpies occasionally engage in romantic pair-bonding.

While it is rare for an aerie to exceed sixteen individuals, from time to time several aeries may unite behind a singularly strong harpy. Such Harpy Queens tend to arise on the outskirts of densely populated regions, and may exhibit elements of fiendish or draconic blood.

Harpies have incredibly strong maternal instincts, and watching a Harpy mother tend to a newborn child is an oddly tender experience (if one discounts feeding, which is carried out in a manner similar to birds). So strong is this instinct that Harpies have even been known to adopt orphaned humanoid girls, especially when the harpies themselves are responsible for orphaning the child. There have been a surprising number of reports from adventurers, who cleared out harpy nests only to find a gore spattered seven-year-old grieving for her lost "family".

From time to time, it is possible to find a harpy living alone. These creatures are generally stronger and more cunning than their sisters, and often gravitate to urban areas. There are unconfirmed reports that in these plentiful hunting grounds, urban harpies routinely seek out men who victimize women for their prey. Solitary harpies often adopt a more cleanly lifestyle, bathing to rid themselves of their telltale stench, and discretely disposing of the remains of their victims to better blend in with their environment. They are also generally much more open to bargaining and cooperation.

As sapient but feral creatures, Harpies are prone to the worship of demons and similar entities, especially ones whose portfolios include hunting, womanhood, or nature. While they do not generally have an established clergy, those that are blessed by their profane patrons tend to favour druidic magic over clerical. Of course, neither of these is anywhere near as common as the bardic magic which naturally complements the harpy's inborn song.

Interspecies Observations

It is understandably rare for harpies to have amicable interactions with humanoids, although as intelligent creatures, they can be reasoned and bargained with, especially if one has particularly gaudy pieces of jewelry to offer. Notably, harpies are not overtly hostile towards women unless one intrudes directly into their territory, or offers resistance in defense of one of her male companions.

Harpies will never willingly serve a male warlord. On more than one occasion, a band of adventurers successfully enlisted the aid of an aerie to overthrow their master. On the other hand, Harpies regularly ally themselves with female monsters and matriarchal tribes such as lamia or gnolls.

Perhaps the most notable example of such collaboration was the Conception of Queen Phiralee. Ancient prophecy spoke of a champion, born in lightning, who would lead the harpies into a golden age and feast upon the kings of men. To sire their champion, the harpies enlisted the aid of a coven of hags. In the night, hundreds of harpies assaulted the lair of the Great Blue Dragon Xyroquel, pinning him to the floor with the weight of their numbers. The hags then enacted a ritual, binding the dragon within the form of an elf. The greatest warrior of all the aeries then mounted the dragon, and ate of his flesh. In time she bore Phiralee, Queen of the Skies, who indeed feasted upon many a king before she was vanquished, and her army dispersed.

DM Toolkit

Concept

TL;DR: This section is basically a lengthy discussion of making harpies scary by inverting the typical image of rape. If that's not cool with you, no sweat. It's fucked up stuff. Scroll down to "Encounters and Variants". I've tried to make the ideas there useable at any table.

As I said before, this article took me to some dark places, and it took me a long time to work up the courage to write it. I just struck me as inescapable that harpies are rapist cannibals. Not necessarily elements that you should just drop into any game at random, and if you want to gloss over the rapist part and play up the cannibal, that's totally valid, and probably a wise choice 90% of the time. But done right, it's an amazing concept that really turns a lot of tropes on their heads.

(Side note: Ed Greenwood got around the harpy reproduction problem in his original ecology aritcle by asserting that male harpies exist. They just look exactly like female harpies. I thought that was stupid. Of course, this all being related to me by Elminster sitting in Ed Greenwood's kitchen eating cookies, so I was having a lot of trouble taking things seriously at that point.)

First off, people tend not to take "seductress" monsters seriously. A succubus will kill you, but you'll have a lot of fun in the process. Let's face it, anyone who dies at the hand of a succubus will be the object of both ridicule and a little bit of envy forever after. I don't want that for harpies. Harpies should be scary seductresses. A harpy will break your legs, rape you and eat you. String up intestines like party streamers, emphasize the mutilated genitalia of harpy victims, make fake blood and pour it over your face when you want to portray harpy characters. What Dan O'Bannon wanted to do with Alien I wanted to do with Harpies.

Everything else was just predicated on, "How do I turn played out tropes on their head?" Spurned love is a boring origin story, almost as played out as "A wizard did it". I mean, if you look in the Monster Manual, the first harpy basically just moped herself into existence. Lame. So, I went with the poetic justice angle. My harpy rapes her rapists and then shits on her old gods (side note, in early myths like the Aeneid, Harpies don't have the whole siren song ability. All they do is shit on all the stuff you're trying to keep clean, like your food, and then laugh in your face).

I'd popped out the idea of powerful half-dragon harpies early on. Then I asked myself, "Wait, how would that happen?" There was the easy answer: Dragons are pretty much the apex rapists of D&D. But this article isn't about dragons. It's about Harpies. So I had to figure out how to make harpies their bitch. I think my campaign setting just got a new Chuck Norris level badass.

Encounters and Variants

Okay, let's get safe for tabletop now. Harpies can actually be a lot of fun used right. Here are a few general variants, first.

Regal Harpies: I personally prefer to jack up the CR on my harpies a bit. Pathfinder actually makes them CR4, and I'll often add levels in barbarian, sorcerer or bard on top of that. Try advancing the hit dice on your 5e harpies to create a monster that could hold her own against a low level party solo. These fit well as urban huntresses, or just the alpha bitch of a harpy aerie. They might have features more akin to hawks or eagles.

Parrot Harpies: I originally though these up as part of a tropical island in my homebrew setting. Swap out the enchanting voice power for a few illusion spell-like abilities. Minor illusion, ghost sound, that sort of thing. A parrot harpy might confuse travellers into getting lost deeper and deeper in the jungle by creating false images of landmarks the party has already seen, or deter them from certain pathways by sounding the roar of a lion from one direction or another. I might make them a little less physically adept, and give them the power to use colour spray instead.

Harpy Queen: Get a tough harpy like the Regal variant and slap a template on her. Half-fiend, half-dragon. Take your pick. Stack some character class abilities on there too. Have a multiattacking, greatsword wielding, fire breathing badass.

Now, here are a few encounter scenarios I've been kicking around my head.

The Harpy Mob: One nice thing about CR 1 harpies in 5e is that you can swarm higher level characters with them. Have a half dozen or so gang up on a PC they've picked out, and lift them into the air, trying to drop them from a significant height. They're not interested in a fair fight, so if it seems like the odds are even slightly turning against them, they fly off.

We all know the "orc babies" dilemma. Well, here's a twist pulled from my article above. The harpies have adopted an orphaned human girl, and she has been raised alongside a pair of baby harpy sisters. If the PCs harm the baby harpies, or separate the girl from the harpies, she begins to cry inconsolably, and it becomes evident this girl has no real conception of civilized society.

The PC's objective lies on the other side of harpy territory. There's too many to just fight their way through, but perhaps a persuasive female PC could negotiate safe passage. To do so, though, she will have to pass a test of initiation into the aerie. A test that requires her to master a verse of the harpy song.

If you're a fan of the Maximum X-Crawl setting (you play professional wrestlers dungeon crawling for fabulous prizes), I've wanted have a magical rock band encounter. Harpy on lead vocals and guitar, with bard/fighter levels, backed by a 3 man orc band. Pink mohawks encouraged. The harpy uses her song (subtly, roll will saves in secret), to entice the PCs into a central dance floor location. Under the dance floor is a giant flamethrower trap. Treat it as a fireball spell of appropriate will save. Once the trap detonates, she switches over to a bardic inspiration song, her guitar extends into a double-headed axe, and the orcs start smashing their instruments over the PCs heads.

She'll surrender if she gets dropped to low enough HP, and possibly ask a particularly rugged fighter type on a date if it'll sweeten the deal. Silly, over the top, and absolutely in line with a typical X-Crawl game.

Hellhound

Stealing the Mythos gems? No problem. That’s what I’d thought anyway. I broke into the mansion at night. It was chilly. Harvest season was almost done. I snuck past every trap and every guard in the place. It seemed almost a little too easy at first, but I’ve never been one to question luck. I got to the room that the informant had said the gems were in. I grabbed the gems and threw them in a bag. That’s when I heard it, the low growl behind me. I turned around slowly to see two red eyes glaring at me from the corners of the room. Then it moved forward and fire entered my sight. Even with the heat of the flames, my blood froze. -- Euryndas’ Journal

Introduction

Hellhounds are extremely intelligent creatures that possess an evil nature from birth that is ingrained into them. Because of these traits coupled with their fierce loyalty and strength, they are a favorite pet for most evil villains especially those affiliated with fire such as fire giants and devils.

There are three main kinds of Hellhounds. First, there are the ordinary Hellhounds. These hellhounds are believed to have been created by Primordials when the world was still young. The next species of Hellhound is called the Fire bred hellhound. These are said to have been bred from captive populations of the original hellhounds for size and power by the fire giants. These hounds are loyal to their age-old masters, the fire giants. Finally, the Nessian Hellhounds that reside in the ninth layer of Hell in the palace of Asmodeus. These are perhaps the most vicious of the hellhounds, with an innate ability for breathing fire as well as the ability to bite as if their teeth were flaming spears.

Physiological Observations

For observations of the physiology of the Hellhounds, I shall separate the species into three sections, one for each kind of hellhound.

The first species we shall examine is the original hellhound. These monsters stand approximately 4-1/2 feet tall with dark skin. They are surrounded by an aura of flame that burns any opponent who moves to close to it in battle, burning them with the aura of hellfire from their home, Baator (the nine hells). These creatures boast a thick and hardy coat of fur which blocks many arrows and weaker weapons allowing the creature to withstand assault from fierce foes. Hellhounds also possess excellent eyesight able to see in pitch dark up to 60 ft as well as heightened senses to track prey. Because of the hellhound resides primarily in Baator, it has evolved a resistance to fire but cannot stand cold temperatures. These hounds usually travel in pairs or in groups of 9-12.

Fire-bred Hellhounds are larger versions of their counter parts. These monsters stand at 5-6 ft. tall with hardened muscles. Their fur is thicker as well and is able to resist all but the most powerful of weapons and magic. Their claws are sharper than the claws of ordinary hellhounds and their larger jaw muscles make their jaws more powerful with bites. Because they were bred for more power, their flames tend to be hotter and Fire-bred Hellhounds have the ability to create bursts of fire directly pulled from the 8th layers of Hell, an ability that ordinary hellhounds lack. The senses of Fire-bred Hellhounds are also sharper making them better trackers and much more fearsome foes. They boast an almost doubled resistance to fire as well. Interestingly, this species has evolved to lack the susceptibility to cold that it’s weaker counterpart has. Its powerful leg muscles make it faster. These monsters live primarily in the upper realms rather than Baator, usually near volcanoes that house the Fire Giants.

Finally, the most terrifying of the species are the Nessian Warhounds. These creatures are a breed that reside only in Nessus, the 9th layer of Hell and are the pets/servants of Asmodeus, the lord of Hell and the strongest of the devils. The Nessian Warhounds are the largest species of Hellhound, standing easily at 7 ft. tall. Bred to inherit the strength of Asmodeus himself, Nessian Warhounds move the fastest of hellhounds thanks to their enhanced muscles. Their bites have nearly four times the force of the ordinary hellhound and their claws can cause permanent damage to its quarry by tearing tissue while causing severe burns to the tear. The hounds have thick hides that resist weapons as well as the hides of the Fire-bred Hellhounds however; the Nessian Warhounds are completely immune to fire. They usually are also fitted with chainmail suits. They retain the weakness to cold that the original Hellhounds have albeit a much smaller weakness. Nessian Warhounds are surrounded by flames from the 9th layer of hell, the hottest of hellfires. They are able to breath fire and their teeth bear the traits of flaming steel. Because of their master’s prowess, the Nessian Warhounds act as the Emissaries of the lord of Hell and often forbearers of tidings of his arrival. They track down his enemies with ease and are used to eliminate those Asmodeus hates. Asmodeus occasionally tests his enemies with these Warhounds. Nessian Warhounds, like every other Hellhounds, cannot speak. They are able to learn languages and understand them, unlike the other Hellhounds which only understand Infernal.

Behavioral Observations

Hellhounds are relentless trackers and hunters. Once assigned a mission, the hounds track their quarry to the ends of the earth and create ambushes and traps in order to take down prey. Because of relative weaknesses to cold, they may not always proceed into colder climates, bidding their time to strike instead.

The Hounds are immensely intelligent as well. They have the ability to understand orders and follow them. They can create traps and plan ambushes. They are well versed at working together and understand the orders of hierarchy.

In addition to their intelligence, Hellhounds are fiercely loyal to their masters, willing to die for their masters without a second thought. Because of their insane loyalty, the hounds are always lawful. But, due to their evil nature, they refuse to be merciful. Hellhounds disdain weakness in every way and for that reason, deformed pups are often killed instantly. This trait is most exaggerated in Nessian Warhounds due to Asmodeus’ hatred of mercy. Hellhounds are creatures that make great pets, provided you are equal or stronger than them and are evil. They enjoy company and I’ve noted from a pet or two I’ve had that they love a good belly rub or a scratch behind the ear. Throw them a bone from the latest annoyance you crushed or perhaps pick up a human child to give to your hound as a play thing. They love playing fetch with their masters.

Social Observations

Hellhounds spend most of their time in the company of their masters. Ordinary hellhounds, created by evil Primordials spend their time roaming the nine hells, avoiding the 9th layer except for the rare occasion. There they spend time torturing the poor souls cast there by the gods for punishment or serving the lords of the respective circle on missions.

Fire-bred Hellhounds are not as loyal to the inhabitants of Baator. Rather, they serve the Fire giants that bred them over thousands of years. They spend time with species like Azers and Fire giants acting as hunting dogs and brutes to terrorize weaker races that interfere with the work that their masters plan. (Note: This species enjoys sleeping by itself far more than a belly rub or games of fetch. Don’t bother them. I’ve lost many foolish apprentices who decided to bother a napping Fire-bred Hellhound).

Nessian Warhounds are only loyal to Asmodeus. They refuse to serve any other master. The entire species seems to have formed a pact that at least two of them should stay with their master to eliminate anyone who dares to bother him.

Hellhounds regard any creature weaker than them prey and enjoy devouring the flesh of the weak. This flesh fuels the fire inside the hellhounds making them stronger and far more fearsome.

Intra-species Relations

Hellhounds by natures prefer to remain alone in groups of 2 or in packs similar to wolves. However, they rarely interact with other species. Fire-bred Hellhounds especially avoid the other two groups due to the strange smells from Baator that mark them. Nessian Warhounds prefer to work in groups of 2 but for larger missions or ones that require man power, a Warhound may take over a pack of 5-12 ordinary hellhounds.

DM’s Toolkit

Ordinary Hellhounds are the perfect guard dog. They are the perfect creature to trap your PCs with when they break into the mansion of their enemy and grab whatever item they wanted. With a simple level of 7, ordinary Hellhounds are more than a challenge for weaker parties in groups of 1 or 2 and for your stronger parties; groups of 5-12 are common. For parties above level 10, Fire-bred Hellhounds are a great tool. Their fierceness makes them the perfect monster to fight in hotter settings. Most importantly, a Fire-bred hellhound means that Fire Giants and Azers are nearby. Together, they make a powerful enemy. If either group were to find one of their hellhounds dead, it’d spark an entire settlement to hunt your PCs, a great thing to have in your bag of tricks, especially for parties that consist of pesky murder hobos.

Nessian Warhounds are perhaps the toughest monsters to have in your toolbox. They are hard to hit, relentless trackers and extremely good at planning traps and ambushes. They can be very patient as well striking once and then striking again weeks later when PCs thin they’re safe. To make encounters tougher, 2 Nessian Warhounds can easily be accompanied by 24 ordinary hellhounds or a powerful devil spawned by the blood of Asmodeus. If the PCs do defeat the Warhounds, there is no guarantee that more won’t be sent. Even worse, killing the pets of the Lord of the Ninth Circle may cause Asmodeus himself to send his avatar to “check” on the enemy, a great way to strike fear into the heart of any player (especially if you see the stats and skills of the guy).

Helmed Horror

Tallien had always known that his greed was going to get him killed. Dashing around a corner, the rogue stumbled on the stones of the ancient dungeon as blood dripped from the wound in his side. The glowing suit of armour followed in hot pursuit, clanking with every movement. Putting its sword down, the helmed horror unsheathed its crossbow to take a shot at its quarry.

Introduction

Helmed horrors are animated suits of armour, imbued with sentience by powerful practitioners of magic. Unlike the bulk of other constructs, helmed horrors are intelligent beings that are capable of nuanced judgement.

Physiological Observations

Helmed horrors are walking suits of plate armour, filled only by a red-purple glow. Each horror will look different based on the armour that it was created with. Helmed horrors also possess blindsight, but are blind beyond a radius of 60 feet.

The creation ritual for a helmed horror is complex, taking up to a full day to complete. Limitations on behaviour and freedom are given during the creation process - in order to prevent the exploitation of loopholes, a helmed horror's initial orders must be worded as delicately as a wish spell, as these orders cannot be changed once given. Once created, helmed horrors make magnificent guards, as they are able to follow the intent or spirit of their orders, not just slavishly carry them out to the letter like other constructs. Helmed horrors will follow their orders even after the death of the one that gave them, making them highly prized as guards for important places or objects. Their loyalty is uncompromisable and eternal, and a group of helmed horrors can be organised into a deadly fighting band.

Physically, helmed horrors are incredibly tough. They're immune to undeath and poison, and the plate armour that constitutes a horror's body provides great protection from blades and arrows. Most helmed horrors are given a longsword and crossbow to fight with, but are able to fight ably with most common weapons. Horrors also have immunity to a small selection of spells, chosen during the creation process. These commonly include spells that could warp the horror's metallic body, such as fireball or heat metal.

The appearance of a helmed horror varies wildly - there are as many different helmed horrors in existence as there are different sorts of plate armour. Horrors can be in any condition (from rusty to gleamingly polished), but will always be suits of plate armour. Many who create helmed horrors do so out of ornate and gem-encrusted armour sets in a display of power and wealth - and also because thieves are more likely to try to steal it, leading to an untimely and brutal demise.

Social Observations

Social interaction with a helmed horror is nearly impossible if you aren't a telepathic being - they can understand the language of their cantor, but can't speak. If you do so happen to have the power of telepathy, you'll find that helmed horrors aren't the greatest conversationalists - their responses are automatic and repetitive. Like the majority of constructs, helmed horrors can't be argued or bargained with. Their loyalty to their masters is absolute.

Behavioural Observations

Helmed horrors are generally restricted to their posts, and as such are sedentary for long periods of time. Not needing sleep, food, or drink means that horrors aren't forced to leave their posts by hunger, thirst, or exhaustion. When on guard, helmed horrors will remain perfectly still, only shifting when intruders approach. When in combat, horrors will go for either magic-users or the foes that they perceive to be the weakest.

A helmed horror exists to follow its orders to the best of its ability. Even after its master dies, a horror will continue to follow its orders - there have been cases where the construct has been left with orders that command it to pursue and kill those who were responsible for the death of the master. The very rare helmed horror that manages to gain complete independence from its creator wanders the world, feared by most and a source of curiosity to many.

Inter-species Observations

Being silent and almost always alone, helmed horrors don't tend to interact with other species very much at all. Most of their actions towards foreign beings can be boiled down into three categories. Depending on the horror's given orders, they can either attack foreign beings, ignore them, or let them pass. The fact that helmed horrors only understand the language of their creators and can only be reached through telepathic means if you don't speak that specific language is a huge hurdle in social interaction. Otherwise, helmed horrors can't be communicated with.

DM's Toolkit

A helmed horror or two is an excellent alternative to the unthinking and unfeeling golem. Helmed horrors are more intelligent than most other constructs, and can act in concert with other helmed horrors to present a well-armed and armoured threat to a party of any level. Resistances to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from weapons that aren't adamantine, immunity to force, necrotic, and poison damage as well as the blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralysed, petrified, poisoned, and stunned conditions makes them extraordinarily tough opponents for martial- and magic-focused groups alike.

Helmed horrors make good guards for ancient tombs or dungeons, as no explanation is needed as to why they're where they are, and the ancient suits of armour that the horrors are made of could make for an interesting bit of lore, or even a plot hook in and of itself.

Helmed horrors are CR4 monsters, making for a good challenge for low-level parties, but a group of them can be a threat to intermediate- or high-level groups. An AC of 20 means that a horror will make for a tough fight.

Being the flavourful and uncommon monsters that they are, helmed horrors will make a colourful addition to any campaign, whether in the form of an heavily ornate and ornamental set of armour that springs to life when approached, an old and rusted set of armour deep in a swamp, or a set of strange and wonderful plate armour deep in an ancient tomb.

Hippogriff

Often mistaken for being a griffin from far away, hippogriffs aren't in any way lesser threats that griffin themselves. With an equal lust for horseflesh, hippogriffs strike fear into the common farmer when he sees one out hunting.

Introduction

The hippogriff, also known to scholars as Dimidium Aves Accipitridae Equus, is a specie which is a close relative of the Griffon, also known as Dimidium Aves Accipitridae Felidae.

In comparison, the hippogriff possesses an intellect that is inferior to that of the griffin, making them more suitable to be trained as mounts. This is especially true for hippogriffs trained from their birth. They also lack the dangerous talons, although this barely appears to impact their effectiveness in combat. The origin of the hippogriff is strongly debated, although general consensus agrees that it most likely was a deliberate fusion between the horse and a hawk, most likely through the magical applications of a wizard.

Physiological Observations

A hippogriffs torso and hind legs are that of a horse. Its wings, head and front feet are that of an eagle, however. A hippogriffs wings usually have a wingspan not short of 20 ft. Colorations amongst hippogriffs vary greatly. Their horse-like bodies have colours ranging from bay and brownish to grey and black tones. Their feathers typically have birdlike colours ranging from light to mid-tone brown, although white and black feathers are not a rare sight.

A hippogriffs diet primarily consists of meat, with a strong (and ironic) preference for horse meat. Other favoured meals include fish, game and livestock, the latter often bringing them into conflict with farmers. Hippogriffs often graze after particularly large meals, supposedly to aid digestion.

Captive hippogriffs have shown that they are omnivores. They have been observed being able to sustain themselves on grass and plant matter for about up to a week, provided that small amounts of meat of up to two pounds are available each day. This also is the likely reason why they are able to thrive in the barren hills and prairies where they typically live, as other predators need more abundant resources to sustain themselves.

Social Observations

Hippogriffs are predominantly solitary creatures. They are very territorial and will protect their lands against intruders, whether they are of their own or a different species. Unlike griffons, they do not mate for life. During mating season, males compete with other males to claim a female for themselves. Only after claiming a female will two hippogriffs live together as pair.

During this period two hippogriffs will build a nest, usually in the females territory. There the female hippogriff will lay an egg, which will hatch after about a few weeks. The young hippogriff is then raised for about 5 to 6 months, after which it is strong enough to survive and is driven off to fend for himself. The female will then in the coming week drive away the male from her territory.

Young and inexperienced hippogriffs are known to group together into 'flights' of up to 7 hippogriffs, though flights of up to 12 hippogriffs have been examined in some rare cases, where food sources were in abundance. These flights live a nomadic life style in which they move from region to region when local food sources have been depleted. However, once a hippogriff reaches maturity he will leave the group to find a domain for himself.

Behavioural Observations

Due to their ability to see well in the dark, and the danger of other predators that also hunt hippogriffs, like dragons, wyverns, drakes and other large beasts, hippogriffs tend to hunt in the dark during the early morning hours or very late in the evening. During day they will stay close to their nest or lair, during which time they will rest and groom their wings.

When out hunting, they use hunting patterns comparable to that of eagles: turning in circles until they have located prey, after which they will dive and carry off their meal back to their nest. Or, if the area is relatively safe, they will consume their meal on the spot. After especially large meals they will consume grass, grazing near their nest. If grass is not readily available, leaves are a readily available alternative.

The nests behaviour varies wildly between gender, and indeed between individual hippogriffs. There is a somewhat common appearance between most nests, however. Males tend to build rather simple nests to rest in which are mostly made from branches and leaves. Females, however, have been observed building their nests from a multitude of materials: leaves, branches, fur, feathers and even the hides of their prey.

Inter-Species Observations

As noted before hippogriffs are solitary creatures, even amongst their own. Other species are either regarded as prey, or predator from which they rather flee. However, due to their intellect that is comparable to that of a horse hippogriffs make great (winged) mounts. Capturing and training adults are rather dangerous affairs, though a hippogriff raised after hatching is just as easily trained as a horse.

DM's Toolkit

Hippogriffs; you can somewhat envision them as slightly weaker (and less intelligent) variants of the griffon. They do not quite make the social impact of an enslaved (or charmed) griffon and neither have their majesty.

However, they make great mounts for players who want a flying horse-like companion, or for lower level BBEG's who will likely charm a hippogriff or have bought a hippogriff egg on the black market. Or in mid-level campaigns hippogriff may serve as the general mount of either a good or evil army.

Plot hooks related to hippogriffs may include black market operations (eggs and/or young) or hunting one to stop a village from getting harassed by it.

Alternatively, you can use the stats for a hippogriff as the stats for a younger griffin.

Hobgoblin

”Hobgoblins are much more dangerous than all other goblinoids… especially when they’re leading the latter”.

Fyril Goblincleaver, elven general of the Truesilver Woods

They break before our shields

They fall beneath our blades

Their home is ours to conquer

Their children our slaves.

Acheron, Acheron! Victory is ours!

Hobgoblin war chant

Introduction

It is a common opinion of scholars, goblinologists and generals alike that hobgoblins are the most dangerous of all goblinoids, for one glaring reason: They’re smart. Hobgoblins are arguably just as intelligent, organized and even civilized as we humans. And by that is meant that they, as we humans, run the gamut from tribal goblin-mongering oligarchs of their lesser kin, to brilliant scholars and rulers of mighty civilizations. The more civilized varieties build strongholds and even occasionally cities, they are capable of great feats of architecture, sophisticated arcane and divine magic and are quite technologically advanced.

How quite unfortunate for the other sentient creatures of the world that all these talents are focused on aiding their war effort, for whether tribal or civilized, hobgoblins are prolific warmongers. Their malefic deity created them to be the ultimate warrior race, and since the dawn of time, hobgoblins have embroiled themselves in conflict after bloody conflict, painting the sky red with fire and blood, and drowning the earth in rivers of the latter.

The sons of Acheron cometh to wage war, conquer and rule, and the world trembles at their approach.

Physiological Observations

“The best way to kill a hobgoblin is to kill his friend first. The reverse is also true.”

Old saying among adventurers.

"A hobgoblin is war made flesh and blood. They make fantastic specimens for undead minions."

Unknown

The hobgoblin is quite the physical marvel, as would befit a race created specifically for the purpose of war. Hobgoblins stand upright, usually around at least 6 feet, or 180 centimeters, which is significantly taller than the average human.

Like with humans, there are many varieties of hobgoblins as the species has spread across the face of the earth throughout the centuries. Generally hobgoblins are deeply orange-skinned, the tint of which can vary according to sunlight exposure, with some northern species exhibiting pale yellow skin and southern ones having almost reddish skin. Male hobgoblins can sometimes have a blue or red nose, which is a sign of virility and strength.

A hobgoblin is pretty much built for fighting. Their nails on both hands and feet are hard and tough, and their mouth is filled with a row of powerful teeth. While none of these are as impressive as that of predatorial animals, it is said that the phrase “To fight with tooth and nail” was coined by someone fighting hobgoblins, and indeed, reports have existed of disarmed hobgoblins doing this with great ferocity, like cornered wolves. Hobgoblins do have molars in the back of their tooth set, and are capable of eating plant-based material, but most of their front teeth are intended for biting things and tearing through meat.

Like all goblinoids, hobgoblins are inherently quite dexterous and agile, and due to their harsh warrior lifestyles and rigorous training, the varieties encountered by adventurers tend to be strong and tough to boot. Though not reported to be as strong as orcs (Indeed, human warriors of similar training have been known to go toe-to-toe with hobgoblins physically) their natural dexterity and uncanny reflexes tends to give them an edge in combat even against physically equal or superior foes (Of which there are rather few).

Indeed, their manual dexterity in combat is frightening to behold; hobgoblins have excellent hand-eye coordination skills and reflexes, and are known to make superb bladesmen, javelin throwers and archers. These natural talents play into the ability that has made hobgoblin soldiers famous throughout the eras: Hobgoblins are excellent at coordinating their own attacks with those standing beside them. Hobgoblins who are well-trained learn to analyze the attacks not just of their opponents, but of their battle brothers too, and immediately and decisively react. When a hobgoblin strikes an enemy and forces him to parry, that creates an opening in the enemy’s defenses, which the next hobgoblin in line will immediately take advantage of. Though hobgoblins need some level of training to perfect this skill, fighting cooperatively comes naturally to them.

It should be noted that this ability to effectively work and coordinate effort as a team when fighting translates into many other aspects than combat. Hobgoblins are generally good at cooperating regardless of the task, and thus make for good and efficient workers as well as warriors. Hobgoblin craftsmen sometimes work in pairs or even groups; one hobgoblin legend tells of six master weaponsmiths who could finish a sword six times quicker than anyone else because they could all hammer on the metal at the same time without interfering with each other. Though this legend is unlikely to be true, it has a nugget of truth to it. Too many hobgoblin cooks might not spoil the broth after all.

Regardless of its other applications, however, this instinctive ability to coordinate their own attacks with that of those beside them has made them quite frankly superb formation fighters; as one arena master once said, “It is a fairer fight for an orc to fight a hobgoblin, than for two orcs to fight two hobgoblins”.

Social Observations

Hobgoblins are incredibly social creatures. It seems like a contradictory statement at first, for hobgoblins are very much capable of intrigue, egoism and betrayal, and they are not known to be fast friends. Indeed, those who align with philosophies of cosmic balance would be quick to deem them evil. What they lack in friendly comeliness however, they have in an instinctual sense of pragmatism and loyalty.

Hobgoblins work naturally well as a team, and thus are naturally driven to do so. It is both hard-wired into hobgoblin nature and reinforced by their warlike, martial, caste-driven culture to stick together and work together when needed, and to attempt to forget personal disputes temporarily for the greater good of the tribe, nation or empire. The latter doesn’t always work (Hobgoblins are individuals, after all, not modrons), and given that all hobgoblins are different, not all hobgoblins work well with each other. The most successful hobgoblin leaders, from sergeants to generals, are those who can effectively avoid putting hobgoblins who hate each other to the same task.

Due to the above, hobgoblins very rarely leave their tribes and communities. They feel secure and at home around other hobgoblins, and the social stigma that comes with leaving a tribe can be quite lethal at times, as hobgoblins do not take kindly to traitors.

In regards to hobgoblin society and worldview, it is central to understand their religion. Hobgoblins are a creation of one of the vile and brutal lords of Acheron, the Plane of War: the Mighty One Maglubiyet Fiery-Eyes, all-

father and High Chieftain of all goblinkind. Hobgoblins believe that they were created in the image of their war god as the perfect warrior species, which will one day conquer not only the material world, but also the Plane of War itself, which Maglubiyet aspires to rule unconditionally as the ultimate War God. Hobgoblins believe that conquest of the material world and the subjugation of all other inferior species is their destiny. However, in the long run it is little more than a test of their mettle before they join the spirit army of Maglubiyet in Acheron, and the True War, as it is called, begins. As such, hobgoblins see fighting as the only purpose to their material existence, and they do not fear death in combat. Rather, they seek it out, for death in combat is the only way to reach the glorious afterlife of eternal war. A captured hobgoblin will often do virtually anything to escape simple execution; begging for mercy or betraying vital information to the enemy is not nearly as shameful as dying to a headsman’s axe or a torturer’s blade.

It is a popular misconception that all hobgoblins can do and ever do is fight. As previously mentioned, they are capable at organizing projects and cooperating regardless of the task at hand. Though it is true that their society is thoroughly martial, hobgoblins are not purely a warrior race, for as any landholding knight or army commander will tell you, only a small percentage of the total population can be full-time warriors. Any war machine needs cogs to keep it going, and warriors need food, equipment, dwellings to live in, and they need to have time to train without being bothered with any of the beforementioned. Hobgoblins are no exception to this limitation, but due to their belief that being anything but a warrior excludes one from the glory of Acheron, hobgoblin leaders try to overcome this limitation in two ways: Either, through using other races as laborers and slaves (Usually goblins), in which case the hobgoblins will be a small and elite minority, or through imposing an incredibly strict social hierarchy of castes where only the higher castes get to be warriors, and the lower castes (hobgoblins though they may be) are treated as lesser beings not worthy of the glories of the afterlife, and as workers before warriors.

Due to the fact that the first option requires roughly 9 slaves for every 1 hobgoblin, larger organizations of hobgoblins lean toward the latter. The most common hobgoblin organization, the Legion, is a mixture of the two. A huge tribal band organized into a strict hierarchy, with a large amount of goblin slaves at the bottom, followed by hobgoblin farmers or herders, workers and laborers, artisans, craftsmen, smiths, beastmasters and finally full-time warriors, priests and magi, and commanders in that order. A Legion is a well-oiled war machine, and like any machine, needs its cogs to stay more or less in place. However, Legion hobgoblins practice a sort of meritocracy where a priest of Maglubiyet judges every newborn hobgoblin child and tries to divine its path in life. Usually hobgoblins remain in the caste they are born into, but exceptions do occur. Members of lower castes may also be drafted into the warrior caste if the latter needs reinforcements, and most hobgoblins regardless of societal standing train in the ways of war in hope that they might one day get to fight.

Less organized, smaller tribes of hobgoblins tend to rely a lot more on goblins to do the work for them; often a few dozen hobgoblins will be found dominating goblin tribes of hundreds or more. In such tribes, every single hobgoblin, male or female, is a born and bred elite warrior, mage or priest.

Finally, historical great hobgoblin nations, cities and empires with thousands or even millions of hobgoblins living in them have been recorded as absolutely totalitarian and hierarchical. Keeping that many hobgoblins in line doing non-fighting related work requires immense tyranny and discipline, and an utter conviction that only the elite will ever reach the Iron Heaven.

Behaviorial Observations

“Hobgoblins have the intelligence of man, the grace of elves, the spirit of dwarves, and the agenda of orcs. They are civilized engines of destruction.”

Dwynn Steelnose, Dwarf veteran fighter and philosopher.

While hobgoblins build, study magic, forge their own tools, build shrines and statues to their gods and cities for their people, it is all meant for a single purpose: War.

Hobgoblins are justifiably perceived as cruel and merciless creatures. However, they do possess a crude notion of honor, though it varies from tribe to tribe and is more akin to a warrior’s pride than any inclination of paladinic justice. Moreover, hobgoblin honor only applies on a personal level, and mostly focuses around personal duels. In warfare, almost everything is fair game. Though hobgoblins tend to prefer direct and glorious confrontation, they are adept at subterfuge, sabotage, ambush tactics and covert ops as well (Usually utilizing goblins for the more dirty work). Also, most of the hobgoblin code of honor (which includes such things as never fighting an unarmed foe, attacking without warning or challenge, or denying a warrior the right to die by the blade) does not extend to any non-hobgoblins. Hobgoblins are nonetheless very precarious about what honor they have; as previously mentioned, dying outside of combat is the ultimate dishonor, as is surrendering to an opponent or using any form of poisons or trickery in a duel.

The twin concepts of honor and glory define everything about hobgoblin society. One’s prowess in battle equals prestige, though “prowess in battle” translates both to leadership ability, tactical or strategical genius, the ability to cast spells or mere skill at fighting. Hobgoblins value leadership and magical skill just as high, if not often higher, than individual fighting prowess (Though dying in the safety of a commander’s tent is tragic and dishonorable). This, along with their exceptional formation fighting ability and humanlike intelligence, makes hobgoblins among the deadliest creatures on the planet.

Whereas other monsters tend to dwell in caves and deep jungles far from the cares of society, occasionally raiding the civilized societies in ragtag hordes, hobgoblins are a civilized species as well as monsters. Hobgoblin archmages, warlords, liches and dragonslayers all exist just as well as their more benign humanoid counterparts, and they are all hell-bent upon the destruction of all non-hobgoblins.

When at war, hobgoblins fight extremely strategically and tactically. They rarely declare war before having planned for months and scouted the enemy they plan to invade extensively; indeed, many cities and nations have had peaceful relations with hobgoblins for years or even decades, only to be overwhelmed by a well-executed campaign at exactly the right time.

Hobgoblins tend to employ great formations of infantry, armed primarily with spears or other polearms, and swords or daggers as backup weapons. In these tight formations, every hobgoblin warrior fights in unison with those around him, bringing their deadly cooperative abilities to full use. A wall of hobgoblin spears is a deathtrap for any unprepared army. While infantry is the backbone of the hobgoblin army, hobgoblins also utilize archers, battlemages and warpriests (the former depending a little on their relative level of sophistication), not to mention large amounts of warbeasts. Beast mastery is an ancient hobgoblin tradition whose origins are utterly lost to time, but hobgoblins have a natural affinity for animals. They use horses, mules and dogs for transportation and other everyday things, as well as in war. They use trained pidgeons and ravens for communication, and their lairs are often guarded by savage wolves. Some exotic hobgoblins have been reported to train everything from lions, elephants and dinosaurs to wyverns. The most common and iconic warbeast of the hobgoblins is the Worg, however, a great and mighty wolf that serves the most elite hobgoblin cavalry in battle. Hobgoblin warworgs are living embodiments of frenzy, and are just as dangerous (if not more) than their rider. Horse-riding cavalry has also been known to occur, but is generally seen as less prestigious.

Intra-Species Observations

Goblins: Hobgoblins consider their lesser cousins to be inferior, put there by Maglubiyet to serve their needs. Cleanly put, hobgoblins utilize goblins for everything they do not want to do. When a job is too dirty, too pathetic, too laborious or too dishonorable to do, hobgoblins get a goblin to do it. Goblins grow food, tend animals, sew clothes, wash dishes, or perform sabotage missions like raiding local farmsteads or poisoning water supplies. Many of the quests that young adventurers are sent to complete involving goblin activity is really just the preparation for a larger, hobgoblin-based assault. Sometimes, a large wave of goblin raids is just an attempt to mellow the defenders before the true storm arrives.

Bugbears: Hobgoblins have a tenuous relationship with bugbears. Bugbears share not the same ideology of honor, war and glory as hobgoblins do; indeed, they don’t even worship the same god, and hobgoblins see their larger cousins as decadent, selfish and even cowardly at times. However, bugbears willingly hire themselves out as mercenaries for hobgoblin armies, provided they get paid and fed very well, and their amazing size, dexterity and stealth can prove to be quite useful indeed for the hobgoblin cause.

Orcs: The historic enemy and rival of hobgoblins, for they, too, was created by a Greater God of Acheron: Gruumsh One-Eye. Hobgoblins and orcs, and their respective deities, have feuded for ages uncounted against each other for the title of ultimate warrior race, both in the material world and in their respective spirit armies in the Plane of War. Whether in life or in death, hobgoblins and orcs will feud. It does happen occasionally, however, that a group of hobgoblins take control of an orc tribe, but they rarely regard their servants with much respect.

Worgs: Hobgoblins are well-known beastmasters, and they are especially fond of worgs, and vice versa. The pact between hobgoblins and worgs is ancient and lost to time, and both species know almost by instinct to seek out and trust one another. One is rarely found without the other, though wild worgs do exist, and “tame” worgs will quickly leave the service of any master they find do not treat them well enough.

Elves: Hobgoblins envy the connection to nature and mastery of beasts and natural magic that elves possess, yet the reason for why hobgoblins loathe the pointy-eared wood folk is not well understood. One hypothesis claims that the gods of the elves took away the ability for hobgoblins to become druids (Though this has never been proven to be true), and stripped them of most of their powers of beast mastery, which were much more potent in ancient times.

Everyone else: To hobgoblins, there are generally two types of creatures: Enemies and future enemies, or in other words, slaves and future slaves. Future enemies or slaves refer to creatures which it would be unwise to wage war with currently, either because they are too strong or because the hobgoblins are busy fighting other creatures. Future enemies are treated much as temporary allies; as long as hobgoblins are not at war with someone, they may offer limited trade, mercenary services or even temporary military alliances with other creatures. They are exceptionally quick to scheme against and sever any ties they have with other creatures if an opportunity for conquest presents itself.

DM's Toolkit

Hobgoblins are the Sauron of D&D. The militant, totalitarian war machine that is just as organized, numerous and civilized as the rest of the world, but hell-bent on conquering the latter.

Hobgoblins are an excuse to have the players fight smart and competent monsters. Hobgoblins have mages, priests, plate armor and siege equipment just like everyone else, and they’re terrifyingly good at everything related to war.

If you’re tired of your party roflstomping stupid orcs or weakass goblins, line up some hobgoblins with heavy armor, pikes or halberds, pack ‘em close together so you can utilize Martial superiority, and give them the polearm master feat and some superiority dice, throw in a fireball-throwing war wizard, a commander and a healer, and watch the world burn. Oh, and traps. Don’t forget traps.

The cool thing about hobgoblins is that they can be as civilized as you want them to be. You can have primitive hobgoblin tribes, cave-dwelling underdark monsters, or illustrious empires of smoke, fire and death a la Mordor. Or they could be semi-civilized Vikings or Mongol-style steppe nomads.

Hobgoblins are a swiss army knife of player death. Use them well.

I can personally recommend researching a bit about actual medieval military tactics to get some inspiration for using them. Spoiler alert: Polearms are your friend.

Hobgoblin-related quests and plot-hooks:

• The local goblin tribes are raiding (Again), but this time in a slightly more organized manner. After the adventurers has slain one hundred goblins and killed their warchief, they find out that he was merely a puppet of a larger hobgoblin force headed straight for the party.

• A wounded hobgoblin scout offers to give the party vital information about his Legion if only one of them will slay him in a duel before he looses too much blood.

• The ghost of a hobgoblin warrior wants the party to take vengeance on a group of orcs who captured him, executed him and desecrated his remains. Once the orcs are defeated, the ghost animates his dead body and asks to fight one of the party members.

• A hobgoblin nation has been founded in the hills/mountains/whatever, and they are sending emmisarries to the players’ kingdom offering an alliance against an enemy kingdom…

• The hobgoblin nomad tribes on the steppe are slowly being conquered by a powerful Khan. His horde is ever-growing, and the settled societies are beginning to worry…

• A valley occupied by orcs and hobgoblins has been contested for almost five generations, neither side gaining the upper hand. Either side asks the party for help, and promises the blessing of their respective Acheronian war god in return.

Homunculus

At first I was just ignoring the little pecker. I mean, it was just a little thing slightly bigger than a bug, and with the witch and the hobgoblin we had a full plate. Then the little bastard bit me, and at first I thought, “What the heck?”, because it didn’t feel like more than a pinprick, but then this wave of nausea came over me, and I got dizzy, and I realized that damn thing had poisoned me. But Erinor slapped it down with little more than an off-handed swat and we moved on. - Therion, the Archer.

Introduction

Homunculi are tiny constructs. A caster of some sort creates the body and then infuses it with magical essence. The result is a tiny construct with a magical bond to the caster. The creator (master) has a telepathic link that is restricted only by the fact that they have to be on the same plane to communicate. If the creator dies, so does the homunculus, as it is the creator’s magical essence that sustains the homunculus. A homunculus is similar to a familiar in many respects. It follows the creator’s telepathic intentions, it aids the creator, and a caster can only have one homunculus at a time. It, however, cannot deliver touch spells the way a familiar can. Most homunculi are merely general servants who perform mundane tasks for their creator, and, like familiars, are generally incidental if combat ensues. However, in combat, the homunculus can deliver a poison bite that can have an influence. A homunculus can also carry a potion of healing (perhaps two) that can it can administer to a downed party member in an emergency.

Some casters are capable of creating more advanced homunculi. There are innumerable qualities that can be imbued in a homunculus.

Physiological Observations

Homunculi vary in appearance, and appearance is determined by the creator. Usually the form of the homunculus reflects the character of the creator. So a neutral good life cleric might have a homunculus that looks like an angelic cherub, while a neutral evil warlock might have a homunculus that looks like an oversized bat. Some creators deliberately create a homunculus that doesn’t reflect the master’s nature as a deception, or for a special mission. Homunculi often share a physically noticeable feature with their master. A homunculus whose master has a nose of an unusual shape, will often share that. Or an unusual eye color, or thick/thin lips, etc.

Social Observations

Much about a homunculus is determined by its creator. A creator that brings his homunculus to social events will educate the homunculus in the ways of society even if it is just a byproduct of exposure to social situations. But if a homunculus is deprived of social interaction, it will be little different than a beast.

Homunculi are mute, so communicating is difficult – except for with its master via telepathy. Still via pantomime an exchange of information can occur with a homunculus; they are not unintelligent.

As a homunculus carries out the intent of its master, it will generally have the biases as the master. If the master hates elves, then the homunculus will, too.

Behavioral Observations

While a homunculus has a “personality” that mirrors its master when it is created, if a homunculus endures for a long time, it can develop divergent properties. Never will it turn against its master, but it may develop a slightly different perspective on certain things. For example, while the master may absolutely hate elves, the master’s homunculus may be swayed by repeated kindnesses it has experienced from elves and has a slightly softer attitude towards elves. However, in the end the homunculus has absolute dedication to its master to the point of sacrificing itself in the service of its master.

Inter-Species Observations

Like so much of a homunculus, their interactions with other species is determined by the intent of its master. Further, if the master’s attitudes towards other species change over time, almost certainly, so will the homunculus’ attitudes (perhaps with the aforementioned minor quirk).

DM's Toolkit

At first glance, a homunculus is almost a throw away monster. But if a DM spends much time, he will see that for 10 XP, he can do some interesting things with a homunculus. As written, the homunculus can carry a potion of healing or two and as a tiny creature it can take total cover in most terrains – flying out to administer a healing potion and then taking total cover again. Its ability to impose the poisoned condition makes it a challenge at any level that must command attention for at least one attack. It can also use the Help action in various ways.

If a DM is willing to modify the homunculus, it can present a challenge greater than its CR0 implies by adding traits that specifically do not increase the CR from the DMG’s special traits table (p.280-281). Specifically, flyby, and invisibility can do nice things for a CR0 homunculus. So can innate spellcasting , but one needs to make sure that the spells cast do not increase damage, effective AC, effective HP, or to hit. Further, note that the homunculus is mute, so while innate spellcasting often doesn’t require the material component of the actual spell, it would be a significant variation to allow a creature to innately cast a spell with a verbal component without using a verbal component; so that brings the realistic list down to the cantrips friends and minor illusion; at 3rd level there is counterspell and hypnotic pattern, but that may be pushing the expectation of a CR0 creature.

Something that I’ve done quite often, is reduce the hit dice from 2 to 1 (giving it 2 hit points instead of 5) and giving it immunity to other damage types in addition to poison. The idea that it is constructed lends it to the proposition that with the right material, it could be immune to whatever damage the creator chooses; I often use fire, force (for eldritch blast and magic missile) and piercing.

There is no mechanism for a player character creating a homunculus (in 5th edition). One could have a spell similar to find familiar or add a Create Homunculus Feat (if using Feats) or special magic item (Manual of Homunculi). >Regardless, a good strategy is to allow the construction of the base CR0 Homunculus via a method of choice, and then allow for improvements - different immunities, flyby, invisibility, better ability scores, innate spellcasting, (the list of improvements is limited only by the imagination) Different improvements would require different ingredients in the creation mixture (for example, immunity to force damage might require adamantine) and the search for those rare ingredients are grist for encounters or entire adventures.

Finally, the homunculus is a pretty good platform for advancement. I’ve gone from a variant CR0 version to a CR20 version here.

Hook Horror

”It starts as a slight tap, maybe a stone falling. You hear it again but as if two small pebbles fell. Then you hear it more clearly. The distant “clacking” of something knocking against stone creeps closer and becomes louder. Pray you never hear a 2nd source as doom may be upon you” - Ardonel Drow Scout

Introduction

This information was obtained through me via a hidden outpost in which I observed a clan of Hook Horrors for some time. This was constructed with the aid of a Drow city in efforts to learn more of the dangerous creatures and how to proceed with threats of a clan settling near a city. I also had traveled far from that city in efforts to find more clans, and while successful I didn’t observe them for nearly as long as the clan in which the observatory watched.

The Hooked Horror is a brutal and gruesome predator. Their kills are not clean, they are not quick, they are not merciful and they are not quiet. Clackers, Vulture Beetles, and Hooked Horrors are the most notable and common names for them. They prey upon one and all.

Despite their bestial nature they are cunning. Running into a Hooked Horror is an ordeal, but running into more than that is a sliver at a chance of life. Unfortunately the latter is more common. With ambushes and surprise attacks that may surprise even in the most visible conditions, they are experts at catching prey. Never underestimate the hunters in the dark.

It is theorized by many, especially the Drow, that they are descendants of the Vrock that have slipped into the underdark to make their homes. This accounts for their almost torturous way of killing prey and some physical features they possess. I find this conclusion clumsy and uninformed, although I had not worded it that way to those who employed me.

Physiological Observations

Hooked Horrors are monstrous in many ways. If one could see in the lightless tunnels they roam it would strike fear into their hearts. They are a large mix between a vulture and a beetle that stands bipedal around 9 feet tall. They have bird like featherless heads with large pale eyes, large shelled bodies and stalky feet. The most notable is the enormous hooked claws that serve as their arms. Despite being monstrous looking the most horrifying experiences that most have are the lead up to confrontation and that brutal attack.

Their bodies are large beetle like shells that have sharp spiked spines running down the sides and where the backbone would be if they weren’t exoskeletal creatures. They have short wide almost vulture like feet ending in terrible claws. Their beaks are sharp and able to easily tear flesh off of the thickest skinned Basilisks. Despite their size, they are remarkably light. Usually only reaching 400 or so pounds. Being exoskeletal a majority of the weight is that outer shell and the muscles to support them.

Among their features the arms are most notable. Extending a full 7 feet at times they have horrifying hooks for arms. The arms seem to be structured as a cross between tge clawed leg of a beetle and a man’s arm, until the elbow that is. The claw extends 4 of the 7 feet past the elbow as a stiff straight single caw that turns back at the end in a wickedly sharp hook. These claws are hard and strong, able to support many times their weight. They have 2 main purposes for their incredibly strong claws. First is that for battle which is the most obvious. They can easily dismember and rend flesh with a simple swipe. Second is for climbing. They use these hooks to find even the smallest jags in their tunneled environment and can climb just as fast as a man can move on flat ground. Using their sharp foot talons to aid them they can even move at a walking speed across the rocky ceilings.

Most of the creature’s senses are dull and unremarkable. They lack any real advantage in smell and though they can see well in very low light, this often doesn’t aid them in their almost completely lightless world. A Hook Horror’s hearing is where they excel in sensing the world. They can hear remarkably well and would put the most observant ears of an elf to shame. They mostly see in the fashion a bat does via echolocations. This is where the name of clacker comes from. They tap the stones or their own hard bodies in intensity equal to the distance they want to sense. This bounces sound around them and back to them so they “see” through their ears. They also can see using the shrill horrifying almost mechanical sounding cry they emit sometimes. This cry is distinct as it is very high pitched, loud, with clicking in the middle of a distorted vulture cry.

Fortunately for most folk Hook Horrors almost exclusively live in the underdark or deep cave systems. They are extremely adverse to bright lights and have no means of heat regulation thus prefer the constant temperatures of cave systems. Drow who do live in these regions are quiet and cautious enough to usually avoid Clacker territory but can fall prey to them if not careful as farmer to wolves.

Despite their bulky brutish looks they are not stupid beasts. They are omnivores of excellent hunting skills. While able to eat mosses and mushrooms they prefer meat. They love to ambush prey disguising their echolocations pings as soft falling of a pebble every once in a while. Observant individuals know pebbles falling are almost never rhythmic. They hide on walls, ceilings, over the lip of a cliff or anywhere they have the advantage seeing around a blind spot. They are hard to be spotted within their environment not only from darkness but also infra-red vision. The body temperature is very close to that of the stone around them making them almost invisible except to the most sensitive in that manner in sight. This all would be troubling if they were alone but alas they usually are not. They are pack hunters.

Social Observations

Hook Horrors are surprisingly a clan based society. An astonishing finding if ever I had one. They live in groups of 20 to 30 individuals ruled by a large Matriarch and to a lesser extent a Patriarch. The females live in their communities caring for them in all aspects. The males are the hunters and the Patriarch is the coordinator of hunting groups. These clans etch out hunting grounds and fiercely defend them from any and all creatures.

What makes this society possible is that Hook Horrors surprisingly have a language. They clack their claws or grunt to make complex noises forming if not words at least ideas of communication. The depth of which this language goes is a complete mystery as it was far beyond my understanding. They communicate seemingly with no regard to others communicating. As in they say what they need and then act based on other information if needed. I almost considered it a hive mind but it seems that they are individuals in understanding. The community is constantly clacking with communication through all hours.

Hook Horrors all listen and obey the Matriarch without err. Only the patriarch commands such attention as she, but only from the male hunters. The matriarch often is very loud and commanding in the communication and roams the community boarders. I theorize she’s the clan’s primary guard and protector which may be why she commands such attention. In one occasion I did see a male hunter from another community approach the home of another clan only to be summarily killed brutally and without hesitation by the matriarch.

Mating seemed to hold no reason among the individuals it just seemed to happen. They didn’t have any courtship or regular partners. It just seems that some females are mated with at certain times of the day by various males. This behavior for reproduction indicates to me that they are not too fertile and require multiple sessions to bare children.

While Hook Horror ages are hard to tell it seems they only live within the span of 3 decades. No reports of an individual Hook Horror have been seen for any more than that. Young are cared for by many females and are hatched from clutches of eggs. The female after only a few months of gestation lays these eggs in a seemingly community incubator that was placed near a warmer area of the cavern. I suspect under a warm draft from a natural vent below.

Young seem more beetle like with only the vulture head and feet distinguishing from their insectile nature. The arms and legs are much as like an adult but the claws are significantly shorter and seem to grow with age. Instead of standing upright immediately, much like humanoids, they seemed to learn how to stand and walk in the earlier years of life. Caretakers of the clan seemed to rotate with different age groups up until adulthood. It seemed that no biological parental importance was given or even known among the community. Each member had their place and worked accordingly. These members were not hard to distinguish and were as follows:

hunters – usually male and organized by the patriarch. They hunted for food to bring back for many hours at a time. Teams of 3 to 6 would venture out looking for food.

gatherers – usually males wo organized in pairs find lichens, mosses and mushrooms for an alternative food source. Organized by the Matriarch though often autonomous most days.

guards – Usually females that scouted not far from the community and organized by the Matriarch. They also were mobilized to deal with larger threats and prey needing the attention of more than a hunting team.

teachers – usually females that over looked young in the community. It’s also seems that these are the only child bearing individuals as only teachers were observed in being mated with.

Other Species Relations

Hook Horrors are not interested in communicating with any other creatures despite our best efforts. In first attempts they didn’t respond to long distance mimicking of clacking of wood or bones against cavern walls. We had even tried the large claw of a deceased individual and still no response despite knowing where we were based on their communications. They usually attack any individual in their territory and hunted as prey if possible.

Hook Horrors kill and eat almost any creature. They will fight with a ferocity and brutality almost unmatched by any being. They are not interested in fighting to the death though and when an individual is too hurt to fight or feels outmatched they run or more often climb to safety. This is purely on an individual basis as other member care not to flee. Only 1 creature was observed in which they avoided and that was a shadow dragon that was passing through the observed clan’s territory.

As mentioned before they are excellent ambushers and love to drop upon prey from the ceiling plunging their claws into victims. The attack with lunging strikes of their arms and attempt to knock down then finish opponents. They often hook legs and pull tripping or sometimes severing the appendage. They seem to need no other means of attack and swipe with their claws with abandon, unrelenting in the assault. They are not particularly fast in their swings but they are powerful.

When faced with foes they attack with abandon. They are best described as clumsy fighters and seemed to only attack in general areas. When a creature takes the hit or blocks the next claw comes right in. There’s a hesitance if it misses its strikes. It seems to agitate them when missing as they scream out the grating screeches between strikes. I theorize that this is not the case though as they rely on echolocation for sight. Each hit makes a sound allowing them to see to strike again. If the opponent is quiet enough they have only that to go on and when they miss they shriek to “see” again. Of course this isn’t confirmed as not many of the Drow were willing to fight the creatures and only sent slaves to battle which posed little of a fight.

Their evil and cruel nature came from when they won a fight. While gruesome and it chilled me to watch I needed to in order to properly record what happens. If a foe is downed usually they are unable to finish the being quickly.

As their strikes are more so aimed in the general direction of the opponent they often don’t hit lethal areas. This causes a death that can take many blows that don’t kill immediately. I would surmise that this is due to their reliance on echolocation for battle and less so out of any malice or cruelty.

Variants

There are a few differences in types of Hook Horrors that were discovered in my extensive research

Black Clacker – This is the main variation in which is described above. They are usually 9 feet tall and dark grey to Black in color.

Volcanic Clacker – These live in the hotter and more volatile areas of the underworld with crimson shells and claws with yellow to orange coloring elsewhere. Their shells are perforated and blow lethally hot steam that releases excess heat stored in their bodies.

Stag Clacker - These types live in the more brightly lit areas of vast underground mushroom forests. They are far less hostile seeming to mostly eat the provided fungi in their homes only with opportunistic kills for meat. They climb the giant stalks and hang in the underparts of the caps if easy prey happens their way. Their communities are more lightly guarded be more death traps for unsuspecting creatures. They are a soft purple or blue that more or less mirrors that of the glowing mushrooms they live amongst. They also are smaller standing usually only 5 to 6 feet tall. They are called stag clackers for the almost stag beetle like “horn” protruding from the top of their shell up and over their head.

DM’s ToolBox

Hook Horrors are a great ambush for a party. They also can be a wonderful tension builder with a strange clacking noise growing and growing to the crescendo of a brutal fight. Don’t be too hasty to make them mindless brutes although they may conduct battle as such.

Hydra

Introduction

Depending on the bard, the legends of the origins of the Hydra are based in a trickster god, witch coven, or a plot of terrible diabolism. Whatever the entity, the Hydra is believed to be a blend of Troll and Dragon. Most scholars contend that the marrow of a Troll (that is, the source of its astounding regenerative abilities) is somehow implanted in a Dragon’s egg. Due to the incredible care and dedicated protection normally taken to their eggs, it must be assumed that the parent Dragon has either condoned the act, or was slain in guarding its young. Both prospects are quite troubling.

Physiological Observations A Hydra hatches wingless with a single head, and assumes this is the norm, and will protect this head as much as we might our own. Either due to predators, or to artificial influence, a young Hydra will eventually lose its head (wizards have perplexed themselves endlessly, trying to explain the sensitivity of the spinal column in these creatures, but to no avail). It notices, as we do, that the injury not only heals, but heals in double the quantity of what was lost. This is, as astonishing and influential though it may be, something of a loaded gift. A Hydra finds its ideal state to be between three and six heads. As it begins to accrue more, the mind begins to fracture, as the brain (located deep in its guts) struggles to adapt itself to the growing number of appendages. Upon surpassing about fifteen heads, a Hydra’s mind begins to break down completely. The greatest number of heads seen on a Hydra was sixty-one, and the creature was a pathetic mess. It was put down more out of pity than any other cause; indeed, the beast seemed to be hardly aware of what was happening around it. In other respects, a Hydra follows many rules similar to Dinosaurs and Dragons. Overlapping scales form a natural armour, useful for its role as a predator of larger beasts (the rhinoceros is a favoured delicacy). It is a warm-blooded creature, allowing it to survive in a myriad of environments. However, particularly arctic conditions can prove deadly, as it goes unprotected by fur. Heralding its Draconic heritage, Hydras have been observed utilizing fire and ice based breaths. The source of the power does not lie in its chest, but in each individual head. In lieu of the brain, the fiery organ of Dragons is found in each skull. Fortunately, it is less of a “breath” so much as a temperature-responsive mucous. The slime coating its throat is expelled, and ignited or chilled by the cranial organ. The Hydra only unleashes this power when it feels particularly threatened.

Social Observations More than any other creature, a Hydra is driven by an almost crippling hunger. The regenerative qualities of the Troll demand constant sustenance. A Hydra will only interact with another when pursuing a common prey, or when mating. Otherwise, all other creatures, especially other Hydras, are competition for desperately-needed food. Hydras originate in magical or alchemical processes, but have since survived to reproduce on their own. Male Hydras are one of few creatures in the world that have been seen attempting intercourse with a non-consenting female. As such, female Hydras sleep with at least one or two heads awake, to threaten off encroaching males. On the other hand, female Hydras will often forsake their young after laying their eggs, sometimes even eating them themselves. Male Hydras will keep watch over any eggs they happen across, and will also sleep with one head awake. This seemingly distorted behaviour, of a male with a maternal instinct and a female disinterested in her young, has been accorded to the awkward mingling of the Draconic and Trollish natures, the former demanding the perpetuity of its own glory, and the latter filling it with a short-sighted hunger and natural propensity for violent cruelty.

Behaviorial Observations Hydras are either eating or looking for something to eat, and everything in between is incidental. Even mating is relegated as an inconvenient itch needing to be scratched. Sleep is useful only for digestion. The beasts are defensive and ornery when eating, and hunting when not. Any animal or humanoid is open game, though larger creatures are preferred. A truly desperate Hydra will risk an attempt on more dangerous prey, such as humanoids or magical beasts. If it cannot feed for an extended period of time, a Hydra will retreat to a cave or crevasse and enter a comatose state. Such creatures are likely the monstrosities of legend, with enormous bodies swelled from decades of rapacious feeding, slumbering in the deep places of the world.

Intra-Species Observations Almost all animals are seen as more or less dangerous sources of food. Evil outsiders and mortal tyrants exploit this indifferent penchant for killing, using Hydras as terrifying guard dogs. No matter how often they feed it and placate it, the creature will always have enough appetite to feed on would-be heroes. Hydras can seem unpredictable, but quite the contrary: few other creatures can be relied upon in such a cause-and-effect way.

DM's Toolkit >Hydras make for great “oh, no, not now” moments, as additions to bosses rather than bosses themselves. Paradoxically, Hydras are more dangerous at higher levels, as taking 25 points of damage at once severs a head, regenerating two for one at the end of its turn. Fire and acid negate this problem, just as with Trolls, but it can still quickly grow out of hand for a melee based party. Think of the encounter in Disney’s Hercules. Also effective is its water-breathing. If you just have one head up, it can look like a big water serpent. You can have two or three heads coming up at a time before the party figures out there’s more to the story beneath the water’s surface. And look at all that it is resistant to! This sucker, as long as it has more than one head, has advantage rolls on being blinded, stunned, charmed, deafened, frightened, and being knocked unconscious. Depending on the edition you are using, a Hydra may or may not have a breath weapon. If it does, using it as an opening can seriously unnerve your party. If you can, spread the usage out, so you have one head doing it at a time. Hydras don’t have that big an encounter level, but used right, it can be a terrifying and unexpected problem.

Intellect Devourer

Don't cry. We have no intention of eating your brain. In fact, your brain is going on a wonderful journey. -- Qorik El-Slurrk, Mind Flayer.

Introduction

Intellect Devourers are perhaps the foulest creatures to inhabit the known Universe. Generally, these vicious and evil monsters spend their time in the service of Mind Flayers in the Underdark. They are perhaps the most deadly creatures to wander these lower realms, despite being in control of their masters. These monsters pose the largest threat to sentient beings because the intelligence of sentient beings is their food. Even the stupidest of trolls can become a feast for these monsters. Combined with their extraordinary ability to find and hunt prey, the Intellect Devourer's ability to control the bodies of those it has consumed allows it to lure more prey. For this reason, it is most dangerous to traverse the underdark alone.

Physiological Observations

The Intellect Devourer stands around 1-2 feet tall with the majority of its body, exactly 68% actually, being a brain enveloped in a crusty coating. This crusty coating is a paste applied during the ritual used to create these monsters made from the bones of a Mind Flayer's thrall mixed with powdered iron and spells of protection. These spells preserve the brain preventing it from deteriorating. The remaining 32% of the beast are it's 4 beast legs on which it walks. These legs resemble the legs of a lion or tiger. Once in my life, the legs were reminiscent of a dragon's. These legs have claws which act as powerful weapons for the Intellect Devourer.

Intellect Devourers are blind. However, they can still "see" thanks to their enhanced senses. These senses allow them to "see" up to 60 feet only though. Beyond that range, they are effectively blind.

Intellect devourers are particularly deadly to anyone who has ever progressed past infancy. What makes these monsters so strong is that they attack multiple ways at once. They first strike with their powerful claws which breaks down any mental barrier their prey might attempt to erect. Then, they launch a powerful mental attack. If the mental attack succeeds, they devour the intelligence of the prey potentially erasing their minds and then stealing their body. This stolen body acts a puppet under the Intellect Devourer's direct control and helps it lure more thrall. When in control of a thrall, the Intellect Devourer can speak any language a thrall speaks.

Perhaps what makes the Intellect Devourer even more deadly is its incredible resilience. Thanks to the crusty coating covering it, the monster is immune to bludgeoning of all kinds. It cannot be pierced or slashed by any weapon that is nonmagical. It cannot be blinded or put to sleep (they don't sleep). It's tiny size makes it hard to hit as well as makes it fairly stealthy. It's perception makes it hard to fool as well.

When Intellect Devourers are being created, the brain of the thrall is injected with a serum. This serum is created from the venom of the Violet Fungus, the venom of 4 seperate snakes, and Alchemist's fire. This strange serum is injected into the brain as a team of mages chant long spells which protect the brain from damage and allow the brain to absorb the serum. This serum's absorption drastically modifies the brain allowing it to sense any sentient creature in a 300 foot radius. Sometimes, not all of the serum is absorbed and develops into pockets. No more than 3 pockets form in a single Intellect Devourer. These pockets do not damage the Intellect Devourer but an unfortunate adventurer may pierce or cut into this pocket causing the serum to spray and damage or destroy his/her weapon as well as, in worst case scenarios, permanently damage or kill the adventurer. 1 in 5 Intellect Devourers have the serum pockets. There is no way to differentiate between those with pockets of serum or those without.

Intellect Devourers cannot speak but do understand deep speech. They can communicate using telepathy if the creature they are attempting to contact are within 60 feet of them.

Creation Methodology

In this section, I shall highlight how the Intellect Devourer is created. I will be going into as much detail as I can, however, I shall leave out the specific spells as some moron may attempt to use my research to create these aberrations, which would then kill him and return to the Mind Flayers.

The first step of the creation process is obtaining and nurturing a suitable brain. Intellect Devourers require healthy brains that are somewhat intellectual. Generally, children/baby brains are great because they allow the Mind Flayers to put the information they consider best in immediately. They usually kidnap the children of sentient beings for this reason. These thrall are evaluated. 3/4ths of the thrall is used for food. The other 1/4th is nurtured for two years to become Intellect Devourers. They are kept far away from the food thrall to avoid the Intellect Devourers from "catching the stupid". For adults, they spend the 2 years in libraries learning. Babies have the information placed in their minds telepathically. After the two years, these thrall are taken to a laboratory.

In the laboratory, they are tied to stone tables. There are usually 20 thrall in a single ritual. There, a slow acting poison is administered to the thrall. The poison's contents are a closely guarded secret. It has the foulest of smells. I describe it more in my book, My Time with the Mind Flayers. For the next 5 days, the poison slowly and horrendously painfully melts away any viruses, bacteria, and immune cells in the body of the thrall. The screams of pain caused by this poison often echo throughout the Underdark.

Next, a second poison is administered. This poison is made of dragon's blood, troll fat, and nightshade. It serves to remove all senses from the body of the thrall as well as eliminate the ability to talk for the thrall. As it courses through the body of the thrall, spells are cast which allow the thrall to communicate telepathically. After an hour, another dosage is applied. This dosage strangely makes the thrall only obedient to the Mind Flayers, the reasons for which are still unknown.

Next, the thrall is commanded to kill 10 babies to make sure it can act heartlessly. Those which fail to do so, undergo the process from the beginning. Those who pass, continue (19 out of 20 usually pass). These are tied to the stone slab again. Another poison of banesroot and deathcap is administered. This poison slowly suffocates the thrall over 3 days while the team of mages cast spells protecting the brain and nervous system.

Once the thrall dies, it is sedated and brain and nerves are removed. The nerves are cut away. The brain is covered in the paste mentioned earlier and the serum is injected at this point. Then, the brain is drenched in the blood of a baby while a particularly cruel spell is cast. This causes the legs to grow and finishes the process of creating the Intellect Devourer.

Social Observations

Intellect Devourers are vicious to any sentient creature that is not a Mind Flayer. However, they remain neutral to non-sentient creatures and act as guard dogs for Mind Flayers. They are incredibly loyal for the Mind Flayers and serve them in anything that Mind Flayers ask for. They work primarily in this relationship as hunters obtaining thrall for the Mind Flayers.

Behavioral Observations

Intellect Devourers are vicious and intelligent. They stalk their prey launching attacks from places that are least expected and usually prefer attacking solitary prey. They often separate the weakest member of any group and then steal their bodies. Using this body, they lure more prey and then return these thrall to the Mind Flayer cities. As masters of stealth, surprise attacks are the favorite tactic.

Amongst the Mind Flayers, they act just like hunting dogs. They are good guards as well.

Intra-Species Observations

These monsters usually enjoy each others companies. They hunt together in groups of 2-5 and act like wolves sometimes hunting in packs of larger. The oldest Intellect Devourer is usually the leader of these packs. They do not breed. Intellect Devourers are particularly fond of the moment when a creature realizes that it's loved one is brain dead and was just used to lure them into death.

DM's Toolkit

So, how can you use the Intellect Devourer in your campaigns? First and foremost, they serve as one of the strongest opponents for lower level parties especially those who do not have magical weapons. They force the party to run and use tactics rather than try to fight straight away. They are also great for trap encounters when your party is careless in caverns or attempting to break into a Mind Flayer settlement. Against larger parties, using trusted NPCs under Mind Flayer control to show the party how easy it can be to be betrayed.

Invisible Stalker

We were supposed to protect Balthur Jorgenson, the ambassador to the Elves during the 16 Year War. We weren't really worried seeing as we were in his office. One second he was talking to us about how it looked like the peace negotiations were about to be a great success, the war about to end after 3 long years. The next second, I felt a gust of wind and heard a scream. Balthur Jorgenson looked like he'd been beaten to death by a club. Never knew what hit him. -- Oric Smithson, General of the 7th Kingdom.

Introduction

Invisible Stalkers are faultless trackers and merciless hunters primarily composed of wind from the Air Plane. These monsters are summoned by powerful magicians to do their bidding. Once summoned, these invisible elementals only obey their masters. They remain on any plane the master summons them to which is outside their home, the Air Plane as long as there is magic provided to bind them there. These monsters are often the perpetrators of crimes such as murder and theft that go unsolved.

Physiological Observations

Invisible Stalkers are made entirely from Air. As a result, as the name indicates, these elementals cannot be seen. They can still be heard and felt however. They do not possess any particular form either. A see invisibility spell used to detect these monsters would only show the vague outline of these monsters. A spell or potion of true sight will show a roiling cloud. Many times, when one feels a sudden gust of wind or hears sudden wind, it is simply an Invisible Stalker is passing.

Because they are made of air, Invisible Stalkers do not eat, drink, sleep, or rest. They cannot be restrained able to slip through the smallest of holes or gaps. Invisible Stalkers do possess size however. They are considered large creatures because of their size making them approximately the size of a golem. However, they retain the principles of gas that they do not have a constrained volume and can expand or shrink provided that they do not become too compressed or too expanded. The most an Invisible Stalker can expand is to 4 times its size and the most it can compress to is 1/4 its size.

Because the Invisible Stalker is made of air, it cannot be knocked down. Far more importantly, the Invisible stalker is incredibly hard to hit or even touch by ordinary means. Only magic or magical weapons can hurt the Invisible Stalker. This trait combined with the Invisible Stalker’s invisibility makes it even more formidable as an assassin. Even with magical weapons, the Invisible Stalker is hard to attack. Its ability to change form allows the Invisible Stalker to avoid attacks fairly well.

Invisible Stalkers, as air, are resistant to poison. They cannot be paralyzed or put to sleep. They cannot be knocked unconscious. As air, they can escape their foes momentarily using their incredible speed to replenish health quickly and easily from the air present in their surroundings. To completely heal from a totally weakened state, the Invisible Stalker takes exactly 2 hours. This speed, durability, and invisibility make the Invisible Stalker particularly strong. It does not tire. It heals quickly. Worst of all, it hunts without giving its opponent more than an hour or two of respite.

An Invisible Stalker attacks as air does. It batters brutally tearing apart its quarry with blunt force. The Invisible Stalker has two methods of attacking with blunt force. The first method is to surround the foe with its body before smashing inward with condensed force crushing bones, muscle tissue, and organs. This method is used when the Invisible Stalker wishes to impart a faster death to its opponent. Against foes it particularly dislikes, the Invisible Stalker takes its time. It flies by the opponent twice smashing into the limbs of the prey brutally ripping the enemy apart, literally. Both methods are used primarily for assassination.

Invisible Stalkers are immortal everywhere but the Air Plane. When “killed” in any other plane, the Invisible Stalker is freed from its containment and returns to the Air Plane.

Summoning process

To summon an Invisible Stalker is a strange task that is only a little complicated. The most complicated thing about summoning this monster is that it requires a tremendous amount of energy to be expended since the Invisible Stalker draws energy to remain on planes that are not the Air Plane. To counter this large drain of magical energy from one’s body, it is recommended that for 2 weeks prior to summoning this monster, an object be used to store the magic in. The better the quality of the item the magic is stored in, the more magic can be stored in it. The magic in this item should be replenished as needed. The moment the magic leaves this item or this item is destroyed the caster’s hold on the Invisible Stalker is destroyed.

To summon an Invisible Stalker, first a gate must be built. The best gate for this situation would be timed gate for which your magic storage item can act as the key or for safety, one might choose something different. Once the gate is open, the proper incantation need to summon the Air Elemental is “Berið mér byr. Uppfylla óskir mínar“. This spell also enslaves the Invisible Spirit to your will. Once this is done, a command must be given to the Invisible Stalker. This command must involve retrieving something or killing someone otherwise the magic holding the Invisible Stalker will release and the Elemental will return to it‘s home.

A word of caution here: The Invisible Stalker resents tasks of complication or length. If given such tasks that are not perfectly clear, it will find ways to pervert them. For example, if you command this monster to hunt down the hooded dwarf that attacked you last week, it will kill every hooded dwarf it finds, leaving copious evidence that it was your fault.

Behavorial and Social Observations

The Invisible Stalker does not speak with anyone but its master. It understands common but can only speak Auran. The Invisible Stalker is not a social creature. They do not work with others. They do not enjoy companionship from those of other plains other than Auran. They are merciless, ruthless killers or retrievers who wish only for freedom and to return home. They are chaotic at times and lawful at others. They can serve those who are good or evil. They are truly neutral much like wind is. Like the wind, Invisible Stalkers do not forgive. They do not pity. They do not care or love. They are primal forces of nature driven to fulfill their task that‘s it. If you are ever unfortunate enough to encounter one improperly equipped, do not waste time attempting to reason or fight. Simply run.

In their home world, the Invisible Stalkers are simple Air elementals which converse with others and enjoy their time flying freely and rather happily.

Intraspecies Observations

Invisible Stalkers do not work together when they are commanded by a master. If commanded to do opposite tasks, they will happily kill each other comfortable in the knowledge that doing so wil only return the other to freedom in the Air Plane.

DM‘s Toolbox

This is probably my favorite monster to have in my Monster tool kit. It‘s incredibly strong and hard to stop. It‘s invisibility means that it‘s hard to detect. The ability to squeeze through cracks, compress, and expand makes it hard to predict and harder to prevent. It makes the perfect assassin to send your PCs running all over the place frantically especially if they don‘t know what‘s going on.

The best way, in my humble opinion, for the Invisible Stalker to be used is just as an assassin. It can be used as a great plot hook. The important and powerful citizens of a city are suddenly being wiped out and no one is ever seen approaching them. All that is ever discovered is an open window and a breeze.

Another great way for your villains to antagonize the PCs is for the PCs to be assigned to guard multiple people in the city and then have the Invisible Stalkers assassinate these members. If the PCs were to be after an artifact or protecting the artifact, if the artifact suddenly lifted into air and flew away, then they‘d probably be thrown for a huge loop.

Jackalwere

The common Jackalwere, like it's cousin the Wolfwere, bares a passing resemblance to the traditional Therianthrope. However their origin is much less tragic than that of the Were-creatures. The name is an obvious compound of "Jackal", a scavenging animal found normally in warm climates, and an archaic word for "Man", owing to their ability to take human form. The typical diet of a Jackalwere consists of... -Septimus, Titus G. Magnus Libro Monstra Fortis: Ventura Publishing, 349.

Introduction

The Jackalwere is to the common bandit or conman what a lion is to a housecat, though they are fundamentally similar things one is a much more dangerous foe. A Jackalwere lives a similar lifestyle, one of confidence trickery and bloodthirsty raiding, but the end goal is much more deadly: a square meal. Ravenousness characterizes the Jackalwere and most of its actions are dedicated to finding more ways to sate their bloodlust and hunger.

It is not uncommon for Jackalweres to be mistaken for Lycanthropes, however there is no evidence that the condition of the Jackalwere has ever had anything to do with the curse that creates Lycanthropes and the few who have ever been interviewed have found the concept insulting. Also unlike the Lycanthrope Jackalweres are unaffected by silver, instead finding weapons of Cold Iron to be anathema. The Jackalwere must therefore be classed as a separate race of demihuman, rather than an unfortunate afflicted by a curse.

The question of origin is one still under debate; various scholars advance the theory of the meddling of an outside influence as in the case of Gnolls. Others reject the idea of outside interference and contend that the Jackalwere originates in mortal experimentation or wild magic merging the spirits of man and jackal into one being.

Physiological Observations

Long-term observations of a single Jackalwere reveals them to have a shapechanging ability that gives them great elusiveness and ability to physically blend in. However their humanoid mannerisms are often underdeveloped and they lack the forethought or sophisticated physiology of other shapeshifters such as the Doppelganger.

A Jackalwere employs three forms: a jackal, a humanoid and a hybrid. Its jackal form is only distinguishable from the mundane animal by the way it acts: the common jackal becomes much more submissive in the presence of a Jackalwere and a pack of jackals becomes much more aggressive when lead by one.

The Jackalwere's human form is likewise physically indistinguishable from that of an ordinary human, the beast is capable of modifying its human form at will to disguise itself and get closer to human targets. Typically though Jackalweres have only a limited sense of how to behave around humans and are difficult to get along with for an extended period of time. Their animalistic nature leaves them with little sense of personal space and a complete lack of table manners. The Jackalwere's preferred target in this form is thus the traveler and the outcast, particularly those who sleep rough.

The hybrid form is the one in which a Jackalwere can be recognized for what it is, and also the one to which they revert under the influence of anti-shapechanger magic. The head of the Jackalwere becomes that of a Jackal, and they grow thick fur all over their bodies along with vicious claws and large paws. This is the form in which a Jackalwere will prefer to fight humanoids, holding them down with their hands and devouring them alive with their teeth.

Social Observations

Jackalweres are not inherently prone to liking one-another, Though some affection has been observed for litter-mates and partners. For the most part Jackalwares will live among their animal kin, using their unusual influence on them to turn them into a pack of deadly hunters. However in hard times or during migration to new areas groups of up to ten have been observed to travel together, presumably for mutual safety.

The Jackalwere mates only in its Jackal form and shows no interest whatsoever in anything not a jackal or a Jackalwere. The children of two Jackalweres are always Jackalweres, while those born to a Jackal and a Jackalwere have a roughly 30% chance of being Jackalweres. A Jackalwere mother gives birth quickly, typically within 4 months, to what appear to be ordinary jackal pups. These pups grow at a similar rate to dogs and within a year can assume hybrid form, with the ability to transform into a human firmly established by the age of three when they are considered fully grown.

Though Jackalwares usually live away from other members of their species they are not totally isolated, observations have shown that each Jackalwere and its pack of jackals forms just one part of a complex hierarchy of respect and submission to elders. When Jackalweres cooperate, typically under outside influence or to pull off a raid beyond the abilities of an individual, they are almost always coerced in some manner by the oldest and wisest of their number, who also commands the most jackals.

Behavioral Observations

Jackalweres resemble nothing so much as a slow tide when they migrate. Disliking the idea of staying in one place forever and always keen for fresh blood each individual will slowly follow the lead of its overarching "tribe" and move across the landscape. Its pack may accompany it if it is sufficiently strong or charismatic enough to make them. A tribe of Jackalweres has a hunting area of hundreds of miles due to their dispersion and their mobile nature means that establishing an exact range for their activities is near futile.

Inter-Species Observations

Other species are regarded as food by Jackalweres, who make no real distinction between sentient and non-sentient creatures when selecting prey. Jackalweres are ruthless predators and any semblance of empathy shown for anything that isn't themselves is usually a lie, indeed Jackalweres are consummate liars in their interactions with humanoids and often seem to be physically distressed by the idea of telling the truth about themselves or their plans.

A Jackalwere tribe can be convinced to go along with a villainous scheme or to join an army on a temporary basis, if they can be convinced that it will allow them to kill more than they would otherwise be capable of. A Jackalwere's loyalty is fleeting however, and they have little concept of discipline. Their tendency to bring packs of scavenging jackals with them is also a drawback to any evil overlord. Altogether they make poor minions in anything but dire circumstances, and are more likely to be eliminated as a nuisance to a conquering force or villainous fiend than they are recruited.

As yet unmentioned is the Jackalwere's most powerful weapon, its hypnotic gaze. The mechanism by which this works is similar to that of most traditional enchantment magic, however it is inborn rather than learned. In any form the Jackalwere can use this strange ability on a creature that is not hostile, which will put their target to sleep and allow for easier feeding. Many will avoid this however if they feel there is more fun to be had in the slaughter of a conscious and screaming human being.

DM's Toolkit

The Jackalwere is a creature without a huge deal of background, meaning that there's a good deal of leeway for you to mess around with it. This means that you can have them organized however you really want and have whatever origin you need to fit the story, a blank slate of background lore.

The Jackalwere makes a great fakeout for Lycanthropy. Confuse your party when the human tracks lead AWAY from the gory crime scene and then turn into animal tracks, rather than the other way around. This can also make adventurers paranoid about getting bitten, when in reality the Jackalwere isn't contagious at all. That plus their canid jaws makes them an excellent faux-werewolf to pull the wool over a player's eyes.

Fighting the Jackalwere promises a struggle, though they are savages who love nothing more than killing and eating humans and demihumans they can be surprisingly intelligent and cunning. They aren't simple beasts and will lay ambushes, set traps and gain the confidence of their food before sending them to sleep with a look. If the gaze fails then the Jackalwere usually has its pack to hand, who will fall in like a pack of dogs and act as a coordinated group. Picture a cross between Kobolds and Gnolls.

If a villain is hiring Jackalweres they will usually be destructive, ill disciplined and prone to impetuous action. Unused to gathering together for a long amount of time younger ones may fight amoungst themselves and generally they make themselves a nuisance to all involved. However as a blunt instrument for a larger intrigue they are highly effective, good at causing terror and panic in locals and generally wrecking havoc.

As a template Somethingware has some potential, animals who transform into humans (no curse involved) could be used for subtle purposes such as a Snakewere or a Spiderware, or for big bruisers such as a Tigerware, a Wolfware or an Elephantware. However it's a bit of an odd one that players will probably be weirded out by, apply with caution.

Kenku

A knock at the door, a low moan of pain from outside. "Let me in," I hear the voice groan, slightly muffled through the cheap, flimsy door. "Let me in," the voice says again, "please."

I ignore it. There's work to do, information that must be transcribed from memory with regrettable hastiness, and for that--those colleagues of mine who might read this sloppy draft--I apologize.

First Encounter

The squat little creature steps out from behind a crate further down the alleyway, shuffling in heavy, ragged robes. A deep hood covers its head, which it keeps bent downward into even deeper shadow. It drags its feet along the paving-stones, I note, because it doesn't want to risk revealing them by walking normally. Its arm reaches out, palm turned upward to the sky. From the hood comes a gentle clinking sound, exactly like coins jingling in a coinpurse.

"What's this?" This dim query comes from one of the hired hands to my right, one of two brothers. New to town, I'd managed to snatch them up for some work before the tongue-waggers could scare them off with slanderous lies. Not terribly bright, but...

"What is this?" He asks again. "Where's the baby you were looking for? We came in here because you heard a baby crying..."

"There was no baby," I cut him off. "Keep your eyes open."

The hunched figure gestures its open hand at me again, more urgently this time. The sound this time is of heavy gold coins hitting a wooden table-top. I smile thinly.

"No," I tell the figure. "You'll get nothing from me."

The figure then makes another sound--that uncanny accuracy!--and this time it's the sound ripping leather, a purse torn open, and coins scattering violently on the ground. As if this were some signal, three more hooded figures suddenly slide from out of the shadows of the alley, creeping towards us with knives drawn. The one in front of me rears up, stronger than its originally hunched form would suggest, and for the first time its long, dark beak is visible in the dim light of the alley, its clawed birdlike feet poking out from under its cloak as it shifts into an attack stance. Small round eyes flash as it, too, reaches for its blade.

"Leave at least two alive," I tell my hirelings as they hastily draw their own weapons. "I'll need them."

Physiology and Appearance

A total of ten Kenku were captured over the course of two weeks for observation. Six currently remain.

Direct observation of the creature with clothing removed reveals a fairly squat, but strong, animal. Bipedal with humanoid proportions not dissimilar from dwarves, the Kenku tend to stand approximately four to four and a half feet tall, though the creatures tend to sulk and slouch.

Their skin is dark, with individuals of the species varying from a light gray to a near-black charcoal color. Their arms and legs are bare. Dark, glossy feathers begin to appear at the upper thigh and shoulder areas, quickly thickening into a coat that matches any raven or crow on their chest, back, neck, and head. Their heads are distinctly crow-like, an almost identical engorgement of a normal bird's appearance.

Dissection confirms that the arm and shoulder muscles have no apparent capacity for flight, even a vestigial one. My dissections were further concerned with how these creatures are able to mimic sound so precisely. By dissecting several of the captured number, I have found in each of them a resonating chamber in the throat surrounding the vocal cords. This semi-bony chamber is partially compartmentalized, and I am certain that manipulation of the vocal cords within these chambers is what allows them to make such unconventional mimicry possible. Despite the fact that they can imitate spoken words and phrases, and sound precisely like the original speaker, they seem incapable of forming language on their own. Perhaps some kind of mental deficiency explains this.

I'd also heard stories that thieves and other miscreants had used these animals to forge documents for them. Curious, I provided one with ink and parchment, showed him an old map of the city from the days of its founding, and ordered him to replicate it. Though I'd only allowed the thing to look at the map for approximately two minutes, he was able to copy it down to the tiniest detail. I marveled at this, noting that the creature had even included a smudged ink blot over one of the western gate's watch towers, a blemish from the original map.

Social and Behavioral Observations

The Kenku appear to live in small communal 'flocks,' for lack of better term. Their area of the slums is rarely traveled, but interviews with residents nearby have led me to believe that this city's flock is comprised of anywhere from twenty to thirty individuals at most. Considering the size of the city and the ample opportunity for thievery, begging, and scavenging that it provides, I can assume that flocks at smaller metropolitan areas would shrink accordingly.

I can determine no form of government, no rigid social structure, no alpha male or female. Observations of the captive group in their pen shows constant infighting, sharp words and glances exchanged. The Kenku communicate with one another in silence most of the time, using only brief gestures and exchanged glances to convey some kind of meaning to one another. Only when conversations become apparently heated do they use sound, stealing expressions and noises from other creatures; a dog barking while angry, a woman's long sigh when acquiescent.

They choose the darkness and the squalor, I am certain. They shrink from my torch when I draw near to their cell, their eyes sparkling with understandable hatred. They are vengeful creatures, spiteful. I had focused my one-on-one behavioral observations with the Kenku I'd referred to as 'Mapmaker.' It was through him that I learned that their written and verbal mimicry seemed limitless, and had rewarded Mapmaker with clothes and extra food.

After two days of this, I found Mapmaker lashed to the bars of the cell by his entrails, his broken arms spread wide. The clothes I'd given him had been torn to ribbons and draped, blood-soaked, over his arms. I wonder if there was some relevance to their bird-like appearance that the method of execution and display that they'd chosen had given the flightless Kenku the appearance of wings.

A Brief Conclusion

"Let me in," the voice still moans as I write. Damn it all. Pages of notes and observations back at my home. I'd been fooled by these little beasts.

I'd found the cage door open, the remaining subjects gone and my experimental equipment scattered. I assumed that the creatures had escaped and fled. What a fool I'd been! Had I not known they were vengeful? As I began cleaning up the mess they'd left behind, I felt a searing pain in my side. Out of the shadows, out of nowhere, one of my Kenku had appeared and driven the short scalpel into my ribs, mercifully no deeper than a flesh wound. But I had never seen or heard the creature before it attacked me! It hissed with a cat-noise and slashed at my side again, opening another wound.

Even as I shoved the creature away and scrambled to my feet, the others appeared out of the shadows with disturbing silence. Their hands gripped short blades, bone saws--my own autopsy equipment. I turned and fled, slamming the door shut behind me. I fled here, to this filthy little inn, a place where I would get little notice and the patrons would ask fewer questions. I staggered to the door and pounded upon it in my disgraceful panic, calling hoarsely "Let me in!" I still had enough gold on my person to pay for this room for a hundred nights, but I now know I won't need nearly that long.

"Let me in," says the voice at the door. "Let me in," says another, and more than two fists are trying to turn the knob, trying to scratch at the door. "Let me in," says a voice outside the shuttered and barred window. A scraping sound from the roof, and I am convinced that even through the thick slats I can hear the voice in the night-breeze whispering let me in...

All of these voices, desperate. All of them begging.

All of them, exactly like my own.

DM's Toolkit

The Kenku are a very flexible creature to use in your campaigns. Their mimicry, talent, and demeanor allows them to run the interactive gambit from annoying, to useful, to comical, to disturbing.

Kenku attack in groups, always preferring ambush.

The key tactic for luring targets in is by mimicry. On a normal basis, this could be a baby crying, a woman screaming for help--any generic sound the Kenku might have heard (or caused). For Kenku who are stalking and following the target specifically, perhaps they mimic a shout for help or inviting phrase one of the party members have used.

The above can be a great psychological tactic for freaking out your players. The player knows that you, the DM, have just called out to their character with another PC's voice and lured them somewhere. The character has no reason to assume anything is amiss. There are times were players having OOC knowledge is in your favor for setting the tension.

Kenku can be random muggers or even a facet in a thieves' guild, using their talent at forgery.

Forgery could be another tactic the Kenku use to lure the party in--a fake letter from a friend, whose handwriting they recognize.

Kenku conversations can be amazing for RP - in one of my campaigns, the party gained the trust of a Kenku in attempts to find out where kidnap victims were being taken. The Kenku made a series of sounds that gave vague clues to what had happened to the missing people. Stringing sounds together, or snippets of conversations between people, is a great excuse for having your party put their detective cap on.

If you have the tech and the know-how on hand, having small sound files on-hand to play could be a fun and immersive tactic.

Kobold

Introduction

Damn kobolds! Dog-faced baby-snatchers. Wicked cowards with no sense of decency. You know one of their traps will more often just injure you so they can track your bleeding hide back to your home and family. Then the real fun begins. And may the gods, wicked and wonderful, deliver swift death before they drag you into those holes of theirs. No wonder the Croc-kin of the Great Rill hang their bastard corpses on rocks or twist them into those weird totems. They want to send a message. I’d send one too if they’d not taken my legs.

This intro is less about the monster and more about my take on it. Kobolds are a great low level creature that I like due to its trap-oriented nature. Of all the lackies, this is one of the best. However, we currently have a lot of “reptile humanoids”: Kobolds, Lizardfolk, Yuan-ti, Troglodytes. Of this list, I felt troglodytes have the weakest thumbprint so I folded them into the kobold species.

Physiological Observations

Kobolds are a reptilian humanoid, shorter than a man, and commonly mistaken for a different race of lizard folk- much to the disgust of lizardfolk who view them as humans view goblins. In fact kobolds are actually related to troglodytes. Here is the connection one learns shortly before being consumed: troglodytes are huge, hungry, egg laying kobold “queens”. Such prodigious egg laying requires a huge consumption of meat- the fresher the better. Its the reason kobolds as a whole are such good trappers and trackers- to take down prey larger than they are.

Social & Behavioral Observations

Kobolds typically make lairs in natural cave and favor abandoned keeps or castles built by humans. One or two bands have even been known to dig extensive tunnels connecting homes in a human town raided and abandoned by orcs. Goblin warrens also make a perfect habitat for kobolds with a few modifications to widen chambers for troglodyte egg laying. Interesting, kobolds will raid dwarven settlements but find them too cavernous and spacious- harder for the kobolds to defend. Elven settlements let in too much sun and drow cities are too well defended or, if abandoned, filled with too many predators.

The day to day of a kobold is mostly spent running traps, building traps to guard entrances to settlements, and bullying those of lower social social status into raiding bands. The bands constantly jockey for troglodyte attention either through meat or “gifts”. Band leaders who consistently bring for instance the most food, the freshest food, or the most magical food (i.e. non-cleric magic users) rise in status. As the band leader's status grows, so does this kobolds size and hunger for fresh meat. Soon troglodyte characteristic appear, sex is altered, and egg-laying ability arises. The ability to change morphology makes troglodyte livers especially sought after to improve polymorph spells and transmogrification rituals (add one dice, level, or lengthen duration of the spell). They worship some gods especially predatory ones or gods of hunger and pain. More likely is that they know of a local dragon or other intelligent predatory who they worship as a sort of divine prophet. The kobold lair will be reworked to accommodate such a creature.

In combat: Kobolds and troglodytes are about as smart as human thugs but more cunning. When attacking, half the kobold band moves to engage with knives and short spears, while the others take cover and use slings or throwing spears. They will not fight to the death, but will try to greatly weaken the prey, and stalk/track at night waiting for the right time to strike. Kobold will also try to keep combat around one or more of their traps, hoping to spring it at the right moment. If troglodytes are present then these huge beasts will often wait for an opening then attack the largest threat. The only time both fight to the death is in defense of clutches of eggs.

Interspecies Observations

Kobolds have few friendly interactions with other creatures. They are either in competition with like creatures such as lizardfolk, goblins, and ettercaps or they worship the predator that could cause them great harm such as dragons, chimeras, and manticores.

When near humanoid settlements, kobolds will begin by trapping trails and merchant lanes. If there is little interruption, they will begin moving in on shepherds and outlying farms. As the troglodyte population grows, raid will occur on moonless night with infants and young children being taken from cribs. If that goes unchecked, then the kobolds will make a bold rush with most of the colonies troglodytes to raid the town. They will keep those who resist and drag back those unable.

Variant Observations

Kobolds come in a wide variety of shapes and colors matching the predominant environment they reside in. In temperate regions for example, kobolds are mottled green and brown with strong claws for digging. Kobolds residing by large bodies of water tend to have darker dorsal colorations with lighter bellies, flat alligator-like tails for swimming, and webbed hands and feet. Jungle territories can find themselves infested with kobolds of vibrant colors and with long fingers and toes perfect for climbing and leaping the large tall trees around them. Some scholars even report wings! Kobolds residing for several generations on flat planes or steppe regions are known to have incredible speed and a kick that can break a horse's leg or unseat its rider.

While within a clime most kobolds vary only in size, cunning, and craveness, trogolodyte queens can be quite different depending on their diet. Some queens consume a lot of meat and simply grow very large, become venomous, develop powerful muscles, and a bite strong enough to snap a mailed-man’s arm from his shoulder. Others still gain a fondness for large chopping or bludgeoning weapons such as axes, hammers, or orc cleavers. They might also reward kobolds who come back with pieces of armor. Those troglodytes who feast on wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers are stranger still because with the aid of their draconic lineage can develop the ability to breath and manipulate fire.

DM’s Toolbox

When encountering a kobold band outside of their lair, DM’s should assume the players have wandered into a trapped territory the kobolds are monitoring. 1 or 2 traps (pit trap, net, ect.) should be present but hidden unless the PCs look for it. Otherwise while in combat, there is a 20% chance at least one of the party members will trip it. This increases 10% per total party round (or per 4 players for parties of 5+) as the kobolds will position themselves to force PCs to trip it.

Troglodytes makes up about 1/10 of the kobold population, so hunting bands of are: 1d4 x 10 kobolds with 1 to 4 troglodytes.

D4	Kobold Species	Trait
1	Temperate	strong claws for digging (1d4 dmg)
2	Water	swim as crocodile
3	Jungle	spider climb as giant lizard
4	Plains	leap as giant frog

D6	Troglodyte Traits (in addition to Kobold Species)
1	Large size (use Gnoll Fang stats) and will break, snap, and tear arms on a natural 18-20.
2	Large size (use Gnoll Fang stats) but venomous bite- CON save or victim will become incapacitated in a number of rounds equal to their CON bonus.
3	Large size (use Gnoll Fang stats) and chameleon skin, gets advantage on Sneak checks/ disadvantage to Spot.
4	Possesses a great ax, hammer, or trident
5	Possess a collection of armor (AC +3)
6	Can breath fire and/or manipulate fire

Kuo-Toa

Do you want to see the dreams of mad kings come alive? Do you want to labor under the good intentions of the just? Do you want to live in a world where mere mortals can influence creation as they feel the gods should? No? Then destroy that spawning pool!

Introduction

Kuo-toa are man-size fish-ish & vaguely amphibian/reptilian humanoids. And if bullywugs are a mockery of civilization, kuo-toa make a mockery of religion. Their hard to define nature matches their hard to define origin. Some say they were a city of sea faring people who angered old gods prone to curses. Other say they were the result of foolish wizards. Sages say they are the experiments of Mind Flayers, but sages spend far too much time in dusty rooms with only crows and scrolls as company. Whatever their origin, Kuo-toa are more a natural disaster than a recognized threat because their proximity to civilizations cause individuals to manifest divine and simi-divine power. Often with disastrous results.

Physiological Observations

Imagine a body roughly human with clawed webbed feet and legs like a frog, scales like a reptile, and the head of a deep sea fish- that would only vaguely describe a kuo-toa. Their thick rubbery skin provides plenty of protection from a wide variety of insults and apparently prevents them from drying out. The wide mouths of kuo-toa accommodate their habit of swallowing things whole much like a giant frog species would. The other notable wide features are their eyes, which seem as big a dinner plates and whose tears are said to provide sight to the farest planes of existence. Despite their hastily assembled appearance, kuo-toa are quite strong and more physical than they appear.

Social Observations

Kuo-toa cabals are composed to two important factions: The High Tide (majority) and The Deep (minority). Roll on the Cabal Worship table to figure out the composition of the two factions- they are never the same. The Deep will constantly seek to undermine and over take The High Tide. The Deep will use PCs to further this goal through acquisition of a weapon or even assassination of The High Tide leader. The High Tide on the other hand will use the PCs to kill The Deep or further The High Tides goals in humanoid communities.

Because the Kuo-toa exist in ecclesiastical frenzy any grand action performed in front of them or in their presence, then that person becomes the object of intense religious obsession. A New Deep will form surrounding that person (or even object). The Kuo-toa who witnessed the even or best knew the person will become the new prophet. This New Deep will then attempt to overtake the old Deep and eventually The High Tide.

Inter-species Observations

Kuo-toa cabals are terrible. Their ecclesiastical and reality warping powers leak into the surrounding lands. First the dreams of the sick and mad come alive at night or in the corners of society. Those who dream of power and wealth find that they become more real, more possible, more alluring no matter how unrealistic or dangerous. Rulers taste it and seek it. And if they find the cabal- they will invite emissaries back to their respective places of power. There a root of sickness takes hold and a co-dependant relationship forms. The rulers and kuo-toa will protect each other. Spawning pools will be set up and even sacrifices will be made for blood, sport, and breeding. Slower the ruler will manifest divine power, the slowly lose ego, and finally transform into the avatar of kuo-toa worship. This is what mind flayers want to study and if looked for hard enough some might be found. Eventually this new godling fails The Hight Tide, The Deep takes over, the godling is killed and maybe the cabal driven back. The cycle starts anew, but not before leaving death, destruction, and hearsay in its wake. After kuo-toa cabals are scrubbed clean, strict rulers follow with strong laws and rigid codes.

Variant Species

The kou-toa are. There is no variation because the kou-toa view themselves at a single concept and due to their power, they are monolytic. They appear physically as they always have. The only difference is that The High Tide or The Deep might each take on some aspect of their devoted worship. They might wear a claw on one hand. Or maybe practice lockpicking if they worship the leader of a thieves guild.

Kraken

Away from curs'd isles of man,

lies the savior, the grace.

The wanderer, damned by land

and sky to its wretched place.

Anchor to the water, seabed far below.

Gnawing at the foundations of the world,

when the seas rise and clouds fall

there ye find the last hope curl'd

round the roots of Yggdrasil tall.

Anchor to the water, seabed far below.

Introduction

A Kraken is a titanic monster that plagues the deep seas and coastal regions of the world. Krakens are the apex predators of the ocean, regularly preying on Dragon Turtles and other megafauna while also using their malevolent intelligence to control hoards of Kuo-Toa and Mer. Living for millenia, they hatch plots that take centuries to unfold - toppling coastal empires with the ripple effects of a single event.

Mariners fear the Kraken not because it is particularly likely that they will encounter one, but because it is a serious concern to encounter its minions on the seas: raiding Mer, sacrificial Kuo-Toa cults, and vicious Sahuagins and Merrow.

Cults dedicated to Krakens, specifically Elder Krakens, can be found in coastal and semi-coastal settlements of civilized races; often these malevolent sects seek to end all land-life, but some religious groups simply treat the Krakens as temperamental Gods, seeking to please them in order to have safe passage and good health.

Krakens dominate literature, prose, and arts about the sea; capturing the imagination of many a city-dwelling scholar or civil mer. Their deep intelligence also makes them proficient in the trades and magical arts, although their detachment from civilization and insidious rage often makes them simply intelligent and lacking in wisdom.

Physiology and Life Cycle

Real fuckin' huge, that's how we usually describe them. Then yer thinkin' - well, shit, beastie's huge, must be barnacle-brained or slow as a manatee, right? Yea, if'n ye want to get fuckin' locked in the abyss of those jaws go on thinkin' like that. Me? Seven trenches and fourty hells I'd go through before ye make me try and go on and get a real g'lookin at a damned kraken. - Trenchgullet, Retired Warden of the Depths, Awakened Kelp herder. Mer.

A Kraken's anatomy is variable with location, age, and whoever is describing them. The murky water surrounding their lairs, their lethality, and relative detachment from civilization make them incredibly difficult to accurately study. Most often a kraken is described as simply a gargantuan squid-like cephalopod, but a kraken may have traits found in crustaceans, gastropods, and other mollusks. This calls into question the exact origin of the krakens - which are almost piecemeal amalgamations of the most advanced traits of sea animals. Are they creations of celestial beings? Offspring of magical experimentation?

Almost certainly, whatever their origin, the krakens are fearsome and extremely developed for marine life. Massive gill systems that can trap unaware divers, triple-heart cardiovascular systems, and natural armors of chitin all contribute to their prowess. Krakens may have only one massive tentacle that can demolish a fishing-village in a single strike while others may have a mass of hundreds of razor sharp tentacles able to obliterate schools of whales. Krakens universally posses a single maw, usually in the form of a toothed beak roughly the size of a mammoth. Some krakens posses many layers of compounding chitin that are bolstered with metals forged in hydrothermal vents while others may have have translucent skin able to camoflague their massive bodies into mirages of long lost treasure hoards drawing in unwary adventurers.

Krakens live for many centuries, reaching maturity around 200 years and a state of advanced age around 3000. Past this, it is unknown how long krakens may live, although it is rumored the oldest Elder Krakens rival even the aboleths in their age.

Mandilaan

Krakens reproduce sexually, with males able to reproduce after two centuries and females entering reproductive fertility after their first millennia. Once a female becomes fecund, she releases pheromones across the oceans for thousands of nautical miles to sexually mature males. Males who fall under the influence of the pheromones enter a state of psychosis and they immediately seek the female, with the pheromones being powerful enough to even catch human males in its allure. The resulting sexual frenzy is referred to as the Mandilaan, where the krakens cluster in a single mass, the males tearing through one another to mate with the female at the center of the mass. This process utterly shreds the female kraken, whose destroyed body and fragment shells house the hundreds of eggs that have been fertilized by the destructive process.

After a year of incubation, the eggs hatch and the baby krakens, indistinguishable from mature octopi or squids, fight over the dead bodies of the mother kraken and males who did not survive the Mandilaan. Only a small number of the eggs will be female, and they will hatch much larger than their male counterparts and often feed on them before moving on to the immediate consumption of small whales and unsuspecting Mer.

The Mandilaan is viewed as a calamitous event by some and by others as well-regarded, if dangerous, erotic festival. The mixture of viscera, essentials, ink, and other liquids from a Mandilaan is an extremely high-valued aphrodisiac, although caution must be taken as the product of offspring created under it's influence may have scaly patches, vestigal limbs, or webbed feet. The resulting surface whirlpools above Mandilaans sometimes spew gouts of this mixture, leading to the mariner colloquialism "kraken cum and bile."

Behavior and Intelligence

Mendekatlah dan mati bodoh fana! ... Berbicara umum? Tentu saja. Is this better for your feeble mind, hunter? I thought so. Now you won't die confused and alone. You'll just die alone.

Born in frenzy and combat, krakens are solitary beings that only come together for the Mandilaan or against massive threats to their position at the top of the aquatic food-chain. They often resent most lifeforms, especially sentient races of the land. Krakens, although solitary, are not prone to psychosis or madness because of their advanced intelligence and developed resilience. Thus, rarely is a kraken a thrall for a cult of mind flayers or aboleths, but if successfully tamed they would make formidable beasts of burden and siege engines. Krakens inherently understand Deep Speech, and by maturity have been exposed to Infernal, Celestial, and the Common Tongue. Their advanced intelligence allows them to project telepathic fields up to 120 feet around them.

Krakens' personalities vary as much as any other sentient race - from extremely temperamental, to measured restraint, to even goodness in an exceptionally rare few.

The incredible intelligence of a kraken makes them veritable libraries of knowledge of the workings of the seas - one benevolent Kraken, Perdambawa, was interviewed on the eve of his death. He could recall with complete accuracy the exact tidal patterns, weather occurrences, and celestial events going back to thousands of years - and accurately postulated four centuries into the future the natural happenings of the oceans.

Their raw intelligence makes krakens willing to attach themselves to civilization exceptionally capable magi and their psionic powers can be honed if allowed.

Krakens are not necessarily religious, oftentimes too egotistical to subjugate themselves to the wills of a deity - preferring instead to be revered by seaside tribes.

Inter Species Observations

... It is thus, the decree of this sovereign state, that all adventurers are hereby given imperative leave to slay the foul beast Kapu-Rasak, in reward are the accumulated lands of the southern coasts bounded by the Wilderton Forests - so long as they swear by oath to not reveal that this decree has been issued. Gods help us all.

Krakens form deep connections with the beings they do come in contact with it - be them fierce blood feuds or a deified status.

The single most significant enemy of the krakens are the aboleths, who oppose everything about krakens. Considering themselves pure and untainted, the almost mutated and visceral nature of krakens are considered disgusting by aboleths. While a single kraken will easily kill a single or multiple aboleths, swarms of aboleths have been known to ambush krakens who infringe upon their territory.

If a kraken does have a relationship with land-dwelling species, it is usually one of control, with tribute payments often being made to it. However, there are a few cases of krakens willingly entering partnership with other species for great bounty. One notable example is the kraken, Guritasai, the gatekeeper of the Mer city of Venthelm that is secluded in a massive trench.

Elder Krakens have reached especially advanced age and amassed enough magickal prowess to rival entire universities of magical study and minor gods. These are typically deified by less advanced races and small villages of sentient races. Elder Krakens psionic prowress and magical ability thus allows them to give boons to their believers, altering weather patterns and migratory patterns of fish to benefit adherents.

Variant Subspecies

Marsh Krakens inhabit massive estuaries, snaking their bodies along the mud to blend in indistinguishably with the environment until it is too late for unwary adventurers.

Infernal Krakens are fiendish, planar monsters inhabiting the Hells, Abyss, and Elemental Plane of Fire. They utilize magma for respiration instead of water and are known for their slow speed, rock-like hide, and abilities in conjuration.

Celestial Krakens are only found in old tales of them flitting between the planes and stars, primarily as benevolent guides.

Tiger Krakens are fast moving, predatory and boastful Krakens. They are the most likely kraken to be encountered by mariners, as they enjoy the sport of hunting ships, aboleths, dragon turtles, and fishing copper dragons and coastal rocs.

Jörmun Krakens are snake-like, appearing closer to gigantic sea serpents than a cephalapod. They are known to form a coiled mass indistinguishable from a seabed, lying in wait while Mer form massive settlements on it's hibernal body before awakening and feasting.

Virgin Krakens are female krakens who have forcibly prevented or somehow survived the Mandilaan. Because female krakens continue to grow until death, these super-massive krakens can easily be as large as entire seas and cause massive ecological consequences until eventually their gills become too clogged with debris to breathe. Their corpses provide a bounty that often bolsters the population of previously displaced aquatic life and may hold treasures of the past.

DM's Toolkit

The fitting end to any seafaring adventure, a kraken is an intelligent force of nature. They are very similar to a Lich in that they are good for a high-end hunting expedition, campaign building, and general long-term super-plot machinations. Roleplay wise, be sure not to overdo the insidious and haughty nature of krakens. They are, of course, arrogant like aboleths, but never forget a kraken is a wild creature that often will be too concerned with protecting itself and destroying everything to be self-conscious about its image.

Krakens are most fun when they are completely unexpected. Don't have the party's boat attacked by a kraken and do the classic "Kill this tentacle to escape." Instead, have the putrid beak of the kraken consume the entire boat whole and go from there. Want to go kraken-crazy? Krakens in mountain lakes! Krakens in palace fountains! Baby krakens in your cup of grog! Krakens everywhere! Ya-harrr!

Adventure / Encounter hooks provided.

The party gets a message from a wizard who claims to live in a lighthouse, seeking a cure to a "most strange transformation curse."

The party wants to build their super-awesome fort, but shipments of stone and building materials have been halted by a stoppage of sea trade. Boats vanish miles from port.

In their adventures across the planes, a mishap occurs and the party is shunted into deep-space. A strange passing Celestial Kraken offers its assistance, but only if the party helps it save their cursed brethren.

A Mer city has recently been having a variety of workplace-related safety incidents in their hydro-thermal vent forges.

A Mandilaan happens.

The party's adventure to a ruined Aboleth city leads them to encounter a frantic female Kraken, who is desperately searching for a way to prevent the release of her pheromones... in an hour.

A sea-side village offers the party home and hearth. Nice recreational activities, cute kids, refreshing sea air, good inn rates, the whole deal. They are strangely nice. Nothing particularly bad happens, and the party passes through rather amicably. The party diviner finds leeches on them for the next few weeks.

A Kuo-Toa shaman approaches the party on their journey, he is very frustrated, claiming he's been bullied out of his position by a "big fuckin' fish-snake."

Lamia

“Throughout my many years of research into various subjects of arcane knowledge, most of which are nebulous and ever-changing, there is only one thing of which I am sure is universally true, regardless of context: If it seems too good to be true, it is. This is a rule that is as true for life as it is for dealing with lamias.” – Aldus Bluncan, Professor of Divination at the Arcanus University.

Introduction

Many questions plague the mind of a young adult when an attractive individual, whom they thought would never notice them, decides to approach: Do they really like me? Are they just playing a practical joke? Are they mistaking me for someone else? Are they going to strip my bones, occupy my skin and use me to add to their collective hive intelligence?

If that last question strikes you as odd, rejoice! You have never had to fear being the prey of a lamia. Or despair, because you’re the perfect kind of prey…

The Flash Purge & Subsequent Revival

There is some confusion as to why, from a certain date, lamias in their true form went from being described as bestial, hybrid human/lioness’ to relatively new descriptions involving intelligent swarms of beetles. The fact is, depending on what time period you are drawing your research from, both descriptions are accurate.

One day, it came to light that a lamias ability to alter their appearance was not a natural ability and was, in fact, simply the result of a tradition to teach the change shape spell to their offspring as part of a coming of age ritual when they reach adulthood. This knowledge meant that disguised lamias could be more easily uncovered using detect magic, as opposed to other, natural shapeshifters. Thus began the Flash Purge, an extremely systematic and secretive elimination of all detectable lamias. Kingdoms, city-states and empires from all over sent wizards to almost every populated settlement within and without their own borders in an unprecedented feat of cross-species political coordination. Over the course of 10 years, virtually every single lamia was secretly found and tracked until the powers that be deemed they had located them all. On purge day, over the course of 5 hours, every single identified target was beheaded with an axe.

Estimates suggest over 99% of the lamia population were systematically eliminated. It was believed that survivors died on their own, fear of being found making them less likely to emerge from hiding and causing them to starve out. We now know that a sizeable group of survivors banded together and, in a last ditch effort to ensure the survival of their race, performed a dark ritual that changed the very nature of their circumstances of life. Being a race that felt closer to the world of nature than of civilization, and recognizing the need to repopulate quickly while maintaining their apparent extinction as a cover, they found inspiration in the hidden world of insects, and began taking advantage of the new abilities their beetle form provided to reproduce, repopulate, and take revenge.

Further new research suggests there may even be previous few proto-lamias left living in isolation, who have perhaps undertaken their own repopulation efforts.

Physiological Observations (Proto-Lamia)

Proto-lamia, or Prides, as they call themselves, were beings with the body of a lion and the upper body of a humanoid female, their distribution of anatomy being similar to that of centaurs. In their true form, prides possessed all of the strength and imposing physical abilities of a lioness which would make them formidable fighters were it not for their tendency to be cowards in close-quarters combat.

It is true that proto-lamia were all born as females but, they were also all born with a complete reproductive structure, meaning they could impregnate as well as be impregnated. Curiously, while this led to widely anticipated hedonist orgies during designated mating seasons, it also created a taboo with regards to masturbation being deemed selfish, as their particular circumstances of reproduction became increasingly tied to feelings of community and belonging.

Physiological Observations (Neo-Lamia)

Neo-lamia, or Swarms, as they call themselves, are almost alien beings. A single neo-lamia is actually a swarm of malicious beetles with a hivemind-like intelligence which forms a semblance of individuality between swarms. The ability to break from their disguise into their swarm form gives them the tactical advantage of being easily able to flee any situation.

Unlike prides, swarms are born sexless, a mass of perfectly androgynous beetles. However, when they consume and occupy a humanoid, they can use all the capacities of their victims, and can thus reproduce through sex. They also have the ability to retain the first form they ever occupy, and can magically shape change into it at any time.

Social Observations

They are extremely tight-woven in their own communities. This is reflected in both of their forms: whether you are a member of a pride of lions, or a swarm of insects, all of your actions are for the good of the group and your family. Acts that are deemed as selfish are regarded as the worst kind of crime, subject to immediate exile from the community. These include assault of another member of the group, theft of another’s possessions, and any acts for the sole purpose of self-gratification. They are always highly encourage to aid those in their community, and it is extremely uncommon to find them travelling alone.

Many day to day actions are also done in conjunction with other members of their group. All meals are prepared and eaten collectively, child-rearing is regarded as the duty of the greater community instead of solely the parents, and every collective decision is made by individual vote, as in a pure democracy. Sometimes a figurehead will be chosen to represent the will of all, but if they are found to be attempting to manipulate/deceive the ones who chosen, they are remorselessly executed. This is because while they are extremely conniving and manipulative by nature, they deem that is only acceptable with regards to oppressing others, and to do so to your own people is to show a profound lack of respect for them, as well as yourself for placing yourself above (and therefore apart from) the community.

Behavioural Observations

Interestingly, one of the biggest differences (other than appearance) between the two types of lamia is that while a pride will always be in their true form unless they believe they are being watched, swarms generally prefer to remain in their retained first humanoid form. They have no qualms with turning into their beetle form when convenient, but apparently the fact that the nature of their hivemind simulates a peculiar type of individuality, they find it more comforting to walk the earth as a single being whenever possible.

Reproduction is also done differently between the two splinter races. While proto-lamia will have spontaneous, designated mating seasons (decided by democratic vote based upon when would be collectively convenient) wherein they will assume their pride forms, engage in a mass communal orgy and generally double their population, neo-lamia do not reproduce with each other at all. When a neo-lamia slays a humanoid creature, it adds another beetle to its evergrowing swarm. When the swarm grows too large, it reproduces by first slaying a worthy fey creature such as a powerful eladrin. Rather than consuming the body, the swarm then divides itself, filling the corpse with hundreds of its beetles. Over time, these beetles devour the corpse and arise as a new lamia. This newborn swarm gains much of the victim’s memories and knowledge in the process, making them excellent infiltrators and dangerous enemies. Alternatively, if the need to reproduce quickly arises, a neo-lamia can simply have sex with a member of another species, during which the second party will begin to fill very ill before exploding into a collective of beetles equivalent to its former mass, thus instantly giving birth to a new swarm.

What both types of lamia do have in common, though, is their love of hunting and devouring humanoids. Lamias lure their victims to death by assuming a pleasing humanoid guise While proto-lamias seem to essentially limit themselves to female forms, their counterparts have no objections with appearing under the guise of males, and will, in fact, use the myth that they are confined to the appearance of a single gender to fool those who they discover may be hunting their kind. Some lamias, driven by the need to consume other sentient creatures, simply stalk humanoids wherever they can find them. Others possess a twisted thirst for knowledge, seeking to acquire arcane lore and magical power at any cost.

Inter-Species Observation

While they do love to hunt, consume, and kill, many lamias enjoy manipulation purely for manipulation’s sake. In fact, this is often the bulk of their interactions with other humanoids, the optional (but encouraged) killing serving only as a climax to the days, weeks, or sometimes months of deception and manipulation they put their victims through. Every other humanoid is usually seen as a means to an end, in one way or another, though they can develop friendships. Sometimes, for example, to make sure the nearby village of their community is not exposed as being a complete cover for a lamia clan, one of them may develop bonds with a local politician in power. They may actually come to like this individual, opting not to kill him during convenient moments of isolation. However, if at any point it would be more useful to simply assume their identity rather than subtly pull their strings, the lamia will feel no remorse in killing them and taking on their appearance for the good of the community.

Lamias disregard any kind of monster or unnatural creature, and will swiftly wipe them out unless they are more powerful than the combined might of however many members of their family a single pride or swarm may assemble to help them. This means they avoid the Underdark, or the homes of giants, dragons, and other similarly powerful beings. They do however, revere animals, especially animals with a deep focus on any kind of community. Wolves, lions, bees, apes, ants, and many other species sharing similar behaviours will often be left alone if they approach lamia territory, whereas more solitary animals will be the ones who are actively hunted for sustenance or wiped out for convenience.

The only beings which lamias will greet with open aggression and hostility are, in fact, their own racial counterparts. Any time prides and swarms meet, it is almost always in hostile confrontation. While the proto-lamias believe their newer cousins to be heretics who have turned their backs on the ideas of community with which the species have ingrained themselves, neo-lamias view their predecessors as selfish whose time has passed, and whose commitment to pride over the continued survival of their families marks their beliefs as outdated and insulting to the ideals they pretend to hold dear.

DM’s Toolkit

Lamias are not creature that are often seen or even talked about in campaigns, which makes them perfect to pit against parties, as they can be easily confused with other shapeshifters without concrete evidence, and will sometimes screw with parties just for fun, which will frustrate any wannabe detectives trying to find a greater purpose.

A serial killer is on the loose! Even worse, the victims keep appearing to their loved ones after their deaths, except no cleric in the land can manage to banish what they are sure is a ghost or demon, but is in fact a lamia assuming the guise of deceased loved ones to torture individuals. Alternatively, the victims of the mystery killer have been spotted leaving the city, days after their death…

A king hires the party to eliminate what eye-witness accounts confirm is a malicious shapeshifter wreaking havoc in his kingdom. The party knows the creature must have a weakness, but is it a doppelganger? A demon? A wizard using illusion spells? And will they be prepared when it is not one individual, but a coordinated clan of lamias slowly taking over the city?

The party needs to explore a forgotten temple to find a mystical artifact. The temple was once part of a mighty empire, is massive and spans many miles centered around a central structure where the object is located. Many people have gotten hopelessly lost and been forced to live in the mega-temple, including other groups of former adventurers, refugees from foreign kingdoms, and other isolated bands of survivors. Little do the PC’s know this is also an ancient holy site to lamias, and both prides and swarms are warring against each other to claim the temple as their own, using the lost humanoids as pawns. Do the PC’s wipe out both sides, including the survivors in case they are disguised lamias? Or do they sympathise with either swarms or prides, and help them claim their religious right?

Lich

It was gallant, chivalrous - you could say. It started like any other fairy tale, although my colleagues didn't seem to think so. My goal was justice against that which stole my wife, my children, and even my livelihood. That bastard, who beat me down and spat on me and didn't have the courtesy to finish me off. A few experiments, trips to shady alleys, and a few tragic encounters were all it really took. I say tragic, but they were mostly tragic for my colleagues - they were put to good use. With every expedition people grew more worried, every ritual seemed to make me less popular with the students. Damn the students. They were young, happy, vibrant. They had their lives ahead of them. I didn't want that. What had life given me? A wife with water in her lungs, and children born dead. I wanted a second chance. I wanted to avenge them. I wanted to be reborn like my children were. From the womb of magic and might, I wanted to breathe void and speak power. I thought I wanted to prove them wrong - to right a wrong. It was the moment I woke, after those days in agony, that I truly realized what it had all been for. I didn't want to beat life. I wanted to enslave death.

Introduction

A Lich (litch) is an undead being who has escaped the mortal coil by ritualistic and magical means. They have imbued an object with intense magical energies to become a phylactery (fuh-lack-tery, phi-lack-tor-e), which holds their undying soul. Their corporeal form, usually rotted away with the passage of time, is destructible but not permanently so; the phylactery reintegrates this form in a matter of days. A Lich lives forever; usually alone, feared by society, despised by colleagues, and abhorred by kin. The only way to permanently slay a Lich, a matter of much importance to many adventuring parties, is to destroy the phylactery.

A Lich grabs hold of the imagination of the people - tales of the horrific deeds inspire both chivalry and infamy as the fate of the world can change on the whim of a sole being. More powerful sorcerers than vampires, despised more than dragons, and the ultimate lords of nigh-all undead; a Lich commands fear and awe wherever it chooses to make itself known. They may be good, they are often evil. A Lich, simply put, is terrifying.

Creation

It began, like most horrible and atrocious things, with a rather brilliant idea. I wasn't born a God, but I would become one.

The single most frequent question on Lichdom is how does one become a Lich. An innocent enough question on a late-night filled with tales of werefolk and mermen but the pursuit of Lichdom is no mere undertaking, and accidents abound. For every Lich ever existing, hundreds of mages lie dead (or worse) from failed or misinformed pursuits.

Because of their cataclysmic nature, most all centers of magical inquiry and study put a general ban on the study of Lichdom past finding the best way to kill them. Even citadels and colleges tolerant of necromancy will usually draw a line at Lichdom in "civilized" society. But in magical groups that do not abhor Liches, even those that celebrate them, especially in Mortocracies, the pursuit of Lichdom is well-regarded. The problem is that even before Lichdom, necromancers do not want to reveal what they know for fear of having their power or position stolen. Often lectures are shaded in conjecture and duplicity, and more often describes the cautions one should take.

The first step to Lichdom, is knowledge. A Lich craves knowledge more than anything - a king mad to know the future of his legacy, a wizard lusting for the final component of his research, a druid holding fast to study the inner workings of an ancient forest. The ritual of Lichdom is not standardized - and what rituals are useless and what are critical steps are indistinguishable until a mage dies and either rises again or rises nevermore.

To become a Lich an ordinary mortal must look for the knowledge stolen away by past Liches or held fast by ancient patrons. Expeditions to abandoned temples or deep beneath the sea, any lead will be pursued by a mortal running out of time. Often a mortal mage will resort to bargaining with an otherworldly being to attain Lichdom. These Liches will often be bound in submission and altered by their patron to suit their ultimate will. In canon, Liches who have subjugated themselves to another entity in exchange for their powers are known as Bound Liches.

Common myth holds that the secrets of Lichdom are usually spread apart across the planes, but certain repositories of grand knowledge may exist. Books such as the Necronomicon, the Black Book, and the Living Thought are said to exist that hold the entire secrets of Lichdom. Some scholars, mostly of monastic orders, purport that the pursuit of Lichdom is simply escaping the cycle of reincarnation by truly knowing the self.

Whatever the case, classical Lichdom has a few known rituals that are relatively well researched. The beginning step, some middle-level rituals, and the final ritual are all relatively well-documented although variations do exist.

The first step to Lichdom must always begin with the Knowing. This is the point at which a necromancer forsakes 'good' deities and embraces the total pursuit, from this step there is no going back. Usually a simple prayer to evil deities (which often leads to a Bound Lich) some True Liches claim to have started with a ritualistic slaughter in the name of themselves. In this way, a True Lich also begins the first step on it's path to Divinity. It is yet undocumented how a Good Lich passes through the Knowing. Some elven communities speak of sagacious Baelnorns - immortal elders who have sacrificed their mortality and eternity in paradise in exchange for guiding future generations.

Most middle-level rituals are simple evocations or conjurations designed to produce the materials for the final ritual. This includes strengthening the phylactery, infusing reagents, etc. Often the raw magical energies required for this process will begin to rapidly age the proto-Lich - and being too consumed with the pursuit of Lichdom to maintain appearances, this is also the stage at which it becomes easier of locating a proto-Lich. During this stage, depending on the nature of the Lich, the environment around their laboratory and ritual sites will change. Most plant life will die, water will become poisoned, and animal life will grow sick and their flesh will become necrotic. This is not to say all Liches produce these results. There is one instance of a Bound proto-Lich in service to a mighty Dao clan near a mining town that mysteriously found a massive vein of gold ore. Another in service to a god of Quaggoths began to cause the nearby village to devolve into lustful and cannibalistic frenzies.

The final ritual is the most well documented because it is the point at which a proto-Lich is most vulnerable and their presence is most observable. The central ritual is for the proto-Lich to kill itself on the night of a celestial event. The most traditional means of this is through an Elixir of Defilement on the night of a Full Moon. The means by which the proto-Lich preforms this ritual is also dependent on their patron and alignment. Most Liches will create the final Elixir with the ichor of a mighty celestial being - most commonly devas or Unicorns - and the viscera of an ancient natural being - krakens, rocs, dragons, etc. The rarity of the celestial event seems to influence both the strength of the Lich and their bolstered magical prowess.

After killing themselves, the proto-Lich will lie dead for a day before rising the next night as a full Lich.

The entire process of Lichdom has been examined for centuries, and it has been suggested that the process of Lichdom is not necromancy at all - it is the process of ascension. Liches thus would be a corrupt and limited form of demi-god - and True Liches who have attained undeath by their own will are on the path to true ascension. The Lich Gods: Vecna, Lady Vol, and others are said to be the complete manifestation of Lichdom.

Physiology

What did you expect, whore? A shining knight? A dashing king? This is what you wanted! This is what I spent lifetimes working for! Look at my flesh - I love this flesh! I have bones stronger than mythril; a drop of my blood can kill a kingdom. Look at your weak, decrepit form. You're filth. I did this for you, and you have the arrogance to call me subhuman? I am not beneath you. You're dying. I... I am alive.

The Lich experiences a much more enjoyable state of undeath than most undead. Like most, they do not require sleep, food, drink, or air but they have been known to be able to enjoy them. A Lich exhibits the general status of necrosis among the whole body, with drawn flesh and viscous blood. Feathered and furred species that enter Lichdom will molt and shed the vast majority of their outer coverings, and skin often sloughs off in large portions. This process of decomposition can be carefully staved off, but the motivation to do so is usually not that present in the reclusive Lich. They still have excellent sensory input and response however, even though their eyes are usually among the first to be eaten by maggots.

The undead body of a Lich is deceptively strong. In addition to their ability to reform, their corporeal form is extremely strong and their viscera are very potent. Bones are as strong as the strongest metals, blood is extremely toxic, and even the touch of a Lich makes flesh necrotic. Liches can paralyze mere mortals with this touch, and conjure forth hordes of undead minions at their will. Bound Liches are often imbued with great powers in line with their patron also.

A Lich retains perfect recollection of their past life, and often claim to have sharper wits and a more subdued disposition. Depending on the patron of a Lich and their alignment, some Bound Liches exhibit a slow decline into madness (especially among chaotic deities and fiendish patrons.) The immense timeframe that a Lich has to implement plans, along with the tomes of knowledge they gain on their path are counted among Liches as their strongest asset.

The magical energies of a Lich are amplified by the potent rituals and excruciating trials one must perform to become a Lich - the sheer force of will alone; the drive and ambition of a proto-Lich is a nexus for the raw magical energies of undeath. But this toll of everlife is exacted upon a Lich in the form of requiring souls to fuel their phylactery's energies.

Several subspecies of Lich exist that react differently to Lichdom, some notable Liches are Alhoon Liches, Dracoliches, Arcliches, Baelnorns, True Liches, and Bound Liches. The Demilich is an advanced form of Lichdom; one that has been starved of souls whose consciousness travels without regard for planar boundaries.

The specific form of phylactery is traditionally depicted as a metal strongbox stuffed with scrolls and parchments with strange runes. It is safe to assume that most Liches choose an alternative form as adventurers take to smashing all objects and casements that look like they might have a few coppers in. A phylactery must be of strong material construction, certain rarity, or personal importance so as to grant it magi-corporeal binding stability. A relatively easy to attain form is a that of an exotic gem, which is relatively safe from being smashed and easy to disguise as a simple magical pendant. Phylactery's may also be imbued with magical properties beyond that of Lich-magic, such as Contingencies, curses, and illusions. These act as a defensive mechanism to protect the phylactery if the series of minions and hordes of undead are swept away.

To continue existing in their current form, a Lich must feed souls to it's phylactery. The amount of souls required seems not to vary, but has been known to increase with great magical exertion. Many Bound Liches attest that if significantly trusted, their patron will imbue the phylactery into their divine presence - thus rendering the Lich completely immortal unless the bond between divinity and Lich is severed (usually in consecrated or desecrated grounds, with specific binding magics, and a powerful gem designed to capture the unbound Lich soul upon severance)

Variant Liches

Mother never was fond of my... tendencies. A failed tadpole was regarded as useless to most of the others, but I always thought of death as an opportunity. No one thought much like me, which made me the renegade mind. That's in the past though, long ago I... eliminated those objections. Ah, but what is one without their heritage. The taste wanes with every year it seems, but I can never resist the desire to enjoy a fresh mind. Old habits die hard, it seems.

The ecology of Lichdom is a controversial and vast field - for every sentient species so too are there respective Liches and sub-classes of Liches. Some races of course are simply too aggressive or unintelligent to support more than one or two exceptional Liches: goblins, orcs, Quaggoth, and others. But truly advanced species often have similar rates of Lichdom as the common human: elves, dwarves, halflings, tieflings, and others all are prone to Lichdom.

Certain qualities of a race make them more or less predisposed to Lichdom. Races the live for long or indefinite periods of time, such as elves, gith, celestials, or fiends often are not drawn to infinite lifespan of a Lich. Races with already inherent magical prowess also do not tend towards Lichdom. Lichdom is more prevalent among the ambitious races: humans, dragons, half-elves. Races concerned with purity such as yuan-ti, nagas, and some dragon sub-species are even less so inclined towards Lichdom.

The Demilich is considered by some Liches to be a degeneration of Lichdom, and by others to be the next evolution of a Lich. A Demilich has been deprived of souls for such an extended period of times that the magics sustaining the body (and some would say consciousness) of the Lich can no longer function - slowly dissolving a Lich into a sole bone body part - usually a skull or hand. In this state, Demiliches claim to exist as "an ethereal conscious." Whether this is simply a constant state of divination magic - in which the scrying matrix fuses with the psyche - or a limited form of divine presence is still unresolved.

Dracoliches are the draconic form of Lich, who along with inheriting the strong magics and temperment of the race also have a unique feature among Liches. A Dracolich may imbibe itself and soul into the body of another drake such that it has full possessive control (not unlike fiendish possession.)

Celestial beings are thought to be incapable of becoming Liches, but rumors of fallen Deva and Planetars seeking godhood through Lichdom do exist. Fiends and other outsiders can become liches, classified as lichfiends. Especially in the intrigue of the Hells, it is not uncommon for a fiend to essentially steal the souls of lesser devils to prevent a rise of power similar to their own. These beings exist solely by the will of a superior fiend, however, and at any moment their soul may be cast down back to the Maggot Pits of Avernus.

It is unknown if the Lich deities were once pure or if they ascended as Liches. Some theologians posit that the divine essence could not be corrupted in such a way - but the matter is often reserved for a matter of thought experiments.

Inter-Species Observations

I simply do not understand the fears of these mortal traders. Their lives are not at too horrible a risk. Our vampire clans are safely regulated in most of our provinces. Even the zombie hordes have somewhat accurately measured migratory patterns. A Lichdom is a... relatively safe government.

A Lich's quest for domination often leads it to the ultimate evil: a political career. Fueled by a sense of absolution, infallible logic, and a keen distaste for living governments - a Lich will often assemble hordes of the undead to be governed by their will. These Lichdoms are tyrannous blood-hordes at best, but some rumors exist of relatively peaceful, almost utopian, societies where the dead serve the living and a Lichking rules in tandem with a mortal king.

A sole Lich who does not pursue the creation of it's own state will often hole up in ancient tombs, caverns, towers, cairns, etc. In these locations the Lich will extend it's reach of power with subjugated mortal envoys and undead servitors. A Liches physical nexus of power is almost never the location of its phylactery, which is kept in much more secretive and less extravagant (though much more deadly) locations.

Liches are haughty in comparison to all races, especially mortal ones, viewing them as little more than ants. Immortal or long-lived races may garner some respect, but even then a Lich will always call into question their "inferior intellect." Even minor divines are often treated lukewarmly by Liches. Trickster gods enjoy Liches as they are the ultimate source of entertainment, gladly manipulating them into performing inane tasks or foiling their plans for world domination.

DM's Toolkit

A Lich is iconic to the Dungeons and Dragons experience. For every kind of NPC there is a different kind of Lich. According to RAW, a Lich is only suitable as the finale of an epic level-20 campaign, or the massive expedition of groups of lower-level players. But the roleplay opportunities, the minions the Lich sends out, and the overall flavor they can bring to a campaign makes them a near-mandatory aspect of any DM's career. Don't cheapen Liches however, they should be surrounded in mystery and taboo. Also, the quest to become a Lich is an great downtime-consumer for a single player - giving a DM plenty of opportunities for inter-party politics and player development. A Lich should be a big personality too, with a solid backstory for each one.

No matter what, remember that a Lich isn't just another stat sheet. Adding one to a campaign is a conscious choice to alter your campaign almost fundamentally. For this reason, I've included campaign/adventure hooks instead of my usual encounter hooks. Enjoy.

A member of the party finds a book bound in human leather inside the robes of a dead necromancer. Scrawled on it are the words "Do not open" written in blood.

The party awakes to find themselves imprisoned in a cell. A nearby prisoner tells them to "Remember the true king" as an undead Minotaur grabs him and leads him off to the gallows. Screaming is heard.

A close party-mate or NPC of the party dies at the hands of a Lich. But it offers the party a solution: get rid of the Lich's master and their friend will be resurrected. The catch? To get to the master, they'll have to go through Hell.

The party arrives on a tropical shore after a long voyage to the new world. But everything is different in this hostile new world, where undeath is the norm.

A vicious assassination in the capital has caused a court noble to seize power, but recent reforms have rumors of foul magic befalling the kingdom.

The party's adventures in the Far-EastTM have ended, but on their way back to Totally-Not-Medieval-Europe, they find themselves lost in a desert. Here, pyramids shift with the sands, massive cities live in dunebanks, and a vision of what the party thinks is a mummy haunts their dreams.

A Lich of the Shadowfell has decided the Prime world is his next target, deciding to open planar rifts throughout the world to cause an apocalyptic merging of the two worlds.

Lizardfolk

You would do well to tread carefully in the swamps, human. Not all of my kin are well fed and wouldn’t find you any less appealing a meal than you would a fat pig - Lizard Folk Shaman

Introduction

Lizardfolk or Rak’Ta (what they refer to themselves as) are a large seemingly primal race of reptilian humanoids. They have many colors and variations which can help depict heritages and regions. Lizardfolk are carnivorous and dangerous to any humanoid aside from another Lizardfolk. This does not make them evil it is simply just their way of life. “Meat is food and you are meat” is as close to an apology anyone will ever hear.

Lizardfolk are entirely alien in thinking to most races, they care about one aspect and that’s survival. They do not seek progress like many races and they don’t seek to make more defensible kingdoms or communities they band together simply to survive. This doesn’t mean that they are uncaring; neigh they are a tight knit community. There is a lot to be learned still about the reptilian race and the more I can relay the better relations can be handled with them in the future.

Physiological Observations

Lizard folk stand at 6 to 7 feet tall and are typically well muscled strong individuals. Resembling a mix between a burly barbarian and a shorter snouted monitor lizard they can be menacing even to the toughest Dwarves. Lizard folk are strictly carnivores and sustain themselves on a substantial amount of meat each day.

Lizard folk as mentioned come in many colors but most commonly are that of lighter greens, blacks and forest greens. This usually indicates the habitats in which they live for better camouflage. They have large yellow eyes with vertical slits for pupils. Their heads on average resemble a carnivorous monitor with large sharp teeth. Their teeth are typically very clean and white as their diet consists mostly of fresh sanitary meat.

Lizardfolk while ravenous carnivores are not barbaric in their consumption and acquisition of food. They are excellent and intelligent hunters using well-honed tactics of brute force, stealth and well put together traps to bring as much food to the table as possible. Rak’Ta are surprisingly warm blooded so they must consume a large amount of meat every day. For an average specimen standing 6 ½ feet tall they must consume over 7 lbs. of meat a day for normal sustenance. They can survive for 2 to 3 weeks without food but will become slower and more preservative of energy with each day of a missed meal. They do cook and flavor their food typically with plants and other vegetation. It can be said Rak’Ta are some of the best meat cooks in the lands with their technique and spices, although they are not discriminate on the animal it comes from so it’s best not to ask.

Males and females are very hard to distinguish for most other races. Females are typically more slender in stature and males are slightly wider and taller. Males are typically also more vibrant in color much like their distant lizard relatives. This is useful to lizards for mating practices but to the Lizardfolk this makes hunting skittish prey more difficult as they can stand out in the dense foliage of their environments. For this reason Males tend to be more openly aggressive in hunting and fighting while females with their slightly muted colors are more apt to stealth and subversive tactics on the hunt and in battle.

Lizardfolk while fully reptilian do carry some amphibian like traits. They are foremost air breathers but through special small gill pouches inside of their mouths they can filter oxygen from the water. Most Lizardfolk communities live in dense jungles, forests or swamps and typically near water as to take full advantage of variety of prey. They are excellent swimmers and as much as at home in water as they are on land.

Social Observations

Lizardfolk while seemingly brutish and barbaric in appearance are far from in social form. They are primal yet sophisticated socially. They live in tribes of around 30 to 50 adults and typically between 1 and 2 children per adult couple over the span of their lives. That equates to a lot of food and thus many members are hunters. Very few adults do not hunt. Those few, who do not hunt, watch the tribe’s children and teach them. The children are all taught together the lessons in cycles of the year and how to hunt and gather. Luckily children learn quickly as they reach adulthood at only 5 years of age.

Rak’Ta are caring parents to their children but also care deeply for the children of others. The family in their eyes is the whole tribe and while they favor their own offspring they do care for everyone’s children in some way. Couples are typically joined together after their first mating making them bonded not unlike marriage. This typically is a budding relationship by familiarity with another and grows over time. It is rare for a couple to split as they are monogamous but if one is unfaithful the cuckolded one typically finds another mate also. These splits are most often unpleasant and sometimes lead to one or more members leaving the tribe.

For growing up so quickly Lizardfolk live long lives naturally. They can reach ages of up to 60 years when not stopped short by disease, battle, or other unnatural deaths. Childhood while short is typically very fondly remembered. They do their lessons in the mornings and by mid-day they are left to roam the areas near to the tribe’s encampments to explore and play to their whims. This of course is supervised from the teachers from afar in case of dangers but the young are capable fighters on their own. They also tend to stick together in small group of 4 to 5 younglings to play games with each other.

Among the tribes there’s a structure similar to barbarians with elder council and a shaman giving council to a Chief. The Chief seems to always listen to their advisors and make an informed decision when needed. The elders are always members who have been prominent in their tribe in some way. Weather battle exploits or benefited the tribe in some other way the council will agree amongst each other and invite a new member based on their deeds. The Shaman and Chief are typically passed down in a family of the most promising offspring to fit the job. It is rare but it can happen where another young is chosen to be groomed for such a position if no suitable offspring are produced.

Lizardfolk live in these tribes with strong but temporary stitched and lashed together wooden homes. They follow the best food sources for their areas and move when needed to follow a herd or if simply nothing’s left to hunt. In colder regions and months they will line homes with skins and wear skins to further keep warm. Although typically they hunt a primary animal in a region they will kill and eat what they can since they need large amounts of food. It’s not unheard of for a tribe to eat 4 to 5 full grown horses in a day.

Fighting between tribes can and does happen. If they intersect and food becomes scarcer the tribes will then diplomatically try and express their wishes for the other to leave. These talks rarely end well though and war breaks out soon after. These wars are often short and decided in 1 large battle. The refugees and survivors are typically forced to move and start anew in a different area with significantly smaller numbers. This can cause bitter rivalries in clans that can last decades and in 1 case I’ve been told centuries.

During most of the daylight Lizardfolk are determined and actively either busy cleaning and repairing their homes, hunting or gather. During the night they share stories and talk amongst each other much like the patrons of any tavern. They eat only 1 time a day and take their meal and drinks of water all at once and need to digest so they socialize operating at a lower energy level. Digestion does take a bit more effort for them than most other humanoids and in this time they are more lethargic and unable to effectively fight. For this reason there’s typically the group of the most elite warriors that eat only after the majority of the tribe have finished with their digestion period. These warriors are given the title of “Grafta” which roughly translates to a deadly poison in common, and are well respected in the community. These warriors are typically found in a group of hunters and are can be far more dangerous than the average Lizardfolk.

While they primarily consume water Rak’Ta do have their own drink they use in occasions. This drink is typically made from fermented fruit and plants and is strong as dwarven ale. It is a despicable taste of rotting plants and stagnant water but they seem to favor it.

Lizardfolk are not of an organized zeal or religion but they do greatly favor and respect larger reptiles, either by giving them wide-birth or simply never attempting to hunt them. Commonly this is a dragon that they do not disturb or even in some cases huge carnivores like a Tyrannosaurus. They will sometimes strike deals with dragons and act as a first wave of protectors for their lairs in exchange for food and protection from the dragon.

Socially males and females are not distinguished in any way. There are no such qualms over sex among Lizardfolk. Each member of a community knows their place and does there job and in that absolute practicality they rarely take time to even consider such matters and focus on survival. Anyone typically holds any position in the tribe as for the most part it is all based on deed.

Inter-Species Observations

Lizardfolk typically just consider most other animals as food unless they are far outmatched. As mentioned before, this commonly will be only dragons but in more remote reaches larger dinorsaurs can be included in this exclusive group. This does not mean they will immediately attack intruders in their territory as they understand negotiations can bring them greater amounts of food then simply just killing and eating them.

Any amount of long term alliances or trade typically breaks down because of neglect by the Lizardfolk to continue talks. As they are mostly self-centric in thinking of survival they don’t pay heed to other matters especially social ones during the day. This is why when speaking to Lizardfolk in any diplomatic fashion is always favorable at the later hours of the day as they are more open to ideas with their bellies full.

Lizardfolk in abundant food areas do take other animals as pets or working animals for many things. Hunting dogs, wildcats or even bears are not unheard of but they favor reptiles and seem to relate with such creatures easier. In regions where dinosaurs live Lizardfolk inevitably find plentiful food and keep Velociraptors or Deinonychus as a human would hunting dogs.

When fighting Lizardfolk typically carry swords and shields as their main weapons. The shields are made of tempered and treated wood making them very sturdy and not easy to break. They are skilled in many weapons but more often than not have only clubs. Most weapons are spoils of victory against other races. Outside of a club and they favor the sword. Although rare they can make their own weapons if the tribe has a blacksmith.

While blacksmithing isn’t common some tribes do learn such ways and forge weapons. Even rarer if a tribe happens to have a magic user among them they will typically have enchanted weapons and armors. Lizardfolk spell-casters almost always focus on Nature, Evocations and Creation magics. This stems from the drive to better their communities and will for the most part use the spells to further their tribe’s success.

When outsiders are encountered by Lizardfolk hunting parties they typically start peacefully recognizing other sentient races. Pre-designated spokesperson will greet the strangers with the group holding back ready to fight in an instant. The more stealthy females will slowly attempt to flank the strangers if possible to better their odds in-case of the coming fight. They will allow travelers through in trade for food or sometimes even weapons. A common adage of one region is “Passage through the swamp requires 3 swords and a buckler”.

When fighting Lizardfolk use their whole bodies when fighting. They trip with their tales and bite when then can. They are skilled in weapon combat but mix in their natural weapon for surprising maneuvers or feints. The Grafta are far more skilled and could be considered experts of their chosen weapon in almost any land. Males will typically roar and charge in the front while females attempt to ambush from the sides and flank of an enemy or group. They attempt to overwhelm with ferocity and numbers but eventually fall into steady fighting patterns if the prey still resist.

Tactics when hunting are not very different. For more skittish prey they will use bows from ambush but for more sturdy prey that fight they treat them much like when fighting a group.

Variations

Lizardfolk are a diverse group and detailed differences are bellow.

Jungle Lizardfolk – they are lighter green and typically are striped with blacks and red lines down their bodies.

Forest Lizardfolk – Darker green in color and have a more mottled appearance with dark brown mottles skins that help blend in with the forests foliage.

Swamp Lizardfolk – These Lizardfolk are typically solid black and favor ambush from the dark murky waters.

Snow Lizardfolk – Far rarer these varieties hunt and follow large mammoth herds or even caribou. They are smaller only reaching 5 feet at max and are white with light blue stripes down their spines.

Desert Lizardfolk – These light to golden brown individuals eat smaller animals and bugs, foraging for large amounts of them. They do however attack and eat humanoids far more often and will attack groups on sight if they think they can win.

DM’s Toolbox

Lizardfolk are easily made into a monstrous adversary or ward against the wilderness. As a DM basic enemies can get boring and maybe you could try and stop fighting between tribes that would awaken the wrath of one of the tribe’s protector dragon. Don’t be afraid to break out of the norm and use the Lizardfolk in different ways.

Magmin

Without setting anything on fire, you will heat only the area inside the furnace to the stated temperature. You will then maintain the temperature of the furnace until you are ordered to stop. When you are given the order to stop, you will continue to refrain from setting anything on fire while you allow the furnace to cool and await further instructions.

-Acclaimed wizard Cyrus von Hardt’s orders to a summoned magmin

Introduction

One of the most valuable skills for a summoner is knowing which tool is suited for which job. While magmin may lack the subtlety of other summoned creatures, they excel at causing chaos and destruction. In fact, magmin are so specialized to this purpose that it is difficult to use them for anything else.

Magmin are difficult creatures for summoners to work with – they believe that burning is the natural state of all flammable objects, and all of their instincts drive them to burn everything in sight. Further, they are free-

spirited troublemakers, and are ill-suited to the simple, monotonous tasks that golems excel at.

If not kept on a tight leash, a magmin can turn even the simplest of missions into a chance for arson. On the other hand, if you want something burned to the ground there are few creatures more suitable for the job.

hysiological Observations

Magmin are not naturally occurring creatures. Similar to golems, they were originally fire elemental spirits, but the summoning process that bound them to the Material Plane also trapped them in a black shell of hardened magma. This shell is hard and thick enough to repel most weapons. If the shell is ever broken completely the volatile innards of the magmin explode outwards, raining fire and magma down upon everything nearby.

The hardened shell of a magmin glows a faint red from the fire within, and particularly flammable materials can be set ablaze just from the heat radiated by a magmin. This heat is particularly concentrated around the hands, where small holes in the palms release the flames trapped inside the magmin’s shell.

Magmin have a limited amount of control over the fire within, allowing them to force small jets of flame out through the cracks in their shell. This ability is normally used to illuminate the surrounding area. Magmin can choose not to stay alight, but unless specifically bound to do so by their summoner they may occasionally set themselves alight as a simple reflex. Some magmin have exhibited the ability to use this flame as a ranged attack, but that extent of control is exceedingly rare.

Magmin are usually small and compact; some researchers have theorized that a more powerful elemental could be used to create a much larger magmin, but so far their studies have failed to stabilize the elemental within a solid form.

Social Observations

Magmin are seldom able to create their own cultures; as summoned creatures, they are usually at the beck and call of their summoner. However, when released from a summoner’s control after his death or for other reasons, magmin will travel in a disorganized tribe with no discernable leader, wandering the Material Plane until they come across a source of immense heat, such as a forest fire or a volcano. A number of magmin will remain behind while the rest of the tribe moves on, continuing their destructive wandering.

For this reason, volcanic eruptions are often accompanied by magmin raids, as magmin follow the heat outside of their temporary home.

Behaviorial Observations

The destructive habits of the magmin are not born of malice, but of instinct and innocence. With faint memories of the Elemental Plane of Fire, they associate fire with comfort rather than pain and destruction, and can never be made to truly understand the fear of fire exhibited by other creatures. In their ignorance of the pain fire causes to beings of flesh and blood, magmin find the panic of a creature set aflame highly comedic.

If left to its own devices, magmin do not actively try to attack other creatures, though they may attempt to set them alight out of curiousity or boredom. When attacked, they prefer to flee rather than fight back. If forced into a corner, however, they are capable of fighting with their superheated hands.

Simply being touched by a magmin is enough to cause severe burns. While magmin do not move particularly fast when they reach out, the heat haze that surrounds their hands can make the attack difficult to dodge.

Inter-Species Observations

Magmin are often summoned by fire giants and efreeti for use in warfare. Being immune to fire, an army of fire giants can fight alongside magmin without fear of their destructive habits.

Attracted to all sources of extreme heat, magmin tribes sometimes end up following red dragons, which may tolerate them if they pay it the appropriate amount of respect.

DM's Toolkit

Magmin can make a very good addition to combat encounters across many levels. With resistance to nonmagical weapons and their signature death burst, magmin are a large challenge to melee-oriented classes, so they can be a good way to make casters shine.

The addition of magmin to an encounter drastically alters the tactical situation. Magmin encourage the party to spread out and move around constantly to avoid being caught in the blast radius; a steady flow of magmin can be a good way to make a fight more dynamic for a party that tends to remain stationary.

The predictability of the magmin can also make them good as a decision point. A villain might release a group of magmin as he escapes, forcing the party to choose between pursuing him and letting the town burn.

Medusa

“A woman with snakes for hair is just the thing to get me rock hard.” -Every adventurer ever at some point in a tavern.

Introduction

Once mortal beings obsessed with their own vanity, medusa are immortal creatures forever cursed by the means they took to achieve youth and beauty. Whether it be from dark lore books, favors from evil wizards, or sacrifices to demons, these beings lived many years of bliss, having obtained what they seeked. However, although their beauty never faded, their hair became a nest of vipers and no one that looked upon their visage became able to sing praises of their aesthetic appearance. Cursed with immortality, the medusa locks itself away in its, by now, dilapidated estate or dungeon, forced to live in virtual solitude, their beauty they sold their soul for now being useless.

Physiological Observations

Since any sentient humanoid race can have the vanity necessary to achieve the curse of the medusa, each one can have a varied physique: from short, stocky, once-Dwarven medusa, to tall, lanky, pointed eared medusa. Through the whole spectrum of shapes and sizes, men and women, some traits, however, always remain constant. Regardless of age, they will have eternally youthful and very beautiful faces. The medusa’s face will look like the epitome of beauty in the culture of its previous race (i.e. Dwarven medusa have long beards and strong jaws, Elven medusa have high cheekbones and fair skin) This being the prize they paid their souls for, a medusa’s face will never receive a blemish, wrinkle, or imperfection. Their eyes are rumored to be a creamy white color, vacant of any pupil or iris. This is only a hypothesis, as even in death, the medusa’s gaze can likely turn an onlooker to stone.

The final similarity is that the medusa’s hair becomes a nest of extremely poisonous snakes. Any person able to avert their gaze long enough to approach the medusa will soon find themselves on the ground, their systems shutting down as the venom from one or more of these several dozen snakes courses through their blood stream. After a medusa is killed, the snakes die shortly after. After an autopsy, it was determined that these snakes have the identical biological systems to that of any naturally occurring viper. It is unclear whether or not a medusa’s hair transmutes into the snakes, or if their hair falls out and these grow in its place.

Social Observations

Medusa are some of the most solitary beings in existence. Since even other medusa, including themselves, are subject to the petrifying gaze, they do not even share company with others of their kind. Because of this prolonged seclusion, the longer a medusa lives with its curse, the stranger its personality may become.

They can forget the language they spoke in life, becoming almost entirely feral. In this case, medusa become afraid or hostile to other life, and attempts at contact will be met with vicious attacks and unintelligible screams and shrieks.

Another response to eternal loneliness can be desperation for company. These medusa yearn to speak to other creatures, and will try to keep those in their lair alive and talking for as long as possible, their voices being the first the medusa has heard in years. Depending on how hostile the medusa is, this can result in either a hunter playing with its prey as long as possible before killing, or simply a lonely hermit wanting its first guests to never leave. However, if this docile medusa senses its only guests might desert it, the medusa can very quickly become aggressive and act as malicious as the previous example.

Behavioral Observations

Even though they are almost entirely cut off from the world, even medusa know that they are infamous for having lairs littered with statues of fallen adventurers and once loved ones. Aware of this, medusa are likely to use these petrified creatures in one of two ways, depending on their temperament.

Some medusa, after holding onto this curse for so long, have accepted their fate and decide to lock themselves away in solitude. These creatures want to be left alone, and do not wish to be disturbed. Medusa of this nature leave the statues of their foes strewn about the dungeon. They do this as a warning, hoping to ward off most adventurers and treasure hunters from disturbing them.

Other medusa, ones that are more malicious, have found a new use for their fallen enemies. These medusa are more cunning and find hunting and killing unknowing trespassers as the only joy left in their lives. These medusa do not want to warn the intruders of their presence, and don’t wish to scare anyone away. So instead, when a new enemy is turned to stone by them, the medusa destroys the statue, breaking it into hundreds of pieces. After the statue is crushed beyond recognition, the bits are scattered all along the floors of the dungeon. This works as a makeshift alarm system for the medusa, seeing as the constant kicking of pebbles and stones is very easy for its blind minions (such as grimlocks or hook horrors)to detect. Now all in the dungeon is aware of the adventurer’s presence, while he is unaware of all that awaits him.

Intra-Species Observations

Since anything with eyes turns to stone at the sight of a medusa, there is little to no information on the intra-species mingling of them. The creature does usually have minions, either recruiting blind monstrosities such as grimlocks and grell, or by collecting constructs immune to its gaze, such as golems and gargoyles. Most creatures capable of existing in the domain of a medusa are incapable of meaningful company, so very little interaction is had between the medusa and its subjects aside from basic commands.

DM's Toolkit

The medusa is a great monster to use as a boss for lower to mid-level parties. The thing that I love about them most is how recognizable they are, even to new players. Everyone knows about the gorgons they are based on. What makes the medusa even better from a DM standpoint, is that they aren’t exactly like the gorgons everyone knows. They look and act slightly different. This means that there is just enough known about them to cause fear in new players, but enough different about them that knowing about gorgons doesn’t give the players a guaranteed plan of attack.

Remember that fighting a medusa is two encounters in one: finding out how to hit something you can’t look at and once you find the method, then killing it. Have fun with the environment and objects around the party when fighting the medusa. If they just look at the ground of a square, featureless room, that just means it will take longer to kill a creature (because they have disadvantage) and the fight becomes a chore. However, if the creature has minions with polished shields that reflect their gaze, or waterfalls and ponds with pristine, reflective waters, or other reasons to keep the party moving their feet and heads, the fight becomes more intricate and memorable.

Merfolk

She saved me laddie, she did. There I was, adrift at sea, clingin' to a piece o’ driftwood and she came right up to me. Oh Johnny her voice, if only you’da heard her voice. She carried me to shore, she did. And when I was safely ashore, she left me with a kiss. Aye, what a kiss…

Introduction

Merfolk keep mostly to themselves, staying within the protection of the waves. Only by chance would a land dweller meet one of the Merfolk. Although there are those starry eyed mariners that tell of the romantic occasion on far away isles.

The following ecology assumes Fifth Edition.

Physiological Observations

These aquatic humanoids have the upper body of a human and the lower body that resembles a fish. Merfolk are as varied in color, size, and culture as humans of the surface. Some looking as though their human upper body were taken from a human itself, others with the upper body being vaguely human, with fins and gills instead of hair, and a mixture of skin and scales throughout the upper body.

The life span of the Merfolk also closely resembles that of the land dwelling humans. They reach adult hood at around the age of twenty one, and will live until they are about eighty, the oldest case being one hundred and fifteen.

Sexual dimorphism is apparent within Merfolk society, with females being slightly smaller than their male counter parts. It is easy to distinguish male and female due to significant physical differences. First being that females have breasts, males do not. Second being the body shape, males tend to be large and muscular, while females tend to be sleek and their faces more angular.

Merfolk give birth in the open water to warm blooded offspring. They will find a secluded coral shoal in which to give birth, with their offspring able to swim minutes after birth. Multiple births are very rare, and are looked upon with suspicion in most Merfolk societies.

All Merfolk are amphibious, being able to survive both at land and at sea. They are, however, much more equipped to be in the water. They are natural swimmers and can swim comfortable at a very fast pace. Land is a very different story. Without legs Merfolk are incredibly slow and have to use their arms to trudge through land.

Along with their amphibious nature comes the need to maintain the moisture on their skin, much like other amphibious creatures. If one of the Merfolk is too dry their bodies stop functioning. If a death like this occurs, the body shrivels and starts to desiccate.

Social Observations

Merfolk by nature tend to be very secluded. Because they lack the ability to forge metals, keep lore, and shape stone, Merfolk tend to live in small hunter-gatherer societies. Each of these societies are unique, all with different values and creeds.

Merfolk will will only occasionally unite under a single ruler. These unifications happen in order to face a common threat or to complete an under sea conquest. When these events happen and a unification occurs, it often leads to vast kingdoms with dynasties lasting for hundreds of years.

Vast undersea caverns and huge coral mazes are where Merfolk feel the most secure, thus those are the most natural places for Merfolk societies to settle. However, Merfolk have been observed living in great sunken cities. In all cases, Merfolk societies are always within sight of the sun for these societies also depend on the sun for time keeping purposes.

It has also been observed that some Merfolk settlements go much deeper than previously thought. Sometimes going down in a vast undersea cavern, or in a city that has sunken so deep that not even the sun is within its sight. When observed, these settlements are lit by other means of natural light. Bioluminescent flora and fauna, such as jellyfish, light these settlements with an alien aesthetic.

Behavioral Observations

Depending on previous experience with land dwellers, Merfolk can be either hostile, or friendly. Merfolk memories are also very long, so misdeeds that happened decades ago are still fresh in their memory and can easily start a tidal wave of anger.

Merfolk will usually try to avoid combat, but when forced into a combat situation they will always use the ocean to their advantage. They are incredibly fast swimmers so they will use hit and run and flank tactics. They will also use guerrilla warfare whenever possible, sticking to the nooks and crannies of the coral mazes they so often call home.

Having the natural separation from most of the world, Merfolk also tend to be very neutral in alignment. Their priorities are always towards their homes and societies. Merfolk are not downright evil but neither are the absolutely altruistic. They do what they need to so that they may survive in peace

Inter-Species Observations

Since Merfolk are rarely seen above the surface, they don’t have a real observable relationship with the land dwellers. When a Merfolk is spotted above the water it is usually by a mariner, and the sighting is seen as just a story or a prolonging of a legend of creatures that live under the sea.

Merfolk thrive in the ocean. They are mostly hunter gatherers, going out to hunt for fish and scouring the seabed for edible plants. However, there have been instances where Merfolk have been spotted as a farming community. They have coral farms that they cultivate and use to grow edible plant life such as seaweed and kelp. Along with the coral farms, Merfolk also herd fish, much like a farmer would herd cows or sheep. Farming communities are most likely found when an undersea dynasty has been founded.

One thing that Merfolk depend on the land dwellers for are metals. Specifically metals that have been forged into useful tools. They find these metal tools, mostly weapons, in shipwrecks or along the beaches close to their homes. If such metal tools are not found, they will carve what they need from coral.

Merfolk do have natural predators such as sharks and undersea dinosaurs, but the Merrow are far more dangerous than any other threat to Merfolk life. The Merrow used to be Merfolk themselves until they were twisted and transformed in the darkness of the abyss. Merfolk are always on the lookout to defend against their demonic cousins. If Merrow are spotted, a coalition of Merfolk societies will rise up to rid the ocean of those twisted creatures.

DM's Toolkit

One of the easiest, and most cliche, ways to use Merfolk is to make a society much like the one in “The Little Mermaid”. This would be a great dynasty that formed to accomplish a goal, like hunting down the merrow. This is great for some rich backstory and history that your players could learn through role play.

Another way that I like to use Merfolk is much like the Doctor Who episode “The Curse of the Black Spot”. The players are on a ship that has been caught in the doldrums. Then a single Merfolk, typically female, starts dragging the crew to the bottom of the ocean one by one. The reasons why this happens are up to you.

Merfolk can also be changed physically depending on how you want to portray them in your game. You can have the stereotypical Merfolk look with a completely human torso, or you can make them a sort of human/fish hybrid, making the upper half mostly humanoid, but not necessarily human. The latter option makes the Merfolk even more alien and separated from the land dwelling world.

Mephit

“Small? Yes. Bothersome? Very. But tell me that mephits aren’t dangerous too, boy, and I will never let you live it down.” - Torgard Cragbane, scolding his squire.

Introduction

Mephits are small, imp-like beings that dwell within the elemental planes. Gathering into small groups and mobs, these capricious tricksters can go from annoyance to deadly foe in an instant the moment their numbers swell.

Physiological Observations

Mephits are small creatures, and at first glance resemble imps. Small, winged, and with lanky limbs that extend from their hunched torso, some have even mistaken mephits for a rare species of imp. The fastest way to distinguish a mephit from an imp, however, is also its most obvious trait. Mephits originate from the Elemental Planes, and because of the diversity of the planes and their environments, mephits follow the same trend.

Mephits come in a variety of elemental types: dust, ice, magma, mud, smoke, and steam. Each element is a combination of two of the more basic elements, with fire, water, air, and earth mephits being ancient ancestors of the modern mixed subspecies of mephits.

Each mephit’s appearance follows their elemental origin, with steam mephits leaving trails of hot air behind their twisting, amorphous bodies, and droplets of lava sticking to the burning skin of magma mephits. Mephits always seek to live in areas that suit their elemental nature, whether it be a swamp for a mud mephit, or a frozen cavern for an ice mephit.

Social Observations

Mephits congregate in large mobs, but usually only ever with their same elemental kin. Each type of mephit demonstrates different trends in personality, and because of this as well as their own selfishness and distrust for others, they tend to gravitate away from other mephits of differing type.

A mephit mob can consist of up to 50 individuals, with no designated leader or roles. Because of this, mephits act within their mobs very independently, almost selfishly. While swarming a target is simple enough, mephits have no hesitations when it comes to retreating and leaving their companions to die amidst the chaos.

Even though mephits are very loose in their organization, those that have the rare ability to summon other mephits stand as pseudo-leaders within their mobs, and these are the only mephits that can force another to obey. Mephits also have no need to eat, drink, or sleep as well, making them very self-sufficient when alone. Some academics theorize that this is why mephits have no true chain of command or power structure, as their needs for survival are very simple and require no cooperation amongst others. Mephit mobs only survive through natural protection from their environments, and a single mephit can move through several mobs during its existence.

Behavioral Observations

Mephits are rude little tricksters, and commonly harass other creatures through mockery, stealing, and occasionally a breath attack if they truly wish to be malicious. Mephits may enjoy annoying others, but they don’t stick around if things seem dangerous. Mephits are selfish and cowardly, preferring safety over glory in combat.

Sometimes mephits become too caught up in their mockery, getting into name-calling fights with other creatures, occasionally at their own peril. It’s this blind rudeness and malice that gives mephits their biggest weakness. Even though mephits don’t usually know Common, they convey their teasing though Terran and use hand signs and movement.

Intra-Species Observations

Mephits have a great distaste for non-elemental creatures, and even see their fellow elementals as simply dumb, big cousins. Mephits have been known to be used by wizards and sorcerers as familiars but these servants are rarely loyal and never imposing as guards.

Mephits may hate other creatures, but their cowardly nature makes them little more than irritating to the typical creature. It’s when mephits gather as mobs that solitary creatures become more wary.

DM’s Toolbox

Mephits can be described as having two distinct qualities: they have a breath weapon aligned with their element, and they have the ability of death burst, to explode upon death and send their element flying in all directions.

This makes hordes of them potentially deadly when a chain of magma mephit explosions create an explosion of immense proportions.

This also means mephits can be from virtually any elemental origin. Lightning, acid, necrotic, and many other types of elements are left out of the typical mephits, allowing for a great deal of options for more unique types of mephits.

Mephits are commonly familiars to more powerful creatures that can control them with fear and magical prowess, making them passable minions for rakshasas, efreetis, and evil spellcasters.

Mind Flayer (Illithid)

“Where do the illithids, whom men call the mind flayers, come from?” asked the mage in a trembling voice.

The githyanki’s eyes narrowed. “Mind flayers are not of your world. They are not of any known world. They have been traveling the planes for so long, not even they know where they come from. From a secure base underground or from a darkened planet they send out projections of themselves to new prime material planes, scouting and searching for a new realm to conquer and enslave.”

“Once a realm is discovered, it is doomed; the mind flayers have one of their number remain projected at the new plane while others use their psionic powers to enter the Silver Realm, that which you call the astral plane. These others then follow the scout’s silver cord to the entry point to the new plane, use psionic science to enter that plane, and begin bringing about its downfall. Our mages believe their lost home plane was anti-magical, and that they possess the same nature, for they resist magical influences so strongly that even the most accomplished wizards are taxed to slay them.

I saw a githyanki warrior older than any of you here, even you elves, charge a mind flayer - and in seconds it ruined his brain with blasts of mental energy. Three times it hit him - three times! The warrior was dead before he took ten more steps. It took five warriors more to bring the brain-eater down, and I was the only one of the five to come away with my brain and mind still intact.”

The room was silent, and the githyanki continued. “Yes, brain-eater. That’s what I said. Illithids relish the brains of humans and similar beings the way you eat the meat of cattle and fowl. To them, eating brains is a symbolic gesture. All illithids believe that they are the master race, the true and rightful rulers of all sentient creatures. They have no kinship to humanity or any other known race. They worship no gods, because they deem themselves the ones who should be worshiped.

“Being as intelligent as they are, endowed with psionic powers, and as physically weak as they are, the illithids believe that the mind is everything and all-important.” The githyanki tapped the yellowed skin of his temple with a bony finger. “To eat the brain of another race is the ultimate symbol of dominion over that race. They consume that which is important to them. Their tentacles have bony ridges that cut flesh and bone with ease, exposing the inside of the skull.“

-Excerpt from Roger Moore's "Ecology of the Mind Flayer", Dragon Magazine, issue 78 (October 1983).

Introduction

In eons past, illithids controlled empires that spanned many worlds. They subjugated and consequently warped whole races of humanoid slaves. Connected by a collective consciousness, the mind flayers hatched plots as far-reaching and evil as their fathomless minds could conceive.

Solitary illithids are likely rogues and outcasts. Most belong to a colony of sibling mind flayers devoted to an elder brain. Mind flayers are the scourge of sentient creatures across countless worlds. Psionic tyrants, slavers, and inter-dimensional voyagers, they are insidious masterminds that harvest entire races for their own twisted ends. Four tentacles snake from their octopus-like heads, flexing in hungry anticipation when sentient creatures are near.

Physiological Observations

Illithids have a humanoid body with an octopus-like head. They have four tentacles around a lamprey-like mouth, and require the brains of sentient creatures as part of their diet. An illithid who snares a living creature in all four of its tentacles can extract and devour its living brain. Their eyes are pale white, and they can see perfectly in both darkness and light. Their sense of hearing is slightly poorer than a human's; they have difficulty distinguishing between several sounds mixed together, yet they are good at discerning from which direction sounds come. Their skin is purplish blue to gray-green and covered in mucus, and is very sensitive to sunlight. They loathe sunlight because it is irritating to their skin, drying the mucus.

Illithids are hermaphroditic creatures who each spawn a mass of larvae two or three times in their life. The larvae resemble miniature illithid heads or four-tentacled tadpoles. Larvae are left to develop in the pool of the Elder Brain. The ones that survive after 10 years are inserted into the brain of a sapient creature. Hosts are determined in a very specific manner. Hosts generally are humanoid creatures that are between 5 feet 4 inches and 6 feet 2 inches. The most desirable of races for hosts are Human, Drow, Elves,Githzerai, Githyanki, Grimlock, Gnoll, Goblinoid, and Orc. Upon being implanted, the larva then grows and consumes the host's brain, absorbing the host's physical form entirely and becoming a physically mature (but mentally young) Illithid. This process is called ceremorphosis. Illithids often experiment with non-humanoid hosts, but ceremorphosis involving other creatures usually fails, killing both host and larva.

When an illithid undergoes ceremorphosis, it can occasionally take on some elements of the absorbed host creature's former mind, such as mannerisms. This typically manifests as a minor personality feature, such as a nervous habit and/or reaction (e.g., nail-biting or tapping one's foot), although the process that determines the type and number of traits so inherited appears to be stochastic. An adult illithid has even been known to hum a tune that its host knew in life. Usually, when a mind flayer inherits a trait like this, it keeps it a closely guarded secret, because, were its peers to learn of it, the illithid in question would most likely be killed. This is due to an illithid legend of a being called the Adversary. The legend holds that, eventually, an illithid larva that undergoes ceremorphosis will take on the host's personality and memory in its entirety. This Adversary would, mind and soul, still be the host, but with all the inherent abilities of an illithid.

Occasionally, ceremorphosis can partially fail. Sometimes the larva does not contain enough chemicals to complete the process, sometimes there is psionic interference. Whatever the reason, it has happened that ceremorphosis has ended after the internal restructuring, resulting in a human body with an illithid's brain, personality and digestive tract. These unfortunates must still consume brains, typically by cutting open heads (as they lack the requisite tentacles). These beings are often used as spies, where they easily blend in with their respective host types.

The illithid society also maintains a long-standing taboo related to deviations to or failures of the ceremorphosis process, and hunt and destroy such exceptions. Occasionally, mind flayer communities are attacked (often by vengeful githyanki and githzerai) and their inhabitants must flee. This leaves the larvae unattended. Bereft of exterior nourishment, they begin to consume one another. The survivor will eventually leave the pool in search of food (i.e., brains). This unmorphed larvae is known as a Neothelid. If the neothelid consumes an intelligent creature it will awaken to rational thought and psionic abilities and grow to immense size, while retaining its memories of savage survival.

Social Observations

An illithid colony is ruled by a creature called an Elder Brain which lives in a pool of cerebral fluid in the colony’s center. When an illithid dies its brain is extracted and taken to the pool. Illithids believe that when they die their personality is incorporated into the Elder Brain, but this is not the case. When the brain of an illithid is added to the Elder Brain, the memories, thoughts and experiences are consumed and added to the sum of the whole, but all else is lost. This fact is a closely guarded secret of the Elder Brains, since all illithid aspire to a form of immortality through this merging process. An extremely ancient Elder Brain is called a God-Brain because its psionic powers are almost limitless.

Since the Elder Brain contains the essence of every illithid that died in its community, it functions, in part, as a vast library of knowledge that a mind flayer can call upon telepathically. The Elder Brain, in turn, can communicate telepathically with anyone in its community, issuing orders and ensuring everyone conforms.

Illithids generally frown upon magic, preferring their natural psionic ability. Psionic potential is an integral part of the illithid identity, and the Elder Brain cannot absorb the magical powers of an illithid mage when it dies. They tolerate a limited study of wizardry, if only to better understand the powers employed by their enemies. However, an illithid who goes too far and neglects his psionic development in favor of wizardry risks becoming an outcast. Denied the possibility of ever merging with the Elder Brain, such outcasts often seek their own immortality through undeath, becoming alhoons(liches).

Illithids typically communicate through psychic means. They project thoughts and feelings to each other in a way non-illithids can scarcely comprehend. When they do feel the need to write, they do so in qualith. Instead of typical alphabet-based writing, illithids write in qualith by making marks consisting of four broken lines. They use each tentacle to feel the breaks in the lines, making it similar to braille. However, qualith is extremely complex, requiring the ability to understand all four lines simultaneously to discern the meaning.

Intra-Species Observations

Illithids seek to rebuild their former empire where all other species were their slaves.They view any sentient creature as worthy only of being their slaves or their food. They are pragmatic, however, and will trade with other races, such as dark elves and gray dwarves, who may be too strong to be conquered. They also trade with the Neogi in order to obtain slaves.

Their archenemies are the githyanki and the githzerai, descendants of the rebellious slaves who destroyed the illithid empire millennia ago. Hunting and slaying illithids whenever they can is an integral part of the Gith cultures.

Illithids fear the undead because these creatures are immune to telepathic detection and manipulation, and have no brains to consume. Confronting such mindless creatures can even be traumatizing to them.

According to long lost history, Illithids are one of the few races respected by the aboleths. This is because the aboleths remember the origin of almost every other race, through their hereditary memory. However, illithids, as far the aboleths can remember, just appeared without preamble, which scares them.

DM's Toolkit

Mind flayers typically reside in areas void of sunlight as part of a colony. Against strong resistance, they avoid initial combat as they order their thralls to attack through telepathy. Like a physical extension of the illithids thoughts, these thralls interpose themselves between mind flayers and their foes, sacrificing their lives so their masters can escape. That is not to say that a mind flayer is defenseless against attacks. Sentient creatures can easily be detected via their thoughts inside illithid lairs. Not only can they employ powers of domination, but their mind blast ability can easily incapacitate a large quantity of foes in order to escape or feast on each euphoric brainy snack stunned by the attack. As they wrap their tentacles around their humanoid victims, potentially stunning them in their grip, they are capable of extracting the victim’s brain devouring its contents including memories, personality and inner most fears. Sometimes victims will instead have their brains harvested only to be used in part of some alien experiment or transforming it into an intellect devourer.

Typically, because of the mental link between the illithid colony with its Elder Brain extreme caution must be taken when tackling these psionic commanders. Even solitary mind flayers often have a network of command via their thralls making pinpointing their location or involvement difficult.

Minotaur

*Snort

“You have bound me Wizard, and I have bound you. While you make your profane gestures and expend your will to hold me in this place. I have captured your scent and bound it to my soul. I know what your blood smells like and I the taste of your fear. My herd comes, you must escape with your wounded now to have any hope of fleeing. I can smell the fear on you, what will do you do when your focus breaks? What will you do when your magic is not strong enough? My blood is stronger than your magic. When I am free again there is no place you can hide that I will not find you.”

“My magic has stopped you now, and it will stop you again.”

“I KNOW YOUR SCENT! I WILL TASTE YOUR BLOOD! THE BLOOD IS STRONGER THAN MAGIC! I WILL CRUSH YOUR BONES!”

Introduction

Most adventurers know of Minotaurs as monstrous hybrid creatures, a large, bloodthirsty mixture of bull and man dedicated to the Horned One. Most adventurers would be completely accurate in this assessment of the Minotaur, most of the time. However there is more to the Minotaur than a mindless dedication to savage, bloodthirsty evil and through observation and study we can discover what really lay at the center of the labyrinth of fear regarding those who have been gifted with the blessing of the Horned One.

Physiological Observations

Common Minotaur are large, hulking creatures, standing 10 feet tall and weighting over 86 stone. The head of the Minotaur resembles that of a large bull, usually with two horns. A large variation in the expression of the horns exists. Some Minotaur have horns that sweep forward to fine points. Other Minotaur have horns that extend out to the side beyond the shoulders. Below the head is a strong neck and broad shoulders. The entire body of the Minotaur ripples with muscle granted from the blessing of the Horned One. The weakest Minotaur is stronger than all but the most exceptional of common races. While pure blood orcs might seek out a Minotaur for a test of strength, this will not usually end well for the Orc.

The entire body of the Minotaur is covered with a thin fur coat that ranges in color, a transferred trait from the beasts that are imitated in the formation of a Minotaur. Minotaurs that are born naturally possess similar coloration in fur to the parents.

The arms of the Minotaur end is thick fingered hands. The metamorphological process that creates Minotaur usually binds two of the digits of the fingers. A Minotaur’s hand has only three fingers and a thumb, in spite of this change Minotaurs can be observed using tools and possess average dexterity.

The legs of the Minotaur are powerfully muscled and long, terminating in large hooves. As with most hooved creatures it appears as if the knee of the Minotaur bends backwards. The truth is the hoof only represents the ends of the toes, with the thin potion of the leg above being the rest of the “foot”. The Joint above that would be the human ankle, then calf, then knee at the forward point on the leg, then powerful thighs. This means that the Minotaur, like all animals that have adapted to walking on toes or hooves can generate considerable power from the legs. The Minotaur uses this power in the legs to drive the body forward in aggressive charging attacks.

The diet of the common Minotaur is entirely carnivorous. The blessing of the Horned One makes the Minotaur incapable of consuming anything but flesh and bone, and it prefers the flesh of sentient creatures, the wide grinding teeth of the minotaur are capable of sheering bone and pulverizing it during eating. While many creatures who kill with such bloodlust do it in a frenzy of hunger and will stop to consume the fallen immediately, the Minotaur will prioritize hunting over killing and only stop to eat once all the quarry have been chased down. A Minotaur will never forget where it has left a kill, and will use trees, spikes, stalactites to impale a fallen foe while it hunts down the remainder of a group. This diet of blood and bone meal often mats and stains the fur and snout of the Minotaur and the breath of a Minotaur is like an abattoir.

The Minotaur’s ability to track is exceptional. They are compelled to hunt those who flee, and are implacable adversaries. Once a Minotaur has started to chase you, your only hope is to slay the beast or take flight to an area beyond the Minotaur’s ability to persue. A Minotaur will always remember the scent of prey that fled it, and will resume the chase immediately if the scent presents itself again. In addition a Minotaur can always recall a path it has traveled, they never become disoriented by surroundings or lost. This perfect direction sense even applies when magic or dungeon craft are used to alter the surroundings of the Minotaur, a Minotaur faced with a sudden unexpected obstacle will find the best way around the obstacle with perfect accuracy. As the observers at the Cult of the Great Maze learned, sometimes the Minotaur will prove that the best way around an obstacle is through. A Minotaur will not hesitate to charge through thin walls in pursuit of fleeing prey.

There is little difference between Bull and Cow Minotaur. While there might be a small size difference between the two, it is marginal at best. Unlike the animals they have inherited traits from the female Minotaur have no distinguishing sexual features, there are no udders for the nurturing of young, and both Bull and Cow Minotaur have horns. While Minotaur do possess pronounced gonads and genitalia they frequently cover these parts of the body with thick hide skirts and aprons to protect them during battle.

Social Observations

Minotaur only socialize if they are hunting or breeding. Lacking any prey to hunt, they will wander apart in pursuit of prey or quickly start battling each other. With a presence of an outsider driving them to hunt, the Minotaur will be overwhelmed with the pursuit of the prey and will temporally band together to run the prey to ground. Beyond this, the Minotaur have no mind for strategy or tactics, they will not cooperate to harry prey, and they do not flank, organize or execute pack tactics.

The foul breath and blood scent of the Minotaur has been observed to serve a social purpose. When encountering another Minotaur the two will spend several moments inspecting each other’s scent markings. Each Minotaur can perceive these scents as a record of the blood the other Minotaur has tasted. The Minotaur rank each other based off these scent markings, the Minotaur who has feasted on the most blood might become the temporary leader of a hunting herd.

Minotaur breeding is a bloody, violent affair. When a herd gathers for a hunt, the female members can be identified quickly. The drive to hunt and bloodlust bleeds in to the process of mating, after any other prey is ran down the female Minotaurs are often perused. Males will fight among themselves during the breeding process and female Minotaur often fight as well to ensure that they survive. While Minotaur are driven to breed they do so chaotically and with no concern for the young offspring. Minotaur can breed at any time, they have no seasonal needs. The blessing of the Horned One allows them to gestate and produce offspring quickly, within a single month’s time. Minotaur calves are always born during the next full moon. Thankfully for all of the good races of the light, Minotaur calves do not often survive to adulthood. The Minotaur process no drive to care or nurture young. A hungry or excited Minotaur adult will consume a calf, even if that calf is its own offspring. Such callous bloodlust is not found often even among the most bloodthirsty of races.

Outside of a hunt, Minotaur will challenge another on absolutely any grounds. The same blessing that creates them and drives them makes them incapable of forming bonds with each other. Every Minotaur is an alpha in its own mind and will never bow or give itself over to the service of another. This unbroken will is almost supernatural in nature, and makes Minotaur impossible to enslave or organize. They do not respect even power capable of destroying them and do not form hierarchies of strength. A Minotaur put in a position of slavery will often kill its captors, and if completely incapable of killing its captors will lose itself to bloodlust to the point of its own heart exploding. A chained Minotaur will fight against its chains to the point of breaking its own neck.

Magical compulsion fares only slightly better, the Minotaur have a natural resistance from the strong will against such things and know that such forms of entrapment are temporary. A Minotaur caught in a spell binding it in place will simply wait out the duration of the spell, drawing in deep breaths of the scent of its captor, once the Minotaur is free again, will pursue the magic user with great and violent prejudice.

Behavioral Observations

A Minotaur’s horns are a source of power and pride for the Minotaur and it is common for them to dress the horns. When the Minotaur encounters something on a kill that it cannot consume, it might adorn itself with the item, especially if the quarry had demonstrated strength or cunning during the chase. Some Minotaur wear horn decorations made from golden armbands, or bloodstained pieces of armor.

When fighting, Minotaur will charge whenever possible, using momentum and horns break up groups of prey. The goring charge of a Minotaur can hit with more force than a charging lance strike and is enough to kill a common opponent. Those who are not killed are often knocked to the ground, the Minotaur will follow up with swings from a massive weapon, or even another charge attack.

Minotaur favor large weapons, they are commonly found with massive axes or mauls. Any weapon that allows them to deal considerable carnage is acceptable. Due to the size of the Minotaur and the preference for large weapons, a Minotaur can create a considerable presence in a fight. They will often wade in to the center of a fight recklessly, swinging their weapons at anything that still moves. For those who can stand bravely against the weather of blows, this presents the best opportunity for survival. Since the Minotaur pays no mind to tactics, they can often be harried by opponents who are tactically prepared to exploit every advantage in combat.

Inter-Species Observations

No discussion of the Minotaur would be complete without disclosure of the occult origins of the species. The first Minotaur are said to have been created by cults dedicated to the Horned One. The mythic survey of these cults seems to display an association with dark druidism and a desire to return the world to the Wild at any cost. The Horned One offered a means to do so, and a relationship was formed between the Horned One and the cults. Deep in the woods, great hunt rituals were undertaken. First, the cults were encouraged to hunt beasts naturally, chasing them down with claws and teeth. As the cultists completed the rituals hunting larger prey, soon the Horned One began asking for prey that was smarter. The cults started to abduct and chase sentient prey. The legends go that some of these cultists were rewarded, turned in to the first Minotaurs, creatures driven by bloodlust, consumed with the desire of the hunt, but most importantly, free of all the bonds of the modern world.

Many of these Cults are believed to still be active, in cities they conduct rituals in gardens, forgotten labyrinth catacombs and other mazes. In the wilderness, thick woods or twisting cave structures are utilized. Every generation has those who want to seek strength, power, freedom or a return to the Wild. These cults offer corruptions of all of these things.

In other places, the Cults are no longer active, instead the labyrinths are the endless hunting grounds of the Minotaur themselves.

Variants:

Abrasaxian Minotaurs – These Minotaur have conquered their bloodlust and have sought the worship of divine concepts of peace and law, seeking to temper the violent bloodlust with tranquil meditation in glacial canyons far from conflict. They can be fanatical interpreters of law, and some are occasionally found as paladins serving gods of balance, justice and divine retribution. While the physical size of the Minotaur blood remains, they no longer suffer from the bloodlust and chaos of the common Minotaur. Instead they give themselves over to the service of Law and Order and find peace for themselves. It should be noted that they still love the hunt and are relentless pursuers of quarry making them excellent bounty hunters or avenging Templar.

Auroch – Socially and behaviorally these Minotaur are the same as common Minotaur. The primary difference is that they are much larger, the size of Hill Giant, and covered with a thick dense fur that grows in long bands. They have a stronger magical resistance and are more physically imposing. Found in higher mountains they frequently fight with Yeti for territory.

Eland Minotaur – Eland Minotaur are still bloodthirsty hunters, but they are thinner and more cunning. With long twisting horns that extend straight up. They possess some innate ability for magic and have been known to detect magic, summon fog and move through the woods without trace some have been known to dispel magic or manipulate the woods in to ensnare or grasp prey.

Syncerus Minotaur – Black furred with smaller curved horns, the Syncerus is a Minotaur found in hotter regions. They are the size of a common Minotaur but have the same magical resistance of an Auroch. They also have pronounced resistance to wounds, with thicker hides that protect them from small weapons, allowing them to shrug off most damage.

Selinusian Minotaur – The Selinusian Minotaur is the combination of a Minotaur and a Satyr. Larger than a Satyr and possessing a goat’s head in place of a Bulls the Selinusian Minotaur is a creature of excessive passion. They are found in large herds from excessive breeding, and often have mutations or corruptions from inbreeding where opportunities to mate are slim.

Lycanthrope

”The full moon rose and shone forth with all its light, and yet still Elhand did not turn. The assembled crowd murmured uncomfortably, confused. We struck him down all the same, for the spirit of blood and justice surged through us. Elhand cackled as the blood poured from his wounds and with his dying breath shout out, ‘I die, guiltless, while my accusers hide from the full moon.’ It was true that neither Brelove nor Leoril stood among the crowd. There shall be more blood yet before this town cleanses itself of the werewolves.” - Anonymous Priest’s journal discovered in an abandoned village

Introduction

The curse, or blessing depending on interpretation, of Lycanthropy has been observed throughout history and across every mortal plane. If it came from anywhere, its origins are lost in time. Some consider it a natural part of the mortal condition that some are affected. Other heretical histories of the gods claim that all lycanthropes are a creation of Melora, and react to both moonlight and silver due to a feud between Melora and Sehanine Moonbow, but the nature of the feud as well as Melora’s purpose in creating lycanthropes are not well explained in these accounts.

Regardless of where the curse came from, it can affect any humanoid being. They could be anyone, anywhere. Those afflicted may or may not be aware of their condition; those aware may or may not be able to control their bestial impulses. Those impulses are animalistic and evil, compelling the victim to hunt and kill. Good people with some control over their transformation carry with them the risk of losing control and committing atrocities, so prefer to remain isolated from normal society. Those who embrace the evil of their curse have significantly fewer scruples in this regard.

Physiological Observations

Lycanthropy is most famously passed on as a curse by being bitten by a lycanthrope, but some are born. Any child born to a parent who has the curse inherits it themselves. While a remove curse spell can heal a lycanthrope who inherited their curse by bite, a natural lycanthrope can only be cured by a wish.

Lycanthropes can take on any of three forms, depending on the situation. Most remain in their humanoid form until the light of the full moon transforms them. Some can control this transformation to occur at will. As humanoids, they appear normal in every way. The longer an individual lives with the curse, however, the more they begin to take on aspects of their transformation even in their humanoid form. Werebears will grow large, muscular, and hairy in their humanoid forms, Wererats will appear small and nervous with wiry hair, and the Werewolf become sleekly muscular with sharp teeth.

The second form is that of the animal they are cursed as, be it tiger, bear, wolf, rat, or other. In their animal form they are clearly not natural, growing to significantly larger sizes than any common or even dire beast. Moreover, their eyes will glow red with a malicious intelligence. This is the least common form most lycanthropes take on, taking on the form to gather packs of common beasts or for utility and ease of movement not afforded their larger, more conspicuous forms.

The third form is a hybrid between the two, combining man and animal into a terrifying monstrosity larger and more powerful than either. As a hybrid, they generally remain standing on two feet, can wield weapons in addition to gaining natural weapons such as teeth and claws, and are capable of speech. The curse may be transmitted to a victim from biting or clawing attacks in either of the latter two forms.

Social Observations

Lycanthropes who are aware of their condition tend to gather in groups similar to how their animal name sake might gather. Werewolves and Wereboars tend to gather into packs in the wilderness, while Wererats will do the same in urban environments. Werebears and Weretigers tend to live solitary lives far from civilization, rarely ever living in any grouping larger than a small family if that.

Those unaware of their condition continue to attempt to live normal lives, and generally manage to do so. When the full moon rises, however, they transform and become a threat to their communities. The transformed lycanthrope will attempt to find a safe and secret place to retransform prior to the rising of the sun. After these nocturnal episodes, the victim will often have vague recollections of the atrocities they committed at night, and assume they were nightmares.

Behaviorial Observations

Regardless of their animal namesake, lycanthropes are intelligent creatures with all the cunning of both their human and animal halves. In their uncontrolled transformed forms, all lycanthropes are consumed by bloodlust and the desire to hunt. Even the oldest and most experienced lycanthropes have difficulty controlling these urges, which is why so many either exile themselves from society or embrace and harness the evil within themselves.

This is not to say that they pursue their prey blindly and without concern for their own wellbeing. Lycanthropes use their animal cunning and humanoid intelligence to stalk, separate, and kill their prey with the methodical precision of experienced hunters. They are strong and powerful, more so than a normal beast, but wait for situations where they can employ their might discretely and effectively. The first time a person transforms after receiving the curse is often the wildest, and tales of bloody rampages almost always involve the newly cursed, but these are exceptional and rare cases. Pack animals like Werewolves, Wererats, and Wereboars will use group tactics to chase down and isolate single targets before closing in for the kill. Individual hunters such as Werebears will attempt to injure and wear down their prey through exhaustion before landing the killing blow, and Weretigers are particularly fond of ambush.

Inter-Species Observations

Lycanthropes are generally reviled by normal society, and rightly so for their tendency towards bloodlust and violence. They must either leave their communities or maintain their secret.

Each type of lycanthrope is also quite familiar with the mundane versions of their animal. Werewolves will often lead packs of wolves and dire wolves, and the same goes for Wereboars and Wererats. This sort of arrangement makes the animals doubly dangerous, as their leader has a human intelligence to guide their tactics. As pack animals, they are more likely to want to spread their curse and thus enlarge their pack. However, they are likely to target those humanoids which appear weaker, killing the strong outright, since they will not want their leadership over the pack challenged.

The more solitary versions, such as Werebear and Weretiger, are far less likely to establish a rapport with other animals, and are much more careful about passing on their curse. Weretigers are especially solitary and reluctant to initiate new Weretigers. Werebears are generally good beings, and pass on their lycanthropy to other protégées who similarly want to act as wardens for the forest, but there are exceptions.

Anything which is not part of their pack is considered prey for the lycanthrope. They are aware of their own capabilities and will not hunt a superior foe, so like their animal namesakes prefer to hunt the easier targets. However, while other animals are valid prey, during the bloodlust of a full moon, they prefer to hunt humanoids.

DM's Toolkit

Lycanthropy can be cured by a remove curse spell, a third level spell available to Clerics, Warlocks, and Wizards at 5th level, Bards at 6th (Lore) or 10th (Valor) through Magical Secrets, and Paladins at 9th level. So long as the party does not have access to this spell, fighting with lycanthropes of any sort carries the risk of catching the curse. The roleplaying possibilities are abundant for these situations.

Because of this threat, lycanthropes are most dangerous and best utilized at the early levels. The pack animals such as Werewolves remain threatening well afterwards due to the power of numbers, and can add additional threat to wilderness encounters above Dire animals. But pay attention to your party, mid-level adventurers who missed their chance to gain access to remove curse are still vulnerable.

It is cliché, but the hunt for a Werewolf terrorizing the village who does not know their own crimes is a classic standby to turn a sleepy town into a one-shot adventure. Even at later levels where the actual killing of the Werewolf once found might be easy, the intrigue and mystery of lycanthropes living secretly within society is a powerful plothook.

Wererats are often found in cities where they run often run criminal organizations or gangs, inducting new members into the group by infecting them. They could be a rival of the local thieves’ guild or perhaps a secret (or not) circle within the thieves’ guild itself. Their reach can and should extend well beyond their challenge rating.

Wererats do not have to be the only society of lycanthropes. A well-known example is the Circle of the Companions in Skyrim, where people try to harness the power of being a Werewolf in their capacity as mercenaries. The social characteristics of Werebears would mix well with a Ranger or Druid organization, or possibly even the Harpers if you want to put a new spin on them.

The Were- template can be applied to most any sort of animal to create a new breed of lycanthropes. These could be dangerous threats, such as Werespiders or Weresharks, or light-hearted foes like Werecats or Werehumans. That very friendly and eager peasant the bard took back to his room last night could turn out to be the innkeeper’s mastiff, who is afflicted with Werehumanism. Better roll a Constitution saving throw to see if the Bard has picked up a form of lycanthropy.

Manticore

Langim Thistlegrinder ached all over. He smelled foul to his own sensitive nose, and he couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten fresh food. Laying still under his invisibility cloak for hours or creeping slowly about the tumbled mountain-top boulders had left him weary. But all his pains and frustrations evaporated when, after months of false hopes and dangerous close calls, he finally peered into what most would call The Nine Hells on Faerun. A hidden depression shadowed by the mountain’s peak held his sought-after treasure, a Manticore nesting ground.

Introduction Mystery and confusion shrouds the Manticore from full scholarly understanding. Known as a man-eater in most cultures, the Manticore is a four-legged predator with an arsenal of deadly attributes. Until the publication of this book, the details have been argued and debated in adventurer’s halls and academic classrooms. However, through one gnome’s insatiable desire to fully understand this creature, Glinting & Scribbindorf offer the Complete and Authoritative Natural History of the Manticore.

Physiological Observations All of the old texts were correct in the basics: Four legs on a large feline body, a humanoid-shaped face with many teeth in a gaping mouth, and a long tail ending in a spike. But I now observe the source of the confusion regarding the details of the Manticore’s physiology. For unlike most magical beasts of the material plane, Manticores seem to exhibit a great deal of variety between individuals, even between parent and offspring. Some indeed have the three rows of uniformly triangular teeth as described in Gygax’ epic poems. Others only have one row of teeth more like that of a lion. A few, usually the largest, have bat-like wings. I noted at least one male that had distinctive curling horns protruding from its forehead. Other minor oddities in proportion, coat, markings etc. were too numerous to fully document in my limited time among the beasts.

While all the individuals that I observed and catalogued had long tails, I identified at least four common types of tail: 1. Scorpion, virtually identical to the carapaced arthropod’s poisonous stinger. 2. Forked, a typical feline tail terminating in two articulated claw-like spikes (possibly poisonous) 3. Mace, an excessively long furred tail ending in a sphere covered in thin, porcupine like spines. These were observed to be poisonous even to other Manticores (see Social Observations) 4. Shedding, a heavily-muscled tail (I observed both furred and armored versions) with several heavy spikes all facing to the rear. These seem to grow rapidly, as adult Manticores would periodically shed these spikes intentionally by a flick of the tail. Much of these notes were written using these non-poisonous spikes as quills, and I returned with an ample supply gathered from the many thousands that were scattered about the nesting ground.

Social Observations While anecdotal observations had pinned the Manticore as a solitary creature, my discovery of a nesting ground has completely upset the assumptions once made of the creatures. I observed courtship displays, active parenting, caste squabbles and social grooming within the first few hours. It appears that the nesting ground operates under a loose hierarchy based on strength and intelligence. The older more humanoid individuals were heard speaking to each other in a harsh, broken Common; but most often disputes were settled quickly by a duel of tail spikes. Weaker members often sustain moderate injuries in these duels; it was in this way that I witnessed the poisonous effects of the Mace tail spikes. Immediate swelling and discolouration was noted, but the wounded Manticores seemed to recover from such injuries faster than tooth and claw marks.

What initially appeared to be utter violent chaos was eventually determined to be a complex set of established rules enforced by the elders yet constantly tested by the younger Manticores. I identified three paired mates, each raising a brood of cubs via quick, painful discipline. Yet the parents were protective, and even affectionate with their young as well. The reputation for being solitary would appear to arise from Manticore hunting practices, as only single individuals were documented as leaving the nest or returning with their catch.

Behavioural Observations Much like their appearance, individual Manticore behaviour varies greatly from creature to creature, with the limitation that unacceptable behaviour is not long tolerated in the group. Some individuals constantly stalked about cautiously as if every corner held danger, while others nearly pranced along, head aloof and attitude careless. Argument and fighting is quite common, and I find it hard not to presume that some Manticores seemed to be enjoying the battles.

Manticores have a voracious appetite, and will eat almost anything. While I could not be certain, I do believe that their reputation for eating men whole is substantiated. When large game was caught, it was torn into large pieces and shared with a few others. However, the creatures did not masticate their portions, but rather swallowed the chunks whole. They possess an unnaturally wide jaw bone and seem to be able to unhinge it to allow the passage of food almost as large as the creature itself. During my time in the nest, I saw them eat a variety of wild ungulates, bears, birds, livestock, sapling trees, and sadly humanoids. On my fourth day, one of the winged males dropped seven goblins into his pack of cubs. However foul goblins may be, I will never forget that brutal carnage. I noted little behavioural differences between males and females, when I could rightly determine the sex of the creatures. Both participate in hunting, raising cubs, guarding the nest, and participating in the nearly constant bickering. Unlike most big cats, Manticores do not sleep often, nor for long. When asleep, they appear restless and alert to the sounds around them.

Surely the most unexpected behaviour that I encountered however, was the singing. The voiced Manticores sang eerie ballads of the past, and the dumber creatures crooned and trilled with their bestial attempts at following along.

This occurred most often at night, and had I not sat hidden watching the creatures, I would have described it more like Elvish or Mermish singing. Mountain travelers BEWARE! Lest you be lured unawares by the beasts unlikely song.

Inter-Species Observations Most of the other species Manticores interact with become meals. The nest was unusually free of small scavengers that one observes near other apex predators, as the cubs and young adults make quick work of anything moving nearby. Only my magical wards and practiced skills as a scientist kept me from becoming food as well. During my search of the mountain prior to finding the nest, I observed an average variety of creatures large and small living among the rocks. Part of what led me to find the nesting ground was the distinct perimeter of lifelessness around it. Much like the leafcutter ant on a grander scale, no bit of lichen nor tiniest of seeding is left to grow inside this ring of death. The more intelligent mammals and birds quickly learn to avoid the area, while those too dim to notice are quickly consumed.

My how I wished to attempt to speak with one of the elders, to explain my purpose and hopefully interview one for a more personal and enriched understanding of these magnificent creatures. Sadly, both my desire to see this evidence published and my deep desire to remain alive overwhelmed my curiosity. With my new understanding, I hope to raise enough funds to return with magic sufficient to allow an attempt at communication. -Langim Thistlegrinder

DM's Toolkit >Due to the Manticore’s various mythological and gaming publication stats, it is a very flexible tool for the DM. First, while the ecology describes a nesting ground, I strongly encourage you to ONLY use this against a large and high level group of PCs. Most common encounters should be with solo hunters or with groups of 2-3 at most. The nesting ground might make for a bizarre and dangerous “boss fight” towards the end of a mountainous or magical beast-

themed campaign.

This ecology was written to justify the use of not just one, but several various styles of Manticore. Including or excluding some of the abilities allows the DM to tailor the creature to suit the encounter:

Including a poisonous attack provides for post-combat roleplaying to cure the periodic poison damage

Encountering ranged spikes after an encounter with non-ranged spikes will remind the players to not make assumptions about their opponents

Including wings greatly changes combat techniques and gives ranged and magic PCs a chance to shine.

Intelligent Manticores could have agendas other than eating and defending their home.

Some forms of the myth speak of Manticores singing or crooning to lure in prey not dissimilar to Mermaid and Kelpie tactics, though I could not find reference to it in any of the D&D publications.

Many of the legends speak of Manticores eating someone equipment and all. To include this bit of mythology, have the adventure start with a missing person leaving no trace and end with no treasure to be looted from the Manticore’s lair. Further, this could be a solution to that pesky magical item you regret giving a player, if you really must remove it from the game.

Mimic

”Another good haul,” said Surrey, throwing back the orange tarp that covered the wagon. Crates of glassware and silverware filled the bottom of the wagon’s carriage bed, and Milo knew that the dwarf’s calculating mind was already tabulating how much their fence would give them through it. Milo was uneasy though. Something didn’t feel right. He had robbed several caravans in the short time that he had joined up with Surrey’s group of bandits, and normally the people he robbed acted different… more frightened. The driver had seemed frightened, this much was true, but not of the bandits. On the contrary, he had stayed firmly planted in his seat during the attack, not even trying to dodge until a flaming arrow struck the wagon. Then he had taken off like all the demons of the Abyss were after him. But was he running from the bandits, or something else? It almost seemed like he had been trying to get away from the wagon itself…

Milo’s train of thought was interrupted by Surrey. “Milo! Stop staring around like a slack jawed yokel and inspect the horses! If they’ve still got all their teeth, we might be able to pass them off as riding horses and get seventy-five gold for them.” He walked to the front of the wagon, noticing to himself how tightly the horses were bound to the yoke, almost as if the wagon and the horses were one singular unit. It would be hell to get those harnesses off them; that was for sure. Milo walked in front of one of the horses, ignoring the dead-eyed stare it gave him, and pulled its front lip back to count the horses teeth.

There were no teeth. The interior of the horse’s mouth was a single white mass, as if all if the teeth had been fused together. Milo recoiled in shock, drawing his hand back, and it was this instinctive gesture which saved him from the fate of the rest of the bandits. “Well Milo?” the dwarf demanded. “How mu-“ Surrey never got the chance to finish his question. The tarp that had covered the wagon bed flapped over him, suddenly looking like nothing more than an enormous tongue.

Introduction

Unlike many monstrosities, the history of the mimic is quite easy to trace back, for those scholars with the dedication and perseverance to look. The first known appearance of the mimic was at the fortress of the wizard Balboas, a Nerathi noble of mild renown for his hedonistic bacchanalias. Documents of the period clearly describe living furniture that molded itself to the contours of the user, while preying on insects and rodents to keep the fortress free of vermin.

This first documented appearance of the mimic would be nothing more than a footnote in history were it not for a war that sprung up shortly thereafter between Nerath and another long-dead kingdom named Arkhosia. Records of the war indicate that Balboas’ wondrous “furniture” was repurposed as a tool of guerrilla warfare, assassinating high-value Arkhosian military officers. The specificity and planned nature of the attacks suggests that Balboas had some way to remotely direct his creations. The nature of this control will never be known, as Balboas was targeted for assassination by an elite group of Arkhosian adventurers. Upon his death, the mimics he had created became uncontrolled predators, gradually spreading across the world.

Physiological Observations

Mimics are asexual predators. In their “natural” form (which they assume upon death), they appear similar to a giant amoeba, with a sophisticated nervous system attached to the nucleus. Mimics can secrete a variety of substances, including adhesive, acid, and a translucent substance that hardens gradually over time into something similar to keratin. Mimics can control the coloration of this substance, and reabsorb it swiftly through exposure to their acid. Because of this ability, a mimic nucleus is an essential component in the crafting of the magical item known as a Jug of Alchemy.

When a mimic hits a certain size, it generally buds off part of itself, splitting off part of its nervous system and a small portion of its own nucleus over a period of ten hours. This new mimic is born with all the abilities of its parent. Some mimics choose not to split off, and instead continue growing to extremely large sizes, to the point where they can no longer disguise themselves as furniture and instead impersonate wagons, privies, or even small houses.

Social Observations

Mimics come in two distinct varieties, house mimics and hunter mimics. The two varieties are almost indistinguishable in terms of their physical characteristics, but differ greatly in temperament.

House mimics (which are very rare) are docile creatures. They are content to move into a house and can live symbiotically there for decades, posing inconspicuously as furniture. They subsist on kitchen scraps and vermin which they hunt at night. House mimics tend to live in groups, gradually replacing more and more of the existing furniture as they procreate. On one notable occasion, a travelling merchant who used a crystal ball to scry upon his wife (whom he was convinced was cheating on him) was shocked to discover that every single piece of furniture in his house was actually a mimic.

Hunter mimics (the kind that adventurers are more likely to encounter) are by far the more common variety. They are solitary predators that avoid each other whenever possible. Hunter mimics are aggressive killers and often create vicious traps near themselves, designed to split a group up while it attacks one of them. They typically lair near very narrow tunnels (such as drainpipes) that double as an emergency escape: if the mimic finds itself outmatched, it adopts an ooze-like shape and vanishes down these narrow tunnels.

Behaviorial Observations

It is hypothesized that house mimics are the descendants of the mimics that Balboas used as furniture, while hunter mimics are the descendants of the mimics that Balboas repurposed for assassination. This is based on the fact that hunter mimics demonstrate the same mentality as guerrilla soldiers conducting warfare behind enemy lines. They keep their attacks as quiet as possible, and try to eliminate any witnesses that happen to discover their existence. One interesting observation is that well-fed hunter mimics tend to avoid attacking unarmed humanoids, possibly because they are considered “civilians.” This might indicate that mimics have a genetic memory and are still “programmed” with the instructions of their ancestor’s original function.

Inter-Species Observations

House mimics are generally cooperative with humanoids. In fact, when properly fed and tended they can be wonderful pets, assuming the shape of whatever furniture is desired, from trampolines to ladders to mattresses. They attack only when they feel threatened or attacked.

Hunter mimics, by contrast, are downright vicious. They behave like soldiers embedded behind enemy lines, and take any opportunity to kill “enemy” targets (a category which includes almost everyone). They are capable of cooperating in the short terms with humanoids whom they do not consider a threat, but any display of weaponry by their “allies” quickly results in conflict. For this reason, mimics who are allied with humanoid groups are typically left as guards or traps in remote, secluded areas.

Adding to this complication is the fact that a mimic often suffers short-term (or occasionally even long-term) memory loss when injured. This is most likely as a result of the need to reconfigure the parts of their nervous systems that suffer damage. Because of this, even a mimic that has formed an alliance with a group of humanoids may end up turning on them later, having completely forgotten the agreement.

DM's Toolkit

Mimics are best used as traps rather than creatures. They are ambush predators, and always strike from surprise. DMs are best served by using imaginative forms for mimics beyond the classic “treasure chest” trope. Curtains, suits of armor, even doors or walls are good potential forms for a mimic.

Merrow

The ocean turned to blood and the sea boiled with rage. The mad king wanted to slaughter everyone, but a few survived. Now we must protect ourselves from the monstrosities that come from their hate. - Merfolk Tribal Leader

Introduction

Long ago a Merfolk tribe found an idol of Demogoron, The Demon Prince, and everyone that touched it went insane. Overwhelmed by the madness the leader of the tribe began a ritual, slaughtering those that refused the idol. Demogoron brought the twisted Merfolk into the abyss and slowly they became the hulking monstrosities known now as the Merrow.

Physiological Observations

Merrow are larger than their Merfolk counter parts, growing to be ten feet long, if not longer. Their scales have adapted to the harsh environment of the abyss and have become more rigid and hard. It is often noted that the scales of Merrow also tend to be sharp around the edges. Their fins are also almost always torn and rough, showing the monsters brutality.

Merrow have also developed their natural weapons while spending time in the abyss. Their teeth have grown larger and sharper with serrated edges used for tearing flesh apart. Needing more than just teeth in the abyss, Merrow also have large claws that extend from their huge hands. They will keep these sharp as well to use as weapons against their enemies.

With the increase in size, Merrow have also observed a dramatic increase in strength. Their brutish strength has also come to dominate their mind however, as such Merrow have trouble problem solving and have the mental capacity of a child just entering their teenage years. But what they can’t solve intellectually, Merrow will solve with brutality.

While in the abyss, Merrow adapted to their new dark environment and thusly can see quite well in the dark. Their eyes are always dark in hue, mostly in shades of blue, grey, or black. Their eyes are much like a shark’s, just sharper.

Social Observations

Merrow follow strength, for in the abyss only the strongest will survive. A Merrow will lead until he is shown to be weaker than another. When a stronger Merrow challenges for leadership, it is a fight to the death. The victor will lead the group.

A large part of Merrow life is the upkeep of the lair. Making sure the borders of their territory are marked and well defended, and making sure whatever cave or grotto they have inhabited have proper defenses. It is important that whatever loot that has been collected is properly defended.

When not hunting or keeping up on the defenses, Merrow will also hold contests of strength. These contests have a wide range, and a wide social aspect. It could be a challenge between two individuals, or it can be a contest that is being observed by the entire hunting party. The contests themselves can be anything from a quick wrestling match, or a test of strength against a creature of the sea.

Merrow will also perform various rituals to please the Prince of Demons. Those sacrificial rites will always include blood. Any blood will do but blood drawn from those still living pleases Demogoron the most, thus it is common that there will be prisoners in the Merrow lair being kept alive for a sacrifice.

Merrow only form hunting parties between 10-50 individuals. No larger community has ever been observed outside of the abyss. There is speculation that Merrow will form large armies to conquer, capture, and sacrifice large communities of Merfolk, but no concrete observations have been made to substantiate this claim.

Behavioral Observations

Aggressive behavior is the trademark of the Merrow. Nothing they do is without anger. Even mundane chores become tasks that can be used as a way to release the inherent fury that drives a Merrow. Insults and commands are barked in the same manner as mundane sentences.

Inter-Species Observations

Merrow hate the Merfolk and will do anything they can to destroy them. Merrow see the Merfolk as inferior beings and unsuitable to live in the world. Merrow will use brute force and overwhelming numbers in order to destroy any clan of Merfolk that they happen upon.

Merrow also hate everything else that lives, just less so than Merfolk. They will hunt anything that they deem are too weak to live, mostly creatures that are smaller and weaker then themselves. When hunting Merrow will always use their brutality much like any other predator would. They use flank tactics, speed, and numbers to kill their prey.

When their prey is dead, the Merrow will take it back to their territory to feed, whatever they don't feed on they use to mark their territory. Merrow dominated water is surrounded by corpses tied to kelp and other seaweed. The bodies serve as a marking and a warning, if one was to enter the territory, it is highly likely they will join the tied off bodies.

DM's Toolkit

An interesting way to use Merrow is to set them up as a small hunting parties that are easy to deal with separately, then to have one incredibly fierce Merrow bring them all together as an army that threatens to overwhelm an underwater settlement.

It is also interesting to make a NPC Merrow that despises his own people and is searching for acceptance elsewhere. Much like Drizzt Do’Urden and the Drow. It would make for some interesting RP opportunities and a fun and memorable party helper.

As always, use Merrow as a way to surprise your party. Make the Merrow a concrete threat that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Make it a priority that the Merrow need to be exterminated. Or maybe the Merrow have acquired a certain item that needs to be recovered from the lair. In any case, put the sense of chaotic dread into your characters.

Modron

"Ah yes I remember it like it was yesterday... what an odd day..."

"Can you to elaborate?"

"Well, it was some 285 years ago on a especially windy day during the rainy season. I had just made the long climb out of the mines after my shift and made my way to the Prancing Pegasus for a stout. But then, just one gulp in, we all felt it. A strange.... Rumbling. It shook the whole tavern. It shook our entire outpost. Everyone made their way outside, and thats when we saw it. A strange tear in the air. Some kind of portal, shimmering and made of what appeared to be mercury... And that was then they came. A procession of thousands-nay-hundreds of thousands of them. Marching in perfect step, ten wide. For three days they constantly streamed out, ignoring our questions. And just as quickly as they came, they were gone and the portal closed. Headed north toward the Axe Mountains."

"Thank you for your time Thrizen Ironbeard. This will be very useful knowledge for my studies."

-Excerpt from Thristane's Planar Manual. Recorded using voice crystals

Introduction

Modrons are an oddity. they are usually very rarely seen on Toril. Slightly more so on the Astral Plane. they are the creations of the mysterious being known as Primus. It is assumed that almost all modrons reside in their home plane of Mechanus, with a few still scattered around the various planes.They are beings of absolute law. Modrons cannot be persuaded or intimidated to act against their current instructions and inherit instinct for order. They maintain the clock-workings of Mechanus and have an extremely varying level of intelligence.

Physiological Observations

The physical attributes of modrons vary wildly depending on their "rank." But they all share a few fundamental characteristics. They are all constructs. With none of the organs, blood, or muscles that most sentient creatures take for granted modrons are entirely mechanical. They have gears, pistons and universal joints. A complete examination of their inner-workings is impossible due to the fact that upon their "death" they disintegrate into dust. This has made my study of their physiology very difficult. It is unknown how they are powered or how their minds work. I have discovered that as rank increased, so did intelligence and motor skills. A task impossible to complete for a monodrone would be child's play for a tridrone. I have tested this hypothesis repeatedly.

Social and Behavioral Observations

Modrons are creatures of hierarchy. They communicate with modrons of the same rank, one rank above, and one rank below their current station. Other modrons are either too intelligent or too simple for them to understand. Most have very little understanding of the physiologies of organic creatures. Tridrones and quadrones have shown an exceptional understanding of the weak points of most humanoids due to their usage of the spear and shortbow respectively. Besides combat and tool related information, modrons know almost nothing about the day to day lives of humanoids. They have no concept of sex, jealousy, rage, subtlety or any of the other social motivations most humanoids experience. The closest modrons come to emotion is a strange and powerful uncomfortableness when they see mechanical objects destroyed, or any acts of unnecessary destruction.

Inter-species Observations

Very few in human settlements know of their existence, and even fewer humans have seen one in person. But in communities of beings who live for many years, such as elves and dwarves remember. Most Dwarves only live to see a single Clockwork Singularity in their lifetimes, and thus do not see the pattern. Elves are a different matter. Most elvish cities have laws that account for the coming of modrons. After poring over the hundreds of law statures in the City Hall of the elvish city Glasstower, I found a series of laws that deal with The Cycle. They dictate that every 289 years, the authorities of Glasstower must bring out prototypes of any new inventions that have been patented over the past 289 years and place them in the city street. According to Slivaris PatentMaster, after the Modron Army marches through the city streets these prototypes are gone and the city can easily resume its day to day activities. Some Creatures of the Outer Planes like to enslave modrons as they make excellent workers. Sometimes githyanki pirate ships are found to be run by monodrones hundreds of years old in their underbellies, enslaved by the astral pirates centuries before.

DM's Toolkit

Modrons can be difficult to use. They are pretty weak but would never be found by themselves, so can make decent combat encounters for lower level parties. They can also be effectively used as a "world shaking event." Maybe The March begins and interrupts a party of adventures trying to travel through an area. Maybe something goes wrong and when it reaches 289 years the modrons DONT march. Lots of options. Also they can be utilized as slaves for really anything that hunts the Astral Plane.

Mummy

Most of 'em were pummeled into submission... beaten senseless by an unholy strength, until bones splintered and organs turned to mash. Those were the lucky ones. The most cowardly among our number tried to run, and it worked for a while. Be we're talking about an unrelenting force here; A few locked doors or makeshift snares can't slow them down. Most of 'em didn't get far enough away, but a couple did... those unlucky bastards got the worst of it - the rot. The horrid rot. I'd much rather be beaten senseless and die with a weapon in my hand than end up bedridden for a week before being lost to the breeze." -Dondrick the Thrice-Blessed, sole survivor of the last expedition into the tomb of Ahmand-Rak.

Introduction

When one pictures a mummy, one envisions a stereotypical shambling corpse wrapped in ancient linens and resting in a dusty sarcophagus - this is a common misconception, perpetuated by old folktales passed along from explorers visiting a very specific part of the world. In the technical sense, any well-preserved corpse could be considered for re-animation as a mummy. Bodies buried deep in a glacier, submerged in a mossy bog, lost on a remote mountain peak, preserved in alchemical brines, or sealed in an airtight tomb are all prime candidates to become proper mummies. The sole criterion for classification is that the body is kept well enough after death to avoid rotting away under normal conditions. Where a zombie eventually turns to mush and a skeleton has long-since lost most of its form, a mummy's body is able to last for centuries, even millennia. The most powerful mummies even manage to retain their memories, skills and even the personality they had in life.

Just as diverse as their methods of preservation are the means by which the mummies come to animate. While usually evil and unholy in nature, the origin of a mummy can vary from case to case. Some mummies animate as a result of an ancient curse bestowed upon their corpses by a powerful being. Others are the product of alchemical or arcane experimentation, not unlike the creation of an undead golem (though mummies are significantly less obedient). Some are born of freak accidents or wild surges of necromantic power, while others are purposefully prepared to rise as mummies many centuries later to serve as guardians over sacred sites. A few mummies are bound in unholy scripture and blasphemous edicts from which they draw their unlife. Some rise from death under the sheer force of their evil will; these are the most dangerous of such creatures... spiteful souls who usually mean to end all life from beyond the grave.

Academics often argue the differences between mummies and liches; as a general rule, mummies are animated through some outside force that sustains them and drives them to violence, whereas liches are undead by choice and generally retain more of their mortal semblance, personality-wise.

Physiological Observations

While the origins of mummies are varied and diverse, their basic anatomy is quite simple - a well-preserved corpse (either from environmental factors or through special treatment after death) with mostly intact organs and firm muscle sinew hardened through the preservation process. This corpse need not be humanoid in nature; rumors persist of mummies formed from beholder-kin, naga, and even dragons who have long since expired. Its undead appearance bears a striking resemblance to the creature as it appeared in life; the preservation process usually protects more delicate features, and ensures that very little decay actually affects a mummy's body. In particular, mummies who originate as frozen corpses or bog bodies are almost entirely unaffected by the ravages of bacterial consumption, and can sometimes pass themselves off as a living being if viewed from a distance.

A mummy is supernaturally strong, owing to two factors: the first is that in death, muscle tissue naturally stiffens under the effects of rigor mortis. These extremely tough muscle fibers are gradually made more pliant after centuries of gentle stretching, resulting in a much denser muscular frame covering the skeletal structure, one which breaks less easily and can be subjected to more strain. The second factor attributed to a mummies great strength is a unholy spark somewhere within the creature that urges it ever forward (despite the notable handicap of being dead). Generally speaking, the more evil the creature was in life, the stronger its drive to obliterate at any cost. This same power makes a mummy significantly tougher than the sum of its parts - where a slash might cut through tissue and bones on a normal cadaver, mummies are often able to shrug such attacks simply because they will themselves not to be slowed.

In spite of its strength and conviction, a mummy is still a slow and shambling combatant. Years, even centuries, of low mobilization forces a mummy to essentially re-learn how to move like a normal creature. A mummy often has a signature "shuffle" in the way it walks that results from withered legs and atrophied tendons. It swings its arms in wide, stiff arcs rather than swift, fluid motions. Often times, the material used to bind a mummy can likewise restrict movement. This stiffness becomes less pronounced as a mummy spends more time moving around, but never quite disappears entirely.

One aspect entirely unique to mummies is their “curse” of mummy rot. Technically, mummy rot is a form of advanced disease that develops only from within the well-preserved body of a being fueled by unholy power. Mummy rot damages living organisms through the rapid consumption of water from living cells, and can therefore not harm the mummy host, whose cells have already died. Victims of mummy rot feel an extreme dehydration for the duration of their “curse”, until such a time as their cells are completely drained of water, leaving behind only a pile of dry dust that used to be their body (to the untrained eye, it looks as though the victim has turned to sand, giving rise to the belief that the victim had been “cursed” to transform).

Social/Behavioural Observations

For the most part, the most basic and primitive of mummies absolutely abhor the living. The hatred a mummy feels towards the living is not confined to certain species or races - they simply wish for all that is not dead to become dead. Scholars believe a mummy’s drive to end life stems from the same programming that allows simpler forms of undead (such as zombies) to follow the commands of their creator; in the case of lesser mummies however, these commands are self-deriving from a core of evil intent. Whether divine or arcane, the spark of evil that drives a mummy will constantly demand that the creature take only one action: kill.

Ironically, the more complex a mummy’s mind, the greater the chance that it can fight this supernatural programming, to the point where it only kills when it wants to (rather than through constant compulsion). Advanced mummies are able to supress their murderous urges long enough to commit to other tasks, such as academic research, lair maintenance, or even intelligent debate. For this reason, the more powerful the mummy, the less likely it is to leap straight into bloodthirsty combat. There are instances of novice explorers leaving unscathed after an accidental encounter with a mummy lord, simply because they were able to convince the mummy that they weren’t a credible threat.

That being said, the intent and actions of a powerful mummy are just as unpredictable as any living creature – they are just as diverse in their personalities as the living. However, due to the sheer unholy presence required to sustain a mummy over centuries of unlife, it is usually a safe bet that they aren’t the nicest of beings. Many of them are also driven to madness through centuries of isolation, which further makes mummies unpredictable when engaged diplomatically.

Whether simple in mind or not, a mummy will almost never willingly follow the commands of a living being. They can be briefly controlled by those who hold sway over unholy powers (such as devils, evil priests or very powerful necromancers), but a mummy will fight this control at all times, often exhausting its controller so much that they are seldom worth the effort. When given the chance, a mummy almost always turns against those trying to control them; this is especially the case with the more powerful, intelligent mummy lords, who were usually figures of great importance (and great ego) in life.

Intra-Species Observations

As specified earlier, mummies almost never coexist peacefully with living beings. If forced into such a situation, time will not be on the side of the living; a mummy’s self-control will eventually be overcome by the unrelenting spark that drives them to kill. When a mummy freely allows this drive to consume them, they become relentless in their pursuit of a designated target, far beyond their capacity for self-preservation. Not only will a mummy kill, but they will travel to the ends of the earth to do so. Fortunately, many mummies are confined to their tombs or bound in sarcophagi, but again, time is on their side and they will eventually break free.

Other undead creatures are by-and-large ignored by mummies, who often view their lesser undead “cousins” as necromantic tools, pawns, or feral creatures. Because they do not possess the vitality of life, mummies do not concern themselves with ghouls, skeletons, and the like. If a mummy is bound to a tomb as part of a group, they often share a bond with their interred brethren, but nothing akin to emotion; their connection is more like that of an associate or colleague, rather than a friend or family member. An exception can be found when a group of mummies are bound to a mummy lord, who usually commands the lesser mummies as their de facto leader (a phenomenon stemming from their social dynamic in life - mummy lords were usually former high priests or cult leaders, while lesser mummies were often acolytes and/or followers in the same organization). More intelligent mummies may develop preferences and even take a liking towards another being, living or dead, though they acknowledge that such relationships will be short-lived and generally do not attempt to prolong them in any way.

Variants

Lesser Mummy – Usually a person of little accomplishment in life, reanimated through no choice of their own. Lesser mummies are dimwitted, hateful, and stubborn to a fault, mindlessly hunting down the living to the exclusion of all other activities. At best they can be compared to a stronger form of zombie; at worst, an unchecked force of evil and death run rampant.

Mummy Lord – A powerful and intelligent mummy, usually created as the result of a terribly sinister ritual or whose evil actions in life were strong enough to fuel its actions in death. Mummy lords can command lesser mummies provided the lesser mummies had some connection to the mummy lord in life as a subservient. Some mummy lords embrace their unlife as a means of carrying on their goals after death, while others lament the curse that won’t let them rest in peace.

Bog Mummy – These poor souls were interred inside the airless waters of a bog or marsh, providing ideal conditions for the preservation of their corpses. They tend to reanimate through more natural causes rather than deliberate ones, and are usually left to wander aimlessly among the reeds. The nature of their environment provides them with an unusual affinity for swimming in shallow waters and the ability to move unfettered through the deep mud. Because bacteria could not eat away at their bodies and damage tissue, they are swifter and more agile than other mummy types, although not quite as strong.

Glacial Mummy – Once and a while, an ancient body entombed in an ice floe breaks free of its confines and reanimates. Their skin blackened from frostbite and their muscles stiffened from atrophy, these mummies are easily identified and best avoided. Though they are slower than a lesser mummy, their chilling touch can freeze living flesh as solid as the ice from which they emerged. If a glacial mummy is only freshly freed from the ice, it will usually lack the mummy rot disease afflicting the other variants.

Chemical Mummy – Created not through magic, but rather through twisted alchemical practices, these mummies can be found suspended in tanks of strange bio-goo, ready to be unleashed onto intruding player parties. Though they usually lack the mummy rot touch, their bodies have soaked up more than enough strange chemicals to pass along in an attack; striking them in a forceful manner may even cause them to burst in a chemical explosion.

Animated Wraps - Sometimes a rampant case of mummy rot can persist long after the preservation of their mummy hosts’ bodies. In these cases, the mummy rot itself becomes a semi-sentient creature inhabiting the old funerary wrappings of the expired mummy. Tomb explorers report being attacked by bandages and shrouds as swift and agile as living serpents, though much more aggressive. The preferred tactic of animated wraps is to strangle living creatures while also spreading the mummy rot disease.

Non-humanoid Mummies – Can come in many varieties and possess many different abilities. They are best avoided when possible, and must be approached with extreme caution.

Fake Mummy – A zombie wrapped in bandages/toilet paper, designed to fool opponents into thinking it is a much stronger enemy. Fun to play as a practical joke.

DM’S TOOLKIT

Mummies can fill a unique role in any campaign. They can act as a plausible means for an entire organization or cult to exist centuries after a normal lifespan. They can provide a sort of hierarchical system of undead inside a tomb, crypt, temple, or other ruins. They can also act as independent “wild” undead whose existence does not stem from a necromantic master/creator. They can be scaled to act as either plausible minor guardians of long-abandoned ruins, or as a powerful boss monster at the end of a dungeon.

Mummy rot can provide a suitable quest hook in searching for a cure that can lead players to new locations if they don’t have the resources to cure it themselves. Similarly, a strong mummy can "chase" the players along a campaign, constantly in the background and forcing the group ever onward to avoid being caught.

Intelligent mummies might be bargained or negotiated with to provide passage through their tomb. They can act as an NPC character to be interacted with in places where DMs would have a hard time explaining the presence of living beings. Similarly, they might be cursed to fulfil some bizarre obligation by their creators, forcing the mummy to act on their behalf even centuries after they’ve left this world (good for passing along ancient information, maintaining traps, or proctoring an ancient test/trial).

You can also use mummies as a way to extend the longevity of major enemies in a campaign by having them “return” to fight the party as an intelligent undead being.

Myconid

They were everywhere, man! Everywhere! Mushroom people, I tell you! MUSHROOMS WITH FACES!

Anonymous inmate, Rafanar Asylum

Introduction

Mycellium Myconidis, the Myconid civilization, is an incredible story of a nearly perfect biological organism married with the adaptability of an intelligent, fecund species. These so-called Fungus People are a misunderstood race of beings that is as far removed from humanity as is possibile.

There have been centuries of study based on almost only a handful of information sources, and they have postulated a rigid caste structure for the Myconid society, based on mostly second-hand (or spurious) information as recent scholarship has shown, and its time to for new findings and fresh research to correct a number of long-standing mythologies.

Sub-Species

It has long been believed that there was only 1 form of Myconid adult, a (2 feet tall), crudely humanoid with arms, and hands with 4 fingers; legs, with feet of three toes; and a face, with eyes, nostril slits, and a mouth. It has been noted that this form moves at perhaps half the speed of a human, and cannot climb or swim with any speed or grace. While this form is part of the Myconid physiology, it is by no means the only one. The society is made up of a diverse range of intelligent fungi that can, and do, take many forms to fill many roles needed for their civilization to function.

The sub-species that fits the traditional description that was described, above, belongs to the the Mycon.

Mycon are living spore factories. Their great bulbous tops can pump out social and defense spores in their untold trillions when in need. They are the core species most often observed, because they are the most common type appearing in the blooms (60%), and they are the ones who do the most work, securing the colony's safety and pursuing what appears, to all recorded observations, is simply spreading the species wherever it can. No larger goals have been reported, but without the means to decipher the Sporechatter, it is impossible for anyone to do any except speculate about what philosophies the Myconid might be pursuing.

Enoki are long, slender fungi, with small caps atop a willowy stem that can grow to 3 meters if needed, but are more often found around 1 metre. They are the Watchmen of the society. They can walk and run if they have to, but they prefer to remain rooted for their entire lives. They use the sporemist to keep their senses keen, and they surf that wave of communication - tapped into the entirety of the colony's Sporechatter, their Alarm spores are larger than most of the other species, appearing as normal sized "dust" and not the fine powdery-type spores of the other Myconids. They have defenses as well, as reported by a few lucky survivors, spores that paralyze, induce terror, and pacify, and who knows what else. They are the second most common type of Myconid found in a bloom (40%)Puffballs are a light, mobile form that is easily propelled by winds and water, as well as an internal gas reserve, that the puffball uses to jet itself along when in need. They are uniformly grey in color and approximately 1 meter in diameter. Puffballs are the breeders of the species. A decaying puffball will seed a bloom. That is it's whole purpose, propogation. They are not easily destroyed (AC 14), and not easily caught if chased, jetting along without any wind, they can reach speeds of 10 feet per second (60 feet per round). It is otherwise defenseless, only being able to create three types of spores - Alarm, Communication and it's main spore type - Life. The Life spore does two things - it alerts the colony that a new bloom has been "born" and kills the puffball, mixing its chemistry with it's organic host, whatever that may be (as long as its dead) to give life to a new patch of Myconid. Puffballs appear with every bloom. Usually 4-6 are created, and these numbers are outside the normal number appearing for the other sub-species types (6-10 generally, as mentioned, below).

Lumins are the Holiest of the Holy as far as scholars can determine. The presence of even one will sometimes derail and entire colony's current activities and the whole area gathers around them and they appear to hold some kind of reverent communion with the Lumins, the sporemist becomes so thick that only the eerie glow of the Lumin can be seen. They colony remains transfixed like this for many hours, up to a day has been observed. No research or evidence has clarified if they are helpless in this state. After this initial "ceremony", the Lumin seems to be ignored, allowed to wander through the colony, and spreading its spores as it travels.

The extent of the Lumin Sporechatter is unknown, but obviously Communication and Alarm are present, as with all Myconid, but only a spore that gave birth to blooms with only Puffballs (who in turn, seem to seed blooms that favor the Agarite sub-species in number) have been observed beyond those. Their glowing qualities has been reported as being steady in brightness, with little to no variation, and lights up an area nearly 40 feet across (triple that in the complete darkness of subterranean areas). The color variation seems to be random, but only 3 Lumins have ever been observed, and there may be some larger pattern that scholars cannot account for at this time. It is not known if they are formed from blooms or if they are, in what quantities, but only individual Lumins have been counted.

Agarites are a rare species. It is believed that they can only be created by Lumin Myconids, but there isn't sufficient evidence to rule out their presence in normal blooms. Agarites are small and highly aggressive. They are quite fleet, moving upwards of 5 feet per second (30 feet per round). They are also highly poisonous, able to deliver powerful toxins via the physical growths on their caps and also by sporemist - they have several levels of lethality, and all of them are deadly to animals, humanoids, and monstrous creatures.

The Poison spore causes vomiting and racking pain, but the Flux spore also causes internal bleeding that can lead to death by exsanguination via the vomiting reflex. The Choke spore causes swelling of the victims lungs, making it difficult to draw breath, and if enough sporemist is inhaled, it can lead to death by suffocation. There may be others. The physical toxins on its flesh act as the Poison spore does, although it can be washed off, it requires a large quantity of liquid to do so, as the spores seem to stick to body hair. Agarites, when they have been observed being created in a bloom, are the only species and usually 4-8 are formed.

Dewcaps are another specialized sub-species that serves a vital role in the culture. Dewcaps extrude liquid from their bodies in the form of sticky balls that serve some need to the society that has only been speculated about up to this time. Myconid have not been seen to eat or drink, but they do ingest these globules from the Dewcaps from time to time, but not by the entire colony and not on a regular basis, so there is speculation that this liquid is not a nutrition source, but perhaps the Myconid do not need to eat regularly? No evidence can support this either way. The effects of this extruded liquid on humanoids, however, is well documented. It is a powerful hallucinogen, and can induce powerful effects that last upwards of 24 hours, after which time the ingester breaks his fever (which has been steadily climbing during the experience), after which large quantities of water and a day of bedrest are needed or the user dies of extreme dehydration.

Animals are also drawn to, and affected by, the Dewcap's sweet-smelling "nectar". Dewcaps always move to the periphery of the colony, and position themselves in areas where they can protect the colony from intruders. Dewcaps are considered rare and appear infrequently (10%) and generally only 1 or 2 spawn at most.

"Gobblers" have been observed only once, in dim light, when an adventurer reported seeing a companion suddenly scooped up by monstrous jaws and then the victim began screaming about being drowned, and was seen to be reaching out through the weird "jaws" before the witness bolted in abject fear (he claims he was just protecting his interests, but there are doubts that this story is even true, as the observer is a known thief and liar).

Blooms

Most of the current knowledge revolves around one source, Umlaut's "Observations While Spelunking & finding the Fungal tribes of Tentennering", a rambling journal/essay of a long expedition into the cavern systems found at the foot of the Greenwood Mountains, in the far West. Professor Umlaut's reported finding a "straygne and fasinating culture of living fungus, whome we expeckted would bring greate harm to us all, instaed welcomed us with gifts and a foule smelling concotion, more evil in its rotting tayste." He then describes what could only be interpreted as a halluncinogenic experience, wherein the "fungyl caretakers showed us the wonder of their socitee." The Myconid were described as having a heirarchical structure, with a single leader, and each Myconid fulfilled its role, and only its role in keeping the society running efficiently. A great "Melding of the mynds took place in a greate hall of stone, and all the fungalfolk gathyrd togethyr and the Auld One released tinee brown spores into the aire, in great quantities, and soone all the folke seemed to find themselves in the Great Web of Lyfe and I felt it too, and tho I was an outsyder, for a moment, I was one with the folke."

Recent scholarship has challenged this "lazy paradigm of accepted fact, a fantasy of hopes and dreams from a once-relevant scholar." This burst of activity has been mostly fueled by the rise of the Adventurer's Guild, and subsequent Cartographic Societes, who pay hard coin for good maps and verifiable, repeatable information. The Guild trades in Facts. A cohesive picture has been forming from the sale of a number of notable monographs on the creatures found within the journals buried deep in the Guild's Archives. That picture shows a very different Myconid society, one that may in fact, have no human parallel.

Myconid "blooms" (rapid growths of the juvenile forms of the species) have been reported at all depths of the Underdark and many are found close to or even on the surface, and there are no consistent reports on the usual types of Myconid sub-species that forms in these blooms. None of the reports match, which means that our understanding of the full Myconid species is incomplete. This essay can only speak to the sub-species on record, although no single societal norm (as we perceive it) is threaded through any of the Myconid observations.

The Myconid bloom in patches generally 2-10 feet in diameter, and over the course of only 24 hours, and rapidly form from a fungal "mat" of mycelium, and generally spawn between 6 and 10 of the Myconid race. These new spawn instantly begin to fulfil whatever roles they are supposed to serve in their society, but consistent behavior from these species has not exhibited itself. The bloom requires organic matter to grow, and this normally takes the form of rotting vegetable matter or deceased creatures. These "beds", depending on size, can be the source of many blooms, forming over and over again, slowly consuming the organic matter that allows this procreation. A rotting tree could support 2-4 bloom cycles, a humanoid 1-2, and a large creature 4-8, generally.

Colonies

Blooms of Myconid are instantanously able to function as adults. They have no juvenile form, and there are only scant moments after their "births" of inactivity, as the first communication spores are exchanged between them. There is strong evidence to suggest this form of communication among the species is as complex as ant or bees, with concepts as well as single representations able to be exchanged and understood. Our only proof of this is the reports of adventurers and rogue-scholars who have observed them in the wild. Spores are like breath to the Myconid, and vast clouds of them are constant in their vincinity, 50 to 300 feet sometimes aboveground, and as much as a mile underground, where, in breathless caves, the spores hang in the still air for days, sometimes weeks, waiting for a Myconid receptor or a humanoid host.

The Myconid are organized, and function well with one another, regardless of the mix of sub-species, and they will secure their spawning grounds first, by filling the area with sporemist, this creates the environment that allows the Sporechatter to function, and is constantly replenished by active Myconid with Communication spores. The Puffballs will jet away, hunting for suitable bloom-hosts and any sub-species will move to fill their roles. The Mycon will send half of their numbers out to find living captives; whether animal, man, or beast, it does not seem to matter. These prisoners are kept somewhere deep in the colony, no eyewitness accounts exist of their condition, and serve to create new blooms, as the colony's population growth is directly related to the number of local disappearences. The species can reproduce very quickly, 24 hours for a bloom to birth up to 10 Myconid, and the population can quickly run into the hundreds if left unchecked. There is an account, spurious at best, of sighting a colony numbering in the thousands in the Underdark, and perhaps a whole network of these Fungal Cities.

There does not appear to be any leadership among the Myconid. The Lumin sub-species does hold some place of regard in thier society, but scholars have been unable to say with any certainty what that role fulfills for the species. All the sub-species are obviously communicating, as they will cooperate to repel invaders, and perform functions within the colony, and there is speculation that the Hivemind is what directs their actions - some ancient memory, that allows each member to understand what needs to be done without the need for direct control from a superior member of the society. All seem to know their purpose and fulfill it independently, which gives is great strength and versatility. However, it is the very nature of the hivemind in which the species lives, that is it's greatest weakness. Cut a Myconid away from the colony, and it will lose focus very quickly and become confused. The few that have been captured, and interrogated without success, have died some 48-72 hours after being isolated from other Myconid, some inner process initiates it, or perhaps it is, as one sage has theorized, "that they cannot function as a single unit. Without the hivemind, they have no purpose, and quickly wilt and die."

Social Interactions

Myconid are hostile, there can be no doubt about that. All of the accounts, regardless of their source, point to this. Of course, this may mean just the opposite, as overwhelming evidence without a single dissent is often the framework for duplicity, and there very well may be peaceful Myconid societies. Ruling this possibility out is the function of a closed mind, as all will agree, but our only recorded evidence is of overwhelming aggression and hostility from the Myconid.

The colony will begin a spree of killing on any living thing within the immediate vicinity of the colony, usually up to a mile around the first bloom. This rapidly increases with each subsequent bloom, and soon patrols of Myconid are spread over a vast area. If civilized areas are nearby, the colony's numbers will explode exponentially, as Puffballs and Agarites swarm in numbers amid the Mycon hordes.

The Myconid do not torture, they do not violate, they do not even feed on their victims. They kill by spore infection to create more Myconid. They have no malice. They exist to procreate, and they almost never make allies, but there are exceptions.

Violet Fungus and Shriekers are almost always (90%) found in Myconid colonies, and are nurtured by the Myconid, who seem to treat these Deadly Fungi with the same reverence they do their own.

Dryad and Galeb Duhr and Shambling Mounds have also been known to cooperate with them.

Gas Spores are mortal enemies of the Myconid. The Gas Spores will feed on blooms and even on Myconid themselves, and are always immediately attacked by the colony and driven off by Aganites if any are present, or Enoki if not.

Under no circumstances will the Gas Spores be destroyed (although accidents do happen), as the Gas Spore's death causes an explosion of its own spores, that can infect the Myconid and kill them, giving rise to more Gas Spores.

DM's Toolkit

I have taken a very different view of these creatures. Gone are the slightly-expansionist-but-mostly-hippie-type-mushroom-dudes of AD&D. That's not to say you can't keep that paradigm, and brew as many sub-species as you like to serve your individual preferences. This is just my take.

Lifeforms serve the Spore. Anywhere things live, the Myconid can be found.

In the underdark, they can be terrifying. The first time you encounter the presence of Myconids is almost always the sporemist. That means saving throws. I've experienced not even getting close to a real live Myconid because my character has wandered off, Confused, or worse, Poisoned. The sporemist is an active defense that does not require the immediate presence of the Myconid themselves.

Hamlets and villages are great places to stage Myconid invasions. Played carefully enough, they could serve as the Mysterious in a missing-villagers whodunnit. They can also quickly destroy pockets of civilization, and not only through direct attack, but by taking all the local game and wildlife, starvation is a real possibility.

This is your scaling device. The sporemist. The Myconid themselves could have their numbers moved around, but taking the approach of the sporemist as the thing that needs to be defeated, is the key to a different type of encounter paradigm. Of course, the removal of this area condition, via magical means, such as Gust of Wind, is the fastest way to remove a colony in its early stages, as this will confuse and scatter the Myconid and they will be easier to isolate and destroy.

They could be modified to include weapons in their society. Taken from victims and absorbed into the Hivemind's repository of knowledge, they would probably be clumsy with them, but I could see that being a nice escalation to their natural aggression.

The Sporechatter, a collective term for all the individual spore types can be whatever you want.

The Monster Manual lists only 4 - Pacify, Rapport, Animate and Hallucinate. I have replicated those here, and used Puffballs in place of the Animation spore type. I like to mix and match, so any list of spore types would frequently change, I think.

Spore types mentioned in this post:

Communication

Alarm

Paralyze

Fear

Calm

Life

Commune

Poison

Flux

Choke

Hallucination

Naga

A dragon? You expected a dragon?! Bah! Disgusting monsters. You should be glad I am not a dragon. If you try to kill me, I will let you. I will let you go on your way with your stolen relic.

You'll sell it for some gold. That merchant will die and I will take it back. You'll buy passage on a ship headed back home. Everyone on it will die. You'll return home and treat your loved ones to your wealth. They will also die.

And when you come for me again, we can start over. - Turomark the Guardian

Introduction

Nagas are an intelligent race of monstrous snakes, who possess a humanoid face and a large serpentine body. Created by a long-lost civilization or god, they are a haughty race of immortal guardians who claim to be the pinnacle of the serpentine form. Much like dragons, some are good and some are evil, some are necromantically corrupted, and some are even ethereal.

Nagas killed by any but the most powerful and lasting means reform in a matter of days; this immortal nature causesthem to hold their bonds and allegiance absolute. A Naga does not forget, although some may forgive. They do notvalue life in the traditional sense, holding the experience and spirit of it in higher regard than the simple manner of existence.

Physiological Observations

Nagas are large snake-like creatures, with the head of a humanoid and the hood of a cobra. Nagas as a species areallgenerally the same size, around 12 to 16 feet long at maturity and weighing anywhere from 300 to 400 pounds. They usually "stand" at about 8 feet in height. Beyond a similarity in size, the physical appearance of Nagas may vary greatly between the subspecies. Nagas, universally, do not require food, water, sleep, or air.

There exist a variety of subspecies of Naga, for the purposes of this ecological study four will be examined: the Guardian Naga, the Water Naga, the Dark or Spirit Naga, and the Bone Naga.

The Guardian is among the largest, most intelligent, and most noble of the Nagas. Some claim they are the rarest and most uncorrupted form of the original creation of Nagas. Their scales are regal, uniform, and an iridescent green. Their human face is beautiful and exquisite, if somewhat unsettling.

The Water Naga is the most bestial and least intelligent of the Nagas - though still capable of elevated dialogue. They prefer to live in the sea, preferably in warm waters. Their scales are a varied mixture of greens and blues. Many merchants attempt to pass off the green scales of a Water Naga as those of a Guardian Naga. The two are easily discerned under careful observation as Water Naga scales will secrete a fish-like slime.

The Dark and Spirit Nagas are technically two different forms, but are closely related; that is, a Spirit Naga is a progressively more corrupted form of the Dark Naga. A Dark Naga has black and grey scales and a rat-like face, always wearing a sinister smile. A Spirit Naga, however, is pitch-black and many missing scales with a horribly disfigured face. Both are smaller than the Guardian Naga and possess nearly as much intelligence.

The Bone Naga is the result of Yuan-Ti and others attempting to stop the process of the Naga's regeneration. A living Naga is restrained and then a necromantic ritual is performed that sloughs off the flesh of the Naga leaving only the bone. The Bone Naga is bound to its creator and retains only a fragment the magical prowess it once had.

Other varieties of Naga exist, although not nearly as numerous as the above. The astrologically-attuned Lunar Naga watches the skies and violently strike against any who get in the way of their observations. The Royal Naga is said to be the divine fusion of five Nagas into one, much like a Hydra, tasked with guarding the most sacred relics and valuable treasures.

Nagas have two sexes, male and female, and are capable of reproduction. They mate only during important cosmological times, such as eclipses and solstices, and lay two to four eggs. Most are infertile, however. The fertility and subspecies is reliant on the rarity and type of the cosmological event, often causing a pair of Nagas to seek the reclusive Lunar Naga in hopes of a well-timed event.

The eggs take a year to hatch, and the tiny Naga must be kept in a guarded place as it dreams for one hundred years. During this time it slowly grows to full strength and size, but if awoken before then it is stuck in a catatonic state unless blessed with strong healing magics (an easy task for a powerful Naga, of course.) The scales and hide of a Naga are very resilient but not preternaturally so - the strength of a Naga lies more in its spirit than its corporeal form.

Social Observations

Nagas interact with one another with a certain degree of mutual respect among subspecies and a sense of hierarchy among different subspecies. The Dark Naga, when meeting a Guardian Naga, will be curt and jealous. A Guardian Naga will have a certain assured nature.

Nagas, over time, become obsessed with purity, power, and guarding items and sites of great power. Where Guardian Nagas form the equivalent of templars and orders, Dark Nagas and Spirit Nagas form covetous camps and covens. Bone Nagas are reclusive and viewed the same as a human might judge a zombie or skeleton. Nagas make nests and small groups, but do not otherwise form large societies like the Yuan-Ti, often devolving into debates and posturing before making meaningful establishments.

In any group of Nagas there will be a clearly established leader, who often claims to speak to one of the various deities purported by the Nagas. Among Dark and Spirit Nagas this is an unstable position, with scheming and plotting often having the leader disposed - or the entire group dissolving into eternal feuds. In groups of Guardian Nagas the hierarchy is absolute, with complex titles and commandments for each individual Naga. Any attempt to deviate would require centuries of subtle maneuvering and subterfuge.

Nagas mate with the same partner only once, taking dozens of different partners over the course of a millennium. The kind of Naga does not dictate the form of the offspring (rather, it is reliant upon the cosmological activity at the time of mating) - yet it is rare for different subspecies to mate due to differing dispositions. Even among Nagas of the same race, there is an alpha in mating relationships too, this position is not reliant on sex, however.

Behavioral Observations

Nagas are, at their heart, domineering and arrogant. They view themselves as perfect, and all others inferior save the divine, their creators, and some other Nagas. They have a strong desire to rule over their environment but not improve it. Even Guardian Nagas, though benevolent, view their "subjects" as weak-minded and weak-willed. This causes communication difficulties between them and others, with Nagas often distrusting those they lack respect for.

Their intelligence and immortal nature causes them to be long-term planners or schemers who can wait decades before putting a plan into action. They often get wrapped in layers of conspiracy when in groups, especially among Dark and Spirit Nagas. This is the inherent fault of the Nagas as guardians. They become so obsessed in what they are protecting or controlling they lose sight of any outside world. It is not uncommon to encounter Nagas who have seen a thousand dynasties rise and fall without ever caring to learn their names.

When first approached most Nagas will be willing to communicate, often condescendingly, to others. That is, unless it is a fellow Naga, in which case the two must approach in a formalized rite of greeting and announcements. Nagas are not gatekeepers, however; they do not let their site or treasure out of their sight. If someone has bypassed them or entered unannounced a Naga will not hesitate to strike first and ask questions later.

They are suspicious of all others including other Nagas. They will seize any opportunity to capture their prey and interrogate them for years on end before killing them. Sometimes the information gleaned from this will prompt a Naga to leave their territory in order to retrieve an object of importance.

Nagas, when talked to, will be hesitant to disclose information on what they are protecting or what their purpose is, along with refusing to answer any questions about their original creators. They will also be hostile to any Yuan-Ti, and especially vitriolic to any reptilian or snake-like beings they encounter. An easy way to discern if one is close to a Naga's nest is to look for any snakes nearby, if one cannot find any, one may be close as a Naga will magically exterminate all mundane snakes in a large proximity around it.

Inter Species Observations

Nagas interact with other species in a manner that only can be described as tyrannical. Although this may be benevolent, it is usually malevolent and designed to supplicate the urges of the Naga. A Naga does not build, it only keeps structures in stasis. A group of kobolds in servitude to a Dark Naga will rarely deviate in population and Nagas would rather kill all of their servants than have a single one escape the control of their will.

Nagas will not work for or be in servitude to another creature, unless it is a divine being or another Naga. And even then, they will do so distastefully. For most creatures this is simply an unreasonable way of life, but Nagas simply inflict themselves with magical ailments and regenerate days later, far away.

There are tales of heroes and villains teaming up with Nagas to accomplish joint goals, but to be treated even as an equal by a Naga one must destroy their corporeal form twice. They are not soldiers, but rather covetous generals for the armies of evil or good. Nagas have been known to stalk a familial line for generations, slowly killing off the descendants of those who wronged them until the family tree is ruthless pruned.

Yuan-Ti and Naga have a bitter hatred and rivalry deriving from both claiming to be the perfect form of the serpentine beings. They will usually attempt to kill each other on sight. Nagas have never made any significant headway in eliminating the Yuan-Ti, though, as they become too focused on their individual projects and goals.

DM's Toolkit

Nagas make archetypal guardians. They're almost like dragons in their obsession, and almost like undead minions in their allegiance. Their arrogance and extreme drive is an easy way to give a Dungeon Master the motivations of a Naga NPC. But the most important aspect of the Naga is its ability to reform and immortal patience. A Naga killed by a fluke at early levels can come back at full force to a mid-level party. They hold grudges better than any, and will wait for the perfect moment to strike.

They're inherently off-putting, even among Guardian Nagas, with strange personalities that vary as much as any sentient race. The Dark and Water Naga are not included in the 5th edition monster manual but I find the Spirit and Bone Nagas, respectively, to be alright reskins. Their difficulty lends them to be fantastic obstacles to the MacGuffin or the next step in a mid-level adventure. I have included a variety of adventure and plot hooks based around Nagas for inspiration.

The party finds a Spirit Naga in an ancient temple, and it claims to be a long lost God.

An annoyed Dark Naga bludgeons its skull into a wall after half-heartedly refusing to allow an adventuring partyinto a ruined castle. Inside the castle is a Guardian Naga who has not seen anyone in over a thousand years.

A Bone Naga finds the party on a road and asks them for help in enacting revenge against a coven of Spirit Nagas.

The party sets sail for a uncharted island to find it is infested with Water Nagas anxiously awaiting mating season: a total lunar eclipse.

A haggard old man asks the party for protection from a spirit that has haunted his ancestors and killed each of them on their 70th birthday, which he turns tomorrow.

A deranged Spirit Naga violently protects a rickety chair of little significance deep inside a tomb.

A Guardian Naga guards the doorway to the Upper Planes, and haughtily mocks their unworthiness - an adventuring party's first clue that the Upper Planes are not necessarily perfect.

Nightmare

I only wish I could have saved him. When I finally found Uoitha he was eating a freshly killed human on the side of a popular roadway. I regretted my duty to rid the world of the beast he had become and I did so with a great sadness in my heart. “Goodbye my friend” I whispered and I fired my arrow true - Elven Pegasus Rider Yuli Riverheart

Introduction

Nightmares are twisted, evil, magical creatures that prey upon the living and serve the dead. They are undead flying horses with a fiery mane, tail and hooves. They eat anything that suits them as long as it’s meat but prefer to kill their food and take pleasure in the screams. They particularly favor humanoids for this reason.

Nightmares are not a creature to be trifled with, as while they are brutish and violent they are intelligent. This makes them prized mounts for forces of evil. Liches, vampires, and dread lords all seek a Nightmare for their trusty steed.

Physiological Observations

Nightmares resemble a large horse with flames for a mane, tail, and just above the hooves. Their skin color is always coal black and their eyes burn with a fiery red. They always look slightly emaciated with their rib cages showing through and clear definition of the hips. Their teeth are sharp and numerous as they are strictly carnivores.

Nightmares are not a naturally occurring creature and there’s a limited amount of them in the world. They have been known to be summoned from some of the lower planes of hell but they are not natural inhabitants of those planes or any other. Nightmares are created through a brutal and evil ritual that involves a pegasus tortuously having its wings removed. Driven mad from the pain and the magic used they are set on fire and rise as a nightmare. If the ritual is not properly prepared, in a fit of rage the nightmare will murder and eat all those around it unless there’s a fresh kill to satiate it. The new fiery dead body is immune to all forms of heat and flames.

Nightmares are evil and vengeful creatures that have no desire for redemption. In life, Pegasi make lifelong friends and trusty steeds to heroes and people of great goodness. They even mate for life in a loving relationship. In death a nightmare actively hunts all who knew it to feast on their flesh. Sometimes while under service of great evil masters they put this quest aside but they will attack past ties on sight. Many past pegasus owners have tracked down the nightmare only to fail to realize that there’s no hope for it, and fall victim to either death or despair. The nightmare can be aligned with greater evils for the mere price of food. Sometimes they demand attention like grooming but only for hygienic purposes as they hold no fondness for their masters or themselves even. They are also terribly vindictive. If a nightmare feels mistreated it will strike its rider at the least opportune moment. Nightmares have been known to be ridden in a pinnacle battle only to buck off the rider and pin them for the enemy to finish off and then fly away to freedom.

Nightmares have no natural or preferred habitat and if they are roaming free they stalk villages and townsfolk coming at night and taking away anyone they can. They like to swoop down from the sky and bite a running victim, carrying it off into the night. Once safely away from town the nightmare then bites the head off letting the body drop to the ground and swoops down to finish the meal after their favorite part is devoured.

While they cannot speak they understand many languages. Typically they know the languages they knew in life which are usually common and elvish. They are not much for communication to begin with and even as a mount tend to do their own thing. This suits evil riders well as their orders are typically to attack and kill the nearest opponent.

Social Observations

Nightmares are known to travel in groups in places where multiple nightmares are found. This is most common in the lower planes of the hells as they are more apt to kill a demon rider due to mistreatment. This leaves the nightmare free to roam the planes and once they find others they group up for safety in numbers.

This group has no real leadership and essentially is first come first serve to a meal. This can lead to a shark like feeding frenzy that leaves a huge mess behind of what used to be prey. In fighting it is also common to have something as small as an accidental bump during a charge spark a hatred between members that can result in one fewer member in the group.

They are not usually very social with each other and instead only stick together as two nightmares are more of a scary target than one. This behavior is thought to have developed in the lower planes as there are many more active dangers to a nightmare there than on the material plane.

Inter-Species Observations

Nightmares are sought after by evil beings for their independence to not need much orders during battle, their battle prowess, the immunities they have and provide for a rider, and finally as a source of entertainment as many evil beings enjoy watching their steed rip apart the enemy. Nightmares often enjoy the prospect of war and bearing a general as a rider. It means more food for them, and a powerful rider can protect them more than any other nightmare.

It’s unfortunate to other creatures they once knew that they burn with a hatred that causes them to kill any ties to a past life. They are feared by pegasi as they will kill any they see on sight. Any spark of their past life only infuriates them and drives them into a frenzy. Any creature unfortunate enough to cause this outburst is in for a fight.

Nightmares do not enjoy company of other creatures but instead prefer to be alone. While they enjoy numbers for safety, they simply want to be left alone. The madness and burning hatred is all consuming in them and they plot and scheme on their own to bring down any who wronged them or they believe they were wronged by. It’s a harsh existence forced upon them that they can never recover from.

Variations

The nightmare comes in a few different forms, each is described below. Each variation is a different variation on the ritual to create one.

War Nightmare – This is the fiery version described above. These nightmares are intended for great battles as their fire immunity to themselves and rider are sought after in many wars. This is by far the most common ritual. The ritual involves burning off the wings or burning the wings and then forcibly removing them.

Pestilence Nightmare – This variation has a sickly green, boiled and bloated body with a blackish fiery mane and tail. The eyes are like black pits, although they are there. They are surrounded by a constant buzzing noise of thousands of flies and gnats which if observed close enough can be seen stuck together in strands making the hair for the mane tail and other parts. They spread disease and plague wherever they go and are immune to all sorts of poisons and venoms granting riders the same. They prefer to eat rotting meat. The ritual involves purposely causing an infection of the pegasus wings and then removing them once the infection has reduced the wings to featherless, swollen and pussy limbs.

Famine Nightmare – This variation is still black but emaciated to almost a skeleton. Its mane and tail have a purple hue and are almost smoke like in look. Their eyes are a smoke filled purple. They are immune to any form of mental attacks and give a rider the same as they are possessed by an all-consuming hunger. They are easier than other variations to work with as food is their only desire. They are created in the ritual by process of force feeding a Pegasus its own wings and feathers.

Death Nightmare – This variation is also black and looks much like that of a war nightmare. They exude a chilling aura with solid blue eyes and blue fire that seems to be moving at only half the speed of a natural fire. They are immune to any cold and grant the rider the same ability. Most undeads do not worry about cold, which makes this form less common. They are created by freezing a pegasus to death during the ritual.

DM’s Toolbox

Nightmares are traditionally an evil mount. They can be used in many stituations and even on their own but work much better to enhance a BB’s abilities in a fight. Here are some suggestions for using them in any campaign. Any variation used as mount for the BBEG or just a BB.

A town is losing citizens every night and sometimes they only find a headless body.

Evil sorcerers have captured a pegasus for the ritual and must be stopped.

Nothic

It was Balezif... Or rather it once was Balezif. We had called him “friend”, and we had sought him out to try to convince him – once again – of the folly of his actions. No one should aspire to live forever, especially at the cost of one’s soul. He had never listened to us, and I guess that was his downfall. He had transformed, and did not appear to recognize us, but I recognized him – or rather the remnants of him. - Elstad, half-elf adventurer.

Introduction

The Nothic is the result of a wrong turn on the path to lichdom. Perhaps as prank of Vecna, or perhaps as a curse by other powers wanting to deter those arcanists who yearn for the power of being a lich, a significant number (perhaps most) of those seeking the immortality of being a lich wind up as a degenerate nothic.

Physiological Observations

Nothics are aberrations that appear as twisted, naked humanoids with a single, oversized eye. They often exhibit nervous ticks or obsessive/compulsive behaviors.

Social Observations

Nothics are inherently suspicious, and often they will become convinced that a creature or creatures are hiding important information from him. He can easily, and irreversibly become fixated on such creatures, and turn violent when the creature does not (or cannot) reveal the information the nothic is sure it is hiding from him. Nothics do not form communities, establish culture, advance science, or reproduce. The only research they conduct is towards the singular goal of reversing their condition and becoming a lich.

Behaviorial Observations

Nothics are sentient, but they are incapable of focusing on any topic long enough to hold a conversation with the exception of topics specifically related to acquiring more knowledge that will help them on their path. Knowledge is their currency as well. Often a nothic will hold some piece of information that is important to someone else, and if the nothic becomes aware of this fact, it will delight in leveraging the information it holds for information from the other creature. However, again, the only information the nothic values is information that can further it along its path to lichdom. So even if a negotiator has an extremely valuable piece of information, unless it can be framed as something that will help the nothic reverse his condition and/or move towards becoming a lich, the nothic will have no interest in it.

All nothics hold the compulsion that somewhere there exists some information that will reverse the curse that has transformed it and allow it to resume its path towards immortality. It is their sole course of action. They may be able to engage in a short task as a means to the end, but they must have a sincere belief that the task will result in some key piece of knowledge.

Nothics almost never attack instantly. Their compulsion to find information drives them to investigate whether any sentient creature encountered has some piece of information that will further its cause. However, once a nothic realizes that a creature it encounters (other than another nothic, see below) doesn't possess such information, that creature is instantly reclassified as food to be harvested. However, nothics are not suicidal or stupid; indeed their primary drive is immortality, so if presented with the proposition that they will likely die, they will attempt to escape.

Inter-Species Observations

Nothics often inhabit a location that has a repository of information such as a library. And these locations can become havens for several nothics. Indeed, such a location can be cursed so that anyone who uses the knowledge stored inappropriately degenerates into a nothic. These cohabitating nothics do not form a community. Each is driven by his own obsessions, and while they don’t interfere with each other, they don’t socialize with each other, either. An attack against such a group is not met with organized resistance; the nothics defend without tactics.

Nothics form no bonds to other creatures. They will tolerate other nothics, because they know that they seek the same information, and if another nothic discovers the secret there is a chance he can acquire it from the discoverer.

Other species are food unless they can immediately present the possibility that they hold knowledge that can help the nothic in its path.

DM's Toolkit

The nothic of 5th edition (CR2) is probably too strong for a party of 1st level PCs. His AC15 and 45 hps are pretty high and his damage output can put most 1st level PCs at 0 hps in one round. Even 2nd level parties will likely have some trouble with the nothic. The difficult part of a nothic encounter is figuring out how to include support around it. There could be a lingering imp/quasit familiar that has hung around out of curiosity. There could be undead to reflect the necromantic nature of lich directed wizards who are still attuned to the directions of the nothic. There could be animated objects to reflect the innate residual magical power. The nothic is interesting in that it can be advanced to be a challenge of any level of PCs. As a former arcanist, one can reasonably add innate spellcasting. As a creature seeking lichdom, a DM can make a specific nothic a Legendary creature with Legendary Actions and/or Lair Actions. A DM could draw upon the Miniatures Handbook version of the nothic to advance it as a martial creature. Or a combination of both. Finally, the nature of the nothic (the fact that it accumulates information) makes it ripe for adventures. It could literally have any sort of important piece of information for the PCs to launch them on a mission to find the nothic.

Ogre

Ogres be scary and big but easily defeated they be. If you gots enough coin that is. - common goblin adage

Introduction

This information was obtained in a study on the usefulness of Ogres in a human army. Public officials wanting to bolster defenses of their un-named city have employed me to study the Ogre kind in order to determine if they could cooperate with humans in such a fashion. I have spoken to a few individual Ogres, elvish historians, A Fire Giant and a Hill Giant to glean this information. Studies from afar on 1 individual and 1 group of 6 Ogres were also undertaken.

Ogres are gigantic, menacing, and frighteningly strong brutes. Their tantrums can level a city before their rage subsides. Unfortunately for them they lack in drive, direction, and most of all intelligence. Often found employed by goblinoids or orcs they’ll work for little more than a few coin and food.

While not usually associated giants they do fall into their social structure, also known as the Ordning. They are at the lowest rank in giant kind and often will listen to any giant without question. I found this interesting as it indicates that Ogres are part of the larger giant kind but it’s not openly admitted among giants. Records indicate that my suspicions are true and that at one time they were part of the ancient civilizations of giants.

Physiological Observations

Ogres stand between 9 and 11 feet tall. They are humanoids with large bulging muscles and bellies. Their face takes up the entire front of their head. The mouth, filled with large yellow and green crooked teeth, takes up a large portion of their face. Often dressed in the skins of animals, and sometimes humanoids, they usually wear little more than a loin cloth.

Their eyes sunk back from their flat noses are yellowish and sleepy looking. When angered the veins in their eyes pop out and turn their visage into a mask of utter rage. Just an Ogre’s face when angry is enough to frighten most.

Their lifestyle is one of laziness and fighting. They survive by killing and eating everything and anything they can. They prefer the flesh of elves, dwarves and Halflings. They are known to eat humans, but there are few creatures they are not known for eating. Ogres do little other than engorge themselves with food, sleep and then find another meal or treasure. Sometimes they enjoy “playing” with food and will allow a captured meal a chance to fight the ogre. These fights are often very one sided in the Ogres favor.

They have a fascination with treasures and coins specifically. Violent confrontations between Ogres have occurred over a mere few gold coins. They like to keep treasure in a large sack usually strapped to their waste. Sometimes treasures can be trophies taken from a hated enemy that they managed to not eat.

These Brutes are little more intelligent than animals and can only speak broken giant and or common. They communicate mostly by pointing as they often are only indicating something they want. Conversations with Ogres are difficult and rarely result in any useful information. Occasionally a more intelligent Ogre can give recipes on cooking various humanoids but I didn’t care to hear the details.

Ogres are very sensitive to criticism. Any indication to them in an insult, comment on their looks or any negative perceived slight will through them into a blinding rage. They become violent and smash anything and anyone in reach. One such tantrum came from an ill-advised negotiation attempt by my employers outside of their gates. The Ogre was willing to fight for the food and gold offered but also demanded a place to stay inside the city. When refused the Ogre became agitated and pressed the question. When denied once again, 3 soldiers died; 1 being used as a weapon to fell the other 2. Then a good portion of the city wall was damaged before the soldiers felled the Ogre.

Ogres are semi-nomadic in nature. They make lairs in caves, groves or other natural shelters for week until the easier game or food sources are depleted or ran off. This often is no more than a few months. Once bored the Ogre moves on to the next place it can find. It’s not uncommon for rural housing attacked by an ogre to just simply take the barn as a home for some time. They can be found in most climates as they dress more in colder regions and quite unfortunately less in warmer climates.

Social Observations

Ogres just as often as not are solitary or in a small group. These group never number more than 6 as confrontations are not easily resolved. They are far more resistant to criticisms by fellow ogres of their groups often poking fun and joking amongst each other. They have no need to be in a group but do so if they find it suits them to gain more wealth or food by advantage of numbers.

Groups of raiders do have a somewhat coordinated attack but rudimentary at best. They simply split up their numbers and attack different areas of a city or different sides of one force or foe. They care not for tactics or their other members in the moment and often keep fighting even if a fellow Ogre falls. This trait led many to believe they would make useful soldiers. This is far from useful though as any semblance of strategy is forgone.

Ogres reproduce seemingly only out of lust. Males and Females engage in relations openly in a group. No shame or hiding occurs. As actions are purely lustful in nature jealously rarely occurs between members. They simply engage in such actions when they please to. This also goes for other races as employed Ogres usually force themselves upon a mate resulting in many half Ogres called Ogrillions. Ogrillions are most commonly half human or orc as any other humanoid is only ever eaten.

The women carry the child for 6 to 7 months and take care of them as any human mother would. That is until the age of 5 in which the child develops into adult size and is no longer in need of such coddling. It does seem that parents care for their child emotionally but certainly not to any great extent. They are often protected by both parents when maturing, but I’ve seen no indication of special interaction or treatment.

Ogres can live a long life if they don’t meet an early end. They live up to 100 or so years and then succumb to old age. Arthritis and dementia are extremely common in elder Ogres starting at the age of 80. Most don’t survive long at this point as dementia makes hunting much more difficult, and accidents almost ensured. They are still large and dangerously strong, so some do still survive by luck. Most elders are cast off to live on their own if they lived in a group.

Interactions with other Species

Ogres are simple in their goals. They want treasure, food, and to be entertained. They are agreeable and even possibly pleasant if all 3 are met. This doesn’t guarantee safety from a tantrum though, as they are easily angered and quickly turn on everything in arm reach.

Ogres most often work with orcs as orcs do not care about a few casualties for the strength of an ogre. Goblins have just as much success though they have a harder time keeping an Ogre from snacking. Ogres enjoy the excitement of battle when they are employed yet have no drive or reason to actively fight for any reason other than immediate gains.

Ogres fight with any weapon they can find. They often pull a smaller tree from the ground and wield it as a makeshift club. If in a fight without a weapon it’s fairly common for them to take a smaller humanoid and use them as a weapon. They do value a good weapon and will greatly appreciate weapons made for their size. They have no means of making weapons themselves so often they only obtain such weapons from services to a group or spoils of battle.

Ogres will cooperate with many races given the right payment is received. The biggest issue is that an Ogre is indeed an evil creature and has little restraint. Working with humans in an army may indeed be militarily effective but at a great cost to allies, decency or even relations with other forces. If they chose to destroy a building in a fight they will do so regardless of any “orders”. Employing Ogres is playing with fire.

Ogres will probably never cooperate with dwarves, elves or halflings. They are very fond how each of these races taste and value them as game and nothing else. They hold little restraint regardless of the situation when in the presence of their favorite food and immediately attempt to eat any and all members encountered.

Ogres treat giants as gods and often without payment serve them without question. They are far more disciplined and eager to listen to a giant. It’s not uncommon to find a hill giant with Ogre guards. They are still no doubt lazy and will not do much of anything until told to do so though. In my talk with the Hill giant he did at the time have 4 Ogre underlings.

All other creatures are merely food or a foe to be beaten. Ogres often mistake Dragons for big lizards and try and club them with a tree. Many Ogres die the first time they see a dragon. They are also often victims of disease or horrific deaths as they try to eat almost any creature. Undead typically cause them issues as they’ll eat every single one they can and often die from eating rotten meat in such vast quantities.

Ogres are not graceful fighters and often attack head on. They snack as they go shoving what they can into their mouths foes, small enough or slain. They will hesitate to do so if fighting a challenging foe. Their tempers can flare up in the heat of battle if they feel things aren’t going their way. This makes them even more reckless but also stronger. One account of how a younger dragon lost their life is toying with an ogre instead of immediately finishing it off. I was told by the witness that a Great Red in its hubris had its head pulled off while still living due to such a mistake. I thought these claims unfounded until I spotted the Ogre sometime later sporting a younger Red's skull used as a helmet on a wondering Ogre.

Variants

Ogres do have a few variations that are detailed here.

Hill Ogres - These ogres are light skinned to dark skinned depending on the climate. They are the most common kind and described mostly above.

Mountain Ogres - Mountain Ogres are larger and are usually solitary. THey live in caves on their mountains roaming around looking for food. They are unique in that they can sustain themselves on mere vegetation but prefer meat by far. They live for long lifespans and mate very infrequently as running into other mountain Ogres is not common.

Jungle Ogres - these Ogres live in lush jungles and despite their size are adept climbers. They often drop down from trees with devastating blows with their weapons using the downward momentum. These Ogres are almost always in groups of 3 to 6. The biggest and strongest by contest is the leader and rarely hunts and instead sends the others off.

War Ogres - These Ogre are part of a long line of Ogres bred for battle. More lean and finely tuned for battle. While hardly capable of independent thinking they make excellent soldiers. Often employed as foot soldiers by some factions of giants. They are usually quiet and stoic although still short tempered. This temper is hones into a battle rage that focuses that unbridled rage upon their opponents. These Ogre are also more often well equipped with heavy armors and immense weapons. I still do not advice the use of this variant in human relations as they still have a complete lack of regard for their fellow allies in battle.

Oni

Lock the door, blow out the light;

The hungry Oni haunts the night.

Hide and tremble, little one;

The Oni wants to have some fun.

Hear it scratching on the door;

See its shadow cross the floor.

The sun won't rise for quite a while;

Till then, beware the Oni's smile.

-Children's rhyme

Introduction

Fearsome bogeymen, oni (pronounced OH-nee) are creatures of myth and legend, haunting the dreams of children and adults alike. Yet they are very real and always hungry. Often called "ogre mages" because of their innate magical ability, oni are only distantly related to ogres; they are actually grouped into a seperate classification of creatures called yokai, which in addition to oni, contains creatures such as tengu and kitsunes. Cunning creatures, oni will stop at nothing to devour their prey.

Physiological Observations

Oni resemble large humanoids in build, lean and muscular. This is in stark contrast to the bulky ogre. They stand anywhere from 8 to 10 feet tall (240 to 300 centimetres), and normally weighs around 700 lbs (320 kg). They possess dark green or blue skin, either dark or white hair, massive clawed hands and feet, and a pair of ivory horns protruding from their brows similar to traditional depictions of devils. The "whites" of their eyes are very dark, with striking white pupils and irises, and their claws and sharp, pointed teeth are jet black as well.

Oni have the innate magical ability to turn invisible and cover an area in darkness, as well as take on gaseous form, temporarily charm a creature into doing its bidding, lower the temperature of an area low enough to deal physical damage to creatures, and magically put creatures to sleep. They also have powers of flight and have regeneration abilities similar to that of a troll. Possibly their most infamous and feared ability, however, is that to take on human form and walk among them unsuspected.

Social Observations

Oni are very intelligent and dangerous creatures. Cruel and rapacious by nature, oni often lead raids for food, slaves, and treasure. Status among oni is measured by wealth. Oni don't generally associate with their own kind, but they sometimes enact elaborate schemes in competition with each other to amass the most riches.

Behaviourial Observations

By light of day, oni hide their true forms with magic, attempting to gain the trust of those they intend to betray when night falls. In humanoid form, they can pass through towns unsuspected, pretending to be travelers or frontier folk. In such a form, an oni observes the selectiom of humanoids in a settlement and devises ways to abduct and subsequently devour some of them.

Oni dwell in fortified structures or in underground lairs, either living alone or with a small group of followers. Oni view themselves as powerful lords deserving of lesser creatures' respect. An oni that feels that it has been treated with disrespect is often driven to arrange and intricate scheme of vengeance, humiliation, and comeuppance.

Inter-Species Observations

As noted above, oni believe themselves superior to most other creatures. Oni often have ogre or orc followers, who, quite possibly never having seen magic before, might see oni as gods worthy of respect. They share the ogres' habit of allying with other evil creatures. Oni rarely submit themselves to other creatures, only serving a master if doing so proves lucrative or provides it with a luxurious, well-defended home. An oni might also serve a wizard or a hag in exchange for magic items, as oni covet magic. The oni will never see itself as inferior to such creatures, however, having served them of its own volition and having done so for its own personal gain. At best, the oni will see itself and its "master" as equals.

However, for all of their pride, oni do see one race as superior to them: giants. Oni (and other giantkin such as ettins and fomorians) occupy the lowest caste of the giants' complex social structure, known as the ordning.

DM's Toolkit

I feel Oni should be portrayed like they are in Japanese folklore - that is, creatures of myth and power. Maybe an oni is abducting children from a village? They could work great as a low-level campaign's BBEG (big bad evil guy/gal) that keeps sending orc and ogre followers to attack a village/town. They could work well in a labyrinth at extremely low levels (1-4) as a sort of creature that you really want to avoid. At higher levels, oni would probably lose in direct combat, but they could still make things difficult for the PCs due to their at-will Darkness and Invisibility spells. You may even want to give it class levels rather than use multiple oni due to their solitary nature. I personally try to keep true to their Japanese origins as terrifying monsters that should be feared, not slain.

Ooze

Oh come on! It's just some stupid goop. This dungeon's a cake-walk. Nothing here can even hu-- blurgegurgle -Rickard Borden. Ex-half-elf, Ex-thief

Introduction

Ooze infested Dungeons are not safe, But Lady-takeit if they aren't clean.. As nature's garbage collectors Oozes eat organic matter full-stop and inorganic matter too if the ooze is the right color. Quiet and full of acid, goo, and other nasties, Oozes and Slimes present a large problem for adventurers without magic protection and can still cause trouble for even the most powerful of parties.

Physiological Observations

An Ooze is about as simple a creatures as can get. No bones, no blood, no organs even. An ooze is a living blob of acidic hunger. The intelligent adventurer knows to pay attention however to the color of the ooze, as that is sometimes the only indicator of the oozes next action. Because they possess no mind of their own Oozes cannot be directly controlled outside of extremely specific conditions (coughVermin DruidcoughOoze Wizardcoughcough). Oozes unique physiology can cause interesting problems for the spell casters as if the color of the Ooze is disregarded then there is no rhyme or reason of the resistances and weaknesses of some Oozes. Some are weak to fire, other heal by it. To some a Cure Disease is anathema, while to other to even touch the slime is bad news. In general, however a sharp blade is more effective than a spear or, Lady Forbid, a blunt instrument. For wizards perhaps simply dropping the Ooze in a pit and going around it could be suggested?

Social Observations

Ooze have no culture, other than perhaps, that of a Bacteria. They possess no intelligence, not even that of an animal, no method of speaking with which to convey that stupidity, and no means of even communicating another way as other creatures might. The only social actions an Ooze might make with another is to fuse together with another to make a new type of Ooze, or split apart to propagate the Ooze race.

Behavioral Observations

An Ooze cares only for one thing: Food. To an Ooze anything that moves that isn't another Ooze of the same color is food. As such their behavior is based around what feeds the Ooze. There exist nearly-transparent Oozes which remain still and wait for the prey to walk into it's proverbial mouth, Oozes which climb onto ceilings and drop onto the heads of unsuspecting wanderers. Even Oozes which explode into tiny Oozes when anything gets close then swarm it and eat it before grouping itself back up.

Intra-Species Observations

As mentioned before an Ooze exists to eat and eat only. If you are not an Ooze, you are to be Ooze food. Oddly an exception to this rule exists in the Oozes formed from the blood of Gods as rare as they are. These Oozes have full intelligences and can communicated fairly well though spell-like abilities and telepathic power. Beware these for only rarely do they wish you well.

DM's Toolkit

Oozes can be the most versatile enemy in a dungeon. They can be made from or use any element (Sonic Ooze? Sure. Vile Ooze? No problem!)

There's a rumor going around that a high level druid cast Awaken on a Gelatinous Cube and now that Cube has taken levels in Druid itself!

What happens when an Ooze emits positive energy rather than acid when it engulfs an enemy?

A traproom is set up of Gelatinous Cube and enemies wearing Cloaks of Acid Resistance and Rings of Freedom of Movement so they can move through the Cubs without taking damage or impediment.

I've heard about a King Ooze, which when threatened calls Oozes from across the whole land to protect itself. It can even fuse with every other type of ooze until it's the size of a whole city!

Orc

Introduction

Orcs are a savage, violent and aggressive race of humanoids which take delight in plundering and killing innocent people. They once dominated Avistan in the Age of Darkness, where they appeared after they were expulsed to the surface by the dwarves in their Quest for Sky. But thousands of years later their most prominent presence has been reduced to the harsh lands of the Holds of Belkzen, which lies wedged between Varisia and Ustalav.

Physiological observations

A typical male orc stands about 7 feet tall and weigh around 300 to 400 pounds, with females being slightly smaller and lighter. An orc is born with a deep green skin colour which becomes more greyish as they age. The skin of an orc becomes entirely grey near the end of its lifespan, though few orcs live to witness that happen. Except for their skin, orcs are most recognizable by their short, pointed ears and the lower jar tusks, which they sometimes use in combat. Orcs are all nearly bald, except for some sparse filthy black hairs on the back of their head. Orcs are known for being extremely ferocious: able to keep on fighting after receiving fatal wounds before succumbing to them.

The true origin of the orc has been debated by many scholars, with some claiming them to be corrupted elves and others going as far to claiming they evolved from the goblinoid races. Whatever their origin, it is a fact that orcs surfaced after being expulsed from underground during the dwarves' Quest for Sky. These orcs differed a lot from the orcs as we know today, being shorter (only up to 6 feet) with more rounded ears and grey skin tones. This kind of orc can still be found in the most remote mountain ranges, where dwarves have not yet migrated.

Orc anatomy is similar to that of other humanoid races: an Orc has relatively thick bones to support their 7 feet height and posses excessively large muscle groups. Another evident difference is their digestive track, which is relatively short due to an Orc's carnivorously oriented diet. Given the grey skin of subterranean Orcs, scholars assume the green skin is an evolutionary development to act as camouflage.

Social observations

Politics

Orcs group together in tribal communities for food, protection and numbers. These communities are ruled by a single individual, a chieftain which is often a warlord or shaman. A chieftain wields the highest power within a community, and dictates the laws of a tribe. In larger tribes, where the community is split into a main camp and several peripheral camps, the chieftain may anoint paramount chiefs to rule in his name. These chiefs collect and pay tribute to the chieftain in the form of food or plunder.

The sudden death of a chieftain (which is not at the hands of a challenger) and subsequent lack of an immediate successor allmost inevitably throws a tribe into chaos and infighting, until a new leader arises and establishes dominance. The chiefdoms themselves are also relatively unstable forms of organization. Orc tribes are prone to periods of collapse and renewal, where tribes band together but eventually fragment through some form of social stress, after which they slowly band back together.

In some unique cases female orcs have been observed to rise to the position of chieftain. These females are more vicious and intimidating than their male counterpart, and they rule their tribe with an iron fist. Not surprisingly, they alleviate the females within a tribe of some of their tasks. A female chieftain also brings a considerable change in the looting behaviour: tribes become more systematic and selective in the towns they attack, maximizing their returns and minimizing their losses.

Religion

Orcs are merely interested in satisfying their own needs, which in itself is a reason why an orc would not worship a god. But they also dislike having a master, and they perceive the worship of a deity as subjugating themselves to it. Despite this, shamans frequently rise to power and enforce the worship of a god to exert control over the tribe.

The gods that shamans devote a tribe to directly influence the amount of control they have. Thus, they typically choose gods which portfolio suits an orc the best. Typically, this is either Asmodeus or Gorum. But tribes worshipping Norgorber, Rovagug or Zon-Kuthon are not unheard off. There have been some unique cases in which a shaman has succesfully engaged a tribe in worship of himself. These forms of devotion rarely last long, as a shaman's rivals will disprove his divinity as the first possible opportunity.

Warriors

Orc raiding parties are, thankfully, uncoordinated, disorganized and opportunistic, striking only at targets weaker then themselves. It is due to this lack of the ability to effectively coordinate that orcs rarely develop a lasting nation. However, sometimes great leaders arise which are able to unite a number of tribes together and stand at the head of almost unbeatable orcish hordes, which will ravage across the land and plunder every town and village they'll come across.

On an individual level, however, orcs are still fearsome warriors who plunge themselves in combat with great strength and ferocity. We have been able to identify a number of types of warriors within the orcish ranks.

Orc warriors make up the brunt of many tribes across the Holds of Belkzen. These orcs charge into combat against the nearest foe they can find. They'll keep attacking with their falchions until either their enemy (or they themselves) are beaten, after which they seek out another target. Foes that resist will quickly find numerous orcs ganging up on him until he is worn down.

Orc berserkers, sometimes also called Orc barbarians, are the most fearsome sight in a battle. These brutes occasionally lead a charge, but more often seek out the strongest enemies on the battlefield to match their strength. They fight with great axes and can take an incredible amount of punishment.

Orc riders are an uncommon sight. These orcs were brave enough to tame a worg and ride it as a mount. Since these orcs lack in numbers, they often perform skirmishes on the flanks of an enemy, or after a battle pursue anyone trying to flee.

Behaviorial Observations

Male-female interaction

Males are, unsurprisingly, the dominant gender within a tribe. If they are not out raiding, or occasionally patrolling a camps perimeter, they spend their time indulging themselves with food, torture [of slaves] and fighting rivals. Male orcs rarely take up professions as they disgust at even the thought of having to go through the effort to create something themselves, instead of taking it. However, in some cases a male might take up the craft of armour- or weaponsmith and become a valuable and protected asset of chieftains.

Females fulfil the role of the lesser gender within orc society, which is most likely attributed to having a much calmer and collected nature, compared to their male counterpart (this does not mean a disgruntled female orc wouldn't tear off an arm). Males delegate much of the day-to-day tasks to the females within a tribe. These activities include, but might not be limited to: cooking, cleaning, nursing and herding. Females also seem to be more likely to take up a profession, like leatherworking or seaming to create or repair both tents and clothing.

Reproduction & childhood

With love seeming to be an almost alien concept among males, orcs do not form lasting relationships. Males rather see females, and their offspring, as 'property' . Males thus create harems of females, the size of which is directly linked to their position within a tribe. Males do not partake in care for their own children, though they might occasionally teach their sons to fight. Children are instead raised by their mothers and learned how to survive within a tribe by assisting them in their day-to-day tasks.

Reaching adulthood is no small feat for orcish children. After leaving infancy they almost immediately have to fend for themselves against older members of the tribe. Already in childhood do most males, encouraged by their fathers, start intimidating children of the same age or younger than them. When reaching adulthood, male children are initiated by leading the charge in a raid, in which the survivors of the vanguard are considered adults. Females don't receive an official rite, though they are deemed adults once they develop their secondary sex characteristics, at which point they are forced into a harem.

Inter-Species Observations

Orcs take little regard for members of their own species, and even less for members of others. They enjoy raiding neighbouring towns, and always enslave survivors of such endeavours. Male slaves are sold off for gold, weapons and armour. Female slaves have the less fortunate fate of becoming part of the 'daily entertainment' within a camp.

Negotiating with an orc is almost always entirely fruitless, for they will keep increasing their demands after an agreement is made or lose their temper during a negotiation and satisfy themselves with whatever the negotiator(s) have on hand.

The best way to have an orc cooperate is by being more dominant than the orc itself, often accomplished by intimidation. However, unless the orc is restrained or otherwise prohibited from engaging in combat, he will have to be literally beaten into submission. This is no small feat, as most orcs fight to the death rather than being taken, as this would make them the laughing stock of the tribe.

On a political level, cooperation with orcs is even more problematic. Eradicating a tribe is easier than keeping them as vassals, due to an orc’s tendency to either rebel against or backstab their superiors. More often, nations that have to deal with orcs and who have been unable to do this by military means often placate them with gifts of food or treasure. History has shown that providing arms and weapons has always proved counterproductive, as these seem to, almost inevitably, often be used against the gifting nation itself.

DM's Toolkit

Orcs should instill terror into the hearts of (low-level) PC's, due to their immense strength and ferocity. They rarely negotiate, like to plunder and fight to the death. They are also very dangerous to kill due to their ferocity ability, which keeps them fighting longer then a normal creature. Orcs fit a small variety of roles like religious fanatics, slavers and agressive nomadic humanoids endangering a local village.

From a BBEG's perspective, getting control of a tribe of orcs would grant him a powerfull tool in his plans. This usually means controlling the ruling chieftain, which can be done through mind-controlling magic or by sheer force. >Due to the rebellious nature of orcs, the BBEG should take care not to rely to much on them, though. Orcs are therefore usefull as distractions, slave takers or merely expendable shock troops.

Otyugh

The rot-eaters made their home in the old dump outside the city. You'll know them by the stink of decay, and the horrible squishing noise they make when they walk. We didn't think too much of it when they arrived. Thought it might be good -- we were running out of space for our garbage. But now there are so many. What happens when they've finished eating all our waste? Will they come for us?

Eun Soo, merchant of Gwangcheon (River City to southerners)

Introduction

The Otyugh is hunger made flesh. An ambulatory digestive system, it knows nothing in the world except it’s endless urge to eat. And it eats. And it is never full. And it just keeps growing.

The origin of otyugh is unknown, but we class them as aberrations because such a creature could not have come to be through any natural means. Some speculate that they were seeded across the world by a hungry denizen of the far realm, and that every time an otyugh eats, that unnamed being grows a little bit as well. Other people think they are the creation of a mad druid, perverting the cycle of life and death by isolating the growth impulse, and letting it out into the world as its own being.

Physiological Observations

The outward appearance of an otyugh does not reflect the weirdness of it’s physiology. Otyugh have no internal organs to speak of, they are made up of a rubbery ooze similar in consistency to dried pudding. This substance has digestive properties, and can absorb any organic matter that the otyugh takes in through its mouth. The otyugh does not even have a separate brain — it’s neural system is distributed through the entirety of it’s body.

Externally, the otyugh’s most noticeable feature is its cavernous mouth, which looks as though a gash had been cut into the creature, and then filled with teeth. It also typically has three tentacles: two that are prehensile and used for grabbing things and in combat, while the third rises up above its head, and holds the otyugh's eyes. Because the otyugh can eat nearly anything and is effectively immune to disease, it’s mouth is a cesspool of germs. If an otyugh bites someone and they escape, the otyugh may follow them for some time to see if they die of the infection.

Otyugh are functionally immortal — they do not die of old age. They can continue to grow indefinitely, and they are capable of absorbing food at such a rate that it is nearly impossible for an otyugh to overeat. Otyugh themselves produce very little organic waste, instead converting most of what is consumed into new body mass. If given an unlimited supply of food, an Otyugh could double its body size roughly every week.

When Otyugh exceed about 800 pounds, they seek a secluded place where food is available, and reproduce through binary fission, first entering a cocoon-like state, then dividing into two otyugh of 1/2 the mass of the original. The process takes about 3 days, during which time the exterior portions (teeth, claws, etc) of the otyugh dissolve, and then the newly divided otyugh extrude new ones. The child otyugh retain some but not all of the memories and abilities of the parent. Otyugh burn calories very quickly, so it usually takes a significant amount of time for them to bulk up to 800 pounds.

Social Observations

Otyugh do not need to form social connections since they reproduce asexually. However, it is not uncommon for otyugh to form small colonies of 3-8 members. These can be of two kinds: inter-divisional colonies, and divisional colonies.

Inter-divisional colonies form when otyugh meet later in their life cycle, and form a cooperative or collaborative alliance. These colonies are usually temporary, and are vulnerable to outside interference. These otyugh can usually be bribed — they will accept benefits to themselves to undermine or betray their colonies.

Divisional colonies are different — the otyugh remember a time when they were unified, and do not view themselves wholly as individuals separate from the colony. For that reason, it will be very difficult to persuade a member of a divisional colony to betray the others. Divisional colony members cooperate very efficiently, and are effective at working and fighting in tandem.

Colonies of otyugh do not have a clear hierarchy, and relative social power can vary based on who is healthier and stronger at the time. It can also depend on intelligence and force of will — otyugh are able to telepathically communicate with anyone, but between otyugh it can actually rise to the level of limited telepathic control.

Otyugh have been occasionally known to create a megacolony made up of a number of smaller colonies. These usually congregate around one of the scarier otyugh variants, or very rarely around a non-otyugh that has magical or psionic powers and can feed the otyugh to their satisfaction.

Behavioural Observations

Otyugh are nocturnal if living aboveground due to their sensitivity to bright light, but awake most of the time when underground — otyugh only need to sleep in short bursts, and so will spend about 18 hours a day awake. They spend most of their time following their strong sense of smell to the closest food source unless they have a ready supply. Otyugh therefore do not normally have lairs, because they will not stay in a place once the food supply has run out.

There are two exceptions to this behavioural pattern. The first is if an area has a routinely recurring source of food. This can include sewers or waste disposal areas, graveyards, butcher shops, etc. The second is when an otyugh has a good thing going, and someone else is willing to provide them with sizeable quantities of food in order for them to stay in one place and act as a guardian, etc. They will readily agree to such an arrangement, and will follow it to the letter, but they will take any chance they can to obtain additional food without technically violating the rules — this includes undermining the goals of their bargain partner where they think they can get away with it.

If otyugh are left unchecked long enough, they will grow exponentially in number, and can consume all organic matter in an area. A forest infested with otyugh may over the course of 10 years be essentially consumed: the otyugh will eat up the forest litter and ground cover, then they will start eating trees that are weak or ill, then healthy trees until there is nothing left. However, in practice this rarely happens because 1) otyugh hate bright light, and will not spread into areas where there is a great deal of light, and 2) other beings will seek to clear out otyugh that become a nuisance. In the grand scheme of things, otyugh are not particularly powerful.

Otyugh are cautions and cunning (although not particularly bright) and will avoid situations that are dangerous for them. However, if they have not eaten in more than a day they will become increasingly frantic in their search for food. If a hungry otyugh smells food, they will pursue it aggressively and at considerable risk to themselves.

DM’s Toolkit

Otyugh are aberrations, unnatural and creepy, so they work well as a cipher for an idea that scares or unsettles us. In particular, I think that they are evocative of cancer: functionally immortal, endlessly growing and destructive to the environment in which they reside.

An Encounter

Individually, they are little threat to any organized group — they are bruisers that do some damage and potentially cause disease. But a colony that is growing aggressively or running out of food could ravage crops and livestock, or even hunt people. Making conflict with otyugh interesting requires more than putting the players against a level-appropriate opponent. It's all about flavour, feel, and situation.

Otyugh are cancerous: they rot things around them, they feed on everything, they grow and reproduce rapidly. It's also important to keep the players guessing about what the otyugh are capable of - if they know that mechanically they're just a bag of hp with a grapple attack they lose their mystique. Don't name them - consider giving them a creepy nickname that the NPCs will use instead. Describe them in a grotesque fashion. Use their limited telepathy in ways that unnerve your players.

They are also selfish, and all about hunger. Otyugh don't want to stay in a fight, they want to eat something. So they're not going to stand there taking hits while holding a grappled player. They're going to go find a good place for a secluded snack.

The Situation

If the otyugh are your primary antagonist, things become more interesting if the colony is too strong for the party to confront directly. In that case, they need to rely on strategies such as denying them access to food, turning the otyugh against one another via bribery or manipulation, or stealth/hit and run tactics and catching otyugh in the process of division when they are helpless.

Their fickle nature also makes them an interesting ally to your antagonist in a low level campaign. The party could probably separate an otyugh from the antagonist’s interests temporarily, or find a loophole that lets them circumvent the issue now, but that otyugh doesn’t necessarily stop being a problem — if you’re trying to get into a dungeon you have to bribe it every time on the way in and the way out, for example.

Otyugh variants

Otyugh Titan This is an otyugh that, for whatever reason, did not enter the reproduction phase after reaching nearly 1000 pounds. These titans range from 1000 to 10000 pounds, and can be truly massive in size. They are usually very old, and found only in food-rich environments. They are generally highly intelligent, and many have some form of psionic power because their distributed brains have grown massively, providing increased mental capacity.

Breeder A breeder is an otyugh that has essentially metastasized: instead of dividing in half via binary fission, it grows tiny otyugh that drop off and wander away in search of food. These smaller otyugh will not have memories of the parent, unlike one created via division. Breeders are a huge problem, because otyugh can grow very rapidly if they can get enough food. One breeder otyugh can turn into dozens of otyugh in a matter of weeks.

Swarmers These otyugh divide rapidly, at around 100-150 pounds instead of close to 1000. They are three feet high, and their smaller mass means they are considerably less intelligent than ordinary otyugh, and lack their psionic communication abilities as well.

Librarian So called because they most often arise in abandoned libraries, Librarians are otyugh that consumed a source of magic powerful enough to permanently alter them. Librarians hunger specifically for magic: books, potions, scrolls, and items that they can consume. Once a librarian consumes a magic item, it gains the properties of that item to deploy at will. These otyugh will have a random array of magical effects at their disposal, from the ability to instantly trigger potions they previously consumed to the ability to cast spells from the scrolls they have eaten.

Owlbear

"You don't have to outrun the owlbear, you just have to outrun the other guy." - Phalen Tarsus, wilderness guide

Introduction

Owlbears' origins are disputed; the prevailing (non-elven) opinion tracing them back to being the result of some mad wizard's insane experiment, while many elven scholars contest Owlbears are natural inhabitants of the Feywild.

Whatever their source, owlbears are undoubtedly one of the most feared predators of the forest. Their large size, large appetite and aggressive nature makes them one of the more compelling reasons to never wander in a forest at night.

Physiological Observations

An owlbear resembles a grizzly with the head of a giant owl - feathers cover much of their shoulders, gradually fading into fur towards the animal's rear and belly. An owlbear's coat is usually a dark- to medium-brown, but many variations have been observed, depending on the surrounding environment.

Physically on par with the largest mundane bears, a male owlbear weighs up to 1500 lbs, and stands around 8 feet tall on their hind legs. Females are very slightly smaller. Both sexes are extremely powerful, able to kill a man with a single blow of their large, clawed paws.

Owlbears have many calls, used for territorial declarations, mating and basic hunting communication, but the most commonly-heard owlbear call is a triumphant signifier of a successful kill. It's unknown whether this is intended as a broader intimidation tactic towards future prey, or simply a primal manifestation of their savage aggression.

Captive owlbears have a lifespan of around 20-25 years, though they rarely die from natural causes in the wild. In most cases, a younger owlbear will eventually challenge an aging one for its territory, though the victor will not consume the slain opponent.

Social Observations

Owlbears tend to dwell and hunt in mated pairs, and are strictly monogamous. They give live birth to 3-5 cublets, which remain with the parents until they are old enough to hunt for themselves, about 3-4 years. Once considered adults, the cublets leave the den, and will be killed if found encroaching on the parents' territory.

Extremely territorial, owlbears will rarely tolerate the presence of another owlbear in its domain, aside from their mate or cublets. Intruders are dealt with lethaly, but not eaten.

Behaviorial Observations

While not strictly nocturnal, owlbears tend to be more active after sundown, though they appear to easily adapt to their prey and surroundings to maximize hunting potential.

Owlbears lair in small caves, with little concern for the tidyness of their area. You will often smell an owlbear's lair before you see it, as the stench of rotting prey is often used as a lure for more potential meals.

While their razor-sharp beaks and claws are already quite deadly, owlbears have also been observed rearing on their hind legs to crush opponents with their powerful forelimbs. While not commonly seen, this practice is widely-

known, giving birth to a common phrase to impolitely request someone to leave, "Go hug an owlbear."

Inter-Species Observations

Owlbears are extremely aggressive, regarding nearly any other living being as food. They will attack without provocation, and will attempt to slay other creatures on sight.

Being magical beasts, Owlbears are more intelligent than many mundane animals, roughly on par with dogs. With the right approach (and a lot of caution), a cublet can be trained as a guard or mount, though a firm and consistent approach is required throughout the owlbear's life. Many a would-be owlbear trainer has found themselves disembowled and eaten after inadvertently making eye contact or sudden moves at the wrong time.

It is also not an uncommon practice to raise untrained owlbears for use as free-range guard animals within a large, contained area – a sort of living moat. Provided the owner has a means of staying clear of the owlbears himself, they make for very effective deterrents to intruders.

DM's Toolkit

A classic, right? If you want to give your PCs a fight with something big and scary without having to think about a lot of tactics, an owlbear (or pair!) might be a good way to go. They can make good encounters for lower-to-

mid-level characters, and retained as good flavor creatures forever. They can definitely be a good way to remind lower-level characters of how dangerous the forest can be, just by having them hear calls (hootroars?) around them as they camp at night.

Polar/snowy owlbears are obviously a thing, right? There are about 20 published (mostly unnecessary) variants of this creature, including winged ones (which I suppose makes sense), so you can really make them into whatever you like.

A young owlbear could be used if you need to scale one down (and make the PCs feel bad for killing it), and you can always scale them up. A "Greater Owlbear" is an established thing – maybe some wizard decided to further tinker with one to make it gigantic? (Fun idea, though it'd probably devour everything in the forest pretty quickly – plot hook?) An awakened owlbear would be pretty terrifying.

Want your players to know that druid is a badass? Have her ride in on an owlbear. Sure, owlbear cublets are super-cute, but become lethal early – within a month? Better know what you're doing! PCs who want those fun little pets may find themselves stuck in a very small cave with a very angry owlbear parent standing in the doorway. Need to add some extra difficulty to breaking into the noble's mansion? Give him a large, wooded yard around his manor with a couple of prowling owlbears. Only let the PCs find his secret entrance if you're feeling nice. ;-)

Pegasus

Uoitha is no mere steed, He’s my best friend and companion. I couldn’t imagine life without him at this point. I could not imagine a more majestic creature than my best friend Uoitha. - Elven Pegasus Rider Yuli Riverheart

Introduction

Pegasi are majestic creatures that inspire hope by their mere presence. They are used by some elves as a mount but only in the situation of a deep bond and friendship. Pegasi are noble and undeniably always on the side of good.

It is theorized that their origins come from the gods themselves as a gifted horse was granted immortality and flight when a demigod had ascended. This theory holds some water as claims say that their friend was bestowed upon them by their deity in a time of need.

Physiological Observations

A Pegasus resembles a large healthy muscled white horse with a brilliant coat and a pair of large white eagle like wings. They stand easily 7 feet tall at the shoulder and always have brilliantly flowing manes.

A Pegasus uses its powerful wings to propel itself through the air with amazing speed and a fair amount of agility. They gallop as they fly as if from instinct alone or simply the joy of flight. They seem to prefer flight as their means of travel but can run with any horse on the ground. While flying, a Pegasus can bear a medium size creature with almost no loss of mobility.

Although resembling a horse with wings in appearance a Pegasus is much more than a horse when it comes to body structure. With massive muscles to power flight they have larger chest areas and back they have less muscled hind quarters for running. When running without flapping their wings for further speed they can’t match a horse in speed in stamina as a result.

The skeleton of a pegasus is much lighter than that of many horses. They have more hollowed out bones that appear as webs of supporting structures in the bones rather than solid. This makes them not as strong as a horse in bone density but enables flight with the draw back of a slightly more fragile frame. This also makes them less common as a beast of burden than a horse and will often not pull wagons or such vehicles unable to constantly exert strength much like a horse.

Pegasi are good natured patient and noble animals. They will often keep to themselves but do aid those in need when they hear distress. They have been known to come to exceptionally good individuals and bond with them for life in a lasting friendship. This is thought to be a sign from a goodly deity but that is not always the case. A Pegasus will strive to make the world a better place and befriending those who can help achieve that goal.

The diet of Pegasus is no different from any horse. They graze on grasses and wheats common among planes. If they live in more heavily wooded areas they are known to each tree fruits for sustenance.

A Pegasus tends to live in open plains and forests where they can easily take to the skies. They’re nests are high up as possible and very large. They are constructed from branches and twigs woven together on a high perch.

Social Observations

Pegasi on the material plane are not common but they can be found. They are very social creatures with each other. Among themselves they are playful open and even somewhat loud. They chirp, whinny, and grunt in vigorous play and flight. Among their own kind they seem the very definition of happy.

Pegasi stay in groups much like horses and usually grow in numbers with each new birth. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of hierarchy or competition for position. They are creatures of love and roam in a family looking out for each other and protecting their territories from the likes of evil and wrong doing. Once in a while a member will leave for an unknown ambition of their own choosing often to befriend an interesting individual.

Pegasi mate for life in a deep bond as they form with many trusted creatures. Offspring are not frequent and maybe will only produce 2 to 3 colts in a lifespan of 70 years. The time at which a colt is produced has no determined timeline and seemingly is random when a pair decides to bear a child. Often times Pegasi who have bonded with a humanoid in deep friendship will not chose a mate and remain celibate.

Intra-Specie Observations

A Pegasus has an amazing judge of character and will often easily identify individuals with dis-honorable intentions. They keep to themselves in the wild but will always stay close to a trusted friend or rider unless instructed otherwise. Pegasus avoid evil where possible but do not shy away from a fight.

Elves are the most common humanoids in contact with Pegasi and in elven communities it’s not uncommon for them to have at least 1 Pegasus rider. Any humanoid of a goodly wheel can form a bond with a Pegasus given they are truly good and honorable. There is one tale of a goodly orc who rode upon a Pegasus into battle.

Pegasi are not broken like horses by many races into service. Every bond is that of mutual trust and friendship that must grow. Being skittish animals in general the first impression to a Pegasus is the most important. Even the most goodly of folk can dissuade a relationship by being too assertive for a humble Pegasus.

When confronted with evil they will fight beside a rider, friend, or their family to the end. On their own they prefer to avoid such confrontation and will usually flee. If another being is being harmed a lone Pegasus has been known to swoop in to the rescue on that individuals behalf.

When fighting a Pegasus will swoop in low to the ground and slam them with the momentum of their flight with their hooves. They swoop back and forth until their enemy is defeated or backs down. When on ground they are often more apt to running but when forced to fight on the ground they favor battering with their stronger front hooves and using their wings for momentum in the attack. They do kick and buck with their back legs if needed but as their back legs are not as strong they tend to avoid that option even still.

Variants

Pegasus are for the most part the same with a few exceptions

White Steed – this is the standard variation of a Pegasus as described above. They are able to understand the language of a bonded humanoid and if unbonded common and celestial. They do not speak but understand languages they are familiar hearing.

Herald of Gold – This variation speaks and understand celestial and the language of the demigod they are in service to. They are exceptionally rare and used as messengers from a deity or demigod signaling their arrival. They are very intelligent and it is theorized the origin to all Pegasi.

Blue Trickster - These Pegasi are smaller and not much larger than a pixie. They are very fast and flutter around playfully and happily chirping in their own songs. They love to play small pranks on other animals such as playing tag, dropping sticks on their heads and general mischief. It is unknown as to their origin but are often not far from fairy dragons.

DM’s Toolbox

Pegasi can be a great companion to a party or NPC. Having a Pegasus as a mount is a powerful thing as being able to fly changes a lot of things but there are more uses for a Pegasus than just "horse + 1"

rescue mission – a Pegasus is in trouble and if not saved it may turn out to be a “nightmare”

random friendly helper – having a tougher fight? Super Pegasus to the resue!

Peryton

An eagle as big as you or I, with huge antlers and dripping fangs, with the shadow of a man? That's a Peryton. That's when you decide if you want to die today. It will never stop hunting you. It loves to hunt and kill. You can see it in it's shining eyes.

Olaf Brambledis, retired guide

Introduction

The Peryton is a wholly magical being. It was created by a vivisectionist for the express purpose of creating a race of winged assassins and sentinels for his laboratory complex.

It is a terrifying creature, extremely intelligent and driven to pick a victim and stalk it relentlessly until either the victim, or the peryton, lay dead.

Peryton are feared by humanoids, and rightfully so, because only the fresh-plucked heart of a humanoid victim will allow the female of the species to become fertile.

Physiological Observations

The creature stands 5 feet tall, with a 12 foot wing span, and appears as a giant eagle with the head of a nightmarish stag, with huge ebony antlers, cruelly spiked with curved spines. It's eyes glow a dull orange-red, and its wings and torso are a sickly green-black. The males are identified by the patch of light-blue chest feathers, and the females patch is a drab brown.

The strangest feature is the creature's shadow, which only reflects it's owners true form in the female of the species, and only in the scant few hours when it's in heat and ready to mate.

Otherwise, the peryton casts a shadow in the shape of a humanoid. Even stranger is that when stalking prey, the shadow changes to reflect the shape of it's victim.

It's feathery hide is much tougher than it looks, and has been enchanted to resist strikes from normal weapons. Only magical armaments have any chance of piercing it's skin.

Social Observations

Peryton are not a social species. They form small pair bonds and raise a few young, with the youngsters being forced out of the parents territory upon reaching maturity. All peryton families are hostile to one another, and will fight quite viciously if intruders enter their territory. These fights are not for show alone, or dominance, but always to the death.

The nests are always found high in the mountains or among the tors of rocky hills and canyons. They are always hidden from observation from the ground and air, usually with very clever natural camouflage.

Peryton are quite vocal, and many scholars suspect their language is quite complex, and even able to express abstract ideas. They speak in loud screeches and roars, and always sound as if they are distressed or in pain, regardless of if they are or not.

Behavorial Observations

Peryton are extremely intelligent, ranking a 10 on the Moldvay Scale, and have shown to be crafty and patient foes. Because of their engineered design, they have a prediliction of hostility towards humanoids, and seem to delight in outsmarting and killing them.

They will hunt any creature in their territory if they think they can do it successfully and from ambush. They never attack large groups, preferring to pick off the unwary and the stragglers.

When not hunting they spend most of their time patrolling their territory, and aggressively defending it from intruders. The areas around their lairs are notoriously bare of life, and no carcasses are found, as they serve as food for both the adults and the young.

The creatures need humanoid hearts to allow the females to mate. Once a victim is slain, the males will call the female to him and tear the victim's chest open with its large teeth. The female will devour the heart and undergo hormonal changes in the next 10 minutes that forces her into heat.

This fertile state is very short-lived and in 3-6 hours the female will be unable to reproduce. The couple will then mate and the female will lay a clutch of 1-2 eggs in the still-warm corpse of the victim. The pair will then carry the victim's body to their lair where the female will guard the eggs for 72 hours, after which time the young will hatch. If there are 2 eggs, one young will always devour the other for sustenance, and if there is only 1, the female herself will feed it with the soft, rotting pieces of the victim.

Females generally lay 1 clutch a month, as the young are extremely weak and vulnerable, and will remain so for another 24 days, during which time the male will bring between 4 to 6 victims as food for the young. After this feeding period the hatchling will mature into an adult peryton. The parents will then turn on it, kicking and biting it, driving it from the nest, forcing the new adult to fly. The parents will drive their young out of their territory (approximately 4 square miles). If the child returns, it will be killed.

Perytons are relentless foes. They soar high above the ground, searching for lone humanoids, mostly, and swooping down on them at great speed, usually snatching the victim up in it's talons and either killing it on-the-wing or dropping it from a great height. It usually reserves the latter for victims who aren't as helpless looking as first appeared. They are as fast as eagles and just as maneuverable. Their eyesight is also quite keen, but they cannot hunt at night. They generally hunt in pairs.

If forced, it will stalk it's victim on the ground, using it's antlers to block and parry weapon strikes, and biting with its sharp teeth when given the chance. It will use short hops and flights to gain a tactical advantage, and is not above fleeing to return later. The peryton is as smart as a human, and will not throw it's life away needlessly. It's hungry nature and one-mindedness means it will never let the victim go, stalking it for days if necessary. It will never switch targets, even if it's tactically disadvantageous, it's hunger sometimes outweighing it's good sense.

Inter-Species Observations

Peryton consider themselves superior to all other creatures, and will never willingly aid or ally with anything short of a dragon, and even those interactions are filled with duplicity and malice.

DM's Toolkit

Peryton are a good foe for low to mid-level characters without any modifications. They are immune to normal weapons, have a fast fly speed, and two attack forms (Gore and Bite).

They attack by ambush if they can, and will flee or retreat to gain a tactical advantage, always returning to ambush again.

I have modified these on occassion, giving them resistances to magic or physical attacks, able to spit poison, and once I gave them a Vampiric Touch (well, Bite in this instance).

They, like everything, are easily modified for high level parties, or scaled down for low-level. I have a clear memory of a 1st level Rogue cut off from the party in the mountains who was stalked by a pair of Perytons for 2 terrifying days before he was ultimately rescued. Later, the player told me that it was an extremely nervewracking experience, being hunted by this huge evil bird-thing that was ambushing him and leading him into indefensible places seemingly for it's own amusement.

I hope you find some room in your game for these evil winged bastards. They can be great fun if used properly.

Piercer

“I think I’d have rather the thing got me I tell ya, I smelled worse than me wife for weeks!” -Drunken miner

Introduction: Piercers are rarely seen by the majority of the population, though deep miners and residents of the underdark are familiar with their habitat and habits. Silently waiting in deep surface caves and the Upperdark, piercers appear as stalactites to all but the most trained and experienced eye. Strange in appearance, piercers are the larvae of ropers who are thought by most scholars to actually be native of the Material plane, though some (and consequently their young) have been recorded in other planes.

Physiological Observations: Clinging to the ceilings of caverns and large subterranean passages, piercers blend in perfectly with natural rock, they are of varying colors depending on where they reside and if they move positions their coloration and pattern will change slowly over time to further camouflage them, dropping in silence to impale unsuspecting foes on the ground below. A rock-like shell encases a piercer's body, giving it the look and texture of a stalactite. That shell protects a soft, slug-like upper body with claw-like mandibles around a circular mouth with countless sharp teeth made for shredding meat. The mandibles allow the piercer to move across cavern walls and ceilings to position itself for prey. With its eye and mouth closed, the piercer is difficult to distinguish from ordinary rock formations.

The larvae of ropers, piercers are thought to spend the beginning of their existence in the mouths of their roper parent(s) where they feed off of excess food and each other, though no account of roper mating has ever been recorded from a reliable source. Certain adventurers and more exotic monster breeders suspect they mate through one of their tentacles burrowing through the rock and linking where they can store seed from one another for exceedingly long amounts of time, they seem to produce offspring whenever food is plentiful.

Piercers have an observed maximum size of 5ft in length, 1.5-2ft in girth at the base. Upon reaching this size they enter a state of stasis as their shell grows over the upper portion of their body, their mouth remains agape and eye closed. The digestive fluids in the mouth attract small creatures and insects which are unable to escape if they traverse into it, at which point they are digested. After an unknown period of time they become a roper and tend move from their previous location to the cave floor nearby, or a different location if food is scarce.

Patient Hunters, piercers can see, but they can also respond to noise and heat, waiting for living creatures to pass beneath them, then falling to attack. A piercer that misses its chance to kill must make its slow way back to the ceiling. A fallen piercer excretes a foul-smelling slime when attacked, making most predators think twice about eating it. Some piercers have been reported to emit a noxious gas that damages the lungs with a horrifying stench of rot and decay. The few unlucky enough to have survived this reported that anything worn, even metals, kept the stench for months on end. Piercers gather in colonies to maximize the effectiveness of their attacks, dropping simultaneously to increase the odds of striking prey. After a piercer successfully slays a creature, the others slowly creep toward the corpse to join in the feast. If one happens to land awkwardly enough to cause it’s death it is eaten by its nearby brethren.

Social Observations: Piercers are very rarely ever seen alone, they’re too weak to kill practically anything by themselves and the chances of their attacks landing cause pack hunting to be more effective. Despite this they don’t often exist in numbers greater than 20 as food in their environment is infrequent and they would likely starve if it had to be shared between so many.

Ropers are frequently found in proximity to piercers, though larger ropers tend to be found on their own or in small groups of less than 4 as their ability to quickly devour food leaves the smaller and slower of their kind hungry. Ropers often wait for their young to drop before appearing to block off the exit to those attempting to escape and close in on their prey.

Behavioral Observations: Piercers are simple creatures that are very predictable in nature, they will act in groups, often in tandem with ropers, to attack prey from above, in front and behind to ensure the highest chance of killing their prey. They almost always drop in groups, often simultaneously, though some may remain rooted to the ceiling if prey is obviously too far away to land on. After quickly devouring prey they quickly climb back up the walls and ceiling to secure their position again. A piercer that has gone an extraordinarily long time without food will go into a stasis or hibernation mode where only loud movements such as other piercers dropping, loud footsteps or the calls of creatures will wake them. After an unknown amount of time in this mode it is possible for them to starve, at which point they will fall and their own kind will eat them.

Inter-Species Observations: Denizens of the underdark are far more likely to have encounters with piercers and consequently may know some of their favorite locations at busy (well busy is a relative term in the underdark) intersections of caves and important areas where potable water is located.

There are accounts from some mining operations whose encounters with piercers and ropers were so frequent that it warranted them to keep livestock and lead the animals in ahead of them a hundred feet or so, causing any potential ambushes to slaughter the animal and not the miners.

There are some large predators in the Underdark that have learned to associate the smell released by a piercer when it misses it’s prey with the arrival of a choice morsel for itself, though none have been documented actually eating the piercers. Apparently the rocky exterior and foul smell are repugnant to even the creatures of the darkest depths.

DM’s Toolkit: >While not threatening singly or even in a pack to all but the lowest level of parties, piercers can be put to great use as a dangerous surprise to escaping parties with low health members or as a trap if the party has an experienced guide who knows where to look for them and want to lure a creature under them.

If you’d like to make a particular section of cave have an appearance of being abandoned for centuries to any form of life you can throw in some dead cones of piercers lying about and beginning to calcify as long as the party would have some way to know that indicates nothing moved through here for an obscenely long time through either a knowledge check or again a guide.

Piercers and their older brothers ropers make great zone exclusion areas in combat and make for great surprised mid combat, having them drop on party or enemy as they move from area to area.

A smaller group of piercers wouldn’t be likely to attack a larger party but if that party had someone scout ahead by themselves or in duos they could be caught off guard and even killed if low level.

Side notes: I had never actually heard of these before I did this project but they provide a lot of fun situations to throw at party members and I can’t wait to make it rain disgusting slug rocks. I also didn’t include variations besides the poisonous gas one because I felt that any stronger piercer would just be a roper.

Pixy

A trio of individuals stomp through the forest journeying to some far off place. In the back of this little band a man in a blue cloak pushes back his spectacles as he examines the blooming flowers, the shafts of light breaking through the trees, and the various sounds of life around him. Every time he takes a moment to furiously scribble in a journal, his other two companions drag him forward.

In the middle of the group walks an elf. He too is glancing around at his surroundings but with an uneasy look in his eye, as if ready for the trees to ambush them. His hand hovers over the sword at his hip with an eager twitch.

Leading the small band is a dwarf wearing full armor, grumpily stomping on every flower he can.

As the three reach a small glade, the elf leaps forward to grab the dwarf by the collar. He suspiciously glances around the glade, then bends down to the earth before the dwarf. Pushing aside some twigs, the elf indicates an almost imperceptible trip wire made of finely woven grass fibers. Carefully he traces the wire up a tree to a small plant bulb. Raising an eyebrow he waves over to the human still writing in his journal.

"Look here, somebody set this trap. They probably thought they could catch us off guard with some nefarious poison."

The human looks at the elf quizzically for a moment. "It's a plant bulb, it's not especially magical or anything. I am certain there isn't some monster stalking us with vegetables". He pats the elf on the shoulder and goes back to writing.

The elf gives the bulb one final glare and, as if waiting for the invitation, the bulb bursts open expelling a cloud of bright yellow pollen. He reels coughing, and immediately goes for the sword at his hip. "Alright you bastard, show yourself!" He shouts into the forest.

The Dwarf grumbles something and stands up to help his friend. A distinct metal ping echoes through the glade as, piece by piece, his armor falls off leaving him with nothing but his undergarments. The human decisively closes his journal to ready a spell only to find himself floating several feet above his companions.

Grabbing a nearby tree, the human pulls himself towards the ground. Hanging upward from a branch, he looks around at the dwarf sheepishly collecting up his armor and the elf, covered in pollen, defiantly menacing the underbrush. A faint smile works its way across his face, that smile develops into a grin, and finally he breaks into full blown laughter at their predicament. The dwarf, clutching his chest plate like a child's blanket sits down and joins in. Whatever was going on was a nice break from death and fear as per usual. After a final apprehensive glance around the glade the elf lets his guard down with a sigh and allows a small chuckle at his expense.

As their laughter dies down and they collect themselves, the group hears an almost inaudible giggle. The trio reel to face it, but all they see is a faint rustling of leaves and glittering dust flitting through the air.

Pixies are tiny fey that can be found almost anywhere in the world. While pixies tend to prefer forests and grasslands, they have been encountered on the fringes of humanoid society as well as inhospitable environments such as desert and tundra. Exceptionally joyous creatures, pixies are responsible for many of the small beauties of the world. From sprinkling dew upon the morning grass to cultivating beautiful fields of wildflowers pixies relish in beauty in all its forms.

Physiological observations

Pixies generally stand about a foot tall yet it is not unheard of for one to reach twice that height. Their appearance mirrors that of elves with long pointed ears and sharp features. Unlike many elves, a pixie's skin tone is always of pastel colors such as green or blue. Each pixies possesses a pair of fine wings similar to those of a butterfly or dragonfly. In flight, these wings usually leave a small shower of glittering dust that has various magical properties. Pixies are also naturally gifted with the power of invisibility which they use to great effect whether it's to spy on others or avoid conflict. It is exceedingly rare for a pixie to be seen unless they choose to be.

A pixie's affinity for beauty extends to themselves as well. They often fashion resplendent clothing from flower petals, silks, tiny furs, and other materials they find in their environment. With a small sprinkling of pixie dust, their regalia often shines and sparkles like freshly fallen snow. While not especially vain creatures, a compliment of a pixie's attire will go a long way as they spend countless hours working on it.

Pixies produce a unique substance known colloquially as pixie dust. While we are unsure how exactly pixies produce this dust, it can be seen glittering in the air behind a pixie as they fly. The dust has a seemingly unnatural knack for catching and refracting light in truly beautiful ways. Attempts have been made to infuse glass with pixie dust to capture its properties with middling success. The dust itself consists of nearly imperceptibly tiny grains that, upon close examination, look not dissimilar to shards of stained glass. What is most fascinating about pixie dust is the magical properties it exhibits. It is common knowledge that even a tiny sprinkling of pixie dust will grant one the ability to fly for a short time. However, pixie dust has a multitude of other magical properties that many aren't aware of. Pixie dust sprinkled on one's face, ears, or head will cause the subject to be disoriented or knocked unconscious, legends have also spoken of people being concealed in plain sight by this material. Furthermore, pixie dust is massively valuable as an alchemical reagent. Unfortunately, attempts to discern further uses of pixie dust have been fruitless. While pixies themselves use the dust for a myriad of purposes, the majority of applications have been inaccessible to researchers.

Behavioral Observations

Pixies are exceptionally curious creatures, always excited to meet somebody, learn something, and investigate happenings in their environment. It is unlikely that any creature appreciate their environment to the same degree as pixies who keep close watch over the land around them making sure everything operates in the correct manner. This means coloring the occasional leaf that refuses to lose its green hue well into autumn and arranging branches to allow just enough sun for their favorite sapling. Details that many individuals pass up are carefully monitored by pixies, even the most fleeting beauty is cared for. While curiosity and care drive pixies, timidity tempers them. Unlike their spritely cousins, pixies are strictly pacifist and avoid violence in any form. Unfortunately, the world at large is indifferent to their lifestyle and the dangers abound give most pixies pause before they introduce themselves to a unique individual or investigate the rock that fell from the sky.

Pixies love to play minor pranks on those they meet. Sometimes it is to gauge an individual's temperament, other times it's simply (mostly) harmless fun. An individual who gets exceptionally angry at a pixie's joke is likely never to meet her, whereas one who takes it with a chuckle may make a new friend. Pixies also delight in tricking the selfish and the greedy out of their possessions. Some even amass small hordes of treasure gained this way and they are usually happy to share the spoils with a friend.

While pixies avoid large groups of humanoids, they often live in the vicinity of small villages. These pixies commonly enjoy caring not only for the natural surroundings, but the homes of kind folk that live there. Farmers have been known to leave out small gifts to woo or show appreciation for their local pixies. In return, a pixie will tend to the fields at night, shoo small predators away, and (as some believe) bring good fortune upon them. It is also not uncommon for village folk (particularly children) to see a local pixie as a friend or playmate as well. Pixies also have a special love for horses. At night they often slip into stables and take a horses out for a midnight ride. The only evidence left the following morning is the intricate braids they often leave in a horse's mane. A farmer who leaves the stables open at night is likely to find their horses to be healthier and better trained than they would otherwise expect.

Social Observations

Being naturally inquisitive and explorative, pixies don’t often spend much time with their own kind. Usually, they spread far and wide across a land as a consequence of their nature. Pixies love to explore every facet of the world and would hate to have their fun ruined by another. That said, pixies are not wholly independent creatures. They often make friends with the local humanoids in their region and do congregate several times a year. We know they celebrate several holidays linked to many things such as celestial events, seasons, and manic whims. Only one of these holidays, known as Drút, has ever been recorded by non-pixies.

Drút roughly translates to "Festival of Friends" and there are several accounts of individuals who have befriended pixies being invited to it. According to various firsthand accounts, it is characterized by a grand feast (surprisingly provided by the pixies themselves), drinking, and dancing under the moonlight. Each pixie in attendance brings somebody they have befriended that year, and it is not uncommon to see individuals from many species and all walks of life in attendance.

The largely tangential connection most pixies have with most "civilized" cultures lead to interesting misconceptions and superstitions about those cultures that spread between pixies. For example, a human's propensity for lying, double dealing, and spreading falsehoods lead many pixies to believe it's a biological trait. Some even believe it is a social faux pas to open a conversation with actual truth and thus will start out any conversation with a human with a few good natured lies. Often, pixies will attempt to touch the very tip of an elf's ears for it is said to bring good fortune upon them. Finally, a dwarf's beard is said to be where they store their knowledge. While only the most bold of pixies would even consider peeking within, many judge a dwarf's intellect by their beard.

Naturally, a pixie's capricious disposition leads to some extreme outliers. Some find themselves more reclusive than their peers, taking up residence in libraries or ancient ruins. Others take their outgoing pixie nature to the extreme, even to the point of joining mercenary guilds or a traveling circuses. There is even a legend of a world renowned pixie swordsman. Accounts say he moved with the erraticism of a butterfly and struck like an enraged bee.

DM Toolkit

There is little reason for a party to ever actually fight a pixie. They're almost universally good and don't directly oppose evil in any direct manner. One that has a problem with the party would simply annoy them with increasingly mean pranks or would attempt to confound the party with magic. A particularly bold pixie may attempt to steal something key to the party (such as a McGuffin), but it is unlikely this will result in serious combat.

Pixies do make good allies, scouts, and quest givers. If the party can win their favor (largely by not being assholes) then a pixie could prove to be a useful ally. Their natural ability to sneak into places and deep knowledge of their homes can be incredibly valuable. It is not unlikely that a pixie would have information that the party desires.

Pixies tend to value different things than most humanoids do. Gold and hollow promises are likely to hold less sway than seeds and a well-placed compliment.

Pixies can also have an effect on your campaign without even coming into direct contact with the players. Their natural powers of invisibility make sticking to the shadows particularly easy, but the party can see their effects after the fact. For example, a pixie might try to indirectly lead the party to a group of orcs or goblins causing trouble in the forest.

Pseudodragon

“Hey mister, that is a really cool lizard you have! Can I pet it?”

“Hiss…”

“Ow, I think it… bit me"

Introduction

One of two tiny dragons, pseudodragons are elusive, intelligent creatures that can form strong telepathic bonds. Naturally inclined towards harmony, pseudodragons avoid larger dragons and evil beings.

Physiological Observations

Pseudodragons are the smallest form of true dragon, a fully grown common pseudodragon only grows to a length of two feet from snout to tail. They possess reddish brown scales and a ridge of tiny horns. Adult pseudodragons have well developed wings spanning almost 4 feet. Like all dragons, pseudodragons possess perfect dark vision.

Hatching from small eggs, young pseudodragons are only a few inches long. Like all true dragons, hatchling pseudodragons are capable of hunting and instinctual care within minutes of hatching, a hatchling pseudodragon is a voracious hunter and will use its stinger and jaws to hunt anything that moves, usually small forest creatures. If small enough creatures are not available, then the parent dragons will often carry wounded but still living small prey back to the nest.

Another quality of note is the pseudodragon’s poisonous tail. The tail of a pseudodragon is sharp and strong enough to pierce thick hide and some are even known to be strong enough to pierce steel. Each sting delivers a powerful sedative, capable of staggering a full sized orc, or knocking a human unconscious for an hour. The sting can be very harmful to children and Halflings, care should be taken that smaller companions not startle or insult the dragon.

Social Observations

Female pseudodragons produce eggs only in the early summer, and only if food has been abundant. Each season will produce between 6 and 12 eggs, with the eggs being infertile unless fertilized by a male. During the 6 week gestation that starts in late spring, the female pseudodragon will find a quiet, undisturbed place to burrow and prepare a nest. Old trees, caves, and soft earth all are common nests. Once a nesting site is established the dragon will return to the nesting site yearly, so long as the site remains undisturbed. At the first sign of any disturbance, especially the presence of a larger dragon, the mother will abandon the nest.

Pseudodragons mate as pairs, the natural telepathic abilities of the species cause them to form deep bonds and a mated pair will defend themselves or their hatchlings to the point of death. As pseudodragons grow they will start travel further and further from the nest, after approximately six months the pseudodragon will be large enough to be fully independent of the parents. However, if food is abundant and the area then the youngling will stay close the parents. In cases where food is abundant and hostile predators rare extended family units of pseudodragons can be found nesting together.

However, if predators are common, or food scarce, a youngling will soon take to being nomadic. Pseudodragons can fly for several miles before stopping to rest, and will often fly at night to prevent them from being spotted by aerial predators. A pseudodragon on the wing can fly as fast as a hawk. While the dragon can soar and coast for long periods without tiring, extended sprints or rough winds can exhaust them.

When a nomadic pseudodragon finds a location that feels right, isolated and with abundant food and shelter, the dragon will find several different hollows, holes and caves to lair in. It will maintain each nest separately. On bright sunny days pseudodragons can be seen by quiet and calm observers sunning themselves on stones, but the first sign of hostility will send them a flight to the nearest hidey hole.

Behavioral Observations

Most pseudodragons have a strong sense of draconic nobility, while this generally doesn’t manifest in the form of haughty lording the way it does with larger dragons it does mean that a pseudodragon, once insulted, embarrassed, criticized or harmed, will never forget the action but might forgive if amends are made.

One of the most significant qualities of the pseudodragon is its pronounced telepathic ability. They are able to communicate with any creature they can see within a moderate distance and can learn to associate words with concepts. In the wild Pseudodragons almost entirely communicate in emotions and occasional draconic exchanges, but dragons who have had extensive exposure to the fey or common races will quickly learn common. An excited pseudodragon will communicate with a barrage of images, emotions and words while at the same time hopping and chittering. The telepathy, combined with the keen senses of the dragon, make it capable of clearly perceiving invisible creatures that are nearby.

Pseudodragons that live on the fringes of common race societies are often bound as familiars. This bond replaces the mating bond. Instead the pseudodragon takes ownership of the bonded subject, becoming protective and seeking to guide its charge. Often a pseudodragon who bonds with a member of a common race sees incredible potential in the charge. The pseudodragon will give up on isolation for the sake of the bond, but only if effectively given tribute. Food, trinkets, coins and gems can function as tributes for a pseudodragon.

In regards to food and drink, it is very important that a pseudodragon never be given alcohol. The will be drawn to powerful liquors that they can smell, and will drink readily and fully, far past the point of being healthy for the dragon. A pseudodragon allowed to dip its snout in a glass of its charges wine will soon knock over the whole glass to get more. But the true impact is found in the effects of intoxication, the dragon will seek to consume all available alcohol and will become violent and hostile if denied. It seems that liquor brings out a specter of dragon hording and covetousness in the small dragons. In the event that a bonded dragon does become intoxicated it is important to restrain the dragon immediately, isolating them from further exposure until the effects can wear off.

In combat against a larger opponent, the pseudodragon will almost always poison the subject, then quickly flee to safety. A pseudodragon will only fight to the death to defend a bonded ward, mate or young. Pseudodragons can kill but generally do so only to feed or to defend a wounded mate, bonded ward or young too small to escape. When a large pseudodragon nest is disturbed, several of the larger adults will sting the intruders while the younger, weaker or smaller dragons escape to safety. This is very uncommon as any large nest will have sentries, a telepathic alert will be given to members in the nest long before any outsider can reach the lair.

Intra-Species Observations

It is not uncommon for giant eagles and giant owls to align themselves with pseudodragons, while giant vultures despise pseudodragons and will chase them from the skies, sometimes hunting them for days and harassing them any time they attempt to land to rest. Eventually the pseudodragon can no longer fly due to exhaustion and will need to land. A lone giant vulture will still have a dangerous adversary on the ground, but a pack of giant vultures will easily overwhelm an exhausted pseudodragon. In fey rich areas pseudodragons will form relationships with sprites, pixies and dryads. While pseudodragons can get along with faire dragons and the two are not adversarial, they do not stay in the same areas for long. It is theorized that the chaotic nature of faire dragons irritates the sensitive empathic attunement of pseudodragons. However, it should be noted that it is possible to breed the two dragon species, resulting in a dragon subspecies known as the mercurial dragon.

Nothing will drive a pseudodragon to abandon its home faster than the presence of a chromatic dragon or kobolds. Chromatic dragons and kobold chieftains will kill or enslave pseudodragons. Some kobold tribes believe that the consumption of pseudodragon meat and eggs will cause them to give birth to the winged Kobolds known as Urds. Chromatic dragons are also known to seek live pseudodragon captives. As pseudodragons are true dragons like the chromatics, it is possible for the two races to breed, this creates Chromatic pseudodragons.

DM's Toolkit

Variants: >Mercurial dragon, this dragon appears to be a pseudodragon with white scales with purple tips. This dragon combines the innate invisibility and magical nature of a faire dragon with the poison tail and stronger telepathy of a pseudodragon. The poison tail of a mercurial dragon causes paralytic euphoria. A mercurial dragon can cast spells as a faire dragon.

Chromatic Pseudodragon, these dragons have been corrupted by the influence of a chromatic dragon, Pseudodragon offspring of chromatic dragons are evil beings, larger than a regular Pseudodragon and with a thicker hide. The wings of chromatic pseudodragons are often malformed, making them incapable of proper flight. Chromatic pseudodragons possess the breath weapon attack of the draconic parent and are capable of natural speech. The telepathy of these dragons is enhanced to the point of being able to enslave others, they can cast detect thoughts, command, suggest and hold person.

Aquatic Pseudodragons, these rare dragons have adapted to underwater life, in place of wings is a single fin running the length of the dragon from shoulder to tail. The tail of an aquatic pseudodragon is thinker and strong. In place of a poison stinger is a small organ that produces a toxic ink cloud this cloud has a pronounced slows and blinds creatures caught in it.

Umbral Pseudodragon, it is unknown if the subterranean pseudodragon is a subspecies or completely separate species. Observation indicate that the umbral dragon is approximately the same size as the common Pseudodragon but the wings on this species have been replaced with tentacles similar to those found on displacer beasts. The umbral Pseudodragon has adapted to applying its poison through these tentacles. Another interesting adaptation is the dragon’s ability to climb on any surface.

Purple Worm

"We thought ourselves safe at last, the city was only days away. Then we felt it, moving beneath us. Amarik went down first, swallowed before he could react. After that it was chaos." - Hashun, Caravan Guard

Introduction

Few creatures inspire such terror as the monstrous Purple Worm. Traveling below the surface until their tremorsense alerts then to potential pray, the creatures strike without warning or mercy. Survivors are rare, and tales of the Worm's ferocity haunt the inns and way stations of many a desert settlement.

Physiological Observations

Purple Worms are massive creatures, covered in thick armor plates that darken and harden with age. Young worms are born pink and soft, but their color darkens as they grow into their armored body. In similar manner, the oldest specimens are deep purple, bordering on black in extreme cases. Worm lifespan has been estimated at 150 years, an extraordinary amount of time for an invertebrate, although adults often die in battle long before old age can claim them.

Adult Purple Worms can reach anywhere from 60 to 80ft in length, weighing anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 pounds. A few extraordinary individuals have been reported exceeding 100ft in length, but accurate measurements are difficult to prove. The Worm will typically have a girth of six to seven feet in diameter, more than sufficient to swallow a man or horse whole.

The most prominent feature of the Purple Worm is its maw, a set of powerful stone crushing jaws lined with inward facing incisors for tearing apart prey. A pair of small secondary flaps exist on the sides of the beast's mouth, folding inward to help push food down its gullet. Within the mouth itself are multiple circular rows of teeth designed to help tear apart food as it is pulled towards the Worm's stomach.

If its jaws and size proved insufficient, the Purple Worm has another deadly weapon at its disposal. A tail stinger armed with enough venom to bring down creatures as large as a bull elephant. The venom itself is fast acting, causing muscle paralysis, nerve damage, and ultimately death. An anti-venom can be derived from the Worm's blood, but collection proves a monumental undertaking.

Social Observations

Purple Worms are by nature solitary creatures. They inhabit a range of territory that can cover up to a hundred square miles of open desert. A Worm patrols its territory in an endless quest for sustenance. The only times multiple adult Worms are seen in close proximity is mating and territorial disputes.

Should one Purple Worm be driven into another's territory, either through external forces or by having its own home range usurped, the only outcome is combat. Adult Worms will not suffer another within their domain, and when they sense opposition they travel in immediate haste to meet the threat.

Two competing adults will immediately engage in combat, wrapping around each other, biting and stinging mercilessly. Their bodies immune to their venom, the tail stinger can still inflict severe puncture wounds. The loser will disengage, retreating battered and maimed, often times being pursued by the victor. Death is a common result when two worms clash, and the slain corpse of a rival makes a grim reminder who truly rules the dune seas.

Behaviorial Observations

Purple Worms are hermaphrodites, being both and neither sex simultaneously. It is unknown what triggers the need for reproduction, but the affected Worm will assume the role of a female, beginning ovulation as it travels in search of a mate. The "female" Worm will emit powerful pheromones identifying itself as a mate, not a threat, while helping to draw a partner to it.

When they meet the two Worms will engage in an elaborate courtship ritual with the "Male" coiling around his partner as she remains rigid on the surface. Two adults will mate several times over the few days, ensuring successful fertilization. The "Female" will then return to her home range, giving birth to 8-12 live young after a 4 month gestation period.

Young worms are allowed free reign to travel through adult territories unopposed. Presumably they are not considered threats until they reach adulthood, although cases of cannibalism among Purple Worms is not unheard of. Young worms often carve out small territories in the border region between two larger adults, overtaking more land as they grow in size.

When hunting a Purple Worm swims several meters below the surface, sensing for movement using its keen tremorsense to feel for potential prey. Once detected the Worm will ascend at maximum speed, bursting through the surface directly below its victim. Prey is either swallowed whole, torn in half, or sent flying from the assault.

Large prey that cannot be devoured whole is coiled around as the Purple Worm crushes the life from its foe, stinging repeatedly if the victim puts up sufficient struggle. Prey is consumed in quick order and the desecrated remains are left to rot in the hot sun.

Inter-Species Observations

Purple Worms are ruthless creatures that hold no regard for any life but their own. They will attack any creature or object that triggers their instinct to kill. Prey is quickly consumed and anything inedible is regurgitated and discarded.

Worms cannot be tamed, they lack the higher intelligence to distinguish friend from foe. They are incapable of higher thought beyond their immediate needs and all attempts to prove otherwise have ended in disaster.

Desert faring races hold particular contempt for the Purple Worm, building towns atop thick sandstone deposits for added measure of protection. Caravans are well defended and all but the most foolish traveler stays clear of known Worm hunting grounds.

The venom of a Purple Worm holds great value among thieves and assassins, a few drops sufficient to incapacitate a foe in minutes, a few drops more near certain death. The hide of a Purple Worm is also highly prized, being worked by talented smiths into sturdy chitinous armor. "Hunting" a Purple Worm is a madman's venture, but bold fortune seekers will happily loot the corpse of a dead worm for spoils.

DM's Toolkit

Purple Worms make imposing threats for most mid-high level parties. They can come in Gargantuan or even Colossal versions and can prove difficult for a melee heavy party to counter. For maximum fear, have them go for the physically weakest party members first. Healers and magic users swallowed whole can throw off a group dynamic as their comrades struggle to find a way to free then from the beast.

They can spice up a lot of desert themed encounters, ambushing players when they least expect it. I'm particularly found of having a run of the mill battle interrupted by the sudden onslaught of a Purple Worm, attacking both parties without mercy.

Its difficult assigning treasure to these creatures when killed. A party member skilled in alchemy could drain the venom for several vials worth of potent venom to sell or use. There's also the cliche armor/weapons of previous meals. My favorite though is having the creatures stomach filled with rare gem stones. Normal rock is dissolved and passed but harder minerals remain in the stomach to aid in digestion. Like gizzard stones in some birds.

Quaggoth

Forgive no-speak Quag, bareskin. They not understand talk of the... civilized. Hee hee... Yes, they hungry you see. And taste of other Quag is much bore now! Yes, bore! Learn that word from fat black-gnome trader - he begged! Begged! But we not care.

I thonot. I speak for Quag. Know them, see. Oh, don't run! Oh hee hee! Don't run bareskin, just want to talk! Yes... listen to thonot. Hee... - Wermo Bigtooth the Quaggoth Thonot

Introduction

The Quaggoth (kwah-goth) are a race of bestial humanoids, savages and cannibals who hunt the vast caverns of the Underdark and shadows of deep forests. Their fur thickly covers their entire body, bone white or a rich brown - frequently stained in reds, greens, and blues with the blood of their strange prey.

They live and hunt in fierce tribal groups, some of which have a psionically powerful Quaggoth known as a thonot. This thonot takes on the role of shaman, oral storyteller, and (in limited cases) diplomat. Quaggoth are fiercely independent but have been known to be subjugated.

Physiological Observations

What did you expect, a flumph? Go in the other room if you're going to throw up. Now, everyone, look at the incisors, designed to bite and chew through a variety of things: flesh, bone, chitin, and even poorly forged steel. - Darkwatcher, Drow Professor of Anatomy

Quaggoths are large and humanoid, standing at around 7 feet in height and covered in thick fur. Their frame is a mixture of ursine and lupine influences, with long jointed arms and a stocky torso. They are omnivorous, feeding on anything from flumphs and myconids to deer and berries. Their musculature is highly developed - deceptively hidden by their thick coat of fur. Their faces are long and withdrawn, with their lower jaw noticeably developed.

Looking inside the Quaggoth, one finds a strange anatomy. Their blood is a thick and viscous red substance and their muscles are white as snow. Their teeth are jagged and clustered, constantly regrowing new ones and digesting the ones that fall out.

Quaggoths are somewhat intelligent, but ruled by bestial tendencies ever since they were forced into the deep chasms of the Underdark (or a world's equivalent) and lost thickets of savage forest. All are capable of some guttural speech in Undercommon or Sylvan, but otherwise lack any capacity for philosophical or moral discussion. Thonots are the only Quaggoths capable of understanding abstract concepts to any extent.

Quaggoths are live-born to the females, in litters of two to four. However, only one survives as they instinctively fight to the death. Young grow rapidly, reaching maturity at one year of age. They will live about thirty years, before growing too old to defend themselves and being ritualistically cannibalized. The cannibalistic nature of the Quaggoth is also supported in its anatomy, with a powerful stomach capable of digesting every single part of another Quaggoth.

There are two specific subspecies of Quaggoth, those who live in the Underdark and those that stay above the surface in deep forests. Quaggoths who live in the Underdark, simply called Quaggoths, have white fur and are more aggressive. The other, called True Quaggoths, have brown fur and often are more willing to communicate.

Quaggoths, having forced to live among vegetation and strange creatures often laced with poisons, have slowly gained an almost supernatural resilience to all forms of poison. The harmful fluids passing easily, producing at the most a bout of indigestion.

Quaggoths lack talent or capacity for magic, save for the thonots - who have been exposed to a stray burst of psionic or Fae energy - a common occurrence in the Underdark and ancient forests.

Social Observations

Savages, the lot. Disagree with someone? Eat them! No, don't talk it out or even duel - just eat each other. Gods! Only reason they haven't ate every single damn one of us is because they're too busy with each other. - Arthol, Duergar Trader

Quaggoth form intense tribal groups ranging in numbers from four to thirty, far from civilization. Tribes of Quaggoth have an observable life-cycle, in which the social groups of all Quaggoth may be observed.

Tribes begin when two roaming opposite-sex Quaggoth (sometimes escapees of Drow and Elven slavers) meet and savagely mate. They then proceed to mate with each other progressively, including with their own children, rapidly growing over the course of a few years. No clear leader exists, even in tribes with thonots. Quaggoths do not form mating bonds - with all mothers giving birth and then abandoning their young in the "cub pits."

At a certain point, the tribe can no longer sustain the collective hunger or support the savage feuds and devolves in a cannibalistic frenzy called by the Quaggoth a Rotakar, the last remnant of the long lost Quaggoth language. The sole survivor, gorging on the flesh, then roams about searching for a mate.

Quaggoth live by collective and oral storytelling, with a sick sense of communal honor based around the rite of cannibalism. Thonots hold the role as the storytellers, drawing from the collective conscious of the tribe to weave a story. Among True Quaggoths thonots hold nights of storytelling every full moon that often are laced with lust and cannibalism - sometimes devolving into a Rotakar.

Behavioral Observations

Even surrounded, the seven beasts didn't back down. The smallest one spoke Sylvan - no, I'm not lying, boy - and said they rather die than be enslaved. I said I would do so gladly, and it laughed. "Not like that," it said. And then they started turning on each other... the blood still stains the ground. Even forty years later. - Barrumar the Ranger, warning a group of young Elven slavers

Quaggoths are vicious and brutal. They hold life in little regard and rather kill themselves and other Quaggoths before spending life in subjugation. Or, at least, so they say. Many a slaver will attest that once physically broken their will soon follows and Quaggoths make relatively docile slaves.

Quaggoths are inherently jealous and anxious to appear strong before their fellow Quaggoths. A sole Quaggoth is not nearly as violent as those in a group, each one trying to prove to the others it is strong.

Quaggoth thonots, being intelligent, often align themselves to the forces of good and evil. Evil thonots scheme and plot to take over their tribes and terrorize nearby settlements. Good thonots often promote the tribe into a controlled and reclusive nature, acting more as druids than leaders. Good thonots are often eaten alive.

The rite of cannibalism is an innate urge developed by the Quaggoth over centuries of being deprived of the comforts and boundaries of civilization.

Quaggoth like most beasts, can be relatively tamed, but not systematically domesticated. They are resistant to serving a master unless that master holds a whip, and the moment that whip falls from their hands, they will eat their masters alive.

Inter Species Observations

Why we bite them? Quag like Elf, many winter ago. Quag village, Elf village - side by side. Elf make city, but Quag keep village - so Elf take Quag's everything! Quag village, Quag food, even Quag speak! All take! Why we bite? Because Elf take all, Quag has nothing. And Quag... Quag hungry. - Portarf, thonot telling the tale of the Stealing

The Quaggoths were not always so bestial. Much like elves they spread and prospered on the surface, deep in forests. It was when the two races - Elves and Quaggoths - came to blows, the Quaggoth claim because of elven arrogance, that the civilized race was driven to near extinction.

Some Quaggoths retreated deep into primeval forests that even the Elves dare not venture into, and others retreated further into caverns until making their way into the Underdark. Even True Quaggoths are but shadows of the former civilization, corrupted by strange and sometimes Fae magics deep in the forest. The language of the Quaggoth has been lost to the ravages of systematic raiding and extermination.

Quaggoths in the Underdark are occasionally convinced by Drow to follow their quest against surface elves, but this always leads to brutal enslavement. Quaggoths are a embittered race, trusting only the purest forces of nature. Speaking Elvish to a Quaggoth is an invitation to death, and an adventuring party with even a half-elf must be prepared for a tense situation.

Quaggoths don't interact with most civilization because of their far-off nature, content to stay in their retreats. But many an exotic hunter or frontier settlement will find a swarm of Quaggoth ready to strike them down. The bone-white meat of a Quaggoth is considered a delicacy, and their pelts are a valuable rarity.

DM's Toolkit

Quaggoths make an easy combat introduction into the hostile environs of a deep forest or the Underdark. Roleplay encounters will often deal with Quaggoth outcasts and thonots - or deal with cannibalism. Cannibalism's great, in fact! It's a quick and easy way to flip a party's expectations on their heads. Their relatively low CR makes them good for grouping into swarms for early and mid-level adventuring groups, or an easy warning to any party too excited to enter a dark forest or cavern.

Quaggoths are not too suitable for the long-term, often being hard to reconcile their errant and violent nature with the stability needed to be a lasting settlement or NPC. Quaggoths don't usually in-fight, they simply eat one another - so any persuasion based roleplay sessions may feel a bit forced. Sadly, you're more likely to find a Quaggoth on a random encounter roll table than as a part of an adventuring module - but that doesn't mean they aren't suitable for a less-combat oriented party. In fact, here's some encounter and plot hooks revolved around Quaggoths!

The party finds a large chasm with Drow arrayed on the edge spectating. There is a massive and bloody brawl of ferocious beasts down below, and the Drow are looking for more combatants.

Every full moon, the forests near a frontier village erupts in hideous wails and screams. Every adventuring party sent to investigate has never returned.

The party visits an Arcane University in the city to research the strange MacGuffin beast, but the Natural Sciences wing has been locked down and the Beastiarian is missing.

A thonot approaches the party deep in the woods and he begs for help hiding. One of his arms is chewed into a stump.

The party encounters a gaunt Quaggoth thonot in a cavern, he pledges servitude if they will feed him. Both of his arms are chewed to a stump.

An Elven trader wagers that the strongest member of the party couldn't beat his Quaggoth thonot slave, while they are traveling through a thick forest. Halfway through the fight, a band of Quaggoths ambush the party.

The party finds a (rather cute) baby Quaggoth with its right arm chewed off. It shows psionic ability and grows frighteningly quickly.

Rakshasa

Ivar stirred fretfully under the blanket, the breath rattling in his chest. It wouldn’t be long now, he knew. Why had he let Tors leave the house? Stupid old man, he told himself. He’d sent his son away in hopes that perhaps age would take him…that his son wouldn’t have to see his father pass…but that was a cowardly thought. He had one last story to tell…

The front door creaked open, and even from the other room Ivar could feel the winter air creep in momentarily, slipping under the door to his bedroom to reach up and caress his face. Soon, Ivar would be cold too.

He could hear Tors moving around the front-room, his steps hesitant and heavy. They approached the far corner where the ice-chest was located, and Ivar heard the lid creak open. Ah. He was burdened with heavy game, Ivar realized. Such a good hunter, his son. A trait he’d inherited from his father…

The door to his room opened, and there was Tors. Upon seeing Ivar he sucked in his breath in a gasp, a hiss, and Ivar realized he must look as close to death as he felt. Tremulously, he lifted his hand and beckoned to his son.

“Come here, my boy,” he wheezed. “I don’t have long…and I have one last story to tell you.”

“Father, please,” Tors said hesitantly. “You don’t have to waste your strength…”

“I must, while I still have the strength to tell you.” Ivar paused, drawing another long, slow breath. “I’ve told you about my many adventures, the many creatures I’ve slain. But since you were a boy, if you asked me about the most terrible creature I ever encountered, I would not tell you. And I would not tell you why I never carried my old sword since you were born.

“Sit, my son, and I will tell you the tale of the Rakshasa.”

-Forty Years Prior-

"A shape-shifter," Ivar said, crouched over the body. He heard the constable scoff in disbelief. He looked up at the man, gesturing at the body.

"No sound of struggle," Ivar pointed out. "No suspicious characters about. A single window into the room that not even the greatest acrobat could hope to reach, and no evidence of ropes or hooks or other climbing gear, either; I've already checked. The door was opened for whoever came to the room, not forced."

"And the night watchman in the lobby saw the innkeeper's assistant heading towards this wing of rooms," Petra volunteered from the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with her staff leaned casually against the wall.

"Why does it matter that the assistant was seen walking around earlier?" The constable asked, confused.

"Because we were at his house," Ivar said, standing, "and he's been dead since yesterday."

-Now-

"We did not know what to make of it at first," Ivar told Tors, who sat breathless by his side. "Why this young woman? Who was she?

"It was not until the next night that we learned who she was. A woman of the night, a warm companion for lonely men...and one in particular. A local noble, a man of great power. We feared the shape-changer would use its power to get to him..."

-Then-

"You simply cannot enter my lord's chambers at this hour," the aide sputtered, trotting to keep up with their rapid pace. "He is--my lord is--"

"Entertaining?" Petra said, her mouth twisted in a wry, humorless smile.

"Indisposed," the aide said stiffly.

"Well he's going to end up pretty well disposed if we don't get in there," Ivar said angrily. They were at the door. The discussion was over. Petra gripped her staff as Ivar drew his sword; a majestic blade as green as jade. They nodded to one another. Before the aide could protest, Ivar planted his back foot and kicked the door at the handle, sending it flying open.

"Gods!" said Rezler, his hands flying up into the air. "What's the meaning of this?"

He was bald, overweight, and extremely surprised. The nobleman's eyes were wide with shock, his mouth an O-shape. Ivar pointed his blade towards him.

"The woman," he said, "where is she?"

Rezler flushed deep red. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered. He flapped his hand at the aide who, also blushing with shame, took his leave. "There's no, ah, no woman here. My wife would not--"

"--have any idea that you're futtering a prostitute when she's away," Petra supplied. "We could care less. We know she was scheduled to arrive only minutes before we did. Believe me, you're in danger. Where did you hide her when you heard us--"

She turned. Ivar did too. Their eyes met momentarily before looking towards the wardrobe. The soft bump and scrape from within had been unmistakable.

"Don't move," Ivar shot at Rezler. "Let us do our job."

He and Petra turned away towards the wardrobe, setting themselves on either side of it. Ivar reached for the knob of the door. Ready? he mouthed at Petra. She nodded, her mouth poised to begin chanting a spell. Ivar gripped the doorknob and pulled open the door.

Rezler lay on the bottom of the wardrobe, his legs and arms twisted at inhuman angles to accommodate his size. His eyes were glassy and unfocused as his head twitched weakly, striking against the interior wall with a soft bump.

From behind them, the other Rezler began to chant.

"Petra--" Ivar began, but it was too late. As he spun around his body froze, held by some invisible force. His momentum sent him collapsing onto the floor, scarcely able to breathe as the creature in front of them gripped him with a terrible will.

The thing that had been Rezler was no Doppleganger. A strange man-tiger stood there. Its amber eyes glimmering as its mind-dominating magic worked its way into Ivar's brain, a catlike face twisted into a savage, feline grin.

Petra began shouting a spell of her own. Bolts of magical energy lanced out from her outstretched hand, burrowing into the creature's body. The thing laughed and leapt forward with frightening speed, wholly unaffected.

A fiend, Ivar realized in horror. They'd come across some kind of horrible fiend. Immune to all but the strongest magics. Gods, Petra...

She struggled as best she could. She backed against the wall as the creature approached, her mouth forming the words for another spell. Its hands fell upon her, and Ivar saw that its hands were backwards, fingers jointed in the reverse of a mortal man's. Those twisted fingers clapped Petra's mouth shut, the other hand gripping her neck. Ivar heard the crunch of bone...and Petra was gone.

As her body slipped to the floor, the creature turned to Ivar and grinned.

"Not strong enough to break my magics," it observed. "I would have thought not." It approached him, looking down at his immobile body with those amber eyes.

"Be honored," the thing remarked. "Few have ever seen a Rakshasa in its true form. In my true home, in the Nine Hells, I am even more ravishing." It chuckled.

"Your presence here spoiled my hope to impersonate the nobleman," the Rakshasa hissed softly. "There will be too many questions now. But perhaps this trinket will assuage me."

It reached down and picked up Ivar's green-bladed sword. "Beautiful," it remarked. "And perhaps enchanted as well, no? Only weapons such as these could ever harm me...perhaps I will take ownership of it, for safe keeping."

The Rakshasa gripped the blade in its hand, putting the point of the blade underneath Ivar's chin. Ivar felt a sudden rush of hope. He knew what would happen next--

The blade crackled with electricity the moment it touched Ivar's throat, bolts of energy traveling up the hilt and tearing across the Rakshasa's arm. The creature shrieked with pain and released the weapon; Ivar reached up reflexively and caught it. The pain and surprise had broken the creature's concentration, his muscles were freed.

There was no time to hesitate. The creature looked up from its charred hand, eyes flashing with rage, only to see the sword come crashing down. The blade split the creature's skull, bone and blood and brain spattering onto the stone floor.

-Now-

"You killed it," Tors said softly, a dark shape in the sunset light from the window behind him. "You slew the creature."

Ivar nodded. "I have fought fouler things, darker things," he said. A tear ran down his cheek. "But the Rakshasa cost me my first love. I made a horrible mistake. I vowed I would not make another."

"And the sword?" Tors said. "A powerful artifact, bound to you alone? That's why the Rakshasa couldn't touch it."

"Mine alone, and refused to harm me," Ivar said. He smiled. "Reach under the bed, my son."

Tors' figure leaned down, and Ivar heard his son gasp with surprise. He straightened, holding an ornate sword encased in a scabbard. "But you said you never wore this, I assumed--"

"Hidden beneath the floorboards for thirty years," Ivar said. "Since the day you were born. And now--" his trembling hand reached out, touching the scabbard. "--it is your inheritance. Afash syb Salaret."

A spark, like static electricity, jumped from the old man's hand, to the sword, to Tors' hand as he held it.

Tors sat in silence for some time. Finally, he spoke.

"You said you made a mistake that night," he said. "You said you vowed not to make another. But you've made two."

Ivar shook his head. "I do not understand."

"First, you gave me this sword freely," Tors said, looking up at him. He leaned forward, his amber eyes flashing.

"The second," the Rakshasa said, "was not following me to the Nine Hells and finishing the job."

Ivar gaped. "Tors..." he croaked. "Tors..."

"Your son's in the ice box," the Rakshasa snarled. His backwards hands gripped the sword. "Twenty agonizing years in the Nine Hells as my body reformed," the creature hissed. "Twenty more to track you down. And it was worth it, every delicious moment, for this."

The Rakshasa stood, drawing the sword. As it had all those decades ago, the man-tiger placed the tip of the blade against Ivar's throat; but this time, no lightning was forthcoming. The blade belonged to the fiend, now.

"You were fortunate," the Rakshasa said.

Ivar's mouth twisted into a bitter smile. "Because I have seen your true form twice in a lifetime?"

The Rakshasa shook its head. "Fortunate that you had only one child left by the time I found you."

The blade lunged forward.

DM TOOLKIT

Rakshasa are CR 13 Fiends with access to powerful illusion, deception, and mind control abilities. Their powerful abilities and immunity to nonmagical weapons and low-level spells means that they're all but untouchable by anything other than a high level party.

Still, establishing a Rakshasa early can make for an interesting recurring main or side villain. Even if the PCs thwart the Rakshasa's plot, the slippery creature is likely going to sneak away and resume some other plot.

Rakshasa make for excellent villains: manipulative, charismatic, capable of bending others to their will, and most importantly, vengeful. A previously slain or thwarted Rakshasa will stalk the party and their friends for as long as they remain alive. They will send assassins, impersonate authority figures to poison public opinion against them, attempt to hurt them and the people they love. The quest to end the nightmare might draw the party into a chronic quest chapter intermittently throughout an entire level 1-20 campaign.

Remorhaz

They say Frost Giants abhor heat in all its forms. They build no fire, forge no goods, and do not even cook their meat. And this common piece of wisdom is mostly true, barring one common exception...

Orryn Sindri Folkor Remorhaz was a gnome adventurer, sage, and naturalist. He had trekked across continents, scoured ancient tomes, and slain beasts beyond number. Little did he know that beneath his feet was the discovery that would make him famous. While trekking across the icy wastes, a huge cloud of steam blew up behind him. A centipede-like creature with a hundred clawed feet, cobalt scales, and blazing skin tore its way out of the melting snow, clouds of steam pouring from it. This was the beast that would make him famous. That was, if he could survive it.

Physiological Observations

Remorhazes grow to be almost 30 feet tall, up to 40 feet long, and almost 15 feet in diameter. They resemble centipedes with their many scuttling legs, long tubular bodies, and antenna. All similarity ends there, as Remorhazes also possess massive eyes, cobalt scales, and vast glowing crests.

The crests are made of some sort of naturally occurring steel that is believed to gather in adults and is passed on to the children through the egg shell. Remorhazes have the innate ability to produce heat hot enough to burn prey and soften metal. As they grow older they can raise and lower this temperature at will, allowing them to maintain their body temperature without melting the snow around them. However, whenever they hunt, they unleash their natural heat at full power. This causes snow around them to melt and their steel crests to glow red hot.

Social Observations

Remorhazes are asocial creatures, not out of any lack of social skills, but out of pragmatism. There is simply not enough prey to sustain a community of Remorhazes, so each adult stakes out a territory of up to ten square miles. If two Remorhazes come into conflict over a border dispute, they will fight until one is driven off. These fights are usually just elaborate shows of dominance, as an injury will usually mean an inability to hunt, and therefore death.

Males and Females come together to mate once a year, provided they can find a prospective partner. Their are very few Remorhazes, as most mating seasons involve males and females wandering the wastes, following the signs of a possible mate's passage.

If prey is abundant, a male and female will stay in the same area for several days. If prey is not, they will stay only long enough for the female to lay a clutch of eggs. These eggs are then abandoned, and then the Remorhazes return to their territory.

Behavioral Observations

Remorhazes hunt through ambush, lying in wait for days in a metabolic stasis. Their sensitive antenna extend deep into the permafrost, feeling for the vibration of footsteps on the hard snow crust. When suitable prey is detected, the Remorhaz emerges in a cloud of steam and slush, attacking and swallowing its prey whole.

Remorhazes do not attack indiscriminately, avoiding Giants and large groups. They hunt through ambush, but have never been observed using an strategy more cunning than that of a wolf pack.

Inter-Species Observations

Remorhazes are usually wild predators, viewing all creatures smaller than themselves as prey, with the exception of younger Remorhazes. They will not attack the young, even if they are not their spawn, but will instead drive the fledgling away. Other Remorhazes are also not considered food. Other exceptions include White Dragons, Frost Giants, and other creatures bigger or of similar stature.

However, Remorhazes, can be trained. They are savage predators, so such tactics are highly dangerous and highly unreliable. Some Frost Giant Jarls have reported success with this creatures, but most such reports are mere boasts. Other creatures of similar stature sometimes maintain a partnership with the creature, using the Remorhaz as an involuntary watchdog. Others follow the younger ones, scavenging from their half-eaten kills.

DM's Toolkit

A Remorhaz is just plain impressive. They make excellent random encounters for high level parties, especially when paired with other creatures of the Ice Lands, such as Frost Giants, Yetis, and Undead or Fire based Fiends. They also make excellent allies for more intelligent monsters. Tell me seeing a Pit Fiend riding one of these things into battle wouldn't be awesome. Because it is.

They could also be used in a more sinister way. A way for the tactful DM to say "This land is dangerous" is for half the snow to instantly melt, clouds of fog fill the air, and a beast of Ice and Fire to erupt from the ground with a never ending hunger for adventurer flesh.

Other uses include, but are not limited too.

A distraction released as a Villain needs makes their escape

A clever decoy. Hint about a low level Dragon, then send out one of these things. It'll knock them off their game.

Remorhaz variants.

Shadowfell. Replace its fire with Necrotic damage and immunity, give it proficiency in Stealth, and give it resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage while in Darkness or Dim Light.

Aquatic. Think, the Leviathon. It creates banks of fog when it activates it's internal heat, attacks fishermen , and coastal villages, and it's mouth could easily be described as doorway to hell.

Infernal/Abyssal. Give it immunity to Poison, raise its intelligence, and give it innate spellcasting. You have now created an unbeatable boss.

Revenant

Introduction

Jarx sat, waiting, thinking … . Hell had finally come to take him. He had always thought he would end up in the lower planes. But this … , he had never expected his end would come like this. The farmer had already taken the others. Jarx had finally laid down his weapons, it didn’t matter anyway they’d killed the farmer several times … he always came back. Awake for 52 hours, Jarx was ready, he deserved this. The farmer had begged and begged: “Just leave my wife and daughter alone, take anything, please, please, I beg of you sir”. They had laughed and made him watch. Even though Jarx hadn’t agreed with their actions, he hadn’t stopped them either, he was just as bad. He deserved this.

Physiological Observations

Revenants are wronged souls that claw their way back into the material plane by sheer will. Reports say they look just like zombies but with a burning fury in their eyes and a certain resolve in their stride. However I, Rono von Kompon, after following reports of one of the creatures found its quarry. When I spoke to the frightened man, he told me the creature looked exactly like a person he’d wronged but with flaming red eyes. He told me that when he looked into them he felt the lower planes calling him. Now I can’t be sure if the man’s word can be trusted because it seemed like fear had driven him mad. Every report tells us the same: The revenant can’t be killed. When their physical body stops moving, a few days later they return in a different corpse. Even getting their current body to stop moving proves to be a real challenge. Their wounds seem to start healing at an incredibly fast rate immediately after it is inflicted. Some people have reported fire to be effective.

Social Observations

Revenants usually don’t seek out other creatures, simply because they’re completely focused on getting their revenge. If their target is strong they are known to try and get powerful allies to help them hunt. For that same reason you’ll sometimes see several of them together. They always come over as angry, determined and impatient. Sometimes you’ll still be able to sense a certain sadness for the thing or things they’ve lost. Judging from their actions, there is no reason to believe that these creatures are inherently evil. Some even keep praying in their current form. They mostly keep away from people because most people wouldn’t understand their situation and only see them as an evil undead creature. It sure seems like a tragic existence to me.

Behavioral Observations

Revenants are focused on one thing and one thing only: getting revenge. They never rest, they keep going everything that isn’t their target or helps them achieve their goal, is a distraction or an obstacle. So if you become an “obstacle” you’d best be prepared to fight. If you’re willing to help or have some information to offer, they’re willing to negotiate terms. They value everything that helps them get their vengeance. They keep their general sense of morality, so if they were good in life they will remain good in their return. However if they had no problem killing a person that annoys them, they’ll still have no problem with disposing of people.

DMs toolkit

Revenants aren’t very versatile in my opinion. Now before you crucify me, hear me out. The thing that drives them is always the same. Now that doesn’t mean that it can’t be used in a great many ways. Many uses for 1 general idea:

Consequence: If your players brutally murder everyone and their family. One of their victims is bound to come back and exact some justice. Especially useful for that LG paladin who wants to murder a merchant for their goods.

Plot hook: Looking for a BBEG, a quest, an adventure, an unusual ally? The Revenant is your guy.

Savior: Is your party close to wiping? Do you feel sorry because you know you set them up for disaster? Do you regret having them fight a master-warrior after putting them through a gauntlet of deadly traps? The Revenant can provide some much needed back-up by finally catching up to their target. (I’m not a fan of this)

Variant Species

Even though their goal usually stays the same, the way they come back can vary.

Regular: As described they come back on their own by using sheer power of will.

Pact: They made a deal with a devil. You can use this so that you can give them some extra demonic powers. These Revenants should also be a little more desperate because their time is more limited (or less if you choose) and they have something invested in the deal.

God’s gift: The soul asked their god to give them the time to go back and deliver justice. You can use this to let them have angelic powers. They usually have no time limit and can thus stalk and plan the demise of their target.

Summoned: If someone wants a target dead they can perform a ritual to search for souls who want vengeance against the person. They can then bind them to corpses and ease their way into this world. These Revenants are weaker but they’ll come in groups. Because why stop at one?

Roc

"They say birds of a feather... I don't want to meet the flock." - Diary of a Traveller page 256

Introduction

The Rocs are big birds of prey, really big ones; Rocs are one of the largest living creatures around. They soar the skies often above cloud level, riding thermals at incredible speeds between preferred hunting and nesting grounds. They were originally subservient to giants since their creator Annam the father of giant gods, brought them into being to challenge the dragons superiority in the sky. When the war between giants and dragons ended the Rocs were freed and left to roam the world, where they rightfully took a spot at the top of the food chain.

Physiological Observations

Rocs share many parallels with the common raptors such as eagles and hawks, which are easier for an inexperienced biologist to observe. Rocs however differ in several ways. Most notably their size, Rocs can grow to a size where their body from tip to tip can exceed 90 feet in length with wingspans stretching over 200 feet.

The sheer size of the Rocs have lead many intellectuals to wonder how they could even lift their wings, let alone fly. This question was answered when a daring treasure hunter managed to retrieve several wing bones and feathers of a deceased Roc. The feathered were understandably light. The intrigue came from the weight of the bones, the largest of which being over ten feet in length could be carried even by a child. These bones are very durable considering their weight, however the uses for such a material is limited due to its difficulty to work. Simple weapons such as spears are possible, however the high price of Roc bones means such a thing would be uncommon.

Observations on Rocs as well as comparisons to smaller birds of equivalent shape has lead many to theorise that a full grown Roc might not be much heavier than an average knight. This means that a Roc can move around an area very quietly, and may even sneak up on those who are not on the lookout.

As with many animals the intelligent is roughly proportional to brain size, Rocs are much more intelligent than their smaller counterparts. That being said, Rocs are no where near the intelligence of humanoid races, a sizable proportion of their brain is used maintaining their gargantuan bodies, and a larger proportion is focused on their very advanced sight. An adult Roc can see and identify prey from several miles. A Roc's incredible eyesight makes sneaking up on them difficult, but if one makes it close without being noticed it can be let down by its sense of hearing and smell which are barely more attuned than a humans.

Behavioral Observations

Rocs favorite locations are wide open areas with easy prey and high up areas for nesting. Most Rocs will nest in high mountain peaks preferentially with ample grasslands nearby for food. Rocs hunt large prey such as Mammoths, Yaks and occasionally Giants.

Rocs mostly live alone and are very protective of their territory, females can keep to the same nest for over a century. Due to how much they need to eat the lands their territory covers can be vast, spanning over ten miles in all directions. Meetings between Rocs have three outcomes; a fight for territory which can injure, one will scare off the other, or mating.

Female and Male Rocs have some differences. Males live a more nomadic life, not keeping a regular nesting place. Female Rocs on the other hand may have elaborate nests created over several decades, but finding materials for such a construct can be difficult. They may use man-made structures like a ships prow or siege equipment, sometimes opting for comfortable thatched roofing. In less populated areas their nests can be made from several whole trees. Considering the anti-social behavior they hold to each other mating can be difficult. The female Rocs being larger to account for the organs and physiology needed to grow eggs, as such females often have priority of territory due to difference in physical strength. The males are tasked with locating a receptive female which causes them to spend more time traversing the world in search for a good partner. For this reason many males do not have a permanent territory and instead hunt in shared hunting spots. Shared is a term to be used loosely since they will go to great lengths to avoid each other.

When a male finds a female the male must be cautious. A female who already has already been fertilized, does not carry enough eggs to deem mating worthwhile. Or otherwise does not have ideal conditions for raising young, usually due to lack of food. Will lead to the female violently chasing off the male, there has been cases of males receiving mortal injuries from these encounters. Males will display to females their strength and hunting prowess via a combination of wing beats, running and retrieval of food. When the female is receptive, mating is often very quick. Rocs have specialized glands for mating opposed to more traditional genitalia owned by mammals. When mating has finished the male will leave quickly in order to find other mates and to avoid any harm from the female. After a few weeks the female Roc will lay between two and six eggs and the chicks will be born a ratio of 1:2 male to female. Roc eggs are very valuable sometimes fetching prices in the thousands of gold, before the eggs hatch the mother will fiercely guard them, making them difficult to obtain. The Mother using her powerful eyes will quite literally not let them out of sight. This motherly protection will last until the young chicks can defend themselves to a degree, which can take up to a year. The mother is careful when supplying food to her young since they can only digest meat, she will take meticulous care stripping all bones and hide from prey which is a troublesome task with such a large beak.

Generally the only time Rocs spend much time together is when they are young, a nest full of Rocs is known as a rookery, and should be avoided if at all possible, due to a protective mother and the easy to underestimate beaks of the juveniles.

Inter species Observations

Rocs are predators through and through, as such they are not known for making friends of other species. As with other predatory birds what they will hunt is limited by what they can carry without having much of an effect on flight. To note for a full grown Roc this includes most living creatures. That being said they may happily ignore humanoids due to being a too small to be worth the effort.

Due to the Rocs nature being almost solely predatory and have little contact with their own kind, their language is simplistic. The language they use is a unique system of calls which convey simple concepts such as “food” and “danger”, some however argue that the language extends further such as directions and rough descriptions. Even a telepath would find conversation difficult since they would not offer more than a simple conversation about their favorite prey.

Due to their antisocial nature getting a Roc to do what you want is difficult. Usually only caring about the amount and quality of food they are given, taming one is difficult, but not impossible. Rocs cannot be bribed or coerced in any other way than food; they do not respond to threats and do not deal in favors, since most of what one could offer them they would prefer to do on their own. They also do not value material possessions highly. Storm giants and cloud giants have been known to tame and even ride them by raising them from birth or young age with regular food with bones and hides removed to keep them as healthy as possible. Young Rocs are grateful to receive regular food and food of high quality. This also applies to mothers when raising young, they will however be less trusting of others at this time. Rocs will quickly learn the appearance of those who bring food offerings and are unlikely to attack these people.

As a leftover from the creation of rocs by the father of giant gods Annam, they are not fond of the dragons they were created to fight. Rocs passionately dislike dragons that live nearby good hunting grounds, but however will avoid them due to being a credible threat. Rocs are fragile when it comes to damage to their wings, and a fight with a dragon can often lead to a rocs death since if it would be unable to fly afterwards. Rocs will however hunt down or chase off smaller dragons before they can become a threat. This has been useful to dragon hunters capable of telepathy, since rocs can determine and hold memory of a dragons color, size, rough age, location and how healthy it is. Rocs are not trusting of creatures sharing traits with dragons, such as scales or the ability to breath fire. It has been known for them to clear Kobolds from lands around their territories, and to be particularly aggressive to Dragonborns.

Sub species

Common

The Common Roc are as described above. Only minor differences separate members of the common variety. Differences are often based on location, prey and diet. such as coloration of plumage and the shape of beak and claws. These minor differences appear due to the Rocs slight ability to adapt over their long lifespan. Occasionally cross breeds will appear between the common, storm and bone Rocs.

Bone Roc

The Bone Roc has a very different plumage than the common Roc and at a glance can look like an entirely different creature. Otherwise the body behind the feathers is very similar to the Common Roc. What separates the Bone Roc is its behavior and diet. Bone Rocs are scavengers profiting greatly of war and disease. They also have a fondness of large bones which they crush with their claws and eat, strong stomach acid aiding digestion. The behavior of bone rocs is peculiar and possibly links to their origins. They live in several awkward rocky mountains across the world, sticking to very specific spots within them. In these hard to reach locations they horde bones of fallen Rocs of all subspecies, leaving them in vast mounds until they eventually decay. The Bone Rocs do not eat these bones seemingly out of respect for their fallen. It has been suggested that the specific locations they confine themselves to are sacred to Rocs in some way. Bone Rocs are the only subspecies to be somewhat sociable with each other in adult life, since they are confined to these small locations.

Storm Roc

Storm Roc or sometimes Thunderbird, are a subspecies of Roc that primarily live in stormy areas, often but not exclusively near the ocean. They are smaller, with a reduced wingspan and body bulk, they are slightly more nimble than the common Roc. The naming of the Storm Roc is somewhat sensationalized. Once considered to create large storms under its wings, bringing ruin to small settlements. Later they would be considered bad omens, when one is seen a storm is sure to follow. While not written in stone the latter is closer to the truth. Storm Rocs use their increased dexterity to stay aloft in storms, providing them with a somewhat random but effective way of travelling without needing to expend much energy. They are more nomadic than common Rocs, possibly due to this method of travel often not keeping a nest for more than a decade. Storm Rocs will hunt much smaller prey on average and have a particular fondness of horses.

DM's Toolkit

These things are big, really big. Keep this in mind if you are planning combat. Rocs personality (and size) dictates they will be most likely be alone in a fight, meaning they can be ganged up on by players, a level 8 party of 3+ players could handle one (played well). Since it doesn’t make much sense to have a party fighting more than one difficulty can be introduced in other ways. For example the rocky outcrops in a mountain-top nest do not obstruct the massive roc, the players however will need to think more carefully about their position.

The talons ability is a good way to make the roc a credible threat, while arguably the roc would probably grab at the largest target naturally. A Roc with increased intelligence or some for of external motive would restrain a key party member for the combat making taking it down difficult.

Rocs can be reasonable plot hook without the need for a fight, perhaps your party is escorting a caravan from city to city and a hungry roc snatches a beast of burden (or two) carrying valuable items, and it’s now their job to travel into the rocs nest to get it back. Doing this can lead into an encounter of a more appropriate difficulty and supply a horde of loot which has been gathered over several years from merchants caravans.

An interesting difficult encounter could be made to include a mother and its young. The young serving as ads, can simply take scaled down stats and only attack with their beaks.

Roper

”Well that’s decided. I’m never going into a cave again.” - Discouraged Adventurer

Introduction

The roper, despite its horrifying aberrant appearance, is a creature whose origins most likely lay in the Material Plane. The predominant theory maintains that the roper is the result of some powerful kuo-toa’s reality-warping influence on piercers, darkmantles, or some other local fauna; a claim supported by their frequent proximity to kuo-toa clans. Opponents of this theory are quick to cite examples of ropers found lurking far from the influence of their purported creators, but this could simply suggest that they have become a self-sustaining life form of their own.

Physiological Observations

Observing ropers can be a challenge in and of itself. They are adept ambushers whose natural camouflage makes them nearly indistinguishable from stalagmites or stalactites - pebbly carapace, cone shaped structure and all. They are also patient, capable of waiting perfectly still for tremendously long periods of time until prey is within range of their long tendrils. They are also clever enough to only attack prey they are confident they can handle, so would-be observers often find themselves suddenly under attack from large, formidable specimens.

Thus, most ropers observed are large: eight to ten foot high cone shaped creatures, around six feet wide at the base, featuring six long tendrils, a large fanged mouth, and a single eye. Their skin* is typically craggy and pebbly, resembling the rocky habitats they prefer. They typically weigh in somewhere between one and three tonnes.

Studies performed by intrepid (and well paid) adventurers provide evidence to suggest that ropers grow as they age. They appear to hatch from eggs as shrimp-like larvae, and live inside their parent’s mouth. There they feed off of any prey captured by their parent host, and frequently cannibalizing smaller roper larvae. When they gain enough body weight they mate, then escape their parent’s maw and burrow underground, emerging later as small ropers, six to ten inches in height. They grow slowly, feeding on insects and bats at first, graduating to more challenging (often sentient) prey later.

Nobody knows the upper limit of a roper’s size, but some adventurers have made (unsubstantiated, unsupported) claims of towering ropers twenty feet high with tendrils one hundred feet long. How such a creature could sustain itself is a unknown.

No conclusive evidence about gender has been discovered, leaving most scholars to hypothesize that ropers are likely hermaphrodites.

Social Observations

The vast majority of interaction between ropers occurs pre-metamorphosis. Roper larva compete for food and for mates, killing and eating smaller specimens.

After metamorphosis, ropers seem to have no interest in one another. They are apparently content to share territory, sometimes appearing in groups of several dozen. Typically food supply pressures will limit population sizes, causing all but one or two ropers in an area to starve and die, their carcasses calcifying over time.

Behaviorial Observations

Ropers are slow, bulky creatures who are careful to conserve their energy. Food can be scarce in many common roper habitats. A roper will typically plant within a passageway, staying motionless until suitable prey passes within reach. They attack prey with their long tendrils, which sport hairlike filaments that deliver a numbing poison. Once ensnared, they are dragged into the roper’s mouth to be mangled, then swallowed whole.

The digestive process is rapid and effective, destroying most materials within a few days. Metals typically survive much longer, making some ropers repositories of metal objects once carried by adventurers.

The digestive fluid serves a double perpose for the roper. When food is scarce ropers will enter into a hibernation state. Their mouths remain open, filled with digestive fluid which has a strong fragrant scent. This attracts insects, birds, lizards, bats, and other small creatures to investigate, many of whom fall into the mouth and are digested.

Adventurers may stumble across a comatose roper with its mouth wide open, which is a good indicator that nobody has passed through the area for a while.

Inter-Species Observations

Ropers are often found near groups of kuo-toa, although they are not by any means allied; kuo-toa are considered just as edible to the roper as any other species.

Otherwise, ropers seem to have no particularly noteworthy relationships with any other species. Anything that moves is treated as potential food.

Subspecies

While ropers are commonly found in caves, they can be found all over the world. They often take on the colour and texture of their surroundings.

In arctic climates ropers are often white† in colour, although black and pale blue variations have allegedly been seen. They tend to position themselves in ice fissures, smashing the ice when travelers are near to put them off their footing.

Some ropers have been found living underwater. There are theories that these subspecies may be fully water-breathing, but some observations suggest that they use their tendrils as breathing tubes, periodically reaching up to the surface. This may also be a means of determining the conditions above the water.

Ropers of enormous size have been encountered floating among debris fields in the astral sea. There they await astral skimmers which they either attach themselves to or attempt to destroy.

On very rare occasions astral sea travelers have witnessed tremendous battles between astral ropers and astral dreadnoughts. Most were wise enough to keep their distance.

Perhaps more terrifying yet are the ropers found on the plane of earth, who are often ensnared by earth elementals. Few reliable reports have returned regarding these creatures.

DM's Toolkit

Ropers are perfect for adding a lurking danger to a natural cavern or canyon-like space. Their presence requires no justification in such an environment.

A single roper in a cavernous space is an interesting challenge itself for lower level parties, but adding terrain hazards such as pits or steam vents can make for a more memorable battle. Ropers are primarily crowd control monsters, moving players into disadvantageous positions. A time sensitive climbing challenge with ropers interfering from below could be hilariously frustrating.

Encounters in natural spaces with other creatures can be spiced up with the presence of a roper, attacking both sides indiscriminately.

Combining ropers with creatures like darkmantles and piercers can also be thematically interesting, likewise with mimics. This kind of dungeon can reward characters with high perception and nature skills.

They also serve as convenient loot reservoirs.

Rust Monster

"Damn Rusties. I swear, those buggers are going to put me out of business."

-Burt Stronghammer, village blacksmith, on rust monsters

"Oh, I love 'em. They're a lot friendlier than you think, long as you keep 'em fed. Plus, they really piss off the blacksmith who works around here, and that's comedy you can't buy."

-Dimble Oneshoe, thief and local trickster

Introduction

Pests to many, yet pets to others, rust monsters are simple, insectoid beasts driven solely by their hunger for ferrous metal. These strange creatures search tirelessly for this food source, scavenging dungeons and sewers alike. Rust monsters then consume this metal by first turning the object to rust with a single touch and then eating the remains. The drive to find a source where this food can be found reliably shapes the (relatively short) lives of all rust monsters from the moment that they hatch.

Wizards and naturalists alike have studied rust monsters for years, as their unique food source poses many interesting questions about the nature of such beasts. One of the unanswerable questions of this field of study is where rust monsters came from. Over the years, many schools have arisen as to the origins of the creatures. Two of these hold that rust monsters were once a race of warlike beings (similar to the thri-kreen, perhaps) who lived in tunnels somewhat akin to those used by their ancestors today. This, however, is where the similarities in the two theories end. One, favored usually by naturalists, holds that these beings had such a simple society, driven by hunger and war, that, over millennia, they slowly lost the need for language, society, and even the critical thinking exhibited by all sentient races. Over time, this race devolved into the flea-like rust monsters that we know today. This theory is the most widely accepted in the academic community. Another theory, held mostly by more religious researchers, states that the actions of this warlike race angered the gods, who cursed the beings into becoming simple beasts. Although scoffed at by more stoic members of the researching community, this theory has gained traction in gnome and dwarf communities, its members claiming that this was the work of Garl Glittergold or Moradin, respectively.

Another school exists in the origins of these creatures exists, yet it is often marginalized in academic communities. This theory suggests that rust monsters were once denizens of another plane of existence who have crossed over to the Material Plane years ago. Although staunchly supported by many, this school fails to mention what plane would create such a unique creature. Thus, as mentioned above, this theory is often ignored by other researchers. However, whatever the origin of rust monsters, it is agreed by all that these creatures are interesting for the sake of research, and such study will likely continue for generations.

Physiological Observations

Rust monsters are not a species that varies much in size or shape. This is a result of the entire species being capable of parthenogenesis. This means that all members of the species are female, yet have evolved the necessary anatomy to lay eggs that are capable of hatching without fertilization from a male organism. This causes young rust monsters to be genetically identical to their mother. Thus, the identification of rust monsters is a relatively simple science.

Rust monsters tend to be about 8 feet long, and roughly 5 feet high. They look similar to large fleas, although they have long feathery antennae and a tail that can often be as long as the body of the rust monster. Similar to fleas, the legs of a rust monster are extremely long and powerful and, as such, a rust monster can jump a distance up to four times its body length. The rust monster is covered by a thick layer of chitin that acts as a natural armor against predators. This carapace reflects the food source of each particular specimen. Thus, most rust monsters are a orange-rust color, showing that the beast mostly eats the oxidized form of iron. However, some rust monsters live in areas where natural stores of copper are greater than those of iron. Although most rust monsters prefer iron to copper, the latter is edible. These specimens that live in copper-rich areas often take a blue-green hue.

Rust monster eggs look similar to spherical iron ingots, and are usually just as hard. Thus, such eggs are difficult for predators of rust monsters to find, and nigh impossible to break into. After hatching, rust monster young look similar to large grubs, and are usually the same metallic gray of their eggs. They are covered by a carapace, similar to their adult form, but it is softer and more malleable, giving the larva room to grow. The larvae hatch hungry and immediately go their separate ways to find food. As they eat, the color of their carapace slowly shifts from the dull gray into the more vibrant rust color of the adult rust monster.

On average, rust monsters can live up to 20 years.

Social and Behavioral Observations

Rust monsters are a mostly solitary species and thus there are relatively few instances where one rust monster would have any sort of social experience with another member of its species. The only known instances of rust monster interactions with one another are fights over a particularly large cache of food. These creatures are extremely territorial when it comes to food, an instinct strong enough to override their usual solitary nature. Even the bond between the mother and her children are tenuous at best. Since the eggs of a rust monster are so well protected by both camouflage and its shell, mothers will usually abandon their eggs after laying them. These eggs will usually be laid in an iron-rich area, as the larvae are slow-moving and need more nourishment than their adult form. The only instance of a mother guarding her eggs occurs when a rust monster population has begun to reproduce in a cave system shared with troglodytes. These frog-like predators are the one of the few creatures that can stomach the taste of a rust monster, and will often go after the larvae, as they are easier prey. In this case, a group of mothers will often guard their young until they are ready to fend for themselves.

Most rust monsters are known for a relatively mellow temperament. In most cases, rust monsters will ignore other denizens of the tunnels in which they roam. The only instances in which a rust monster will become aggressive are either if the beast is first attacked or if it happens to meet a creature carrying steel weapons or armor. In the latter case, the rust monster will attack the other creature in a blind rage, driven by its constant hunger for ferrous metal. However, these beasts can often be calmed by offering them a small morsel of metal, such as a iron flask or a belt buckle.

Unless disturbed as above, rust monsters spend the majority of their lives alone, wandering tunnels and cave systems looking for iron or other metals. These beasts often cover incredible distances in their search, as an adult rust monster can last a month between meals. Although they can move fast in times of danger, rust monsters usually move rather slowly while looking for food, taking their time combing over the floor of caves. Their large antennae sweep over the rock before them, searching for iron deposits. If an antenna happens to graze an ingot, the metal will immediately rust and be devoured by the hungry rust monster.

Inter-Species Observations

As mentioned above, rust monsters mostly ignore and are ignored by other subterranean denizens. The exceptions to this rule are few, and none more prominent than the case of troglodytes. Troglodytes will eat most things they may come across, including rust monsters. As such, areas with a high concentration of rust monsters will often have a group of hungry troglodytes nearby. Although it often takes more than one troglodyte to take down a fully grown rust monster, the primitive nature of the former leads to single-minded persistence in hunting and eating the latter.

As for other sentient species of the world, attitudes towards rust monsters often depend on occupation or even personal preference. For instance, blacksmiths, jewelers, armorers, and others who work with metal find rust monsters to be little more than pests, and constantly fear a group of the creatures discovering their wares. However, many have found rust monsters to be friendly or, in more rare cases, exotic pets. There have been reported cases of certain people finding and taming rust monsters, a relatively easy task due to the beasts' mellow temperament. Through a combination of proper treatment and a surplus of metal trinkets, rust monsters have become companions and mounts to many. In some larger cities, some vendors have begun selling the eggs of rust monsters, although many governments forbid this practice.

The only sentient race known to loathe rust monsters are dwarves. Due to their constant use of metal and their love for their weapons and armor, most (if not all) dwarves find the creatures to be repulsive and will often destroy any rust monsters in and around their cities with extreme prejudice. Dwarf children are raised to recognize rust monsters as a threat to their safety and society.

DM's Toolkit

A single rust monster does not an encounter make. These creatures should be used in order to augment other enemies or with other members of their species to make an unusual battle. Some uses for rust monsters could be as follows:

While hunting a troublesome group of troglodytes, the PCs encounter a territorial (and angry) group of mother rust monsters guarding their eggs.

A town hires the PCs to take care of a group of bandits on the road outside of town. The bandits are using rust monsters as mounts.

The PCs stumble across a cavern in a dungeon filled with cages with dangerous creatures of all sorts within them, imprisoned by whoever controls the dungeon. Two rust monsters have chewed their way out of their cage and are now turning their attention to the other cages...

The PCs are captured by a BBEG and dropped in a pit without their weapons but still wearing any metal armor. In the pit is a hungry rust monster.

Sahuagin

”Fear not the shark, for the true monster is the devil on its back” – Admiral Kypper, on the deck of the Pride of Io, shortly before his death at the hands of the Sahuagin prince ‘Slayer-of-Kings’.

Of all the sea-dwelling races, the most prosperous and warlike is the Sahuagin. Feared by all who pass over or beneath the waves, they seek nothing less than total domination of all oceans, and perhaps even the land between them. Dwelling in great cities in oceanic trenches, they live under a savage feudal system, and force even the most peaceful of beings to prepare for war.

Physiological Observations and Variants

It’s difficult to pin down a single morphology for this species, as they possess a high genetic instability, manifesting in extensive mutations, both beneficial and crippling (crippled individuals rapidly succumb to the savage life they were born into, however, and rarely live more than a week past birth).

The majority of the Sahuagin that are seen raiding villages are vaguely humanoid, between 6 and 7 feet tall, with piscine-like facial features and a long tail complete with fins. Their hands and feet are extensively webbed, and their eyes seem to be capable of sight both in and out of the water. Like sharks, their skin seems to be darker and mottled on their back, and much lighter on their front, perhaps as camouflage, which would confirm them to be primarily ambush predators. Exact colouration varies greatly from clan to clan, and is thought to be related to their location – Sahuagin found off the coast of Polar Regions tend to be much darker than their warm water cousins.

The most commonly observed mutation is an extra set of fully functional limbs – individuals with this boon of fate tend to rise through the Sahuagin hierarchy rapidly, becoming nobles, Barons or Princes. There are conflicting reports as to the frequency of these four-armed individuals, around 1 in 200 being “blessed” with extra arms.

A much less common mutation produces a creature known as a Malenti. This creature is genetically a Sahuagin but outwardly appears to be an Aquatic Elf (their racial enemy), and tend to only appear when a Sahuagin society is in close proximity to an Aquatic Elf colony. Most often, these individuals are slaughtered on hatching, but a few are allowed to mature and are used as spies and infiltrators into Aquatic Elf society. They are feared and respected by other Sahuagin in equal measure. A four-armed Malenti is never allowed to live.

There have been reports of Sahuagin that are more shark than humanoid. These mutants have no lower limbs, but a long tail with a shark’s caudal fin and a much larger dorsal fin, plus a larger mouth with rows of serrated teeth. They resemble a particularly monstrous merfolk, and tend to be even more savage than their humanoid counterparts. A society of Sahuagin near a shark breeding ground, or that breeds sharks for whatever nefarious purpose, will tend to produce more of these Shark-Blooded individuals than are otherwise normally observed.

Finally, Wereshark Sahuagin are sometimes used as elite guards for members of the nobility (Kings and Princes mainly). All other lycanthropic types of Sahuagin are destroyed. A Wereshark King or Queen is revered as a manifestation of the shark god Sekolah and heralds a period of intense war for the society.

Social Observations

Civilised society might seem like an odd concept to apply to such a warlike race, but Sahuagin crave order as much as they desire war – indeed, they consider themselves the only civilised race. However, they exist in a fragile state of suppressed rage and bloodlust – the smallest provocation can send one over the edge into a blood frenzy, which quickly spreads to nearby Sahuagin. In order to maintain a modicum of order and prevent them from turning on each other, they periodically revel in bloodstained waters – this might explain their penchant for raiding coastal villages and merchant ships, as they care little for material wealth.

Sahuagin dwell in cities built in oceanic trenches, mainly in warmer waters at depths ranging from 15 to 250 fathoms. Each city has a strict hierarchy, with strength being the sole determinant of social standing – any individual has the potential to rise to nobility, making no distinction between those born of nobility or of serfs. Even though blood has no bearing on status, they meticulously record the achievements of their forebears within their surnames, and it is widely regarded that individuals with extended lists of martyred ancestors will themselves ascend to greatness. Their given names, when translated to common, tend to be descriptions of past deeds of note, and are frequently changed as they climb the ranks of their society.

A kingdom is ruled by a King (or sometimes a Queen), who divides the kingdom into nine provinces, each ruled by a Baron(ess). These provinces are subdivided into smaller regions each governed by a Lieutenant, who normally picks a title for himself. A kingdom can extend along an entire coastline, made up of multiple cities, the largest of these being the seat of power, and housing many thousands of individuals.

Sahuagin are hatched rather than born. Females lay clutches of up to 200 eggs in communal hatcheries, which are watched over by Clerics of Selokah, the shark god. Hatchlings are eel-like, do not begin to grow limbs until they are 6 months of age and are fully formed after a year. It is not until this stage that the parents return to claim their young, and until then the hatchlings have a singularly brutal existence as they struggle to assert themselves over their siblings. Occasionally, stronger individuals are plucked early from the hatcheries and are used as entertainment for nobles, fighting one-on-one death matches at important occasions.

Their society has very strict gender roles – males are primarily warriors and hunters, while females are clerics and administrators. Some females do join the ranks of the raiders, but a male is never allowed to become a cleric.

Clerics of Selokah often lead raiding parties and are second only to nobles in social standing. The single dogma of the church of Selokah is “Those who eat and those who are eaten”, which is taken rather literally and any infirm or weak members of their race tend to be devoured. Sharks are held in reverence, and are treated as holy animals. Clerics are often shadowed by one or more sharks, to which they feed their sacrifices in order to placate their vicious god. Magic is generally feared amongst Sahuagin, and as such there are no arcane spellcasters among their ranks.

Interspecies Observations

Sahuagin believe themselves superior to all, and will attack other races with a vicious tenacity bordering on zealotry. They particularly despise Aquatic Elves, and seek to destroy societies of these more peaceful sea dwelling races wherever possible. Merfolk, Koa-Toa and Tritons are also subjects of this racial hatred. Sahuagin are also believed to be the sole reason that Ixitxachitl have not achieved a similar level of civilisation, as Selokah and Demogorgon (the Ixitxachitl deity) have long despised one another, and this vehemence spills out into the Sahuagin culture. They are indifferent towards Anguillians, with which they are thought to be related.

They stage frequent raids against coastal villages and ships, in order to provide blood for their revels. These raids invariably occur on the new moon, and a thick fog descends on the unfortunate target. The sound of conch shells heralds their charge, and the victims are dragged to the water where they are ritually drowned. Much of the wealth of the village is disregarded, but some items of interest or magical weapons may be claimed by nobles or clerics.

The only creatures held in any reverence are sharks, as these are seen as holy animals of Selokah. Sahuagin clerics are known to breed particularly vicious sharks for use as guards and war beasts, and more than one Baron has rode into battle atop an unusually large and crazed shark.

Sahuagin have a begrudging respect for most sea-faring predators, and do not actively persecute creatures such as giant squid or Krakens. They do consider the flesh of these species a delicacy, but hunting such beasts is not an easy proposition, as they are equally fond of the taste of Sahuagin. Aboleths are actively avoided, though there are rumours that more than a few Aboleths pull the strings behind the more savage Sahuagin societies.

DMs Toolkit

Sahuagin are like the drow of the sea – they can be useful nuisance encounters for a coastal or sea adventure, or form the backbone of a longer adventure as a secondary or even primary antagonist. They can be used at a variety of levels of encounter, from small raiding parties at lower levels involving just a few normal individuals, to larger war bands with clerics, barons and other mutant versions for higher level parties. As they are an intelligent race, they can be used in more or less any way the DM sees fit. It is thought that the race is based upon Aztec culture, so any aspects of day-to-day life that I’ve missed above can be filled in with a little research.

Salamander

They wiggle they squirm,

They Bite they burn,

Nasty little fire worm.

So kickem and shovem

Right into the oven

For it’s the forge they be lovin - Old Dwarvish Song

Introduction

This information was gleaned by contract from a dwarven mining community to further understand and employ relations between them and their few “furnaces”. The Fire Salamanders had become a danger to the dwarven smiths too close to the bound Salamanders. I spoke to the individuals inside who were eager to break themselves of their bonds. Secondly I was employed by elves suffering forest fires in which it was discovered a band of Salamanders had roamed through igniting all in their path. The local elves halted the group of salamander’s advances although the forest will take some time to heal.

Fire Salamanders are dangerous and rare beings. Their origins are unknown to us being non-native to our material existence. Born of heat and flame they burn everything they touch and desire nothing more to make the land around them ash to play in. Extremely dangerous to any mortal it is advised to avoid them to the best of one’s abilities.

Despite their arsonist tendency Salamanders are surprisingly artistic when it comes to metal. They enjoy materials in which they can touch without it melting before their intense heat. A Fire Salamander may enjoy playing with iron as a child may with clay.

Physiological Observations

Fire Salamanders for the most part resemble a gigantic constrictor snake with a humanoid upper body set ablaze by burning flames engulfing the coils. They have 2 long and strong arms and a crested decorated head. Their heads while snake like in appearance are more flat in the front giving a very humanoid snake hybrid look in their face. All along their bodies’ tentacle like flexible spines that flicker like flames. The older the individual the more prominent and ornate these appendages are.

The average Salamander may stretch to twenty feet long and at full heights may tower over mortals easily “standing” 8 or so feet tall. Their arms easily are strong enough to lift a human in 1 hand, if that human could survive standing close to the 300 degree heat they emanate from their bodies. Their hands are dexterous with three finger-like claws and a fourth apposable claw. Fire Salamanders are physically menacing to almost any being.

They come from a place called the Sea of Ash as I was told on the elemental plane of fire. They roam the ash and desire to spread its boundaries to all existence. They require a fair amount of heat and avoid colder areas. In our material existence they are usually found in places of extreme heat such as deserts and volcanoes. I have seen no water able to douse their flames as it evaporates before having much affect. I suspect it would take a large amount of water to douse one although I do not know if that would destroy or even harm an individual.

Salamanders make no permanent homes and instead roam in bands as marauding looters. They pillage and plunder take for themselves what they deem valuable and incinerate the rest. Their paths can easily be spotted in scorched earth they leave behind.

They are strictly carnivores and devour any meat they can. The average Salamander would require 1 pig a week for comfortable nourishment. They see most living creatures as food and eat them as they find them. This makes for dangerous foes to travelers as they often do not care to discuss and only to eat if hungry. They require eating only 1 time every week. When they are hungry they’ll eat what they can get and take it by force. They are intelligent enough to avoid eating members of communities as they could suffer repercussions from such actions. Live stalk is another story.

Using their high body heat they can smith and craft metal as if they were the furnace themselves. Salamanders can super heat most metals by channeling some of their own heat into their hands. They can mold weapons and armors using this and consider it the highest form of art. As a modeler of clay they work metal with their bare hands crafting beautiful, decadent, and deadly weapons. Most commonly pole-arms and spears are made but they can make almost any weapon commonly used. For this reason sometimes they are bound or employed to service for this very task. While in battle they super heat their weapons enough to keep integrity but also cause severe burning to foes.

Salamanders usually have a unique kind of steel on their person that is far more resistant to heat than steel. This metal, I refer to as cold steel, able to be molded by Salamanders with their intense heat and then will seemingly self-cool as a smith would douse a sword in water. The majority of their weapons are crafted using Cold Steel. This steel must exist on the plane of fire but as I only know of its existence because of my research with Salamanders.

Social Observations

Based on what I could gather Fire Salamanders have a very strict social hierarchy based on age. The older an individual is the more powerful they are and thus superior. They are efficient and driven in their goals to further the Sea of Ash across everything and care little for pleasantries.

Fire Salamanders travel in bands of individuals spreading fire and ash everywhere they go. They do not often stay in one place for long other than to explore for riches. A band can consist of a group of only four individuals or up to thirty if order can be kept.

No male to female relationships exist aside from the genders existing. Mating is decided when a female goes into heat every two or so decades. Most females end up going into heat at the same time in the band. The eldest and most powerful male is always the father. The band stops on momentarily on their mission to lay the obsidian eggs. Each female will lie between 4 to 8 eggs. Once laid they think no more of them and continue on their conquest.

Their leader is always the eldest and rank is always decided by age. It’s thought they obtained this mentality from their time amongst the Efreet long ago. The leader also called a Noble hold dominion over his minions and marches on in search for treasure, wealth and power; Most of all power. They reign until they die and the next in line members decide in brutal confrontation the new Noble.

Young Fire Salamanders are more commonly known as fire snakes. They hatch with an intelligence that quickly grows into adulthood within weeks although their bodies take almost 50 years. They cannot speak but understand their native tongue, Ingan. They quickly grow into adults in just a year and strike off for riches and the desire to wallow in ash.

The eggs are hatched when their internal body temperatures reach their full potential and melt the obsidian hard shells away. As a Fire Snake ages the heat they generate will increase. During this stage they are less dangerous to mortals as their heat will still burn but not more than a hot kettle may briefly. They huddle together in a swarm of Fire Snakes that roam around looking for food. They will instinctively strike out ward in a new direction to find and join up with a roaming noble.

The most powerful and strongest Salamanders have lived for centuries. They glow white hot as their body temperatures have reached extreme levels. They are the paragons of Salamander kind and have many followers and more akin to an army then a band of marauders. They are tides of fire that wash upon the shores of life and leave nothing but charred waste lands.

Salamanders of the Sea of Ash have a fenatical belief that ash is the true nature of creatures. Their drive to burn things into dust is almost a religious zeal as they spread a trail of scorched remains where ever they go. They travel and strive to burn everything so that they can rule over all just as others ruled over them. This frightening mentality has driven Salamanders across many planes in the mulitverse it seems. While they are not organized more than in small bands, left unchecked as a whole they are a serious threat.

Relations with Other Species

For the most part Salamanders interact with a perceived category of only three groups, Efreet, Azers, and obstacles. They do not care much for the affairs of others and often are solely focused on increasing their wealth and burning everything in sight. They by no means are unthinking destroyers and will barter and trade to maximize wealth. This doesn’t ensure that the Salamanders won’t attack just that they don’t have to search as much for treasures.

Communication with the volatile creatures is often difficult as they have no desire to communicate out of their terms; as I found out during the second groups excursion onto the Elven wood. Even if they do desire to they only care to speak Ingan the language of the fire plane. More often then not they’ll attack regardless of the situation.

They first and foremost hate the Efreet. This was very apparent in the discussions especially with bound Salamanders. In their history a majority of the race were enslaved in their home plane. The Efreet had done so after failing to do the exact same thing with the Azers. They will call any hated enemy an Efreet as the very name of the race is a curse to their lips. Efreets are given no quarter and attacked with all of their might as a band. I believe the current way of life in all consuming desire for power is wrought of the eons of slavery they endured.

Second they despise and distrust Azers. Usually they attribute Azers to be lowly tricksters and are not friendly with them. It is a common belief passed down that it is the Azers fault for the Salamanders’ slavery. If the Azers hadn’t fought back the Salamanders would have only known freedom. Due to the resemblance to Azers, Dwarves are also not to be trusted and always attacked. Given my contract this matter had made things a little difficult.

Third is the group in which all other beings exist. They are merely food and kindle for the Torrent of Ash. If they are not hungry and they are deemed intelligent they ask for treasure or take it by force. They are indeed evil creatures by this standard although it is as malicious as stepping on an ant to them. If a creature proves too dangerous, as dragon for example, they will leave the creature alone for a time and come in force. They do not hesitate to retreat if needed but only to regroup and reassess the situation.

When investigating the roving band through the forest I was able to see how they fought. Salamanders fight with a ferocity and vigor as they do so for sport and fun. In victory they play in the ashes of the remains in a bizarre celebration. They are not clean killers and often toy with over matched or seemingly over matched foes. They’ll trip and stab in nonlethal ways to prolong the kill and end it when they become bored. They relish a fair fight and seems to blaze to higher heats in the excitement.

Salamanders are adept fighters and often train during travel. Sparring and fighting amongst each other is encouraged. One could learn a lot about a weapon from a Salamander if they weren’t bent on eating a student and then charring the remains.

Due to this passion for the fight they often pick fights with mighty foes such as dragons but will retreat if they find themselves clearly overmatched. This can result in the death of the headstrong leaders eager to prove themselves time and time again.

They often when camping fiddle with and repair equipment. Sometimes they even forge new weapons simply on a whim. Many races marvel at their craftsmanship as molding metal by hand is not a common thing. Ornate patterns and designs are common simply because a Salamander was bored. To them molding a weapon would be to fiddle with a stick in the dirt.

Sometimes they are summoned for a task for their usefulness as great warriors, craftsman or unfortunately slavery as a furnace. They are summoned much like a fire elemental. Their affinity for heat and fire is well attuned. They despise and plot against their callers. Nothing is more infuriating to them than the suffrage of slavery.

Variants Most Salamanders behave and act the in similar fashions but there are a few divergent enough that I find interesting enough to detail.

Fire Salamander Nomads - These Salamanders are what are normally described above. They follow the hierarchy to a key and are fierce combatants. They are usually red in coloration with yellow highlights.

Nobles - Often times they are far superior fighters and carry on their person many magic items. They are very adept fighters and are feared and respected by their lesser. They live much like nomads although sometimes manifest as wonderful Battle Crafters.

Ascendant Nobles - Those nobles who have lived eons have grown to a power matched by few. They burn so hot that creatures in any way vulnerable to heat may die just being within a few hundred yards of them. They cut large swaths through their terrain spreading the Sea of Ash with ever step.

Fire Salamander Battle Crafters - Usually among the nomads although sometimes they are bound individuals Battle Crafters are talented individuals. They are by far more focused on their craft of metal than any other aspect of life. They make beautiful works of art and deadly weapons. Often times their weapons are imbued with the magic of their spirits and they obtain immortality as they live on in their weapon. The weapons typically can catch flame at the wielder’s will and give immunity to fires to them also. The most amazing ability of a Battle Crafter is to mold a weapon mid-fight. They’ll run their hands down a blade to elongate it when needed or shorted and widen for heavier strikes. Their craft is a beautiful work of creation in a dance of death.

Bound Ones - Often times they are bound by magical means on the material world to a forge to serve as a furnace. Dwarves practice this more often than any other race. They often are bound as children or Fire Snakes and overtime accept the servitude as a fact of life. Sometimes they are able to craft things on their own and it seems to be the joy in their life. Bound ones can also be bound as a protector or warrior depending on the summoner.

Ice Salamanders - There lies a cousin in the elemental planes of water of ice salamanders that wield water and ice much as a flame Salamander would. They are very similar in mentality and biology although a few differences are apparent. First their eggs are almost a crystal of ice and shatter upon hatching. They still craft although they make impossibly strong creations of ice. They have a quicker manipulation of ice and only need water to craft with. Ice Battle Crafters exist and are more common then Fire Battle Crafters.

DM Tips

Salamanders are a nice twist as a cause for something. They often leave destruction in their wake unchecked and can be the climax of a mystery given their battle prowess. They also make for a good RP experience if you ever need a talking furnace.

Satyr

When the celebration ended five days later, there were 3 destroyed homes, 10 missing cattle, 1 fire left to be put out, and, in 9 months, 8 new children, but only 3 fathers.

Introduction

Satyrs are a fey commonly known for their potent wine, lusty natures, and hot-headed ways. Rarely are they settled and seem to express the most extremes of human emotions. For a satyr, each week can be spent drifting between wanderlust, boredom, arousal, and aggression. Satyrs are fantastic company for a drink, wonderful for a day, exhausting after two, and dangerous after three.

Human communities near large wooded areas or on unsettled fronters and those with influential druid circles are the most likely to experience a satyr visitation particularly in the Spring. These events are looked upon with excitement, fear, and anticipation. There is opportunity for much merriment, but not without a literal year’s worth of headaches afterward.

Satyrs themselves seem to eternally wander the earth always looking for a new experience of the mind and body. As well as looking for other to join in on these experiences- the more the merrier.

Physiological Observations

Satyrs are not so much a singular type of fey, but more humans who have been turned to fey through a curse. They generally are goat-legged and have horns growing from their heads, but other types have been known to occur- dogs, cows, donkeys, and pigs. Their stout constitution makes them resistant to poisons and toxins and, unless under the influence, they have at least one keen sense related to animal that makes up their appearance.

Social and Behavioral Observations

In the wild, satyrs are typically found alone wandering the land in search of the next rarest experience. Few other beings are able to keep up with their stout constitution, wild mood swings, and inability to stay in one place for longer than a week. More than a few friends of a satyr have been abandoned in the dead of night, killed in a drunken fight, or unable to resist the poisonous component in some new experience. Satyrs make good friends who unfortunately live short lives-- which just gives the satyr more memories to drink to.

In civilization, satyrs are found in taverns or as guests of honor are particularly debauch parties. During the day they might be selling small but very potent jars of wine, or if festival time, wine by the cup. During the night they will be telling wild tales of their travels almost always to the very rapt attention of the establishment. They will always pay for drinks and figure out some way to keep the ale flowing all night long. The longer the night goes the tales will be replaced with feats of strength or dexterity. At least one finger is usually lost by the crowd.

Variants

Children of the Wood- the satyrs folks most commonly know. Male. Humanoid with skin the color of the seasons. Lower half is covered in fur and terminates in cloven feet. Sizeable horns appear on the head. And they have a fondness for food, drink, merry making.

Children of Bacchus- these are humans who have either devoted their lives to revelry or were cursed by the fey. These satyrs will have more animal-like heads- dogs, goats, cows, and pigs. They are lazy, loud, and gluttonous. But usually friendly and can make strong mead.

Children of the Black Goat- in the darkest corners of the woods, in deep crags, and shadowed valleys live satyr who were once men- and women- that sought the dark knowledge of creation. Though dark rites and horrid fornication they have brought untold dangers into the world in service of the All Abundant- Mother of a Thousand Young. These creatures can produce/secrete a milk of horrid properties, but highly valued in homunculus creation, fertility, and can cause limb regrowth.

DM’s Tool Kit

Satyrs can be great NPC companions. They often know 1d4-1 rumors about the location they are currently in. Satyrs will not accept monetary payment for their serves or companionship, but instead will ask the join the party on their adventure. The satyr will leave if nothing interesting has been discovered in 3 days- taking anything interesting from the party with them.

Children of the Black Goat will seek to trick, misdirect, or seduce PCs into becoming living sacrifices or wombs for horrid rites in service of the All Abundant. This easier to accomplish because these fey release a strong musk that can drive any humanoid mad with lust (disadvantage to charm saves or removes advantage to charm saves). These creatures also delight in druging victims then chasing them through the woods with horrid piping creating the fear effect in PCs.

Children of Bacchus will either try to rope the PCs into throwing a huge party or helping them get rid of their curse. Either way these lazy creatures will attempt to do the least amount of work. But their friendly nature will aid on any CHA checks the party needs to make. Should PCs throw the party a major Plot Event/NPC will occur at the party.

If PCs are caught up in a party thrown by either Children of Bacchus or Woods roll on the Carousing Table (DMG 128) but use d100 + CHA modifier.

Saytr stats are also good for any kind of "beast people" you need. The horn damage can be a bite or claw as well.

Scarecrow

Introduction

Luth stood outside smoking, thinking. He had been put in charge of the strangling investigation. He just couldn’t figure it out. There were no suspects, no leads, no motives, nothing. As he stood there smoking he felt a sudden chill run down his spine, his sixth sense for danger. That exact same feeling had saved his life in numerous situations. He quickly turned around just as he got grabbed by the throat. When he looked down to see who was crushing his neck, his eyes lit up as surprise, horror and understanding rushed through him. Before him stood a jagged human-like creature made of sticks, straw and burlap sacks filled with sawdust, eyes lighting up with an ominous red glow. Right before the last breath of life was pushed out of his body, he saw a crooked grin appear on the creatures face.

Physiological Observations

Scarecrows are human-sized constructs, usually constructed using sticks and burlap sacks stuffed with sawdust, straw, grass, leaves, … . Scarecrows are created by binding an evil humanoid spirit to a puppet. They don’t know about their past live. However they do keep a large part of their personality. These spirits often belonged to horrible serial-killers, psychopaths, evil cultists, … . The only features that show the living qualities of the puppet are their glowing eyes. Depending on the level of autonomy given by its creator (usually hags or witches), Scarecrows tend to upgrade their body to more suit their preferred way of killing. There have also been reported cases of golem-sized Scarecrows. Their shadow leaves all investigators and scientist confused. They don’t cast a shadow resembling their current form, but the form they had in life.

Social Observations

Their behavior comes from a mix of the creators orders and the spirits way of doing things. Scarecrows made by the same creator will work together if ordered to. Scarecrows made by different creators will act according to the relation between the 2 creators. So if 2 Scarecrows of different creators cross paths they will either keep on executing their order or fight until one is completely destroyed.

Behavioral Observations

Scarecrows are reported to do anything to execute their order, so it would be wise to stay clear of the creatures. As long as their creator lives they will protect them at any cost. However the really interesting part about a Scarecrows behavior is the way the spirits past influences its behavior. For example a serial killers spirit will remember its preferred way of slaughter. It will remember that it liked to torture its victims by slowly cutting them up into little pieces and thus the Scarecrow will also cut its victim up. I warn all readers to be careful with any scarecrows you see on your travels, even if at a first glance they don’t seem to be horrible creatures they could just be hiding their presence. They can extinguish their eyes, cease all movement and try to ambush you. Magical users can still feel their presence if the check them for magical traces.

The most curious and unpredictable behavior happens when a Scarecrows creator dies. The Scarecrows will usually seek out the attacker and try to kill them. When that task is complete they go rogue and will often take to their evil ways again. Rogue Scarecrows will also start getting flashbacks of their past, allowing them to sometimes get revenge on the people that caused their demise.

Inter-species Observations

They act hostile towards any other living creature with exception to their creators, other Scarecrows and potential minions from the creator. Some spirits will allow a rogue Scarecrow to interact with other like-minded individuals such as cultists, criminals, … . –DM- If you want this to be possible you’d have to give them a way of communicating. I often opt to give them mimicry. –DM-

DMs toolkit

Believe it or not you can do quite a bit with Scarecrows. extreme bodyguards, stalking midnight horrors, unhuman serial killers, vengeful spirits, nightmarish watchdogs, …

The vengeful variant: When your players have just killed a witch or a hag. Have them notice shadows creeping around them the next couple of nights. Then when the right time comes the intelligent Scarecrow will try to sneak attack a target that is alone. In the form of trying to slit a throat while its target sleeps. Or attacking from the shadows when a target let its guard down.

The rogue Scarecrow: I just love these. Instead of using a normal Scarecrow, you can decide to use a stronger, more creepy version. It also has no attachements to a creator making them unpredictable.

The last task: Possibly a quest in a town where people have been getting killed shortly after burning a witch at the stake.

Shadow

If you ever feel your strength waning in the black of night, set a light, say a prayer, and pour your holy water on your “shadow”. For you, quite possibly, are dealing with a dark force aiming to quench the light of your very soul.

-Father Mateo Fernando Del Luz, Priest of Pelor, on exorcising demons, aberrations, and the undead.

Introduction

The Shadow have been a curse on life since the first evil mortal took it's last breath, birthing the first Shadow into the world of light. They appear as mounds of darkness, formed in a warped shape of the mortals they once were.

It is unknown why or how the shadow came to be, though many theories have come regarding their initial creation. Many arcane scholars believe them to be a masses of necrotic energy that gained sentience by using the soul of an evil mortal as a sort of conduit and mold for self creation. Holy men believe them to be the evil in a man's soul, free from it's mortal frame.

No matter the method of their initial creation, these creatures now exist only to hunt and extinguish the life of good men and women from this world, raising maleficent shadows from their bodies. Leaving us with the words of wise men to live by. “A single light may lead through the darkness, but the shadow cast will always be.”

Physiological Observations

When mortals of evil hearts and souls die, a shadow splinters away, taking with it a hatred for life and light. These creatures do not breed in a typical sense. Instead, the consume the life and strength of good-hearted men and women, and when there is no more life, a shadow is born from their bodies, and it seeks out more good-hearted men and women to continue the cycle.

A Shadow's body seem to nothing more then moving darkness to most, but upon closer inspection, one can tell that their bodies are actually a semi-solid mass of necrotic energy. Which would explain how they are capable of sapping the strength of men by simply touching or embracing them. These bodies not only allow them to attack their prey by such simple measures, but allow them to move through spaces and openings as small as a coin.

What is still being discussed is how this necrotic mass is capable of creating a set of eyes that allow the shadow to see and react as far as any man can. Some have theorized that it does not simply “see” light as we do, but that they instead “see” darkness in a similar fashion.

Social Observations

Shadows have no social structure that can be observed, so it is safe to assume that there is none to be found. When observed together, they do not react to one another, even when hunting the same target, though they do seem to travel in similar directions when no life is present. Though this may be more due to the fact that both sense life in a similar direction. Because of this, shadow hordes are a possibility, but they are in no way proof of any social organization.

Behavioral Observations

Shadows exist only to hunt down life and extinguish it. They continue to move in the darkness at all times, and immediately descend on life as soon as it sensed. They seem to ignore traps and obviously stronger creatures. They pay no heed to their own existence, or the existence of any creature other then their prey.

Intra-Species Observations

Because Shadows ignore both undead and evil creatures, they are many times controlled by both powerful undead creatures, such as a Lich or Vampire, and evil beings, such as evil Mages, Clerics, and Dragons. In fact, many of these creatures attempt to breed hordes of Shadows by kidnapping mortals with good souls to “birth” new shadows for themselves.

Variant Species

Shadows that have managed to kill unique mortals have created very, and very dangerous variants of themselves. Here is a list of unique shadows that have been either directly seen, destroyed, or rumored to exist.

Giant's Shadow. In the rare case that a good-spirited giant is caught and killed by a horde of shadows, a Giant's Shadow is born. These Shadows stand an upward of twenty-six feet tall, and can have the fortitude of ten shadows put together.

Pegasus Shadow- Though it is still only a rumored sighting, the Pegasus Shadow can be a very dangerous creature to meet. Twice as fast and three times as hardy, this Shadow can kill a man before he even has the chance to react to what has happened. Hence why it is still only a rumored sighting.

Merfolk Shadow- Deep in the ocean, where darkness reigns, there have been stories of entire Merfolk cities disappearing to the darkness. Now, there are many stories being brought to shore of Merfolk Shadows swimming up to ships and attempting to drag sailors into the dark below. More research is needed into these stories before a course is action is decided.

DM's Tooolkit

Shadows can be one of the most dangerous opening monsters to an encounter for players, not because of the danger posed themselves, but because of the strength draining effect that can made of great use to other enemies. Unless you're using a horde of shadows or a special, more powerful shadow, they should act as the first weapon sent out by an intelligent enemy. Sometimes as traps for wandering adventurers, other times as a first wave to weaken the players before stronger enemies come to attack. Anyway you have them be used, think of how they can be made use of effectively (or not, if the enemy is not so bright).

Depending on the kind of enemy they would be facing, I sometimes changed the attribute damage they caused to fit better with any creature making use of them. Constitution for creatures who are fond of unleashing poisons (with being reduced to 0 CON killing a player). Dexterity for creatures that want to paralyze and capture their victims (a 0 in DEX, of course, leaving a player paralyzed). Or damaging a players mental attributes to cause some sort of fun effect (a 0 in INT would make them a vegetable, WIS would leave their senses worthless, and CHA would leave them mad).

And if worst comes to worst, you can always make a trap that unleashes a horde of shadows on the players/a town/castle/etc. That can be used as a plot point to evil and powerful enemies.

Shield Guardian

"A Shield Guardian? Why would I need a Shield Guardian? No one would be foolish enough to attack Azorax the Immortal!"

-Azorax the Surprisingly Mortal

Introduction

The Shield Guardian: an enormous hunk of metal that may just surpass dogs as man’s best friend. Tall, humanoid protectors, these constructs stand unfaltering and unwavering, steadfast in their duty to protect their master. And occasionally brutalizing their master’s enemies. When you need someone to take a fireball for you, the loyal Shield Guardian will not hesitate. When a barbarian decides your head would look better on his trophy wall, the fist of the Shield Guardian shall make short work of him. When an assassin has poisoned your food… maybe you need something a bit more refined.

Physiological Observations

A Shield Guardian is a man-made construct whose form is impossible to pin down. Most commonly, they are formed of metal or other durable substances, and stand at just larger then human height. However, this can vary. Shield Guardians can be created from almost any solid material, and in any form. Some have the appearance of animals; some are simply bizarre hulking masses given purpose. All have one thing in common, which defines them as a Shield Guardian: their sole purpose is to guard the life of whoever possesses their binding object. Usually something small, easily wearable, yet also concealable, such an amulet or a ring, this object defines a Shield Guardian’s master. The Shield Guardian will obey the wearer without question, throw itself into danger to protect them, and never leave their side. To create a Shield Guardian, a complex ritual, the exact details of which are jealously guarded, must be performed, usually by a trained wizard. The components of this ritual are used in proportion to the size of the construct’s body. Theoretically, with enough ingredients, there is no limit to the size of Shield Guardian one could create. The ritual not only binds the construct to an object, but also gives it certain magical abilities. All Shield Guardians have slight precognition abilities, allowing them to perceive danger to their master, even before any sign is apparent. They also gain the ability to absorb blows that would harm their master into their own, much sturdier, body, albeit only from short range. Coupled with their capability to sense their binding object from anywhere on the same plane, a Shield Guardian makes for a formidable shield. There have also been reports of Shield Guardians who can store magic within themselves, but they are as of yet unconfirmed.

Social Observations

Shield Guardians, while intelligent enough to obey their master’s commands, have no free will of their own, and no creativity or emotions. They understand all languages, but cannot speak themselves. Like most constructs, they lack the capacity to understand anything more then simple commands.

Behavioral Observations

Shield Guardians appear to be utterly devoted to their masters; this is only half true, for a Shield Guardian obeys any who wear its binding object. They do, however, obey that wearer to the best of their abilities. In their default state, they simply stay at their master’s side and protect them from all detectable harm. If given commands though, they will override all else, even if it means letting their master be injured. If no living being wears their binding object, a Shield Guardian simply ceases to live. They revert to being an inanimate object, as they were before the ritual that created them. Some Shield Guardians have been known to lie dormant in this way for centuries before being awakened.

Economic Observations

Because Shield Guardians do not discriminate between their original creators and anyone else who wears their binding object, some less secluded wizards have taken to selling them. They charge exorbitant prices, in exchange for giving royalty or other important figures their own flawless bodyguard. In larger cities, the more entrepreneurial wizards have set up entire factories, mass-producing the constructs with cheap labor and materials.

DM's Toolkit

Shield Guardians are the ultimate jack-of-all-trades. They can take whatever form you need them to, from the hulking brute who dominates an encounter, to cannon fodder that protects the wizard. Since they’re so easily sold, practically any enemy can have a Shield Guardian or two. Even a kobold could have found one lying dormant in a dungeon. They also provide a fun incentive for the PCs to think more carefully in combat. If they can take out the enemies without harming the binding object or the Guardian itself, they just earned themselves a shiny new companion. It allows a reward to combat that’s already built in, instead of feeling like it’s tacked onto he end. I also mentioned that some Shield Guardians can store spells. It’s awfully fun to hit the party with a surprise polymorph just when they think they’ve won.

Skeleton

From the desk of Thaele Duskwalker, The Ghost-Caller, Exarch of the Undying Hand, Licensed Necromancer.

The following is a collection of notes made, the foundation of which is taken from previous studies, with further observations made in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the subjects.

Introduction

A mundane skeleton is no stranger in form or function to any who walk this world long enough to know of death, but an Undead Skeleton is not encountered quite as often,though they are fairly common as far as Undead go. A Skeleton has a mechanical nature virtually identical to that of a person, though whoever they were in life is gone. There is no soul there, and rarely any sense of self, only the dark magicks that animate them.

Skeletons are easily animated, and make fairly good foot soldiers and guards if kept under their creators will, and because of that they are encountered anywhere that one might find magic users, and sometimes even ‘naturally’ occurring in places that are abundant with necrotic energies.

Physiological and Archaeological Observations

A skeletons physiology is typically the same as the base creature it was made from, though there are some things to note here. First, humanoid skeletons are by far the most popular to animate. This is due to the fact that they have the form needed to effectively make use of the very same things we make use of ourselves, and especially arms and armors, often taken from the very soldiers that were killed to animate the skeleton in the first place.

Skeletons can, in theory, be formed out of collections of unmatched bones,or even bone shards.A skilled Necromancer who is in dire need of a skeleton can piece one together from any collection of solid bones, even if he is given only femurs to work with, because Steve Carlsburg sent the wrong crate to his tower and then claimed it was an accident….But it is far easier to simply animate a pre-existing and as intact as possible skeleton.

Some people, especially those unaccustomed to magic, when first presented with a Skeleton,will comment on its lack of muscles, tendons,or any other flesh, and become confused about its methods of ambulation. (Authors note: I find it odd that people are more easily able to accept that a pile of bones has a consciousness than a system of movement that they can not see with the naked eye) Some people simply go ‘its magic!’ as if that were the explanation itself, as though asking ‘where is the smoke coming from’ should be answered with ‘its fire!’

While technically a true answer, like the source of smoke,the simple answer is not the most important part! During the casting of the spells needed to Animate a Skeleton, you must create a system of energies, which I refer to in my personal notes as the Necrotic Nexus.From a central point, typically around the mid-spine,you make the Nexus,and from there, tendrils of Necrotic energies are infused into the bones, mimicking natural tendons and musculature.

Raising the skeletons of other creatures is possible though,and can often be quite helpful.A skeletal warhorse knows no fear, requires no food, no rest, and is still intelligent enough to make minor decisions on movement if the rider finds himself distracted.

Social Observations

Untamed Skeletons have a strict dichotomy with their behaviors towards other creatures. They do not interact with other Undead in any way,with few exceptions, but will viciously attack any living creature.

Any living creature that they become aware of is instantly attacked. Like many Undead, Skeletons are driven to destroy any living thing they can.Just as water quenches fire, the Necrotic energies flowing through a Skeleton seek to douse the spark of life in others.

Behavioral Observations

Skeletons behavior will change from these standards in ways that have caused many a layman to speculate that Skeletons retain their former selves, maybe even still carry the same soul! This is of course ridiculous, and heart breaking to think about how many people have died trying to reason with a Skeleton.

The source of these misinformed notions is the fact that Skeletons will sometimes carry with them a very,very basic memory of what their former occupant did in their lifetime. The bones of a miner may pick up a pickaxe and start hammering away at stone. A ball in which the guests are all turned into Skeletons may find itself hosting a dance of the Undead, until a living person shows up and is attacked,and then back to the eternal dance.

I can not stress this enough: THEY ARE NOT PEOPLE. If there is one thing and one thing only that you take from my notes on these entities, let it be this. Skeletons are not people. They do not have true memories, they do not have a soul, they do not love or feel at all. They will kill you if you attempt to reason with them.

Intra-Species Observations

The only time Skeletons directly interact with one another is if they are playing out a shared past activity, such as two dance partners. Otherwise, they ignore each other just as they ignore all other Undead.

Variant Species

Skeletons are as varied as creatures that have a skeletal system. Even more so, in fact,since you can augment them with further magicks.

The most common types are Humanoid, Minotaur, and Warhorse, but others are possible. I myself have been working to create a more intelligent humanoid Skeleton, and have heard of Skeletons who have a system of congealed blood that has been shaped into a sort of tendril, allowing them to strangle targets from afar.

DM Toolkit

Base Skeletons are a fairly cliche enemy, with good reason. A few standard skeletons can pose a real threat to low level groups, because unlike some undead (like zombies) they have enough awareness to use some basic strategies and follow out specific orders better.

They can also be used for some emotional impact if you play up the fact that these things used to be people. That said, once the group gets a bit confident in their skellington bashing abilities, it may be time to change things up.

The 5e MM (and the past ones have more I’m sure) has the Minotaur Skeleton which is bigger and tougher, but also feel free to get creative.

Remember that since Skeletons are made by magic, further magical alterations dont necessarily have to “make sense” from a natural standpoint,as long as the wizard that made them could be capable of it.

I recently employed self-destructing skeletons against my party, they would charge,tackle,and burst into acid. Skeletons that are smarter, esp if they can cast even simple spells, could throw your groups strategy off, if they were relying on outsmarting them. Skeletons with iron-bands on the bones will make them harder to smash if they are going for brute force.

Natural animals have to have some logic behind them, but Skeletons just have to have been made by a wizard with the right spells to augment them in such a way.

Be wary of getting too crazy if your group has magic users- the second I see a skeleton with powers that my skeletons as a player dont have, I will want them, and it can be really sad to hear “well, you just cant okay?” Instead try to balance it out in other ways, for instance, gold cost, or needing a lvl 5+ spell to animate one of the fancier undead, etc.

Slaad

No one deserves to be treated as such! Forward, my kin! Let us smash the authority of these Tyrants! In the name of Kaos! - Excerpt from Pregaturrion Alphamergius famous "March of Freedom" speech.

Introduction

Chaos personified. The Slaadi are alien creatures that seeped up through the cracks in the multiverse to ride the winds of chaos. They are native to Limbo, the plane of chaos and uncertainty. Many theories have speculated on their origins, although no concrete evidence was ever found. Some speculate that the Primus, Overlord of the Modrons meddled with Limbo, accidentally creating the Slaadi. Others have speculated that the plane of Limbo dislikes being inhabited by beings with Lawful minds, who can shape it in ways it finds undesirable. The Slaadi are its bulwarks against such changes. Other more conservative thinkers have hypothesized that the Slaadi are merely another race of humanoids, and no more special than elves or trolls.

Physiological Observations

All Slaadi resemble humanoid frogs, although using the term "always" to describe a race as chaotic as this is always a gamble. Slaadi come in four main varieties, which can grouped together into two main categories. These categories are Lesser Slaadi and Greater Slaadi. Lesser Slaadi are the two primary types of Slaadi, red and blue. Red Slaadi are hulking beasts, with smooth hides ranging from blood red to amber. They are equipped with long claws and small eyes, as well as large bellies. Blue Slaadi are slightly larger, with hides ranging from cobalt to turquoise. They do not possess claws, but instead large bone spines that grow out of the back of their hands. Their hides are not as smooth however, instead being pockmarked with irregular growths.

Greater Slaadi traditionally come in two varieties, Grey and Green. Green Slaadi have backward facing joints and large whiskers growing from their lower lip. They also possess spotted, bumpy hides and small horns that sprout from above their eyes. Gray Slaadi are smaller than their larger brethren, possessing marbled hides, bony spines down their backbones, and small vestigial wings.

Red, Blue, and Green Slaadi are born from humanoids. Red Slaadi are born when the parent injects a parasite into a humanoid host. The egg germinates over several months, before erupting from the host's chest, killing them instantly. This hatchling grows up to be either a Blue or Green Slaadi. Blue Slaadi instead infect their victims with their natural pathogens, causing them to become afflicted by a disease known as Chaos Phage. This eventually kills those afflicted with it, transforming them into Red or Green Slaadi. Gray Slaadi are not born, but instead they are the result of a Green Slaad's magical research. All Green Slaadi search for the secret to unlocking their true power. When they find it, they transform into Gray Slaadi. However, sometimes they accidentally come in contact with the Negative Energy Plane. This morphs them into Death Slaad, a cruel parody of the Slaadi's free spirited existence.

Social Observations

Slaadi are native to the plane of Limbo, a place where the geography is not fixed and the atmosphere is constantly changing. This is a very scary atmosphere, so Slaadi cling to each other. They form into family groups, each one led by a single leader. These leaders are one that has been selected by majority vote. These leaders sometimes reign for years, or sometimes they only last for several days before the group decides to appoint a new leader. However, these votes sometimes take place when other Slaadi are distracted, so a leader may find themselves having been appointed without their knowledge. Usually they accept their position. However, sometimes a leader will refuse to accept the responsibility. This usually means another vote, but if the band cannot decide on another leader, they will try to wait out their new leader's resolve, until they accept out of peer pressure.

Additionally, every Slaadi has a job. Red Slaadi are scouts and hunters, ranging far from the group to investigate before returning to report pack. Blue Slaadi are the warriors, defending the Reds and the leaders. Green Slaadi are priests, shamans, and bards. They delight the leader with songs, keep the history of the group, or perform sacred rights. Gray Slaadi are usually leaders, and when they are not they are Sages and Scribes, traveling the cosmos in search of knowledge.

Slaadi also all consider themselves part of a vast, cryptic social hierarchy called "The Scene". Every Slaadi has a ranking with in The Scene, which determines its social standing. The conditions for going up or down are confusing, and often change by the day. But several never change.

Fighting. Slaadi will often ambush each other, trying to intimidate each other into surrendering. Slaadi that surrender go down, while the winners go up. However, if a loser fights back, they do not go down. It is not important to win, only to fight.

Collecting. Slaadi collect items that have significant intrinsic value. They do not value usefulness, but reputation. A magic sword that shoots fire may mean nothing to them, while an ordinary sword used to slay a Death Slaad will be desired by many.

Breeding. A Slaad that sires many offspring will rise high in The Scene.

Maintaining the role that their type is supposed to fill.

Death Slaadi are not part of the Slaad Scene, for various reasons. One is that they are very uncommon. The second is that they do not consider themselves part of the hierarchy, and often specifically go out of their way to flout it. Death Slaadi usually bind other Slaadi to them through either manipulation or fear of death. They are the self appointed Overlords of all other Slaadi, and they kill anyone who disagrees with their role. As such, they are universally hated by other Slaadi.

Behavioral Observations

Slaadi have no fixed homes, and travel in groups from location to location. They hunt along the way. Greater Slaadi travel at the front of the group, navigating as best they can. They can also use their higher intelligence to shove aside fire and other hazards. They also amuse those who are not hunting with songs and stories. When they settle from a day of traveling, Slaadi compete among each other to determine everyone's daily standing. Others swap or steal items from each other. If they encounter another band of Slaadi, they may fight to determine their standing relative to the other group. However, if the leader does not feel like that they could defeat the band, they may pass each other by. However, even if they fight, pains are taken to not kill the other Slaadi. With the exception of Death Slaadi, all Slaadi consider all others of their species to be distant kin.

Inter-Species Observations

The only race that Slaadi regularly encounter are Modrons and Githzerai. Modrons, as axiomatic beings of pure law are attacked on sight. Most Slaadi cannot explain this urge, just that it is overpowering. This could be interpreted in more normal terms as a deep loathing for beings of pure law. Githzerai are respected as powerful warriors. They are also valued by Greater Slaadi, as their psychically constructed monasteries are excellent landmarks.

DM's Toolkit

Slaadi are criminally underused, despite their apparent flexibility. However, unless you want the party to come off as a bunch of murderhobo-ing scum, using chaotic neutral enemies against them kind of compromises the Good v. Evil narrative most campaigns rely on. So, thinking of uses for them is difficult. In other words, I hope you appreciate this. - A Green Slaadi is talking to a Nothic. The Nothic is being uncooperative, and the Slaad begs the party for help convincing it to trade some of its magical secrets.

-A Grey Slaad is sitting on the public green of a village. It is studying the inhabitants of the village, attempting to discern information from these alien creatures. The villagers are panicking, but the Slaad is non-hostile unless threatened.

-A Death Slaad has invaded the material plane, and is dragooning hordes of Blue and Red Slaadi to serve as its armies.

-A Group of Slaadi have encountered some shepherds, and have attacked them. They wish to free the sheep, as they view the Shepherds as brutal tyrants.

Specter

Gareth threw his back against the wall, panting hard and crying as the fear and adrenaline surged through him. That thing—Adara's sword had gone right through it like mist and it had reached its hand inside her chest and then she had screamed.... But his little magic dagger had hurt it, or something...it had felt like cutting through water, but it dropped Adara at least—Adara's body—and Gareth ran and didn't look back in case he saw it following him.... He clutched the dagger tightly to his chest and peeked around the corner. Nothing.

Alright, three deep breaths and then break for the exit. And if that monster comes back it can have another taste of the dagger. 1...2...

He set his jaw, took a last breath, and a pale form ghosted noiselessly around the corner in front of him. The dagger dropped from nerveless fingers and clattered desolately on the stone floor as Gareth stared at Adara, her face twisted by pain and rage, reaching out to him with terrible promise, and he never saw the ghostly hand that came out of the wall behind him, passed through his back like dreadful ice and stopped his heart.

Introduction

Specters are incorporeal undead formed from the spirits of those whose anger and hate prevent them from moving into an afterlife when they die. Like Ghosts, Specters are intelligent; unlike Ghosts, which regenerate over a period of time unless the unresolved issue that keeps them from death is solved, Specters have no unresolved issue. They are one-shot balls of hate against life itself, draining life force from their victims, instantly destroyed by resurrection magic. They lair in dark places where the sun doesn't reach, as its light renders them nearly helpless; a few particularly ambitious Specters stalk the surface at night, returning to a safe spot during the day or simply melting into the ground to avoid the sun's rays. As any humanoid a Specter kills rises as a new Specter under its control, a single Specter can turn into a massive danger if it gains access to a populated area.

Physiological Observations

Most adventurers struggle to satisfactorily describe the appearance of a ghostly body hanging in the air before them: “like smoke, only more solid”; “like a thin gossamer fabric, only a whole person of it”; “like a memory of a person, like you turned the lamp down on them being there, on them being real”. Specters appear as faded, transparent manifestations of their former selves, although Specters of humanoids who died in terrible fashions often bear exaggerated wounds that reflect the manner of their horrific deaths. Their faces are twisted masks of rage, and they move unnaturally quickly, floating across the ground far faster than all but the fleetest of their prey.

Social Observations

Although Specters are quite intelligent, the entirety of said intelligence is bent towards the eradication of life, leaving very little interest in socializing. Multiple Specters might work together to more effectively hunt the living, but they share no sense of camaraderie and each considers itself an independent agent of unlife. A Specter's Spawn are considered a part of it and treated like extra appendages; on the controlling Specter's death, each becomes independent and begins pursuing the end of all life it can find. Although a highly trained or experienced adventurer might be able to tell a Specter Spawn by its slightly weakened abilities, they are otherwise identical to an autonomous Specter, operating with the same cunning and malice as their controllers. Over very long periods of time, controlling Specters can develop telepathic bonds with their Spawn, making them particularly coordinated and dangerous.

Behavioral Observations

Specters exist for a single purpose: to create death from life, and if possible twist it into undeath. Unlike Ghosts, most Specters are not tied to a particular location but many choose to stake out an area as a “lair”, especially if the area receives a dependable traffic of living beings and advantageous terrain for the Specter to use. Old buildings with evil pasts, treacherous swamps, or temples to vile gods might house Specters, and some particularly evil beings might seek out Specters to cohabitate with. In combat, Specters are terrifying apparitions that move at lightning speed and ignore armor as they sap the life force from their opponents, and on a successful kill a Specter may retreat to allow its Spawn to rise before rejoining the fight. A living creature wishing to treat with a Specter must make immediate and prominent display of a very good reason that the Specter ought not kill it, and even then should be quick with its business if it wishes to remain alive.

Although Specters possess a Fly speed, whatever years they spent alive tend to leave a behavioral impression. Most Specters hover about a foot above the ground, gaining or losing altitude as they move but returning to that as a base height. Extremely old Specters may have lost the contrivances of life altogether and spend most of their time flying, commanding hordes of Spawn below them.

Inter-Species Observations

Specters feel no kinship to mindless undead, treating them as any other hazardous terrain that might hinder those that they hunt. Specters may use undead of mid-range intelligence—Ghouls, occasionally Shadows, etc.—like humans might use highly-trained packs of dogs, moving swiftly through obstacles to cut off fleeing enemies and round them up to be dragged down by the ravenous horde, although they do not direct others, merely capitalize on their presence. The only other undead Specters have been seen to actively coordinate with are Wraiths, and the horror of an attack by these combined undead—as every surface reaches out arms of darkness that steal the strength from your limbs, and vengeful shadows appear with ghostly swiftness to drain the very essence of your life—is not something many adventurers have lived to have nightmares about. Specters will take commands from more powerful, plotting undead such as Liches or Vampires so long as they receive a relatively steady supply of living creatures to kill, and a Specter serving an old or powerful master might accumulate a horde of Spawn that can make its lair particularly deadly.

Although it is not unheard of for a Specter to entertain the presence of a living creature without killing it, said creature would have to provide a use to the Specter that far outweighed the cost of letting life exist within its demesne; most areas inhabited by Specters are completely devoid of life. Powerful monsters that might kill intruders without giving the Specter a chance to turn them into Spawn are of no use to the Specter, and those without magical attacks must flee or have their life sapped away. Humanoids—potential Spawn—must be doubly useful to the Specter, either through an intention to create a catastrophic amount of death, or by providing tribute of living souls for the Specter to take. But this is a purely practical arrangement, and any creature that intentionally spends time with a Specter courts death at its unknowable whim.

Animals can sense the hateful presence of a Specter and must be forced to approach it by a trained handler. Any animal not so attended in the presence of a Specter flees, even if it would otherwise defend a lair, nest, or companion against impossible odds.

DM's Toolkit

Disclaimer: I run Pathfinder and used those stats for this analysis. I couldn't find anything about Specters in 5e, nothing on 4e, and the 3.5 version looked pretty identical.

Before we start with how to use them, I'd like to take a moment to talk about describing a Specter to your players. I took a long time coming up with what is, to me, an acceptable description of an incorporeal creature: while the image in my head will always be cheesy 80s special effects—slightly green-tinted glow on a semi-transparent person—actually imagining an incorporeal entity standing in front of you in three dimensions is kind of hard. It's not a thing you see in the world that you can extrapolate to fantasy. I advise taking a bit to plan out how you're going to describe it to your players in order to get the full horror value out of it. They're pretty damn creepy if you don't just say “then a ghost pops out of the wall”.

Alright, let's talk stats. My main thing with doing the Specter was to figure out why it was different from all the other incorporeal undead: you want something moving through walls and moaning that your party can't always hit, so why pick the Specter? Because they're really, really scary in combat, that's why. I considered them versus the other incorporeal undead, specifically Wraiths, Shadows and Ghosts. A number of important features popped out at me.

Let's start with speed. With an 80-foot Fly speed, Specters are the fastest of the incorporeal undead. How fast? That's right. A Medium character doing a double-move can be overtaken by a Specter starting from the same spot, see it fly ten feet past, then fly back and attack. Also, they go through walls. Also, they have a perfect Fly speed: these guys should be doing loops around lower-level parties when they can afford to give away an AoO or two.

Next up, senses. Unlike Wraiths, Specters don't have Lifesense, just Darkvision. Which means that a Specter can travel through walls like any incorporeal creature, but it can't attack from walls very well as it needs to see its target. Combined with its speed and maneuverability, this presents us with a creature that darts around its targets with the inherent advantage of using every dimension—flying above adversaries' reach or going through the ground underneath them—to put increments of damage on individuals that can be singled out. Notice that Specters do energy drain, not HP damage, which means that accumulated hits do reduce the combat effectiveness of the target: Specters harry their targets and slowly drag them down. A Specter with controlled Spawn—which it has no qualm about sacrificing in exchange for a kill—ought to have your party absolutely terrified any time they are passing near a wall or, indeed, standing on a floor.

Here's a fun one: although Specters don't have Lifesense, they do have the Blind-Fight feat. Which means a Specter can zoom up to a creature and hit it, endure one attack, then 5-foot step into the floor to take a swipe in the direction of its attacker, rerolling the concealment miss-chance once. It will need to reappear next round to make sure its target hasn't moved, but it's an excellent way to get in two attacks for the risk of one. Remember how I talked about Specters being really scary when combined with Wraiths? Wraiths do have Lifesense, which means in an enclosed space you have 1d6 CON damage coming out of the walls with extremely fast negative-level machines blocking any exit the PCs try to run towards, melting into the walls with a final attack when challenged.

One more strength before we get into weaknesses: can't ignore Create Spawn. Specter Spawn arise in 1d4 rounds after the humanoid creature is killed: a party that loses a PC (or beloved NPC) to a Specter in the first place is probably forced to run as another joins the fight. A Specter that is really damaged before it creates a Spawn might even keep the Spawn out of the fight so that when it dies, the Spawn becomes an undamaged Specter with no ability penalties and starts the whole fight over again. Warning: this is extremely nasty.

Okay, weaknesses. Specters have great weaknesses: “resurrection vulnerability” and “sunlight powerlessness”.

The first puts an interesting partial level-cap on Specters: any party with a Cleric level 9 or above is going to have a potential instant-kill on it, so dropping a single Specter on the party, especially if you know the Cleric is packing, is an invitation to make said Cleric feel like a Big Damn Hero without tremendously threatening them. And the corollary: slipping a low-level party a scroll of Raise Dead is a great way to let them take a shortcut out of what could otherwise be a deadly fight. That said, the casting time is one minute: perfect opportunity to give the rest of the party members something to do to distract the horror while the Cleric completes the spell to destroy it.

The second one is icing on the cake. Very few spells replicate natural daylight, so this one is almost entirely an environmental effect. Great way to give a low-level party a way to retreat, or a high-level party a way to cut the Specter off from escape. Trap it in a dark room surrounded by daylight and kill it before it remembers it can take refuge in the floor. As mentioned before, learned behavior has most Specters use the floors and walls as routes of transport rather than safe havens: the ones that have figured out safety is only ever a 5-foot step away are the most dangerous and extremely vexing to PCs.

Variants

Guard Specter: Although most Specters arise unintentionally, some particularly vile necromancers have undertaken to create artificial Specters. Cruel torture combined with the proper necromantic spells create beings that loathe the living but lack an independent goal to seek life out: these creations are often left to guard secret laboratories or awful workshops. These Specters lack the Create Spawn ability and have the Mindless trait, but gain the Lifesense ability in order to better track down intruders.

Child Specter: The innocence of a child twisted into a Specter's hate for all life is a terrible thing. Born of children killed in horrific manners, these Specters emit a constant cry that wrenches at the soul of those who hear it, causing them to take a -1 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. This penalty stacks for multiple Child Specters, as the horror of their short lives cut shorter overwhelms the listener. This is a sonic, mind-affecting effect. Specter Spawn created by Child Specters appear overwhelmed with grief—unlike the normal Specter rage—which persists even if the controlling Child Specter is slain and they become autonomous Specters.

Bound Specter: Some Specters are bound, like Ghosts, to a specific place or object—this having been instrumental in or commemorative of their demise. These Specters cannot be fully killed, even by powerful spells, but if slain reform 1d4 minutes later at their bound place or object, and gain the effect of a Scrying spell on the creature that killed them for as many minutes as it took to reform. An item resurrecting a Specter must be destroyed to stop the Specter from returning; a place must be Consecrated or affected with similar magic to stop a Specter from returning, or the particular act that made the site unholy must be undone.

Child Specters can set a very nice (not nice) tone for an area if used to define the tone of encounters therein. Guard Specters provide very handy level-locks for certain areas: a lower-level party may be able to cut through the ghouls in the Windmere Catacombs, but when they discover that the lower level is guarded by two Specters they'll need to come back later with new abilities and new equipment if they don't want to be drained to husks. Bound Specters are great for faux-Ghost encounters: provide a backstory buildup, have the players thinking “right old wrongs to put the troubled soul to rest”, then drop a maniacal killing machine on them. It's a gentle way to remind them never to trust you.

Sphinx

Introduction

Sphinx are the angels of a lost god of a forgotten pantheon. As powerful as dragon and just as covetous, not of gold, but of a substance more valuable and that can sit weightless in the human head. Mortals often flock to the lair of a sphinx in order to receive knowledge, divination, or a riddle to unlock a great secret of life. The recipient of that advisement then often spends their remaining years in pursuit of the answer or meaning. These events have created whole orders of paladins, churches, and just as many monasteries- often for the betterment and worsening of humanity in equal measure.

Physiological Observations

Bodies of rippling musculature, pupiless eyes full of stars, a leonine grace, and a voice that can seduces lost souls to give up their secrets Sphinx are immense. Even the tallest human, half-bred with an ogre, would only come up half the length of its forepaw. Sphinx are marked by two consistent features. A human or near-human face and chest that terminates into a feline-line hindbody. More often than not, there are also a grand set of wings that can be described as angelic or raptor-like in appearance. This never deviates. Nor does the humanoid appearance. It's always human, never elven or dwarf or halfling. This consistency has often lead scholars to speculate that sphinx are apart of a long-dead pantheon. The same consistency has often lead academic heretics to claim they are from a future time, sent to guild the past to a certain point.

One interesting note: Viewing a location containing a sphinx with arcane, divine, or any type of magical sight will cause the viewer to only see the face of the sphinx. It looms over the location. All humanoids that give allegiance to the sphinx will seem to have the face of the sphinx. Any attempts to view anything will only reveal the face of the sphinx.

Social Observations

Sphinx either recruit supplicants to build cities or zealots to destroy them Sphinx appear to be looking for something. No one knows what. Some say a path to god-hood. Others say they are looking for the god they have lost. At any rate there appears to be two distinct social behaviors sphinx manifest:

Some sphinx build cities with themselves as a godhead or demiurge. They most publically function as a supreme judge and the head of a vast city-wide church. However their ruling extend to more than just the law, but can also be births, ideas, contacts, and social class. All rulings are final and must be carried out. The human “face” of the sphinx is 7 eldritch knights and a priesthood who carry out their whim or rulings. To attract newcomers, sphinx send monks out into the world to speak of the city. The goal of the sphinx-centered city is unknown, but the sphinx themselves seem to use it as a vast scrying machine. Sometimes this require the sacrifice of a few citizens or half a block. Most citizens are perfect fine with this as its a religious duty.

Other sphinx shun the building of “cults of ego”. They claim those sphinx have deviate from the true purpose, the correct work. These sphinx seek knowledge. They seclude themselves in harsh, hard to reach places. They seek more artifacts, books of power, and spells long forgotten. They are attended by 7 human warlocks who agree to take their patronage- each has an pearl embedded in their heads to symbolize this. These sphinx are planer wanderers. They attempt to promote individuals, set certain events into motion, and protect those events to completion.

Behavioral & Inter-species Observations

The 77 sphinx know of each other as distant relatives do. They don’t intermingle. They don’t plan together. And they certainly do not share information. The only time they come together is to reproduce, but in no way that matches any terrestrial mating. Instead of creating young, two sphinx perform a ritual where they come together as if walking through a mirror then split apart again. The resultant two sphinx are a mixture of the previous two, but now have completely different personalities. This only occurs when two like-minded sphinx agree that an answer cannot be found without a remixing of what is already known.

Sphinx have a fondness, or at least devote most of their attention to, humans. They ignore or drive off other races. For the elves, the alien-nature of the sphinx is always bothersome. Like a razor on the senses. For dwarfs, they just abhor the way all that creative power is wasted seemingly doing nothing. For a human, being in the presence of a sphinx is like being in the presence of a stern parent who never seems to feel one is good enough, but patiently tries to guide behavior anyway. This helps attract and keep many a devoted, but wayward souls (at least for city-building sphinx). For humans who seek sphinx in far-away places, they find their journey is only beginning. In the presence of the sphinx they learn they were fated to arrive and become a hero affecting great change in the world.

Variant Species

No real variants other than behavioral. Lawful neutral sphinx build cities to attract more people. Chaotic neutral sphinx build heros to find more knowledge.

DM's Toolbox

Lawful Neutral Sphinx

Sphinx cites are build with them as the center. All roads lead to their place of judgement. No building is taller than their dais. There is still crime, however its pretty well known by the sphinx. So design laws based on other principles than justice: Everyone can only have 3 of something. Seasons. Equal numbers of thieves guilds, murderers, and merchants. It just needs to be alien.

Sphinx cities will also be like fly paper for your PC party. Sphinx will want to keep them in the city walls as a “unique feature” for scrying. They will send them on endless quests that seem bottomless. Wrap them in riddles with no true answer. So whatever the PCs think is the answer- go with that. Let them spin out their own tale.

Chaotic Neutral Sphinx

These sphinx will build a “hero” or at least a person who thinks they are doing right. This NPC will be powerful and at best thwarting the PCs plans. At worst, a direct antagonist to the NPCs. So if your group is going after a fabled sword, then the sphinx’s hero might be on the same trail. At the climax they might be a complicating factor- a potential ally or the next enemy after the BBEG.

Sprite

Venture not into the Hierophant’s grove. They say that faeries dwell there. You laugh, but you won’t once the sprites’ arrows put ye to rest. If they find you wicked, you may wake up in the den of the Hierophant’s more dangerous creatures, or you may not wake up at all.

-Oswald Inverness, renowned sellsword

Introduction

Faeries, not fairies, the sprites are fierce protectors, judges, and warriors of their woodland and meadow homes. With their innate invisibility, they silently watch as each individual passes near or through their sacred territory, tiny short swords or shortbows at the ready. They tolerate only those who are truly good and respect the forest. One wrong move and their poisoned arrows will surely put the trespasser to sleep. From there the sprites have complete control. Those offensive to their way of life are killed in their sleep, while those who are ignorant but have potential to learn to respect the woods, are simply moved to a more or less safe area.

Physiological Observations

Sprites are tiny flying humanoids that sport a variety of wings. Most common are dragonfly wings, in the standard 4-wing formation. Those sprites that dwell in the deep wood however have moth-like wings in intricate patterns of white, brown, and grey. Archdruid Arenduil of the Deepspawn Dredges claims that there are even subterranean sprites, which she describes as having bat-like wings, but I have not been able to substantiate this report. Sea sprites are wingless and flightless, and tend to keep to coral reefs.

All sprites have what may be described elf-like features (long face, high cheekbones, pointy ears, all that). Although it may be more accurate to state that elves have sprite-like features as elves have Fey ancestry, but sprites are Faeries.

Social Observations

For all creatures of the Fey, the figurative is the literal, and much thought goes into their naming conventions. Sprites are not named in life until they have done something name-worthy. This name determines a great part of their life’s path. For example a sprite that takes to running ahead of her elders, will be named Quella, which is Sylvan for forward or scout, and will have the task of scouting. If this Quella wanted to be a spear-wielding Sprite, she would need to earn the name Elga or Oda which are the Sylvan words for spear.

Incidentally, only those Sprites named Averon, Wenric, and Oberon (for the males) or Averna, Wenrid, and Obrea (for the females) can be the leaders of sprite tribes, for these names are all variants on leader, king, or ruler in Sylvan.

There is a complex election ritual to determine who will rule each tribe. This ritual is always 1 contender against the 1 incumbent. The contender must publically register his complaints in the form of free verse poetry. Each stanza thematically represents one formal complaint, and must be matched by 1 trial. For example, if Wenrid contests the rulership of Wenric, and includes a stanza on Wenric’s cowardliness, then there must be a contest of bravery. Legends tell of poems with 101 stanzas and thus 101 different trials. From my own observations, I have determined that the longer the ceremony the more sprites respect and follow the new leader, if she actually does win the various trials. If there is a contest without a clear winner, a new tribe emerges.

For all this ceremony, a tribal leader has few if any real responsibilities. All sprites lead self-determined lives. No sprite waits for a command to drive out violence and evil from their grove, for such commands are not needed and are never issued. Instead, the leader of a tribe of sprites is in charge of communicating with local druids and elven villages in times of need.

Like many Fey creatures, sprites love festivities. They can, if they want to, be seen on nights of the full moon reveling in drink and song. It is considered an honor to be invited to another clan’s full moon party. Their love of drink is indiscriminate. They love wine as much as elves, and ale as much as dwarves. If a party has a good-aligned bard in their midst, a sprite is much more likely to allow them safe passage through their meadow, but it may cost a song or two.

Behavioral Observations

Sprites spend most of their days perfectly invisible, following any intruders into their lands, learning their heart’s desire. Once a sprite has determined the individual as an enemy, harmless, or potentially helpful he acts accordingly. Enemies are put to sleep with their poisoned arrows and immediately slain, harmless individuals are also put to sleep and then moved away from their lands, while potentially helpful individuals may be contacted for help or left unmolested.

Courtesan Seovin, an elf adventurer and mycologist with a strange connection to the archfey, has published his research on the sprite’s sleep poison. Derived from the rare yellow-staining milkcap mushroom (Lactarius vinaceorufescens), he calls it an “ointment” because poison is something cruel and vile to the Fey. To make this ointment, the mushrooms must be harvested and left to cure in the sun for one week and one day. Sprites either hide these mushrooms in tree stumps in meadows, using some sort of basic illusionary magic no doubt, or high atop trees. Once cured, sprites that specialize in ointment extraction then cook the mushrooms in a mysterious concoction, making a sticky savory yellow syrup that causes a deep, dreamless sleep. All arrows in a sprites quiver are coated in this ointment.

Inter-Species Observations

Shy toward other intelligent creatures, sprites mostly avoid contact altogether. They are most contented among their own kind or among other fey. The notable exception is the noble treant. Sprites have been known to form their groves around a willing treant. Druids of all races are also highly respected by sprites, so long as they have good hearts. Some druids who are in the Circle of the Land have reported that sprites are known to occasionally help aspirants and initiates learn the druidic arts.

When the full moon coincides with either the solstices or the equinoxes, sprites join their festivities with satyrs and pixies. These woodland parties are known to last for several days.

Although sprites are stout-hearted warriors, evil creatures with an immunity to poison –undead, demons, and devils – strike fear into tribes. Robbed of their main defense mechanism, sprites stay invisible, and seek help from elves, druids, or nearby adventurers.

DM’s Toolkit

Sprites can be added to a large variety of campaigns, regardless of setting or tone, or party makeup.

Sprites as quest-givers

If you have an archfey pact warlock, then a sprite might be able to indicate what the patron wishes the PC/party do in a given situation.

If you have a paladin of the ancients, then a sprite might be a sort of mysterious guardian that gives the paladin quest information.

If the PCs are traveling through some dense woods and are lost, the sprites could show them the way, if they defeat a demon that is near their grove first.

If you or your players want to explore the possibilities of the Feywild, I’m sure the area sprites would know the best way to get in, and would only give this information to worthy adventurers who collect their mushrooms for them in a dangerous part of the woods.

There are several examples in D&D lore wherein characters can use a special kind of wish magic. For instance, if your PCs reach the Infinite Staircase, they can find their heart’s true desire if they follow the path to their destined door. A sprite could tell that PC what is truly their heart’s desire, for a cost though I’m sure.

Sprites as antagonists

If you have characters who attack first and don’t engage with NPCs, then sprites could be a revelatory encounter. First, they would be judged for their past actions, showing the PCs that their actions have consequences. Second, they’d be put to sleep and brought to a dangerous part of the woods.

If your players are seeking an item or artifact in the woods, perhaps it’s sacred to the sprites, and they don’t want to give it up. It would certainly be challenging to make progress and then suddenly be put asleep, only to wake up in some unknown part of the forest.

If the sprites are doing a lot of mushroom harvesting, maybe it’s causing a problem with the local myconid population.

Varieties of Sprites

Deepwood Sprite: wings of a moth, harsher in their judgment, less prone to revelry

Water Sprite: wingless, stay in coral reef areas, poisonous javelins (anemone poison instead of mushrooms)

Cave Sprite: wings of a bat, darkvision, armed with poisonous darts in their blowguns

Stirge

Stirge? They are a plaguing menace is what they are! The little bastards nest anywhere that bats do, and their thirst for blood is a damn sight more predatory! Once they latch on to you, or your livestock, you aren't long for this world, laddie. Listen to your elders and stay out of that cave!

Ex-adventurer, Galeth Branch, to his son on his 14th birthday

Introduction

The Stirge (Anophelli Chiropterus) has been the subject of debate among naturalists for centuries.

Those who argue that the creature is the product of natural evolution point to it's distant cousins, the vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata) and it's own bloodthirst, as well as the stirge's practice of sleeping inverted by the feet, in dark, close quarters. It's mosquito-like proboscis secretes the same numbing agent as the insect species when it feeds, so that victims are unaware of it's presence, if they themselves are asleep or unconscious.

Those who argue for a magical origin, the product of some wizard's meddling, point to it's difference from the bat. Stirge are not blind, instead navigating through infravision, sensing the heat of their victims from over 200 yards away. Stirge are also incredibly strong when latched on to a victim. The talons of their feet are pointed and seem made for piercing thick hide and armor. It takes a very strong man, or several men of average strength to remove a feeding stirge, and often the victim is injured during this process - either being struck by an errant weapon from a friend, or from the sheer trauma of having an 18-inch proboscis being ripped from the flesh.

Physiological Observations

Stirge, as mentioned, can see heat sources. They will flock to these sources in great numbers; the entire colony will attack one victim in most cases.

They do not appear to have a language, but some have theorized some form of chemical communication, as there is a slight acrid smell to the air when the creatures are feeding. (Others have argued that this smell is an oil secretion native to the species, and this is simply a natural skin emolient)

This is not to suggest stirge are blind in daylight. They appear to see perfectly no matter what the light level.

The stirge is a formidable creature. They flock in swarms in the hundreds, and some have reported seeing huge swarms of more than 1,000 of the tiny, flying beasts. They have a wing-span of slightly over two feet, and can fly as fast as a bat, but with more agility and control.

Once they have fed, they detach and fly towards the colony's home, and at this time they are not as manueverable. The weight of the bloodmeals makes them more slow and sluggish.

Social Observations

The stirge appear to have social structures much like bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), with a single female serving as Queen, an egg-layer. The eggs are laid en masse, usually 10-30 per month, for up to 9 months a year. In the winter, the Queen goes dormant and all the other stirge form a protective "bubble" with their bodies to keep the Queen warm. The eggs are laid in the stirge's own fecal matter - much like bats, their excretions form large piles beneath the nesting colony. The gestation time is 3 days and then baby stirge hatch. They are weak at birth and need large amounts of blood to evolve into the adult form. This generally takes another 3 days, at which time the stirge will become aggressive and hunt any creature in their territory regardless of size or disposition.

After 3 years, the Queen dies and one of the colony stirge has a hormonal burst and evolves into a Queen. The colony usually moves at this point and finds a new lair. This always occurs at night.

That is where the similarity with bees ends. There are no specialized roles outside of the Queen.

Colony numbers generally range from 30 to 300 creatures. Larger colonies have been observed, but once humanoids discover them, they are aggressively hunted down to more managable numbers.

Behavorial Observations

The entire colony hunts whatever prey they can find. There does not appear to be any intelligent design behind the choice of prey. They simply attack what is closest and most vulnerable. Livestock and young humanoids often fit this criteria.

Their hunting grounds are usually only 2 miles around the colony. Once an area is drained, they move on, making finding the nests, to destroy them, very difficult for terrified locals.

Intra-Species Observations

Stirge are mostly a lone species. They are feared by most creatures without a very thick hide to stave off their predations. One of the exception is the Dragon (Draco draconis). A dragon's hide is completely impenetrable to the stirge, and they are often found in or near dragon lairs. The dragon allows this because the stirge are simply the most efficient and alert organisms at keeping the curious (accidental or intentional) at bay.

Stirge have also been seen with Umber Hulks, Quaggoth, and Purple Worms. They are found throughout the Underdark, and in any surface area that affords a safe haven - caves, attics, ancient forests, ruins, even on the hulks of wrecked sailing ships.

Variant Species

Stirge have thrived and adapted to almost every climate. Some of these species have been directly observed and some have only been the subject of rumor or debate.

Jungle Stirge thrive in the hot, steamy climates of jungles. They have evolved a paralytic toxin that they inject into their victims that leaves them unable to move until the stirge have all fed, or the victim is completely drained.

Artic Stirge have furred legs and thicker wings. They are camouflaged with mottled patterns that appears as rock and snow. They are larger than normal stirge, with a 4-foot wingspan and nearly twice the body size. They naturally take more blood from their victims as well. Desert Stirge are especially feared. They nest in the sands and ambush victims that walk over their colony lairs. They are smaller than normal stirge, and feed less, but their colonies are almost 4 times the size of a normal stirge.

Sleep Stirge have been warped by exposure to wild magic energies and can induce sleep (as the mage spell) in their victims as a collective group, and at increased power. These so-called Dozy Stirge have been observed employing arcane energies equal to a magic-user that has achieved the 5th level of mastery in their Guilds, and have taken down nearly 30 humanoids at one time.

Invisible Stirge are the subject of much debate, and most reputable scholars and adventurers refuse to believe such tales, attributing the drained corpses found in some dungeons and old lairs to undead or other parasites.

DM's Toolbox

Stirge can be built with any number of variations, as outlined above, and there is no limit to the ways they can be scaled. They can be a deadly encounter for a group of adventurers, regardless of level. They attack in numbers, and their automatic blood-draining every round is a powerful punch.

The HP they drain can be moved up or down. Want some stirge for some level 1 characters? Make the blood drain only 1 HP per round. 5 of those on 1 character, and they will be in deep trouble. You can boost the blood drain all the way up to 10 for level 20 characters and anything in between for the other levels.

I like to brew them for the different terrain types, and sometimes I'll further tweak them with minor (or major) magical abilities, like Sleep, or Darkness, or even Hold Person. I've had Teleporting stirge (like blink dogs bats), Swimming Stirge (always fun for those Man Overboard scenarios) and even Magic Missile Stirge.

They are easily customizable and always scary. They are my favorite monster and I hope they will be one of yours now, too.

Succubus/Incubus

So, you visited that famous brothel this week when you tested out your new teleportation spell? Ha! While you were gone I’ve figured out what makes that place so special… - Calgarus Marbin, renowned human wizard talking with his perverted colleague.

Introduction

Beautiful and charming, these demonic creatures are capable of taking almost any humanoid form to suit their needs. Succubi are known for their trickery and skill at seduction and corruption. They make for excellent consorts, advisors and spies for demons and other powerful evildoers.

Appearance

This race of fiendish humanoids has two separate genders, named incubus and succubus for the male and female, respectively. I will refer to this race mostly with the female name only for a smoother read, but do be aware that everything I tell you regarding the succubus is also true for the incubus. In their natural form they look like crimson-winged humans with a dark red tail that is quite long and slender. All have horns, or at least stubs. Some have speculated that the size of the horns may indicate a succubus’s age, although no one knows for sure. Succubi are without exception exceedingly beautiful and any humanoid appearance they take with their shapeshifting abilities is almost always extremely appealing. Thanks to their shapeshifting, very few beings on the material plane have seen a succubus’s true form. Succubi on a mission on the material plane rarely show their true form, since it is in their best interest to keep their true identities hidden.

Behavior and career

What exactly motivates a succubus is unknown, but it seems to be something in between pursuing pleasure and obtaining power. How they go about this varies wildly per individual, but almost all are deceitful and manipulative and use this talent for their own good. Most make their home somewhere on an evil-aligned plane, such as one of the many layers of the Abyss. Others have wandered the material plane for such a long time that they can almost call it home.

Succubi who live on an evil plane typically hunger for attention, power and wealth by serving a local fiendish lord in any of several ways. Obviously, they make for excellent consorts and indeed, some succubi have specialized themselves in pleasing others to maximize their own gains. They also perform other (menial) tasks, such as torturing prisoners by taking the appearance of those dear to them and playing out all kinds of scenarios such as the rape or death of that person. In such situations, illusion magic serves them well. These types of succubi can, however, be considered the lowliest with the least amount of ambition.

Those who aim for any true amount of influence will broaden their skill set and become more than mere playthings. Their cunning and calculated intelligence combined with their great charisma makes those succubi willing to put in the effort skillful advisors. These succubi are often in a position of great power and influence, using their charms and wit to influence many events in their favor. A few might serve as emissaries to other powerful entities. Some of the succubi in positions such as this have managed -over a time period of many years- to become powerful demon lords in their own right!

Of those who wander the material plane, there are (roughly) two types: those who are on a mission, and those who are not. A succubus on a mission is in all likelihood sent there by some powerful entity to do its bidding. This is likely to be a long-term endeavor, spanning several decades. They are pawns in the grand scheme of things, and provide information to their patron (and often, other parties as well!) about the happenings on the material plane. This includes the rise and fall of cults, cities and nations, power struggles and the whereabouts of notable persons such as the Chosen Ones of gods or famous adventurers. These succubi are extremely adept at hiding their true nature because they do not wish to blow their cover. They provide others with (mis)information regularly and often pose as an unassuming, yet strangely beautiful humanoid of the local dominant race. All in all, they are quite calm and take their pleasures where and when they can, since causing unrest (and implicating themselves in the process) is not to their benefit. Ironically, they often become a respected member of the society they dwell in, taking the role of a sage or healer living just outside of town. Having the gratitude of the local townsfolk is always a good asset to be exploited!

Those succubi wandering the material plane but without a mission have often simply escaped the bounds of a summoning. Many aspiring conjurers try their hand at summoning a succubus for a moment’s pleasure, but some are unable to control their summon properly. The result is often tragic and bloody. The escaped succubi who do not wish to return home are very varied in their goals, but it’s a good guess they view this as some sort of vacation and playground. Do not be surprised if they start causing trouble in some way or another.

Life cycle & Inter-species contact

This species is, as I have said briefly before, divided between succubi and incubi. When a succubus and incubus mate they might produce offspring just like any other creature does. The female generally takes some time off her duties just before and after birth, but otherwise acts as usual. After birth, the child is taken care of by the mother and sometimes by the father as well. They are not monogamous in any way and one incubus can father children with many different succubi. One might wonder how such evil creatures can still have the capacity to raise a child. Current research and interviews with summoned succubi indicate that despite their generally evil nature, succubi and incubi can make ‘exceptions’ to their general demeanor. This suggests that they can indeed feel love, or at least some kind of bond, but they do not admit this fact easily.

From the union between a succubus and a non-succubus, a half-succubus child may occasionally be born. These children almost always grow up on the material plane, as succubi are reluctant to take these children back to their home plane. If a succubus is the mother, she will leave the baby near the father or an unrelated childless woman. If a normal humanoid is the mother, obviously she will give birth to the child. The incubus father is unlikely to ever visit again. These children vary wildly in the things they inherit from their parents. Most are quite handsome, and many are naturally charismatic. A lucky few inherit some of the fiendish powers so common among succubi such as charm spells, the ability to read thoughts, illusions and disguises or (rarely) even the ability to speak or understand any language. A couple of these half-breeds even have a tough skin that is not easily damaged by fire or weapons, but such a gift is rare. The most unlucky ones are stuck with a resemblance to the succubus’s true form but with few of the fancy powers. They are either killed upon birth or discovery or become outcasts later in life. Shunned by others due to their smallish horns and clawed hands, their childhood is quite harsh. A few have wings and the ability to fly, and these at least can flee their hometown more easily. While the ones blessed with a fortunate inheritance from their parents are bound to live a good life and often become quite influential (for better or worse, as one cannot predict whether they will use their powers for good or evil), the ones who were less fortunate are decidedly less well-off. This, in turn, leads the cursed ones down the path of evil as they lose faith in all others.

Combat

Most succubi do not enjoy melee combat, and they try to ensure that they do not become involved in any combat in the first place by having a good disguise and reputation, so that they won’t be suspected of being an outsider (quite literally!). In the highly unlikely event that a succubus is discovered by heroes, she often has loyal minions to do her bidding. They are charmed into working for her, and are not easily convinced of her true nature. If one is able to get past that and actually confront the succubus she will still prove a formidable opponent. Resistant to normal weapons and some basic resistance to certain elements, one will need to be prepared to face a succubus or suffer the consequences. The razor-sharp claws will rip through any who are not ready.

DM’s Toolkit

A succubus is a great antagonist to throw at your unsuspecting party in almost any campaign. Their versatility and excellent disguise make them a great ‘plotting behind the screens’ type of villain/mini-boss for a while, and once caught might reveal the real BBEG she’s working for who is behind all of it, continuing the campaign on to the next antagonist (well, if that’s what you want. She could also be the BBEG herself, manipulating and corrupting powerful rulers and such). I cannot recommend using the succubus as a fighting minion as they are not suited for this task at all. Some ideas to use succubi:

A succubus that has cast off her fiendish origins and has been given a chance by a good-aligned outsider to redeem herself needs the party’s help in destroying a powerful evil artifact to prove her worthiness of redemption. But, is that really her goal?

Rumors abound that the best brothel in town is more than it seems at first glance.

A rich merchant has fallen in love with a lovely young lady, but one morning she has disappeared and all of his riches are gone as well! He suspects someone has kidnapped her! But is this truly the case?

A bitter young half-incubus is threatening to massacre his hometown for banishing him. How will the heroes stop him?

Shambling Mound

"People have attempted to correct me on this, but I know what I saw. There were many, at least twenty. I saw the first ever witnessed instance of them in cooperation, and I… I was terrified. I had never heard of a stone species, much less them working together." -An interview with explorer Ozymand Juxta on the subject of Shambling Mounds

Introduction

Seemingly a bulky monster only made for killing, the Shambling Mound (AKA Shambler) is actually an intelligent predator with special techniques. While they may be known for residing in swamps and marshes, they may live in several different types of land. Using their appearance as an advantage, they can’t be seen and are practically invisible. This makes them extremely deadly as carnivorous predators especially to their main prey, which is wandering civilians.

Physiological Observations

Shambling Mounds look like a tall humanoid being with several different types of terrain features attached to them. They stand at about six to seven feet tall with an eight foot girth. What they look like depends on the biome in which they live in. If within a marsh, they are covered in moss and algae. They will hide in swamps and appear as small islands of moss. If within a desert, they are coated in sand and have a bent back made for blending into dunes. If within a jungle, they are topped with moist dirt, lying on the floors of rivers. The jungle-based Shambling Mounds are also able to attach themselves to trees, as their backs roughly resemble a bark pattern. If within a cave, they are big bulks of stone, hugging the sides of caverns. These Shamblers have special pain resistant abdomens for their special killing method. If on plains, their backsides are flat and covered in grass. These ones’ hands resemble cups, allowing for them to dig ditches to lie in.

Social Observations

Being solitary creatures, Shamblers are almost never seen around each other and it’s for good reason. If they meet, they make a sort of pack and work together. Most of these cases are entire areas blanketed in Shambling Mounds. In the journal of the famous explorer Ozymand Juxta (published under the title, “A Lifelong Commitment to Portable Beds”), he describes an entire cavern layered in Shambling Mounds. When this is witnessed, no one ever goes into such an area. Juxta himself merely saw it and then went to other places. Too deadly an area for anyone to visit.

Behavioral Observations

Shambling Mounds are strictly carnivorous, attacking and killing anyone who treads through their land. They are also known to creep into local settlements and kill inhabitants. If they are located in a marsh, they will grab their victims from below and drown them. If they are located in a desert, they will quickly rise from beneath the sand to deliver a devastating charge. If they are located in a jungle, they will either rise speedily from the bottom of a river or hinge off of a tree to embrace and strangle its prey. If they are located in a cave, they will quickly grab their victims, push them against the wall of the cavern, and then crush them with their body.

Intra-Species Observations

Interactions with civilized beings and Shambling Mounds tend to be short and end with the civilian dying. If a town or camp is built near the home of a Shambler, he will most likely savagely attack the settlement. In uncommon occasions, towns may feed the them as a sort of treaty. They would then protect the town as a guardian. Of course, if the town stops feeding the Shambling Mound, there will be several casualties.

If visited by another creature, the Shambling Mound will simply kill them and have a good dinner. This is not at all common though, as most creatures are able to sense the Shambler and thus avoid them at all costs. Shamblers seem to possess a sort of ego, thinking that they may take on any creature whatsoever. This can cause the end of several Shambling Mounds.

DM's Toolkit

From very different areas and attacking in very different ways, the Shambling Mound is a diverse enemy with one core concept: a big bulky creature with natural camouflage. While the most common may be the typical swamp-dwelling moss-covered monstrosity, they could live in other environments or even be hidden guards to a town, acting as living traps. They are truly versatile creatures, able to be used in lots of circumstances.

If you put one into your campaign and it’s a fight, it would be fitting for the moment to be major and well known. Let me explain what I mean by that: It’s pretty special for someone to escape the grasps of a Shambling Mound, as it’s never been recorded. All of those who have approached them have never been heard from again, so it’s quite the achievement to survive an encounter. Have the local town throw a party of sorts, or give a reward. A big reward at that.

Tarrasque

We do not intervene, for only in the face of pure terror, can the beauty of true courage be revealed. Only in the face of this mighty challenge, can a Paladin such as yourself, last of your party, rise up and show your worth. Only in the wake of total destruction can a nation as corrupt as this be created anew. - Lathander, God of Birth and Renewal, when asked in desperation why the gods will not intervene to protect a city and its people from destruction by the Tarrasque.

Introduction

Few have seen one, and of those that have fewer still have survived to tell the tale. The Legendary Tarrasque is is embedded deeply in the minds of the peoples of the Material Plane as an agent of destruction. Its power goes far beyond the mere destruction it is physically capable of, it becomes an object to be feared or even worshiped. The Tarrasque is nothing less than a force of nature.

Physiological observations

...Well it's not like you can sit either yourself or the beast down long enough to paint its portrait. Most sensible people would be running like mad in the other direction - Spokesperson of the Monster Hunters Association of Adventurers, when asked why there are so many differing descriptions of Tarrasque physiology.

Legends state that the Tarrasque was created by the Primordials in combination with the Princes of Elemental Evil as a weapon against the gods, some of which sacrificed their lives to ensure the creation was a success. Its physiology certainly bears witness to this creation, being more biological machine than animal.

A Tarrasque is typically seen to be around 50 feet tall and 70 feet long including the tail. Universally accounts of the creature have mentioned the two, forward protruding horns and large clawed hands.

Tarrasques have been observed to have three stomachs. The first, containing constricting muscles and sharp internal bony protrusions ensures that any living matter is deceased before it continues through the digestive tract. The second stomach applies acid to further break down the Tarrasque's meal and strip magic from the swallowed. Finally, the third stomach is a furnace ensuring that the swallowed item is entirely vaporized into its component parts and absorbed into the body of the tarrasque.

One bio-engineering problem that the creators of the Tarrasque encountered, was that of blood-flow. Animals with appendages a great distance from their heart can have issues of of circulation and blood pressure. For example, when a humanoid, having been lying down for a period will experience momentary dizziness if they suddenly stand up. Conversely if they lower their head below their heart for a long period, blood will pool in its head with nothing to draw it out except the vacuum created by the heart pushing blood in the opposite direction. This effect is exacerbated in larger creatures, necessitating larger hearts.

At the end of the day, after all the running, screaming and destruction has stopped, a Tarrasque is really all heart - Anonymous Biologist

The beings that engineered the Tarrasque have solved this problem, and granted additional advantages by ensuring that veins and arteries are walled with thin muscle tissue.

These unique veins can ensure that blood reaches the Tarrasque's head in sufficient quantities when it is standing, and prevent over-pressure in the head when the Tarrasque bends down to bite at a tasty humanoid or beast. An advantageous side effect of this, is that any wounds that a Tarrasque sustains can be more efficiently closed off and prevented from bleeding, without having to entirely rely on blood platelets. Thus, it is nearly impossible for a Tarrasque to bleed out.

A Tarrasque has two brains. One in the head, which controls movement and processes sensory input, and one at the base of the spine near the hips. This secondary brain, buried deep under the thick rear hide assists in controlling reflexes for the lower half of Tarrasque's body and contains critical brain matter such as the oversize pituitary gland which regulates blood pressure, vein/artery constriction and growth hormones. It is imagined that this could be the source of the Tarrasque's fabled regeneration capabilities.

Social Observations

The Tarrasque has never been observed in groups of more than one. It could be said that they are inherently anti-social creatures, obeying their primal urge to destroy.

Behavioural Observations

Tarrasques know nothing except the urge for destruction. Once awakened, they emerge from the earth and lumber towards the nearest settlement, whether on the surface, or in the underdark, Tarrasque's do not discriminate.

When encountering a particularly troublesome foe, the Tarrasque will focus its attention until the pest is eliminated. In this, the Tarrasque displays unexpected swiftness of movement and surprising tactical ability given its low intelligence. utilizing all the weapons at its disposal, swiping its claws and swinging its tail as the situation demands.

Tarrasques have been observed to move through solid rock or "earthglide" on occasion. This has certainly been the case with Tarrasque corpses in the past. On their demise, the body remains for up to 2 days, before melting into the earth to regenerate.

Intra-species Observations

It has often been noted by those of stronger minds that the stampede to escape the path of a raging Tarrasque kills more people than the Tarrasque itself.

Variant Species

From the few reliable sources that we have describing the physical appearance of the Tarrasque, we can deduce that either there are multiple species, or that the Tarrasque takes on the appearance of the terrain from which it emerges. Should it awaken and emerge through a forest, it may contain the limbs of great trees sprouting from its carapace and limbs. Reports of its diamond hard shell may have been written by those who observed a Tarrasque which regenerated and emerged from its slumber near a gem mine.

Should this hypothesis prove true, one can only imagine the horror of a Tarrasque awakened from inside a volcano.

DM's toolbox.

There's no need for the DM to be afraid of introducing a Tarrasque to a campaign at any level as fighting it is entirely unnecessary. Instead, they could be tasked with managing a pre-Tarrasque evacuation, or convincing people to evacuate knowing that the Tarrasque is about to awake. Perhaps the party have heard rumours of a Tarrasque death cult which seeks to awaken one (or more) which they must then oppose (Hoard of the Tarrasque Queen?).

Nor does the Tarrasque need to always represent Evil, in fact it shouldn't, being physically incapable of it. Perhaps in a nation of people oppressed by evil overlords, a Tarrasque, raised at the appropriate time and pointed in the right direction, may be just the thing needed to destroy a stronghold and therefore dependent power structure, thus liberating the people. Thus weakened, the Tarrasque may be more easily brought down by the heroic party, saving the rest of the city from further destruction.

A Tarrasque, used in this way becomes a device, a tool, a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Inspiration is easy to come by - Godzilla is the obvious example, King Kong, perhaps another. Can a pretty lady charm the great beast?

The 5th edition Tarrasque has no inherent regeneration capabilities as it did in prior editions. The DM can obviously use their own discretion about limb regeneration. As mentioned above, perhaps destroying the brain containing the pituitary gland could stop the regeneration and significantly reduce the difficulty of the monster by reducing hind leg and tail reflexes (or entirely), or by causing it to have blood pressure issues.

Thri-Kreen

If you wish to know our people you simply need to walk across the solid sea endlessly. - Liaison of Thri-Kreen nest

Introduction

Thri-Kreen are nomadic and spiritual creatures. They live off the land and take what they need and nothing more. Excess is not a concept that they understand. Although they are generally peaceful and can be very helpful to other humanoids they have a reputation as ravenous predators.

They get the reputation from unfortunate travelers who survive an ambush either by provocation or simply there wasn’t enough food. Thri-Kreen are a remarkable people as I’ll call them. They are remarkably intimidating and hard to communicate with but there is much to be learned from them.

Physiological Observations

Thri-Kreen are a praying mantis like humanoid that stand anywhere between 7 and 8 feet tall. They have large lower legs and upper arms with smaller middle arms. They have the amazing ability to intuitively use both sets of arms making them just as capable with 4 swords as an elf is capable of wielding 2.

A Thri-Kreen’s head is almost strikingly identical to a large praying mantis. With an insectile tear shaped head and large segmented black eyes on each side. They have large antennae that point upwards from the top of the head, behind the eyes, and extend forward over the front of the head. They have large mandibles over the mouth that click and clack when moving.

Although they have a skinny physique those familiar with insect anatomy will not be fooled by the incredible strength they possess. Their legs are long skinny and very powerful. It’s not unheard of for a Thri-Kreen to jump up to 3 times their own height. Their feet end in 3 toe claws and a thumb like toe slightly pointing behind them.

Their upper arms are as long as their legs and just as strong. The upper arm is fairly skinny while the fore arms are broad and wide. The arm ends in a 3 claw and thumb hand that makes for wielding even the most complex weapons possible. The lower smaller arms also have the same hands but only extend to ½ of the upper arm length. With 4 fully functional arms they can be intimidating when wielding twice the armaments possible of most humanoids.

Thri-Kreen as desert dwellers and adept warriors have effective weapons that play into their physiology. The gythka is a large double headed glaive like weapon that is unwieldy for most other creatures but with their strength and mobility available to them this a deadly and efficient weapon in their hands. They also have multi-bladed boomerang like weapons called chatkcha. These are the go to ranged weapon and can be thrown while wielding melee weapons simultaneously negating the need to draw and sheath weapons mid-fight. Thri-Kreen also wield more conventional weapons but usually in pairs. Bows and axes are common for the versatility of range and close quarters.

Thri-Kreen are usually colored for their environment. Although usually sand dwellers, there are some communities in secluded jungles or remote mountain tops. Desert dwellers are usually a tan or light brown in coloration on their shells, while jungle dwellers are a lighter green and mountain dwellers usually a darker brown.

Like their ancestors Thri-Kreen are carnivores. They only eat meat aside from the occasional cactus flower during a wedding ceremony. They have no particular preference for meat aside from a rumor of elves. Given their mentality they could easily eat an elf or any other humanoid as they know any animal is meat. They usually go for beasts they find and do not normally eat other humanoids unless food is scarce.

Unlike most praying mantises their thorax is not as large in proportion. A Thri-Kreen’s thorax is very small and almost unnoticeable. Their anatomy is closer to that of a humanoid with the majority of their organs in their chest and stomach area possibly making the use of a large thorax not necessary.

It’s important to note that Thri-Kreen that while uncommon more often than most humanoids can be born with psionic powers. Typically just telepathy and other such powers develop but it can manifest in very powerful ways. If it wasn’t for psionic Thri-Kreen we would know nothing of their ways and I owe my research to one such Thri-Kreen.

Social Observations

Thri-Kreen live in close communities. They make easily movable and packable shelters and move as a group roaming the deserts for food. They have a designated leader who typically is the wisest and most learned who guides the community to the next food and water source. As their homes are mostly barren they constantly move in search of food.

In these communities which they refer to as the nest, there are as many as 50 members including children. This ideally makes for 40 or so adults and 10 children. A nest may also be very small with only 10 members but this is really dependent on a food source. If a nest is too large they will usually come to a conclusion to amicably part ways with 2 smaller groups for survival.

Every member of the nest is a hunter and a fighter, even the children. Although peaceful in demeanor they fight and hunt for food and do so with a cool ferocity. From the outside looking in it’s hard to tell as communication is very subtle yet intricate.

Mating as with most humanoids is a private affair. Mates are paired much as human commoners are, by a feeling of connection. Sometimes that connection doesn’t work. Since their lives involve the whole nest it’s rare for mates to end on a sour note but it does happen. The ideal partner is for life but partnership is secondary to the priorities of the nest.

Children are born as eggs for the first few days of their lives. The eggs are carried by the parents and typically only 1 or 2 eggs. Children hatch and mature to functionality within weeks. In the meantime the children are carried and hand fed. Once they reach maturity to walk they usually stick close to their parents but soon learn to help out in any possible way. Thri-Kreen have a very pragmatic mindset when it comes to children, they protect them for the future but they do not coddle them for the tough road ahead. Do not be mistaken they love their children as would any other human but it’s shown in another way.

Emotions are something that Thri-Kreen experience to any and all degrees that humans can experience. The difference is that Thri-Kreen are very stoic in reaction and not quick to react on emotion. Emotions are weighted experienced and then action is taken after the brooding storm inside of them has subdued. It’s not uncommon after the death of family a Thri-Kreen to be alone for days sorting out their feelings and rejoining the nest once they have calmed.

Psionic members are very well respected and rejoiced when one is born. They are the best way to communicate with other races and creatures and they recognize that importance. Thri-Kreen born psionic are equals in the community as any other but respected and listened to as they can relay information that others could never understand.

Thri-Kreen only live for 30 years and they live life knowing their time is short. They trade stories and enjoy heroic tales. They sit around late campfires and converse and eat and drink with family and friends all through the night. Part of this is that Thri-Kreen cannot sleep. I theorize this shortens the lifespan than that of other humanoids but they gain the benefits of rest simply by not exerting themselves which helps them to stay fresh simply by doing at most menial tasks such as storytelling. Despite such short lives they live physically, they have stories for hundreds of lives.

Intra-Species Observations

Most any animal is considered a possible food source. While food is the main reason for traveling far in the harsh deserts they do not immediately kill other humanoids despite their possible delectability. They prefer to learn what they can from other humanoids and learn of the wide world. If they are scarce on food they will hunt other humanoids, but only out of necessity. It’s commonly known to Thri-Kreen that elves are very tasty but they also have a lot of stories and are admired for their full lives to share.

Most other humanoids mistake Thri-Kreen as unintelligent brutes. Emotional intricacies are extremely varied but it’s almost impossible to determine even the most basic ones them from species outside of Thri-Kreen. Even then communication is still almost impossible as the mandible clacking and antennae positions are impossible for other creatures to emulate and Thri-Kreen have no means of verbal communication without a voice box. Given the time they can understand verbal communication but are unable to respond in the same manner. Most of the time initial encounters boil down to pictures and gestures that don’t translate well given distinct cultures and representations. This is why nests revere and enjoy psionic members as they can communicate effectively and relay the much sought after stories far more effectively.

Even though Thri-kreen cannot speak any language they have the means to learn the written language. This is a little rare as established communication is hard to maintain to teach such a task but it does happen. They do not have a written language of their own as nomadic in nature and closely knit families physical communication is the most of their interactions. They do developed accepted drawings as a pseudo glyph language but only in attempt to communicate to noise makers as they call vocally communicating animals.

Thri-Kreen are indeed very intelligent and complex beings but also back the brutish stigma in a few ways. First as seemingly lack of communication the way in which they silently fight unnerves some other humanoids who commonly grunt or shout during battle. The second is that they are incredibly capable warriors and that is not needed to be translated. They are able to easily dispatch multiple attackers given their increased amount of arms and ability to focus on more than 2 things that is common of 2 armed beings. They are also capable of fighting with little communication as the nest is almost always all fighting and all together. This familiarity shows in incredibly unified tactics and maneuvers with little communication.

The most fantastical feat I had witnessed was a fight between the nest I was studying and a purple worm. Trails of a purple worm were spotted and being a giant source of food that would last a long time the whole nest jumped onto the trail. They took advantage of the worm’s own ambush tactics by purposely walking into the area just above the burrowed worm. When the worm breached the lead Thri-Kreen jumped with incredible height speed and out of the reach of the gapping maw erupting from the ground. The rest of the nest then proceeded to attack the exposed areas of the worm stretching its plates in attempt to reach its intended prey. The fight was far from over but they were experienced warriors and safely brought the giant beast down. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I almost fled in fear from the awesomeness of the purple worm.

There are cases of lone Thri-Kreen away from a nest which are probably orphans of destroyed nests or some other tragedy. They seek companionship and are loyal to any community they are accepted and stay with. They have trusted friends and defend them to the end.

Variations

Different kinds of Thri-Kreen exist in the world and are described below.

Desert Thri-Kreen – these are the Thri-Kreen described above that roam the deserts searching for food and water.

Jungle Thri-Kreen – These nests roam the jungles more for safety from the dangers of the jungles more than lack of food and water. They appear lighter greens or however the vegetation is colored in the area.

Mountain Thri-Kreen – These Thri-Kreen make their homes in remote mountain ranges hunting and gathering what they can from the terrain. They normally appear a darker brown to color close to mountain.

Orphaned – These are lone Thri-Kreen that seek or sought companionship with other nests or races that for some reason roamed their homeland alone for some time.

Psionic – These are Thri-Kreen that have psionic powers and well respected members of a nest.

DM’s Toolbox

Thri-Kreen are an amazingly alien race that eventually turn more human than most parties get to realize. Here are some possible encounters.

run in with a hungry nest – negotiate for food or you lives

Mysterious desert/jungle guides

Orphaned Thri-Kreen - attempts to join the party looking for companion ship.

Treant

“The machines of war, cursed metal pulled from the ground and forged in the flames of timber and bark, silently and slowly rolled forward. The armies of Nulchek were amassing, and with this convoy the walls of humanity would crumble before him. The construction had taken years, and frankly he was surprised even this small amount of forest was left spare after cutting so much to fuel the furnaces. In his pondering he took no notice of the trees unnatural swaying, and the cracks of bark separating, the convoy of war machines, and the general, never made it to the front, and the hobgoblin invasion of 7E 173 failed horrifically. The last thing general Nulchek saw was the front most machine flip backwards onto the second, and then the sky as a lumbering humanoid shape, enormous from his perspective and made of living tree, it looked down upon him and said “you should’ve burned it all down” before eternal darkness took the generals mind.” - Arch druid Xh!enge reciting an ambush incident report to king Pavol (7E 174)

Introduction

Treants are huge beings, born when a tree is awoken by a dormant power inside it. All Treants can sense when a trees power to live begins the long process of awakening, and nearing the Treants “birth” the area around will become thick with druids and other Treants seeking to protect the tree from those who would harm it. In its awakening the tree appears to grow as its own root claw upwards, wrapping around each other as they brake the soil layer to form two distinct legs, lower branches curl downwards and warp to take the form of large arms, and lastly the bark itself twists and turns until a face takes form and the Treant opens it eyes for the first time. From the moment they are “born” they seek to protect the land that made them, to protect nature just as druids do, and to bring down the raw wrath of that very same nature on those who seek to harm it.

Physiological Observations

extract from Helger Mareeks “Living plants: a study of Plants and sentience combined” chapter 3 “Treants”

The truly terrifying thing about Treants is that they are trees, I know that doesn’t sound scary, but it is. If you draw the anger of a Treant, don’t go near a tree, EVER again. Forests? You would be dead in seconds. That tree in the middle of your cities market district? Death trap. You see if a Treant does not want to be any more than a tree, it is no more than a tree, simply sinking back into the ground all its physical details disappear until it suits the Treant. When I did manage to observe a Treant in motion it takes vaguely humanoid appearance. Its two arms are formed from its own leafless branches, its hands twisted messes of spiked wood to grip and strike. Its legs were enormous masses of thick leathery wood, much like the roots of a tree when exposed by the tree falling. Its face sat somewhere in the upper chest to compare it to a human, roughly in line with the “shoulders” before finally leading up into its upper dome of greenery.

Social Observations

Paraphrasing the speech of arch druid Xh!enge when convincing king Pavol to leave moon sorrow forest unharmed (7E 168)

Treants are solitary creatures, but not through a resentment for each other, in fact they are known to band together with almost no discrimination when the situation demands it. And to draw a pack of Treants into action is to invite death, these creatures hold no care for the rules of others, and no formal hierarchy is seen among themselves either. Instead Treants measure their actions based on morality, being wholly good creatures they rarely seek violence, instead preferring to remain unseen and not interfere. However they see nature as their kin, to cut a healthy tree or allow fire in there woods? Well they would see it just like we would see the killing of a brother, or burning of out homestead.

Behavioural Observations

Treants normally prefer the silence of being one with nature, most allow days, months, years even, to simply drift by as they hold their tree shape and commune with the less sentient beings around them. If left long enough, these Treants can build a massive information network through every root, flower, and blade of grass and even into the aquatic plant life of the sea. Such a Treant could eventually have contact with all plant life and become omnipotent, sadly as is the way of life, most Treants get nowhere near this before being forced to awaken by the likes of humanoids. When awoken they attempt to remain hidden and observe, but will spring into action if they feel the nature in their lands will come to harm through inactivity. In combat, a Treant is a force to be feared, its massive body being a raw bludgeoning device, there sense of nature allowing them to show their arms ground-ward and produce boulders nestled in the dirt. The larger Treants are reported to be able to temporarily awaken other plant life, as vine across jungle floors convulse and tighten to trip and ensnare would-be combatants, tree branches come to life, swinging in massive arcs to kill, and poisonous plants simultaneously release their full payload, turning pure fresh air into a deadly haze in seconds.

Intra-Species Observations

As mentioned, Treants often make quick friends and allies of and humanoid of a druid persuasion. They are good natured, slow to trust but there loyalty is as strong as ironwood. If someone shows no intent to harm the natural world, a Treant will show to intent to harm them. And even better, those who stand between individuals with the intent to harm the natural world, and the natural world itself, will often find the trees they guard move in front of them, seeking to meet these selfless defence. Treants have no quarrel with the Myconids, seeing them as a natural progression. However, Treants do seek out and destroy blights and shambling moulds, the latter for being unnatural. Treants have a long standing hatred for blights, blights are born of corruption of trees and bringing that which should not have sentience into the realm of the conscious. Treants purge blights from their lands and seek to destroy the trees that birth them.

DM's Toolkit

Treants can be a great addition, players pick a fight with a druid? TREANT! Players being swarmed by blights? TREANT! You get the idea… you could also go lord of the rings with it, recruiting the armies of Treants can be an amazing boon for any war effort, but it works both ways…

Variants

The joy of a Treant is they are as varied as the trees themselves. Different colours for each type? Up armour class but lower health from one type to another? Go wild, some quick ideas:

Oak Treant: the one listed in the MM

Brittle wood Treant: born of crisp dry desert of savannah trees, they can shatter into deadly sprays of bark shards on impacts

Jungle Treant: larger, thinner Treants whose arms are replaced with writhing masses of vines, capable of throwing these ensnaring vines large distances to grab and jerk a person through the air towards them.

Pine Treant: covered in thick coating of spikes, weaker than your average but the prospect of shredding your flesh and armour against its bark keeps most adventurers are more than simply an arm’s length.

Deadwood Treants: basically the undead version of a Treant, its wood in crinkled and darkened, tis eyes poised a red tint, these Treants have become afflicted or died shortly before its “birth” and the result is a being of pure evil, seeking the destruction of the natural world.

The list can go on, who says Treants are entirely trees? A massive shamble of driftwood and seaweed walks out of the ocean onto a beach?

Troglodyte

The only thing that limits a troglodyte is the size of its stomach - Bris Morbane, Longhaul Trader

Overview

It is a misnomer that troglodytes are stupid. Its just that most folks close enough to them are usually food. And what conversation can you really have with food? Not a good one. Troglodytes are instead quite good "mothers" with an almost all-consuming hunger for fresh meat and huge heart for the eggs and kobold little ones. It is because they are queen, the center of the kobold nest.

Physiological Observations

Like the kobolds they arise from, troglodytes are good at ambushes, preferring to wait above or below their intended prey. Or utilize a trap that has been set earlier by the kobolds. Especially helpful in this endeavor is that fact that their skin can take on a wide variety of textures and colors that reflect the local habitat (this not true if the nest is new to the area). And furthermore, when excited or injured, the troglodyte can secrete a noxious musk that is will poison creatures in close proximity. In fact, if excited for too long this musk can fill a small room posing a danger to those outside of melee range. At that point, there have been reports that the creature's skin takes on a hypnotic pattern of bright swirling colors.

Social Observations

Its assumed that troglodytes are directionless and driven by only hunger much like large lizards ridden by the wild elves in the southern regions. This also is not true. Those who have escaped being eaten have spoken of sacrifice either through slaughter, dropped in a deep pit, or chained by the sea. These unsteady individuals, speak of crude statues whose rough work only enhances the horror of the gods they represent. Chants of "Laog-ZED", "BOK-rug", and/or "tsath-OG-GUA" can be heard. Its not clear if these are the same god or different aspects. No matter really because it all ends horrifically for the captured and abused.

Interspecies Observations

Where civilization has receded, kobold and troglodytes swell. They are like a tide that seeks to fill holes that others have left hollow. Unlike Gnolls, who they complete with, troglodytes can coexist with the natural environment eventually becoming the apex predator if none exist. However their worship of hungry gods and love of traps constantly pushes them toward civilization and other humanoids. They can never be left uncheck because trade, cattle, and children start to go missing.

Observational Variants

The variety of landscapes troglodytes inhabit combined with their color change ability has made it difficult to catalogue and understand the nature of variants. In most cases, the monsters just want to consume, however there is a preference sometimes for magic users by troglodytes who can manipulate fire. Some nests have been found to have members with a tendency for viscera reading and as such will favor the collection of knives and blades. Still other reports have talked of a great troglodyte "queen" who wears a mottled set of platemail and commands capable kobold sappers. These sappers are known to weaken the walls of keeps, collapsing them, staging a bloody raid, then retreating before forces can scramble.

DM Tools

I recommend beefing up the troglodyte "queen" with the stats for the Gnoll Fang and use the listed troglodyte stats for kobolds in a transition state.

Troglodytes also are not prideful like Orcs might be, so they are not going to be easily suckered into one-on-one. They are predators like a pack of lions so while the small kobolds do a lot of the work, the troglodyte will slip in and out to land the big blows.

The last thing I will throw out there is that troglodytes get a multi-attack which is pretty cool. But because I always picture them as sorta big alligators, I think if a PC is hit with 2 or more of those attacks there should be a special consequence.

D4	Effect of Claw+Claw or Claw+Bite
1	Dragged! PC is pulled off their feet into a hole/water/trap door
2	Pain! The intense pressure of the squeezing gives disadvantage to one of the PC's next attacks
3	Snap! PC limb is broken due to the violent thrashing of the monster
4	Caught! PC must make a STR or Athletics check to scape the monster's grasp

Troll

Antillo Di’Correio’s Treatise on the Phenology of Trolls

Good day to you, my reader.

I thank you for your interest in my text. It was compiled after years of travel, research and exploration into regions which the normal traveler would do well to avoid. When I set out to write this text, it was with some trepidation. After all, what is there to know about Trolls? They have been the subject of many a tale and they are well established as a hazard for any who would travel the lowlands. Still, there has been little scholarly effort to consider why they are such a wide spread hazard. We all know what a troll looks like, and yet, when it comes to appearance, they are widely considered to be one of the most varied humanoid creatures. What exactly makes something a troll? They are said to eat everything from people, to animals to each other, and yet live alongside other creatures for years. Indeed, if stories are to be believed, trolls are even found next to villages and under bridges on busy byways. How would such a thing be possible if they are so ravenous? And finally, the most difficult question, how do they reproduce? There are stories which range from springing from the earth like plants, or from the spilt blood of injured trolls. I am pleased to say that in this I have made some discoveries, but I will save them for last as there are sure to be the most controversial of my treatise.

The nature of Trolls and what is commonly known often depends on which part of the world one is when asked. Trolls are known to be found virtually all parts of the world, from the far northern mountains to the swamps and hills of my homeland in the south. They are accepted to be reasonably intelligent, often capable of limited speech, but lacking in wit. They are believed to have little in the way of culture, and to despise the civilized races whose borders they haunt.

They are known to be terrifying in battle. Trolls are masters of the ambush. They love to lurk in water, under bridges and out of sight on hillsides. Far from the lands of men, they will abandon a carcass in such a place that it will attract other predators, which they will then try to devour in turn. They are surprisingly fast over short distances, and will try to draw their prey into attacking range, where they will tear at them with their claws and gnashing teeth. Such attacks can drive them into frenzy, and their regeneration allows them to ignore injury, or even keep fighting after being dismembered. In the seminal work of Ulraut Vas’Kalumn, the Hobgoblin bard, he describes a battle frenzy he observed on during the Empires expansion as such:

We came upon them and our brave knight fell too, with steel and flame. Confident we were, and hard as the edge of a Szabla. Each blow severed tendon and stripped flesh. We fought as men who felt no fear.

Yet ours was hubris unfounded. Our sword and fire were uneven in application. Severed hands grew arms; the bodies of headless foes rose again, even as their heads bit at our ankles. The red haze of Malar that clouded our warrior’s eyes gave strength to the beasts, and soon the tide turned. In that terrible red mist, the beasts laughed. They bit deep, tore at each other as at our own.

They shattered our line and stood amongst us as a fury unchecked. They towered over, and we could do naught but fear and die.

While it should be said that the warriors in Va’Kalumn’s work won the day, it was at great price. However, a few things can be gleaned from his telling. Firstly, that fire is key to fighting a troll. Their flesh will stich itself together unless prevented, and for that one must burn it. Many sources I consulted claimed that the fire served as a purifying agent, and that its application destroyed the evil power which allowed the troll to regenerate. However, a mage with whom I travelled awhile assured me that he had success with an acidic compound made from the venom of an ankheg. It is therefore, I posit, possible that fire itself is simply a means of cauterizing the wounds, and that any source of burning would be sufficient to do so.

Trolls often appear suddenly in a territory, and their coming is often preceded by a sudden departure of other large predators from the area. During the warm months, trolls create nests which they decorate with bones, sticks, and metallic objects and jewelry. During this period trolls usually live a solitary existence. However, particularly in mid-summer, it is not unusual to find a mating pair together. During the winter months, trolls tend to congregate in dens underground, and often come together in numbers. Like snakes, they take shelter with each other. As such, it is generally a wise man’s choice to avoid such places in the winter, and deal with the trolls once the warm weather comes again.

The origin of trolls is a mystery that is likely never to be found. Some have said that they are a creation of a mad wizard in some time past, while others believe them to be natural creatures, much as men, orcs or goblins. I posit that, as the trolls are mentioned in the legends of Elves (many of which predate the written word and the age of dwarves and men,) that trolls are either a creation of the gods or sprung from the magics of the Feywild and its boundless energy. It is suspect that, among all the simple creatures of the world, trolls alone would have such boundless life and energy. It smacks of magic, which I fear is beyond my own understanding. I suggest that interested readers refer to the works of Eldras of the Grey Tower, who has a much greater gift for the magical than this old ranger.

Differences in Phrenology and what it means to the species can, in most cases, be explained as a function of the environment in which they live. Trolls who live in the thick marshes of the south tend to be larger than trolls who live in the mountains. I believe this to be a function of the abundance of food. Another consideration is that in swampy territory, a smaller frame is unnecessary, since the troll is much more able to behave as an ambush predator. (More on this later.) All species of troll tend towards a stooped gait, and their arms stretch long, giving them an almost ape like walk. Beyond that, they vary wildly, but their skin tone is often a match for their environment. Their regeneration means that all phenotypes might be found with extra limbs. The most famous variation of this, of course, being the two headed troll, as described in the children’s tale, Glen O’Fastbrook at the Old Stone Bridge. It bears saying, however, that there is little amusing about two-headed trolls. They do not argue amongst themselves as in Old Stone Bridge, but rather the two heads establish a kind of hierarchy and quickly become a terrifying unit. Indeed, trolls are incredibly adaptive. They are typically the top predator in any environment they live in, and the disappearance of trolls in an area can usually be taken as a sign that something more dangerous has moved in.

Allow me a moment to discuss the two main phenotypes of troll which I have encountered. Firstly is the lowland troll. These are, as I said, bigger than average, and I believe it is from them that most stories of trolls spring. They are often found in swamps and marshes, but can sometimes be next to rivers and lakes, where they can be a threat to fishermen and travelers alike. They tend to be green in color and their aquatic lifestyle and sparse, wiry hair often lends them to becoming draped in swamp grasses and algae, giving them a drooping, straggly look. They tend to alternate in appearance from thick, bloated creatures to long and stringy. (This, again, is a function of their lifecycle.) They tend to have longer, narrower faces than their smaller mountain cousins, but it is not unknown to find short nosed trolls in marshlands found in valleys.

Highland trolls, whom my dear reader has likely heard of but, I pray, never encountered themselves, are smaller in stature than their lowland cousins. As the name suggests, they are most often found in hills and mountains, though they rarely move above the tree line in such cases. They tend towards rocky, rougher skin, and the tone of it tends towards browns and greys. Again, this can change as its environment does. During my travels, I have seen trolls (from a distance,) who were at once brown and green stripped in summer, and brown and grey in fall. As I mentioned before, they generally have shorter, thicker faces. They have the same thin, wiry hair as lowland trolls, but less of it. My own observation is that what these trolls lack in size they make up for in cunning. They are adept at ambushing, and will use their mastery of the mountainous terrain to attack caravans and patrols with near impunity. I suspect that many of the stories of bridge trolls are based on these Highland trolls.

Ice Trolls were described to me by a scald of the northern Elven kingdoms, and he described them as smaller (about the size of a tall dwarf,) yet with similar hallmarks of regeneration and appetite to the previous examples. These, he said, lived in the ice and snow of the north, and made their homes near hot springs and deep within the mountains. In the summer, when the glaciers water flows down, they will occasionally swarm into the lands of the Elves there. He told me of a legend of a great hero, Ilmasul Ilsorian, who once held back such a swarm in the Ice Hammer pass with an army of volunteers. His telling of the tale has led me to hypothesize that ice trolls, as they are called, differ from other trolls in that they are far more vulnerable to flame and significantly more social than other species of troll.

Of course, I would be remiss to mention the Ocean, or Saltwater troll. It appears to me that these creatures, commonly called Scrags, in fact compose a totally different species. They tend to be far less amphibious than their land based cousins, the lowland troll, while at the same time demonstrating a greater intelligence and sociality then most other species of troll. However, they have a significant weakness in that their regeneration seems to be tied to the application of sea water. Indeed, if rumors are to be believed, they are able to regenerate even from fire if allowed to submerge themselves in salt water. It is my opinion, however, based on the other species of troll I have observed and my own thoughts on the nature of legends, that in all likelihood no such strength exists; rather, the trolls are just less inclined to bloodlust, and flee to the safety of the water when injuries are dire.

Other phenotypes are, I suspect, the result of the trolls own propensity for mutation, which itself is the result of its impressive regeneration abilities. Two-headed trolls, three-armed troll and the like are almost certainly the result of some perverse ritual or accidental application of the severed appendage of another troll. I have seen evidence of what I can only describe as troll shaman’s, who practice such rituals as sacrificial offering, self-

mutilation and even rituals which bear the hallmarks of the summoning of spirits. Of course, I am aware of the stories from the east of trolls the size of great trees, and terrible monstrosities the size of mountains. I can only assume, based on my own searching for evidence in both text and the world, that such giant trolls must have been the product of over-exaggeration by writers, or else a case of misidentification between trolls and hill giants or other giants. If not, then they must be both phenomenally rare and indescribably destructive. The idea of a gargantuan troll the size of a mountain is terrifying, as I am convinced that such a creature would be nigh on unstoppable.

The diet of trolls can best be described as carnivorous, though not exclusively so. Generally, trolls eat whatever they can catch. Trees and foliage are generally left alone, while things which move tend to attract attention. Like a child, trolls interact with the world mostly through their mouth. I have seen trolls eat men, horses, bears, and even a peryton whose kettle had fallen upon my caravan. (That, truly, was a terrifying day. Luckily for my surviving compatriots and I, the birds turned on the greater threat of the troll, and we were able to flee. What followed was a two day forced march back to the safety of town. It took a long time before we were able to continue our journey: a lesson that the quest for knowledge is not for the weak of spirit or body. It is generally considered that trolls eat everything that they can catch, but this is not entirely true. They tend to prefer larger animals. Horses are a preferred meal, as are livestock. In the wild, when stocks of elk, giant goats and buffalo run low they will search out owlbears, giant crocodiles, manticores or even ettins. Though they seem fearless, they often avoid intelligent races that might be able to act against them in force. This is unfortunately not universally true, and in sufficient numbers trolls have been known to assault villages and towns.

In temperate climates, trolls spend the spring staking out their territory, the summer mating and the fall feeding, and then spend the winter in hibernation. The cold does them no harm, so it is unclear why exactly they need to hibernate. It is my observation, however, that this might be partly due to the decreased availability of food and the difficulty in setting up ambushes, although in his work, The Ecology of Trolls, Eldras of the Grey Tower hypothesizes that in fact the blood of trolls prevents them from surviving the winter, and that while the cold does not harm them their hearts slow in the cold like a lizards. An interesting observation, but one that puts to question how such a thing as ice trolls could exist if that was the case. In any case, the bodies of trolls change significantly over the year. Those encountered in the spring tend to be leaner, while those in the fall thick and powerfully built.

The reproductive cycle of Trolls, as I promised, is one of the most hypothesized and theorized aspects of their lifecycle. To this, I bring my own significant observations, for I tell you: I have spent three summers chasing trolls in the woods of the Black Water valley, and I have observed many a troll nest, and even the hatching of a clutch of trolls. Indeed, I say hatching for that is what it is.

An observant reader may have already caught on that trolls share much in common with a simpler creature with which we are all familiar: the common frog. Observe that both hide in water, using surprise and overwhelming strength to devour their prey. Both are capable of regrowing lost limbs, although the poor frog requires months to do what the troll does in mere hours. Both live equally on land and in water, and of course the frog even has a cousin who is like as the highland troll to the lowland. (Of course, I refer to the often maligned toad.) Indeed, trolls share many elements with frogs. One more is that trolls begin their lifecycles buried in the mud, as eggs.

I warn you now, oh dear reader, that what follows is not for the weak of stomach.

As I have said before, these nests are often decorated with bones, metallic objects or other decorations. They are also famously bad smelling; a direct result of the spreading of pheromones of the troll parents. Tolls do not raise their young, and it could not be said that there are male or female trolls. Rather, it seems that trolls are able to “change” themselves to suit the needs. If a community of trolls is missing a sufficient number of females, then it is possible that the weaker males of the colony might spontaneously develop female organs. I have never observed such a change, but I did observe that a male I had watched one year returned the following (to my surprise) as a female. The actual mating process is tame. Trolls do not lay with each other, but rather the female opens her belly to deposit her eggs directly into the nest. The male then sprays his seed onto the eggs, and the whole mix is covered with mud. 1 Over the course of the next few weeks, the parents will pack the nest with refuse, rotted meat, and their own excrement. The parents will usually stay together for a time before eventually both leaving the nest. The eggs hatch the following spring in a frothing mix of mud, rotted foliage and feces. It is truly a sickening sight to see so many tiny trolls pour out of the ground, and begin to devour each other. A grand melee ensues, until either one is left or the survivors decide to leave. Out of a clutch of hundreds of eggs, perhaps only ten trolls will escape the experience. The fledglings will seek out a source of water, wherein they will live until such a time that they dare venture out on land. Trolls grow rapidly, and a fledgling who is the size of a house cat when born will grow to be a head and a half taller than a grown man within a single season.

1 To those who would discount my theories with tales of trolls raping, you would do well to consider that such situations are not an example of trolls procreating. Such displays are a symptom of domination, and a behavior that the trolls themselves learn from their mercenary counterparts. I will venture that the most likely outcome of a troll attack on a village is that all those who can be caught will be eaten, and the idea that the troll would leave someone alive to bear a child is likely either a complete fantasy or a case of mistaken identity.

Trolls are said to be without their own society, but at the same time are able to operate within armies as terrifying shock troopers.To this topic, my reader, I posit my final thoughts. I believe that while much has been made of the stupidity of trolls, there is a great deal that they can be made to learn if the need or desire arises. Trolls are cunning, vicious and always hungry, but this is a feature of their nature and not a deficiency of their mind. They are supremely adaptive, and underestimating their ability to spring a trap has cost me many a good friend. Trolls are to be feared and respected, and if one is to hunt them always remember: bring fire.

Umber Hulk

Introduction

The umber hulk is a massive monstrosity that scrambles the minds of its victims, either abducting them, dragging them into the earth from where they came, or contentedly killing individuals of the group while the rest are confused by its gaze. Those that survive umber hulk attacks are rare, and even rarer are those to remember the beast that attacked them. Although it is difficult to recognize the signs of their attacks, which are commonly mistaken for cave-ins, or attributed to the other monstrosities of the underdark, there are telltale signs of umber hulks that any with experience can identify. Deep gouges and scratches into solid stone that even picks can't nick, cave-in survivors not remembering anything during the cave-in, and many other small details can aid in identifying umber hulks as being responsible.

Physical Nature

Umber hulks are very bulky, large creatures standing nearly twelve feet tall and over four and a half feet wide. Continuing the trend of being large, their arms are approximately twice the size of even the most muscular dwarves’ arms and end in claws harder than iron able to rip through solid stone with astonishing speed. Even with their muscular bodies, their large weight of around 1500-1750 lbs make them slow creatures. While their mouth contains rows of small teeth, most are harmed by the hulk’s two sets of mandibles. The hide of a umber hulk is a shell-like structure similar to a beetle, varying in shades of black, grayish or burnt brown hues, or even a dark purple in the rarer varieties. A variant of the Umber hulk described below, the tremor hulk, has a very tan coloration to better hide in its surroundings.

The hulk has two sets of eyes: a smaller set near the top of their head protected by ridges, and a larger set of eyes further apart from each other and below the smaller eyes. While eye color varies depending on gender and variant of hulk, the most common eye color for umber hulks is for the larger set of eyes to be white with black irises, while the smaller set of eyes higher up on its head are purple with yellow or amber irises. The small eyes of the umber hulk confuse both humanoids and monsters alike, causing erratic behavior that the hulk can capitalize on when hunting. Those who survive the hulks confusing gaze tell that their eyes almost swirl like a whirlpool when the hulk tries to incapacitate its victims. The umber hulk can sense vibrations in the ground and, like many denizens of the Underdark, can see clearly in darkness. The hulks have no nose, instead relying on gills or its mouth to breathe, suggesting an underwater life prior in its evolutionary history.

Position in the Ecosystem and common life

When it is not eating adventurers or Underdark denizens, umber hulks prey on ankhegs, small purple worms, and gricks. Tales about umber hulks tell of them tunneling out of ancient purple worms, slaying the worms and guaranteeing a fulfilling meal. A umber hulk can go into a sort of hibernation if it starts to lack food nearby, lasting up to a month in the state before perishing. However, their senses are still active, so as soon as their hearing or sight picks up prey, it will use ites confusing gaze to stop victims from escaping.

The umber hulks can communicate in their own language, however scholarly attempts to replicate the language fail as many of the important sounds come from a clicking together of the hulk’s mandibles. Even though they speak a language, the hulks tend to be solitary creatures, until their mating period. While the male and female umber hulks are similar in size, the female shell will be a lighter color than the male of the species. Umber hulks tend to have live births roughly a year after mating, with one to three children produced. The young umber hulks, commonly referred to as “hulklings,” become fully mature after two years, at which point they leave their mother’s protection. The average lifespan of a male umber hulk is 50 years while the females live on average 75.

DM Tactics

When a umber hulk knows prey (or adventurers) are coming, it will follow a previously-dug out tunnel to a better ambush point (one best suited to use its confusing gaze), then attempt to either cause a cave-in or ambush prey. If given the opportunity, it will break solid rock under an adventurer, grab them, and drag them back into the tunnel, using debris to give it cover from other members of the party while its mandibles and claws deal with its captured victim.

Of a umber hulk feels outnumbered or needs a better position to fight from, it will retreat into its tunnels, attempting a similar cave-in and snatch from when it engaged with the party. Otherwise, it will follow them, attempting to pick off nighttime guards using its confusing gaze.

Variants:

Tremor hulk: These umber hulks tend to be larger than their underdark cousins, growing even to the sizes of massive purple worms. They tend to be found in dense, rocky areas in mountains or in deserts. They follow their victims, using underground tunnels in combination with smashing violently into the ground with their specialized claws to cause victims unaffected by their gaze to be buried in the tunnels. It looks like this, but the eyes are similar to the Umber hulk.

Some other variants are said to exist. A dwarven adventurer told a tale of Umber hulks mixed with illithid tadpoles, with tentacles below the hulks’ mandibles. Nemezark, the self titled “Monstrologist,” wrote of his experiences with a hulk that had an adhesive similar to a mimic on its shell that only adhered to armor and strong rocks. He also told of the poor fighter who lost his axe to the shell of the beast.

Strategies for Adventurers

Adventurers that even know of the Umber hulk’s existence suggest using mirrors in an attempt to confuse the umber hulk with its own gaze, but none have survived an encounter using this tactic to tell the tale. While the hulks have hard shells that ward of many an attacker’s blade, they are fairly susceptible to mind tricks like illusions.

Unicorn

Introduction

Celestial beast? Avatar of purity? A product of wizard-induced mating? Hardly. A unicorn is the personification of something both familiar and strange...a bargain with the Seelie court. When humans die with passions unfinished and they reach out to infernal powers with their dying breath for one last chance- a revenant is born. When the righteous, kind-hearted, and/or innocent are placed in the same situation and a noble Fay answers- a unicorn is born. Out of this bargain the non-Fay gets a new lease on life, the Seelie court gets a new champion, and the specific Fay gets a warm chuckle in seeing how the being will adapt to its new body.

Physiological Observations

Although looking like horses, unicorns are far from it. To mortal eyes, unicorn coats are are pearl white, have gold/copper colored hooves, and a singular pure white horn. To beings with true sight or when encountered in the feywilds, unicorns glow with and intense internal light. Their manes ablaze with fire and their hooves shed sparks of starlight when they strike the ground, water, or skulls. Also noticeable in the feywilds is a symbol that faintly hovers above their head indicating which fey house struck this bargain.

Due to their non-natural nature, unicorns do not need to sleep, eat, and can survive almost all conditions on the Prime Material plane as long as they retain their connection to the Feywild. Interestingly, however, they do enjoy drinking water that is reflecting moonlight.

The internal skeleton of a unicorn is also peculiar and non-horse like. If one were to commit such a blasphemous act as to kill a unicorn and then cut it open, you’d find the skeleton to resemble that of a human somehow wearing a horse costume. Attempting to put the whole thing back together will result in something that, in fact, looks like a human skeleton being sown back into a horse skin.

And if that same someone was then so foolish as to cast a resurrection spell on this sham unicorn, the result would be creating a creature that wants to murder the caster first, then everyone/everything else until destroyed- starting with the happiest creatures around it.

Social Observations/Interspecies Observations

Unicorns are lords of the forest, but not because they are of the forest, but more because they are in the forest currently. They set up “rule” as a sort of benevolent dictator, settling disputes among animals, helping out needy beings, and killing fell beasts that take up residence. This upsets the natural order of things, which is why druids hate unicorns. The only reason a unicorn might be accompanied by druids is because the druids are trying to help it complete its quest and leave this plane. Unlike, revenants, unicorns have 777 years to do this and tend to be distracted by immediate and local evil. The druids are keeping it on track.

Humans love unicorns. For a good king to have a unicorn in his forest is a sure sign that the gods and fate have blessed his rule. In actuality it means that the king’s good intentions got someone else with really good intentions killed and the Seelie Court took notice. Elves know this a stay away from unicorns. Dwarves being underground rarely if ever meet unicorns.

Unicorns are chaotic good. They are attracted to those in need and with a simple view of the world. Which is why unmarried human teenagers who are virgins are the best at attracting their attention almost by accident.

Another possibility is that the unicorn’s forest will also house a small community of humans and a few humanoids who have a variety of curses suppressed by the unicorns’ presence. They are fierce guardians and will attempt to drive off druids that want to move the unicorn. The fey find this set up especially hilarious.

Behavior Observations

Unicorns are self-appointed stewards of the lands they live in no matter if any other creatures in that area need the protection. However they do not tend to stay too far from the place of resurrection because their uncompleted quest is near by. Unicorns might have just forgotten about it, but it always sits in the back of their mind.

Unicorns will watch the edges of important battles in order to judge when to intervene. This often occurs at a singular critical moment in battle when the tide would normally turn against the forces of good. The unicorn appears, often making a dramatic entrance, gallops to the bravest warrior, and carries her or him directed to the leader of the evil forces. Great for troop moral, terrible for commanders trying to matain any strategic position.

Alternatively, unicorns will take up the mentoring of youth in preparation for a great quest. They will coach the youth on the troubles ahead, help them prepare for the final battle by questing for important artifacts, and carry them to the final conflict. This often results in the death of the youth because unicorns place bravery/courage before aptitude.

Variants

Sham Unicorns: Created by killing a unicorn, removing its organs, bones, and skin, then trying to put it back together with a Resurrection spell. Creates a chaotic evil being that wants to feed and hunt. A perfect mount for a Dread Knight or Litch.

Noble Steed: Sometimes a unicorn after a fit of lust, might mate with a horse. The result is a horse of human level intelligence, that is sensible, and cautious. While having none of the magical ability of a unicorn, noble steeds do know how to keep their riders alive a lot longer. They are heavily valued by knights and paladins. Just think about every horse side-kick in every Disney movie.

DM’s Tool Box

When Saved by a Unicorn

When a good-aligned PC is making Death saves, there is a 5% chance that a unicorn will appear. This chance increase 5% for every failed rolled.

When saved by a unicorn, the PC will feel a great sense of debt owed to the creature and will compulsively carry out one task assigned to it by the unicorn. Charisma check (DC 20) in order to resist the compulsivity of the task.

D6	Quests for the Unicorn
1	Slay the 2nd-in-command (of a more distant threat) while the unicorn rallies campaign forces
2	Destroy an artifact of profane and powerfully corrupting influence
3	Delay a circle of druids from interfering with the unicorn’s plans until the next full moon
4	Seek Unicorn gives PCs a list of ways to remove the curses, freeing some of the population of the null-cursed
5	"Free" (read: kidnap) a local youth the unicorn has chosen for a very important task. Parents are important regional nobles
6	Delve a dungeon under the unicorn’s territory and seek out a source of corruption

On the subject of Unicorn Meat

Unicorn Meat (Or Unicorn Lasagne)Cursed & Priceless

If evil: eating this dish will lead to ecstacy and an addiction to having it again. Most hags know generally how to make it. Most evil BBGs will give a large sum for a true taste of this dish.

If good: eating this dish will lead to ecstacy then immediate and powerful guilt over how good it tasted. The good being will become distraught and eventually kill themselves on the first blade or spike made of white marble they find.

Its basically consuming purity and goodness. It is a profane act. Horses will always know what you need and never let you touch them. Other animals will shy away from you. Gods will never look at you again. Angels will hunt you. >Demons will want to eat you just to taste the unicorn meat. Devils will want to strike a deal with you for more. And that's assuming you survive the Seelie wraith for eating a funny joke with your perversion.

Vampire

I am the ancient, I am the land. My beginnings are lost in the dark of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears down stone into sand. -- Count Strahd von Zarovich

Introduction

Vampires are the dark beings who wake to an endless night, hungering for the lives they lost upon their conversions. They sate this hunger by consuming the blood of the living creatures, absorbing their essence to and power. These monsters detest the sunlight, for the touch of Corellon's pure light burns them. They do not have shadows or cast reflections which is why any vampire planning to move unnoticed hides in the shadows far from reflective surfaces.

Physiological Observations

Vampires are often a representation of whatever race that they were in life. More often than not however, most vampires come from the medium sized races as vampires like for their brood to have the versatility of movement and power that comes from being a human or an elf. Because vampires are undead, they do not have beating hearts or blood coursing through their veins. They do not require air to breath or food in the ways that most ordinary creatures need food. Rather, their sustenance comes from the blood of the living, the creatures that the monsters envy the most. They are immortal, unaging, and only die.

After their conversion to the undead, vampires become incredibly resilient. Their skin, tissues, and bones harden to a point that they develop natural armor similar to that of leather armors. Of course, they choose not to move without clothing. Combined with other armors, vampires become almost untouchable. Besides simply hardening, the skin of vampires becomes untouchable by all necrotic damage (which should be obvious when you consider that vampires are undead already). Additionally, their skin has hardened to the point that it cannot be cut or bludgeoned by any weapon that is not magical.

The magic that grants the vampire his undead abilities also grants the vampires body grants it a legendary resistance which allows the vampire to successfully resist anything 3 times a day. The eye sight of vampires sharpens well enough for them to see perfectly in the dark. This same magic grants vampires the ability to turn into a small bat or a cloud of mist. This magic enhances their physical prowess as well. They gain enhanced strength, enhanced constitution, and enhanced dexterity, placing vampires at the pinnacle of physicality.

They gain more than just physical prowess as well. Their intellect improves extremely quickly and they gain a little wisdom. Their immortality grants them this luxury. This increased ability lets these abominations to climb any surface including upside down on ceilings.

Creation Methodology

To understand how and why Vampires are created, it is important to know the story of Count Strahd von Zarovich, who legend claims to be the first vampire. From the recountation: "A brilliant thinker and capable warrior in life, Strahd von Zarovich fought in countless battles for his people. When war and killing finally stripped him of his youth and strength, he settled in the remote valley of Barovia and built a castle on a towering pinnacle, from which he could survey his lands. His brother Sergei came to live with him in Castle Raven loft, becoming Strahd's adviser and constant companion. In his brother, Strahd saw everything he had lost. Sergei was handsome and young, while Strahd had become old and scarred. Resentment colored their relationship, eventually turning into hatred. Strahd's beloved, Tatyana, spurned him for Sergei, whom she pledged to marry. In a desperate attempt to win Tatyana's heart, Strahd forged a pact with dark powers that made him immortal. At the wedding of Sergei and Tatyana, he confronted his brother and killed him. Tatyana fled and flung herself from Ravenloft's walls. Strahd's guards, seeing him for a monster, shot him with arrows. But he did not die. He became a vampire-the first vampire, according to many sages. In the centuries since his transformation, Strahd's lust for life and youth have only grown. He broods in his dark castle, cursing the living for stealing away what he lost, and never admitting his hand in the tragedy he created."

And so did Strahd von Zarovich become the founder of his species consumed by darkness. . But, more than that it is through him that one can understand much of how Vampires are created. To become a Vampire Lord such as Strahd von Zarovich requires a ritual of deep evil to be performed. This ritual can only be performed between sunset and the sunrise of the next morning and takes approximately 6 hours to perform. As a part of the ritual, the vampire lord must share his blood with a lesser vampire and consume the blood of the lesser vampire. Then, the lesser vampire must be ritually buried in the ground. Then a prayer to Asmodeus seals the blessing of darkness unto the lesser vampire which will remain buried until the sunset of the following day finally a full vampire lord.

Normal Vampires are created more simply. First, a vampire lord or vampire may create spawn by sucking the blood of vampires without draining them of life fully. This injects the dark magic into the blood of the living creature, gruesomely and agonizingly killing them. After they have died, they awaken fully under the control of whichever vampire or vampire lord first bit them. They can become true vampires, with free will, when relinquished of the control by their master. However, few vampires will grant this freedom, eager to keep control of their thrall. Spawn can also gain freedom if their master dies.

Vampires do have weaknesses. They cannot enter religious institutions without invitation. Sunlight burns their skin. They are slowed and hurt by moving across or over running water. Contrary to the common myth, garlic has no effect on them other than to ammuse or annoy them. Driving a stake through the heart of a vampire in it's sleeping place will paralyze it. Additionally, Vampires are required to rest in their place of turning at least once every 24 hours.

Social Observations

Vampires are creatures of lawful evil. They are consumed by selfish interests but abide by set principles. They are vain in their dealings with others and extremely proud of their capabilities. They believe that they are the best of all species while secretly not admitting their jealousy of the mortals that they wish to regain the life from. They prefer to remain to themselves and only really interact with mortals to gain new spawn or for food. Other than this interaction, they stay away to avoid being consumed by envy.

Behavioral Observations

Vampires are guided by a desire to regain all they lost when they converted to the undead. They desire the warmth of mortality, the love they lost, the ability to experience goodness. Guided by these desires and the knowledge they'll never regain what they lost, they conspire to deprive every other race of their joy. Vampires tend to be envious of the living because once they lose their mortality, they slowly become consumed by their darkest emotions. For example, love turns into lust for some young beauty. Friendship devolves into extreme jealousy. They lose all ability to resist the darkness within.

Intra-species Observations

Vampires work together under the leadership of Vampire Lords however they often choose to spread out to their own individual domains to maintain their own set of "livestock" to feed from.

DM's Toolkits

Vampires are always a staple of any campaign that requires a notorious, intelligent, and cunning villain bent on taking over the world. They make for masters of deception. They make for some of the best BBEGs for you to have agents moving around under. I also love using Vampires for campaigns to add a little of a rushed feeling by adding a time limit to stopping something he is doing.

Water Weird

"Toss a copper in the pool before you take a drink."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. It's not worth annoying the fountain's guardian."

In dungeons and fortresses across the world, travelers and adventurers find themselves days into a delve and very thirsty. Adventurer beware, because the most peaceful and lonely fountains may be home to the dangerous Water Weird.

The Water Weird is a common pet and guardian for the magically adept. Competent at scaring off common rabble and very loyal (as long as their pools care kept fresh), they can prove to be a very low-maintenance addition to the defenses of any Wizard's Tower or Dragon's Lair.

Physical Observations

Water Weirds are simple in structure. They have no organs to speak of. No tissues, nor cells. Quite literally, they are water given shape and purpose. They share their body with the body of water that surrounds it, and depend on it as well. If the Weird is removed from the safety of its pool or river, the Weird dies instantly. Outside of a greater pool of water, the Water Weird does not have the strength constitution to hold its own shape, and will vaporize instantly

As the Water Weird is dependent on a body of water, it also shares the properties and disposition. A body of water that is desecrated or particularly polluted makes a Water Weird disloyal, irritable, and attack with deadly intent. Water that is sanctified or purified makes a Water Weird's loyalty unshakable and it's temperament mild.

As mundane water can take the shape of its container, a Water Weird can take any number of forms. The most common form that a Weird takes is reminiscent of a serpent rearing up from the water. Outside of the shape of a serpent, they may take nearly any other physical shape, but tend to favor those with long necks, tails, and tentacles with which it can strangle and crush its foes.

Only the oldest Water Weirds have been noted to take on humanoid shape. With this proficiency, they usually old gain the power of speech as well. Unless specially trained or especially intelligent, a Water Weird will only know Aquan, the native language of the Elemental Plane of Water.

"Is the Fighter reading my journal again?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"I'd better stop him before he gets any funny ideas..."

Migration and Reproduction

Although Weirds come from the Elemental Plane of Water, there is no known plane of existence that has natural water sources and no Water Weirds to inhabit them. Water Weirds reserve the unique ability to Plane Shift at will while swimming through moving water, and thus can appear anywhere in the universe where is significant water-flow. In the wild, Weirds are solitary creatures that naturally seek out standing water to reside in. Once they find a suitable pool of water, they may choose to live in it alone for the rest of their days.

On the Prime Material Plane, Weirds are recognized and revered as the spirits and protectors of lakes and ponds. On one occasion, an ancient Weird is said to have spoken with Humans, gotten involved with the affairs of wizards, and passed on a Holy Avenger to a just king.

Water Wierds who wander and fail to find a pool of their own return to the Elemental Plane of Water twice per year. The first time is in the height of the Prime Material Plane's summer. At this time, many Weirds appear in the tides of the Silt Flats, and swim into the Swamp of Oblivion to mingle, fight, and do ritualistic dances of a sort. All of these behaviors are of what can be observed above the water. There is no telling what happens below, as Water Weirds are invisible when submerged.

The second time that Water Weirds migrate back to the Plane of Water is in the height of Winter. At this time, wandering Weirds appear near the Isle of Dread and swim towards the Sea of Ice. There, their bodies crystallize, freeze, and shatter. In this way, they reproduce. Each ice chunk that floats away from those spawning grounds is a newborn Water Weird.

Weirds and Civilization

Outside of friendly protector/local relationships, most interactions between mundane folk and Water Weirds are negative for both parties.

Sometimes, a Water Weird will take residence in a source of drinking water. Mortals that take large amounts of water from the water source may intimidate the Water Weird, and it may be driven to lash out at its thirsty interlopers.

In this event, send word for a wizard.

"Hey, Grognard, you can stop reading now. You already read the important stuff."

"Oh. Hm... Water Weirds are sorta... weird, aren't they?"

"Ugh... How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

Weirds and Wizards

Now for the juicy part...

If you're a Wizard, and you have a tower, you're probably in want of a Weird. They make loyal and steadfast guardians for treasure that you don't mind dunking in a pool of water. They're also incredibly low-maintenance., as they need no air, food, sleep, or drink. For the decorative or eccentric, their holding pools can make for excellent aquariums and fountains. Do not store more than one Water Weird in one container, as they are very territorial.

Housing a Weird is easy. Getting your hands on a Weird is a quite a bit more tricky.

Water Weirds are invisible in their element, and they're notoriously hard to catch. Despite this, there are a handful of tried and true ways to discover where a Weird is hiding and secure it for your private quarters.

When collecting or capturing Water Weirds, always bring along a fishing net with silver netting and a solid metal bucket with a sealable top, full of sanctified water.

The first and easiest way to discover the presence of a water weird is through the use of a liquid or powdered dye. Before the liquid is evenly dispersed in the water, keep an eye out for quick and subtle movements within the water as the Weird attempts to discern what new substance has invaded its space. Once you have a clear idea where the Weird is, scoop it up with your net, quickly transfer it to your metal bucket, then seal the bucket.

The second way to discover the presence of a Water Weird is the watch a source of flowing water. In moving water, Weirds can freely move against the flow to stay put or swim upstream. When this happens, there is a very notable effect on the water flow, that makes it seem that a part of the river is flowing upstream. Again, once you have a clear idea where the Weird is, scoop it up with your net, quickly transfer it to your metal bucket, then seal the bucket.

The third, final, and easiest way to secure a Weird is to find it frozen. Water Weirds cannot be frozen through normal means. In the wintertime, they reside at the liquid bottom of their pool. If they live in a small mote of water, then the water simply will not freeze. The only time that a Water Weird will freeze is during their mating season on the Elemental Plane of Water. As little chunks of ice float through the tides, simply scoop them up and dump them in your bucket. Chances are that you'll find enough young Water Weirds to satisfy all your treasure-guarding needs.

DM Toolbox

Most of my ideas for Water Weirds can be found in greater detail in the Weirds and Wizards section above.

Quest: A Wizard needs Water Weirds for experimentation or for guarding a sacred treasure. He hands the party a few Silver Nets and a bucket, and sends them on their way. They might be sent to a nearby town that has issues with their well, or maybe the wizard will Plane Shift them to the Sea of Ice to nab them fresh from the sea.

Ally or Patron: A very old Water Weird has grown interested in mortal matters, and wants to share its treasure to stir up drama or action.

Enemy: Have a treasure that your PC's will want? Put it in a box, and drop it in a fountain. Either they can fight the Water Weird, or offer it some significant treasure to trade for whatever is in the box. It might be interesting to have a dungeon with several of these encounters, where only one has the McGuffin they need.

Wight

“NO!” Zarn cried. He caught a single glimpse of his form, still, run through, dead on the battlefield, before his spirit was dragged down.

“NO, I WILL NOT BE DENIED, I WILL NOT FALL, I WILL SEE THEM DEAD!" His spirit raged, striving with all his will to return to his body. He ignored the planes half glimpsed, the forces that sought to take his life spirit for their own. He was Zarn, The Blacksword of the Plains. His conquest had been written in the stars, his bloody path his destiny. He was not to be defeat, by some band of fools!

“NO, LET ME GO, MY WORK IS NOT COMPLETE, GIVE ME MY VENGEANCE!” He raged on. It may have taken seconds, maybe millennia, but in his rage he saw he had stopped falling. He was in a place of shadow and fire, of the cold of the grave, and anger eternal. Some great thing, something he could not will himself to comprehend stood before him.

“SWEAR ALLIEGENCE TO ME ZARN! I WILL RETURN YOU TO YOUR WORLD, FREE TO SEE YOUR DESTINY FULFILLED! ALL YOU MUST DO IS GIVE OATH TO ME!” The great voice that was not a voice burned strong in Zarn. He didn’t even have to consider.

“YES I SWEAR AN OATH TO YOU, NOW RETURN ME!” Zarn opened his cold eyes to stare up at the night’s sky. He stood, notice the mortal wounds he had taken seal themselves before his eyes. He picked up his wicked blade where it had fallen, noticing how much darker and brighter the world seemed now. Zarn the Blacksword was reborn, and his rage at the living was only match by his will to see them all dead.

Introduction

Wight’s are those souls so driven by their goals, upon death they would give anything to return to the mortal plane. A dark god, demon lord, or force of malevolence may heed this cry, and strike a deal. They will return this being to their world, as long as they swear allegiance to them, with a promise to conduct war against all that is living. This usually goes along with the now newly formed Wight’s wishes, but regardless they are given a level of autonomy and free thought rarely seen in most undead. A deep hunger to destroy the living clouds a Wight’s mind though, one that must be answered as they seek their own goals.

Physiological Observation

A Wight at first glance may be mistaken for a zombie. This will be lost quickly. A Wight’s eyes burn fiercely, black orbs with bright embers of white, showing their deep hatred of the living, not a thing of the autonomous zombie. They will bear great resemblance to those they were in life, though deathly pale, their hair turning night black or white, fingers turned into sharp black claws. A bone chilling cold surrounds them, their very essence sucking life out of all around them. Life will die where a powerful Wight tread, leave dead blackened grass, brackish water, and so forth in their wake. They usual garb themselves in a semblance of what they were in life, though now as a clear servant of death or a dark lord. They are weakened in the light of the sun, and will usually retreat to whatever lair they have until twilight covers the world again. The most powerful of their kind will find means to blot out the sun, so they may wage their war against life eternal.

Social Observations

A Wight’s war against life, their completely focused will to see their own means met, means they will rarely interact with others. They may serve in a Death Knight’s army, or as the bodyguard of a Necromancer, but they will only do so as long as it furthers their own gains. Though they are in possession of the skills and memories they possessed in life, they rarely indulge in creativity, planning or thought, relying simply on their indomitable hunger and rage to see them through obstacles. This make them perfect warlords and shock troops, but poor advisors to darker stronger powers.

They have sworn themselves to a dark god for their return to life. They will not go against this god in any way, and usually become devote followers of them. They may serve a dark cult of their master for a short time, leaving as soon as its master allows it to.

Behaviorial Observations

Wights always hunger for life. There is no greater joy for these wicked creatures then to drain the very spirit and essence of the living. This then drives them to go where the living are, and therefore into conflict. Battle and war is the existence of any Wight, one which they thrill in, falling into deeper hunger and madness, ever driven to kill. Wights do not rest. They will hunt those who they see as the reason for their death, or as any obstacle to their maniacal plans relentlessly. They may be distracted by their hunger, or the will of their oath sworn god, but this is only for a short time.

Inter-Species Observations

Wights neither have any love or hatred for their fellows. They may work together at the willing of the same dark lord, or if their goals are the same, but will never go out and seek this. Necromancers, Death Knights, and dark gods may form Wights into bands of asssassins, scouts and shock troops, but they themselves will never seek to do this. They have no interest in other like them, only in their hunger, their will to carry on their schemes, and the call of battle.

DM's Toolkit

Wights make villains for low level players to challenge. They’re ability to raise zombies from those they slay give you a perfect band of minor undead for new heroes to vanquish from a village, forest, or dark cave. They are also great plot hooks for BBEGs. Why is this Wight here? Was she sent by a Necromancer to bring more bodies for its dark rituals?

What if that bandit chief you kill in your first session wasn’t satisfied with simply dying? What if a demon lord reached out and offered him a chance for revenge against those dastardly heroes? This can bring a greater level of story to your adventures, and add further meaning to your initial sessions. Any beast or being of reasonable intelligence can be brought back as a Wight, far stronger and deadlier, and with a premade vendetta against you heroes.

At mid level Wights make perfect soldiers for your heroes to face as they go to assault a Death Knights keep or so forth.

They can also be made strong by making them dark paladins of their new infernal lords. They could have been fallen rangers, wizards, and the like in their past lives, therefore giving them access to these abilities in their new undeath.

Will-O'-Wisp

This creature… it is not from one of the seven hells, nor does it hail from the deep darkness of the world. It is also neither a ghost or a living creature. Yet it lives on the material plane, with only one apparent purpose: to feast on the fears and nightmares of the living.

Its body is virtually non-existent, its appearance almost always the herald of death, it goes by the shape of a glowing skull. This thing… it goes by many names: Spook-lights, corpse candles, death lanterns and… of course… its true name: the Will-O’-Wisp. ~ Necromancer Anotal Ver’ Hakt

Introduction

The Will-O’-Wisp, a creature which many names are a testament to its widespread influence it had on civilizations and cultures in Golarion. This is not a surprise, as a Will-O’-Wisp who has revealed himself typically spells death for the creature that is its witness. One to many people have gone missing at night, due to the presence of these creatures.

But what precisely are Will-O’-Wisp’s? They are most commonly known as small, flying balls of light that predominantly live in swamps. They are terrifying, however, due to the fact that they lure unsuspecting travellers into traps and ambushes. After they struck a victim, the Will-O’-Wisp does not kill his prey, but rather waits for them to die while in the meanwhile they feast on the fears and frights of the victim.

The origin of the Will-O’-Wisp is unknown. Their existence has been noted through time, however. Depictions of them appear in many ancient ruins and artefacts from ancient Azlant to the cyclops empires in northern Avistan, and they all date back many millennia. This has led to the suggestion of many scholars that Will-O’-Wisp have dwelt on the material plane for quite a while.

Physiological Observations

Whatever its origin, and its seemingly ghostly nature, Will-O’-Wisp’s do possess a physical body. It consists of about 3 pounds of translucent, moist spongy material, which seems to have no apparent application in cooking, alchemy or magic, however. A Will-O’-Wisp is also virtually immortal: they do not age although they can die from severe injuries.

The most intriguing ability, one that has baffled scholars for years, is the Will-O’-Wisp’s ability to consume the emotions of a living creature, most particularly their fears. Little is known about this ability, although necromancers and even liches have been known to have researched it. Only this obscure source of information, written by the necromancer Anotal Ver’ Hakt, has provided clues on the Will-O’-Wisp’s ability to consume emotions.

“A living thing, intelligent or not, vibrates and emits energy according to its emotional state. Based on observations the emotion of fear appears to create the strongest vibrations, which leads me to conclude that it also releases the most energy”. Based on that piece of information, many scholars argue that the Will-O’-Wisp is able to absorb and consume this energy, although no notable theories have been made on how it actually nourishes itself on it.

Another notable ability, which also lends the Will-O’-Wisp his name, is his capability to glow in yellow, white, green and blue-ish colours. Other colours have not been unheard of, though they appear to be quite rare. Will-O’-

Wisp ‘s are able to control the colours of light they emit, and use this to form the vague shapes of a humanoid skull to further intimidate their victims. They can also control the intensity of light they emit, becoming practically invisible if they so desire.

Social Observations

Will-O’-Wisp’s prefer to dwell in swamps, overgrown forests and wetlands. The fact that these regions are sparse in prey raises questions as to why they remain there. Some individuals make their way into civilized areas, most notably large towns. They prefer to take up their position as close to prisons, torture chambers or gallows as they can get undetected, by residing near or inside lanterns.

Behavioural Observations

Far from mindless, Will-O’-Wisp’s appear to be merely interested in luring prey to subsequently feast on their fears when their trap has sprung. They are not defenceless, however. If an enemy resists, they can inflict electrical damage by merely touching their opponent. They are also resistant against many types of magical attacks, save for spells like magic missile and maze.

Intra-Species Observations

Will-O’-Wisps are associated with death and despair, and as such are avoided by most sentient species. It is not unheard of (evil) individuals seeking out Will-O’-Wisp’s, however; some attempt to strike bargains with them, providing an ample supply of fearfull prisoners in exchange for the various bits of (sometimes) ancient knowledge some particular longlived Will-O’-Wisp’s might preserve.

DM’s Toolbox

Personally, I’ve played Will-O’-Wisp’s for the intelligent evil creatures they are due to a lack of possibilities in my campaigns. There are a lot of alternatives to the evil electricity dealing monster, though. Nearly all cultures in the world have a variant or form of Will-O’-Wisp’s in their folklore. A quick Google search reveals lots and lots of options.

Wraith

"...no..."

"What ye say, Da?"

"...more..."

"Ye know I dun much care the scarin' games, ol' beard..."

"...PAIN..."

Introduction

When a mortal creature steeped in sin dies its soul passes into the Lower Planes to suffer a punishing fate. However, sometimes a soul is so vile, malicious, and disgusting that even the Lords of Hell will politely decline. Such a soul collapses under the weight of its own darkness, ripping a hole in space. Nothing, not even light, can enter or exit this pit in reality. This "sphere of annihilation" consumes all color, life, and light from its surroundings, and you should weep for the poor creature that touches one.

Once the sphere has consumed enough, black tendrils will leak from it like liquid darkness eventually giving it form, if one could even call the act such, as an ethereal black remnant of its past self: a wraith.

Physiological Observations

The wraith possesses little in features beyond the two empty orbs of dimmed light the author struggles to call eyes. These float eerily still in a bed of black wisps that move into a shape reminiscent of the wraith's mortal body when the wraith takes action. Upon looking into these eyes even the most virtuous of heroes have fled or shriveled, for an absolute shattering despair will fill the mortal soul.

A wraith's body is a thing of oblivion- of nothingness. Looking upon the form of a wraith would confer the image of solid yet vapor-like darkness, for the wraith is a void in physical space and thus can freely float above and slither through solid objects as if they were not there. However, the wraith will avoid silvered objects or shafts of sunlight that creep into their dark haunting grounds as if these would cause it pain.

The touch of a wraith will drain vitality from any living thing, and creatures with strong enough souls to feed its hunger for life energy suffer a fate worse than death: they rise from the dead as specters, spirits of hatred hellbent on pursuing the wraith's goals of annihilation.

If a wraith haunts for centuries unchallenged, the amount of life energy it has consumed will have fueled its growth into the most powerful form of spectral undead: the Dread Wraith. Such an abomination possesses all the strengths of a wraith but amplified to a degree that challenges even the most powerful liches and vampires the world has ever feared.

Social Observations

A wraith will not acknowledge other wraiths or greater undead that do not share its urge to destroy, but it can and will easily command lesser undead with a shriek of some otherworldly tongue that even the most dedicated of necromancers have yet to understand. This shriek is so powerful that it instantly kills simple creatures and causes a deafening ringing in the ears.

Though possessing the intelligence to do so, a wraith does not freely speak. If words echo from its hollow tendrils, they are usually cryptic or cries of anguish and hate. Rumors abound of folk who have chased after the spirits of loved ones with the hope of putting them to rest, only to find their words giving a brief pause to the wraith before it set upon them. This would allude to the possibility of wraiths retaining some semblance of memory of their former life. Perhaps, if a connection between a wraith and a living creature were strong enough...

Behavioral Observations

Wraiths harbor a single motivation: the hatred of all living things. The wraith will not tolerate the presence of life and will take any action necessary to kill and consume the life energy of anything within reach. The cries of an attacking wraith seem to indicate its broken soul being torn with rage over its death, and that nothing else should be allowed to live if it cannot. Maybe this jealousy is the only justice that could be visited upon such a wretched soul.

Once the sun has set, a wraith will freely stalk in the open night but is careful to avoid direct exposure to moonlight. This is a tactic wraiths use to ensure their stealth, and that any living prey they hunt cannot determine darkness from death. Once the sun rises, the wraith will have retreated to haunt a dark place where the living may yet trod and those who survived the night will awaken to see a land withered and blasted by the wraith's necrotic touch. It is often that just the presence of a stalking wraith will be enough to starve and kill off settlers.

A wraith's approach to its desire to kill depends entirely on the situation: they are adaptable in their tactics and so do not strictly stalk or haunt in dark tombs. Their ability to command lesser undead combined with their above-average intelligence makes the wraith a formidable commander and true threat to life on a grand scale.

Inter-Species Observations

The wraith sees life as an afront to its suffering. Everything must die. No exceptions.

DM's Toolkit

The wraith makes an excellent villian for games in the early and mid levels, and can easily be adjusted to fit the late tier. It can be a viscious solo stalker bringing horror to your game, or a commander-type that puts the pressure on the party and its attempts to save the kingdom. The Monster Manual (unfortunately) lacks the flexibility of wraith templates and the Dungeon Master's Guide provides an unsatisfactory amount of tools to address this. >So, to develop on the wraith:

Consider allowing the wraiths of spellcasters to retain their spellcasting abilities and spells.

As above, but with features. If the wraith is of a prominent NPC with PC-like features, scale accordingly but allow the wraith access to them. A wraith has only shards of memory of its former life, but that could be enough.

Invoke Tolkien by giving your wraith the ability to see the invisible creatures. Darkvision and a weak passive just do not cut it.

Perhaps wraiths can choose when they can interact with solid objects, opening the opportunity for wraiths with weapons and items.

Apply a wraith-like template to non-humanoid creatures like dragons, beholders, or centaurs for some extra flavor.

The author has taken the liberty of implementing the sphere of annihilation as part of the wraith's evolution, and has done so because such has proven successful in his own games and he recommends a similar practice.

Additionally, consider modifying your wraith to better model the plane they died on (if somewhere other than default fantasy world). Examples include: elemental wraiths, angelic wraiths, demonic wraiths, and fey wraiths.

Wyvern

"It snatched up a cow last week, but it wouldnt be bold enough to snatch one of us would it greg?... greg?" -Last words of an Unknown guardsman of the town Starstand

Gracefull and vicious hunters of the sky. The wyvern

Spreads fear amongst its prey and adventurers with its ferocity, its speed, and its deadly tail. Wyverns are known to quickly snatch up their prey (or an unwary adventurer) and take it to a safe place to eat. Therefor it is not unlikely to spot a wyvern in the air carrying off its prey.

Physiological Observations

The wyvern is a large flying dragonkin, its whole body and tail is covered in relatively thick scales, it has to arms/forelegs that have grown into wings, these are not covered in the same kind of scale, but a more leathery sort. The size of a wyvern can be deceptive. The full body length of the wyvern is approximately 15 feet. However, about half this length is from the wyvern’s tail. The tails reach is not to be underestimated. There have been spotted both much larger specimens and much smaller, however these could have been either wyvern hatchlings, or dragons. There is not enough research to back up either. There is no apparent size variation between the male and the female wyvern, however, the male wyvern is usually covered in spikes and scales that are more prominent than the female, the wyvern seen above is a male wyvern. In younger specimens, it can be hard to determine sex from the scales since they will not have fully developed on neither the male nor the female. The color variation of wyverns is usually adapted to whatever terrain in which it is residing. The colors spotted on wyverns are usually dark green, brown or red. While arctic wyverns are very rarely seen, they have been proven to exist, and they have a very light grey/white color scheme. Wyverns living at the coast are usually in more blue color. It is unknown whether the wyverns slowly change their own color, or if the color is passed down genetically. The wyvern has two forms of movement, flight, and walking/running, the wyverns with their small forearms they move very clumsily on the ground compared to their elegance in the air. In flight a wyvern is very fast and agile, this is why they are some of the most successful arial hunters in the world. The agility and speed displayed when hunting is most fascinating, and is not portrayed anywhere else in the fauna of our world. Wyverns have been seen flying past enemies, flipping over in air, and jabbing them with the stinger.

Sociological Observations

Wyverns are not social at all, there are only 3 events that can make it possible to find several wyverns at one location

The wyverns have just hatched and the mother is nursing them

The wyverns are mating/fighting for a mate (however this is very rare since wyverns territories are large, and they rarely meet unless mating

A very large animal has died nearby and they have all come to feast (this too is a very rare occurrence, but a wyverns smell and vision is quite impressive, making it able to scent a prey (epseically a large one) from very far away) if this is to happen, the wyverns will most likely fight and mate there, creating a very rare and not very long lasting, wyvern colony.

Behavorial Observations When a wyvern is hunting it will usually stay in the air about 1800-2200 feet above the ground while searching for prey, once movement is spotted, it will descend slowly at first, to get a closer look at its possible prey, if the wyvern decides to engage, it will dive towards its prey, and attempt to snatch it off the ground. Once grabbed the wyvern will either sting the prey with its stinger or crush it with its powerfull talons, to subdue it. Wyverns have been known to drop prey from very high altitudes to kill it, however this is very rare, and we have not yet discovered why they sometimes do this, it may be just for sport, and it may be for an entirely different reason. Wyverns will unless forced to by sustaining serious injuries not stop chasing their prey until caught, or unable to. Wyverns will however always prefer to stay in the air and not fight on the ground, their clumsy movement on the ground makes them much weaker than in the air, once on the ground a wyvern will fight much more defensively, staying low, hissing with its tail above its head ready to strike. Wyverns can live up to 400 years, one specimen has been known to live to 523 but that was a one time scenario. Wyverns will reach sexual maturity at 2.5 years of age, but mating at this age is very uncommon. Most wyverns will not mate until atleast 5. When a female and a male wyvern meets it is a very calm process unless another male is involved, if another male is there to compete the male wyverns will start by displaying their wings, and stingers whilst hissing, roaring, and raising their scales to look bigger, if no wyverns back down they will start fighting, when wyverns fight they do not intend eachothers death, however this is often how it ends, since the wyverns fight in the air, it is not uncommon for one of them to get a torn wing, and fall to its death. Whily wyverns can be tamed doing so is a very difficult task. Wyverns have a very explosive temperament, and it doesn’t take much for a wyvern trainer to become wyvern fodder.

Intra-Spiecies Observations

The wyvern eats everything that it can kill, it is too impatient, ant to feral compared to its larger cousins the dragons, to wait and communicate with its prey, if it can kill it; it will. do not attempt to calm down a wyvern thats attacking you, youre not going to succeed

DM’s Toolkit

Wyverns can prove a very hard challenge or a relatively easy one, changing from a CR of 4-8 depending on the circumstances and what party is fighting it. If the party consists primarily of ranged adventurers or casters, taking a wyvern on out in the open is not that hard. However, if the party is more melee based, an airborne wyvern, can be an almost impossible challenge, whereas a wyvern in an enclosed space is a relatively easy task for a bunch of fighters and barbarians, it will prove a formidable adversary for a party of sorcerers, wizards and rangers. Therefore, it is up to the DM to decide how to fight the wyvern. Wyverns have before been used to experiment on by mad scientists or wizards, granting them a poiston breath weapon or another enhancement, this is a handy way to surprise a party, or just simply raise the CR of the beast. Role-play situations: a member of the party can attempt to tame a wyvern for a riding animal, this will require a lot of time, and is very difficult, it will prove much easier if the wyvern is hatched with the player. This will include daily rolls, which will become increasingly harder, and fails will range from, the wyvern escaping, to the player being eaten.

Xorn

The most important piece of equipment to bring with you into the deep sections of this mine is the provided purse of gemstones. The mine comes rather close to the Underdark and is oft frequented by Xorn. A few gemstones in your pocket to feed them can be the difference between life and death, as well as between profit or loss for the mine, so never forget them! -Excerpt from a Miner’s Manual

Introduction

The Xorn are in many ways as to the Elemental Plane of Earth as an awakened pack of wolves would be to an Elven forest. Both can be terrifying to see, the latter for its historical perception and the former for its outwardly appearance; if a party gets past that hurdle, then both are pleasant conversationalists with interesting information about their lands that can be shared; and both can turn ravenous, violent, and absolutely deadly if encountered in the wrong situation or provoked. The difference being that a pack of starving wolves specifically want the flesh off an adventurer’s bones, while the Xorn wants something far closer and dearer to an the adventurers' heart; their gold.

Physiological Observations

Xorn are native to the Elemental Plane of Earth and this otherworldliness is readily apparent in their anatomy. They frequently have three arms, three legs, and three eyes spread across their barrel-like torso, capped off with a mouth on the top; though there are infrequent variations, the number of limbs and eyes always match up. They evolved to deal with their native plane and the burrowing that is their main form of movement; their mouth and arms are configured for three dimensional space where forward is the most important direction. Woe be to those caught in the path of a Xorn, mouth and three mighty claws all pointed at them.

Their hide is unnaturally strong, more resilient than plate armor, yet supple and smooth to cut away nearly all friction. As such, it is nearly impossible to slice through with even mighty blows sliding off the hide leaving almost no scratch. Arcane and other master smiths, especially the Duergar, value Xorn hide above nearly all others when searching for rare materials from which to create light and some medium armors.

Xorn are slow creatures, however, even in their favored habitat of burrowing. Their connection with the Elemental Plane of Earth allows them to travel through the depths of the rock and soil without disturbing the material as it passes; it becomes one with the earth and passes uninterrupted through it. On worked stone, however, they will leave tell-tale signs of their passing, though to the untrained eye they may appear as areas of natural erosion or the shifting of the earth.

Xorn eat precious metals and gems as their standard fare, unable to digest any organic material. This diet likely makes their hide as strong as it is, and makes them terrifying to those possessed of wealth. They can smell gold and other metal and stone wealth from quite a distance away, and can pinpoint its exact location once within a short distance. Magical attempts to breed Xorn with other species in order to create a hybrid creature with this ability to sniff out wealth yet without the appetite for inorganic material have been so far unsuccessful, but are a common pastime among insane and greedy wizards.

Social Observations

Xorn are usually solitary creatures who graze on the fields of growing precious stones and metals in their home of the Plane of Earth. As long as food is abundant, as is the case in the Plane of Earth, they are quite docile creatures unless provoked. They are very territorial, but most confrontations between Xorn over territory are quickly solved by sizing each other up; confrontations with non-Xorn can be much trickier. They will allow travelers to pass without notice, however, so long as their food sources are untouched.

Xorn are capable of speech and will often converse with those interested, sharing their knowledge of the lands in exchange for gold or other edible wealth. By most reports they are incredibly strange yet likable creatures. However, they rarely speak any language aside from that of the Plane of Earth, rendering all but the most erudite of scholars unable to communicate with a Xorn.

Unlike many elemental creatures, Xorn mate to reproduce, leading some to speculate that they might have originally been from the material plane, possibly even descended from rust monsters, and adapted over many timeless ages to the Plane of Earth. They are hermaphroditic most of their lives but take on a gender only during mating season; the younger Xorn who wander across territories typically become male, while the older Xorn with more territory to themselves become female so as to better provide for and rear the young. They quite fortunately mate while underground and passing through the earth, for the sight of them doing so would likely be too much for a mortal mind to bear. The female lays between 2-4 eggs in a nest deep underground and surrounded by precious stones and metals, the eggs themselves created from and adorned with the most precious and valuable of materials. The young are capable of hatching and fending for themselves upon birth, but the mother Xorn checks in on the eggs from time to time and takes a more protective role after the young hatch. The eggs, both the shells after hatching but especially unhatched and preserved, are often among the most valuable items in a Dao’s treasury due to their rarity, difficulty in obtaining, and pure opulence.

A Xorn which has unfortunately been removed from the Plane of Earth, be it by accident or the meddling of the more powerful (they would never leave intentionally), is a much more desperate creature. They travel deep within the earth, often through the Underdark or nearby particularly deep mines, searching for sustenance. Even the wealthiest mines rarely provide enough of a diet for a Xorn, and as such will seek out great concentrations of wealth in the forms of dungeon stashes, wealthy storehouses, and unsuspecting adventurers who carry all their wealth on their backs. It will try to trade for or beg for food as a first resort, but often due to communication problems and to most recoiling from the Xorn’s horrific appearance, it will quickly turn to intimidation and force to obtain its meal.

Behaviorial Observations

As long as they are well fed, Xorn are docile creatures, not immediately friendly but neither are they rude or cruel. They cannot be tamed, but they can be made to respect boundaries with a little bit of friendship and courtesy.

Xorn prefer to stay below ground, emerging only into deep dungeons and mines in the pursuit of food. It is exceptionally rare to see them above ground on the material plane, though they can more frequently be found on what constitutes ‘above ground’ in the Plane of Earth.

So long as they are not provoked or their food source taken, a Xorn will remain apathetic to others crossing its territory. If challenged, it will rear itself up and wave its arms, stomping in rhythm, to attempt to scare the intruder away; this is how two Xorn would size each other up to determine a territorial dispute. If this is ineffective, the Xorn may attack, especially if it feels bigger, using its burrowing to ambush targets with a barrage of quick attacks before disappearing into the earth again. It will use that burrowing to escape as well if the battle goes poorly.

Inter-Species Observations

Xorn infrequently interact with other species, or even with other Xorn, because of their preference to live as one with the earth, swimming through the stone and dirt as a fish through water. Their high tremorsense means that they are capable of avoiding dangerous tunneling monsters that share space with them, like Purple Worms. Few others truly venture into their realms.

Those that do include the Dao and Duergar, neither of which much care for Xorn. Dao often find ways to establish boundaries between Xorn and their treasuries, usually through intimidation more so than violence. Duergar, however, prefer violence as Xorn hides are valuable components to masterwork armor.

A wizard or other adventurer capable of speaking in the Xorn’s native tongue should find a creature willing to trade information for wealth. They are not particularly talkative, and any discussion with one should be a slightly surreal and mind-bending experience, but repeated courteous contact could produce something like a friendship. A starving Xorn stuck on the material plane is very unlikely to form these sorts of bonds, but helping it return to the Plane of Earth would earn its eternal gratitude.

DM's Toolkit

A Xorn is an excellent enemy for hoarder PCs, for nothing strikes more fear into that style of player than watching their probably ill-begotten wealth devoured and made irrecoverable. They can appear on a deep dungeon dive or in the Underdark, but could be used sparingly in other situations.

They have a very high AC, formidable HP, and a resistance to non-magical slashing and piercing that will confound and imperil low-magic parties. In parties with mages, use their burrowing speed to disappear into the ground, taking the opportunity attacks as they vanish and trusting their AC and high HP to hold out, and appear underneath an unsuspecting PC with multiple ambush attacks. Used like this, they should be far more dangerous than any other CR 5 monster and remain a dangerous enemy for some time. Even once badly outclassed by PCs, a Xorn can still use its burrowing and camouflage to threaten the gold stores of a party that doesn't invest their winnings, pushing a party to become more invested in other aspects of the world.

Capitalize on the contradictory nature of the Xorn. They are terrifying to behold and should instantly strike fear into those who do not know of them just from their description. Yet they are simply hungry and would rather find their meal peacefully, creating some moral tension.

On a meta-level, your players might not know of Xorn, so could truly surprise them. As a kinda-elemental, the PC knowledge check concerning them should be Arcana, but because of their rarity it should be a difficult check to make.

Yeti

Beware! Tread not the mountain’s snow--

Beyond the treeline you must not go.

Winds will whip and frost will flow,

And worst of all you are not alone.

For something lurks in peaks of sky;

Icy eyes watching from on high,

Swirling snows mask muffled cries

Of careless men, doomed to die.

Into the night, the creature goes,

Red blood staining the soft white snow.

-From the Song of the Sherpa, Shou-Lung folktune

Introduction

Legends tell of a terrifying beast that stalks and harries lonely mountain travellers. In most of those legends, said beast is simia abominabiles, more commonly known as the Yeti, a cunning, brutal apex predator that dominates the high passes and snowy canyons of great mountains with a blood-curdling howl.

The Yetis’ origin itself has been debated amongst mountaineers and sages for years. It has been speculated that Yeti are some kind of primitive race of wild mountain-men, their advanced and magical society cursed to decay into degradation and barbarity by forgotten gods, their once proud and noble people now savage monsters. Other, darker stories say that each Yeti is the spirit of a mountain traveller who betrayed or abandoned their companions to death in the icy snows, now doomed to forever wander the mountain slopes in a constant search for warmth and blood, their hunger to never be sated. It is difficult to find concrete evidence of either theory, but mountain villagers have been known to speak of forgotten temples and abandoned cities high in the mountains. Perhaps a brave party of adventurers could finally put the debate over the Yeti’s origin to rest. . .

Physiological Observations

The largest Yeti slain, examined, and preserved, the “Nerath Snow-Man”, was 8 feet tall, and unfortunately as a scientific specimen was lost when that empire fell. Despite this precedent, eyewitness accounts and sightings have spoke of Yetis that are much larger and much more terrifying. These have yet to be confirmed.

A Yeti is a hulking ambush predator built for endurance and the hunt. Each Yeti is covered in layers of thick, white, matted fur, designed to both keep the creature warm and to help it blend in to its snowy surroundings.

Wide, padded feet keep it from sinking into deep drifts, and powerful muscles cord across its legs and back, allowing it to move swiftly. Its arms and legs end in wicked, business-looking claws, which contrast as a deep black against the stark white of their fur. A Yeti possesses a mouth full of large, sharp teeth, with canine fangs resembling that of other large carnivores.

This is where the similarities between the Yeti and an ordinary mountain animal end, however, as an examination of the monster’s eyes betray hints of a cold, calculating cunning. Wizards and magi who argue for the creature’s origin as the byproduct of a curse resulting from the betrayal of one’s companions have pointed to these eyes as proof, as they are a bright, almost electric blue that cut through the snow and are visible despite the Yeti’s other strong camouflage mechanisms, often betraying the creature as a perceptive adventurer spots two telltale pinpricks of bright blue light.

It has been theorized that these eyes have the capabilities to see heat sources through magical means, as how else would the predator be able to track its prey through the blizzards of its chosen hunting ground? Others have argued that the Yeti’s uncanny ability to track its victims is through a superior sense of smell.

If there is a Yeti language, it is unknown. What is known is that what is first heard of the creature is almost always its trademark howl, a sound that serves multiple functions. The first is that it terrifies victims, often causing them to panic and betray their position. Additionally, it may serve as a warning to other Yetis that the howler is in the area, and to steer clear of its territory. Whatever the case, following the howling a solitary Yeti attack is almost always imminent.

A Yeti’s claws are made of thick black bone and can inflict horrific bleeding wounds on opponents. Likewise, dried blood and guts from previously eviscerated victims can cause infections in wounds of survivors of a Yeti attack.

If possible, a Yeti will always eat its kill, though it prefers warm meat to scavenging, A Yeti takes disturbing care to wipe its mouth and fur of blood in order to maintain camouflage.

Social Observations

A Yeti is a solitary hunter. In fact, no conclusive evidence has ever been provided of more than one Yeti hunting together, despite unsubstantiated tales of bloody and protracted Yeti-on-Yeti battles or packs of the creatures. Indeed, it is rare to find Yeti skeletons or remains at all in the mountains, let alone groups of Yeti bones, and it has been theorized that Yeti are not subjected to any sort of family or social bonds.

This raises the issue of how the creatures reproduce, or even if they reproduce at all. It is possible that the beasts enter some kind of deep hibernation in hidden refuges together, at which in the end culminates in the birth of offspring. It is then the parents may abandon their Yeti cubs and become solitary hunters once again. If this theory is true, then a party of brave adventurers may seek to bring peace to a mountain by tracking the Yeti to its hibernation burrow and destroying it there.

It is unlikely that the Yeti have any sort of broader social hierarchy, although they certainly portray a level of cunning sentience that must allow for some crude level of creative thought.

A Yeti most likely marks out its territory through its own trademark howl, although there are reports of crude bone or stone markers in the form of intricate inukshuks scratched with strange markings that are said to form the boundaries between Yeti lands. If these markings belay a Yeti language is a mystery with dire consequences.

Behavioural Observations

It is difficult to come across prey in the mountains, and as such the Yeti will attack almost anything that it comes across. This includes even large or well-armed groups, with the Yeti resorting to ambush tactics to appear suddenly and drag victims away from their friends into the whiteness, only to attack minutes or hours later as the terrified party struggles to regroup.

This desperation can often serve as the Yeti’s greatest weakness, as a well-prepared and perceptive party can lure a Yeti into a trap. Despite their cunning, a Yeti injured in such a fight who is able to retreat will almost always return, despite its wounds, to exact terrible revenge on those that got the best of it.

A Yeti’s hunting ground can range many dozens of miles wide, often covering important or well-traversed mountain passes. Their tough climbing claws, padded feat and strong muscles make traversing such large hunting areas easy. They often keep a hunting ground for life.

Intra-Species Observations

Yeti mostly work alone. This is due partly to their desire to not split their kills and also to their vicious temperament. This means that whenever other monsters are encountered with a Yeti, they are almost always undead or magical. This includes chillborn ghosts or zombies, remnants of a Yeti’s victims who haunt the area of their death.

In rare cases, some particularly inventive monsters, such as frost kobolds or mountain orcs, seek to manipulate the Yeti into serving as muscle or a guard beast for their lair. This almost ends badly, although their has been at least one famous documented case of a white dragon manipulating a Yeti into serving it, allowing it to guard its lair in return for the locations of victims and prey. Despite these rare exceptions, most mountain monstrous races, such as the Yak-Folk, avoid the Yeti at all costs.

Variant Specie(s)

Another apex predator adapted to an entirely different climate, the Sasquatch (simia magnus pedem) is found in the low hills and great rainforests of temperate coastal regions. Similarities between the Sasquatch and Yeti can be noted in the former’s icy blue eyes, hulking figure, and brutal cunning. Despite these similarities, some differences have been noted between the Sasquatch and their mountain cousins. They have thick brown or mottled fur, are 1-2 feet shorter and are less heavily muscled. Likewise, they lack the Yeti’s trademark howl, possessing instead a chilling low whistle that they use to coordinate and plan attacks, often right in the darkness around adventurers’ campsites. As they are more social than Yeti, they will work and hunt together in pairs or trios, thus becoming an even more deadly threat.

DM’s Toolkit

As you may be able to tell, I find the Yeti works best as an extremely scary monster with lots of buildup. Although you can really make a Yeti variation for any climate (such as the Sasquatch above), I find that they give off the best feeling of being hunted for my PCs in their original habitat of huge snowy mountains.

I like to use the Yeti to make travel through mountains an adventure in itself, as the constant harrying, howling and hunting can lead the PCs to undertaking all sorts of challenges or efforts to deal with the monster hunting them. Likewise, the final terrifying Yeti battle can serve as the climax for taking a mountain shortcut, and the fate of being dragged of into blinding whiteness I find makes the threat of the Yeti to be something my heroes are always scared of.

Despite my descriptions of Yeti as apex predators, they’re actually quite easy to fit into a lower-level campaign. This is because I find the real thrill of a Yeti enemy is not in the fight itself— the Yeti is simply a large melee opponent in an encounter— but rather in the terrifying steps it takes to stalk and harass its prey. This means that you can have a much weaker Yeti who is equally as scary, as long as you play him right.

Another reason why I like the Yeti is that he gives survival and perception heroes an important role in preparing for a fight against him, rather than simply the fighters or wizards. Traps can be laid, blue eyes can be watched for, and howls can be shivered at.

I find that the inclusion of a Yeti almost always adds enjoyable sidequests and thrills, chills and spill into my DnD games, and that they are an underrated monster that can give an awesome Himalayan campaign flavour if mixed with Yak-Folk, Sherpa NPCs, ice elementals, winter wolves, remorhaz, white dragons, and the like. They're loads of fun to include into an adventure, and I hope you’ll be hitting your PCs with a Yeti’s horrifying howl soon enough!

Yuan-Ti

The yuan-ti cast off their humanity long ago, and with it, their sanity.

Introduction

Once they were merely men, but faith and time are a dangerous combination. In the early days of civilization, the yuan-ti tribe flourished and their empire spread through the swamps, jungles, and deserts of the world. From those earliest days, the yuan-ti revered the snake for its ability to survive all climes, to wait patiently for weeks without food, and to subdue and consume creatures several times their size. In this worship, the yuan-ti preached a philosophy that valued stoicism and poise combined with a deadly, calculating violence when necessary. While these attitudes and beliefs led to great achievements and wealth, it also poisoned and corrupted. The yuan-ti priests and sorcerers further adopted the ways of the snakes, including cannibalism, and practiced alchemy with the poison and bodies of serpents. Eventually, they came to mingle with the form and spirit of these totemic animals and the mysterious gods who favored them, becoming more snake than man. The “chosen” members who successfully transformed turned against those who could – or would – not, drastically reducing the number of their own kind for the sake of “purification.” In this reduced state, the yuan-ti empire became susceptible to their enemies, forcing a retreat into only the most secluded and remote towns and temples. These remaining cults worship and experiment with renewed focus and dedication, not merely to return to their former glory but to surpass and become more than mine, more than even serpents, but gods instead.

Physiological Observations

Yuan-ti society is divided into three castes based on the extent of their serpentine nature [it should be noted that the class labels were assigned by external observers and reflect certain biases; it is not known how or if the yuan-ti label the castes internally, only that they observe strict social and cultural practice that recognize the same differences cataloged here]:

The most transformed are Abominations, who resemble humans only in their trunk (heart, ribs, lungs, etc.) and the remaining presence of two strong arms. Abominations are completely covered in scales, have long tails (sometimes with rattles), and fully serpentine heads. Like true snakes, they smell with their long tongue and produce poison emitted through two long fangs.

The most common yuan-ti are Malison, who appear as practically fifty-fifty splits between snake and human. Typically, these remain apparently human from the neck down, showing all four limbs and having human musculature. Their heads tend to be fully serpentine, displaying the same tongue-scenting and poison-fang features as full Abominations. Often, scaling is present even on the human parts. Other Malisons retain their human skull structure and instead exhibit their snake-nature by having a scaly tail in place of legs. Because this form is more human in its facial and neural structures, it is seen as less advantageous and desirable, thus forming a lower-middle class.

So-called Purebloods are the lowest caste of yuan-ti as they retain the most human form (a species for which they can occasionally pass if adequately disguised/stealthy). Purebloods show their yuan-ti nature by their scaly skin, serpentine eyes, and/or forked tongues.

All yuan-ti shed their skins annually. Malison save their skins to use as material for packaging or crafting traps. Abomination skins are burned as sacrifices. Purebloods shed haphazardly (as their scales are less robust and consistent), the remnants of which they bury in shame.

Social Observations

The strict yuan-ti hierarchy is immediately evident. Abominations are rarely seen outside their temples and certainly never stray far. Purebloods serve Abominations, bringing them food, information, and materials (including kidnapped outsiders). Malison live similarly to other humanoids in free standing homes arranged around their temple and occasionally even founding businesses. Still, their life is organized around religious servitude and they prefer a hunter-gatherer lifestyle with lots of fight training (though they lack an organized military). Yuan-ti do not hold or attend religious service, as such, but every individual is sure to visit the temple every few days, reaffirming their commitment and asking for orders from the Abominations. High ranking Malison sometimes have Pureblood servants, which is a regular cause of concern for the local priests.

Young yuan-ti are educated at home or in the temple, dependent on their class. Familiar ties are almost entirely ignored otherwise; young Abominations and Pureblood are immediately taken to the temple to fulfill their station while young Malison are raised until able to survive on their own (usually between 15 and 20 years of age). Said education consists only in survival techniques (hunting, etc.) and the ways of the snake (especially the ruling stoic philosophy).

Converted yuan-ti generally become Pureblood and are thus subjugated by the Abomination priests. If a convert becomes a Malison, it is permitted to live with a high ranking Malison family for five years, at which time it must establish its own home. Converts are heavily immersed in stoic philosophy and manual labor, but are then readily accepted into the class of their physical characters after their first year or two.

Elderly yuan-ti Purebloods are sacrificed once they are no longer useful to their masters. Malison leave each other to their own devices, so the elder are left to die of natural causes or their own mishaps. In general, yuan-ti have no medicine and pay no thought to healing each other. An elderly yuan-ti has never been seen outside a temple, so nothing is known what becomes of them or how they are treated (or if such a thing exists).

Behaviorial Observations

Yuan-ti are notoriously secretive, appearing untrusting and untrusting at even the best of time. Their harsh, sibilant speech is nearly impossible to learn for outsiders. They rarely gather in groups of more than four, relying on tradition, faith, and intuition to guide their actions rather than conversation or consensus. No outsider has ever entered a yuan-ti temple and left alive unless successfully converting, thus nothing is known about the actions, conversations, or relationships within.

Malison interbreed regularly, but it is near impossible to produce viable offspring. The females produce a single offspring (like humans) which comes out as an egg. More often than not, the egg is malformed (i.e. the shell is too weak); even if the offspring grows within the egg, it rarely survive after struggling to break the egg. When offspring do survive, they are subjected to harsh scrutiny by Abominations and are sacrificed if not clearly corresponding to one of the established classes.

Only Purebloods need to eat on a daily basis, but they are given little more than scraps and what they can scavenge. Thus, they tend to eat bugs and plants they grow nearby and which can be collected during their brief downtime. Malison and Abominations eat weekly, or less often, and are exclusively carnivorous. Lower ranking Malison are tasked with hunting for food (other Malison hunt often for sport). Malisons make donations of food to their temple roughly every other day, never sure if the meat is being consumed by the priests or given to the gods.

Intra-Species Observations

Yuan-ti barely tolerate the existence of other even semi-intelligent species, believing themselves to be the epitome of creation. It is only their reduced population and insular focus that keeps them from actively pursuing the destruction of all other civilizations. Special hatred is reserved for nagas, those great sentient and immortal serpents. Yuan-ti are occasionally visited and harassed by couatl, divine winged serpents who would rid the world of yuan-ti evil if it were in their power and mandate to do so. Some yuan-ti tribes actively hunt other creatures for food (including slaadi and bullywugs), but most prefer to keep themselves and their temples secret. Outsiders are occasionally allowed to pledge themselves to a yuan-ti temple and undergo ritual transformation (humans are the most likely candidates). This is most likely to occur at outlying yuan-ti settlements suffering from dwindling population and for individuals who have already demonstrated an evil disposition and have no stable connections to the outside world.

DM's Toolkit

A standard yuan-ti NPC will always be lawful evil. That said, they are rarely hostile and violent to start. Viewing others as weak, yuan-ti attempt first to manipulate others or lure them with promises of wealth and power. If resisted or pressed, yuan-ti will attack viciously. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible to manipulate, persuade, or intimidate yuan-ti without powerful magic. Appeals to emotion or family have zero effect, and they will never believe anyone but another yuan-ti with anything about their faith.

Fighting yuan-ti can be extremely difficult. Purebloods are the easiest, as they lack much strength and will never be defended by any other yuan-ti (that is, even other Purebloods will attempt to flee before coming to the aid of fellow Purebloods). Malisons will attack in a group if encountered as such, but rarely ask for or are given reinforcements. [When encountering multiple Malisons, you should mix-and-match the three types,] When threatened, Malison can assume a more serpentine form and bite (with poison) in addition to using weapons. If an Abomination is attacked, it will be readily defended by any Malison and Pureblood in the vicinity. The Pureblood will attack recklessly, paying no mind to their own survival, while the Malison are far more cunning. Remember that patience is a snake’s, and thus a yuan-ti’s, greatest asset.

Yugoloth

"A regiment of devils. A horde of demons. A company of yugoloths. The reason for this grammatical distinction will soon become obvious"

-Archmage Baldirk, beginning a lecture on the Lower Planes

"Fuck You, Got Mine."

-Attributed originally to an unidentified Mezzoloth

Introduction

All right, basher - you want to know the real dark of the yugoloths? I normally don't shed clueless primes, but for the amount of jink you've spent I'll make an exception. Park your ears and listen to the tale of the First One, the General of Gehenna, or as some like to call him "the unselfish Yugoloth."

We'll begin with the Yugola coven, a really nasty coven of hags that ran the show in Hades several thousand cycles back. These whistlers were not your ordinary coven of night hags - they had lore even the aboleths hadn't heard of, and thousands of sods owed skins to them throughout the planes. Anyway, this coven had frequent dealings with Asmodeus, and one day the lord of the Nine Hells comes to em with a proposal. One a his had discovered a cache of souls that predated the multiverse.

Sounds like barkle, right? "Before the multiverse?" Don't ya worry, I ain't selling ya a piece of cake. Seems that before this multiverse existed, there was another one. Didn't last long, not that there's any way to tell apart from what the bloody ticklers tell us. The chant is that the inhabitants of this place done wrung it dry of resources, then got into a war with each other and destroyed the whole thing. The multiverse that came after it - the one wot we live in now - is much more stable, and you seen enough of the Cage to know thats really sayin something.

Anyway, back to Asmodeus. He's found this cache of, not-quite-souls predating the multiverse - let's call em proto-souls - and he don't know what-all they're good for. Gives em to the Yugola coven to experiment on. "Show me a use for these," sez he, and the Yugola coven takes the protosoul and gets to work experimentin and stretching it to the rakers.

The first yugoloth - what would one day come ta be known as the General - was a crude thing. Shaped roughly like a man, with no features what to speak of. Hags dinna bother givin the soul-bag a mouth or nose, why would he need those things? He didn't need to eat and they weren't sure they wanted him talkin - his role was to take orders, not give em. They threw im together, pushed a proto-soul in, and gave im the spark of life. And like that, instant servant.

They tested the General, mind you. Mistreated im, beat im, forced im to do horrible things to imself an others. He do alla their commands without nary a peep, ands still loyal. So the Yugola coven goes to Asmodeus and sez "We kin make these powerful servants for you with them protosouls, and if you give us the rest, we'll make ya an army. Lease it to ya too, dirt cheap." Now Asmodeus don't particularly like those terms, but he can't use them protosouls hisself, so he reckons it's better ta have something than void and takes the deal.

And things go as planned. Yugola coven makes bank on the deal and takes over not just alla Hades but also Gehenna. They've got an army leased ta the first devil and they have all kinda jink and skins comin outta their ears.

Now I gotta tell ya how tha Yugola coven controlled their army. They used two magic books that gave them control over their servants - the Book of Names ta summon individual Yugoloths, and the Book of Keeping ta give directions to all tha Yugoloths as a whole. Only one what wasn't incribed in the Books was their first experiment, since he was a prototype and they thought he would be like a golem, never thought to give im a name. They also had these trinkets called Hag's Eyes which they would give to their Yugoloth lieutenants ta see through them what was going on.

Anyway, hags being what they are, they likes to squabble. Yugola coven cooperated better than most, but you give night hags enough power and it's a sure thing one of them eventually going into the dead-book. So consider that this coven owned two planes. The arguments were terrible. Anyway, they're together at one of their meetings arguing up a storm. Nobody around but the three of them and their most loyal creation, the General (since they don't trust each other to bring third parties not under their control into the meeting). Suddenly, one of them sees the General pull out his Hags Eye token, crush it in one hand, and next thing you know, all three hags are blind. It's only temporary, and for a powerful coven like this only lasts not more than a few minutes. But when the hags regain their sight, the Book of Names is gone, the General has vanished, and the Book of Keeping is on fire, burning to ashes right there. So the hag what seen the General making his move, she rushes to tha Book of Keeping and flips to the last page. Even though it's on fire burnin her hands, she gotta know what the last instructions given to the entire yugoloth army were, since as far as she know, they could all be boxed right there. She turns to the end of the book, and just before it crumbles into ash, she sees the command what the General done scrawled in there. "Live for yourself." And from that day on, the Yugoloths been what they are - a buncha right selfish assholes.

Physiological Observations

Yugoloths come in many different breeds, as the original hags who created them designed them for many functions. However, as mass-produced creations, every yugoloth of a particular breed is physiologically identical to every other yugoloth of that breed. Every mezzoloth is physiologically exactly the same as every other mezzoloth, just as every nycaloth is physiologically exactly the same as every other nycaloth.

Because of this lack of physical individuality, yugoloths constantly strive to assert their personal identity through their clothing and other visual means of expression. They carve tattoos on their bodies, engrave their weapons, dye their hair and skin, have multiple body piercings, and take grisly souvenirs from the various battles and events that they participate in. A mezzoloth might have a suit of armor forged from the various armor scraps that it takes in combat, while an arcanaloth might wear a robe made from the tongues of mages whose souls it has harvested. Yugoloths are very proud of these objects, and to other races it often seems like they define themselves through their possessions. Stealing a yugoloth's prized possessions is like stealing its face - the creature will stop at nothing to get vengeance and recover what it has lost.

The two exceptions to this homogeneity are baernoloths and altraloths. A Baernoloth is an incredibly rare yugoloth that has managed to get in touch with the memories of the ancient protosoul that was used to create it. This gives them incredible magical power, and their bodies gradually warp to fit their personality. Baernoloths are the yugoloth equivalent of demon lords or archdevils - they possess vast power, and can even create warlocks through their pacts. Every yugoloth strives to become a baernoloth, not so much for the power as for the distinct identity and status that it gives them. Baernoloths are wise beyond their years - ancient souls in new bodies. They tend to be the leaders of yugoloth society.

Altraloths (not to be confused with ultroloths), by contrast, are yugoloths who were unable to become baernoloths, but craved power and an individual identity so fiercely that they made deals with night hags to gain such things. Altraloths tend to have minor mutations (such as additional limbs or sensory organs) as well as some additional magical powers - although nowhere near the power level of a baernoloth. They are respected for their abilities, but most never rise high in yugoloth society because of the contempt that other yugoloths view them with.

Social Observations

Despite their innate dislike of all other creatures, yugoloths are social creatures because working together allows them to exploit resources much more effectively than going their own way.

The closest analogy to Yugoloth society would be a massive dystopian corporation of self-serving sociopathic consultants. When yugoloths have the opportunity for mutual gain, they work together remarkably well - even better than devils do. However, if a yugoloth can do better by screwing over his confederates, he will do so in the blink of an eye. Because of this, yugoloths in leadership positions are experts at creating the right incentives to align the goals of their underlings with their own agendas. Any yugoloth can rise to a leadership position in theory, though in practice only the most intelligent of the yugoloth breeds generally manages to hold a high position for long.

The leader of Yugoloth society is called the Oinoloth. Every 347 years, Yugoloths gather at the headquarters of their society - the Crawling City - for a "shareholder's meeting" where they cast their votes to elect the Oinoloth of the next 347 years. This is a very fraught process full of corruption, as the incumbent does his best to use the resources at his disposal to maintain his position, while the other nominees make extravagant promises of what they will do if they are elected. Votes are tallied in public on a spire at the center of the city in front of all the yugoloths gathered there, since no yugoloth would trust the voting process if it happened any other way.

Although yugoloth society is generally considered to be an organization of mercenaries, war is simply their most visible business operation. Any opportunity which has the potential for profit may result in a yugoloth "subsidiary business" forming. For example, the baernoloth Charon and his chief operations officer (the mezzoloth Daru Ib Shamiq) run a thriving transportation industry in the lower planes. Anthruxus and Midianchlarus are an altraloth and ultroloth who jointly handle the yugoloth's biological warfare division in Khin-Oin, although they loathe each other and it is only a matter of time before one of them overthrows the other.

Behaviorial Observations

A famous method actor who once portrayed a yugoloth said that the best way for him to get into the mindset of a yugoloth was to imagine that whomever he was currently talking to had just made a vicious joke about his mother. Yugoloths have a bad attitude. They don't like anybody other than themselves. The closest a yugoloth can get to friendship is a grudging respect for somebody whom they admire, although they will still turn on such an ally in a heartbeat if it was advantageous to them.

Yugoloths who are travelling outside of their home plane while on an extended contract tend to be even more angry than normal, as they leave what they consider to be the most important facet of their individuality - their possessions - behind. This is done for practical reasons; a yugoloth who is killed outside of its home plane reforms on Gehenna, but any possessions or magical items it had are left behind. Because of this, most yugoloths dress very differently when "travelling on assignment." Yugoloths on a job tend to dress in very spartan ways, sometimes even eschewing clothing altogether, whereas yugoloths on their home plane of Gehenna dress in elaborately sumptuous (and sometimes grotesque) attire that stands out even more for its contrast to the bleakness of Gehenna.

In order to avoid other yugoloths taking their stuff while they are away on a mercenary contract, one common practice in yugoloth society is the creation of "holding companies" - simply put, a collective of yugoloths that jointly agrees to watch over each others goods while other members of the collective are away on business.

Some yugoloths prefer not to rely on holding companies, either because they do not trust anybody enough to bank their most prized possessions, or because their individuality is so important to them that they wish to take their possessions with them wherever they go. Such yugoloths frequently use magical rituals to imbue their weapons and armor with a bit of their own "protosoul." This gives the weapons a malicious sentience and they actively strive to be reunited with their creator. If the yugoloth loses such a weapon, it will animate, growing limbs and doing anything necessary to be reunited with its owner. Humanoids often mistake these animated weapons for yugoloths themselves, and they are frequently referred to as "battleloths" for that reason.

Many yugoloths are surprisingly spiritual, although this spirituality takes a shape that prime plane residents are unfamiliar with. Rather than worshipping deities, yugoloth spirituality revolves around trying to access the memories and identity of the ancient protosoul inside themselves, thus becoming a baernoloth. Of course, there are no yugoloth priests, since yugoloths know that they could never trust another one of their own kind to offer any sort of "salvation" without ulterior motives. The closest their society gets to such things is when an existing baernoloth offers to mentor a yugoloth along the path to "self-actualization" in exchange for a steep cost of tribute and service, although whether this mentoring genuinely helps or is simply a scam is unknown.

Intra-Species Observations

Any job that needs an expensive and unscrupulous consultant may have a yugoloth involved. In Sigil, the city of doors, Arcanaloths serve as lawyers and information brokers, organized under the chief information officer Shemeshka. In Baator, the ultroloth Harishek ap Thulkesh oversees the production of baatezu weaponry, constantly making improvements and fine-tuning the production process, while in Pandemonium, the flesh-shaping baernoloth Apomps experiments with ways to improve and alter various demon lord's servants, giving that lord a more powerful army.

As creatures which gravitate naturally to contractual organizational structures, yugoloths have even been known to hire non-yugoloths as private third-party consultants. For example, yugoloths are known to have various succubi and incubi working for them in order to handle jobs that require a very diplomatic touch. Similarly, many of the "holding companies" that yugoloths employ to guard their possessions are run by non-yugoloths of great power, such as dragons, liches, or beholders. Because of this diversity in their operations, among the lower plane races, yugoloths tend to be the most tolerant of outsiders (where "tolerant" is defined as not immediately attacking and enslaving them.)

Yugoloths also have the unique distinction of being hated unilaterally by druids, treants and other creatures that believe in a natural order - perhaps even more so than aberrations. This is because of their uniquely exploitative nature - anything that a yugoloth sees is a resource to be exploited. Streams are dammed to generate power, forests are cut down to make arrows and machines of war, and the earth itself is strip-mined to feed metal to the forges that constantly produce weapons and armor. The concept of conservation is unknown to yugoloths. Some sages hypothesize that this personality trait is a manifestation of the yugoloth protosouls, which came from a race so greedy that they alledgedly caused the destruction of their own universe through the wasteful plundering of their own resources.

DM's Toolkit

Yugoleths are a metaphor for capitalism gone mad; an entire species of fiendish consultants whose identity revolves around what they own. The greed and mistrust of yugoloths is legendary.

Because yugoloths can be involved in almost any scheme as long as there is somebody willing to pay, they can easily be involved in any campaign. Don't be afraid to use them in unusual ways. For example, an angel whose servants are stretched thin might have temporarily hired a yugoloth to guard a significant person or object of good. The yugoloth might not be exactly happy about its contract, but as long as the pay is good it will serve loyally. Or a yugoloth might decide that the PCs have exactly the right combination of skills and abilities to serve as external contractors and will offer to hire them for unique contracts that a fiend might have difficulty performing.

Because yugoloths are ancient souls in relatively new bodies, they can be played in a variety of ways. If you want to play up the corporate aspect, focus on the rank-and-file of yugoloth society. If you want them to take on more of a diabolical "ancient evil" role, the baernoloths are perfectly suited to such roles. Perhaps they seek to recreate the multiverse that existed before this one. Or perhaps they are secretly manipulating the Blood War in order to study the abstract nature of evil.

Zombie

"There is a reason we cremate our dead, dear child. For no matter how good or noble a person was in life, it takes but a few wicked words and a touch of dark magic to raise them against their neighbors." - Mira Goldfire, Paladin of Orn

Introduction

When a mage first trains in the art of Necromancy, they often begin with the creation of a zombie. A half-rotten corpse which was once a man is now nothing more than a vessel for necrotic magic that gives it the illusion of life.

Physiological Observations

The typical zombie is little more than a bag of meat filled with necrotic energy. The shuffling corpse can still be a difficult adversary, however, as they lack a dependency on any vital organs. As a result, zombies can be struck down, only to rise again moments later, still fighting a relentlessly as before. Some claim that only way to truly kill a zombie is to remove the head or destroy the brain, while some clerics say that only a blessed weapon or holy water will remove the magic that fuels them. The more practical fighters of the world note that simply beating a zombie into a bloody pulp works for them.

Even filled with magic, the body of a man is too weak a form for some. There are those who create zombies from more robust creatures, such as owlbears or minotaur. Tales are even told of a Black dragon who raises zombies from rival dragons he has killed, but that level of magical talent is beyond most mortals.

Social Observations

Zombies do not think, and are therefor not social. However, they follow orders to the letter, and are relentless in their pursuit of the living. If a group of zombies is ever set loose, they will wander aimlessly in a hoard until something attracts their attentions. Then, like a school of fish, they with shift their direction and pursue this new interest. This behavior can be exploited by clever adventurers who can take turns distracting the zombies and keep them from swarming a single person.

Intra-Species Observations

Zombies will attempt to kill any living thing unless they are called off by their creator. They are largely disinterested in other undead, but can be found as minions of particularly powerful ones, such as vampires or mummies.

Methods of Creation

The most simple way for someone to create a zombie is through the use of basic necromancy, such as the Animate Dead spell, but for the more ambitious mage, there are...other ways.

There are points of weakness between planes where Negative Energy can seep through. This magic can animate the deceased on its own of the breach is large enough, and some make use of this to quickly raise entire armies of zombies through little effort on their own part.

Others perform dark and ancient rituals to strengthen the body before it is raised, or cast additional magic on it after. They may magically bake the body to harden its flesh and make it resistant to normal weapons, or carve evocation glyphs into their skin so that when the zombie gets close to its victim, it explodes on contact.

Some say that wicked souls can fight their way out of the frozen river of the damned, clawing their way back into their original body. This fills them with a hunger for the warmth of living flesh, a warmth they will never feel again no matter how many lives they take.

DM's Toolkit

Zombies are the backbone of most adventures that feature undead. The only down side is their low CR, which makes them difficult to use at higher levels. I'm going to gloss over the basics of using zombies to harass you players at low levels, whether it be using them as minions of a local necromancer, a hoard on the roam, or their friends and family raised as part of some terrible curse. Instead, I have a few suggestions on how to buff the basic zombies provided by the MM.

Consider the role a zombie fills in combat and build from there. They are the relentless melee unit. They take the most direct line to the nearest living thing and they attack it until either they or their target dies. So lets build on that. As I mentioned, giving them resistance to things like normal weapons can make them more interesting. Perhaps you really do need a blessed weapon or holy water to kill them, or maybe silver or cold iron weapons.

Stacking other spells on top of them works well too. I've used zombies as walking bombs before, where they explode after they are killed. This works well, as zombies tend to die near players as well as other zombies, which can set off a chain reaction. Spicing them up with elemental effects can be interesting as well. Frost covered zombies with shards of ice poking out of their rotting skin can be cool and deadly, especially if they slow characters they hit, making it more difficult for players to get away when the hoard closes in.

Everybody knows what a zombie is, but they can be some much more with a touch of creativity and malicious intent.

Contribution	Contributor
Original Compilation Project	Nerd_By_Design
Aboleth	Jackissocool
Aarakocra	3d6skills
Angels	rtwfm
Animated Objects	sorryjzargo
Ankheg	JonBanes
Azer	HomicidalHotdog
Banshee	LordFancyWhale
Basilisk	Lord_NiteShade
Behir	Fortuan
Beholder	Fortuan
Blight	tulsadan
Bugbear	Mathemagics15
Bulette	jtgates
Bullywug	tulsadan
Cambion	friendship_rainicorn
Carrion Crawler	Laplanters
Centaur	Dauricha
Chimera	virilis
Chuul	hatemehnow
Cloaker	HumanMilkshake
Cockatrice	gruesome_gandhi
Couatl	tl8695
Crawling Claw	dragonblaz9
Cyclops	Meninaeidethea
Darkmantle	Mechanical-one
Death Knight	TheKahnage
Demilich	3d6skills
Demon - General	wolfdreams01
Devil: General	Rahovarts
Devil: Erinyes	abookfulblockhead
Dinosaurs: Allosaurus	Fortuan
Dinosaurs: Ankylosaur	Fortuan
Dinosaurs: Deinonychus	Lord_NiteShade
Dinosaurs: Plesiosaurs	Fortuan
Dinosaurs: Pteranodon	Fortuan

Contribution	Contributor
Dinosaurs: Triceratops	Lord_NiteShade
Dinosaurs:Tyrannosaurus Rex	Fortuan
Displacer Beast	Fallen_Ishmayl
Doppelganger	wolfdreams01
Dracolich: Part 1 & Part 2	Multiprimed
Dragons: Overview	DeathMcGunz
Dragon: Black	Fortuan
Dragon: Blue	DerpTheGinger
Dragon: Brass	Masri788
Dragon: Bronze	Hawkwing185
Dragon: Chromatic	DeathMcGunz
Dragon: Copper	Captain-Weather
Dragon: Gold	TuesdayTastic
Dragon: Green	Fortuan
Dragon: Metallic	Nexaruu
Dragon: Red	pork4brainz
Dragon: Shadow	wolfdreams01
Dragon: Silver	Fortuan
Dragon: White	Masri788
Dragon Turtle	gruesome_gandhi
Drider	OrkishBlade
Dryad	TheRealRogl
Duergar	Yami-Bakura
Elementals	Kami1996
Elves: Drow	Kami1996
Empyrean	Kami1996
Erinyes	MisterDrProf
Ettercap	friendship_rainicorn
Ettin	Fortuan
Faerie Dragon	elegant_brawler
Flameskull	TheatreLife
Flumph	Fortuan
Fomorian	AcceptablyPsycho
Fungi: Violet Fungus	Hyenabreeder
Fungi: Shreiker	Hyenabreeder
Fungi: Gas Spore	Hyenabreeder
Galeb Duhr	famoushippopotamus

Contribution	Contributor
Gargoyle	tulsadan
Genies: Part 1 & 2	inuvash255
Ghoul	pizza-eating_newfie
Ghost	Fortuan
Giants, Hill	MrVojjin
Giants, Stone	MrVojjin
Gibbering Mouther	famoushippopotamus
Gith	TheatreLife
Gnolls	GnollBelle
Gnome, Deep (Svirfneblin)	TheKahnage
Goblins	WickThePriest
Golems	5ednddm
Gorgon	ColourSchemer
Grell	famoushippopotamus
Grick	Fallen_Ishmayl
Griffon	another-social-freak
Grimlock	Mechanical-one
Hags	Mechanical-one
Half-Dragon	MisterDrProf
Harpy	abookfulblockhead
Hell Hound	Kami1996
Helmed Horror	TF2Fongzilla
Hippogriff	CavalierOfTheDragon
Hobgoblin	Mathemagics15
Homunculus	tulsadan
Hook Horror	Fortuan
Hydra	Imperialvirtue
Intellect Devourer	Kami1996
Invisible Stalker	Kami1996
Jackalwere	Futhington
Kenku	Sivarian
Kobold	3d6skills
Kuo-toa	3d6skills
Kraken	TheatreLife
Lamia	Laplanters
Lich	TheatreLife
Lizardfolk	Fortuan
Magmin	Aphoric
Medusa	tandem23
Merfolk	TheKahnage
Mephits	MoxFlux
Mind Flayer	hatemehnow
Minotaur	fiverings
Lycanthrope	authordm
Manticore	ColourSchemer

Contribution	Contributor
Mimic	wolfdreams01
Merrow	TheKahnage
Modrons	Maximus216
Mummy	DangerousPuhson
Myconid	famoushippopotamus
Nagas	TheatreLife
Nightmare	Fortuan
Nothic	tulsadan
Ogre	Fortuan
Oni	Geodude671
Oozes	afancydragon
Orcs	CavalierOfTheDragon
Otyugh	JaElco
Owlbear	Kylasaurus_Rex
Pegasus	Fortuan
Peryton	famoushippopotamus
Piercer	Koolaidguy31415
Pixie	MisterDrProf
Pseudodragon	fiverings
Purple Worm	Lord_NiteShade
Quaggoth	krazma
Rakshasa	Sivarian
Remorhaz	Yami-Bakura
Revenant	Rahovarts
Roc	PivotSs
Roper	Sad-Crow
Rust Monster	KingsMadness
Sahuagin	tl8695
Salamanders	Fortuan
Satyr	3d6skills
Scarecrow	Rahovarts
Shadow	SymmetricDisorder
Shield Guardian	TheIronicPoet
Skeletons	brail
Slaadi	Yami-Bakura
Specter	improvedcm
Sphinx	3d6skills
Sprite	krazma
Stirge	famoushippopotamus
Succubus/Incubus	HyenaBreeder
Shambling Mound	Max44150
Tarrasque	Whitehatnetizen
Thri-Kreen	Fortuan
Treant	destuctir