#creature stat block

Creature: Rathis

“They are twisted creatures of the planes beyond, aye. Many-armed and many-eyed, carrying a disturbing crown and raising the dead like no other. But they don’t become normal zombies, like in any haunted graveyard between here and the Sixth Ring, no. They become coiling, bizarre, green-skinned beasts, as if a normal person traveled to that thing’s rotting birthplace and returned with the same fold in reality in themselves as that thing spawned from.”

Eldritch sentries. Rathis are hulking, twisted creatures from the Outer Planes that spawn seemingly with no reason and no purpose. Their existence is a simple convergence of chance, a rip within reality that is torn by the winds of misfortune, out of which a rathis climbs like pus from a wound. They are strange creatures, their limbs and faces reminiscent of humanoids but their minds completely other. Their green-blue skin represent more of a sac or membrane that contains the writhing, coiling mass of their muscles. Pierce the skin of a rathis with magic, and it will seem almost distraught.

Raise their servants. Rathis, despite being largely purposeless and fatherless, have a tendency to seek out dead creatures, from which it creates a new being: the rathis abomination. Humanoid corpses that spawn abominations no longer look like the person that they once were, but become four-armed, stretched husks that look and act like the rathis and are connected to it like a hive-mind. The rathis is the king, the nexus that connects its abominable servants, and that orders them around. Any rathis found wandering has a large chance of having collected a trail of abominations that wander along with it, protecting the rathis and, upon death, being raised by it over and over again.

Aberrant intelligence. Despite the rathis’ wholly alien mind, it can be reasoned with. Many rathis have needs and wants that are beyond humanoid capability to understand or meet, but a rathis that is left alone, or provided with anything that seems to please it (from more corpses to raise to food that it doesn’t consume, to powerful magical items or simple rubbish in some cases) will still not fight or protect anything that doesn’t interest it, but it can be passed by without conflict. The difficult part in making a deal with a rathis is figuring out what it wants, if anything.

Aberrant nature. A rathis or rathis abomination doesn’t require air, food, water or sleep.

Friends and companions. Rathis are rarely found around any other aberration aside from its own abominations. A rathis that spawns in a civilized area may surround itself with as many abominations as it can, or with any sort of humanoid minion it can find in its area. Rathis are fiery fighters against creatures that breach their territories or pose any threat to the rathis or its “companions”, and many rathis that don’t yet have any abominations seek out conflict to turn the bodies of its fallen enemies into its quiet, abhorrent convoys.

Under the Read more, you’ll find the stat block for the Rathis Abomination.

Creature: Zyranis

“…and there I wonder if the great warriors on Mount Celestia, revering their everlasting masters upon that great bulwark, truly dobelieve that creatures of innate goodness are not capable of great evils. I have seen the darkness among the light and there is no turning back from the truth of the universe - that even those who believe in the greatest of goods are desperately evil, and will put their beliefs above the lives they swore to protect. They call me a monster, now, for what I have seen, said, and done, but they cannot see the monstrousness inherent in their own grotesque, diabolical faith.” - Excerpt from “Seven Treatises on Good and Evil”, written by the zyranis Tau.

Fallen angels and ascended devils. The story of Zariel, the angel who fell, is known widely amongst the universe and told as a warning story to celestials that might follow her path. But few know of the fate of the zyrani - at creation, either devilish or celestial, but given a new turning point to ponder: free will. Scholars throughout the ages have wondered whether creatures of absolute law such as celestials and creatures of absolute evil such as devils have free will to govern themselves - at least the followers of true gods and true devils seem to simply follow orders. Zyrani either attain or are created with true free will, and all choose the middle path, essentially estranging them from both sides of the war. Their free will allows them to realize the horrible truth that neither devil nor angel wishes to accept: that there is no true good and no true evil, and that the grey in between stretches to encompass everything.

Dethroned generals. Zyrani of either devilish or celestial side that choose the middle path are generally destroyed by other members of their circle in an attempt to stop the perceived “wrongdoing” of the zyranis. Those that survive this ordeal or who manage to escape have punishment placed upon them threefold: celestial zyrani have their wings torn from them and their healing powers removed. Devilish zyrani have their regeneration stripped, and their devilish eyesight reduced. Both parties lose a majority of their abilities and are reduced to lesser creatures of their type, but a zyranis who chooses this path becomes a new being and gains strength from their choice. They themselves become the in-between: a strange, otherworldly amalgamation of devil and celestial that is simultaneously both beautiful and horrific.

A new life. Zyrani that are removed from Mount Celestia or the Nine Hells settle in between: they find their place on the Material Plane, usually passing as high-ranking generals of armies or royal advisors, using their ability to change their physical shape in order to pass as a humanoid creature. Those who can count a zyrani amongst their allies has a powerful force behind them, as a zyrani isn’t tied to any particular way of life or code of behavior, and will fight for whatever cause seems best at that moment. The zyrani’s neutrality allows for them to see from a new point of view, and they rarely choose sides in humanoid conflicts such as wars, unless the conflict may be a personal attack on the zyranis’ place in the world.

Friends and companions. Because of their neutral stance and their willingness to live amongst humanoids without detection, zyrani can become allies with nearly all neutral-aligned parties. They may pass as a druid protecting a grove that represents the circle of life, or they may live as a scholar amongst men, studying the works of history. Some zyrani choose to live as powerful, legendary beasts, in seclusion, and others may instead seek fame as a master thief, talented artist or intelligent sage. Zyrani avoid companionship with celestials and devils out of fear of detection or out of disinterest, and they shun causes that are outright evil or outright good, such as cults or religious sects.

Hybrid nature. The zyranis has two creature types: celestial and fiend (devil). It can be influenced by an effect if it works on either of its creature types.

Creature: Curator

Amina Delsryn had had apprentices before - young children on the cusp of their early teens, bumbling and stumbling and dropping materials everywhere. She’d never really appreciated their help. The mess they left behind usually created more work than if she simply worked alone, but she’d made an agreement with the College, and the children needed to spend their apprenticeship in the presence of a master. So, when the College assigned her an automaton, she was pleasantly surprised - especially when it introduced itself as AMO-9 and asked where it could begin its duties.

Wizardly companions. Curators are automatons not unlike warforged that run on artificial intelligence and have been imbued with magic in a combination of arcane enchantments and technology known as magitech. They are spellcasters themselves, and are often found in the presence of high-ranked arcane masters, academy students or traveling mages. They fulfill simple duties such as cleaning, cooking, and organizing, but can also be programmed to fulfill more complicated tasks such as assisting in enchanting, alchemy or even the creation of other constructs. Because of their natural arcane inclinations, curators are skilled at understanding when certain experiments carry risk, and will inform their masters of possible side effects.

Arcane wardens. Curators that are found outside colleges and academies are often considered the guardians of mages that are traveling. Young apprentice wizards that need to travel to fulfill their ascension to a higher rank, for example through an academy quest, are sometimes assigned curators to make sure the young adventurer stays safe and healthy on the road. Artificers can also occasionally be found with curators, although their companionship is often more of a parent-child relationship than a master-apprentice.

Collection: Dinosaurs

Ever wanted to run a primordial campaign, set in a time before civilization, where humanoids had to survive against a never-ending onslaught of dinosaurs? Or maybe, in your new cyberpunk setting, the civilization on the next planet over is working in tandem with domesticated dinosaurs? Either way, I’ve never found that the official sources provided enough different kinds of dinos to fulfill my needs. In this collection, you’ll find nine additional dinosaur species, each outlined and illustrated, to drop into your campaign at will. Or maybe your druid/wizard needs a few more options for their Wild Shape or Polymorph. From the fearful carnotaurus and spinosaurus, to the small, playful compsognathus, to everything in between.

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the “Collection: Dinosaurs” at the Homebrewery here!

Creature: Smoke-Cursed

“It was a horrific sight to see,” the elderly man croaked, tears in his eyes, rubbing the back of his hand with crooked, wrinkled fingers. “They- They were reduced to naught but ashes, and yet - the act itself would not be their end, as they rose again, but this time many, and screaming, and howling in agony as if their very souls were ripped from their beings.”

Followers of the Regth-Koth. For the distant, evil entity Regth-Koth, its followers are nothing but ants crawling for its own attention, and it feels no love and no affection towards anything but itself. A group of cultists that, in their dedication and thoughtless worship, mistakes the attention of Regth-Koth for a blessing from their master, may find that some things were not meant to be understood by mortal minds. Regth-Koth hates self-obsession within the ranks of its followers, and although it likes to see them crawl over each other to reach its own aberrant heights, it reduces those who have proven themselves to be too self-servient to a cloud of agony and pain, and creates a smoke-cursed.

Perpetual damnation. Smoke-cursed can also be created through the intervention of other divine or semi-divine creatures, although their appearance is low and the punished act must be severe. Smoke-cursed are perpetually caught in their own pain and suffering, an amalgamation of many souls damned in the same place, merging and twisting together in a ghost-like, otherworldly entity. A smoke-cursed has no motivation or intentions, but is so engrossed in its own agony and suffering that it only wishes to relieve itself by forcing that pain on others. It has no physical touch, but the sounds emitted by a smoke-cursed are maddening enough to make the bravest warriors flee. Smoke-cursed haunt their original homes, whether that be the lairs they once worshiped their dark masters in, or whatever battlefield that caused their combined, instant deaths.

Aberrant nature. A smoke-cursed doesn’t require air, food, water or sleep.

Friends and companions. Smoke-cursed are sometimes employed by the very cults that become them, if a cult worshiper manages to avoid the destruction of their master. For dark cults that follow aberrant entities from beyond the veil, and whose cult followers are prone to narcissism or self-worship, it is not uncommon to see more than one smoke-cursed contained in an air-tight room, only to be set free when the lair is invaded or the cult needs a sacrifice.

Creature: Pyre-Heart Scarecrow

The field was aflame, dried stalks of corn reduced to ash by hungry flames shedding bright light, blocked out only by the creeping shape of a scarecrow. It could not escape the fire now, not in the way it was surrounded by that which it feared, but it knew, somehow, that even if it were destroyed like the crops around it, it would rise again from the destroyed land and continue its wretched existence.

Imbued by flame. Animated scarecrows that are destroyed by enormous fires or destructive fire spells sometimes have their essence imbued by the flame that killed them, and rise again as a pyre-heart scarecrow. Pyre-hearts look similar to regular scarecrows, although the ragged clothes they were are stained with soot and burned around the edges, and within their empty gazes, a dark fire is alight. Their close encounter with fire allows the newly-made pyre-heart to control some of it, despite its own weakness, and continue the ravaging destruction of flame.

Hag’s companions. Hags that build scarecrows to protect their huts or do simple tasks for them may intentionally burn a scarecrow in order for it to turn into a pyre-heart. Although the empowered scarecrow might pose more of a threat to the hag than before, they are capable warriors and, especially if the hag is under other threat, can be powerful allies. A scarecrow that is destroyed in a large fire or killed with a fire-based spell has a 25% chance to rise as a pyre-heart scarecrow after 1d10 hours. A pyre-heart scarecrow remembers anything it saw or heard as a regular scarecrow.

Constructed nature. A scarecrow doesn’t require air, food, water or sleep.

Friends and companions. Besides hags, pyre-heart scarecrows are also occasionally used by other constructs to function as a sort of bounty hunter. Any scarecrow whose fiery death results in a pyre-heart may remember the creature that killed it, and come after it again, this time wielding the power of fire. Some necromancers that search for a skilled, but malleable leader of their undead may create a pyre-heart scarecrow for their magical abilities.

Creature: Blood Crystal Golem

“In those places where blood crystals are mined, darker minds may turn towards complicated purposes of the crystals. A skilled sculptor who knows the properties of blood crystal and their magical capabilities may be able to hew a golem from it, one that is particularly resistant to magic, and which contains the crushing gravitational force necessary to compress carbon into crystal.” - excerpt from “The Golem Handbook”.

Crystalline vigor. Blood crystals are a much-desired source of magical material that is easily imbued with supernatural properties or used as a magical component for spellcasting. It is mined under very strict circumstances, in very small amounts, but those who own a blood crystal mine can count themselves rich before ever mining a single shard. However, because of its limited availability, blood crystals are much sought after and desired, and creatures with the ambition to subjugate others often use it to sculpt a follower from it - the blood crystal golem.

Resistant to the arcane. Because of the innate magical properties of blood crystals, golems created from this material are especially resistant to many spells and outright immune to some. They themselves are naturally magical as well, causing their fist attacks or use of weaponry to breach even the most talented fighter’s defense. While a blood crystal golem is not a particularly frightening foe on the basis of the destruction it can wreak, it is extremely durable and hardy, and can survive many hits that would be lethal to a lesser being, which increases its overall danger level.

Constructed nature. A blood crystal golem doesn’t require air, water, food or sleep.

Friends and companions. Many blood crystal golems are created around times such as the Spellplague, or other events that wreak magical havoc. Those who survive the encounters with other magical creatures are sought after as enduring, powerful allies, and often they acquire new masters when their previous master is slain. Because of this, blood crystal golems are usually only found under the command of a much more powerful creature, and it is not uncommon to encounter more than one being controlled by a single overlord.

Creature: The Mechanist

tell me, mechanist, is it true?
does none of it bother you?

once upon a time, upon a time, behind us
the Mechanist inclined clockworks of time define us
who you are, who you are
merely springs that tick the time of things away

Spatial wanderer from Mechanus. The Mechanist is a strange, unknown creature that some insist they have met on their travels, but tales are spread far and wide and real truth is often muddled with grandiose tales of the being. The few things that are clear about its identity is that it is part machine, part human and that it travels to the other planes from Mechanus - but where its origins lie, none know. What is clear about it, however, is that it possesses the great, terrible power to warp and modify time, which means it is both widely feared and admired.

Time reversals. Locations that the Mechanist has visited often suffer from strange warps or folds in time, but none of the inhabitants of such locations can tell afterwards whether the warping started before or after the Mechanist arrives. Some suggest that it is attracted to these locations because of the inconsistent timelines that are already present, others argue that the mere presence of the Mechanist causes these temporal folds. In the grand scheme of things, others believe, in the life of a time-traveling, spatial-warping immortal creature, there is no difference between the two.

Chronological immortality. The Mechanist is immune to any effect that would age it, and it can’t die from old age.

Clockwork quintessence. When the Mechanist dies, its body vanishes. It returns to Mechanus, where it reforms and reawakens after 1d12 days.

Constructed hybrid nature. The Mechanist requires no air, food, drink or sleep. It has two creature types: construct and humanoid. It can be targeted by any effect if it applies to one of its creature types.

Creature: Spore Presence

“When guardians of nature that have a personal bond with fungi, symbiotic plants and other spore-releasing agents find themselves looking up at the sky and wondering what manner of druidic growths can be found amongst the far reaches of the cosmos, something may reach out to them to help them find it. Something otherworldly, something itself made of spores and infestations. Some choose to turn away from this entity, but others embrace it, moving between the stars, finding their way to distant planes, and returning inherently changed - sometimes for the best, sometimes for worse.”

Warped druidic agents. A spore presence was once a druid, human or other, who has departed on a journey of discovery and been touched by something definitively other. They lost their humanity, their appearance, but gained something else in return - considered a blessing by some and a curse by others. In whispered circles, a spore presence’s unique form is said to have been caused by the spores of an otherwordly entity, a creature or apparition not quite of this world, which has itself infested the druid’s mind and changed it to what it has become.

Solitary patrols. Spore presences tend to find their way back to their homeland after some time, but without the communicative skills they had before their departure. Instead of talking, they use a confusing, disorienting telepathy that consists of warped images and garbled sounds to convey their thoughts and feelings, which only builds fear into the people they attempt to communicate with. Many spore presences that have returned to their home planet instead seek out a solitary life, generally within cave systems or other dark, mouldy locations, where they can merge amongst the fungi and mildew that they themselves have become part of. A spore presence in its hibernation mode - which can last years if it remains undisturbed - merges into the surface on which it rests and becomes a formless, indistinguishable but large patch of spores that emit no sign of life.

Aberrant nature. A spore presence requires no air, food, drink or sleep.

Hybrid nature. A spore presence has two creature types: aberration and humanoid. It can be targeted by any effect if it applies to one of its creature types.

Creature: Bloombeast

Created by the Unseelie Court in their war against the Seelie fey, bloombeasts were made to attract creatures of nature like flies to a fly trap. Their spores incapacitate, allowing the bloombeasts free reign on whichever unfortunate prey they manage to halt. They can be vicious, despite their beautiful, floral appearance.

Unseelie watchdogs. The Unseelie Court created the bloombeasts as they created their displacer beasts, except the experiments that originated in the bloombeasts were not as succesful as the creation of the displacer beasts. Bloombeasts turned out more aggressive and violent than initially designed, and their bloodthirst led to the Unseelie fey instead simply releasing them into Seelie territory. The bloombeasts procreated - through a bizarre mating ritual involving a tree or other natural growth, which dies in the process of “birthing” a new bloombeast - and spread through both fey territories, though the Unseelie fey have since taught the beasts to only hunt Seelie fey.

Natural fighters. A bloombeast’s biggest weapon is the flower that grows out of its body like a fleshy head. It cannot see through the flower, but it releases a potent, sickly smell that enraptures creatures that get close enough to sense it. Additionally, the flower can erupt in golden-pink spores which, when inhaled, cause unimaginable psychic pain. Having successfully captured its prey, the bloombeast’s next method of attack is simply slicing with the curled claws at the end of its legs, which produce a painful poison.

NPC: Baron d'Avariss, Aristocrat of the Unseelie Court

“Few of the Unseelie Fey are as well-known as Baron d'Avariss, nobleman of that cursed Court, patron of collectors and the affluent. His warlocks know him as an intelligent, although self-indulged and egocentric being. But below the guise of bestowing magical abilities on those who worship him and helping the rich expand their hoards, the Baron has a secondary purpose. His place in the Court is that of High Treasurer, and he expands his influence upon the Material Plane, too - placing the sin of endless greed and desire upon the hearts of mortal men, twisting their desire into materialistic wishes until they rot to the core, forever tainted by the Baron’s cursed touch.”

Father of greed. The Baron started as a simple fey - a changeling boy left to steal on the streets. He owned nothing for many years, but upon the acquisition of his first gold piece, picked from the pocket of an unnamed god posing as a man, something changed. A certain desire was lit within his heart, and even as he grew and expanded his glimmering hoard, it could not be enough. When another urchin stole from him on the street in an act of pure luck and courage, the changeling condemned the child, and promised his Fey ancestors that he would give anything immaterial for the return of his possession. The Seelie Court refused, but the darkness that had already grown within him did not go unnoticed by the Unseelie Fey, who accepted his bargain, and raised him to the status of archfey, and he became the Baron.

Impostor amongst men. The Baron, now in charge of inciting eternal greed in the non-fey, does not seek out his targets, but simply waits for the right person to pass by him. He travels to the Material Plane, where he poses as a rich noble, parading his wealth until covetous eyes find him. Convincing his targets that wealth is the answer to all their problems is easy, and he bargains with them until they agree their never-ending servitude in exchange for riches beyond measure in this lifetime. The gold provided by the Baron is cursed, and infects the owner with gold-sickness, each coin disappearing eventually, until nothing but empty promises, lies, and cobwebbed vaults remain.

Archfey patron. As a warlock’s patron, the Baron ever bargains with his warlocks. Their powers always come with a prize, and the Baron no longer covets only gold and riches. Each of his followers has something to offer them, and he lures them with promises of power and magic to attain what he desires.

Special equipment. The Baron wears a robe of stars and carries a wand of enemy detection. He also always carries a bag of holding filled completely with illusory gold, gems, and other treasures that look, feel, and smell real to anyone other than the Baron. His magic items aren’t included in his stat block.

Friends and companions. The Baron is loyal only to the Unseelie Court and the Queen of Air and Darkness, although each of the Court’s members schemes against each other Court representative. The Baron allies himself with his warlocks, as their patron, but is fiercely paranoid and does not trust any of his allies.

Requested by anonymous!

Creature: Demoniker

“There is more than the cloakers and deathmantles that crawl along the water-eroded ceilings of shallow caverns. Insect-creepers, with claws that dig in flesh - made to grasp and hold, contain and control. Demonikers. They clamber up the damp, rocky walls, and drop on unsuspecting victims. The more powerful the cave-dweller, the more the demoniker will be attracted to its prey, as the more powerful the demoniker will be, once it clamps its keratin mandibles into its mark and release the poison-like substance that gives the demoniker unyielding control over the hunted.” - Excerpt from “Threats of the Underdark”, chapter 6: Arthropods and Vermin, by Golthil Basalt, svirfneblin arcanobiologist.

Cave-dwellers. Demonikers, despite their name, don’t belong to the clade of demons but instead are small, insectoid monstrosities. They are, when perceived, six-legged, long-tailed, bug-like beings that reproduce through their victims. Demonikers live for only a few months, and are most often found in the shallow caves and tunnels, where creatures may wander in regularly, or near settlements in the underdark, such as deep gnome mines or drow cities.

Destructive reproduction. Demonikers don’t need water or food during their short lifetime, but require a host for reproduction. They reproduce asexually, where a single demoniker can reproduce through the laying of eggs that contain cloned copies of itself. In order to reproduce, a demoniker takes control of a living creature of appropriate size, and, through its control, makes the creature act erratically and destructively - often leading to the host’s death. The demoniker then uses the remains to lay its eggs within, which hatch into young demonikers within a few weeks, continuing the cycle of control and destruction.

Monstrous nature. A demoniker doesn’t need food or water.

Creature: Helhest

“It was the steed of devils, torn straight from the bowels of the Nine Hells, screeching all the while as it fired nauseatingly powerful balls of fire and destroyed everything that surrounded it in a feat of absolute annihilation and strength. It was beastlike, but not in the same way that an animal is beastlike - it was imbued with demonic energy, and burst into flames and breathed cinders through its deformed muzzle.”

Devilish mounts. Helhests are somewhat equine or goatlike creatures from the Nine Hells, where they largely function as fiendish mounts for devils of higher ranks, such as commanders or generals. Their split hooves thunder across the plains of the Hells, and a helhest’s presence is often felt before it even appears - it imbues those around it with a sense of discomfort and breathlessness. Only devils that can truly control other devils around it will be able to ride a helhest, as these creatures often have a mind of its own, and will do anything in their power to destroy a rider they do not accept.

Infernal harness. Helhests carry a saddle- and bridle-like harness on their bodies that are encrusted with red, fiery gems bound together with dried leather made from demonic hides. The crest around a helhest’s head, which is part of its harness, allow it to exploit the innate power of the gems and release bolts of energy from it that it can use at a range. A helhest that has its harness removed from it cannot use this ability.

Friends and companions. A helhest is almost always found in the company of a high-ranked devil, such as an erinyes or orthon, and usually comes with a league of other devils under its master’s command. Helhests can also be found roaming free on the plains of the Nine Hells, most commonly on Avernus, Dis, and Malbolge.

Creature: Soloist

“It is said that when the great minstrel Taeleya Hinszin passed, her soul became bound to her instrument, and she became a soloist for eternity. Her music can still be heard in her manse, echoing forever between empty walls: a song of death, and mourning of her own lifetime as one of the most influential musicians of her era.”

Bardic remains. A soloist is born when a great musician passes into the afterlife, but their soul hangs on. Usually the object of their desire to stay is their instrument, which becomes imbued with their own undead energy, and begins playing again when the soul has finally found its resting place in the plane of the living. The undead spirit bound to the instrument is usually benign, only wishing to spend the rest of eternity playing its music, but the tune they play is so hauntingly beautiful that it can have a malignant effect on the living people that surround it. Those who hear a soloist’s ghostly music are caught in a stupor and lose control over their bodies.

Malignant minstrels. Those bards or minstrels that chose a darker path in life, seeking fame for money or treating those around them with condescension and disdain, may become malignant soloists upon death. Their spirits are corrupted by greed or pride, and will use their music to lure unsuspecting victims to them, where they will make them serve the soloist for the rest of their lives.

Undead nature. A soloist doesn’t need air, food, drink, or sleep.

Friends and companions. Those soloists who have traveled in minstrel bands or in circuses may become undead as a group when a disaster befalls them, or if they simply happen to pass within a few days of each other. Those who have created strong bonds of friendship or love may be bound to one another in the afterlife, and thus it is not uncommon to find two soloists together at all times. Minstrels that had animal companions or familiars in life may have the remainders of their pet’s spirit accompany them.

Creature: Hound of Tindalos

“There are feared beasts that walk the path between time itself, who originate from where angles are just so and where fog means something is watching you. Do not try to control time, because it will fight back, and it will send its hounds after you.” - excerpt from “Through the Needle of Time” by arcane physicist Erlan Durenar.

Angular timedwellers. Hounds of Tindalos are creatures from a different dimension where time is just as easily controlled as space. They walk back and forth through time with ease, spending decades in the past and in the future, and controlling the flow of time where they wish. Those who dare meddle in the time continuum risks attracting a Hound, and it rarely ends well for them.

Timeshifters. The Hounds are pack animals, but those who have found a quarrey - often someone who travels through time or attempts to do so - may hunt in solitude. Once a Hound has found its prey, it will not ever cease, attacking its target at seemingly random points in time, jumping out of empty corners until its target’s time is up. Those skilled apprentices in the art of arcane physics who are attacked by a Hound during their early years may find they already understand what they accomplish in their future.

Friends and companions. Hounds travel in packs, but may also be encountered alone. They enjoy spaces with many corners, such as mazes or buildings with many small rooms. Because of their seemingly random traveling through time, Hounds are not known to follow or fight alongside any other type of creature.

Creature: Carrion Reaper

It walked among the dead strewn across the floor, blood soaking into the fabrics of its clothes. Despite its humanoid form, it was something else altogether - its grin betraying its destructive nature, wriggling larvae bulging between the muscles in its arms as its swung its broad scythe and tore flesh straight from the bone. It reaped, as Death would, but it reaped no souls, nor anything from this world.

Trigger warning: death.

Battlefield crow. The origins and creation of carrion reapers is heavily discussed and theorized, but none can be certain how these warmongering creatures come to be. What is clear about them is that they are heavily attracted to battlefields after great conflicts, roaming among the dead with murders of crows following. Reapers value the possession of carrion, whether it be humanoid or beast, but they are only found in places where many lives are lost and the energies of death still linger.

Magical destruction. Carrion reapers are not aggressive by nature, but rather are found graverobbing or stealing bodies from such battlefields, which poises them against the population. When attacked, a reaper is fast, deadly, and knows no mercy - and when the fight is over and the reaper still stands, it adds the fresh corpses to its pile and takes them wherever it goes.

Friends and companions. Carrion reapers are most often found at battlefields, and may command small groups of undead. They can also be found in the presence of cadaver collectors, either pitted against the construct or working alongside it.

Creature: Fooltergeist

“Those who think joking about death is funny have clearly never encountered a fooltergeist - these irritating, jester-like pests are the bane of anyone delving deep into castle dungeons or neglected festivals. They may look unthreatening and simply seeking enjoyment, but they are more dangerous than they let on. Be careful if you meet one.” - excerpt from “The Delving Troupe” by renowned adventurer Dalyn Ezsthyr.

Jester’s fate. Those who work as jesters in court or at a traveling carnival have a difficult job on their hands of creating laughter where there is none. Skilled jesters may succeed at their job, but those who are truly gifted often have a supernatural or divine being helping them. Those fools that succeed on humoring a crowd at a burial may be blessed by the dark god Cyric, who bestows on them ever-lasting life in death. Once the body of the jester withers away with the years, their spirit continues to animate their brightly-colored costume, thus becoming a fooltergeist.

Court of death. Fooltergeists are pesky, annoying creatures that are often encountered in long-forgotten castles or on deserted festival grounds. They continue to haunt the places they had once livened up, but now, their laughter-inducing dances and harmless tricks have been warped in the face of death, and their tricks have become deadly, their laughter haunting, and their presence dangerous. Fooltergeists enjoy chasing those who intrude on their homes, creating a feeling of paranoia when objects move without reason, or creating a sense of being hunted. Once a fooltergeist tires of its playmates, it kills them, and continues searching its territory for new prey.

Friends and companions. Fooltergeists are rarely seen around other ghosts or undead. They do not enjoy the company of the much more serious specters or ghosts, and would rather spend eternity around cursed dolls, awakened furniture, or even mimics, to which it will gladly lead its prey and cackle loudly when the poor creature is attacked. It also feels attracted to evil creatures with power that hold courts, or something that resembles a court, and may be found in devilish circles, with necromancers, or even in cultist lairs.

Creature: Barkling

It was like a dryad, except its body was brown and made from wood, and it moved as if it were a doll, and where you’d expect a feminine head with pronounced cheekbones, there was only a tangle of thorny twigs that seemed to quiver as the being observed them.

Dryadic.Barklings are plant-like creatures made from wood, and are usually the result of an awakened tree or plant losing one of its branches, which continues to grow with awakened fervor and turns into a barkling. These wooden doll-like beings move much like constructs do, with slow, determined and robotic movements, but they are not true constructs.

Wooden tricksters. Barklings enjoy their freedom and are not keen on sharing their space with other creatures. However, they are not aggressive, and will usually play simple, harmless tricks on intruders to scare them off or to coax them into leaving. Only when a barkling is threatened or attacked, it will use its rapidly-growing roots or spores to deliver a quick blow and then retreat between the trees.

Friends and companions. Barklings can be found with any type of neutral or good-aligned plant creatures, such as awakened trees, awakened shrubs, treants, vegepygmies, wood woads, and such. It may also befriend druids, rangers, or other humanoids that have an affinity with nature, and are occasionally bound to an archdruid or other benevolent humanoid.

Creature: Bloodbeast

“…but precautions must be taken, for the nature of hemomancy is thus that it absorbs what it may, even its practician, and may twist their nature and their very being into the horrific bloodbeast, which will neverendingly search for more blood to imbibe its destructive desires…” - Exerpt from “On Hemomancy and Hemocraft”, by hemomancer Deruva Vidictas.

Trigger warning: blood.

Made from blood. Bloodbeasts are the unfortunate results of dabbling in magics not understood by the one controlling it. Many wizards that choose to study the nature of hemomancy, or blood magic, will find that it is a difficult subject to grasp and control. Those who choose to immerse themselves without enough precautions taken or enough knowledge beforehand may be consumed altogether by the destructive nature of blood magic, and become a bloodbeast - an inhuman, unnatural soul encased in blood, forever searching for more blood to strengthen itself.

Sanguinous desires. Bloodbeasts retain the intelligence of who they were before they became what they are, but can no longer apply it to the world. They may be masterful tacticians in combat, but do not understand the nature of anything that has no blood, such as constructs or undead. And if they do not understand, they become enraged and attempt to extract the blood from those who do not have it, leaving bloodlessness and massacres in its wake.

Friends and companions. Bloodbeasts despise those without blood, and usually work alone. They especially hate undead and constructs, and are difficult to control by humanoid cultists or wizards, so they are usually encountered alone.

Creature: Cadaver Centaur

Ruddin turned a corner and immediately came face-to-face with a necrotic, skeletal horse, skull and neck split in half, connect to a gaunt, bony body. Its toothed maw grinned darkly, and the protrusions on its chest began to reach and grab as it attempted to try and swallow him and take his body into its own.

Undead equines. Despite the physical resemblance between cadaver centaurs and their living counterparts, there is no natural or supernatural connection between them, as cadaver centaurs hail from the Shadowfell. These horse-like creatures are clearly undead, but have a nasty habit of attempting to pull living humanoid creatures into its own body to create a centaur-like being. They are capable of controlling the captured humanoid and even make it attack its allies.

Origin of hunger. It is generally assumed that cadaver centaurs are a result of a festering of greed or gluttony within a spirit in the Shadowfell. Usually these creatures crave the subjugation of other beings, or even to eat them, and as their desire for control and food festers and transforms, they do, too, and become the grasping, disturbing undead equine creatures that occasionally find their way into the Material Plane.

Friends and companions. Cadaver centaurs do not work with other creatures except skeletal companions. They are usually found in herds of up to fifteen individuals.

Based on this image.

Creature: Mare of Diomedes

“According to the legends of old, these mares were so bloodthirsty and frenzied that their masters would feed them bodies of those they had killed, and the mares would rip the flesh straight from the bone. Feeding on such meat would invigorate them even more, completing a cycle and continuing the downward spiral of meat consumption.”

Inflicted madness. Story goes that the Mares of Diomedes were once normal horses, who were afflicted with great madness by something that they saw or something that was thrust upon them. Some say that the mares always had evil in their hearts, and the punishment came from the gods, who decided to take matters into their own hands. Rather than kill the mares, they instead irrevocably turned them into monstrous horses that can spread their own insanity among mortals.

Herd of destruction. The Mares of Diomedes are almost always seen together. There are four mares, and together, they are a force to be reckoned with: Podargos the Swift, Lampon the Shining, Xanthos the Yellow and Deinos the Terrible. If encountered as a herd and a fight breaks out, the mares are very precisely attuned to one another to wreak havoc as a group, and work together very well to destroy their enemies and feast on them. Because of their insane nature, they do not quite employ tactics, aside from ganging up on the weakest link and using their abilities to spread their madness to everyone who is unfortunate enough to be nearby.

Friends and companions. The Mares of Diomedes do not work together with any creature other than their own, and only a select few humanoids have been able to tame them in history. The process of domesticating the mares enough for them to tolerate one’s presence is long and arduous, and usually results in the mares killing their new master.

Herd mechanics. The mares have an 80% chance to be together as a group (of four mares), a 15% chance to be in a pair (of two mares) and a 5% chance to be a solitary enemy. If you are unsure, roll a d20. On a 1-16, there are four mares, on a 17-19, there are two mares, and on a 20 there is only one mare.

Creature: Deadlight

It was a skeletal lord, ruling its vapid underlings with an iron fist. At least, they had thought there was only one - one creature with deep red blood dripping from its claws, an unnatural light shining through its skull-head. When they arrived at the destroyed citadel, now infested with undead, it was as if it had formed a coven with likeminded lords. Death would come to all, they whispered.

Destroyed wizards. Those who dabble in the forces and magics of necromancy may find that those forces that allow the dead to rise also allow the life to be sapped from themselves. Some skilled wizards that are learned necromancers may be trapped in their own abilities and have their vitality pulled from them, turning them into deadlights. A deadlight is not unlike a lich, but the process of becoming undead was involuntary and highly destructive. The soul of the trapped wizard may be pained, tortured, or ripped apart, until the undeath sets in and they rise again, this time as a skeletal lord.

Deadlight covens. Deadlights aim to find each other in their pain and trauma, and band together like a coven of hags to share their arcane knowledge and their destructive fates. A group of deadlights is called a chain, and chained deadlights are rarely seen, because those who dare impede on the deadlights’ territory are quickly disposed of.

Friends and companions. Deadlights do not befriend one another, but form chains to share their powers and their knowledge, to their own goals. A solitary deadlight may employ zombies, skeletons, wights, ghouls and other undead under its wing, and set attacks upon civilized settlements to create more undead. A chain of deadlights may wander among the edges of society, secretly gaining more and more undead, until they can form a true army and march upon the lands of the living.

Creature: Tirya

A swarm of the orange-yellow creatures came down, wings curving gracefully in the warm, dusk-sky air. The horn on each of their heads glowed with a soft, vibrant energy, and a new warmth coursed through the atmosphere, bringing light and playfulness to the darkening night.

Messengers of the gods. When a deity on the good spectrum requires a creature to pass a message to a follower, such simple jobs are often not given to celestials such as devas or other high-ranking angels, but to the simpler tiryas. These playful, pterodactyl-like creatures are covered in warm, soft fuzz, and represent the childlike wonder and goodness of a newly-born believer. Tiryas like to play with others, play tricks, learn simple magical effects and support those they bond to in the best way possible. Because tiryas are celestial messengers and are always under the protection of their deity, tiryas only very rarely become familiars.

Tricks with spells. Despite their low rank among celestials, tiryas know a variety of spells that they use to protect themselves, but also aid the follower they have been assigned to or any other creature they take pity on while on the road. They are empathetic, supportive beings that enjoy using their magical abilities for good. Some stories say that the souls of the strongest, most good-hearted believers become tiryas upon death.

Friends and companions. Because tiryas are such friendly, kind-natured spirits, they are often found with friends they made on the way. Most of the time, these are local wildlife, such as squirrels, rabbits, badgers, or even deer. Other tiryas bond to humanoids that they enjoy being around, and might be found in the presence of a group of adventurers, among which one worships the tirya’s deity.