Appendix - Creatures, Truncated
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Map of the Known World – While it's believed other landmasses might exist, exploration of the seas has been so far hindered by dangerous seabound predators. Occasionally amphibian and flying monstosities also make inland raids, endangering coastal settlements. Just like people, monsters, creatures and animals – whatever one might call them – also possess abilities boosting their capabilities. Unlike people however, their levels don't seem to vary much at all. For this reason it is possible to assign a threat level to each type (consult an Adventurer's Guild Handbook or Traveller's Handbook for a table).
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The Porcumbi is spike-backed Urkid roaming the southern seabed and coast. Though not directly aggressive, it is highly poisonous and hard to approach. Herds of Porcumbi can block of entire coastal stretches during mating season.
Also along the southern coast we find the Blue Angels. These large airborne predators are not particularly fast and mainly feed on floating corpses out sea. They are however silent and can easily snatch up a sleeping horz with their barbed vaned tentacles. Their unnaturally light body is fairly tough and makes for valuable crafting material. However, simple villages are often forced to evacuate or bunker up when one drifts inland.
The Inner Sea is infested by Starpik. These have four sharp fins capable of stunning a larger predator, making them a tough meal. Their own diet mostly consists of seaweeds, but they're also opportunists – a school of Starpik can strip a body of flesh in minutes with their sharp beaks, be it living, stunned or already dead. Their main body is about the size of a round helmet.
The Great White Wing patrols the frigid skies of the north. With a wingspan of 9 meters it has few enemies in the air. Individuals can sometimes be recognised by their wing injuries, and some scholars have spotted a particular specimen, "The Neiland Terror", in desctriptions dating back 300 years.
Farthest to the north an amphibian tuskoid known as the Northern Sea Monkey harasses the few rare coastal settlements braving the cold. They are known to skip out of the water and swarm ships causing mayhem. For this reason net guards are often installed on ships traversing the coast.
The Crescent Sea is relatively safe and supposedly a playground for young Gelphin, often in the 3-5 meter range. Further out in the East Sea the specimens grow much larger and are able to overturn ships though coordinated efforts.
A very large Sea Wyrm has been seen patrolling the seas to the south and east. It has only been sighted a few times and it's unknown whether it's a single specimen or different ones. Few ship crews survive to tell their tale.
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The Deep Bore Worms infest inhabited caves and mines, collapsing tunnels and feeding on the inhabitants. Contrary to popular belief they can not sustain themselves on rock and minerals alone. Therefore they often hide and enter hibernation for long time periods, waiting for new prey to arrive. They're very difficult to locate and clear out.
The Desert Bore Worms have specialised in tunnelling through loose sand. While not fast, they can launch surprise attacks on caravans and encampments. Most of their time is spent scavenging however. The condition of the corpse does not matter much to their extremely sturdy digestion system.
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During the late autumn the common Winter Slimes hatch and prowl the forests looking for easy prey, generally corpses. Like all slimes they are essentially immortal, going though an annual rebirth cycle. Come spring they burrow, dehydrate and form an egg, thus losing much of their previous memories and experience.
Forest Slimes function similarly but are active on the opposite side of the year. Slimes can cause trouble for the inexperienced or unaware, but are not much of a threat to new adventurers and travellers.
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Tuskoids are a common type of quadruped animal sporting two tusks, a single front facing eye and a horn of varying size. Some Tuskoids have been tamed and bred to function better with people.
The Horz is used mainly for transport, though only a few are of sufficient size to ride. It's much more common to see them drawing carriages and war chariots. During hard times they're slaughtered for their meat.
The same can not be said for the Pigoid, which is difficult to cook. Instead it's used more as a waste disposal cleaner. They also effective for sniffing out vermin, parasites and wood worms. Some Pigoids are cultured specially for their pink fur, though its marketed under a different name to disassociate with the unclean status of the Pigoid.
The elegant and playful Mouts serve the noble class as pets and sometimes hunting aids. Unlike the Pigoids, Mouts require a special and well balanced diet and are difficult to care for and train. They easily revert to a wild state if lost or abandoned.
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Land Birds include several varieties of Pippin. The tame version, simply known as the Pippin, was bred from the Wild Pippin. Either can be used as a source of good meat, eggs and feather. They feed mostly on fruits, seed, weeds and shrubs.
The Green Pippin can be hunted for its fine meat, but it's fast, surprisingly devious, and dangerous. The latter is evident by its nest that's often built from the bones of previous territorial challengers. Though belied by its appearance, the Green Pippin is entirely carnivorous.
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The southern plains one can find herds of the long necked Steppe Horzes browsing and grazing. Reaching only 1.5 meters to the top of their head, they're too small and delicate to serve the same role as tame Horzes. The Steppe Horz can reach flight speeds upwards 200 km/h when chased by a predator.
In contrast, the 2 meter tall Phonts are larger and very sturdy. However, they are stubborn and apparently untameable. Attempts have been made, resulting in flattened villages and rampages. Phonts have two pairs of pronounced tusks which they can use as a weapon. Their skin forms rigid plates that can be difficult to penetrate by mid level hunters. They're best left alone when encountered. The valuable tusks are best harvested from Phont remains.
The quarrelsome Bulhorns commonly move in packs of four to seven, antagonising anything they come across to create opportunity or just as a matter of course. While less than a meter tall, their burly armoured build allows them to survive the many trouble situations they create.
The Rhunts are vermin tuskoids about the size of a foot. Just like the Pigoids, they're known to eat anything and can be found slithering about in hoveltowns and harbours. Unlike the Pigoids however, they're actually not bad tasting, though much more difficult to catch. They can be found, or rather, traces of them can be found from the north to the south.
Variants of the Longtusk can be found everywhere, though they are solitary carnivores with large territories. Encountering one of these hyper predators is an occurrence as equally rare as deadly. Reaching almost 2 meters in height, their muscular build allows them to reach speeds upwards 250 km/h.
Goronts can be found in jungles and wetlands mainly to the south. While somewhat similar in build to the Longtusk, they are slightly smaller and not carnivorous. They also form large families which are fiercely protected against predators. A young Longtusk attacking a member of their group will quickly find itself outnumbered and in trouble.
The Dog, or Feather Dog is the largest known Tuskoid, and an apex predator. In stories they are pitted against knights and heroes and saints, but in reality they are far too dangerous to be faced in combat. They have a feather-like fur which can supposedly be used to make legendary enchanted clothes and equipment. The Dog and its fur is tended to by alert Groomer Flies which in turn enjoy a certain protection. The special fur allows the Dog to move at unfathomable speed and make great bounds, reportedly leaping over entire mountains. They spend most of their time sleeping however and are only aggressive to people when provoked.
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The Oil Worm is a type of Urkid found in swamps and mud pools, but also in city sludge and harbours where they feed on refuse and the occasional trapped bodies. Like all Urkids they're about a foot in length, and amphibian. The Oil Worm is especially slippery and flexible, making them a difficult catch. They can be farmed for their oil.
The amphibian Finned Urkid is a delicacy, but also difficult to catch. It's sometimes called a Sea Pigoid.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Out of all the Urkids, the Lightning Urkid is perhaps the strangest with its ability to move unnaturally at great speeds. Scholars believe some form of time manipulation might be involved as the Lightning Urkid also falls without injury at an increased speed. Within its own frame of time it's perhaps moving rather slowly. Fortunately the creature is harmless.
The Porcumbi covered earlier is also a form of Urkid.
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Wyrms are elongated creatures with four arms, two wings, and four beady eyes. The scales of the larger wyrms make excellent crafting material that is difficult to acquire due to the danger level of these monsters.
The Snow Eel is the least dangerous wyrm but perhaps the most unsettling. About a meter in length and very nimble, it can be found slithering through soft snow, ice burrows, or slush and water. Should a creature succumb to cold, Snow Eels will often appear, popping out of the snow awaiting the death of their quarry. It is said they they are never wrong in sensing when a person is about to die. Catching their beady eyes is thus considered a very bad omen.
Dreaded is the Night Wyrm. This 5 meter long stygian menace has the ability to control hordes of undead. What's worse, they often act in pairs. Once they have settled in a territory it takes a small army to deal with the wyrms and their minions. That said, Night Wyrms seem more interested in challenging other Night Wyrm couples – casualties in villages and towns are more incidental to this struggle. Night Wyrms have somewhat underdeveloped wings permitting only short flights and leaps, but can move with great agility between trees and buildings. They have taken down city lords in single combat on more than one occasion. Their dark metallic scales are only pliable to the most skilled of craftsmen. For this reason, their scales lay unused in many a treasury.
The Rainbow Lizard, also known as the Prism Wyrm, resembles a lizard. It can mainly be found meandering in Izrac and Bun-yah, seemingly with no preference for any particular terrain type or biome. It's somewhat rare and only hunted on special occasions by the local tribes and communities. The shimmering scales of its hide make for good flexible armour. Their wings have regressed into short stumps which can vibrate against its sides, producing a strange sound akin to rattling chainmail. The Rainbow Lizard can reach 3 meters in length and is best faced by a team of professionals. Should one be unavailable it's best to scatter and count the losses.
As its name suggests, the Pond Wyrm inhabits ponds and lakes and rarely enters land. Anywhere there is a sizeable pond, locals insist there's also a Pond Wyrm, either to scare children or themselves. Should mysterious tracks be encountered nearby, it might be the Pond Wyrm skulking about. Pond Wyrms have fin-like appendages and are very agile in the water. Their beak is soft and rounded, suggesting it perhaps feeds on pond weeds, vegetation, and lakebed creatures, only occasionally supplementing its diet with the occasional nosey sightseer. They can grow ancient and measure some 8 to 10 meters from head to tail. Attempts to kill or capture one have been unsuccessful in a manner which discourages further similar ventures.
The Sea Wyrm is a very large seabound wyrm covered earlier.
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Sand Sharks are lizards prowling the wastes of Izrac and Bun-yah looking for opportunities. They measure 4 to 5 meters from head to tail and have large muscled jaws and rows of sharp teeth. Sand Lizards are cunning and persistent endurance hunters. Once encountered they can be hard to shake off or dissuade and it takes a group of well armed seasoned escorts to deal with one. An unfortunate caravan will encounter two.
The armour plated Beak Lizards thrive in wetlands where they lurk in shallow waters. During dry spells they seek out new territories, so they can sometimes be encountered in unexpected locations like mountain ponds and city waterways. Despite being just over a meter in size, they are tough to kill, or trap and keep trapped. For villages without resources it's often best to just form a mob and chase them away.
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Pin Walkers are a danger found on most beaches where masses of the pen sized creatures half-burrow in sand or dirt, revealing only the poisonous thorn of their shell. After stunning their victim they will emerge in great numbers to start their feast. They'll also feed on anything which washes ashore.
The barren regions of Izrac and parts of Eglynn are home to the hard shelled Purple Top, but it was likely more wide-spread in the past before the land recovered. The lumbering creatures are normally scavengers but can attack slow travelling caravans and are tough to handle without the right weapons. Purple Top remains are used as nests by Desert Bore Worm larvae and it's rare to find an intact shell in the wild.
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Phintels are a softbodied group of creatures with a beak, four fins and four tentacles. They have no eyes but still have keen senses and a clear awareness of their surroundings.
Once exclusive to the mountain ranges of Thun in the north, the Lunarphin has begun to sporadically migrate further south down through Neiland for unknown reasons. It is a night predator and a daring mountain climber. At 1.4 meters it poses an intermediate threat. It tends to feed on the eggs or young of other species, or their own, but has perhaps adapted to other sources of food.
The White Dredphin and Black Dredphin are large amphibian apex predators found in the South Sea and North Sea respectively. Unlike the finwalking Phintels the Dredphin use their rear tentacles for locomotion. One of the tentacles has pronounced finger-like grappling abilities, but it unclear just how intelligent the Dredphins are. The ones which emerge on land often appear to be in a crazed state and either kill off any witnesses, or cause senseless chaos and destruction before succumbing to exhaustion.
Along the beaches and coastal sand fields of the Inner Sea where the land corals thrive one can often find Orphins hiding in the sand. Despite their knee-high stature they are very aggressive and persistent, and also fairly tough with a hard inner skull that is actually a continuation of the tough beak. They often emerge at inopportune moments to swarm and ransack the encampments of unwitting travellers, or to surround and harass weakened larger prey to the point of exhaustion. When burrowed they appear to subsist by some form of filter feeding.
The Zyduphin, also known as the Aawk in Bun-yah, is a mostly harmless grazer with a prominent beak nearly half a meter in length. It's exclusive to temperate central regions stretching from northern Laar up to the Olvanian mountain ranges, and it tends to avoid water even though it can swim. Zyduphins largely avoid predation on account of their sour taste, and are thus quite numerous. Internal disputes in the herd are settled with a form of beak clubbing ritual. When agitated they can give novice adventurers problem in the form of broken legs, and sometimes crushed skulls.
The Gelphin is a phintel which has been covered earlier.
While entirely seabound, the Lonphin nevertheless poses a problem for people. Just like the Gelphin they can disrupt trade and fishery by overturning smaller vessels. Lonphins can reach up to 8 meters but tend to act alone and with less adroitness than the coordinated Gelphin. There's also the Dwarf Lonphin which is only half a foot in length and entirely white. It feeds on carcasses, or dead skin in specialised spas.
As dusk settles, the Nightwings wake up and emerge from their resting places in lakes and rivers and take to the skies. Using their powerful senses, they track down prey both in air and on land. With a wing span of four meters they pose a significant threat to travellers on the move in open terrain. Fortunately they rarely hunt in cities or forests, perhaps due to their clumsiness on land and an aversion to aerial obstructions.
Not much is known about the Rivermen and no remains have ever been encountered. Some say they are just a tall tale by blurry eyed travellers.
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The Spike Shell and Greater Spike Shell are large clams with retractable boneless limbs. They're rarely encountered on land but their hard shells can fetch quite the price. Limbs or weapons trapped in their closing shell can be considered lost. They can not be trapped in nets nor in ship holds. They commonly stand 0.6 meters and 1.4 meters respectively.
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Caraptoids are carapace creatures with four legs, two wings four mandibles, a single eye, and a segmented armoured body which is especially hard on the top side. They are morphologically diverse, just like the Phinels.
The Loprawn has no visible wings instead relying on it powerful hind legs for locomotion. They can jump long distances to escape a predator or accurately pounce on lone prey. About the size of a young child, Loprawns only pose a danger to solitary travellers on foot... unless it's swarming season when they group up by the hundreds and are known to attack even cities.
The shy and long lived Torteks mainly feeds on plant life and minerals. When cornered they can still put up a fight and are difficult to injure as it will expertly use its tough shell as a shield, or for battering. Once an opportunity to withdraw presents itself it will do so. They're about the size of a small tavern table for four.
The Groomer Fly mentioned under Dog is a caraptoid. While not only grooming Dogs, they have keen senses seemingly able to locate Dogs over great distances. Groomer Flies are well liked by all creatures enjoying their service.
The palm-sized Dung Flies are much less liked and terrorize Tuskoids and people in particular. Skilled archers can hit a Dung Fly in flight. Many city guilds have placed a small bounty on Dung Flies in a somewhat futile attempt to keep their numbers down.
The larger Red Wings are even worse as they do more than just nibble, but rather swoop in to bite off chunks of flesh. Fortunately they are only common in the south and south-west, though during the summers strays can appear further north.
While native to the western wetlands, the Poison Sting can now occasionally be encountered along the eastern coast. The creature was reportedly imported by the Drecht Empire in an attempt to train them for assassination tasks. Now the Poison Sting has begun to infest the eastern wetlands. As the name indicates, the creature has a deadly poisonous stinger. Its light body and half-meter wingspan allows it to silently glide down and surprise its target. It's not carnivorous but rather use its victims for incubation.
The Ripper is a solitary predator and scavenger with a 1.5 meter wingspan. It can be found all over the world, but makes its nests in forests and mountains. Though it can attack people and livestock, it's well liked as its a prolific hunter of Dung Flies. Regrettably it can not be tamed and bred to perform the task.
Losing a foot to a Desert Crawler is unfortunately a too common occurrence. They are quick, armoured and equipped with a pair of powerful scythe-like mandibles almost a foot in length. It's best to block them off with a pole and follow with a strike using a piercing weapon. The especially nimble-footed can press them into the sand and pry a dagger in under the shell.
Skullwalkers or Helmetwalkers are strange long-limbed quadrupeds with a body shaped somewhat like a skull. Their diminutive wings serve as some sort of signaling device and it's possibly they they have a developed language. That might just be anthropomorphisation on account on their appearance however. They tend to stay away from people, but have also shown what might be curiosity as they never move too far away but stay to observe. It's considered bad luck to kill a Skullwalker.
Out of all the caraptoids, the Stiltman is the most mysterious – and dangerous. Living in groups of up to fifty they inhabit grottos, ruins and abandoned towns. Sometimes they ignore passers by, sometimes they attack them. There are never any survivors should the latter occur. About the height of a man, they stand upright and wander about seemingly without purpose.