View table: Monsters

An aranid is an intelligent spider with illusion powers. The hump on its back houses the aranid’s brain.

Aranids are typically solitary, but may congregate in areas with abundant prey. While these aranids will still hunt solitarily, they will interact socially, establishing a strict social hierarchy among themselves. Those aranids that can capture and consume intelligent prey are generally seen as higher status in this hierarchy.

Skilled illusionist, aranids try to avoid physical combat and use their webs and spells when they can. If they manage to subdue and web a worthy foe, they will occasionally keep it alive until it can be shown off to the rest of the congregation and then devoured where the rest can

Keen-witted and powerful avian predators, axe beaks compete with wolves and hunting cats for prey upon vast, open steppes and prairies. Although feared for their boldness and territorial natures, these giant birds prove eminently tamable, making useful guardians, hunters, and even steeds when kept well fed. Axe beaks are relatively social creatures, forming small groups in which both males and females hunt together. They nest in immense mounds made of sticks, branches, leaves, and whatever else they can scavenge (including the bones and equipment of previous meals), with each nest used by a large group of axe beaks. Females typically lay clutches of 1d4+1 eggs once per year, which the parents take turns keeping warm for 2 months before they hatch. Mature axe beaks stand 9 feet tall and weigh as much as 500 pounds. Their plumage varies widely, from gray to brown to black in temperate climes, but taking on exotic shades of gold, red, blue, and other vibrant hues in more tropical environs. Axe beaks have lifespans of up to 50 years.

An axe beak requires training before it will bear a rider. Taming an axe beak requires 6 weeks of work and a DC 25 Handle Animal check, after which it can be taught tricks as normal. Riding an axe beak requires an exotic saddle. Axe beak eggs are worth 1,000 gp apiece on the open market, while young are worth 1,500 gp each. A light load for an axe beak is up to 200 pounds; a medium load, 201-400 pounds; and a heavy load, 401-600 pounds.

Other types of large, predatory flightless birds exist such as the diatryma and terror bird but the axe beak is but the most commonly encountered and well known of this breed of predator.

Blindheims are grotesque, frog-like creatures that dwell beneath the surface, subsisting on meals of fungi, rodents, and other underground creatures. They live in the darkest, dampest regions of cavernous sprawls, particularly enjoying underground bogs, lakes, rivers, and swamps. Although not aquatic, blindheims are excellent swimmers.

They use the light from their eyes to attract prey, but go dark when larger creatures approach. A blindheim uses its blinding gaze to disorient both prey and possible threats, then deactivates its gaze to scuttle away in the dark if the threat is too great. In very large caverns inhabited by blindheims, distant areas often flicker from brightly lit to absolutely dark as the creatures feed and flee. Though of animal-level intelligence, blindheims are cunning enough to coordinate their hunting tactics with others of their kind, using one creature to act as a lookout and make hit-and-run attacks with its gaze until its fellows can arrive to help finish off the prey.

Stout and thick-skinned, a blindheim is just under 4 feet in height and weighs 150 pounds. A blindheim gives birth to small litters of three or four young. Though gestation can last up to a full year, it only takes about 4 years for a blindheim to mature and become self-reliant. Blindheims can live for up to 25 years.

In some lands, nixies are evil creatures who lead folk to drown in their waters, either by captivating their targets with song or by assuming the form of an animal or humanoid and tricking a hunter or explorer into dangerous waters. These evil nixies prefer dwelling in festering swamps or blighted fens, and are typically known as bog nixies.

The squat cave scorpion is quite well suited for life in caves. With its bulky armor, a cave scorpion at rest looks like a pile of stones. The cave scorpion’s favorite food is dwarven meat, and when a cave scorpion finds a working dwarven mine, it can quickly become a major inconvenience. Dwarven societies often post hefty bounties on cave scorpion stingers.

Shy and wary, deer range from the arctic to the tropics. They are very flexible creatures, adapting easily to their climate and able to survive in all but the harshest of temperatures. Deer are very flexible in their diets as well, able to exist on plants, insects, fish, and even dead birds. Deer are excellent swimmers and have been known to swim to a distance of five miles in the water. These statistics represent the typical white-tailed deer; they can also be used to represent other deer-like animals such as caribou and antelope.

Deer attack with their hooves or antlers. Antelopes, when defending their herd, attack by charging an opponent and butting with their horns (gore). The gore attack only applies to bucks with antlers.

Among the most majestic of raptors, these predatory birds pluck fish from streams and lakes, drop down on rodents and small mammals in alpine meadows, and have even been known to pull young mountain goats from the assumed safety of their cliffs.

These birds usually lead solitary life, gathering in groups during nesting season. The bald eagles congregate into large roosts of up to 400 birds. Groups of eagles can also be seen in areas with sufficient amount of prey.

Eagles typically build their massive nests in the tops of tall trees or among the rocky crags of steep cliffs. During breeding season, an eagle lays two eggs, but only one chick normally survives, as the stronger of the two usually kills and eats the weaker.

Eagles generally weigh between 8 and 15 pounds, with a wingspan of up to 7 feet, depending on the species.

A humanoid who dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid who becomes a ghoul in this way retains none of the abilities it possessed in life. It is not under the control of any other ghouls, but it hungers for the flesh of the living and behaves like a normal ghoul in all respects. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast.

Nearly 10 feet long, giant mine beetles live below ground, devouring stone, gems and metal ores. Luckily for paranoid merchants everywhere they seem to have no interest in processed metals. That doesn't mean they can't become a serious problem if they dig their way into a mine.

Giant Mine Beetles are generally solitary, but may swarm if a source of food is found sufficient that there is no competition.

Though great horned owls seem large, most of their apparent bulk comes from their particularly fluffy feathers and rather large heads. Great horned owls have wingspans of up to 5 feet and weigh up to 4 pounds. Great horned owls primarily hunt at night, locating prey through their excellent hearing. Their diet consists of rodents supplemented by smaller birds and rabbits.

Often viewed as vicious and corrupted creatures, harpies know how creatures think and act. This understanding gives them an advantage when it comes to finding their favorite meals. While creatures of the wild easily fall victim to their captivating songs, these vile bird-women prefer their meals spiced with complex sentient thoughts. Easy prey makes for a boring meal.

While ultimately savage and without remorse for their actions, a number of harpies live close to humanoid societies and enjoy parlaying with creatures that they see as potential meals.

Harpies tend to wear baubles and trinkets stolen from their victims, as they like to indulge in the shiny ornaments of mankind. Up close, these creatures reek with the stench of consumed victims, and they rarely let creatures not yet captivated too near, lest they smell the gore and decay upon their feathers. For this reason, many harpies wear perfumes and scented oils.

Harpies appear wildly different in different lands. Some seem like an amalgam of vultures and women, while others bear the regal markings of hawks or falcons in their feathers. Rare clutches of harpies in isolated and tropical parts of the world even have colorful feathers akin to parrots.

Water elementals are patient, relentless creatures made of living fresh or salt water. They prefer to hide or drag their opponents into the water to gain an advantage.

As with other elementals, all water elementals have their own unique shapes and appearances. Most appear as wave-like creatures with vaguely humanoid faces and smaller wave “arms” to either side. Another common form is that of any aquatic creature, such as a shark or octopus, but made entirely out of water.

A small water elemental is 4 feet long and weighs 34 pounds.

Moose are the largest members of the elk family, ranging in size from 4 1/2 feet to over 8 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing from 440 to over 1,000 pounds. Males have broad, flat antlers that can reach a length of 5 feet or more. These antlers are shed each year after mating season. The moose’s fur ranges from brown to black, changing to a dull gray in the winter months. They are excellent swimmers, often swimming into deep water to feed on aquatic plants.

Generally non-aggressive if left alone, moose can become quite aggressive if approached. They have poor eyesight, but excellent hearing, and tend to flee rather than fight as soon as would-be attackers are detected. If forced into combat, a moose attacks with its antlers or hooves.

Moose are the largest members of the elk family, ranging in size from 4 1/2 feet to over 8 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing from 440 to over 1,000 pounds. Males have broad, flat antlers that can reach a length of 5 feet or more. These antlers are shed each year after mating season. The moose’s fur ranges from brown to black, changing to a dull gray in the winter months. They are excellent swimmers, often swimming into deep water to feed on aquatic plants.

Generally non-aggressive if left alone, moose can become quite aggressive if approached. They have poor eyesight, but excellent hearing, and tend to flee rather than fight as soon as would-be attackers are detected. If forced into combat, a moose attacks with its antlers or hooves.

Moose are the largest members of the elk family, ranging in size from 4 1/2 feet to over 8 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing from 440 to over 1,000 pounds. Males have broad, flat antlers that can reach a length of 5 feet or more. These antlers are shed each year after mating season. The moose’s fur ranges from brown to black, changing to a dull gray in the winter months. They are excellent swimmers, often swimming into deep water to feed on aquatic plants.

Generally non-aggressive if left alone, moose can become quite aggressive if approached. They have poor eyesight, but excellent hearing, and tend to flee rather than fight as soon as would-be attackers are detected. If forced into combat, a moose attacks with its antlers or hooves.

This quick, elusive, and aggressive hunter is a member of the great cat family. Like others of its kind, it is a carnivore and exists mainly on a diet of meat. The typical mountain lion diet consists of small animals such as mice, squirrels, skunks, shrews, rabbits, porcupines, and gophers. Mountain lions are known to feed on animals larger than themselves such as elk, moose, deer, and even pronghorns. After devouring as much of its kill as it desires, a mountain lion buries it, returning to feed on its prey over a period of 1d10 days. A mountain lion’s hunting grounds often cover an area of up to 800 square miles. Mountain lions are also called cougars, pumas, or panthers.

Mountain lions mate once every other year, usually in the summer months. Typically this is the only time more than one adult mountain lion will be encountered. An average litter consists of 1d3 cubs. A mountain lion’s den is usually found under an overhanging ledge, a crevice in a cliff, a dense thicket, or a cavity under the roots of large trees, or occasionally a dry, rock-strewn cave.

Mountain lions stand about two feet tall and are about four to five feet long with a two to three foot long tail. A typical mountain lion weighs around 125 pounds. It has short, coarse, fur with a white underbelly and a black-tipped tail. Its fur color (except its underbelly) is typically brown, black, rust, or gray. Its eyes are golden. Newborn cubs have spots and blue eyes. The spots rapidly disappear as the cub ages and within nine months the spots are gone. Its eyes change from blue to golden within 12–18 months. The mountain lion has a lifespan of 18 years.

Mountain lions are ambush hunters and stalkers. They wait in dense vegetation or underbrush, or rocky outcroppings for potential prey to wander by. When in range, the mountain lion springs to the attack and bites and rakes its foe. Mountain lions are excellent hunters and often stalk potential prey for several miles before attacking.

The Necromancer Bees have an unremarkable appearance: they resemble more ants than honeybees, they are small, stingless, black with a dark blue hue (no hint of the typical yellow), and the workers have mandibles. What makes them stand out is their scavenger diet and ability to animate corpses of small animals and use them as moving beehives.

Original Concept by Luca Vanzella

Wandering alone or in packs, wolves sit at the top of the food chain. Ferociously territorial and exceptionally wide-ranging in their hunting, wolf packs cover broad areas. A wolf’s wide paws contain slight webbing between the toes that assists in moving over snow, and its fur is a thick, water-resistant coat ranging in color from gray to brown and even black in some species. Its paws contain scent glands that mark the ground as it travels, assisting in navigation as well as broadcasting its whereabouts to fellow pack members. Generally, a wolf stands from 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs between 45 and 150 pounds, with females being slightly smaller.

The yellow musk creeper’s method of procreation is singularly frightful—it slays the living, infests them with its seeds and pollen, then animates them as zombies. These zombies serve the plant as a guardian for several days, but when new zombies are created, older ones wander off into the surrounding wild, collapsing and breaking apart within 2d6 days to give seed to a new yellow musk creeper.