"There are more things between Skydancer and Earthmother, Rahitok,
Than are thought of in your paradigm"
~From Lahit, by Valyan Blacksteel
Humanoid - Animals - Undead - Others
The humans are the predominant race on most of Aladagia. Measuring
from five to seven feet tall in adulthood, humans have proven to be the most
flexible race on Aladagia many times over. This flexibility, however,
enables humanity to embrace darker ideals as well as morality, as evidenced
by the growing tensions with the Theocracy of Arkand.
Vharacthe Windsong - "Aren't we pretty?"
Perhaps the greatest threat to humankind, the Orcs show nearly the same
flexibility, perhaps due to their short lifespans, and hold their empire
with fierce determination. An orc can be identified by its stocky build,
dark green skin, and protruding teeth.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Dishonorable bastards, every one of them. Turn
you back, and consider it stabbed in advance."
Nalole Stormcry - "Ugly, smelly, and hostile. At least the ones I've
heard about. They may be the death of me, but not if I can help it."
Elves are tall and graceful beings of the forest, though often prone to being
set in their ways and arrogant due to their vast lifespans. Elves average
a foot taller than humans, with weight similar to humans a foot shorter,
and can be identified by their seasonal complexions, almond shaped eyes,
and distinctly pointed ears.
Vharachthe Windsong - "Why the heck am I becoming one?"
Nalole Stormcry - "Tall, proud, and aloof for the most part. But pretty
nice, all things considered."
The dwarves are a stolid race of craftsman, organized by their trades.
They are short and stocky, with oversized facial features and full
beards.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "These fellahs need to clean out their caves more
often."
The Bestiary lists no information on Flinds.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Seem like Honorable folks, though it is too early
to tell. I don't like their slave traditions though, whatever they may be.
Make good bows too."
Nalole Stormcry - "Tall, hairy, and mysterious. Their technology is
strange and unfamiliar, though I anticipate adapting it to my needs if possible."
The Bestiary lists no information on Gnolls.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Judiciouse use of magic puts these guys on the
ropes, and they don't handle lack of leadership well. strike hard and fast
before they can bring their numbers to bear and they arn't too much of a
problem."
Nalole Stormcry - "Tall, hairy, and not all that bright. At least
the batch we encountered. Perhaps they're not stupid, merely very unlucky."
The Bestiary lists no information on Sirines.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "An alien culture and race. Only time will tell
how much they can be trusted."
Vharachthe Windsong - *Drools*
The Dryads are a fey race, servitors of Earthmother, that are essentially
Nymphs bound to trees. They resemble beautiful, thin women, often with
vegetable coloration, of extreme beauty, and will be found in the vicinity
of a massive tree that they make their home. They are defenders of
the forest, and can be trusted to do what is best for the flora.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Definately a bit unusual. But hey, not everyone
can be average."
Goblins are a race native to the Orcish empire, used as shock troops. They
breed faster than even Orcs, and some have speculated that they resulted
from crossbreeding between Orcs and Gnomes. A goblin can be identified
by its small stature, green skin, and irritable disposition.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Sneaky, but weak, and stupid as stumps. only
problem is they breed like jack-rabbits."
The bestiary lists no information on Ograhn.
Rabetai Moonthorn - "We were born from a Orcish program of crossbreeding.
The most intelligent and attractive of the Orcs were bred with their
same number amongst the Gray. Over the years the results lost the strength
of the Orcs and the ability to change their appearance like the Gray, but
became beautiful in the mode of humans and were trained to be cunning and
vicious, with a fierce sense of their own nobility."
The bestiary lists no information on Ogres.
Rabetai Moonthorn - "I can only guess that the chaos-stone triggered
a throwback. We first became more attractive but dumber, like the Gray.
Then, when were were as dumb and beautiful as possible, we began to
become ugly and strong like the Orcs. Since, by that point, there was
an awful lot of beauty to be turned into strength, the results were quite
terrible."
Native to the frontier plains of Aladagia, the beast termed Miser Jackal
resembles a small dog or large fox. They get their name because of
their magpie-like fascination with shiny things and their need to filch and
horde such items. Adventurers have a love-hate relationship with the
beasts, depending on whether they can befriend one or not.
Vharachthe Windsong - "He's more useful than he looks..."
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Cute and annoying as bloody hell."
Nalole Stormcry - "Why Ravheim keeps his annoying little pest I'll
never know. Must be a ranger thing."
Believed to be a breeding project of the Elves, dire wolves are several times
the size of a normal wolf and more intelligent as well. Most of these
beasts are quite good natured, but would be dangerous if game became
scarce.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "The one we met was highly intellegent, but
succeptably to the deadly beef jerky attack."
The darker counterpart to the dire wolf, worgs are touched by the evil of
the Dark Gods and fill a terrible niche in forests that are not patrolled
on a regular basis to weed out their kind.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "nasty fellahs. sooner or later we're gonna hafta
root out those to the north."
The Dire Bear is native to the deepest forests. Resembling in most
ways a normal bear, the dire bear dwarfs even the biggest of grizzlies.
While they are not necessarily hostile, they are prone to being hungry
and territorial, and are not above eating humanoid species if their diet
is not being filled by other foodstuffs. Avoid.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "BIG. Just pray to the gods you have someone who
knows how to deal with animals well. or that you have a coulple of hundred
pounds of jerky."
Vharachthe Windsong - "I'm glad Nalole's aphrodiasiac doesn't work
on these things."
Yet another of the long line of oversized animals labeled as the Dire, the
boar variant is even more violently aggressive than is normal for wild pigs.
They sleep wherever they please, eat whatever they can chew up and
swallow, and make the Orcish empire look permissively unterritorial by
comparison. Stay away if at all possible.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Hard to put down, but tasty when you do. Just
make sure to avoid the tusks. See Nalole for recipe."
Nalole Stormcry - "Good when cooked over a fire pit."
A bizarre aberrant crossbreed, this is exactly what it sounds like. They
mix the worst of a bear's ferocity and strength with a bird's shortsightedness
and voracious appetite. They are fairly unintelligent, and should be
tackled with ranged attacks and complex strategy rather than a face to face
confrontation if at all possible.
Vharachthe Windsong - "Their feathers are a perfect accessory to the
goblin skull bra."
The dragonne is a strange hybrid, produced by the breeding of dragons with
mountain cats, or so it is imagined. They are intelligent, agressive,
and deadly. These should only be tackled by the most seasoned of
combatants. If one speaks the language of the dragons, one can attempt
a limited conversation with them.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Intellegent. Gotta wonder if the big ones are
too."
Vharachthe Windsong - "Pretty"
Nalole Stormcry - "The fact that one was within a mile of the town
disturbs me."
Nalole Stormcry - "Fit only for food and servitude." or "*glowers*
I hate goats."
Vharachthe Windsong - "Tough enough to almost kill Nalole. Better
stay away from them before I get beat up too."
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Ask Nalole. Don't tell him I sent ya."
Yet another amongst the many strange beasts populating Aladagia, the chimera is a flying creature with the heads of a goat, serpent, and great cat. They tend to breathe acid and be fierce combatants that should only be taken on by the strongest warriors.
Periodically a rift into the domains of the dark gods will spawn these beasts for nefarious purposes. They are, individually, more than a challenge to an untrained party. Since they tend to travel in packs, they can threaten even powerful groups. Fire protection is recommended.
The bodies of the recently dead that have not quite lost the spark of
intelligence, ghouls prey upon the living to taste fresh meat. They
are the least of the intelligent undead, but their paralytic touch still
makes them dangerous opponents.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Be careful with these, sometimes their mere touch
can paralize the body."
An order above the ghouls, wights are not much more fierce in a physical
sense, but possess a cunning intellect and their touch drains life and memories
into the maw of the abyss. Deal with them carefully, and do not engage
them in melee if it is at all avoidable.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Nastier than they first appear, their attacks
seem to have lasting effects."
Nalole Stormcry - "Very dangerous, especially to spellcasters."
The Bestiary lists no information on Elven Undead.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "It truly pulled at the heart taking these guys
out, but sometimes the hardest of tasks still must be done."
Nalole Stormcry - "Creepy."
The Bestiary lists no information on Dwarven Undead.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Gotta watch out for those groin height
attacks."
Nalole Stormcry - "Crumbly."
Perhaps the most terrible of undead, the Liche is also the most enigmatic. Universally created of powerful spellcasters, each of these has their own reasons for taking on the dark mantle. In general, a Liche is no more evil than a typical powerful and rogue spellcaster, and some of them can be completely benign and non-threatening, save that they are turned to complete selfishness by their cold immortality. An encountered Liche that appears threatening should be avoided if possible, and the council of mages informed at the earliest opportunity.
The most powerful of beasts, dragons have immense lifespans, great physical
ability, potent magics, devious inteliigence, and mature quickly into dangers
only the greatest of heroes can hope to defeat. In general, it is best
to avoid dragons, give them whatever they ask for, and hope they go away.
Never, ever, try to trick or best a dragon without 100% certainty that
it will succeed, because they consider the flesh of thinking beings to be
a rare treat, in the same way we regard a candied desert.
Nalole Stormcry - "Well, we THINK we saw one. Hope I never see it
again."
Vharachthe Windsong - "I will find out what the dragon song means.
And I will meet one and have a conversation one day."
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Hope i never have to go toe to toe with one of
these bad boys, but if i do, i hope it ain't till i'm nice and ready to die."
The Bestiary lists no information on Oblivion Creature.
Sebrand Flamewolf - "Don't know who or what this guy is yet or for
that matter what his connection is with the aincient stones, but you can
bet one of these days I'm gonna figure it out."
Nalole Stormcry - *shudder*
The dangers of underground caverns run deep, and the gelatinous cube is just one of them. A slime-like fungal organism the size of a hallway, it slides along and absorbs and digests whatever living matter it comes across. Often this is humans. They are not horribly difficult to defeat, but their translucent mass makes them very hard to see and they are fearless creatures immune to many spells.
The flesh golem is a creation of science and magic. Not exactly necromancy, a flesh golem is made by binding an elemental spirit into a corpse that has been reassembled around an enhanced frame. They are terribly resistent to magic and hard to kill under most circumstances. Generally, they are created to guard the domains of powerful wizards, and so they are unlikely to be encountered unless one is powerful enough to challenge a powerful spellcaster. In this case, their strength is only an everyday challenge.
If there exist elementals of fire, air, earth, and water, then it only stands to reason that there could be those composed of magic as well. These would probably be immune to, or even healed by, use of magic against them, and would attack with a charge similar to being struck by a magic missile. Since the biggest classical elementals are often necessarily taken down by powerful spells, this could make large magic elementals quite deadly.
A lower class of beholder, the spectators are not aberrations but a bizarre planar race. They will be summoned to guard some place or item for a long period of time, as they need no food or rest. They tend to be gregarious and sociable, looking for some companionship in their isolation. If one can convince them that the deal-maker has ceased to exist, one may be able to talk them into not putting up much resistance over what they're guarding. In general, they are not very terrible foes and are dispatched even by an untrained group with enough foresight.