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Warlords of the Mushroom Kingdom: Bestiary Fluff
2014-Sep-03, Wednesday 18:41
Warlords of the Mushroom Kingdom is actually almost at the testing phase, I just need to fill out the bestiary a bit and then get players to see if it works. And while posting a bunch of stats is a bit pointless and boring (how many people want to use Exalted's system without the setting? Me, and... ... ...), I can post the fluff on some of the denizens of Agarica I've been writing up!
This doesn't include members of the PC-playable groups I've already listed. Obviously, I'll be statting up mycon bandits, kappa warriors, Xkamekh nethermancers, and so on for the PCs to fight, sneak past, or talk to as well.
Dionaea
Dionaea are large carnivorous plants that are almost always hungry. They bear a few similarities to animals, being able to move their leaves independently, having enormous fanged maws, and being able to sense their surroundings and lash out at prey, but are rooted in place and unable to move. At least, mostly--some dionaea can "walk" by using their leaves to drag themselves along for short distances. Others can spit blasts of flame to make their prey easier to catch and less likely to fight back. All of them cannot be reasoned with or even scared, being nearly mindless in pursuit of prey.
Dionaea seem to preferentially seek out the Predecessor pipes to root themselves, or maybe there is something there that nurtures them. That doesn't mean that they are only found in Predecessor ruins, though--some forests have entire groves of dionaea, mindlessly gnashing at anything that comes nearby.
Faerie
These tiny flying sprites dwell in wild places, usually near sources of water. While flighty and nearly mindless, faeries are curious around travelers but quick to take offense at any aggressive action, and just as quick to vanish into the aether if threatened. The main reason they are sought out out, however, is that their touch can cause near-miraculous healing of wounds--and their blood has the same effect. They look like winged balls of light, with features only visible in the moments after their death but before their bodies fade away.
The great faeries have little in common with their smaller kin, if kin they are. They look like beautiful, winged female mandragora, but it's unclear if this is their true appearance or a side effect of their powers, because great faeries are able to twist the perceptions of others and have near-inhuman powers of persuasion because of this. They also have the healing powers of the smaller faeries, as well as being powerful enchanters. Or at least being collectors of artifacts--many are the heroes who have sought out the great faeries and come away with a weapon or tool of great power. Though perhaps just as common are legends of heroes who thought they received a powerful gift only to later realize it was merely faerie trickery.
Firedragon
While not true dragons, firedragons are close enough to fool most observers. They live underground, in the lakes and rivers of lava that flow through many of the Predecessor ruins, snatching creatures that come too close to the lava's shores and perhaps eating other creatures that swim through the magma with them. Unlike true dragons, they have neither wings nor limbs, swimming through the lava like snakes and wriggling across the ground on the few occasions that they leave their home element. They do not appear to be capable of speech, but they have been observed working together to herd prey towards each other or set up weak overhangs that will drop prey into the lava.
Shadowcrawler
Shadowcrawlers are humanoids made of living darkness, with fanged maws and burning white eyes. They live in Predecessor ruins, hunting anyone who enters, and that is nearly all that is known about them. They can see in total darkness, are nearly noiseless, and can cling to walls and ceilings while waiting to spring down on their prey. If anyone has ever managed to talk to them, no tales of it have come back to civilization.
Souldrinker
The creatures called souldrinkers are found mostly in underground Predecessor ruins and constitute one of the major impediments to exploration in those ruins where they are found. They look like flying jellyfish with four radially-spaced claws instead of tentacles, though instead of clawing their prey they merely use them to hold on while they drain their prey's vital energies.
Souldrinkers are incredibly aggressive, and they will viciously attack any living creatures they sense, seizing them in their claws and draining them of all vitality until their target is a drooling, nearly catatonic husk. They can sense prey through unknown means even in complete darkness and silence. No means of communicating with them has been found, and the typical response to finding a ruin infested with souldrinkers is to seal it back up and look for a less dangerous site.
Thunder Lizard
This is a catch-all term for a number of related lizard-like creatures. From the smaller claw striders to the amphibious river dragons to the giant and deadly terror wyrms, thunder lizards form a large part of the fauna of Agarica and Pithek. In many places they have been tamed and act as mounts, food sources, and beasts of burden, but wild groups of them still roam over the sparsely settled lands and they remain a danger even in lands that are extensively cultivated and farmed.
Wraith
When the proper rites are performed, the dead move on to whatever ultimate fate awaits them, but those who die in lonely places, or whose deaths are particularly horrible or unjust, can resist the pull of the next world. Weighed down by hatred and rage, their spirits warp until they bear no more resemblance to their living appearance. Similarly, the hatred scourges all other feeling out until they exist only to hunt and kill the living, slumbering in their graves by day but coming forth by night.
This doesn't include members of the PC-playable groups I've already listed. Obviously, I'll be statting up mycon bandits, kappa warriors, Xkamekh nethermancers, and so on for the PCs to fight, sneak past, or talk to as well.
Dionaea
Dionaea are large carnivorous plants that are almost always hungry. They bear a few similarities to animals, being able to move their leaves independently, having enormous fanged maws, and being able to sense their surroundings and lash out at prey, but are rooted in place and unable to move. At least, mostly--some dionaea can "walk" by using their leaves to drag themselves along for short distances. Others can spit blasts of flame to make their prey easier to catch and less likely to fight back. All of them cannot be reasoned with or even scared, being nearly mindless in pursuit of prey.
Dionaea seem to preferentially seek out the Predecessor pipes to root themselves, or maybe there is something there that nurtures them. That doesn't mean that they are only found in Predecessor ruins, though--some forests have entire groves of dionaea, mindlessly gnashing at anything that comes nearby.
Faerie
These tiny flying sprites dwell in wild places, usually near sources of water. While flighty and nearly mindless, faeries are curious around travelers but quick to take offense at any aggressive action, and just as quick to vanish into the aether if threatened. The main reason they are sought out out, however, is that their touch can cause near-miraculous healing of wounds--and their blood has the same effect. They look like winged balls of light, with features only visible in the moments after their death but before their bodies fade away.
The great faeries have little in common with their smaller kin, if kin they are. They look like beautiful, winged female mandragora, but it's unclear if this is their true appearance or a side effect of their powers, because great faeries are able to twist the perceptions of others and have near-inhuman powers of persuasion because of this. They also have the healing powers of the smaller faeries, as well as being powerful enchanters. Or at least being collectors of artifacts--many are the heroes who have sought out the great faeries and come away with a weapon or tool of great power. Though perhaps just as common are legends of heroes who thought they received a powerful gift only to later realize it was merely faerie trickery.
Firedragon
While not true dragons, firedragons are close enough to fool most observers. They live underground, in the lakes and rivers of lava that flow through many of the Predecessor ruins, snatching creatures that come too close to the lava's shores and perhaps eating other creatures that swim through the magma with them. Unlike true dragons, they have neither wings nor limbs, swimming through the lava like snakes and wriggling across the ground on the few occasions that they leave their home element. They do not appear to be capable of speech, but they have been observed working together to herd prey towards each other or set up weak overhangs that will drop prey into the lava.
Shadowcrawler
Shadowcrawlers are humanoids made of living darkness, with fanged maws and burning white eyes. They live in Predecessor ruins, hunting anyone who enters, and that is nearly all that is known about them. They can see in total darkness, are nearly noiseless, and can cling to walls and ceilings while waiting to spring down on their prey. If anyone has ever managed to talk to them, no tales of it have come back to civilization.
Souldrinker
The creatures called souldrinkers are found mostly in underground Predecessor ruins and constitute one of the major impediments to exploration in those ruins where they are found. They look like flying jellyfish with four radially-spaced claws instead of tentacles, though instead of clawing their prey they merely use them to hold on while they drain their prey's vital energies.
Souldrinkers are incredibly aggressive, and they will viciously attack any living creatures they sense, seizing them in their claws and draining them of all vitality until their target is a drooling, nearly catatonic husk. They can sense prey through unknown means even in complete darkness and silence. No means of communicating with them has been found, and the typical response to finding a ruin infested with souldrinkers is to seal it back up and look for a less dangerous site.
Thunder Lizard
This is a catch-all term for a number of related lizard-like creatures. From the smaller claw striders to the amphibious river dragons to the giant and deadly terror wyrms, thunder lizards form a large part of the fauna of Agarica and Pithek. In many places they have been tamed and act as mounts, food sources, and beasts of burden, but wild groups of them still roam over the sparsely settled lands and they remain a danger even in lands that are extensively cultivated and farmed.
Wraith
When the proper rites are performed, the dead move on to whatever ultimate fate awaits them, but those who die in lonely places, or whose deaths are particularly horrible or unjust, can resist the pull of the next world. Weighed down by hatred and rage, their spirits warp until they bear no more resemblance to their living appearance. Similarly, the hatred scourges all other feeling out until they exist only to hunt and kill the living, slumbering in their graves by day but coming forth by night.
