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Creatures

There are many strange creatures in Nimrodel, and Ourissa is no exception. While this is by no means a comprehensive list of the perils one may encounter while adventuring, the following are a few of the more common and more well known terrors of the lands. Remember as well that in addition to these, ordinary dangers prowl the land. Packs of wolves can be common in the forests and on the Chillsteppe, bears and panthers live in the Andhra Prad, leopards are native to Himal, and all manner of snakes can be found anywhere and everywhere in Ourissa. Crocodiles are known to inhabit the swamps and the Sarasva river, and sharks can be found throughout the ocean. Intelligent Monsters Dry'cha • Habitat: Andhra Prad Dry'cha are the oldest, most intelligent and most powerful of the races of Nimrodel, and are viewed as such by Centauris, Humans and Sea Peoples alike, and especially by themselves. They are tall, eight to ten feet in height, and resemble very large humans with somewhat distorted features, except for one important difference. Dry'cha are a race of intelligent tree spirits, and they look the part, having bark for skin, sap for blood, leaves and moss for hair. They breed like plants, and are immortal unless killed, most living for hundreds or even thousands of years. Dry'cha are veritable beacons of ether, and many are accomplished spellcasters, although they almost only use earth, air, and shamanistic magics. They do not create many tools, as they are able to shape their bodies at will, an arm becoming a razor sharp claw or rock hard club as necessary. The tree herders, as they are called, only inhabit small portions of the Andhra Prad in Ourissa. They view themselves as masters of their territory and themselves as an enlightened and superior race, looking on other races as vile, barbarous murderers of nature. Dry'cha rarely ever deal with people, and have a deep rooted sense of morality and ethics, behaving towards others as they see others behaving towards nature. They can be both beneficial saviours, and are indeed worshipped by many cults, or as violent as any demon. All in all though, they keep to themselves, trying to stay away from interaction with other races as much as possible. Dry'cha regenerate their limbs and parts at an alarmingly fast rate, as they are so infused with ether. They can speak naturally to trees and beasts, and will have long conversations with them, viewing older trees as friends and companions. Finally, they are able to take the aspects of particular kinds of tree, changing their shape to suit a situation. Dry'cha are shapeshifters of sorts and will never be seen twice looking exactly the same, sometimes as a lithe, young sapling, others as an ancient gnarled oak. Further, Dry'cha never sleep nor eat, having no need for any nourishment except for a little bit of water, which they can drink both the human way or the way plants drink. It is unknown whether the Dry'cha of the Andhra Prad represent a single community or many scattered ones. All that is known is that they have a universal non aggression pact with Tanja and the Yaksas, so long as neither disturbs too heavily the sanctity of the forest. There was a war between the Dry'cha and the lumberers at Tanja one hundred years ago, but it was solved on the grounds that Tanjans would only fell trees so deep into the eastern wood, and would plant a tree for every tree they felled. Trolls • Habitat: Talil Mountains, The Chillsteppe, mountain foothills (rare), Mount Keral (very rare) It is said that the trolls of the great mountains may be related to ogres, possibly a crossbreed of ogre and basilisk, although this is biologically an impossibility. However, the trolls do look the part, resembling smaller ogres with the blue-gray, leathery skin of a mountain basilisk. They are roughly humanoid, about 8 feet tall, with overlarge faces and noses, and long pointy ears. While they are not strictly intelligent, they seem smarter than ogres are, for they travel in packs and generally carry long clubs or sharpened stones to use as weapons. Trolls are one of Ourissas greatest dangers, for a number of reasons. First, their hide is exceptionally tough, an armor as strong as the best chainmail and infused with mountain ether, able to deflect blows and spells equally well. Second, each individual troll is a ferocious warrior, strong enough to pick up a horse in its hands and toss it at its fellows. Thirdly, Trolls exclusively travel in packs, and maintain a hierarchy that allows them to set up ambushes and help each other in need, something that the physically stronger Ogres and Drakes lack. However, the reason that the Trolls have not fully wiped out the peoples of Ourissa is because they hate warmth. Trolls will only live where it is cold, very cold, and because of this they only inhabit the mountains. They have nearly been eradicated on Mount Keral, but they are a great danger in the Talil, and can be found very far south in the Chillsteppe, which is colder than Ourissas other lands. Indeed, they are the mortal enemies of the Chillsteppes Arakani tribe, who use their blue hides for armor. Undead • Habitat: Spirits Grave The walking dead are only known in one small part of Ourissa, the swamp of Spirits Grave in the middle of the Centauri Highlands. They are more fearsome than they are deadly, for an undead human at best can only be as powerful as the warrior he was in life, his soul clinging to a dishevelled form. There are as many kinds of undead as there are kinds of live animals, and it is common to see undead humans, centaur, basilisks and grasscats acting in unison here. While undead are usually slightly slower and less agile than their living counterparts, they do not feel any pain, and will fight with a lost limb or even a lost head without any encumbrance. The only ways to defeat an undead are to hack them into so many pieces that they cannot continue to fight, or to magically separate the soul from the remains. The soul can only inhabit one piece of the body, so while a skeletal limb may continue to crawl around after it has been cut off, this means the rest of that particular body has ceased to be animate. The undead retain their former intelligence, and will use all their weapons and spells at full skill and capacity. However, they cannot be reasoned with, for it is some vile magic that binds them to their bodies, and it wills them to do nothing but kill anything that enters Spirits Grave. Dragons • Habitat: Talil Mountains (rare), Mount Keral (very rare) Worshipped as gods and told of in myths and legends, dragons are the rarest and most powerful of all Ourissas creatures, looking down on even the Dry'cha as young and weak beings. There are six kinds of dragon, each attributing its power to one of the six types of ether. Blue, Green, Gold and Red dragons are beings of elemental ether, while white Dragons follow the schools of Shamanism and Black those of Necromancy. They are humongous creatures, each the size of a small naval ship, with four limbs, two great wings and a long, thick neck and head. Their scales are as tough as Varanian platemail and their claws are as sharp as Kerali steel. Dragons are sentient and incredibly intelligent, and speak telepathically like elementals and demons. Though they can hear and understand most of Ourissas languages, they cannot speak them themselves, and though they speak through projected thought, they cannot read ones mind, a common misconception in myths and legends. They are accomplished wizards, able to form ether in the same way a Dry'cha can, without movement or any sort of channeling device, their entire body acting as a beacon for magical power. A Dragon only uses the magic that corresponds to its color, and is nearly completely immune to that type of magic themselves. All dragons can breathe fire, though some will do this more than others. Dragons only live on the highest peaks of the great mountains, and are rarely seen, if ever. They sleep most of their days, feeding but once or twice a year, in a frenzy where they will fly far from their abodes, gobbling up whatever food they see. However, their prey is never anything as small or weak as a man, for they would not provide a sufficient meal. Instead, Drakes, Ogres and mountain Rocs are a Dragons usual fare, and they can kill all with equal ease. Should you meet a Dragon face to face, hope he is not ready to feed. For if he is not he may well be friendly and welcome you into his lair. If he is hungry or unfriendly however, you had better run, for you will soon be dead. Kraken • Habitat: Outer Sea (very rare) The Kraken of the deep are known as dragons of the sea, for they are just as large, and just as powerful. Kraken are all a deep purple, with no wings or limbs, instead resembling a gigantic sea snake with deep yellow eyes and a fanged, eel-like mouth. Their armor is just as strong as a dragons, their minds just as sharp, and their magic just as powerful, though Kraken will only use water elemental magic. Kraken are additionally much more psychically attuned than Dragons, and can speak with people telepathically across great distances, sometimes entire continents away. However, they focus this power specifically on the Sea Peoples of the Possessed race, and have this species of water dwellers entirely within their thrall. The Possessed start hearing the voices of the Kraken from a young age, and worship them as gods, seeking their guidance in all things. While the voice of a Kraken can quickly drive a man insane, the Possessed feel it strengthens them, teaching them watery magics and giving them advice in dark places. While Dragons have differing demeanors and some are quite jovial and friendly, every last Kraken is impossibly evil. Machiavellian and sinister, they will plot the demise of entire empires, working through the Possessed from within, giving secrets and magical artifacts until the time is right to annihilate the entire population. The Possessed often have no idea the true goals of their works, for they are simply pawns, controlled through psychic thought by the most evil of all Ourissas creatures. Unintelligent Monsters Giant Animals • Habitat: Everywhere The swelling of ether in the land has created a few breeds of animal that are abnormally large, some fully twice their usual size and generally a bit more irritable. The more common varieties of these are the four tusked Felboar, found almost everywhere in Ourissa. The dire wolf, which inhabits the plains, giant spiders that frequent the Andhra Prad, and giant scorpions and snakes which are almost universally common in the Andhra Rajas. Giant sharks and squids inhabit certain parts of the Outer Sea, and there is also a particular breed of giant mountain lion that is found on Mt. Keral, a favorite enemy of the Kerali. Basilisks • Habitat: Everywhere Basilisks are the most well known monster in Ourissa. There are many different kinds of Basilisk, although many are very similar, and they are one of the few great beasts of the land that inhabits every part of the land. They are excessively large lizards with four thick squat legs, about the size of a small horse but lower to the ground. Their heads are filled with sharp teeth, and they have long tails and necks, though their necks are not excessively long, merely long enough to allow a full range of movement. Their claws are sharp, their scales thick, and they are voracious meat eaters, not scared at all to take down a fully grown man. The most dangerous thing about a Basilisk is its poison. Basilisks generate deadly poisons inside glands in their mouth, as well as in a bony horn spike at the tip of their tails. This poison is applied through the spike or their teeth, and many varieties can also spit the poison great distances, which may be absorbed straight through the skin. These poisons usually differ in effect on the type of basilisk, and are quite deadly. A basilisk is colored to naturally camouflage its surroundings, based upon its breed. The most dangerous kinds are red, yellow or orange and found in the great desert, while gray or even blue ones are found in the mountains, and brown, yellow and green varieties in the plains and woodlands. There are even deep blue, waterbreathing Basilisks to be found beneath the waves. Grasscats • Habitat: Plains, low hills Possibly the least dangerous of Ourissas monsters, Grasscats are something like small tigers or cheetas, slightly green in color and without spots. They are the size of a large dog, have sharp claws and fangs, and a terrible appetite, seeking out deer and wild horses for their meals. While a strong warrior can handle one of these beasts one on one, the danger of the grasscats is they never hunt nor travel alone. Where one is encountered and killed, you can be sure he is but a scout, and a dozen or more will descend upon you shortly after. While the grasscats hide is very tough and sometimes sought after for hide armor or furs, they are not beasts of a magical nature like most of Ourissas monsters, and their parts are of limited use for the crafting of potions. Ogres • Habitat: Plains, low hills, Talil Mountains, Andhra Rajas (rare), forests (very rare) Ogres could loosely be called an intelligent race of Ourissa, but their intellect barely gets them there, with the minds of a mentally ill child more than anything else. Resembling tall, ugly, fat humans, they are bald and hairless, stinky, muscular, and simple minded. An Ogre is not without some modicum of brainpower, and definitely operates on a higher plane than a basilisk, but their intelligence is one of a stark simplicity. Communication with them is essentially impossible even if they have limited communication between themselves, and while they will use objects they find as clothing or tools, they make absolutely nothing of their own. Ogres are at times not violent, although they are easily angered and tend to remain violent once they become so. The interesting thing about Ogres is that they grow. When an Ogre is born it is maybe four or five feet tall, already as large as a human youth. They then begin to grow, and will grow until they die or are killed, and never stop growing. Old ogres may be as tall as fifty feet, and at some point people stop referring to them as Ogres and simply as Giants. Ogres live in most parts of Ourissa, and there are a few different breeds of them. Generally the only part of the land they shun is the forests, for they are too large for thick woods, although they have been sighted there on rare occasion as well. They are filled with an inordinate amount of ether and are resistant to most of the schools of magic, although spellcasting is beyong their limited minds. Ogre society is very nomadic, and they are always roaming around looking for food sources, and travel alone. Ogres only come together to mate, or if a female is raising a small child, so coming across more than two Ogres at once is extremely unlikely. Hookwyrms • Habitat: Andhra Rajas Native only to the great desert, the Hookwyrm is not the small parasite that infests young boys, but rather a strange cross between a worm and a porcupine, some twenty to thirty feet in length. Their entire body is covered with razor sharp, barbed hooks, and they glint in the sunlight, looking like a bright golden stretch of sand. Their mouths are small, but they do not attack you with their teeth, rather charging like a bull and slicing you to ribbons with their natural armor. Hookwyrms are especially dangerou because they are difficult to impossible to see coming, for they travel underground, burrowing through the sands of the desert. One will burst out of the ground with nothing but a second or two of small tremors calling out its arrival. It will charge and thrash around, and is ridiculously fast despite its size, only stopping to feed when everything it sees is dead. Hookwyrms are very hard to kill without some kind of magic, for their spines are long, sharp, and give it an impressive sort of armor. These monsters travel alone, but when they mate they release thousands of offspring into the world, who inevitably kill each other in a ferocious feeding display until only perhaps a dozen are left. Coming across a batch of Hookwyrm young is enough to kill anything that cannot fly to get away. Rocs • Habitat (forest Rocs): Forests • Habitat (mountain Rocs): Talil Mountains, Rocs Hill, Mount Keral (rare) There are two different breeds of Roc, mountain Rocs and forest Rocs, although the main difference is that mountain Rocs are considerably larger and have shorter necks. They are savage killers and resemble a sort of humongous vulture, although their extremely long necks and heads are completely feathered like a falcon. They have two very large, razor sharp claws and a pointed beak with a sharp cutting edge, and their necks are strong enough that even at their size they can strike with their beaks like a snake. Rocs have amazing hearing and vision, and fly quite well. They are violent and deadly, and will take down basilisks for their morning meals. The two different kinds of Rocs are extremely similar. Forest Rocs are around the size of a large buffalo, slightly bigger, and definitely bigger than a Basilisk. They inhabit the forests of Andhra Prad and many will hunt in the plains around it before going back to the forests to nest. Rarer than a Basilisk, they are extremely dangerous and a bane of the inhabitants of Tanja. Mountain Rocs are nearly twice the size, able to pick up a full grown Basilisk in their claws and fly away with it instead of being forced to kill it and eat it on the spot. They frequent the northern mountains, although a few also live on the tops of Mount Keral. Most Keral Rocs however have been exterminated by the Kerali Valkyries. Rocs are very territorial, and will have established hunting grounds and not travel randomly like an Ogre, nor are they simply inhabited everywhere like the Basilisks. However, it is well known that if you attract the attention of one, and especially if you are close to its nest, it will follow you until you are dead and you must stand and fight it to survive. Rocs live in familial groups, but only the female will stray far from the nest to hunt. Fighting a family of Rocs at their nest is a challenge even for an entire group of adventurers, but they are sometimes sought out, their eggs are very useful in magical potions. Drakes • Habitat: Mount Keral, Talil Mountains, Andhra Rajas (rare), The Ghat (rare) Drakes resemble smaller dragons, about the size of a mountain Roc, slightly larger. They are scaled from head to toe and have four claws, although their body is considerably thinner than that of a dragons, as is their head. They have two large wings and fly somewhat faster than a dragon does, a long neck and a many toothed grimace. All of their senses are exquisite, even when compared to a Roc. Drakes are unintelligent, although they show a remarkable cunning when hunting, and it is difficult even for a Thane to can defeat one. Much like dragons they inhabit mountains primarily, although they may stray into the plains by a several days journey to hunt for food. Drakes eating habits resemble dragons as well, in that they will not eat at all for months at a time, only to go on frenzied sprees where they travel around their local abode for days, eating almost any animal they see until their appetite is slated. Like dragons they can breathe fire, although the fire in their guts is much cooler. Unlike dragons they cannot use any magics, though their various parts are sought after for magical craft. There are six types of drakes as there are six types of dragons, namely red, blue, gold, green, white, and black varieties. Each one corresponds to a school of magic, and drakes are nearly immune to the school that resembles their color. Hydra • Habitat: Garga River A freakish and demonic creation, the Hydra are but one of the terrible reasons why the Garga river should never be crossed or explored. As large as a Drake and much more deadly, they resemble long snakes, except instead of one head they have many, their bodies splitting into a dozen or more appendages, each able to strike as fast as a snake and riddled with neurotoxins that kill a mans brain in second. Only one of the Hydras heads has any intelligence, and if this head is cut off the entire beast will die. However, all of the heads are identical, and the many will protect the one, making it extremely hard to attack directly. Hydras are excellent swimmers, and can leap out of the water, suddenly being on top of a boat and killing everyone inside it. Hydra do at times leave the river itself, but never stray very far. Nor are they found far out to sea, for though the Garga does spill into Varanian waters, its terrible magic seems to dissipate quickly thereafter. Leviathan • Habitat: Outer Sea (rare) A Leviathan can often be mistaken for a Kraken, but the two are totally different beasts. They look almost identical, the Leviathan a great purple eel, with sharp teeth and a demonic grin, able to crush a naval ship by wrapping around it and squeezing it, and feeding on anything large enough to be its prey. However, unlike the sinister Kraken, Leviathans are totally unintelligent, behaving the way a hundred foot long sea snake would be expected to behave. The only noticeable difference between a leviathan and a kraken are its fins, the Leviathan having four smallish fins about the size of a man along its body, and a long dorsal fin along its back. This, along with the fact that the Leviathan did not drive you insane with psychic warnings before you even saw him, is enough to distinguish between the two. Leviathans are more common than Kraken, though they are still rare, and when one is found it is hunted and killed by the Manta Knights, who require an entire detachment of warriors to defeat one of these beasts. Other There are many other monsters in Nimrodel, some much more intelligent and powerful, although the above are the most common by far and the more dangerous entities can be extremely difficult to locate. Demons and Elementals are known to exist in the ether sea, and sometimes find their way to the physical world. Elementals are especially found in the great desert, although even there they are rare. Their forms are often rather random and strange, and somewhat hard to identify and pin down, although they are all intelligent, deadly, and can form ether to their own ends. Forest spirits inhabit the woodlands but rarely show themselves, resembling Dry'cha except for their limited, almost feral intelligence. In the ocean there are also all manner of beasts, including giant ocean going piranhas and snapping turtles. In the rivers there is a peculiar brand of dire crocodile that is unrelated to the Basilisk. And even these are not all the monsters that are known in Ourissa. In the lands that have not been properly explored, such as the core of the desert, the bottom of the deepened rift or the Ghat, or the insides of the great kelp forest or Gods Cavern, there may be monsters quite unlike any of these, that no one has ever seen before.