Harlan’s Guide to Monsters. Written and edited by, Harlan Ward, the Fiendslayer.
Undead Creatures and Spirits. Table of contents Cursed Items. Mutated creatures and Cursed monsters.
To whom may find this journal, I hope it shall grant you enough tools to survive that which goes bump in the night. If this has fallen into your hands, it may mean I have been slain. I pray that you will continue my fight against the Dark. Warning.
Undeads and Spirits.
Ghouls Your average run of the mill risen dead, ghouls by themselves do not pose much of a challenge in small numbers. However, should you be so unfortunate as to encounter a nest or a swarm of these, you should be extremely cautious. These creatures, while dull, slow and stupid, are notoriously difficult to kill by conventional means. They do not shy away from what we would consider Mortal Wounds and you should act accordingly, or risk becoming their next meal. Being kept alive by unholy magic, there are a few ways to get rid of them permanently. Consecrated weapons will burn them and at times disrupt the magical energies keeping them shambling about and decapitation will leave them unable to move. Do note that to truly get rid of a ghoul, like most undead, you should burn the remains, either by holy fire or whatever means of fire you have, to be completely sure of their destruction. Don’t let them eat, or they will regenerate and make it that more difficult for you to kill them.
Wiedergänger. A strange kind of “Semi-sentient” zombie, these monsters possess a vampiric ability to physically drain the life out of their prey. They prowl only during the night, in search for living victims, of which to feed upon their life and soul. During the day, they retreat to their very own graves, or a dark, underground crevice. It is theorized that these zombies are being possessed, not unlike a revenant, by their own ghosts and long for life once more. A local legend of a Lordaeronian village mentioned, that a Wiedergänger was the result of a Paupers burial of a strong sorcerer of sorts. When dealing with monsters like this, it is important to figure out what exactly you’re dealing with. If a grave is suspected of harboring a Wiedergänger, Iron is your friend. Covering a grave with Iron shavings will make it nearly impossible for the beast to rise. Although the gravedirt will often times be disturbed at their attempt. Pure iron burns them as much as holy fire, making it an exceptionally important tool. They are stronger than you think, but they are at their weakest as they feast. While it should be avoided, should an opportunity show itself, stab it through the heart with the Iron. Or burn them while in their graves.
Knockers are for the most part zombified humans, crushed underneath a collapsing mine. Their bodies appear just as one might think, rotting corpses with clear signs of crushed limbs. However, for some reason, these beasts have retained somewhat of a sense of intelligence. They are coordinated and deeply deceiving beasts. They lure their prey into a mine by calling for help, knocking on the side of the walls to try and lure them deeper and deeper into the mine. Once inside the mine, the Knockers will flank their victims, aiming to cut off their prey from the exit and knock down the walls that holds the mine stable. Once enclosed, they will rip apart their victims and devour them. Singular Knockers can often be destroyed before they destroy their habitat, but a group of them can be devastating. Although they are not difficult to fight, they should be approached with proper planning. Holy weapons will do the trick most of the times, but destroying their heads usually work. Knockers
Geists.. While still being a relatively low-tiered Undead, these bastards are notoriously difficult to catch. Fast, cunning and stronger than you’d expect, these mutated undead beings are the remains of hanged criminals brought to life through vile means. Be it a necromancer or something else entirely. They sport a hood and a hangmans rope around their necks, and a cyclopian mutation has given it but a single eye. They sport long claws, rotting flesh and a hunger for flesh, as many other undeads do. These beings are capable of speech. And they like to use it for their advantage, to disorient their prey, while they crawl around tight spaces, up trees or on walls. These beings will most often utilize hit and run tactics and as such should be immobilized as quickly as possible. Go for their legs and arms, unless you get a clean shot or strike for their heads. Destroy the head? Destroy the geist. Use consecrated weapons if possible. Fuckers are faster than you think. Mutated subject showed signs of skeletal protrusions from hand, used as weapons. Be careful
Mortuary Wolves. These beings are part of a classification of reanimated fauna. Born through twisted magic or excessive consumption of tainted flesh, these “wolves” prowl around in packs, in attempts to sate their unending hunger for flesh. Depending on the stages of decomposition, they appear as sickly wolves with pale yellow eyes, while the older ones have flesh hanging from them. However, unlike most types of undead, these bastards have retained their cunning intellect in undeath. Prefering to ambush their prey and luring them into unfavourable positions, There have been reports from Duskwood, that these beasts can stalk their prey for days, until their hunger grows beyond their control. The beasts are fast and rarely ever attack alone. If they cannot ambush their prey, they will swarm over their prey as all caution they might have had in Life has been burned out of them. The best way to go about handling beasts like this is through range. Their claws are putrid and could carry all manner of diseases. Use consecrated weaponry, fireflasks and the like. They’re not overly fond of silver either. Holy water burns the everloving crap out of them.
Ghosts You’ve probably seen one of these at one point in your life. Alas, Ghosts are the disembodied spirits of people, unable to cross over to the afterlife. More often than not, these spirits are just.. Confused. They themselves might not know why they are still bound to this plane and some don’t even know they’re dead. That doesn’t mean they don’t present some difficulty at times. Their presence can be felt as a deep chill, shivers down the back of your spine and such. Most of the time they aren’t dangerous, but can turn vengeful. Ghosts are most often just in need of a guiding hand to cross over. Most can be reasoned with and even guided through holy means. Although should they turn angry, not much will help you apart from Iron, salt and magic. Stock up on that. This will not kill a spirit, but simply disperse it. The only known way, to my knowledge, is to remove them is to burn the remains or consecrate them. Fun fact, most cemeteries are surrounded by Iron fences, to keep possible vengeful spirits from escaping, as ghosts cannot cross a threshold of pure iron. Most likely a coincidence.
Vengeful Spirits There are three things you should be worried about when a spirit goes vengeful. One, it turning into a Poltergeist, the spirit possessing someone or the spirit going crazy. Let me tell you why. I first experienced a Poltergeist back in Gilneas. Angry spirits, half-visible. Like a visage seen through water, it is capable of interacting with physical objects. Even people directly. It takes great joy in flinging objects at living beings, even physically harming people by pushing them, scratching them and so on. A possessive spirit on the other hand, often feels it has unfinished business in this world, and will do whatever it can to see that business fulfilled. It will do so by taking over the body of a living being. Fully controlling them and even pushing the other consciousness away. The possessed person will change over time, growing thinner and thinner, like life is leaving them. Prolonged possession will see the original host lost and in danger of becoming a vengeful spirit themselves. These bastards are strong. Capable of breaking bones with a single strike. Both of these spirits have one thing in common though. They act with intent. They are fully aware of what they are doing, capable of intelligent actions and such. Thus their course of action can sometimes be predictable. The Mad Spirits on the other hand are by far the most deadly. See next page.
Vengeful Spirits, Continued. Maddened Spirits appear when a ghost or lost spirit has been tortured. Be it by outside force or prolonged existence between the veil of life and unlife, these spirits manifest as ragged shells of their former past. Tangible only when they strike, these beasts will kill anything living near them. Look for extreme cold spots and places of carnage as telltale signs of a Mad Spirit. Be very, very cautious when engaging these. To fight spirits, one should carry with them a couple of components. Pure Iron will disperse a spirit, be it tangible or not, for a short while. As will salt and consecrated weapons. However, to truly do away with a spirit that will not go quietly into the night, one must salt and burn their remains. The problem is if the spirit has latched on to something other than their remains. This is called a Sympathetic Link. Oftentimes, it will seek out an object of which it cared deeply for or interacted with in it’s life. Salt it and burn it. As far as I’m aware, this is the only way to get rid of these types of Vengeful spirits.
Brewery Spirits. The Brewery spirit, or Shojo as the Pandarens call them, are spirits who haunt breweries, as you might suspect. Unlike regular spirits, these bastards can’t be seen by the naked eye and seem to have relinquished their grasp on their earthly remains. They appear around Breweries of which they have visited in life and prowl the buildings, preying on the souls of those they kill. Even as they attack, they cannot be seen, leaving only a faint red mist in it’s wake as an indication. Now, the way to destroy these spirits are rather simple. A Blessed blade is required to be stabbed through the spirits chest. How you make sure you manage to destroy it properly is… A bit odd, truth be told. In order to see a Brewery spirit, one must be intoxicated. Whether this is a cruel joke of life, or a power possessed by the spirit itself is unknown, but it’s been reported that only people who are drunk have been able to see these pale, black-fingered spirits for themselves. This needs more study.
Revenants and Northern Draugr’s Not to be confused with the Elemental Armor-spirits, the Revenant is a tortured spirit that return from beyond the veil and possess the living and the dead. While a regular Revenant will possess whatever it can, be it dead or living, its Northern Cousin, the Draugr, will usually only possess and manipulate its own body. Revenant’s can be found most places where violent death was prevalent, while Draugrs usually hide in burial mounds, abandoned mansions or castles they lived in, in life. To properly dispose of a Revenant, one must dispose of their earthly remains. While a Draugr is easy enough, in theory, to get rid of, a pure Revenant can prove to be a bit more of a nuisance. Combating the corpses can be easy enough, by using whatever weapon is at hand although consecrated ones are recommended. The remains should be salted and burned. Pure Revenants on the other hand can be exorcised, though burning the remains in the same manner is recommended. Act quickly! They’re tricky to kill.
Boggart A household spirit or perhaps a minor demon, Boggarts latch onto families and their homes, causing all sorts of mischief. Clammy hand in the face, stealing your bedsheets.. Stuff like that. They follow their preys where ever they go, even if they abandoned their own house, making them difficult to get rid of by themselves. They have been noted to kidnap children and eat them at times.. Being corporeal, they seem to have a resemblant appearance to the human form, albeit much smaller. The ones I’ve seen had sharp fangs and pale skin, with a beast-like outer appearance. Whether they are spirits or demons, they seem to inhabit the weaknesses of both. Iron and Salt. Folklore dictates that you can drive them away by hanging an iron horseshoe over the door to your home or a pile of salt outside your bedroom. Both reagents seem to work wonderful in combating them, as Salt burns them and Iron weakens them. One weakened by either reagent, they should be slow enough to dispatch with whatever violent means you have. Note, protect your shins and knees. Fuckers are fast! Use Iron Powder bombs! SHARP FANGS! SHARP!
Cursed and Mutated Monsters.
“I once encountered a poor bloke under the effects of this terrible curse.. He had secluded himself in a small cave, stark raving mad and practically beast-like in his actions. Through the flashes of sanity I got from him, he managed to tell me how he had gotten himself into a bloody battle with a Gurubashi Witch Doctor. The Witch Doctor supposedly invoked an old Voodoo curse upon him.” The Rougarou curse is a debilitating curse that supposedly takes a hundred and one days to fully take effect, although this has been disputed by several scholars of the Monstrous. The curse changes the very being of oneself and inflicts a growing sense of pure and primal hunger. It starts slow. An increased appetite turns to a starving belly, no matter how much food one eats. Then for meat. The bloodier the better. Until eventually the taste of humanoids is all they can think about. The afflicted doesn’t show signs until late in the curses lifespan. The inflicted will show signs of wormy skin, sharpened canines, bones shifting about.. Until on the last day of the curse, their eyes go blood red and a bestial fury overtakes them. Once they take a fresh bite of flesh from a living being, the curse will pass on to whomever they bite. A fully evolved Rougarou can, as far as I know, only be taken down by fire, as they regenerate rapidly from other forms of damage. It’s theorized that a Cursebreaker can lift the curse, before it’s complete, although I have seen no signs of such as of yet. The Rougarou Curse.
Featureless, formless and ever-changing. These are but a few words used to describe the true shapeshifters of the world. Believed to have originally been alchemists, these monsters have somehow gained the ability to assume a near perfect form of anyone they touch. They do so, by shedding their skin in a presumably painful and grotesque manner, leaving a pile of viscous blobs of skin and fluid behind. The Shifters have evolved to be capable of feeding off the emotion of the living, preferring the volatile sensations of fear, doubt, suspicion and strife. Hence they will often kidnap and impersonate people within different organizations, fanning the flames to create the sensations they desire. Whatever unholy process they used to imbue themselves with these powers, seems to have left them with but a single weakness. You see, when a Shapeshifter changes forms, they leave behind any and all injuries they previously had. Although for some it takes time, the oldest of the Shapeshifters can do it within minutes. Neither salt, pure iron or holy instruments seem to work against them. But silver burns them. Impaling a Shapeshifter with silver seems to hinder they ability to transform, while the purity of the metal will burn them, presumably, to their soul. A silver dagger to the heart seems to be able to put them down permanently. Shapeshifters. Their eyes turn pitch black when viewed through a silvered mirror. Deadly cunning and infuriatingly deadly. Caution is advised.
The Skin-walker Covens. Not much is known of these supposed Covens. Some believe them to be Witches, some believe them to be corrupted druids. It is currently unknown as to their origins, only the danger they present to populace at large. Believed to be either shapeshifters or being capable of possession of animals, it is clear that they take the form of wild animals, more often than not, creatures associated with Omens of Death. Black hounds, Ravens, although they are not bound to such as far as I’m aware. In some legends, they take the place of a family pet. Patiently waiting for a time to gorge themselves on the flesh of their victims. They are incredibly strong, fast and cunning beyond belief and should therefore only be faced when absolutely necessary. In my travels, I have only met one individual believed to be a skin-walker. It took the form of a large Coyote, furious and deadly. I struck it with a sword, I tried burning it, even Iron-Powder explosives. Yet Silver, was the only thing I found to work. It seemed to heal from any wound, unless Silver was involved. I finally managed to fell the beast by shooting it with a silver plated arrow. There’s much more to learn about these creatures.. More research must be made.
The Walking Pox. First mentioned in the Codex Inmortuae, the Walking Pox is a debilitating cursed affliction invoked to destabilize enemy fortifications. Rare and exceptionally dangerous, this curse traps the living consciousness and soul in an ever mutating zombified body. Once a carrier starts to show symptoms, a sickening grin starts to permanently form onto their lips, as their body slowly rots. Over time, their bodies start to mutate, either by bony protrusions or fleshy growths that explode upon impact, spewing acrid and choking gasses around them. The victims of the Walking Pox, also called Poxwalkers, are terrifyingly fearsome beings. As their mutations are wildly unpredictable, they are ridiculously difficult to put down, and they will act accordingly. Often traversing in groups, these monsters will swarm their enemy, give chase by running at full speed and even wielding crude weapons in their fights. So far, dismemberment seems to have been the only thing capable of slowing them down, as Holy water, silver and iron just seems to burn them and piss them off. Cut them apart, but avoid damaging any fleshy growths they might show and burn the bodies to ash. It is currently unknown how the curse is invoked, but any and all cases of the Walking Pox should be dealt with rapidly, should it ever resurface.
The Patchwork Men. Originally a group of alchemists, this group is believed to have been established somewhere before the second war in Northern Lordaeron, in what we now call the Western Plaguelands. This group of extraordinary alchemists had one goal in mind. To stave off death. While these alchemists might have founded their organization with good intentions, it did not turn out like that. It is believed they grew ever desperate as the Orchish hordes pressed further into the lands of the Eastern kingdoms, they started dabbling in cursed magics. Eventually they achieved their goal. Although their lifespans were increased by unfathomable amounts, their bodies still aged. As such they found a way to harvest the limbs and organs of living beings and graft them onto themselves. The Patchwork men are now scattered across Azeroth, seeking ways to prolong the lifespan of their living limbs, to achieve true immortality. Most often appear as sick abominations, stitching together various limbs, eyes, organs and such into their own forms. Some have been reported to even add a secondary heart to keep their bodies as healthy as possible. While they might seem weak, fragile and harmless, they are anything but. They are strong, extremely intelligent and fiercely protective of their research. In my travels, I have only come across a single member of this group. No matter how many times I struck him down, he kept rising again. At the end, I found that dismembering him entirely and burying him as deep underground as I could to stop the threat of his rampage.
The Wendigo Curse. The Wendigo Curse, named after the similarities between the Northern Wendigo humanoids and the victims of the spell, is believed to originate from the different Ice Troll tribes scattered around Azeroth. Be it the Frostmane or the Drakkari, the curse is a terrifying thing to behold. Believed to be a bloodline curse, it often lies dormant within it’s victim, sometimes never even activating, only to surface under situations of great stress, fear and desperation. Although different sources disagree on the actual cause of the activation of the curse, it is my belief that being exposed to a high amount of stress for longer periods of time awakens the dormant spell. The curse transforms the body, into a grotesque imitation of what it previously was. Elongated limbs, pale skin and large, spike-like teeth protrude from the beast’s mouth. They hunger for flesh and are considered highly cannibalistic, eating anything it can come near. Even other humanoids. They are strong. Incredibly so, and very hard to kill. The Wendigo’s are relentless in their hunting prowess, showing signs of cunning and premeditation. However, as they are primarily located up in the cold north, they seem to fear fire, oftentimes avoiding prey huddling around a fire. Some local legends describe fire as being capable of killing them, if the body is completely incinerated. Must be put to the test. From my travels, I have found steel to be next to useless. While it may appear to hurt it, it just as quickly heals from any injury. Silver, however, seemed to do the trick if used to pierce it’s heart. Be warned, the bones around it’s heart grows into a protective cage. Use force. A lot of it.
The Coven of the Plagued Maiden. Believed to have been a group of corrupted Harvest-Witches, turned to dark magic, this Coven is believed to have originated within Gilneas. Although the origins of their Coven is unclear, a lot of information has been gathered on this particular group of foul, wretched women over the past years. Bringers of Pestilence and suffering, these wicked witches believes in purity through sickness. In their own twisted view, they believe they are saving the denizens of Azeroth, by cleansing them of their sins through the suffering of disease. Often disguised as beautiful maidens who are looking for aid, they infiltrate villages and bring untold manners of disease. It almost always start with an infestation of rats. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, followed by virulent sickness, either a highly infectious virus or tainted foodstuffs. All bound to a single red handkerchief, hidden amongst the village. Burn it, to destroy the anchor of their magic. Not unlike the Anansi, their eyes glow a pale blue if looked upon through a silvered mirror, which is the only thing they cannot disguise. Upon threatened, the Witches reveal their true forms. Plagued, almost rotten hags, with cracked nails that, make no mistake, will tear flesh from bone. They share the very same weaknesses of the Witches of the Hearstbane Coven, leading me to believe there is some sort of connection. Use silver. Silver burns them and disorients them. But to be completely sure you have killed them? Burn them. And leave nothing behind. Their nails carry the sickness too! Be careful!
Cursed Items.
The Hand of Glory. A mysterious creation, rooted in superstition and folklore, the Hand of Glory is the pickled left hand of a hanged malefactor, grasping a single candle. Some legends say, the candle grasped by the hand needs to be made from the fat of the hanged and the wick made from their hair. The Hand itself can be created by just about anyone, granted the steps are followed. As of the written time, I am unaware of all the steps to create such a thing, nor should it ever be attempted. It is a heinous creation.. Although it presents some interesting uses. These creations have been recorded to induce a paralytic sensation upon all who sees the light of the candle, bar the wielder, and capable of opening most locks, granted the flame stays alive. The one I encountered had an incantation to activate it. “Now open Lock, to the dead man’s knock. Fly, bolt, and bar, and band. Nor move, nor swerve, joint, muscle or nerve, at the spell of the Dead Man’s Hand. Sleep, all who sleep. Wake, all who wake. But be as the dead, for the Dead Man’s Sake.”
The Thule Coins. First discovered by a hunter named Huckleberry Hale, these coins look ancient, sporting several strange glyphs on them that have yet to be translated. They were discovered in a small town outside of Hillsbrad, believed to have belonged to a sect of the Cult of the Damned, these cursed coins induce a sensation of blind rage. The curse embedded within the metal have made them virtually indestructible, with no known way to destroy them as of yet, although it is theorized a sufficiently skilled Cursebreaker could either mute the curse or remove it entirely.. It is believed that there exists somewhere around fifteen of these coins, scattered about the Eastern Kingdoms. Apart from the blinding rage they induce, the curse causes the carrier of the coins to become wildly obsessed, overprotective and paranoid. A sharp increase in strength has been noted in some reports of victims. Remove a carrier of the ring and the curse should subside over time, although I must stress the importance of not touching the coins directly. Any and all of these coins should be retrieved in silver repositories and dropped in a hole so dark, they will never see the light of day again.