Monster Ecology Anthology

Umber Hulk Introduction The umber hulk is a massive monstrosity that scrambles the minds of its victims, either abducting them, dragging them into the earth from where they came, or contentedly killing individuals of the group while the rest are confused by its gaze. Those that survive umber hulk attacks are rare, and even rarer are those to remember the beast that attacked them. Although it is difficult to recognize the signs of their attacks, which are commonly mistaken for cave-ins, or attributed to the other monstrosities of the underdark, there are telltale signs of umber hulks that any with experience can identify. Deep gouges and scratches into solid stone that even picks can't nick, cave-in survivors not remembering anything during the cave-in, and many other small details can aid in identifying umber hulks as being responsible. Physical Nature Umber hulks are very bulky, large creatures standing nearly twelve feet tall and over four and a half feet wide. Continuing the trend of being large, their arms are approximately twice the size of even the most muscular dwarves' arms and end in claws harder than iron able to rip through solid stone with astonishing speed. Even with their muscular bodies, their large weight of around 1500-1750 lbs make them slow creatures. While their mouth contains rows of small teeth, most are harmed by the hulk's two sets of mandibles. The hide of a umber hulk is a shell-like structure similar to a beetle, varying in shades of black, grayish or burnt brown hues, or even a dark purple in the rarer varieties. A variant of the Umber hulk described below, the tremor hulk, has a very tan coloration to better hide in its surroundings. The hulk has two sets of eyes: a smaller set near the top of their head protected by ridges, and a larger set of eyes further apart from each other and below the smaller eyes. While eye color varies depending on gender and variant of hulk, the most common eye color for umber hulks is for the larger set of eyes to be white with black irises, while the smaller set of eyes higher up on its head are purple with yellow or amber irises. The small eyes of the umber hulk confuse both humanoids and monsters alike, causing erratic behavior that the hulk can capitalize on when hunting. Those who survive the hulks confusing gaze tell that their eyes almost swirl like a whirlpool when the hulk tries to incapacitate its victims. The umber hulk can sense vibrations in the ground and, like many denizens of the Underdark, can see clearly in darkness. The hulks have no nose, instead relying on gills or its mouth to breathe, suggesting an underwater life prior in its evolutionary history. Position in the Ecosystem and common life When it is not eating adventurers or Underdark denizens, umber hulks prey on ankhegs, small purple worms, and gricks. Tales about umber hulks tell of them tunneling out of ancient purple worms, slaying the worms and guaranteeing a fulfilling meal. A umber hulk can go into a sort of hibernation if it starts to lack food nearby, lasting up to a month in the state before perishing. However, their senses are still active, so as soon as their hearing or sight picks up prey, it will use its confusing gaze to stop victims from escaping. The umber hulks can communicate in their own language, however scholarly attempts to replicate the language fail as many of the important sounds come from a clicking together of the hulk's mandibles. Even though they speak a language, the hulks tend to be solitary creatures, until their mating period. While the male and female umber hulks are similar in size, the female shell will be a lighter color than the male of the species. Umber hulks tend to have live births roughly a year after mating, with one to three children produced. The young umber hulks, commonly referred to as hulklings, become fully mature after two years, at which point they leave their mother's protection. The average lifespan of a male umber hulk is 50 years while the females live on average 75. Variants: Tremor hulk: These umber hulks tend to be larger than their underdark cousins, growing even to the sizes of massive purple worms. They tend to be found in dense, rocky areas in mountains or in deserts. They follow their victims, using underground tunnels in combination with smashing violently into the ground with their specialized claws to cause victims unaffected by their gaze to be buried in the tunnels. It looks like this, but the eyes are similar to the Umber hulk. Some other variants are said to exist. A dwarven adventurer told a tale of Umber hulks mixed with illithid tadpoles, with tentacles below the hulks' mandibles. Nemezark, the self titled Monstrologist, wrote of his experiences with a hulk that had an adhesive similar to a mimic on its shell that only adhered to armor and strong rocks. He also told of the poor fighter who lost his axe to the shell of the beast. Strategies for Adventurers Adventurers that even know of the Umber hulk's existence suggest using mirrors in an attempt to confuse the umber hulk with its own gaze, but none have survived an encounter using this tactic to tell the tale. While the hulks have hard shells that ward of many an attacker's blade, they are fairly susceptible to mind tricks like illusions. 351

DM Tactics When a umber hulk knows prey (or adventurers) are coming, it will follow a previously-dug out tunnel to a better ambush point (one best suited to use its confusing gaze), then attempt to either cause a cave-in or ambush prey. If given the opportunity, it will break solid rock under an adventurer, grab them, and drag them back into the tunnel, using debris to give it cover from other members of the party while its mandibles and claws deal with its captured victim. Of a umber hulk feels outnumbered or needs a better position to fight from, it will retreat into its tunnels, attempting a similar cave-in and snatch from when it engaged with the party. Otherwise, it will follow them, attempting to pick off nighttime guards using its confusing gaze. 352

Unicorn Introduction Celestial beast? Avatar of purity? A product of wizardinduced mating? Hardly. A unicorn is the personification of something both familiar and strange...a bargain with the Seelie court. When humans die with passions unfinished and they reach out to infernal powers with their dying breath for one last chance- a revenant is born. When the righteous, kind-hearted, and/or innocent are placed in the same situation and a noble Fay answers- a unicorn is born. Out of this bargain the non-Fay gets a new lease on life, the Seelie court gets a new champion, and the specific Fay gets a warm chuckle in seeing how the being will adapt to its new body. Physiological Observations Although looking like horses, unicorns are far from it. To mortal eyes, unicorn coats are pearl white, have gold/copper colored hooves, and a singular pure white horn. To beings with true sight or when encountered in the feywilds, unicorns glow with and intense internal light. Their manes ablaze with fire and their hooves shed sparks of starlight when they strike the ground, water, or skulls. Also noticeable in the feywilds is a symbol that faintly hovers above their head indicating which fey house struck this bargain. Due to their non-natural nature, unicorns do not need to sleep, eat, and can survive almost all conditions on the Prime Material plane as long as they retain their connection to the Feywild. Interestingly, however, they do enjoy drinking water that is reflecting moonlight. The internal skeleton of a unicorn is also peculiar and non-horse like. If one were to commit such a blasphemous act as to kill a unicorn and then cut it open, you'd find the skeleton to resemble that of a human somehow wearing a horse costume. Attempting to put the whole thing back together will result in something that, in fact, looks like a human skeleton being sown back into a horse skin. And if that same someone was then so foolish as to cast a resurrection spell on this sham unicorn, the result would be creating a creature that wants to murder the caster first, then everyone/everything else until destroyed- starting with the happiest creatures around it. Social Observations/Interspecies Observations Unicorns are lords of the forest, but not because they are of the forest, but more because they are in the forest currently. They set up rule as a sort of benevolent dictator, settling disputes among animals, helping out needy beings, and killing fell beasts that take up residence. This upsets the natural order of things, which is why druids hate unicorns. The only reason a unicorn might be accompanied by druids is because the druids are trying to help it complete its quest and leave this plane. Unlike, revenants, unicorns have 777 years to do this and tend to be distracted by immediate and local evil. The druids are keeping it on track. Humans love unicorns. For a good king to have a unicorn in his forest is a sure sign that the gods and fate have blessed his rule. In actuality it means that the king's good intentions got someone else with really good intentions killed and the Seelie Court took notice. Elves know this a stay away from unicorns. Dwarves being underground rarely if ever meet unicorns. Unicorns are chaotic good. They are attracted to those in need and with a simple view of the world. Which is why unmarried human teenagers who are virgins are the best at attracting their attention almost by accident. Another possibility is that the unicorn's forest will also house a small community of humans and a few humanoids who have a variety of curses suppressed by the unicorns' presence. They are fierce guardians and will attempt to drive off druids that want to move the unicorn. The fey find this set up especially hilarious. Behavior Observations Unicorns are self-appointed stewards of the lands they live in no matter if any other creatures in that area need the protection. However they do not tend to stay too far from the place of resurrection because their uncompleted quest is nearby. Unicorns might have just forgotten about it, but it always sits in the back of their mind. Unicorns will watch the edges of important battles in order to judge when to intervene. This often occurs at a singular critical moment in battle when the tide would normally turn against the forces of good. The unicorn appears, often making a dramatic entrance, gallops to the bravest warrior, and carries her or him directed to the leader of the evil forces. Great for troop morale, terrible for commanders trying to maintain any strategic position. Alternatively, unicorns will take up the mentoring of youth in preparation for a great quest. They will coach the youth on the troubles ahead, help them prepare for the final battle by questing for important artifacts, and carry them to the final conflict. This often results in the death of the youth because unicorns place bravery/courage before aptitude. Variants Sham Unicorns: Created by killing a unicorn, removing its organs, bones, and skin, then trying to put it back together with a Resurrection spell. Creates a chaotic evil being that wants to feed and hunt. A perfect mount for a Dread Knight or Litch. Noble Steed: Sometimes a unicorn after a fit of lust, might mate with a horse. The result is a horse of human level intelligence, that is sensible, and cautious. While having none of the magical ability of a unicorn, noble steeds do know how to keep their riders alive a lot longer. They are heavily valued by knights and paladins. Just think about every horse side-kick in every Disney movie. 353

DM's Tool Box When Saved by a Unicorn When a good-aligned PC is making Death saves, there is a 5% chance that a unicorn will appear. This chance increase 5% for every failed rolled. When saved by a unicorn, the PC will feel a great sense of debt owed to the creature and will compulsively carry out one task assigned to it by the unicorn. Charisma check (DC 20) in order to resist the compulsivity of the task. D6 Quests for the Unicorn 1 Slay the 2nd-in-command (of a more distant threat) while the unicorn rallies campaign forces 2 Destroy an artifact of profane and powerfully corrupting influence 3 Delay a circle of druids from interfering with the unicorn's plans until the next full moon 4 Seek Unicorn gives PCs a list of ways to remove the curses, freeing some of the population of the null-cursed 5 "Free" (read: kidnap) a local youth the unicorn has chosen for a very important task. Parents are important regional nobles 6 Delve a dungeon under the unicorn's territory and seek out a source of corruption On the subject of Unicorn Meat Unicorn Meat (Or Unicorn Lasagne)Cursed & Priceless If evil: eating this dish will lead to ecstasy and an addiction to having it again. Most hags know generally how to make it. Most evil BBGs will give a large sum for a true taste of this dish. If good: eating this dish will lead to ecstasy then immediate and powerful guilt over how good it tasted. The good being will become distraught and eventually kill themselves on the first blade or spike made of white marble they find. Its basically consuming purity and goodness. It is a profane act. Horses will always know what you need and never let you touch them. Other animals will shy away from you. Gods will never look at you again. Angels will hunt you. Demons will want to eat you just to taste the unicorn meat. Devils will want to strike a deal with you for more. And that's assuming you survive the Seelie wraith for eating a funny joke with your perversion. 354

Vampire "I am the ancient, I am the land. My beginnings are lost in the dark of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears down stone into sand." -- Count Strahd von Zarovich Introduction Vampires are the dark beings who wake to an endless night, hungering for the lives they lost upon their conversions. They sate this hunger by consuming the blood of the living creatures, absorbing their essence to and power. These monsters detest the sunlight, for the touch of Corellon's pure light burns them. They do not have shadows or cast reflections which is why any vampire planning to move unnoticed hides in the shadows far from reflective surfaces. Physiological Observations Vampires are often a representation of whatever race that they were in life. More often than not however, most vampires come from the medium sized races as vampires like for their brood to have the versatility of movement and power that comes from being a human or an elf. Because vampires are undead, they do not have beating hearts or blood coursing through their veins. They do not require air to breath or food in the ways that most ordinary creatures need food. Rather, their sustenance comes from the blood of the living, the creatures that the monsters envy the most. They are immortal, unaging, and only die. After their conversion to the undead, vampires become incredibly resilient. Their skin, tissues, and bones harden to a point that they develop natural armor similar to that of leather armors. Of course, they choose not to move without clothing. Combined with other armors, vampires become almost untouchable. Besides simply hardening, the skin of vampires becomes untouchable by all necrotic damage (which should be obvious when you consider that vampires are undead already). Additionally, their skin has hardened to the point that it cannot be cut or bludgeoned by any weapon that is not magical. The magic that grants the vampire his undead abilities also grants the vampires body grants it a legendary resistance which allows the vampire to successfully resist anything 3 times a day. The eye sight of vampires sharpens well enough for them to see perfectly in the dark. This same magic grants vampires the ability to turn into a small bat or a cloud of mist. This magic enhances their physical prowess as well. They gain enhanced strength, enhanced constitution, and enhanced dexterity, placing vampires at the pinnacle of physicality. They gain more than just physical prowess as well. Their intellect improves extremely quickly and they gain a little wisdom. Their immortality grants them this luxury. This increased ability lets these abominations to climb any surface including upside down on ceilings. Creation Methodology To understand how and why Vampires are created, it is important to know the story of Count Strahd von Zarovich, who legend claims to be the first vampire. From the recountation: "A brilliant thinker and capable warrior in life, Strahd von Zarovich fought in countless battles for his people. When war and killing finally stripped him of his youth and strength, he settled in the remote valley of Barovia and built a castle on a towering pinnacle, from which he could survey his lands. His brother Sergei came to live with him in Castle Raven loft, becoming Strahd's adviser and constant companion. In his brother, Strahd saw everything he had lost. Sergei was handsome and young, while Strahd had become old and scarred. Resentment colored their relationship, eventually turning into hatred. Strahd's beloved, Tatyana, spurned him for Sergei, whom she pledged to marry. In a desperate attempt to win Tatyana's heart, Strahd forged a pact with dark powers that made him immortal. At the wedding of Sergei and Tatyana, he confronted his brother and killed him. Tatyana fled and flung herself from Ravenloft's walls. Strahd's guards, seeing him for a monster, shot him with arrows. But he did not die. He became a vampire-the first vampire, according to many sages. In the centuries since his transformation, Strahd's lust for life and youth have only grown. He broods in his dark castle, cursing the living for stealing away what he lost, and never admitting his hand in the tragedy he created." And so did Strahd von Zarovich become the founder of his species consumed by darkness. . But, more than that it is through him that one can understand much of how Vampires are created. To become a Vampire Lord such as Strahd von Zarovich requires a ritual of deep evil to be performed. This ritual can only be performed between sunset and the sunrise of the next morning and takes approximately 6 hours to perform. As a part of the ritual, the vampire lord must share his blood with a lesser vampire and consume the blood of the lesser vampire. Then, the lesser vampire must be ritually buried in the ground. Then a prayer to Asmodeus seals the blessing of darkness unto the lesser vampire which will remain buried until the sunset of the following day finally a full vampire lord. Normal Vampires are created more simply. First, a vampire lord or vampire may create spawn by sucking the blood of vampires without draining them of life fully. This injects the dark magic into the blood of the living creature, gruesomely and agonizingly killing them. After they have died, they awaken fully under the control of whichever vampire or vampire lord first bit them. They can become true vampires, with free will, when relinquished of the control by their master. However, few vampires will grant this freedom, eager to keep control of their thrall. Spawn can also gain freedom if their master dies. Vampires do have weaknesses. They cannot enter religious institutions without invitation. Sunlight burns their skin. They are slowed and hurt by moving across or over running water. Contrary to the common myth, garlic has no effect on them other than to amuse or annoy them. Driving a stake through the heart of a vampire in its sleeping place will paralyze it. Additionally, Vampires are required to rest in their place of turning at least once every 24 hours. 355

Social Observations Vampires are creatures of lawful evil. They are consumed by selfish interests but abide by set principles. They are vain in their dealings with others and extremely proud of their capabilities. They believe that they are the best of all species while secretly not admitting their jealousy of the mortals that they wish to regain the life from. They prefer to remain to themselves and only really interact with mortals to gain new spawn or for food. Other than this interaction, they stay away to avoid being consumed by envy. Behavioral Observations Vampires are guided by a desire to regain all they lost when they converted to the undead. They desire the warmth of mortality, the love they lost, the ability to experience goodness. Guided by these desires and the knowledge they'll never regain what they lost, they conspire to deprive every other race of their joy. Vampires tend to be envious of the living because once they lose their mortality, they slowly become consumed by their darkest emotions. For example, love turns into lust for some young beauty. Friendship devolves into extreme jealousy. They lose all ability to resist the darkness within. Intra-species Observations Vampires work together under the leadership of Vampire Lords however they often choose to spread out to their own individual domains to maintain their own set of "livestock" to feed from. DM's Toolkits Vampires are always a staple of any campaign that requires a notorious, intelligent, and cunning villain bent on taking over the world. They make for masters of deception. They make for some of the best BBEGs for you to have agents moving around under. I also love using Vampires for campaigns to add a little of a rushed feeling by adding a time limit to stopping something he is doing. 356

Water Weird "Toss a copper in the pool before you take a drink." "What? Why?" "Just do it. It's not worth annoying the fountain's guardian." In dungeons and fortresses across the world, travelers and adventurers find themselves days into a delve and very thirsty. Adventurer beware, because the most peaceful and lonely fountains may be home to the dangerous Water Weird. The Water Weird is a common pet and guardian for the magically adept. Competent at scaring off common rabble and very loyal (as long as their pools care kept fresh), they can prove to be a very low-maintenance addition to the defenses of any Wizard's Tower or Dragon's Lair. Physical Observations Water Weirds are simple in structure. They have no organs to speak of. No tissues, nor cells. Quite literally, they are water given shape and purpose. They share their body with the body of water that surrounds it, and depend on it as well. If the Weird is removed from the safety of its pool or river, the Weird dies instantly. Outside of a greater pool of water, the Water Weird does not have the strength constitution to hold its own shape, and will vaporize instantly As the Water Weird is dependent on a body of water, it also shares the properties and disposition. A body of water that is desecrated or particularly polluted makes a Water Weird disloyal, irritable, and attack with deadly intent. Water that is sanctified or purified makes a Water Weird's loyalty unshakable and it's temperament mild. As mundane water can take the shape of its container, a Water Weird can take any number of forms. The most common form that a Weird takes is reminiscent of a serpent rearing up from the water. Outside of the shape of a serpent, they may take nearly any other physical shape, but tend to favor those with long necks, tails, and tentacles with which it can strangle and crush its foes. Only the oldest Water Weirds have been noted to take on humanoid shape. With this proficiency, they usually old gain the power of speech as well. Unless specially trained or especially intelligent, a Water Weird will only know Aquan, the native language of the Elemental Plane of Water. "Is the Fighter reading my journal again?" "Yeah, I think so." "I'd better stop him before he gets any funny ideas..." Migration and Reproduction Although Weirds come from the Elemental Plane of Water, there is no known plane of existence that has natural water sources and no Water Weirds to inhabit them. Water Weirds reserve the unique ability to Plane Shift at will while swimming through moving water, and thus can appear anywhere in the universe where is significant waterflow. In the wild, Weirds are solitary creatures that naturally seek out standing water to reside in. Once they find a suitable pool of water, they may choose to live in it alone for the rest of their days. On the Prime Material Plane, Weirds are recognized and revered as the spirits and protectors of lakes and ponds. On one occasion, an ancient Weird is said to have spoken with Humans, gotten involved with the affairs of wizards, and passed on a Holy Avenger to a just king. Water Weirds who wander and fail to find a pool of their own return to the Elemental Plane of Water twice per year. The first time is in the height of the Prime Material Plane's summer. At this time, many Weirds appear in the tides of the Silt Flats, and swim into the Swamp of Oblivion to mingle, fight, and do ritualistic dances of a sort. All of these behaviors are of what can be observed above the water. There is no telling what happens below, as Water Weirds are invisible when submerged. The second time that Water Weirds migrate back to the Plane of Water is in the height of winter. At this time, wandering Weirds appear near the Isle of Dread and swim towards the Sea of Ice. There, their bodies crystallize, freeze, and shatter. In this way, they reproduce. Each ice chunk that floats away from those spawning grounds is a newborn Water Weird. Weirds and Civilization Outside of friendly protector/local relationships, most interactions between mundane folk and Water Weirds are negative for both parties. Sometimes, a Water Weird will take residence in a source of drinking water. Mortals that take large amounts of water from the water source may intimidate the Water Weird, and it may be driven to lash out at its thirsty interlopers. In this event, send word for a wizard. "Hey, Grognard, you can stop reading now. You already read the important stuff." "Oh. Hm... Water Weirds are sorta... weird, aren't they?" "Ugh... How long did it take you to come up with that one?" Weirds and Wizards Now for the juicy part... If you're a Wizard, and you have a tower, you're probably in want of a Weird. They make loyal and steadfast guardians for treasure that you don't mind dunking in a pool of water. They're also incredibly low-maintenance., as they need no air, food, sleep, or drink. For the decorative or eccentric, their holding pools can make for excellent aquariums and fountains. Do not store more than one Water Weird in one container, as they are very territorial. Housing a Weird is easy. Getting your hands on a Weird is a quite a bit more tricky. Water Weirds are invisible in their element, and they're notoriously hard to catch. Despite this, there are a handful of tried and true ways to discover where a Weird is hiding and secure it for your private quarters. When collecting or capturing Water Weirds, always bring along a fishing net with silver netting and a solid metal bucket with a sealable top, full of sanctified water. The first and easiest way to discover the presence of a water weird is through the use of a liquid or powdered dye. Before the liquid is evenly dispersed in the water, keep an eye out for quick and subtle movements within the water as the Weird attempts to discern what new substance has invaded its space. Once you have a clear idea where the Weird is, scoop it up with your net, quickly transfer it to your metal bucket, then seal the bucket. 357

The second way to discover the presence of a Water Weird is the watch a source of flowing water. In moving water, Weirds can freely move against the flow to stay put or swim upstream. When this happens, there is a very notable effect on the water flow, that makes it seem that a part of the river is flowing upstream. Again, once you have a clear idea where the Weird is, scoop it up with your net, quickly transfer it to your metal bucket, then seal the bucket. The third, final, and easiest way to secure a Weird is to find it frozen. Water Weirds cannot be frozen through normal means. In the wintertime, they reside at the liquid bottom of their pool. If they live in a small mote of water, then the water simply will not freeze. The only time that a Water Weird will freeze is during their mating season on the Elemental Plane of Water. As little chunks of ice float through the tides, simply scoop them up and dump them in your bucket. Chances are that you'll find enough young Water Weirds to satisfy all your treasure-guarding needs. DM Toolbox Most of my ideas for Water Weirds can be found in greater detail in the Weirds and Wizards section above. Quest: A Wizard needs Water Weirds for experimentation or for guarding a sacred treasure. He hands the party a few Silver Nets and a bucket, and sends them on their way. They might be sent to a nearby town that has issues with their well, or maybe the wizard will Plane Shift them to the Sea of Ice to nab them fresh from the sea. Ally or Patron: A very old Water Weird has grown interested in mortal matters, and wants to share its treasure to stir up drama or action. Enemy: Have a treasure that your PC's will want? Put it in a box, and drop it in a fountain. Either they can fight the Water Weird, or offer it some significant treasure to trade for whatever is in the box. It might be interesting to have a dungeon with several of these encounters, where only one has the McGuffin they need. 358

Wight "NO!" Zarn cried. He caught a single glimpse of his form, still, run through, dead on the battlefield, before his spirit was dragged down. "NO, I WILL NOT BE DENIED, I WILL NOT FALL, I WILL SEE THEM DEAD!" His spirit raged, striving with all his will to return to his body. He ignored the planes half glimpsed, the forces that sought to take his life spirit for their own. He was Zarn, The Blacksword of the Plains. His conquest had been written in the stars, his bloody path his destiny. He was not to be defeat, by some band of fools! "NO, LET ME GO, MY WORK IS NOT COMPLETE, GIVE ME MY VENGEANCE!" He raged on. It may have taken seconds, maybe millennia, but in his rage he saw he had stopped falling. He was in a place of shadow and fire, of the cold of the grave, and anger eternal. Some great thing, something he could not will himself to comprehend stood before him. "SWEAR ALLIEGENCE TO ME ZARN! I WILL RETURN YOU TO YOUR WORLD, FREE TO SEE YOUR DESTINY FULFILLED! ALL YOU MUST DO IS GIVE OATH TO ME!" The great voice that was not a voice burned strong in Zarn. He didn't even have to consider. "YES I SWEAR AN OATH TO YOU, NOW RETURN ME!" Zarn opened his cold eyes to stare up at the night's sky. He stood, notice the mortal wounds he had taken seal themselves before his eyes. He picked up his wicked blade where it had fallen, noticing how much darker and brighter the world seemed now. Zarn the Blacksword was reborn, and his rage at the living was only match by his will to see them all dead. Introduction Wight's are those souls so driven by their goals, upon death they would give anything to return to the mortal plane. A dark god, demon lord, or force of malevolence may heed this cry, and strike a deal. They will return this being to their world, as long as they swear allegiance to them, with a promise to conduct war against all that is living. This usually goes along with the now newly formed Wight's wishes, but regardless they are given a level of autonomy and free thought rarely seen in most undead. A deep hunger to destroy the living clouds a Wight's mind though, one that must be answered as they seek their own goals. Physiological Observation A Wight at first glance may be mistaken for a zombie. This will be lost quickly. A Wight's eyes burn fiercely, black orbs with bright embers of white, showing their deep hatred of the living, not a thing of the autonomous zombie. They will bear great resemblance to those they were in life, though deathly pale, their hair turning night black or white, fingers turned into sharp black claws. A bone chilling cold surrounds them, their very essence sucking life out of all around them. Life will die where a powerful Wight tread, leave dead blackened grass, brackish water, and so forth in their wake. They usual garb themselves in a semblance of what they were in life, though now as a clear servant of death or a dark lord. They are weakened in the light of the sun, and will usually retreat to whatever lair they have until twilight covers the world again. The most powerful of their kind will find means to blot out the sun, so they may wage their war against life eternal. Social Observations A Wight's war against life, their completely focused will to see their own means met, means they will rarely interact with others. They may serve in a Death Knight's army, or as the bodyguard of a Necromancer, but they will only do so as long as it furthers their own gains. Though they are in possession of the skills and memories they possessed in life, they rarely indulge in creativity, planning or thought, relying simply on their indomitable hunger and rage to see them through obstacles. This make them perfect warlords and shock troops, but poor advisors to darker stronger powers. They have sworn themselves to a dark god for their return to life. They will not go against this god in any way, and usually become devote followers of them. They may serve a dark cult of their master for a short time, leaving as soon as its master allows it to. Behavioral Observations Wights always hunger for life. There is no greater joy for these wicked creatures then to drain the very spirit and essence of the living. This then drives them to go where the living are, and therefore into conflict. Battle and war is the existence of any Wight, one which they thrill in, falling into deeper hunger and madness, ever driven to kill. Wights do not rest. They will hunt those who they see as the reason for their death, or as any obstacle to their maniacal plans relentlessly. They may be distracted by their hunger, or the will of their oath sworn god, but this is only for a short time. Inter-Species Observations Wights neither have any love or hatred for their fellows. They may work together at the willing of the same dark lord, or if their goals are the same, but will never go out and seek this. Necromancers, Death Knights, and dark gods may form Wights into bands of assassins, scouts and shock troops, but they themselves will never seek to do this. They have no interest in other like them, only in their hunger, their will to carry on their schemes, and the call of battle. 359

DM's Toolkit Wights make villains for low level players to challenge. They're ability to raise zombies from those they slay give you a perfect band of minor undead for new heroes to vanquish from a village, forest, or dark cave. They are also great plot hooks for BBEGs. Why is this Wight here? Was she sent by a Necromancer to bring more bodies for its dark rituals? What if that bandit chief you kill in your first session wasn't satisfied with simply dying? What if a demon lord reached out and offered him a chance for revenge against those dastardly heroes? This can bring a greater level of story to your adventures, and add further meaning to your initial sessions. Any beast or being of reasonable intelligence can be brought back as a Wight, far stronger and deadlier, and with a premade vendetta against you heroes. At mid level Wights make perfect soldiers for your heroes to face as they go to assault a Death Knights keep or so forth. They can also be made strong by making them dark paladins of their new infernal lords. They could have been fallen rangers, wizards, and the like in their past lives, therefore giving them access to these abilities in their new undeath. 360

Will-O'-Wisp This creature... it is not from one of the seven hells, nor does it hail from the deep darkness of the world. It is also neither a ghost or a living creature. Yet it lives on the material plane, with only one apparent purpose: to feast on the fears and nightmares of the living. Its body is virtually non-existent, its appearance almost always the herald of death, it goes by the shape of a glowing skull. This thing... it goes by many names: Spook-lights, corpse candles, death lanterns and... of course... its true name: the Will-O'-Wisp. -- Necromancer Anotal Ver' Hakt Introduction The Will-O'-Wisp, a creature which many names are a testament to its widespread influence it had on civilizations and cultures in Golarion. This is not a surprise, as a WillO'-Wisp who has revealed himself typically spells death for the creature that is its witness. One to many people have gone missing at night, due to the presence of these creatures. But what precisely are Will-O'-Wisp's? They are most commonly known as small, flying balls of light that predominantly live in swamps. They are terrifying, however, due to the fact that they lure unsuspecting travellers into traps and ambushes. After they struck a victim, the Will-O'- Wisp does not kill his prey, but rather waits for them to die while in the meanwhile they feast on the fears and frights of the victim. The origin of the Will-O'-Wisp is unknown. Their existence has been noted through time, however. Depictions of them appear in many ancient ruins and artifacts from ancient Azlant to the cyclops empires in northern Avistan, and they all date back many millennia. This has led to the suggestion of many scholars that WillO'-Wisp have dwelt on the material plane for quite a while. Physiological Observations Whatever its origin, and its seemingly ghostly nature, WillO'-Wisp's do possess a physical body. It consists of about 3 pounds of translucent, moist spongy material, which seems to have no apparent application in cooking, alchemy or magic, however. A Will-O'-Wisp is also virtually immortal: they do not age although they can die from severe injuries. The most intriguing ability, one that has baffled scholars for years, is the Will-O'-Wisp's ability to consume the emotions of a living creature, most particularly their fears. Little is known about this ability, although necromancers and even liches have been known to have researched it. Only this obscure source of information, written by the necromancer Anotal Ver' Hakt, has provided clues on the Will-O'-Wisp's ability to consume emotions. A living thing, intelligent or not, vibrates and emits energy according to its emotional state. Based on observations the emotion of fear appears to create the strongest vibrations, which leads me to conclude that it also releases the most energy. Based on that piece of information, many scholars argue that the Will-O'-Wisp is able to absorb and consume this energy, although no notable theories have been made on how it actually nourishes itself on it. Another notable ability, which also lends the Will-O'-Wisp his name, is his capability to glow in yellow, white, green and blue-ish colours. Other colours have not been unheard of, though they appear to be quite rare. Will-O'-Wisp's are able to control the colours of light they emit, and use this to form the vague shapes of a humanoid skull to further intimidate their victims. They can also control the intensity of light they emit, becoming practically invisible if they so desire. Social Observations Will-O'-Wisp's prefer to dwell in swamps, overgrown forests and wetlands. The fact that these regions are sparse in prey raises questions as to why they remain there. Some individuals make their way into civilized areas, most notably large towns. They prefer to take up their position as close to prisons, torture chambers or gallows as they can get undetected, by residing near or inside lanterns. Behavioural Observations Far from mindless, Will-O'-Wisp's appear to be merely interested in luring prey to subsequently feast on their fears when their trap has sprung. They are not defenseless, however. If an enemy resists, they can inflict electrical damage by merely touching their opponent. They are also resistant against many types of magical attacks, save for spells like magic missile and maze. Intra-Species Observations Will-O'-Wisps are associated with death and despair, and as such are avoided by most sentient species. It is not unheard of (evil) individuals seeking out Will-O'-Wisp's, however; some attempt to strike bargains with them, providing an ample supply of fearful prisoners in exchange for the various bits of (sometimes) ancient knowledge some particular longlived Will-O'-Wisp's might preserve. DM's Toolbox Personally, I've played Will-O'-Wisp's for the intelligent evil creatures they are due to a lack of possibilities in my campaigns. There are a lot of alternatives to the evil electricity dealing monster, though. Nearly all cultures in the world have a variant or form of Will-O'-Wisp's in their folklore. A quick Google search reveals lots and lots of options. 361

Wraith "...no..." "What ye say, Da?" "...more..." "Ye know I dun much care the scarin' games, ol' beard..." "...PAIN..." Introduction When a mortal creature steeped in sin dies its soul passes into the Lower Planes to suffer a punishing fate. However, sometimes a soul is so vile, malicious, and disgusting that even the Lords of Hell will politely decline. Such a soul collapses under the weight of its own darkness, ripping a hole in space. Nothing, not even light, can enter or exit this pit in reality. This "sphere of annihilation" consumes all color, life, and light from its surroundings, and you should weep for the poor creature that touches one. Once the sphere has consumed enough, black tendrils will leak from it like liquid darkness eventually giving it form, if one could even call the act such, as an ethereal black remnant of its past self: a wraith. Physiological Observations The wraith possesses little in features beyond the two empty orbs of dimmed light the author struggles to call eyes. These float eerily still in a bed of black wisps that move into a shape reminiscent of the wraith's mortal body when the wraith takes action. Upon looking into these eyes even the most virtuous of heroes have fled or shriveled, for an absolute shattering despair will fill the mortal soul. A wraith's body is a thing of oblivion- of nothingness. Looking upon the form of a wraith would confer the image of solid yet vapor-like darkness, for the wraith is a void in physical space and thus can freely float above and slither through solid objects as if they were not there. However, the wraith will avoid silvered objects or shafts of sunlight that creep into their dark haunting grounds as if these would cause it pain. The touch of a wraith will drain vitality from any living thing, and creatures with strong enough souls to feed its hunger for life energy suffer a fate worse than death: they rise from the dead as specters, spirits of hatred hellbent on pursuing the wraith's goals of annihilation. If a wraith haunts for centuries unchallenged, the amount of life energy it has consumed will have fueled its growth into the most powerful form of spectral undead: the Dread Wraith. Such an abomination possesses all the strengths of a wraith but amplified to a degree that challenges even the most powerful liches and vampires the world has ever feared. Social Observations A wraith will not acknowledge other wraiths or greater undead that do not share its urge to destroy, but it can and will easily command lesser undead with a shriek of some otherworldly tongue that even the most dedicated of necromancers have yet to understand. This shriek is so powerful that it instantly kills simple creatures and causes a deafening ringing in the ears. Though possessing the intelligence to do so, a wraith does not freely speak. If words echo from its hollow tendrils, they are usually cryptic or cries of anguish and hate. Rumors abound of folk who have chased after the spirits of loved ones with the hope of putting them to rest, only to find their words giving a brief pause to the wraith before it set upon them. This would allude to the possibility of wraiths retaining some semblance of memory of their former life. Perhaps, if a connection between a wraith and a living creature were strong enough... Behavioral Observations Wraiths harbor a single motivation: the hatred of all living things. The wraith will not tolerate the presence of life and will take any action necessary to kill and consume the life energy of anything within reach. The cries of an attacking wraith seem to indicate its broken soul being torn with rage over its death, and that nothing else should be allowed to live if it cannot. Maybe this jealousy is the only justice that could be visited upon such a wretched soul. Once the sun has set, a wraith will freely stalk in the open night but is careful to avoid direct exposure to moonlight. This is a tactic wraiths use to ensure their stealth, and that any living prey they hunt cannot determine darkness from death. Once the sun rises, the wraith will have retreated to haunt a dark place where the living may yet trod and those who survived the night will awaken to see a land withered and blasted by the wraith's necrotic touch. It is often that just the presence of a stalking wraith will be enough to starve and kill off settlers. A wraith's approach to its desire to kill depends entirely on the situation: they are adaptable in their tactics and so do not strictly stalk or haunt in dark tombs. Their ability to command lesser undead combined with their aboveaverage intelligence makes the wraith a formidable commander and true threat to life on a grand scale. Inter-Species Observations The wraith sees life as an affront to its suffering. Everything must die. No exceptions. 362

D M ' s To o lkit T h e w r ait h m a k e s a n e x c elle n t villain fo r g a m e s in t h e e a rly a n d mid le v els, a n d c a n e a sily b e a d j u s t e d t o fit t h e la t e tie r. It c a n b e a vicio u s s olo s t alk e r b rin gin g h o r r o r t o y o u r g a m e, o r a c o m m a n d e r - t y p e t h a t p u t s t h e p r e s s u r e o n t h e p a r t y a n d it s a t t e m p t s t o s a v e t h e kin g d o m. T h e M o n s t e r M a n u al ( u n fo r t u n a t ely ) la c k s t h e fle xibilit y o f w r ait h t e m pla t e s a n d t h e D u n g e o n M a s t e r's G uid e p r o vid e s a n u n s a tis fa c t o r y a m o u n t o f t o ols t o a d d r e s s t his. So, to develop on the wraith: Consider allowing the wraiths o f s p ellc a s t e r s t o r e t ain t h eir s p ellc a s tin g a bilitie s a n d s p ells. As above, but with features. If the wraith is o f a p r o min e n t N P C wit h P C -lik e fe a t u r e s, s c ale a c c o r din gly b u t allo w t h e w r ait h a c c e s s t o t h e m. A wraith has only shards of memory of its forme r life, but that could be enough. Invoke Tolkien by giving your wraith the ability to see the invisible creatures. Darkvision and a weak passive just do not cut it. Perhaps wraiths can choose when they can interact with solid objects, opening the opportunity for wraiths with weapons and items. Apply a wraith-like template to non-humanoid creatures like dragons, beholders, or centaurs for some extra flavor. The author has taken the liberty of implementing the sphere of annihilation as part of the wraith's evolution, and has done so because such has proven successful in his own games and he recommends a similar practice. Additionally, consider modifying your wraith to better model the plane they died on (if somewhere other than default fantasy world). Examples include: elemental wraiths, angelic wraiths, demonic wraiths, and fey wraiths. 3 6 3

Wyvern "It snatched up a cow last week, but it wouldn't be bold enough to snatch one of us would it greg?... greg?" --Last words of an Unknown guardsman of the town Starstand Graceful and vicious hunters of the sky. The wyvern spreads fear amongst its prey and adventurers with its ferocity, its speed, and its deadly tail. Wyverns are known to quickly snatch up their prey (or an unwary adventurer) and take it to a safe place to eat. Therefore it is not unlikely to spot a wyvern in the air carrying off its prey. Physiological Observations The wyvern is a large flying dragonkin, its whole body and tail is covered in relatively thick scales, it has to arms/forelegs that have grown into wings, these are not covered in the same kind of scale, but a more leathery sort. The size of a wyvern can be deceptive. The full body length of the wyvern is approximately 15 feet. However, about half this length is from the wyvern's tail. The tails reach is not to be underestimated. There have been spotted both much larger specimens and much smaller, however these could have been either wyvern hatchlings, or dragons. There is not enough research to back up either. There is no apparent size variation between the male and the female wyvern, however, the male wyvern is usually covered in spikes and scales that are more prominent than the female, the wyvern seen above is a male wyvern. In younger specimens, it can be hard to determine sex from the scales since they will not have fully developed on neither the male nor the female. The color variation of wyverns is usually adapted to whatever terrain in which it is residing. The colors spotted on wyverns are usually dark green, brown or red. While arctic wyverns are very rarely seen, they have been proven to exist, and they have a very light grey/white color scheme. Wyverns living at the coast are usually in more blue color. It is unknown whether the wyverns slowly change their own color, or if the color is passed down genetically. The wyvern has two forms of movement, flight, and walking/running, the wyverns with their small forearms they move very clumsily on the ground compared to their elegance in the air. In flight a wyvern is very fast and agile, this is why they are some of the most successful arial hunters in the world. The agility and speed displayed when hunting is most fascinating, and is not portrayed anywhere else in the fauna of our world. Wyverns have been seen flying past enemies, flipping over in air, and jabbing them with the stinger. Sociological Observations Wyverns are not social at all, there are only 3 events that can make it possible to find several wyverns at one location The wyverns have just hatched and the mother is nursing them The wyverns are mating/fighting for a mate (however this is very rare since wyvern's territories are large, and they rarely meet unless mating A very large animal has died nearby and they have all come to feast (this too is a very rare occurrence, but a wyverns smell and vision is quite impressive, making it able to scent a prey (especially a large one) from very far away) if this is to happen, the wyverns will most likely fight and mate there, creating a very rare and not very long lasting, wyvern colony. ###Behavioral Observations When a wyvern is hunting it will usually stay in the air about 1800-2200 feet above the ground while searching for prey, once movement is spotted, it will descend slowly at first, to get a closer look at its possible prey, if the wyvern decides to engage, it will dive towards its prey, and attempt to snatch it off the ground. Once grabbed the wyvern will either sting the prey with its stinger or crush it with its powerful talons, to subdue it. Wyverns have been known to drop prey from very high altitudes to kill it, however this is very rare, and we have not yet discovered why they sometimes do this, it may be just for sport, and it may be for an entirely different reason. Wyverns will unless forced to by sustaining serious injuries not stop chasing their prey until caught, or unable to. Wyverns will however always prefer to stay in the air and not fight on the ground, their clumsy movement on the ground makes them much weaker than in the air, once on the ground a wyvern will fight much more defensively, staying low, hissing with its tail above its head ready to strike. Wyverns can live up to 400 years, one specimen has been known to live to 523 but that was a onetime scenario. Wyverns will reach sexual maturity at 2.5 years of age, but mating at this age is very uncommon. Most wyverns will not mate until at least 5. When a female and a male wyvern meets it is a very calm process unless another male is involved, if another male is there to compete the male wyverns will start by displaying their wings, and stingers whilst hissing, roaring, and raising their scales to look bigger, if no wyverns back down they will start fighting, when wyverns fight they do not intend each other's death, however this is often how it ends, since the wyverns fight in the air, it is not uncommon for one of them to get a torn wing, and fall to its death. Whily wyverns can be tamed doing so is a very difficult task. Wyverns have a very explosive temperament, and it doesn't take much for a wyvern trainer to become wyvern fodder. Intra-Species Observations The wyvern eats everything that it can kill, it is too impatient, ant to feral compared to its larger cousins the dragons, to wait and communicate with its prey, if it can kill it; it will. Do not attempt to calm down a wyvern that's attacking you, you're not going to succeed 364

DM's Toolkit Wyverns can prove a very hard challenge or a relatively easy one, changing from a CR of 4-8 depending on the circumstances and what party is fighting it. If the party consists primarily of ranged adventurers or casters, taking a wyvern on out in the open is not that hard. However, if the party is more melee based, an airborne wyvern, can be an almost impossible challenge, whereas a wyvern in an enclosed space is a relatively easy task for a bunch of fighters and barbarians, it will prove a formidable adversary for a party of sorcerers, wizards and rangers. Therefore, it is up to the DM to decide how to fight the wyvern. Wyverns have before been used to experiment on by mad scientists or wizards, granting them a poison breath weapon or another enhancement, this is a handy way to surprise a party, or just simply raise the CR of the beast. Role-play situations: a member of the party can attempt to tame a wyvern for a riding animal, this will require a lot of time, and is very difficult, it will prove much easier if the wyvern is hatched with the player. This will include daily rolls, which will become increasingly harder, and fails will range from, the wyvern escaping, to the player being eaten. 365

Xorn "The most important piece of equipment to bring with you into the deep sections of this mine is the provided purse of gemstones. The mine comes rather close to the Underdark and is oft frequented by Xorn. A few gemstones in your pocket to feed them can be the difference between life and death, as well as between profit or loss for the mine, so never forget them!" --Excerpt from a Miner's Manual Introduction The Xorn are in many ways as to the Elemental Plane of Earth as an awakened pack of wolves would be to an Elven forest. Both can be terrifying to see, the latter for its historical perception and the former for its outwardly appearance; if a party gets past that hurdle, then both are pleasant conversationalists with interesting information about their lands that can be shared; and both can turn ravenous, violent, and absolutely deadly if encountered in the wrong situation or provoked. The difference being that a pack of starving wolves specifically want the flesh off an adventurer's bones, while the Xorn wants something far closer and dearer to an the adventurers' heart; their gold. Physiological Observations Xorn are native to the Elemental Plane of Earth and this otherworldliness is readily apparent in their anatomy. They frequently have three arms, three legs, and three eyes spread across their barrel-like torso, capped off with a mouth on the top; though there are infrequent variations, the number of limbs and eyes always match up. They evolved to deal with their native plane and the burrowing that is their main form of movement; their mouth and arms are configured for three dimensional space where forward is the most important direction. Woe be to those caught in the path of a Xorn, mouth and three mighty claws all pointed at them. Their hide is unnaturally strong, more resilient than plate armor, yet supple and smooth to cut away nearly all friction. As such, it is nearly impossible to slice through with even mighty blows sliding off the hide leaving almost no scratch. Arcane and other master smiths, especially the Duergar, value Xorn hide above nearly all others when searching for rare materials from which to create light and some medium armors. Xorn are slow creatures, however, even in their favored habitat of burrowing. Their connection with the Elemental Plane of Earth allows them to travel through the depths of the rock and soil without disturbing the material as it passes; it becomes one with the earth and passes uninterrupted through it. On worked stone, however, they will leave tell-tale signs of their passing, though to the untrained eye they may appear as areas of natural erosion or the shifting of the earth. Xorn eat precious metals and gems as their standard fare, unable to digest any organic material. This diet likely makes their hide as strong as it is, and makes them terrifying to those possessed of wealth. They can smell gold and other metal and stone wealth from quite a distance away, and can pinpoint its exact location once within a short distance. Magical attempts to breed Xorn with other species in order to create a hybrid creature with this ability to sniff out wealth yet without the appetite for inorganic material have been so far unsuccessful, but are a common pastime among insane and greedy wizards. Social Observations Social Observations Xorn are usually solitary creatures who graze on the fields of growing precious stones and metals in their home of the Plane of Earth. As long as food is abundant, as is the case in the Plane of Earth, they are quite docile creatures unless provoked. They are very territorial, but most confrontations between Xorn over territory are quickly solved by sizing each other up; confrontations with non-Xorn can be much trickier. They will allow travelers to pass without notice, however, so long as their food sources are untouched. Xorn are capable of speech and will often converse with those interested, sharing their knowledge of the lands in exchange for gold or other edible wealth. By most reports they are incredibly strange yet likable creatures. However, they rarely speak any language aside from that of the Plane of Earth, rendering all but the most erudite of scholars unable to communicate with a Xorn. Unlike many elemental creatures, Xorn mate to reproduce, leading some to speculate that they might have originally been from the material plane, possibly even descended from rust monsters, and adapted over many timeless ages to the Plane of Earth. They are hermaphroditic most of their lives but take on a gender only during mating season; the younger Xorn who wander across territories typically become male, while the older Xorn with more territory to themselves become female so as to better provide for and rear the young. They quite fortunately mate while underground and passing through the earth, for the sight of them doing so would likely be too much for a mortal mind to bear. The female lays between 2- 4 eggs in a nest deep underground and surrounded by precious stones and metals, the eggs themselves created from and adorned with the most precious and valuable of materials. The young are capable of hatching and fending for themselves upon birth, but the mother Xorn checks in on the eggs from time to time and takes a more protective role after the young hatch. The eggs, both the shells after hatching but especially unhatched and preserved, are often among the most valuable items in a Dao's treasury due to their rarity, difficulty in obtaining, and pure opulence. A Xorn which has unfortunately been removed from the Plane of Earth, be it by accident or the meddling of the more powerful (they would never leave intentionally), is a much more desperate creature. They travel deep within the earth, often through the Underdark or nearby particularly deep mines, searching for sustenance. Even the wealthiest mines rarely provide enough of a diet for a Xorn, and as such will seek out great concentrations of wealth in the forms of dungeon stashes, wealthy storehouses, and unsuspecting adventurers who carry all their wealth on their backs. It will try to trade for or beg for food as a first resort, but often due to communication problems and to most recoiling from the Xorn's horrific appearance, it will quickly turn to intimidation and force to obtain its meal. 366

Behavioral Observations As long as they are well fed, Xorn are docile creatures, not immediately friendly but neither are they rude or cruel. They cannot be tamed, but they can be made to respect boundaries with a little bit of friendship and courtesy. Xorn prefer to stay below ground, emerging only into deep dungeons and mines in the pursuit of food. It is exceptionally rare to see them above ground on the material plane, though they can more frequently be found on what constitutes 'above ground' in the Plane of Earth. So long as they are not provoked or their food source taken, a Xorn will remain apathetic to others crossing its territory. If challenged, it will rear itself up and wave its arms, stomping in rhythm, to attempt to scare the intruder away; this is how two Xorn would size each other up to determine a territorial dispute. If this is ineffective, the Xorn may attack, especially if it feels bigger, using its burrowing to ambush targets with a barrage of quick attacks before disappearing into the earth again. It will use that burrowing to escape as well if the battle goes poorly. Inter-Species Observations Xorn infrequently interact with other species, or even with other Xorn, because of their preference to live as one with the earth, swimming through the stone and dirt as a fish through water. Their high tremorsense means that they are capable of avoiding dangerous tunneling monsters that share space with them, like Purple Worms. Few others truly venture into their realms. Those that do include the Dao and Duergar, neither of which much care for Xorn. Dao often find ways to establish boundaries between Xorn and their treasuries, usually through intimidation more so than violence. Duergar, however, prefer violence as Xorn hides are valuable components to masterwork armor. A wizard or other adventurer capable of speaking in the Xorn's native tongue should find a creature willing to trade information for wealth. They are not particularly talkative, and any discussion with one should be a slightly surreal and mind-bending experience, but repeated courteous contact could produce something like a friendship. A starving Xorn stuck on the material plane is very unlikely to form these sorts of bonds, but helping it return to the Plane of Earth would earn its eternal gratitude. DM's Toolkit A Xorn is an excellent enemy for hoarder PCs, for nothing strikes more fear into that style of player than watching their probably ill-begotten wealth devoured and made irrecoverable. They can appear on a deep dungeon dive or in the Underdark, but could be used sparingly in other situations. They have a very high AC, formidable HP, and a resistance to non-magical slashing and piercing that will confound and imperil low-magic parties. In parties with mages, use their burrowing speed to disappear into the ground, taking the opportunity attacks as they vanish and trusting their AC and high HP to hold out, and appear underneath an unsuspecting PC with multiple ambush attacks. Used like this, they should be far more dangerous than any other CR 5 monster and remain a dangerous enemy for some time. Even once badly outclassed by PCs, a Xorn can still use its burrowing and camouflage to threaten the gold stores of a party that doesn't invest their winnings, pushing a party to become more invested in other aspects of the world. Capitalize on the contradictory nature of the Xorn. They are terrifying to behold and should instantly strike fear into those who do not know of them just from their description. Yet they are simply hungry and would rather find their meal peacefully, creating some moral tension. On a meta-level, your players might not know of Xorn, so could truly surprise them. As a kindaelemental, the PC knowledge check concerning them should be Arcana, but because of their rarity it should be a difficult check to make. 367

Yeti Beware! Tread not the mountain's snow-- Beyond the treeline you must not go. Winds will whip and frost will flow, And worst of all you are not alone. For something lurks in peaks of sky; Icy eyes watching from on high, Swirling snows mask muffled cries Of careless men, doomed to die. Into the night, the creature goes, Red blood staining the soft white snow. --From the Song of the Sherpa, Shou-Lung folktune Introduction Legends tell of a terrifying beast that stalks and harries lonely mountain travellers. In most of those legends, said beast is simia abominabiles, more commonly known as the Yeti, a cunning, brutal apex predator that dominates the high passes and snowy canyons of great mountains with a blood-curdling howl. The Yetis' origin itself has been debated amongst mountaineers and sages for years. It has been speculated that Yeti are some kind of primitive race of wild mountainmen, their advanced and magical society cursed to decay into degradation and barbarity by forgotten gods, their once proud and noble people now savage monsters. Other, darker stories say that each Yeti is the spirit of a mountain traveller who betrayed or abandoned their companions to death in the icy snows, now doomed to forever wander the mountain slopes in a constant search for warmth and blood, their hunger to never be sated. It is difficult to find concrete evidence of either theory, but mountain villagers have been known to speak of forgotten temples and abandoned cities high in the mountains. Perhaps a brave party of adventurers could finally put the debate over the Yeti's origin to rest. . . Physiological Observations The largest Yeti slain, examined, and preserved, the Nerath Snow-Man, was 8 feet tall, and unfortunately as a scientific specimen was lost when that empire fell. Despite this precedent, eyewitness accounts and sightings have spoke of Yetis that are much larger and much more terrifying. These have yet to be confirmed. A Yeti is a hulking ambush predator built for endurance and the hunt. Each Yeti is covered in layers of thick, white, matted fur, designed to both keep the creature warm and to help it blend in to its snowy surroundings. Wide, padded feet keep it from sinking into deep drifts, and powerful muscles cord across its legs and back, allowing it to move swiftly. Its arms and legs end in wicked, business-looking claws, which contrast as a deep black against the stark white of their fur. A Yeti possesses a mouth full of large, sharp teeth, with canine fangs resembling that of other large carnivores. This is where the similarities between the Yeti and an ordinary mountain animal end, however, as an examination of the monster's eyes betray hints of a cold, calculating cunning. Wizards and magi who argue for the creature's origin as the byproduct of a curse resulting from the betrayal of one's companions have pointed to these eyes as proof, as they are a bright, almost electric blue that cut through the snow and are visible despite the Yeti's other strong camouflage mechanisms, often betraying the creature as a perceptive adventurer spots two telltale pinpricks of bright blue light. It has been theorized that these eyes have the capabilities to see heat sources through magical means, as how else would the predator be able to track its prey through the blizzards of its chosen hunting ground? Others have argued that the Yeti's uncanny ability to track its victims is through a superior sense of smell. If there is a Yeti language, it is unknown. What is known is that what is first heard of the creature is almost always its trademark howl, a sound that serves multiple functions. The first is that it terrifies victims, often causing them to panic and betray their position. Additionally, it may serve as a warning to other Yetis that the howler is in the area, and to steer clear of its territory. Whatever the case, following the howling a solitary Yeti attack is almost always imminent. A Yeti's claws are made of thick black bone and can inflict horrific bleeding wounds on opponents. Likewise, dried blood and guts from previously eviscerated victims can cause infections in wounds of survivors of a Yeti attack. If possible, a Yeti will always eat its kill, though it prefers warm meat to scavenging, A Yeti takes disturbing care to wipe its mouth and fur of blood in order to maintain camouflage. Social Observations A Yeti is a solitary hunter. In fact, no conclusive evidence has ever been provided of more than one Yeti hunting together, despite unsubstantiated tales of bloody and protracted Yeti-on-Yeti battles or packs of the creatures. Indeed, it is rare to find Yeti skeletons or remains at all in the mountains, let alone groups of Yeti bones, and it has been theorized that Yeti are not subjected to any sort of family or social bonds. This raises the issue of how the creatures reproduce, or even if they reproduce at all. It is possible that the beasts enter some kind of deep hibernation in hidden refuges together, at which in the end culminates in the birth of offspring. It is then the parents may abandon their Yeti cubs and become solitary hunters once again. If this theory is true, then a party of brave adventurers may seek to bring peace to a mountain by tracking the Yeti to its hibernation burrow and destroying it there. It is unlikely that the Yeti have any sort of broader social hierarchy, although they certainly portray a level of cunning sentience that must allow for some crude level of creative thought. A Yeti most likely marks out its territory through its own trademark howl, although there are reports of crude bone or stone markers in the form of intricate inukshuks scratched with strange markings that are said to form the boundaries between Yeti lands. If these markings belay a Yeti language is a mystery with dire consequences. 368

Behavioural Observations It is difficult to come across prey in the mountains, and as such the Yeti will attack almost anything that it comes across. This includes even large or well-armed groups, with the Yeti resorting to ambush tactics to appear suddenly and drag victims away from their friends into the whiteness, only to attack minutes or hours later as the terrified party struggles to regroup. This desperation can often serve as the Yeti's greatest weakness, as a well-prepared and perceptive party can lure a Yeti into a trap. Despite their cunning, a Yeti injured in such a fight who is able to retreat will almost always return, despite its wounds, to exact terrible revenge on those that got the best of it. A Yeti's hunting ground can range many dozens of miles wide, often covering important or well-traversed mountain passes. Their tough climbing claws, padded feat and strong muscles make traversing such large hunting areas easy. They often keep a hunting ground for life. Intra-Species Observations Yeti mostly work alone. This is due partly to their desire to not split their kills and also to their vicious temperament. This means that whenever other monsters are encountered with a Yeti, they are almost always undead or magical. This includes chillborn ghosts or zombies, remnants of a Yeti's victims who haunt the area of their death. In rare cases, some particularly inventive monsters, such as frost kobolds or mountain orcs, seek to manipulate the Yeti into serving as muscle or a guard beast for their lair. This almost ends badly, although there has been at least one famous documented case of a white dragon manipulating a Yeti into serving it, allowing it to guard its lair in return for the locations of victims and prey. Despite these rare exceptions, most mountain monstrous races, such as the Yak-Folk, avoid the Yeti at all costs. Variant Specie(s) Another apex predator adapted to an entirely different climate, the Sasquatch (simia magnus pedem) is found in the low hills and great rainforests of temperate coastal regions. Similarities between the Sasquatch and Yeti can be noted in the former's icy blue eyes, hulking figure, and brutal cunning. Despite these similarities, some differences have been noted between the Sasquatch and their mountain cousins. They have thick brown or mottled fur, are 1-2 feet shorter and are less heavily muscled. Likewise, they lack the Yeti's trademark howl, possessing instead a chilling low whistle that they use to coordinate and plan attacks, often right in the darkness around adventurers' campsites. As they are more social than Yeti, they will work and hunt together in pairs or trios, thus becoming an even more deadly threat. DM's Toolkit As you may be able to tell, I find the Yeti works best as an extremely scary monster with lots of buildup. Although you can really make a Yeti variation for any climate (such as the Sasquatch above), I find that they give off the best feeling of being hunted for my PCs in their original habitat of huge snowy mountains. I like to use the Yeti to make travel through mountains an adventure in itself, as the constant harrying, howling and hunting can lead the PCs to undertaking all sorts of challenges or efforts to deal with the monster hunting them. Likewise, the final terrifying Yeti battle can serve as the climax for taking a mountain shortcut, and the fate of being dragged off into blinding whiteness I find makes the threat of the Yeti to be something my heroes are always scared of. Despite my descriptions of Yeti as apex predators, they're actually quite easy to fit into a lower-level campaign. This is because I find the real thrill of a Yeti enemy is not in the fight itselfthe Yeti is simply a large melee opponent in an encounter- but rather in the terrifying steps it takes to stalk and harass its prey. This means that you can have a much weaker Yeti who is equally as scary, as long as you play him right. Another reason why I like the Yeti is that he gives survival and perception heroes an important role in preparing for a fight against him, rather than simply the fighters or wizards. Traps can be laid, blue eyes can be watched for, and howls can be shivered at. I find that the inclusion of a Yeti almost always adds enjoyable sidequests and thrills, chills and spill into my DnD games, and that they are an underrated monster that can give an awesome Himalayan campaign flavour if mixed with YakFolk, Sherpa NPCs, ice elementals, winter wolves, remorhaz, white dragons, and the like. They're loads of fun to include into an adventure, and I hope you'll be hitting your PCs with a Yeti's horrifying howl soon enough! 369

Yuan-Ti The yuan-ti cast off their humanity long ago, and with it, their sanity. Introduction Once they were merely men, but faith and time are a dangerous combination. In the early days of civilization, the yuan-ti tribe flourished and their empire spread through the swamps, jungles, and deserts of the world. From those earliest days, the yuan-ti revered the snake for its ability to survive all climes, to wait patiently for weeks without food, and to subdue and consume creatures several times their size. In this worship, the yuan-ti preached a philosophy that valued stoicism and poise combined with a deadly, calculating violence when necessary. While these attitudes and beliefs led to great achievements and wealth, it also poisoned and corrupted. The yuan-ti priests and sorcerers further adopted the ways of the snakes, including cannibalism, and practiced alchemy with the poison and bodies of serpents. Eventually, they came to mingle with the form and spirit of these totemic animals and the mysterious gods who favored them, becoming more snake than man. The chosen members who successfully transformed turned against those who could - or would - not, drastically reducing the number of their own kind for the sake of purification. In this reduced state, the yuan-ti empire became susceptible to their enemies, forcing a retreat into only the most secluded and remote towns and temples. These remaining cults worship and experiment with renewed focus and dedication, not merely to return to their former glory but to surpass and become more than mine, more than even serpents, but gods instead. Physiological Observations Yuan-ti society is divided into three castes based on the extent of their serpentine nature [it should be noted that the class labels were assigned by external observers and reflect certain biases; it is not known how or if the yuan-ti label the castes internally, only that they observe strict social and cultural practice that recognize the same differences cataloged here]: The most transformed are Abominations, who resemble humans only in their trunk (heart, ribs, lungs, etc.) and the remaining presence of two strong arms. Abominations are completely covered in scales, have long tails (sometimes with rattles), and fully serpentine heads. Like true snakes, they smell with their long tongue and produce poison emitted through two long fangs. The most common yuan-ti are Malison, who appear as practically fifty-fifty splits between snake and human. Typically, these remain apparently human from the neck down, showing all four limbs and having human musculature. Their heads tend to be fully serpentine, displaying the same tongue-scenting and poison-fang features as full Abominations. Often, scaling is present even on the human parts. Other Malisons retain their human skull structure and instead exhibit their snakenature by having a scaly tail in place of legs. Because this form is more human in its facial and neural structures, it is seen as less advantageous and desirable, thus forming a lower-middle class. So-called Purebloods are the lowest caste of yuan-ti as they retain the most human form (a species for which they can occasionally pass if adequately disguised/stealthy). Purebloods show their yuan-ti nature by their scaly skin, serpentine eyes, and/or forked tongues. All yuan-ti shed their skins annually. Malison save their skins to use as material for packaging or crafting traps. Abomination skins are burned as sacrifices. Purebloods shed haphazardly (as their scales are less robust and consistent), the remnants of which they bury in shame. Social Observations The strict yuan-ti hierarchy is immediately evident. Abominations are rarely seen outside their temples and certainly never stray far. Purebloods serve Abominations, bringing them food, information, and materials (including kidnapped outsiders). Malison live similarly to other humanoids in free standing homes arranged around their temple and occasionally even founding businesses. Still, their life is organized around religious servitude and they prefer a hunter-gatherer lifestyle with lots of fight training (though they lack an organized military). Yuan-ti do not hold or attend religious service, as such, but every individual is sure to visit the temple every few days, reaffirming their commitment and asking for orders from the Abominations. High ranking Malison sometimes have Pureblood servants, which is a regular cause of concern for the local priests. Young yuan-ti are educated at home or in the temple, dependent on their class. Familiar ties are almost entirely ignored otherwise; young Abominations and Pureblood are immediately taken to the temple to fulfill their station while young Malison are raised until able to survive on their own (usually between 15 and 20 years of age). Said education consists only in survival techniques (hunting, etc.) and the ways of the snake (especially the ruling stoic philosophy). Converted yuan-ti generally become Pureblood and are thus subjugated by the Abomination priests. If a convert becomes a Malison, it is permitted to live with a high ranking Malison family for five years, at which time it must establish its own home. Converts are heavily immersed in stoic philosophy and manual labor, but are then readily accepted into the class of their physical characters after their first year or two. Elderly yuan-ti Purebloods are sacrificed once they are no longer useful to their masters. Malison leave each other to their own devices, so the elder are left to die of natural causes or their own mishaps. In general, yuan-ti have no medicine and pay no thought to healing each other. An elderly yuan-ti has never been seen outside a temple, so nothing is known what becomes of them or how they are treated (or if such a thing exists). Behavioral Observations Yuan-ti are notoriously secretive, appearing untrusting and untrusting at even the best of time. Their harsh, sibilant speech is nearly impossible to learn for outsiders. They rarely gather in groups of more than four, relying on tradition, faith, and intuition to guide their actions rather than conversation or consensus. No outsider has ever entered a yuan-ti temple and left alive unless successfully converting, thus nothing is known about the actions, conversations, or relationships within. 370

Malison interbreed regularly, but it is near impossible to produce viable offspring. The females produce a single offspring (like humans) which comes out as an egg. More often than not, the egg is malformed (i.e. the shell is too weak); even if the offspring grows within the egg, it rarely survive after struggling to break the egg. When offspring do survive, they are subjected to harsh scrutiny by Abominations and are sacrificed if not clearly corresponding to one of the established classes. Only Purebloods need to eat on a daily basis, but they are given little more than scraps and what they can scavenge. Thus, they tend to eat bugs and plants they grow nearby and which can be collected during their brief downtime. Malison and Abominations eat weekly, or less often, and are exclusively carnivorous. Lower ranking Malison are tasked with hunting for food (other Malison hunt often for sport). Malisons make donations of food to their temple roughly every other day, never sure if the meat is being consumed by the priests or given to the gods. Intra-Species Observations Yuan-ti barely tolerate the existence of other even semiintelligent species, believing themselves to be the epitome of creation. It is only their reduced population and insular focus that keeps them from actively pursuing the destruction of all other civilizations. Special hatred is reserved for nagas, those great sentient and immortal serpents. Yuan-ti are occasionally visited and harassed by couatl, divine winged serpents who would rid the world of yuan-ti evil if it were in their power and mandate to do so. Some yuan-ti tribes actively hunt other creatures for food (including slaadi and bullywugs), but most prefer to keep themselves and their temples secret. Outsiders are occasionally allowed to pledge themselves to a yuan-ti temple and undergo ritual transformation (humans are the most likely candidates). This is most likely to occur at outlying yuan-ti settlements suffering from dwindling population and for individuals who have already demonstrated an evil disposition and have no stable connections to the outside world. DM's Toolkit A standard yuan-ti NPC will always be lawful evil. That said, they are rarely hostile and violent to start. Viewing others as weak, yuan-ti attempt first to manipulate others or lure them with promises of wealth and power. If resisted or pressed, yuan-ti will attack viciously. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible to manipulate, persuade, or intimidate yuan-ti without powerful magic. Appeals to emotion or family have zero effect, and they will never believe anyone but another yuan-ti with anything about their faith. Fighting yuan-ti can be extremely difficult. Purebloods are the easiest, as they lack much strength and will never be defended by any other yuan-ti (that is, even other Purebloods will attempt to flee before coming to the aid of fellow Purebloods). Malisons will attack in a group if encountered as such, but rarely ask for or are given reinforcements. [When encountering multiple Malisons, you should mix-and-match the three types,] When threatened, Malison can assume a more serpentine form and bite (with poison) in addition to using weapons. If an Abomination is attacked, it will be readily defended by any Malison and Pureblood in the vicinity. The Pureblood will attack recklessly, paying no mind to their own survival, while the Malison are far more cunning. Remember that patience is a snake's, and thus a yuan-ti's, greatest asset. 371

Yugoloth "A regiment of devils. A horde of demons. A company of yugoloths. The reason for this grammatical distinction will soon become obvious" --Archmage Baldirk, beginning a lecture on the Lower Planes "Fuck You, Got Mine." --Attributed originally to an unidentified Mezzoloth Introduction All right, basher - you want to know the real dark of the yugoloths? I normally don't shed clueless primes, but for the amount of jink you've spent I'll make an exception. Park your ears and listen to the tale of the First One, the General of Gehenna, or as some like to call him "the unselfish Yugoloth." We'll begin with the Yugola coven, a really nasty coven of hags that ran the show in Hades several thousand cycles back. These whistlers were not your ordinary coven of night hags - they had lore even the aboleths hadn't heard of, and thousands of sods owed skins to them throughout the planes. Anyway, this coven had frequent dealings with Asmodeus, and one day the lord of the Nine Hells comes to em with a proposal. One a his had discovered a cache of souls that predated the multiverse. Sounds like barkle, right? "Before the multiverse?" Don't ya worry, I ain't selling ya a piece of cake. Seems that before this multiverse existed, there was another one. Didn't last long, not that there's any way to tell apart from what the bloody ticklers tell us. The chant is that the inhabitants of this place done wrung it dry of resources, then got into a war with each other and destroyed the whole thing. The multiverse that came after it - the one wot we live in now - is much more stable, and you seen enough of the Cage to know thats really sayin something. Anyway, back to Asmodeus. He's found this cache of, notquite-souls predating the multiverse - let's call em protosouls - and he don't know what-all they're good for. Gives em to the Yugola coven to experiment on. "Show me a use for these," sez he, and the Yugola coven takes the protosoul and gets to work experimentin and stretching it to the rakers. The first yugoloth - what would one day come ta be known as the General - was a crude thing. Shaped roughly like a man, with no features what to speak of. Hags dinna bother givin the soul-bag a mouth or nose, why would he need those things? He didn't need to eat and they weren't sure they wanted him talkin - his role was to take orders, not give em. They threw im together, pushed a proto-soul in, and gave im the spark of life. And like that, instant servant. They tested the General, mind you. Mistreated im, beat im, forced im to do horrible things to imself an others. He do alla their commands without nary a peep, ands still loyal. So the Yugola coven goes to Asmodeus and sez "We kin make these powerful servants for you with them protosouls, and if you give us the rest, we'll make ya an army. Lease it to ya too, dirt cheap." Now Asmodeus don't particularly like those terms, but he can't use them protosouls hisself, so he reckons it's better ta have something than void and takes the deal. And things go as planned. Yugola coven makes bank on the deal and takes over not just alla Hades but also Gehenna. They've got an army leased ta the first devil and they have all kinda jink and skins comin outta their ears. Now I gotta tell ya how tha Yugola coven controlled their army. They used two magic books that gave them control over their servants - the Book of Names ta summon individual Yugoloths, and the Book of Keeping ta give directions to all tha Yugoloths as a whole. Only one what wasn't incribed in the Books was their first experiment, since he was a prototype and they thought he would be like a golem, never thought to give im a name. They also had these trinkets called Hag's Eyes which they would give to their Yugoloth lieutenants ta see through them what was going on. Anyway, hags being what they are, they likes to squabble. Yugola coven cooperated better than most, but you give night hags enough power and it's a sure thing one of them eventually going into the dead-book. So consider that this coven owned two planes. The arguments were terrible. Anyway, they're together at one of their meetings arguing up a storm. Nobody around but the three of them and their most loyal creation, the General (since they don't trust each other to bring third parties not under their control into the meeting). Suddenly, one of them sees the General pull out his Hags Eye token, crush it in one hand, and next thing you know, all three hags are blind. It's only temporary, and for a powerful coven like this only lasts not more than a few minutes. But when the hags regain their sight, the Book of Names is gone, the General has vanished, and the Book of Keeping is on fire, burning to ashes right there. So the hag what seen the General making his move, she rushes to tha Book of Keeping and flips to the last page. Even though it's on fire burnin her hands, she gotta know what the last instructions given to the entire yugoloth army were, since as far as she know, they could all be boxed right there. She turns to the end of the book, and just before it crumbles into ash, she sees the command what the General done scrawled in there. "Live for yourself." And from that day on, the Yugoloths been what they are - a buncha right selfish assholes. Physiological Observations Yugoloths come in many different breeds, as the original hags who created them designed them for many functions. However, as mass-produced creations, every yugoloth of a particular breed is physiologically identical to every other yugoloth of that breed. Every mezzoloth is physiologically exactly the same as every other mezzoloth, just as every nycaloth is physiologically exactly the same as every other nycaloth. Because of this lack of physical individuality, yugoloths constantly strive to assert their personal identity through their clothing and other visual means of expression. They carve tattoos on their bodies, engrave their weapons, dye their hair and skin, have multiple body piercings, and take grisly souvenirs from the various battles and events that they participate in. A mezzoloth might have a suit of armor forged from the various armor scraps that it takes in combat, while an arcanaloth might wear a robe made from the tongues of mages whose souls it has harvested. Yugoloths are very proud of these objects, and to other races it often seems like they define themselves through their possessions. Stealing a yugoloth's prized possessions is like stealing its face - the creature will stop at nothing to get vengeance and recover what it has lost. 372

The two exceptions to this homogeneity are baernoloths and altraloths. A Baernoloth is an incredibly rare yugoloth that has managed to get in touch with the memories of the ancient protosoul that was used to create it. This gives them incredible magical power, and their bodies gradually warp to fit their personality. Baernoloths are the yugoloth equivalent of demon lords or archdevils - they possess vast power, and can even create warlocks through their pacts. Every yugoloth strives to become a baernoloth, not so much for the power as for the distinct identity and status that it gives them. Baernoloths are wise beyond their years - ancient souls in new bodies. They tend to be the leaders of yugoloth society. Altraloths (not to be confused with ultroloths), by contrast, are yugoloths who were unable to become baernoloths, but craved power and an individual identity so fiercely that they made deals with night hags to gain such things. Altraloths tend to have minor mutations (such as additional limbs or sensory organs) as well as some additional magical powers - although nowhere near the power level of a baernoloth. They are respected for their abilities, but most never rise high in yugoloth society because of the contempt that other yugoloths view them with. Social Observations Despite their innate dislike of all other creatures, yugoloths are social creatures because working together allows them to exploit resources much more effectively than going their own way. The closest analogy to Yugoloth society would be a massive dystopian corporation of self-serving sociopathic consultants. When yugoloths have the opportunity for mutual gain, they work together remarkably well - even better than devils do. However, if a yugoloth can do better by screwing over his confederates, he will do so in the blink of an eye. Because of this, yugoloths in leadership positions are experts at creating the right incentives to align the goals of their underlings with their own agendas. Any yugoloth can rise to a leadership position in theory, though in practice only the most intelligent of the yugoloth breeds generally manages to hold a high position for long. The leader of Yugoloth society is called the Oinoloth. Every 347 years, Yugoloths gather at the headquarters of their society - the Crawling City - for a "shareholder's meeting" where they cast their votes to elect the Oinoloth of the next 347 years. This is a very fraught process full of corruption, as the incumbent does his best to use the resources at his disposal to maintain his position, while the other nominees make extravagant promises of what they will do if they are elected. Votes are tallied in public on a spire at the center of the city in front of all the yugoloths gathered there, since no yugoloth would trust the voting process if it happened any other way. Although yugoloth society is generally considered to be an organization of mercenaries, war is simply their most visible business operation. Any opportunity which has the potential for profit may result in a yugoloth "subsidiary business" forming. For example, the baernoloth Charon and his chief operations officer (the mezzoloth Daru Ib Shamiq) run a thriving transportation industry in the lower planes. Anthruxus and Midianchlarus are an altraloth and ultroloth who jointly handle the yugoloth's biological warfare division in Khin-Oin, although they loathe each other and it is only a matter of time before one of them overthrows the other. Behavioral Observations Behavioral Observations A famous method actor who once portrayed a yugoloth said that the best way for him to get into the mindset of a yugoloth was to imagine that whomever he was currently talking to had just made a vicious joke about his mother. Yugoloths have a bad attitude. They don't like anybody other than themselves. The closest a yugoloth can get to friendship is a grudging respect for somebody whom they admire, although they will still turn on such an ally in a heartbeat if it was advantageous to them. Yugoloths who are travelling outside of their home plane while on an extended contract tend to be even more angry than normal, as they leave what they consider to be the most important facet of their individuality - their possessions - behind. This is done for practical reasons; a yugoloth who is killed outside of its home plane reforms on Gehenna, but any possessions or magical items it had are left behind. Because of this, most yugoloths dress very differently when "travelling on assignment." Yugoloths on a job tend to dress in very spartan ways, sometimes even eschewing clothing altogether, whereas yugoloths on their home plane of Gehenna dress in elaborately sumptuous (and sometimes grotesque) attire that stands out even more for its contrast to the bleakness of Gehenna. In order to avoid other yugoloths taking their stuff while they are away on a mercenary contract, one common practice in yugoloth society is the creation of "holding companies" - simply put, a collective of yugoloths that jointly agrees to watch over each other's goods while other members of the collective are away on business. Some yugoloths prefer not to rely on holding companies, either because they do not trust anybody enough to bank their most prized possessions, or because their individuality is so important to them that they wish to take their possessions with them wherever they go. Such yugoloths frequently use magical rituals to imbue their weapons and armor with a bit of their own "protosoul." This gives the weapons a malicious sentience and they actively strive to be reunited with their creator. If the yugoloth loses such a weapon, it will animate, growing limbs and doing anything necessary to be reunited with its owner. Humanoids often mistake these animated weapons for yugoloths themselves, and they are frequently referred to as "battleloths" for that reason. Many yugoloths are surprisingly spiritual, although this spirituality takes a shape that prime plane residents are unfamiliar with. Rather than worshipping deities, yugoloth spirituality revolves around trying to access the memories and identity of the ancient protosoul inside themselves, thus becoming a baernoloth. Of course, there are no yugoloth priests, since yugoloths know that they could never trust another one of their own kind to offer any sort of "salvation" without ulterior motives. The closest their society gets to such things is when an existing baernoloth offers to mentor a yugoloth along the path to "selfactualization" in exchange for a steep cost of tribute and service, although whether this mentoring genuinely helps or is simply a scam is unknown. 373

Intra-Species Observations Any job that needs an expensive and unscrupulous consultant may have a yugoloth involved. In Sigil, the city of doors, Arcanaloths serve as lawyers and information brokers, organized under the chief information officer Shemeshka. In Baator, the ultroloth Harishek ap Thulkesh oversees the production of baatezu weaponry, constantly making improvements and fine-tuning the production process, while in Pandemonium, the flesh-shaping baernoloth Apomps experiments with ways to improve and alter various demon lord's servants, giving that lord a more powerful army. As creatures which gravitate naturally to contractual organizational structures, yugoloths have even been known to hire non-yugoloths as private third-party consultants. For example, yugoloths are known to have various succubi and incubi working for them in order to handle jobs that require a very diplomatic touch. Similarly, many of the "holding companies" that yugoloths employ to guard their possessions are run by non-yugoloths of great power, such as dragons, liches, or beholders. Because of this diversity in their operations, among the lower plane races, yugoloths tend to be the most tolerant of outsiders (where "tolerant" is defined as not immediately attacking and enslaving them.) Yugoloths also have the unique distinction of being hated unilaterally by druids, treants and other creatures that believe in a natural order - perhaps even more so than aberrations. This is because of their uniquely exploitative nature - anything that a yugoloth sees is a resource to be exploited. Streams are dammed to generate power, forests are cut down to make arrows and machines of war, and the earth itself is strip-mined to feed metal to the forges that constantly produce weapons and armor. The concept of conservation is unknown to yugoloths. Some sages hypothesize that this personality trait is a manifestation of the yugoloth protosouls, which came from a race so greedy that they allegedly caused the destruction of their own universe through the wasteful plundering of their own resources. DM's Toolkit Yugoleths are a metaphor for capitalism gone mad; an entire species of fiendish consultants whose identity revolves around what they own. The greed and mistrust of yugoloths is legendary. Because yugoloths can be involved in almost any scheme as long as there is somebody willing to pay, they can easily be involved in any campaign. Don't be afraid to use them in unusual ways. For example, an angel whose servants are stretched thin might have temporarily hired a yugoloth to guard a significant person or object of good. The yugoloth might not be exactly happy about its contract, but as long as the pay is good it will serve loyally. Or a yugoloth might decide that the PCs have exactly the right combination of skills and abilities to serve as external contractors and will offer to hire them for unique contracts that a fiend might have difficulty performing. Because yugoloths are ancient souls in relatively new bodies, they can be played in a variety of ways. If you want to play up the corporate aspect, focus on the rank-and-file of yugoloth society. If you want them to take on more of a diabolical "ancient evil" role, the baernoloths are perfectly suited to such roles. Perhaps they seek to recreate the multiverse that existed before this one. Or perhaps they are secretly manipulating the Blood War in order to study the abstract nature of evil. 374

Zombie "There is a reason we cremate our dead, dear child. For no matter how good or noble a person was in life, it takes but a few wicked words and a touch of dark magic to raise them against their neighbors." -- Mira Goldfire, Paladin of Orn Introduction When a mage first trains in the art of Necromancy, they often begin with the creation of a zombie. A half-rotten corpse which was once a man is now nothing more than a vessel for necrotic magic that gives it the illusion of life. Physiological Observations The typical zombie is little more than a bag of meat filled with necrotic energy. The shuffling corpse can still be a difficult adversary, however, as they lack a dependency on any vital organs. As a result, zombies can be struck down, only to rise again moments later, still fighting a relentlessly as before. Some claim that only way to truly kill a zombie is to remove the head or destroy the brain, while some clerics say that only a blessed weapon or holy water will remove the magic that fuels them. The more practical fighters of the world note that simply beating a zombie into a bloody pulp works for them. Even filled with magic, the body of a man is too weak a form for some. There are those who create zombies from more robust creatures, such as owlbears or minotaur. Tales are even told of a Black dragon who raises zombies from rival dragons he has killed, but that level of magical talent is beyond most mortals. Social Observations Zombies do not think, and are therefore not social. However, they follow orders to the letter, and are relentless in their pursuit of the living. If a group of zombies is ever set loose, they will wander aimlessly in a hoard until something attracts their attentions. Then, like a school of fish, they with shift their direction and pursue this new interest. This behavior can be exploited by clever adventurers who can take turns distracting the zombies and keep them from swarming a single person. Intra-Species Observations Zombies will attempt to kill any living thing unless they are called off by their creator. They are largely disinterested in other undead, but can be found as minions of particularly powerful ones, such as vampires or mummies. Methods of Creation The most simple way for someone to create a zombie is through the use of basic necromancy, such as the Animate Dead spell, but for the more ambitious mage, there are...other ways. There are points of weakness between planes where Negative Energy can seep through. This magic can animate the deceased on its own of the breach is large enough, and some make use of this to quickly raise entire armies of zombies through little effort on their own part. Others perform dark and ancient rituals to strengthen the body before it is raised, or cast additional magic on it after. They may magically bake the body to harden its flesh and make it resistant to normal weapons, or carve evocation glyphs into their skin so that when the zombie gets close to its victim, it explodes on contact. Some say that wicked souls can fight their way out of the frozen river of the damned, clawing their way back into their original body. This fills them with a hunger for the warmth of living flesh, a warmth they will never feel again no matter how many lives they take. DM's Toolkit Zombies are the backbone of most adventures that feature undead. The only down side is their low CR, which makes them difficult to use at higher levels. I'm going to gloss over the basics of using zombies to harass you players at low levels, whether it is using them as minions of a local necromancer, a hoard on the roam, or their friends and family raised as part of some terrible curse. Instead, I have a few suggestions on how to buff the basic zombies provided by the MM. Consider the role a zombie fills in combat and build from there. They are the relentless melee unit. They take the most direct line to the nearest living thing and they attack it until either they or their target dies. So let's build on that. As I mentioned, giving them resistance to things like normal weapons can make them more interesting. Perhaps you really do need a blessed weapon or holy water to kill them, or maybe silver or cold iron weapons. Stacking other spells on top of them works well too. I've used zombies as walking bombs before, where they explode after they are killed. This works well, as zombies tend to die near players as well as other zombies, which can set off a chain reaction. Spicing them up with elemental effects can be interesting as well. Frost covered zombies with shards of ice poking out of their rotting skin can be cool and deadly, especially if they slow characters they hit, making it more difficult for players to get away when the hoard closes in. Everybody knows what a zombie is, but they can be some much more with a touch of creativity and malicious intent. 375

T Credits he following is a detailed list of all of the major contributors to this project. Beyond the names listed here, there are countless other commentors and individuals from outside of reddit who have contributed this project in their own ways. Because of the decentralized nature of the project, it is impossible to collect all of the names. Rest assured: your contribution, however small or grand, is valued. This compilation was constructed over the course of 3 days, requiring round-the-clock effort by myself, and was made possible only by The Homebrewery, a powerful online word processor streamlined for making 5e-styled documents using markdown, crated by Scott Tolksdorf, available at http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/. -J.A.Malcolmson, Editor Contribution Contributor Original Compilation Project Nerd_By_Design Aboleth Jackissocool Aarakocra 3d6skills Angels rtwfm Animated Objects sorryjzargo Ankheg JonBanes Azer HomicidalHotdog Banshee LordFancyWhale Basilisk Lord_NiteShade Behir Fortuan Beholder Fortuan Blight tulsadan Bugbear Mathemagics15 Bulette jtgates Bullywug tulsadan Cambion friendship_rainicorn Carrion Crawler Laplanters Centaur Dauricha Chimera virilis Chuul hatemehnow Cloaker HumanMilkshake Cockatrice gruesome_gandhi Couatl tl8695 Crawling Claw dragonblaz9 Cyclops Meninaeidethea Darkmantle Mechanical-one Death Knight TheKahnage Demilich 3d6skills Demon - General wolfdreams01 Devil: General Rahovarts Devil: Erinyes abookfulblockhead Dinosaurs: Allosaurus Fortuan Dinosaurs: Ankylosaur Fortuan Dinosaurs: Deinonychus Lord_NiteShade Dinosaurs: Plesiosaurs Fortuan Dinosaurs: Pteranodon Fortuan Contribution Contributor Dinosaurs: Triceratops Lord_NiteShade Dinosaurs:Tyrannosaurus Rex Fortuan Displacer Beast Fallen_Ishmayl Doppelganger wolfdreams01 Dracolich: Part 1 & Part 2 Multiprimed Dragons: Overview DeathMcGunz Dragon: Black Fortuan Dragon: Blue DerpTheGinger Dragon: Brass Masri788 Dragon: Bronze Hawkwing185 Dragon: Chromatic DeathMcGunz Dragon: Copper Captain-Weather Dragon: Gold TuesdayTastic Dragon: Green Fortuan Dragon: Metallic Nexaruu Dragon: Red pork4brainz Dragon: Shadow wolfdreams01 Dragon: Silver Fortuan Dragon: White Masri788 Dragon Turtle gruesome_gandhi Drider OrkishBlade Dryad TheRealRogl Duergar Yami-Bakura Elementals Kami1996 Elves: Drow Kami1996 Empyrean Kami1996 Erinyes MisterDrProf Ettercap friendship_rainicorn Ettin Fortuan Faerie Dragon elegant_brawler Flameskull TheatreLife Flumph Fortuan Fomorian AcceptablyPsycho Fungi: Violet Fungus Hyenabreeder Fungi: Shreiker Hyenabreeder Fungi: Gas Spore Hyenabreeder Galeb Duhr famoushippopotamus 376

Contribution Contributor Gargoyle tulsadan Genies: Part 1 & 2 inuvash255 Ghoul pizza-eating_newfie Ghost Fortuan Giants, Hill MrVojjin Giants, Stone MrVojjin Gibbering Mouther famoushippopotamus Gith TheatreLife Gnolls GnollBelle Gnome, Deep (Svirfneblin) TheKahnage Goblins WickThePriest Golems 5ednddm Gorgon ColourSchemer Grell famoushippopotamus Grick Fallen_Ishmayl Griffon another-social-freak Grimlock Mechanical-one Hags Mechanical-one Half-Dragon MisterDrProf Harpy abookfulblockhead Hell Hound Kami1996 Helmed Horror TF2Fongzilla Hippogriff CavalierOfTheDragon Hobgoblin Mathemagics15 Homunculus tulsadan Hook Horror Fortuan Hydra Imperialvirtue Intellect Devourer Kami1996 Invisible Stalker Kami1996 Jackalwere Futhington Kenku Sivarian Kobold 3d6skills Kuo-toa 3d6skills Kraken TheatreLife Lamia Laplanters Lich TheatreLife Lizardfolk Fortuan Magmin Aphoric Medusa tandem23 Merfolk TheKahnage Mephits MoxFlux Mind Flayer hatemehnow Minotaur fiverings Lycanthrope authordm Manticore ColourSchemer Contribution Contributor Mimic wolfdreams01 Merrow TheKahnage Modrons Maximus216 Mummy DangerousPuhson Myconid famoushippopotamus Nagas TheatreLife Nightmare Fortuan Nothic tulsadan Ogre Fortuan Oni Geodude671 Oozes afancydragon Orcs CavalierOfTheDragon Otyugh JaElco Owlbear Kylasaurus_Rex Pegasus Fortuan Peryton famoushippopotamus Piercer Koolaidguy31415 Pixie MisterDrProf Pseudodragon fiverings Purple Worm Lord_NiteShade Quaggoth krazma Rakshasa Sivarian Remorhaz Yami-Bakura Revenant Rahovarts Roc PivotSs Roper Sad-Crow Rust Monster KingsMadness Sahuagin tl8695 Salamanders Fortuan Satyr 3d6skills Scarecrow Rahovarts Shadow SymmetricDisorder Shield Guardian TheIronicPoet Skeletons brail Slaadi Yami-Bakura Specter improvedcm Sphinx 3d6skills Sprite krazma Stirge famoushippopotamus Succubus/Incubus HyenaBreeder Shambling Mound Max44150 Tarrasque Whitehatnetizen Thri-Kreen Fortuan Treant destuctir 377

Contribution Contributor Troglodyte 3d6skills Troll MightyPine Umber Hulk Warbashton Unicorn 3d6skills Vampires Kami1996 Water Weird inuvash255 Will-o'-Wisp CavalierOfTheDragon Wraith arxnbond Wyvern Joxxill Xorn authordm Yeti HellAndOates Yuan-ti EnfieldMarine Yugoloths wolfdreams01 Zombies Indy12 Continued Editing Merchent100 378