Normal Animals. Monsters are not exceptional without regular animals to compare them to. In most roleplaying games, animals are simply window-dressing. If statistics are needed for something simple like a cow or a dog, it is enough to use the rules for minions. Larger and more dangerous animals have their own statistics.
Legendary Animals. Much like humanoids, animals grow in power with age and experience. If you need a convenient excuse for why this happens, their greater prowess can be attributed to the subtle influence of nature spirits. This is important because it allows for the creation of fearsome predators, or animal companions that remain relevant in mid to high-level play.
Dire Beasts. Giant animals are a staple of fantasy settings. They are normally created by supernatural phenomena, fey influence, or the blessings of animal spirits. Much like Chymerics, they can spontaneously appear in any wild setting within a matter of weeks. Giant reptiles, insects, and arachnids also fall under this category.
Alien Fauna. In some settings, animals exist with no direct analog in the current world. To be categorized as a beast, a creature must fit into the natural ecosystem and not have any magical powers or traits. This is particularly important for druids, who can only wildshape into beast forms they have studied firsthand. Dinosaurs, Tyrgs, Axebeaks, Minotaur Lizards, and other creatures are all technically beasts, despite their deadliness.
Apes. Apes are a classic staple of sword and sorcery, especially Conan and similar ‘low fantasy’ settings and comics. While most monkeys only become violent when they feel threatened, the following creatures are exceptional and monstrous.
Carnivorous. Filthy and gruesome, these human-size apes live in forested hills or ruins. They have camouflage fur and are fast climbers, preferring to soften up targets with thrown rocks from high ground before closing in to kill those who look suitably weakened.
Quote: “Those things are gonna wait till we get close to that tree, and then they’re all gonna throw all sorts of rocks and shit at us. And they’re gonna come after us tonight at camp. Get the bows out.”
Kech. These wiry ape-like creatures have long forelimbs and leaf-shaped camouflage scales in place of fur. They crave hot blood and are nearly invisible in the forest, preferring to drop on victims from above. They fear fire, and avoid any combat where they do not have surprise. Scholars believe they have lower planar origins.
Quote: “You have to listen close at night. Their breathy voices sound like wind in the trees. If you hear that, and there’s no wind, get ready for an attack. Also, don’t camp under any branches.”
Gray. Massive, filthy, brutish creatures as big as an ogre. They live alone or in small family units, hurling boulders at prey and hauling off lone adventurers to be tormented and eaten. Curiously, gray apes have a bizarre love of music. A suitable performance check will convince them to leave travelers unmolested.
Quote: “If you’re a bard and you fantasize about being kidnapped by giant monkeys and hauled off to a cave in the cliffs to be forced to perform for them…your life is now complete. They will eventually eat you, however.”
Dire. Among the largest of apes, these violent brutes supplement their great size and strength with traps and simple cunning. Most smell terrible, and hurl boulders and feces at anything intruding on their territory. Though not above hunting for meat, they prefer to chase predators away from kills or scavenge carrion.
Quote: “Those things are terrifying.”
Bears. While not evil, bears are often hormonal and territorial. Because they are omnivores they rarely try to hunt humanoids, instead eating smaller animals or scavenging carrion. Most conflicts with a bear happen when adventurers blunder into the creature, discovering too late that they are too close.
Brown. Brown bears are grizzlies, which means they attack anything that gets too close.
Quote: “I hate bears. They’re just these horny, aggressive, belligerent dicks who charge and maul anything that gets close to them. Let’s get some spears and mob it, bears are good eating.”
Cave. Cave bears are huge gruesome brutes who lurk in dark crags, forested hills, and similar spooky places. They area more inclined to hunt and eat people.
Quote: “Don’t wake it up if it’s hibernating.”
Dire. The largest and most primordial of bears, usually found in places of natural power where animals grow to use size. Despite their terrible strength and great size, they are the least aggressive of bears because they regard most smaller creatures are beneath their notice unless they are hungry.
Quote: “Keep your distance, don’t make noise, and if it looks at you try to be chill about it. You are probably too small to bother with. Probably.”
Beetles. Giant beetles are nightmare fuel. They are stupid, relentless, hungry creatures covered with armor that go after just about anything. Their only saving grace is that they don’t bother attacking if they aren’t hungry. All giant beetles lay eggs if they have suitable food, so the presence of such a creature elicits a hunt for any eggs it lays before an infestation of armored horrors begins.
Fire. These beetles are about the size of a small dog, and they have large glowing glands located in the thorax. They normally feed on moss, lichens, and small animals. They flee from larger creatures unless they are starving or outnumber them, in which case they swarm. The thorax of a fire beetle continues to glow like a torch for 3 days after the creatures death. If a fire beetle takes fire damage, its thorax explodes and deals 3d6 fire damage in a 10’ radius (Ref-13 half). Some creatures learn to harvest and alchemically preserve the incendiary ichor of these beetles to create alchemical weapons.
Quote: “Yeah, they provide a good light source underground. Normally they just skitter around and eat mushrooms or dead things. They’re following us now, hoping to eat whatever we kill. Just don’t lay down on the ground…or be alone. They’ll make a run on you.”
Slicer. This beetle is a pony-sized meat eating silverfish with sharp mandibles on its mouth and its flexible tail. They are among the most feared giant beetles due to their great speed, ravenous appetite, and penchant for holding still while waiting for prey. The ivory mandibles of a slicer beetle are glossy, razor sharp, and harder than steel. They can be harvested and carved to produce weapons and jewelry.
Quote: “Those are why I’m never the first one around a blind corner in a tunnel. Those, right there. They’ll nip your leg right off, even in armor. The strength of those mandibles is insane, and they’re denser than metal. They do sell for a pretty penny though. Thankfully they can’t climb, so if we lure one out we can shoot it. I’m gonna be in that tree over there.”
Mana. The mana beetle is a magical creature adapted to places of power, capable of draining mystic energy in addition to dealing damage with its bite. Mana beetles can sense the presence of supernatural beings and spell-casters, and seek them out in small groups to feed on their energy. Arcanists with defensible lairs fear such creatures because of their ability to burrow in from below.
Quote: “Arcanists are terrified of these things. They can feel spellcasters, and make a beeline for them. They can feel them from a pretty good distance too, so you aren’t safe in a house. Don’t let any spellcaster sleep alone if these things are around.”
Stag. The largest of the giant beetles, these creatures are roughly the size of a small elephant. They uproot trees, crush cottages, and lurk in large tunnel networks beneath forested areas or other regions with lots of rotting plant matter.
Quote: “Those things…are normally found underground. They fill the entire tunnel, so there’s nowhere to run.”
Birds. Predatory giant birds are jerks. They are dumb, opportunistic, and look at everything as potential prey. Much like cats, most are also cowardly and dislike any fight where they cannot quickly kill and haul their target away.
Axebeak. The scourge of plains and forests, axebeaks are giant ostritch-like flightless birds with an axe-shaped beak. They roam in large flocks, stalking prey for days and watching from a distance with their superior running speed before rushing in to attack when they detect weakness or the odds are in their favor. They breed quickly and are nomadic, ranging hundreds of miles in search of good hunting grounds. Plains dwelling herd animals are common prey. Axebeak eggs are large and delicious, and their meat is dark and rich.
Quote: “You see them out there? They’ve been pacing us for the last day. They’ll wait until we make camp near some sort of cover they can sneak up behind. Let’s set a trap. Hey, Jake, how’s your wounded helpless animal act? Don’t worry, they’re dumb. They’ll buy it.”
Bloodhawk. These savage flock-predators are the size of large eagle, lurking in hills and mobbing victims with razor sharp beaks. Explorers have a particular hatred of them, because they like to go after prey while they are climbing or on perilous ground. Their feathers are quite beautiful, and archers like to use bloodhawk plumage to fletch arrows.
Quote: “Shoot them. Don’t walk up that narrow ledge, don’t try to climb anything, just shoot them. See how they’re watching us? Shoot them.”
Giant Owl. Many people think that owls are wise. Owls are not wise. Owls are dumb and predatory jerks, though they are perfectly adapted to hunt in silence and have amazingly keen hearing. Fantasy game owls, thankfully, are often wise and aloof creatures which sometimes have the ability to speak. Druids like to turn into giant owls because of the many advantages (silence, hearing, flight, nightvision, damage) they possess.
Quote: “That thing will leave us alone. Just…don’t be a young halfling out wandering a snowfield in the forest at night. Then all bets are off.”
Great Eagle. Unlike most other vicious stupid birds, the great eagles are noble and aloof creatures with advanced intelligence. They appear often in heraldry, and are held in awe by most humanoid races. They are often befriended by druids, rangers, and powerful sorcerers.
Quote: “They look majestic. That’s all there is to say. They’re not gonna come down and interact with you, you’re not gonna climb that cliff and interact with them, we’re good. What? Eggs? My friend, please. They’re bigger up close.”
Boars. The boar embodies many things: ferocity, belligerence, gluttony, and squalor. Most boars in a fantasy milieu are depicted as filthy and savage creatures that charge around goring and attacking things wantonly. And we are keeping that stereotype.
Wild. Wild pigs and boars are a classic staple of fantasy settings.
Quote: “We kill it, we eat it, we don’t get gored by it. Solid plan.”
Razor. A huge pony-sized boar with mutated tusks and sharp teeth, swollen with muscle and warped by primordial energies. Most things they attack.
Quote: “I don’t know why things like this even exist. It just…roams around, viciously attacking things and rolling in its own dung. I refuse to melee with that thing. Burn it.”
Dire. Wild boars grow huge and savage in places of natural power, becoming dangerous omnivores that kill and eat just about anything they find. Embodiments of stubbornness and rage, they are universally reviled.
Quote: “It’s a squealing filthy pig the size of a haycart.”
Cats. Large, dangerous cats are another classic fantasy staple. Druids love to shapeshift into them; they make good wandering monsters, and so forth. Because most cats are NOT pack predators, they are reluctant to engage in any combat where they stand a good chance of being injured due to the risk of starving before they can heal and regain full function. This means that most of the time, they will only attack if they have surprise or the victim runs.
Hunter. Cats of this size are cougars, leopards, and so forth.
Quote: “Don’t let your children go down to the river alone for water.”
Great. Cats of this size are lions, tigers, jaguars, and similar.
Quote: “Watch the tall grass. You’re not looking for color changes, you’re looking for spots where the wind doesn’t move the grass right. Oh, yep, there he is. See him?”
Dire. This category covers smilodons and other huge cats created by proximity to magical phenomena.
Quote: “Oooh…yeah. This moose wasn’t killed that long ago. See the claw marks? We don’t want to meet whatever made those.”
Crabs. Giant crabs are terrifying because they’re mindlessly hungry, they lurk in holes, and they have tons of armor. They are the bane of beaches and sea caves, and make great antagonists because of how creepy they are.
Maneater. A big, nasty, barbed crab about the size of a dog. One good hit will kill it, but it will go for your leg anyway. They hunt in groups.
Boulder. This is the crab nobody sees coming. It looks like a rock or boulder until it suddenly sprouts claws and eyestalks and comes after you.
Tidecrawler. This crab is very big. It eats sharks, lurks in reefs and caves, and has no qualms about emerging from the water to chase people up the beach.
Siege. A gigantic crab of the deep, lurking among shipwrecks and in similar forlorn places. Covered in barnacles and bits of debris, it looks horrible. Aquatic races sometimes lure them out of the depths for use as war animals.
Dinosaurs. Commonly found in tropical jungles and island settings, these massive beasts are the sort of thing druids sit around fantasizing about being able to turn into. The carnivores are deadly, and the herbivores are usually massive and cantankerous enough that they will crush you on principle.
Allosaur. A two-legged mini tyrannosaurus that runs fast and is fairly smart. Sometimes they hunt in small groups.
Akylosaur. A waddling tank-like armadillo thing with a spiked carapace and a long tail with a club of bone at the end. Docile and stupid unless riled.
Brontosaur. A gargantuan long long-necked dinosaur that eats foliage and branches, usually content to ignore everything else because it’s too big to threaten.
Dimetradon. A big crocodile with bulldog jaws and a fin on its back. Stealthy, aggressive, and they work in groups.
Hadrosaur. A two legged duckbilled herbivore of great size, unusually intelligent and easily domesticated.
Pterosaur. Also known as a pterodactyl, a winged predator characterized by a long, sharp beak. Very aggressive and prone to attacking medium-sized creatures.
Quetzalcoatlus. A gigantic pterosaur with a huge head and an abnormally large beak. The largest flying predator in the dinosaur world, as big as a small plane.
Stegosaur. A massive herbivore with diamond plates on its back and a spiked tail. Very aggressive if its young are threatened.
Triceratops. A massive herbivore with a plate-framed head and three powerful horns. This creature has a devastating charge attack.
Elephants. Generally speaking, the presence of pachyderms in RPGs is not huge. But certain settings and situations call for them, and they make great war animals. So they are listed here.
Horses. The medieval setting is filled with horses, and horse cultures use them for work and travel. Horses are also the most dominant form of military mount, so they are relevant to the mounted fighting style.
Lizards. Giant lizards run a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and they make excellent encounters for ruins and other remote locations. It is also easy to make them look “monstrous” by adding frills or horns or claws, while essentially keeping them dangerous mindless animals.
Snapjaw. These lizards are distressingly common in dark forests and ruins. They are small and easy to kill, but breed fast and have abnormally large jaws. They hunt by overwhelming prey, and have very little self-preservation instinct.
Crocodile. A classic staple of fantasy gaming. All bogs and ponds should have at least a few, unless they have something nastier in them.
Crested. A dangerous hunting lizard, known for stalking prey in packs. They are also easy to domesticate, like wolves, and their meat and hides are valuable. Crested lizards imprint on the first creature they see after hatching, like ducklings. Wild specimens are quite willing to attack travelers.
Minotaur. The terror of deserts, arid plains, and scrubland, these bull-sized lizards have long frontal horns that give them a deadly charge attack. They hunt singly or in mated pairs, and are renowned for being stubborn and fearless. Their hides are used to make leather armor.
Sarchosuchus. A giant prehistoric crocodile, capable of eating sharks and capsizing large boats. Supernatural energies sometimes cause a normal crocodile to grow into one of these monstrosities. They age very slowly, and get bigger the older they become.
