Beasts

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.

“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.”

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.

“Those things are terrifying.”

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.

“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\u2026your life is now complete. They will eventually eat you, however.”

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.

“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.”

Brown bears are grizzlies, which means they attack anything that gets too close.

“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 bears are huge gruesome brutes who lurk in dark crags, forested hills, and similar spooky places. They are more inclined to hunt and eat people.

“Don’t wake it up if it’s hibernating.”

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 as beneath their notice unless they are hungry.

“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.”

The scourge of plains and forests, axebeaks are giant ostrich-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.

“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.”

These savage flock-predators are the size of large eagles, 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.

“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.”

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.

“That thing will leave us alone. Just\u2026don’t be a young halfling out wandering a snowfield in the forest at night. Then all bets are off.”

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.

“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.”

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.

“It’s a squealing filthy pig the size of a haycart.”

A huge pony-sized boar with mutated tusks and sharp teeth, swollen with muscle and warped by primordial energies. Most things they attack.

“I don’t know why things like this even exist. It just\u2026roams around, viciously attacking things and rolling in its own dung. I refuse to melee with that thing. Burn it.”

Wild pigs and boars are a classic staple of fantasy settings.

“We kill it, we eat it, we don’t get gored by it. Solid plan.”

This category covers smilodons and other huge cats created by proximity to magical phenomena.

“Oooh\u2026yeah. This moose wasn’t killed that long ago. See the claw marks? We don’t want to meet whatever made those.”

Cats of this size are lions, tigers, jaguars, and similar.

“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?”

Cats of this size are cougars, leopards, and so forth.

“Don’t let your children go down to the river alone for water.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

A two-legged mini tyrannosaurus that runs fast and is fairly smart. Sometimes they hunt in small groups.

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.

A gargantuan long-necked dinosaur that eats foliage and branches, usually content to ignore everything else because it’s too big to threaten.

A swift pack hunter, intelligent enough to coordinate ambushes and flank prey. Small enough to slip into camps and ruins.

A big crocodile with bulldog jaws and a fin on its back. Stealthy, aggressive, and they work in groups.

A two-legged duckbilled herbivore of great size, unusually intelligent and easily domesticated.

Also known as a pterodactyl, a winged predator characterized by a long, sharp beak. Very aggressive and prone to attacking medium-sized creatures.

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.

A massive herbivore with diamond plates on its back and a spiked tail. Very aggressive if its young are threatened.

A massive herbivore with a plate-framed head and three powerful horns. This creature has a devastating charge attack.

The king of carnivorous dinosaurs — an enormous bipedal predator with bone-crushing jaws. Slow to provoke but unstoppable once it commits.

The largest of the pachyderms, with thick fur and tusks the length of a polearm. Found in cold wilds and primordial places.

A standard adult elephant — massive, social, and dangerous when provoked. Capable of trampling lighter foes and uprooting trees.

Trained and armored for battle. Used as a mobile platform and shock unit; their charge can shatter a shield line.

The finest of warhorses — armored, aggressive, and bred for knightly combat. Worth its weight in coin.

A standard riding horse — bred for endurance and temperament rather than combat. The workhorse of travel.

A trained warhorse, taught to remain steady in combat and lash out with hooves and teeth on command.

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.

A classic staple of fantasy gaming. All bogs and ponds should have at least a few, unless they have something nastier in them.

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.

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.

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.

Hulking wolves that lurk in primordial wilds or places of mystic power that cause them to grow large and strong.

The common gray wolf — a pack predator with keen senses and disciplined hunting tactics. Rarely attacks people unless desperate.

Also known as goblin wolves, worgs are malicious and intelligent creatures capable of limited speech. They often serve as mounts and guardians for evil humanoid raiders.