Beasts

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 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

“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

“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

“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

“Those things are terrifying.”

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

“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

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

Dire

“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.”

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

“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

“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

“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

“Those things…are normally found underground. They fill the entire tunnel, so there’s nowhere to run.”

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

“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

“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

“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

“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.”

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

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

Razor

“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

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

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

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

Great

“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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A classic staple of the fantasy genre, wolves are important because their statistics also form the base template for many different "canine" monsters. Learn to love this table. Everything from animal companions to hellhounds to cu sidhe comes from here.