Corwyth Bestiary
Monsters Compendium

published by the Corwyth Royal Press (Lower Level Dungeons, Imperial Palace), in the 14th Year of the Gryffon.

LAND MONSTERS

Mountain Drakes/Blackheart Drakes

These are the rarest of drakes – only one or two are seen each year. They have smooth, black scales, and are the size of an elephant. They spit fire to drive away intruders from the vicinity of their nests, typically located in the highest mountains. Their skin is fireproof, and a talented enough craftsman can make fireproof leather armour from it. Mountain Drake eggs are highly dangerous, however – if pierced, they will explode in a huge ball of flame. They can be identified by their black shell, the fact that they are burning hot, and by the smoke they produce.

Forest Drakes/Green Drakes

Forest Drakes are fast, agile, and plentiful. Luckily, a skilled warrior can easily kill them, for their skin is soft and affords virtually no protection. They look like the classical idea of a green dragon, only they are the size of a calf. They cannot breathe fire – their breath smells like evergreen trees…
Their diet consists mainly of plants with the occasional rabbit or fox. When they hear adventurers coming, they tend to stand as still as possible and let their green scales camouflage them. Should this fail, it will fly up from the bushes and attack with claws, teeth, and three pointed spikes at the end of its tail.

Fire Hydras

These hydras do not exist in Corwyth but can be summoned by magic. They resemble Water Hydras in every respect, except that their scales are a dark red, and they can breathe small jets of fire. Fire hydras never have more than four heads, due to the fact that they are a cross between the multi-headed water hydra and the one headed Mountain Drake. They live in mountainous regions, in general.

Lava Hydras

Lava Hydras, unlike Water and Fire Hydras, have no paws upon which to walk. Instead, they slither like snakes. They have from five to eight heads, all of which can spurt huge jets of fire. They usually are found in volcanic, VERY hot regions; should they be summoned to another place, they will die in a matter of hours. Lava Hydras are easily the most powerful hydras – few warriors can defeat them, and few wizards can master them.

Leaflords

Should you be walking in the forest, and the trees seem to whisper, that is your cue to stop walking and RUN LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW! Leaflords are living trees, which lash out with their branches to attack unwary adventurers. They communicate amongst themselves by whispers that sound like the wind blowing through the leaves.
Leaflords are very protective of their territory, and will seek to repel all intruders. They tend to grow in groves in the middle of many similar-looking normal trees. They can come in the shape of any normal tree, and can be distinguished from those by their immensely accelerated growth and the lack of nests or of lichen on them.

Lepisaurii

A Lepisaurus is indeed a rare sight. When one is sighted, people often mistake it for a drake, which it is not. The Lepisaurus is a cousin of the eeleethosaur (lizard-like), whereas the drake is a cousin of the dragon.
Lepisaurii look more or less like pterror-dactyls with giraffes’ necks and leopards’ heads. They live in the mountains, and are an extremely tough and aggressive species. To vanquish one of these out without suffering casualties, a party would probably have to consist of two excellent archers, a few pike-men, a wizard skilled in defensive spells, and one or two swordsmen in case the Lepisaurus closed in too quickly.
Lepisaurii are for some reason tense in the presence of Mountain Drakes, who are in turn tense in the presence of Lepisaurii. No one knows the reason for this, but the fact is that the two species avoid each other as much as possible.

Riesen

It is said that Riesen lurk in the uninhabited or more solitary areas of Ythor. Riesen are giants with multiple heads, each head being equipped by three eyes, and are variously spoken of as having eight, five, and six arms. It is suggested that there is significant variation within the species.
The Riesen attack without provocation or warning, and there is considerable confusion about the best way in which to defend oneself. Some suggest attacking the eyes, others say long-range weapons are best, and yet another source speculates upon the Riesen's possible enhanced sense of smell - which would mean that anything that can mask the group's scent would be a good way of avoiding their attention.
If an attacked party can possibly escape, that would be the best idea.

Orcs

Orcs are cold-blooded killers – there’s no way around it. They are huge, grey creatures with cold unblinking eyes, cold brain assessing the best way in which to kill, and with cold self-interest. They are the most incredibly difficult creatures to kill that you could imagine. It’s better to run than fight, because ONE Orc is enough to decimate a party – and they hunt in packs! Extreme stealth may be the best way to avoid them … but if an adventurer has no choice but to fight, he had better know all the Orc stories there are… and that means it’s a good idea to talk to EVERYONE about Orcs. Who knows who has the best strategy? Orcs, by the way, do not speak. They are completely unreasonable. Don’t ever try to negotiate with them – the travellers who have tried have ended up as Orc-hor-d’oeuvres! The orcs can generally be found closer to the top of the Balthereze, but they have been known to climb down in order to snack upon an unwary climber. Raiding parties are frequent upon these mountains, and thus extreme caution is needed.

Vampires - see also the Corwyth d'Bretts

Vampires within the Corwyth lands are composed of a number of different clans – the Horyn, the Agfyn, the Blelyn, and the Corrupyn. The elements they have in common include: their insatiable desire for blood, preferably human; their ability to metamorphise into bats; their ability to fly; their dark Blood Disciplines which consume their vitae; their ability to assert PRESENCE; their lack of a soul; and so on. The older a vampire is, the stronger and more powerful he is. Vampires may only be killed by the traditional methods of having a stake driven through the heart in order to weaken them, and THEN after entering Torpor (a state of paralysis in which they are extremely vulnerable), they must be beheaded or burned, in order to enter Final Death. Direct sunlight also brings vampires to this state of Torpor.
Ways of protecting oneself against vampires vary, but include the use of holy water, garlic, holy symbols, and prayers of the truly devout. To this end, any religious person in Corwyth is in hot demand as a Vampire Dispeller, and water blessed by the four Bishops is sold on the black market for high prices. Garlic is grown by most enterprising inhabitants of Pallmor, and sold in the Marketplace. Training in wooden stake driving may be of inestimable benefit to the would-be vampire hunter.
Many of the disciplines of these clans are secret and cloaked in mystery – no outsider can hope to understand them, but what is known is inscribed here as an aid to all adventurers. Bear in mind that even the most well-intentioned vampire must ingest sufficient blood, otherwise he will eventually enter an uncontrollable state of Frenzy in which he will feed upon the nearest source of Vitae. Thus, when travelling with a vampire, it’s a good idea to take along some “red provisions”…
Neither the Horyn nor the Agfyn are classed as monsters.
The Blelyn are dark vampires that cannot be trusted at all. They freely feed from any species apart from other vampires, regarding all non-vampiric species as “cattle”. They are among the most physically beautiful of vampires, although all vampires except the Corrupyn are alluring in their appearance.
The Corrupyn are the most merciless, cruel, completely evil vampires. They are hideously ugly, even to each other. They are filled with a special hatred for humans, and for this reason will pursue to the bitter end any human foolish enough to cross their path. They are vicious even towards other vampires, tearing them apart for their own pleasure, and they regularly assassinate members of their own clan as well.
Neither the Blelyn nor the Corrupyn clans are permitted within the Isle of Corwyth, but can be found within the Forest of Perpasia, and sometimes they will come out to wreak havoc upon the forest outskirts.

SPIRIT MONSTERS AND UNDEAD

Barghasts

Barghasts are ghosts (i.e., creatures entirely of spirit fabric rather than physical fabric), all in white, with large saucer eyes and long dagger-like teeth… They commonly appear near gates, broken walls, ruins and so on, taking the form of a white cow, a horse, or a big black dog which leaps upon the shoulders of the unwary. While they do not appear at all upon Corwyth, they are prevalent upon the mainland of Ythor.

Manes

Manes are creatures of dark emotions themselves, created when the deeds of the bad-tempered, permanently resentful and disappointed dead are deified by their descendants. They are powerful energy- and life-sucking spirits which can only be fought with magic – and specific, powerful magic at that. They are impervious to all physical attack. They can be found wandering over the mainland of Ythor in the night-time. They are pale, transparent creatures who seem all mouth...

Yird-swine

Yird-swine are a strange and mysterious type of spirit animal, completely unclassifiable in terms of appearance. As soon as one is seen, its outline becomes blurred… they live in graveyards and wherever dead bodies are buried, burrowing among the corpses and devouring them. They are said to leap upon the living in an attempt to eat them, too.

Yeth-hounds

These are hounds which have no heads, appearing as soon as the moon appears. They are animated by the spirits of murdered children who have lost their Map to the Realm of the Dead, and attack solitary travellers. To kill one is not recommended, as the soul of the child is then lost for ever. Ideally, the adventurer should attempt to free the trapped spirit. Information on how to do this should be sought from the magic-users in Corwyth’s House of Bedazzled Scrolls.

Zombies

Characterised by their dead eyes and lurching gait, as well as a complete inability to reason outside the parameters of the controlling agent, these creatures are pitiable but can be dangerous if their controller is threatened, or if their controller orders them to kill. Their minds are quite dead, and all that is left is the remnants of their sentience, enslaved by a controlling agent.
There are no KNOWN zombies in Corwyth.

Re-animated or resurrected dead

Such creatures are considered monsters by some, and yet the only known case of a resurrected dead is that friendly doctor in Corwyth, Doctor Boniface. (He cannot truly be classed as Undead, however, and his soul does reside within his skeleton.)
Since immense magic is required to re-animate the dead, such creatures are more conceptual than actual. Resurrection of the dead is even less likely (so little likely that it can be dismissed as a possibility in terms of monsters). The major difference between re-animated and resurrected is, in fact, the question of the soul. Re-animated dead are true Undead creatures, being soulless.
A true monster of the re-animated type, however, is certainly possible - if re-animated by a necromancer of enormous powers. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the Salinians, for instance, have some re-animated dead warriors working for them.

Ghouls

Some would quibble with the definition of ghouls as Undead, yet they are certainly mindless and possibly soulless.
Ghouls inhabit the Forest of Perpasia, and are the slaves of vampires who feed regularly upon their blood.
While relatively powerless in themselves, the greatest danger of a ghoul is that what IT knows, its controlling vampires know also. Hence, if a party in the Forest encounters a ghoul, the best tactic is to kill the ghoul and run away as quickly as possible - because vampires will be there soon. (NOTE: ghouls must be killed in the same way as vampires.)

Mummies

There are no known mummies in Corwyth, but the ancient texts speak of these mummified creatures, who were mummified ALIVE and died in their wrappings. Some now-unknown spells were apparently chanted over these creatures, and caused the mummies, after some time, to become Undead, and rise from their resting place.
Old legends speak of these lurching beings, who seemed to have no desire but to kill any living people they found, and to cry out incomprehensible words as they lurch.

Rusalki

A rusalka is a drowned maiden who was murdered or who committed suicide, usually after betrayal by her beloved, and quite often after a marriage. The murder or suicide must have happened in or near a substantial body of water such as a pond or lake, and this lake becomes the home of the rusalka. A kiss from a rusalka is death, so it is wise not to go swimming with any chance-met young woman whom one doesn't recognise.
It is almost impossible for a rusalka to be found anywhere other than the lake or pond in which she is trapped - legend has it that there has been some rusalki who walk the lands.
Rusalki can be released if the betrayer is punished, or if a wrong that has been done is righted, and then a small ceremony is conducted to free the Undead Rusalka in question.

Undead necromancers

Within Corwyth's Empire, necromancers are scarce - for a very good reason. The dark magic needed for necromancy has a nasty habit of turning upon the caster, and has been known to control and destroy the necromancer him/herself. Many a necromancer has become a special kind of Undead as a result.
Undead Necromancers may be recognised by their greeny-white flesh, their staring eyes, the Dark Maggots that inhabit them (and pop out from their flesh in a very disconcerting way), and the fact that they use magic. Also, they don't get many dates. It's probably the smell, or perhaps the maggots.
There are no known Undead Necromancers in Corwyth. It is believed that several exist in Salinia.

Blarghi - Although any roleplayer can play one of these (unlike most monsters), he WILL be killed eventually. Over this he has no control.

The Blarghi – known also as the Great Clawed Dæmons. They can assume a corporeal reality when they find an opening in space between the real world and the Dæmon Dimensions. These openings are known as rips. The Dæmon Dimensions are ruled over by Tasan, the dread Dæmon Overlord.

The Blarghi are very large... over six feet in height. They have a head that is lizard-like, save for the short beak that looks like a snarl, and the two thick curling fangs. They have one glaring red eye in the centre of their forehead (which can see into the infrared and ultraviolet spectra), and have no ears. They cannot hear at all, although sound waves of a particular type can be sensed by the gill that runs vertically down the outer belly. They do not use this ability profitably at all, as the sensing of sound waves is usually quite irritating.

Their thick, stippled red skin is as tough as armour, and protects the blarghi from physical damage. The skin cannot be pierced by any weapon, except for the Paladin Sword. Holy water thrown by clerics of Ichbin works like acid upon them, and holy symbols wielded by those self-same clerics can actually burn through the skin. They have four powerful arms, each with long double-claws on the end. These claws are capable of tearing out a man's soul if he is unprotected. The two thickly muscled legs end in cloven hooves, naturally. The speed of which the blarghi is capable is very fast indeed. They can out-run almost anything, except for the fastest horses. Their stamina is incredible. They have two stubbly wings rising from the shoulders of their top pair of arms.

Their offensive abilities include: the emission of poisonous breath coming out in a stream from their beaked mouths; the ability to claw out a man's soul; the ability to take over the mind of an unprotected human; the ability to fly short distances.

Protection against their abilities ranges from Paladin honour shields to the use of holy objects. However, it should be noted that only the pure in heart can use these holy objects with any assurance of protection.

Their defensive abilities include: an imperviousness to fire and to ordinary blades and to poisons.

Their vulnerabilities: well, you already know about the Paladin sword which pierces them... and the holy water or symbols wielded by clerics of Ichbin... Their other vulnerabilities include a hatred of singing (even though they cannot hear, singing sets up a vibration in the gill of their stomach, making them feel ill), and they are not great tacticians – except for Bjarg (the exception that proves the rule ). Their idea of a fight is to go charging in.
They are mostly impervious to magic, although offensive spells will irritate them. Defensive spells are virtually useless against them. Invisibility spells are good... but no magical protection will serve to protect a town against them.

Slodgæni - dæmons (never seen outside of the Abyss. These cannot enter our dimension.)

The slodgæni - the sludgy grey-skinned dæmons. Somewhat resembling a particularly ugly rhinoceros, these dæmons have three horns on their forehead, large floppy ears with which they can hear about as well as a seventy-year-old woman, and thick reddened snouts. They are quite strong, and their hide is resistant to fire but not to extremely sharp weapons. They are considered the "dogsbodies" of dæmons, very definitely on the lower echelon. Most have been banished to the Abyss (or "The Dump" as the blarghi call it), a half-place partially within the Dæmon Dimensions. Some imps have for centuries been slaves under their overlords, these incompetent and nasty-minded slodgæni. It is the task of The Dump to provide goods for the use of the blarghi - and a smelly, nasty place it is, full of tar, more tar, and the sort of mud it's best not to investigate.

MARINE / WATER-BASED ANIMALS

Sea Drakes / Pelican Drakes

Of the three kinds of Drakes that can be found in the Empire, Sea Drakes are the most harmless. The Sea Drake’s diet consists of large fish (such as sharks), which it dives into the water to catch with its powerful, bony mouth, and birds, which it usually catches the same way. This method of diving and snatching has earned them the name “Pelican Drakes”, though they do not have a pelican’s beak. Sea Drakes will only attack people or ships if provoked, and even then, will do so reluctantly, preferring to flee.
They are the size of a large horse, but are very light due to their hollow bones. Their wings are made of bone with flesh covering it – much like those of Pterror-dactyls. Sea Drakes are sea-green and sky blue. These colors are arrayed in stripes, in the manner of a zebra, and serve as camouflage as it flies over the ocean, seeking prey.
At night, Sea Drakes search for small islets to roost on, sometimes inadvertently going to sleep in the empty crow’s nest of a ship. This makes for some amusing situations in the morning…

Giant Death-Squid

This is perhaps the most dangerous creature inhabiting the Carpaasian Ocean. It is over a hundred feet long, ringed with deep pink and yellow markings, and its tentacles are thick, rubbery, and powerful. It has a deeper pink fringe around its main body, and while its light senstive patches cannot “see” very well, its ability to sense movement is extraordinary. Should it deign to rise out of the murky depths which it inhabits, it will invariably attack any ships into which it comes into contact. Sailors are advised to jump ship and swim for their lives when one of these attacks their vessel, otherwise they will almost inevitably be crushed.

Sea-Witch

Composed of seaweed and foam and pure wickedness, powered by dark aquatic magic, these creatures dwell in the depths of the ocean and rise up from underneath whenever they are woken from their slumber. This can be done as easily as a ship's passing by... Their abode is in sub-marine caves, and they cannot speak, neither have they eyes. Their hearing is superb, and they are vicious, malicious, and cunning. They drown the unwary sailor and feast upon his flesh.

Water Hydras

Water Hydras are rare in the Empire, but they do exist. They have from three to eight heads, have bluish or brownish scales, and are extremely dangerous. They live in inland lakes scattered over unexplored parts of Ythor, in hidden caves – but can mostly be found on land during their waking hours. These reptiles eat large quantities of whatever they can find in the forest, when they quite regularly emerge from their habitats; adventurers had best be on their guard.
Water Hydras must return to their lakes in order to sleep and to regain expended energy.

Frilled HarlequinSnakes

These snakes (so named for their unusual variegated colouring and ruff) live within the Pirthie Swamp – their venom is lethal. No known cure exists for their bite.

The Pirthie Swamp-Monster

A huge creature is rumoured to dwell within the depths of the Pirthie Swamp – but what it is, whether it even exists, is entirely speculative.
It has been given the affectionate nickname of "Lulu".

Swamp Trolls

These trolls are monolithic creatures with bad attitude. They are composed of extremely tough rock impervious to the acidic effects of the Swamp itself, in whose depths they dwell. There’s no such thing as a nice Swamp Troll, and they don’t get along with other Trolls. Come to think of it, they don’t get along with anybody! They guard the hidden bridge of the Swamp. To get past them may require quite a lot of inventiveness and ingenuity.

Hags of Narcissism

These Hags dwell in the very centre of the Swamp. They are extraordinarily hideous, extremely vain, and somehow are convinced that they are ravishingly beautiful. They are powerful magic users, and love to eat human bones. The fact that most human bones are encased within a layer of flesh is a minor problem – akin to the necessity of peeling a banana. Dealing with them is... difficult, to say the least.