Bestiary Update Number Two

Dread- A Dread is a subterranean terror that lurks in vast caverns trafficked by underground denizens; and there it lays its traps to feed. A Dread is an oblong creature with a rounded form, longer than it is wide. It has mottled gray/white skin and possesses no eyes or ears of any kind. It has nostrils, which are keen, and located at the tip of the monster’s mouth. The trunk of the monster (its main body) is about 10' long and 4' wide with the mouth being 4' wide and 3' deep. There are a number of stocks running from the main body, adhering it to several walls at any given time. It allows its main body to hang free, suspended by its stalks, which anchor to stalagmites and stalactites in the chamber. In this way a traveler might see the Dread and think it was some large beast that was caught in a spider’s web; for the Dread’s stalks appear like giant web strands when spread out. These stalks are about 25' long. They are muscular and hard to damage but do not in any way attack.

All a Dread’s stalks have pores on their skin that secrete silk like a spider’s webbing, which slowly becomes a vast net that connects from stalk to stalk until it covers one small part of the cavern from floor to ceiling. This webbing is so fine that it is almost unnoticeable by casual observation. Anyone that is caught in the webbing is sensed by the Dread and is yanked toward its mouth by muscular action that allows the monster to control the webbing like a line being cast out. When the victim is dragged close enough to the Dread it bites. Usually one bite with its massive mouth is enough to kill its victim. Dread can only move while they are very young and much smaller, at which time they roll along cavern floors until their keen senses of smell alert them to a high traffic area. There they remain, going dormant when food is scarce and causing mayhem when it is abundant. A Dread may remain Dormant for up to one full year before it must become active and feed, using that year to allow fresh prey to wander through its lair for a time to re-establish a feeding source. They are asexual monsters, spitting up a youthful Dread that feeds on the wastes of its parent until it has strength enough to search for a lair of its own. When food is truly scarce, the Dread may sap nutrients straight from the cavern walls it is anchored to in a form of osmosis. While this does not keep the Dread completely placated or totally healthy, it does keep the beast alive, and the Dwarves of the mountains have come to hunt the Dread with this knowledge. They believe, and usually rightly, that a Dread haunts measures of a cavern where the walls and stones are rich with ores that the Dwarves may mine for, but only after dealing with their unintentional and hostile guardian.

           

Ezmir- Ancient, intelligent beings of the deep-realm, Ezmir are dangerous and cunning predators. Resembling bulbous, fleshy spiders with white tiger-like heads, an Ezmir can grow to about the size of a common elephant. Their torso is striped with flashes of bright white and deep black. Thick sprouts of hair cover their thorax and legs. The Ezmir has glowing eyes and a powerful jaw that is filled with fangs. Besides its bite, it can also use its mandibles to inject paralyzing venom that takes only a minute to act within a humanoid sized target. The mandibles are located on the bottom jaw of the beast and retract at will, keeping them from harm until the Ezmir wishes to employ them.

The Ezmir is a solitary and patient hunter. It waits in passages, still as stone until it sees or hears prey coming. It favors secreting a bodily resin from its thorax on cavern floors and leading prey across in a feigned retreat. The resin is like ichor and becomes quite hard quickly when exposed to air. Anything touching it (boots, flesh, weapons, armor, etc.) becomes adhered to it and if removed violently it will cause damage to the object. Strong alcohol will remove it. The Ezmir itself (and all other spiders) are immune to the effects of the resin. An Ezmir can freely travel through all spider webs. Ezmir are asexual and lay eggs in clutches, that reach maturity within 1 year of hatching, at which time they separate and hunt for a lair of their own. During this time the ezmir spawn will travel with their parent, looking akin to white striped tarantulas the size of small dogs. Spawn may number as many as 30, not all of them surviving until maturity, and not fully developing its tiger like head until their seventh year of life. In lean times the parent Ezmir will devour the young to stay alive, and fellow spawn will eat one another if there is nothing else left to devour or hunt. A typical Ezmir will live for about 150 years.

Fane- These large, hybrid beasts run about on all fours. They have massive, muscular upper legs and chest with a reptilian head. The head of the Fane is blunted and flat, with a broad muzzle and long, pricked ears that bend behind it. The flesh is a fine olive green with dull black eyes and protruding shoulder blades. The back of the monster is feline. The scales merge with a fine pelt of white fur near the back legs. The legs and tail resemble a lion’s. Fane’s are nearly blind, relying on their keen senses of smell and hearing to find their way. Fane are commonly found in the deep regions of the realm far from the light of day but have been known to travel the surface, especially around the mountains where passages to the underground are more common. Goblins and even some Dwarven villages have tamed these beasts to serve as fierce and loyal mounts. In all, Fanes measure 10' long and are more than 4' at the front shoulder. They measure a mere 3' at their hips.

                       

Frilled Wyrm- Dwellers of underground lakes and other bodies of water, the Frilled Wyrm is a dangerous predator of the deep places in the realm. The Wyrm is some 50-60' in length with a 3' diameter. It has green/gray flesh that is very smooth and strong and a broad head that looks similar to a great snake of sorts. Its head is wide with a large, flat mouth filled with shark like teeth and two small, pitted eyes above the snout. There are a pair of long frills growing to either side of the trunk just behind the head, spanning more than 5' in length which aid the beast in swimming. The flesh of the Frills is also spiny, catching anything that can snag on them and delivering a weak contact poison that weakens the target temporarily. It has one more majestic looking frill that stands at the height of the head and down the trunk. It stands almost 10' high and can stand on end or shelter against its trunk should the Frilled Wyrm choose to. When it hunts or fights it shakes its top frill, making a sound similar to a rattle. It is a direct combatant, stalking prey for a short time but generally just rearing up and attempting to devour what it finds. Frilled Wyrms mate once every 10-15 years, producing clutches of eggs that become mature in 10 years or so.           

Frost Maiden- The Frost Maidens are a race of moths that dwell in frozen regions and high mountains. They have a wingspan of 6'-8' and they are brilliantly colored in shades of ash, white, black and blue. These hues glow around them and trail after them by nearly a foot everywhere they fly. It is simply resin that drifts from the wings but it is a beautiful sight to behold. This, coupled with the sweet scent of perfume that accompanies them won them their name. They seem to gain nourishment from ice and snow and have little trouble flying even in raging winds. A Frost Maiden is a difficult object to strike in their native environment, even in melee, as their coloration accords them a certain amount of invisibility. Also in melee, their beating wings seem to drain the air from around an opponent, causing them to suffocate unless they draw back. Their hues also harm foes if skin contact is made. Depending on the color of the hue that touches a foe (ash, white, black or blue) determines what extent of harm is caused. It could be numbness that a fire’s warmth can reverse or it could be instant frostbite to the exposed skin, making it dead and useless. A Frost Maiden does not attack unless it needs to defend itself, and then any Frost Maidens within sight of it will lend aid to win their companion free. Dwarves see Frost Maidens as good omens and will not condone harming any.