Zorn: G75 Beastiary

 In my recent G75 post, I created a random encounter table and I have yet to describe some of the creatures available on it. That's what this post is for.

Ashmongrels

Hellhound - Alex Kuhn, 2021

Ashmongrels are furless doglike creatures with an ashy textured hide. They are brutal and savage creatures that hunt in packs, primarily at night. There is one strange quirk about them however; a few people have discovered a way to "tame" them. The process on how to do so is a closely guarded secret by those who do, but at least one of these people sell tamed Ashmongrels to the public of Zorn.

Tame is a relative term, though. A "tamed" Ashmongrel has a series of rules to follow, lest the taming be broken and the savage beast within is unleashed. The rules are as follows:

1. No feeding between the hours of Midnight and Dusk. The number of adventurers killed because their Ashmongrel stole a bit of jerky in the middle of the night is staggering.
2. Do not congregate large amounts of Ashmongrels in one place for too long. When in doubt, if three or more Ashmongrels congregate near a tamed one (whether they are tame or not), roll a d20 every 5 minutes, with a result of less than the total amount of Ashmongrels present breaking the taming.
3. Do not let an Ashmongrel taste human flesh. This may not break taming, but it has been known to cause tamed Ashmongrels to attack humans unprompted, usually when no one is looking, but sometimes when it's least expected or most likely to cause problems.

In general, tamed Ashmongrels are great for a party looking for a cheapish creature to help fill out their combat ability. Typically speaking, a tame ashmongrel will sell for about 50 SP in the cities.

Wild Ashmongrels prefer to hunt at night, though day hunting is not entirely uncommon either. They tend to sleep in small dens, dug deep in the dirt. Like cats, they can crawl through nearly any hole they can fit their head through, and they make use of this to keep their dens protected from larger creatures. Wild Ashmongrels are known for their stalking abilities and a party being chased by a pack at night will need to be particularly cautious as they will keep following until you either let your guard down, kill them, or become entirely unavailable to them.

Ashmongrel

Basic Stats:

# Encountered: 1d8 (2d6 at night)

HD: 1 

HP: 6

Defense: 6

Speed: 6

Attack Bonus: 2 (See Night Stalkers trait)

Attacks: 

Bite: 1d6 Damage

Special Traits:

Night Stalkers: At night, gain +1 Damage and Attack Bonus for every other Ashmongrel adjacent to the target of the attack

Cooking Information:

The flesh of Ashmongrels is tough, dry, and generally unpleasant. It requires no special preparation. Eating a rations worth of Ashmongrel flesh in any form triggers a roll on the following mutation table (1d10).

1. Ashhide. Your skin grows drier and ashier. If this happens ten times, lose 1d6 con as your skin becomes unbearably dry and thin, flaking off at the slightest provocation.
2. Really Rancid. Take 1d8 damage.
3. Rancid. Take 2 damage.
4. Rancid. Take 2 damage.
5. Rancid. Take 2 damage.
6. Particularly Nourishing! Fills your belly for an extra day.
7. Particularly Nourishing! Fills your belly for an extra day.
8. Particularly Nourishing! Fills your belly for an extra day.
9. Ashclaws. Your fingernails grow sharper and longer. If this happens five times, nails are long and sharp enough to do 1d6 damage as claws.
10. Eyes of the Hound. Your eyes begin to glow orange and darken the edges of your eyesockets. Gain perfect sight in darkness within 30'

Burrowing Wurms

Boreworm Swarm - PF2e

Burrowing Wurms are small, thin, slender worm-like creatures that attempt to burrow under the skin of passerby and slowly eat the life out of them as a parasite. They are usually about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide, but particularly successful ones can grow to be up to 12 inches long.

Their favorite entrance is through the mouth or rectum of a sleeping victim, but when cornered they have been known to violently create their own entrance with their razor-sharp mouth. Their sharp teeth and highly acidic saliva mean that they can burrow through nearly anything, and when they are not in a host, they usually burrow deep into the surrounding terrain and subsist upon small woodland creatures until they can find larger prey.

Being the host of a burrowing worm is a truly horrific experience. Their large size means that they press on the victim's organs as they move throughout the body, and that's before the pain of them actually tearing through your flesh. Most hosts are dead within hours from the excruciating pain or simple organ loss. Drinking highly basic compounds has been rumored to expel such a creature, but the level of base needed is likely toxic to the drinker as well.

They prefer warm, damp locations and despise fire. They tend to gather into swarms when hunting seriously.

Burrowing Wurm

Basic Stats:

# Encountered: 2d6

HD: 1 

HP: 3

Defense: 8

Speed: 4

Attack Bonus: 2

Attacks: 

Bite: 1d4 Damage

Rupture Organs: 1d8 (See Horrific Parasite trait)

Special Traits:

Horrific Parasite: After this creature successfully bites another, this creature can spend its next action entering the bitten creature. After which it can spend its actions using the Rupture Organ attack, which does not require an attack roll. This can be prevented if a creature can spend an action removing the Wurm before it enters. After it enters, the Wurm can be expelled by; drinking basic compounds (such as bleach), surgery, magic, or by killing the Wurm. Attempting to hit the Wurm while it is inside you grants the attack disadvantage, and always does an equal amount of damage to yourself.

Cooking Information:

The flesh of Burrowing Wurms is highly acidic, if such precautions are not taken to lower the acidity, then eating the flesh causes 1d6 Damage from the acid. The following mutation table is only to be rolled on if the acid is not diminished (2d6-1). Flesh, where the acid has been diminished, is considered a delicacy among Zorn residents as it takes on a very soft spongey texture with a slightly sweet taste, although it still looks disgusting.

1.  Live Egg Sac. As you finish your meal, you feel a wriggling in your gut as many Burrowing Wurms hatch inside you. 1d6 of them to be exact, and they are hungry.
2.  Poisonous Meat. Take 1 permanent Con damage as you feel weakened from the meal.
3.  Highly Acidic. Take 1d4 Damage as the acid burns your innards.
4.  Highly Acidic. Take 1d4 Damage as the acid burns your innards.
5.  Highly Acidic. Take 1d4 Damage as the acid burns your innards.
6.  Highly Acidic. Take 1d4 Damage as the acid burns your innards.
7.  Hairless. Lose all the hair on at least one part of your body, that part becomes slightly longer, strangely meaty, and worm-like.
8.  Extra Saliva. You now generate about twice as much saliva as you did.
9.  Bulbous Flesh. A small growth appears on a random part of your body, similar to a tumor...
10.  Strong Jaws. Your jaws gain a large amount of strength, -2 on checks and attacks related to biting things.
11.  Acidic Saliva. Your throat builds up a layer of acidic saliva, horribly burning and scarring it, lose the ability to speak but you can now melt things weaker than iron with your saliva. Organic material melts almost immediately while metals and minerals take time.

Metallisk

Dragon - Kostiuk Petro

Metallisks are strange creatures. They resemble the dragons of old world myth but are longer and lankier, their "wings" are closer to vestigial nubs that can double as claws, and their scaly skin is as hard as metal.

The reason for their strong skin is the saliva that they produce. Metallisk saliva is molten hot and contains metal that they then lick across their scales with, producing a metallic coat. This requires quite a lot of metal and in order to facilitate this, a metallisk eats nearly as much metal as it does flesh. Metallisk coats vary quite a lot as it is made out of the metal that a metallisk devours. Rumours even speak of lost cities guarded by golden metallisks who feasted on lost treasure.

Due to the intense heat of the molten saliva, the metallisk's bite and spit are highly dangerous. This is especially true because metallisks have been known to spray their molten saliva in response to danger.

Metallisks are highly territorial creatures, anything caught trespassing will be cruelly hunted down and eaten. The only time one will cross a wandering metallisk will be in the case of a starving one, something most adventurers could never survive.

Hunting metallisks are usually relatively carefree and sadistic, preferring to play with their food rather than quickly killing it, particularly clever adventurers may survive this if they can make a timely retreat. Threatened, cornered, or starving metallisks are much more dangerous however, making sure to kill or maim as much as they physically can in as little time as possible.

Metallisks prefer life in solitary ruins that contain a large supply of metal and treasure.

Metallisk

Basic Stats:

# Encountered: 1

HD: 10

HP: 75

Defense: 4

Speed: 3

Attack Bonus: 5

Attacks: 

Bite: 1d4 + Spit Damage

2x Claw: 1d8 each

Molten Spit Cone: 3d8 in a 15' cone, usable once a day

Special Traits:

Cooking Information:

Metallisk flesh is tough and gamey but has a deeper flavor that can be greatly enjoyed by Zorn residents. The flesh itself is not dangerous but has been known to contain chunks of scale and metal that can be choked on if not careful. 

Special Preparation: Boiling an entire metallisk in its own saliva for an entire day can produce a stew that can bring out the mutagenic properties of the flesh. The rest of the stew is absolutely delicious but whoever eats the heart of the metallisk from such a stew, rolls on the following table (1d4).

1. Scaly Armor. Your unarmored AC is now lowered by 2 as your flesh scales over.
2. Vestigial Wings. Gain two fleshless wings on your back that you can control as claws (1d8 damage). Any armor you wear must be custom-produced. Control all your Vestigial Wings as one action.
3. Molten Spit. Your saliva is molten hot, You can melt metal with your mouth. You lack the physical ability to spit a cone of it though.
4. Clawed Visage. Your feet and hands morph into something resembling a meaty version of a reptile's claws. Gain -3 bonus to climbing.

Parrot Mantis

Fairy - Kostiuk Petro

Parrot mantises are strange creatures. They are small mantis-like creatures that resemble twisted versions of old-world fae. Their name comes from the fact that they can seemingly speak human languages.

Cursory research shows that, also like parrots, they do not understand a word of what they speak. Typically this "voice" is used to signal distress. When threatened it will attempt to distract its oppressor through loud yelling, screaming, or pleading. This sometimes has the intended side effect of calling in confused adventurers.

In addition, the parrot mantis has a few unique abilities that some would only describe as "magic". First off, adventurers gathering near it have reported strange hallucinations. These hallucinations range from everything from the stuff of nightmares to mundane objects to heavenly decorations and everything in between. The hallucinations seem at least loosely tied to its mood. Also, it emits a very pleasant smell that seems to nullify any hostile feelings one may have towards it until the scent is removed.

When not threatened, the parrot mantis has been known to enjoy tricking any manner of creatures it comes across, beast and human alike.

All being told, the parrot mantis is one of the few creatures that will not immediately threaten the life of the adventurers that stumble across one. For this reason (and a few others), many have offered large sums of gold for possession of a captured and tamed one, none have succeeded yet.

Parrot Mantis

Basic Stats:

# Encountered: 1

HD: 1

HP: 1

Defense: 2

Speed: 10

Attack Bonus: 0

Attacks: 

Bite: 1d4

Special Traits:

Mimic Noise: The parrot mantis can mimic any noise, it prefers voices and will use them for deception liberally

Create Hallucination: The parrot mantis passively creates shared hallucinations within 50' of it. These hallucinations are loosely controlled by it and its mood. The mantis can stop them if it wishes to hide.

Mantis Pheremones: Anyone within 25' of the parrot mantis must make a con save every round or lose the ability to even contemplate acting against the will of the mantis. Attempting to attack the mantis directly will force another save against this effect.

Cooking Information:

Parrot mantises are crunchy. In a blind taste test, one might describe them as tasting like a "leafy cracker". There isn't a whole lot to enjoy, but there isn't a whole lot to dislike either. Some claim that they taste better fried, but very few of these have ever been killed so none can back up that claim. 

Special Preparation: Swallowing a parrot mantis alive and whole will cast a random spell centered on yourself and then force a roll on the following table (1d6).

1.  Part of your body permanently turns invisible, this does not include equipment.
2.  Gain an additional ten types of photoreceptor cells, like the famed Mantis
3.  You begin passively generating strange hallucinations based on your mood within 5' of you. Suffer from horrible nightmares.
4.  You smell very nice, -2 bonus to social checks that would be improved by this.
5.  Gain the ability to mimic any noise with your mouth.
6.  Gain 1 MD permanently, cannot benefit from this a second time, lose 1d6 Wisdom or Charisma

Carnis Dreţe

Every once in a while, in a moment of immense bloodshed. A sapling is created. This is the Carnis Dreţe.

At first, it will be small and weak, but if the bloodshed does not cease, it will continue to grow and grow. 

Soon it will kill on its own, It will seek to end as much life as it physically can.

Eventually, when its neverending hunger ends, it will bloom a beautiful flower.

It is said that eating this flower grants immortality and god-like power.

But usually, it dies as a sapling.

Carnis Dreţe

As a sapling, any damage dealt to anything living is multiplied by 2 when within 15 feet of it.

As a small tree, the damage multiplier is 3x within 30 feet of it.

As a grown tree, the damage multiplier is 5x within 120 feet.

As an elder tree, the damage multiplier is 10x within 240 feet, and the flower grows,'

Every step after the small tree phase gives the tree 10 tendrils that can independently attack for 1d8 damage each (before multipliers). It will refrain from attacking anyone who conciously feeds it.

The sapling requires 10-25 kills to hatch from whatever mysterious machinations spawned it.

Each phase after requires 10x the amount of kills to feed it.

If it does not meet the kills required to grow within (5 x the damage multiplier of the next phase) days, then it immediately dies, blighting the surrounding area.

Cooking Information:

The carnis dreţe is a deadly meal that few ever have the chance to eat, let alone survive. Eating the flesh of the plant itself will immediately kill you from it's toxicity. You will feel your blood boil until the flesh surrounding it begins to bubble and peel off. Your bones will develop minute cracks until the painful seizures caused by its poison causes you to shatter them through your disintegrating flesh. You will die a horrible and painful death. No preparation will change this.

Eating the flower, however, is a very different story. Immediately, you will gain the powers of a 4th level sorcerer, this is separate from whatever class templates you may already have. Then roll a d4, if you roll a 3 or lower, you immediately lose your mind, go insane, and mutate into a beautiful but horrifying outsider, Carnis Magi.

Outsiders

Demon - Kostiuk Petro

Outsiders are the strange, unknowable, and incomprehensible denizens of Zorn. Nearly every single Outsider is uniquely strange, but there are a few similarities between them. 

To start, most of them are humanoid in shape, many contain strange shapes, appendages, and alterations, but usually, there appears to be some strange familiarity to their frame. In addition, nearly all of them have some form of sapience and intelligence, very few communication attempts render anything results outside unbridled violence or horrifying magick, but many have been seen acting outside of pure instinct. Finally, they all contain bizarre abilities that seemingly defy logic and physics as the greater world knows it.

There are many theories to what Outsiders are and where they come from. Some say that they are the true natives of Zorn, some claim that they are demons from some greater plane like Hell, and others fear that they are past adventurers claimed by greed and death. In truth, all of these theories are correct, though some more than others. There are a variety of ways that an Outsider is formed and none of them are pleasant.

If a PC becomes an Outsider through any means, they are put under DM control unless some very special interactions come into play somewhere.

Outsiders are deadly.

Orc - Kostiuk Petro

Ogre - Kostiuk Petro

A Note on Humanity

Humans are weak. In general, you should build human enemies as player characters. You can afford to skimp fine details like classes, but things lie HP and HD should stay within the human range (A good rule of thumb is 8-16). Truly heroic enemies or allies may appear as "peak" humanity or mutated variants that can slightly surpass this limit, but humans should never be the scariest things your players see.