Monsters and Creatures

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"Well, as Metamor's chief scout and resident expert on Lutins, I've been asked to write down my thoughts on the little green creeps. For the last seven years I've been hunting and killing them. My score stands at three hundred and forty five.

"There are many creatures that inhabit the northlands besides the Lutins and I'll pass along what I know about all of them."

-- Misha Brightleaf


Contents:

Lutins:

These creatures range from 4' to 5 1/2' in height. Most are green in color but I've seen brown and black coloration also. Mammalian, they breed like rabbits (sorry about that Phil. I couldn't pass up the joke). Lutins can interbreed with human and half-lutins have occurred but are very rare. A lutin is an adult at age five and live to be about twenty. Some people say that a lutin has the life span equal to a humans. I wouldn't know. I've never seen one older than thirty and never heard of one dying of old age. Life for a lutin is short and violent. Tough as nails, they can survive and flourish in almost any environment. What they lack individually is more than made up for in sheer numbers. There greatest strength is their numbers. You will never see a lutin alone. A lone lutin will soon be a dead lutin.

Society:

The strongest bully and control the weak. Tribal by nature. Typical Tribe names like Rippers, Slashers, Silent Knives. Violence is a key part of lutin society. The various tribes, and clans are constantly fighting each other. It takes a very powerful leader to unite the lutins onto one army. Some past leaders include Grim Ironfist, and Turack the slaughterer. Nasoj is trying to unite the tribes but with limited success. His failure to take Metamor Keep before weighs heavily against him. Still, the idea that he may someday succeed is a very serious threat. One that many work to stop.

Living Places:

Lutins will live anywhere. They can build in stone and are fairly good at it, but they prefer to steal or bully their way into other peoples buildings. A common occurrence in the north is a tribal stronghold. Sometimes wood, sometimes stone, sometimes dug underground, but most often a little of all three. Ramshackle in appearance but surprising strong, they are meant to shelter the whole tribe from an attack (usually from another tribe).

Weapons and Warfare:

Lutins are scavengers and will go into battle using whatever they can find. Some will have steel swords, others spears, bows, bronze knives, slings, clubs or whatever they can find, steal, or make. They have also been known to use poison on their weapons.

Lutins know how to make steel and the larger tribes do have forges, and weapon smiths, but steel weapons remain in short supply. I myself own a long sword I took from a lutin chief I killed. It's entirely lutin made and is of high quality steel. The sword's edge is sharp enough to cut paper without tearing. Thankfully such weapons are in short supply. I have seen lutin weapons made of sharpened stones, bronze, copper, wood, bone (human bone being favorite material), and iron.

Animals:

Lutins are known to have domesticated various animals for guards, pets and mounts for cavalry. Known creatures are: ponies, dogs, wolves, giant cats, dire wolves (giant wolves, the size of a pony), ferrets, and giant spiders. Basically lutins will use anything they can beat or bribe into obeying them.

Magic:

There are lutin magic users. Much of lutin magic is shamanistic but other types have appeared. Lutins are immune to the curse of Metamor Keep, but half-lutins aren't. At least 1 half-lutin has been changed by the keeps magic.




Giants:

The human like creatures stand from 10' to 20' tall. They are best described as large, powerful and phenomenally stupid. Driven by their base emotions, they are easily bribed with food or liquor (especially liquor).




Ogres:

Smaller and smarter than giants, and a lot more dangerous. Often found as leaders of their own gangs or even tribes of lutins.




Trolls:

Not as large as ogres but three-times tougher. Even stupider than giants, they are basically large killing machines. Often bribed by lutins to fight for them.




Were-creatures:

No doubt you have heard tales spoken of the legendary were-beasts. The legends surrounding these creatures are as varried as their forms. From the oft spoken of werewolf to the lesser known wererodent, these creatures come in many shapes and forms. In fact, were-creatures may be a whole group of creatures, not just a single one. Tales tell of them as demonic, or completely anamilistic, or as normal in mind as you or I.

Their is a lot of variation in this curse, if it is even a curse. Some have complete control over the degree of their form, much as an animorph Metamorian can. Others are goverened by cycles of nature; usually tied to the movement of the sun or the moon. Some have a morphic form, some do not.

Few have been encountered near Metamor, though one is known to inhabit the Keep itself.


Galumph:

6 legged monster. Covered in thick fur. Likes the taste of lutins. Named for the sound it makes while running.




Lurkers:

Like a trap door spider. The size of a small horse. Lurks in a camouflaged hole.

The term lurker is also used to describe shadowy figures, often at the edge of presception, that are seen within the halls of Metamor. There is no relation between the two other then name.




Shrieker:

A Shrieker isn't from this world. They are born in the Underworld. Nobody knows how. They can only come to this world when somebody opens a gateway between the two. Wessex would know more about them, since his studies have always been towards the darker side of magic. Very powerful and rarely seen.




Darkmen:

Another creature not of this world. A humanoid figure, devoid of light. Ice cold to the touch.




Tundra Moles

A large, furless creature the size of an elephant but only rarely seen. They live below the permafrost level in the far north, tunelling slowly along in search of food. They are omniverous, and will eat whatever they can find or catch unawares. Generally they are slow moving, contenting themselves with the abundant succulent roots just below the surface of the soil. Occasionally they will sit in wait along animal runs and spring forth with amazing speed to capture a passing elk or reindeer. The will also eat what carrion they come across, eating the entire carcass and leaving nothing behind save a mound of disturbed earth.

They are generally not found very far south except in winter, for anything over 50 degrees farenheit would quickly kill them.

In appearance they are huge mole-like beasts with powerful, short limbs tipped with huge claws for digging. Along their shoulders and spine are long spikes used for moving through the earth. Their heads are bread and flattened, with 'barbels' around the muzzle that sense the world around their heads. They are utterly blind, using their accute sense of smell and highly evolved sense of touch to understand their surroundings.

Lutins generally avoid any place where a Mole may be feeding, as they are little more than prey for the beasts.

On occasion, powerful human mages will entrap a mole and use it to turn the land so that they may build upon it, or to raze the buildings of enemies. Eventally, though, this overwork proves fatal to them.




Moondogs

These are magical beasts, summoned by worshipers of Lilith as guardians and trackers. They are utterly silent, even when moving through areas where they should make noise. They do not bark, or make any other social canine sounds. The only vocalization they have is their howl. That howl is a sound of terror and death, sounding different to each person that hears it. The beast radiates an aura of fear that only those bonded with them are immune to.

They look like long legged hunting hounds, being slender of frame, with narrow heads. Their muzzles are full of short, very sharp teeth, which they use to shread their prey. Thier primary diet is not flesh, however. It is fear. They feed by some unknown manner on the fear they create, which is drained from their victims like life force. They also drain the life energy from the earth around them, and can nullify incantations created with that magic by draining it. It is not known how they affect other forms of magic.

One tribe of Lutins has taken these creatures as their tribal totem, having any number of them with their tribe at any one time. The entire tribe seems to be immune to their fear effects.




Darkhorses

These animals were once perfectly normal horses, but through dark and little known magics, mages of the northland have created something altogether different... altogether more dangerous. The magics summon some form of otherworldly force into the host of the horse, giving life to the nameless force placed within them.

The magic changes them to a charcoal black, making their eyes a livid red. Only the mage who enchanted them seems to be able to command them, any else who attempt to do so are at risk of their lives.

Encounters with these beasts are rare, so it is unknown if the dark spirits within them can be exorsized, or even if the monsters can be slain.




Thirdaks

Believed to have originally come from a world replete with magic, these voracious creatures, resembling a crocodillian with two powerful back legs and no front legs, survive by consuming magic. To the best of anyone's knowledge, it is impossible to harm a thirdak using magic, or even to directly affect it magically. The thirdak simply metabolizes whatever magic is thrown at it. In the wild, thirdaks are voracious predators, hunting any magical creature from pixies to genies. However, they can be tamed, and have become the pet of choice for the antimagical Hipocci.