[Creature Lore] The Forest Compendium: 1

[Classy]

Forest Compendium

The Hospitable

• Outside background flavor, these creatures can only be used in player events with OOC consent or by ET.
  
• Things made from them can be at best of the quality of basic mundane materials like wool, bone, leather, wood, cloth, and so on. Harvested poisons will degrade to giving nausea for 2 emotes when ingested or exposed to blood.
  
• These creatures cannot be tamed or domesticated by players unless otherwise stated.
  

Fernmorph

Always one stage rarer than what they mimic

Fernmorphs are considered the kin of spriggans, blessed according to their stories from the same drones which they once were. They appear like any other common form of fauna, save for being entirely made of floral matter. They bear most of the same aspects of what species they mimic, save for a resistance to blunt force and fire, a quarter of the normal weight, and a vulnerability to frost and cuts. Exposure to frigid cold is particularly effective against them, disabling motor functions where it strikes.

These floral mimics of animals can be found in nearly any temperate to tropical environment, but are rare to nonexistent in areas which are too cold, dry, or lack access to the sun. Rather than reproducing, they will rarely produce a seed which grows into a pupal plant that later transforms into an adult animal. Elemental attributes of a creature, such as a fiery breath, are instead either lost or replaced with a similar burning acid or fire that yields first to second degree burns on exposed flesh and embrittles metals.


Fernmorphs can only be tamed if the species they mimic can be domesticated or tamed.

Dredacula

Common

The “Headman’s Spider” is a dreaded creature known to dominate the ecosystem of deep, lightless sections of forest. It possesses a wide range of sizes and colors, ranging from the size of a small dog to a large bear and ranging from dark blacks and browns to vibrant purples and magentas. They possess many sensitive organs, including surprisingly sharp vision which can see all directions around them to various hairs which let them sense vibrations in silk and foliage.


The fangs of a dredacula can pierce through plate with enough time and force, delivering either a slow-acting paralyzing toxin to unbound targets or an acid which melts flesh upon the already dead. Its front legs are equipped with many claw-like spurs which allow them to fend off creatures, while its back legs are better suited for assisting in web usage. They can form structures of silk, shoot them out to ensure others, bind creatures, or shift color and form to make them appear like vines or ropes. Male adults are solitary, while females and the youth live in tight hives.

Dire Wolf

Very Common (Normal) || Uncommon (Warg)

A kin of folklore in temperate to cold regions, the dire wolf is a common beast that appears much like any other wolf, save for being the size of horses or bears. Most direwolves have pale white or pitch black coats, though they can rarely trend to browns, reds, or other natural colors.


These wolves have similar behaviors to wolves, though their packs are half the size and more inclined to solo hunting behaviors. Wild wolves have long teeth capable of spearing through medium armor and catching fish. A rarer variant, called a warg, is capable of speech and has humanlike intelligence, though incurable diseases passed through their blood renders most or all of these wargs partially or fully bald with bulging, sightless eyes. These wargs can mimic the speech of others that they hear.


Animalistic dire wolves can be domesticated, though they are effectively just horses.

Gloomskulker

Common

Wandering dense understories are the gloomstalkers, a bipedal reptile which ranges from the size of a wolf and horse. These nocturnal predators prefer foggy forested areas, often jungles or swamps, where they can rely on their excellent vision and sense of smell to track wounded prey through the tiring terrain. These can harm them however, as horrid smells or bright flashes can easily overwhelm them.


After childhood, all gloomstalkers possess a dangerous venom which afflicts those they bite with hastened bleeding that does not stop without herbal treatment, or magical intervention. Their scales are leathery and hard, causing sharp weapons to glance off them. These tough scales come in forest shades so they may more easily blend with their surroundings. These reptiles prefer to bite their target and then retreat, following until they are weakened or slain by the poison.

Leafcap

Uncommon

In the quiet, distant sections of calm woods inhabits the peculiar leafcap, an intelligent species of newt which never reaches sizes beyond a foot long. These quaint beings wear clothing entirely made of leaves and flowers, and are unable to speak normally. They rely on musical chirps which only those who have learned it can understand.


These creatures prefer wetter areas where their bodies can remain moist. This protective slime-coating is highly acidic, warding off most predators to them. Leafcaps still live in tiny homes inside or hanging from trees for protection, and will often broker with tall-folk to ward off persistent foes.


Leafcaps can be kept around as a companion equivalent to tamed creatures, but will never consider themselves “pets.”

Lumber Frog

Uncommon

A lumber frog is a vibrant species of amphibian that reaches the size of most oxen. These colorful creatures are unique for their many different colors and patterns which are determined by the location of their birth. Generally, red for arid areas, purple for cold, green for jungles, brown for forests, blue for swamps, and white for meadows. Wild frogs possess powerful feet and surprisingly thick skin, capable of jumping large distances or shrugging off piercing attacks.


The towering frogs are mostly docile unless provoked, as they much prefer feasting on carrion, bug hives, and rotting logs, though their frightening appearance lends them to be wrongfully attacked by many beasts and humanoids alike. Their tadpoles are far more aggressive, sometimes reaching sizes larger than most kobolds but lacking any teeth or powerful muscles to weaponize this aggression effectively. Lumber frogs can be domesticated to make for beasts of burden or mounts, though this process renders them completely harmless.


Lumber frogs can be domesticated.

Glossamwing

Rare

Often mistaken for fey or dragon, this being is a species of flying reptile with wings mimicking many forms of toxic butterflies. Each flap of these wings releases a pretty glittering dust which can be gathered and embedded into artisanal goods. Despite their imposing, regal forms, they are cat sized to their own displeasure.


They also often act like cats with a royal twinge, curious yet socially distant for the most part. They feed on small insects, fruits, and nectar from rare herbs. In fact, several species of herbs are particularly rare as the glossamwing is their only natural pollinator. These beings only mate once in their whole lives, and will only make a single clutch of three to five once during that partnership.


Glossamwing can be domesticated.

Trumpeter

Uncommon

Thundering across plains and light forests is the great trumpeter, a bipedal flightless bird of sizes ranging between a large bear and a giraffe. They indeed prefer regions between forests and open plains, using them to hide their often vibrant plumage before springing out to catch horses and cows that wander too close. The oversized beak has a bite force akin to a killer whale, capable of cutting a full horse in half with some effort.


Their name comes from the ear splitting calls their beak lets them make, something they use to startle prey before they strike. Large talons allow them to have short bursts of speed or rake smaller creatures that crowd around them. They prefer grazing animals most of all, but will certainly target humanoids or other “small” game that wanders too close.

Malenex

Rare

Of the countless forms of sapient life, it is said that none is as cruel as the malenex. These intelligent snakes live in constructed hollows in trees or shallow caverns where they torment passersby with their eerie mimicry of voices they have heard, similarly using their leathery, color changing scales as tools to trick and confuse wanderers. They can reach up to thirty feet long (though most do not break fifteen,) with long viper-like fangs and thick constrictor-like bodies.


The venom of the malenex robs the target of a random sense, which can be injected through fangs or released in a spitting spray upon exposed skin. Their tongues possess potent sensory organs which let them sense smells, temperature, and even emotion. While they favor nothing more than the smell of fear and despair, they enjoy bargains enough to be reasoned with. They will often bully leafcaps into assisting them in the creation of objects, as they lack the motor functions to do so themselves.