BESTIARY

Table of Contents

• Templates
  • Size
  • Sentient Animals
  • Non-human PCs
  • Mutant Casters
• Threat
  • OSR Conversions
• Sample Creatures
  • Babblin
  • Creep Candle
  • Dragon, young
  • Grue
  • Horse, Riding
  • Human, Librarian
  • Human, Zombie
  • Mimic
  • Noodler

Templates

Every character has a Template to describe their basic form as well as how they are different from a human. A Template a set of helpful or harmful Traits; animal, monstrous, or alien. This method handles transformations, body-swapping, mutations, curses, and other strangeness with little fuss.

Traits are treated as special equipment that cannot be removed, for better or worse. As such, they inflict or relieve Load, as in the Encumbrance section. Traits with positive Load are advantages, those with zero Load balance out, and negatives relieve Load. Creatures with many abilities and few drawbacks pay for it with a lot of innate Load. This means fantastic creatures like dragons tend not to carry around a lot of stuff. Aside from the obvious metabolic strain, it is hard to fit a backpack over dorsal spines and giant wings.

Many of the Traits below may give unstated benefits or drawbacks. For example, a character with the Size (Small) Trait would be able to fit through tight openings and such without saying so explicitly.

Size

Fantasy fights often involve wildly mismatched opponents - giants vs. dwarves, elves vs. elephants, knights vs. windmills, etc. Each size step is a huge increase in height and weight. Creatures with a Size larger than human get more HP to account for this. This has diminishing returns at larger sizes, as their weak points and vitals are also larger targets. Str modifiers reflect lesser differences within a Size category, such as between breeds of horses.

Size does not affect the Str Attribute itself. Instead, it changes the dice for damage and Rallies. For example, a medium-sized character with +1 Str and a dagger does 1d6+1 damage, a large one does 2d6+1, and a small one does 1d4+1. A Critical works as usual, adding the max of one die to the Roll. In this case, the medium-sized character would do 1d6+7, the large one 2d6+7, and the small one 1d4+5.

Load for carried gear is scaled to human size. If it comes up, you can use the Rolls column to scale Load for other Sizes. A Tiny creature would count 1 Load as 3, a Large one would count 2 Load as 1, and so on.

SIZES

* before adding Str (damage) or End (Rally).

** also applies to AP (Armor Points)

The Tiny and Small Sizes reduce die to a smaller type. For example, d12 to d10 is one smaller while d8 to d4 would be two. This can take a d4 down to uncommon die sizes: d3 (d6/2) or d2 (d4/2).

While larger Size can be a big advantage, it can also make it harder to use cover, entrances, mounts, clothes, or vehicles made for smaller folks. Falling does more damage to larger creatures, raising the damage by their HP multiple in the table above.

LIST OF TRAITS

• Amorphous: a body with no solid form, such as a slime or amoeba. Those with this Trait take half damage from attacks without an Element, such as most physical weapons. They can also squooze through small openings, which takes one Move Action per Size difference between the creature and the opening. Larger worn items might not be able to pass through with them.

• Armored: covered in a leathery hide, scaly plates, force fields, thick fur, etc. There are four levels of this (light, medium, heavy, ultra), matching the types of armor available as gear. This includes the usual Rally die type increase from armor.
• Attack: claws, teeth, horns, breath weapons, spurs, stingers, etc. Different types (Close, Strike, Reach, etc.) reflect the diversity of natural attacks. Size applies to the damage dice used, and Elements can be chosen just as with Spells.
• Bane: harmed by something harmless to most humans, like a vampire turning to ash in sunlight or a werewolf’s weakness to silver. Rare banes like silver are -1 Load, while something common like sunlight is -2. Exposure inflicts the Burning Status, meaning they cannot Rally and take 1d6 damage per Round.
• Construct: an animated object. Immune to mortal Poison, Disease, and Deprivation but must Recover using a crafting-related OCS.
• Climb: a body made for climbing such as a squirrel, caterpillar, or monkey. This halves the DF on Move Checks to climb obstacles or scale foes.
• Drain (Template): absorb the life force of others. If Staggered, they may immediately clear this Status by inflicting a Felling Blow on a living victim of the chosen Template. the draining attack must use either an unarmed bite or other specific method.
• Explosive: explodes when defeated. Fallen creatures with this Trait die instantly but inflict 1d8+Str damage to all in the same Zone. Size affects these dice as usual.
• Fast: can run amazingly fast, like a horse or a cheetah. Add a Zone of Move for each Load, with finer differences in speed reflected by their Agi.
• Flammable: catches fire easily when exposed to an open flame, common for dusty undead or things made of wood or paper. If hit with a Fire Element or otherwise exposed to flame, they suffer the Burning status.
• Flight: the creature has wings or other powers allowing them to fly freely. They may Move two Zones in any direction, negate falls if conscious, and ignore most obstacles.
• Graspless: lacks hands or fine manipulators and cannot wield most weapons or tools.
• Immobile: cannot Move effectively on their own and do not get a Move or Free Move.
• Innate Spell: the creature can cast a certain Spell without Learning it or using a Materia or Ephemera. This can be taken multiple times for different Spells. This is good for magical creatures or gifted humans.
• Jump: the creature has strong legs or other apparatus enabling amazing leaps. The character may use their Move to leap an entire Zone upwards or two across. This also halves fall damage and the difficulty of overcoming most obstacles.
• Keen Smell & Hearing: sensitive ears and nose, like those of a dog or elephant. Always count as alert and face only half DF for Insight Checks reliant on smell or hearing.
• Keen Vision: sharp eyes like those of a hawk or mantis shrimp. Always count as Alert and face only half DF for Insight Checks reliant on vision.
• Mimicry: the creature can change their outward form to seem like another object or creature. Nearly indistinguishable from the original, they halve their Sneak DF if fittingly disguised.
• Nightvision: see perfectly well in the dark, like a cat or other nocturnal hunter. This negates visibility penalties for darkness unless entirely pitch black, such as a well-sealed room or deep cavern.
• Regeneration: a healing factor or a strange body type that springs back quickly from injury. Their Recovery Checks are at half DF.
• Resistance: insulating fur against cold, a ceramic shell to protect from heat, etc. An Element like Fire, Cold, Void, etc. or weapon quality like Stun, Area effect, etc. must be chosen. This means they can easily weather certain climates and halve damage coming from that Element.
• Shifter: the creature can change into another form as part of their Rally action. Make a new Template for the alternate form. If the other form does not also have the Transform Trait, it is one-way, and they cannot shift back!
• Size: difference in Size when compared to a human. This alters HP and damage/rally dice. Details are given in the Size paragraph above .
• Skeletal: having no flesh means cutting and piercing weapons are less effective. Physical attacks made by weapons without the Stun feature do half damage. They also sink like a stone in water, facing double DF when swimming.
• Slow: like a slug or sloth. It takes two Move Actions to move one Zone.
• Speechless: cannot use spoken language as we know it, limited to basic grunts or calls.
• Stretch: a long appendage or stretchy limbs reach all the way into adjacent Zones. These can take Actions or make Melee Attacks as if they were in the next Zone. Obstacles lessened by reaching to or over them present half their usual DF.
• Undead: an animate corpse. Undead are immune to Poison, Disease, and Deprivation but cannot make Recovery Checks. Many undead also have the Drain Trait to get around this limitation.
• Unstable: it is possible to dispel or undo the magic that animates the creature. A Dispel will kill them outright if successful. This Dispel is at d12 unless the caster has the Spell that animated them or is using the Purge Spell.
• Venomous: an insidious venom like that of a snake, platypus, or scorpion. This applies to a specific damaging Attack, whether unarmed or with a natural weapon. The poison is lethal with a 1d6 Buildup per round. Each extra Load adds a dose to the attack.
• Vulnerability: overly affected by the elements. Choose an Element tag like Fire, Cold, Void, etc. or weapon quality like Stun, Area effect, etc. for each Vulnerability taken. This means they have a hard time in related climates and take double damage from that Element or weapon quality.

Sentient Animals

A common theme in fantasy stories and settings, especially as victims of transformation magic. Animal characters choose or roll Attributes as normal. If they have human intelligence, they should also choose an OCS that shows it, just like a human character. If the animal form normally has the Speechless or Graspless Traits, those may be bought off as Load.

Non-human PCs

Settings often have non-human or demi-human options, like elves, dwarves, androids, minotaurs, etc. This is easy enough to do just by creating a Template for them. If they have strong innate leanings toward certain Attributes, it is enough to say the favored Attribute should not be their lowest.

Mutant Casters

Clever human characters, or at least their players, might figure out they can cast Spells without Materia or Ephemera if they change their Templates to include Innate Spell. Artifacts may exist that allow permanent changes to their form. Arguably, changing their Template makes them no longer purely human, and they must deal with the resulting Load and whatever identity crises result.

Occasionally, a gifted human is born who can cast Spells on their own via the Innate Spell Trait. This usually causes them more than their fair share of problems.

TEMPLATES

Threat

To make things easier on Imps, un-named NPCs do not need a full set of Attributes. Instead, they get a Threat rating consisting of two numbers divided by a plus or minus sign, i.e., “2+1” or “5+3.”

The first part of a Threat rating is their Base, which replaces Attributes on Checks and Rolls. Add 10 and you a DF that forms their WP and AF. Multiply by 5 to get HP. Not all NPCs with a Threat rating are dangerous, but they could be.

The second part is their current Load from gear or special abilities. This factor drastically influences the danger involved in facing them. The max current Load is Base x 2, so it is not unusual to see creatures with Load higher than their Threat Base. This should only be for gear or Traits, do not count benign burdens like gold or backpacks for this.

THREAT

…and so on.

While un-named (Threat-level) NPCs get a WP score to resist mental and social Checks, they cannot normally spend WP.

Named NPCs and some unique monsters still use full Attribute sets like a PC. If you need to convert, every four full Levels is worth about 1 Threat Base, and vice-versa. This is shown in the last column of the Threat table above, for reference.

OSR Conversions

One way to convert creatures from Old School Revival (OSR) and similar games is to let the total of Threat and Load stand in for a creature’s “HD.” For example a creature from a bestiary with 7 HD might have a Base of 4 and 3 Load from Traits, or any other combination. In practice and across all sorts of RPGs, there is no truly accurate scheme for comparing power levels. This will give you a place to start cross-game comparisons, however.

Sample Creatures

The section to follow presents a smattering of classic fantasy NPCs including creatures, people, and monsters. These make it easy to run a typical adventure and to guide you in making NPCs for your own setting. This is not a detailed bestiary; it is only a set of convenient examples to get you going.

For unnamed NPCs, the title of each entry is their Template, with their Career behind a comma. For example, “Human, Peasant.” This gives them a d20 on anything they should know relating to either. For example, a “Squirrel” would get a d20 on gathering nuts, chattering, and scurrying but not for translating ancient languages or lying about gods. Only named or unique NPCs get a full and specific PC writeup with Quest, Origin, Skills, etc.

The following entries show creatures at their typical Threat. Imps may always boost them to portray elite examples of their ilk or even just to nudge them up to an appropriate level for the setting or adventure.

Babblin

Threat: 1+1
Base: +1
DF: 11
HP: 5
Rally: 1d4+1
Size: Medium
Move: 1
Attacks:

• Claws & Teeth: (Hit +2, 1d6+1 dmg)
• Spell (Confuse): Check +1 vs. WP to Confuse.

Defenses: none
Template: Babblin [Attack (close), Innate Spell (Confuse), Speechless].
Gear: torn clothing

These gibbering reptilian monsters endlessly seek an unknown Artifact, perhaps to reverse their hideous transformation. In combat, they use their Confuse Spell to set their target babbling as well, then rend the delirious victims with their claws and teeth.

Creep Candle

Threat: 1-3
Base: +1
DF: 11
HP: 5
Rally: 1d3+1
Size: Small
Move: ½ (Slow)
Attacks:

• Digestion: Hit +1, ½d4+1 (2-3) dmg
• Explosion (at <0 HP): 1d3+1 dmg to Zone

Defenses: none
Template: Lambent Polyp [Explosive, Climb, Size(small), Slow, Speechless, Graspless]
Gear: none, random animal bones.

Glowing puffballs drawn toward the warmth of the living; they provide light but get underfoot. If killed, they explode in a cloud of spores and gravel. Mostly a nuisance to adventurers trying to rest, as the unwary may wake up covered in them.

Dragon, young

Threat: 4+6
Base: +4
DF: 14
HP: 50
Rally: 2d6+4
Size: Large
Move: 1
Attacks:

• Bite/Claw: (Hit +2, 2d6+5 dmg, Grapple)
• Fiery Breath: (2d6+5 Fire dmg to Zone, Rng 2)

Defenses: Scaly hide (5AP), Resist Fire (½ dmg).
Template: Dragon, young [Size (large), Flight, Armor (light), Resistance (Fire), Vulnerability (Cold), Attack (close), Attack (ranged area, Fire)].
Gear: none on them, but there is probably 1d12 x 1000 cp of starter loot hidden away somewhere.

Immature and arrogant. Only the size of a large horse, but eager to make their scorch mark on the world. In combat, they like to first pick off stragglers then use their fiery breath on those who bunch up in a group for protection.

Grue

Threat: 3+2
Base: +3
DF: 13
HP: 30
Rally: 2d6+3
Size: Large
Move: 1
Attacks:

• Maul: (Hit +4, dmg 2d6+3)

Defenses: none
Template: Grue [Nightvision, Attack(close), Size(large), Bane(light)]
Gear: none

An unseen devourer in the darkness that stalks intruders. Many say they do not exist and are only waking nightmares, and this is at least partly true. Their shadowy forms will flicker away when exposed to light, each unfortunate witness seeing a different umbral form.

Horse, Riding

Threat: 2+1
Base: +2
DF: 12
HP: 20
Rally: 2d4+2
Size: Large
Move: 2
Attacks:

• Kick: (Hit +3, 2d4+2 dmg)

Defenses: none
Template: Horse [Fast, Size (large), Speechless, Graspless]
Gear: saddle, bridle, horseshoes.

Speedy and self-sufficient, horses are commonly ridden by adventurers and are a great aid to long journeys, halving travel times in friendly terrain. If they cannot run from a fight, they can trample or kick with their hooves. They can also wear barding, which acts as Armor of its type.

Human, Librarian

Threat: 1+0
Base: +1
DF: 11
HP: 5
Rally: 1d4+1
Size: Medium
Move: 1
Attacks:

• Dagger (Hit +2, 1d6+1 dmg, Rng 1)

Defenses: none
Template: Human
Gear: librarian robes, 3d6 cp.

Librarians keep themselves busy knowing where books are and shushing noisy adventurers. The job attracts those who are intelligent, detail-oriented, and reverent of musty old tomes.

Human, Zombie

Threat: 1-2*
Base: +1
DF: 11
HP: 5
Rally: 1d4+1
Size: Medium
Move: 1
Attacks: \

• Bite (Hit +0, 1d4+1 dmg)

Defenses: none
Template: Human [Undead, Unstable]
Gear: rotting clothes, *or as in life if recently raised.

Risen to a mockery of life by foul necromancy, these creatures are doomed echoes of their former selves. In combat, Zombies will grapple and bite. Though it is a terrible waste, those given weapons and even magic items can still use them.

Mimic

Threat: 3+0 Base: +3
DF: 13
HP: 15
Rally: 1d4+3
Size: Medium
Move: 1
Attacks:

• Toothy maw: (Hit +5, 1d6+6 dmg, Grapple)

Defenses: Mimicry
Template: Mimic [Mimicry, Attack (close), Speechless]
Gear: 1-20 cp in the mimic, another 1-100 cp worth of treasure scattered as bait.

Mimics lie in wait disguised as carrion or treasure, then spring to life and devour their greedy victims. A mimic makes a Sneak Check at half DF when adventurers arrive. They seem just as happy to Attack if spotted beforehand, however. The loot the mimic used as a model is often nearby.

Noodler

Threat: 1+0
Base: +1
DF: 11
HP: 5
Rally: 1d4+1
Size: Medium
Move: 1
Attacks:

• Grapple: Hit +2, 1d4+1 dmg, Range 1 due to Stretch)

Defenses: Amorphous (½ physical dmg) Flammable, Vulnerability (2x Fire dmg)
Template: Noodler [Amorphous, Stretch, Flammable, Vulnerability (Fire)]
Gear: torn clothing

These slender, ropy figures slip in and out of tiny cracks in caverns, dungeons, and ruins. Some say they were once human, others wriggling conspiracies of worms. Perhaps they are both, now. Whatever they are possesses an animal cunning, leading them to wait by traps to feed on the remains of the unwary.