Pixie

I could have sworn the Pixie was a Tiny creature and had a bunch of mental material prepared in order to make fun of their tiny toothpick arrows. After learning to read, we find that the pixie is a Small Fey creature of the Sprite variety. This largely just means they use Primal illusion-based spells, and taking a cursory look at their features, that's more or less what you get.

That isn't to say the pixie doesn't pack a punch. Their best tool is undoubtedly Sprinkle Pixie Dust, which basically makes a pixie a crowd-control-only ranged Magus (except it only does the effect instead of dealing damage, but you get me). Customize this feature a bit, add some other crowd control or mental/nonlethal effects and you've got a potent salvo of fey debilitations coming in from 100 feet easy.

If your party is full of murderhobos, this little trickster has a pretty good chance of getting away due to the sheer number of effects its Pixie Dust can imbue upon its arrows (assuming it gets a turn). That shouldn't be a problem, though. Did I forget to mention it's an intelligent creature that can fly? It can be permanently invisible, even when it's attacking. Oh, also, its default attack has a range increment of 100 feet. And it's a level-4 creature. You do the math.

The pixie is a potent combatant to be sure. If the pixie gets into a fight that isn't in an enclosed space, it's going to have a massive advantage. Make sure you take that into account before you pit a bunch of them against your party and make the murderhobos roleplay losing 5+ minutes of their memory.

- TJ

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - The Twins of Renwood

Two identical pixie twins reside in the Renwoods. One is extremely helpful and is happy to guide anyone who wanders astray through the woods, while the other is a sadist who enjoys feeding would-be adventurers to the many trolls, hydras, and hags that call the woods home. More experienced rangers have learned the trick to differentiate them—the good twin hates sugar and will refuse to eat it, while the evil twin is addicted to it. Hence, anyone venturing into the woods is instructed to bring a sweet roll or two with them...

Hook 2 (Max) - The Ancient Liberator

Towns and villages around Ghastwood are plagued by a curse most eerie. Children are going missing during full moons, and some claim to hear their laughter coming from beneath the dark trees of the ancient forest. None dare enter the wood, however, as no one has ever returned from it.

Some speak of spirits haunting the woods while others think that a ferocious beast lives there. Many say they've seen small eyes glinting in the dark, accompanying the ominous giggling.

Alas, there is no beast or ghost, but an ancient force that lies within Ghastwood, older than any city, one that does not comprehend the human notions of good and evil. The children are inevitably drawn to it, and it offers to free them, turning them into something... new. New, but at the same time very, very ancient. They retain their memories but are freed from the shackles of humanity, as the sovereign of the woods grants them their new forms.

Hook 3 (Reece) - The King of Thorns

The King of Thorns was of the most powerful within the Court of Dark Hearts. Before they were locked away behind the Fallowfield, the fey king reigned havoc both within The Infinite Garden as well as the material plane. His most dangerous skill—the one that gained him the status he held within the Dark Court—was his ability to twist both the ambivalent and beneficent fey into hateful, spite-fueled creatures.

Now, locked away from his access to the majority of The Infinite Garden and his access to the material plane, he instead has taken to corruption of the uncaring pixies that wonder too closely to the Fallowfield. It is said that his touch can already be felt across the land. While most pixies are mischievous though innocuous, the Thorn Pixies have taken to mastering the arts of memory manipulation, which they now are using to sow chaos across the land. From the highest of the nobility to the lowliest of peasants, their false memories have cascading effects that are quickly spiraling toward outright civil war. Families turned against one another, friends against friends and lovers against lovers, all on the falsehoods The King of Thorns instructs them to craft.

Biding his time, the chaos has created an opening from which The King of Thorns can escape—some villagers have begun to beseech fey beings for a reprieve from the chaos, and The King is happy to oblige... For a price.

Pit Fiend (Tyrant Devil)

Looking at the Pit Fiend, one could mistakenly take this particular devil for a brutish type whose only trick is whacking the party with its giant claws. Don't get the wrong idea, it decidedly can (and will) crush you if you get too close, but this is not where it shines.

To start things off, the pit fiend has an impressive array of spells at its disposal, all high level, many of which can be cast at will (like bind soul or divine decree). But, believe it or not, they are not the most impressive tool in that devil's arsenal.

A pit fiend has one singular ability that caught my attention and elevated it to a "campaign level threat" status for me—Devil Shaping. Yep, the Pit Fiend can create devils out of the souls of damned mortals. Devils all the way up to level 20, mind you. It may choose not to, given that any Pit Fiend it creates will not be bound to it, as opposed to lesser devils, however, I ask you to bear with me here.

Devils are lawful, which makes them somewhat amiable towards negotiation. So, let's say a Pit Fiend creates another one in the span of ten days, then convinces it to join it. After another ten days, you have four. Then eight. Within the span of a month, you have eight level-20 fiends. A party of four can easily take a single Pit Fiend. Two might be a challenge, but they should still prevail. Four might be deadly. Eight edges on impossible. Sixteen? You straight-up want to kill your party. And, keep in mind, as long as there are souls to feed to the infernal furnace, the creation of more and more devils can continue.

And let's be realistic, there's no shortage of mortal souls down in Hell.

- Max

Hook 1 (Max) - The Sculptor

In Hell, souls are a currency, and those who can use it quickly rise in the infernal ranks. None are, however, more valued than the devils capable of molding the spirits of mortals into more powerful forms. Prime among them is the Sculptor, a true artist in the field, sought out by all fiendish overlords to boost the strength of their legions with servants.

He lives in a tower made of living, moaning flesh, surrounded by a moat of black tar. Flies and other corpse eaters create a black shroud surrounding the structure, the scent of decay is considered revolting even by some other fiends. Stalking the vast halls of the Tower of Scum are countless monsters wrought by his wicked hand, far more formidable than one might imagine.

The Sculptor enjoys his craft to a great degree, taking jobs from anyone willing to provide more souls. Many have tried to bend him to their will or even kill him, with mostly poor outcomes. It is rumored that one of the dukes that attempted it was twisted into a shadow of his former self and is now bound to guard the Tower as a mindless drone.

And so the Sculptor overlooks his domain, providing Hell with newer and more abominable creations, grinning his wicked grin, scheming and conniving, as his grand plan will soon come to fruition.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - The Queen's Plea

Between the cities of Arkhast and Blumenkhast, there lies a half-finished pyramid made of black obsidian. For ages untold, it has lain there, and while many rumours shroud the place in mystery, not a mortal alive today can point to its true origin. Many consider it a cursed place, owing to the fact that it lies on a corrupt ley-line and is situated in the only part of the forest not absolutely infested with mischievous but friendly fey-folk.

Several months ago, a minor but rich noble from a faraway land bought the land and put in motion plans to finish the building. While gossip soon blossomed, no one was truly concerned, as the deeply magical land had always been attractive to would-be occultists with money to spend.

That is, until one day when—mortally wounded—the Queen of Summer, mother of all the fey, appeared before the champions, begging them to find a way to stop the noble. Otherwise, she cried, the three-horned one would come back to finish what he started ten thousand years ago.

Hook 3 (TJ) - The Power of Bureaucracy

The tyrant devil drummed his clawed fingers on the edge of his skull throne, the other hand rubbing his forehead as he tried desperately to disperse the headache. He looked up at the phistophilus (he'd already forgotten her name), not bothering to hide the exasperation on his face.

He'd dealt with too many contractors during construction. At last, his brimstone palace was finally complete. Physically, at least. Finalizing the process and giving it a name wasn't as easy as just christening it in the blood of his enemies, apparently—though that was an important step.

"You mean to tell me that I can't call it 'The Palace of Unending Flame?' Why not? I'm Derthakk the Flame King. I went through all the trouble building it with that theme in mind."

"Yes, well, you decided to call yourself the Flame King, I don't remember an official title being approved. 'The Palace of Unending Flame' is taken, you'll have to call it something else."

"Alright, fine. 'The Brimstone Throne.' It has a nice rhyme to it, I could live with that."

"Yes, Kantherrik the Mad, which is his official title, liked it too. It's taken."

"'The Blazing Fortress.'"

"Taken."

"'The Scorching Kingdom.'"

"Taken."

He suggested about a dozen more that were all accounted for in-kind before digging his nails into his throne hard enough to leave gouges in the armrests.

"Perhaps," he said through gritted teeth, "I need some more time to dwell on it. I humbly request that you send me a list of names that are already taken. Until then, get out of my sight before I have to get a DIFFERENT contract devil to file an incident report."

She smiled sweetly and rolled up the contract they'd been poring over, his signature line tragically blank.

"Well, I suppose this might be a bad time for me to remind you that we cannot consider this a legitimate habitation without an agreed-upon name."

He suppressed a snarl. "What does that mean?"

"It means you can't live here, yet."

His frustrated, guttural yell resonated throughout the entirety of the unnamed palace and echoed through miles and miles of the surrounding hellscape.

Phistophilus (Contract Devil)

I'm tempted (get it?) to call the Contract Devil a quintessential one, because if there is one thing that we commonly associate with the devil, it's trying to pry mortals' souls away for a price, and this here baddie can do exactly that. A contract devil may offer an infernal contract that can grant any wish one might desire in exchange for their ever-living spirit being condemned to eternity in the fiery pits of Hell. As an added bonus, while the contract is in place, the devil always knows where you are.

In terms of its abilities, the phistophilus centers more around the social aspect, obviously, but can dish out some damage if need be (of note is that it attacks with the contracts attached to its horns, which are impervious to all damage). If the devil finds itself in a proverbial pickle, it can easily get away using its vast array of spells, should it find itself in serious danger.

So, how can we use the Contract Devil? To lure our players in with the promise of anything they might want, of course! I wouldn't put it past the fiend to appear before the party in their greatest time of need and offer them help, for a small price of one of their souls. The party can obviously try to retrieve their friend's spirit from Hell, but then again, that would be a direct violation of the contract, wouldn't it?

- Max

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - The Dealer is a Devil

Seemingly overnight, an old inn where even older sailors used to play games of chance grew into a gambling parlour the likes of which the world had never seen before. Set on three stories, with a small army of concierges, dice dealers, and bottle shakers in its employ, The Lucky Tooth is now an (in)famous institution. One of the things adding to the gambling parlour's popularity is that, unlike many other institutions of its kind, it will accept desperate calls of people to bet their clothing, horses or hounds, or even houses.

Hell, there are even rumors that a gaunt, clean-shaven, crimson-clad man will sometimes appear and offer the fallen one last chance: bet their immortal soul against as much as a thousand gold coins. After all, it's worth a shot, and they have nothing left to lose, right?

Hook 2 (TJ) - Get in Line

"I assure you, my terms are quite generous. Just sign here and you'll be anything you want to be, have whatever it is you want. A benevolent king, a ruthless despot, rich beyond your wildest dreams! I even had someone who wanted to be a dragon. Anything you want."

The terms were actually pretty generous. There was one sticking point, though. He pretended to mull it over, scratching at his stubble.

"Yeah, they do seem pretty generous. What about a deal that doesn't require my soul?"

"Darling, all I do is deal in souls."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, I just. The soul's off the table."

"What do you mean? You don't need it. It's not doing anything for you. It'll be in good keeping. All you have to do is sign here."

She had a point. A significant amount of power and prestige was being offered for something he didn't need right here and now. It was still a problem, though.

"Yeah, I still think that's a no-can-do. Sorry, I'll have to walk away from this one."

He could see the exasperation (and maybe a hint of desperation) flash across her face for the briefest of moments.

"Why not? I've been more than generous, we spent hours going over terms. You're going to leave it on the table here and now? One soul for anything you could ever want."

"Yeah, see, about that, there's the problem. See, I don't have my soul anymore. Already traded it. There's a bit of a line to get it."

The disbelief and genuine shock on her face lingered a bit longer. To her credit, she recovered quickly.

"That's no." She cleared her throat. "That's no problem. I don't normally do this, it's generally below us. What about your firstborn?"

"Yeah, see, about that..."

Hook 3 (Reece) - Piled on Paranoia

Shybrandila Shiver-tongue is on figuratively thin ice with her Archdevil. After botching up a deal with an evil fey, as well as cutting a deal with a mortal king that went awry, she is looking to up her soul-trading game. 

Mendar The Wise has been making somewhat questionable choices as of late. The aging Lord Commander of the Steelcap Knights believes that the local villages are plotting to storm their keep and steal from the order. Shybrandila, knowing him paranoid in his older age, has been whispering of dissent to Mendar and his eldest advisors, sowing dissent among them. 

Having primed the leaders of the order, Brandi is looking for some adventurers of questionable morals to scare the old knight by posing as thieving villagers. Should some actual stealing occur, she doesn't care either way, so long as she can drive the entire order to do terrible things to the locals, damning them all the same...

Phoenix

Of the many creatures that exist in the first Pathfinder bestiary, few are as rife with tropes as the Phoenix. The phoenix is, perhaps, the most recognizable creature in pop culture due to a particularly popular children's story about wizards, alongside the fact that it has been adapted and readapted ad infinitum across all sorts of literature and media.

Beyond how well known it is, the theme of death and rebirth that the phoenix is so readily associated with can be a powerful trope to leverage when you want to bring a little bit of extra drama to your table. What makes the Pathfinder 2nd edition Phoenix stand out? First off, it's gargantuan, making this iteration of the mythical beast literally larger than an elephant.

The phoenix as the book presents is both physically and magically powerful, accentuated by its very high level in comparison to other classically mythical creatures such as the unicorn or the pegasus. Also, unlike other depictions, the phoenix is sapient and can speak a slew of other languages.

There are many different reasons you may want to use a phoenix. As a rare creature, consider what impact a phoenix might have on the environment it inhabits. An enormous, good-aligned, fire-breathing beast could give many dragons a run for its money.

Lastly, I recommend that if you think there is sufficient reason for it to reflavor the phoenix to a different element or damage type. A frost phoenix that lords over a mountain range or a lightning phoenix that heralds a coming storm can make for a compelling and unique version that is unique to your setting.

- Reece

Hook 1 (Max) - Light My Fire

Every seventy-seven years, a fiery mote of magma erupts from the ground, heralding the arrival of a phoenix into the world. The birth of these ferocious creatures is a rare occurrence and a grand event at that. For a week the egg sits in its place, impervious to all magic, burning anyone who gets too close. After some time, a blinding flame bursts forth and envelops everything in a fifty-mile radius, proceeding to burn for months on end.

This, understandably, is not lenient to any creature that is not made of fire actually living a life, so there are precautions taken whenever magi report the emergence of a phoenix egg in the wild.

The trouble is, one of these rocks surfaced beneath the imperial capital and needs to be transported somewhere else before it hatches. Not only must this be done with extreme care, but the job must also be performed without the populace becoming aware of it, lest it causes a panic.

Hook 2 (TJ)- The Festival of Pigmented Plumes

During Fairsun In Tulgolthi lands, you can catch iridescent light shows as the locals celebrate the Festival of Pigmented Plumes. The storytellers all have their own spin on the story of what began this fireworks festival. Some say the adversary was a demon king seeking to corrupt the eggs of the phoenix. Others say it was a draconic empress, bent on removing any opposition to her throne. All agree that the phoenix was very clever and insisted on a fight in familiar terrain. 

In the end, the potent adversary slew the flaming bird, though the clever phoenix was not so easily defeated. As the phoenix's life force slipped away, it burst into one last eruption of flame, igniting the vast stores of flammable powder hidden beneath its nesting materials. This hidden arsenal of explosives served a dual purpose of removing her adversary from existence as well as providing the last catalytic heat needed to hatch her clutch. 

The legend goes on to say that early Tulgolthi people traveled to investigate the massive explosion where they found the phoenix reborn anew, taking care of her young. She imparted to them the news that their oppressor was dead and instructed them on the specifics of the compounds she used to set her trap. Tulgolthi celebrations and warfare have used gunpowder and light shows as a centerpiece on both fronts ever since.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Furies and Fugitives

Kavahar is a strange world full of powerful and strange beasts. Denizens of the elemental planes warn planar travelers not to wander too close to its outskirts as the powers within are extraordinarily dangerous, and escaping off of the world is exceedingly difficult.

On Kavahar, known to outsiders as The Land of Four Furies, four great avian beasts control the very essence of the land. The Fire Phoenix Aan, the Greater Thunderbird Bijal, the Frost Phoenix Thand, and the Greater Tidehawk Gahar. Each of the four furies are so vast and powerful, being anywhere in their vicinity is dangerous to mortals. The constant migrations of the four can shape the land and shift leylines drastically, creating an ever-shifting ecology of chaos.

While sentient elementals are quick to warn travelers of the dangers on Kavahar, they are also incapable of traveling there themselves without risking their own lives, as traveling near one of the four furies can instantly destroy any planar creature caught within the wingbeat-wind of the wrong fury.

This is all particularly unfortunate given that a fugitive of the Brass Kingdom in the Plane of Fire is hiding on Kavahar, out of reach from any of the Elemental Lords. Due to the difficulties inherent in the job, the bounty to retrieve this criminal is exceedingly high. Any mortals willing to risk the danger could make out quite well, assuming they survive...

Pegasus

Few creatures are quite as recognizable as the Pegasus—a staple mythical creature that is fitting in any mythical fantasy setting. Though they are somewhat cliche, there are many reasons to consider using one. Beyond mounting an angel of some kind on its back—something you definitely should do at least once—this beast is simple and relatively low-level given that we often associate the creatures with powerful angels and/or spellcasters.

While there are not many occasions that one would need to fight a pegasus, thinking about where you may find these creatures and how they may be seen in your setting can be a good worldbuilding exercise. As an added bonus, as a level 3 creature, it is entirely reasonable that your players could gain the (temporary) aid of some pegasi to get somewhere quickly and efficiently! A sufficient Diplomacy or Nature check could convince a pegasus to assist a party of adventurers—assuming they have good intentions that is.

- Reece

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - Pegasus Pariah

For almost a thousand years the head monks of the Saltspire monastery and the lead mares of the Flutterhoof herd of pegasi have had an agreement: prospective champions of the monastery would, as a part of their final test, need to demonstrate athletic excellence by jumping onto a pegasus in full flight.

For their part, the pegasi agreed to this as their ideals were quite close to those of the monks' order, and to even become a candidate for a champion, one would need to show extreme strength of both body and character.

This recently changed, however, with the rise of a fiend-tainted new head mare, who now tries to recruit the monks into her infernal schemes...

Hook 2 (Max) - Mighty Magical Mishap: A Lesson in the Misuse of Transmutation

Grand Imperial Academy of Magic - Dean's Office. Early morning.

"Alright, young mister, give me a single reason why I shouldn't turn you into the ugliest toad this world has ever seen this instant." The pale young man in front of the ancient wizard merely gulps, trembling with sweat running down his face, half from fear and half from the raging hangover. "The merchant Branibor is furious—that was his most prized racing horse, you know. He's out for blood, lad! Your blood, might I add!" 

The old man sighs heavily, running a palm across his face. "And, as if this wasn't enough, you go and sneak into the prince's gardens! The prince! It truly is a marvel how you did not accidentally turn into a huff of cloud or a table plant, boy." The dean takes a sip from his chalice, usually filled with wine, though today's occasion called for something stronger. "But no, you couldn't just stop at stealing precious animals, no, you had to show off. The prince really loved that eagle, you know. He will not be pleased." Silence befalls the room. "Luckily, I've managed to buy you some time. You can thank me later. You have a week to retrieve both the horse and the bird."

"B-but, they're..."

"Oh, I know. I didn't say it was going to be easy, lad." He takes another solid swig from the cup. "I'd get moving if I were you, though. I heard the beast flew off into the sunset—you'll need to be quick if you want to catch up."

Hook 3 (Reece) - Stylin' Stallion

Treven had seen a lot of strange things in his life, having spent the entirety of it in The Verdant Isles. The old forests on the isle were strange, and fey creatures were known to play tricks upon foolish farmboys and loggers for a laugh. In Pinefall, his tiny home village, it was a fact of life that the local spirits would play tricks upon unsuspecting villagers. Fortunately, these tricks were rarely dangerous and, for the most part, were simply inconveniences. Having lived through thirty summers, this was the last problem he expected to solve.

There, in his neighbor Reddy Tem's horse pen was a massive, winged horse-thing that was harassing the only other stallion in the pen; Steelshod was not particularly interested in contending with the winged rival who was both larger and had the advantage of flight. They'd spent near an hour trying to decide on a course of action after trying to shoo the thing off, nearly getting kicked in the head in the process. The beast was after Reddy's mares and there wasn't much either of them could do about it.

"Call the council together," Treven said, crossing his arms and frowning at the thing. "Perhaps some of the village kids are looking to prove themselves."

Owlbear

The Owlbear is indeed another fantasy gaming staple tracing its lineage back to very early versions of the game. Pathfinder 2e presents us a slightly more interesting version of the creature, as it has some special abilities to set it apart from your standard bear-affair. The bestiary itself provides a compelling variant owlbear, one that can glide a great distance almost silently to descend on prey. 

Interesting and powerful abilities aside, I think the owlbear (and other monstrous creatures like it) reminds us that the fantastical is in some ways mundane—at least in the context of the game. The owlbear is an Avatar: The Last Airbender-like hybrid animal, but is not a magical creature and does not have any supernatural abilities; it's intimidating and brutally violent with prey. Consider how an owlbear's habits and behaviors might differ from that of both a bear and an owl, and how both of those things might influence said creature. Should you be lacking in understanding, I can think of a certain Paizo editor that can tell you all about bear behavior.

At level four, any encounter with an owlbear will be an early endeavor. As animals (not ravenous beasts) consider how a nature-attuned PC like a druid or ranger may be able to circumvent a combat with such a creature entirely. Such an occurrence can provide an interesting character moment and remind the players that there is more than one way to play PF2 than just beating everything you run into to death.

- Reece

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - Barnaby The Barn

When the hunters heard of the "barn-like owlbear" from the local populace speaking in broken common, they expected to find a barn-owl-featured owlbear. Not a barn-sized, horned-owl-featured one. Unfortunately, they are duty-bound not to back away from the fight—and even if they weren't, the local villages surely can't hope to stand against something like this.

Hook 2 (Max) - The Hoot

Niners is a peaceful town, all things considered. Do your job, don't get into any trouble with the law, and you'll do fine. Most of all, never, under any circumstances, go into the woods surrounding it after nightfall.

There is a story in the Niners. People say that should you venture into the dark forest after the sun goes down, you will face a horror that will turn your blood to ice. No one has ever seen in it, only the aftermath of its rage, a trail of bodies disfigured beyond recognition as if by the claws of a giant beast, many of the organs missing entirely.

The people of Niners know when the beast finds its next victim—a loud hoot, as if that of an owl, can be heard over the town. Without fail, every time it sounds, a new body is found in the wood.

So take heed, lest you want to fall prey to the terror stalking the night.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Tangle in Titansfield

The Titansfield Players are a circus that has moved away, at least as much as possible, from the use of animals during their shows. Magic illusions and druids capable of changing their own forms makes performances much easier and—in Thelia's estimation—more ethical. The petting zoo has remained, as the children frequent it in between the major shows. Goats cheese and wool also help subsidize some of the operating costs of the traveling circus.

At a stop outside a triumvirate of small villages, a local farmer brings an enormous egg to the Circusmaster, leaving her to decide what exactly to do with it. When one of the elderly griffons takes to brooding the egg, it hatches not long after arrival, revealing it to be an owlbear cubling. This in and of itself wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, the owlbear broodmother has come looking for its spawn in the middle of the biggest show for this area, when all the strongest and most capable performers are preoccupied and unaware...

Otyugh

Otyughs are the quintessential sewer-crawl monsters, ones that have been with us since the very first publications of the world's oldest roleplaying game. They have tentacles, look weird, and eat garbage, which makes them the perfect sewer encounter, right?

Wrong. I mean, you can use them thusly, and with their slew of garbage and tentacle-related activities it won't be an uninteresting encounter either, but come on. Take another look at the stat block and fluff text and come back. The otyugh might look odd and feed on literal excrement, but it is at an almost humanoid level of intelligence. Otyughs have something resembling a society. Otyughs are true neutral, and while decidedly alien they might be willing to reason with you. So I beg you, be creative and don't waste the waste eaters on forgettable encounters.

- Nemanja

Hook 1 (Max) - Fecal Decal

The duchy of Bayon, glorious golden wheat upon its emblem, is known for its abundance of food, which it exports to all corners of the land. That allowed all of its towns to grow into cities, massive in their scale. With this, certain needs arose, followed by certain problems.

Every bigger town in the area boasts a vast canal system, is typically accompanied by a giant heap of waste produced by its populace and stinks like a disaster.

Coincidentally, when the number of cities increased, the number of crops spoiling did as well—exponentially. The duke is looking for an answer, unaware that it lies directly beneath his grand cities.

Hook 2  (Nemanja) - The Goopy Guildmaster

In the Grand City of Al'Balaar, guilds are organized in a hierarchical manner, with lesser guilds reporting to those more powerful in an almost feudal manner.

To a foreigner, it could be odd that the thieves guild, assassins guild, the guild of lawyers, and other such guilds that operate outside the confine of the law, all report to the Sewersmith guild. Stranger still, it might seem that the guild is made up entirely of members of two less than popular groups; the field operatives are mostly goblins, whereas the top of the hierarchy is ruled by otyughs. The ironically named Underdoge—the ancient, alchemically-empowered Otyugh guildmaster—claims to have given his blessing to the rise of the last seven doges of the "Upper city".

After a career of adventuring, a group of wizards wishes to retire, forming a guild of illusionists to pass on their knowledge. Soon enough, they are approached by a goblin with a tentacle broch inviting them to discuss "matters of the flow of information" with his masters in the sewers...

Hook 3 (Reece) - Tower of Terror

The seat of power for the Relendish Republic within the capital is a point of consternation for many. After a brief and bloody conflict with the remaining royals that wished to hold onto power in Reylar's Rest, the question of what to do with The Steel Palace was a curious problem. An imposing monstrosity made entirely of steel that reached toward the sky, the building had been long ago created by the progenitor of the Steel Kingdom, and the magic that was sewn throughout the walls and into its foundation made it nearly impossible to destroy.

The Council of Guilds instead opted for turning the building into a series of offices for guild leaders as well as a place to house foreign diplomats. While over thirty years have passed since The Revolution, not everything about the building is fully understood, as its original inhabitants have been long since vacated, alongside their secrets.

When the Govenor of a nearby island-state is found dead, seemingly of a heart attack, and partially eaten inside of one of the restrooms, it spawns a controversy. As a new member of the Royal Navy's investigation unit, you are sent to find what happened, and if the building is a danger to others. It wouldn't be such a bad job if it weren't for the smell...

Orc (Brute, Warchief, Warrior)

Ah, yes, the good old Orc. Popularized by Tolkien who—by his own admission—took the name from Beowulf. This particular monster has become a staple of the fantasy genre, especially when it comes to gaming. Despite the departure from Tolkien's idea (a race of corrupted elves), the core of this species remains the same—violent, evil, and disorganized. From a race of barbaric brutes in a certain game that involves underground ruins and big flying lizards, to even more barbaric brutes that are also fungi in a certain game that has "war" and the number "40,000" in its name.

So, as long as it is big, mean, and green, it might be considered an orc. And this is reflected in orcs' statblocks in the bestiary—they don't have a whole lot going for them compared to other monsters that could be considered the standard low-level fare. Goblins have their Scuttle to move around the battlefield, Gnolls use Pack Attack to accumulate ludicrous amounts of damage, Kobolds have Hurried Retreat plus Sneak Attack to best emulate their hit and run tactics. Orcs, unfortunately, get the short end of the stick here and have to resort to brute strength, which comparatively doesn't make for an interesting enemy. And that may very well be why I, personally, see them scarcely used in games.

Now, since we know the orc's shortcomings, let us think of ways to spice the bugger up without taking away its core identity. They operate in warbands, so who's to say they shouldn't be using guerilla warfare as well? They believe in the rule of the strongest. Their chieftains are bound to be boasting some impressive items taken from the rivals they have defeated over the years. Small changes, but I think you see where I am going with this.

So next time you scoff at the good old Orc and his quite bland abilities, try to think of ways to use its straightforwardness to your advantage.

Hook 1 (Max) - THE GREEN WAR

The GREEN KNIGHTS believe in one thing and one thing only, and that thing is the GREEN WAR. They all dedicate themselves to the WAR, for the GREEN KNIGHTS know only WAR. For them, might makes right and the GREAT GREEN KNIGHT is decided by combat that takes place annually. Or monthly, if they feel like it. Sometimes weekly.

They roam the lands in search of good fights. If they can't find any, they fight themselves, for the flames of GREEN WAR must never be quenched. The current GREAT GREEN KNIGHT, Kharath Skulltaker is an undisputed champion, having held the title for three years straight. And he claims to know the purpose of the GREEN WAR. The GREEN KNIGHTS have been traveling far and wide, finding tribes of their brethren and beating the ever-living shit out of them accepting them into their order. Now, a mighty army under the thrall of Skulltaker marches forth to lay siege to the so-called civilized world, for the GREEN WAR has finally commenced in earnest.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Copius Competition

The orcs of Velurian's Vale are often misinterpreted as violent, brutal, and competitive to a fault in the written sources of the so-called Civilized South.

While the brutality and violence are often overstated, the competitiveness is both understated and heavily misunderstood. Indeed, the one elven scholar that spent four centuries living with the orcs finally managed to describe their social order as "Radically anarchistic dynamically hierarchical meritocracy" though no sane (or otherwise) orc has ever uttered those words.

What does this mean in practice? It means that orcs will follow the best warrior in matters of war, the best diplomat in matters of diplomacy, the best shaman in matters of spirit...

And how do these best among the best get chosen? Easily, by continuously competing with their peers. An orc might hear that another orc is claiming to be a better cook than him, and he will go up to him, slam a bowl and some ingredients in his face, and challenge him to a cook-off. Refusing a challenge is the absolute biggest taboo in orc society, and often ends up with the refusing party being completely shunned.

Now, two big factors paint the southerners' picture of the orcs.

The first one is that almost no communication across the Gallawallahara desert dividing the two civilizations exists in peacetime. Any and all orcs met by the dwarven and human legions are warriors, children of war who have known nothing but the struggle for martial dominance for the entireties of their short lives.

The second, somewhat tragic factor, is that those few orcs skilled and dominant enough to unite the tribes under their banner even for a short while, are also always the only ones with the breadth of knowledge to realize that the Orcs' ancestral home has a scarcity of resources, and cannot support the dying civilization. Hence, they launch invasions against the fertile, rich lands to the south becoming the harbingers of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Hook 3 (Reece) - The Last Chieftan

Segu-r'not was very tired. Tired and old. Being the last orc in the world was rather exhausting. Having already set the firewood for the evening, he knelt down in front of the heart and crossed his arms in the traditional Nak.

"Forgotten father. So too I am lost. In your light, I may rest warm, but never safe." He stoked the coals and kindled the flames into a roaring cookfire. While seventy years were for others of his kin, he felt much older than he should—running from the empire's kill squads was beginning to wear on him after forty years of running. His voice felt raw from lack of use, save for his occasional reverence

The clan, once mightier than any other of The Deepland, was in ashes. His father, the last chief, had been executed near two decades previous. The small hovel he had discovered in the deepest part of the mountains had been a welcome respite. By the time Segu-r'not stumbled upon it, it looked as though it had already been abandoned for several years. The unbroken quiet of the last five years was pleasant in a morbid sort of way. The silence felt the final cruelty due to the last of the Ornu'ch.

That is what made the knock on the door so shocking. Someone. After so long alone. Segu-r'not took up his axe and ran to the door, tackling it open to knock the intruder off balance. Upon raising his axe, he finally caught sight of the one he thought would kill him—a child. An elven child who couldn't be more than fifteen harvests old.

"H- Help me." The shivering boy stammered, reaching his shaking hands towards Segu-r'not.

Segu-r'not had a choice to make.

Ogre (Warrior, Glutton, Boss)

The description given in the bestiary for the Ogre is decidedly unflattering. Brutish, violent, incestuous, and filthy, they are perhaps the most damningly painted sentient creatures in the book that aren't evil planar outsiders. That's not to say there is nothing to be said for ogres, as they have been a staple of fantasy gaming and literature for a long time; one could argue that ogre-like beings can be traced back well before the origin of the word (from Wikipedia, derived from the French spelling of Orcus).

I think then that the three ogres present in the first bestiary are quite representative of the primal fears that we associate with the creature: large, violent, prone to trying to eat you. Definitely appropriate for sharing a name with the Etruscan God of the Underworld—we'll definitely be coming back to that soon.

The Warrior, Glutton, and Boss are all very simple with a few things to differentiate them beyond the basics such as the level difference—something that is definitely indicative of their relative lack of subtlety or tactics. The glutton, which can attempt to both bite and swallow its enemies, is definitely the most evocative and unsettling. I can't really think of many more gruesome images than trying to cut your way out after being Swallowed Whole by one. The boss can use Bellowing Command to quicken ogre allies, making the weaker ogre warrior more of a threat. On the part of tactics, I think that it's entirely reasonable to say that the ogres won't have much in the way of them. Should you find a combat that you set up to be too difficult, it's not entirely unreasonable to say that without the strong leadership of a Boss, the other less powerful ogres will fall into troublesome quarrels, allowing for a more attainable win.

However you use the ogre, consider also how you might both play into and subvert tropes of the brutish ogre. A cunning but reasonable adversary, a gentle but frightening countenance, or a largely peaceful but defensive ogre clan can all serve up some interesting narrative opportunity in lieu of outright to-the-death combat.

- Reece

Hook 1 (Max) - Off the Hook

The Meathook is a well-known butchery; the chow is of the best quality and people come from far and wide to get even the smallest taste of it. A local noble—now advanced in age—wishes for one final meal procured from The Meathook's owner: a wyvern steak he ate many years ago. The man is willing to compensate anyone willing to deliver the goods or, better yet, convince the butcher to come to his keep and cook this very special dish for him.

The shop is set up in a peculiar place deep within a dark wood far off any well-trodden track. The sight it represents would not bring to mind a world-famous craftsman either, as it is more reminiscent of a falling apart shack than a high-demand culinary eatery.

All of this, however, pales in comparison to the butcher himself, who is definitely not what people might expect.

Hook 2 (Reece) - Caught Between Two Worlds

Normally, the Woodstrider Giant Clan and the Hukari Ogre Warband stay far from each other as past clashes have resulted in devastating losses for both groups. This usually would not be a problem, as the Nagandi Run—a vast and untamed wilderness in the newly colonized continent of Ukandar—is an enormous expanse of ancient forests, hilly grasslands, and forgotten swamps. When the High Elven Kingdom of Sheila'nagari and the human Republic of Kith both settled on opposite sides of The Run, territory became both more important and more scarce. For their part, the Kithians tried to enforce their laws upon the Hukari, namely the preventing of bloodsport and dueling. For their part, the High Elves thought the nomadic lifestyle the Woodstriders led to be uncivil. Their solution was to attempt to forcibly settle the clan, something they were more than resistant to.

As the Woodstriders and the Hukari are each pressed into the ever-shrinking inner wilds of The Run, they are put at odds with each other and the colonial powers that are much larger than they. Other peoples that call The Run home look to both giants and ogres alike, hoping that they might overcome their differences and push the invaders back. The much smaller population of wood elves, hillock halflings, and the human Deekma nation all wonder, can it be done?

Hook 3 (Liam) - The Unsatiable

Gluttony, habitual greed, the desire to consume all that surrounds, the docks of Tarrae embody the very essence of this ravenous nature. Petty boardwalk gangs clash, devouring each other, ownership of the port never settling as individuals instinctively consume and be consumed. Such is the life of Tarrae, for its appetite is never satisfied.

However, this perpetual feeding frenzy has been thrown into disarray, an invasive species into the delicate ecosystem, its hunger more ravenous, more ferocious, more gluttonous. It seeks to devour all that inhabit Tarrae be it money, power, courtesans, or flesh itself. A title spoken only in whispers. An individual that encapsulates the essence of Tarrae itself. The Ogre.

Ofalth

Today, we speak about something offal. Awful offal. Despite the terrible wordplay, I do quite love the concept of the Ofalth. A giant literal shit-trash monster to almost kill/disgust your players with? Sign me up.

There's a lot of ways to use an ofalth in your game, though you do have to bear in mind that it is a very powerful creature! At level 10, the ofalth remains a threat through level 12, when PCs become truly greek-myth-level powerful.

One may find an ofalth in the refuse room of a long-abandoned-now-resettled dungeon, as well as in major urban areas as a vital part of the fantasy ecology therein. Wherever you decide to use it, the Ofalth comes with some evocative abilities that tie to its central theme—being a living dumpster pile.

The ofalth can appear as a pile of garbage/refuse, its presence is physically sickening, and getting struck by the thing can cause you to just... bleed to death. Slowly. Fun!

When considering its use, try to think of how the ofalth fits into the world itself. As an aberration, they could be summoned by a particularly foul practitioner of magic, created for some purpose related to their environment, or drawn to sources of filth. All are perfectly valid options, just remember to consider how disgusting your description to your players is, don't want someone to lose their lunch onto your GM screen (or keyboard)

- Reece

Hook 1 (Max) - Down the Drain

The city of Netters is looking for mercenaries willing to get their hands dirty. Figuratively and literally. The rulers of the metropolis have a little bit of a problem with their sewers; they are getting clogged more and more often. Someone offered up a solution, but carrying it out requires highly skilled warriors.

In the grand capital of the kingdom, it's said the sewers are never clogged. Officials in Netters only know that some sort of cleaning organisms have been deployed in the capital. And so, the job is quite simple, if a tad unsavory.

Get into the sewers and bring one or two of these critters to Netters. Nice and easy, right?

Hook 2 (Reece) - Foul Play

Uvringin Palefinger liked collecting magical artifacts but did not like the work required to obtain them. When the skeevy little man stumbled upon a long-abandoned castle with a sprawling undercroft, a dastardly idea occurred to him: Why go and get the treasure himself when he can make the treasure come to him?

While loathe to travel, Palefinger has a keen mind for magical, alchemical, and mechanical arts. He constructed a lab within the depths of the castle, creating all sorts of terrible monstrosities that he could use in his devious ploy. Once his many traps were laid, he spread rumors through surrounding cities that a powerful staff was hidden within the castle.

Should one make it into the bowels of the place, they would find a beautiful length of wood that appears to be a Greater Staff of Healing, mounted on the wall behind an enormous pile of trash. In actuality the staff is a fake and the room is actually where Palefinger has been throwing the refuse from his failed experiments, feeding it to his pet Ofalth. Anyone foolish enough to mistake the pile for a simple dump will be quite shocked to find otherwise... And Uvringin will be quite happy to add to his collection should the unfortunate adventurer fail in their quest for the false staff.

Hook 3 (Max) - Secret Ingredient

The secret to the world-famous fermented wyvern egg is a well-guarded secret of the Jakus family. For generations, they have sold this very special dish to the rich and adventurous, building a fortune from the delicacy.

There are those who would love to unveil the secret and steal it for themselves—perfectly understandable. There is a good reason, other than protecting their wealth, for the Jakus to protect it.

The fermentation process is conducted in the vast caverns beneath their grand mansion by most unsavory beings.

Ochre Jelly

Oozes are a weird brand of monster. They are amorphous blobs of jelly (?) that slither in search of food. And that's it. They only want to eat and grow as big as possible. Doesn't sound the most fascinating, but just in Bestiary 1 there are four distinct types of them.

Today on the menu we have the Ochre Jelly. Outside of its color, what sets it apart? The fact that it only dissolves the flesh, leaving everything else intact. It also splits in two upon receiving slashing or piercing damage (that's a one-way ticket to your party finding themselves outnumbered very quickly).

There are many applications of both of these abilities, it's just the question of finding them. A necromancer making sure his skeletons are kept nice and clean? An artist working in bone using a pet slime to make sure he only has the best materials? Group of bandits using the ooze to kill people, taking advantage of the fact that it doesn't dissolve precious materials? I think we can easily see that particular critter finding its uses in great many scenarios, even outside of combat.

- Max

Hook 1 (Max) - Hunger in the Dark

Every culture has its customs regarding the burial of the dead. People of the Pale Orchard believe that flesh holds your soul down in the mud, thus in order to move on, your skeleton needs to be picked clean of its putrid meat.

Once a person dies, their corpse is taken by the Bone Clerks who throw their body into the Yellow Pit. It remains therein for some time before then being returned, clean and white, ready to be properly buried and on to the afterlife.

The thing is, with everybody fed to it, the Yellow Pit grows bigger.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Heal or High Water

Gustav Olaf is a skittish cleric who has information that can bring down the corrupt regime in the Arthenian Grand Principality. Gustav is also extremely paranoid and is currently hidden in a faraway cave waiting for his contact. He has an incredibly devious plan to keep the information from falling into the wrong hands. Indeed, Gustav has written all of the information on his skin and keeps two other things with him in his hiding place: a box that contains single ochre jelly within and another box that holds at least two dozen healing scrolls.

Should anyone else but the designated contact appear, Gustav plans to release the ooze, at which point he will spend the rest of the combat healing any oozes that split apart. In practice, this means that instead of several splits during a fight with a single ochre ooze, this will prolong the combat until the battlefield is positively swarming with oozes, making combat—and survival—all but impossible.

Hook 3 (TJ) - Streetsweeper

Cleaning the streets of a bustling metropolis is a tall order. The city council in Aerilon has hired numerous companies that all end up falling short of keeping the city truly clean. Their newest hire has some- 

Unconventional methods. 

Ochre jellies, with their ooze-like acidity and ability to squeeze into cracks and crevices, have the city looking better than it ever has. Concerned citizens have voiced opposition to having oozes on the major thoroughfare, but the cleaning crews have repeatedly assured that they're harmless and under control. If that control ends up being more tenuous than they claim, it could spell disaster.

Nosoi

The Nosoi is the most basic of the psychopomps, and it's definitely friend-shaped—assuming you aren't afraid of birds. This little bird with a plague mask is a great introductory creature to the world of souls.

As I have suggested with some of the other psychopomps, I recommend taking time to decide what happens with souls in your campaign, assuming you're running your own world. Teaming up with a nosoi who's been assigned something a bit too big for their tiny britches would be great. If you're like me, you might have an easier time roleplaying a non-human creature like this one, as human conventions don't fully apply here.

If you're going to use low-level undead, why not toss a nosoi in to add some stakes to an otherwise mundane combat? Zombies trying to swat a bird out of the air or skeletal miners working for a remote necromancer using a nosoi in a birdcage as a literal canary in a soulmine (hah, canary in a coalmine, get it?) are just two examples of how you can make your low-level encounters more interesting. I'm sure you can come up with something, I believe in you!

- TJ

Hook 1 (Max) - The Rules Are the Rules

Well, you died. Unfortunate. Looks like your companions can't bring you back. As you float through the void of non-existence, you hear a loud caw. You turn and see a black raven wearing a leather mask posted atop a branch of a withered tree.

"What's this? Another lost soul, I see? Caw." The beak reaches under its feather, as the creature pulls out a stack of papers, then starts rifling through them. "Bones, I don't think these are yours, caw. You look too, too young indeed. Caw." Another set of documents, then another. The bird-thing nuzzles its feathers in what seems to be confusion. "It appears we might have an issue, caw." What issue can an immortal bird have?

"Looks like someone misplaced your documents, caw. I can't let you through."

Hook 2 (TJ) - Gravekeeper

Gustav didn't mind being alone. He wasn't truly alone, especially after a recent burial. There were the worms digging through the fresh dirt, the beetles that came to investigate the recent commotion, the birds that came to make meals of the aforementioned, and, of course, the spirit of the recently departed. Gustav always thought that he could feel them, at least for a while. After a burial, he'd prepare an extra place setting at each meal as his own kind of reverence, whether he knew the deceased or not. After a meal, he took time to sit and enjoy the quiet: both the natural quiet and the quiet of being deaf. It never really bothered him. Those who came to bury the dead complained of the birdsong and some odd quality to it, though it didn't bother Gustav. Nothing really did. When the time came and Gustav got the sense that the deceased had passed on, the birds seemed to have the same idea and moved along themselves. When that time came, he'd be alone again. But he wasn't truly alone, not really.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - The Thirteenth Day

A white necromancer by the name of Arangelo became a gravedigger in the small village of Thistlebrook following his retirement from his adventuring days. With him also came his gregarious nosoi, Besmrtnik. Most of the time, Besmrtnik was hard at work helping the old sage in his work—except on the thirteenth day. It was a well-known rule that the Nosoi was never to come close to the body of anyone who died on the thirteenth of any month. As Arangelo was beloved and respected in the village, people knew and respected his rule, and never questioned it.

When the old man passed away in his hundred and first year, working till the very last day, a replacement worker was sent from a nearby town's chapel. Besmtrnik stuck around, though he rarely talked to the man, completing his tasks in a dour and joyless manner. Considering himself to be above superstitions, the new gravedigger ignored the rule about the thirteenth.

Two weeks passed before the young man went missing. Now, a dread dirge can be faintly heard from the graveyard. Those daring to follow the haunting tune will find that Besmrtnik has grown into the form of a massive vulture, and his gentle and funny nature is all but gone...

Nilith

The Nillith is a pretty interesting creature that manages to add new flavour to an old and established concept in TTRPGs: the stalking nightmare.

Several bits set nilliths apart. First, while your initial instinct might be to throw them in the melee, their spell list isn't trivial as it suits their proposed hit-and-run tactics quite well—especially the nasty at-will invisibility.

Second, while they have strong ties to the Astral/Dreaming plane, they are still beings of the mortal realms—this means they must somehow figure in local ecologies. Thirdly, there's the implication that Nilliths are but mere mouthpieces connected to beings beyond most mortals' capacity to fathom...

- Nemanja

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - The Signal of The One

After years of fighting off beings from the Hidden City Of Leng, a wizard has found a way to intercept the connection between a nillith and its mystical master. At first, all went well; the wizard used the accursed being to essentially be in two places at once, using the nillith's body for menial, physical tasks, while delving yet ever deeper into studies of what lies beyond the Veil. Recently, his sanity seems to have slipped. While no blood has been spilled, the nillith has been seen frothing at the mouth and staring at odd-shaped clouds in the dead of night, whereas the wizard has started drawing odd runes on the city walls, claiming to herald the arrival of "The One Who Sees Through Us All". As the madness that took him looms ever closer to an escalation, the wizard's old compatriots are called in to investigate.

Hook 2 (Reece) - The Nilith Number

Nary a knight knows not the night. Nary they nap now or none. Know none of knights that knock or nest upon that nightmare road—none that nab naps near the Knobwood. There knows the knight that the nightmare rests. There knows the knight that no knight might nick the knave, as no knave naps in the knob—only nightmares therein take flight. 

- Bardic song of the Knobwood, said to be haunted by a beast that feeds upon noble knights.

Hook 3 (TJ) - Weary of the Whisperwood

A ring of houses surrounds the town in the middle of The Whisperwood. These houses—though they seem to be abandoned—were never inhabited, and no one shall ever live there. This ring of houses serves as decoys for the foul spirits of the Whisperwood who seek to corrupt the dreams of those who rest close to its borders. In a similar insulatory fashion, the people who call the Whisperwood home do all their business strictly by daylight, leaving plenty of buffer to get home before the sun goes down. When a hunting accident delays the main fighting force of the town, the remaining locals must make a hard decision: brave the woods, or leave them to their demise.

Nightmare

So, the Nightmare. The Bestiary doesn't provide much info on what exactly it is beyond listing it as both a fiend and a beast in addition to saying that it might be used as a steed for evil creatures. It boasts some interesting abilities, like exhaling poisonous smoke and being able to plane shift along with its rider. Even then, I find it a little underwhelming—so let's go on a little bit of a deep dive.

The word itself is a combination of "night" and the Old English "mære," the latter meaning incubus. Its variations appear in other languages, like Swedish, Old Norse, Danish, Norwegian, and even Polish ("mara" meaning a hallucination or a haunting dream,—here's your fun fact of the day). We all are aware of what a nightmare is. A bad, bad dream. It is kind of ironic then that the creature named after it has nothing to do with dreams.

Am I trying to convince you to attack your party in their sleep with a flaming horse? Yes. No, all I'm saying is that you can make the monster a little more interesting.

- Max

Hook 1 (Max) - A Mare So Very Fair

"That horse is evil, I tell you." Both servants look to the black steed that was gifted to their liege by a mysterious woman not so long ago. The animal bears its teeth and glares at them with obvious and uncontained hatred. "Fastest beast I've ever seen, true, but there's something wrong with it, I swear by my mother's grave." The older of the two men spits. "Makes me sick just being near it."

"I hear it killed old man Tanner" the boy exclaims. "Kicked him square in the face it did." A shiver runs down his spine. "Wish the lord would be rid of it, to be honest." The horse lets out a fume through its nostrils as if it can understand.

"Doubt it'll happen, lad." The old man sighs a heavy sigh and takes up his tools. "Well, best get it over with. Keep it still, will you?"

Hook 2 (TJ) - Dreamrider

The past three nights, Hinli dreamt. This was not unusual. She imagined that most nights she dreamt, but somewhere in the bliss of sleep she didn't remember the dreams when she woke up. These dreams, however, she remembered—at least pieces of them. What she did remember of them was not pleasant. Primarily, her recollection of these dreams consisted of one major feature: the thundering of hooves right before she woke up. There was one unmistakable and unsettling fact about these cacophonous hoofbeats. Every night, they got louder.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Cult of the Dreaded Steed

"It galloped through the streets, features alight! The fires! The blood! What wondrous destruction it showed me! I will breathe in the smoke of its essence and await! Behold! The Midnight Steed! The Bringer of Fires! You may delight in his majesty and revere his presence! BE BLESSED BY HIS DREADED RIDE! TASTE OF THE LICKING FLAME AND STAY FAST FOR THE END IS NIGH."

- Collected from the ravings of a beggar two nights before the last sighting. I worry this cult you speak of is gaining more attention than we originally thought.

Night Hag

As discussed previously when we went over the Green Hag, the Night Hag is brimming with narrative possibilities. What sets this sagacious sister from her counterparts is the very straightforward night-themed abilities. Between the hag's very powerful set of occult spells, and the added strangeness that is Dream Haunting, there are quite a few ways you can use a night hag in your game. 

I don't think the opportunity will often be presented, but I think any reason you can conceive of that allows the use of Dream Haunting is a good one—particularly if your players are somewhere where they aren't supposed to be. A hag haunting your dreams as you attempt to get to the heart of an ancient and malevolent forest is both pulpy and fun to play though—lean into these themes as much or as little as needed.

Presenting an opportunity to potentially steal a night hag's heartstone could be a very interesting narrative option as well. Instead of needing to outright kill a night hag, bargaining with the hag from a place of power because you stole her heartstone could provide compelling narrative options as well.

This does bring us to the final narrative theme for the night hag—soul bargaining. Being both thieves and merchants of mortal souls can be a very compelling reason to interact with a night hag without killing her. In the event that you cannot bring back a friend from the other side, a visit to a night hag could yield interesting results and provide vitally useful information...

- Reece

Hook 1 (Max) - Congregation of Dreams

The wife of the late baron now rules his fief with an iron fist. Rumor has it he met her on the road and was immediately enamored with her, marrying her just a few days after their first encounter. Those who've seen her weave great tales of her beauty, unable to forget the sight of her fair countenance.

Unfortunately, it is not just the baroness' tyrannical rule that ails the people—many in the demesne are plagued by nightmares that grow worse and worse by the day, yet the lady refuses to acknowledge anything strange happening—at least until recently. A week or so back, a group of women arrived in the keep, apparently old acquaintances of the lady. They now all sit at the top of the castle's tower performing what they claim is a "sacred ritual to purge the evil from the land."

They no doubt speak the truth.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - The Dreaming Dragon

Caragyoz the Cruel is an ancient dragon that has made a name for himself over several realms of existence—he is widely considered to be the finest procurer and merchant of souls in the multiverse. It just so happens that, shortly before going for his bimillennial hundred-year nap, the dragon procured the soul of a Paladin's father, unjustly taken.

The Paladin finds herself with an unlikely ally when a night hag approaches her, proposing a temporary alliance to take down Caragyoz. While the dragon is protected on all sides by legions of wyvern-riding acolytes in the material plane, his sleep makes him accessible through the Dreaming—a realm that the hag has intimate knowledge of and power over. The hag, whose kind once ruled the soul-trading market, claims to simply wish to end Caragyoz's monopoly—though she refuses to make guarantees for any soul other than the Paladin's father's...

Hook 3 (Reece) - Rider of the Night

Rider on the midnight wind

would thee show me how thee sinned?

Rider of the darkest way

bring thy shadows here to stay

Tread the market, walk the path

doth thou know the sin of wrath

Trader on the corner still

dost thou have the need to kill?

Hast thee seen the milky eye?

Hast thou found the need to lie?

Come thee crone and draw mine sigh

and draw upon thine evil eye

Know thy want and know thy need

for when thou tastes the sin of greed

thou plow the dirt and plant the seed

and call the grave with mighty speed

Shadows dance and shadows sing

Among the nobles and the king

Pride upon thy bloody ring

draws thy soul upon a string

Rider in the market square

find the barter, prices fair

for the lost, say a prayer

and for the rider, gift a glare

- Collected from a children's rhyme ten leagues outside of the city. Were it not for other factors we would find this insignificant, though given present circumstances it is particularly alarming.

Naunet

ANOTHER OUTSIDER YOU SAY? Well, I'm not necessarily one to beef with creatures literally spawned from the entropic forces of chaos, and the Naunet is perhaps a quintessential example of what a force entropy can be. The bestiary notes that this mean mugged malefactor of the Maelstrom can often be found as a scout or a rank-and-file soldier in the armies of the Proteans—though I am somewhat dubious of how exactly such an army would operate.

I would say that the contradictory nature of being a soldier—a traditionally structured existence—in addition to being the spawn of pure chaos is baked into the substantial statblock of the naunet. There are three things particularly of note related to this theme:

• Protean Anatomy - An extremely versatile passive ability that gives shifting resistances to acid, electricity, and sonic damage in addition to the more unsettling ability to grow new sensory organs in order to overcome the blinded and deafened conditions
• At will Change Shape that allows for melding into all sorts of environments, both natural and urban
• Adaptive Strike, something that is certainly not going to come up very often unless you're like me and inflict your players with lycanthropy

The intricacies of the entire set of abilities and stats are too much to get into here, though I think the relative complexity of the naunet tells us a couple things—Proteans are NOT messing around and, beyond that, their base level soldiers could be a boss level threat to a lower level party. As a level seven creature, it's got an impressive set of abilities—access to narrative options like Change Shape in addition to a solid suite of spellcasting can really make the Naunet both compelling to use as well as dangerous.

Whatever the occasion, it may be worth considering how you want to utilize Proteans and Monitors in your setting, assuming you aren't running in Golarion—these dastardly delinquents can pack a punch and rain chaos on unsuspecting players, only to jump away with a 5th-level dimensional door in order to continue harassing away as needed.

- Reece

Hook 1 (Max) - Big Fish to Fry

Ships and crews have been disappearing on the Grey Ocean without a trace. A single vessel made its way to port—a galleon by the name of Fair Wind. Its deck was the sight of a massacre no doubt, though there were no bodies left in the destruction. A single survivor hid in the cargo hold, clinging tenuously to life, their eyes burnt away. The army took them in to learn what became of the rest of the crew.

"Maidens fair stranded on a vessel dead, they were," they mutter, "hoisted them up we did, 'help them we must', we said." Empty eye sockets stare into the distance. "Weren't no maidens. Sea devils they were, I tell you. Giant sea serpents, the lot of them. They roared and bit and gnawed and spit, and their putrid breath turned men to ash and bone. Good men of the sea all dead and gone. They be heralds, they bring their words and the depths speak through their forked tounges. The sea is theirs, and theirs alone—soon our land shall be forlorn."

The official statement notes the sailor was later found dead in his cell by his own hand.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Unravelling Unguent

A retired ranger brings his old team back for one last job together.

A long time ago, they slighted a lowly cleric in service of the gods of Order—said cleric has since risen high in the clergy and he is not one for forgiveness. When the ranger welcomed his firstborn daughter, the cleric appeared from nowhere and put a Curse of Ticking Time on her. This meant that one day—one that will presumably come far too soon—she will pass into the realm of the dead with no warning whatsoever.

The only power that can counter the magic of Order is that of the chaos-delvers, and the party now must seek aid from one of the Chaoswyrms, the Undoers, the foot-soldiers of The Unravelling that they once fought so valiantly against. Of course, enlisting the aid of such a power is never free, but the price might not be obvious from the start...

Hook 3 (Reece) - Chaos Confluence

During the season of Storms many dangers are present along the southern coasts. While the lightning, wind, and rain are all as dangerous as they always would be during any storm, the tide of chaos that accompanies the Greatstorms is more dangerous still. Should you not have access to a Stormcaller or a device with which you can rebuff the storms, the creatures of chaos will scour you and yours from the land.

A strange economy has risen from this longstanding season of chaos—populated areas that are affected by the worst of the tides employ seasonal Chaoswardens to defend their homes. Chaoswardens are highly trained in fighting all manner of Protean nightmares in defense of mankind. The homesteaders have grown used to the assistance of other more stable areas, perhaps to their detriment. This year, when the first Greatstorm arrives much earlier than expected, the Chaoswardens are cut off from their yearly migrations to the outershores. Now, each town and village along the Shifting Coast must fend for itself...

Naiad (Naiad Queen)

Naiads are nymphs bonded to bodies of water with the caveat that, unlike other nymphs, they can travel away from their bond, though they will wither away, being unable to regain hitpoints or remove the drained condition.

As nymphs, you can always utilize naiads as the tragic victims of greater powers' sick games, as is the case in the classic greek myth—but you can also put an empowering twist on that and have nymphs get out unscathed for once.

Naiads specifically are absolutely ready to take arms when nature is threatened; as fey, their tactics might feel alien to players since they deal in eons, not years. Their queens supplement their natural abilities with high-powered spellcasting that will have nature's enemies running away and allies reminded that they tread upon thin lines.

- Nemanja

Hook 1 (TJ) - Empire of a Thousand Lakes

Despite holding territory that consists of more water than land, the Prescient Triumvirate does not control a navy. This is primarily because the water they control is the sum of thousands of lakes of varying sizes. regardless of what direction they are attacked from, the Prescient Triumverate is always prepared. The secret to their so-called prescience lies beneath the surface of each of the lakes. Each of these lakes is home to a naiad. Given the close proximity of each lake to the next, the naiads are able to communicate information from one corner of Triumvirate holdings to another in a matter of moments. To truly have a chance of attacking the Triumvirate directly, draining the lakes would be the best option. Unfortunately for the Triumvirate and the naiad they employ, the addition of parchmages to the Iorinaxi legions may be their undoing.

Hook 2 (Max) - The Guidance of Two

The Twin Gems of the South are a sight to behold. Both cities lay at the edge of enormous lakes divided by a small mountain range. Legend has it that the founders of both metropolises were guided in their efforts by the ancient spirits of their respective bodies of water. Word is that the rulers still council with them to this day!

Should one undertake travel to The Gems, they would, without fail, see how similar the two are. This has been a point of great argument over the generations—each city arguing that the other copied it.

The truth, however, is a little more interesting than a case of architecture theft. The spirits of both Gems are the same, as the lakes are connected by an underground canal. Why the queen of the lakes decided to guide the mortals on their way, remains a mystery. One can only hope her reasons are not more nefarious.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - River Runs Red

The extremely high rate of crime in Sheballa city gave rise to a new profession—the magi-forensics. These mages of all kinds and flavours use magic, prophecies, and other such miracles to divine truth from dead bodies, bringing their killers to justice.

This, in turn, led to a different development in criminal activities—fixers working for the Lord of the Underworld have begun dropping bodies into the Red River which creates the Fool's Falls waterfall just on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, the waterfall is the resting place of a particularly short-tempered naiad named Deep Blue, who finds her rest disturbed by blood and gore.

In an effort to scare away the intruders, Deep Blue now allows no one bearing weapons to cross the nearby bridge—this wouldn't be an issue if not for the fact that it lies on a massive trade route...

Mummy (Guardian, Pharaoh)

You'd be hard-pressed to find a creature with more readily available pop culture references than the Mummy. The classic black and white monster movies of the past come to mind, though today many of us may think more recently back to the likes of Brendan Fraser's adventures in Egypt.

Regardless of where you draw your inspiration, I invite you to consider other ways you might use the theme of a mummy. The Bestiary equips the enterprising GM with both the Mummy Guardian and the Mummy Pharaoh (though I also invite you to look at the Bog Mummy from Bestiary Two for a different feel).

Dungeons are classics for the deployment of a mummy as a combat encounter, though I would say that there are many other opportunities for the use of a mummy both in combat and overall in the world. Consider what kind of other societies you may create in your world that would practice the art of mummification (both the kind that yields the undead or otherwise). Lesser-known mummies such as the Chinchorro of South America or the Buddhist Mummies can provide other perspectives for the practice of mummification.

To the degree that you may decide to use a mummy, consider customization of their abilities given the alternate environment (if any) that one might find an undead adversary in. The Pharaoh is quite well equipped with additional abilities themed after the classic mummy, and can serve as a good template to really make it your own.

- Reece  

Hook 1 (Max) - Laid Here Beside You

The Great Archon was a wise and just ruler who took good care of his subjects, making sure they had everything they needed. Alas, his domain is but a wasteland now.

It began when his wife fell ill; no doctor or priest could find a way to help her and she withered away slowly but surely. The Archon looked on helplessly, stricken by grief and rage against the gods' cruel whims. He started looking for other ways to save the love of his life while his kingdom fell into disrepair from his lack of attention.

That is when an old man appeared in his palace, offering him a solution. He would be able to save his wife and make her live forever with him. The means were dark and ominous, but he agreed. At this point, the people were outraged by the Archon's lack of care and stormed his grand fortress. With the ritual underway, he rallied his remaining soldiers to defend the castle while the wizard conducted his rite. Blood stained the steps of his magnificent city as he fell into a frenzy and struck down his own people.

When he returned stained with the blood of his citizens, the old mage showed him his wife, turned into a vile undead, devoid of both beauty and mind. Overcome with blind rage, he destroyed everyone and everything in his path, beginning with the mage that took his wife.

So now his once proud and bountiful land is a province of vengeful ghosts, as he is the sole survivor. Driven mad, he stalks the ruins, looking for the walking corpse of his beloved queen.

Hook 2 (TJ) - Empire of Endless Suns

Hemet IV, Monarch of the Sun, had glimpsed the future. There in the Fabric of Possibilities, he was promised a place among the stars and a kingdom like no one had ever known. As he reached his middle years, it became increasingly apparent that this future was further off than he would have liked. The chances he would survive to see it in his current lifetime were slim.

Armed with his mortal fear and determined to take this Possibility and make it part of the Truth of the Present, he dove into the Knowledge of the Past. His ancestors, not many generations ago, slowed the Decay of the Knowledge of the dead. In these compounds, in this canopic knowledge, Hemet knew he could keep this Possibility. As he aged he prepared his body, slowing his own Decay. His preparations would also help prevent the exponential Decay of Death, as his ancestors discovered. When it finally came time, all of his innards were lined neatly on shelves around him. Tomes of instruction, penned by his own hand, accompanied him in this resting place. Cool, comforting cloths wound around his body as he drifted off into a deep sleep. The culmination of his final gambit, his Possibility was now in the hands of others.

When those others descended from the stars millennia later, they found Hemet alongside his instructions preserved near perfectly. With great care, they reversed the process and Hemet awoke to find himself among the stars. His Possibility became a Truth of the Present. The first step to becoming the Monarch of Infinite Suns was now complete.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Mild-mannered Mummies

A diplomatic mission is having a hard time reconciling the Kingdom of Three Pyramids and the Federation of Fifty Islands. The two states only recently made contact, and things were going pretty well, with talks of a major trade route being established... and then an inquisitor of the Jackal-god visited the Islands.

The Jackal's followers are the watchers of the dead, and one of the major threats they deal with are mummies, which in their homeland are created through invasive means which create inherently evil and violent beings.

In contrast, mummification in the isles is a gentle, spiritual process reserved for the wisest of elders, this process creates uniquely gentle mummies with skin of red clay. These mummies are placed in shrines present all over the islands, and people sometimes visit them to seek guidance.

Of course, the diplomat-priest of the Jackal was not aware of this when he cast a banishing spell on a village's founder—a being who has been guiding his descendants for fifteen generations. The foreign power diplomats present barely managed to save the man's life, but continuing dialogue between the two countries poses a new diplomatic challenge...

Mukradi

There's not much to say when it comes to the Mukradi as far as narrative hooks are concerned. The beast is quite interesting mechanically and is fearsome, even among other level 15 creatures. When running a mukradi, be sure to pay special attention to and use as needed the different breath attacks to make the creature more threatening. Assuming you decide to use one in your game, you may as well make it sufficiently threatening to the players—you're probably not going to throw one at the party on a whim.

Beyond the danger a mukradi presents, they are somewhat of a blank slate for you to worldbuild around. The bestiary doesn't provide a lot of guidance, and the Beast trait simply indicates it is natural to some degree, though you might expect something like the mukradi to be an aberration of some kind. Consider how something so singularly dangerous and violent could shape the world you create, and what it might mean for the people that live in close proximity to such a terrible creature.

- Reece

Hook 1 (TJ) - Fiends of the Chasms

The nomads of the Farchasms have exclusive access to a rare and powerful source of energy. Traders come far and wide to bid for the strange pulsating energy sources the nomads offer up. Competing peoples and companies have tried to find the secret source of these potent relics, though any that venture too far into the Farchasms are quickly met with resistance. The mukradi that slither between these massive cracks in the earth are a force to be reckoned with.

Unbeknownst to these would-be energy poachers, the very entities that defend the Farchasms are what they seek. The monstrous tricephalic centipedes breathe a harmful array of energies from their mouths at any that come close. If one of the poaching groups were able to actually slay a mukradi and take the time to butcher and dress the beast, they would find that what the nomads peddle as an energy source is actually a thoracic organ unique to the mukradi. The additional advantage that the nomads have over the poachers, however, is knowledge of the pupation cycle of the mukradi, which allows much easier access to fell these terrifying creatures.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Flesh of the Gods

The deepest, most unreachable and inhospitable part of the Ashen Lands—the realm souls pass to after parting the land of the living—is the Sea Of Those Forgotten.

There, corpses of gods and deities who died—most usually from having no more followers—endlessly float in space, their vast bodies colliding and ricocheting in complete silence.

Feasting upon the flesh of those titans are strange, three-headed centipede-like critters. Although these mukradi are themselves of massive size, they are dwarfed by the matter they subside on.

While they appear perfectly docile when viewed from afar, they jealously guard their source of food and are absolutely prepared to throw their lives away for it—a fact a priest looking to revive an ancient cult and his acolytes are just about to find out...

Hook 3 (Reece) - The Westward Valley

The Long Valley has for many years been the furthest west any mortal can travel. Many expeditions have tried to travel west, hearing tell of vast riches beyond it, but the Valley is not a challenge of pure endurance, but one of strength and wit as well. The further one walks through the valley, the more dangerous the area becomes. All manner of savage beasts and hostile peoples in the valley will do anything possible to stop travelers from making their way through.

One of the most dangerous parts of the path is The Pit, an infamous hole that spans the width of the valley with a drop that descends so far down it's impossible to see the bottom. That alone could be manageable if it weren't also crawling with Mukradis...

Mu Spore

A Mu Spore is one of those kinds of monsters that every fantasy RPG has to have—an apocalypse engine. The odd thing about this one, though, is that it isn't (by default, feel free to spice that up!) a creation of the evil gods, an entity prophesized to end the world, nor a malignant alien. Indeed, the mu spore is just a big, flying, hyper-intelligent mushroom. It isn't even evil, as the book puts it at CN, although I wouldn't exactly bet on it being particularly cooperative.

Its genius-level intellect and its absurd (50 ft by 50 ft—that's ten grid spaces each way for all you grid players out there) size mean it will often be revered as a deity by cultures whose homelands it uses as a feeding ground.

But the one thing that gets me going as a GM reading it is that it is a spore. What are spores, exactly? In layman's terms, they're mushroom seeds. Think about what could be born of a genius mushroom the size of a cathedral that ends civilizations before (or for) breakfast. Then make that your next big baddie.

- Nemanja

Hook 1 (Max) - Shroomhaven

Recently, the Firn Peaks became a no-go zone, as multiple big groups of people vanished there without a trace. A few came back, but different than before, acting as if their hometowns were completely alien to them.

There are some people, however, who feel a deep, almost primal urge to go into the mountains. A strange, otherworldly voice compels them to seek out a vast cavern hidden beneath the peaks. And so they all leave in the dark of the night, only to return a couple of weeks later.

Oddly enough, every single one of them was an enthusiast of mushroom hunting.

They all act differently, too. Somewhat apathetic, but at the same time taking in their surroundings very carefully. Everyone assumes they've taken part in some enlightening experience. Technically, you could say that.

For they are now emissaries of an alien intellect that has been taking refuge within the Firn Peaks, set on revenge for generations of its brethren being used as cuisine on its distant homeworld. Every person that came back from its new domain is a ticking timebomb, a fungus slowly replacing their nervous system, waiting to explode in a spore cloud infecting even more victims. Soon, it will begin.

Hook 2 (TJ) - Verdant Valor

The Knights of the Final Green have a solemn duty. These intergalactic verdant vagrants travel the cosmos in search of apocalyptic fungal growths. While the plant nature of these leshy knights protects them from the mu spores, the enormous vacuous spores will still consume these minuscule warriors. The number of planets the Final Green has found that contain floral brethren is disappointingly small, and their numbers are dwindling after millennia of hunting down their prolific, constantly propagating foe. Unfortunately, they've found the biggest infestation yet, and the chances of being wiped out entirely is nagging at the back of every knight's mind.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - The Bloated God

Fifty years ago, what appeared to be a meteor landed in Blazavayka lake.

Five years later, what would later become known as The Bloated God rose to the surface, begging for food.

Ever since that fateful day, the deity has risen to the surface every five to ten years and the people of the surrounding villages have been bringing it sacrifices—mostly in the form of cattle and poultry to feed it. The godling, for its part, makes it largely worth it. It tells the villagers of how the seasons will change, the locations of hidden sources of water and fertile land, and warns them of passing bands of bandits and deserters. Something changed this year, though. The alchemist's son is rumoured to have fed another human—a young lass that rejected his advances—to the god and apparently awoke something within it.

The deity now speaks of dark magicks, tides of blood rising to sweep up the mammalian empires, and the Holy City of Leng. Now, the villagers find themselves unable to stop listening to its mad ravings.

Morrigna

Making a world from scratch can be difficult, as there's a lot to consider when making your own world. Nations, conflicts, gods, devils, planes. You mean to tell me I have to figure out what happens to souls too? Man.

Luckily, the psychopomps make that easy. Any group that could conceivably include the likes of Anubis, Charon, Hermes, and Jesus is a group that I'm interested in. The Morrigna, with its spider motifs, easily brings to mind ideas of the threads of life or fate and the passive observer that is death. I'm not sure how I feel about it drawing so heavily on spiders, given the spider's propensity to, uh, trap insects in webs and eat them at their leisure. Probably shouldn't try too hard to draw parallels to souls.

Ultimately, I think the morrigna is best used at high levels when your party has easy access to death-avoiding magics. Bring a soul back from the depths of wherever souls are kept one too many times and you'll have a social (and maybe combat) encounter with a morrigna on your hands. With its ability to change its shape into an animal, you could have it tail the party for quite some time, maybe periodically reappearing after each revival attempt.

What does happen to souls in your setting? Maybe the morrigna fits into the grand scheme of your "soul plane." Just, maybe check with your players about arachnophobia first.

- TJ

Hook 1 (Max) - What is Dead Should Stay Dead

The last battle was particularly trying and one or more of the party fell. Luckily, one of them could bring the dead back. Or, as they are about to find, unfortunately.

It begins innocently enough—they keep finding spiders and webs among their belongings. Then, they start getting a repeated message in their dreams, stating simply "What is dead should stay dead."

Exactly seven days after the resurrection, when the person behind the act is alone (they are bound to be at some point), a beautiful woman in silk robes emerges from the shadows, accompanied by a multitude of spiders, a hint of a predatory smirk across her lips. As the words from their dreams play in the victim's mind "What is dead should stay dead..." she finishes "...but for now, I'll take you instead."

Hook 2 (TJ) - Eight Eyes

Eight Eyes Always Watching
Hanging By A Thread

Eight Eyes Always Watching
Looking Where You Tread

Eight Eyes Always Watching
For You Tears Are Shed

Eight Eyes Always Watching
A Beacon For The Dead

- A dirge performed when interring a member of the Eightfold Oclijian Sect, year unknown

Hook 3 (Reece) - Binder of Heart and Soul

Perrinalsus, The Watcher With Many Eyes, was one of four remaining Soulbinders to remain on their dying world. Even as the forces of chaos gripped the planet, her charge was to remain the same as it always had—maintain the natural order of death in the last breaths of a dying world. While others of her kind were encouraged to not become attached to those they would have to guide into The River of Souls, she had grown fond of a powerful sorceress who was attempting to stem the tide of destruction there. After working together many years before against a common foe, they had become an odd pair of friends who would carry conversations late into the night about the nature of death and the universe.

Perrinalsus was secretly rooting for her friend even though she knew the forces arrayed against her and her mortal compatriots would ultimately be their doom. Or so she thought.

When the sorceress finds a way to call upon fallen souls and bind them to new powerful machine bodies called Soul Golems designed to fight against the powers of destruction arrayed against mankind, Perrinalsus is left with a choice: Does she hunt down her friend of many years and fulfill her duty, or does she shirk her responsibility—and perhaps her very nature—for the love of a mortal?