Hyena, Hyaenodon

In most fantasy-esque settings, the presence of hyenas means there are also gnolls around. But you don't have to use them like that. A hyena's uncanny and creepy laughter, their ties to death and decay, in addition to the fact that they just plain look cool means you can get creative.

In combat, hyenas and their larger cousins are built for swarming tactics, working best in large packs where they can benefit from their positioning-related abilities. Both the Hyena and the Hyaenodon make great minions for any wandering bandits or nomadic peoples. Bear in mind that both are Animals, so they have no innate alignment and can be used as animal allies by groups of any alignment.

- Nemanja

Hook 1 (Max) - The Last Laugh

The savanna is a dangerous place to find yourself in, no matter the circumstances. There are a lot of things that can kill you, from predators stalking the terrain to rare diseases.

And then there's the Laughing Jack, the Cackling Stalker, who just so happens to be the biggest oddity around.

No one knows where he came from, but the simple fact of the matter is that he just is. What exactly that is? A big hyena. That laughs maniacally. All the time.

The laugh is what gave him his name and what makes him the most dangerous creature around these parts. "How come?" you might ask, "it's just laughing." Well, my dear traveler, the thing is, Jack's cackle appears to be contagious and not in the same way that the normal glee might be. It literally spreads like a disease. Once you hear it, you're most likely done for. You burst into laughter, tears streaking down your face and you laugh and laugh until your respiratory muscles fail and you suffocate, a stupid grin of amusement planted on your dead face.

Then Laughing Jack moves on, evermore cackling his mad cackle.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Sacrament of the Decaying God

A Hero's love has been tragically taken away from him.

In his grief, he is looking to pass into the Otherworld and bring back their soul.

To date, no one but the mad cultists of the Decaying God has pulled that off, and their methods are plainly disturbing. Namely, the cultists partake in odd rituals to mask themselves as hyenas that may pass back and forth through the gates undisturbed. That includes covering themselves in a mixture of ash and spit as well as consuming a psychedelic that puts them in a hysterical state so they emulate the animals through constant laughing. The most disturbing part of the ritual, however, is The Partaking.

During The Partaking, the cultists form a circle wherein each participant takes a bite of flesh from the person on their right.

While the ritual is fully consensual, whispers of man-flesh being addictive never truly die. Whether the Hero is willing to risk eternal damnation for his one true love must now be decided...

Hook 3 (Reece) - The Whispering Hunger

In the Ash Barrens east of The Burning Desert, the Hyena, not native to the land, has found itself a unique niche in the ecology of the land. They are particularly resistant to a plague that has been sweeping the local villages. The plague is, unfortunately for everyone involved except for the hyenas, not natural.

They call it The Plague of Whispering Hunger, mainly because when someone dies from it, others that are near to the corpse find themselves compelled to eat the flesh of the deceased, thereby infecting them. This strange disease has been wreaking havoc on the local population for over a generation, as it seems tied to some terrible demonic influence deep within the desert. Fortunately for both the hyenas and the locals, the hyenas—being animals immune to the temptations of demons—are perfectly capable of disposing of the corpses. All other methods—be they burial, burning, or otherwise—have not succeeded in sating The Whispering Hunger, as the whispers will only subside once the bones of been picked clean of flesh. The hyenas have been more than willing to oblige the free meals, and a strange symbiosis has emerged.

Some have even begun to keep hyenas as pets, expecting to feed their loved ones—or even their own corpse—to the family "dog". The strangeness of the situation is seen as repulsive by many outsiders, though those within the Ash Barrens find themselves preferring being consume upon death to the alternative—a rage-fueled madness that drives one to kill their neighbors and loved ones so that they too may consume their flesh, before quickly expiring as they waste away.