Jungle Drake

Jungle Drakes are thought to be the lesser cousins of green dragons. It makes sense, especially when one takes into account their affinity for forest areas, as well as their natural cunning. This species of drake prefers to utilize ambush tactics to capture their prey, launching at it from atop the trees, not necessarily killing it on the spot, but rather taking it away to its lair to gnaw on it later.

Its abilities perfectly mirror this style. The drake, of course, has all the signature moves of its kin—Draconic Frenzy and Speed Surge—that allow for it to be more aggressive and get out of a sticky situation if need be. Besides that, it focuses on controlling the battlefield. The jungle drake has an attack of opportunity that can poison the target, its venom imparts the enfeebled status that makes it harder for their prey to escape the grapple the beast needs to carry them away.

So next time your party is trekking through a jungle, make sure they look up.

- Max

Hook 1 (Max) - Wandering Wonders

Doctor Paracelsus' Cabinet of Curiosities is in town! The self-proclaimed physician boasts an impressive collection indeed, all described on a fancy flyer he gives out on any occasion.

Visit Paracelsus' exhibition of wonders!

See the legendary giant wondersmiths of the far northern reaches at work! The famed snakedancers from the sunken temples! Patty the Singing Parrot! Behold the sight of a real Philosopher's Stone and see it turn mercury into gold!*

And last but not least, behold a real-life green dragon, subdued by yours truly, a ravenous beast that laid waste to the great jungles of the south!

*Service provided at an additional cost.

Hook 2 (Reece) - Six Kings War

Deep within the Hidden Isles are the remains of a fractured continent. When the world nearly ended the last time, the small landmass was cracked apart, splintering the once-great Seven Kingdoms Alliance. With the loss of the most powerful of the Seven, Nukaan, the six remaining kingdoms have remained isolated from one another for several generations.

When the seas finally ceased boiling and travel was safe between the kingdoms, the people of the Six Kingdoms found themselves living in an isle of strangers. Differences in interests and cultural divides created a rift between the jungle islands who are now locked in a periodic civil war that threatens to destroy them all.

The Umakaan, seeking some upper hand against its neighboring cities, have found a way to leverage the local wildlife to their advantage. Their isle is both the largest and the most hostile, home to creatures much larger than anywhere else in the isles. Tek'uma, the Archdruid of War, has finally found a way to tame the most dangerous of all the local beasts—the jungle drake. Now armed with the power of flight, the Umakaan have become the greatest power of the Six Kingdoms, and their prowess may be enough to unite the other kingdoms, either with or against them...

Hook 3 (TJ) - Hungry Hungry Hippogriff

The Isles of Matridos are home to many creatures that enjoy more tropical climates. Chief among them is the yellow-throated striped hippogriff. A cross between a toucan and an okapi, the yellow-throated striped hippogriff is difficult to miss. As they fly through the trees to gather fruits or rustle through the underbrush to eat foliage, they make an interesting sight. It's difficult to imagine that the island has enough to feed these large avian creatures.

The local gillmen think that this hippogriff variant is bad luck, and this is far from general superstition. The yellow-throated striped hippogriff is a favored meal of the drakes that inhabit the Isles. Many hunting parties have returned empty-handed with fewer numbers than they left with. Some of the gillmen swear the drakes could be reasoned with, but few are willing to attempt it, and of those few, none have succeeded.

Hill Giant

The Hill Giant. Another, uh. Another big person. Hill Giants are probably what most of us think of regarding giants; big people who regularly perform raids against smaller people, so this should be pretty run-of-the-mill.

The quintessential giant, hill giants have a basic stat block. Like the Frost Giant, everything they can do is a single action. However, given a below-average intelligence modifier and canon implications that they have no trouble betraying their own kind, hill giants should probably not be presented the organized manner other giants might be. This might mean that your hill giants are easier to trick or mollify with treasure and promises than others of their kin.

Outside of the implications of raiding your settlements, what else changes about society due to the existence of giants? The hill giant is the lowest level giant other than the cave and wood giants and is probably the most likely to encounter, depending on your setting. Do they have their own settlement, as they do in The Silver Chair? Is it more Jack and the Beanstalk style? Maybe there's something that entraps each type of giant to their respective biome. Here again, you have my permission to take time to indulge in worldbuilding a bit to figure out how this (very large) piece of the puzzle fits into your world.

- TJ

Hook 1 (Max) - Run to the Hills

While traversing the area of Greyhills, take special heed, for the road is fit for travel—unless you like rocks being thrown your way.

A group of hill giants has found its way here and they are enjoying the spoils of their labor. That labor is actually quite complex for their kind; there is a certain spot along the road where the left side rises to a small cliff, while the right is a steep incline. When a group of unaware travelers finds themselves there, three giants upon the ridge start lobbing rocks and stones their way, obstructing the road both ahead and behind.

The first instinct of many people is to run down the incline—this is exactly what the giants want—there are several big pit traps there, concealed by sticks and turf. Even if anyone makes it past them, the bottom of the incline holds their final trap—a cave where a fourth giant lies in wait.

The coordination is unusual for the short-sighted hill giants. Could it be, perhaps, that some other party is coordinating—and profiting—from these attacks?

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Leaving The Business

Himbaud is a hill giant, known as some of the best muscle money can buy in the magi-mob-controlled city of Orksbreath. He is also, apparently, looking to get out of the business; he is in too deep, owes too much, and is repeatedly given more dubious and questionable missions to carry out.

To that end, he has reached out to a group of private investigators with a substantial sum of money and enough accumulated evidence to bring down down the city's entire ruling class down, should they manage to sneak him out of the city. It goes without saying that getting to the safety of the Outer Land while trying to hide a 12-foot tall brute that has a nasty habit of getting very, very drunk all while the city's top assassins prowl the streets looking for him is anything but a simple task...

Hook 3 (TJ) - A Small Problem

Efforts have been made to integrate the giants of the High Hills into Renthra society. Between the armistice and settlement accords, it would seem negotiations are going well. The trade agreements, however, have ground to a halt. The giants have major issues with what the Renthra government has proposed.

The giants insist they need the right to mint their own coins. Not only do they control a good number of mines within the High Hills, they also complain that the Renthra currency is "too damned small." The Renthra guilds are up in arms about the giant's coinage proposal. While there are many political conversations about the governmental control of the minting process—how it provides security in trade, how those employed in the minting process are at risk, devaluation of already existing currency, and many other economic implications about this portion of the agreement—one practical question is of utmost importance to the merchants. 

How do you trade with coins that are the size of dinner plates?

Grikkitog

The grikkitog is the perfect union of both monster and trap. It serves as a reminder that the things you're afraid of can be afraid of something themselves, as the grikkitog infests earth elementals in a parasitic manner. It then uses their earthen affinity to lie in wait, eating who or whatever happens to stumble its way.

With a cursory glance at its statblock, you might be tempted to run this creature just as a sentient trap, but I think you would be missing something key: this is an intelligent creature, capable of speaking Terran. While this may not be a common language for your PCs to have, it's not impossible. With that in mind, attempting to reason with this creature would make for incredible role-play opportunities.

This creature can serve as a widespread trap and, given its aforementioned intelligence, makes an incredible one. It would absolutely be in character for the grikkitog to wait to attack until creatures are closer to the center of its Infestation Aura, to give it more opportunities to attack them as they attempt to flee. Like with the gargoyle, its ability to imitate stone gives you a good opportunity to test your understanding of how checks vs. DCs work, but I would hope you have a grasp on that by level 14.

I will leave you with one final recommendation. A grikkitog's major feature is its Infestation Aura, right? Well, how much more can you do with a 120-foot radius when you have three-dimensional space to work with? A grikkitog who has a "service elevator" of sorts in a winding cave system to freely move around and reposition? You can do wonders for its effective range when the caves funnel your PCs back into its range. Now there's a fight to remember.

Hook 1 (TJ) - The Hungering Tunnel

The svirfneblin of the Undergallery have long been sought out as masters of stonecraft. Recent rumors purport they've created a ritual that can bring the stone to life. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, the first of these attempts went rather poorly. The resultant creature, although ravenous, could still be reasoned with. Fortunately for the svirfneblin, the passages to the Undergallery can be quite treacherous. Trips to see the wonders these deep gnomes produced were already renowned as a dangerous but worthwhile journey. If a few individuals go missing on their way to the Undergallery, swallowed up by the earth, it is easily written off as a natural risk. The grikkitog, however, is growing tired of this passive arrangement, as it has become increasingly greedy for more. The svirfneblin are becoming fearful, though they have little hope of reaching out for help without alerting the hungry earth that watches the exits...

Hook 2 (Max) - The Black Garnet

The Shrine of the Heavenly Garnet is a place of great reverence where thousands of pilgrims journey every year in search of enlightenment. The travel itself is arduous but reportedly worth it as the sight of the enormous, crimson gem changes people in some way.

At least that was the story up until recently because, for the better part of the last couple of months, no soul has returned from the journey to the top of the mountain where the shrine is located. Priests who admit the pilgrims onto the path are starting to worry.

A disquieting darkness has fallen over the Shrine as the Garnet, once stunningly red, is now jet black. The rich and malicious darkness seems to nest within the gem's many facets as the thing seemingly waits for more and more unfortunate souls to be fed to it. growing with each passing day, both in size and its unsated hunger.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Gemeater Pass

To get to the Golden City, the last utopian metropolis of the great Golden Elves, anyone arriving from the south must go through the Gemeater pass.

The treacherous canyon is home to an entire colony of juvenile grikkitogs who infest every step of the mile-long trek. While one might hope to outrun the aberrant elementals, as fighting is hardly an option, the clue to survival actually lies in the canyon's very name; if given gemstones, the elementals will try and consume them before any living flesh. Oddly enough, different gems seem to have different effects: emeralds (the informed choice) make them sick and docile for hours, rubies throw them into a murderous rage, and amethysts greatly increase their mental capabilities...

Gargoyle

 _**Editor's Note:**_ _We normally keep to one hook for each of us on any given creature, but I didn't have the heart to cut one of TJ's hooks. As you can tell by the length of today's intro, he **really** loves gargoyles._

In fantasy, we are given all sorts of interesting creatures inspired by real-life counterparts. When looking for one inspired by architecture and religion, look no further than the gargoyle. Originally an ornate alternative to unsightly drainpipes on buildings, at the table the gargoyle fits the niche of an urban ambush predator. Given the jumpiness and suspicion of most players, you'll likely only get the satisfaction of having a humanoid statue come to life as an adversary a single time. After that, every statue is an enemy in the player's mind. This is where the gargoyle separates itself from other statue-like earthen creatures.

Whereas most golems, constructs, and other creatures with inanimate objects as their conceptual impetus are mindless guardians set to a task, the same is not true of thinking, breathing gargoyles. You might use this in some interesting ways. Is that just a statue, or is it a gargoyle informant? Use their chameleonic tendency to mimic stone (usually architecture) around them in other places. A bunch of unusually wide stalactites? Gargoyles roosting from the ceiling, wrapped in their wings. The Bestiary defaults them to chaotic evil and makes them seem relatively unintelligent, but if 90s cartoons taught me anything, that definitely isn't a standard you have to stick to.

As far as abilities are concerned, the gargoyle statblock doesn't stand out when attacking. Its offensive abilities aren't that significantly different than most of the bird-like creatures that fill the Bestiary. What you really came here for was what makes a gargoyle a Gargoyle; hiding in plain sight. With its Statue ability, the gargoyle is an excellent creature to check your understanding of the concentrate trait and the nature of checks vs. DCs when it comes to being perceived or deceiving someone else. If the PCs are seeking, they use the Gargoyle's DC. If the Gargoyle is actively hiding against someone else's Perception DC, use the check. The result is the same either way (32) but this helps you get into the habit of when to use what.

Give the gargoyle a try! Increase its intelligence! Give it a water spout ranged attack as an homage to its origins! Put gargoyles in every environment! Make gargoyle societies! Homebrew gargoyles as a playable ancestry! ~~Devote your entire life to chasing the nostalgia of the 90s!~~ Or run it Rules-As-Written; it's your game.

Hook 1 (TJ) - Textbook Larceny

The first years at the University of An'Zar are under investigation for a string of thefts of some of the more ancient tomes from the An'Zar Athenaeum. Bleary eyed students studying late might think that the movement they saw from the periphery of their vision was simply an artefact of staring too long, or a magelight flickering from a colleague nodding off at a neighboring reading desk. Even for a mage's college, the truth of a scholarly gargoyle swooping from the rafters of the Athenaeum to gather tomes for daytime reading would be a bit far-fetched. That is, until one of the missing tomes comes plummeting down from the upper pillars in the middle of finals week.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Edifice of Death

For the past three months, a gargoyle has appeared at the roof of St Argus' cathedral every Monday at the sixth toll of the day bell.

The gargoyle, nicknamed the Signifier, has a body resembling a heavily scarred angel. He remains recognizable, though his face changes each time he appears, taking on the likeness of a member of the republic's senate. Without fault, said senator had been found dead the following day, killed in a different and often needlessly elaborate manner.

While the gargoyle isn't mute - and indeed, striking conversations with him reveals an incredibly deep and nuanced understanding of anarchistic philosophy - he outright refuses to acknowledge the murders in addition to his own mutable disposition. Most of the city's population seems apathetic at best; with how corrupt the senate is, that comes as no surprise. That indifference, however, is abruptly turned on its head when two other gargoyles appear, each sporting the face of artists and craftsmen of the city...

Hook 3 (TJ) - Civic Surveyors

The nation of Ordrea is a nation of conquerors. Slowly engulfing each and every poleis around them and subsequently integrating them into their culture has made the architecture of the Ordrean capital, Ordreanapolis, very eclectic. Analyze what you will about the subtle nuances and changes in cultural identities of those that now live within its walls. The more glaring change, however, is in the appearance and culture of the gargoyles that dwell there.

As new tenements rise up from the dirt, wings of local gargoyles claim the new territory. The varied architecture styles have made the gargoyles that choose to roost equally so, to the point where the separation in districts in Ordreanapolis are more recognizable by the appearance of the gargoyles in the eaves than the cultures of the ground-dwellers below.

Ingratiating yourself with a wing is the best way to have your safety assured while travelling in that district, but it has an equal and opposite reaction in other sections of the cities, as the wings of gargoyles fight back and forth, squabbling over unknowable things.

Elemental, Mephit

 Think of every hammy and cheesy sidekick to the villain from your favourite childhood cartoon. Now channel them all into a little imp with delusions of grandeur, and you got yourself a mephit. While all are true neutral, they are most often used by minions by other elementals and casters - and a good chunk of those your players will be encountering are certain to be evil. Bestiary 1 brings us four flavours - air, earth, fire, and water.

Ser Georgio D'Anunnzio the Third, Slayer of Beasts Large and small, is a brave air mephit knight. While he claims to be recruiting squires to help him slay a mighty cyclops, he has no real chance against the giant. Despite cooking for, cleaning after, and generally being subservient to his squires, he will still claim to be the leader of the band. If the cyclops is slain, he will also claim the kill - going so far as to challenge any false claims with a duel, although if the duel is accepted he is sure to flee.

Dirty Douglas is an earth mephit known in mage circles for being a highly effective assassin. The tiny murderer's method of operation is gliding through the earth to ambush the victim, tripping them to the ground, and then using a garrote to finish the job. Adventurers who slight the (easy to slight) Guild of Mages Supreme might end up having to deal with him.

The Song of Waves and Pyres is an annual event held in the neutral astral plane city of Foreverspyre. The ancient tradition dates back to when the planes of Water and Earth were in open conflict - but nowadays, a symbolic arena battle for prestige takes place instead. The only participants on both side are respective planes' mephits - and both groups are notoriously good at cheating. Fire mephits usually resort to hidden evocation scrolls and an occasional infernal pact, while water mephits' favourite tactic is to recruit other outsiders and even mortals, using magic to disguise them.

Elemental, Earth

This group of golem-lites includes the living landslide, sod hound, stone mauler, xorn, and elemental avalanche. They also need almost no introduction, as "behemoth made of earth and rubble" is just such a common trope across all media.

The Transrealm Shadowbank Corp is the largest chain of banks in the world(s), ran by a shadowy cabal of seven primal dragons. The dragons' rival has recruited several teams to strike at several of those banks, breaking their reputations as impenetrable. The easiest of those includes jumping through an unstable portal to a demiplane strongly aspected to earth - where gems are kept, and sod hounds alert their living landslide handlers when any single one of the precious stones is moved but a millimeter. 

A group of daring thieves have pulled off the impossible - managing to steal a precious diamond from one of the vaults of the Transrealm Shadowbank Corp. Unfortunately, just as they return to the material plane, closing the portal behind them, a hungry xorn appears, and with him some stone mauler thugs. The three-legged gem eater proposes a trade for the diamond, but his companions disposition clearly states that no is not an answer.

Birkenbock mountain is home to a grumpy old elemental avalanche. Unknowingly, when old ladies living on its slopes talk about keeping quiet not to cause an avalanche, they aren't talking about natural avalanches - instead, Ol' Slide is particularly fond of his peace and quiet. Those in the know will sometimes leave offerings in the form of scrolls of silence or similar magical trinkets, and just sometimes, they might unexpectedly stumble upon a gem, or a hidden cave filled with treasures, when traversing the mount.

Desert drake

 So. Basically, you take a blue dragon's lust for power, and you remove the mental capacity needed to understand such a yearning, and then splash in some sandworm shenanigans - and you got yourself a desert drake. Also happens to be the mightiest of the drakes (as of bestiary 2) at level 8.

A group of space-faring dracologists are on their most daunting task yet. Some illegal beast traffickers caused a major ecological disaster - they smuggled some duneworms from one desert planet to another. And yet, Kandallore doesn't have Malahar's native parasites that keep the worms from growing truly gigantic. As it stands, Kandallore's dessert drakes are facing extinction. While adult drakes are too big and ferocious to safely capture, the scientists are now tasked with finding, securing and extracting as many eggs and juveniles as they can - while avoiding giant worms and angry drake parents ready to dive out of the sand at every step.

The Flying Sand desert, a cursed and avoided location, is inhabited by a huge flock of desert drakes. The dark grey "sand" of the desert is actually fine iron dust, which keeps getting magnetized from all of the drakes electrical discharges - giving the locale its name. The drakes, for their part, are drawn to the accursed land like nowhere else - especially to the fabled central plateau, rumored to contain ancient technology. Unfortunately for them, that plateau is exactly where a shaman and his druid lover were foretold to have their last stand...

Most desert drakes stick to... well, deserts. Thundertooth has always been a clever girl though - she realized her electrically charged attacks became especially potent underwater. Thus, she became the tormentor of Dawnwater, a triton settlement in the shallows, just off the coast of Kali Gorya. The tritons try to send word to landlubbers and call for aid - but Thundertooth hunts all their messengers down. Finally, a group of triton youth are given magical bubbles of land breathing, and must venture forth into the weird, dry lands above, and stand up to their sadistic, draconic nemesis.

Copper dragon

 Copper dragons are essentially fairy dragons with an agenda. While threading on almost fey territory with their hedonistic approach to life and love of jokes, but their staunch, if easily misdirected moral compass is what sets them apart.

While dragons are wise and powerful, they aren't immune to indoctrination. While investigating ways to combat a dwarven lich king, a group of would-be heroes end up facing his top enforcer - a young copper dragon, convinced from hatching that tyranny and lordship over the weak are virtues. While battling him remains a (risky, bordering on suicidal) option, if swayed he could make for an exceptional ally.

A venerable copper dragon is throwing a massive party in the city's keep. The party is supposed to be a masquerade, and there's a prize - those who divine the draconic patron's identity will be given riches beyond measure.
While that is certainly true, the great wyrm also plans to recrtuit the five most successful investigators from the crowd - and with or without their consent, transport them to the city of Tarabath, where he needs help thwarting the plans of a secret society of shapeshifters.

An accomplished gang of mage-criminals travels to the faraway, dragon-ruled land of Netraxia. After stealing a prized diamond in a diabolical and daring heist, an officer of the law finally catches up to them - except its a dragon as tall as a house. If they express disbelief, the dragon responds with "Well yeah, we're know as coppers, aren't we?", before trying to chomp their heads of - keeping a self-satisfied grin on its face while he does.

Animated object

The animated object "family" of creatures comes with four examples in the bestiary - from the lowly animated broom, to the genre classics animated armor and statue, and finishing off with the giant version of the latter. Of course, the possibility for creating countless others exists within the framework of the game - its a simple matter of using the right ritual.
As opponents, animated objects aren't exactly the type of encounter you'd base your around - they work best as simple obstacles or even mere "set dressing".

The king's new bride kept complaining about how unclean the castle was - and a group of gremlins heard her. While never gentle and always mischievous, the gremlins have lived in the castle for generations, and had a special fondness for the young king. They immediately took a dislike to the new queen. Seeing their opportunity, they stole every single broom in the kingdom, and then promptly animated all of them in the middle of the castle. The King's guests are led on a wild hunt for the tiny tricksters, through the nooks and crannies of the labyrinthine castle, but if they find out the impossibly beautiful queen's dark secret, they may yet side with the gremlins in antagonizing her.

The megalopolis of Petroskin has a huge necromancer problem. To deal with it, the Maple Hill Cemetery uses a large number of animated statues. These statues remain immobile during the day, but as soon as night falls they start patrolling the graveyard. To distinguish the animated and regular statues, the sculptors sculpt their own faces onto the animated ones.
Recently, however, there have been several disappearances among the cemetery staff. What is more, a rumor is starting about a mysterious huge statue starting to appear from time to time. For some reason, unlike the other statues, the huge one appears to have a completely blank and featureless face.

Sir Flavio's school of the highest art of the rapier is a rather prestigious school of fencing. As part of the mind-numbingly expensive deal, after finishing the course, students are given a an animated suit of armor, loaded with the commands for basic fencing practice, with the idea that no real fencer ever stops honing his skills. A week ago, however, a high-profile assassination was pulled off - one of the school's armors was somehow replaced with one with the instruction to murder the student's rich father as soon as it was delivered.
Sir Flavio has reason to believe that the assassins will try again, and inspectors he hired now have a hard task ahead of them - decide which of the ten remaining constructs were planted by the assassins, but preferably do so without damaging any others.