Harpy

Editor's Note: Many of the titles you see in the Beastfinder articles are my doing. The more you groan at them, the more powerful I become.

Every time I consider using the Harpy, I'm reminded of how repulsive they are. Depending on the RPG, their lore usually involves gore, generally untidy behavior, and occasionally terrifying reproductive behavior. Perhaps I spent too much time as a child watching TV shows about children's card games to really understand what fantasy RPGs want harpies to be, but that won't stop me from trying.

The harpy can speak but is not overly intelligent, so it may be easily tricked. Mechanically, it is not overly impressive; it follows the same flying creature niche, having a high fly speed as well as some average attacks. Unfortunately, it doesn't gain any of the action economy manipulation that other notable flying creatures might, like the Griffon.

The focal point of the harpy statblock is Captivating Song. Drawing creatures in and giving the harpy's allies time to soften them up (depending on how you rule the fascinated condition in the failure entry) is really what the harpy is designed for. Keep in mind, though, that Captivating Song has the incapacitation trait, as well as rules text that specifies a creature is immune to any and every Captivating Song provided it succeeds a save against any of the. In short, multiple harpies won't bog down your players too much.

The harpy is a generally gross and crude creature, though it doesn't have to be. The harpy statblock is permissive enough to allow easy tweaks for variants, so don't be afraid to make your harpies slightly more sophisticated. But don't take it too far! The shock factor of their natural grotesque state will take the beauty and wonder of flight and bring it crashing down upon your players.

-TJ

Hook 1 (Max) - Spread Your Wings

The princess has not been seen in public in a couple of months, speculations and theories are beginning to take root. Some speak of an illness overtaking her, others of an attempted coup, but none are certain.

You are enjoying your drinks in the tavern in the capital, when a hooded figure approaches you, offering an extremely lucrative job—one that requires utmost secrecy. Upon acceptance of the contract, the details are disclosed.

The princess is indeed unwell, though it isn't a disease that ails her, but a curse—one that turned her into a monster. So far, the guard managed to keep her locked in her chambers, with occasional food being slipped her way. The king has already tried many avenues among them wandering wizards, wayward warlocks, and proselytizing priests. All have failed.

How did the princess become this way? This part of the account is somewhat unclear. The king insists that it was done by a sorceress whose services he refused. As such, the king wants you to kill her, thereby lifting the curse.

There are two important things the agent wasn't told. First, killing the sorceress won't relieve the bane, as the spell is far more intricate and requires cooperation. Second, the sorceress put the magic on the princess by the king's orders.

Hook 2 (TJ) - No Bones to Pick

It has long been thought that the reason for the harpy's light weight was due to hollow bones that reduced weight and allowed flight. While it is true that many of their bones are hollow, much like birds, these hollow bones serve a different purpose than most understand. Some have discovered that harpy bones contain pockets of air that assist in adding additional oxygen to their blood during flight.

This affinity for air has proven useful in other ways, as harpy bones are highly receptive to air (and blood) magic. Beyond the receptivity, the inner matrices of these hollows amplify any air-related magic placed within them. Harpy bone charms, wands, and staves are highly sought after by any and every aeromancer that wants to enhance their power.

This has had the predictable and not entirely unfortunate side effect of driving the harpy nearly to extinction. Harpy poachers scour every forest, mountain, and hamlet for harpy sightings, hoping to make their money before there's no more to be had. Black markets selling live harpies or charlatans trying to pawn off the bones of any and all avian species as harpy bones have become rampant as well. While many rural communities are ultimately safer for it, the shortage of harpy bones is driving up the costs of these enchantments. This isn't to mention, given the harpy's level of intelligence, the practice is ethically questionable at best.

Advocates against this hunting-harvesting practice have become more prominent as the harpy population dwindles, though whether or not their intentions are for moral reasons, or for personal gain is difficult to discern.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - A Shitty Deal

For a while, an arrangement between Tysypha's Roost and the dwarven engineers of Darakh had been working out well for both parties. Dwarves would trade their duergar and drow prisoners of war for large quantities of guano, used to fuel the emerging and revolutionary firearm industry. 

However barbaric Tysypha may seem, she is no fool. The last two trade delegations have failed to return, and now the mountains echo with the thunder of revolvers descending from the clouds...

Gibbering mouther

Despite their countless mouths, it is nearly beyond a Gibbering Mouther's capability to form a comprehensive sentence. A soggy mound of flesh pierced through with eyes and maws, this incomprehensible creature is indeed a sight to behold, albeit not the nicest one.

Origins of gibbering mouthers remain shrouded in abject mystery, perhaps for the best. They are not completely mindless, though their true desires or purpose is anyone's guess. In spite of any inclination as to how these monstrosities reproduce, it remains a fact that they are omnipresent in all sorts of dungeons and underground complexes.

On its own a gibbering mouther may not appear to be a considerable threat, especially considering their lack of mobility. It makes up for this shortcoming with some wonderful abilities. The signature ability Gibbering spreads confusion among those that stray too close. Reactive Gnaws can deal considerable extra damage to close quarters combatants while Burn Eyes is an added benefit to the signature ranged attack that can really ruin someone's day. That's all fine and dandy, but let's suppose you add some other beastie to the mix, one that takes advantage of the mouther's aura. Now the battle becomes far more interesting. Because of its low speed, the gibbering mouther may as well (on land at least) serve as an immobile, though dangerous, piece of terrain that harasses your party. Or, if you're feeling especially funky, the entire terrain.

When running a gibbering mouther (or perhaps a few) take note that it is best suited to short bursts of comparatively quick speed, as Engulf can serve as both a tool for movement and an attack all wrapped up in two actions.

Hook 1 (Max) - The Gibbering One

People in need tend to turn to any source of hope they can find. Such is the case with people of Biada, a small mountainside village that has been struggling just to get by for generations. Recently something outstanding has happened; the deity of their shrine (arguably a bastardization of some major cult) has spoken. The populace of Biada took this as a sign of good fortune to come even thought they can't really understand the words their god is uttering, nor are they aware of the vast array of caves and natural tunnels beneath their village.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Mouth of Madness

On each of the four tallest peaks in the world of Veyleya there is a solitary gibbering mouther. While erratic and violent, the aberrations are not evil. Should anyone find a way to calm one down, the creatures will switch from the cacophonous gibberish they usually spout to monotonously and menacingly repeating a single word.

Certain books written by mad prophets of eons past claim that these four words, in the correct order, make up the incantation needed to close the Pulsating Portal at the Bottom of the World which would in turn stop the invading shoggoths and save humanity.

Hook 3 (Reece) - The Primordial Enemy

At the first sunrise, when mankind was first taking its tentative steps from the safety of The Divine Garden, the untamed wilds of the world help primordial dangers of immeasurable power. It is said in The First Song that aberrant creatures antithetical to all of life and creation crafted monstrosities to prey on mortal kind. These varied peoples were, in the eyes of these progenitors of chaos, invaders of the worst kind; creatures that sought to bring order to the wilds the aberrations lorded over.

The gibbering mouther was first among these aberrant creations sent to destroy humanity. They were served as some of the very first soldiers of chaos sent to sew madness and despair across budding civilizations as they took the eyes of watchful sentries and turned the first scholars into incoherent sycophants enslaved to the service of The Outsiders.

Flame Drake

Flame Drakes, despite being being considerably smaller and less intelligent than their draconic cousins, may still prove a formidable foe, especially for those that underestimate them. They display a fondness for valuables, though they lack the faculties to differ real treasure from mere shiny trinkets. These hoards of theirs tend to be a mixture of junk and riches.

Typically, Flame Drakes seclude themselves to volcanos, though they can nonetheless dwell in other environs; typically forests or the surrounding hills. What they lack in size, intellect and cunning, they make up for in numbers, forming vicious hunting packs. This, combined with their territorial and violent tendencies, can make them a threat to towns and caravans alike.
 
Their abilities grant them considerable mobility and a myriad of possibilities to harass the party. Despite not appearing to be the most dangerous creature for a low to mid-level party, Speed Surge and Fireball Breath can be used to great effect against less mobile players.

Hook 1 (Reece) - The Smokeless Coast
The Smokeless Coast did not earn its name through the hearsay of wandering travelers. Amongst the rocky shores cannons and muskets, cookfires, and even torches might draw the attention of the local fauna. Fire made by other lesser creatures is seen as an affront to these jealous beings. Should the players find themselves traveling by land or sea, keeping fires from being lit can serve as a easy way for those in the know to bypass an encounter entirely. The bold or the stupid might forego safety to instead draw the beasts in and hunt them for valuable materials.

Hook 2 (Max) - The Trio
"The road ain't safe no more, mister" says the old farmer, if questioned as to why their town is in such disarray.

The reason for this soon becomes obvious to anyone investigating the tract; burnt remains of carts and, occasionally, people, litter the path ahead. Should anyone linger for too long, a single, scar-covered drake attacks them, that may shortly be joined by a second. If the resistance proves fierce enough, the beasts quickly withdraw to their nest, where a third lies in wait.

The trio came here a couple months ago, driven from their previous home by an eruption. They found themselves a nice niche to fill, as the local fauna was not accustomed to hunters so ferocious. Both the people and the creatures weren't prepared for the onslaught they brought. As such, the corpses littering the area surrounding the cave they nest in grows ever larger, along with the hoard of trinkets and valuables they steal from any unfortunate travelers they happen upon.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Ol' Ember Eye
Ol' Ember Eye is the closest thing the half dozen magical beasts and monsters calling Cozydale Forrest have to a leader.

A veteran of many fights (most notably the one that left him without his left eye), this venerable flame drake is painfully aware how easily he would be outclassed if trouble ever came to Cozydale. To that end, he has convinced a local tribe of goblins to start bringing him dry wood, coal, lamp oil, and other flammable material as offerings. His lair, though covered with countless minor riches, is now a volatile labyrinth that can erupt into smoke and fire on a moment's notice, should anyone intrude.

Ether spider

 Ether spiders - previously called phase spiders - have an interesting niche. Despite being creatures of the ether plane, filled with evil and degenerate beings, and feeding on humanoids, ether spiders are neutral, not evil, and intelligent enough to reason with. That means that for your average party, an ether spider attacking is a thing of pragmatism - if they are worth more as food then they are as guides, gambling companions, or even outright heroes, they won't be eaten.

Shadowstep spire is an ancient hold constructed over two different planes. The old lord of the keep was a borderline insane wizard, who made the keep in such a way that passage through it requires constant passage between the shadow and material planes. Unfortunately, his riches quickly drew the murderous attention of a large family of ether spiders - who now jealously covet the keep's bounty, while simultaneously looking for someone brave enough to explore its deepest corners.

Spangle Spadangle is an ancient ether spider sage. Millenia ago, he was known as the multiverse's leading expert on planar travels. However, the Order decided that his knowledge was too dangerous - and yet the arachnid had grown to powerful to easily kill. Eventually, they decided to tear off all of his eight long limbs and scatter them across the planes, and lock him between seven layers of chains.
If the spider's limbs are reattached, though, the chains won't hold - and he would be willing to share his knowledge with his potential saviours.

Clerics of Daur, the deity whose duty is to watch over the passage of souls to the heavens, have grave news - A massive, world-spanning web has appeared in the Spirit Lands, trapping any and all souls who must pass through on their journey. Anyone braving the webs finds them crawling with phase spiders possessing an eerie, golden glow, who ignore the living until attacked and sing songs about the "Final feast"

Elemental, Water

 The water elementals in the bestiary include living waterfalls, quatoids, tidal masters, brine sharks, and elemental tsunamis. Most of them are either penalized for not standing in water, or have abilities that benefit from being in open water. While you *can* stick one of them in a pool and have your players surprised and scared, encountering these in the open sea (or, you know, on their home plane of water, that is... all water?) makes for so much more drama.

The Untari jungle is known for its many streams and waterfalls, but any attempt to map their locations is futile, as they appear to be changing places. Indeed, the jungle is a place of thinning, where the material plane meets the plane of water, and the many living waterfalls who keep crossing over find it very fun to move the streams and rivers around. However, they are very shy and secretive about it, and if mortal eyes see them in action, they might grow violent.

The Angulii pass, a stretch of sea between Northlandia and the polar ice caps, is known for its treacherous waters. Many terrible aquatic beasts lurk here, but among the most feared are entire schools of brine sharks. These elementals are said to jump dozens of feet up into the air, dragging sailors with them and plunging them into the cold depths of the ocean. Some of the more experienced sailors claim that offering them fresh water might keep them off - while others dismiss it as dangerous and wasteful superstition.

The Blue Brothers were the twin tidal master guardians of Akhtana Archipelago. One day, a group of small, octopus looking elementals appeared and whispered something into the brothers' ears. The brothers immediately nodded and then left into the deep, never to be seen again.
As the Calamity, an elemental tsunami that visits once every fifteen years, approaches, the islanders must choose: will their strongest and most capable try to stand against the Tsunami themselves, or shall they go on a quest to try and find their lost guardians?

Elemental, Fire

 The fire elementals are so inspiring, that this writeup is already longer then their description in the book. Still, the actual stat blocks actually give us some fun stuff to work with - those stat blocks including the cinder rat, elemental inferno, living wildfire and salamander.

Space pirates of the Nebulon Reach use conjured cinder rats to efficiently sabotage enemy ships. Cinder rats are conjured right into the ventilation systems of space-faring vessels, and their fetid fumes, while not overly toxic, replace fresh air overtime. Some spaceships have taken to hiring teams of halflings, gnome and other small races - these teams are trained to squeeze into the vents and fight the extraplanar vermin.

Unlike other creatures of elemental fire, salamanders can't actually see through thick smoke. This can be very useful to planar travelers, who can sometimes bribe elemental wildfires or other sentient denizens of the plane of fire to help them hide their locations as they traverse the evil salamanders' domain.

Universitas Arcanum, the premier mage school, has a long list of forbidden summons for its conjuration class. While most creatures on the list made it there for their corruptive influence, the elemental inferno is on the list for a simpler reason - it's only purpose to exist is to burn and destroy. However, some younger, more radical mages are looking to challenge several rules of the institution, among them the inclusion of elemental infernos on the forbidden list - but for all their academic pedigree, the mages also feel they aren't good at debates, having spent their lives as reclusive hermits. They are now looking for a lawyer, or really anyone good with words, to take up their case with the high council

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.

Elemental, Air

 And so, our week of elementals begins, with the air elementals - including the elemental hurricane, invisible stalker, living whirlwind, the mighty storm lord, and the zephyr hawk.

Griefholme, the city of light and magic, is a place where magic is so commonplace that day-to-day life of most citizens relies on it. One of the many unconventional uses of conjuration is a bounded elemental hurricane that is let out into the streets at night - doing a job of hundreds of servants with brooms within mere minutes. While the creature is under strict orders never to initiate a fight unprovoked, it has taken to its duty very seriously, and will aggressively defend the hygiene of the city.

Whisper is an invisible stalker with a vendetta. Having been called to perform terrible deeds by a rogue necromancer one too many times, he plans to execute the mage. To that end, he has given the necromancer the location of some ancient treasure, hidden on a solitary, faraway mountaintop - but also failed to mention that said mountaintop is an elemental vortex point, notable for being the spawning grounds of large numbers of aggressive young living whirlwinds. However, Ol' Joe the Necromancer wouldn't risk his own life - instead sending naive young adventurers after the treasure, with promises of rewards sure to be broken.

Hush Featherstep is an ancient storm lord noble. In his youth, hush was an avid falconer in his home plane of air - and even in his old days, his trustiest companion, a zephyr hawk named Swyft, had been at his side. Unfortunately, these days Hush's sight has grown weak - and when Swyft goes missing while on a hunt on the material plane, Hush must turn to some mortals for help. All of the signs point towards the bird-like elemental flying straight into a massive storm brewing on the horizon.

Eel

 While the electric and giant moray eels share a basic form, and an ability to slowly move on land, these are otherwise quite different critters.

The annual dwarven Highland games include many, many feats of strength and endurance. One of them is a race through a knee-high muddy pond crawling with electric eels. While serious injuries are rare, folks falling face-down and rolling over each other in the mud are expected, and treated with jest.
The winner traditionally gets a thunder-infused weapon, as well as a hearty eel soup.

A sea hag who often bargains with pirates resides in a cave accessible only by diving beneath the waves. While the cavern is by no means hard to reach, especially during low tide, a moray eel decided to lair at it's very mouth. What should have been a simple dive now becomes a deadly encounter, especially for those who come unprepared and are ambushed by the dread creature.

Junkeep is the capital of a newly formed goblin kingdom. The stinky keep, built out of incredible amounts of scrap material, is also surrounded by a moat that also serves as a sewer. In that filth-ridden liquid resides the royal alchemist's greatest achievement - a huge moray eel that also has the electricity-producing glands of its smaller cousins. While it has an aversion to goblin meat, the creature has been known to crawl out of the water and attack the city's few guests on occasion.

Dero

 Have you ever felt a need to run a stereotypical little gray men from UFOs story in TTRPG form, but decided it was ill-fitting for your fantasy setting? Worry not, the dero are here to save you. 

A band of warriors wakes up in a dark and moist dungeon, shackled to the walls. The night before, they had celebrated a major victory against the invading forces of Niblingast, and they must have gotten very, very drunk - as all of their memories appear very hazy, and they haven't the faintest clue where they could be.
Soon enough, a group of small, milky-eyed humanoids enter the room without a word. They feed their captives some sort of fungal sludge, and one of them slips several keys in Fluki the Shade's hands, whispering in a broken form of elvish: "if you survive what is coming, seek me out. I have an interesting proposition".
After the first group is finished, another enters - this one accompanied by a cave giant, and led by a cackling, syringe wearing elder of the race.

Synn, an aasimar who can trace her lineage to the actual Sun-god Zhaa, is approached by a strange man in a long black trenchcoat. The "man" turns out to be two dero standing on top of one another. The uncanny humanoids have a proposal: If Synn is to allow them to clone her - and "care not if the clones get murdered, hurt, and/or eaten in the pursuit of enlightened science", she will be given access to their vast amounts of research on Zhaa. Such knowledge could unlock her true angelic potential, but it also hides secrets best left undisturbed...

The proud city of Arkhangast is falling into darkness. Literally. Over the last few months, entire households have started collapsing into the ground overnight, as their foundations mysteriously vanish. The city was built on top of a large complex of deep gnome tunnels - but those have long since been purged. A deeper (pun intended) investigation reveals that the tunnels have been repopulated - but not with the svirfneblin but with previously unseen humanoids, the sun-fearing dero. The paranoid little humanoids gather around a messiah whose ultimate goal is as simple as it is insane - if the dero can not rule the Overworld by inhabiting it, then they shall simply bring all of the overworlders into the blessed Underworld, even if some (or most) of them do not survive the trip.

Deep gnome

 In Golarion proper, deep gnomes serve as the only remotely (true neutral) approachable faction in the darklands. If you, however, do not play in Golarion, you might find a different niche for them, and with little to make them mechanically interesting (decent illusory disguise on scouts and warriors, and some more primal spells on the rockwardens), I'd say you should weave a story that makes them feel different.

Young gnomes have been disappearing from the city of Calora. An investigation of the metropolis's sewers - along with several encounters with enraged duergar - lead the gnomes' chosen champions deep underground, where a settlement of stone-skinned gnomes is built around a magitechnological contraption. The kidnapped gnomes are thrown into the machine's reservoirs, where long tubes pierce their flesh, and start drawing out all colour from their bodies. The machine then produces a nectar that is both invigorating and highly addictive for the deep gnomes. While the sages of the settlement are open to alternative fuels for the machine (which inevitably kills the captives), unless such an alternative is presented, they are not willing to stop the operation. Of course, violence is always an option, but the potion makes deep gnomes a serious force, not to be taken lightly...

Diddlyfrumph Cloisterdoinks was a moody old gnome who owned a tavern. The tavern was notorious for having a (heavily enforced) sign on its entrance that said "Entry forbidden to dogs and dwarves". When Diddlyfrumph dies of old age, his proteges find that he left behind a large quantity of face and hair paint, as well as a map that supposedly leads to a hidden treasure. There's only one problem - the map claims that the planet is hollow, and saying that out loud, or trying to prove it, is heresy in the eyes of the Smiling God and his powerful clergy...

After searching for it for years, a group of adventurers have finally found the fabled Bottomless Pit. Throwing his lamp inside is the only way to truly contain a djinn prince that the group have been dealing with since the humble beginnings of their epic travels. The only problem is, the only way to the pit is through a Svirfneblin temple-city. The gnomish men are willing to allow the adventurers to pass - but the dwarven princess in their escort must not set foot on the holy stone of the city. While the Svirfneblin swear on their forgotten gods' names that no harm will come to the princess, the demon who hides in her soul is sure to be let loose if but one deep gnome tries to draw blood from the girl. If its anger is unleashed, not only would the temple be razed to the ground, but the adventurers could end up with no way home...

Dandasuka

 As a stat block, a dandasuka makes for a great spy or scout. As a storytelling device, a dandasuka is a minor disaster waiting to blow. While you can use them as plain antagonists, i feel like the best dandasuka stories would be those where a dandasuka ends up in the PCs service, be it as a dandasuka's own nefarious plan, or due to the PCs foolish megalomania.

An old cleric, who is a retired adventurer, tutors the king's only son. After a summer at his uncle's palace, the child is completely changed - prone to violent and chaotic outbursts, easy to go in a rage and highly unpredictable. Gathering his old crew for one last mission, the cleric discovers the boy has been replaced with a dandasuka - and his uncle with a Raja. Further investigation shows a deeply entrenched rakshasa conspiracy to replace the entire royal court.
While cleansing it must be done, the old adventurers realize any of their potential allies can secretly be nefarious shapeshifters. 

For his services to the Dark Lord, an aspiring Asmodean Hellknight is granted a highly unusual familiar - a dandasuka. While most knights get obedient imps, drawn directly from one of the nine hells, the young knight has shown a spark of greatness - and his higher-ups reward it by testing him to his limits. The overeager, bloodthirsty fiend is meant to be a lesson in control and restraint, and if the inexperienced knight can fully exert his will over its, he is sure to be inducted into the inner circle of the church. Of course, if he fails, that is one more soul to fuel the forge of hells...

Sir Altos, a champion of The Lord of Second Chances, has found a way to separate fiends from their evil natures and grant them free will. To that end, he has reluctantly agreed to let a free-willed dandasuka join him and his comrades on their travels through the Sleeping Valley. While the dandasuka has managed to put up an appearance of meekness and redemption in front of the champion, when they lay asleep, it has been whispering tales of lost knowledge and hidden powers to the wizard, already the least committed of the group

Cyclops

 Cyclopes come to us in two versions - the large, not too smart regular cyclopes, and the larger, dumber, more brutal great cyclopes. The exact correlation between the two is left vague - and that is where your writing comes into play.

Nubonga the cyclops is a reluctant ally of the Merry Mercenary Company of Marsholm. While he is prone to violent outbursts at a slightest perceived offense, the one-eyed giant's deep knowledge of the threads of fate makes him a very valuable asset. However, when the mercenaries return to his cavernous dwelling after several months of exploration, they find him mutated, almost doubled in size, and more maddened than ever. Before jumping at them with murderous intents, the giant manages to mutter "moon... spawn... help... me".

For years, local have avoided the Three Crowns hilltop. While the cyclopes that dwell there were brutal and aggressive, they rarely wandered beyond their ruined city's crumbled walls. For the past few days, however, loud sounds have been coming from that direction. Anyone who dares investigate will find out that the cyclopes have, after decades or even centuries of passivity, started rebuilding. What that means for the surrounding kingdoms of men and elves remains to be seen.

On the faraway, technologically advanced planet of Dezcordia, every sentient is implanted with a chip. Those chips record and store every bit of the implantee's knowledge. A group of archeologists - although some would call them grave robbers, or even thugs - are looking for information on pre-purge societies. It just so happens that the only good source of such information is the only living being who was alive at the time - a great Cyclops called Ugryt. Unfortunately, Ugryt is locked away in a solitary prison-satelite complex, guarded with several layers of counter-measures.

Cloaker

God, I love it when creatures with seemingly weird ecology and biology have decent chunks of lore behind them. And cloakers definitely do have some in the mix - and it paints them as paranoid, borderline delusional lunatics hiding away and scheming. Keep in mind that despite their monstrous appearance and skewed perceptions of the world, your average cloaker is mentally superior (at +2 int, +3 wis, and +1 cha) to your average humanoid.

An ancient cloaker vizier has become convinced that the strange mutterings of gibbering mouthers are actually key to surviving the impending apocalypse. To that end, he "farms" the insane creatures in his vast subterranean domain. Any unlucky travelers who happen to trespass are given a choice - either help him decipher it, and save the world from impending doom (at least according to him) or fight endless hordes of aberrations in the deep, narrow tunnels of the world below.

Several members of the Inner Circle of Bogsdale underworld have been mysteriously murdered in their own homes. An investigation by a group of unaffiliated thieves, hitmen and enforces reveals that each and every one of them had received a gift wrapped in a weird, dark material. Furthermore, those gifts appear to have been sent by a mysterious figure figure who calls himself "high priest of the Whisperer From Below".

Eons ago, a cloaker named Swirlmaw cast a spell on himself to make him believe to be a mere manta ray. Thus, he reasoned, he would be free of the influence of any dark gods who wished to use his vast intellect and impeccable knowledge of the Underlands. Unfortunately, the spell was set to break if any artifact of said gods came within close distance of him - so that he could react and defend. An unlucky group of scavengers carrying a yet unidentified monstrous claw across a subterranean river full of dark life are those unlucky enough to finally wake him.

Basilisk

Markham hills are infested with two different breeds of menace - basilisks and ogres. The latter actually have a tradition where on the summer and winter solstices they go out, slay a basilisk, drag both the beast and its petrified victims to their hillside homes, and then feast on the flesh as it slowly unpetrifies. The locals know not to go out on these days, lest they encounter one of the many ogre hunting bands, but strangers passing through the hillside may be in for a nasty surprise...

The king's son got a ferret as a pet. The pet ferret went out into the woods, and dragged back a basilisk egg. Unfortunately, it appears not to have eaten it, as there have been several reports of petrification in the castle dungeon, but nobody seems to be able to pinpoint the location of the juvenile reptile's lair. Luckily, the king is hosting a group of monster hunters, and it would be quite rude of them to refuse him help in this time of need

The Stone Lady is a powerful medusa noble, whose domain lies between two rival kingdoms. Unfortunately for them, most spies and other such disreputable folk who need to avoid official routes have no choice but to go through the Lady's domain. While she herself isn't necessarily going to murder or petrify any intruders, her lands are littered with all sorts of stone-related monsters, most notably the largest known Basilisk, a monstrous reptile known as Ol' Lockjaw.

Barbazu (Bearded Devil)

Minor blog update notice first: we now have a subscribe via e-mail widget, which should be located at the very bottom of the page and so far appears to be working properly.

Anyway, off to our topic for the day.

The Mad Mandrakh's Mausoleum is the only known passageway into the Hellscapes. While it initially appears to be a giant, deserted ruin, it is populated by a small plethora of fiends guarding in, foremost amongst them a legion of bearded devils. While the sly fiends are physical enough to ward off most weaker intruders, their main tactic against enemies of a somewhat higher caliber is to release a gelatinous cube down a hallway, then dimension door into hidden spots along the escape route, ambushing (in game terms - a metric fuckton of attacks of opportunity from stealth) foes as they inevitably retreat from the cube's unyielding advance.

The Demon Hunters of Azure Coast migrated to Kala'dahan with the rest of their people. There, they met their equals - the massive Barbazu population summoned forth by long gone diabolists. While the demon hunters are used to the sheer brutality of their quarry, they aren't used to the cunning and perseverance of barbazus, who will often engage in attrition warfare against the demon hunters, appearing from the darkness to land a hit or two, infecting with their accursed disease, then dimension dooring away. While it may take days or even weeks of tactics like these to bring down mightier enemies, the devils are patient, and will strike only at foes so downtrodden with disease that they can hardly even lift their swords, much less stands against infernal glaives.

While generally serving as rank and file military, bearded devils can and do also deal in contracts with mortals. It is often, but not always, a deal based on the devils' martial prowess. However, as they are notably not the smartest among devilkind - while still in possession of a sound bureaucratic mind, and traversing the myriad rules of contracts with a far deeper understanding then humans of equivalent intellect - many foolish mortals try to outsmart them.
A desperate ghost recently found out that a barbazu he crossed almost a century ago has freed himself from a trap laid by the ghost, back when he was still alive. The foolish young sorcerer made a deal with the devil, agreeing to owe him his soul "until he goes for a final rest", then banished him to chaotic planes beyond the reach of normal magicks. The magician hoped that he would be long gone before the devil comes to collect his fee, but didnt count on undeath doing him dirty.
Now, as eternal fire looms ever closer, he must beg a group of adventurers he has been pestering for months to help him.

Aasimar Redeemer

Our first entry comes with some interesting baggage - aasimars are neither traditionally associated with "evil" acts, nor are they mindless monsters that can be thrown at players as random encounters with little after thought.

While we could hand wave something like that, I'd consider that a lazy and cowardly way out. In the following seeds, we will try to focus on what makes the angelic aasimars tick, while allowing for player character meddling to take its course

Angewyn Goldeye is a respected inquisitor and mage hunter, notorious among those willing to bend magic to their selfish wills for her apparent imperviousness to any spell, charm or ritual directed at her.
However, Angewyn's recent retreat from public life is secretly due to the fact that she mysteriously lost her ability to shrug off spells. She must now place her trust in a group of strangers collected from the citadel-city's underbelly, and hope that they can find a cure before her many enemies find her...

When the Faithful Five are convicted of the misdeeds they know to be the acts of the Hollow Hill Necromancer, an ugly conclusion becomes obvious - the secret identity of their nemesis, that they had been trying to figure out for months, is indeed their patron, Padre Imogen, the fair haired priest of the Holy Hearth.

While all Aasimars can force foes to feel their sins, Sir Jonathan Inferno is on a whole new level. For some reason, he can not only make sinners remember what they had done, but make them burn with pain as they realize the full extent of their actions. Fearing for their well-being, the Dukes of The Seven Isles offer a hefty sum to any adventurers willing to put Sir Jonathan down, as his trail of bodies leads him ever closer to their castles.