Manticore

The Manticore makes the leap from "beast" to "monster" pretty easily (yes, it does have the beast trait, but stay with me). It's an iconic creature as far as fantasy creatures are concerned, and was a shoe-in for Bestiary 1 as a must-have.

While this prickly parishioner has a very simple statblock, it is quite elegant in its design. There are a few things to note beyond its signature spike attacks. First, this thing can speak and is intelligent. When the thing that is trying to eat you can also talk to you, it's definitely more unsettling. The bestiary also notes that it likes trophies. Minor, but a good thing to note when placing rewards for the players.

Consider that when you decide you want to use a manticore, you may want to customize it to better fit the theme of your setting. Perhaps some strange subspecies of manticore exists in the desert, and it has a scorpion's tail with the ability to use something akin to Giant Scorpion poison. Perhaps it has a dragon's breath attack, or the ability to gore its foes with horns. With a small core suite of abilities, you can really make it your own.

- Reece 

Hook 1 (Max) - The Price of Chivalry

Manticore Knights are renowned for their skill and ferocity in battle. Clad in jet black armor, they fly atop mighty beasts that strike fear into to hearts of their opponents. They will take anyone in unless their resolve proves frail.

Not much is known about the training of the initiates, but what little records there are available give some interesting points. It lasts anywhere from three to six years, depending on the skill of the adept. Recruits always train in pairs through the entirety of their time there. When they are deemed worthy, they are elected by a young manticore. In the end, a challenge is undertaken by the two of them.

Weirdly enough, you never see two knights on a single manticore—they don't have an infantry division either. Rumors say that the beasts appear to be far smarter than others of their kind, though what that means is hard to discern...

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Subtleties of the Spire

The spire-city of Kal'Karaz is ruled by dragons, though these scaled rulers rarely come down from their rich gardens in the highest levels of the city into the dirty, poor, Groundlands. Instead, they have several castes of enforcers, each with highly specialized roles. Among the most feared of these are the manticores—big, bestial brutes in contrast to the many shapeshifters of the city. The problem with manticores isn't their (well-earned) reputation for aggression, rather, it is that sending them means the Dragons have abandoned all of their usual subtlety and subterfuge in favour of escalation and raw violence.

Unfortunately, a rowdy, loud group of these enforcers seem to be blocking the door of the exact bar where you're supposed to meet your contact...

Hook 3 (Reece) - The Beasts of the Shadowkeep

The call of the manticore is the worst nightmare of every Sunbringer Acolyte. For as long as the Sunbringer tribes can remember, their people have been preyed upon by a host of undead nightmares, chief among them the Sangir Vampire lords of the mountains. Tucked into the shadowy peaks of the Canus mountains are the Sangir Shadowkeeps—castles shrouded in dark mists, hidden forever from the sun. Within these harrowing halls, the Sangir conduct horrible magical and alchemical experiments in search of a way to fortify themselves against the burning power of the sun. The manticores, alongside the skeletal servants that ride upon them, hunt in the foothills each evening in search of hapless herders or unaware travelers that may be captured and carried away to fuel those horrid experiments.

While the manticore is greatly feared, the Sunbringers have made it their tradition to hunt both the flying beasts and their undead masters in the hope that one day they might free their people from the bloody rule of the Sangir.

Lamia

Lamias are an interesting monster. Half-beast they may be, they still retain a humanoid intellect and have a nice little mystery baked into them. What cursed them? Why do they despise gods so much? Why the lion of all animals? Why the matriarchs? Just by asking those questions, you lay solid groundwork for a narrative centered around them, small or big.

They don't have that much going for them in terms of unique abilities, save for their Caress, but possess a good range of spells that makes them viable for social encounters, where the party might be completely unaware they are talking with a Lamia at all.

Or, you know, they could use their magic to wreck everyone's day. That's an option too, given how they are usually pretty angry at... everything.

- Max

Hook 1 (Max) - The Promise

The Gilded Spire was once regarded as the most stunning city in the world, ruled over by a wise queen and overflowing with riches. The tales of its grandeur spread far and wide, inevitably drawing the attention of those that would take it for themselves. Once The Spire was known 'cross the world, it did not take long for it to become a place of constant war and death.

As the queen grew desperate, she pleaded with the gods to aid her and save her people. They promised her the power to defeat her enemies and that they did. Alas, gods are capricious beings and envy is not beyond them, The Gilded Spire threatened their majesty, at least in their own eyes.

So both the queen and all of her loyal subjects were turned into bestial monstrosities. This indeed granted them the power needed to defeat the attackers, but in turn, also made them feared and rejected by all of their former allies. Soon after, the Spire fell into ruin.

Now the Consort of Beasts—the queen's new title—is leading her people into a new age, one where she promises to be free of the gods and their schemes. Amassing wealth, knowledge, and armies, she bides her time atop the ashes of her city, preparing for the right time to strike and eradicate any sign of the deities from the face of the earth, lest they decide to right the wrongs done to her and her people.

This is the queen's sole goal and motivation—the Promise made the day she was betrayed.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Order and Change

On the Twice Forgotten, Thrice Forsaken continent, two peoples are locked in an eternal war.

On one side, the centaurian Archivists, all of them male, all with the lower bodies of herbivores, consider themselves the guardians of order and keepers of ancient knowledge. On the other, the all-female Speakers, consider themselves both the voices and instruments of radical change and unfettered progress.

One unforeseen event will bring this endless struggle to its first ceasefire in a hundred years, though; a group of strangers has landed on the shores, and within a day, their bodies have morphed into bodies of Minotaurs and Satyrs, which both groups worship as progenitor gods...

Hook 3 (TJ) - The Price of Freedom

The Sisterhood of True Freedom offers an escape; a life with no responsibilities and no rules. This cult, lead by a lamia matriarch, selectively pursues and recruits from the disillusioned, overworked masses of the booming textile industry. Those that take the Sisterhood up on this offer are never seen again, but rather find themselves reduced to bestial instincts and baser ideas, "free" in the ignorance of an animal-level intelligence, subject only to the lamia matriarch.

Hobgoblin

Hobgoblins love conflict, their entire culture revolves around it. Out of all goblinoids, they are easily the most cunning and threatening in battle. This is exactly why they can be used to great effect, reminding your party that there are no "low-level" enemies, only those who don't use their full potential. Sure, a single goblin doesn't pose a threat, nor do ten goblins alone. If they work in tandem, though, coordinating between themselves while thinking strategically, suddenly they become far more threatening.

This is where hobgoblins come into play; they are better organized than their kin and live, in many cases, solely for the purpose of waging war. Again, a single hobgoblin may not be a serious threat, but when fighting in a bigger group (as they should), they very well might be.

This is mirrored by the ability that all hobgoblins present in the bestiary share, Formation, which can increase the survivability of any gobbo. This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when using hobgoblins—they work best as a unit. The General can play a significant role at the start of a battle, with General's Cry, a good way to set a primary target for their soldiers, but The General can also dish out a reasonable amount of damage as needed. Soldiers serve as the frontline, dealing less damage at level one, though they can soak up damage and create space for their back-line allies. Consider applying the elite adjustment to soldiers if you need to beef them up a touch against a tougher party. Archers can really ruin the day for any party who does not consider their positioning wisely. Their kit makes them the perfect hit-and-run enemy, given their movement and reload capabilities in addition to above-average precision against effects like cover and concealment. When you combine all three of them, you get yourself one nasty encounter. If they get the jump on the party and set themselves in a favorable position, life and death can easily be on the line.

- Max

Hook 1 (Max) - Rotbag's Horde

Rotbag Iron Mandible has earned the respect he commands from countless battles and duels, the most famous of which cost him the lower part of his face and earned him the moniker. Now, he only communicates via sign language, not that it impedes any of his plans.

And these plans are grand in scale indeed. He has already succeeded in uniting most goblinoid communities in the area, now boasting a considerable force under him. Before setting out further, he has set his sights on the cities that lay nearby.

He is not stupid; he knows that his army wouldn't stand a chance in a fair fight, as goblins are prone to routing and are not particularly disciplined, while hobgoblins tend to lose themselves in battle. Hence, he won't risk an open battle if he's not sure of the outcome. He can allow himself the comfort of patience as provisions are seldom a problem with the army.

Innumerable warbands scour the plains, attacking caravans and transports, leaving no trace behind. His stealthiest and best soldiers infiltrate the settlements at night, poisoning wells and food supplies, setting fire to buildings, killing people in charge, getting rid of mages and miracle workers in addition to any other important people. Sew chaos. Disorient the enemy.

Eventually, people grow tired and weary, leaving the town that is in complete disrepair, hoping for a better future. Sometimes in big groups, more often than not in small ones. Those are the easiest to pick.

When towns are decimated by disease, fire, and anarchy, Rotbag strikes with his full might. Typically the fight is quick and his horde takes very few casualties, which they don't really mind given the incredible spoils; many slaves, valuables, and another new stronghold for the army that grows ever bigger by the day, as more and more troops join it, arriving from far off lands.

Hook 2 (TJ) - The Story of Scars

The Timbermen of Rowefront are a proud bunch. They are willing to make a game or a show of anything. Feats of strength, tests of speed, challenges of wit, these and many others feature prominently in any and all of their social gatherings. The thing the Timbermen are most proud of, however, are their scars. Adventurers are generally treated with contempt in Rowefront. Not only do they generally bring trouble, but their reliance on supernatural, magical healing sources reduces the marks and marring of their skin. 

This contempt first started when Salmaracakanzz (colloquially known as "Sawbones Sal") moved into Rowefront. An expert surgeon, Sal's ideas of the beauty of scars and the stories they tell alongside a general mistrust of "elf magic" spread quickly to the Timbermen. Now, the comparing of scars and the stories that go with them feature just as prominently any time the Timbermen get together.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Bear Witness, Bring Wrath

While most hobgoblins use their ruthless minds to dominate militaristic structures of power, Globrech of Ganthia became a master merchant instead.

Ten years ago, he owned but a single alchemical shop. Now, his wealth runs deep enough that most of Tarabath is in his pocket. That's become an issue since there's an obscure Tarabathi law that states "Should anyone come to own more than half of the land in the city, the title of Doge is to pass to him".

As the day of the ceremony comes ever closer, the old doge's librarian digs up another law written when the city was founded: "Should at least thirteen men or women of age produce credible evidence against a citizen's honour, said citizen shall forever be banned from holding public office in Tarabath".

Of course, finding those willing to testify against the most powerful man in the city is going to involve a lot of stealth, subterfuge, and encouragement.

Ettin

 Ettins, eh? A great example of how a simple stat block with one neat ability can make for a really, really memorable encounter. The ettin's heads acting on different turns in the initiative is a really neat touch, though, and will make your players rethink their tactical approach as the creature gets to adapt and react to their actions at twice the rate of any other.

Blognaag and Thrognaag are an especially loquacious ettin with a highly specific MO. Standing vigil at the twin doors that lead into the famed Jotunhard dungeons, Blognaag and Thrognaag will greet any potential visitors by explaining to them how one only speaks the truth while the other one always lies, and how one door leads to great treasures while the other leads to certain death. In truth, the whole mystical schtick is a ruse itself - the ettin is a manipulative liar but perfectly capable of telling the truth if need arises, and both doors lead to a deep pit ending in spikes, and the cunning ettin merely enjoys playing others' intelligence on themselves, coming in to finish off the "nerds" and take their treasure after the deadly fall.

Deep in the vaults of the Sorceruos Constructs penitentiary, the most feared artifact is hidden. The murderer's coin is a simple enough object - a small piece of gold, with an alien deity on it's face. However, when no-one is looking at it, the coin has the tendency to teleport itself into random people's pockets, and whoever but touches it with bare skin, dies instantly. So far, the only way to contain it has been to have four ettins, working in tireless shifts to just stand and stare at the coin. However, as the ettins grow restless from the lack of action, a more permanent solution must be found.

Krook and Pnook are two ettin heads in a heavy predicament. When Krook sat on Pnook's favourite chair (an old throne from a raid years past), Pnook decided the offense was grave enough to warrant murdering Krook. Ever since then, he has been sabotaging Krook's every effort and attacking him at every point - whereas poor Krook is seeking help from the same villagers he had raided for years, feeling Pnook manages to find him whereever he tries to run or hide.

Elananx

 Hey, what if the Cheshire Cat wanted to murder you? And also became an arsonist along the way?

While most elananxes, due to their inherent fey arrogance, avoid goblins, the goblins instead adore the fiery cats. The Burning Bowel goblin clan indeed managed to tame some several generations ago, and have since had a semi-successful breeding program. The goblin-bred elananxes may appear malnourished, but in addition to their fiery attacks, many of them carry the same diseases that are usually present on goblin dogs that they replaced. Although several fatalities happen when brave goblins try mounting the proud felines, the spread of arson and mayhem works out for both parties.

Mad Morgan the Firestarter is a sadistic arsonist wanted dead or alive in seven different kingdoms and thirteen duchies. While Morgan himself is a scrawny, cowardly man who can't really hold his own in a fight, an elananx has decided to follow him. The feline creature has a weird sense of adoration for the old criminal, and while it mostly follows along to bathe in the fires the man starts, it shows a level of loyalty in defending him few of its kind are capable of.

While elananxes are violent and attracted to destructive forces, they are still fey, and signs of adoration will sometimes stay their hand. Indeed, the elananx pack of Bluebloom forest have developed a strange affection for honey harvested from the giant bees that dwell in the Hintari Highlands. Offering the pack's leader (usually the quickest, most slender female of the bunch) a jar of said honey will not only get travelers safe passage, but the fickle feline will also give them three strands of their hair. These hairs each have a different effect when activated by throwing them into the wind. The first shall make the user invisible. The second, let them fly like a wind. The last one shall grant aid from an unexpected source, but once it has been used up, the pact is over, and the elananxes are free to hunt once more.

Drider

 While they bring a lot to the fray with their stat block (some decent spells, venom, thrown webs), the true terror of a drider comes from their disgusting origin. But fleshwarping is mostly tied to the drow... and what if your world doesn't feature drow, or features them in a positive role? These following encounters will try to explore driders as true abominations, while giving you multiple ways to play that sense of degeneracy.

Pyottar Pakhar was a mad elven scientist and alchemist, whose goal was to hybridize humanoids and animals. Running out of both willing and unwilling subjects, he conducted his final experiment on himself. He exposed a spider to the wild magics of the Magicka Wastes, and then had that spider bite him. While the experiment was a partial success, giving him a spider's legs, as well as the ability to scale walls and produce webs, it also backfired. The former genius is now reduced to an almost bestial level of intelligence, instinctively guarding his old lab. The fact that the lab contains a potion rumored to stop aging has given him ample opportunity to feed.

In the netherspace, driders aren't created - they are instead a parasitic species. The vile spider-beings' larvae travel between planets on asteroids, embedding themselves in soil, and finally reaching their humanoid hosts through nutrition. Once ingested, the larvae wake up from dormancy, and quickly produce spider-like growths on the infected's bodies. The nervous system is the last to be attacked. The growths can somewhat safely be removed before the host kills for the first time - but a taste of fresh blood awakens a deep frenzy in the beings, sealing their hosts fate.
While individually dangerous, the spiderlike parasites have been treated as a pest for years - owing to the fact that they appear to posses no true nervous system, and no real agenda. That belief is put to a test when a group of smuggler accidentally discovers a planet absolutely overrun with driders, who seem to be gathered around massive, organic, pyramid-like structures.

The mysterious driders have been engaged in a war with elves for eons. When a renegade squad of them comes to an elven redeemer, asking for a chance at breaking the "cycle of curses", the elf is slow to trust them, but willing to hear the story. The driders reluctantly agree to show the redeemer the "sacred sacrificial altar", where supposedly everything will be clear.
Unfortunately, that same night, their camp is attacked - by beings similar to the driders, but with the lower bodies of massive scorpions instead. Only the elf and his squire make it out with their lives. They are now faced with the question of a lifetime. Is the secret that could end the cycle of violence worth risking their lives?

Choral

Chorals, or choir angels, are the archetypical harp-wielding cherubs sitting atop a cloud. While their ferocity in battle increases with their numbers, granting them access to higher-level spells, actually ending up fighting six angels probably means your campaign went sideways at some point.

The Quantum Quintuplets are a wildly successful choir who have achieved worldwide renown. Except for their conductor, Master Mazzio, the members of the choir all perform under masks, and their identities are a closely guarded secret - leading to wild speculations about them, from those claiming that they sold their souls to Mephistopheles in exchange for perfect talent, to those that say they are instead all children of one of the Primordial Beings Of The First World. The truth, instead, is that they are all chorals, bound to service in a dark ritual by Master Mazzio, an infernalist who has no real agenda - instead, only enjoying in the irony of using the purest beings in existence for purely selfish means.
What Mazzio doesn't know, is that the angels are secretly looking for help - reaching out to a bard known to fraternize with a group of adventurers widely known for their distaste for slavery.

Silenius is a weird case among choir angels - while most angels sing serious and ceremonial tunes, they still impart a dose of optimism into them. Unlike them, this gloomy choral sings somber melodies, almost dirges. An overly zealous Solar has accused him of treachery, mistaking such breaking of tradition for treachery. While solars wisdom is almost infinite, it is not infallible - and the poor little depressed lad is looking for someone to petition the heavens in his name.

Boldegard is a choral angel who is never content with his songs. He often roams to the mortal realms, seeking out musicians and performers, trying to find new, different approaches to music. Those who manage to impress him are given one feather from his wing - and rubbing it will summon him to remove a curse, disease, or fear from the petitioner.


Sorry for the late entry today, my home game took a fair bit longer than i expected. No regrets, really.

Ceustodaemon

The ceustodaemon, the mook by design, always obedient but never subservient foot soldier of the daemonic armies.
The fluff suggests using these evil outsiders as guardians is common, and its statblock does support the idea - it has a decent reach, some nice supernatural senses to keep it alert.

While three ceustodaemons are a tough combat encounter on their own, it is not F'Nuk, G'Nuk, and Ch'Nuk's job to kill intruders - rather, it is to keep them from running away, while their conjurer master comes back. The conjurer needs merely a minute to dimension door back once the alarm in the tower has been set off - but a lot can happen in a minute.

Ceustodaemons might be obedient, but they aren't exactly loyal. A ceustodaemon named Blagnach is in the market for a new master - as he stands no chance breaking the bonds created by his summoner, Ser Mortimer The Vile, on his own. While a valuable ally, Blagnach is almost certain to eventually betray his new master(s) as well.

The Bloodbath is a gory, bloody event in the arenas of the warlock-run emirate of Thuum. The unlucky men who participate in it are tasked with defeating a ceustodaemon without ever drawing a weapon - instead relying on the fiend's vicious wounds ability to wear it down as the fight goes on. While only a rare few contestants pull of this insane and suicidal feat, the reward is a wish granted by the emirate's dark and enigmatic patron deity.
The fact that many of the contestants end up in the event twice - once as mortals, and once as daemons (as these vile creatures are often formed from the souls of those who intentionally hasten their own demise) doesn't seem to bother the general populace, only out to see more blood spilled in the arena.

Cat

Ok, we've got another multiple-stat entry on our hand - this time, we have the leopard, lion, tiger and the mighty smilodon on our hands.

In the Bakshii savannah, big cats are a sign of prestige. 
Shamans are rarely seen without leopards trailing them, local warchiefs hunt with lionesses, and the high warchief is bonded with an old, heavily maned lion. Any travelers who may have cat companions such as jaguars or tigers are greeted with utmost respect, but those traveling with canines are seen as dirty and barbaric.

An insane druid has taken over a pack of lions, and has been using them to cut a trail of blood through the countryside. At this point, the pack has developed so much of a taste for hobbit meat that simply eliminating the druid - in the skin of a great, white lion - won't be enough to stop the slaughter.

A notorious bounty hunter known simply as "Fang" refuses to show his face, securing deals only through trusted underlings. Curiosuly, Fang never takes on deals where the target is wanted alive - going in only for the kill. The truth is, Fang is an awakened smilodon, who hates his newfound awareness, and is collecting money to reverse the spell. If he is confronted, he is quick to attack, but promising him help on his quest to revert to a simpler life might save many more lives, not the least of which are the ones of those who make the promise...

Bear

What kind of bear is best?

In pathfinder 2 terms, the answer is really easy - its the cave bear, having the exact same stat block as a grizzly just slightly numerically beefed up. Given that there's no difference to how you can utilize on or the other, in the following three entries i will use bear as a generic term, and if you do decide to use one of the encounters presented, you can just choose the appropriately leveled one.
  
Deep within the Ääkwood there's an ancient oak whose sap has mystical properties. Unfortunately, Lizardfolk of the surrounding villages aren't the only ones that have taken a liking to it - the clearing surrounding the massive tree is almost always littered with sleeping bears, on whom the sap has a torporific effect. While most folk petitioning the lizardfolk shaman and thus needing some of the sap choose to sneak around the bears, others have at times tried to restrain the bears, lure them away, or even engage them in direct combat.

A hunting party chasing after a leprechaun that has taunted them for weeks ends up in the Faewild. While everything is slightly off and nothing is just quite as it seems, the biggest shock is their encounter with the famed bearbearbear, the mythical monster that is half bear, half bear, and half bear.

To avenge a fallen comrade, an elf rogue goes hunting for a great bear and slays it. Tomorrow morning, he finds out he has awoken in a bear's body, separated from the rest of his companions. After several misadventures and learning how to be a bear, he encounters the bear god, who tells him of a way to regain his original form, by conducting ritual on the top of a great mountain.
However, once he arrives there, he finds his original band, who confuse him for the bear he slew, and attack him on sight.


 

Arboreal

The arboreal entry in the bestiary comes to us with two variants and a third related stat block - namely, the basic warden, then the regent (also known as your classic tolkinean treant) and finally, a stat block used for animated trees.

Brinewood is an ancient forest made entirely of animated trees, known to migrate endlessly across the continent of Gunguska. While its diligent treant shepherds obviously have some sort of agenda, occasionally herding the thousands of trees towards war-torn regions and reviving ecosystems, no-one seems to be able to divine the idea behind the forest forming a dense, almost impassable ring around the trade hub of Blotvensk. The Grand Prince of the city knows better than to send woodcutters out, knowing that they would quickly be cut down by the wood's legendary wardens - but he knows all too well that reaching the heart of the forest, where its fabled regent resides, is no ordinary task. Even if the envoys he sends are granted audience, though, there is no knowing what the timeless master of the woods may ask of them.

Arboreal Regents were instrumental during the Green Revolution of Eire. They and their numerous wardens brought down man-made structures more quickly than any natural magic could, and were initially hailed as the heroes of the new Druidic state. After peace was won, however, and all of the numerous factions created a Grand Moot to decide what comes next, the more humanoid races of the newly created state realized that the treants' slow and deliberate manner, as well as their general lack of interest in the day-to-day operations meant that making any decisions would take literal years. In the first few months of the post-revolution period, it was Master Gerardo, the man who started and lead the revolution, keeping the humans, halflings and elves from turning on the tree-men, but when he finally succumbed to the wounds he got during the battle of Lake Killarney, a motion was put forward to revoke the voting rites of the arboreals, effectively making them second-rate citizens. As distrust grows among the other constituent races, a fairly young (not even a full millennium old) treant puts forward an idea - he will create a group of Leshys, imparting in them some of his knowledge, but none of his race's timeless care, to act as mediators.

While arboreals are clasically depicted as having the characteristics of trees commonly found inland on the continent of Epoure, those with other characteristics also exist. The Peaceful Lady is a treant who dwells in the Southern Olivelands, The Knotted Wiseling resembles a squat baobab, and Greenmane is a palm-like arboreal regent known to gift his own coconuts to those who show him respect. Legends also speak of The Heavenly, possibly the tallest existing living being, an impossibly large specimen resembling a giant Sequoia.
Recently, a team of wizards and druids decided to test whether the chicken or the egg came first - they planted a large number of grafted trees around woods known to be home to a large number of arboreal wardens.
Several days later, the monastery where this team of researchers resided was leveled by an unknown force. Just this morning, a herald of the nature god Malgerufion appeared before his devoted cleric and his trusty compatriot, and in a weeping tone asked them to put down "the bleeding trees", before fading from existence.

Annis hag

A single night hag is a problem.
A night hag with a coven though, is a problem you run away from.


I'm not going to go into much detail about what you can do with unlimited 5th level spells and 3 casters - you'll probably be able to come up with several ideas yourself. If you want to be pedantic, though, do note that unlike other hags, the night or iron hags tend to like getting up close and personal, and their cold iron claws can shred most characters into pieces fairly quickly.

The city of Freda is ruled by the Immortal Triumvirate, a coven consisting of two green hags and a mighty night hag. While the High Order of Shimmerstone had previously excommunicated the entire population of the city, the odd glory-seeking paladin was never a match for the Triumvirate. Unfortunately, the Order of the Shimmerstone somehow secured an alliance with the Dark Inquisition - a coven of three Iron Hags who specialize in hunting other hags as well as fae-folk.
When the inquisitors arrive to Freda, they demand that the Triumvirate surrender themselves before nightfall, or the population of the town will be cut down one by one. As the sun sets with the Immortal Triumvirate apparently in hiding, the town once looks to a retired group of adventurers, now running a tavern, and asks for their help one last time.

A mysterious entity known only as "The Corpse Bride" has haunted the Saviours of Gwinshire for months - sending grizzly trophies from many of the locales they visit. The first such trophy was a fresh-cut dwarven hand, bearing the distinct tattoos of the Bearbeard clan, whom the heroes helped only recently. None of the "presents" that arrived afterwards were any less disturbing.
When the group arrives at the Unibrow Unicorn tavern, a letter is waiting for them, and in it, only the addresses of their families and the all-too-familiar signature of the Corpse Bride. Disturbingly, the bartender can't seem to remember the identity of whomever delivered the letter.

The Beaux twins, Simone and Lauren have known that they're changelings for a few years. Despite that, they remain adamant in their duties as Paladins of the Order of the Everblooming Erigeron. They know their call is coming, and as it looms ever closer, they call in an old favour owed to them by a trusted druid associate. The druid and her merry band of outcasts must use any means short of outright lethal force on the Paladins to stop them from falling, and in the worst-case scenario, this might even mean slaying the twins' Annis Hag mother.

Ankylosaurus

Not much can be said about ankylosauri, is there? They're big friggin dinos and they are as awesome as all dinos, arent they?

In the primal land of Sin Darya, humans live alongside multiple species of mighty dinosaurs. Up until recently, the humans tended to avoid the larger dinosaurs and hunt the smaller ones. In some of the proto-states, dinousaur taming and husbandry has recently begun to take root. At first, the Skagen hunters gained an edge, hunting alongside their trusted raptors. Their supremacy was quickly brought to an end, though, as the Brughal Khanate unleashed the full might of their Ankylosaurus riders upon the world. Right now, the only force that has any chance of standing against the Khan is the six young masters of the elements, but their training is far from complete.

The latest trend in the Sole Earthen Republic is miniaturized versions of great beasts from the earth's long gone eras. Because the safe version of the process requires a stable source of magic and careful technomagical configuration, its expensive as hell and beyond the grasp of anyone but the families of the multi-trillionaire hegemons of Earth. The market, however, is teeming with bootleg attempts to create micro-beasts. Most of these have easily noticeable flaws and are generally easy to avoid. However, a recent batch of tiny ankilousauri that revert to their original size when agitated has the city of New Constantinople in disarray, and the fresh batch of  the Magihazard Detainment Organisation recruits at the edge of their nerves.

Saurian tradition has it that the world is a wide disc supported in vast nothingness on the back of a giant ankylosaurus by the name of Agnekho. While most young saurians take the legends with a grain of salt, none can argue that the Ffogdanob twins, shamans in the employ of the Scaled Prince, have gained great power ever since supposedly meeting Agnekho in one of their vision-questing seances. When the twins invite the newly-arrived warmbloods into one of their seances, an honour they had repeatedly denied the Prince himself, the petty ruler calls a blood-hunt against the hated mammals. If they last the night, there is no saying what they may discover - but survival will not come easily.