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.

Green Dragon

Most inclined towards conversation with other beings amongst their kin, Green Dragons are famed as scholars and keepers of lore. This immediately makes them a very useful tool in any GM's arsenal - if your party needs some piece of information, it is very likely that a Green has it. How they'll go around convincing the beast to give it up is where the fun begins.

It is important to bear in mind that these creatures are intolerant of foolish behavior, as the bestiary notes. The spectrum of what constitutes a "fool" for them is quite broad. If you bring some valuable knowledge in exchange, they may be inclined to help you out.

Somewhat obviously, Green Dragons like to take up their residence in forests of all kinds, proclaiming themselves their protectors and sole cultivators. This is an important thing to keep in mind when talking with them, or speaking as them in the GM's case.

In battle, the Green is no pushover; it is a dragon, after all. The Twisting Tail reaction is a great way to keep characters nearby, or at the very least waste their movement. The traditional combo of Breath Weapon, Draconic Frenzy, and Draconic Momentum is also there to remind your party why they, by all accounts, should be wary of these huge monsters. In forests, Greens greatly benefit from their Woodland Stride. Ensuring that Greens are surrounded by thick foliage and underbrush for combat can help maximize the use of the ability and remind the players that they are the Green's domain. Adults take it a step further with Trackless Step, making them particularly difficult to follow or see signs of while grounded. Ancients make their Breath Weapon even nastier with Miasma, which not only creates a wonderful aura of toxin around them but also effectively hides them from sight.

As with all dragons, Greens have also some innate spells, focusing mostly on mind control that can be used both in and out of combat. Do not forget that many dragons, by default, can shapeshift and cast other spells as they live very, very long and have ample time to learn a great many skills.

Hook 1 (Max) - The Verdant Sage

Sophist Wood is home to incredible and numerous marvels, prime among them being its undisputed ruler - an ancient dragon known by many names. Merchants who have to traverse the forest, paying considerable tithes, labeled her the Scourge of Pockets or the Benevolent Tyrant, whilst her subjects speak of their sovereign as the Verdant Sage.

The dragon is very old, even amongst her kin, and lusts primarily after two things - being left in peace and expanding her collection of knowledge. The former is maintained by her longstanding presence in the wood. This has granted her swathes of faithful followers willing to serve her, from animals she awakened intelligence in, to dragon knights swearing their loyalty, and even sycophantic drakes who wish to emulate her interests. The latter is achieved by the contributions made by any travelers that wish to traverse the woods. Many make these contributions quite happily as the road is safe, guarded, and leads straight to the mercantile heart of the region.

The Sage herself prefers to seclude herself in her study, having amassed extensive knowledge in a plethora of subjects. This expertise has made her a well sought-out advisor, a service she provides only to those whose case seems interesting enough for her tastes. Her residence, the Green Palace, was crafted using ancient magics and the forest itself. It is a grand, living mansion grown out of the forest floor, vast and enormous with roots forming miles of dungeon-like root caves beneath the entire forest.

Although quite proud of her draconic form, she will oftentimes assume a humanoid shape, an elven woman of fair features clad in a green robe with golden embroidery. Books are often easier to read that way.

Though she is a scholar, at the end of the day she is still a dragon. Should one find themselves in the unfortunate event of facing the Sage in battle, they would also expect all sorts of nastiness coming their way. The faithful adherents of her domain pale in comparison to the sheer might of the living walls of the Green Palace. The menagerie of magical artefacts and items she has accrued in addition to a great many spells she has mastered over her long life all render her a powerful and capable foe.

Hook 2 (TJ) - Deep Rooted Information

The roots of the mangrove tree at the heart of the Murkriver Expanse grow much farther than anyone could have imagined, having stretched across several kingdoms and territories. Gulvantrel's draconic wiles and a pinch of druidic power have helped her take advantage of this vast pre-existing network. With a small infusion of magicks, Gulvantrel can cause voices to carry through the roots. Her lair at the base of the tree serves as a massive information hub, and trading in tidbits and rumors has made her quite rich. Any of her information trading partners that grow too close to finding out her true identity or location end up choking on a torrent of poison from the sky, a streak of green scales the last thing they see. The people that replace these unfortunates have learned to ask fewer questions.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - The Ego of the Intellectual

After a thousand years of cordial rivalry, the green dragon Sutrilach has decided to pursue the identity of his intellectual adversary The Verdant Savant. The Savant, an anonymous interlocutor, has openly opposed many philosophical stances Sutrilach has put forth under his own pen name, Scalabus Smaragdus. He wouldn't admit it if asked, but it seems the dragon's vanity is starting to get the better of him.

A group of investigators hired by Sutrilach's proxies uncovers the identities behind both pen names - revealing the fact that the Great Wyrm's secret intellectual rival is also his uneasy ally, the Elven High King Latristoteles.
Both are known for their massive yet fragile egos, but as fate would have it their alliance is the only thing keeping the machinations of the industrialist, fascist, ever-expanding Imperium of Humanity out of Deepwood. Given that fact, the handling of that intel suddenly becomes an incredibly delicate matter...

Giant Octopus

The Giant Octopus, not to be confused with its very real counterpart the giant squid, is a creature of myth. As long as humans have stared out into the depths of the ocean, dwellers of the deep have captured the collective imaginations of mankind. To that end, we often deploy creatures like the Giant Octopus in a similar manner to how one might use a Kraken; something in the seawater to be feared and talked about by sailors and fishmongers.

While I think there are plenty of reasons one might want to use a Giant Octopus in lieu of the much higher level Kraken, there are a number of things to consider when deploying this majestic creature at your table.

Mechanically, as a Neutral aligned Aquatic Animal, the Giant Octopus is primarily suited to living underwater (as it cannot breathe air) and its stats reflect that. Notably, its land speed and swim speeds (15 and 40 feet, respectively) allow it to act tactically similar to how a Roc might in that it can deploy hit and run tactics against land-bound targets. This is emphasized particularly with Jet, an ability that allows the Giant Octopus to move five times its speed with a single action.

Compression, which allows the Giant Octopus to squeeze through a comparatively small space, can very easily be utilized in a number of story mechanics. Giant Octopi that have made a habit of stealing into impossibly small spaces can make them difficult to find even with a highly determined group of heroes. Consider utilizing its superior aquatic mobility in addition to its Writhing Arms and Constrict abilities to simply drown the ill-prepared. It may be an animal, but the real world octopus is a crafty creature and any combat you run should reflect that.

Do note that the Giant Octopus is ultimately an Animal, and it's not necessarily a creature prone to fighting to the death; running (swimming?) away is an option too! Between its various martial abilities and the Giant Octopus Venom/Ink Cloud, it can be a challenging foe for 4th to 7th level parties, in addition to a potentially strong animal ally for an aquatically oriented game.

Hook 1 (Max) - Ocean's Avenger

The coastal town of Gambler's Wharf has seen better days. No ship has arrived at nor departed from the port for the better part of last two months. Inquired as to what might be the reason, they only respond with some permutation of a 'beast from the deep.'

The aforementioned beast does not like the connotation, instead preferring to think of itself as the Ocean's Avenger. How or why the enormous octopus gained sentience is anyone's guess, though the fact remains that it is intent on wreaking havoc upon those who have for generations hunted its marine kin.
Knowing full well the weaponry deployed by land monsters to be superior, Ocean's Avenger armed itself with an armor comprised of the hulls of ships it has sank in addition to wielding weapons and improvised armaments in each of its tentacles such as masts or harpoons found at the seafloor. Although its hatred burns bright, the only thing it really wants is for land dwelling folk to leave its ocean dwelling brethren alone.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Inherited Infestation

In merfolk culture, large octopi are treated in a similar way humans and dwarves treat dogs - they are selectively bred for highly specialized roles that support their masters. There are agile octopi that hunt in small packs, massive, heavyset octopi that move and manipulate large amounts of all kinds of material, long tentacled octopi who scour nooks and crannies of underwater cities for lost items, and dozens more.

When the entire population of the underwater Metropolis of Sitnaltas vanishes overnight, hundreds of now masterless octopi end up infesting the entire eastern coast of Akonos.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Familiar Quarrel

The fact that octopi are more intelligent than other animals is well known. When a particularly clever octopus comes in contact with pact magic of some sort, the resulting familiar is doubly so, to the benefit (or more often chagrin) of the mage that it serves.

In the case of Magus Lethem Ganthix, Assistant Professor of Marine Studies at the University of An'Zar, he needs his familiar far more than it needs him. The son of a fisherman, Lethem has surprised the world of academia by publishing accurate, comprehensive works on marine life and the influence of the aquatic ley lines with little in the way of credentials or formal training. While he may be hesitant to answer questions in person, his writings from his secluded office are magnificent.

Faculty have caught Lethem deep in conversation within his office, which is always empty save for his octopus, staring back from its tank. Some have reported that these discussions have recently been devolving into arguments, with Lethem sounding increasingly distraught at the "credit" and "authorship" that spearhead them.

Erinys (Fury Devil)

 The erinys' (not sure if that's the correct plural? feel free to correct me) are the archetypical fallen angel. While perfectly capable of holding their own in a fight, it also has a rather high deception bonus, and some neat illusion spells - meaning she (or he) will try to sway you and lead you astray first, and will only fight you if they're out of options (or you know... if you really, really manage to piss them off)

Sorren Skyspear is an overly zealous and often violent aasimar inquisitor. His entire life, he has been dreaming of meeting his angellic progenitor. When he finally gets the chance, it's in the middle of a battle with some Outer Ones' cultists - and she is majestic in her holy violence. Enthralled with her nigh-divine presence, he hops along with her on missions of divine retribution. When he realizes that the missions have been more and more violent for smaller and smaller slights, and that his "progenitor" is no angel, it is almost too late for his soul.

After a long life spent in one adventure after another, Lord Durnsdale retires to his estate. Deciding to finally live his life as the noble he was born as, he takes for himself a bride, a beautiful young woman named Jolene he met during one of his many adventures. Jolene, herself highly educated, takes an interest in helping the good lord rule over his people. Secretly, she also keeps slipping mind-numbing poisons in his mead, until she finally has practically free reign over their estate. Luckily, the lord has yearly reunion feasts with his old crew - whoever remains alive of them, at least - and some of them are bound to notice something is amiss.

Rapunzel is a crafty Erinys devil living in an enchanted tower in the middle of nowhere. Using illusion spells to disguise ropes as his unnaturally long and majestic beard, he lures would-be saviours of both genders to his abode. Once there, he uses seduction and charms to lull the heroes into feeling safe, at which point he strikes, chaining his victims and dragging them to the hellish dungeons beneath the tower, where he tortures them until death.

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.

Chimera

The chimera, as printed in the first bestiary, doesn't really have much of a story to it - which makes sense from a book layout perspective, given how much stuff there is in its actual stat block.
What this means for you, as the GM, is that you're given a lot of leeway on how these creatures behave, where they come from, etc. I'd also suggest toying with the types of dragons that go into it (especially as the bestiary two gives us a few more).

On the dragon-ruled continent of Netraxia, many different varieties of chimeras can be found. While people have almost gotten used to the intelligent, almost civilized gold and silver dragon chimeras, myths persist about the Great Chimera, that apparently resides in the primordial Bonelands to the far north. If the stories are true, this chimera that is twice the size of the rest, has the body and one head of an enormous saber-toothed tiger, another head of a great ram (or in some stories, a woolly rhino), and its draconic head is that of an ancient linnorm. If anyone could bring back proof of its existence, they'd be showered with riches and fame - but a scant few would dare venture forth to those lands, chimera or no chimera.

Chimeras may appear as dumb beasts to most, but while limited, they do posses both an intellect and the ability to speak. Gro'Ktollah - an old and vicious chimera that styles himself the King of the Ironspike Mountains - does not much like the recent inclusion of hypogriff rider patrols in his domains, coming from the nearby Fort Strygvyr. To that end, he has kidnapped the governor's firstborn son, and taken him to his hidden lair high in the mountaintops. His demands are simple - if the governor swears a blood oath to draw back the hypogriff riders, the boy will be returned (mostly) unharmed. However, if his demands aren't met in a week's time, the boy will be sent tumbling down to his death.

Lord Himmelshire used to be known for his wild, excessive parties, where every bodily pleasure was given into, but hunger more than any other. One day, an old, rugged man dressed in rags appeared on his doorstep, urging him to give up his wasteful ways, instead funneling resources into helping local communities of dirt-poor woodworkers, miners and fishermen. The lord had the old man flogged to death for insolence, and would have thought nothing of it, had a silver-headed chimera not appeared in his gardens the next day. The chimera uttered a single word - "repent" - and then flew off, taking one of the beautiful trees from the lord's garden on its way out.
Ever since then, the chimera has appeared every week, every time uttering the same word, and ever so slightly damaging the lord's property.
The old noble is in the market for some dragonslayers, though more religiously and morally inclined adventurers might first want to investigate the circumstances bringing forth such punishment in the first place.

Bulette

Bulettes are one of those monsters that are just crazy enough to work despite being an absurd concept. LAND. SHARKS. Anyway, while you can always turn your campaign into jaws but on land, we'll go another route, and see what else makes these tick in the following entries.

Spiridon the alchemist has been mutating bulettes for the past few years. While he also made several alchemically aligned specimens, his proudest work are bulletes that feed only on a certain type of humanoid.
Indeed, if anyone breaks into his lair, he quickly scans the ancestries of the intruders, before opening the heavy, metal canisters containing bulettes who will only try to eat the intruders and not him.
Unfortunately for him, if someone know his secret - and the Shire Constabulary, chasing after him, have learned it - opening the canister with the elf-eater bullete might not end up well for him...

Deep Black is the oldest, meanest, and most definitely largest bulette arround. The massive female stalks the outskirts of the dwarven undercity of Kel Marhmahoor, slaughtering entire caravans in one attack. Recently, its appetites seem to have increased, as it has entered the city itself on several occasions, snatching people and dragging them back under the ancient bedrock. Dwarven heroes are called for, and the beast needs to be slain once for all.

For ages, The Royal Stables of the Kingdom of Gnarlia have had a designated bulette slayer. Unfortunately, the previous man fell ill, and passed away a mere night away. Now, as the king's new champions arrive to be given horses and ride away on a new adventure, a bullete appears, foaming at the mouth...

Brain collector

Woah.
I just want to mention that this post marks a full month of this blog running, and I have to say - I'm enjoying the hell out of it. There's plans for guest writers, maybe for some stat-blocks, and other cute shit... but this format is just so fun to do.
The monster we'll be covering today isn't exactly your standard fantasy beast - hell, it looks like it'd be more at home in starfinder than in pathfinder. But if you want to throw some weird fantasy at your players, or you like that sweet spot between unknowable cosmic horror and this thing can it you in a single bite, this is exactly the creature you want to use.

The crew of the galley "Saint Sandair" find a shipwreck on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. The ship's captain, who appears unharmed, can't seem to remember what happened, and the rest of his shipmates lie around his ship, looking brutalized. When the rescue crew disembarks to take a closer look, the glamour fades - the ship appears as a half metallic-half organic behemoth, while in the place of the old captain, there's a lumbering, scorpion-like monstrosity.

Exploring the worlds beyond, the Gean Exploration Force meets the contemplatives - the giant-brained, shrivelled-boddied monks. The weird psychics embrace them, and a great cultural exchange is born. To top it off, two of the explorers are invited to join the ritual in which seven chosen people are conjoined, becoming a single mind. Unfortunately, the ritual involves the chosen ones' brains being consumed by a blistering monstrosity that arrives from beyond the stars. Refusing the deal might anger the hosts, not to mention the weird beast, but accepting it is not an option.

Maximiliana Van Der Mooth is an alchemist, theologist, arcanist, and philosopher. Her latest discovery is that the so-called Neh-Thalggus are the last remnants of the darkness before creation, and were present when the One Before All shaped the world. She now hypothesizes that the weird whispers that the creatures telepathically emit are indeed a perversion of the Song Of Shaping. If someone were to record such a thing, it may unlock the secrets of what makes gods gods. Of course, finding a neh-thallgu and surviving an encounter with it are great accomplishments alone, so finding someone mad enough to attempt something like this won't be easy.

Balisse (confessor angel)

It seems like every second entry i hit these days is an outsider. Oh well, you know the drill, alignments are a spook, angels can serve the chaotic evil god of hells above and below if it fits the story, yadda yadda.

There are only two deities in the world of Sirpterria, the One Above and the One Below. While their churches disagree on just about every point there is, they both agree that the coming of the Final Human will end the world as it is known, and afterwards the newborn deity will reform the multiverse as it sees fit. When a young boy named Evan is identified as the one who will, once he learns the secrets of his powers and origin, become the Final Human, two Balisse angels are sent to him, each attaching to the boy and choosing to show themselves in a miniature form sitting on the boy's shoulders. Of course, serving two opposed deities, the angels keep giving the poor kid completely opposite sets of advice. As it stands, the kid is starting to lose his mind, and nobody wants a mad god to be in charge. A group of exorcists, perfectly balanced so that none of the two gods get more representation, is called for. While the angels understand the conundrum that they created, and can see the benefit of leaving the boy, none are willing to leave the boy before the other angel does, fearing the consequences of changing the delicate balance of things as they are now.

As times progressed, the heavens progressed with it, embracing novelty. In this new world, Saint Yoanna is a balisse angel using her innate talents to work as a psychotherapist. While she has worked with her current group for a few years, recently she realized there's an information leak, something she would expect from no-one in her new flock. Feeling out of her depth, she calls forth two experienced mortal inquisitors from her church to investigate her clients, and find out who and how may be compromised.

While it was considered unheard of for a Confessor Angel to fall, due to their specific experience, the Winged Crusader is an exception. A completely insane celestial, he has judged the population of an entire city to be sinners. He now randomly appears before people, calling them out on their previous misdeeds, however minor they may be. While a rare few are touched and truly show remorse, and are hence let go, the minority are dumbfounded and will try to argue for themselves. Unfortunately, the Angel considers this an admission of guilt, and will then go into offensive. He has, up until now, killed at least a dozen people, and shows no signs of stopping. A group of diabolists from a neighbouring town are recruited to help out, as they are the only one willing to slay a light-aligned outsider and risk godly wraith.

Axiomite

Did i tell you yet how much i hate alignment? Yeah **** alignment. Anyway, here's lawful neural: the race.

In post-awakening Europe, where wild magic roams free and magical realms clash, most axiomites take the likeness of greek philosophers. While the likes of Plato and Pythagoras are welcomed, and indeed, have taught the humans much about the wider world they are now part of, reports speak of an axiomite known to use uncharacteristically chaotic methods to make mortals reconsider what they consider to be truth - one that looks like Diogenes. Some peasants also swear they've seen him in a third form, other than his humanoid and crystalline personas - that of a giant, plucked chicken with the face of a man. When his lectures on the indifference of universe to life start turning violent, a group of olympic medalists is called in to try to reason, or otherwise deal with him.

J-00-k was a perfectly fine axiomite, with a normal, regular, and punctual lifestyle of such a being. An encounter with a mad gnome wizard left him completely broken, though - after the gnome cast reduce person on the axiomite during their fight, the poor thing's sense of scale become fundamentally flawed. Whenever he tries building an inevitable (which is several times per day - after all, that is his job) the constructs come either gigantic or minuscule. As arbiters the size of houses start appearing across the planes, the axiomite seeks the help of mortal summoners and diabolists.

One plane was not enough for the axiomites of Nova Alexandria. When their plane became entirely covered in buildings, all part of their mega-city, they expanded to the material plane. While they are not aggressive, they keep building with no regards to local life nor architecture, creating structures atop the already existing humanoid cities and settlements. Excursions into their home plane reveal that no other outsiders remain - only the axiomites and their inevitable constructs. When questioned about the reasoning behind such a project, they happily talk about the plan but there seems to be no central authority guiding it, which also means that localized resistance is futile - eventually, another team of axiomites just arrives and starts anew.

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.

Ape

One of the things I've wanted to mention about running games, and that many folks seem to consider sacrilege, is that originality in tabletop gaming is a futile goal. While the idea that all fiction is derivative may be a bit too harsh, using well-known tropes is  - in my experience - an easy way to engage players. And believe me, players will enjoy your "OH NO GOBLINS ARE STEALING CHILDREN" scenario more then your "but what if we're actually the bad guys, also here's an act five genre swap, also a cynical commentary on contemporary middle-eastern politics" if you take the time to make the story approachable, which I'd argue is easier to do on solid ground.
So anyway, to push this idea forward, I've purposely been borrowing from pop-culture a lot in these adventure seeds, and I just thought it'd be fitting to acknowledge in the entry dealing with King-Kong Megaprimatus.
(for those of you at home counting, so far we've referenced Ghost Rider, Dota 2, Jacques Cousteau, I robot, and we're obviously not gonna miss the opportunity to do magical planet of the apes today)

The year is 1492 a.r.a (afer the rise of Apes) and a desperate chronomancer working for the Human Resistance Movement has a wild idea. The diviners have identified the time and place where the Druid god Mahamajmun awoke the first gorilla, placing it in Altrakhan, a great human metropolis, and the idea is to send a handpicked group of specialists back through time to stop it.
When the group does arrive, though, they're shocked to fin out that the local populace doesn't seem to realize the threat they are about to face - in fact, the city seems to treat the great apes as some sort of sacred animal.
As the Simian Confederacy's motto "Apes Together Strong" keeps ringing in their ears, the time-travelers must find a way to show the truth to the arrogant, pre-ape humans.

When the orkish vikings under Urgnald Zugnaldson arrived on the wild island of Angaztura, they did what any ork would do - found the biggest predator in the land, and killed it as a trophy. While the beast was a worthy opponent, it quickly became apparent that it was the only thing controlling the island's population of River Drakes under control. While slaughtering the serpentine monsters by the dozen was good fun for a while, it quickly became apparent that the Orks simply do not have the manpower to protect all their settlements. Now, their shamans must send them to the Emerald Lands, a dream realm in which all great beasts of the multiverse dwell, to bring back a new giant ape and restore balance to the island's natural cycle.

The spirit gorillas of the Nurg'natt jungle are rumored to be more than just mere apes. As the myths surrounding them go, if threatened by an opponent they can't defeat or chase away with their displays of strength, three or more of these albino gorillas can link hands, and them bond, combining into a single great white ape. Local custom has it that in that form, the gorillas are an avatar of a jungle spirit known as Rex Rox. 

Ankhrav

The skittering, insectile monstrosity that is the Ankhrav comes in two varieties - the base monster, and the larger, meaner hive mother.

After reclaiming the Angkol fortress from the drow, the Shattered Mount Dwarves found the surrounding hills had become infested with ankhravs. In the years since, the dwarven hunters have developed a style of fighting that utilizes no armor whatsoever, as ankhrav acid tends to make heavy suits dead weight. If the curious foreigners want to access the famed Angkol Archive, rumored to be the only place in the world where one can find texts written by the Dark Elves, they'll need to impress the dwarf elders - and there is no better way to do it than by beating a dreaded hive mother in single combat, equipped with nothing but a trusty weapon.

Lumberg Hill has a problem. While all ankhravs tend to go into a frenzy in the presence of a Hive Mother, Lumberg Hill ankhravs seem to be stuck in in perpetually. Farmlands on the outskirts of the settlement are quickly becoming unusable, as maddened beasts keep digging tunnels, attacking anything on sight (in almost no cases stopping to consume their kills) or spewing acid in the midst of crops. The town's authorities are offering a small fortune to anyone who can stop the rampage, but the town's wizard is offering to double it if the mystery of how the perpetual frenzy happened is also solved.

Master Gerardo is a rare sight in the Republic of Eire in the modern times of the late 18th century - a true druid. He is also wanted by both the regular and the magical police - for countless misdemeanors, mostly publicly and theatrically opposing the inevitable progress of the industrial revolution.
A friend and occasional co-conspirator of Gerardo's has come to the Chef Street Private Investigators' office asking for help. Apparently, Gerardo has somehow managed to tame an entire hive of ankhravs - previously considered extinct - and plans to release them all in the city's biggest tannery. While the concerned party fears the unnecessary deaths such a plan would cause, they do not want to involve police, as it would almost certainly end up in a life sentence for the druid master.