Microsoft Games Archive/World/Monsters

Related topics: Creatures

Original Link (now dead) - http://www.microsoft.com/games/zone/asheronscall/monsters.htm

Monsters

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Banderlings are the larger cousins of Drudges, Mosswarts and Tumeroks. They are even less intelligent than other humanoids, but make up for this with sheer brutality. They prefer to fight in small packs, using heavy weapons or their sharp claws. On average, they stand seven feet tall, though their chiefs are even larger. Forest-dwellers by nature, they can also be found in Tumerok strongholds and dungeons near the Aluvian lands.

Drudges are by far the weakest of the humanoid races, and are often kept by their stronger cousins as slaves or grunt warriors. They often scavenge on the fringes of human lands, preying on the weak and defenseless, and also lurk in shallow dungeons. Most of them stand about four feet tall, and fight with their claws; some employ crude weapons like knives and clubs. In combat, they attack in packs, and with little discipline.

Golems are said to be remnants of Empyrean magic, left behind as guardians for their strongholds, both above and below ground. Now that the Empyrean have vanished, however, they have become mindless automatons, attacking anything that comes near. They stand seven to eight feet tall, and are made of many materials, including earth, wood, water, ice, stone and metal. They bash with their club-like limbs, and some also attack with magic.

Lugians, a race of massive grey giants, were among the first arrivals on Dereth. They are incredibly massive and strong - the average Lugian is eight feet tall and weighs half a ton. They live, for the most part, in the Linvak Mountains in the southernmost reaches of the island; rogues and scouts have been sighted in dungeons elsewhere on the island. They are determined, single-minded fighters, and their massive fists, and even more dangerous weapons, can crush a common human with a single blow.

Mattekars are a strange, fur-bearing variety of Reed Shark found in the snowfields and mountains of Dereth Island. They are also known, among common folk, as "snow sharks." They are huge - seven feet or taller at the shoulder - and are found as lone rogues and small family units: the latter will defend one another to the death. They attack with claws, horns and teeth, and are particularly resistant to damage due to cold.

Mites are among the more recent arrivals to Dereth, having appeared 20 years after the first humans. These small, furry humanoids have since become a growing nuisance on the island. They stand four to five feet tall, and are very quick, clawing and kicking with startling speed. Having made their lairs in forests and dungeons, they are reportedly breeding at an alarming rate. Sages worry that, unchecked, they could soon run rampant.

The three-eyed Monouga are highland dwellers who have also taken to living in derelict dungeons. They are aggressive warriors who fight with crude weapons and have a totemistic fascination with fire. Five to six feet tall at adulthood, they continue to grow as they age. Once they reach a certain size, however, their muscles can no longer support their weight. These frail "giants" are cast out into the wild, easy prey for other creatures.

Mosswarts are humanoids from the same world as Drudges, Tumeroks and Banderlings. In Dereth, they live in various swamps and marshes, particularly in the Blackmire Swamp between the Sho and Aluvian lands. They have also infested many ruins and damp catacombs. They are small (four to five feet tall), fight with claws, spears, swords and javelins, and are fearless when cornered. Some colonies also have magic-using shamans.

Olthoi are a scourge upon the land: insectoid engines of death standing from seven to eight feet tall. They are responsible for the Empyrean's flight from the world, and until recently ran rampant across Dereth. Their numbers have diminished since Elysa Strathelar and Thorsten Cragstone overthrew them, but they can still be found deep in their dark, underground hives. Olthoi are fast, vicious fighters, impaling victims with their huge digging claws and eviscerating them with their smaller, razor-sharp talons. Once they choose a foe they continue to attack until that foe is dead. To them, anything that is not an Olthoi is either prey or a potential slave.

Phyntos Wasps may be brightly colored and beautiful to look at, but they are also a dire pestilence. These flying insects are huge, with wingspans of three to four feet, and are unafraid to attack vastly superior foes with their cruel stingers. They come in different colors, each of which can use a different magical attack and is found in a different environment, from deserts to forests to swamps. Their buzzing can be heard from a great distance.

The Reed Shark is a peculiar carnivore, a six-foot-long, hairless doglike creature with two forelegs and a single, strong hind leg. It also sports a fin-like crest on its back: the sight of these fins moving through the swamps is what gave this creature its name. They attack in packs, and fight quickly with claw and fang. They can be found nearly anywhere, except for mountains and waterways. Tumeroks are known to keep them as "guard dogs."

The Sclavus is not a natural monster, but rather a magical crossbreed of serpent and humanoid. It is rumored that they were created ages ago by a degenerate Empyrean cult, in a failed attempt to construct a servant race. Four different subraces exist, ranging in size from four to seven feet tall. Sclavi fight viciously with swords and spears, and are also powerful spellcasters. Swamps, ruins, and deep dungeons are their homes.

Tumeroks are a race of warlike humanoids, related to Drudges, Mosswarts and Banderlings, Though they aren't the largest of their kin, standing six feet tall on average, they are by far the most dangerous, as they are the only ones to have developed near-human intelligence. Tribal warmongers by nature, Tumeroks were rejected as slaves by the Olthoi for being too violent. They fight with weapons, including bows and crossbows, and many can use sorcery. Their priestly caste are particularly adept at wielding magic. Their overlords rival the greatest human heroes.

As a race, Tumeroks prefer to dwell in dry, rocky regions, and they have made the Direlands their home. They have dug their own dungeons, and have built several fortresses, surrounded by wooden palisades. They often use lesser humanoids as slaves and footsoldiers. Being natural conquerors, they sometimes encroach on human settlements, engaging in both quick raids and longer sieges, using numbers to ensure victory. If they ever organize under one leader, they would be a dire threat to any who stood against them.

Tuskers are a race of eight-foot-tall, apelike brutes, named for the large tusks that jut from their lower jaws. They prefer to dwell in forests, although some have been found in the Direlands and elsewhere, as slaves of the mysterious Virindi. They tend to gather in small clans, dominated by a "crimsonback" female and a "goldenback" male. They fight in groups, bashing with their massive fists and kicking with their strong legs

Though death is seldom permanent for humans in Dereth, there are nonetheless a growing number of Undead - mostly the risen forms of those who died before discovering the Lifestones. Some evil magic, its source unknown, is touching the slain and raising them to wreak vengeance upon the living. The notion of the Undead as slow and stupid is only partly true. While the weaker forms cleave to this archetype, their more powerful fellows are often as quick and intelligent as the living - and far more malicious. The Undead are commonly found in wastelands forsaken by the living, such as barren deserts and fetid swamps, and also in old tombs, ruins and dungeons

The Virindi are a mysterious race of levitating beings shrouded by heavy cloaks. Their faces - if they have faces at all - are concealed by grotesque, white masks. No one has seen a Virindi without its cloak or mask. Little is known of their intentions, but they are very powerful and capricious, and are potent magic-users. They also wield fearsome sickles, swinging them with unnatural speed. Most reported sightings thus far have been in the Direlands

Zefir are small, winged humanoids that dwell within ruins and subterranean caverns. Unlike the benevolent faerie folk of legend, the Zefir are mean-spirited and destructive, and have no love for humans. They attack in swarms to defend their lairs, scratching with their sharp claws, and can also draw upon a large arsenal of harmful spells. They are particularly fond of fire and lightning, and are resistant to damage from those sources.

The Armoredillo is a curious creature, covered in a hard shell bristling with bony, foot-long blades. They are solitary hunters, ranging in size from three to six-feet long. Different breeds dwell in deserts, plains, mountains, and shallow water. They attack with their beaked jaws and their spine blades. Their spinning attack is particularly devastating. It is rumored that skilled artisans can shape Armoredillo blades into wicked weapons.