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A Dalvashian Bestiary:

New Monsters for a New World (continued)

Dog, Wild

Similar to coyotes in appearance, the Dalvashian Wild Dog, while no doubt brought by same mysterious agency that brought in the other mammals (and the solitary bird species of this world), has apparently completely gone native. The wild dog found here is of species found only here, though this is largely of interest only to researchers, rangers, and druids. Generally similar to the wild dog statistics given in the books, they are more scavengers than anything else, though they can and do hunt.

Though not quite representing the threat that lions do, the wild dog is still a nuisance to settlers, blaming for stealing chickens, geese, ducks, and calves. They are however not generally threatening to people, though they have been blamed on the deaths of unattended children and wounded men that were alone.

Dragonfly, Giant Dalvashian

Giant Dalvashian Dragonflies are very similar in most respects to the giant dragonflies found on other worlds. Fearless and voracious insect predators, these often quite beautiful insects feed on a variety of prey, all caught while on the wing. Because of their great speed, hovering abilities, and darting flight, they gain a +2 on initiative checks. If they have the initiative they cannot be effectively combated by hand-held weapons, and all missile attacks are made at a +4 on to hit. Without initiative, giant dragonflies can be hit normally by hand-held weapons, but missile attacks are still at a +2 to hit.

The variety found on Dalvashia (ranging from the temperate eastern woodlands south through the jungle, including the Jade Peninsula and the islands of the Azure Sea) has several noticeable differences. First, owing to a lack of familiarity with humans and ground based prey (and a common abundance of winged prey) these dragonflies rarely attack prey on the ground. Indeed, they are not noted for the ability to distinguish a motionless human from the background about 75% of the time (if one can be a motionless with an 8 hit die giant dragonfly hovering in your face). The locals know this, and have tremendously cut down on fatalities caused by giant dragonflies as a result. As the insects become more used to human prey (and with a decline in natural prey thanks to habitat destruction, hunting, and what have you), it is thought they will increasingly adapt to taking human prey.

Unfortunately, several varieties of Giant Dalvashian Dragonfly are also poisonous. It takes pretty much a ranger, druid, or an academician to distinguish these varieties, but most seem to lair in the largely unexplored jungles of the Jade Peninsula. Such creatures get their normal bite, but also anyone bit must save versus poison or die (those succeeding taking 2d20 points of damage). Many locals have tried to distinguish these varieties from the others, but it is a difficult task. Any giant dragonfly encountered in the region is 40% likely to be of the poisonous variety.

Giant dragonfly hide is actually quite beautiful; brilliant, glittering, with every color of the rainbow depending on how the light catches it. If properly preserved by magic, the skin easily brings in 800 gold pieces per square foot. Used for apparel and decoration, over six square feet can be taken from a normal specimen. Collection of such skin is highly specialized and quite rare, though there a few mage-archer teams who make a living off of it (sometimes angering local officials and druids).

Dragonfly, Hawkwing

The Hawkwing is a fairly common insect, seeming to fulfill the role of hawks and birds of prey on this world. Basically a really large dragonfly, they are harmless to humans, though much folklore exists about them sewing up the eyes of children or eating pets (untrue). Also seen as harmful to livestock (untrue as well, they eat only other winged insects), they are often hunted in many areas. At first this was pretty much tolerated - they are just insects after all - but corresponding rises in the insect population to nearly plague proportions (a possible factor in the vampiric moth outbreak of 1390), have lead many to now try and protect these often gorgeous multi-hued insects.

Still, there are individuals who seek to hunt the insect. Hand held weapon users face a +4 penalty, as do those who use missile weapons. If the dragonfly wins initiative, handheld weapons are useless, and missile attacks are a +6.

Hawkwings form the main prey of the Giant Dalvashian Dragonfly. Unlike their larger relatives, their skins are not especially valuable., though sometimes offworld collectors and academicians will pay for a specimen.

Lion

Fairly unremarkable, the lion is the dominant predator of the central plains, where it chiefly feeds on bison and only rarely on mastodons (generally the calves). Lions had no trouble switching their prey to cattle, and they have represented a threat to settlers themselves. Campaigns were enacted to thin lion numbers if not eliminate them, and many private individuals and some government officials have offered bounties on them. Even today though they can still be a threat in some areas, though they are becoming more scarce around the towns and along the trade roads. The most reliable way to find a lion pride or a lioness on the hunt is to find one of the great herds still making their way across the open range.

Like the wild dog, bison, and mastodon, the lion is not native to this world, though has adapted well to this planet. Unlike the other mammals of the plains, they has spread into other areas, such as the mountains and the forest, though largely after settlers arrived providing proper food (lions are not terribly fond of eating giant insects or amphibians).

Mastodon

Very rare or extinct on most worlds, the mastodon has seemed to survive here, though it is well known that the creatures simply cannot be native to this world and were brought in by some outside agency, likely well before Caladan colonization. Most likely, their introduction was several thousand years ago, though there is quite a debate on this subject.

Large herds of these herbivores range across the central plains, though nowhere near as large as the herds of bison. As little farming still exists on the plains, for the most part they represent little trouble to the locals. The mastodons seem to avoid the towns except during droughts, when they sometimes raid villages and even cities for water and forage.

Attempts have been made to ranch the mastodon, and even use them for beasts of war, but this has been met with mixed success. Still, with the formidable power these beasts represent, the capital continues to work at this.

Confined to the central plains, small groups are known to exist in the more open fringes of the eastern woodlands (where the plains meet the forest). None are known to exist in the arctic regions, as perhaps they are not adapted to a diet of tundra plants and/or unable to endure the colder clime.

Merg

Mergs, named after their grunting cries they make when alarmed, are simply very large salamanders. These amphibians lair in rivers and lakes, and emerge largely at night or during periods of rain to graze on vegetation. Generally harmless, these creatures will wallow back into the water and avoid confrontation. If cornered, they will bite for 1-6 points of damage.

They are still a fairly common site along rivers and lakes in the east and are quite common in the delta region and in swamps. The lizardmen have experimented with herding mergs as a form of livestock. Human and demihuman settlers generally prefer not to eat them however, though their flesh is palatable. Generally "eating merg" is a phrase that means either living off the land, or being very poor.

Mountain Creeper

Another strange discovery of the high mountains (as well as some areas of tundra) of Dalvashia is the mountain creeper, distantly related to such creatures as black pudding and gray ooze. A thin, sheet-like red-blooded creature, it looks something like a rhododendron leaf, only with the underside covered with a forest of tiny legs. It slithers along the ground, during the day, fond of crawling on top of rocks where its large surface area warms it quickly. At night it rolls into a ball in a crack to minimize its surface area and thus its heat loss.

The small ones are the size of playing cards and as thin as _ inch in thickness. Essentially shrew-like in their habits, they are not dangerous, feeding on still smaller mountain creepers, insects, and the like. Larger varieties are as big as plates and tables. The variety most dangerous to the adventurer are the table sized ones, who normally hunt and eat corkbugs via a trapper-like enveloping attack. They do not distinguish between food sources, and will gladly eat a human or a halfling.

Their attack form is the much the same as a trapper; they wait until the prey is near the center, and then suddenly close themselves upon the unsuspecting victim. The mountain creeper then crushes them by doing a base damage of 2 plus the armor class of the victim per turn of crushing. Those entrapped (only two people at most in most mountain creepers) are unable to use weapons. Prey will be smothered in 6 melee rounds regardless of the damage sustained. It must be killed to make it release its prey.

Oilcrab

Related to the corkbug, the oilcrab is basically the predatory version of this insect or crustacean group of creatures. Faster and more aggressive than the corkbug, it eagerly hunts them for prey. Though it does not have pincers, it does have a sideways movement like crabs (when needed), thus the name.

Oilcrabs have a very nasty bite, originally evolved to pierce the tough exoskeletons of the corkbugs. Such a bite is devastating on humans, doing 3-12 points of damage.

Like corkbugs, oilcrabs are hunted for their "cork" and oil, (though more so for their oil), though much less owing to the danger of the enterprise.

Prowler

The largest amphibian yet discovered in Dalvashia (though it is rumored there larger ones in the mysterious Jade Peninsula), the prowler is a predator, and chiefly feeds on mergs, though will accept fish and other foodstuffs as well. They have been known to occasionally take individuals along riverbanks and lakes shores, and are a threat to small boaters.

The prowler primarily lives in swamps and marshes. A lengthy creature, it has a long, slender body with short legs and a crocodile like skull. It will attack anything that comes in front of it, concealed as it is in the murky water and vegetation. Preferring to ambush its prey thus rather than hunting, it gains a +1 bonus to surprise on opponents. The teeth and jaws of the prowler are well adapted to hold struggling and slippery prey (as they often prey on fish or other amphibians). Any successful bite attack that scores on a 20 grapples the prowler's opponent; in addition to doing normal bite damage, this attack prevents any further actions by the opponent that round. From then on the opponent is held by the jaws of the beast and +2 to his or her attacks, and +2 to be hit by others. Further, the prowler does automatic damage on the victim.

The grapple is broken by one of several ways. First, he or she can make a successful "bend bars" roll. Second, if the opponent is a thief-acrobat, the thief-acrobat may tumble out of the hold, using his or her Evasion percentage as the chance to escape. Third, the prowler suffers the loss of more than half of its hit points (at which point it chooses to let go). And of course, the death of the creature in question.

Prowlers are despised by the settlers, but as they are fairly common for such a large predator and there are so many areas of wetland, there is little that can be done about them. They aren't hunted for any useful product they can provide, though cities and towns near lakes and rivers do occasionally conduct massive drives to eliminate them in a region. Generally this is only temporarily successful.

Seastar (taken from Dragon Magazine)

Seastars are small marine creatures the drift near the surface, feeding on fish, carrion, and creatures that fall into or float upon the water. Occasionally, a seastar will swim to the bottom to take refuge, breed, or feed on mollusks (which it can pry open with is powerful arms). Seastars often ride on the undersides of ships and smaller craft, and will drag down someone who dangles a limb close to the water or who falls overboard. Seastars usually fight by fastening themselves to a victim with their arms and eating away with their powerful triple-beaked jaws.

Seastars have slimy, mottled green and brown bodies, three arms, and nine globular eyes set in rows of three between each arm, on the edges of the jaws. The eyes (AC 7) are easily destroyed, having only 1 hp each. The seastar can regenerate all parts of its body (1 hp/day), and will flee combat upon loss of an arm or all three of any row of eyes.

It did not take seastars long to start preying on ships, leading some to believe that either they are more intelligent than they appear or were brought in from off world.

By and large they are found in tropical waters, mainly in the Coral Island chain and waters to the south. Some do occur in the Azure Sea, and they have been encountered as far north as the mouth of the Mystra River.

Tree Growler

A virtual symbol of the sometimes alien and bizarre fauna of this world, the tree frog is strange indeed. Representing a highly specialized branch of amphibians, it has been described as cross between a tree frog and a monkey. In truth, they seem to have fulfilled the same ecological role as the monkey, living in the forest canopy feeding on flowers, fruits, and insects.

They are highly mobile for cold-blooded creatures, being able to not only swing between trees like a monkey but hop considerable distances between trees. Fairly slow on the ground, they can usually though easily hop to a nearby tree branch and scamper out of view.

The eerie calling and croaking - often growling - of these creatures is a hallmark sound of this colony world, a haunting one that many remember for the rest of their lives.

Generally harmless to humans, they are unpopular among fruit farmers, and can make considerable nuisances when they enter an area, often remaining for weeks. During mating season, the cacophony of their mating calls defies description. Fortunately unlike monkeys they generally don't become beggars and thieves in marketplaces. Unfortunately, they are either unafraid or unintelligent enough to not be easily frightened from an area, and it can take considerable effort to drive a troop of them away from an orchard.

If forced to attack they can claw for 1/1. Some varieties are believed to have toxins in their skins, those species are thought mainly to exist in the Jade Peninsula.

It is possible that there is a relationship between tree growlers and the Buforians, though scholars aren't sure. Like the Buforians, they do not tolerate cold well and are generally found in warm temperate and tropical areas, though smaller hibernating varieties are found farther north. These will have no effective attack.

They are of no relation to the imported gator monkey population of Tropicana. No one quite knows what gator monkeys are.

Wasp, Giant

The Giant Wasp that is found on Dalvashia is similar in nearly all respects to those found on other worlds such as Toril or Oerth. Rare to Very Rare in frequency, they create huge hanging nests in the gigantic sequoia and redwood trees of the eastern portion of the continent. Often hanging one hundred feet or more off the ground, they may contain upwards of 40 adult wasps. They are also noted in the tropical forests of the mainland, though not the islands.

These four hit die creatures range far and wide through the forests for prey. Traditionally, they prey on giant ants, hawkwings, giant dragonflies, and occasionally native amphibians. Increasingly, they have begun to turn to imported livestock and colonists. In many ways more dangerous than the Giant Dalvashian Dragonfly, any settler finding a nest (or sighting a giant wasp) generally quickly calls the authorities so that it may eliminated. This is generally no mean feat.

Though fairly free of major monsters that plague other worlds, such as ogres, hostile dragons, evil giants, and the like, the giant wasps is one of the reminders to the careless that Dalvashia is still a wild and dangerous place.

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